A fatal accident I went to this morning in Rosemead ended up being a history teacher at Rosemead High School.
James Zant, 51, of La Habra - a government, English and history teacher at the school for the past 25 years - was headed to summer school when his Honda CRV slammed into a Toyota Tundra around 7:30 a.m.
Principal Larry Callaham tells me there is a somber mood at the school today as the news of the beloved teacher is reaching students and faculty members.
Zant was also a Head Football Coach in the 90s as well as a track coach.
So, officials at Charter Oak High School have decided to reprint and replace pages of the yearbook that include racially offensive names and numerous errors.
It also came to light that teachers and students may have known that Black Student Union members had fake names such as "Tay Tay Shaniqua," "Crisphy Nanos" and "Laquan White" in the yearbook before they were distributed.
Here is the beginning of my story that ran today:
COVINA - Students and teachers at Charter Oak High School may have known that racially offensive names were printed in the yearbook before all of the books were distributed, officials said Wednesday.
School Board President Joseph Probst said students may have alerted a teacher of the error when the first round of books was distributed to seniors.
"Some people discovered the error first and they didn't react as fast as they could have," Probst said. "They weren't sensitive to it and we need to make sure people are being responsible."
To read the full story click here
Summer school is the latest to feel the brunt of state cuts to education. This just in from the State Superintendent:
"SACRAMENTO -- State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell held a news conference today at McClatchy High School with members of the education community to highlight the effect of budget cuts to education on summer school programs across the state.
"The elimination of summer school courses threatens to significantly affect students already behind in their schoolwork because they will miss out on the chance to catch up to their peers over the summer break," O'Connell said.
"Some districts that offer summertime intervention programs for English learners cannot afford to keep their classrooms open. Even schools that are just scaling back what they offer will begin offering classes only to students who need to complete courses in order to graduate. This means that students looking to get ahead or improve their grade point average will not be able to do so." "
Charter Oak High School officials meet with Black Student Union members to discuss possible solutions to racially offensive fake names printed next to their picture Monday night.
No decision was made on how to correct the errors.
Click here to read the full story.
This just in from Azusa:
The Azusa Unified School District's Board of Education has selected Vincent Jantz as new Director of Student Achievement 6-12. He replaces Marlene Ministeri who is retiring this summer.
Prior to joining the District, Mr. Jantz was principal at Calabasas High School. He has also served as an assistant principal at Santa Ana High School. In addition, he has taught grades 6-12 in the Santa Ana Unified School District and at Cal-State Fullerton, Western State University, Santa Ana College and the University of Redlands.
After completing his bachelors' degree at Cal-State Fullerton, he received his master's from Georgetown University and his Juris Doctor from Southwestern University.
The position was approved at a June 24 board meeting. The salary for the Director of Student Achievement 6-12 is $111,907, according to district spokeswoman, Kathy Miller.
This just in from the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable concerning the yearbook fiasco at Charter Oak High School:
"Civil Rights Leaders Call on Black Students at Charter Oak High School to Turn Racially Offensive Yearbooks" In to School Officials
Press Conference:
When: Lucy Florence Coffeehouse, 3351 W. 43rd St., Leimert Park, L.A. 90008
When: Thursday, July 3, 10:00 AM
Civil rights leaders called on African-American students at Charter Oak High School to turn in all racially defaced Yearbooks. School officials have not told when or if the yearbooks will be replaced. "Charter Oak school officials have made a vague promise to replace the yearbooks. They have not said when that will happen. Therefore we will call on black students to turn in their defaced yearbooks to the school district office," says Earl Ofari Hutchinson, President, Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, " The action sends the message that the offensive year books must be immediately replaced and a formal apology issued to the parents and students by Charter Oak District school officials."
News of Charter Oak High School Yearbook replacing Black Student Union member names with fake names such as "Tay Tay Shaniqua," "Crisphy Nanos" and "Laquan White" has spread all over the country.
Local leaders are starting to get involved.
President of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable Earl Ofari Hutchinson sent a letter to the school board president demanding an apology.
School officials still have not determined a solution but plan on meeting with BSU parents and students.
Teen drivers under 18 can no longer talk on the phone while driving.
The new wireless law that will go in effect July 1 forbids teens under 18 from talking on the phone regardless if they have a wireless device.
Initial fines are $20 and $50 thereafter.
Here is a press release from the State Superintendent on the new law:
SACRAMENTO -- State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O"Connell and California Highway Patrol Valley Division Chief Stan Perez held a joint news conference today at McClatchy High School to remind teenagers about the new wireless device laws that go into effect next month.
"Technology rules kids' lives, but it should never take their lives," said O"Connell. "I want to remind young drivers under 18 years old that starting on July 1 they are forbidden from using their cell phones and other electronic devices while driving. This is not a frivolous law. It is a law that will save limbs and lives because cell phone use is the number one cause of distracted driving accidents in California."
"New drivers especially need to concentrate solely on driving the vehicle. It is not the time to be dividing your attention with a phone call," said CHP Chief Stan Perez.
l Senate Bill 33 (Simitian) was signed into law last year banning the use of wireless telephones, pagers, laptops, or any other electronic communication, or mobile service devices to speak or text while driving in any manner by drivers under the age of 18 in California. This ban includes even the use of hands-free devices. A companion measure, Senate Bill 1613 (Simitian), was signed into law in 2006, making it illegal for adult drivers to talk on a hand-held cell phone while driving a car in California unless they use a hands-free device. There are exceptions to these laws in emergency situations. Initial fines are $20 and $50 thereafter. New legislation is being proposed to ban adult drivers from text messaging while driving.
"All it takes is one mistake to change a young life forever," added O"Connell. "I cannot stress enough how important this new law is, to help students stay safe and healthy, so they will be ready to learn when they go back to school."
This story about a prank in Charter Oak High School's yearbook has been getting much reaction from the community. Here is what some people wrote in e-mails to me this morning:
"Same thing happened to a page in the South Hills High School Yearbook. It was on a Parents Senior Dedication Page and someone wrote horrible things to the seniors pictures.
On one photo, the parent wrote "Gorgeous" and someone wrote "Not Gorgeous".... On the family portrait, the parent wrote "We Love You"... and someone wrote, "We Don't Love you".
All the yearbooks were recalled and a huge sticker of the Seniors Dedication Page was placed over top. Some people ripped the stickers off out of curiosity. The sticker photo is not clear and parents pay big bucks to do the Senior Dedication Page.
How sad that these few students have to ruin everything. I think Charter Oak should kick the student out and have the parents pay for damages."
This just in from Azusa:
The Azusa Unified Board of Education has selected John Steven Coke as the new principal of Azusa High School. Mr. Coke will join the District on July 1.
After earning his bachelor's degree from Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, he completed his teaching credential at the University of California at Riverside and master's
at National University in San Diego.
He began teaching in 1987 in the Colton Joint Unified School District. He has also served in
Colton as an assistant principal at the middle school level and principal of the continuation high school. Since 2005, he has been the principal at Colton High School.
District spokeswoman Kathleen Miller said the current principal resigned earlier this year.
They loved the book, so they just had to see the movie. Third grade teacher Jorge Arauz took his class at Vejar Elementary in Walnut to see the new "Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" movie after reading the beloved book in class.
Every parent showed up with their other children, ending up with a group of almost 60 at the AMC Theaters at Puente Hills Mall.
While Arauz said the kids loved the special effects, in the end most said they still preferred the book. See the whole story in the Walnut Heights Highlander.
On May 15, the 12th Annual Community Employment Day will be held for high school seniors and community adults to interview with local companies for employment.
Sign-ups and interviews will take place on May 15 at the Puente Hills Mall from 3 to 7:30 p.m.
Employers interested in interviewing students and adults wishing to participate as applicants should contact Irene Cox, the School-to-Career Program Specialist for Rowland Unified School District at (626) 854-8520, Ext.1572.
All participants must attend an orientation prior to the event date to review interview strategies and learn about how the event will operate. Orientations will be held at the Puente Hills Mall today from 4 - 6 p.m. Meet in the Lower Level near
Students from Bassett USD, East San Gabriel Valley ROP, Hacienda La Puente USD, La Puente Valley ROP, Rowland USD, and West Covina USD will participate. The event is sponsored by the San Gabriel Valley School-to-Career Partnership, Tech Prep Consortium and the Puente Hills Mall.
More than 300 participants from
Each year, Community Employment Day builds momentum with returning employers coming back each year. Employers value the opportunity to give back to their communities and support education while gaining qualified employees.
The Hacienda Heights La Puente Unified School District will host a Community Arts Showcase at the Hsi Lai Temple from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. today.
The art festival will be held in the auditorium at the Hacienda Heights temple. Come out and enjoy artwork by area students and artists.
Teen drivers at Nogales High School got a chance to practice their driving skills when a Laguna Nigel company brought a big rig full of driving simulators to the La Puente campus. The computers let the students hit the digital highways, evaluating them on everything from speeding to safe lane changes to using their turn signals. The tutorial then taught the kids how to remedy their particular driving errors. See our story in an upcoming issue of the Rowland Heights Highlander.
Congratulations to the seniors who won scholarships at the Tea for You luncheon today sponsored by Soroptimist International of Puente Hills.
The tea was held at the Industry Expo Center and treated students from eight local districts. See the complete story in the Hacienda Heights Highlander.
Winners included:
Claudia Reyes from Workman High School in Hacienda La Puente Unified
Kiana Ovalle from Santana High School in Rowland Unified
Merissa Estrada from the Parent Program at Covina Unified
Monique Trejo from Arrow High School in Charter Oak Unified
Claudia Sanchez from the Genesis program at Bassett Unified
Carolina Palma from North Park High School in Baldwin Park
Antoinette Gutierrez from Coronado High School in West Covina
Sara Zaragoza from Paramount High School
California Elementary School in La Puente will hold a Red Cross Blood Drive from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday in the East Cafeteria. The school is located at 1111 California Avenue.
Principal Cynthia Geraghty invites area residents to help replenish our vital blood supply.
Hard times require hard decisions. And Rowland Unified is attempting just that as it works to meet the expected $5.8 million deficit in the school budget mandated by the governor's budget proposals.
The district has been hard at work identifying areas that could be cut. Superintendent Maria Ott recently sent out this letter to parents in Rowland Unified.
"As background, I want you to know that as soon as the governor announced his plan to cut $4.5 billion from public education in California, we took immediate steps to address the problem by reducing spending in the current school year. Whenever possible, vacant positions have not been filled.
We have asked schools and offices to reduce all levels of expenditures that were non-essential. These actions have produced anticipated savings of $1.5 million to help with the $5.8 million problem for 2008-09," Ott wrote.
Personnel is a huge cost for the district and Rowland is considering reducing the number of certificated non-classroom positions. These will include a special education coordinator, three elementary vice principals, three high school vice principals and an intermediate vice principal. Administration savings are projected at $ 549,503.Other cutbacks suggested include a project specialist ($72,889), two nurses ($177,231), two school psychologists ($195,480) and an adaptive physical education position ($53,509).
This would result in a savings of $ 1 ,048,612.
Rowland Unified will hold a community meeting on Tuesday, May 6, to discuss the $5.8 million in potential reductions that need to be made for the 2008-09 school year because of the governor's budget. The meeting will be held at 5 p.m. at Rincon Intermediate School, 2800 E. Hollingworth St., West Covina.
Information regarding the Governor's budget and its impact to Rowland Unified can be found on <a href="Rowland'>http://www.rowlandschools.org/">Rowland Unified </a>web site under Budget Update. There is also a place where the community can share their input by email to the superintendent and Budget Advisory Committee.
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Mesa Robles Middle School will hold it's First Annual Fiesta today to celebrate the festive holiday commemorating the Battle of Puebla.
The fiesta will feature the Grandeza Mexicana Dance Academy at 2 p.m. The Hacienda Heights school is located at 16060 Mesa Robles Drive.
Go Speed Racer go! The Mach 5 car from the upcoming Warner Brothers movie will be out at the SpeedZone in Industry this weekend!
The Nogales High School marching band will be holding a fundraiser there to raise money for its trip to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Only 10 bands from across the country are invited to perform in the famous parade in New York City. The local band needs your support.
The SpeedZone will host the fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Part of the proceeds from a special fundraising ticket goes to the Noble Regiment.
There will be booth displays, entertainment and music. KIIS FM will also be there on Sunday to give away some cool prizes.
So race on over to the go-cart track for some fun this weekend. It's located at the edge of the Puente Hills mall right off the Azusa exit of the 60 Freeway at 17871 Castleton St.
I have received both positive and negative reaction from an article that ran today titled Montebello School Officials Plan to demote Principal Cota.
Many parents left me messages saying they are grateful the article ran and they only wish an article could be written about each teacher and administrator that might be let go.
A handful of other parents said they do not support Cota and they do not feel he is a good principal.
On a side note, while writing this article I once again found members of the Montebello School Board nearly impossibly to get a hold of. Board President Marcella Calderon did not return numerous phone calls.
The only board member who commented and proved to be helpful was Vice President Gerri Guzman.
Here's the story...
ARCADIA - A buzz has been brewing on the Arcadia High School campus over the drama department's production of "The Shadow Box."
Michael Cristofer's play, which won the Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award in 1977, and runs through Saturday, March 27, deals not only with the taboo topic of death, but it also involves a gay couple, a drug addict and language many might consider "objectionable."
"It is a little controversial for a high school
play," said Director Steven Volpe, who teaches drama and English at the
school. "It does have a little bit of mature content...but it is so
well-written...and the themes are so relevant to our time." ...
Jose Villapando, 17, right, gets advice from classmate Andy Sanchez, 17, as he makes a book about art around the world for school children in Uganda during their class at Santana High School in Rowland Heights.
In the elective writing class "Creating Hope," the students will write their own books for the charity Books of Hope. The class has already shipped one set of books to Africa.
Find the entire story at the Rowland Heights Highlander.
The coaster, as well as large annual projects like an archaeological dig and a Rube Goldberg machine, seem to be well-known features of the school's Odyssey Program.
However, there's much more to the program than that. Charter Oak School District assistant superintendent Mike Hendricks said The Odyssey Program is a core designed to enhance the learning experience and build close relationships between students and teachers through creating small groups of kids who are overseen by four teachers throughout their middle school years.
Unfortunately, there's been rumor that this may be the end of the Odyssey Program.
Why? Last year Royal Oak did away with their sixth grade. Sarah Brady, an English teacher within the Odyssey Program, said that when Odyssey was established in 1998, it was set up as a three-year program. Now that the school only houses seventh and eighth graders, the dynamic of the program is a bit disfigured.
And no, it's not a funding issue. Projects like the roller coaster are all paid for through booster clubs and fund-raising.
Maria Thompson, eighth-grade assistant principal at Royal Oak, says it's a teacher scheduling issue at this point. The budget DOES affect that scheduling, however. In other words, if the budget doesn't support the teachers needed to fully schedule these core programs, then...well, no more core programs. Sounds like it still does boil down to a money issue in the end.
But, while the district supports it and everyone seems to love it, Odyssey is still up in the air at this point, according to pretty much everybody.
"It's a great project," Hendricks said. "As far as the future (of the project), I don't know what the future is."
The meeting was set up by the Bassett Unified School District to get input from parents, teachers and community members on the pending state budget cuts to education.
Torch Middle School received a special recognition on Friday, March 14, and a banner to hang in front of the school, from the California League of Middle Schools for becoming one of only three schools in California to achieve 2008 "California Schools to Watch" status. A parent I spoke to today said they are upset because the school principal at Fremont Elementary school was given a pink slip.
Montebello gave pink slips to 40 percent of their administrative staff.
According to other parents the board has been very “hush-hush” regarding proposed layoffs.
Board members currently make $750 a month if they attend all meetings. The student trustee gets $400 a month.
They are slated to vote on 5 percent raise for all members.
It would increase their monthly salary by $207.50 for a grand total of $957.50 a month.
Do you know how much your Board of Trustees or School Board makes?
"In a response to the massive budget cuts proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger, MUSD’s Board of Education recently voted to notify nearly 40 percent of certificated administrators that their positions may be changed, reduced or eliminated. The district is working to keep budget reductions away from classrooms."
We have all been hearing about massive cuts and reductions but 40 percent of your administrators is quite a hit.
Is the country ready for a woman president?
This was the subject of an interesting panel discussion sponsored by Mt. SAC as part of its celebration of Women's History Month.
LA County Supervisor Gloria Molina, left, offered many insights in the subject, including her strong support of Hilary Clinton as the presidential candidate.
Jean Schroedel, chair of Claremont Graduate University's Politics and Policy Department, added her professional opinions on the subject of gender in American politics.
Read more about it in an upcoming story in the Rowland Heights/Walnut Highlander.
It was a story on how the district is not reaching the goals of No Child Left Behind. Upon calling one member I discovered the school board has a “protocol” they must follow. He said, comments made by board members have to come from the Board President Marcella Calderon.
Who am I to criticize protocols but if you are going to have such a rule, don't you think the president should be available for comment? Instead of calling me back Calderon gave a statement to the district's PIO to give to me.
When I asked the board member why they had such a protocol in place, he didn't have an answer and told me how much he would really like to comment.
Have you heard of any “protocols” at other districts?
Domingo Balatbat, Cesar Benitez and Nate Hall work on a vehicle in their Automotive Technology class at the Hacienda La Puente Adult Education.
Hundreds attended the open-house held Tuesday at the Willow Campus in La Puente and the Dibble Campus in Hacienda Heights.
Read all about the adult classes offered by one of the state's largest adult ed programs in an upcoming story of the Hacienda Heights Highlander.
Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Jill Sterkel is the special guest at this year’s La Puente Valley ROP "Principal for a Day" program on Wednesday.
Outstanding students representing school districts serving more than 113,000 students and 72 schools will receive scholarships during the luncheon ceremony of the annual program this year on the theme "Go for the Gold!"
Considered the region’s most comprehensive annual community outreach program, "Principal for a Day" has continued each year for more than 21 years in the Bassett, Rowland and Hacienda-La Puente Unified School Districts, along with the La Puente Valley Regional Occupational Program.
Coordinator of athletics and former head coach at the University of Texas in Austin, Sterkel was born in Hacienda Heights and graduated from Wilson High School.
She will be a Principal for the Day at her alma mater before speaking at the luncheon at the Expo Center in Industry.
Sterkel was a four-time U.S. Olympic freestyle swimming star, winning a gold medal in the 1976 Montreal games at age 15 and again in the 1984 Los Angeles games. She also received two bronze medals in the 1988 Seoul games.
She was the first woman to make four U.S. Olympic swim teams. Sterkel began winning U.S. National Championships at the age of 10 and acquired a total of 20 championships.
The proposed budget would cut $4.8 billion from education.
Rob Watanabe, superintendent for Bassett Unified School District, gave me a first hand account of the event.
He said at least 100 people filled the stairs of the state capitol with about 50 of them educators from LA County schools. The mood, he says, was festive with spectators holding signs that read “Kids our the future.” A feeling of hope was in the air, he added.
Many media outlets surrounded the rally, he said. Many legislators listened to a handful of educators speak but the Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was not in attendance, according to Watanabe.
What do you think about local educators taking a stance? Add your comment.
Want to learn how to repair a broken dishwasher? How about fixing one of those new hybrid cars?
You might want to consider one of the classes offered by Hacienda La Puente Adult Education. They're even hosting an open house from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday to show off all their classes.
The open house will be held both the Willow Campus at 14101 E. Nelson Ave., La Puente, and the Dibble Campus at 1600 Pontenova Ave., Hacienda Heights.
In addition to appliance and auto repair, the Willow school teaches nursing, welding, accounting, and electronics among many other courses.
The Dibble school offers English as a Second Language, reflexology, computer classes and accounting, plus many more courses.
Tours will be available, and many classes have open enrollment. Who knows, maybe it'll mean a whole new career for you!
The Sallie Mae Fund 'Paying for College' Bus Tour will be making a stop at two La Puente schools on Friday, March 7, to educate students and families about planning and paying for college.
The bus will stop at Sparks Middle School in La Puente to offer eighth-graders a 45-minute in-school workshop on college planning.
From there, the bus will stop at La Puente High School for two in-school workshops for freshman and sophomores, and juniors and seniors.
A $250 scholarship will be rewarded to one participating junior or senior at La Puente High.
Sallie Mae Fund's goal is to increase access to higher education for all of America's students - in particular lower-income and minorities.
For more information, visit www.salliemaefund.org .
I attended a play Thursday at the San Gabriel Mission. When I first read the invitation to attend this special performance put on by the East L.A. Classic Theatre Group (http://www.eastlaclassic.org) and the City of San Gabriel for students in local districts here in the valley, I was very intrigued and knew I had to go.
The theatre group performs classics such as Shakespeare's"Much Ado About Nothing" and "Romeo and Juliet", but adds a unique twist to each of them. As Tony Plana, artistic director and star of TV's 'Ugly Betty', explained it to me, they like to integrate different cultures and ethnicities into their plays and adapt them to themes and locations that are more familiar to the students and local community.
Thursday's play was an adaptation of "Much Ado About Nothing" - Mariachi Style. The classic story was set in 1862 in the city of Puebla just after the Battle of Puebla, or Cinco De Mayo as most people know it by. The play had the basics of the story - interracial relationships and marriage, gossip - but a little updated and featured Mariachi music songs and with Anglo gold miners and Mexican soldiers as the lead characters.
This definitely made the play more fun and interesting to watch and as far as I could tell, the students were not bored by it at all. The actors portrayed their characters so well and were able to get the students very engaged and involved in the storyline and the message of the story, making it a more memorable and fun experience for them. And for me too.
I love live theatre and think it's something great that everyone should experience at least once. That's why it was great for me to hear about this group and what they are trying to do to bring theatre to the students and even sometimes engage them in performing themselves. I think it helps them with their language skills, public speaking and self-confidence and esteem, even if they don't follow a career in the performing arts
I thank everyone at the mission and the theatre for inviting me to a wonderful event. It was such a pleasure meeting Tony Plana, I've admired his work for a long time, and I love what he and the theatre group stand for.
The theatre group held the performances for students Thursday and today, Friday, coming from San Gabriel schools and a San Gabriel senior group as well as schools from El Monte, Montebello and more.
But they are also offering a free community performance Saturday evening at 8 p.m. that is open to everyone. If you have the time, I would suggest trying to make this special performance. Check the theatre group's website above for more information about the group and call (213) 300-5871 to reserve a seat.
On Thursday night at 7 p.m., Mt. Sierra College will welcome guest speaker Michael Gilmartin of Blizzard Entertainment.
As global quality assurance director for Blizzard, Gilmartin is the man behind such games as World of Warcraft, Diablo II, Starcraft and more.
Gilmartin has been involved with numerous franchises such as World of Warcraft, and others like Unreal Tournament, Neverwinter Nights, Tomb Raider, and Sid Meier’s Civilization.
Working nearly 15 years in the gaming industry, Gilmartin has worked with companies like SEGA of America, Inc., Eidos Inc., Maxis Software, Inc., and Atari, Inc. and more.
Mt. Sierra College is located at 101 E. Huntington Dr., Monrovia. For information and to RSVP, call Angie at (626) 873-2166 or Kellee at (626) 873-2100.
Dozens of career representatives from the surrounding community were on hand to counsel students on career choices and options for their future. Representatives from the L.A. County Sheriff's and Fire Departments were on hand, as well as the county coroner's office, the California Highway Patrol, military branches, technical schools and more.
Bassett's counseling staff, high school elective teachers, and upper level students were also on hand to assist 9th -and 10th- graders in making decisions on selecting a career path to pursue while still in high school.
At left:
Rocio says she hopes to go into obstetrics and gynecology. Instructor Linda Howard, at right, along with Megan Meyer, 17, a senior at Bassett High and a member of the health care academy's fifth graduation class.
At right:
Domonique Barkey, 16, at left, a 10th grader at Bassett, gives some thought to a career in journalism at 'The Olympian Times' booth during the Career Fair. At the booth, were students in journalism class at Bassett along with representatives of the ASB.
Explaining the elective classes are, seated from left, Avilene Cueto, 15, a 10th grader at Bassett and Alma Padilla, 17, a 12th grader, co-editors-in-chief of The Olympian Times, the school newspaper; and Alonzo De Leon, 17, also a 12th grader, representing ASB.
Bassett High School is part of the Bassett Unified School District.
She may only be a sophomore at Walnut High School. But 15-year-old Stephanie Gebhardt still wants to raise her voice in the presidential elections.
The young politico has begun an Internet campaign to get our presidential candidates to promise to withdraw our troops from Iraq by the end of their first term.
You may not agree with her politics, but you have to admire this young woman who is participating in our democratic form of government.
Read about Gebhardt's campaign in the Highlander newspapers.
I am currently working on a story coming out of the Montebello Unified School District.
The district rehired David Miranda - a former employee with four drunken driving convictions - as an employment specialist for the district on Thursday.
Miranda is the nephew of Montebello Councilmember Rosie Vasquez.
The school board approved the re-hire which is a bit unusual for them to vote on a non-certificated position. They typically vote on certified positions such as teachers and administrators. This leaves some to believe that the re-hiring of Miranda might not be welcomed by everyone at the district.
Miranda is currently serving a four year probation which includes having his driver’s license suspended for two years, serving 15 days in county jail, and serving 18 months in an alcohol rehabilitation program.