Egg Hunt Was Spoiled

The YMCA-sponsored egg hunt on Easter Sunday at the Sunland/Tujunga carnival was a huge disappointment, not because of the prizes in the plastic eggs, but for the completely disorganized YMCA staff and the many selfish parents.

With our 3-year-old daughter’s basket in hand and a big smile on her face, we headed out to the Easter Sunday egg hunt at the carnival. As we waited for the event to begin, some of us parents said to each other, “Surely the YMCA staff will be asking the parents to back up away from the kids any minute now to allow all the children room to get to the starting line.” Much to our disgust, parents were actually allowed to get in front of the line and take over the egg hunt for their children, pushing little ones such as ours and many others out of the way so they could hoard eggs for their own kids. This left many little ones without. When the hunt started, little ones had as many as five adults deep standing in front of them, blocking them.

The YMCA and those selfish adults should be ashamed of themselves. The event is supposed to be just for the kids, not for selfish, thoughtless adults. We confronted a YMCA staffer about what happened and he simply replied, “Well, what are we suppose to do – tell the parents to back up?” Uh, yes! It’s supposed to be just for the kids! This was our daughter’s first and last time at this particular event.

We want to say thank you to a very nice woman who was there with her two little sons who not only shared our disgust about the way the event was handled, but was also worried that her two sons might get hurt by the rushing adults. Thanks to the thoughtful, generous upbringing her two sons learned from their mother, [the boys] shared their Easter eggs with our daughter. Thank you, Katherine, to you and your sons. Those selfish parents should take a lesson!

As for the YMCA, please get it right for the little ones next year!

Jay and Jennifer Eatherton

La Crescenta

Town Council Weighs in on Territory Transfer

Dear President Boger, GUSD Board of Education and Superintendent Richard Sheehan:

The Crescenta Valley Town Council would like to go on record opposing the Sagebrush Territory Transfer for the following reasons:

1. Glendale Unified has provided a six year plan for the transfer of students to La Cañada, yet not one possible plan or strategy has been presented to our community other than you will listen to parents for the first year if the territory transfer is approved. The future of Mountain Avenue [Elementary School] needs to be discussed with our community now. La Cañada can clearly plan for the future of their community and schools yet the fate of La Crescenta and its neighborhood school is to be placed on hold for a year with ultimately no true control over its future at or around Mountain Avenue Elementary.

2. The community is not done speaking on this issue. We were informed by the Board there were to be public comments through the month of April into May yet to our disbelief two school board members have already voiced they will vote in favor of the transfer. There needs to be additional outreach to our community and a promise going further that the Board will remain neutral until such vote.

3. The community needs more than a six-year access agreement to the bridge and property connecting Mountain Avenue School. This needs to be permanent. This is the only access from Briggs to Ocean View north of Foothill. In an emergency, lack of access could be disastrous. In addition, as Sagebrush wants to “unite” this will clearly draw the line to deny access for our children that will continue to want to connect to their neighboring communities.

Lastly, all board members need to understand clearly how this access affects our community. To learn that one of the Board members is making a decision regarding this transfer, which includes the property on Ocean View and access across Pickens Canyon, who has never been to the site is troubling to say the least.

4. We have to look at the needs and listen to the concerns of our community. There appears to be great concern about the taxes placed on La Cañada and the phase-in of students. The GUSD Board represents all of the constituents, not just Sagebrush. Where is the outreach and concern for the taxpayers on the west side of the Pickens Canyon Bridge? Where is the six-year plan to keep Mountain Avenue a top school in La Crescenta? Where is the plan to deal with the additional stress to our infrastructure as the district brings new programs to our community?

In closing we would like to say that although it appears there is great support from Sagebrush residents, the overwhelming consensus from both sides is that Mountain Avenue is a great school. So why are we attempting to unite residents in La Cañada at the sake of our students and our schools? The decision to transfer this territory is not in the best interest of Mountain Avenue, the school district or our community.

Robbyn Battles, president

CV Town Council

Concerned over SB 837

I am compelled to get the word out regarding a senate bill that could adversely affect private preschools in California. The bill is labeled SB 837 or Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2014. This bill is written with good intentions but the implementation is a problem. The bill written by Senator Steinberg is asking for approval to provide free preschool to all 4 year olds – a noble idea.  Because of how the author and co-authors have chosen to fund the bill, it places these 4 year olds in our public school system. I would imagine any person in the Early Childhood Development field – teacher, psychologist, doctor – would oppose this bill.

The bill states that through longitudinal studies it had been found that those children who attended quality preschool programs had higher graduation rates, college enrollment rates and earning rates. This is what preschool educators have provided for years. Four year olds still need help developing social skills and gaining confidence. They need space inside and out allowing them to explore their environment. This will not happen at an elementary school.  Elementary schools predominately have blacktop as the surface outside. Inside, the classroom environment will not be warm and inviting as in a quality preschool and won’t have the supplies needed to create and invent.  What about working parents who need an after-school program? After a certain time of day, the young children will more than likely be mixed in with the older children (as it is now). Again, not appropriate.

The funding cannot be used to upgrade facilities for 4 year olds, meaning they will make do with what they have in place, which is suited for 5 years and up.

Let’s also talk about whether or not your local school has space to house a whole new age of children. Will class sizes grow in the other grades to make space for the younger children?

If this bill passes how it is written, with parents unable to access the funding and choose a quality preschool, we feel that a great number of private preschools will have to shut their doors. Most preschools have 50% of children age 4, which also helps the schools defer the costs of the younger children who require smaller class sizes. As we have seen through the already implemented TK classes in the public schools, parents will leave a preschool they have to pay for if another one is free. If we can’t keep our doors open because of losing half our clientele, then who will service the families with younger children?  This bill could impact preschools, teachers, vendors and families.

Let’s put aside all the financial ramifications. My passion is and has been helping shape the minds and spirits of young children. I have been in the field for 23 years, first as a teacher and now as a director of Parents and Children’s Nursery School in La Cañada. None of us in our field do our jobs for the paycheck, because there isn’t much of one. We do it because we are passionate about helping young children understand who they are and how far they can go. We need to keep enriching our children with experiences, music, art and expression. A quality program embraces the whole child. Children leave us with the love of school and the curiosity needed to learn. We need our artists, musicians, scientists and writers as well as our leaders in business. Our public school system has already taken away so much from our children. Do we want them to take it away even sooner?

Marji Golden

Glendale

It’s That Time Again

Voting is the most powerful thing we can do to preserve the Crescenta Valley community that we all know and love. June 3 will be a primary election with a kicker; we will also elect a new Glendale City councilman. This is a very important election for the Valley for a couple of reasons.

First, we have recently had closure to the Drayman scandal and it’s time to reassert our need for local representation on the [Glendale] City Council. We have had a couple of elections since the scandal broke and the turn out was down in both elections. Many were disappointed by the scandal and lost their zeal to vote. However, if we turn it around and turn out to vote in record numbers on June 3, local candidates will be encouraged to run in the next city council election in April 2015. It is critical for candidates to know that their friends and neighbors in the Valley will support them at the ballot box.

Second, we are in the middle of another discussion with La Cañada schools over the Sagebrush area. Our local leaders are trying to work with the GUSD board to resolve the issue in a way that is fair to the Valley. It is important to support our local leaders with a record turnout at the polls June 3, because two GUSD board members will stand for reelection in April 2015 and will worry about a challenge from the Valley if they ignore our wishes in the Sagebrush discussions.

The solution is straight forward. If you voted in the last election, be sure to take a neighbor with you to the polls June 3. If you didn’t vote last time, read your sample ballot; it came in the mail this week, and vote June 3. It would be a double bonus if you took a neighbor with you.

Remember, voting is the most powerful thing you can do to preserve the Crescenta Valley community that we all know and love.

Lynn McGinnis

Glendale

Mourns the Loss of Chase

One of the saddest days of my life was on March 27 when I read in the Weekly that Jim Chase was no longer going to write for the paper.

Jim is a terrific writer and I’m sorry there were those who criticized his work. I am not alone in saying he will be missed very much. There were dozens of us who looked forward to his column every week and believed he had every right to express his opinions and thoughts. No one can take his place.

I believe that there was pressure on Jim to give up. I don’t know where the pressure came from. I can surmise it came from followers of Adam Schiff and others like him.

The Weekly will never be as good or interesting as it was with Jim Chase gone.

Molly L. Powers

La Crescenta

Questions the ‘Campaign’

I’ve done much research on environmental issues and have noticed some very disturbing things lately regarding the issue of “climate change.”

Last year it was called “global warning” and now, largely because so many were at odds with the varying facts concerning the issue and how they were presented (including many scientists), the new [term] is “climate change.” The following is what I find most disturbing:

Almost every day on numerous news sites and in other publications, “climate change” is practically everywhere. Never have I seen so much attention on the issue, so much so that I recognize this as a “campaign,” and a well orchestrated one at that.

Yes, I believe we are experiencing changes in our weather pattern, that is evident, but we are being told that the “cause” is carbon emissions, which is, in my estimation, a false piece of information intended to deceive. This may be a “portion” of the cause, but certainly not the main one which is being pawned off on the public, and I don’t buy it. My research tells me otherwise. The next question I find myself asking is who will be profiting from the proposed solutions.

What about all the weather changes that have been “created” by the ongoing geoengineering projects that are also destroying many parts of the environment at the same time? We need to ask questions and research this area before blindly accepting the main cause of climate change as being “carbon emissions.” Look up the You Tube video on “Why in the World are they Spraying?” to get information on the cloud seeding projects that have been ongoing across the nation (for years).

Research is needed here, not further insult to our intelligence.

Dennis Whitfield

La Crescenta