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This week’s listings on the back page
O Holy night
Katie Cleek, 12, will dance the role of Clara in this year’s Bonnie Curtis Dance Studio production of “The Nutcracker.”
BOyd
Cleek pirouettes her way into Clara role
this weekend’s production of “the nutcracker” ballet affords Carpinterians an opportunity to say they saw Katie Cleek perform before her name was in lights. the Carpinteria Middle school seventh-grader has set her sights on stardom, and landing the role of Clara, “the nutcracker” lead, in the Bonnie Curtis dance studio production is the first step toward what she hopes will be a career in dance. “(Cleek) is doing a beautiful job with the Clara role,” said Bonnie Curtis. “she has no fear when it comes to acting and expressing herself.” nor is Cleek afraid of putting in the hard work to achieve her dreams. a student of Curtis’ for seven years, Cleek is now enrolled in six different dance classes and regularly trains at the studio for more than 10 hours a week. Cleek has looked up to the dancers playing Clara since she completed her first plié. She played a rat alongside all the other littlest ballerinas in her first “Nutcracker,” then moved up through the roles of candy cane and party guests. In september Curtis told her that she’d been chosen to dance the sought-after role. “I was really excited,” Cleek said. “I couldn’t wait to start practicing.” she added saturday rehearsals to her normal schedule, and started watching videos of past performances to pinpoint what she could add to the part. this weekend, the curtains will rise on Cleek’s big performances. “the nutcracker” will take the stage on Friday, dec. 20 at 7 p.m. and saturday, dec. 21 at 1 p.m. at CMs, 5351 Carpinteria ave. special guest dancer Jean Michelle sayeg will perform the role of the sugar Plum Fairy. For more information, contact Curtis at 684-4099. DRE#01372868
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Reysito Peña, 3, rides a horse as his father Reynaldo Peña leads it in a 60-person procession to St. Joseph Catholic Church for the Our Lady of Guadalupe mass on Dec. 12. The starlit walk followed a grand celebration at Dahlia Court, where the revelers gathered for a feast and mariachi. On foot and on horseback, the group left Dahlia Court and wound through Carpinteria neighborhoods to reach its destination at the Linden Avenue church. The annual event is coordinated by Isabella Peña and her family as a means of bringing people together. Turn to page 11 for more photos.
Security versus sensitivity
Autistic student’s threats lead to restraining order By BRANDON FASTmAN
a mother worried about her son’s wellbeing. school employees worried about the safety of themselves and their students. these are the competing interests in a standoff that, in recent days, has made its way onto the internet. debra Hosseini believes that her autistic son’s teacher, Cindy rief, is waging a campaign to ostracize him from the community. that is because Kevin Hosseini has been served a restraining order from rief as well as a teacher’s aid and a student after threatening them with violence. Kevin, 19, can no longer attend his adult life skills course provided through Carpinteria Unified school district, because he is barred from being within 100 yards of his teacher. Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Brad McVay said, “We were notified by a mental health institute, aurora vista del Mar hospital in ventura, that a person there had made threats while under medication. the patient said he wanted to stab people, so they were obligated to notify us.” Mcvay added, “this person said he was going to harm these several individuals by stabbing
them and then would shoot himself when law enforcement arrived.” Eventually, the hospital decided that the patient had been stabilized and could be released. debra said that her son needed to be checked in because he had a strong reaction to a new epilepsy medication. she believes that Rief is retaliating because she filed a complaint about the teacher a year and a half ago that resulted in two weeks of administrative leave. she has taken to the internet, posting a youtube video interview of Kevin, and adding multiple blog entries about the ordeal on her website, the-art-of-autism.com, originally intended to display Kevin’s visual art. In one entry where she referred to her son as “the rosa Parks of autism,” Hosseini also wrote, “Kevin has never directly threatened the teacher or aide. the threat was made indirectly when Kevin experienced a difficult medication change while at aurora vista del Mar hospital.” “Kevin is intimidating because he is 6-foot 3-inches
SECURITY continued on page 6
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