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T he C oast News
DEC. 12, 2014
Vigil to honor Sandy Hook victims Group’s appeal rejected By Bianca Kaplanek
SOLANA BEACH — To commemorate the second anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, as well as the 60,000 American
victims of gun violence since December 2012, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Dieguito is holding a one-hour candlelight vigil Dec. 14. “Gun violence prevention
is the moral and ethical dilemma of today,” Steve Bartram, UUFSD event coordinator, said. The vigil is one way to “understand, impact and change how we act toward the issue,” he added. “How we do that is a significant question.” Bartram said his role as “a strong advocate to end gun violence” is not an after-thefact thought. “After 20 years with the Marine Corps I’m familiar with weapons,” he said. “I know what they can and are supposed to do.” He said the issue “was brought to my front door” in 2010 when his 15-year-old nephew died of a self-inflicted gunshot from his grandfather’s weapon. “We will never know if it was accidental or suicide,” 2 & 3-day workshops JAN & FEB • GREAT GIFT!
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Bartram said. “What we do know is a gun caused his death. “As a parent I can’t imagine any greater pain than to see the death of a child,” he added. “It’s beyond belief.” Several parents experienced that suffering firsthand on Dec. 14, 2012, after 20-yearold Adam Lanza took the lives of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary. Before driving to the Newtown, Connecticut, school Lanza shot and killed his mother. Following the tragedy the all-volunteer Newtown Foundation was formed to provide comfort, education and other support and resources to families and communities impacted by gun violence in America. UUFSD is joining the Newtown Foundation, Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence, States United to Prevent Gun Violence and the Washington National Cathedral in a nationwide vigil service of mourning and remembrance for all victims of gun violence in this country. The event will start at 6 p.m. in the core area of UUFSD, 1036 Solana Drive. “It takes an awful lot of inertia to get people involved in this,” Bartram said. “We need to stand up now so we never have to face this here. Just because it happened somewhere else doesn’t mean it can’t happen here. “And I think that if we could find a way to engage in dialogue, maybe we can speak from our hearts rather than from anger and fear.”
By Aaron Burgin
ENCINITAS — The Encinitas City Council unanimously rejected a neighborhood group’s request to block approval of a proposal to convert a Leucadia veterinarian office into a small animal hospital that would allow overnight boarding for sick animals. After hearing nearly an hour of emotional testimony on both sides of the issue, the council took several minutes to unanimously reject the appeal, filed by a group that calls themselves the Leucadia Neighbors, which was spearheaded by Leucadia man Bob Aronin. The veterinarian behind the proposal, Dr. Brian Evans, expressed gratitude in the council’s decision, which upheld the Planning Commission’s unanimous approval of the hospital’s plans. “I’m very happy the council voted in our favor, now we can start providing care to the animals that need it,” Evans said. The community group’s chief complaint was that animals would be left overnight without a veterinarian supervising them, which they claimed would be cruel to the animals. The group had launched a campaign over the past few months accusing the veterinarian, Dr. Brian Evans, of animal cruelty, accusations that Evans called “incomprehensible” and that he said turned what should have
been a land-use decision into an emotional debate. The group sent out an email that linked the proposal to an incident involving a veterinarian facility in Arizona where, according to the email, animals died in an overnight fire. Evans and supporters called the missive disturbing and inaccurate. “We are animal care experts,” Evan said, reciting to the council his veterinarian credentials. “Which is what makes this such a hard pill to sit back and swallow.” Evans countered that the practice of overnight boarding of sick animals without a veterinarian present is not unheard of in Encinitas, as five other animal hospitals also provide the service. Evans also said that the hospital has not received a noise complaint in its three years in existence as a veterinarian office and that noise — the other potential community complaint — would not be an issue. Of the eight people who spoke on the issue, five spoke in support of the animal hospital’s request and criticized the neighborhood group for sending out mailers that included accusations that they characterized as slanderous and inflammatory. Three residents — including former mayoral candidate Sheila Cameron — spoke in favor of the neighborhood group’s appeal. In the end, the counTURN TO APPEAL ON A18