Category Archives: The Weekly News

Golf With Your Local Sheriffs In Chino Hills

By Walnut-Diamond Bar Sheriff’s Booster Club

CHINO HILLS – The Walnut-Diamond Bar Sheriff’s Booster Club will host a golf tournament in honor of the sheriff department’s 150 volunteers next month.
The tournament will begin at 11:30 a.m. April 4 at the Western Hills Country Club, 1800 Carbon Canyon Rd., in Chino Hills. A luncheon will immediately follow the tournament.

“Thousands of hours are donated annually by our department’s volunteers, explorers, reserves and disaster communication specialists,” Captain Jeff Scroggin said.  “From vacation checks and traffic control to color guard and keeping disaster communication equipment ready in case of emergency, these are a few of the many services they provide the community.”
Prizes for the longest drive, closest to the pin and hole-in-one will be awarded during the luncheon. The cost for a single player is $100. Sponsorship opportunities are available.
Platinum sponsor – $3,000- Includes 16 players/four teams, recognition during the awards luncheon, repeated advertising of your company in Our Weekly newspaper and during the tournament, name placement on event signage and a recognition certificate from the Walnut-Diamond Bar Sheriff’s Booster Club.
Gold sponsor – $2,000- Includes 8 players/two teams, recognition in Our Weekly newspaper, recognition during the awards luncheon, name placement on event signage and a recognition certificate from the Walnut-Diamond Bar Sheriff’s Booster Club.
Silver sponsor – $1,000-Includes one team of four players and a recognition certificate from the Walnut-Diamond Bar Sheriff’s Booster Club.
Other sponsorship opportunities include: beverage cart for $1,000, hole-in-one sponsor for $500, goodie bag sponsor for $500, closest-to-the-pin sponsor for $400, and tee sign sponsorship for $100.
Captain Scroggin encourages community members to join this fun and meaningful tournament to continue to help provide the needed uniforms and equipment to the people who volunteer their time to improve the service and security to the cities of Walnut and Diamond Bar, and the unincorporated communities of Rowland Heights, Covina Hills and West Covina.

For information and reservations, contact Sgt. Mark Saldecke, volunteer coordinator, at (909) 595-2264, mcsaldec@lasd.org or Gil Rivera, booster club member at (909) 967-4525, GRiveraEmail@gmail.com.

OurWeeklyNews.com Complete Edition 3.26.16

2016-Mar26-Weekly-COVERThe Weekly News covers community news for Chino, Chino Hills, Diamond Bar, Walnut, Rowland Heights and surrounding areas of San Gabriel Valley and the Inland Empire. Click this link to access the complete issue in PDF format: 2016-Mar26-Weekly-WEB

Traditional Chinese Cuisine On The Menu At Mandarin Taste

See their ad in this issue of the Weekly News for coupons and specials. For more information, call (909) 861-1819 or just stop by their location at 23391 E. Golden Springs Drive, in Diamond Bar.

Mandarin Taste is located at 23391 E. Golden Springs Drive, in Diamond Bar. For reservations, call (909) 861-1819. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Staff Reports

Diamond Bar – If you are looking for a wonderful meal, look no farther than Diamond Bar’s most authentic Chinese restaurant, Mandarin Taste. For over 32 years, Mandarin Taste has brought quality service and traditional Chinese cuisine to the Diamond Bar community.

The restaurant has thrived because of the many mouth-watering dishes it serves and the family-friendly atmosphere that keeps people coming back for more. Skip slaving over the stove all day, or cooking after a long day at the office. Mandarin Taste hopes to make every day less stressful and more enjoyable for you while you feast and share memories with your loved ones.

From Peking duck and Hunan lamb to customer-favorites pork fried rice, wonton soup and orange-flavored chicken, guests will definitely feel lucky getting their grub on at Mandarin Taste. There’s an abundance of tasty food options to satisfy every palate.

The restaurant’s owners and staff want everyone who comes to their establishment to relax and enjoy themselves over the delectable food.

“We’re like a family restaurant,” said restaurant manager Chi Young, when describing the feeling that customers get when visiting the long-lasting eatery.

“People are always smiling [here],” said Young.

The restaurant holds a very popular champagne brunch on Sundays.  The champagne is all-you-can-drink and freshly made California rolls, made by a Japanese master chef, have been added to the menu.  All-you-can-eat buffets are available as well.

Mandarin Taste also serves traditional and specialty cocktails. Join them during Happy Hour, held Monday through Friday, 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. If customers can’t come in to enjoy the pleasant ambience, they have the option to order food for carryout. Share the love and give your family and friends Mandarin Taste gift certificates, available year round!

For more information, please call (909) 861-1819, or just stop by their location at 23391 E. Golden Springs Drive, Diamond Bar.

In Search of Friendship

By Michael Armijo

It’s 5:52 in the morning and I find myself leaving my home on the way to a Bible study that’s almost an hour away. Why would I travel so far to read the Bible with like-minded, quality men?
Over the past few years I’ve lost several people, two of whom were good friends that I spoke to on a daily basis. So now I find myself, heartbroken and lonely. Always seeking to replace at least one of those friendships with someone else with whom I can be honest, open, forth-right; someone who will listen to me when I’m right and when I’m wrong. Especially when I’m wrong. I’ve had my share of friendships, only to find myself feeling abandoned and told that I was just too wrong, especially during a crisis. Lord knows I am not right so many times, but Lord also knows true friends would stick by me like my other friends have in the past.

What I’m learning is that I continue to try to be myself and not everyone can accept who I am. It takes years of understanding and the development of loyalty, and compassion.  These friendships don’t develop overnight. So as I find myself alone, I realize I keep trying to push relationships, most likely to replace whatever I lack. I’ve been told I have a huge hole inside of me and I keep trying to fill it, but I have to come to the realization that this hole may never be filled again.  I just may have to walk this earth like a wounded soldier, like I’ve lost a leg or an arm. As a challenged individual that may never be whole again. So I have to learn to deal with my injury to deal with my loss.  To understand that legs will never grow back again. I am coming to the realization that I may never have friends as loyal and loving as those I had. Those friends are gone. But I am fortunate I do have a few good friends left, although they are busy and cannot give me the time my others had. It’s comforting to know that they do exist, and that they care for me. I can still trust these people.

So as I sit here with a heavy heart, driving in the dark of early morning, searching for a hug or a warm handshake, I’ll have to continue to stop mourning my losses and try to continue to remember how valuable my life has been. And now I must learn to glow again like I did when my heart felt safe. So, at this Bible study I am going to, I will seek friendships, and that may just be God’s way of telling me to just be thankful for what I’ve had and stop trying to seek out replacements. Instead, I should try to be a friend to someone who’s never had beautiful times with special people that I have had. I should try not to seek friendships, but instead, be a good friend to someone else who’s never had the love and care I’ve been so lucky to have received.

Castle Rock Hosts ‘Oscar’ Ceremony For Favorite Books

Photo courtesy of WVUSD

Photo courtesy of WVUSD
Adventures in Wonderland won for Best Classic Book during Castle Rock Elementary’s B’Oscars. Shown:Students Natalie Schaffer and Jolie Escalante accept the gold award.

By Kelli Gile

 

DIAMOND BAR– Castle Rock Elementary fifth-grade students recently walked the red carpet at their very own Academy Awards, when they hosted a Hollywood-style awards show for their favorite books, authors, series, illustrators, and more during the annual Oscars for Books, coined the “B’Oscars.”

Parents lined the walkway like proud paparazzi, clapping and snapping photos as honorees entered the Diamond Bar High School theatre.  Classmates dressed up as the winning characters and bookish peeps took to the stage to accept the tiny gold statues in twelve categories.

“The B’Oscars is such a fantastic way to excite not only our 5th grade students but our entire school with the love of reading.  They can’t wait to hear who the winners are!” said Principal Dr. Resma Byrne.

Each class nominated five books in each category in preparation for the celebration of reading.

Teacher Jorge Arauz then combined all the submissions and organized the student voting.

During the March 3 event, four students wearing black suits and sunglasses focused on keeping security tight as they delivered top-secret winning names on stage.  All students in the show auditioned for their roles as presenters and book characters and wrote clever descriptions and comments to deliver on stage.

“Reading at Castle Rock means a lot to all students. It is a passport to distant lands!” said 5th grader Rachel Yang.

Costumed nominees, including the 3 Little Pigs and Dumb Bunnies, in the Best Fairytale and Picture Book categories, sat in the first rows of the audience hoping to hear their name announced.

“And now for the moment you’ve been waiting for – drum roll please!” the presenters said.  The eager readers took the cue to pound hands on their thighs in anticipation.

“What I love about the B’Oscars is how it transforms reading for every single student!” said teacher Julie McClain.  “Even if they weren’t up on stage, students were all rooting for their favorite book to win. This event encourages the whole grade level to read the books and authors that were nominated.”

Characters Pippi Longstocking, Annabeth Chase, Amy Cahill, Hermione Granger, and Ramona Quimby were nominated in the Best Female Protagonist category.  “Ramona Quimby is anxious, curious, and tends to annoy people. You’ve got to love the little pest!” said Charlene Hsu.

Students costumed as famed wizards Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Lord Voldemort, and author J.K. Rowling thanked the audience for voting them the winners in the Best Series category.  Detailed book summaries were shown during commercial breaks.

In the Male Protagonist category, the Castle Rock students voted for their favorite “good guy” characters including heroes Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and Leo Valdez.

“I’d like to thank my author for inventing my exciting character!” said winning character Percy Jackson, played by Jeffrey Wang.

he thrilling quests detailed in Rick Riordan’s books sealed the award for Best Author.  “The sense of adventure really kept the stories going! When I was a teacher, I never thought all of this would be possible!” said student Nathan Tok posing as the author.

The audience screamed in delight when Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Lighting Thief was named Best Book.

“I want to eat some enchiladas!” announced Hagen White playing the part of Percy Jackson’s quirky vegetarian best friend, Grover Underwood. “You never know when you’ll need food!”

 

The B’Oscars is the action plan for the IB School program of inquiry “How we express ourselves” with the central idea of “Tales that have been with us since the beginning of mankind.”

Students now hope to stock the school library with their favorite titles.  “Our book drive is important because we need new books so children can have more imagination,” said 5th grader Charleen Chen.

Optimus Prime

Photo courtesy of Google Images

Photo courtesy of Google Images

By C Doussett MPH, RDN

 

The vast majority of us want cut-and-dried answers. We want to know what the best supplements are, how much sleep to get, how much water to drink, the best foods to consume, how much to eat and the best time to eat, the most effective exercises and the peak times to perform them. We desire to know the “best” (optimum) and “first in order” (prime) information to make our lives productive, rewarding, and free from distracting demands. In this spirit, here are a few answers that are steeped in science.

  1. Water is fairly easy- drink when you’re thirsty and avoid darkly colored urine. While overhydration is not as common as dehydration, it can be just as dangerous, so drink plenty of water but not too much. Stock up on water and have plenty of BPA free or glass water containers on hand. As for food, Michael Pollan succinctly stated, “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants”. It does not matter what food camp we align with if the above dictum is ignored. One caveat: protein should be at every meal, carbs should be eaten early in the day or after training, and fats should be eaten only in the afternoon. Protein powders can be excellent additions for busy people who are seeking simplified and healthy solutions.
  2. Sleep seven to nine hours per night. In most individuals, less or more than this amount may result in overeating (non-homeostatic appetite), a decrease in resting metabolic rate, and hyperglycemia (high blood sugar [glucose]). All of the aforementioned conditions lead to weight gain and compromised immune systems. Experiment with natural and safe sleep aids such as melatonin (inform your physician), magnesium (with added L-Threonine to access neural tissue more effectively), and herbal teas such as valerian, chamomile, or hops.
  3. Exercise- A combination of cardiovascular exercise (running, swimming, biking etc.), resistance training (busting the weights), and high intensity interval training (HIIT-start/stop movements cycled through power intervals) is best. Cardio is not only for heart health, it provides our brains with an influx of oxygen and nutrients, further increasing our odds of staving off forms of dementia and depression. Resistance training three times per week (for skeletal and mitochondrial biogenesis) prepares the body for the demands of both daily and future life. Lastly, HIIT (flexibility and lymphatic fluid movement) is an excellent way to challenge oneself and experience fat-burning and toning benefits simultaneously.
  4. What is the best time to work out? The short answer is whenever you enjoy it the most and will make it a lasting habit. The science shows, all things being equal, the afternoon is the best time. Firstly, in the afternoon our skeletal muscle is naturally less sensitive to insulin. Exercise sensitizes our body to accept glucose and to clear blood sugar before it moves to fat tissue to be repartitioned. Thus, afternoon exercise can help avoid a phenomenon known as “Afternoon diabetes”. Better sugar control means muscles perform better and longer. Secondly, while testosterone is higher in the morning, so is cortisol- which is a hormone that can have limiting effects on training adaptation. In the afternoon, the testosterone to cortisol ratio is improved (it is lower). Thirdly, we must consider our core temperature, which is optimal in the afternoon for both genetic expression and mitochondrial output. Working out in the cold of morning means brains, muscles, cells, and bodily fluids are all at their slowest. Spoiler alert: there is a reason world records get broken in the afternoon.

Sometimes, it is best, in the face of undecided science, to follow the example of a certain brightly-colored, anthropomorphized semi-truck and simply “Roll Out!” We do the best we can with the data we have until our choices are sufficiently challenged or our goals change. Ask a nutritional consultant to assist you in making your individualized approach to a healthy lifestyle.

Miss Diamond Bar 2016 Crowned

Photo Courtesy: Diamond Bar High School Miss Diamond Bar 2016 and her Court. From Left to Right: Princess Shannon Clewley, Princess Tayla Beasley, Miss Diamond Bar Ashley Chen, Princess Lauren Ritchie, and Princess Bree Ward.

Photo Courtesy: Diamond Bar High School
Miss Diamond Bar 2016 and her Court. From Left to Right: Princess Shannon Clewley, Princess Tayla Beasley, Miss Diamond Bar Ashley Chen, Princess Lauren Ritchie, and Princess Bree Ward.

Staff Reports

Diamond Bar – On Sunday, March 13, Diamond Bar High School junior Ashley Chen was crowned Miss Diamond Bar 2016 in the DBHS theater.

The 2016 Princess court includes Bree Ward, a sophomore at Mt. Sac (DBHS c/o 2014), Shannon Clewley, a senior at DBHS,  Lauren Ritchie, a senior at DBHS, and Tayla Beasley, a junior at DBHS.

Since 1964, Miss Diamond Bar and her Court of Princesses have been committed to serve as ambassadors for the City of Diamond Bar and positive role models to the youth of our community for 50 years.  These young ladies all juggle full time school schedules and/or part/full time jobs, while maintaining their rigorous pageant schedule of over 50 appearances a year.  The Miss Diamond Bar Scholarship Pageant, Inc. is a non-profit organization that depends on the support of the volunteers, local businesses and city leaders to continue this important community tradition.

For more information about the Miss Diamond Bar pageant, and for an application for the 2017 pageant, visit http://www.missdiamondbarpageant.org.

The Whole Enchilada

Eastvale News Business Feature The Whole EnchiladaStaff Reports

Diamond Bar – Spring is here! Why not take a break from the kitchen and celebrate springtime at The Whole Enchilada. With its promise of authenticity, The Whole Enchilada guarantees that its customers will enjoy the taste of their savory entrees.
The Whole Enchilada can help you make at-home dinners easy by offering tamales all year round. This traditional holiday dish is sold by the dozen and is available in pork, beef, chicken, green chili and cheese. From platters and entrée meals to taco bars, they also provide other options to serve fresh, authentic Mexican recipes their resident chef brought from their homeland.
“All our food is made fresh daily,” says Lil Palmer of The Whole Enchilada. The restaurant has been in business for over 30 years, offering a variety of Mexican dishes ranging from tacos and burritos to carne asada and fajitas.
The Whole Enchilada’s food is only one reason to celebrate at their restaurant. They also pride themselves on excellent customer service due to their family friendly servers being attentive, courteous, and knowledgeable.
If you’re planning a celebration, parties can be planned easily at a home or business with The Whole Enchilada’s catering service. Book now and you can reserve a portion of the restaurant to celebrate with good food, family, and friends.
The staff will be there to help you celebrate special moments, raise money for your team or organization, and provide a wonderful experience for your children. They love working with the community to help with fundraisers, and special events for churches, sports, schools, clubs, and more.
Birthday parties are always fun at The Whole Enchilada, as well. No matter how old you are, the staff will provide you with a total birthday experience including singing, a special picture to take home, free birthday hat and dessert, and best of all, five “Enchilada Bucks” to use the next time you visit.
Better yet, The Whole Enchilada’s “Kids Club” includes four mailings per year entitling your children to a free meal when accompanied by an adult, as well as a birthday invitation for a free meal and dessert.
The Whole Enchilada has gift cards available for purchase in person or online at http://www.wholeenchilada.com. And remember to ask your server for a Combo Punch Card on your next visit, which provides a free combo dinner when you purchase any nine of their combination dinners.
The Whole Enchilada is located at 1114 S. Diamond Bar Blvd, (at Grand Ave.), in Diamond Bar. You can reach them at (909) 861-5340, and visit their website at http://www.wholeenchilada.com.

Oxford Prep Charter Denied

Photo courtesy of Oxford Preparatory Academy OPA supporters

Photo courtesy of Oxford Preparatory Academy
OPA supporters

By Carol Heyen

The Chino Valley Unified School District school board voted March 17 to deny Oxford Preparatory Academy’s 5-year charter renewal, much to the dismay of over 1,500 school staff and supporters who attended the district meeting held at Don Lugo High.

Oxford Prep, or OPA, a charter school located in Chino, presently has a charter that runs through June 30, 2017.  OPA submitted a renewal charter school petition to the CVUSD on January 25, 2016, which would be for a 5-year term running from July 1, 2017-June 30, 2022.

The renewal charter, according to the school district, was denied because it has several flaws.  In a 77-page report, CVUSD stated that OPA is “demonstrably unlikely to successfully implement the program set forth in the OPA-Chino charter renewal petition.” The district also said that the petition failed to address eight of the 15 elements required by state law governing charter schools.

Superintendent Wayne Joseph, who was one of the original supporters of OPA’s charter in 2010, spoke at the meeting.  Superintendent Joseph said, “… it is really with a heavy heart that I come to you tonight, board members, and ask you to approve my recommendation to deny OPA’s current charter petition. Simply put, the petition OPA submitted on Jan. 25 of this year, unlike the other two petitions that were approved, is seriously flawed.”

CVUSD states that the charter petition is “not consistent with sound educational practice.”

One of the failures of the petition, according to the district, is that the OPA budget presents an unrealistic financial and operational plan for the proposed OPA charter school.  The school board said that they “cannot carry out its statutory fiscal oversight responsibility without the ability to review and audit all of OPA’s finances” the way the charter is now written.

The district’s concerns include OPA’s lack of sufficiently projecting enrollment or estimating Independent Study students, cash flow and reserve discrepancies, and timing of revenue. It also notes that OPA has not satisfied the California law that all students be admitted who wish to attend the school.  OPA’s enrollment runs in a lottery system, but children with siblings already attending the school, or parents who are OPA staff or founding members are exempt from the lottery and get first priority.

OPA is very popular with students and parents in the Chino Valley.  Test scores at the school have consistently been in the high 900s, and it has been named a California Distinguished School.

OPA’s supporters are vowing to keep fighting.  OPA Principal Sue Roche’s husband Terry told the crowd, “For eight years, I’ve heard from Mr. Joseph, from Mr. Na how great OPA is,” referring to Superintendent Joseph and board member James Na. “For eight years, every evaluation they gave us — every evaluation they gave us — financially, academically, was the best in California!”

Oxford Prep administrator Jared McLeod said that OPA will “…move on with our legal rights to prove this district wrong and prove what is legally right, which is that this is our school, for five more years!”

 

Sex Offender Living With 5 Kids Arrested

Photo courtesy of San Bernardino Sheriff’s Dept. Keith Dewayne Lavinge arrested in San Bernardino

Photo courtesy of San Bernardino Sheriff’s Dept.
Keith Dewayne Lavinge arrested in San Bernardino

Staff Reports

SAN BERNARDINO-  A convicted sex offender who had five children living in his home in San Bernardino has been arrested.

Keith Lavinge has been convicted twice for the sexual assault of a child under the age of 14, and he is required to register his home address with authorities.  Investigators found that Lavinge has been registering as a “transient” in the City of San Bernardino, and has not been honest with law enforcement about his residency.
Sheriff’s detectives were contacted by social workers from the Department of Children and Family Services, who are mandated reporters. During the course of the social worker’s investigation, it was determined that the children’s biological mother & biological father are incarcerated, and all 5 children were living with the mother’s boyfriend, Keith Lavinge.
On Wednesday, March 16, 2016, members from the Sheriff’s Specialized Enforcement Division assisted detectives in serving a search warrant at Lavinge’s residence in the 200 block of East 2nd Street in San Bernardino.  Lavinge was contacted at that location, along with the five children. Evidence was located at the residence to prove that Lavinge had been living at the location with the children for over a year. Lavinge was arrested for failing to register as a sex offender. He was transported and booked into the West Valley Detention Center, where he is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.
All five children were placed into protective custody. Further investigation is being conducted into the welfare of the children during the time they were living with Lavinge.
Anyone with information about this case is urged to contact Detective Donald Patton or Sergeant Dana Foster in the Specialized Investigations-Crimes Against Children Detail at (909) 387-3615.  If you choose to remain anonymous, call WeTip at 1-800-78-CRIME or www.wetip.com

Straight Talk with Danice

Danice Akiyoshi

Danice Akiyoshi

“Angry at my dead friend”

By Danice Akiyoshi, N.D.

 

Dear Dr. Akiyoshi:

I just came home from my dear friend’s funeral. I was devastated because I thought he died suddenly from a mysterious illness.  Another friend found him unconscious in his home after none of us had heard from him for a couple of days.  We were all close and spoke almost daily.  At the funeral luncheon his sister told me that he had been diagnosed with cancer six months ago, and that was the real cause of his death.  I could not believe what I was hearing.  I didn’t say anything, because I don’t know his sister, but I am mad as hell at my friend!  Why didn’t he tell me the truth?  He was at my house for dinner a couple of times a week.  He and my husband were pretty close, too. I don’t understand why he wouldn’t let me help him.  Why didn’t he fight for his life?  He was only 60-years old. I don’t exaggerate when I tell you that nobody suspected he was this sick.  I feel deceived.  A real friend wouldn’t have lied to me this way.  My feelings are very hurt.  My husband won’t share his opinion with me.  Do you have any idea why someone would treat a true friend this way?  I am sick at heart to think I never knew this man at all.

-Gloria.

 

Dear Gloria:

I am sick about the way you’ve turned your friend’s death around to make it all about you.  I don’t know you, but your emotional maturity needs a lot of work.  Has it ever occurred to you that your friend was trying to spare you from grief and sadness?  Has it ever occurred to you that maybe your friend wanted his relationships with his friends to be normal and not filled with pity or tears?  Not everyone wants to undergo Chemotherapy and traditional therapies that are difficult to tolerate when their days are numbered anyway.  Why can’t you find a way to respect that?  You are a woman.  Let’s pretend you are about to give birth.  Do your friends have the right to force their opinions on you about what style of child birth you choose, or whether or not you are going to nurse your baby? Can they insist that you have an epidural when you really prefer to try natural childbirth?  Grow up, Gloria.  You are choosing to suffer.  This stems from your inability to accept that you can’t always control things.  People do not owe their friends and family all of their private information.  If you’d like assistance for anger, grief, or in improving your emotional maturity, I would love to meet with you.  I wish you well, Gloria, and sincerely hope you will feel better soon.

-Danice Akiyoshi, ND

Armed Forces Banners

Courtesy of the City of Diamond Bar

DIAMOND BAR– The first of two annual deadlines for Diamond Bar residents to honor an immediate family member serving on active duty in the United States military through the City of Diamond Bar’s Armed Forces Banner Program is coming up.

Friday, April 8 is the first cutoff date to submit a request to have a banner personalized with a loved one’s name and military branch. Banner installations will occur in the month of May. Applications received after April 8 will be part of the second round of requests, with banners going up in November.

Complete participation requirements and a downloadable application form are available online at www.diamondbarca.gov/armedforces or by calling the City’s Community Services Department at 909.839.7060.

History 101

Photo courtesy of Biography.com Jonas Salk

Photo courtesy of Biography.com
Jonas Salk

Salk announces polio vaccine

Courtesy of History.com

On March 26, 1953, American medical researcher Dr. Jonas Salk announced on a national radio show that he has successfully tested a vaccine against poliomyelitis, the virus that causes the crippling disease of polio. In 1952–an epidemic year for polio–there were 58,000 new cases reported in the United States, and more than 3,000 died from the disease. For promising eventually to eradicate the disease, which is known as “infant paralysis” because it mainly affects children, Dr. Salk was celebrated as the great doctor-benefactor of his time.

Polio, a disease that has affected humanity throughout recorded history, attacks the nervous system and can cause varying degrees of paralysis. Since the virus is easily transmitted, epidemics were commonplace in the first decades of the 20th century. The first major polio epidemic in the United States occurred in Vermont in the summer of 1894, and by the 20th century thousands were affected every year. In the first decades of the 20th century, treatments were limited to quarantines and the infamous “iron lung,” a metal coffin-like contraption that aided respiration. Although children, and especially infants, were among the worst affected, adults were also often afflicted, including future president Franklin D. Roosevelt, who in 1921 was stricken with polio at the age of 39 and was left partially paralyzed. Roosevelt later transformed his estate in Warm Springs, Georgia, into a recovery retreat for polio victims and was instrumental in raising funds for polio-related research and the treatment of polio patients.

Salk’s procedure, first attempted unsuccessfully by American Maurice Brodie in the 1930s, was to kill several strains of the virus and then inject the benign viruses into a healthy person’s bloodstream. The person’s immune system would then create antibodies designed to resist future exposure to poliomyelitis. Salk conducted the first human trials on former polio patients and on himself and his family, and by 1953 was ready to announce his findings. This occurred on the CBS national radio network on the evening of March 25 and two days later in an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Salk became an immediate celebrity.

In 1954, clinical trials using the Salk vaccine and a placebo began on nearly two million American schoolchildren. In April 1955, it was announced that the vaccine was effective and safe, and a nationwide inoculation campaign began. New polio cases dropped to under 6,000 in 1957, the first year after the vaccine was widely available. In 1962, an oral vaccine developed by Polish-American researcher Albert Sabin became available, greatly facilitating distribution of the polio vaccine. Today, there are just a handful of polio cases in the United States every year, and most of these are “imported” from developing nations where polio is still a problem. Among other honors, Jonas Salk was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977. He died in La Jolla, California, in 1995

Facing Grief Head On

Licensed Marriage Family Therapist

Nancy Stoops M.A., M.F.T Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

By Nancy Stoops, M.A.M.F.T.

 

I know from personal experience that the loss of a loved one is devastating.  I know it can dump a person into a very severe depression.  It can make us feel like we just can’t go on and that life isn’t worth living without that loved one.  I have literally helped thousands of people heal from the death of their loved ones.  I know it’s important to understand that we must all leave this world when it is our time.  Death has not logic or fairness; it just is and it’s the hardest part of living.  I also know that we heal when we find a way to live that honors ourselves and our loved ones still here and our loved ones that have passed away.

The worst thing we can do is feel guilty because we are still alive but a very special loved one has passed away.  No matter what we do, say or feel, nothing can bring that loved one back to us.  All we can do is live our lives fully, live our lives for ourselves and for all of our loved ones that have passed away.  The truth is that our loved ones didn’t want to die and make us feel such unbearable pain because they are no longer here.  It’s very important to fully appreciate the life of a loved one when they are alive and with us.  One of the tricks of a successful life is to take nothing for granted, especially those closest to us.

So when you lose a loved one, grieve but don’t give up your life.  Remember we are all only here for a short time, so live well and love well and I promise you’ll have no regrets.  Don’t waste your life because we only get one time to do it all.  Tell people you love them, be affectionate and when they pass away, carry them in your heart forever!

This article was written by Nancy Stoops M.A., M.F.T.  Nancy is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.  Nancy runs free family support groups, a group on loss for seniors, and groups for teens.  For more information about any of these services feel free to contact her at (909) 229-0727.  You may e-mail Nancy at nancyjstoops@verizon.net. You may purchase Nancy’s books Live Heal and Grow and Midnight the Therapy Dog at Amazon.com.

Did You Know?

Photo courtesy: Google

Photo courtesy: Google

All about Easter

Courtesy of Wilstar

 

This Christian holiday of Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The date of celebration varies from March to April, and depends on the date of the March equinox. Christians worldwide gather for this major holiday for the religion to feast, attend church services, and hunt Easter eggs. Easter Sunday marks the end of Lent, which is a 40-day period of fasting and reflection. It follows Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

The story of Easter makes up a fundamental aspect of Christian theology. While Good Friday marks Jesus’ crucifixion, Easter Sunday is a day for Christians to celebrate his resurrection. Following Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, he was buried in a tomb. While the next part of the story varies according to different accounts, most follow the theme of female followers of Jesus going to visit the tomb and finding the stone rolled away from the opening with Jesus’s body missing. Jesus went on to appear to his followers several times before his ascension into heaven. The resurrection of Christ is an important part of Christian belief because of its association with salvation.

Christians started celebrating the tradition of Easter with a feast soon after the time period of the resurrection, which is believed to have occurred around 33 AD. The time of year was chosen for the celebration since Jesus celebrated the Passover shortly before his crucifixion and so the time is believed to be around the time of Jesus’ actual crucifixion. In medieval celebrations, congregations would walk in a procession after mass, following a priest holding a crucifix or candle.

Many Christians begin the celebration with an Easter Vigil the night before, sometimes called Easter Eve or Holy Saturday. Church services on Sunday typically follow regular church service tradition with a sermon or songs concerning the Easter story. Some churches hold mass or other services at sunrise. Other common Easter traditions include the Easter Egg Hunt and floral decorations.

The Easter egg hunt is a tradition that originated with pagan spring festivals that celebrated fertility. Like many pagan traditions, Christians intertwined the practice with religious significance. Easter egg hunts feature eggs hidden by the mythical Easter bunny, which may contain candy or other prizes. Hard-boiled eggs may also be used. The children will go looking for eggs to put in their Easter egg basket. On the day before Easter, many families decorate hard-boiled eggs with paint to use for the hunt. Eggs are also part of the tradition because of the ban on eggs during Lent in Medieval Europe, meaning they were often included in the Sunday feast.

Churches are often decorated with flowers. A significant theme for Easter is rebirth, which flowers can emulate and symbolize. Traditional Easter flowers include Easter Lilies, which are believed to have grown in the Garden of Gethsemane, the site of Jesus’ arrest. Other Easter flowers include daffodils, narcissuses, and red tulips, which symbolize Jesus’ shed blood.

In pagan celebrations, Easter was typically a celebration of fertility, and many cultures associated the celebration with the Germanic goddess of fertility, Eostre, which is where the holiday’s name came from. Some cultures called the holiday Ishtar, which celebrates the resurrection of the Tammuz, another pagan god.

The Easter Bunny is a result of folkloric tradition. Their association with the holiday comes from their ability to procreate, making them symbols of fertility. German settlers brought the Easter Bunny tradition to America in the 1700s.

 

Walnut Looking for Historians

Staff Reports

WALNUT– The City of Walnut is now seeking candidates to serve on the Walnut Historical Preservation Ad Hoc Advisory Committee. The Committee will meet the first Wednesday of each month, as well as on an “as-needed basis” and will include appointed persons that are Walnut residents.

The primary responsibility of committee members is to provide recommendations to the City Council and/or Planning Commission relating to historical preservation in the City of Walnut. Some of the historical sites currently identified in Walnut include Suzanne Park, the Bob Quattlebaum Windmill, the Brookside Equestrian Center and the W. R. Rowland Adobe Ranch House.

Applications are due to the City Clerk’s Office by Monday, May 2, 2016. Interested individuals may obtain an application on the City website homepage or by contacting Teresa De Dios, City Clerk at 909-348-0710, or by email: tdedios@ci.walnut.ca.us.

For questions regarding the committee, please contact Justin Carlson, City Planner or Derrick Womble, Senior Management Analyst at (909) 595-7543.

Walnut City Hall is located at 21201 La Puente Road, Walnut, CA. For information about the City of Walnut, please visit our web site at www.ci.walnut.ca.us.

 

Deputies Looking for Chino Hills Robbery Suspect

Staff Reports
On Saturday, March 19, 2016, at approximately 5:35 a.m., the Circle K Store at 4200 Chino Hills Parkway in Chino Hills was robbed.  The suspect entered the store, placed a pack of gum on the counter and held out a one dollar bill. When the store clerk opened the cash drawer, the suspect reached over the counter, threatened the clerk, and removed the cash drawer. The suspect stole cash and an unknown amount of scratcher lottery tickets. After reviewing video footage, it was determined the suspect was also involved in a robbery in the city of Chino approximately 20 minutes earlier.
The suspect is described as a 25-30 year old Hispanic male adult, approximately 6’0” tall, 190 pounds, with black hair and a medium build.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Chino Hills Police Department at (909) 364-2000.  If you wish to remain anonymous you may call WeTip at (800) 78-CRIME.

My Trip To A New York Airport When I Was Living In England … Last Night

By Michael Armijo 

Last night, during the day, I was driving to the airport to pick up my buddy Mike Mendez. I was driving my current car, and was concerned about how his luggage would fit into the tiny back seat. As I gazed upon the back seat I was convinced it would fit.

When I got to the airport, I was in New York and suddenly I was part of a group of young, excited students who had English accents and were amazed at being in such a place. Where we came from, there wasn’t a place like this. So we frolicked through the airport like kids in a candy store. We were amazed, surprised, and excited to be with such a hodgepodge of people.

One of the other students made gifts and placed phone numbers in a box. He skipped his way through and handed out the gifts: mostly chocolate bars and CDs of classic rock. He gave me a phone number and said “You’ll want this number, it’s hers,” and he pointed to one of the other students. I looked at her and she was only about 19 years old, and I thought: “That’s disgusting; she’s too young for me.” Then I gazed into a nearby mirror and saw something shocking: I wasn’t a middle aged man, nor did I look the same. I was a young 20 year old, my ethnicity was now different, but I had the wisdom and memories of my current self.

I was completely confused on what was transpiring.

I went to a turnstile and saw a young man who resembled, exactly, my childhood friend Todd Mestas. I was right next to him and stared in amazement. He was smiling and looked so happy.

What’s interesting was that when I woke from this vivid and realistic dream, I didn’t know where I was, nor did I know what to do with the memory of that dream. I can visualize, hear, and smell the airport and I could still taste the chocolate bars. It was so realistic I believed I was really there.

The stranger part was the friend, Mike, who I was supposed to pick up from the airport, had passed away a few years back. So had Todd. He died the following year. They are both gone. So what does that mean? Or what does that mean to me?  I drew some conclusions:

  1. When I pass, am I coming back as a new person, reincarnated into someone different who deep inside I’ve been yearning to be?
  2. Should I leave California, as I’ve been wanting to do these past 2 years, and begin a new life?
  3.  2 Corinthians 5:17 says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Was God telling me that I am now a new man?

I’ve had many dreams, but don’t remember most of them. This one stuck in my head and I can remember so many details. I thought about my life and realized I eat fairly healthy, I don’t take any drugs, I don’t drink, I just had a CT scan and I have no tumors, nor is my heart in danger. So why has this message that came to me, while asleep, embedded itself into my mind, and now into my spirit?

I’m not sure why this dream disrupted my life, felt so real, and won’t leave my mind. But what I do know is that the way I felt during this episode in my life made me feel better than I’ve felt in a very long time. Made me feel different. Gave me some type of hope. I guess God knew that a trip to a New York airport when I was living in England would give me what I needed, which it did…last night.

 

19th Annual Taste of the Chino Valley

Enjoy the Chino Valley’s finest cuisine, wine, and spirits as local establishments dish up their very best at the impressive Chaffey College Chino Community Center.

Enjoy the Chino Valley’s finest cuisine, wine, and spirits as local establishments dish up their very best at the impressive Chaffey College Chino Community Center.

By Zeb Welborn

CHINO– It’s a food lover’s dream!  Enjoy great food from some of the area’s new restaurants as well as some long-standing favorites at the 19th Annual Taste of the Chino Valley.  We’ve put together a great team who is working hard to bring local restaurants together to give our community a taste of what Chino Valley restaurants have to offer.

The Taste of the Chino Valley will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, April 4, at the Chaffey College Community Center, located at 5890 College Park Ave.

Spots for the Taste of the Chino Valley are filling up fast.  We’ve already signed up Cannataro’s, The Pub, Oke Poke, Wara Bistro, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Pacifica Senior Living, Los Portales, Riverside Grill and Award Winning Wines by Fairplex.  We have verbal commitments from numerous others, and we’ll be sharing those through our website and Facebook page as they come in.

We’ve also secured sponsorships from Waste Management, the City of Chino, the City of Chino Hills, Champion Newspapers, Chaffey College, Insurance & Surety Services, Oke Poke, and Welborn Media.

Thank you to everyone who has worked so hard to put this together, we have a great team of people securing restaurants, sponsors and donations for the event.

You can sign up online at www.eventbrite.com/e/taste-of-chino-valley-tickets-22749102177.  Hope to see you there.  Tell your friends!

Decorating For Easter

Pastor Mark Hopper

Pastor Mark Hopper

By Mark Hopper

 

One of my least favorite assignments is to “get the boxes down from the attic.”  I hear these words several times a year, when my wife wants to decorate our house for a new season.

 

The largest number of storage boxes contain Christmas decorations.  Most of these are stored on shelves in the garage.  There are fewer Fall decorations and these are stored in the attic space above the garage.  

 

Each of these seasonal decorations contribute to the festive atmosphere in our house for a few weeks.   My job is to get them down and put them away again.

 

Now that Spring is coming, I heard those familiar words again recently.  My wife asked me if I would “get the Easter boxes down from the attic”.  There was a sense of urgency in her voice because two of our granddaughters were coming to our house and she wanted to let them help decorate.

 

 I’m not sure who had more fun, the grandchildren or my wife.  These two young girls had a wonderful time discovering the variety of decorations in those boxes.  They couldn’t believe all the neat stuff that Grammy had collected.  They loved finding places to put the decorations all over our house.

 

I noticed the sparkle in my wife’s eye and the smile on her face as she watched the enthusiasm of her young assistants.  It was enjoyable to watch Grammy and her girls decorate our house for Easter.

 

I don’t know how the seasonal decorating goes on in your house, but I know it is important at our house.   My wife enjoyed it very much and so did her young helpers!

 

This year Easter will be on Sunday, March 27th.  Our church will be having three Easter Sunday services at 8:30, 10:00, and 11:30 a.m.  We will also have one service on Good Friday, March 25th, at 7:00 p.m.

 

Easter is the day when Christians around the world celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus.  The Bible says that Jesus died on the Cross and rose from the dead to pay for our sins and to purchase a place for us in heaven.  I hope you will take time to celebrate Easter this year.  Get out those decorations.  Get up and go to church to celebrate that Jesus is alive!

 

If you don’t have a church home, we would be delighted to have you worship with us on Easter Sunday.   You will be glad you did and we will be too!

Pastor Mark Hopper is from the Evangelical Free Church of Diamond Bar, 3255 South Diamond Bar Blvd. Sunday services are 9 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. For more information, call (909) 594-7604 or visithttp://www.efreedb.org