BeaconMediaNews.com
2 | OCTOBER 4, 2012 - OCTOBER 10, 2012
Letter to the Editor Send your letters to tmiller@beaconmedianews.com A reader responds to Jim Winburn’s story last week on the Santa Anita Dam Project which is nearing completion in Arcadia. The reader questions the county flood control’s ‘need’ to remove 180 coastal oaks and 70 sycamore trees 18 months ago and offers some considerable food for thought. We welcome a community dialog on this matter; please send your letters to - tmiller@beaconmedianews.com. Dear Editor, Thank you for the September 27, 2012 Monrovia Weekly update on the Santa Anita Dam Project. Some additional overview on the history of this project might be helpful for your readers. The original Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which was created under the direction of the Department of Public Works, was adamant that there were 500,000 cubic yards (CY) of sediment that had to be removed from behind the Santa Anita Dam. At the time that the EIR was prepared, there were two existing sediment disposal sites on the county property in Arcadia. According to the EIR, the lower disposal site, just north of the
Whispering Pines residential development, was estimated to be able to handle approximately another 250,000 CY of sediment before reaching maximum capacity. The upper disposal site, which is just east of Elkins Avenue, was stated to be at capacity. Because the assessment of the upper site did not seem to be valid, concerned area residents hired an independent soils engineer to evaluate the upper site’s capacity. His report found that the upper site could easily handle another 250,000 CY of sediment and that, with some boundary modifications, the upper site could handle an additional million CY of sediment. A copy of his report was given to Public Works about one month prior to the removal of the nearly 180 coastal oaks and 70 sycamores. Public Works dismissed his report on a technicality--he did not include drainage data in his report. Public Works then continued to be adamant that the tree removal was necessary in order to accommodate the 500,000 CY supposedly con-
M E D I A ,
I N C .
Publisher Editor in Chief Von Raees
office Manager Andrea Olivas
EDITORIAL
tmiller@beaconmedianews.com
Editor/Photographer Terry Miller
Contributors Bill Peters Candyce Columbus Greg Aragon Susan Motander Sue Behrens Tom Gammill
Editorial interns Krishna Rajagopalan Arianna Locatell
Columnists Sediment is removed from the Santa Anita Dam and placed on a conveyor belt which takes the debris to the spreading grounds. -Photo by Terry Miller
tained behind the dam. The trees were demolished. Public Works now acknowledges that there were only approximately 300,000 CY of sediment behind the dam. It was very obvious back then and even more obvious now that there was no need to destroy this 11-acre woodland. I think to cover their rear, Public Works now is saying that the debris disposal site in Arcadia is a re-
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gional site to serve all of the San Gabriel Valley’s debris dam facilities. Stating that this site is a regional facility does not make it so. I am unaware of any accredited environmental data that would permit this site to be used for such purposes. In my opinion, Public Works is mandated to do an EIR and submit it to the citizens of Arcadia for their approval before this can
happen. In essence, what Public Works is talking about now, without the proper approvals, is just wishful thinking on their part. In short, Public Works had other ways of solving their disposal needs without demolishing the trees but did not want to look at other options. Sincerely, Glen L. Owens
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158 Arrested and 62 Firearms were Confiscated in August ‘Disarm’ Sweeps During the month of August, Los Angeles County D.I.S.A.R.M. officers arrested 158 probationers and confiscated 62 firearms and over $1.56 million in illegal drugs and drug money according to Tony Bell, spokesperson for Supervisor Mike Antonovich. In conjunction with local law enforcement, 1280 searches were conducted of probationers who, as a condition of probation, are subject to unannounced searches targeting guns, drugs and other contraband. Since its implementation in February of 2000,
Dorothy Denne Bill Dunn
the D.I.S.A.R.M. program has seized over 8,770 weapons and more than $384 million in illegal drugs and drug money and resulted in 17,700 arrests. Nearly 10 percent of probationers searched in this program have been found to be out of compliance with the terms of their probation. D.I.S.A.R.M was initiated by Antonovich following the tragic August 1999 shootings at the North Valley Jewish Community Center and the murder of a postal worker by Buford Furrow, an armed felon on probation from Washington State.
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