PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92024 PERMIT NO. 94
THE COAST NEWS
MAKING WAVES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
VOL. 23, NO. 42
THISWEEK TAKING IT TO THE STREETS
Residents and business owners gathered for a fourth workshop to discuss plans for North Coast Highway 101 B1
SPOOKY FUN
Discover the different ways to celebrate the Halloween season with a full calendar of local B11 events
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.com OCT. 16, 2009
Proposed cutbacks raise fear for safety
Spirit Day turns out all gray By Bianca Kaplanek
SOLANA BEACH — Earl Warren Middle School’s 21st annual Spirit Day was all about being gray.Under cloudy,overcast skies, they gray team was victorious,beating out their (no pun intended) blue opponents for the second consecutive year. More than 600 seventh- and eighth-graders were randomly divided into the two teams. Students received a team-colored Tshirt to wear as they competed in a variety of games that included blanket volleyball, the kangaroo hop, a huffy-ball relay and the balloon-head race. Spirit Day began at Earl Warren and is now held each year at all four middle schools in the San Dieguito Union High School District. Joyce Dalessandro, who was PTA president at the time and now serves as a school board trustee, started the event to promote school spirit and give students an opportunity to meet new classmates. The winners don’t receive any prize other than bragging rights for the school year.
By Promise Yee
July 31, when plain-clothes officers in unmarked cars entered four city parks after off-leash hours expired at 6 p.m. Cohen said many of the people who received tickets are senior citizens on fixed incomes and cannot afford to pay. “We think it (issuing tickets) was just done for the money,” she said. Cohen said she would like to see a city policy that does not restrict hours or days for off-leash dogs at parks. “If the City Council would pass this it would make the tickets retroactive,” she claimed. Cohen also claimed that the City Council is delaying a vote. “It’s been four weeks
OCEANSIDE — As Oceanside adjusts to state budget cuts and makes its second round of slashing funds from city departments, many fear the cuts have gone too deep into public safety budgets. The police and fire departments have once again been asked to come up with recommended department cuts of approximately $1 million after $7 million was cut from the city budget in June. Police cuts are not expected to have an impact on emergency services, but fire cuts are likely to directly affect response times. Proposed police cuts will eliminate 12 nonsworn officers and unfund four sworn officers. The cuts may delay the processing of police reports, but are not anticipated to effect emergency services. “It won’t impact response times on emergency calls,” Shawn Murray, president of Oceanside police management association, said. Fire cuts will have an effect on emergency services. “It absolutely will have a direct impact on customer service,” Fire Chief Terry Garrison said. “The closing of an ambulance will definitely delay critical transportation of a patient to the hospital.” Chief Garrison gave his recommendations to cut nonsworn positions, overtime pay and “brown out,” or not constantly staff, one ambulance. Garrison followed his recommendation with the statement that he does not think the cuts are a good idea. “It’s a bad idea to reduce services in the city,” Garrison said. “We conducted a safety survey and found we are two fire stations short
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WALK THIS WAY Above, eighthgraders Shannon Heinrich, left, and Laura Black were in sync for a flawless performance in the sack race. Despite their efforts, the blue team lost to the gray team for the second consecutive year. Right, Perla Thomas, an eighth-grader from Solana Beach, said the crab walk relay was a lot harder than it looked. Photos by Bianca Kaplanek
Dog owners demand more time at parks By Wehtahnah Tucker
ENCINITAS — Some dog owners are still up in arms over the limited hours set aside for off-leash activity by canines at city parks. The city currently allows off-leash dogs from 6 to 7:30 a.m. and from 4 to 6 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at Viewpoint, Orpheus and Sun Vista parks. A trail segment between Encinitas Boulevard and Mountain Vista is also available for off-leash dogs from dusk to dawn. Dog owner and activist Susie Cohen held a press conference Oct. 7 to garner attention to the plight of dog owners who she claims are treated unfairly. At least 18 dog own- DOG PARK DRAMA Vickie Schipper and her 3-year-old service dog, ers received $445 tickets on Leo, enjoy time with other dogs at View Point park. Photo by Wehtahnah Tucker
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