March 2009 Archives

The Mountain Green Shopping Center, Upland Fire Department and the Muscular Dystrophy Association will hold a Spring Fling from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 3 through 5.

There will be face painting and a disc jockey during Saturday's event.

The fling will take place at the Mountain Green Shopping Center at 373 Mountain Ave. in Upland.

The event is to help support the annual Fill The Boot fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

San Antonio Community Hospital has achieved a spot in the Thomson Reuters top 100 hospitals study.

The hospital was one of four hospitals in California to be included in the top 100 and is the only in San Bernardino County.

This is the first recognition of it's kind since the hospital opened in 1907.

"It's a tremendous acknowledgment of all the work and efforts that all of the people at this organization have put in over the last four or five years," said Steven Moreau, president and CEO of San Antonio Community Hospital. "The hospital works together to continuously improve and the results are evident now.

The hospital administration did not know San Antonio Community Hospital was being evaluated in the study until the rankings were completed, Moreau said.

"It means a lot to be recognized by an external organization that look at objective data," he said. "At the end of the year they decided who were the higher performers in the county and we happen to be in the top 100. We're proud of that."

The Thomson Reuters study evaluated performance in nine areas: mortality, medical complications, patient safety, average length of stay, expenses, profitability, cash-to-debt ratio, patient satisfaction and adherence to clinical standards of care.

"I believe this is the most prestigious and most objective reward," Moreau said. "It's not based on perception, not based on peoples thought process. This is a fundamental statistical review of results for all the hospitals across the country. I think it's the most valid and most valued one."

Within the top 100, hospitals were broken down into five categories: major teaching hospitals, teaching hospitals, large community  hospitals, medium community hospitals and small community hospitals.

San Antonio Community is considered a large community hospital and was the only California hospital in the category.

According to the study results, if all Medicare inpatients received the same level of care as patients treated in the top 100 hospitals: more than 107,500 additional patients would survive each year, nearly 132,000 patient complications would be avoided annually, expenses would decline by $5.9 billion a year and the average patient stay would decrease by nearly half a day.

San Antonio Community Hospital was also named one of the top 23 hospitals nationwide to receive the first ever Everest Award for National Benchmarks - an award for hospitals that set national benchmarks for the fastest five-year rate of improvement.

"All of those were at benchmark levels," Moreau said. "That says a lot about where we were and where we are."

Teamwork among the administration, nursing staff, physicians and hospitals employees led to the hospital receiving both awards, said Dr. Victor Ching, President of the Medical Staff at San Antonio Community Hospital.

"I think it's just a continuous pursuit of excellence and I think that's where we want to be," Ching said. "It shows a real leadership at the top. It filters down through everything that's done."

Ching has been a physician with the hospital since 1982 and has seen the the hospital's growth over the years.

"I think all along it's always been about the patient care, patient safety and what is good for the patient," Ching said. "But now there is a lot of differences as far as documentation and roving that our patients do get the best care."

West Anaheim Medical Center in Anaheim, St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Red Bluff and Desert Valley Hospital in Victorville were the other three California hospitals in the top 100.

For the complete list of winners click here.

For the complete list of Everest Award winners click here.

Mary Petit, the Upland resident planning to start a community garden, is having two information and planning meetings this week.

Those attending are asked to bring a pen or pencil.

Meeting will be held at 7 p.m. April 2 and at 10 a.m. April 4 at the Life Bible Fellowship Church located at 2426 N. Euclid Ave. in Upland.

The meetings will be held in the Monte Vista #1 and #2 modular rooms past the church office. Parking is available on the south end of the parking lot or along the street.

Petit is also asking participants to start saving their newspapers.

If participants are ready, work teams such as the irrigation team, survey and plot layout team and the supplies team can be formed.

The Upland Chamber of Commerce is having their first Friday meeting at 7 a.m. Friday April 3 at the Carnegie Building.

This meeting's special guest speaker is Marty Levy of Human Resources 4U. The topic of the discussion is "Human Resource issues for small and midsized business owners."

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

Breakfast will be provided by Buckboard BBQ & Grill.

The Carnegie building is located at 123 E D Street in Upland.

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

The Upland Chamber of Commerce is having their April ambassador team meeting at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

The meeting will be at the Chamber office located at 215 N. Second Ave. Suite D in Downtown Upland.

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

To RSVP call (909) 204-4465.

Karen Winter, superintendent of Western Christian Schools in Covina and Claremont is sharing another update on the purchase of certain assets of Upland Christian Schools.

The following is from the update posted on Western Christian Schools' Web site:

Update on Upland Christian:

1. Escrow is moving forward positively with final process and with our financing.  As we have indicated in previous communication bulletins and parent meetings, it is a lengthy process to purchase church property, because of the due diligence process, as well as complications with the involvement of several organizations (a church, denominational school district, and Western).   As shared previously, additional issues that have played into the time frame were the legal issues that were resolved and the National banking issues, in addition to the long process of receiving non-profit bond funds.  We appreciate your continued prayers and support throughout this process.  We look forward to the positive results of owning our own high school campus.
2. Our current high school facilities in Covina have 32,000 square feet in comparison to Upland Christian which has approximately 96,000 square feet.
3. We plan to schedule an open house event at Upland Christian in April, for parents and students to preview the sight.
4. Our architects are currently working on plans to overhaul the current Upland Christian sports field.  When completed, the sports field will be larger and able to accommodate an 11 man football team.  The turf will be completely upgraded.

A parent survey was also conducted with parents of students enrolled at Western Christian Schools. The results can be found here.

A survey to help Western Christian Schools administrators plan a new busing system for Fall can be found here.

Tuesday March 31

Junior Varsity Boys Tennis at 3:15 p.m. against Alta Loma High School.

Frosh/Soph Softball at 3:15 p.m. against Los Osos High School.

Varsity Softball at 3:15 p.m. against Los Osos High School.

Wednesday April 1

Junior Varsity Boys Baseball at 3:15 p.m. against Los Osos High School.

Thursday April 2

Varsity Boys Tennis at 3:15 p.m. against Etiwanda High School.

Frosh/Soph Softball at 3:15 p.m. against Alta Loma High School.

Varsity Softball at 3:15 p.m. against Alta Loma High School.

Junior Varsity Swim at 3:15 p.m. against Los Osos High School.

Varsity Swim at 3:15 p.m. against Los Osos High School.

Friday April 3

Junior Varsity Boys Baseball at 3:15 p.m. against Alta Loma High School.

Upland girl scout troop 1216 have safely returned from their journey to the Alaskan Frontier.

The troop, accompanied with troop leader Holly Wood and her son John, visited former Mt. Baldy resident and musher Karin Hendrickson to help her prepare for her first Iditarod race.

The group went to Alaska Feb. 28 for a week.

During that time they stayed in a girl scout camp in Wasilla, Alaska called "Camp Togowoods."

It was a rustic cabin with a wood burning stove for heat and an outhouse which was approximately 200 feet away from the cabin, said Wood in an e-mail.

"The outhouse was quite an experience when in was -8 degrees below zero and the toilet seat was frozen," she said. "Or, when we had to go to the outhouse and there were Moose hanging out around the outhouse.  Also, there was no running water which meant at times, we had to bring in snow and melt it on a wood burning stove for water to make hot chocolate."

The group had to travel to the Anchorage Recreation Center to get their one shower they had while there.

The girl scouts sent a ranger to plow the roads and teach them about safety and wildlife.


"Steve, our ranger also instructed us to bring in logs from outside so that we could stay warm from the wood burning stove," Wood said. "The council educated us on Alaskan Natives and scouting in Alaska.  They also taught us a great deal about arctic wildlife, safety and lots of other Alaskan scout information to keep us well informed and safe during our 10 day adventure."

They attended the Iditarod Musher Banquet and Official Start of the Iditarod, "Reindeer Races," went dog sledding, saw incredible ice sculptors, had caribou stew, Alaskan salmon and reindeer sausages, said Wood.

"We learned a great deal about living in the area that we call in America, "The Last Frontier".  It was a great great experience and we would highly recommend it to all."

The April book-enders meeting is 10 a.m. to Noon April 4.

The group will meet in the multi-purpose room to discuss The Yellow House, Van Gogh, Gauguin And Nine Turbulent Weeks In Provence by Martin Gayford.

More information is available here.

Sign-ups for the VolunTEEN Program begin April 2 in the Magnolia Recreation Center located at 651 W. 15th Street in Upland.

Teens ages 14-17 will gain leadership experience, meet new people, have fun and gain new insights on how to help their community.

Assignments may include summer special events, summer day camps, Aquatics, youth sports, seasonal special events, Gibson Senior Center events, classes and workshops.

Benefits Include:
•            Meeting and interacting with others their own age
•            Leadership Training
•            Certificate and completed hours for Government Classes and other school related community service requirements.
•            Letter of Recommendation for college applications and future employment
•            Prizes and awards for hours served
•           Each Volunteen will gain valuable work experience as well as the satisfaction of providing a vital service to the community.

For more information please contact Jessica Garcia at (909) 931-4382.

Willie Tarwater, 45,  was recognized as "Out Patient" graduate of the year during the Inland Valley Recovery Services graduation Wednesday night at the Grove Theatre.

Tarwater has been off methamphetamine and alcohol for 219 days.

"It's the beginning," he said. "I'm trying to get my daughter back. That's my goal. I want to be a good dad and husband."

The moment Tarwater realized he needed to seek treatment was the day his 3 year-old daughter was taken away from him. 

Tarwater's goal now besides staying clean is to get his daugther back, he said.

"I had all this sickness in me I had to fight," Tarwater said. "When I had to give my daughter to my mother-in-law it was all gone."

Donna Herbert, 44, grew up and Upland and got clean in Upland. 

The 44 year old celebrated 13 months of staying off methamphetamine during the Inland Valley Recovery Services graduation Wednesday at the Grove Theatre.

"The sky is the limit now,"she said. "It's more recognition that I can do anything I put my mind to."

Herbert finished her treatment in August and just finished school on March 12 for drug and alcohol counseling. 

She was rewarded the "Women's Residential" graduate of the year during the ceremony.

"For 30 years I was an addict, for 30 years, and I've been through eight different programs, but this last treatment at IVRS I got a counselor that saw something in me I didn't see in myself," she said. 

"It was the hardest thing. I was broken. It wasn't easy at all. It was hard."

During her treatment, Herbert participated in numerous recovery groups a day with other women trying to battle their addictions.

"You bond with other women," she said. "We learn how to live again. They show us how to."

Angelita Yarkonis, 51, is in recovery.

She has been clean and sober for 8 years now and was recognized for her work with other females in recovery at the Inland Valley Recovery Services graduation Wednesday.

Yarkonis graduated in 2005, but was recognized Alumni of the year during the graduation at the Grove Theatre in Upland.

"Every year I kept coming back to the graduations, every year wondering when am I going to be up there?" she said. "When am I going to be a message to somebody, when am I going to show them what recovery really means in the conviction of my life."

The Fontana resident is currently living in her car and hotel rooms until she finds a job.

She has applied to Brandon's Diner in Upland and went to welding school.

"Now I'm living off unemployment and basically one day at a time living in my car and still remaining sober no matter what the situation is," Yarkonis said. 

Yarkonis cleans windows and details trucks to get by.

"I changed my hustle from hustling through my dope and addiction and I hustle now through my recovery."

Two of the women Yarkonis sponsors graduated with nearly 40 other Inland Valley Recovery Services clients.

It makes me proud that they graduated," Yarkonis said. "The information I can apply in my life I give to them like tools.

She made a gesture with her hands as if giving an invisible tool belt to someone.

"Here are my tools you can use them. Because if it works for me, it may work for you. That's how I teach them."

A rocky economy may make the job search more difficult for individuals with a rocky past.

Nearly 40 men and women graduated from the Inland Valley Recovery Services drug and alcohol treatment program Wednesday.

Many of which will now attempt to re-enter the workforce.

"Of course now with the economy with the way it is there are not very many jobs out there to be had and there's a lot of applicants," said Stacy Smith, executive director of Inland Valley Recovery Services in Upland.

When clients are ready to start hunting for a job, they work with program counselors to get their resume, interview skills and clothing prepared.

"It's terrible and my heart breaks for them because they go on job searches, some have skills they had prior to addiction, some have skills they got while in addiction and many do not, so they are having a difficult time," she said. "They are searching and searching and searching. We don't offer employment, but it would be wonderful if we could partner with a couple of businesses in the area that could take one or two interns a year and help place those people in employment."

The clients are taught anonymity through alcoholics anonymous and narcotics anonymous and do not have to share their addiction history with potential employers, Smith said.

"They can say if they feel it's important for the job, but it's not something they have to disclose," Smith said. "They learn that from alcoholics anonymous. When they put the 12 steps together years ago that was their premise and it still holds true."

However some clients have symbols of their past on their bodies, which can be seen by interviewers.

"Some of the graduates have a lot of tattoos," Smith said. "There are programs that remove the tattoos for them but some have tattoos on their face and neck, so they have a more difficult time."

                                                                                                                             

Inland Valley Recovery Services locations and contact information:

The administrative headquarters is located at 916 N. Mountain Avenue, Suite A in Upland. They can be contacted at (909) 932-1069.

The recovery center for outpatient services is located at 934 N. Mountain Avenue, Suites A and B in Upland. They can be reached at (909) 949-4667.

The Pomona recovery center out patient services is located at 375 South Main Street, Suite 111 in Pomona. They can be contacted at (909) 622-7311.

Danny Medina, 26 of Ontario, rides his bike to Chino every morning, often getting chased by dogs, so he can carpool to work in Torrence.

This is something Medina said he could never do, if he didn't seek treatment six months ago for his addiction to Heroin and Alcohol.

"I want my daughter to grow up saying 'my daddy is a good man," Medina said. "So I'm doing everything I can."

Medina graduated from the Inland Valley Recovery Services Wednesday night and was named "Men's Residential" graduate of the year.

"I was sick and tired of being sick and tired," Medina said. "I went to prison and was not doing what I wanted to do. I was tired of hearing the guy with the badge in prison telling me what to do at what time. I want to do what I want to do."

Medina's fiance Lannette Leyva, friends and supporters cheered and shouted for him when he was receiving his award.

After an emotional speech, Medina's two year-old daughter Uriajh, ran up to the stage to hug her father.

"It's a beautiful journey, it's a struggle, it's a hard journey," he said. "But with my friends that I have today I can do it. It's an awesome journey. There's hoops and loops and mountains I have to climb, but I'm doing it."

Nearly 40 Inland Valley Recovery Services clients graduated with Medina at the Grove Theatre Wednesday night.

This is the one public event the Upland-based organization holds every year.

"It is very confidential and we talk about anonymity and it's kept quite," said Stacy Smith, executive director of IVRS. "It's a very personal experience, so we just share once a year what we do here at the graduation and I'm really proud of all of them."

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

The Upland Public Library will be closed on Sunday April 12 for the Easter Holiday.

The Upland girl scout troop 1216 will be sharing their recent trip to Alaska with the community at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Upland Public Library.

The group traveled to Alaska February 27 for a week of learning about the state and their annual Iditarod race.

While there, they helped former Mt. Baldy resident and Iditarod musher, Karin Hendrickson prepare for her first race.

They helped feed her dogs, clean their pins and put booties on their feet to protect them from the snowy ground.

Seven members of the Upland Christian Academy board of trustees have been finalized.

President: Mark Purdy, President/CEO of TRL Systems, Inc.

Vice President: David Haney, retired Superintendent of Schools Fillmore & Hesperia, retired professor of education and director at Point Loma Nazarene University.

Treasurer: Robert Lemelin, President/CEO of Lexxion, Inc.

Secretary: Elizabeth Ertel, former board member of the Upland First Church of the Nazarene

Trustees: Rev. Kevin Mannoia, faculty and graduate student from Chaplain, Azusa Pacific University, former President of the National Association of Evangelicals.

Pastor Diego Mesa, Senior Pastor of Abundant Living Family Church

Teri Lawrence, writer/director.

Head of School: Sue Chiappone, former Head of School at Upland Christian Schools.

The Upland Chamber of Commerce is having their monthly membership luncheon, "State of the Business Community," 11 a.m. March 31.

The luncheon will be in the AITA Auditorium inside San Antonio Community Hospital located at
999 San Bernardino Road in Upland.

Cost is $25 per member with RSVP by March 24 $35 prospective member with reservation by March 24, after $35 or at the door.

Matt Schumsky, executive director of the San Bernardino County Republican Party, was recruited to help strengthen the group's presence in the area shortly before Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Claremont, stepped down.

"In San Bernardino almost all our congressional members are republicans. What we're going to do is make sure it stays that way in making sure the party does a phenomenal job in supporting them in their election," Schumsky said.

Currently the Democratic party hat the majority of registered voters in the county.

There are three reasons for that according to Schumsky.

"The San Bernardino County Republican party really wasn't very active last year," he said. "We really weren't doing anything. Second would be the fact the nobody can ignore - the fact that there was a very large waive of enthusiasm behind Barack Obama and that really got a lot of people who normally don't vote and the disenfranchised, into trying to support him. The third thing is there was a lot of democratic groups, mainly ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), that were up there doing the registration. And acorn, as we know, has been shown to have a 60 percent rate of registration that were phony and false. They've been indited in literally dozens of states for the same thing."

Schumsky is hopeful that the party will gain momentum and more seats in Congress by the next election.

"Usually when a party does not get a President into office that party two years later gets a big swing back to their side and if history repeats itself we would definitely pick up quite a few seats in 2010," he said. "And because of the disillusionment of Barack Obama, which I almost feel bad for the guy. He was built up so high it's almost impossible for him to keep his promises."

Upland Councilman Ken Willis is now the chairman of the San Bernardino County Republican Party.

Willis replaced Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Claremont, as chairman when Adams resigned from the position last week.

Here is Willis' response to Adams' resignation:

"There were two famous philosophers, Edmund Burke, believed after once elected to parliament one votes their own conscience irrespective of their constituents. Philosopher and politician, Rousseau took the position that once elected you vote with the majority of constituents, period, even if counter to own philosophy.

And I would like to think there is a middle ground where once elected you listen to your constituents carefully and you consider both your constituents and your own beliefs and your own understanding of the facts. Sometimes try to compromise, but after all democracy at the end of the day is supposed to be about compromise.

The answer to what Adams did is far more complicated than merely how he voted. I think it's the process that took him there. That's important to understand and I think that the process is important with all elected officials.

More than once on the city council I've read staff reports about issues and tried to understand them and had one feeling about them and after listening to what the public had to say realized it was deeper and there was more to do and more to be considered. As a consequence you either change your vote or find there is a compromise that all parties agree to.

The effective thing about compromise is that everyone has to agree to it.

Anthony did what he thought his conscience told him to do. There are some who need to villainize anyone who disagrees with him. I do not."

Strengthening the Republican Party base in San Bernardino County will now be the responsibility of Upland councilman Ken Willis.

"I think there are a lot of challenges ahead and the primary response of the central committee is to promote party registration within the county," Willis said.

The party will immediately set into motion a long term program for voter registration and communication, he said.

"There are a lot of positions and issues the party deems very important and needs to convey a message to members of that party and also with a significant focus on young people as well as small business," Willis said.

Willis was named as chairman of the San Bernardino County Republican Party last week to replace Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Claremont, after he voluntarily resigned from the position.

Adams stepped down after much pressure from California voters after he voted in favor of boosting vehicle licensing fees and income tax and raising sales tax by one cent.

"The departure of Mr. Adams will cause a lot of retrenching and rethinking but he is very supported, he was extremely gracious in his comments at the central committee when he resigned as chairman irrespective of what anyone in the party wanted to think of his vote," Willis said. "There was certainly pressure and discussion and there are more than enough people that were interested in supporting him not so much for the vote but for the right to vote his conscience."

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

The Grove Theatre's performance of Jack And The Giant Saturday gave the children the idea that possibilities are endless.

The performance was organized by the Children's Theatre at The Grove and told the tale of Jack And The Bean Stock.

"All our children's theater has a moral and the moral to this story would be that anyone with an imagination can achieve great things," said Pat Dickson, Children's Theater production manager. "So if you're a dreamer and have a great imagination you can even slay a giant."

This is the second run of performances for Jack and the Giant, but this time preparing for the show was much different.

Only two shows are performed and the actors had half the time to rehearse.

The second performance March 28 at 2 p.m.

"This process was particularly difficult because we usually have a 3 to 4 week run, but with schedule of the theater they have space for two shows this time and a three week rehearsal," Dickson said. "Which is a pretty fast turnaround, so everybody has been working really hard."

Read more in this Friday's Upland/Claremont City News.

Some former parishioners of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Ontario had similar struggles with Father Charles Schultz.

Schultz was priest at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton prior to becoming the priest at St. Anthony's Church in Upland.

The Diocese of San Bernardino has been placed Schultz on 6 month medical leave due to behavioral problems and complaints from parishioners.

Miguel Valenciana was a member of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton for 15 years before leaving due to a run in with Schultz.

Valenciana said Schultz had the usher remove himself, his wife and young grandson from the church's Cry Room in the middle of mass. 

"He came in and then for some reason decided people coming in late to mass go into there," Valenciana said. "He decided to close the cry room because people were using it when they came in late."

The cry room is where parishioners with small children sit, rather than the main chapel.

Valenciana said he wrote a letter to Diocese in San Bernardino about the situation.

"I got a letter back from one of the pirests saying he would look into it and that was the last I  heard from him," he said.

Valenciana and his family left the church soon after the incident.

"I told the people there why I left and they understand why," he said.

Another former St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parishioner, had written letters to Bishop Gerald Barnes of the Diocese of San Bernardino about Schultz behavior as well.

"He was always begging for money," the parishioner said. "Right before he left he was trying to get some local residents to donate for a bigger church in Southern Ontario because he wanted to add on a daycare for poor illegal immigrants."

The parishioner stopped attending mass in order to avoid Schultz.

"He's not a very nice gentleman," he said. "Unfortunately we had him there and couldn't get rid of him."

Upland Christian Academy is having a fundraiser Monday March 30 from 4 to 9:30 p.m. at Islands in Rancho Cucamonga.

Islands is located at 11425 Foothill Blvd. and Milliken Ave.

Present a flyer at the time of purchase and Upland Christian Academy will receive 20 percent of the proceeds earned that night.

The flyer can be downloaded here.





Upland Christian Academy is also involved with GoodSearch.

GoodSearch is a search engine powered by yahoo that supports non-profit organizations and charities.

Everytime you search through GoodSearch one penny will be donated to UCA.

To do this take the following steps:

1. go to http://www.goodsearch.com/

2. Under "who do you choose GoodSearch for?" type in Upland Christian Academy.

On the first Saturday of every month beginning April 4, the Upland Animal Shelter will be sponsoring a low-cost vaccination clinic from 10 a.m. to Noon.

Rabies vaccinations will be offered at $10. All other vaccinations will be offered at a discounted rate.

The vaccination clinic will be held at the Upland Animal Services Shelter located at 860 E. 15th street in Upland.

For more information contact the shelter at (909) 931-4185.

All dogs must be on a leash and cats in a carrier. Payment by cash or check only.

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

City Hall is located at 460 N. Euclid Ave.

Agenda packets are available here.

The Upland Chamber of Commerce will host a new member reception from Noon to 1:30 p.m. March 30.

New members can join in an afternoon of hors d'oeuvres and refreshments.

The reception will be at the chamber offices located at 215 N. Second Ave. in Downtown Upland.

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

The Friends of the Upland Library are hosing Teen Movie Night from 6 to 8 p.m. March 26.

Teens will get to watch a movie and enjoy refreshments.

Admission is free.

The movie night will take place in the Carnegie Cultural Center located at 123 D Street, adjacent to the Upland Public Library.

For more information call the library at (909) 931-4213.

The Mayor's State of the City address has been changed to April 29 and will be at Upland City Hall.

The address was originally scheduled for March 24 at the Double Tree Hotel in Ontario, but was moved in order to have the event in Upland.

Meet the expert: What is a mystery? will be 10:30 a.m. to Noon March 28 in the Upland Public Library multi-purpose room.

Sue McGinty, current president of the Central Coast Chapter of Sisters in Crime and former resident of the Inland Empire, will talk about thrillers, true crime, the cozy, and the whodunit--all the kinds of novels that fall under the mystery genre.

Afterward, she will also sell and sign copies of her book, Murder in Los Lobos.

The Upland Professional Firefighters Association in partnership with the Muscular Dystrophy Association are having a "Fill The Boot" event at 8:30 a.m. March 26.

A pancake breakfast will be served to help raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association at Fire Station #1 located at 475 N. Second Ave in Upland.

Last year Upland firefighters were able to raise $44,123.00, $1192.51 per firefighter, through Fill The Boot.

2009 marks the 55th year anniversary of the partnership.

The fire station can be reached at (909) 931-4180.

Upland's own Councilman Ken Willis has become the chairman of the San Bernardino County Republican Party.

After calls for his resignation, Assemblyman Anthony Adams R-Claremont, resigned from the position yesterday, making Willis Chairman.

Many Californian voters pressured Adams into resigning after he agreed to a one cent increase in sales tax, a boost in income taxes and an increase in vehicle license fees.


 Read more here.

Read more about the San Bernardino County Republican Party here.

There will be an Upland City Council meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at Upland City Hall.

City Hall is located at 460 N. Euclid Ave.

The meeting agenda can be found here.

The state of the city luncheon is March 24 at the Double Tree Hotel in Ontario.

It will be sponsored by Burrtec Waste Industries.

This luncheon is hosted by the Upland Chamber of Commerce featuring the Mayor J.P. Pomierski discussing the state of Upland and it's future.

For reservations and more information, contact the Upland Chamber of Commerce at (909) 931-4108.

Two Saturday performances of Jack And The Giant presented by the Children's Theatre at The Grove are scheduled for 2 p.m. on March 21 and 28.

The play tells the story of how a young boy sees the possibilities in a handful of magic beans and saves his village.

During each performance Children's Theatre performers will be in the theatre lobby presenting information about the upcoming Walk for Autism.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for children.

Tickets can be purchased by calling (909) 920-4343, going to the Grove's box office at 276 E. Ninth Street in Downtown Upland or visiting http://www.grovetheatre.com/.

There are 3 home games scheduled for Upland High School this Friday.

The Frosh boys basketball team will be playing the Claremont High School team at 3:15 p.m. at Upland High School.

The Varsity boys basketball team will play Claremont High School at 3:15 p.m. in Memorial Park located at 1100 E. Foothill Blvd. in Upland.

The Varsity boys tennis team will play Walnut High School at 3:15 p.m. at Upland High School.

This month's Upland Chamber of Commerce mixer will be hosted by the Moultrie Academy Music, Voice and Dance located at 1308 Monte Vista Avenue # 1-4 in Upland.

The mixer is 5 to 7 p.m. March 19.

There will be refreshments, a 50/50 opportunity drawing and a raffle.

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

The Third Annual Stop Minding Your Own Business bike-a-thon to support the Foothill Family Shelter in Upland will be from 10 to 11 a.m. April 25

Bikers will be riding to raise money and canned food for Foothill Family Shelter, a non-profit homeless shelter and food pantry.

Stop Minding Your Own Business is non-profit organization that supports a variety of charitable causes through promotion, education and participation by its members.

For more information contact Dior Hildebrand, director of Stop Minding Your Own Business at (909) 803-5147 or visit http://www.smyob.org/

To donate directly to the shelter contact Megan Nehamen, director of children's programs at the Foothill Family Shelter at (909) 931-1732.

What A Deal is offering customers 75 percent off merchandise priced over $1 today through Sunday.

The sale excludes clearance items and prior purchases.

What A Deal is located at 130 S. Mountain Ave. in Upland.

For more information call (909) 931-3331.

The Upland City Council and Mayor John Pomierski approved the Police and Fire Committee's proposal to cancel the contract with Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. during Monday's city council meeting.

The red light cameras are installed at three intersections within the city: Mountain Ave. and Foothill Blvd.; Mountain Ave. and 8th Street; and Euclid Ave. and Foothill Blvd.


View Larger Map

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

In addition, Redflex has told the city of the elimination of an $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," he said, "and our records show no significant decrease in accidents in the five years we've had them."

Read a previous story on the cancellation here.

Recent proposed guidelines for future additions to the Colonies Crossroads shopping center and the Colonies residential area may need to be clarified before any official planning begins.

The city is still in the process of approving regulations and limitations before plans can be drawn up, but many Colonies residents have shared their concerns with city officials over suggestions on building heights and the use of vacant land in the area.

View Larger Map

The Upland Unified School District board approved a resolution eliminate or reduce hours of 20 classified positions during the board meeting Tuesday night.


Positions to be considered for work hour reduction:

Reduction in hours per day for one duplication operation from eight hours per day for 11 months a year to four hours per day for 11 months per year.

Reduction in hours per day for one elementary health technician from 6.5 hours per day for 10 months a year to four hours per day for 11 months per year.

Reduction in hours per day for three elementary instructional aides, categorial from three hours per day for 10  months per year to 2.5 hours per day for 10 months per year.

Reduction in hours per day for one elementary instructional aide, categorical from 3 hours per day for 10 months per year to 2 hours per day for 10 months per year.

Positions to be considered for elimination:

One campus operations foreman

One custodian (vacant)

One grounds worker I

One warehouse supervisor

One campus grounds attendant, five hours per day for 12 months

One proctor at Upland High School (vacant)

One instructional media center technician, four hours per day

One volunteer aide coordinator, 3.75 hours per day

One instructional aide, EL, three hours per day for 10 months

Three instructional aide, EL, 12 hours per week for 10 months

Two elementary instructional aides, categorical, 12 hours per week for 10 months

La Bella Salon with be hosting the first annual "Woman in the Workforce" event on Saturday.

Eight women within the Crossroads program will receive a make-over.

Crossroads, Inc is a six-month residential program for women on parole. 

Each of the women will receive beauty services, make-up application, as well as relaxing hand and foot treatments.

While providing the recipients with a new look, the salon stylists will teach them application and styling techniques. 

The stylists hope the event will build self-confidence and contribute toward a fresh start. 

Stylists will be donating time and product for the event, and many have come forward to support many other needs associated with the event. 

Donations of interview attire, toiletries, and make-up (that they can take home with them) are needed.
 
For more information call La Bella Salon at (909)982-8821.

Pearl Diala has wanted to be a pediatrician since she was 5 years old.

"I had a neighbor that would dress me up as a doctor, and I would go with him to work," Pearl said.

Pearl, 16, has followed her ambition to become president of the Upland chapter of Health Occupations Students of America.

On Tuesday, the Upland High School senior spoke to a group of students from Upland High as well as Upland and Pioneer junior high schools during a special presentation about careers in the medical field.

Pearl was joined by representatives from Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, University of La Verne, UCLA Medical Center and Western University of Health Sciences.

"We are here to inform students and let them know what it takes to be in the medical field," Pearl said.

"We inform them about the need for careers out there and the ways they can get accepted into medical schools."

Students with an interest in career in health were excused from their class for the presentation.

Richard Hernandez, special projects director for Reach Out West End, passed out charts that included information on salaries and different medical professions.

"We teach kids the different type of things they can do in health and try to pique their interest," Hernandez said.

Upland High offers a biomedical pathway for students to get a jump start on their education in the medical field.

"I think it's exciting that they are really interested especially with the economy," said Mary Sliney, teacher with the Baldy View Regional Occupation Program. "Health careers are not going anywhere."

Read the full article here.

A story from the Associated Press posted on News 24/7 on the Daily Bulletin Web site:

Today, many poor and rural areas already face doctor shortages, and primary care positions go unfilled as doctors gravitate to higher-paying medical specialties. Graduating more doctors doesn't directly address either problem, but is a key part of the answer, medical groups say.

This year alone, the number of accredited medical schools training doctors in the U.S. is set to grow by four to 130. Five others have applied for accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, with the aim of accepting students in 2010 or 2011.

Read the full story here.

News release from the office of San Bernardino County Second District Supervisor Paul Biane:

San Bernardino County Second District Supervisor Paul Biane would like to remind San Antonio Heights residents that the Community Cleanup being held on Saturday, March 14 will be in a different location than past cleanups.

 

County residents can dispose of trash, tires and other garbage for free in containers that will be located along Mountain Avenue south of 25^th Street. The containers will be available from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday on a first-come, first-serve basis or until filled. Past San Antonio Heights cleanups were held in the parking lot of a local business, but this space was not available for the cleanup.

 

"This is a great opportunity for residents to get a jumpstart on their spring cleaning," said Second District Supervisor Paul Biane, who represents the San Antonio Heights community.

 

Residents can dispose of tires with rims removed as long as the tires do not exceed 11 inches by 25.5 inches. Residents planning to bring 10 or more tires should call (909) 387-0289 to make arrangements before the Community Cleanup.

 

Hazardous materials including motor oil, TVs, computer monitors, batteries, paint, chemicals, pesticides, drain cleaner and furniture polish will not be accepted. Call (800) 645-9228 for information about local hazardous waste disposal options. Commercial waste will also not be accepted.

 

County Supervisor Paul Biane, Code Enforcement, and Solid Waste regularly organize Community Cleanups to help discourage illegal dumping, which continues to be an issue in San Antonio Heights and throughout the County.

Members of several local Toastmaster clubs will compete in a speech contest March 21 at the Ontario Salvation Army located at 1412 S. Euclid.

This is the first in a series of contests leading to international competition at the Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking. 

The morning contest starts at 9:00 am and the afternoon contest at 1:00 pm.

Admission is $10.

Participants are asked to bring a non-perishable food item to contribute to the Salvation Army Food Bank.

For more information call (909) 949-081.

The Toastmasters Route 66 Club is having a meeting at 7 p.m. Friday March 20 at the International House of Pancakes located at 80 N. Euclid Ave. in Upland.

The club offers people an opportunity to overcome fear of public speaking and a chance to gain self-confidence.

Visitors are always welcome.

Meetings are held the first and third Friday of each month.

Fore more information call (909) 949-0814.

The Upland Unified School District recognized the achievements of Upland High School student, Jessica Baker during Tuesday's board meeting.

Baker was named a distinguished finalist in the 2009 Prudential Spirit of Community Award program. She also earned the President's Volunteer Service Award from the Council on Service and Civic Participation.

Last March, Baker organized an Autism awareness fair outside of the Upland Public Library. Different resources were made available to those with Autism and Aspergers.

Through the fair Baker was able to raise $400 in autism related materials for the library.

Gary Rutherford, superintendent of the Upland Unified School District encouraged the school board to wear pink with him on Friday March 13 for Stand Up For Schools Day of Action.

Schools across California will participate in the event by wearing pink and participating in organized before and after school events to protest cuts to public education and the state's continued inadequate funding levels for Californian students and schools.

Wearing the color pink is symbolic for the thousands of "pink slips" that will be sent out to teachers, administrators and staff by Friday due to budget cuts.

The Upland Unified School District board supported participation by approving the resolution during Tuesday's school board meeting.

This month's meet the expert guest is Cynthia Nunes Robinson, an organic gardening enthusiast and master gardener candidate.

Robinson will talk about how to start a mini organic garden using containers from 2 to 3 p.m. March 14 at the Upland Public Library.

Upland National Little League opens Saturday, March 14

Upland National Little League will kick off its 56th year Saturday,
March 14, at Bob Hargis Field at Colonies Crossroads Stadium, located
in Olivedale Park in Upland.

Former Major League pitcher Dave Coggin, who graduated from Upland
High School, will speak to the players and families during the opening
ceremonies. In 1995, Coggin was a first-round draft pick (30th
overall) out of Upland High and played for three years with the
National League's Philadelphia Phillies (2000-2002).

A full day of activities starts at sunrise with team pictures and a
pancake breakfast prepared by members of the Upland Fire Department.
Opening ceremonies begin at 10 a.m. with team introductions, special
presentations and recognition of the top sellers from the league's
candy fundraiser. Those players will be rewarded for their fundraising
prowess with a visit to the league's famous money booth, where each
winning child could walk away with hundreds of dollars.

Outback Steakhouse will serve opening day lunch specials beginning at 11 a.m.

The UNLL season is scheduled to open with four major league division
games at Olivedale Park on March 14, with the opener set for 12:30
p.m. The junior league division launches its season at the south field
at Memorial Park at 1 p.m. Other Upland National divisions begin their
regular seasons on Monday, March 16.

Upland National is the only Little League in the United States that
throughout its 55-year history has never charged a signup fee so that
every eligible child wishing to play baseball can do so, regardless of
his or her family's economic situation. Every child in the league is
provided with a cap and use of quality uniforms, safe equipment and
well-maintained fields, largely because of the generous support of
families, the community and sponsors.

Olivedale Park is located at 550 E. Eighth Street in Upland, east of
Euclid and west of Campus.

For more information, please contact Ralph Cavallo at (951) 990-4595.

Some parishioners of St. Anthony's Church in Upland are losing faith in their leaders.

The parish has been plagued with problems since July when the Rev. Charles Schultz became pastor and complaints to Bishop Gerald Barnes of the Diocese of San Bernardino have gone unanswered, according to some parishioners.

Schultz verbally insulted parishioners and staff, proceeded with facility additions without permits and used force with the church's youth, parishioners said.

"He used a bullying nature with all of us. His manor was not pastoral at all," said Christina Moore, director of religious education and 20-year member of St. Anthony's. "I never had any incidents with him where he behaved as a pastor would, not one, the whole time. There was an occasion when he used profanity and once he made a derogatory remark about my ethnicity."

Schultz is on a leave of absence, according to the diocese. He could not be reached for comment.

From late January to early February, four police reports of physical abuse by Schultz at a Jan. 24 church youth event were filed with the Upland Police Department.

Read the full article here:

http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_11872971?source=rss_viewed

There will be an Upland Unified School District board meeting at 7 p.m. March 10 in the district community room.

The district is located at 390 N. Euclid Ave. in Upland. Their contact number is (909) 985-1864.

On the agenda:

The Board will recognize Upland High School student Jessica Baker for being named a Distinguished Finalist in the 2009 Prudential Spirit of Community Award program as well as earning the President's Volunteer Service Award from the Council on Service and Civic Participation.

The board will receive the Upland Unified School District second interim report through Jan. 31 2009 and accept amendments to the 2008-09 budget. 

The board will consider accepted the second interim report through Jan. 31 and corresponding budget amendments to the 2008-09 budget from Upland's charter school, Options For Youth.

A second reading will be held, by title and number only, and the adoption of the revised Board Policy 6173 - Education for Homeless Children will be considered. 

The board will consider approving Resolution No. 3-10-09(a) - Stand Up for Schools Day of Action on March 13, 2009.

Karen Winter, superintendent of Western Christian Schools, hopes to get the booster committees at Western and Upland Christian Schools together in the near future.

Dalel Snider, Upland, is part of the booster club at Western Christian High School and said she is looking forward to working with Upland families.

"We have made tremendous progress at our campus in Covina and we're planning on continuing with that," Snider said. "We want to leave a legacy for future students to come and participate and we would be through the transition with Upland Christian."

As an Upland resident, Snider said she thinks the city will benefit from all the new Western Christian families entering the area.

"The way the finances are for the city this is going to be a great way of making more money for the city as well," Snider said. "It's going to have more families come from different areas and cities and they're going to be consuming here in Upland. I think it's a positive thing for the city."

Monday March 9

7 p.m. - Upland Varsity softball tournament at Green Belt Park located at 1500 W. 15th Street in Upland.

7 p.m. - Upland Varsity softball tournament at Green Belt Park.

Tuesday March 10

To be announced - Upland Pre-season Varsity boys basketball tournament at Memorial Park located at 1100 E. Foothill Blvd. in Upland.

7 p.m. - Upland Junior Varsity softball tournament at Green Belt Park.

7 p.m. - Upland Varsity softball tournament at Green Belt Park.

Wednesday March 11

7 p.m. - Frosh/Soph softball tournament at Green Belt Park.

Thursday March 12

To be announced - Upland Pre-season Varsity boys basketball tournament at Memorial Park.

3 p.m. - Junior Varsity golf  against Claremont High School at the Upland Hills Golf Course located at 1231 East 16th Street in Upland.

3 p.m. - Varsity golf against Claremont High School at the Upland Hills Golf Course.

5 p.m. and 7 p.m. - Frosh/Soph softball tournament at Green Belt Park.

7 p.m. Junior Varsity softball tournament at Green Belt Park.

7 p.m. Varsity softball tournament at Green Belt Park.

Saturday March 14

To be announced - Upland pre-season Varsity boys basketball tournament at Memorial Park.

To be announced - Frosh/soph softball tournament at Green Belt Park.

To be announced - Junior Varsity softball tournament at Green Belt Park.

To be announced - Varsity softbal tournament at Green Belt Park.





 

La Bella Salon in Upland is showcasing local artists from March 10 through May.

Daniel Douglass' work will be on display until March 31.

Daniel Rarela will be showcased from April 1 to April 15.

"Lounge" will be featured April 15 to April 30.

Ashley VanBrunt's work will be on display from May 1 to May 15. 

La Bella Salon is located at 111 N. Benson Ave. in Upland.

Debra Covington has a son graduating from Western Christian High School this year, but she hopes to have an opportunity to give her input on the transition with Upland Christian Schools.

"I've been part of Western for 15 years now," Covington said. "It's a wonderful school, there are wonderful teachers, wonderful staff, the kids are great and I think it's a great addition for Upland."

Covington doesn't see the number of families transferring to Upland Christian Academy in Rancho Cucamonga as a set back for Western Christian and Upland Christian Schools.

"As far as what Western has now I think there will be plenty staying," Covington said. "Taking into account the current economy we may have had a drop off anyway, but for those that are dedicated to Western they will stay. From what I understand I think there will be a number of students that will stay here in the area with Western rather than move."

Covington said she thinks the transition of Western Christian and Upland Christian will be better than what some people may anticipate.

"Western has been looking for somewhere for quite a long time. We've been praying for a site and this met many of our prayer specifications," Covington said. "Causing another school harm and distress had never been any of our intentions."

As an Upland resident, Covington is excited over the possibility of outside families bringing money into the city.

"There's a lot of people that will come this way from Covina. We also have a lot of students that go from here (Upland) to Covina, Rancho Cucamonga students, Fontana students, Ontario students, Claremont students and La Verne students," Covington said. "So I think it will help bring in shopping traffic for downtown and the Upland area as well."

Carolyn Valle's daughter goes to Western Christian Schools' K-8 campus in Claremont.

She said she is looking forward to the expansion of Christian Schools.

"As far as how it's going to change for Upland Christian I don't think we know yet other than we're going to be larger and greater," Valle said. "There are going to be some growing pains and although a lot of the parents on campus are concerned about that we're up for the challenge because we have a great thing and we want to see it bigger and better."

Valle also said she understands the grief a lot of the families at Upland Christian Schools have been going through since they learned of the sale in September.

"Should that have happened at our school I can't say negativity wouldn't happen from it all I can say is when you have people who love their school they're not giving it up without a fight," she said.

"The fact that there is so much going on we have to stay positive and say there has to be some good that comes from that. On our campus we don't talk about it. There's so much hearsay out there and negativity that has come about that if you focus on that you will get so much wrong information."

The Claremont campus has kept fairly quiet over the chaos surrounding the sale, Valle said.

"I personally, since it very first started I have not heard anything said on campus," she said. "The reason is because we trust our administration. If we didn't trust our administration then I think we'd be worried or scared or upset."

Dalel Snider, of Upland, has two sons enrolled at Western Christian High School and plans to transfer them to the Upland Christian campus in Upland in the fall.

"They came from a very different environment, they lived with their dad in Mexico and were failing school," Snider said. "It was not as soon as they moved to Western, but it changed in about a year. Their progress has been tremendous."

Snider said her oldest son went from a 2.0 grade point average to 3.3.

"It's been hard for them they're whole lives especially my youngest. He's been in a different school every year and this is the first time he feels self confident, that he is accomplishing a lot of his goals and he has been part of the team," Snider said. "That makes him feel a lot better."

One of her sons was the first to be baptized at the school since the 1920s, she said.

"I see a lot of good things because of my kids. I have seen the transition in their lives, the impact of their school, they are treated with respect they really give them the values and love they need," Snider said. "I think that is exactly what Western is giving them, the opportunity to become good honest men in these difficult times."

Western Christian Schools administrators have been working to get plans together for the transition with Upland Christian Schools in the Fall.

Some progress is being made, but no changes are expected to be made to either campus until this academic school year is complete.

"At this point we're just moving forward and making plans and having more people call us and make more plans," Winter said.

Once the transition begins, both Upland and Western Christian Schools will be accredited with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the Association of Christian Schools International.

Parents have been questioning the accreditation of the schools, Winter said.

"Some people thought that in transition there might be a gap, but there is no gap and we confirmed that with both associations," she said.

More parent meetings are expected to occur in the future and a transition team meeting for people at Western and Upland Christian Schools will soon be scheduled, Winter said.

"Transition members have been emailing us constantly," Winter said. "We're still responding to emails and phone calls. We do that daily."

A transition Web site has been made to update families at Western Christian and Upland Christian Schools on the progress being made.

"We've been having parent meetings since October, so we decided to put some of the questions and answers up on that site," Winter said. "We did send a follow up letter to our families and to upland families this week."

Visit the Web site http://westernchristian.org/wcs/ucstrans/

The Scheu Family YMCA of Upland is still raising funds for the new full service Y facility.

In a newsletter mailed out in February, the totals were given.

They have raised $7.6 million out of the $10 million campaign goal. $2.4 million is still needed.

The full service YMCA will be the city's first and is already offering up to 47,000 square feet of space for meetings, parties, shindigs, hoedowns, conferences, weddings and trade shows.

A marquee was set up on the street in October 2008 and sponsorship opportunities are available.

The Scheu Family YMCA of Upland is located at 1325 San Bernardino Rd. in Upland and can be reached at (909) 946-6120.

The full service YMCA is located at 1150 E. Foothill Blvd. in Upland - where the Wayne Gretzky Roller Hockey rink used to be.

The Scheu Family YMCA of Upland is having a stakeholders meeting is 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. March 10.

Donors and friends of the YMCA are invited to attend a catered reception for a progress update on the Y's capital campaign and the design/construction of the new full service YMCA.

The YMCA is located at 1325 San Bernardino Road in Upland and can be reached at (909) 946-6120.

The full service YMCA will be located in the former Wayne Gretzky Roller Hockey building 1150 E. Foothill Blvd. in Upland.

The Upland Unified School District has a school site locator on their Web site.


The school site locator will assist in determining schools of attendance based on residence.


View the locator here:
http://locator.schoolsiteonline.com/?districtCode=Upland&districtName=Upland_Unified_School_District

The Upland Chamber of Commerce is having a government relations forum & economic development forum at 7:30 a.m. March 12.

The forum will be in the chamber's board room located at 215 N. Second Ave. Suite C in Downtown Upland.

Both forums are being combined this month due to State of The Business Community Tuesday, March 31.

This meeting has representatives from our local and state legislators reporting on the latest important City, State and national business related legislation or regulations that impact the ability to do business.

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

There will be a ribbon cutting at Noon March 10 at CoCoCup Cafe located at 373 E. Foothill Blvd. #4 in Upland.

To learn more about CoCoCup visit their Web site http://cococupcafe.com/

Light refreshments will also be served.

Those interested in having a ribbon cutting can call the Upland Chamber of Commerce at (909) 204-4465.

St. Anthony's Catholic Church is having a meeting at 7 p.m. tonight.

The church is located at 2110 North San Antonio Ave. in Upland.

Still in the top 10 most viewed stories on the DailyBulletin.com -

By Will Bigham
Staff Writer
2/25/2009

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A student teacher at an Upland middle school accused of soliciting a 14-year-old girl for sex was sentenced to 270 days in jail on Wednesday after pleading no contest to attempted sexual battery.

Daniel Harold Sundstrom, 47, often stared at the girl in class, offered her a ride home and befriended her on MySpace.com before telling her he wanted to have sex with her, according to a statement the girl read aloud in court on Wednesday.

Sundstrom, an Upland resident, served as a teacher's assistant in an 8th-grade math class at Pioneer Junior High School for the last quarter of the 2007-08 school year.

After Sundstrom contacted the girl on MySpace - a popular social-networking Web site - she told her mother. The mother then contacted Upland police.

Police, posing as the girl, exchanged messages with Sundstrom online and arranged a meeting between him and the girl at Memorial Park in Upland.

Sundstrom was arrested June 19 when he arrived at the park for the meeting.

Prosecutors charged Sundstrom with two felonies and a misdemeanor for his contact with the teen. He agreed to plead no contest to one felony last month as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors.

Read more here.

By Suzanne Sproul

UPLAND -- It's spring and time for runway shows to provide hints of fashions to come.

The Uplanders Club is having a Parisian Fashion Show and Ooh La La Luncheon to help get the ball rolling. But the nonprofit's biggest fundraiser of the year also will help feed the homeless, give students extra help and allow children to simply play.

The community is invited to the March 14, starting at 11 a.m. at the Upland Woman's Club, 590 N. Second Ave. Fashions will be from Chico's in the Claremont Village and modeled by club members including long-time residents and members Ann Thomas and Sherry Kinison.

"I joined this group years ago to get involved and I've met wonderful people. Our fashion show fundraiser, though, is very important because it represents local women coming together to help our community. It also gives us a great reason to get together and catch up with one another," said Kinison, owner of The Grove Theatre in downtown Upland.

In addition to modeling in the show, Kinison has donated to a "Pamper Yourself" gift basket available that afternoon during the silent auction. She has provided two tickets for an evening of fine entertainment at the theater.

"Every year we look at proposals from local groups who need help and this year all were great. We look at what they need and we try to raise a lot of money to help out," said Thomas, who is married to Upland Councilman Tom Thomas.

Read more here.

The Soroptimists International Montclair/Inland Valley is inviting locals to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. March 10 at the Carnegie Cultural Center.

There will be stories, crafts and birthday cake.

The Carnegie Cultural Center is located at 123 D Street, across from Molly's Souper in Downtown Upland.

About Dr. Seuss

Theodore "Seuss" Geisel, Dr. Seuss, was born March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Some of his most popular childrens books include The Cat In The Hat, The Lorax, Green Eggs And Ham, Horton Hears A Who and How The Grinch Stole Christmas. 

There will be a book-enders meeting from 10 a.m. to Noon Saturday in the Upland Public Library multi-purpose room.

This month's book discussion is on Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder.

Book-enders is a book discussion group for adults. They meet the first Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to Noon.

The club reads a common title each  month and multiple copies are available to check out at the library circulation desk.

For more information on Book-enders call Kathy Bloomberg-Rissman at (909) 931-4201.

The Reference USA database is now accessible at home through the Upland Public Library.

Common uses are finding businesses based on employee size, sales volume, type of business and location. Find news articles for research on businesses and perform searches for papers and class projects. Conduct research about industries and companies. Find executives, corporate families and company descriptions. Conduct powerful market research. Select a location and do a radius search to look up the number of similar businesses in the area.

You must use your Upland Public Library card to sign in.

Click here for access. Scroll down until you see "Reference USA."

Tudents, teachers and staff at Western Christian High School have started a penny war.

Penny Wars is a class competition where each class (Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors) tries to collect the most pennies for their class.

All of the proceeds are to be donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to help with research and treatment of those affected by these blood diseases.

New this year, teachers and staff are allowed to participate in the penny wars.

From now until Friday, March 6 students can turn in their pennies to their English classrooms. Each English classroom has a collection box for the class. The teachers and staff boxes will be located in the front office.

Each class will get one point for each penny turned in.

Students can sabotage other class collection boxes by putting money other than pennies into others' collection boxes. Any money other than pennies counts as negative points.

For example: if you are a Freshman and you put a quarter into the sophomore's collection box you are making their total penny count drop by 25 points. The higher the value of the money you put in other than pennies the lower their points go. A $5.00 bill counts as negative 500 points.

The winning class of Penny Wars will get pizza and root-beer floats for lunch on Thursday, March 12th.

The Marera Community Self Help Project, a non-profit, organized to help a community center, health clinic, vocational training center and church in Marera, Kenya.

Members of the First Presbyterian Church in Upland and the Upland Rotary Club have been working for the past few months to build water wells in the village.

A concert is being held from 4 to 9 p.m. March 8 at Central Park in Rancho Cucamonga. Proceeds will go toward the project.

Western Christian Schools has started a web page devoted to the transition of Upland Christian Schools and Western Christian Schools.

It can be viewed here: http://westernchristian.org/wcs/ucstrans/

Main Street Upland is having a ribbon cutting and open house from 5 to 7 p.m. March 5.

The event is hosted by the Upland Chamber of Commerce located at 215 N. Second Ave. Suite D in Downtown Upland.

Main Street Upland is located at 136 E. Ninth Street in Downtown Upland, two doors east from Local Baker.

Anyone interested in holding a ribbon cutting for their business can call the Chamber at (909) 204-4465.

The Upland Chamber of Commerce is having their March ambassador team meeting at 8 a.m. March 4.

The meeting will be in the Chamber office located at 215 N. Second Ave. Suite C in Downtown Upland.

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

Ambassador Team members enjoy great networking opportunities while extending support to the chamber. If you want to have fun and make contacts too, come check out this fun and productive chamber team!

The Upland Unified School District governing board approved a tentative list of full time equivalent certificated positions that may be terminated.

Up to 78.5 positions may be eliminated.

Some of the teachers and employees filling the 78 positions, may be moved into different departments based on their seniority and credentials.

Superintendent Gary Rutherford said no more than 78 certificated employees will receive lay off notices and he expects the number of official lay offs to be less than 78.

The number of employees officially being let go will not be known for a few more months.

The California State Legislature agreed on a state budget two weeks ago, which enabled school districts in the state to determine the cuts that need to be made over the next couple of years.

Upland Unified School District will be forced to cut nearly $10 million over the next two school years.

Number of full time equivalent positions/Services

53 Elementary teachers

3.5 Counselors

1 Junior High Business

1 Jr. High Drama

1 Jr. High English

2 Jr. High Physical Education

1 Jr. High Science

2 Jr. High Social Science

1 High School Business

4 High School English

1 High School Foreign Language - French

3 High School Life Science

2 High School Physical Education

1 High School Physical Science

1 High School Social Science

1 High School Wood Shop

The Upland Unified School District has been updating the community on the budget situation through town hall meetings, newsletters and media coverage for the past few months.

Budget news can be viewed under "breaking news" on the Upland Unified School District Web site.

Wednesday March 4

Frosh, Junior Varsity and Varsity track teams are having a meet at 3:15 p.m. against Chino High School and Patriot High School.

Thursday March 5

Varsity golf will be playing at 2:30 p.m. against Damien High School at the Upland Hills Country Club located at  1231 E. 16th Street in Upland.

Junior Varsity golf will be playing at 2:30 p.m. against Damien High School also at the Upland Hills Country Club.

The Junior Varsity swim team will compete at 3:15 p.m. against Damien High School and St. Lucy's Priory High School.

The Varsity swim team will compete at 3:15 p.m. against Damien High School and St. Lucy's Priory High School.

Friday March 6

Varsity boys basketball will play at 3:15 p.m. Chaffey High School in Memorial Park located at 1100 E. Foothill Blvd. in Upland.

Varsity boys basketball will play at 6 p.m. against Chaffey High School in Memorial Park.

Saturday March 7

Junior Varsity boys basketball will play at 10 a.m. against Chaffey High School at Memorial Park.

Junior Varsity boys basketball will play at 1 p.m. against Chaffey High School at Memorial Park.

Varsity softball will play at 10 a.m. against Glendora High School at Green Belt Park located at 1500 W. 15th Street in Upland.

Varsity softball will play at Noon against Glendora High School in Green Belt Park.

The Samaritan Counseling Center and the First Presbyterian Church of Upland are co-sponsoring a grief-counseling group to help people on their grief journey.

The group will meet once a week for 8 consecutive weeks beginning March 3 at 6:30 pm through April 21st. 

Cost will be $15.00 to cover registration and materials.

Sessions will include topics such as Navigating the grief process, Self care as you grieve, Working through the various emotions that come grieving and How to handle the days like Holidays, Birthdays and Anniversaries.

The sessions will be held in The Garden Room at First Presbyterian Church located at 869 N. Euclid Ave. in Upland.
 
Irene Brown, a registered marriage and family therapist intern, will be leading the sessions under the supervision of Douglas McKown, a licensed psychologist and executive director of Samaritan Counseling Center.

Irene has experience as a grief counselor for individuals and in-group settings.

For more information contact Samaritan Counseling Center at 909 985-0513 or  e-mail info@SamaritanCares.org.

The Samaritan Counseling Center is also located at 869 N Euclid Avenue in
Upland.