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THE COAST NEWS
NOV. 27, 2009 day. I was convinced I heard reindeer hooves on the roof, while my dear sister swore she caught a glimpse of Santa. Everything about the day was so exhilarating. But looking back, it wasn’t about the bicycles or toy trucks or football cards. It was all about simple family time, and of course grandma’s legendary cookies. I miss those days.
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to believe in Jesus or recognize a higher calling to feel the spirit of the season. Maybe it’s because we all get a few days off work, and finally have an opportunity to catch up with family and friends. Or maybe it’s the food. Whatever the reason, Christmas doesn’t belong to retailers, and we should let Read more Outside Perspective at them know. I remember how excited coastnewsgroup.com. E-mail Eric at we were as kids on Christmas emurtaugh@coastnewsgroup.com.
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ecosystems. Del Mar City Council members feared such a designation would impact sand replenishment, the ability of lifeguards to provide safety, beach cleanup and the tourist industry. The Fish and Game Commission is scheduled to discuss the recommendation next month. A final decision is not expected until next year. Meanwhile, Mayor Crystal Crawford sent a letter to Ken Wiseman, executive director of the MLPA initiative, noting that the San Dieguito Lagoon and river mouth were not designated as a state marine reserve in
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handle, didn’t match the injuries to Neville’s body or the prosecutions theory that Derlyn Threats, a former Camp Pendleton Marine, had murdered the mother during a burglary interrupted. Thomas Threats said his son had big heart and desperately longed to have a relationship with his mother, brother and sister. Because Thomas
the final recommendation adopted by the task force. According to the letter, that “appears to be an administrative oversight” because the area was identified with such a designation on all three proposals discussed in October. The lagoon is already designated as a state marine park. Annie Reisewitz, media relations liaison, said the lagoon was “specifically excluded” from the task force’s preferred alternative at the request of the San Dieguito Lagoon Restoration Project. The state marine reserve designation would complicate the ongoing monitoring and restoration efforts currently taking place in the lagoon, Reisewitz said. Threats was in the military and Derlyn Threats was in his care due to his mother’s addiction to drugs, which she testified she has since overcome, he said his son moved throughout the country on a regular basis through his adolescent and teenage years living with family members, including Thomas Threats’ mother, sister and girlfriends. “He desired to have a stable family,” Thomas Threats said.
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colleges. The AVID class is an intensive college-prep curriculum that includes tips on notetaking, SAT preparation, intensive writing instruction, motivational talks and college campus visits. “In the AVID program in middle school, there are few students who stand out and volunteer their time,” she said. “After finishing his tutorial, Ayrton would go around the classroom on his own time to help others. He also volunteered to read to first-graders. He has a positive attitude and excels at helping others. He is old beyond his years.” Ayrton was excited to be interviewed for the scholarship at Petco Park, the Padres’
stadium. Joy Suber, manager of AVID programs for the San Diego County Office of Education, led the interview. “She asked why I wanted to be a Padres Scholar and why I deserved it,” he said. “I said, ‘It’s a good opportunity and I know money’s tight (in my family).’” Suber said the interview process is important because it reveals a person’s passion and goals. Pressure to live up to expectations after winning the scholarship can cause some students to buckle. “What Ayrton expressed really left an indelible mark in my memory,” she said. “This child will not only appreciate being a Padres Scholar, he’ll live up to the expectations — his own, his family’s, his teachers’, his community’s.”
Suber is confident that Ayrton will go far in his career. “Ayrton’s going to rise above his circumstances, take some negative experiences and make them into positive ones for others,” she said. The Padres Scholars program awards college scholarships to 30 academically talented, financially disadvantaged public middle school students in San Diego County each year. Each scholarship is $7,000 (plus accrued interest), and is used for tuition and books. It is payable upon matriculation into a four-year college. Ayrton plans to use his scholarship to study architecture and drafting at USC or UCLA. “I’ve had this goal since an architect visited my class-
room on Career Day in seventh grade,” he said.“I was interested in what architects do, how much money they make and what classes I would have to take. I like to draw and want to build my own home some day.” Since his parents separated things have been easier at home. Ayrton feels a responsibility to his mother, Maria San Luis, a Head Start teacher; brother Denilson, 4; and especially to his sister Cibele, 12, who is in sixth grade at Calaveras Hills Middle School. “She looks up to me,” he said. “Some of my old friends (at Calaveras Hills) put her down for being in sixth grade. I tell them, ‘You went through this, too. You know how it feels.’”