The Capistrano Dispatch

YOUR BEST SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS, EVENTS, SPORTS AND MORE

O C TO B E R 1 4 –2 7, 2 0 1 1 Volume 9, Issue 19

Taking a Toll?

Toll road officials and city endorse study of a plan to push 241 South nearly to Ortega Highway E Y E ON S J C / PAG E 4

The Transportation Corridor Agencies is promoting its latest plan to extend the 241 Toll Road. File photo

www.thecapistranodispatch.com

Police Changes Mean One Less Motor Deputy

Councilman Reeve Answers Plagiarism Allegations

Rotary Ridge Events a Hit With Runners, Cyclists

Eye on SJC/Page 3

SOAPBOX/Page 8

SPORTS/Page 22

EYE ON SJC

1

LOCAL NEWS & IN-DEPTH REPORTING

SAN CLEMENTE City parks and pooches could have a better relationship soon after a recent vote of the Beaches, Parks and Recreation Commission.

Last week, the commission voted to allow dogs on leash at all city parks except Park Semper Fi. Dogs also won’t be allowed in certain park areas like play grounds or where there’s synthetic turf. Presently, pups are only permitted on leash at Verde and Mira Costa parks and off leash at Baron Von Willard Memorial Dog Park. Most of the people who spoke favored “broad access” for dogs at parks while others either preferred some additional access or opposed it altogether, Commission Chairman Steve Streger said.

The city may add more off-leash areas at other parks and is considering some form of beach access for dogs. The decisions will eventually go to the City Council.

NEWS

NEXT DOOR W H AT ’ S G O I N G O N I N OUR NEIGHBORING TOW N S

DANA POINT City Attorney Patrick Munoz on September 26 reported two cases—Holistic Health and Beach Cities Collective vs. The City of Dana Point— brought by medical marijuana dispensaries now closed for operating illegally have been dismissed.

The dispensaries sued the city, City Council and staff seeking a combined $50 million. The judge ruled against both but allowed the dispensaries to amend their complaints. “Beach Cities declined to amend and has filed a dismissal,” said Munoz.

“Holistic Health neither filed an amendment nor a dismissal and the time limit to do so has now passed.” Federal prosecutors on October 7 announced a crackdown on dispensaries. While California law permits collective cultivation of marijuana in limited circumstances, it does not allow commercial distribution through the storefront model we see across California.” said United States Attorney André Birotte Jr. in a statement.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO’S TOP 5 HOTTEST TOPICS

What’s Up With...

1

…Plagiarism Allegations?

THE LATEST: San Juan Capistrano City Councilman Derek Reeve is no longer teaching political science at Concordia University in wake of allegations he plagiarized dozens of passages for blogs he wrote for the website SanJuanCapistrano. patch.com In a written statement, Reeve admitted he carelessly used the work of others while researching for his own writing.

But he also said online columns should not be held to the same standard as other published material. Patch also found apparently plagiarized work in two staff reports that Reeve wrote.

Authors of the work apparently cribbed

by Reeve scoffed that blogs were exempt from plagiarism standards when contacted by Patch.

A Concordia spokeswoman would not say why Reeve no longer teaches there.

He was employed before the plagiarism dust-up.

Reeve, an attorney, was elected in December. He also teaches at Saddleback College.

The council voted this month to eliminate one of the three motor deputy positions, along with a long-vacant patrol deputy post to hire a sergeant and community services officer. That will give Capistrano a dedicated position to organize Neighborhood Watch programs, hold crime prevention meetings throughout the city and work with community groups on truancy and gang-reduction programs.

The sergeant, meanwhile, will be able to better track crime trends and other issues. San Clemente and Dana Point have similar programs, said Lt. John Meyer, Chief of Police Services.

WHAT’S NEXT: The moves will be effective November 4 and save the city about $45,000 this year and $66,000 a year after that, Meyer said.

FIND OUT MORE: See the staff report at www.thecapistranodispatch.com —JV

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...New Grand Marshals?

...Police Changes?

THE LATEST: Philanthropists Bill and Joan Cvengros are the Grand Marshals of the 2012 Swallows Day Parade, Fiesta Association President Steve Weekes announced.

The couple is involved in numerous Capistrano charities, most notably the Mission, the Boys & Girls Club of Capistrano Valley and the Shea Therapeutic Riding Center.

THE LATEST: One less motorcycle deputy will be patrolling the streets of San Juan Capistrano after the City Council decided to dedicate more resources to Neighborhood Watch and similar crime-prevention efforts.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Fiesta Association holds its annual kick-off barbecue from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, October 16.

The event will be at Zoomars Petting Zoo, 31791 Los Rios Street. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children

WHAT’S NEXT: The council next meets October 18.

FIND OUT MORE: See Reeve’s response in Soapbox. —Jonathan Volzke

2

The Capistrano Dispatch October 14–27, 2011

November 26 through December 31.

WHAT’S NEXT: The council meets at 6 p.m. on October 18 at City Hall, 32400 Paseo Adelanto. In a related matter, demolition on the Vaquero West building, across from the movie theater, must begin by December 11, according to the agreement between the developer and redevelopment agency. That aging building will be replaced with a plaza housing several shops and offices.

Bill and Joan Cvengros. Courtesy photo

5 and under. The admission includes a barbecue lunch and entry to the petting zoo and activities. Beer, wine and soft drinks may be purchased separately.

The barbecue will also feature country music by J.D. Crawford and the Western Continentals.

The parade, paid for through donations and sponsorships and organized by volunteers, is set for March 24.

FIND OUT MORE: See www.swallowsparade.org. —JV

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...Holiday Shopping Downtown?

THE LATEST: Councilwoman Laura Freese wants to give downtown shoppers a break during the holidays.

Freese, who served on the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors before being elected, proposes that non-safetyrelated parking tickets be waived and city sign codes be relaxed downtown during the shopping season.

Councilman John Taylor is joining her in the proposal, which, if approved by the council, would be in effect Friday,

Page 3

FIND OUT MORE: See the staff report at www.thecapistranodispatch.com —JV

5

…Sirens Test?

THE LATEST: The 50-siren community alert system for San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station will be tested October 19.

It’s not an emergency. San Juan Capistrano has nine sirens that will sound multiple times for three minutes each between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Public address messages may be heard, according to a news release.

Sirens installed in Dana Point, San Clemente and Camp Pendleton will also sound during the testing.

WHAT’S NEXT: Capistrano will also test AlertOC, the city’s mass notification calling system next week. Landlines will receive an automated phone message October 17 notifying residents of the siren testing. People and employees of city businesses who have registered with San Juan Capistrano at AlertOC.com will also receive a cell phone call, text message and email notification.

FIND OUT MORE: For more information, visit www.sanjuancapistrano.org or www.AlertOC.com —Stacie N. Galang www.thecapistranodispatch.com

Eye on SJC

Strategy: TCA Considers Pushing 241 to Ortega Highway San Juan Capistrano Council OK with plan—with conditions

By Jonathan Volzke Dana Point Times

T

hree years after rowdy hearings that rejected a plan to extend the Foothill South Transportation Corridor 16 miles from Rancho Santa Margarita to the I-5 south of San Clemente, toll road supporters are considering building the road in phases.

The first phase would go about four miles from Oso Road to just north of Ortega Highway in San Juan Capistrano.

While Transportation Corridors Agencies say they have no plans beyond that, Capistrano Mayor Sam Allevato, who sits on the TCA board of directors, said ultimately the road would continue to Avenida Pico in San Clemente in the second phase and ultimately tie in with the San Diego Freeway when a final route is approved.

The new strategy comes three years after thousands packed the Del Mar Fairgrounds during an emotional hearing that saw the Coastal Commission reject a route for the 241 that cut through San Onofre State Park and crossed San Mateo Creek upstream of the famed Trestles surf break. An appeal of that decision was later rejected by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

Toll road officials say they’ve held more than 250 meetings with supporters and opponents since 2008. They often heard suggestions that planners should find a new route for the toll road that pushes further east in Camp Pendleton—but the Department of Navy has opposed that, saying it would interfere with Marine Corps training. TCA Chief Executive Tom Margro said another frequent suggestion is that the agency build the rest of the road in phases.

San Clemente Councilman Jim Dahl, also a TCA director, emphasized the initial extension project is to serve Rancho Mission Viejo, which has permission to build up to 5,000 homes east of San Juan Capistrano before the toll road is completed.

“The 241 has traditionally been built in segments, not in one fell swoop,” said Dahl, who added he supports the idea.

“This, because of development of the ranch, is the next segment.”

Opponents, however, contend the new plan is just an end-run around the Coastal Commission and Commerce Secretary decisions.

“In a nutshell, it’s clear the TCA is proposing an illegal piecemeal project already rejected by the California Coastal Commission and the Bush Administration,” Surfrider says on its

The Capistrano Dispatch October 14–27, 2011

Supporters like these were among the thousands who filled the Del Mar Fairgrounds for the February 2008 Coastal Commission meeting on the 241 toll road extension. The commission rejected the plan. File photo

blog. “They can’t evade the law by carving up the 241 into little chunks and then arguing that it’s a done deal.”

TCA directors on Thursday, October 13 approved spending $3.9 million for several preliminary steps in the initial segment. Among them: preliminary engineering work, updating the environmental studies and exploring financing opportunities for the construction. That work was expected to take about a year.

The estimated cost of construction is $195 million. The road could be finished in 2014.

The toll roads are built with bonds backed by expected revenues from tolls.

They are not government-backed.

In Capistrano, the City Council had a special meeting Tuesday for toll road officials to brief the council on the new plan. Allevato said he wanted the council’s guidance before casting his vote. Capistrano council members, with Derek Reeve absent, voted 3-1 to endorse the initial segment.

Opposition was sparse, but members of the business community turned out to support the extension.

“If we plan this carefully, this can be a very, very beneficial thing for the city,” said Larry Thomas, a founder of Independence Bank in Capistrano and a

San Clemente resident. “We can’t get panicked.”

An earlier economic study by Beacon Economics commissioned by the TCA found the 241 completion would create more than 13,600 jobs in Orange County and nearly 4,000 other jobs statewide, while creating $160 million.

In response to that, however, Surfrider said Margro testified the workforce necessary to widen the I-5 in South County was at least equal to that required to build the 241.

“By stymying the I-5 widening project in favor of the SR-241 extension, the TCA are not only inhibiting job growth, they are continuing to pursue more costly and less effective solutions to South Orange County’s traffic woes,” San Clemente-based Surfrider Communications Manager Alexis Henry said.

The extension received broad support on the council, although members were leery of the road’s endpoint just east of town.

Councilwoman Laura Freese objected, saying she was worried about the plan’s impact on San Juan Capistrano, and particularly Ortega Highway. Residents frequently complain about traffic on the Ortega.

Page 4

“It doesn’t pass the ‘segment’ test,” Freese said. “What I’m afraid of is that it’s a ‘segment’ that will end here for 20 years.”

She wanted the TCA to explore pushing the first segment all the way into San Clemente.

Under the already approved development plan for Rancho Mission Viejo, a new four-lane road will branch off from Ortega Highway about four miles east of Antonio Parkway. That new route, “Cow Camp Road” would connect to Antonio Parkway north of Ortega Highway.

Transportation planners contend traffic now using the Ortega from Lake Elsinore and traffic generated by the RMV development—approved for up to 14,000 homes in several phases—will use Cow Camp Road instead of Ortega. Upon hitting Antonio, the planners say, traffic that wants to go north will use Antonio to Crown Valley Parkway and reduce the load on Ortega Highway.

The toll road would tie in with a street connecting to Cow Camp Road, “Street G. Capistrano council members said they want to ensure the interchange of Ortega Highway and the San Diego (I-5) Freeway is rebuilt before the toll road comes south, Ortega is widened to four lanes through town and that the Avenida La Pata connection between San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente is moving ahead. The $84 million Ortega interchange project is scheduled to begin next year.

While those projects are beyond the scope of the TCA, agency spokeswoman Lisa Telles pointed out that three Orange County Supervisors, including South OC representative Pat Bates, and Caltrans District Director Cindy Quon sit on the TCA board of directors.

Allevato said something must be done.

“Those houses (in Rancho Mission Viejo) are coming. Those houses are already approved by the county. We have no option on that,” Allevato said. “I too value the open space expanses east of us…but it doesn’t belong to us. It’s private property that belongs to somebody else who has been paying taxes on it for over 100 years. They have a right to develop that property.”

Moving ahead with the traffic, engineering and environmental studies will give Capistrano more information on which to base local transportation decisions, he said.

“Voting ‘no’ is not a strategy,” Allevato said. CD See a map of the proposed extension at www.thecapistranodispatch.com www.thecapistranodispatch.com

Eye on SJC

SJC Sheriff’s Blotter Compile d By JONAT H A N VO LZ KE All information below is obtained from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department website (www.ocsd.org). The calls represent what was told to the deputy in the field by the radio dispatcher.

The true nature of an incident often differs from what is initially reported. No assumption of criminal guilt or affiliation should be drawn from the content of the information provided.

Sunday, October 9

SUSPCIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES Calle La Bomba/Calle San Felipe (8:14 p.m.) A caller reported more than 10 “gangbanger types” were headed into the park. The caller thought they were planning something.

SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES San Juan Creek Road, 32100 Block (6:42 p.m.) A golf course employee reported two people were asking suspicious questions and offered prescription medication.

CITIZEN ASSIST Paseo Carolina, 32100 Block (6:08 p.m.)

A man who reported some items stolen the day before in San Clemente were found at a home in Capistrano.

SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES Alipaz Street, 32200 Block (11:02 a.m.)

A caller wanted deputies to stand by because a man went into a friend’s house.

The caller thought the man was a friend of the woman’s “soon to be ex” husband.

CITIZEN ASSIST Highland Drive/Rancho Viejo Road (5:35 p.m.) A tow truck driver notified deputies he was called to pull a landscaping truck that had gone off the road, down a hill and into some landscaping.

DISTURBANCE Camino de Vista, 26500 Block (6:09 a.m.)

Folks nearby were drinking and being loud—on a desk.

CITIZEN ASSIST Verdugo Street, 26700 Block (4:55 p.m.)

A woman locked her child in the car, and a tow truck was 25 minutes away. She wanted deputies to wait with her.

ASSIST OUTSIDE AGENCY Paseo La Branza, 31800 Block (2:35 a.m.)

Deputies were asked to find a resident and ask if his identification had been stolen.

SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES Del Obispo Street, 31900 Block (11:10 a.m.) A resident called about mail being stolen. The suspect might be a neighbor.

Saturday, October 8

Friday, October 7

CITIZEN ASSIST Camino Capistrano, 32200 Block (10:29 p.m.) Someone called deputies to say they were lost, unfamiliar with the area and just got a flat tire.

WELFARE CHECK Camino Capistrano/Avenida Golondrina (9:06 p.m.) A woman in a shopping plaza was yelling at a 7-year-old. The child look scared, the caller reported.

Thursday, October 6 PATROL CHECK Spotted Bull Lane, 29500 Block (11:41 p.m.) A neighbor’s dog was barking, leading the caller to wonder if taggers were at work.

PEDESTRIAN CHECK Calle San Diego, 31100 Block (6:49 p.m.)

A 19-year-old man was taken into custody for allegedly violating the gang injunction. He said he was unemployed.

DISTURBANCE Calle San Juan, 31200 Block (6:11 p.m.)

A woman was upset because she paid a month’s rent only to learn from the landlord that she had to move out by Saturday because the property was being foreclosed.

TERRORIST THREATS Via Viente, 32100 Block (5:53 p.m.) A

woman received a text message saying she was going to die.

Wednesday, October 5 WELFARE CHECK Charro Drive, 25500 Block (7:23 p.m.)

A caller heard a loud dispute at a home and worried about the kids.

ASSIST OUTSIDE AGENCY Paseo Cielo, 31800 Block (3:55 p.m.)

A neighbor spotted a chimney fire, even though the resident had recently had the chimney cleaned.

LOST PROPERTY Rancho Viejo Road, 31700 Block (1:21 p.m.) A nursing home resident lost his $4,000 hearing aids.

ASSIST OUTSIDE AGENCY Camino Capistrano, 32900 Block (11:39 a.m.) A distraught woman took her husband’s handgun into the highway patrol office.

UKNOWN TROUBLE Ortega Highway, 27400 Block (8;29 a.m.)

A woman found an unknown male under her daughter’s bed. The daughter, who was at school, knew the boy.

RECKLESS DRIVING El Camino Real/Acjachema Street (8:22 a.m.) A black Honda sped off with a male on the roof. When he fell off, they stopped and put him in the trunk.

Friends, Family Remember JR Schooley

By Jonathan Volzke The Capistrano Dispatch

J

R Schooley’s friends and family filled Pacific Coast Church on October 3 to remember the man who fought for his country as a Navy Seal, but couldn’t win the battle against brain cancer.

Schooley, a volunteer for the Relay for Life and Homefront America as well as a favorite fix-it man and helper around Mission Trails Stables, died September 21. He was 47 and left behind his wife Holly, a son, his mother and father and five brothers and sisters.

But, because of his service on Seal Team 5, one of the men who knew Schooley best couldn’t be there. Instead, mourners heard fellow team member Nick Teta deliver his eulogy via video from Afghanistan. Teta told how Schooley could fix anything and drive anything, was a good soldier and had a huge heart.

They had, Teta said, fought together, bled together and cried together. Teta

The Capistrano Dispatch October 14–27, 2011

Holly and JR Schooley. Courtesy photo

finished with a toast to Schooley, whom he called his best friend.

Schooley was inspired to join the Navy after his older brother, Don McFaul, regaled him with stories of the service. McFaul was a Navy Seal, too, and Schooley followed him into the elite service despite enlisting with a 155-pound frame. Being a “legacy” applicant into the famed Basic Underwater Demolition training might have helped get him in, but it didn’t help get

him through. Instead, instructors were harder on Schooley to ensure he had what it took, his brother, Duane Schooley Jr. told those in the church.

But interwoven with stories of racing heavily armed special forces dune buggies through the desert of Kuwait and making literally thousands of parachute drops were stories of how JR was there for anyone who needed anything, how he loved to cook and would even sew—a skill picked up through parachute repair-a quick hem on Holly’s pants when needed. He was like MacGyver, and a favorite with the equestrians around Mission Trails Stables, where he was always there to help out.

Schooley’s heart, his determination, was tested in 1989 when Chief Petty Officer McFaul, who left safe cover to save another serviceman, was killed in action in Panama. He was posthumously honored with the Navy Cross and a Navy destroyer is named after him.

Schooley’s sister, Karie Tarte, said her brother’s support helped her survive the family’s loss.

Page 6

JR was medically discharged from the SEALs after 12 years when he shattered his ankle in an accident. JR, a petty officer, First Class, was reinstated as a reserve in 2001. Then more tragedy struck.

About a decade ago, JR was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After treatment, it seemed to be in remission, but showed signs of growth in 2010. Then a cough developed into a hospital stay and blood clots were found in his legs and lungs.

He returned home from the hospital on Saturday, September 17 to be with his family and beloved cats.

Family and friends remembered a busy but wonderful summer Schooley had, making trips to Oregon and elsewhere, helping wherever he was needed.

After the service, Schooley was buried at Miramar National Cemetery.

Holly Schooley didn’t speak at her husband’s services. A friend read a letter she wrote. Holly Schooley was surrounded by friends and family at the service, and around her neck she wore a gold chain with JR’s wedding ring and a gold trident—the SEAL symbol. CD www.thecapistranodispatch.com

SOAPBOX VIEWS, OPINIONS AND INSIGHTS

34932 Calle del Sol, Suite B, Capistrano Beach, CA 92624 phone 949.388.7700 fax 949.388.9977 www.thecapistranodispatch.com

HOW TO REACH US EDITOR STORIES, NEWS, CALENDAR, ETC.

Jonathan Volzke, 949.388.7700, x108 jvolzke@thecapistranodispatch.com ADVERTISING

The Capistrano Dispatch, Vol. 9, Issue 19. The Dispatch (www.thecapistranodispatch ) is published twice monthly by Picket Fence Media, publishers of the DP Times (www.danapointtimes.com) and the SC Times (www.sanclementetimes.com). Copyright: No articles, illustrations, photographs, or other editorial matter or advertisements herein may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, art, photos or negatives. Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

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DEREK REEVE: Guest View

A Message to the Community I

take this opportunity to thank the many members of the San Juan community who have expressed their support of my recent positions.

Here’s some information that may be new to you.

Last month the Council on American Derek Reeve Islamic Relations (CAIR) demanded that I apologize because I had named one of my dogs “Muhammad.” It is notable that they found nothing objectionable in my naming another dog “America.” My view is that no religion has the right to demand obedience by persons who are not members of that religion.

I do object to the dogma: “You must do as I demand or else I will ‘be offended.” Therefore, my respect for the many honorable members of that faith notwithstanding, I rejected the unreasonable demand of this Muslim organization. A recent poll by The OC Register showed massive local support for my position.

I was stunned when my colleagues on the City Council, Mayor Allevato and Councilman Kramer, took up the cause of CAIR and proposed disciplinary action against me. This is the first time in the 50-year history of the City that such a mean-spirited act against a Councilman has been attempted. In a whirlwind of contorted logic, they stood shoulder-to-shoulder with CAIR. They concocted a novel theory that because I am an elected official, I had a “higher duty” to abandon truth and logic and confine myself to “political correctness.” Nowhere in law or custom does such an inane requirement exist. These gentlemen never mentioned the fact that I was being pressured to forego my constitutional right of free speech.

I suspect the real reason for the assault against me by Mayor Allevato and Councilman Kramer had nothing to do with dogs, Muhammad or Islam. As a fiscal conservative, I am proving to be a thorn in the side to a spendthrift, politically correct, ultra-liberal Council. They cannot argue with my facts so they search for issues, real or imagined, in a desperate attempt to discredit me and cause you to consider that I am some sort of peculiar “nut case.” It is standard political deception which brings to mind an old quote: “If you have the facts on your side, pound the facts; if you have the truth, pound the truth.

But, if you have neither the facts nor the truth on your side, pound the table.”

The Capistrano Dispatch October 14–27, 2011

I believe the real objective of the attack against me

by Mayor Allevato and Councilman Kramer is to pressure me into resigning from the Council. This would afford Allevato et al the opportunity to appoint a liberal spendthrift replacement without any say by the voters who would be excluded from the entire process. Then the proverbial fox truly would be in charge of the hen house. That is the way politics works, since my presence as a Council member represents a risk to their political control of the City and disturbs their closedsession sanctum. Rest assured, I have no intention of resigning the position voters have entrusted to me.

Someone has to watch out for the taxpayers; clearly the council majority has not, as evidenced by our debt which has ballooned to more than $150 million.

The latest attack is in the form of the charge of plagiarism by a “journalist” on Patch, an arm of the Huffington Post. On balance, I may be partly responsible—along with most of the human race that uses the Internet. In the atmosphere of today’s massive electronic echo chamber, in which we are assaulted with dozens of concepts and ideas each minute, I doubt if any of us have had a totally original idea in the past 50 years. Certainly that is the way it is in the legal profession in which I work. Yes, in formal documentation, one is more precise in adding footnotes to identify the origin of our ideas, which makes it extremely complicated when wading through such writing. However, in normal everyday communication, not to mention blogging, it is impossible for us to precisely identify each antecedent and besides, the atmosphere is much more relaxed and informal (or so I thought).

I think it is clear that the objective of these petty attacks in not “precise journalistic accuracy” but an attempt to besmirch me personally and shift blame away from the website that carried my comments. I am not happy to be the object of these personal attacks but I do take pride in the fact that they are totally unrelated to neither my beliefs nor what I have to say.

Frankly, I am unhappy that these press-amplified attacks have diminished our City on a national scale. As a fiscal conservative, I note that the self-serving attacks upon me by Mayor Allevato and Councilman Kramer wasted thousands of dollars at the last Council meeting as the staff spent a good part of the evening doing Page 8

ADVERTISING Associate Publisher > Lauralyn Loynes > Michele Reddick (San Clemente) > Sergio Sanchez (San Juan Capistrano) Sales Associates > Angela Edwards > Buddy Purel OPERATIONS

Business Operations Manager > Alyssa Garrett Distribution Manager > Andrea Swayne INTERNS Austin Reagan SPECIAL THANKS Robert Miller, George Mackin CONTRIBUTORS Tawnee Prazak, David Zimmerle

Finance Director > Mike Reed

Letters To The Community A DOG NAMED MOHAMMAD Lynn Williams, San Juan Capistrano It would appear that City Council members are seriously underemployed since you can spend time on such a non issue as the name of Mr. Reeve’s dog. Since when did the City Council of San Juan Capistrano become responsible for overseeing the naming of residents pets?

More seriously is the challenge to Mr. Reeve’s freedom of speech and his right to call his dog any name he chooses. I wonder if you would (Cont. on page 10) nothing while speakers stepped up to express their concern about the council being offended by a dog’s name.

Looking to the future, I pray for a more mature, business-like approach. I am not angry with anyone. I recognize that the attacks upon me were politically motivated; such comes with the job. My focus is on today’s pressing problems. I am concerned with bringing your water rates down. I want to find a method to bring the Ground Water Recovery Plant into either efficient operation, or shed this albatross that has generated an $8 million dollar deficit and dramatically driven up our water rates.

Unfortunately, some in the press and my fellow Councilmen seem to want to ignore these matters while focusing on mud-slinging trivia.

I am pressing for a more effective workforce in City Hall and an investigation of possible outsourcing as a means of controlling personnel costs. I am committed to a more equitable pension system for our career city employees. I want to see the lease arrangement of the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park revised to increase the city’s income. We have these and many other challenges before us. Am I the only Councilman who is concerned because our small City is 150 million dollars in debt? We must set aside the recent annoying distractions and get to work on major problems. Please think kindly of me as I work on your behalf.

Derek Reeve was elected to the San Juan Capistrano City Council in December. www.thecapistranodispatch.com

SOAPBOX MARK NIELSEN: Straight Talk

Tollway Ending at Our Backdoor his past week, the City Council voted 3-1 to encourage the extension of the 241 Tollway to just north of Ortega Highway. While I support the ultimate 241 Mark Nielsen Tollway connection to the I-5 according to a new alignment that bypasses Trestles and the San Mateo campground, I strongly oppose ending the tollway near Ortega as is now being proposed. Do we really want over 10,000 daily trips starting and ending at the East end of our City in 2014 with Ortega being the only access to the I-5? And this is projected to grow to over 37,000 daily trips by 2025.

Currently all the tollway traffic ends at Oso near Antonio. Most vehicles travelling south on the 241 to San Clemente or further take Oso to the I-5 to continue their southbound travel. With the proposed additional segment, that southbound traffic will now take Ortega to reach the I-5. Why we would encourage more regional traffic to use Ortega as a driveway to the I-5 through our town

T

Letters (Cont. from page 8) have created such an uproar if Mr. Reeve had named his dog Abraham or even Jesus?

It’s troubling that you are so overly sensitive to the feelings of the Muslim community. Our founding fathers created our Constitution and laws based on Christian/Judeo beliefs and principles, Mohammad was not in the picture. It’s getting tiring to be constantly reminded that we might offend the Muslim community. Things happen.

Did you see Christians up in arms this

The Capistrano Dispatch October 14–27, 2011

is beyond me.

Granted, the council majority did add conditions that they wanted to see the Ortega interchange, Ortega widening and La Pata completed prior to the 241 extension. I guess the thought is that if we widen the roads, it is OK to add thousands of more cars to the traffic on Ortega coming through our city. Maybe the council majority believes most of the traffic will stay in the to-be-developed area by Rancho Mission Viejo or will bypass our town because somehow La Pata will actually be extended to San Clemente in the near term. However, Caltrans has no funding identified anytime in the future for the widening of Ortega past the Hunt Club, nor is there nearly enough money to extend La Pata in anyone’s budget. Adding the conditions is essentially an exercise in futility if the city votes now to go ahead with the phased extension. The end result will be the selling of more bonds by TCA to pay for the extension (an estimated cost of over $205 million) and the only city condition to be met will be the new I-5 interchange. We will be faced in

weekend, because a group of Atheists in Huntington Beach decided to tear up pages of the Bible they deemed politically incorrect? Heaven forbid, if that had been the Koran. Huntington Beach would now be a war zone.

Not only are you wasting your own time but also that of others, like myself, who cannot stand by and see such ridiculous and divisive behavior of an elected official go unchallenged. I mean you, Mr. Kramer, not Councilman Reeve. If you are not careful you will polarize this community.

Please put your focus on the many

2025 with 37,000 daily vehicle trips on the extension ending near Ortega and it is likely a significant portion of those will find their way through our town as they head to the I-5.

The bottom line is that our city is going on record as supporting bringing literally tens of thousands of vehicles to our doorstep with no timeline or guarantee that relief will ever come since any further extension of the 241 may still be in limbo for the next decade or two. Far better to be on record as opposing the phased extension unless it extends at least to Pico in San Clemente in the first phase. The extension to Pico would also help the financing of the project for TCA as it would add more tolls and only leave one more funding milestone for the ultimate completion.

This would lower the risk of successfully funding the full project.

If it is impossible to extend into San Clemente, at the very least we should not support the extension to Ortega unless we have clear and committed funds identified and engineering adequately advanced to guarantee that

important issues that face this city. Mr. Reeve’s dog’s name is not one of them.

Thanks for Film Fest Jan Siegel, San Juan Capistrano Kudos to Robert Kline and Stephanie Heredia for bringing the West Coast Film Festival to Historic San Juan Capistrano! It was an incredible event for a town with something for everyone. It encompassed our history, the history of film, great old movies, and previews.

It truly was a week long celebration.

Let us hope that this becomes another great tradition for our community.

Page 10

La Pata will be extended before there is any possibility of the 241 extension being done (currently projected by TCA staff to be complete by the end of 2014).

I would then argue that we should delay the widening of Ortega to discourage use of Ortega to reach the I-5 until the 241 extends at least to Pico. Further, there needs to be a basic agreement with Camp Pendleton and the Coastal Commission to have a final agreed upon alignment for the ultimate I-5 connection.

Without these guarantees in place, we are setting ourselves up for traffic Armageddon on Ortega. We will selfinflict many years of pain and suffering by creating our own driveway to the I-5 for thousands of more vehicles daily that otherwise would never be on our roads.

And that improves our residents’ traffic situation how?

Mark Nielsen is a local business executive who was Mayor in 2009 during his four years on the City Council. He previously was a director of TCA for the 73 Tollroad and has lived in San Juan Capistrano for over 20 years.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU To submit a letter to the editor for possible inclusion in the paper, e-mail us at letters@ thecapistranodispatch.com or send it to 34932 Calle del Sol, Suite B, Capistrano Beach, CA 92624.

The Capistrano Dispatch reserves the right to edit reader-submitted letters for length and is not responsible for the claims made or the information written by the writers.

www.thecapistranodispatch.com

GETTING OUT

YOUR TWO-WEEK EVENT PLANNER

Spotlight: The Grille Most popular item: Braised lamb shank Best known for: 18 oz. center-cut ribeye steak

Tucked in the Capistrano Surf Building, The Grille serves up what Executive Chef John Byrne calls “health-conscious” cooking. Since it opened in March, the eatery has offered made-to-order fare, including the sauces. A classically Chef John Byrne. Photo by Stacie N. Galang trained French chef, Byrne likes variety so two customers with the same meal get their dishes plated differently. The chef said he wants to make it fun for both the kitchen staff and the clients. Desserts, too, get the individual treatment. A popular confection is the French wedding cake — stacks of cream puffs filled with custard and topped with homemade toffee. Forks not necessary. Guests enter the restaurant with polished concrete underfoot, an open kitchen to their left and a view of the Pacific. Owner Ken Moon said he wanted the ambiance warm, comfortable and a bit masculine. To wit, he added auburn-colored felt around the bar-high tables and cushioned stools bear wrought-iron backs for seating about 30. Think steakhouse. (By the way, the same kitchen produces the food for neighbor Sunsets Bar.) Some customers come just for appetizers and the view.

Payment: Cash or credit Reservations: Not necessary

THE LIST

A day-by-day guide to what’s happening in and around town this week. COMPILED BY TAWNEE PRAZAK

friday

14

LARRY FRESCH 7:45 p.m.11 p.m. Live music at The Vintage Steak House.

26701-B Verdugo St., San Juan Capistrano, 949.661.3400, www.thevintagesteakhouse.com.

GRAPEVINE GRAZE WINE PAIRING 6 p.m.-9 p.m.

The Women’s Council of Realtors presents a wine tasting event at Boys & Girls Club to raise funds for the B&G Club serving South Orange County. 1 Via Positiva, San Juan Capistrano, 949.939.2025, www.wcrsoc.org.

saturday

NATIVE CULTURES: CONTEMPORARY USES OF NATIVE AMERICAN FOODS 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Special event at Tree of Life Native Plant Nursery.

33201 Ortega Hwy., San Juan Capistrano, 949.728.0685, www.californianativeplants.com.

15

MARIACHIS AT THE MISSION 10 a.m.-10:30 a.m.; 10:45 a.m.-11:15 a.m. Enjoy live music on the Mission San Juan Capistrano Courtyard every Saturday in September.

Admission $5–$9. 26801 Ortega Hwy., 949.234.1300, www.missionsjc.com.

sunday

CREATE A HALLOWEEN OR HARVEST MINIATURE GARDEN 10 a.m. Class at Cottage Home and Garden. Free with the purchase of materials.

31720 Los Rios St., 949.493.3920, www.cottage-home-and-garden.com.

16

HISTORICAL WALKING TOUR 1 p.m. SJC Historical Society leads a tour to see Los Rios Historical District, O’Neill Museum, Montanez Adobe, the Mission, Rios Adobe and more. Meet at the train depot on Verdugo Street. Every Sunday. $2 adults, $1 children. 949.493.8444, www.sjchistoricalsociety.com.

The Capistrano Dispatch October 14–27, 2011

By Stacie N. Galang

34700 Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 105, Capistrano Beach, 714.308.2418

Price Range: $5 - $23 Hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday 5 p.m.- 9 p.m.

MIKE DEBELLIS AND FRIENDS 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Jazz music on the patio at Ciao Pasta Trattoria every Sunday. 31661 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, 949.496.5002, www.ciaopasta.net.

monday

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO GARDEN CLUB 9:30 a.m.

The Garden Club will hear Master Gardener Kay Havens discuss “The Busy Gardener.”

The club meets at 9:30 a.m. at San Juan Hills Golf Club, 32120 San Juan Creek Road.

Visitors are welcome. The club meets the third Monday of each month. Call program chair Valerie Drey for more information, 949.584.1680.

17

wednesday

NATIVE AMERICAN BASKET WEAVING 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Experience the art of basket weaving, a Native American tradition, at Mission San Juan Capistrano. Free with admission. 26801 Ortega Hwy., 949.234.1300, www.missionsjc.com.

19

thursday

CAMERON BROWN MEMORIAL CONCERT 7 p.m. San Clemente High School presents a choral event in remembrance of the former student; proceeds benefit the Cameron Brown Scholarship Fund that helps vocal students. General admission $10; students $5. 700 E. Avenida Pico, San Clemente, 949.492.4165, www.sctritons.com.

20

friday

SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE DOOM OF DEVILSMOOR 8 p.m. New play on Stage II at Camino Real Playhouse. Shows through Oct. 30.

Tickets $18. 31776 El Camino Real, San Juan Capistrano, 949.489.8082, www.caminorealplayhouse.org.

21

SWING SHIFT 8:30 p.m. Live music at Swallow’s Inn. 31786 Camino Capistrano, 949.493.3188, www.swallowsinn.com.

Page 15

saturday

9TH ANNUAL BARN DANCE AND EQUESTRIAN FAIR 6 p.m.-10 p.m. Community event with dancing and more at Blenheim Farms. Tickets $35-$45.

Ortega Highway and La Pata, San Juan Capistrano, www.sjcec.org.

22

HORNO BASIN BIRD WALK 8 a.m.-10 a.m. The Donna O’Neill Land Conservancy hosts a bird walk at Horno Basin in Ladera Ranch. Free. Call for info and directions, 949.489.9778, www.theconservancy.org.

HALLOWEEN HAUNT 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Annual familyfun Halloween event at Doheny State Beach with a spooky walk-thru area, educational booths, fun zone, arts and crafts and snacks. Free event. Bring one non-perishable per person for donation to Second Harvest Food Bank.

25300 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Dana Point, 949.496.6172, www.dohenystatebeach.org.

sunday

23

PLANT A BIRD CAGE CLASS 11 a.m. Class at Cottage Home and Garden. Free with the purchase of materials. 31720 Los Rios St., 949.493.3920, www.cottage-home-and-garden.com.

SAVED BY THE MISSION BELL 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. Children and adults can listen to Spanish-speaking audio tours at the Mission daily. Admission of $5–$9. 26801 Ortega Hwy., 949.234.1300, www.missionsjc.com.

wednesday

SWALLOW’S PUMPKIN CARVING CONTEST & MUSIC 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Swallow’s Inn hosts a pumpkin carving contest; the first 12 carvers who show up get a free pumpkin to carve. Winner announced at the bar’s Oct. 29 Halloween party. Live music by Swing Shift follows... 31786 Camino Capistrano, 949.493.3188, www.swallowsinn.com.

26

*For our full calendar, visit the “Event Calendar” at www.thecapistranodispatch.com.

Have an event?

Send your listing to events@thecapistranodispatch.com www.thecapistranodispatch.com

SJC LIVING

4

LIFE IN OUR COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY CALENDAR friday 10.14 Coffee Chat 8 a.m. The Capistrano Dispatch hosts a spirited town hall forum on community issues. All are welcome. Camino Real Playhouse, on El Camino Real, just south of Ortega Highway. Occurs every Friday

Open Space, Trails and Equestrian Meeting 7 p.m., City Hall, 32400 Paseo Adelanto tuesday 10.18 City Council Meeting 6 p.m.., City Hall, 32400 Paseo Adelanto

tuesday 10.25 Utilities Commission Meeting 8 a.m., City Hall, 32400 Paseo Adelanto friday 10.28 Next regular issue of The Dispatch publishes.

monday 10.17

wednesday 10.19

Parks, Recreation and Senior Services Commission 5 p.m., City Hall, 32400 Paseo Adelanto

Downtown Farmers Market 3p.m., Yorba Street, south of Ortega Highway

*Meeting agendas at www.sanjuancapistrano.org

JAN SIEGEL: A MOMENT IN TIME

Capistrano Schools, through the Years T he city is still celebrating 50 years of incorporation.

As the school year settles into full swing, it is a good opportunity to look back Jan Siegel on the San Juan Capistrano School District and see how it started, and where it is today.

The earliest records of a school system in this area date from 1854. Don Juan Avila and Don Juan Forster served on that first school board. The first San Juan Capistrano School District covered a very large area. It served 193 school age children from what is now lower Los Angeles County to San Diego and from the ocean to parts of Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Only 27 of the school age children were close enough to attend school.

The first school was a one room adobe building. There were no books. Rustic tables were used for desks. The State code had set the school year for three months. Total cost for running the school for the year was $60.

The first teacher was T.J. Scully, who was a highly educated person. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and as a young man immigrated to Canada where he received his teacher’s certificate at the Toronto Normal School. Because of the erratic school year, he was able to teach in both the newly formed Santa Ana School District from 1855 to 1859 and the San Juan District. According to Pam Gibson, in her book, Two Hundred Years In San Juan Capistrano, Sully was paid $100 for three months of teaching. In 1855 when Santa Ana’s school opened his pay was reduced to $75.00 because he was also teaching in Santa Ana. In 1860, he became clerk of the Santa Ana School Board, married and settled for the rest of his life in Santa Ana.

The Capistrano Dispatch October 14–27, 2011

Teachers were hard to find in those early years and most of them were also poorly trained. Teachers were mostly men, and few of them had little interest in teaching as a career. School years were flexible in duration, lasting as long the money lasted.

In 1860, the first County Board of Examiners was formed, predecessor to the Board of Education. Examination of the teacher and issuance of a certificate before he or she was accepted to teach became standard practice. As recounted in the May 25,1961 Coastline newspaper, in 1863, the first county teachers’ institute was held. “From this point on, teachers took more of an interest in their profession, learned from each other’s experiences and profited from expert guidance and encouragement”.

The first purchase of a piece of land for the specific use of a school was in San Juan Capistrano in 1867. The land value was assessed at $14. The school year was now four months long, but there was still no division of grades. The attendance had risen to 47 students and the cost for the year was now $331.96.

California state textbooks were introduced in 1871. For the first time in the history of the school system, a uniform code of education was established in the state.

The school year was now six months long and 56 students were enrolled in the Capistrano School District.

With the formation of Orange County in 1889 other school districts were being formed in the new county. By 1900 most schools recognized separate grades.

Very few of the districts, including San Juan Capistrano had high schools. The ninth grade usually finished the education of students. If children went on to high school they had to go to Santa Ana.

Most children went to work, but a few were accepted in normal schools.

The students took the county exams for graduation from ninth grade. “If they passed, the graduating exercises were the high point of their lives.”

In 1919 the Capistrano Union High School District was founded. Pam Gibson recorded that “the first trustees were C.E. Crumnine, J. S. Landell, Guy Williams, C. Russell Cook and Mae Forster. Sixteen students were housed in a temporary building which opened September 13, 1920. John S. Malcolm was principal. The curriculum included English, Latin 1, mathematics, Spanish, history and athletics. The first graduates in 1923 were Lucana Forster Isch and Marian Barnes.”

The San Juan Elementary school building was built in 1910. At that time the district had 125 children within its

Page 16

boundaries and 101 were enrolled in the school. “An average daily attendance of 61 students was maintained.” The school year was now 178 1/2 days and the property was valued at $4,250.

Today the school year is 180 days. The district population is 53,000 students. The 2010 budget was $429.2 million dollars.

There are now 34 elementary schools in the district, two K-8 schools, 10 middle schools and six high schools, two exceptional needs schools, 1 independent study and 1 alternative school.

As schools open take a Moment In Time to reflect on the history of education in San Juan Capistrano, realize how much we have grown, and how fortunate we are to still have the site of the first school in Orange County on El Camino Real.

Jan Siegel is a member of the Cultural Heritage Commission whose name appears on the city’s Wall of Recognition.

Left: The BBQ’s presenting sponsor Gilbert Aguirre of Rancho Mission Viejo presents $50,000 to Shea Center board chair Marcia Jager. The donation is from RMV Rodeo proceeds. Courtesy photos

Shea Center BBQ Raises $460,000 The Shea Center’s Annual BBQ & Family Faire on September 24 was a comfortable end-of-summer evening of good food, good company, country music dancing, laughter and tears of joy. It was the therapeutic riding center’s 33rd annual celebration of its nearly 500 special needs riders who have disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy, developmental delay and more than 55 additional diagnoses. The annual fundraiser on The Shea Center’s 7-acre therapy facility attracted more than 1,450 supporters, and the most sponsors in BBQ’s 33-year history. www.thecapistranodispatch.com

Locals Only

Business Directory The only directory featuring San Juan Capistrano businesses exclusively

Air Conditioning & HEATING Oasis Air Conditioning & Heating 949.420.1321 31648 Rancho Viejo Rd., Ste. A, www.oasisair.com

Assisted Living Del Obispo Terrace 949.496.8802 32200 Del Obispo Street, www.delobispoterrace.com

Attorney Law Office of Skinner & Skinner 31461 Rancho Viejo Rd., Ste. 103

949.248.0260

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949.443.1970

Independence Bank 949.373.1570 Marbella Plaza 31107 Rancho Viejo Rd., www.independence-bank.net Pacific Mercantile Bank 949.487.4200 31601 Avenida Los Cerritos, Ste 100, www.pmbank.com

Dunn-Edwards Painting, Inc. 949.234.1201 31896 Plaza Dr. Unit D-1, Plaza Del Obispo Center

949.240.1200 949.240.9240

San Juan Photo & Digital 949.661.5668 32301 Camino Capistrano, www.sjcphotodigital.com

PLUMBING A to Z Leak Detection 949.499.4464 www.atozleakdetection.com

949.496.9731 Excel Electric - CA #793860 949.493.7769 Chick’s Plumbing 32238 Paseo Adelanto E-I, www.excelelectric.com www.chicks-plumbing.com DC Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning www.dcplumbing.net 949.365.9044 Experience The Mission Pronto Plumbing (El Plomero) 949.246.3589 Historic Mission San Juan Capistrano 31878 Del Obispo Ste. 118-227, Exciting New Audio Tour 949.234.1300 www.prontodrain.com 26801 Ortega Highway, www.missionsjc.com SCP Plumbing/ CuraFlo of O.C. 949.493.2426 27126 Paseo Espada STE. 705, www.curaflo.com

BUSINESS COMPUTER SERVICES Lightning Technology, Inc. 949.488.0029 32963 Calle Perfecto, http://www.lightningtechnology.com

COMPUTER SERVICES

Mother Earth Flowers 949.493.4400 PRINTING 32158 Camino Capistrano, Ste. 105 Printing OC

949.388.4888 www.motherearthflorist.com 27134 Paseo Espada #B 203, www.printingoc.com

Insurance Capistrano Health & Life www.capistranohealthlife.com

ELECTRICIANS

CLASSIFIEDS Auto For Sale 2003 Harley-Davidson 2003 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy 100th Anniversary FLSTFI black 12,800 miles $5300 No time wasters! WARDEN334@GMAIL.COM

GARAGE SALE GARAGE SALE SAT OCT 15, 7 AM TO NOON 310 Via Alegre San Clemente 92672. New and like new items. pewter, crystal, snowboard, light fixtures, golf cart and lots of Tommy Bahama clothes. Dressing room available.

Ramona Maney 949-463-3193 Large Garage sale Furniture, tools, clothing and much more.

RestaurantS Las Golandrinas Mexican Food 949.240.3440 27124 Paseo Espada #803, www.lasgolondrinas.biz

Jeweler

ROOF MANAGEMENT SERVICES

Abby’s Fine Jewelry Design 949.493.3632 Bryan Krueger Enterprises, Inc. 32382 Del Obispo, Ste. C-3, www.abbysdesigns.com 33208 Paseo De Cerveza, Ste. B

San Clemente Computer & Network Services Kitchen Design daniel@sanclementecomputer.com 949.276.1581 Tired of Waiting I.T. Services 949.922.7727 Kitchen & Bath Designs 27231 Ortega Hwy., Unit B j.ehle@cox.net

Friess Electric 949.248.4222 32332 Camino Capistrano, Suite 102

949.697.9454

949.212.0499

Schools 949.661.4080 Capistrano Valley Christian Schools 949.493.5683 32032 Del Obispo Street, www.cvcs.org

MOLD REMOVAL

Xeriflo Plumbing Systems 949.276.7000 www.xeriflo.com

WATER DAMAGE

Photo & Digital Lab

FLORIST

Beauty Salon

Reeltime Sight and Sound 949-240-0555 26381 Via De Anza, www.reeltimesightandsound.com

WATER CONSERVATION

ELECTRIC CONTRACTORS

Banking

Charisma Salon & Supply 32301-F Camino Capistrano Curtis Michaels Hair Salon 31882 Del Obispo, Ste. 150, www.curtismichaels.com

949.697.9454

PAINTING SUPPLIES

Auto Repair Star Motors 32959 Calle Perfecto

TELEVISION

MORTGAGE

BUSINESS • SPOTLIGHT

Slab leak repair

Jarvis Restoration 949.362.5388 SCP Plumbing/ CuraFlo of O.C. 949.493.2426 27126 Paseo Espada STE. 705, www.curaflo.com 31942 Paseo Sagrado, www.jarvisrestoration.com

Jarvis Restoration

949.362.5388 31942 Paseo Sagrado, www.jarvisrestoration.com

WINDOW CLEANING/ PRESSURE WASHING Bayside Window Cleaning 949.290.8230 www.baysidewindowcleaning.com

Women’s Clothing Blu:Echo

949.496.4810 31878 Del Obispo (Marshalls Center)

YOGA Adelanto Studio Yoga & Life Arts 949.705.7344 32118 Paseo Adelanto, Ste.9, www.adelantostudio.net

LIST YOUR BUSINESS IN “LOCALS ONLY” This handy, cost-friendly, go-to reference tool keeps your business in front of potential customers 24/7.

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HELP WANTED Harbor Grill Restaurant Dana Point Harbor. Now Hiring: Experienced line cook, min of 3 yrs experience. Part time, nights only. Contact Angel, 949-240-1416.

Medical/Health Services FREE PREGNANCY TESTS Think you might be pregnant? Know for sure.

Free services including limited ultrasound referrals, counseling, resources, classes, and support. Walk-ins welcome. Call 949-218-5777.

SJC LIVING Tom Blake: On Life and Love After 50

The AARP Life@50+ in Los Angeles Inspiring E ach year, AARP’s Life@50+ National Event and Expo is held at a different city around the country. This year’s event was conveniently close—at the Los Angeles Convention Center—so my partner Greta and I attended it for two days.

We’ve attended many of these events.

We enjoy going because it’s always an enriching experience and an incredible value for the cost, a $25 entry fee for AARP members, $35 for non-members.

No where else would you ever be able to see and hear such an array of incredible speakers and presenters that make it so rewarding.

For example, the opening show at the Nokia Center was hosted by the dynamic and likeable James “JB” Brown, the host of The NFL Today on CBS. Brown is more than a sportscaster, he was a standout basketball player at Harvard and is a founding partner of the Washington Nationals baseball team.

The AARP organization likes to have fun. Since former Miami Dolphin quar-

The Capistrano Dispatch October 14–27, 2011

terback Dan Marino turned 50 a few days before the event, and is also on The NFL Today with JB, the AARP presented Marino with a giant (2 foot by 3 foot) AARP fire-engine On Life and red membership card.

Love After 50

By Tom Blake Before Marino exited the stage, he tossed a perfect 15-yard spiral pass to JB. Then, the opening show took on a more serious tone. JB introduced Jane Goodall, the incredible 75-year-old woman who has devoted her life to the study and protection of chimpanzees and their habitat in Tanzania’s Gombe National Park.

Goodall inspired the audience by speaking about the threats for hope about the future of our planet. In 1977, she established the Jane Goodall Institute, which has a program called Roots & Shoots (www.rootsandshoots.org), a youth-driven, global network of tens

of thousands of members in more than 120 countries.

Then, the opening show took on a lighter side when Carol Burnett and funnyman Tim Conway had a conversation about their 11-year run on the The Carol Burnett Show. Conway has to be one of the funniest people to ever have graced the stage. He answered audience questions with razor-sharp, improvised humor.

Greta and I were invited by AARP, along with other journalists, to interview many of the celebrities. When one reporter asked Conway, “What do you do with your time now that you’re older?” Conway looked at his watch and responded, “At 8 a.m., I start drinking.”

The AARP annual event always has wonderful entertainment at night.

Greta and I agreed that Lionel Richie put on one of the best concerts we’ve ever seen.

For us, the highlight of day two of the annual event was being able

Page 20

to interview basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and movie producer Spike Lee, who appeared together. They spoke for an hour about life, basketball and Kareem’s new sports documentary, On the Shoulders of Giants, a story about a 1940s basketball team called the Harlem Rens.

In 2010, Kareem founded The Skyhook Foundation, (www.kareemabduljabbar. com) a charity with a mission to motivate young people to pursue higher education through mentoring by people all over the country.

There are so many choices of things to do at the annual event that it’s hard to squeeze them all in.

Next year, the annual event is in New Orleans on September 20-22. If you can swing it, start planning now.

Tom Blake is a Dana Point business owner and San Clemente resident who has authored books on middle-aged dating.

To comment on his column, email him at TompBlake@gmail.com. See his website at www.FindingLoveAfter50.com. CD

www.thecapistranodispatch.com

SPORTS

5

& OUTDOORS STORIES, SCORES, SCHEDULES & MORE

5 BEST BETS FOOTBALL

CROSS COUNTRY

Saddleback Valley Christian vs. Animo Leadersihp Saddleback College October 15, 7 p.m.

The undefeated Saddleback Valley Christian School Warriors face off against Animo Leadership.

SVCS has been rolling over opponents with lopsided scores, and the Warriors have a bit more motivation this week: It’s homecoming. Info: www.svcschools.org

WATER POLO

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

OC Championships, Irvine Regional Park

Stallions vs.

Mustangs, Trabuco Hills High School

October 15, 8 a.m.

October 18, 4:15 p.m.

Eagles vs. Tarbut V’Torah, Capistrano Valley Christian Schools

Take a trip north to watch the San Juan Capistrano cross country teams square off against a slew of schools from Orange County.

The San Juan Hills High boys water polo team takes on Trabuco Hills.

Info: www.sjhhs.org/athletics

GIRLS TENNIS

October 17, 5 p.m.

The Eagles of Capistrano Valley Christian School take on Tarbut V’Torah Community Day School.

Stallions vs. Wolverines, San Juan Hills High School October 25, 3 p.m.

San Juan Hills Girls Varsity Tennis takes on Aliso Niguel in a late-season match. Info: www.sjhhs. org/athletics

Info: www.cvcs.org

Info: www.ocxcchamps.com

Rotary Ridge Events a Runaway Success The Capistrano Dispatch

A

s the sun rose over Las Ramblas Trail on the first Saturday in October, 145 runners took off on the annual SJC Rotary Ridge Trail Event, later described by a seasoned runner as an “awesome run.”

A quarter mile down the trail, half of the runners bore off to the left for a 5k run that led to the Harbor View ridgeline. The rest headed along Las Ramblas Trail for a 10k run out toward La Pata and back again.

It was the San Juan Rotary Club’s 4th annual ridgeline event, which was originally envisioned by now-Councilman Larry Kramer and his fellow Rotarians as a way of encouraging local hikers, runners and mountain bikers to get up and out onto the trails. While preparing for his 5k run, Kramer commented, “We in San Juan are so lucky to have these beautiful hills surrounding us; it’s important that we get out and enjoy our unique open space.”

An equally enthusiastic Rotary partner is former council member and mayor Ken Friess, a longtime runner who has hiked, run and loved San Juan’s trails for years.

Joining right behind Rotary and the city in supporting the ridge event were CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) and Tri-Cities RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service).

In an effort to broaden its appeal, every year Rotary has expanded the event, growing originally from a ridge walk into 5k & 10k ridge runs and a mountain bike poker ride. All of these were part of Saturday’s outing that attracted over 200 runners and mountain bikers.

To support the effort, Rotarians solicited community sponsors who provided most of the net proceeds, which are shared between the city’s trail maintenance and

Las Ramblas Trail runners leave at sunrise. Courtesy photo

Left: All division 10k winners: 1st place Dean Dobberteen and 2nd place Michelle Barton. Middle: Chen Lo first place in 10k women 19-to-29 division.

Right: Mountain Biker Ben Pasqua stopping to draw a poker card. Courtesy photos

Rotary charities, including Capistrano Boys & Girls Club, Marine families in need, and underprivileged families in San Juan. This year over 45 sponsors stepped up to help, including Friess Construction, Sycamore Trails Stables, F&M Bank and Capistrano Volkswagen, all major contributors since 2008.

As Friess noted, every year the event attracts more of the elite runners, such as Dean Dobberteen and

Michelle Barton, who this year finished San Juan’s challenging 10k trail course, with its 600 feet of elevation, with a time of 40:14 and 44:52 respectively.

Dr. Carol Daderian, SJC Rotary Club’s president-elect and this year’s Ridge Event chair, has pledged next year’s event will be bigger yet.

Put it on your calendar, the first Saturday in October 2012. CD

Stallions Celebrate First ‘Real’ Homecoming The Capistrano Dispatch

F

ive years after opening, San Juan Hills High School celebrates another “first” this week: The campus’ first real homecoming.

While the Stallions have celebrated homecomings in the past, with 2011 being the first graduating class, this The Capistrano Dispatch October 14–27, 2011

year’s event marks the first time graduated seniors can return in a traditional “homecoming.”

The Stallions face off against El Toro. The game is Friday, October 14, with a tailgate party from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The game starts at 7:30 p.m. The tailgate cost is $8 for Stallion Booster Members and alumni, while others are $12 and $10 for students, teachers and staff Page 22

(cash only) Food is provided by Bad to the Bone.

But even with its first homecoming, the Stallions still have another big first to look forward: Their first real home game. Friday’s game, as all San Juan Hills “home” games are, is at Tesoro High School in Rancho Santa Margarita. Trustees recently approved a bid to finish the Stallions’ home stadium. CD www.thecapistranodispatch.com