Councilman Bruce attempts to censure Mayor Farfan and Mayor pro tem Oyama-Canada for releasing "closed packets", vote fails 3-2.
By Jerry Bernstein
Accusations of impropriety by Hawaiian Gardens Mayor Victor Farfan and Mayor Pro Tem Michiko Oyama-Canada for giving “closed packets” to the City Administrator and City Attorney were issued by Councilman Barry Bruce at the Feb. 23 meeting of the city council.
Bruce said the council should have discussed it before the packets were given to anyone else. He and Councilman Reynaldo Rodriguez were not consulted. Canada said neither was Councilman Mike Gomez. She didn’t believe the action was out of order. If there is possible legal action to be taken, the City Administrator and City Attorney need to know about it, she said. Despite this, Bruce moved that they be censured. The motion failed in a 3-2 vote.
The packets were given to the council members at their Dec. 8 meeting by former City Attorney John Cavanaugh at which time he stated it included concerns that led to his resignation. He recommended the council review the information and take appropriate action.
The Council met in closed session and agreed to put it on the council’s agenda for its next meeting. However the Mayor pro tem, after reading the material, turned her packet over to the city administrator. She said if there was the possibility there might be legal action taken, he should know about it. Mayor Victor Farfan gave his copy to City Attorney Omar Sandoval for the same reason.
On Jan. 12, the council had waived the attorney-client privilege and instructed the City Attorney to forward the packet to District Attorney Steve Cooley. In a letter to the City Council dated Feb. 8, and after reviewing the contents of the packet and charges, Deputy District Attorney Max Huntsman said that Assistant Building Official did not commit perjury. This was related to a August 20, 2009 declaration and whether a “conflict of interest” existed.
Huntsman said the accused who served as Assistant Building Official for the city performed the function of a public official in all ways except for being paid through a third party firm which contracts with public agencies to provide staff.
The Deputy District Attorney said on Aug. 20, 2009 the accused declared under penalty of perjury, “I am an Assistant Building Official for the City of Hawaiian Gardens” and, “I began working for the city in the Building and Safety Department as an Assistant Building Official on or about November 2006.” Huntsman said the statements were valid and at no time did he deny being paid through an agency.
He said from the facts no perjury was committed by the accused calling himself an “Assistant Building Officer. The same holds true for the former city attorney, John Cavanaugh, to call himself “City Attorney”. Each serves as a pubic official and is bound to lawfully discharge the functions of their office even if their paycheck does not bear the city seal. He concluded by stating the District Attorney’s office sees no reason to inquire further as to any allegations of perjury by the accused in his August declaration.
Cavanaugh also raised the question of there being a “conflict of interest” by the accused who is a paid member of ICC, a non-profit trade organization for public building inspectors that also sells reports regarding building materials. In his letter, the Deputy District Attorney said membership is common among public officials and the accused does not receive any income from the organization or serve in any decision-making capacity. ICC has one major competitor for the production of such reports, also a non-profit trade organization, IAPMO.
In his capacity as Assistant Building Officer, the accused promulgated a policy providing that the city would not accept reports regarding the suitability of building materials from IAPMO. On Oct. 19, 2009, lawyers from IAPMO sent a letter to Cavanaugh stating that because of the accused membership in ICC, it caused his decision to be “tainted by a conflict of interest.” However, under state code a conflict of interest occurs when there is proof of a financial interest in the outcome of the matter in the form of a source of income to the public official and requires a government contract that is absent here.
The D.A. said the accused did not appear to receive any income from ICC and pays ICC for the privilege of being a member, which provides him specified fixed benefits primarily the right to cite his membership among his qualifications and certain small discounts. The District Attorney’s office could find no conflict of interest and sees no reason to inquire further as to allegation of criminal conflict of interest in his decision to exclude IAPMO reports.
Bilingual Service
In other business the council acting on a proposal by Councilman Bruce unanimously agreed to set up an English-Spanish bilingual interpreting service for city council meetings at an annual cost of $33,700.
The program will include two professional interpreters who will be on duty during the council meetings, which will be recorded and within three days; the meeting will be on the web sight and cable and be televised in Spanish. For those residents attending the council meetings headsets will be provided upon request with an interpreter providing the translation simultaneously.
The council also voted to limit the council meetings, which begin at 6 p.m., to a maximum of three hours with no new business after 9 p.m. Items on the agenda that cannot be addressed would be carried over to the next council meeting or considered at a special meeting if urgent. The council hopes to begin the new program at the second meeting in March, depending on the time it takes to purchase and install the necessary equipment.
Survey
The council voted 3-2 to solicit proposals for a police customer service survey. Voting for the survey was Mayor Victor Farfan, and Councilmembers Barry Bruce and Reynaldo Rodriguez. Mayor pro tem Michiko Oyama- Canada and Councilman Mike Gomez voted against it.
Gomez said a report had already been done and there was no need for a second report. However Bruce said the report did not survey the residents, which he said was needed. He said the report was limited to the Sheriff Department. The City Administrator and the former Assistant City Administrator authorized the report. Bruce said if the results showed the residents were satisfied with the present law enforcement in the city he would be satisfied. However, if it showed the majority was not satisfied, then the city had a problem.
City Clerk Sue Underwood pointed out not every resident in Hawaiian Gardens would be approached. Such surveys are usually done on a random basis.
In other business the council voted to donate $5,000 to the Hawaiian Gardens Little League.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Artesia Council votes for Youth Baseball fee increase while canceling the Pre-School Program
By Jerry Bernstein
The Artesia City Council unanimously approved an increase in fees for the Youth Baseball League and in a 3-2 vote canceled the city’s Preschool program at its Feb. 8 meeting.
In her report to the Council City Manager Maria Dadian said the Youth Baseball/Softball program annual cost to the city is $45,416. Under the current fee schedule approximately $24,000 is taken in. “ That means the city is subsidizing the program by $21,416,” she stated. Turning to the pre-school program, she said the yearly cost is $85,733. Revenue received under the current fee schedule is $20,000. She added, “That means the city is subsidizing this program by $65,732. The pre-school program recommendations included full cost recovery. Dadian said the program includes three 10-week sessions- Fall, Winter and Spring. To recover the costs for the three sessions the cost recommended was $595 per child. For a six week summer session the cost per child was $357. This includes resident and non-resident participants. She said an increase in fees was necessary in order to recover as much as possible costs of the programs to the city. In a 3-2 vote the Council voted to cancel the preschool program. Voting no was Councilmember Sally Flowers and Mayor Pro Tem Victor Manalo.
In a unanimous vote the Council approved the following fees for the Youth Baseball/Softball program.
Residents:
• 4-6 years - $50.
• 7-14 years - $59.
• Additional child $10 discount.
Non Residents:
• 4-6 years - $69.
• 7-14 years - $81.
• No discount for additional children,
Uniforms are the obligation of the teams
In her report to the Council, the City Manager said the staff went to the Recreation Commission seeking its support of its proposed fee schedule. She said the commission was told the city wanted to recover as much as possible of the sports program subsidies. She said they proposed the following: Residents: 4-6 years old $50. Non-Residents $69. Uniforms $25. Residents 7-14 years old $59. Non-Residents $81. Uniforms, $30. Uniforms would be optional at time of registration.
The Commission however recommended residents age 4-6 years $50 for first child, $30 for each additional child and $25 per uniform which would be refundable at the end of the season when the uniforms were turned in. For ages 7-14 years $59 for first child and $30 each additional child and $25 for uniforms/refundable amount.
For non-residents, the Commission proposed age 4-6 years, $69 for the first child, $40 for each additional child, and $25 per uniform/refundable amount. For ages 7-14 years, $81 for the first child, and $40 for each additional child, and $25 per uniform/refundable amount. She said both recommended fee schedules were inclusive of umpire fees, game equipment, trophies and a $25 uniform fee. The commission also recommended an annual evaluation of youth league fees in the fall of each year.
She said the fees recommended were not there to recover the total amount but to encourage people to participate in the program. It was also pointed out that the city’s funds were very limited and staff’s recommendation was based on cost recovery.
Councilmember Sally Flowers said she would go with the Parks and Recreation Commission proposal. She said she thought the full recovery fees would destroy the program. ”I like to see the children out there playing.” Councilmember John Lyon said he was not sure which way to go. He said his problem was if the council implemented cost recovery for other things it would be hard to justify when and where to implement full cost recovery elsewhere. Councilman Larry Nelson said he also had mixed emotions on which way to go. He stated the city couldn’t afford to subsidize each organization any longer. “We’re hanging on by the skin of our teeth and I don’t know where the line is. “ Mayor Tony Lima agreed. Mayor Pro Tem Victor Manalo agreed with Councilmember Flowers noting the city was subsidizing more than 50 percent of the Parks and Recreation costs.
Clarification
At the Feb. 8 City Council meeting Councilman Larry Nelson stated he favored the proposed computerized valet parking structure over a surface parking lot for Pioneer Boulevard shoppers. However, he would go along with the majority of the council to move forward with a surface parking lot with the understanding the Council was not “scrapping” the parking structure but would return to the proposal if it was seen additional parking space would be needed.
The Artesia City Council unanimously approved an increase in fees for the Youth Baseball League and in a 3-2 vote canceled the city’s Preschool program at its Feb. 8 meeting.
In her report to the Council City Manager Maria Dadian said the Youth Baseball/Softball program annual cost to the city is $45,416. Under the current fee schedule approximately $24,000 is taken in. “ That means the city is subsidizing the program by $21,416,” she stated. Turning to the pre-school program, she said the yearly cost is $85,733. Revenue received under the current fee schedule is $20,000. She added, “That means the city is subsidizing this program by $65,732. The pre-school program recommendations included full cost recovery. Dadian said the program includes three 10-week sessions- Fall, Winter and Spring. To recover the costs for the three sessions the cost recommended was $595 per child. For a six week summer session the cost per child was $357. This includes resident and non-resident participants. She said an increase in fees was necessary in order to recover as much as possible costs of the programs to the city. In a 3-2 vote the Council voted to cancel the preschool program. Voting no was Councilmember Sally Flowers and Mayor Pro Tem Victor Manalo.
In a unanimous vote the Council approved the following fees for the Youth Baseball/Softball program.
Residents:
• 4-6 years - $50.
• 7-14 years - $59.
• Additional child $10 discount.
Non Residents:
• 4-6 years - $69.
• 7-14 years - $81.
• No discount for additional children,
Uniforms are the obligation of the teams
In her report to the Council, the City Manager said the staff went to the Recreation Commission seeking its support of its proposed fee schedule. She said the commission was told the city wanted to recover as much as possible of the sports program subsidies. She said they proposed the following: Residents: 4-6 years old $50. Non-Residents $69. Uniforms $25. Residents 7-14 years old $59. Non-Residents $81. Uniforms, $30. Uniforms would be optional at time of registration.
The Commission however recommended residents age 4-6 years $50 for first child, $30 for each additional child and $25 per uniform which would be refundable at the end of the season when the uniforms were turned in. For ages 7-14 years $59 for first child and $30 each additional child and $25 for uniforms/refundable amount.
For non-residents, the Commission proposed age 4-6 years, $69 for the first child, $40 for each additional child, and $25 per uniform/refundable amount. For ages 7-14 years, $81 for the first child, and $40 for each additional child, and $25 per uniform/refundable amount. She said both recommended fee schedules were inclusive of umpire fees, game equipment, trophies and a $25 uniform fee. The commission also recommended an annual evaluation of youth league fees in the fall of each year.
She said the fees recommended were not there to recover the total amount but to encourage people to participate in the program. It was also pointed out that the city’s funds were very limited and staff’s recommendation was based on cost recovery.
Councilmember Sally Flowers said she would go with the Parks and Recreation Commission proposal. She said she thought the full recovery fees would destroy the program. ”I like to see the children out there playing.” Councilmember John Lyon said he was not sure which way to go. He said his problem was if the council implemented cost recovery for other things it would be hard to justify when and where to implement full cost recovery elsewhere. Councilman Larry Nelson said he also had mixed emotions on which way to go. He stated the city couldn’t afford to subsidize each organization any longer. “We’re hanging on by the skin of our teeth and I don’t know where the line is. “ Mayor Tony Lima agreed. Mayor Pro Tem Victor Manalo agreed with Councilmember Flowers noting the city was subsidizing more than 50 percent of the Parks and Recreation costs.
Clarification
At the Feb. 8 City Council meeting Councilman Larry Nelson stated he favored the proposed computerized valet parking structure over a surface parking lot for Pioneer Boulevard shoppers. However, he would go along with the majority of the council to move forward with a surface parking lot with the understanding the Council was not “scrapping” the parking structure but would return to the proposal if it was seen additional parking space would be needed.
Alumni opinions on Whitney High School’s new Multimedia Center
By Maria Bolanos
As an alumnus of Whitney High School, I’ve seen first-hand the caliber of which it is capable: students are always top-notch in the fields of mathematics and engineering, attending and winning robotics competitions across the region; we always score in the top percentile on standardized tests regarding languages and literature; we have a strong social sciences department, augmented with a history of excellence in Model United Nations. And despite the school’s emphasis on academics, Whitney High has also produced some of the most talented visual artists to apply to art school.
Yet for a while, this spectrum of excellence and talent has not been showcased at its full potential--which is why students, teachers, and alumni alike were all ecstatic at the prospect of Whitney’s own multimedia center: with this direct access to a theatre and media lab equipped with film-making software, we would finally be able to adequately explore media, mass communications, and the performing arts as serious outlets for students and a taste test of potential careers.
As a college student with the intent to major in Media Studies, I can personally attest that had Whitney built the multimedia center during my days as a wildcat, I would have definitely taken advantage of the opportunity to learn more about media, mass communications, and theatre production. As it turns out, many Whitney High School alumni such as myself, who have decided to undertake majors related to mass communications in the hopes of careers in film or broadcast media don’t really know what to expect, having never been on the air or handled more than rudimentary film equipment.
To get an opinion on the matter of practical advantages that a new multimedia center would bring, I interviewed Alexander Chang, a fellow alumnus from the Class of 2009, who had been both an editor for Aspects, the school newspaper, and a student taking Mr. Ziolkowski’s Contemporary Media course. He told me that a new multimedia center “would facilitate things and help you to get more into what you're doing if you aren’t just borrowing the school's computer lab for a (class) period. It was always inconvenient when the place would be full with other classes. In terms of Aspects…one of the things that made broadcast journalism seem less feasible (as a program at Whitney) was that we didn't even know where we'd film the show or if we'd have equipment or storage space. That discouraged a lot of us from supporting the start of the Whitney broadcast channel.”
I have high hopes and high expectations for the multimedia center, and can’t wait to see the kinds of productions that the school will now be able to produce, with much more autonomy and less technical and bureaucratic hindrance. I feel confident that the availability of this new center will spark newfound passions and talent in broadcast media, film, and the performing arts. Pretty soon, alongside the budding new engineers, political leaders, authors, and artists of the nation, Whitney High School will be able to see the beginnings of the next generation of news reporters, actors, producers, and film directors.
As an alumnus of Whitney High School, I’ve seen first-hand the caliber of which it is capable: students are always top-notch in the fields of mathematics and engineering, attending and winning robotics competitions across the region; we always score in the top percentile on standardized tests regarding languages and literature; we have a strong social sciences department, augmented with a history of excellence in Model United Nations. And despite the school’s emphasis on academics, Whitney High has also produced some of the most talented visual artists to apply to art school.
Yet for a while, this spectrum of excellence and talent has not been showcased at its full potential--which is why students, teachers, and alumni alike were all ecstatic at the prospect of Whitney’s own multimedia center: with this direct access to a theatre and media lab equipped with film-making software, we would finally be able to adequately explore media, mass communications, and the performing arts as serious outlets for students and a taste test of potential careers.
As a college student with the intent to major in Media Studies, I can personally attest that had Whitney built the multimedia center during my days as a wildcat, I would have definitely taken advantage of the opportunity to learn more about media, mass communications, and theatre production. As it turns out, many Whitney High School alumni such as myself, who have decided to undertake majors related to mass communications in the hopes of careers in film or broadcast media don’t really know what to expect, having never been on the air or handled more than rudimentary film equipment.
To get an opinion on the matter of practical advantages that a new multimedia center would bring, I interviewed Alexander Chang, a fellow alumnus from the Class of 2009, who had been both an editor for Aspects, the school newspaper, and a student taking Mr. Ziolkowski’s Contemporary Media course. He told me that a new multimedia center “would facilitate things and help you to get more into what you're doing if you aren’t just borrowing the school's computer lab for a (class) period. It was always inconvenient when the place would be full with other classes. In terms of Aspects…one of the things that made broadcast journalism seem less feasible (as a program at Whitney) was that we didn't even know where we'd film the show or if we'd have equipment or storage space. That discouraged a lot of us from supporting the start of the Whitney broadcast channel.”
I have high hopes and high expectations for the multimedia center, and can’t wait to see the kinds of productions that the school will now be able to produce, with much more autonomy and less technical and bureaucratic hindrance. I feel confident that the availability of this new center will spark newfound passions and talent in broadcast media, film, and the performing arts. Pretty soon, alongside the budding new engineers, political leaders, authors, and artists of the nation, Whitney High School will be able to see the beginnings of the next generation of news reporters, actors, producers, and film directors.
CIF SOCCER PLAYOFFS Valley Christian boys knock out old but future Olympic League rival in first round
By Loren Kopff
Valley Christian boys soccer head coach Chris Becher got a mini preview of what to expect for at least the next four years when his team hosted Whittier Christian last Thursday in a California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section Division VI first round game. The Crusaders and Heralds, once Olympic League foes, will be reunited once again beginning next season and lasting until at least 2014.
But for now, V.C. has bragging rights over the Heralds following a 3-1 victory that sent the Crusaders into this past Tuesday’s second round game. V.C. had previously defeated the second place representatives from the Alpha League (1-0 on Jan. 5) but that didn’t completely mean Becher was breaking out his scouting report.
“Not because of them, but as the season went on, the high school season is so short and you make adjustments constantly,” Becher said. “The adjustments we did make was we took center [junior] midfielder Daniel Hernandez and put him wide. We also took [senior] Tanner Miller and put him at striker.”
Miller put V.C. in front within the first minute of the game when he followed up on a miss from junior striker Josh Sutherlin. The Crusaders could have made it 2-0 12 minutes later but Sutherlin’s miss on a breakaway was deflected. For the rest of the half, the Crusaders, who finished second in the Olympic League, were stymied by a tough Whittier Christian defense and it would remain that way in the early moments of the second half.
In the 57th minute, freshman midfielder Zac Way took a shot that was a foot over the net. Three minutes later, he headed a ball to junior midfielder Tyler Boer whose shot was just right of the post.
“It was kind of a blue collar goal but I’ll take it,” Becher said of Miller’s goal. “You think going up 1-0 is really good right away, but our guys got lazy. For the next 30 minutes, we couldn’t move the ball around.”
It wasn’t until the 67th minute when the Crusaders began to put the game away. Senior striker Jeriah Dunk, who at 5’ 5” is the shortest player on the field, out leaped Whittier Christian goalkeeper Ariel Ciribe and made it 2-0. Then 10 minutes later, Dunk received a throw in and fed a pass to Hernandez who iced the contest. The only blemish came when Marcus Rojas scored on a penalty kick just seconds before the referees whistled the game over.
V.C. would see its season end in the second round after falling to second ranked and defending CIF champion Mountain View 1-0 in overtime. The Crusaders (11-6-4) lose only three players to graduation and plan to return 76 percent of their goal production from this past season.
DIVISION III GIRLS SOCCER
Chadwick 1, Artesia 0
PALOS VERDES PENINSULA-The up and coming Pioneers battled with the co-champions of the Prep League for the majority of the second half but a goal in the 67th minute proved to be all the Dolphins needed. Artesia, the third place representatives from the Suburban League, took just four shots on goal in the entire game and had to withstand a barrage of golden opportunities from Chadwick that could have easily turned the game into a blowout.
“In the first half, we got lucky,” said Artesia head coach Octavio Marquez. “We started off pretty good, then we kind of fell into their game. They were much bigger and much quicker than us. Fortunately we were able to hold our own. In the second half, we stepped up and played much better than the first half.”
The best chance for the Pioneers (15-8-1) came in the 18th minute when freshman forward Carolina Ornelas received a pass from senior midfielder Martha Rodriguez but missed near the right post. Meanwhile, sophomore goalkeeper Itzel Gonzalez was keeping her team in the game with one gem of a save after another.
Four minutes after the Ornelas miss, Gonzalez punched away a corner kick taken by Channing Press. In the 27th minute, Jamie Soroka got loose on a breakaway but her shot barely sailed above the left corner. Two minutes later, Jayne Woolard took a free kick five yards from the penalty box but Gonzalez batted that shot down. In the 33rd minute, a shot from Press hit the cross bar and five minutes later, Gonzalez punched away yet another corner kick, this time taken from Woolard.
“Itzel is a phenomenal goalkeeper,” Marquez said. “She’s the backbone of our defense.”
The Dolphins continued to put the pressure on in the second half when Press had a shot in the 51st minute miss the cross bar by a foot and Soroka’s breakaway shot two minutes later punched away by Gonzalez. But the fourth corner kick of the game by Chadwick finally worked when Press sent a pass to Jessy Hale who leaped and placed a header in the upper left corner of the net.
Despite the loss, the Pioneers have finally put themselves in a position to contend for a Suburban League title rather than just contend for a playoff spot. Between the 2000-2001 and 2006-2007 seasons, the Pioneers won 36 games and never finished above fourth place. But in the past three seasons, Artesia has gone 35-27-5 and this past season edged league powerhouse Mayfair 2-1 in the biggest upset in league history. Also, the Pioneers went to the playoffs last season for the first time in school history and lost an overtime affair to Laguna Beach 2-1. Artesia also loses just four seniors to graduation and will return six of the top eight leading goal scorers.
“Our program is finally getting to a respectable level,” Marquez said. “Starting five freshmen in the back this year makes a difference. We’ve tried to work hard with these girls to be disciplined and get them to the level of the Mayfair’s and La Mirada’s.”
Valley Christian boys soccer head coach Chris Becher got a mini preview of what to expect for at least the next four years when his team hosted Whittier Christian last Thursday in a California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section Division VI first round game. The Crusaders and Heralds, once Olympic League foes, will be reunited once again beginning next season and lasting until at least 2014.
But for now, V.C. has bragging rights over the Heralds following a 3-1 victory that sent the Crusaders into this past Tuesday’s second round game. V.C. had previously defeated the second place representatives from the Alpha League (1-0 on Jan. 5) but that didn’t completely mean Becher was breaking out his scouting report.
“Not because of them, but as the season went on, the high school season is so short and you make adjustments constantly,” Becher said. “The adjustments we did make was we took center [junior] midfielder Daniel Hernandez and put him wide. We also took [senior] Tanner Miller and put him at striker.”
Miller put V.C. in front within the first minute of the game when he followed up on a miss from junior striker Josh Sutherlin. The Crusaders could have made it 2-0 12 minutes later but Sutherlin’s miss on a breakaway was deflected. For the rest of the half, the Crusaders, who finished second in the Olympic League, were stymied by a tough Whittier Christian defense and it would remain that way in the early moments of the second half.
In the 57th minute, freshman midfielder Zac Way took a shot that was a foot over the net. Three minutes later, he headed a ball to junior midfielder Tyler Boer whose shot was just right of the post.
“It was kind of a blue collar goal but I’ll take it,” Becher said of Miller’s goal. “You think going up 1-0 is really good right away, but our guys got lazy. For the next 30 minutes, we couldn’t move the ball around.”
It wasn’t until the 67th minute when the Crusaders began to put the game away. Senior striker Jeriah Dunk, who at 5’ 5” is the shortest player on the field, out leaped Whittier Christian goalkeeper Ariel Ciribe and made it 2-0. Then 10 minutes later, Dunk received a throw in and fed a pass to Hernandez who iced the contest. The only blemish came when Marcus Rojas scored on a penalty kick just seconds before the referees whistled the game over.
V.C. would see its season end in the second round after falling to second ranked and defending CIF champion Mountain View 1-0 in overtime. The Crusaders (11-6-4) lose only three players to graduation and plan to return 76 percent of their goal production from this past season.
DIVISION III GIRLS SOCCER
Chadwick 1, Artesia 0
PALOS VERDES PENINSULA-The up and coming Pioneers battled with the co-champions of the Prep League for the majority of the second half but a goal in the 67th minute proved to be all the Dolphins needed. Artesia, the third place representatives from the Suburban League, took just four shots on goal in the entire game and had to withstand a barrage of golden opportunities from Chadwick that could have easily turned the game into a blowout.
“In the first half, we got lucky,” said Artesia head coach Octavio Marquez. “We started off pretty good, then we kind of fell into their game. They were much bigger and much quicker than us. Fortunately we were able to hold our own. In the second half, we stepped up and played much better than the first half.”
The best chance for the Pioneers (15-8-1) came in the 18th minute when freshman forward Carolina Ornelas received a pass from senior midfielder Martha Rodriguez but missed near the right post. Meanwhile, sophomore goalkeeper Itzel Gonzalez was keeping her team in the game with one gem of a save after another.
Four minutes after the Ornelas miss, Gonzalez punched away a corner kick taken by Channing Press. In the 27th minute, Jamie Soroka got loose on a breakaway but her shot barely sailed above the left corner. Two minutes later, Jayne Woolard took a free kick five yards from the penalty box but Gonzalez batted that shot down. In the 33rd minute, a shot from Press hit the cross bar and five minutes later, Gonzalez punched away yet another corner kick, this time taken from Woolard.
“Itzel is a phenomenal goalkeeper,” Marquez said. “She’s the backbone of our defense.”
The Dolphins continued to put the pressure on in the second half when Press had a shot in the 51st minute miss the cross bar by a foot and Soroka’s breakaway shot two minutes later punched away by Gonzalez. But the fourth corner kick of the game by Chadwick finally worked when Press sent a pass to Jessy Hale who leaped and placed a header in the upper left corner of the net.
Despite the loss, the Pioneers have finally put themselves in a position to contend for a Suburban League title rather than just contend for a playoff spot. Between the 2000-2001 and 2006-2007 seasons, the Pioneers won 36 games and never finished above fourth place. But in the past three seasons, Artesia has gone 35-27-5 and this past season edged league powerhouse Mayfair 2-1 in the biggest upset in league history. Also, the Pioneers went to the playoffs last season for the first time in school history and lost an overtime affair to Laguna Beach 2-1. Artesia also loses just four seniors to graduation and will return six of the top eight leading goal scorers.
“Our program is finally getting to a respectable level,” Marquez said. “Starting five freshmen in the back this year makes a difference. We’ve tried to work hard with these girls to be disciplined and get them to the level of the Mayfair’s and La Mirada’s.”
Potts, Gahr crown Sea Kings, face Serra in III-A semifinals
CIF BASKETBALL
PLAYOFFS
By Loren Kopff
NEWPORT BEACH-Back in mid November before the regular season began, Gahr boys basketball head coach Bob Becker said there were seven teams within the California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section Division III-A which would be road blocks for his team in the playoffs. Corona Del Mar is one of them and the Gladiators took care of the Sea Kings this past Tuesday night in a quarterfinal game.
Despite blowing a 16-point second quarter lead, Gahr fought back and rode the sharp shooting of junior Davon Potts in the fourth quarter to pull out a 68-62 win in front of a hostile crowd. Fourth seeded Gahr will play top seeded Serra tonight at Cerritos High School for the right to play for a CIF championship next Saturday morning at the Honda Center.
“It’s a UW if I’ve ever seen one,” Becker said, referring to another ugly win. “We blew a 15-point lead obviously and we blew it early.”
Several times this season, Gahr (25-4) has seen double digit leads formed in the first half evaporate in the second half, then having to forge back for a win. Against Corona Del Mar, that 16-point lead would eventually be a three-point deficit late in the third quarter.
Both teams came out the gate shooting well as they each were true on seven of 16 shots from the field in the first quarter and combined for five three-pointers. Gahr was leading 19-18 but began the second quarter on a 15-0 run and some thought it was the beginning to what would be a rout. The Sea Kings got just two downtown shots in the stanza and trailed by 15 at the half. Still, that wasn’t good enough for Becker and his halftime speech to his team proved to be spot on.“Teams that have good shooters come out and shoot poorly early,” Becker said. “I told my guys at halftime that these guys are going to hit some shots. I just didn’t expect them to take a lead on us.”
Back to back three-pointers from Ramon Mejia and Danny Cheek began the second half for Corona Del Mar. The hosts would proceed to score 18 of the next 24 points of the third quarter and when Cheek drained his fourth long distance shot of the game with 1:47 remaining in the stanza, the Sea Kings had a 48-45 lead. Corona Del Mar sank 10 trifectas and is one of the best perimeter shooting teams Becker has faced this season.
Junior Javonte Sales tied the game at 52-52 with four seconds left, then Potts and sophomore Anthony Martinez each added two more points to the lead. But the Sea Kings rallied and although they never regained the lead, they got to within one point three more times and tied the game at 58-58 with 3:21 left to play.
The big shot of the game came with 1:32 remaining when Martinez scored the last of his 14 points as the shot clock expired. That made the score 61-58 but Mejia would answer back, then again after Potts hit two free throws with 24 seconds left.
“I give them credit; they came out and played great in the third quarter,” Becker said. “We didn’t do much to stop their momentum. In the fourth quarter, we hung on and played smart again. I like how this team plays smart.”
Any chance for the Sea Kings to tie the game was dashed when Clayton Ragsdale stepped on the end line under his basket with five seconds left. That came right after a timeout and Potts would seal the game with three more free throws. He would lead the Gladiators with 23 points but hit 14 of 15 free throws. He also had six rebounds.
“Davon is one of those kids who puts so much into it and gets so much out of it,” Becker said. “That’s the guy you want at the line. We were just fortunate that they were fouling our right guy in that situation.”
Senior Charles Nebo quietly had 11 points and seven rebounds while senior Ervin Ware added nine points, five assists and four steals
DIVISION IV-A BOYS
# 3 Pacific Hills 62, # 15 Valley Christian 37
A long season finally came to a halt for the Crusaders last Friday night as they couldn’t get anything going offensively in this second round game. The Crusaders were 10 of 44 from the field and were hoping for a closer game against the Bruins following a road victory two nights prior to begin the playoffs.
“It was nice to get one the other night at Desert; it was a fun win for the guys,” said Valley Christian head coach Bryan Branderhorst. “We knew tonight was tough. They have a lot of good players on their team; athletic all over the place. They’re used to winning a lot of games.”
V.C. took a brief 6-2 lead midway through the opening quarter on a pair of baskets from senior Dean Pollema and one from junior Jeff Hing. But the Crusaders would be held scoreless for the next 5:19 before those two scored consecutive baskets. V.C. trailed by 10 points with 2:52 left in the half but would not get the deficit into single digits the rest of the way.
“Our offensive execution wasn’t great tonight,” Branderhorst said. “We turned the ball over a lot in the second quarter and we missed a lot of shots that we were hoping to make. But that’s part of the game and we’re still proud of the guys. They fought really hard to the very end.”
It went from bad to worse in the third quarter where the hosts connected on one of 14 shots from the field and scored just five points. One of the bright spots in the game came from Pollema, who, along with senior Aaron Padilla, scored eight points but also had 10 rebounds. Four of them came in the first quarter and five more came in the third.
“He has a way of finding the ball,” Branderhorst said. “He has good hands and sees the ball come off the rim nice.”
Senior Chris Hunt added seven boards while junior Trevor Rodriguez scored all four of his points and had all four of his rebounds in the fourth quarter. The Crusaders, who finished in last place in the Olympic League and ends the season at 11-16, can see the light at the end of tunnel as far as next season is concerned. With the new league realignment beginning next season, V.C. will now face Los Angeles Baptist, Maranatha, Village Christian and Whittier Christian twice instead of Brentwood, Campbell Hall, Crossroads, Montclair Prep and Windward.
“I’ve never had a team where every single guy played every single game,” Branderhorst said. “That was the case this year. With that being said, a lot of guys got a lot of experience and we’ll bring back some guys next year.”
DIVISION II-A GIRLS
#3 Woodbridge 65, Norwalk 14
IRVINE-No one expected the Lady Lancers to do much against the third ranked team in the division and that’s exactly what happened last Thursday night. Norwalk trailed by five points just under two minutes left in the first quarter, then watched the Warriors go on a 30-6 run the rest of the half.
“Sometimes it’s hard to find a positive,” said Norwalk head coach Richard Drake. “But if you really had to pick one, it’s three years in a row that we actually made the playoffs. So, that is a positive for a program that really never went to the playoffs. The thing that we haven’t been able to do is get out of our own ways. We don’t really have great seasons to allow CIF to give us a better seeding.”
Norwalk (12-15) stumbled into the playoffs, going 4-8 in the Suburban League and finishing in fifth place. It did take a 2-0 lead 12 seconds into the game on a basket from senior and Loyola Marymount University signee Alexis Love. But Woodbridge scored the next 12 points and the rout was on. That would be the only field goal for Love as the Lady Lancers were led by junior Vanessa Ramirez, who scored all eight of her points in the first half and did not miss a shot from the field.
“I told her that was the best half she’s played all year,” Drake said. “If she can get that consistently next year, she’s going to have a great year. That’s all you can ask.”
Norwalk was blanked in the third quarter, missing on all seven field goals and four more shots from the charity stripe. In addition, Norwalk turned the ball over 33 times in the first three quarters before the game was played under running clock in the fourth quarter. Love grabbed seven rebounds and had two assists. Sara Lipton led everyone with 16 points while Sara McCutchan added 12 points, all in the first half.
“That’s a credit to how good they are, not necessarily how efficient we are,” Drake said. “We know we have a lot of work to do. But you’re playing a third seed. Mayfair is the 12th seed and we played them hard for a half. Even they would have a hard time with this team.”
DIVISION III-A GIRLS
# 4 Bonita 58, # 13 Gahr 36
Poor shooting in the second and third quarters spelled doom for the Gladiators last Saturday night at home as a two-point game early in the second quarter quickly turned into 14-point advantage for the Bearcats late in the stanza. Gahr would lead for much of the first quarter thanks to five points from junior Symone Brown. But following a basket from sophomore Alii Salone 30 seconds into the second quarter, Bonita scored the next 12 points and never looked back.
“To me it changed when I changed the guards,” said Gahr head coach Al Dorogusker. “Our guard play was just horrendous tonight. We didn’t hit any outside shots until when it didn’t really matter anymore.”
Gahr had no answers for the height that Bonita threw at the hosts. Madison Zylstra, who scored a game-high 18 points, stood at 5’ 9” while Brianna Kennedy at 6’ 2” and Taylor Anderson at 5’ 10” combined to score 21 more points. Adding more insult was 5’ 8” Lauren Hastings who came off the bench to score 11 points. Gahr has three starters that are at least 5’9”.
“I was disappointed in that we didn’t close up the middle,” Dorogusker said. “I was more concerned with the cuts down the middle and the lack of help down the middle. It was very, very disheartening because we rebounded well.”
Gahr, which finished the regular season at 15-13 and was an at-large representative from the San Gabriel Valley League, was outscored 15-4 in the third quarter and Bonita’s lead would expand to 50-25 midway through the fourth quarter. Brown was Gahr’s leading scorer with 15 points along with eight rebounds while freshman Jewelyn Sawyer had six points and 10 rebounds.
CIF SOCCER PLAYOFFS
Valley Christian boys knock out old but
future Olympic League rival in first round
By Loren Kopff
Valley Christian boys soccer head coach Chris Becher got a mini preview of what to expect for at least the next four years when his team hosted Whittier Christian last Thursday in a California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section Division VI first round game. The Crusaders and Heralds, once Olympic League foes, will be reunited once again beginning next season and lasting until at least 2014.
But for now, V.C. has bragging rights over the Heralds following a 3-1 victory that sent the Crusaders into this past Tuesday’s second round game. V.C. had previously defeated the second place representatives from the Alpha League (1-0 on Jan. 5) but that didn’t completely mean Becher was breaking out his scouting report.
“Not because of them, but as the season went on, the high school season is so short and you make adjustments constantly,” Becher said. “The adjustments we did make was we took center [junior] midfielder Daniel Hernandez and put him wide. We also took [senior] Tanner Miller and put him at striker.”
Miller put V.C. in front within the first minute of the game when he followed up on a miss from junior striker Josh Sutherlin. The Crusaders could have made it 2-0 12 minutes later but Sutherlin’s miss on a breakaway was deflected. For the rest of the half, the Crusaders, who finished second in the Olympic League, were stymied by a tough Whittier Christian defense and it would remain that way in the early moments of the second half.
In the 57th minute, freshman midfielder Zac Way took a shot that was a foot over the net. Three minutes later, he headed a ball to junior midfielder Tyler Boer whose shot was just right of the post.
“It was kind of a blue collar goal but I’ll take it,” Becher said of Miller’s goal. “You think going up 1-0 is really good right away, but our guys got lazy. For the next 30 minutes, we couldn’t move the ball around.”
It wasn’t until the 67th minute when the Crusaders began to put the game away. Senior striker Jeriah Dunk, who at 5’ 5” is the shortest player on the field, out leaped Whittier Christian goalkeeper Ariel Ciribe and made it 2-0. Then 10 minutes later, Dunk received a throw in and fed a pass to Hernandez who iced the contest. The only blemish came when Marcus Rojas scored on a penalty kick just seconds before the referees whistled the game over.
V.C. would see its season end in the second round after falling to second ranked and defending CIF champion Mountain View 1-0 in overtime. The Crusaders (11-6-4) lose only three players to graduation and plan to return 76 percent of their goal production from this past season.
DIVISION III GIRLS SOCCER
Chadwick 1, Artesia 0
PALOS VERDES PENINSULA-The up and coming Pioneers battled with the co-champions of the Prep League for the majority of the second half but a goal in the 67th minute proved to be all the Dolphins needed. Artesia, the third place representatives from the Suburban League, took just four shots on goal in the entire game and had to withstand a barrage of golden opportunities from Chadwick that could have easily turned the game into a blowout.
“In the first half, we got lucky,” said Artesia head coach Octavio Marquez. “We started off pretty good, then we kind of fell into their game. They were much bigger and much quicker than us. Fortunately we were able to hold our own. In the second half, we stepped up and played much better than the first half.”
The best chance for the Pioneers (15-8-1) came in the 18th minute when freshman forward Carolina Ornelas received a pass from senior midfielder Martha Rodriguez but missed near the right post. Meanwhile, sophomore goalkeeper Itzel Gonzalez was keeping her team in the game with one gem of a save after another.
Four minutes after the Ornelas miss, Gonzalez punched away a corner kick taken by Channing Press. In the 27th minute, Jamie Soroka got loose on a breakaway but her shot barely sailed above the left corner. Two minutes later, Jayne Woolard took a free kick five yards from the penalty box but Gonzalez batted that shot down. In the 33rd minute, a shot from Press hit the cross bar and five minutes later, Gonzalez punched away yet another corner kick, this time taken from Woolard.
“Itzel is a phenomenal goalkeeper,” Marquez said. “She’s the backbone of our defense.”
The Dolphins continued to put the pressure on in the second half when Press had a shot in the 51st minute miss the cross bar by a foot and Soroka’s breakaway shot two minutes later punched away by Gonzalez. But the fourth corner kick of the game by Chadwick finally worked when Press sent a pass to Jessy Hale who leaped and placed a header in the upper left corner of the net.
Despite the loss, the Pioneers have finally put themselves in a position to contend for a Suburban League title rather than just contend for a playoff spot. Between the 2000-2001 and 2006-2007 seasons, the Pioneers won 36 games and never finished above fourth place. But in the past three seasons, Artesia has gone 35-27-5 and this past season edged league powerhouse Mayfair 2-1 in the biggest upset in league history. Also, the Pioneers went to the playoffs last season for the first time in school history and lost an overtime affair to Laguna Beach 2-1. Artesia also loses just four seniors to graduation and will return six of the top eight leading goal scorers.
“Our program is finally getting to a respectable level,” Marquez said. “Starting five freshmen in the back this year makes a difference. We’ve tried to work hard with these girls to be disciplined and get them to the level of the Mayfair’s and La Mirada’s.”
PLAYOFFS
By Loren Kopff
NEWPORT BEACH-Back in mid November before the regular season began, Gahr boys basketball head coach Bob Becker said there were seven teams within the California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section Division III-A which would be road blocks for his team in the playoffs. Corona Del Mar is one of them and the Gladiators took care of the Sea Kings this past Tuesday night in a quarterfinal game.
Despite blowing a 16-point second quarter lead, Gahr fought back and rode the sharp shooting of junior Davon Potts in the fourth quarter to pull out a 68-62 win in front of a hostile crowd. Fourth seeded Gahr will play top seeded Serra tonight at Cerritos High School for the right to play for a CIF championship next Saturday morning at the Honda Center.
“It’s a UW if I’ve ever seen one,” Becker said, referring to another ugly win. “We blew a 15-point lead obviously and we blew it early.”
Several times this season, Gahr (25-4) has seen double digit leads formed in the first half evaporate in the second half, then having to forge back for a win. Against Corona Del Mar, that 16-point lead would eventually be a three-point deficit late in the third quarter.
Both teams came out the gate shooting well as they each were true on seven of 16 shots from the field in the first quarter and combined for five three-pointers. Gahr was leading 19-18 but began the second quarter on a 15-0 run and some thought it was the beginning to what would be a rout. The Sea Kings got just two downtown shots in the stanza and trailed by 15 at the half. Still, that wasn’t good enough for Becker and his halftime speech to his team proved to be spot on.“Teams that have good shooters come out and shoot poorly early,” Becker said. “I told my guys at halftime that these guys are going to hit some shots. I just didn’t expect them to take a lead on us.”
Back to back three-pointers from Ramon Mejia and Danny Cheek began the second half for Corona Del Mar. The hosts would proceed to score 18 of the next 24 points of the third quarter and when Cheek drained his fourth long distance shot of the game with 1:47 remaining in the stanza, the Sea Kings had a 48-45 lead. Corona Del Mar sank 10 trifectas and is one of the best perimeter shooting teams Becker has faced this season.
Junior Javonte Sales tied the game at 52-52 with four seconds left, then Potts and sophomore Anthony Martinez each added two more points to the lead. But the Sea Kings rallied and although they never regained the lead, they got to within one point three more times and tied the game at 58-58 with 3:21 left to play.
The big shot of the game came with 1:32 remaining when Martinez scored the last of his 14 points as the shot clock expired. That made the score 61-58 but Mejia would answer back, then again after Potts hit two free throws with 24 seconds left.
“I give them credit; they came out and played great in the third quarter,” Becker said. “We didn’t do much to stop their momentum. In the fourth quarter, we hung on and played smart again. I like how this team plays smart.”
Any chance for the Sea Kings to tie the game was dashed when Clayton Ragsdale stepped on the end line under his basket with five seconds left. That came right after a timeout and Potts would seal the game with three more free throws. He would lead the Gladiators with 23 points but hit 14 of 15 free throws. He also had six rebounds.
“Davon is one of those kids who puts so much into it and gets so much out of it,” Becker said. “That’s the guy you want at the line. We were just fortunate that they were fouling our right guy in that situation.”
Senior Charles Nebo quietly had 11 points and seven rebounds while senior Ervin Ware added nine points, five assists and four steals
DIVISION IV-A BOYS
# 3 Pacific Hills 62, # 15 Valley Christian 37
A long season finally came to a halt for the Crusaders last Friday night as they couldn’t get anything going offensively in this second round game. The Crusaders were 10 of 44 from the field and were hoping for a closer game against the Bruins following a road victory two nights prior to begin the playoffs.
“It was nice to get one the other night at Desert; it was a fun win for the guys,” said Valley Christian head coach Bryan Branderhorst. “We knew tonight was tough. They have a lot of good players on their team; athletic all over the place. They’re used to winning a lot of games.”
V.C. took a brief 6-2 lead midway through the opening quarter on a pair of baskets from senior Dean Pollema and one from junior Jeff Hing. But the Crusaders would be held scoreless for the next 5:19 before those two scored consecutive baskets. V.C. trailed by 10 points with 2:52 left in the half but would not get the deficit into single digits the rest of the way.
“Our offensive execution wasn’t great tonight,” Branderhorst said. “We turned the ball over a lot in the second quarter and we missed a lot of shots that we were hoping to make. But that’s part of the game and we’re still proud of the guys. They fought really hard to the very end.”
It went from bad to worse in the third quarter where the hosts connected on one of 14 shots from the field and scored just five points. One of the bright spots in the game came from Pollema, who, along with senior Aaron Padilla, scored eight points but also had 10 rebounds. Four of them came in the first quarter and five more came in the third.
“He has a way of finding the ball,” Branderhorst said. “He has good hands and sees the ball come off the rim nice.”
Senior Chris Hunt added seven boards while junior Trevor Rodriguez scored all four of his points and had all four of his rebounds in the fourth quarter. The Crusaders, who finished in last place in the Olympic League and ends the season at 11-16, can see the light at the end of tunnel as far as next season is concerned. With the new league realignment beginning next season, V.C. will now face Los Angeles Baptist, Maranatha, Village Christian and Whittier Christian twice instead of Brentwood, Campbell Hall, Crossroads, Montclair Prep and Windward.
“I’ve never had a team where every single guy played every single game,” Branderhorst said. “That was the case this year. With that being said, a lot of guys got a lot of experience and we’ll bring back some guys next year.”
DIVISION II-A GIRLS
#3 Woodbridge 65, Norwalk 14
IRVINE-No one expected the Lady Lancers to do much against the third ranked team in the division and that’s exactly what happened last Thursday night. Norwalk trailed by five points just under two minutes left in the first quarter, then watched the Warriors go on a 30-6 run the rest of the half.
“Sometimes it’s hard to find a positive,” said Norwalk head coach Richard Drake. “But if you really had to pick one, it’s three years in a row that we actually made the playoffs. So, that is a positive for a program that really never went to the playoffs. The thing that we haven’t been able to do is get out of our own ways. We don’t really have great seasons to allow CIF to give us a better seeding.”
Norwalk (12-15) stumbled into the playoffs, going 4-8 in the Suburban League and finishing in fifth place. It did take a 2-0 lead 12 seconds into the game on a basket from senior and Loyola Marymount University signee Alexis Love. But Woodbridge scored the next 12 points and the rout was on. That would be the only field goal for Love as the Lady Lancers were led by junior Vanessa Ramirez, who scored all eight of her points in the first half and did not miss a shot from the field.
“I told her that was the best half she’s played all year,” Drake said. “If she can get that consistently next year, she’s going to have a great year. That’s all you can ask.”
Norwalk was blanked in the third quarter, missing on all seven field goals and four more shots from the charity stripe. In addition, Norwalk turned the ball over 33 times in the first three quarters before the game was played under running clock in the fourth quarter. Love grabbed seven rebounds and had two assists. Sara Lipton led everyone with 16 points while Sara McCutchan added 12 points, all in the first half.
“That’s a credit to how good they are, not necessarily how efficient we are,” Drake said. “We know we have a lot of work to do. But you’re playing a third seed. Mayfair is the 12th seed and we played them hard for a half. Even they would have a hard time with this team.”
DIVISION III-A GIRLS
# 4 Bonita 58, # 13 Gahr 36
Poor shooting in the second and third quarters spelled doom for the Gladiators last Saturday night at home as a two-point game early in the second quarter quickly turned into 14-point advantage for the Bearcats late in the stanza. Gahr would lead for much of the first quarter thanks to five points from junior Symone Brown. But following a basket from sophomore Alii Salone 30 seconds into the second quarter, Bonita scored the next 12 points and never looked back.
“To me it changed when I changed the guards,” said Gahr head coach Al Dorogusker. “Our guard play was just horrendous tonight. We didn’t hit any outside shots until when it didn’t really matter anymore.”
Gahr had no answers for the height that Bonita threw at the hosts. Madison Zylstra, who scored a game-high 18 points, stood at 5’ 9” while Brianna Kennedy at 6’ 2” and Taylor Anderson at 5’ 10” combined to score 21 more points. Adding more insult was 5’ 8” Lauren Hastings who came off the bench to score 11 points. Gahr has three starters that are at least 5’9”.
“I was disappointed in that we didn’t close up the middle,” Dorogusker said. “I was more concerned with the cuts down the middle and the lack of help down the middle. It was very, very disheartening because we rebounded well.”
Gahr, which finished the regular season at 15-13 and was an at-large representative from the San Gabriel Valley League, was outscored 15-4 in the third quarter and Bonita’s lead would expand to 50-25 midway through the fourth quarter. Brown was Gahr’s leading scorer with 15 points along with eight rebounds while freshman Jewelyn Sawyer had six points and 10 rebounds.
CIF SOCCER PLAYOFFS
Valley Christian boys knock out old but
future Olympic League rival in first round
By Loren Kopff
Valley Christian boys soccer head coach Chris Becher got a mini preview of what to expect for at least the next four years when his team hosted Whittier Christian last Thursday in a California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section Division VI first round game. The Crusaders and Heralds, once Olympic League foes, will be reunited once again beginning next season and lasting until at least 2014.
But for now, V.C. has bragging rights over the Heralds following a 3-1 victory that sent the Crusaders into this past Tuesday’s second round game. V.C. had previously defeated the second place representatives from the Alpha League (1-0 on Jan. 5) but that didn’t completely mean Becher was breaking out his scouting report.
“Not because of them, but as the season went on, the high school season is so short and you make adjustments constantly,” Becher said. “The adjustments we did make was we took center [junior] midfielder Daniel Hernandez and put him wide. We also took [senior] Tanner Miller and put him at striker.”
Miller put V.C. in front within the first minute of the game when he followed up on a miss from junior striker Josh Sutherlin. The Crusaders could have made it 2-0 12 minutes later but Sutherlin’s miss on a breakaway was deflected. For the rest of the half, the Crusaders, who finished second in the Olympic League, were stymied by a tough Whittier Christian defense and it would remain that way in the early moments of the second half.
In the 57th minute, freshman midfielder Zac Way took a shot that was a foot over the net. Three minutes later, he headed a ball to junior midfielder Tyler Boer whose shot was just right of the post.
“It was kind of a blue collar goal but I’ll take it,” Becher said of Miller’s goal. “You think going up 1-0 is really good right away, but our guys got lazy. For the next 30 minutes, we couldn’t move the ball around.”
It wasn’t until the 67th minute when the Crusaders began to put the game away. Senior striker Jeriah Dunk, who at 5’ 5” is the shortest player on the field, out leaped Whittier Christian goalkeeper Ariel Ciribe and made it 2-0. Then 10 minutes later, Dunk received a throw in and fed a pass to Hernandez who iced the contest. The only blemish came when Marcus Rojas scored on a penalty kick just seconds before the referees whistled the game over.
V.C. would see its season end in the second round after falling to second ranked and defending CIF champion Mountain View 1-0 in overtime. The Crusaders (11-6-4) lose only three players to graduation and plan to return 76 percent of their goal production from this past season.
DIVISION III GIRLS SOCCER
Chadwick 1, Artesia 0
PALOS VERDES PENINSULA-The up and coming Pioneers battled with the co-champions of the Prep League for the majority of the second half but a goal in the 67th minute proved to be all the Dolphins needed. Artesia, the third place representatives from the Suburban League, took just four shots on goal in the entire game and had to withstand a barrage of golden opportunities from Chadwick that could have easily turned the game into a blowout.
“In the first half, we got lucky,” said Artesia head coach Octavio Marquez. “We started off pretty good, then we kind of fell into their game. They were much bigger and much quicker than us. Fortunately we were able to hold our own. In the second half, we stepped up and played much better than the first half.”
The best chance for the Pioneers (15-8-1) came in the 18th minute when freshman forward Carolina Ornelas received a pass from senior midfielder Martha Rodriguez but missed near the right post. Meanwhile, sophomore goalkeeper Itzel Gonzalez was keeping her team in the game with one gem of a save after another.
Four minutes after the Ornelas miss, Gonzalez punched away a corner kick taken by Channing Press. In the 27th minute, Jamie Soroka got loose on a breakaway but her shot barely sailed above the left corner. Two minutes later, Jayne Woolard took a free kick five yards from the penalty box but Gonzalez batted that shot down. In the 33rd minute, a shot from Press hit the cross bar and five minutes later, Gonzalez punched away yet another corner kick, this time taken from Woolard.
“Itzel is a phenomenal goalkeeper,” Marquez said. “She’s the backbone of our defense.”
The Dolphins continued to put the pressure on in the second half when Press had a shot in the 51st minute miss the cross bar by a foot and Soroka’s breakaway shot two minutes later punched away by Gonzalez. But the fourth corner kick of the game by Chadwick finally worked when Press sent a pass to Jessy Hale who leaped and placed a header in the upper left corner of the net.
Despite the loss, the Pioneers have finally put themselves in a position to contend for a Suburban League title rather than just contend for a playoff spot. Between the 2000-2001 and 2006-2007 seasons, the Pioneers won 36 games and never finished above fourth place. But in the past three seasons, Artesia has gone 35-27-5 and this past season edged league powerhouse Mayfair 2-1 in the biggest upset in league history. Also, the Pioneers went to the playoffs last season for the first time in school history and lost an overtime affair to Laguna Beach 2-1. Artesia also loses just four seniors to graduation and will return six of the top eight leading goal scorers.
“Our program is finally getting to a respectable level,” Marquez said. “Starting five freshmen in the back this year makes a difference. We’ve tried to work hard with these girls to be disciplined and get them to the level of the Mayfair’s and La Mirada’s.”
KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS THREATENED BY FELLOW TEACHER
Stowers Principal put on “indefinite leave” for reporting incident to Sheriff.
By Jerry Bernstein
What do you do with a principal who puts the safety of her teachers ahead of district orders “not to do anything, they will take care of it”. At ABC the answer is to put said principal on indefinite administrative leave. This is what happened at Stowers Elementary School last week. The principal is Eileen Blagden.
When District officials were questioned about the administrative leave and if the principal was actually fired, the answer was she is on indefinite leave. Asked why a fifth grade teacher who showed signs of being unstable was transferred from Leal Middle School to a kindergarten class at Stowers, District officials said they couldn’t comment because it was a personnel matter.##M:[more]##
However, LCCN has learned the teacher, who is tenured and has been with ABC for 16 years had problems at Leal and substitute teachers often taught his 5th grade class.
The events that led up to Blagden’s leave occurred on this timeline: According to the sheriff incident report the teacher, Kevin Kirby, arrived at Stowers on Jan. 25 at approximately 9 a.m. He had bloodstains on his clothes and told a secretary he had been in an accident on the freeway while on his motorcycle. Blagden, justifiably so, decided Kirby should not report to his classroom due to his appearance and possible injuries.
Kirby told her that he had refused medical treatment at the scene of the accident and didn’t need a doctor.
According to the report, Kirby became very agitated that he was not able to go to his classroom and said, “Nobody likes me here. Nobody loves me here. I have no friends and maybe my accident happened this morning for a purpose. I wish I was dead!”
Blagden became concerned at what the teacher was saying. Kirby subsequently told Blagden he was having major problems with his “teammates” [other Kindergarten teachers]. He said he “hates” them both and added, “I wish something bad would happen to them! I want to hire a hit man and kill them!” The sheriff’s report stated he then looked into the principal’s eyes and asked her, “Are you afraid of me Eileen?”
At that point Blagden excused herself andhurriedly left the room. She immediately called the District’s Human Resources Department as she thought Kirby was suicidal and needed medical attention for his injuries. A short time later, personnel from the District office arrived and escorted him to a medical facility.
In conversation with the District, the principal was told not to do anything else and that the District would handle it from there.
However, apparently concerned about the safety of her teachers and kindergarten students, Blagden filed a report with the sheriff.
At a subsequent meeting, the two “teammate” teachers told the sheriff investigator the only problem they have had with Kirby was that he was not professional and very accusatory. They added they haven’t known him very long as he was recently transferred to their school from Leal Elementary School from unknown reasons.
Following the events, District officials told LLCN Kirby was placed on leave for medical reasons and would not be returning to class the rest of the year. Both teachers were advised by the sheriff investigator of their options of obtaining a restraining order, which they said they would do so later this week.
At the ABC School Board meeting on Feb. 2, the Board met in closed session before and after the meeting to discuss the incident. The next day Blagden was told to report to the District office where she was put on “indefinite leave” for disobeying orders not to say anything about the incident. She was also told to clean out her office of personal effects and not to talk to any of the school staff.
By Jerry Bernstein
What do you do with a principal who puts the safety of her teachers ahead of district orders “not to do anything, they will take care of it”. At ABC the answer is to put said principal on indefinite administrative leave. This is what happened at Stowers Elementary School last week. The principal is Eileen Blagden.
When District officials were questioned about the administrative leave and if the principal was actually fired, the answer was she is on indefinite leave. Asked why a fifth grade teacher who showed signs of being unstable was transferred from Leal Middle School to a kindergarten class at Stowers, District officials said they couldn’t comment because it was a personnel matter.##M:[more]##
However, LCCN has learned the teacher, who is tenured and has been with ABC for 16 years had problems at Leal and substitute teachers often taught his 5th grade class.
The events that led up to Blagden’s leave occurred on this timeline: According to the sheriff incident report the teacher, Kevin Kirby, arrived at Stowers on Jan. 25 at approximately 9 a.m. He had bloodstains on his clothes and told a secretary he had been in an accident on the freeway while on his motorcycle. Blagden, justifiably so, decided Kirby should not report to his classroom due to his appearance and possible injuries.
Kirby told her that he had refused medical treatment at the scene of the accident and didn’t need a doctor.
According to the report, Kirby became very agitated that he was not able to go to his classroom and said, “Nobody likes me here. Nobody loves me here. I have no friends and maybe my accident happened this morning for a purpose. I wish I was dead!”
Blagden became concerned at what the teacher was saying. Kirby subsequently told Blagden he was having major problems with his “teammates” [other Kindergarten teachers]. He said he “hates” them both and added, “I wish something bad would happen to them! I want to hire a hit man and kill them!” The sheriff’s report stated he then looked into the principal’s eyes and asked her, “Are you afraid of me Eileen?”
At that point Blagden excused herself andhurriedly left the room. She immediately called the District’s Human Resources Department as she thought Kirby was suicidal and needed medical attention for his injuries. A short time later, personnel from the District office arrived and escorted him to a medical facility.
In conversation with the District, the principal was told not to do anything else and that the District would handle it from there.
However, apparently concerned about the safety of her teachers and kindergarten students, Blagden filed a report with the sheriff.
At a subsequent meeting, the two “teammate” teachers told the sheriff investigator the only problem they have had with Kirby was that he was not professional and very accusatory. They added they haven’t known him very long as he was recently transferred to their school from Leal Elementary School from unknown reasons.
Following the events, District officials told LLCN Kirby was placed on leave for medical reasons and would not be returning to class the rest of the year. Both teachers were advised by the sheriff investigator of their options of obtaining a restraining order, which they said they would do so later this week.
At the ABC School Board meeting on Feb. 2, the Board met in closed session before and after the meeting to discuss the incident. The next day Blagden was told to report to the District office where she was put on “indefinite leave” for disobeying orders not to say anything about the incident. She was also told to clean out her office of personal effects and not to talk to any of the school staff.
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