168 Market’s grand opening offers grand prizes in Hacienda Heights

To celebrate 168 Market’s grand opening in Hacienda Heights, 168 Market held a grand opening sweepstakes that ran from Nov. 22 to Jan. 31.

The sweepstakes garnered great interest among residents of the community, who were happy to have a 168 Market open in the neighborhood. With the sweepstakes’ raffle box full of entry forms, the time has finally come to draw the lucky winners for the sweepstakes.

On Saturday, Feb. 7, at 11 a.m., 168 Market in Hacienda Heights will hold a prize drawing event, where prize winners will be drawn on-site. The grand prize is a 50” LCD HD TV from Top Sponsor Sceptre.

Top prizes include Sceptre’s TV Sound Bars, SoundEP Zipper Earphones, and SoundPal Bluetooth Speakers. Other exciting prizes include a 16GB Kindle Fire HDX, 16GB Tegra Note 7, and more than  $1000 in gift cards to 168 Market. Don’t miss out!

168 Market features a wide variety of  Chinese specialty grocery items, the market prides itself on freshly caught seafood, superior quality meat, and flavorful produce, all at low prices.

The Hacienda Heights location also offers a large volume of Korean products such as snacks, candy, frozen foods, and specialty dishes.

The store boasts a specialty Korean deli which sells authentic and mouth-watering Korean banchan. The variety of spice and flavor is unbeatable and makes 168 Market a one of a kind supermarket in the Hacienda Heights area.

168 Market  is located at 17120 Colima Road in Hacienda Heights.  Business Hour are 8 AM to 10 PM daily.

Improvement association meets in Hacienda Heights

The Hacienda Heights Improvement Association will hold it Annual Business Meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 21 in the new Hacienda Heights Community Center at 1234 Valencia Ave., Heights. 

Reports for events of 2014 will be presented by the officers and chairs of the Association Committees.  The highlight of the evening is the counting of ballots for candidates to fill six vacancies on the Board of Directors.  

Doors open at 6 pm and the meeting will begin at 6:30 pm. Refreshments will be served. 

In the event members did not mail their ballots, they may bring them to the meeting.  The meeting is open to all residents of Hacienda Heights.  

For further information please call Mike Williams, Chair Public Relations, at 626-536-3407

13 hurt in freeway crash in Hacienda Heights

0107_NWS_SGT-L-BUSCRASH01
By Ruby Gonzales, San Gabriel Valley Tribune and Sandra Molina, Whittier Daily News

Thirteen people suffered minor injuries when a tour bus and two big rigs collided Wednesday morning on the eastbound 60 Freeway at 7th Avenue, fire officials said.

Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Thomas Richards said there were 30 passengers on the bus along with the driver and tour guide. There were two people in one of the rig, he added.

“This incident consisted of two big rigs and a charter bus, with one of the big rigs striking another big rig,” said Public Information Officer Al Perez of the Santa Fe Springs California Highway Patrol office. “The second big rig was pushed toward the median and struck the charter bus, which was traveling in the HOV (carpool) lane or the number one lane.”

How the collision happened will be determined once the bus driver has been interviewed by authorities, he said.

The bus picked up passengers in Monterey Park and were headed to Pala Casino Spa And Resort south of Temecula, according to Perez.

The bus company, ETA Enterprise, Perez said, was in good standing with all its permits in order.

Fire Inspector Randall Wright described the collision between the big rig and the tour bus as a “glancing type of blow.”

None of the vehicles rolled over or flipped, he added. Response by the L.A. County Fire included engines, trucks, paramedics and a hazardous materials unit. There was no fire or gasoline spill, Wright said.

Man fatally shot in Hacienda Heights identified

An investigator identified the man fatally shot over the weekend as a Baldwin Park resident.

Sheriff’s Homicide Lt. John Corina said 34-year-old Gerardo Garcia was found in a lot in the 14400 block of Clark Avenue on Sunday.

Garcia is known to visit Hacienda Heights, he said.

The lieutenant said the lot is located behind a home but there is no structure on the property. The owner rents it out so people can park vehicles there, according to Corina. He said someone who came to work on a vehicle discovered Garcia lying there.

The Sheriff’s Industry Station received a call at 1:44 p.m. Sunday about a person who was lying bleeding and unconscious to the rear of the location.

Corina said Garcia had been shot in the body. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

People heard a gunshot on Saturday night, the lieutenant said. But no suspects or vehicles were seen.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

$4,700 taken in Hacienda Heights home robbery

Three men wearing bandanas over their faces tied up a couple, assaulted them and stole about $4,700 in cash and jewelry during a home invasion robbery in Hacienda Heights on Sunday.

One of the robbers was armed with a knife, said Lt. Arthur Scott of the sheriff’s Industry Station. The woman suffered a small laceration to the lip but wasn’t taken to a hospital, he said. He described the two victims as being in their 60s.

The robbery in the 2000 block of Nadula Drive started at around 7 p.m. The resident arrived home and got accosted by three men in her garage.

Scott said the woman’s husband heard the garage door open, went to help his wife and encountered the suspects. He said the suspects forced the couple into the home then used garments and a belt to tie them up. The robbers put a pillow case over the man’s head, according to the lieutenant.

“(The husband) was sprayed with a window cleaner. He was also kicked and punched,” Scott said.

Scott said the woman sustained the cut to her lip when the suspects slammed her to the floor. After the robbers left, he said the woman wriggled free of her binds and called police.

Scott couldn’t verify media reports that the victims owned or worked in the jewelry business. The suspects were only described as three black men, 25 to 30 and 6 feet tall. They may have used an older model black BMW.

Investigators haven’t yet found a link to other home invasion robberies.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Sheriff’s Industry station at 626-330-3322. Anonymous tipsters can call LA Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, text “TIPLA” plus the tip to 274637, or use the website http://lacrimestoppers.org

Man fatally shot in Hacienda Heights

Homicide detectives are investigating the death of a man found fatally shot in a Hacienda Heights backyard Sunday afternoon.

Coroner’s officials didn’t release the man’s name on Monday because his next of kin hasn’t been notified.

A neighbor called deputies about 1:45 p.m. to report seeing someone lying in the large backyard of a home in the 14400 block of Clark Avenue, Sheriff’s Sgt. Rick Thurlo said.

Deputies and paramedics discovered the victim, a 34-year-old Latino, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound, according to department spokeswoman, Deputy Crystal Hernandez.

Paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene.

Hernandez said according to witnesses, a single gunshot was heard in the area but no suspects or vehicles were seen.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

Hacienda Heights rallies behind family

1225_NWS_SGT-L-ROSALES1
By Brian Day, Staff Writer

For the second time in recent years, a Hacienda Heights family has been devastated by a fatal tragedy. And for the second time, the community is rallying around the family to offer compassion and support.

Bertha Rosales, 42, died in a car crash while driving two of her four sons home from school in their hometown of Hacienda Heights, according to California Highway Patrol officials and friends.

Her sons Isaac, 13, and Ramon Jr., 10, suffered serious injuries in the crash, officials said. Isaac remained unconscious at a hospital with severe head injuries Wednesday, family friend Ernie Maldonado said. Ramon Jr. was making good progress in his recovery after undergoing surgery for injuries to his shoulder and elbow.

“This past Sunday was actually Bertha’s birthday,” Maldonado said.

The same family was affected by another deadly tragedy in August of 2011, when Rosales’ sister, 49-year-old Virginia Gonzales, and Gonzales’ 3-year-old son, Johnny Crowger, died in a house fire at their home in the 1700 block of Piermont Drive in Hacienda Heights.

Gonzales died while trying to rescue her son from the burning home, officials said.

In last week’s car crash, Rosales was driving a BMW sedan north on Durazno Drive, heading from a stop sign at a T-intersection, about 2:35 p.m. when the BMW collided with a Chevrolet Camaro heading west on Halliburton Road, CHP Sgt. Charles Quijada said.

For more, read Brian Day’s story ROSALES.

Kaiser salutes Special Olympians like Hacienda Heights athlete

1222_NWS_SGT-L-VULCAN

Kaiser Permanente salutes Special Olympics with this year’s Rose Parade float. Kaiser celebrates the 7,000 international athletes coming to Los Angeles in July for the Special Olympics World Games.

“Our float will raise awareness of the 2015 World Games and the Special Olympics mission to promote acceptance and inclusion for those with intellectual disabilities by demonstrating and celebrating the joy, courage and determination of these remarkable athletes,” said Dr. Edward Ellison, executive medical director for Southern California.

The float will carry some well-known personalities, including Olympic Gold Medalist Rafer Johnson. He won gold and silver medals in the decathlon at the 1960 Olympics.

Johnson also served as USA team captain and flag bearer in the Rome games. In 1984, Johnson lit the Olympic cauldron to open the Olympics in Los Angeles.

But Johnson is also well known for his work with Special Olympics, beginning with the first games in California in 1969, he was on the original board of directors. Johnson served as president until July of 1992, when he was named chairman of the board of directors.

 

 

“It’s been an absolute joy to watch the Special Olympics grow over the years,” Johnson said. “I find the athletes totally inspiring, the way they embrace life and form long friendships through the Special Olympics. Their smiles seem to become broader every year I see them.”

Joining Johnson will be many Special Olympic athletes such as the intellectually disabled Charlene Jan of Hacienda Heights. Jan’s mother, Leelin Chen, is a registered nurse at Kaiser’s Medical Center in Baldwin Park.

“When I heard they were looking for special athletes, I applied for Charlene. We’re all so excited that she’s going to ride in the Rose Parade,” Chen said.

For more, read Rich Irwin’s story OLYMPICS.

$10,000 reward paid to four witnesses of St. Vianney fire

Following the successful conviction of Gregory Shiga, who was arrested in 2012 for intentionally setting fire to St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Hacienda Heights, a $10,000 reward was distributed to four witnesses who came forward with information that led to the suspected arsonist’s arrest.

“I’m thankful these individuals came forward with their critical eyewitness accounts of the fire at St. John Vianney,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe. “Justice has been served and the residents who chose not to stand by and let their community suffer at the hands of an arsonist are being rewarded for their information. If you witness a crime in your community, please report it immediately to law enforcement.”

Shiga was found guilty of four counts of aggravated arson and one count of burglary. He is currently serving 18 years to life in state prison, and has been ordered to pay $8,926,837.78 in restitution to the church.

Hacienda Heights Community Center has family Christmas

The new Hacienda Heights Community Center will hold a family Christmas party on Dec. 10. The holiday event is sponsored by the L.A. County Department of Parks and Recreation as well as the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Lowes.

Beginning at 11 a.m., children will enjoy food, music, games and soccer. There will also be magic tricks by Pun and Alex Thal.

A special screeing of “How to Train Your Dragon 2” will be shown at 1 p.m. , courtesy of DreamWorks Animation.

The Make A Wish Foundation will bring 100 children to the fun. Registration begins at 10 a.m. At 3 p.m., Santa will stop by to distribute toys to the boys and girls.

The center is located at 1234 Valencia Ave. in Hacienda Heights. For more information, call 626-333-3250.