By Anthony Saude

On February 1, eighteen years ago, Chino Police Officer Russ Miller, was killed in the line of duty by a drunk driver. However, his fellow officers have not forgotten him. Every year since his tragic passing the Chino Police Officers Foundation has remained committed to keeping his memory alive by hosting their annual “Run for Russ”, a 5K Run and Community Walk. More than 1000 attendees are expected to participate in this year’s race which will be held on Saturday, February 3.

Lt Keith Bussard, a 25 year CPD veteran who came up through the ranks at roughly the same time that Officer Miller did, thinks it is remarkable how important it is that the community still shows their support for this event so many years later. When asked about the community’s continued support, Bussard said “It speaks to how important Russ Miller was to the Chino Police Department, the residents and the community here in the city of Chino.”

The entrance fee for participants who register early is $25. All proceeds from the event go toward the Russ Miller Memorial Foundation. The foundation provides sponsorships to the local youth that allow them to participate in positive recreational activities within the community that they would otherwise not be able to participate in. Last year’s event raised over $15,000 for the foundation. A CPD employee, who knew Officer Miller during his time on the force, stated that “Russ was very active in the community and his life while he was with the department and he was an avid sports fan,”

This year’s event will begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning, February 3 and will begin at the Chino Civic Center on the corner of Chino and Central Avenues. To participate, register online at: http://racewire.com/register.php?id=3561. Same Day Registration will also be available  on the day of the event. For additional information and Registration Forms, please visit the Run for Russ 5K page at http://www.chinopoa.org page or call 909-334-3062. This is a great community event which includes a pancake breakfast by the Chino Kiwanis Club. Everyone is invited to participate. So bring your family and friends out and show your support for the community by participating in this year’s event. It will be a lot of fun and we hope to see you there.

Staff Reports

Chino – A Los Angeles County deputy sheriff, a Chino resident allegedly agreed on two occasions to oversee the delivery of narcotics and other contraband in exchange for cash payments was arrested, along with three other men, on federal narcotics charges.

Special agents with the Federal Bureau Investigation arrested Deputy Sheriff Kenneth Collins, after they allegedly agreed to provide “security” for the transport of nearly 45 pounds of cocaine and more than 13 pounds of methamphetamine. During the FBI’s undercover investigation, Collins allegedly agreed that he and his team would take calculated steps to prevent law enforcement from intercepting the drugs – in exchange for cash payments as high as $250,000.

Collins and two other men were charged in a federal criminal complaint filed last week. In justifying the high fees for his services, Collins allegedly told an undercover FBI agent “we’re cops” and “all of our transports make it through.”

Those named in the complaint are:

• Deputy Sheriff Collins, 50, of Chino;
• David Easter, 51, of the Hyde Park District of Los Angeles; and
• Grant Valencia, 34, of Pomona.

The fourth man arrested, Maurice Desi Font, 56, of South Los Angeles – is expected to be charged in a second criminal complaint.

The four defendants have been charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. This case is part of a long-standing and ongoing commitment to root out corruption, particularly when it involves sworn law enforcement officers.

The FBI and LASD have been working together to address any internal problems with the full cooperation of Sheriff McDonnell in the continuing effort to reform the department. Collins and the other used their position to conduct criminal activity for large sums of money. Further investigation will continue in order to determine whether others may have been involved, this should not be viewed as an indictment of the many dedicated servants at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, some of whom brought this unlawful activity to our attention. The FBI’s commitment to weeding out corruption by public officials and restoring trust in our law enforcement professionals is important for healing process in the local communities to begin.

By Anthony Saude

Chino – Changes for some user fees for Chino residents in 2018, as a matter of fact one will be cut out all together. Residents will no longer have to pay a fee to appeal decisions made by the city’s staff and planning commission. The mayor voiced concerns about residents being financially burdened during the appeal process.

The City staff recommended a fee of $280 to help recover part of the cost of the paper work. It was reported that the city manager said that the fee was 5 to 10 percent of the total cost of $3899. These type of fees are not unusual for cities to have, It was reported that Chino Hills has fees that are roughly the same as the proposed fees.  However the Chino city council unanimously agreed to do away with the fee, so the residents will pay nothing to file those appeals.

There were some changes that were made at the December 19 council meeting that remained in place the appeal fee just wasn’t one of them. Most of the changes that were kept were small, only going up or down a few dollars; some of the increases could be substantial for the people doing development projects. It was reported that a staff analysis showed and the average small residential development project will have an overall increase of 2.05 percent to $393 in associated user fees. The average medium industrial project will increase by 1.83 percent to $578. Overall the impact of the changes was a 1.16 percent increase.

Many fees associtated with water usage actually decreased. Water meter upgrades or installation will cost less in 2018 and delinquent payment fees will stay the same unless there is evidence of valve tampering. If that is the case the fee went up to $401

There were a number of fines that went up, you can expect to pay $4 more than the previous $73 if police have to come out to a loud party. Truancy and curfew fees also we up from $45 in 2017 to $47. Of course new fees are always a part of the process. People looking to obtain certificates for temporary occupancy will pay a fee based on the size of the project. They will range from $674 to $1376.

By Anthony Saude

Chino – The tension during the December 19 City Council meeting was so thick you could cut it with a knife, the holiday season did nothing to dissipate the feeling.

A proposed development of 43 single-story, ranch style homes on the corner of Francis and Yorba avenues was on the agenda and it had already been denied by the Chino Planning Commission by a 3-2 vote on December 4. The developer of the Francis Estates, Borstein Enterprises was there to appeal the decision, requesting the zoning be changed from 2 units per acre to 3.6 units per acre. Eriik Pfahler, senior vice president of Borstein Enterprises was reported as saying, “we aren’t going to build on 20,000 square foot lots, It just doesn’t make financial sense”.

The proposed development is located in an unincorporated part of San Bernardino County that falls into the Chino sphere of influence. The city would annex the parcel of land in to the city so it could be connected to the city’s sewer system.

The developer went to the council hoping that they would reverse the previous decision by the planning commission only to be rejected again. The council vote was a tie, Mayor Ulloa and councilman Gary George voted against the project. Councilman Paul Rodriquez and mayor pro tem Tom Haughey voted for the project. Councilman Earl Elrod was absent from the meeting so without a majority vote to overturn the previous decision the decision to deny the project stood.

Mayor Ulloa was reported as saying that to vote to overturn the decision for such a tiny area just doesn’t make sense to her.

City of Chino

City of Chino

Chino – The City of Chino in partnership with Waste Management is proud to announce new commercial waste programs and service enhancements.

Effective as of January 1, 2018, Chino commercial customers will be billed by Waste Management directly, offering on point of contact for both customer service and billing. As part of the transition, residents will receive two bills for waste and recycling services in the month of January, which will cover trash service for December 2017. Customers will also receive a bill from Waste Management in Jamuary which will cover service for January 2018. This is the only time commercial customers will receive two bills in one month for trash services.

Moving forward, commercial customers will receive a monthly trash bill from Waste Management. If you have any questions regarding the transition, please feel free to contact the City’s Utility Billing Department at (909)334-3264. After the January billing transition, commercial trash service information will no longer appear on your City utility bill. Additionally, the City will no longer have access to your commercial billing statements and you will need to contact Waste Management directly at (800)423-9986, for bill inquiries and changes to your commercial service.

Pictures are examples of what your City of City of Chino bill will look like and what your NEW Waste Management bill will look like.

By Anthony Saude

Chino – Allegiance STEAM Academy Thrive Charter School was voted into the district by the Chino Valley school board last week. There were some mixed emotions as evidenced by the board’s narrow 3-2 vote to accept Superintendent Wayne Joseph’s recommendation to approve the charter school. Allegiance STEAM Academy was only granted 2 years initially and was given a list of conditions that will need to be met by specific deadlines, the first of which is due sometime this week. The initial approval of two years will begin on July 1, 2018 and will run through to June 30, 2020.

It was reported that before the vote that Irene Hernandez-Blair spoke and said that it could “be risky to the taxpayers of Chino Valley”.  A district report shows that the school had insufficient cash flow and reserves and there are also concerns about the amount of training the teachers have received in specialized math, science and technology programs that the charter promised to have in their petition.           The new school will be located at the former Oxford Preparatory Academy Charter School campus  on C street in Chino. Originally it was the site where El Rancho Elementary was located; Oxford was closed down by the district last year. Allegiance STEAM Academy will have a dress code and tuition will not be required to attend the school.

Parent participation gave some of the board members confidence that the school would be successful but the conditional tasks will need to be met by their deadlines or they won’t move forward. New board president Pamela Feix says she doesn’t see any difference between what the charter is offering and the other schools in the district offer.

In recent years the school board has closed down 3 public schools. Oxford Preparatory Academy Charter School was also closed just last year. Maybe Allegiance will redeem the past sins of the school board of closing those schools and it could help the community heal some of those wounds.

Photo courtesy: Google

By Anthony Saude

Chino – Chino Police Department is proactively fighting package theft in the city this holiday season with a little help from their friends.

“The Chino Police Department has partnered with several members of the community to deploy decoy packages with GPS tracking abilities in an effort to deter crime and aide in stolen package investigations,” says Tamrin Olden of the Crime Prevention Department. “We have done this on a much smaller scale in the past, targeting an area or neighborhood that had multiple reports of theft”. “Due to the season we are trying it out on a much larger scale this time”, said Olden.

“Olden said that the cost to the Department and the community is almost negligible due to the fact we use the GPS devices for other investigations all the time”. “Olden added that they also have boxes that are used for multiple purposes so there isn’t any cost there”. “We have a software license that allows us to print and use popular company names labels without any repercussions”.

The residents and this newspaper have parts to play in this wonderful idea as well, the more people we tell about this program the more criminals will be deterred from committing the crime at all. That means that more people will get their packages without incident. If the companies we shop with don’t have to replace merchandise at their expense it ultimately helps them keep their prices down for the consumer.

“Although some are crimes of opportunity some packages will lead us to other crimes, someone with warrants, teams of people, drugs or just career criminals into multiple things” says Olden. This is a win, win situation for everybody, except of course the people stealing packages. Please report any suspicious activity to the Chino Police Department 909-334-3000.

By Marissa Mitchell

Chino – There has been a total of twelve (12) burglary reports involving Chino-based bank customers to date. These victims were followed after making large cash withdrawals to their specific destinations, and were thereafter robbed of those withdrawals.

Chino Police Department has taken reports from the victims, all of whom withdrew from several local Chino banks.  This is not just a citywide trend, but one that crosses Southern California.

With the help of detectives, common factors of these crimes have been identified. In all of the reported cases, victims had withdrawn a large amount of cash from the bank, driven to their respective destinations, and then left the cash stored in their vehicles. At this point, an unknown suspect(s) broke into the vehicle and stolen the cash. In one report, a victim stated seeing a “suspicious vehicle” following him or her from the bank.

It is believed that the suspect(s) is conducting surveillance of the banks in order to find customers who either walk away from tellers or banks with visibly exposed, large amounts of cash.

In order to conduct bank transactions safely, customers are encouraged to follow the following safety tips:

• Be aware of the surroundings: paying attention to what and who surrounds you as a customer both inside and outside of the bank.
• Try not to get distracted and maintain a safe personal space between you and other customers or people surrounding you both inside and outside of the bank: keeping cell phone use to a minimum and looking around.
• Bring someone else: having a friend or family member come with is a great way to fend off potential suspects.
• Conceal your cash: not walking away from a bank with exposed amounts of cash, or bulging envelopes that indicate cash.
• Properly store and secure the cash: never leaving cash unattended, even inside a vehicle or unsecured in your home; being sure to store your cash in a safe location (such as a locked safe).
• Report suspicious activity immediately to the police: informing local government if you believe you have or are being followed or watched.

Should you have any information related to this story, please contact Sergean Tomicic  at 909-334-3115, or dtomicic@chinopd.org.

Photo courtesy: Google Images

By Marissa Mitchell

Chino – A loaded gun was found inside a student’s backpack this week at Chino Cal Aero Preserve Academy, frightening students, staff, and parents.

As soon as the gun was spotted, school officials jumped into action. The discovery left families quite worried. In fact, the families were not notified right away. This loaded gun – and how the situation was not told to families as soon as it was discovered – has family members worried.

“Everything should have been done with quicker action,” a student’s older sibling stated. “I would have wanted to know right away.”

School officials said that they waited even after discovering the loaded gun because it was important to have all the information confirmed first.

Lt. Kevin Mensen from Chino Police Department stated, “The magazine or clip was loaded with bullets or ammunition […] We believe he brought it as a threat, with no intent to use it there.”

Officers arrested the student, who then said he bought it because he was bullied. After bringing the gun to school, the student showed the 22 to another student, who sounded the alarm.  The magazine or clip was loaded with bullets or ammunition, but there was not a bullet or round in the chamber.

Many parents are more concerned with the student’s guardians for allowing this incident to occur. A parent of another student declared, “I believe it is pure negligence and needs to be looked into.”

After the discovery of the gun, the father of the guilty student was cited for not keeping his gun in a safe spot inside his home, away from children.

The student found with the gun was suspended, and he may face expulsion.

By Marissa Mitchell

Chino – This past week the Chino Rotary Club donated $500 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Inland Empire, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County.

Big Brothers Big Sisters organization is an adult-to-child mentoring non-profit organization that serves the children of its respective area. The organization chooses mentoring models from the community to help children in the area educationally and practically through the mentoring process. All mentored children in the Inland Empires enrolled in the program thus far have graduated high school, and 96% of those students enroll in college.

Significantly, studies have shown that children enrolled in Big Brothers Big Sisters have an 89% higher self-esteem rate than those not rolled, and an 83% better attitude towards school.

The Chino Rotary Club exhibited its dedication to the continued mental, educational, physical, and social wellbeing of the surrounding youth through its generous donation this past week. In doing so, the club has followed its nearly century-old motto “Service Above Self.” The Chino Rotary Club is involved a variety of other volunteer organizations, including the local Isaiah’s Rock, serving the needy and homeless in Chino.

If you would like to find out more about the Chino Rotary Club, visit www.chinorotary.org. The club will also be on exhibition on 10/21/17 at the Chino Valley Chamber of Business Expo, located at the Shoppes in Chino Hills, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

If you would like to mentor a child or donate to Big Brothers Big Sisters Inland Empire, visit the following website for programs and opportunities: http://www.iebigs.org/.

Photo courtesy: T. Evanson

By Anthony Saude

Chino– California Partnership to end domestic violence is a coalition that represents survivors, organizations, advocates and allied individuals working to support survivors of domestic violence has an annual awards reception in Fresno California.

This year they honored Tracy Evanson, a Chino resident and the founder of Healed Women Heal, with the Bravery Award at the reception.

The soft and bright sunlight was beaming through the kitchen window, the aroma of fresh coffee filling the room reminded Tracy that “he” would be up soon. Suddenly the relaxing sounds of morning were interrupted by anxiety. She looked around the room sure she had left some bread crumbs or coffee grounds on the counter. Her mind racing asking herself were the drawers shut all the way, was the floor clean enough, did I make too much noise with the coffee? She was on high alert because even though she couldn’t see anything she had done wrong, she knew all too well that didn’t mean he wouldn’t.

Tracy lived through nine years of physical, mental and emotional abuse from the one person that promised to love her forever. During her nightmare she had left more than a few times and not just for a day or two either. She had rented apartments on 2 separate occasions and was gone for over a year and a half one of those times. There was intensive counseling, training and countless tears and a belief that true change had taken place in her husband only to be disappointed again. “The last time I left I never looked back again” said Tracy. “I have two daughters and I wanted them to grow up knowing what a healthy relationship should look like.

Talking with Tracy Evanson today there isn’t any outside evidence that she lived in fear of upsetting the man she called “husband” for nine years. She has two college degrees, one a Masters in Human Behavior and speaks with the confidence one would expect from a professional woman with 2 college degrees. The outside had to be rebuilt from the inside, what you see today has been rebuilt and reinforced into the strong, confidant, independent ministry leader you see before you.

In 2013 after Tracy decided to get out of her marriage and stay out this time she started the non-profit organization, Healed Women Heal. Her hope is to “creat a solid group in the community to come together to be a voiced for the silent crime of domestic violence and teen dating violence and bring awareness to the community”. “It is all about awareness, Tracy said, too many people don’t understand that there are different types of domestic abuse”. “Most people only associate violence with domestic abuse but physical isn’t the only type and quite often the violence come after the emotional, and verbal abuse wears you down”.

In the beginning I only wanted to help the victims of domestic violence, I had no interest in fixing the perpetrators. Then she was asked to speak at a mens prison, she declined. God wouldn’t let her off of the hook about this for some reason and finally she accepted the invitation. That showed me a whole new side of the problem Tracy said. A lot of these men were abused themselves and didn’t even recognize their actions as abuse”. It helped me see that it is much harder to work with a broken person than it is to educate to prevent the abuse from happening. Like she said awareness through education is the key.

You can contact Tracy at any of the links below:

Tracy Evanson

www.healedwomenheal.org

healedwomenheal@gmail.com

www.meetup.com/Healed-Women-Heal.

909.815.7815

By Anthony Saude

Chino – The storm drain project Located along Chino Avenue, between Benson and Oaks Avenue that had been at a standstill will now move forward. Local reports say there was a mistake made in the original draft of the project that will cost the city of Chino approximately $124,338. It was reported that City Engineer Jesus Plasencia stated that during construction the crew realized that the design engineer’s final draft did have the correct location the new storm drain would tie into the existing storm drain on Chino Avenue.

The firm responsible for the project, Young & Associates based in Pasadena, decided that they would do the redraft the project free of charge. The city will still pay for the new labor and materials as well as the changes in the new draft and any additional labor and materials that simply weren’t considered in the original plan.

The total cost of the project the city council approved On October 18, 2016 will now be $1,327,238. There was a new contingency increase agreed on by the council in the amount of $222,798. The good news for the city is $40,000 of work that was planned originally won’t be needed any longer because of the re-design. The staff report stated that the connection point has to be moved from the north side to south side of Chino Avenue. That will require the use of a 4’ by 5’ reinforced concrete box instead of the 60 inch reinforced concrete pipe that was in the original plans. This portion of redesign will require workers to place the concrete box under a large sewer pipe but this part will be placed on hold while the construction crews continue with the project.

The council’s approval will allow work on the project to continue on schedule while city staff and the design engineer work out a settlement for the cost of the design error.

Photo courtesy: Michael Armijo
The City of Chino is set to annex approximately 40 acres from the County of San Bernardino in order to make way for the development of 44 Single Family Homes on pipeline Avenue in Chino.

By Anthony Chan

After two failed public hearings and thorough review by Chino’s city council and planning commission, a proposal for the construction of 44 new single family homes has been approved. Project plans are expected to be submitted by the end of 2017, and construction could begin as soon as next year on Pipeline Avenue.

The proposed development calls for the City of Chino to annex, from the San Bernadino County, approximately 40 acre area bordered by Pipeline Ave., Norton Ave., Chino Ave., and Hacienda Ln. and proposes numerous zoning changes which would allow for higher density residential development- increasing the current zoning from 2 single family homes per acre to 4.5 single family homes per acre in the area north of Heritage Park and changing the zoning of the area east of Heritage Park from Neighborhood Commercial to Residential Development at 2 single family homes per acre.

The proposal was questioned with it’s alignment to Chino’s General Plan, because the proposed development area appears to be out of the designations in the Future Growth Vision. However, Chino does have an interest in development in what city planners call the “Sphere of Influence” or unincorporated areas adjacent to Chino City boundaries.

The Chino General Plan states, “The SOI represents the area that the City of Chino views as its ultimate boundary. Therefore, the City has an interest in development within the SOI, even though current land use authority continues to be under the purview of San Bernardino County.”

The construction of new homes will bring increased tax revenue from property taxes, increased business to Chino businesses, and families struggling to find affordable housing in Southern California with median home prices in neighboring Los Angeles County rising to $530,000 in December of 2016, according to real estate data firm CoreLogic.

However, the construction of 44 new single family homes is not without its costs as well. More homes mean an increased number of cars on the road and more traffic, and higher infrastructure maintenance costs for the city. Also, the city bears new responsibilities in extending police and fire services and Chino’s sewer and water infrastructure to new and existing homes on the outskirts of Chino.

At two public hearings in March and April 2017 and a city council meeting, both Chino resdients and residents of the area being annexed have voiced their concerns, and now with annexation approval underway, the construction of 44 new homes is eminent.

Hopefully the new homes align with the vision in Chino’s General Plan to create “… places with healthy transportation options, a small-town feel, and provide for residents’ daily needs.”