Voice of the Village 1 ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ the good news newspaper Volume 2, Issue 9 online at voiceofthevillage.org September 1, 2011 LEADS: FEATURES: S CHOOLS: Time to Re-consider Solar? - LADWP Living with Wild Things - Welcome New Columnist A New Pricniple for VHHS? - Re-launches Solar Initiatives - page 3 Wildlife Waystattions Martine Collete - page 6 Well, Sort of... -page 17 The Last Morning Of Innocenence his face was fully soaked and so was the elevator, through the doors and ran the bathroom floor, walls and mirror. for the subway. Now able to see the man in the mirror The usual morning for both would he grabbed his razor and reached for not end in the usual day’s work. It the empty can of foam. Frustrated, he would end in all of our memories, as threw the can on the floor and grum- did the images of planes crashing into bled as he grabbed the soap to make the Twin Towers and rendering the do. The smell of coffee now perme- lives of those two people, somehow a ated the apartment and he ran down part of each of us. the short hallway, face covered with From the senior executive to the soap, and grabbed a cup from the sink. janitor, the secretary to the homeless He looked inside the dirty cup, filled man in the lobby, the baby in the stroll- it with hot water, swirled the water er and the courageous responders who around and poured it out into the sink. tried in vain... He filled his cup, ran back to the bath- September 11th, 2001 - We will room, punching the on/off switch to never forget you! his little TV on the way. He listened to Ut in sempiternum vivent corda nostra - May they the news while he finished his shave. live forever in our hearts. Peeking over at the clock, now panic- stricken by the late hour, he grabbed his shirt, threw on his trousers, socks and, oops, wrong sock; fixed his socks, and slipped on his loafers. On the way to the elevator, he bumped into his neighbor, a lovely single lady with Tomi Lyn Bowling started the daily grind. Prying eyelids hips that would beckon even the rud- apart and trying to focus on the image est of men to get out of her way. The The sun lifted a weary eye over the in the mirror, he fumbled for the fau- two said their daily “good morning” horizon, the alarm clock sounded, the cet and without even a glance, turned and commented on the sunny day in pillows hit the floor, and the coffee pot the water on. Several splashes later, New York as they both shuffled out of About those Falling Trees – An Arborist’s Perspective Rebecca Latta, lems that are not obvious. Other trees Further Investigation - Thinning can- Consulting Arborist can stand for a long time with consid- opy; Roughened bark; Bumps, lumps erable decay. When in doubt, contact or bulges; Yellowing leaves; Dieback Over the last few months, two large an experienced consulting arborist to from the top of the tree down; Oozing tree-falls have occurred in Sunland inspect the tree. sap; Insect exit holes; and Epicormic for ‘no apparent reason’. If you have Oak trees can provide significant Growth – leaves along main trunks or California Oaks on your property, and benefits to you property. A single large branches. many of us do, you may be concerned coast live oak tree can sequester over Root protection is critical to pre- about the health of your trees. How do 9 tons of carbon dioxide in 50 years. serving the health of native oak trees. you know if your tree is healthy? Healthy trees also improve property Here are some items to keep in mind. This can be tricky. Trees do not heal values, capture rainfall, provide wild- Know Where the Roots Occur and wounds the way people do. They seal life habitat and reduce peak air condi- Protect Them from Damage - Roots off wounds and build up wood around tioning needs by lowering ambient air occur in the top three feet (3’) at least them. Therefore, it can be difficult to temperatures. If you have an oak on fifteen feet (15’) beyond the edge of see damage. Some trees may produce your property, it is important to under- the leaves or canopy. (ROOT ZONE) sap and stains or drop limbs, prompt- stand the life cycle of the tree and em- Anchor or stabilizing roots are usually ing further investigation. Other trees ploy methods to keep the tree healthy within ten feet (10’) of the trunk. This may look green and healthy but have and thriving. area should be kept dry on older trees root decay or other structural prob- Continued On Page 2 A Few Signs That Should Prompt News ............................................................... page 2 Staff Acknowledgements: Features ......................................................... page 6 Editor in Chief Liaison/Journalism Advisor Student Editors Web Address Bob Georgius David W. Riemer Fernando Ciera www.voiceofthevillage.org Announcements ............................................. page 12 818-523-5494 Layout Advisor Lina Hwang Service Clubs ................................................. page 15 Arshavir Steven Saryan Christy Kim P.O. Box 4323 School News .................................................. page 17 Ad Sales - Sandy Shaffer- Shannon Cox Sunland, CA 91041 Who We Are ................................................... page 20 Broms Supervising Co-Editors Shirley Tran 818-397-3835 Lucy Vey Brianna Arechega Business ......................................................... page 23 [email protected] Josh Esquivel The Arts ......................................................... page 29 Ad Design - Kieran S. Rajan 2 Voice of the Village Youth for Human Rights International Holds Local Forum on Reversing Hunger Timothy Bowles, Esq. and Trissie Refugees (UNHCR); and Los Angeles Badger County Sheriff Lee Baca. Rev. Alfreddie Johnson, Jr., found- In a seemingly never-ending er of the World Literacy Crusade and stream of such tragedies, some 11 mil- pastor of True Faith Christian Church lion people in Somalia now face fam- of Compton, gave the invocation. Ob- ine and death. While Southern Cali- serving that our technological ad- fornia residents might largely consider vancements are rapidly outstripping food shortage and malnutrition only a our spiritual wellbeing, he asserted, problem to be experienced through in- “we must convene when one in ten ternational news reports, more than 1.7 people in Los Angeles regularly goes million Los Angeles County residents hungry, more than any other county in struggled with hunger in 2009. To raise America.” awareness and community solidarity Mr. Sarnoff addressed UN’s 15- in combating this infringement of hu- year drive to cut the world hunger in man rights, Youth for Human Rights half, ending in 2015. “The key to re- International (YHRI) sponsored a fo- versing hunger,” he stated, “is revers- rum on “Reversing Hunger, Violation ing our thinking and reversing our of the Most Basic Human Right,” on allocation of resources.” While the Saturday, July 30, 2011 in the Church U.N. has recently declared famine in Krista Baysdorfer urged her peers to gain the tools and competence necessary to win and secure their of Scientology chapel in Old Pasadena. Somalia, the Dadaab Refugee Camp freedoms and fulfill their responsibilities society wide. The program addressed the reali- just over the border in Kenya over- ties of hunger as a human rights abuse flows with 400,000 fleeing the horror. to ask themselves “what is your rel- the past several years.” as well as solutions for prevention, lo- Yet, less than 1% of the U.S. govern- evance? What are you really doing to Citing the Church of Scientology cally, nationally and abroad. Among ment budget goes to humanitarian as- address the actual scene in our city and for its activism on key community de- the speakers were Irving Sarnoff, sistance. He directed the audience to on our streets?” velopment issues, Los Angeles County founder of the Friends of the United “National Priority Project” and “Why. Ghanaian Sammy Jacobs Abbey Sheriff Lee Baca called on all churches Nations; Pasadena Chief of Police com” as channels to make their voices pointed to Article no. 3 of the United to work together to effectively address Phillip Sanchez; Steve Huang, rep- heard on this. Nations Universal Declaration of Hu- hunger, drug abuse, and gang vio- resentative of Nourish the Children; Pasadena Chief of Police San- man Rights, the right to life. Using lence. “Our common desire is to ensure Sammy Jacobs Abbey, United Nations chez estimated there are 1,300 home- graphic images of poverty and un- children as well as adults love life,” the Volunteer and YHRI’s past execu- less in Pasadena. “While our city is imaginable living conditions, Mr. Ab- Sheriff said. “Many get into drugs be- tive director for sub-Saharan Africa; good at creating programs, we need bey addressed the global crisis of fresh, cause life is painful and feeling numb Betty McWilliams, Deputy Director philosophical change,” he stated. “We healthy water. He pointed out that 2.5 is the seeming ‘solution’.” He stated of the Foothills Unity Center; Krista can’t just provide food. We need ef- billion (2 in 5 persons) lack access to that God gave us the human mind to Baysdorfer, student spokesperson for fective programs that provide educa- sanitation, 3.6 million die each year solve problems that we must have the Youth for Human Rights; Khaine Thi- tion, training and jobs, that will enable from water –borne disease and that vision to see that every war has only dar Aung, Los Angeles Office of the people in need to help themselves.” unsanitary water is the main source of caused more poverty and misery. He United Nations High Commission for Chief Sanchez challenged the audience disease and sickness in poor countries.