February 2009 Archives

During the Iditarod, mushers from all over the world and their team of 12 to 16 dogs cover about 1,150 miles of Alaska terrain in 10 to 17 days.

This year's race begins March 7.

Form Mt. Baldy resident, Karin Hendrickson, is mushing in the Iditarod for her first time.

"I know a lot of people don't know much about the Iditarod, but it's an incredible challenge," Hendrickson said. "There are so many things that are difficult out on the trail. Just the sheer distant you go, how severe the weather is, there are so many things that can go wrong."

There are checkpoints along the way to allow veterinarians to check on the dogs' condition and so the musher can load up on supplies before heading back out into the dangerous conditions.

"All of the food and equipment and things we'll use during the race are sent out in mid February and we send a different combination of food and boots and batteries we'll need to 20 some odd check points," Hendrickson said. "So that actually is a huge amount of work."

The first priority of a musher is to make sure their dogs are healthy and stay strong.

Hendrickson has about 20 adult dogs at her kennel in Alaska. She also has a few young dogs she is still raising.

"I raise almost all the dogs from birth and that makes a huge difference," she said. "The connection we have with these dogs are really deep, really strong bonds. Because our kennel is so small we do a lot of one on one time with these dogs that helps create the bond."

The dogs got the summer to relax and lay around in the sun, but when the end of August hit, Hendrickson started getting them back in shape.

Recently "we ran for seven hours and they were not ready to stop," she said. "They didn't want to stop and camp and it was difficult to get them to rest for five or six hours."

Hendrickson said the dogs trust her to make the right decisions for them.

"If the dogs didn't want to run I couldn't make them do this," she said. "There is no way to force them and if they didn't want to I don't want to force them."

When it's time to set up camp in the Alaskan wilderness during the race, Hendrickson plans to only get a couple hours of sleep a night because she has to care for her dogs.

"We'll be mushing in the middle of the night throughout the day and while the dogs are resting for those six or so hours I will be cooking their meals, packing my equipment, fixing the sled, massaging and rubbing ointments into their feet," she said.

Dogs that injure themselves during the race are airlifted from their location and taken to a veterinarian.

Hendrickson's mother, Gwen Rodman of Mt. Baldy, has been volunteering for the Iditarod for 11 years. 

Rodman's love for the Iditarod transferred to her daughter during a trip to Alaska.

"She finally went up to see what mom was doing and expected to be bored, but I had been up there long enough to find my way around and arrange for her to get a chance to mush dogs," Rodman said. "That was her first experience and she got hooked on the whole idea."

Holly Wood, leader of the girl scout troop leaving Saturday to help Hendrickson before the race starts, has been to Alaska on more than one occasion.

"The dogs are so happy and so well taken care of," Wood said. "These dogs are huskies that absolutely love what they do."

Wood has also done a little mushing with her family and friends.

"When we were there and mushing, these dogs couldn't wait to get out and run," she said. "That's what they're made to be, they have their fur and their boots are on."

The red light cameras at three major intersections may not be there for much longer.

The Police and Fire Committee approved a tentative proposal to cancel the city's contract with the company operating red light cameras at the intersections of Euclid Ave. and Foothill Blvd., Mountain Ave. and Foothill Blvd. and Mountain Ave. and 8th Street.

The cancellation of the city's contract with the company, Redflex Traffic Systems Inc., was recommended Monday during the Police and Fire Committee meeting.

The city has been losing money on the deal since the cameras were installed five years ago, said Upland Police Chief Steve Adams.

Redflex has also informed the city of the elimination of a $8,900 credit per month, which allowed the system to remain financially neutral at best, according to a staff report.

Contract costs are also expected to increase.

"It has been operating in the red the entire time and coupled with the threat of possible cost increase with the component that accidents have not significantly decreased, makes it time to leave the program," Adams said. "The primary issue here is public safety and our records show no significant decrease in accidents in the five years we've had them."

About 200 red light camera tickets are given out a month, but an Upland Police officer has to sort through the photos to determine which incidents should result in a fine.

"The officer has the option to accept or deny the ticket," said Upland Police Sergeant Eleno Arriaga. "They don't accept every one that comes through."

One officer monitors the red light cameras per shift. Without the cameras, those officers can be out patrolling the city.

The cost of a ticket can cost as high as $426, but the court can reduce the fine, Adams said.
Redflex must be paid $89 per citation no matter the amount of the fine.

"One fine was reduced to $81," Adams said. "When the fine gets reduced to $81 we still owe the company $89."

The highest amount of money the city can be paid for a ticket at full cost is $80.

Councilman Tom Thomas, member of the committee, said he and fellow councilman and committee member Ken Willis will take the proposal to the rest of the city council in a couple of weeks.

"The goal was never to make money, actually at the end of the day it looks like it's cost us money," Thomas said. "We have had less situations with people running red lights but an increase in rear end collisions. when people remember the lights are there and slam on the brakes and the car behind them crashes into them."

Congratulations to Holly, a 4 month old Siberian Husky and her owners Mike and Cheryl Laws.

Holly is the winner of the BARK! contest by the Grove Theatre and non-profit organization Helping Out Pets Everyday.

Holly's picture is posted outside of the Grove Theatre in Downtown Upland.

Performances of BARK! The Musical are every weekend at the Grove until March 15.

Tickets can be purchased here.

When Anna Myrl Long used to see commercials calling people to help sponsor starving children across the world, she would shout, "Okay how can I help them?"

Now the long-time Upland resident says she feels like she really is helping them.

Long belongs to the Mennonite Central Committee, along with her husband Stan Long.

The couple, who also own Long's Christian Bookstore in Rancho Cucamonga, has been
involved in the organizing of the Southern California Festival and Sale for the past twelve years.

A dinner will be held Friday evening to promote the festival scheduled for May 15 and 16 at Pacific Christian Center.

"I always use three words to describe it, it's promotion, fellowship and inspiration," said Stan Long.

The festival is not until May 15 and 16, but the committee wanted to get as many people involved as they can.

"It's proven that advanced promotion really helps bring people in," Long said. "We had 200 people registered and those people will go back to their homes or churches and share."

The Mennonite Central Committee was formed in 1920 to be the relief, development and peace committee of the Mennonite and Brethren in Christ Churches.

Antiques, household items and handmade quilts are auctioned off the weekend of the festival.
 
There will also be food booths with homemade food, a classic car display and farmers market with fruit, plants and honey.

A miniature auction will be held during the dinner in the spirit of the festival and sale auctions set to take place.

A Penny Power coin bank allowed children to drop pennies into a machine to eventually go toward the Mennonite Central Committee's Waterworks Project 2009. The group will be building irrigation pumps, drilling wells and installing latrines in Bolivia.

All proceeds of the festival and sale go toward world hunger and disaster relief.

In the twelve years the sale has been in Southern California $614,826 has been contributed to the committee.

"You get some personal satisfaction knowing you were involved with helping other people," said Ray Stump, committee member and previous owner of Upland Feed and Fuel in Downtown Upland.

Ken Becker, executive director of the Pacific Christian Center in Upland, has given his time to festivals and sales in Kansas, Oregon, Bakersfield and Upland.

"When you get together with people in like mind and faith you feel at home," Becker said. "For us involved it's very fulfilling."

For more information on the sale call (909) 758-0133.

The dinner will be held at the Upland Brethren in Christ Church Fellowship hall at 6 p.m. Friday.

Upland High School is having their biannual HEF awards at 6:30 p.m. tonight in the Upland High School Auditorium.

Doors open at 6:15 p.m.

Four past graduating classes from Upland High School will be reuniting later this year.

The reunions for the classes of 1958, 1959, 1960 and 1961 will be Oct. 16 through Oct. 18 at the London Bridge Resort in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

Siblings or friends from other Upland High School classes are also welcome to attend.

Oct. 16 - cocktail party

Oct. 17 - dinner with music by The Tornadoes. They will perform 60's surf music and oldies for dancing.

Oct. 18 - farewell breakfast

Registration deadline is August 10.

For more information contact Dennis or Kathryn Grissom at  (928) 453-5379 or 928 846-6505 cell.

You can also e-mail dngrissom@npgcable.com.

Some Upland girl scouts are about to find out what it's like in Alaska during the winter.

Scouts from Troop 1216, one boy scout and a troop leader are leaving for the snowy state Saturday to volunteer for the Iditarod race.

"I think they're going to really grow, they're going to learn about survival," said Holly Wood, troop leader and mother to two of the scouts leaving on the trip. "This is winter time in Alaska and it's cold and they're going to be working all day outside in the cold."

The scouts will be helping former Mt. Baldy resident and musher, Karin Hendrickson, in her first Iditarod.

"I hope (the scouts) get to start out visiting the kennel and meeting the dogs," Hendrickson said. "There's always feeding and always cleaning and hopefully by the time the girl scouts arrive all the last minute details will be taken care of."

A main chore for the scouts will be helping Hendrickson with her team of dogs before the race begins March 7.

"I've read several books on it and I'm really fascinated by the idea and learning about the crazy terrain with the dogs," said girl scout Veronica Osborn, 14.

The cold weather is the only issue the girl scout Cadet is concerned about.

"I'm just a little worried that maybe the cold is going to get to me and I'm going to get really mad about the cold," Osborn said. "I've never really been used to cold weather, but it's better than really hot weather, so I guess it's going to be okay if I'm bundled up."

The scouts have been fundraising for over a month to raise enough money to pay their way to and through Alaska.

The Upland City Council and Mayor John Pomierski have made donations toward the trip as well as some local businesses.

"They're not going up there to take a vacation and take a cruise," she said. "When that airplane hits the ground in Anchorage they're going to be working the whole week and volunteering the whole time."

This is not the first trip to Alaska for twin scouts, John and Helen Catherine Wood, 12.

The Wood family has mushed with members of the Iditarod founder, Joe Redington's family.

"It was really exciting but not like it will be when we go up there," said Helen Catherine Wood. "I can't wait to experience all the new things that are going to be going on."

During the Iditarod, mushers from all over the world and their team of 12 to 16 dogs cover about 1,150 miles of Alaska terrain in 10 to 17 days.

"I know a lot of people don't know much about the Iditarod, but it's an incredible challenge," said Hendrickson. "There are so many things that are difficult out on the trail. Just the sheer distant you go, how severe the weather is, there are so many things that can go wrong."

Rebecca Osborn, Veronica Osborn's mother, is unable to go with her daughter on the trip, and has some worries.

"She is very young, she's 14, it's hard for me to let her go up there, but I think she deserves it because of the commitment she's made to scouting," Rebecca Osborn said. "All these scouts are very deserving for this adventure."

The group will be attending the 2009 Mushers Banquet March 5 to show support for Hendrickson, before returning home March 9.

The Upland Unified School District may not be able to avoid deep budget cuts even though Governor Schwarzenegger has approved a state budget.

Superintendent Gary Rutherford presented the district's current budget news during Tuesday's school board meeting.

News on lay off notices was also shared.

"While the cuts are lower than the governor's proposed cuts, this is still the biggest cut in public education history," Rutherford said.

The district is looking at nearly $10 million in cuts over the next couple of years.

Some federal money is expected to be made available through the $787 billion stimulus bill.

However, the funds would likely not be seen until next academic year, Rutherford said.

At the Feb. 10 board meeting, the school board approved a early retirement incentive program, which will help determine how many lay off notices need to be sent out.
The number of employees participating in the program will not be known until April.

As of now, no more than 78.5 teachers will receive lay off notices by March 13, but it was made clear during the meeting that the number of actual layoffs could be less.

"It's really hard to say what the number is going to be because we haven't seen the effect of the retirement proposal, so I don't think we're really going to know until we get into May probably," said P. Joseph Lenz, Upland Unified School District board president.



"The fact is we have good solid teachers now and we spent a lot of time on training teachers and we've been training this group for two or three years," Lenz said. "This just erodes from our base and how we work with kids and all the hard work the teachers have done to get the achievement gap closed up."

To decide the number of layoffs, assumptions were made based on what they thought the state budget would look like, said Sherri Black, superintendent of human resources for the Upland School District.

It was also assumed that there would be some flexibility in categorical programs, class size increase and limitations of the ninth grade class size reductions.

Teachers on leaves of absence that are expected to return next year and teachers planning to retire this year were also taken into consideration before determining the number of layoff notices.

Black updated the board on the progress she's made with the tie-breaking procedures the board approved last meeting.

The tie-breaking process is intended to sort through teachers with the same seniority dates.
160 teachers are in the tie-breaking process.

Black said she would be meeting with the teachers individually over the next two weeks.

Baldy View, Sierra Vista and Upland Elementary schools will be getting cafeteria upgrades.

The three schools were chosen because there was not a multi-purpose room on their campuses.

The designs will be based on the motif of the cafeteria at Upland High School.

Work is expected to be done over the summer to not interfere with the students and classes.

Each cafeteria upgrade will cost $50,000.

Assistant Superintended Steve Cary made it clear during Tuesday's school board meeting that the money going toward the upgrades are developer fees intended for growth related items only and could not be transferred to any other accounts.

The school board approved a contract with Palmer Hamilton, LLC for the design and modernization.

The Toastmasters Route 66 Club offers individuals a place to overcome fear of public speaking and a chance to gain self-confidence.

The club is meeting at 7 p.m. March 6 at the International House of Pancakes located at 80 N. Euclid Ave. in Upland.

Visitors are welcome.

For more Information call (909) 949-0814.

 

The group of parents of students enrolled at Upland Christian Schools have found a location for their newly formed private school, Upland Christian Academy.

The school will be located at the Abundant Living Family Church campus in Rancho Cucamonga when the school opens in Fall.

The group of parents announced the new location to over 300 parents and students enrolled in Upland Christian Schools Monday night at the Pacific Christian Center.

The Abundant Living Family Church is located at 10900 Civic Center Drive in Rancho Cucamonga and is currently being used for church, Sunday School and events.

"This process has just been such a blessing for me because as we shared last night the only way you can start a new school in as little as a month is because the Lord opened the doors and that's what we feel he had done" said Teri Lawrence, parent and member of the Save UCS parent group.

Although the school will be sharing property with the church, it will still be an independent board run school.

The property is 215,000 square feet on 30 acres of land. The buildings provide K-12 classrooms, Chapels, a full gymnasium with an indoor track, fenced playground and large field.

Read more about the new location and progress of the school in tomorrow's Daily Bulletin newspaper.

It's registration time for some local private schools.

Registration for Upland Christian Academy has begun for current students enrolled at Upland Christian Schools.

For more information and to view student handbooks visit http://www.uplandchristianacademy.org/.

Registration forms can be downloaded from the Upland Christian Academy Web site, mailed or picked up at the Abundant Living campus.

For more information e-mail uplandchristianacademy@gmail.com or call (909) 758-8747.

To check out Western Christian Schools and their registration information visit http://www.westernchristian.org/wcs/admissions/.

Western Christian Schools has a High School campus in Covina and a K-8 campus in Claremont.

An open house for Western Christian is being held at 6:30 p.m. March 19 at the Covina campus, located at 1115 East Puente Street in Covina.

They are currently in the process of acquiring certain assets of Upland Christian Schools in Upland.

Upland Christian Schools' Web site can be viewed here.

The location for Upland Christian Academy has been decided.

The school will be at the Abundant Living Family Church campus beginning in Fall.

Tours are being offered to parents and students enrolled at Upland Christian Schools to give them an opportunity to check out the new campus.

The tours are Today, Thursday Feb. 26, Tuesday March 3 and Thursday March 5 at 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Abundant Living Family Church is located at 10900 Civic Center Drive in Rancho Cucamonga.

To sign up for a tour e-mail uplandchristianacademy@gmail.com.

For more information on the church campus visit their Web site here.

Three local fundraisers to raise money for the newly formed private school, Upland Christian Academy, are Thursday.

The school has been formed by a group of parents of students enrolled at Upland Christian Schools. The group has found a location, become incorporated and are in the process of becoming accredited with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the Association of Christian Schools International.

Registration is open until March 13 for Upland Christian Families and open enrollment to new students begins March 14.

Present a flyer at time of purchase to any of the following locations and a percentage of the proceeds will go to Upland Christian Academy.

Flyers are available here.

Cold Stone Creamery from 12 to 9:30 p.m.
121 W. Foothill Blvd. in Upland.
(909) 946-5808

Baja Fresh from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
131 W. Foothill Blvd. Suite B in Upland
(909) 920-5839

and

Pick Up Stix from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
131 W. Foothill Blvd. Suite A
(909) 946-3193

Pick Up Stix will be donating 20 percent to Upland Christian Academy and Baja Fresh will be donating 15 percent.

For more information on Upland Christian Academy visit their Web site http://www.uplandchristianacademy.org/, e-mail uplandchristianacademy@gmail.com or call (909) 758-8747.

Foothill Family Shelter is in need of diapers and wipes.

A diaper drive is being held to collect all brands and all sizes of diapers and wipes.

They can be delivered to 1501 W. Ninth Street Suite D in Upland from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

The  office is closed Noon to 1 p.m. for lunch.

From an e-mail to San Antonio Heights residents from the San Antonio Heights Association:

 A resident wrote this morning a Hispanic male, about 50 years old, came to her front and back door and rang both door bells.  While at the front door he shook the front door to possibly see if the front door was unlocked.  The resident lives near the intersection of Highland and 24th.  She immediately called the Sheriff and within a short time the man was located, arrested, and on his way to jail.  Good job Sheriff's Department!  He had 2 outstanding arrest warrants and he was driving on a suspended license.  The sheriff told the resident this individual goes around with tree trimming flyers, and will check to see if someone has left a door unlocked.  If he finds a door unlocked, he will enter a home. 

 

There are a couple of morals to this story.  First, it is a good idea to keep your doors locked, even when you are home.  Most importantly, call the Sheriff when a suspicious person comes to your door.  If you are hesitant about calling 911, you can always call the non emergency number for the sheriff at 465-6638, or 465-5837. 

 

There will be an Upland Unified School District board meeting at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Cabrillo Elementary School.

On The Agenda

*The flag salute will be led by Cabrillo Elementary School student council officers President Steven Mancia, Vice President Antoinette Simental and Secretary Drew Martin.

*Showcase of Cabrillo Elementary School and their movement "Yes We Can."

*Superintendent Gary Rutherford will give a State and Federal budget update.

*Resolution for Certificated Bargaining Unit Particular Kinds of Service Reduction.

*Approve contract for cafeteria modernization at Baldy View, Sierra Vista and Upland Elementary schools.

*Notice of completion of security upgrades for various sites.

*Notice of completion of Egress updates at Citrus and Sycamore Elementary schools.

*First reading of the revised board policy for Education for Homeless Children.

*Resolution for Behavioral Intervention Plans (Hughes Bill) Mandated Cost Claim Settlement and Agreement to Waive Future Claims.

Cabrillo is located at 1562 W. 11th Street in Upland.

The district can be reached at (909) 985-1864.

San Antonio Heights resident, Brenda McCleery, has entered her German Wirehair Pointer into Bissell's MVP dog photo contest.

Riley, also known as Mr. Big, can win an opportunity to have his photo placed on the packaging of a future Bissell product, one Bissell product of choice and a $10,000 donation to a pet cause of the owner's choice.

McCleery plans to donate the money to the Upland Animal Shelter if Riley wins the contest.

"With the economy, animal shelters need all the help they can get."

Riley is entered in the week number seven competition. Voting begins Feb. 24 and ends March 3.

In order for Riley to win, he must be voted for.

To vote go to www.bissell.com, click on MVP dog contest on the left and go to Week 7. Click on alphabetical and go to "R." 

Riley weighs about 74 lbs and when he stands you can look him in the eyes, said McCleery.

"He was a challenge the first 6 mos but now he has developed into a great dog," she said. "Wherever we go people stop and ask what kind of dog he is."

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 28

Varsity Boys Basketball Fontana Scrimmage 10 a.m. at Memorial Park in Upland.

Varsity Softball Monrovia Scrimmage 11 a.m. at Green Belt Park in Upland.

Junior Varsity Softball Monrovia Scrimmage 11 a.m. at Green Belt Park in Upland.

Frosh, Junior Varsity and Varsity Track Green Vs. White Intra Squad Meet 9 a.m. at Upland High School.

There will be an Upland City Council meeting at 7 p.m. tonight in the council chambers at City Hall.

City Hall is located at 460 N. Euclid Ave. in Upland.

Citrus Elementary School in Upland will host a family movie night Friday Feb. 27.

The theme of the evening is "The Rainforests of Madagascar." 

The students have been working on making art projects that will be displayed that evening. 

The Key Club from Upland High School along with K Kids Club at Citrus will be setting up at least 12 game booths, each with a rainforest theme. 

The proceeds from the game booths will go to help fund field trips for classes at Citrus.

K Kids is also sponsoring a fundraiser for the Earth Foundation, an organization that has been established to save the rainforests of the world. 

The K Kids will be selling rainforest t-shirts for $14. 

For every ten t-shirts sold, the Earth Foundation is able to protect an acre of the rainforests in Madagascar.  

The Upland - Foothill Kiwanis Club has been an instrumental agent in planning this event to raise money for field trips for Citrus.

They have donated 13 beautiful gift baskets that are valued at $50 or more to be used for chance drawings on that evening.

Kiwanis is also matching funds from our fundraiser and has secured a donor for to help insure that our students will be able to go on field trips planned by classroom teachers.  

The PTA will be providing a concession stand that evening.

People will be able to purchase items such as popcorn. 

Long's Drug Store on Mountain Ave. and Fresh and Easy on Mountain have provided donations for this event.  

In a time where many families are financially stressed, Mary Petit is using her green thumb to relieve some of the burden.

The San Antonio Heights resident's love for growing fresh greens and produce in her backyard had turned into an effort to help the surrounding community.

Petit came up with an idea to start "The Incredible Edible Community Garden" - a community garden project for residents to develop their own love for gardening.

"We have hard economic times right now and putting something in the ground and growing it is helpful and you get a lot of good food from it," Petit said.

"It's something people can do in patio pots. They don't have to have a lot of property to do it and they can grow a lot of stuff."

She has grown more produce in her backyard than she can give away, she said.
A problem that turns out not to be a problem at all for a community garden.

"For families to share their excess produce, that would be such a wonderful way to give back to the community," Petit said.

"I've been very fortunate to see how giving our community is."

Petit has been reaping the benefits of homegrown produce for much of her life.

The garden is still in the planning stages, but Petit said she hopes people participating in the garden project will share their produce with food banks, schools or those who are less fortunate.

A designated spot has not been determined, but two residents have offered to donate portions of their property for the garden.

Petit has also been looking into public land such as the San Antonio Park on Mountain Avenue and 24th Street.

"We're taking baby steps in seeing how much interest there is in the community," Petit said. "We've done that through e-mails, through the San Antonio Heights Association and we've been in contact with some of our local churches to provide flyers."

The project is still in need of donation pledges for fencing, concrete cinder blocks, irrigation system supplies, straw and hay, manure and untreated railroad ties.

Those interested in helping with the community garden are asked to call Petit at (909)608-7438 or e-mail mary_petit@yahoo.com.

The Upland Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic studio is kicking off their 17th Annual Record-A-Thon March 2 with a soup kitchen for their recording volunteers.

March 2 is also Read Across America Day and the record-a-thon is intended to bring awareness to reading and learning differences in people with vision impairments and learning disabilities like dyslexia with "Different Ways to Read Across America Day."

The record-a-thon's goals are for the volunteers to record more critically needed textbooks, to raise money for programs, raise awareness for reading disabilities and the need for more volunteers.

The Upland studio is located at 1844 West Eleventh Street, Unit C.

For more information call Sherry Weekes, production supervisor, at (909) 949-4316 or visit here.

The Upland Chamber of Commerce is having an economic development forum at 7:30 a.m. Feb. 24 at the chamber office.

The office is located at 215 N. Second Ave. Suite D in Downtown Upland. The meeting will be in suite C.

This open forum meets monthly with city and school representatives to discuss issues that affect the vitality of the Upland business community. This forum's purpose is to create and support a positive business climate.

Fore more information call the chamber at (909) 204-4465.

There will be a ribbon cutting from 4 to 6 p.m. Feb. 24 at Sean Lee DDS, Inc. located at 440 N. Mountain Ave. Suite 101 in Upland.

A picture will be taken at 4:15 p.m.

Upland City Manager Robb Quincey also had something to say about the state budget.

"It's early in terms of fully understanding the impact to the city. We've consistently been preparing for these downturns and have done our best to maintain our fiscal stewardship and build reserves.

If all progress was on the side of tax cuts and little to stimulate the economy we would be much more concerned. It seems to be a balance of inducing economic development and restraining government spending.

The specific impact to the city I don't know yet, we haven't had a chance today to study the direct impact.

1 percent sales tax is not something we'd otherwise like to see because it just cost our consumers in our community more to buy things, but if it is something we all can do to help the state remedy some of its problems then it's something we'd cooperate in doing.

This is almost unprecedented state fiscal crisis and short of doing something now I think it would get worse and worse and worse.

We didn't get into this situation over night and we certainly won't get out of it over night.

We're looking at some significant reductions in the city and it's difficult. They're not going to be seamless, but I remain optimistic and I'm looking forward to the backside of this where we're doing the best we can with our budget and looking forward to a better time and be thankful we did build reserves and will continue serve our community they way they expect us too."

Here's what Rod Foster, assistant city manager for Upland, had to say about the state finally reaching a decision on the state budget.

"It's unfortunate it took as long as it did. Here at Upland we continue to move forward. We started our budget process months ago and look forward to continuing serving the citizens of Upland and moving forward at the same service level our residents have enjoyed all these years."

There will be a special joint workshop of the Upland City Council/Redevelopment Agency and Planning Commission meeting 5 p.m. tonight.

The meeting is being held to discuss the general plan update and downtown specific plan.

The  meeting will be at the Carnegie Library located at 123 D. Street in Upland.

WESTERN STATES JAZZ FESTIVAL

Presented By

The Upland High School Marching Band  

EVENT DATES:

Friday, March 06, 2009 (2:00p.m. to 9:00p.m.)

Saturday, March 07, 2009 (8:00a.m. to 8:00p.m) 

********** FREE ADMISSION ********** 

****Concessions will be available - provided by UHS Booster Organization****

********** Music Vendors and much, much more ********** 

Please join us at the UHS Auditorium for an exciting weekend of live jazz music from more than 50 high school bands around the Southern California region.   Our own UHS Jazz and Stage Bands will perform as well our Junior High Schools.   

Our Special Guest Artist performing on Saturday with our Award-Winning UHS Jazz Band will be Jonathan Dane, a Trumpet and Vocalist. 

For more information regarding performance times and dates, please log onto our website at www.uhrb.org. 
 

Teens can join the Upland Public Library for an evening of gaming from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Feb. 25 at the Carnegie Cultural Center.

Come play board games and our Nintendo WiiTM.

If you own a DSTM, you can bring it along and challenge other DS players on the library's wireless network.

Registration begins Wednesday, February 18.

The Carnegie Cultural Center is located at 123 D. Street in Upland.

The entire congregation of Life Bible Fellowship Church is performing a community service ministry called Outward Bound . 

The focus of this ministry is to bring the church out of the building and into the community through acts of service. One of the 26 projects involves serving the community in need of minor household repairs. 

Examples might be a high light bulb that is out and you can't reach it, a leaky faucet, safety snaps for drawers to baby proof you home from little ones, installing a new door knob, etc! 

The projects will be started  and completed on Feb. 22, 2009 from, 9AM-3PM. 

You will need to contact Mike Thomason through his email: sandchaser_21@yahoo.com before this Wednesday Feb 18, in order to get on his "list of homes to do". 

He needs this time to assess the requirements for your repair and gather the proper tools & supplies to complete the job. 

A note from Becky Miller, Past President- San Antonio Heights Association:   I believe that this is a wonderful outreach opportunity for our community.  Please welcome their efforts and service to San Antonio Heights by responding to their gift of service.     

The Upland Chamber of Commerce will be closed on Monday February 16 due to the President's Day holiday.

The city council accepted the completed work on 15th Street between Euclid and San Antonio
Avenues during the Feb. 9 city council meeting.

In September 2008, the city awarded the rehabilitation project to Palm Canyon Contractors, Inc.

They started the construction Dec. 1 and completed the project by February 2009.

The portion of the street was in front of Magnolia Elementary School. In order to not disturb the students, staff and parents, most of the heavy duty work was done while the students were on winter break.

The street was completely replaced, sidewalks and sewers were repaired.

The council gave a second reading and final approval to the amendment of municipal code
8.44.020 to allow the Upland Police Department to bill businesses and homeowners for second responses to large parties or gatherings.

The first reading of the ordinance was during the Jan. 26 city council meeting

Lately, the need for police response to these events has become more common in the city.

Businesses or residences requiring the Upland Police Department, and sometimes departments from other cities, cost the department time and money.

An ordinance has been in place allowing the police department to bill home owners for second responses, this new ordinance will allow the department to bill those holding parties at businesses.

The Police Department receives about 2,000 party calls a year.

When the city charges a residence for a second response , it averages $250, according to a staff report.

So far this fiscal year, through December, the Police Department has billed out $1,695 for second responses to large party calls, according to the report.

Every minute is accounted for when a police officer responds to a call, which helps the city finance department determine the cost associated with the call.

Mayor John Pomierski and the Upland City Council approved the item accepting the completion of a project to replace various damaged sidewalks and driveway approaches throughout the city during the Feb. 9 city council meeting.

In June 2008, the city awarded a $900,000 contract to Gentry Brothers Inc. to make the
improvements. In September 2008, the city council authorized a contract changes in the amount of $190,000 for additional concrete improvements.

The contractor has sense completed the work and the city council accepted the public improvements and filed the notice of completion.

The Children's Bureau, a licensed private foster and adoption agency, are having an information meeting for foster and adoptive parents from 10:30 to 12 p.m. Feb. 14 at the Upland Public Library.

The agency is looking for individuals and families who are willing to bring a child or siblings into their home.

The Los Angeles based agency provides training, services, support groups and post-adoptive resources for foster and adoptive parents.

Financial help is also given to assist families in the care of these children.

For more information call the agency at (800) 730-3933.

The library is located at 450 N. Euclid Ave. in Upland.

Students at Upland High School are being given a chance to follow a path into the world of engineering, where math makes sense and hands-on projects are endless.

Upland High School will implement an engineering program through Project Lead The Way this fall.

The district is still exploring an opportunity to introduce a biomedical program into the high school curriculum.

"It provides a series of courses for students that have some real world advantages," Linda Kaminski, assistant superintendent of educational services at Upland Unified School District, said during a presentation to the school board Tuesday.

Project Lead The Way is a national non-profit organization established to help schools give students knowledge in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The program is already funded through private and state grants.

Two to four teachers will be sent to Cal Poly Pomona over the summer to participate in a two-week training course.

Doug Hutchings, a retired engineer who teaches algebra, geometry and calculus at the high school, has shown interest in becoming part of the program.

"The project already has a success record in high schools," he said. "So the program has already been boiled down to the high school level where it can still be challenging to the high school student, but is not overwhelming."

A main focus of the program is improvement of students' math skills through various projects.
"I think the program will have a real positive impact on math," Rich said. "As students see how to apply math they'll become more interested in higher levels of math. We might see an increase in demand in high level math classes."

Read more in the Thursday February 12 edition of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin newspaper or tonight here.

The Upland Unified School District board adopted a resolution for certificated layoff tie breaker procedures during Tuesday's board meeting.

Sherri Black, assistant superintendent of human resources, introduced the layoff tie breaker resolution to the board Tuesday.

The tie breaker procedure will allow the district to "break the ties" between teachers with the same seniority dates.

Since layoffs are typically done on a seniority basis, the procedure will help determine who will get layoff notices by the middle of March.

"This is something all boards must adopt if going into layoff procedures," Black said.

Out of the group needing the tie, points will be accumulated for each teacher based on their experience, credentials and degrees.

Once the list is determined teachers will be able to sign online to view their ranking number.

"We're going to start breaking ties as best as we can and then go out and meeting with each individual teacher to make sure the points are right," Black said.

The list will be completed by March 1.

The Upland Unified School District board of directors approved a request to apply to the State Board of Education for a general waiver request to waive the Extended Year Program requirement.

Linda Kaminski, assistant superintendent of educational services for the district explained the request to the board during the school board meeting Tuesday night.

The request, if approved, will alter summer school classes.

Instead of five days a week for 6 weeks, classes will be four days a week for longer hours.

This is expected to "save on food, transportation and electricity," Kaminski said.

To become official, the UUSD board must approve the request, which will then need to be approved by the State Board of Education.

The UUSD board passed the item unanimously Tuesday night.

The Upland High School Marching Band and Color Guard are having a friendly family dinner night from 4 to 10 p.m. Feb. 23 at Chick-Fil-A on Campus and 19th Street.

In order for the band and color guard to receive a percentage of the sales, a flyer must be present to the cashier.

To obtain a flyer and more information go here.

Knights of Columbus, Ontario Council No. 3672, will once again host its annual Lenten fish fry on Fridays, starting Feb. 27 running through April 3.

The fish fries will be held at two locations from 5-7 p.m.: St. George Catholic Church, 505 N. Palm Ave., Ontario and St. Joseph Catholic Church, 877 N. Campus Ave., Upland.

Costs are $4.50 for child's plate, $7 for adults and $8.50 for a super plate.

Clam chowder, beverages and desserts will also be available for purchase.

For more information call (909) 268-3566.

Wyatt Keegan has reached the stage in his high school career where it is time to start thinking about college.

Thus, Engineering Week at Upland High School couldn't have come at a better time for the 16-year-old.

"I've always been interested in engineering," said Wyatt who is considering enrolling in the engineering program at Chaffey Community College. "Plus I have family members in engineering and I saw what they were doing and I enjoy it."

Science, metal shop and other students interested in engineering visited the school's library on Tuesday to hear about the field from professionals and experts.

"This is a big accomplishment to get them all to come here to help our kids," Upland High physics teachers David Geller said.

Chaffey Community College professor Howard Stewart said engineering provides quite the opportunity for certain students.

"This an exciting opportunity for individuals who have background in science and math that are interested in developing and creating products benefiting mankind," said Stewart, who has more 30 years of experience in engineering and implemented the engineering program at the community college.

Companies hiring engineers from outside of the United States, due to a low rate of graduating engineers, is a current problems facing the field, he said.

"Companies are still looking for the qualified engineers, but there aren't enough to fill the need," he said.

Instead of exporting engineering jobs, the country is importing engineers.

To spike interest in engineering, physics and alternative energy sources, Geller incorporates projects into his physics class for students to work on.

Currently, the students are working on a solar-paneled, go-cart project as well as orchestrating a rock concert powered soley by alternative energy sources.

Much of the projects are funded through a grant given to the school by BP Company of America.

"Those grants really stimulate interest in engineering," Geller said. "I really want to thank them because we wouldn't be able to do any of this without the money."

There will be an Upland Unified School District board meeting at 7 p.m. tonight in the district community room.

The district is located at 390 N. Euclid Ave. in Upland.

Agenda packets can be obtained here.

Veterans of World War II were honored during last night's city council meeting.

Councilman Kenneth Willis and Mayor Pomierski introduced the Veterans and awarded them certificates of recognition.

The following three men were honored last night:

Robert Wright of the United States Army - 1944-46, 33rd Division - Ohio State National Guard, served in the Philippines

William Pond of the United States Navy - 1942-46, Hospital Corpsman, served in the Pacific Theatre

Philip Musick of the United States Navy - 1944-46

Upland residents who would like to pay tribute to any relatives that are World War II veterans, were asked to call the city clerk's office at (909) 931-4120.

Upland's Mayor and city council gave Upland military families Blue Star Service Banners during last night's city council meeting.

Blue Star Service Banners were created during World War I for families to hang in their front windows letting people know they had family in the service.

The following Upland residents serving in the  military were honored last night:

• Pvt. Joshua Bukala, United States Army
• Pv2. Matthew Litten, United States Army
• Spc. Patrick McCullough, United States Army
• Cpl. Mitchel McCullough, United States Marine Corps
• Fn. Ryan Glasheen, United States Navy
• Sn. Kyle Wheeler, United States Navy

Tickets are on sale for benefit performance of BARK! The Musical at 7:29 p.m. Feb. 19 at The Grove Theatre in Upland. 

Tickets are $35.00.

The is a wine reception from 6 to 7 p.m. at The Grove prior to the performance.

Tickets are available at The Grove Theatre box office, at the Upland Animal Services Shelter and through Helping Out Pets Everyday.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated by The Grove Theatre to HOPE to benefit both HOPE and the Upland Animal Services Shelter.  

Call HOPE at 1-800-811-4285 or the Grove Theatre box office at (909) 920-4343.                

From the Foothill Family Shelter:

Start Spring cleaning early!

The Foothill Family Shelter is having an e-waste event 8 a.m. to Noon Feb. 21 at their office located at 1501 W. Ninth Street Suite D in Upland.

They will accept anything with a cord or battery. Used or non-working electronics can be donated.

No pick-ups, all items must be delivered to the shelter's office.

All proceeds support Foothill Family Shelter.

For more information call (909) 931-1732. 

The Upland Chamber of Commerce is having their monthly mixer from 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Grove Productions, Inc. located at 276 E. Ninth St. in Downtown Upland.

For more information contact the chamber at (909) 204-4465.

The Upland Chamber of Commerce is having a government relations forum at 7:30 a.m. Feb. 12 at the Chamber office located at 215 N. Second Ave. Suite D in Downtown Upland.

This committee monitors legislative issues and seeks action from the Board of Directors on important City, State and national business related legislation or regulations that impact your ability to do business.

This is a good committee for those who want to ensure that their voice is heard.

For more information call the Chamber at (909) 204-4465.

Monday February 9

Junior Varsity girls soccer @ 3:15 p.m. against Etiwanda High School

Varsity girls soccer @ 5:30 p.m. against Etiwanda High School

Tuesday February 10

Frosh boys basketball @ 5 p.m. against Etiwanda High School

Junior Varsity boys basketball @ 3:30 p.m. against Etiwanda High School

Frosh girls basketball @ 6:30 p.m. against Etiwanda High School

Wednesday February 11

Frosh boys soccer @ 3:15 p.m. against Rancho Cucamonga High School

Junior Varsity boys soccer @ 3:15 p.m. against Rancho Cucamonga High School

Varsity boys soccer @ 5:30 p.m. against Rancho Cucamonga High School

Thursday February 12

Varsity boys basketball @ 6:30 p.m. against Rancho Cucamonga High School

Junior Varsity girls basketball @ 3:30 p.m. against Rancho Cucamonga High School

Varsity girls basketball @ 5 p.m. against Rancho Cucamonga High School

Junior Varsity girls water polo @ 3:15 p.m. against Rancho Cucamonga High School

Varsity girls water polo @ 4:15 p.m. against Rancho Cucamonga High School

Frosh/Soph girls water polo @ 5:15 p.m. against Rancho Cucamonga High School

San Antonio Heights: Homegrown fruits needed.

Do you have excess amounts of tangerines, grapefruits, tangelos or avocados growing on your property?  If so, Life Bible Fellowship Church can help you donate them to hungry families and individuals in need! 

On Saturday and Sunday, February 21 and 22, Life Bible Fellowship Church will be gathering fruit to give to families on need as part of their Outward Bound: Local Harvest Project.

The Local Harvest team is comprised of members of the church that will carefully collect fruit directly from your trees from the top down.  Harvesters will be equipped with bags, boxes, fruit picker polls and ladders.  You may request all fruit to be picked or partial amounts so that your family can continue to enjoy homegrown fruit. 

Not only will this event benefit hungry families, but clearing your trees can help reduce wildlife foraging and bring a more bountiful harvest next year.  Donation receipts will also be provided. 

To schedule a harvest, please call Abby at (909) 297-3484.  To learn more about Life Bible Fellowship's wide array of Outward Bound Projects visit:  www.LBFchurch.com

Need to clean off those shelves stacked with books that need dusting, but you just don't know what to do with them?

Life Bible Fellowship Church would like to help you by providing a site where you can bring those old used books you no longer want.  They will then be donated to the Chino Institute for Women where they are in need of books.

On Sunday, February 22nd there will be a drop off spot in the west parking lot of the church that fronts Euclid Ave.  The drop off area will be manned with volunteers to help you unload your books from 7:30 a.m. until  5:30 p.m.

If you have a large number of books we do request that they be in boxes. Both hardback and paperback books are accepted and welcome! 

Forms will be provided at the drop off area for you to leave your name and address (optional) and the volunteers can mark the sheet with the number of books you donated.  These will be collected and given to the prison librarian for your future tax information.  These donations are tax deductible and the prison will send you a letter thanking you for your donation of books.  At tax time you can then put a value on the amount of books donated! 

We look forward to seeing you there!

Questions?  Feel free to contact treid1@aol.com 

In a recent interview with Karen Winter, superintendent of Western Christian Schools in Claremont and Covina, she expressed her feelings over the Save UCS Parent Association's decision to relocate.

She also addressed the plans being made for transition of Western Christian Schools with Upland Christian Schools.

"We are obviously disappointed for the families that feel the need to being their own separate school, but we are optimistic and positive about moving forward with the many families from Upland who have confirmed their commitment to Western and we're excited about our school coming to the Upland Campus.

We're working diligently to bring in the best of both Western's tradition and Upland's heritage together both of the strength of the academic and spiritual life programs combined.

We believe our 118 year school combined history will help to create one of the strongest Christian Schools in the Nation.

Some of the things that we are doing to try and make a special effort to keep Upland's heritage is that yesterday there was a meeting with Upland administration and our administration and that meeting was three and a half hours to talk about traditions and important things to the students, important calendar events, important traditions.

Important things and we took a lot of of those things to make sure those things were followed through

We also developed 20 copies of 30 letters each that came from our student government to their student government to try and introduce the students and let them know how they're feeling and how anxious they are to be their friends.

We had an assembly today and our students prayed for Upland Christian students, which they have been doing every day, and they committed yesterday as a student body that they want to go over recognizing that that was Upland's campus and go over respectful of them knowing that it's been their campus and they would go over very respectful of that and that they really want to go over and become friends and see how friendly they are to join with the spiritual and really look forward to that.

In fact, some representatives of student governments from both sides are going to meet together later this month.

We can't take back any mistakes or miscommunication or the hurt and we apologize for those things that have happened. And for how that has affected some of the Upland families, what we are doing is really trying to have a listening ear to all the things that are important.

We've been brainstorming. We probably got 10 e-mails today from different people about incorporating the Upland logo with our logo and the people e-mailed ideas back and forth. How do we do that to make both campuses feel positive and still remain that it is part of Western and Upland which is our intention all along.

We know that Upland Christian is an amazing place with amazing staff, parents and students.

I still have hope and would love to still have that healing take place, but we realized every Christian family needs to make the best decision for their children and we respect that and again apologize for how many things have been communicated and the length of time that it has taken being due to all the situations that have prevented that.

And at this point we are trying to move forward and take the best part of both Western and Upland and really create what we think will be one of the strongest Christian schools in the nation. We do think Western and Upland are amazing schools and they have amazing students, amazing parents and a great faculty.

And so we bless all of them well.

We again have so many parents being positive with us and excited and so we are just trying to connect on how we best bring the two distinctive schools together.

And how we can in the most positive way bring the distinctive schools together and one of the most important ways is through the students themselves.

It's about the kids.

Our kids are excited. They said they're not going to be clicky and it's not going to be just about Western when we come together and I wish they would let them have the chance to do that. But I realize everyone has to make that decision on their own."

The entire run of the 60's show SUDS, scheduled to open tonight At The Grove was cancelled.

Residents living near the Chaffey Communities Cultural Center will not compromise.

The group filed an appeal on Dec. 31 to revoke the decision made by the Upland Planning Commission Dec. 17 to allow indoor and outdoor uses of the cultural center.

The cultural center, formerly St. Mark's Church, was approved to host catered events, with beer and wine, up to six times a week.

The issues of noise, traffic and parking, consumption of alcohol on the premises and spot zoning are listed as consequential disruptions on the appeal.

Mayor John Pomierski and the Upland City Council will hold a public hearing on the appeal during the Feb. 9 council meeting.

"I hope that they listen carefully to the public and that they very carefully listen to us and that they very carefully research what is happening or what could happen in our neighborhood," said Cathrine Osberg, local resident. "And I hope that they will give us a lot more consideration than the planning commission did."

The cultural center is located in close proximity to Pioneer Junior High School and surrounded by residential neighborhoods, which was brought up by some residents who spoke out at the Planning Commission meeting.

The proposed modifications were continued to the Dec. 17 Planning Commission meeting from the Nov.19 meeting so the cultural center staff could further analyze the concerns brought up by residents during the public hearing.

The proposal was revised to allow only beer and wine, no hard liquor, to be served with food. Events with dancing and a disc jockey would be indoors. Only string music and background music could be played outside, and valet parking would be offered during the more popular events.

The maximum attendance was also reduced to 175 from 200. Up to six events a week could take place going no later than 9 on weeknights and 10 p.m. on weekends.

"The citizens that live up there think we're going to open up a restaurant and a bar," said Dave Stevens, president of the Chaffey Communities Cultural Center board. "That's not true at all. We're going to have some catered meals and hope to have beer and wine with that."

Stevens said service club events, church events, funerals and retirement dinners will likely take place at the center.

Holding events at the cultural center will help fund the center and the Cooper Museum in Downtown Upland, Stevens said.

"The funds that come out of the 18th street site goes to help support all the costs (at the cultural center) costs of cooper museum, and to have better programs for the children at the Cooper Museum," Stevens said.

Pomierski said he has to agree with the citizens on the subject.

"I don't think there should be alcohol up there, I don't think there should be noise, however, there is probably room for other events to be had up there so the museum can sustain themselves," Pomierski said. "But by more events I mean anniversaries, baby showers, bridal showers and birthday. Just events period, but not alcohol, no bands, no noise and no huge crowds."

Go here to read a previous article on the issue.

September 29^th - Parent meeting at Presbyterian Church

Oct. 3^rd - Parents and community surround the school with prayer

Oct. 3^rd - Received letter confirming Western Christian is acquiring "certain assets" of Upland Christian

Oct. 8^th - Dr. Doane meeting with parents

Oct. 13^th - Meeting with city council

Oct. 16^th - Parent meeting at Presbyterian Church

Nov. 3^rd - Lawsuit filed by some members of local church board

Nov. 12^th - Firings of Sue, Doug  and Chip

Nov. 17 - 19 - District holds meetings to answer questions

Parents encouraged to make an offer

Dec. 3^rd - Dr. Kienel meets with a few parents from UCS, Karen Winter and a few board members

Enrollment numbers

Financial Deficit 

UCS asked Western to recognize our viability  and to give us time to work it out

Mrs. Winter suggested we put in an offer

Dec. 2008 - Save UCS Association was formed

Dec. 12^th - Letter of Intent to purchase the property

Dec. 23^rd - follow up letter sent

Jan. 6^th - follow up letter sent

Jan. 13^th - Arbitration between church and district

Jan. 15^th - Arbitration verdict: district can sell the property

Jan. 22^nd - Save UCS parent meeting

Feb. 5 - Save UCS parent meeting to reveal plan for Upland Christian Academy

After losing the opportunity to purchase Upland Christian Schools themselves, Save UCS Parent Association have decided to form a new school.

In three weeks, the association - made up of parents of students enrolled at Upland Christian Schools - has managed to get a K-12 private school incorporated and registered with the state under the name Upland Christian Academy.

The school will be an independent school run by a board of directors.

There is no affiliation with Upland Christian Schools, the Upland First Church of the Nazarene, the Anaheim District Church of the Nazarene or Western Christan Schools.

"You have to find the right fit for your child and that's why we fought so hard to keep Upland Christian and why we're fighting so hard to start Upland Christian Academy," said Teri Lawrence, parent of a student at Upland Christian Schools and member of the Save UCS Parent Association Board of Directors.

"The climate and the culture created at Upland Christian Schools really is a nurturing and wonderful place for kids to grow."

An arbitration panel ruled on Jan. 15 that the advisory board for the Anaheim District Church of the Nazarene has the authority to sell assets that once belonged to Upland First Church.

The board also ruled Western Christian Schools - which is purchasing Upland Christian from the district - can proceed with its acquisition of certain assets of Upland Christian Schools.

Nearly 200 parents heard the plan during a parent meeting Feb. 5 at Pacific Christian Center.

"This is absolutely an option that must be considered," said Tom Imbruglia, parent of a student enrolled at Upland Christian Schools. "As a result of the District's decision to take control and sell the school, individuals had to evaluate their position and make a decision on their future."

The plan so far

Contracts will be given to all Upland Christian Schools teachers and other quality teachers in the area.

Sue Chiappone, former administrator of Upland Christian Schools, has accepted the position of Head of School for Upland Christian Academy.

Chiappone was let go by the Anaheim District in November after serving as head of school for Upland Christian Schools for nearly 22 years.

"This is a very very Godly, visionary, quality group of people that have been working to establish

the new school so I'm just honored to have been thought of just to be a part of that group," Chiappone said.

Chiappone said she is familiar with challenges that come with starting a new school, but is focusing on the positive development the group has made so far.

"I just plan to draw on my 20 plus years experience in Christian education to help them move ahead with the establishment," she said.

The parent association is currently working toward accreditation through the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. They plan to become accredited through the Association of Christian Schools International as well.

Tuition will be the same as the previous tuition costs for Upland Christian Schools and is expected to fully support the new school when it opens in September.

K-8 class size is not to exceed 24 students and high school class size is not to exceed 28 students.

The board of directors has not fully be established, but the association plans to have educators, professionals, business leaders and parents as part of the board.

A location has yet to be finalized, but the parent association are looking at six to seven properties in Upland and Rancho Cucamonga.

Parents were asked to fill out cards with their suggestions, preferences and whether they would be interested in joining the new school.

Enrollment numbers will then be determined, which will help the group pick the location of the new school.

A Valentine's Day book signing will be from Noon to 3 p.m. Feb. 14 at the Cooper Museum courtyard.

Don Clucas will be on hand signing copies of his new Upland book published by Arcadia Press. The book is full of local photos from the early days of the city of Upland.

Jane Leffler of Mt. Baldy who contributed photos to the Mt. Baldy book by Arcadia Press, will also be available.

Several other authors will be at the book signing including: Ed Saalig, author of Santa Fe Railway Days and Otie Braden, author of Emma's Angel.

Current members of the Cooper Museum will receive a 10 percent discount on all purchases.

Members are also entitled to a 10 percent discount at over 20 other businesses in the area.

Memberships are $25 for families and $15 for individuals.

The museum is located at 217 A Street in Downtown Upland.

For more information call (909) 982-8010.

The Cooper Museum having a Day of Discovery at the opening of the exhibit from Noon to 4 p.m. Feb. 15.

There will be food, entertainment, music, storytelling and face painting.

The Cooper is located at 217 A Street in Downtown Upland.

For more information call (909) 982-8010.

Art Martel and Straight Up Blues Productions presents A Sunday of Straight Up Blues from 2 to 10 p.m. Feb. 15 at Biacci's in Upland.

The event will feature The Mighty Mojo Prophets, The 44's, White Boy James & The Blues Express and D.J. Art Martel.

Tickets are available at Biacci's located at 755 N. Central Ave. Upland 91786.

Ticket sales are limited to 200 tickets at $15 each.

For ticket info go to www.myspace.com/artmartelstraightupblues or e-mail straightupblues@msn.com

The San Antonio Community Hospital and the American Red Cross are officially bonded through blood.

The two organizations held their first blood drive Thursday - representing the beginning of a new partnership.

"The Red Cross is located very close to us, so we just met with them and decided to look into building a relationship with their corporation," said Steven Moreau, president and CEO of San Antonio Community Hospital.

Having the partnership means blood can only be given to the hospital through donations to the red cross.

The monthly blood drives at the hospital will now be facilitated through the red cross as well.

"Everyone can afford to give blood," Moreau said. "It's one thing everybody can do to help people, particularly at this time with the economic struggle."

Blood flowed from the arms of hospital employees and volunteers to help restore the hospital's own blood supply, which decreases by about 6,800 units of blood a year.

Read more in tomorrow's edition of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

Come and listen to Akua McLeod, age 11, spin spectacular stories of culture and courtship in an homage to African and African-American oral tradition.

Time will be available at the end of the program to make valentines for the wounded veterans at Loma Linda VA Hospital.

The event will be 1 to 2 p.m. Feb. 7 in the Upland Public Library multi-purpose room.

The library is located at 450 N. Euclid Ave. in Upland. 

Four University of California, Riverside students will participate in the second meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative University in Austin, Texas, Feb. 13-15. 

In the group of students is Upland resident Hanna Bar-or, a sophomore majoring in global

studies.

Bar-or, 19, plans to volunteer at the Davis Lar orphanage in Fortaleza, Brazil, and raise money to help build a second orphanage. With the help of a UCR student organization, International Service and Global Impact, Bar-or hopes to raise $5,000 toward building a second orphanage.

"I have always had in interest in helping children who have a drive to accomplish great things," Bar-or said. "It is unfortunate to see many children turn to drugs, gangs and prostitution because they see no other way out. This project is important to me because I want to help children reach their potential that would have otherwise been dismissed due to their economic situation."

The other three students participating are: Samantha Wilson, a senior majoring in global studies, from Moreno Valley; Jessica Yamane, a junior majoring in political science and women's studies, from Arcadia; and Danielle Wickman, a junior majoring in biology, from Murrieta.

The program is a project of the Clinton Global Initiative and is designed to challenge college students and universities to tackle global problems with practical, innovative solutions. Former President Clinton established the CGI in 2005 and is scheduled to speak at the February conference.

The Game Art and Design Department at Westwood College will be hosting a "Your Future in Game Art and Design" event at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. on February 17.

There will be guest speakers, student project exhibits and refreshments.

RSVP by calling (909) 985-5963 or e-mail sbateman@westwood.edu by February 16.

The Admissions Department in conjunction with The Game Art and Design Program at Westwood College in Upland would like to announce a Gaming Students Open House at 11a.m. and 6 p.m. on Feb. 18.

There will be guest speakers,student projects and refreshments.

Westwood College is located at 20 W. 7th Street, Upland.

Students can RSVP  for this event by calling (909) 931-7550 or e-mailing sbateman@westwood.edu.

SAN ANTONIO COMMUNITY HOSPITAL AND AMERICAN RED CROSS HOLD FIRST BLOOD DRIVE EVENT TO CELEBRATE NEW PARTNERSHIP 
 

Upland, CA - February 3, 2009 - San Antonio Community Hospital and the American Red Cross will hold its first joint community blood drive on Thursday, February 5, 2009, from 7 am to 7 pm, in the hospital's Auditorium.   

The hospital has partnered with the American Red Cross for its ongoing blood drives, which encourage community members to make a difference and "donate life."  As part of this partnership, the Red Cross will work in collaboration with the hospital in an effort to help maintain a continuous blood supply for patients in the Inland Valley. 

San Antonio Community Hospital has long been recognized for its outstanding blood collection efforts, and is considered one of the most successful blood donor programs in the area.  Each year, the hospital requires more than 6,000 units of blood for its own patient transfusions, and is able to replace an average of 80% or more of that blood supply through their own blood drives, freeing up the American Red Cross to use its blood reserves for other patients, or disaster situations, without facing dangerous shortages.  In fact, community members support the hospital by donating blood at hospital blood drives, where the donations come back to directly help hospital patients.

Dr. Linda Kaminski, assistant superintended for educational services at the Upland Unified School District, has recently been awarded the 2009 Association of California School Administrators Region 12 Curriculum and Instruction Administrator of the Year Award.

Kaminski will be recognized at the ACSA Region 12 award banquet on April 20 at the University of Redlands.

Her nomination will move forward for consideration at the state level.

Along with a letter outlining her contributions, two letters of recommendation were written and submitted. One was signed by each campus principal in the district and the other was signed by District Superintendent Gary Rutherford.

"I know you join me in congratulating Linda on this well-deserved honor. Her work continues to bring pride and credibility to the Upland Unified School District - and I personally believe we have a state champ in our midst," Rutherford said in an announcement to employees.

Students enrolled in any Upland Unified School District schools may soon lose the need for pen and paper.

The school district is in the process of updating K-12 classrooms with 21st century technology such as smart boards, laptops for every student, wireless Internet, wireless printers, microphones for the teachers and LCD projectors.

Many of the school buildings were built over the span of the last few decades, making modernization necessary in some classes.

"Once we get to the place where everything is modified then we can certainly go back and make updates," Roubian said.

Skylights are being placed into the roofs of each class to allow natural lighting into the classroom. Each skylight can be adjusted to determine how much light enters the rooms.
"One teacher hasn't turned her lights on in two months," Roubian said. "We anticipate a huge savings in our electric bill."

The design of the rooms are also being updated to include new paint, carpet, portable storage and furniture.

Money from the Measure K bond passed by voters in February 2008 is funding the room modernization.

"We really couldn't get started until Measure K was passed," Roubian said. "We started immediately when voters passed the bond."

The bond money is intended to go toward facilities and should last over the next 20 years, he said.

At least one class on every school campus has been completed and 34 classes are scheduled to be finished over the summer.

Read more in tomorrow's edition of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin newspaper.

Two Town Hall meetings to engage the community in conversation about the state budget crisis and it's implications for Upland Unified School District are set.

The first meeting is 7 p.m. tonight at Upland Junior High School.

The second is 7 p.m. Monday Feb. 9 at Pioneer Junior High School.

Blood Drive Set
for Marilyn Williams


A replenishment blood and marrow drive in honor of San Antonio Heights resident Marilyn Williams is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 8, in Upland.

Williams recently was diagnosed with acute myelocytic leukemia and is undergoing treatment at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte.

Williams and her husband, architect Max Williams, have been involved in numerous community and philanthropic organizations for many years. Most recently, Marilyn Williams chaired the Hope Partners Walk for the Hungry, which raised more than $70,000 to help replenish area food pantries.

The blood and marrow drive is planned from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the fellowship hall of First United Methodist Church, 262 N. Euclid Ave., Upland.

The blood replenishment drive will be conducted by LifeStream, the new name for the Blood Bank of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.

Those wishing to donate should drink plenty of fluids before arrival and bring a photo ID.

For more information, contact Renee Noble at (909) 519-1638.

The Upland Woman's Club is hosting a February Luncheon Meeting at Noon on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at the club house located at 590 N. Second Ave, Upland.

Reservations must be in by Noon on Friday, Feb 6.

The cost is $8.50.

For more information call (909) 938-3839.

The Upland Public Library is having a discussion on "God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible" by Adam Nicolson Feb. 7 10 a.m. until Noon.

The discussion will take place in the library's multi-purpose room.

The library is located at 450 N. Euclid Ave. in Upland.

Teen driver safety program, "Drive for Life," is Feb. 7 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Gibson Senior Center located at 250 N. Third Ave. in Upland.

"Drive for Life" is presented by the Upland Police Department to educate young drivers ages 15-19 years on the causes and prevention of traffic collisions.

This program brings traffic safety awareness to teen drivers through interactive lecture, guest speakers and multi-media presentations.

The students will come away with a better understanding of the tremendous responsibility involved in driving and the consequences of poor decisions behind the wheel.

Topics covered include: Drunk driving, speeding, street racing, seatbelts, traffic court and driving laws.

"Safe & Sound on Shifting Ground" is the theme for this month's Rancho Cucamonga Women's Connection luncheon on Feb. 10.

The event begins at 11:15 a.m.  and will be at the Upland Hills Country Club located at 1231 E. 16th St. in Upland.

Cost is $16 for the meal and program.

For more information call Joan at (909) 949-2837 or Cecilia at (909) 987-7069.

The Upland Chamber of Commerce is having their first Friday networking meeting this Friday February 6 at 7 a.m.

The meeting is sponsored by Inland Productivity Solutions, Inc. and will take place at D'Uplanders located at 296 N. Second Ave., Upland.

Cost is $10 for members and $15 for perspective members.

The topic of the meeting is 100% networking, so guests are encouraged to bring their business cards.

Reservations are required by Feb. 5. To make reservations call (909) 204-4465.

The Upland Chamber of Commerce is having a ribbon cutting at Cherry On Top Feb. 5 at Noon.

Cherry On Top is located at 887 W. Foothill Blvd. in Upland between San Antonio Ave. and Mulberry Ave.

Those interested in having a ribbon cutting for their business are to call (909 204-4465.

The Upland Chamber of Commerce is having its Ambassador Team meeting February 4 at 8 a.m. at the new office.

Ambassador team members enjoy networking opportunities while extending support to the chamber.

Those interested in becoming part of the team are to call (909) 204-4465 and RSVP.

The new Chamber office is located at 215 N. Second Ave. in Upland. The meeting will be in the Chamber board room Suite C.