June 2011 Issue

Page 1

News

Lakewood Community 30,000 delivered to Lakewood and portions of Long Beach

Official publication of the Greater Lakewood Chamber of Commerce

www.lakewoodnews.org

Volume 27 Number 5

Calling all Lakewood residents...Get ready for the Block Party of the year! The Lakewood Civic Center will echo to the live musical entertainment of “The MVPs” on Saturday, June 25. Festivities begin at 4:00pm when the “Family Fun Zone” and “Taste of Lakewood” open. Pre-show activities start the main stage at 4:30pm, and the band will start rocking at 5:00pm. The evening’s climax will be a fireworks show beginning at approximately 9:15pm. The Family Fun Zone will feature activities and amusements for kids and families including a mechanical bull, giant slide, adrenaline obstacle course, bouncers, joust war game, rock climbing wall, pirate ship, mechanical cars and trackless train. The Family Fun Zone will be in the parking lot south of the Angelo M. Iacoboni Library. It will open at 4:00pm and close at 8:30pm. The culinary delights of the participating “Taste of Lakewood”

restaurants will showcase support for Lakewood’s libraries. A broad collection of local eateries will offer signature dinner entrees, refreshments and snacks. Presale “Taste of Lakewood” tickets will be available beginning Thursday, June 9 at city hall and

both Lakewood libraries. Tickets will be available in multi-ticket packs of 4 for $5 or 10 for $10. Single tickets will not be available for presale. Payment can be made with cash or check made payable to FOLL (Friends of the Lakewood Libraries). Credit cards Cont’d on Page 5

June 2011

Take the Lakewood Community News challenge! The community of Lakewood has a great amount of pride and sense of ownership regarding our community newspaper. Whether it’s the editor piecing together the content, or the graphics designer putting it all together, or it’s you, a reader looking for news, editorials, entertainment, or other community information, together it is “our” newspaper. In a long tradition, at the end of every month, the Lakewood community has learned to expect and depend on the newspaper arriving at their doorstep (front yard or driveway) or available for pickup at local businesses. The Lakewood Community News in-house staff works hard to present you with a free newspaper that is rich with community information, while providing a great local feel for visitors to our community. We do receive letters and a few submissions every now and then, but we know with a 30,000 distribution, there are people who truly enjoy the newspaper and would like to become more involved to help make it even better. So, we would like to challenge our readers to take a minute the next time anyone thinks, “that was a great school event, I wish more people knew about it” or “I read something in the paper that I really liked or I’d like to read about something like...” It is your newspaper and a reflection of the community you care about, feel free to email us at news@lakewoodchamber.com, call us at (562) 531-9733 or log onto our new online edition of the Lakewood Community News at www.lakewoodnews.org to give any suggestions that you might have – or submit news, weddings, anniversaries, birth announcements, or obituaries. With just a small amount of your time, we can make great things happen with the Lakewood Community News!

Lakewood resident receives life saving help from local emergency personnel

Concerts in the Park

Pictured is Fred Gies (front right)in the cardiac cath lab at Lakewood Regional Medical Center with the cath team that saved his life.

Live music in Del Valle Park’s groove gets dancers on their feet.

It started as a typical day for retired Fire Chief Fred Gies, but it would be anything but normal. As he did on so many mornings before, the Lakewood resident had made coffee for his wife Cathy, an administrator for Memorial HealthCare IPA. Later that April afternoon, he was staring at his crossword puzzle and hoping to finally finish it. Suddenly, he began having excruciating chest Lakewood Community News #24 Lakewood Center Mall Lakewood, CA 90712 (562) 531-9733

pains. They continued as Fred started to sweat despite his cold chills. He knew he was in trouble and called his wife on her cell phone, but Cathy was on another call. Their youngest daughter— also an employee of the IPA-happened to be in Cathy’s office and answered the cell phone. The next few minutes were critical. Fred asked his daughter, “Where’s your mom? I need

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your mom!” She asked, “What’s wrong daddy?” and Fred said he was having chest pain. She responded “Mom is on the way,” hung up and dialed 911. Several minutes later, LA County engine 94 arrived at the Gies residence, followed by paramedic squad 45. They saw Fred collapse as they entered the house. The fire fighters had already started CPR on Fred when Cathy arrived on the scene. They defibrillated Fred twice while continuing CPR, as Cathy watched helplessly. The engine captain told her they were doing all they can. “I asked them to take my husband to the heart center in Long Beach, but they told me he wouldn’t make it,” Cathy says. “He assured me that Lakewood Regional Medical Center had everything in place to help my husband.” As Fred was rushed via ambulance to the hospital, he was defibrillated twice more as paramedics continued to work on him. The engine captain was right. As a STEMI receiving center for heart attack victims, Lakewood Regional indeed provided the medical expertise to handle Fred’s near-death condition. The STEMI team had to defibrillate Fred four more times before rushing the comatose man to the cardiac cath lab for an angioplasty. Interventional cardiologist Dr. Omid Vahdat and the Cath Lab team inserted three Cont’d. on Page 3

A Lakewood summer favorite is Thursday evening concerts at Del Valle Park. Concerts in the Park will run from June 23 to August 11. Each concert begins at 6:30pm. Bring a blanket or lawn chair. Pack a picnic basket, or buy food and refreshments at the park from a Lakewood community group like the Girl Scouts, Special Olympics or Mayfair Tot Lot Parents. Music this summer includes R&B, Country, 80’s, Classic Rock and more. For details on what music is featured at each concert, call your city recreation staff at 562-866-9771, extension 2408 or go to www.lakewoodcity.org/concerts. Please refrain from bringing alcohol, barbeques or pets. Summer Concerts in the Park are solely supported by area businesses and concert patrons.

Concert Schedule on Page 14

45th Annual Golf Tournament Monday, June 6th Skylinks Golf Course 11:30-1:00: Registration/Fun & Games 1:00PM Shotgun Scramble Format Contests, Drawings, Food & Drink, Games & MORE! Call the Chamber for more information: (562) 531-9733

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June 2011 Issue by Lakewood Community News - Issuu