THE FOOTHILLS PAPER - DECEMBER 11, 2015

Fuentes’ Xmas Gift to S-T: DROP DEAD? See below

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FRIDAY • DECEMBER 11, 2015

TELLING THE TRUTH FOR OVER 11 YEARS!

VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 25

An Open Letter to Mayor Eric Garcetti, CD-7 Felipe Fuentes and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck Residents band together against local politicians’ systemic neglect

The undersigned residents of the City of Los Angeles Council District 7 have authored this open letter to Mayor Eric Garcetti, Council Member Felipe Fuentes and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck.

This open letter is being published because serious threats to our safety, the safety of our children, and the peaceful enjoyment of our neighborhoods have not been adequately addressed by the City of Los Angeles.

We, the undersigned, are in a near-constant state of siege. Criminal transients and drug dealers are infesting

our local parks. They have been selling drugs in Big Tujunga Wash and other local areas with near impunity.

They are destroying sensitive, protected ecosystems; using the streams as a toilet and ruining precious water resources. We live in fear that fires routinely set by the homeless in tinder-dry brush will destroy the forest, not to mention the many homes and lives that are in close proximity. Transients are attacking people in their cars.

They have even been accused of committing two murders in Sunland-Tujunga over the

last month.

Residents in this area suffer criminal transients using Big Tujunga Wash as a base from which to break into our homes. During one such occurrence, 911 was called, but LAPD did not respond until long after the residents themselves had armed themselves for protection, risen up, and chased the criminals back into the wash. This has become the Wild West and we are tired of it.

Our quality of life and safety has been deteriorating for several years, but this deterioration accelerated dra-

What the Big Tujunga Wash used to look like. matically after the passage of Proposition 47, the “Criminal Sentences, Misdemeanor Penalties Initiative Statute.”

This measure has resulted in an explosion of crime and

transiency in our community.

Many law enforcement officials agree with this evaluation, including Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim see Demands, page 4

If you agree with the above letter and wish to make a difference in our district, please join the Facebook group “CD7 Open Letter” and also visit WWW.SaveCD7.COM

I N S I D E : Sunland-Tujunga Christmas Tree Welcomes Travelers Possible Credit Card Fraud ................

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Newspaper Thief Admits Crime ................

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DEPARTMENTS What Folks Are Doing........... 2 My Two Cents....................... 2 View from the Rock.............. 3 Letters and Perspectives........ 3 Chef Randy........................... 6 Pets Page............................. 9 Take My Card..................... 12 S-T Crime Stats................... 14

photos: Dyan McManus

L.A. Firemen’s Relief Fund

Saturday was another wonderful day in S-T when a Christmas tree donated by Kathy’s Trees was placed and decorated by community members on the corner of Fenwick Street and Foothill Boulevard.

Another tree is waiting for the Little Lander’s Society for installation at Bolton Hall.

All these stories and more can be seen at:

http://facebook.com/thefoothillspaper

MORE EXPANDED COVERAGE AND DISTRIBUTION SITES

2 — FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 • THE FOOTHILLS PAPER

Original Concept Folk-Rock Christmas Concert at New Hope Community Church In addition to its 7 p.m.

Christmas Eve service, New Hope Community Church will continue their recent tradition of mounting a yearly holiday musical event by presenting Andrew Peterson’s “Behold the Lamb of God: the True Tall Tale of the Coming of Christ.” Performances will be held for three evenings only: Friday and Saturday, December 18 and 19 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, December 20 at 6:30 p.m. There will be a Christmas Holiday Open House happening an hour before each performance, where refreshments, a kids corner and nursery care will be available

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for kids under 4 years of age.

“We are really excited to bring back this great musical piece, which had a great audience response last year,” explains Worship Arts Director Tim Borquez of New Hope Community Church. There will be a dozen great local musicians on the stage presenting this original concept work by Andrew Peterson. It presents an Americana folk/rock score that traces the biblical story of Jesus: from the ancient prophets to the manger-birth. The piece features an arrangement of acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin, percussion, a string trio and special vocal performances that the whole family will enjoy.

“Behold The Lamb of God” will be presented at New Hope Community Church, 10438 Oro Vista Avenue in Sunland. ADMISSION IS FREE for SENIORS and CHILDREN and $5 for adults 18 and over.

Aper’s Tree & Brush Service wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!

My Two Cents

Share The Wealth In the United States many states require lottery winners to make a public appearance or be publicly identified. In China, lottery winners can wear a disguise (such as a mask) and even use a voice scrambling device. I like China’s system because if nobody knows you’ve won the lottery then nobody will harass you for money.

When you’re a kid and find money, you want to keep it a secret. You have dreams of what you’ll buy with it. Only, if you’re with your mother when you find money it’s a different story. She’ll make you do the right thing and give it back to the guy (walking in front of you) whose pants pocket it fell out of.

“Why should I give it back?” you ask as you stomp your

foot in defiance. “Because we saw it fall out from his pocket and it’s not your money,” she replies. “How do I know he didn’t steal the pants and this is stolen money?” You feel confident she will agree with your diluted logic. You feel betrayed when she disagrees with your diluted logic. Your mother saying, “Feeling good by doing the right thing is your reward,” doesn’t make you feel any better. You think you would have felt pretty good if you kept the money.

You wonder how this dogooder could be your mother and if you were adopted.

If you’re with a friend and find money, you’ll be expected to share the wealth.

Whatever you buy for yourself, you are obligated to

MERRY CHRISTMAS

10

%

off

On selected items.

We have Free Range Turkeys all year long!

818-248-3068

see Share, page 9

Cindy Argiento is a freelance columnist. To check out her book and laugh along at her other works, go to cindyargiento.com. She may be contacted via cargiento@aol.com.

For the absolute best steak, get Harmony Farms’

Australian “Kobe-style” Wagyu Beef!

THE FOOTHILLS PAPER • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 — 3

VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 25 • www.thefoothillspaper.com

I Get Mail.

I receive quite a number of reader comments about my columns and things that go into The Paper. Some are mostly appreciative, and some are not. It really makes me feel good for people to stop me on the road or in grocery stores. Of course, when that police officer pulled me over to see if I had the latest edition of The Paper, I was a little apprehensive. And what I found out over the years is that while little missives of appreciation are really nice and I’m able to respond to, nasty notes become a real challenge.

During my 11 years as editor, I learned to roll with the punches.

And while I felt that I could justify anything I wrote or published, I actually sat down and analyzed what was going on in our little community.

Oscar Wilde said, “If you’re

going to tell the truth, you better make them laugh. Otherwise they’re going to kill you.” Boy oh boy, he didn’t have any idea that somewhere in the future, there would be a Sunland-Tujunga.

Now don’t get me wrong; this is a great place to live. It was created before electric lights were common and people spent all their waking hours on the Internet. And that now gave them an opportunity they never had before. Now they could reach thousands of people at the stroke of a keyboard. We just recently published two articles about “credit card skimmers” and bogus credit card charges at a local Panda Express.

Now I learned what “going viral” really means. More than 200,000 people saw the “skimmer” article, and the Panda Express already has more than 90,000 views. What it really

points out is that I have absolutely no idea of how this works, but lots of people like it.

Life was a lot easier before the Internet. You only had your family and friends to tell you that you were doing good or bad. Now with the Internet, you have the whole world looking over your shoulder. Look at our CD-7 councilmember, Fuentes. He really dissed our community, our neighborhood council, and the residents living around the Big-T. And thanks to the Internet, all of California knows about it.

The neighborhood council has been kicked out of city hall and they’re going to open it up to the homeless for temporary shelter when the weather gets cold. It reminds me of Sherman’s march to the sea: he burned everything in his path. Fuentes is out to destroy the neighborhood council and only we can stop it.

VIEW

ROCK This is the time for all of us to pull together and keep the council going. Now is the time for everyone to get involved in our community. If we don’t, there won’t be anything left of Sunland-Tujunga, and we won’t be able to say “It Was The Water!”

The Foothills Letters & Perspectives

Flat tax in our future?

THE FOOTHILLS PAPER

is published bi-weekly. All contents are copyrighted and may not be reproduced without written consent of the publisher. All submissions to this newspaper become property of THE FOOTHILLS PAPER and may not be republished in whole or in part. The opinions expressed by contributing writers do not necessarily express the views of the publisher nor staff of this newspaper. TFP is available free of charge. No person may, without prior written permission from TFP, take more than one copy of each edition (stated value: $1).

Only authorized TFP distributors may distribute THE FOOTHILLS PAPER. THE FOOTHILLS PAPER is a non-profit newspaper produced by the OSS-Spectrum group.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR/PUBLISHER Dr. David DeMullé

editor@thefoothillspaper.com TECHNICAL EDITOR Randall Fleming ftp@thepaper.ws STAFF ASSISTANT Dyan McManus WITH THANKS TO The ILS Foundation for Their Support

THE FOOTHILLS PAPER TheFoothillsPaper.COM P.O. Box 444, Tujunga CA 91043 818-951-0943

L.A. Press Club Press Photographers Association of Greater Los Angeles International Combat Camera Association

Dear Editor, Considering the simple definition of a “flat tax” — a single rate with no deductions — many proposals being bandied about by 2016 presidential hopefuls are not truly “flat.”

The ten percent “tithe” proposed by one hopeful is, but, without significant — really significant — spending cuts, ten percent won’t generate sufficient tax revenues to be effective. That hopeful has since received a partial economic-reawakening and upped his proposal to fifteen percent.

Unfortunately, fifteen percent will also be ineffective.

A true flat-tax rate would have to be in the range of twenty-five percent to be effective.

And, a true flat tax would result in a substantial tax increase for the low and middle classes. For example, a couple with combined earnings of $50,000 now pay about $2,500. Assuming a fifteen percent flat tax, that couple would pay $7,500 — three times more.

The pretend “flat tax” proposals — that do have deductions — would result in a plan similar to the IRS plan we are currently burdened with and, as most Americans agree, must be eliminated.

With a consumption tax, however, you don’t pay based on what you earn. Instead you

der a bridge mid-block and the weight of their equipment could collapse the bridge.

That has always been a ridiculous excuse because the heavy equipment had to cross safely over the bridge to build the street in 1947, when the storm channel was erected realigning the neighborhood.

Now in November, 2016, our street is finally scheduled for resurface!

Everyone was excited: fiThank you, nally, a smooth road was Joe O’Hara, SV coming—until we were forced to live through a series ••• of errors.

The first error that came to our attention was the crew Dear Editor, began tearing up our street I would like to share the on the Monday prior to the details of a major fiasco by Thanksgiving holiday! After the resurfacing division of beginning to uproot our road, Los Angeles Street Services. we finally received notice We have lived in the same that it would take one week house on Thousand Oaks to complete unless there were Drive for more than 30 years. complications.

During this time, the resur Well, I had a major comfacing division has surveyed plication! I had planned our street for repair nine to have several guests for times. Each time resulting in Thanksgiving as usual. being told our street could This year would be very never be resurfaced because different since the crew had the storm channel crosses unare levied on what you spend, and you are in complete control of how much that is.

With a FAIRtax, you also receive a monthly refund of the taxes you have already paid in connection with the purchase of essential items.

Another big advantage of FAIRtax is that it eliminates the intrusive IRS. There are many other major advantages too. FAIRtax.org clearly explains what they are.

Got Tar?

destroyed the road surface, sprayed sticky tar all over the road on Wednesday and then went home to enjoy Thanksgiving on their normal streets, not returning to continue working on our street until Tuesday—five days after the holiday.

For those who are unaware, Thousand Oaks Drive is two blocks long total and has no sidewalks!

You can imagine the mess that tar has done to my floors, let alone the embarrassment of my guests ruining their shoes hiking through the tar to my house.

Naturally we were all disappointed that the person who schedules the work did not notice—or was it did not care that they ruined Thanksgiving!

It became a lot more upsetting when the crew returned to the job five days later and informed residents that an extremely expensive error actually occurred and it would cost Los Angeles tax payers a lot of money.

We were told that one persee Letters, page 13

4 — FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 • THE FOOTHILLS PAPER

Demands, from pg. 1 McDonnell.

Much of this crime goes unreported; people have given up calling the police since there is often no response. The Los Angeles City Council voted to support Proposition 47 and influenced thousands of innocent and unsuspecting citizens to vote for its passage. Now, people are dying because of it. The City has a responsibility to fix the mess it helped to create.

In order to quell the growing anger over this crisis, our representatives have framed it as a simple “homeless” problem with the obvious intent to engender sympathy and to marginalize concerned citizens’ calls for enforcement of the few laws we have left that are designed to protect us from this plague.

We have sympathy for the homeless but we will no longer be silenced by those who seek to demonize us for simply wanting to be safe in our own homes.

The signers of this letter do understand that there are homeless persons in CD7 who are in dire need of services and supportive housing.

They are homeless for a variety of reasons such as mental illness, age, the poor local economy or drug/alcohol addiction. We sincerely want to help those persons. Many of us donate time and treasure to fighting this heartbreaking problem. We absolutely support housing and services for those who will accept it.

But this is not the main issue challenging us and it should not be the City’s exclusive focus.

Sunland-Tujunga is now being called by some the “transient capital of the foothills.” An LA Family Housing employee opined recently that Big Tujunga Wash had become the most impacted area in Los Angeles other than downtown. We are told by the mayor and Mr. Fuentes that offering more and more homeless services and establishing more supportive housing in our neighborhoods will address the issue. We believe this is untrue and is cynical political posturing meant to quiet us. It is well known in this community that the vast majority of the people contributing to the deterioration of our quality of life have no desire for housing. They steadfastly refuse it in order to continue feeding their drug habit, selling drugs, and/

or committing other crimes.

These transients are not the traditional homeless and should not be treated as such.

Instead of focusing on the real problem overwhelming Council District 7, Mr. Fuentes recently, unilaterally and without consultation, evicted the Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council from their offices to make room for an increased presence of LA Family Housing. Now it is the STNC that is homeless.

In order to continue serving the community, the STNC is forced to expend what little resources it has to pay for office space. This is contrary to the interests of the community and will result in fewer services available to it.

In the face of the crisis brought on by lack of enforcement, the passage of Prop. 47 and because we have been receiving little or no help from our representatives, more than 200 private citizens, most of whom are members of a group formed to support this letter, recently banded together and lawfully cleaned out the worst section of Big Tujunga Wash of drug dealers, and transients. For three weeks after eviction notices were served on the transients, (can you believe we had to serve eviction notices to criminal drug dealing trespassers?) LA Family Housing was in the wash trying to convince those living there to accept housing; almost nobody accepted.

When the community was preparing to organize and mount this Herculean task, we reached out to Mr. Fuentes for help. He flatly refused. In a recent Los Angeles Times article about the topic, Mr. Fuentes said the city was “limited by constitutional constraints and its own homeless ordinance from removing people from public property and confiscating their property, while private property owners are responsible for abating nuisances on their land.”

Hiding behind the constitution and City ordinances is disingenuous. The next paragraph in the Times’ article includes comments

by Mr. Fuentes that the city did, in fact, conduct its own clean out in an upper area of Big Tujunga Wash. But instead of being performed for the safety of the families in nearby neighborhoods impacted by crime, Mr. Fuentes said it was for the safety of the “homeless” in advance of the onset of El Nino. The city’s actions served to

www.thefoothillspaper.com • VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 25

move more transients onto the private property that Mr. Fuentes refused to address.

The “nuisances” Mr. Fuentes says need to be addressed by private citizens have been inflicted on them, in large part, by the City.

Faced with Mr. Fuentes’ refusal to help the community, we reached out to Assemblymember Patty Lopez who instantly lent her assistance. She saw no legal conflict in helping her constituents, which includes the land owner whose property had been devastated by public policy, a policy that the owner could neither control nor afford to correct given limited personal resources. Many of Mr. Fuentes’ constituents donated money and sweat to the effort. Along with the land owner, it cost private citizens over $15,000.00 to do the City’s work. But that’s far less than the $300,000.00 Mr. Fuentes said the City spent on its own incomplete and ineffective clean out several weeks before.

Volunteers collected quantities of stashed drugs such as heroin, Rohypnol and methamphetamine to name just a few. Stolen credit cards, mail, paychecks and driver’s licenses were turned over to the authorities. The wash had become a place of crime and death. The stream, once a favorite spot for scout troops, fishermen, dog walkers and nature lovers had become fouled by copious amounts of human waste, heroin needles, trash and hundreds of bicycles stolen from our children. And the wash became that way, at least in part, due to the policies and neglect of our elected representatives.

As a result of the clearing of Big Tujunga Wash, it’s reported that a minority of those who used to reside there have changed their minds and accepted housing.

We are gratified that this action, taken exclusively by private citizens at their own expense, has yielded those positive results. If the wash had not been cleared, these souls would have had little motivation to better their lives. However, the transients and drug dealers who are most responsible for the problems we are experiencing are still at large. This is not a homeless crisis that requires more beds, it is a criminal transient crisis born of Prop. 47 combined with years of lack of enforcement and finger-pointing between agencies.

The Big-T Wash as it is supposed to look.

When the Day Street Apartments were built in Tujunga, it was sold as a cure for the increase in our local homeless population. But very few locals accepted housing.

Today, most of the residents of Day Street are from out of the area. This is because our problem is not homelessness; it’s transiency, criminal drug dealing, and drug use by persons who were formerly incarcerated. We reject the building of more shelters in our neighborhoods. We welcome them in areas well removed from them, our schools and our children.

Neighboring cities of Burbank and Glendale have 10% of the problem that exists in City Council District 7. The officials in those cities allow their police to enforce “quality of life laws” that ours have directed LAPD to ignore. They provide adequate funding to their law enforcement professionals.

LAPD officers are excellent, dedicated professionals. But LAPD does not have the resources to police this area. As an example, Burbank is a city of 17 square miles. Foothill Division is 43 square miles; yet, Burbank fields the same number of officers on patrol at any one time as Foothill Division. LAPD closed the jail and property department at Foothill, reportedly to save money. Now, when an officer makes an arrest he must first complete paperwork at Foothill, drive to the jail in Van Nuys, and then drive back to Foothill before returning to patrol. One arrest can take two officers off the street for four hours. Officers are often confronted with the painful decision to avoid making an arrest for a lesser crime because they want to be on the street in case a life or death matter arises. Who can blame them? To make matters worse, civilian staff was let go and officers that used to be on patrol are now working at a desk. We hear all the time that Los Angeles

has almost 10,000 officers.

What we are not told is that only 6,000 of them are patrolling while the rest are pushing paper.

The undersigned respectfully demand that our council member, mayor and police chief work to immediately do the following: 1. Reopen the jail and Property Department at Foothill Division 2. Increase the number of patrols and officers throughout CD7 3. Rehire civilian employees at Foothill Division so that our officers can spend more time on the street 4. Initiate regular patrols of all areas of Big Tujunga Wash and hillsides throughout CD7 by the LAPD Off Road Unit 5. Coordinate with other agencies such as DWP and General Services to have regular patrols occur in Big Tujunga Wash, Little Tujunga Wash and hillside areas not under LAPD jurisdiction 6. Enforce vagrancy, loitering, public intoxication, aggressive panhandling, and trespassing laws 7. Move for profit recycling centers away from our neighborhoods and schools since they attract transients who steal recyclables to sell for drugs and alcohol 8. To the extent that your offices allow, publicly work to support and effect the repeal of Prop. 47 We are voting citizens of this council district and the City of Los Angeles. In the next election, we will use our vote to signal our approval or disapproval of your work to help our community recover from our current challenges.

Signed, SUNLAND: Brian Schneider, Yvonne Schneider, Andrew Schneider, Deanna Ables, Alan Ackerman, Debbie Adams, Claudia see Signatures, page 5

THE FOOTHILLS PAPER • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 — 5

VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 25 • www.thefoothillspaper.com

Signatures, from pg. 4 Akin, Melody Archer, Nick Armand, Sherli Babaian, Nareg Badalian, Talin Badalian, Aida Baghdasarian, Armen Baghdasarian, Kim R. Bailey, Terri Barksdale, Mike Basore, Liana Bellissimo, Kenny and Shannon Berry, Tracy Biglay, Steven Black, Katerina Boghosian, Joshua Borrowman, Austina Bosco, Joseph Bosco, Luis & Cecilia Bouza, Mr. & Mrs. Bowling, Carmen Brandes, Mr. & Mrs. John Brennan, Emily Brink, Elaine Brown, Georgia Brown, Tina Brown, Paul Burdick, Kathy Butterworth, Shannon Campbell, Marissa Canche, Don, Sandy, Ryan and Tyler Capps, Dazie Carnes, Jon Carnes, Gloria Caruso, Frankie Castro, Virginia Castro, Mercedes Chavez, Brenna Conlon, Peggy Cook, Vicky Cortez, Cassandra Cox, Shaun Crowe, Carmely Cruz, Elizabeth Curtis, Warren Curtis, Karen Cuthbert, Janet Dappen, Heather Denton-Richard, Amy Love Dinnendahl, Brian Dinnendahl, Michele Dollar, Robin Dorfman, Nancy Dunn, Kristin Maloney Durkin, Charlotte Edwards, Christine Eldred, Cindy S. Evans, Bret Everett, Sarah Eylands, Leanne Fagan, Mr. & Mrs. Edward Fayton, Cheryl McDonald Feia, Mark Fleming, Martha Frost, Debbi Fullington, Kathleen Fulton, Susan Gaon, Coleen Garcia, Jennifer Gavino, Barry Ira Geller, Tony Gentile, Vincent Gentile, Laureen Gleason, Michael Gleason, Sabrina Godinez, Ginny Gonzales, Heather Gordon, Sandra Gordon, Erik Goudsmid, Chantel Gray, Laura Grow, Bob Gunter, Jamielee Halm, Joie Hancock, Niki Harley, Kimberly Harris, Stacey Harrison, Maureen Hayden, Kirstin Hedblom, Marcella Helfer, Michelle Heskett, Van Heskett, Mary Hicks, Wilma Horvath, Lara Hovaguimian, Candace Howard, Morgan Hunter, Kelly Hurst, Janelle Hussion, Susan Jacobs, Carol A. Jaffray, Jamie Jenney, Rosie and Robert Johnson, James Jones, Ray Jones, Jr., Sharon Jones, Suzie Jones, Taylor Jones, Michelle Jordan, Lisa Jover, Lisa Kellingsworth, Sahak Khatchatryan, Kristen Knoble, Jennifer Knopp, Jennifer Kogut, Alex Kozushin,

Pat Kramer, Melissa KramerSarrett, Travis Krippner, Karen Lamberton, Gregg Laskin, Diane Lauletta David Lee, Robin Lefler, Peggy Leiphardt, Andrew Lipscomb, Dana Lipscomb, Joe Lopez, Edwin Lossi, Brian Love, Scott Love, Martha Lownes, Alicia Lownes-Santos, Erin Lownes-Santos, Patrick Lownes-Santos, Adam de Lucia, Alexis de Lucia, Beverly Bowen de Lucia, Frank de Lucia, Pamela Ludovico, Thomas Ludovico, Joshua Luiz, Larry Luiz, David and Gayle Lundquist, Brenda McAlpine, Ken McAlpine, Debra McConville, Arianna McCubbin, Patricia May McCubbin, Kelly McDonagh, Emma Macias, Martin Macias, Nicole Macias, Gordon McKinnon, Mari McLaws, Peter & Christine McLeland, Robin Madrid, Patty Makita, Ron Makita, Marjorie Maxon, Matt Maxon, Susana Medina, Gerald Mielo, Brian, Kelly, and Riley Miller, Jennifer Mohamed, Emily Moniz, Amanda Moore, Lloyd Moore, Melody Moore, Charles Morris, Jan Morrissey, Erin Mueth, Greg Mueth, LolaMarie Nail, Paul Neuenswander, Rick and Shirley Neuenswander, Stephen Obar, Maureen O’Byrne, Chelene O’Neal, Tricia Ortiz, Irene Paniagua, Kevin Parker, Lisa Peterson, Stacy Petrossian, Chris Pieper, Emily Pieper, Nancy Pistole, Patti Potter, Rudolph and Jamie Powers, Michelle Pritchard, Tom Pula, Mike Quain, Michelle and Kelly Ramage, Randy Ray, Donna Reinhard, David Renshaw, Debbie Rhodaback, Forest Riek, Naomi Carrier Russell, Michael Russo, Amber Sandoval, Charles Sanford, Scott Sanford, Coleen Scaggs, Scott Schneider, Kristi Schoenrock, Sareda H. Schramm, Allison Schuh, Aileen Seijo, Harvey Shacket, Susan Shacket, Nancy and Tyler Shannon, Brandy Sheedy, Linda Hackbarth Sholders, Frank Sims, Tammy Grant Slaughter, Leilani Smith, Lily Smith, Arturo Sotillo, Pablo Sotillo, Richard Spear, Janet Stubbs, Martin Stubbs, Jennifer Szasz, Sheri Thompson, Jamie-Lisa Thomson, Laurel Thornton, Elizabeth Torres, Amy Stericker Tracy, William Traughber, Alejandro Trejo, Jessica Trejo, Melissa Tuboly, Eric Vargo, Anni Vartanian, Tami Walker, Adam Wallace,

Veronica Wallace, Paula, Maxx, and Caryl Warner, Elsa Waters, Christian Webb, Wally Wharton, JT Wheeler, Christine Williams, Donald Williams, Frank Williams, Kaitlyn Williams, Yasmine Wolfe, Richard Wollard, Brandon Wood, Ellis Wood, Monica Wood, Tennyson Wood, Beth Wrobel, Zizi Zaratanya TUJUNGA: Teni Abramian, Kristina Adams, Natalie Alpakli, Chris Anchondo, Sheila Andrews, Sherri Andrews, Denise Morris Arroyo, Kris and Terry Ascherin, Ovik Azaryan, Anasheh Babakhanian, Nersis Baghdasarian, Tiadora Baghdasarian, Frank, Bicna, Bailey, and Brittany Bagheri, Christopher Barnard, David Barron, Amber Bartlett, Larry Bartlett, Mahala Anne Beery, Carrie Bellomo, Glen Belt, Teresa Bergman, Maggie Stanners Boyd, Rebecca Brehme, Jennifer Burns, Denise Byer, Stephanie Campbell, Gail Carlson, Cynthia Cervantez, Jennifer Chafin, Joe Coffman, Charles Conway, Robin Conway, Eugene Cooper, Mike and Hanna Corrigan, Bonnie Corwin, Julie Cuddihy, Michael Cuddihy, Tommy Davis, David “Doc” DeMulle, Abby Diamond, Antoinette DiMino, Connie Doray, Paula Dublinski, Loren Dunham, Tresa Echevarria, Pam Fernicola, Mike Flynn, Raina Fowler, Frank and Charlene Mason Gallego, Hamik Ghookhassian, Dr. Constance Gibson, Jessica C. Gill, Catrina Godfrey, Denise Goldberg, Faith Gonzalez, Lynne Robin Green, Eva Guerrero, Jon von Gunten, Karen von Gunten, Ara Hatamian, Cathy Hendershott, Lynn Hoganson, Carol Jacobs, Laura Jakob, Karen and Ted Jarvis , Melissa Jensen, Barbara D. Johnson, William Johnson, Debbie Kane, Pilar Kanner, Katherine Katsenis, Joe Kenck, Nelli Khatchatryan, Richard King, Alain Kivijian, Charla Knapik, Kathryn Laing, Amanda Laino, Jay Lamb, Julie Larson, Mark Legassie, Kittie Lessa, Juniper Lim, Raoul Limeres, Morgan Lonsdale, Ed Luboff, Nelly Luboff, Kevin McCormick, Patricia McElwee, Suzan MacGugan, Dyan McManus, Kathleen and Paul McNutt, Nicole Maggi,

Tara Greer Malouf, William H. Malouf, Patti Mathews, Jessica May, Robin SiegelMeares and Ed Meares, Kim Michaelis, Monique Miedema, Tal Miller, Nicole Mirikitani, Michael Moncreiff, Ursula Mueller, Jenine Murphy, Glen and Leticia Nolda, Kathy Nolda, John Novak, Wendy O’Connor, Sabina Odemer, Briana Olander, Robert Olson, Shirley Parks, Ryan Paskwietz, Dennis Payne, Susan Peek, David and Jennifer Pelon, Karen Perdue, Misty Pipes, Mimi Poor, Linda Powell , Brian Purvis, Michelle Purvis, Susan Reccelle, Marlies Reno, Laura and Paul Rhea, Ann Rhodes, Maegan Rios, Liliana Sanchez, Buffy Seymour, Christina Smith, Jeffrey Smith, Kathleen Smith, Rose Marie Smith, Alexandra Squiers, Mr. & Mrs. Roger “Rock” Swart, Diana Sweeney, David Tapp, Laura Tapp, Sonia Tatulian, Sonia Tongko, Emma Trchoutian, Desiree Trippler, Mathew Trippler, Chris Trogdon, Lee Turner, Tania Vartanians, Daniel Vaughn, Cassie Wagner, Keith Wagner, Tami Walters, Kathryn Wesley, Travis Wesley, Sierra Westerholm, Jo Anne Rogers Williams, Tim Williams, Carla Wolff, Michael Woolson, Leslie Yeseta, Eric Ziegenfuss, Karen & Tom Zimmerman LAKE VIEW TERRACE: Tracey Adams, Christi Ausherman, David Ausherman, Mike Ausherman, Pattie Barrett, Clare Blake, Vikki and Nils Brink, Leslie Brymer, Scott Carpenter, Kathy Chieves, Evelyn Chote, Gina Cruz, Sue Gardner, Tim Gardner, Shannon Heier, Joanne Kriske, Jennifer and Wayne Love, Mindy McElhone, Chris and Tim McGrath, Jeff Martin, Khalin Mikkelsen, D. Nakamura, Kristin Sabo, David Stuart, Emily Stuart, Brenda Griswold Thornberg, Carrie Torres, Stephanie Waller SHADOW HILLS: Leslie Addiego, Nicole Ahten, Cindy Bloom, Rebecca Borquez, Tim Borquez, Raenna Brandes, Susie Brooks, Megan Chismar, Erin and Patricia Crowe, Ryan Crowe, Heidi Geyer, Aylin Ghookhassian, Monique Maria Golanian, John Hallowitz, Brandon Jones, Alejandra Keal, Chris and Fawn Keegan, JD Keough,

Roger Klemm, Linda Knutson, Kurt Koesler, Robert LaBounty, Bill Mogensen, Mel Murphy, Sue Murphy, Dena Nelson, Jill Olson, Tammy Parkinson, Nanci Roberts-Wrenn, Dennis Rosher, Nicole Sahanaja, Vickie Sampson, Arbi & Valene Sarkissian, Corlis Schneider, Jeannette Sermak-Prouix, Edna Shahvosian, Thomas Shannon, Leanne Jones Snyder, Steve Toby, Jean Traubner, Deirdra Vierra, Jill Pomeroy Whitney, Jim Wrenn LA CRESCENTA: Amy Campain, Sandra Dasaad, Julie Lynne Forster, Sandi Guzman, Eva Higging, Margaret Keay, Laura Lo, Julian Mitchell, Sarah Moniz, Virginia Moniz, Melissa Picciuto, Christopher Reichman, Rashea Sanchez SAN FERNANDO VALLEY: Jennifer Djavadi LA CAÑADAFLINTRIDGE: Marc Cena SUN VALLEY: Wanda Allison, Carol Bond, Wanda Brown, Lisa Iversen, Mae Lynne Menier, Kathy Sholders SYLMAR: Linda Garcia, Paula Golden, Jennifer Jones, Susan Kenan Meadows, Mandy Shaw VALLEY GLEN: Lynda Fenneman LOS ANGELES: Ed Badalian, Rosa Balderrama, Allyn George, Lloyd Hitt, Marlene Hitt, Morgan Hunter, Emily Johnson, Jeremy & Joanne Kriske, Jason McCubbin, Kate McCubbin, Theresa Perry, Jack Semerdzhyan, Rose Silurik, Jay Stern GRANADA HILLS: Jennifer Van Der Geugten KAGEL CANYON: Linda Cummings-Whelan, Amber Shoopman NORTH HILLS: Sandra Watkins RANCHO LA TUNA CANYON: Wendell Bean ORGANIZATIONS: Sunland-Tujunga Beautification Committee, SunlandTujunga Neighborhood Council.

6 — FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 • THE FOOTHILLS PAPER

www.thefoothillspaper.com • VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 25

Artfully

SPEAKING

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Pedigree Artists all over this country have storehouses full of work and nowhere to sell it. When you paint every day, as I do, this becomes a problem. I’ve taken to removing canvases from stretchers and storing them for a time until things get better. What many who paint seem to be missing is, galleries don’t sell “great work,” they sell what sells.

Contemporary art is the big mover and shaker today.

Much of the art today has no context. At the turn of the first century, when America was expanding West, landscape became king. People had never seen the land being newly discovered and were enthralled. Also, America was expanding and trying to find its identity and uniqueness as a new nation. Some were getting rich quick in manufacturing, industry, railroads. They had money to burn, especially without taxes to pay. These movers and shakers wanted to show their wealth by building huge homes and fill them with furniture and Art. At first they bought European art or classical art because there was virtually no “American” art.

American artists even trained in Europe. You couldn’t get arrested in America without having first studied in Europe.

When artists returned they painted this new land. The landscapes they painted then had context; a reason, so to speak, for being painted. This continued through the 1930s and ‘40s. Things changed in the ‘50s after the WWII. Prosperity made more wealth for average citizens and our

e

attention shifted to commercial goods, diversion, movies became the big thing, photography developed and took a big chunk out of art making. Galleries now sold photos of landscapes for much less. Paintings became an item for the rich and not the common man. And they already had all the “good” art.

So, art had to become “common,” down-to-earth, made less well by lesser artists or artists with questionable training. Artists no longer had to acquire a European pedigree. Anyone could paint with a few lessons and the prices were made more affordable. To make this already long story shorter, art made today has less worth and is made lesser by the fact that many buyers think anyone can do it. There still is good work, well-painted art, but art today has little context. It is painted to fill a gap in one’s life, a diversion from retirement, a release from the routine of work or the children. Today, it’s fun to paint regardless of quality or meaning. The idea of art has lost its seriousness, it meaning. We fill canvases and have galleries sell things that no one really has any connection to. We make pretty pictures for no apparent reason.

And we wonder why no one will pay good money for it.

More and more people attempt it.

Art is now a mundane cottage industry. Why art sells and who sells it and to whom it gets sold, has little to do with skill, ability, knowledge, quality or even pedigree any longer.

Phenomenal Asiago Potatoes by

Chef Randy

The Asiago cheese makes this recipe a sophisticated alternative to traditional scalloped potatoes. The combination of potatoes and fennel, in a creamy Asiago cheese sauce, will put a smile on your face. Best of all, it will put a smile on the faces of your family and friends.

I serve this as an alternative potato dish at our Christmas dinner.

Ingredients: 2 medium fennel bulbs (trimmed and sliced thin) 1½ pounds russet potatoes (peeled and sliced thin) 1 tablespoon butter Coarse salt and ground pepper 1 cup plus 6 tablespoons Asiago cheese (grated) 2/3 cup heavy cream

ing dish by spraying with cooking spray. Set aside.

Trim stalks from fennel bulbs then cut them in half and remove the core. Slice bulbs and potatoes very thin (1/8 inch thick). Unless you have a sharp knife and a practiced eye, use a mandolin slicer for evenness.

Add potatoes and fennel to Directions: prepared dish in three layers Preheat oven to 400 degrees. (potatoes, fennel, potatoes).

Prepare an 8-inch square bak- Sprinkle the first and sec-

ond layers with 3 tablespoons Asiago cheese and ½ tablespoon butter and season each layer with a little salt and pepper.

Pour cream over top. Bake for 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven and sprinkle the remaining ½ cup cheese on top.

Return to oven and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes or until golden.

For additional recipes, see Chef Randy’s website at

valley-vegetarian.com

Only Successful Businesses advertise in

The Foothills Paper!

7222 Foothill Boulevard, Tujunga

THE FOOTHILLS PAPER • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 — 7

VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 25 • www.thefoothillspaper.com

Kevin Woyjeck Explorers to Buy $125k Firefighting Gear for Fire Explorer Programs The Kevin Woyjeck Ex Some of the gear that is beplorers for Life Association is ing sold to the association by pleased to announce that the MES includes more 200 pairs organization has entered into of fire boots, 200 pairs of firean agreement to purchase apfighting gloves and 70 pairs proximately $125,000 in new of firefighting pants. firefighting gear at a discount- “This is exactly why we ed rate from Municipal Emer- started the association,” said gency Services Inc. Anna Woyjeck, a founder of “We could not have affordthe Kevin Woyjeck Explored to make this purchase with- ers for Life Association. “We out the help of MES,” said wanted to remember Kevin by Los Angeles County Fire Cap- helping others achieve their tain Joe Woyjeck, who is a dreams of becoming firefightfounder of the 501(c) (3) non- ers. This incredible partnerprofit organization. “Thanks ship with MES will help us do to the generosity of MES, we just that.” will be able to supply gear to The Woyjecks founded the young, up-and-coming fireKevin Woyjeck Explorers fighters that they can use in for Life Association in 2013, training to help them begin shortly after their son Kevin their careers.” was killed on June 30, 2013.

He was one of the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshot wildland firefighters who perished in the Yarnell Hill Fire outside Prescott, Arizona.

Kevin began his firefighting career in the Fire Explorer program with Los Angeles County Fire Department, and he loved being an Explorer.

The Kevin Woyjeck Explorers for Life Association aims to provide equipment, training and scholarships to help young men and women pursue careers in the fire service and emergency medical.

For more information, please contact info@explorersforlife.org or visit the Web site at: http://explorersforlife.org.

Attention All Veterans,

Sons, Daughters and Wives of Veterans

Come and Enjoy your local American Legion Post Help support Veterans and Veterans’ Causes

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

December 19 Traditional Ham Dinner

by Robert Young Working Stiffz Farewell Performance ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thursday, December 31 New Year’s Eve Dinner by Robert Young band TBD ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Annual Congressional Student STEM Challenge Announced Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) announced the start of the annual congressional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) academic competition, the Congressional App Challenge, for the 28th Congressional District.

The competition aims to foster an early interest and engagement in STEM education and technology by challenging students to develop an application (“app”).

Established by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2013, this competition is part of a nationwide event that invites high school students from all congressional districts to compete by creating and exhibiting their software application, or “app,” for mo-

bile, tablet, or computer devices on a platform of their choice. Throughout the competition period, participating students will be provided opportunities to engage with various STEM educational partners, tech entrepreneurs, and tech experts located in the District to mentor and assist them with their app development.

“There is a drastic shortage of STEM graduates needed to fill the over 8 million new STEM jobs projected over the next decade,” said Schiff. “This challenge aims to help meet that long-term need by encouraging students to develop an early interest in STEM fields through creating their own app. Hopefully, we

find some innovative entrepreneurs within our community!”

The House Student STEM Challenge is open to all high school students who live in or attend high school in the 28th Congressional District. Students entering the competition must register and submit their apps at www.challenge. gov/challenge/congressionalapp-challenge-ca-28-repschiff during the competition submission period now open through January 15, 2016.

More details on submitting a contest entry, the rules of the competition, and helpful programming resources can be found at www.congressionalappchallenge.us/educational-resources.

Alleged Credit Card Fraud at S-T Panda Express BEWARE OF USING YOUR CREDIT CARD AT THE S-T PANDA EXPRESS! The Foothills Paper received a call from Scott at O’Riley’s Automotive and we did an interview. He and his employees ate at Panda a couple of weeks ago and for the past weeks, additional charges have been coming up on their credit card statements.

Attempts to contact the store’s manager were in vain, and he would not answer the phone. Attempts were also made to reach out to the Panda Express corporate HQ in

Rosemead but no one would speak to us about the situation. At this point in time, seven other people have re-

sponded to our FB notice that they have additional charges on their credit cards.

Use caution.

Are you man enough for this “Fru-Fru” drink?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

American Legion Post 377

10039 Pinewood Avenue, Tujunga

(818) 353-9856 Events open to the Public

Canteen Hours - 7 days a week, 2- 10 p.m.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For Hall Rental, call Commander Dan at

(818) 521-1137

8 — FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 • THE FOOTHILLS PAPER

www.thefoothillspaper.com • VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 25

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THE FOOTHILLS PAPER • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 — 9

VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 25 • www.thefoothillspaper.com

Foothills Pet Page Newspaper Thief Admits His Crime

Ed Luboff of Tujunga admits on Facebook: he steals your papers.

According to California State Penal code 490.7, such action is a violation punishable by a $250 fine; the second such act is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment and a fine: “The [CA] Legislature finds that free newspapers provide a key source of information to the public...[and] that the unauthorized taking of multiple copies of free newspapers... [to] deprive others of the opportunity to read them...injures the rights of readers.”

Ed Luboff.

Pet Parents Are Including The Whole Family for The Holidays With the holiday season upon us it’s time to start shopping, planning, and getting excited for all that much needed family time and love.

Some of the most deserving of this family time are none other than the family pets, of course!

The ones who love you unconditionally all year and want to be included in your holiday plans just as much as you want to include them.

TripsWithPets.com recently polled pet parents to learn how they intend to include their pets in their holiday plans and traditions—and the results are in!

When it comes to who to spend the holidays with, pets certainly rank! According to the survey, a whopping eightyfive percent of those polled plan to spend their holidays with their four-legged family members. A large percentage of those, forty-nine percent to be exact, plan on traveling this holiday season and bringing their pooches with them.

Families plan to include their pets in more than just travels

during the holidays. Pets will be a part of many holiday traditions. Nine percent of pet parents polled indicate that their pets will join the family in picking out the Christmas tree, half said their pets will be a part of the holiday greeting card, and fourteen percent will take their pet to sit on Santa’s lap and tell them what they want for Christmas!

And gifts they will receive!

Nearly seventy-five percent of respondents plan to buy gifts for their beloved furry family members this year. What’s

more, twenty-three percent of pet parents polled said they would even take their pet holiday shopping with them to pet friendly stores.

“The bond between pet parents and pets is incredibly strong, just as any family relationship,” says Kim Salerno, president and founder of TripsWithPets.com. “Pets are truly members of the family, bringing so much joy and love to our everyday lives.

How can we not share with them the most wonderful time of the year?”

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10 — FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 • THE FOOTHILLS PAPER

www.thefoothillspaper.com • VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 25

Have You Been “Googled” Lately? by

David DeMullé

Since its launch in 2007, Google Street View Cars have entered the realm of modern vehicular legend, joining the ranks of the Goodyear Blimp, the DeLorean and the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. Everyone knows they’re out there roaming in the wild, but it’s a rare opportunity to actually spot one on the road, snapping away for posterity.

But they are out there, and there are a lot of them, so the

chance of coming across one in daily travels is quite real.

Unlike other cultural oddities, instead of you capturing an image to show others, the Google Street View Car captures you, logging your existence on the streets, in your town forever—or at least until the next Google Car drives by and takes a newer photo.

The big questions remain, however: Where exactly are the Google Street View Cars? How do they work?

Who gets to drive them, and

how do they get to the hard to reach places like, say, the Grand Canyon or inside the White House? The article cited below will divulge all the nuts and bolts about the Google Street View Vehicles documenting the world on the ground level for the enjoyment of the entire Internet. (Oh, and we’ll also give you a tip for what to do if you spot one.)

Read more at: googlestreetmaps.com/ google-street-viewcar/#K1lXBiTvvkUxv7rV.99

A Google Maps car in Tujunga

LAUSD Winter Break Begins Soon by

Ramie Case

The kids will be out of school for three weeks straight! LAUSD Winter Break begins Monday, December 21 through Friday, January 8. So what will your kids be doing? If you’re looking for a different option, try the Winter Break Camp at Time to Explore Child Development Center. The center, that also provides an after school program, will offer a full day program for school age kids. They will have a variety of activities related to the holidays and winter season, as well as some cool things they can only do on full days. Some of the cool

things they do include nature walks, rock collecting, cooking, and crafts (like sewing).

They will also help the kids keep their academic skills sharp by providing homework support and reading time.

In addition, during winter break the center has their annual Parents Night Out event. They stay open late and provide dinner and holiday activities to give parents a chance to finish shopping, wrap presents or just have a nice dinner out. (Children must be enrolled in the Winter Break program to attend the Parents Night Out event.)

If you would like more information about the Winter Break program, please call

Time to Explore at (818) 951-2338 and check out their website at timetoexplore. vpweb.com. Winter Break is a good opportunity to learn about the center and try it out.

Your kids may like it so much they’ll want to come back for the After School program or Summer Camp! The center focuses on providing environmental education in an outdoor environment. So every week of summer camp includes a field trip or a guest speaker that helps connect kids to the natural world. They have fun with a little learning slipped in on the side!

Enrollment space for the Winter Camp is limited and filling up fast! Call today!

Fun things for kids make happy kids.

Free Adult and Kids Dance Classes at Sunland Recreation Center

by Joan

Robinson

Did you know that fun classes are constantly being held at the Center at little and sometimes no cost? Come one, come all to the Holiday Showcase on Thursday, December 17 which shows off the achievements of the center’s students, as well as highlighting a Dance Showcase by amateur and professional dance performers.

Be prepared to be entertained. Bring the entire family. It starts at 5:30 p.m. with hot dogs, crafts, and an art exhibition followed at 6:00 p.m. by performances from the Drill Team, Aikido, Gymnastics, and the newly formed Kidz Hip Hop Team.

The dance show will start about 6:30 p.m., and it will feature swing and ballroom routines to demonstrate how

much fun dancing can truly are you enthralled by “Dancbe. And, we’re hoping for a ing with the Stars” but don’t visitor from the North Pole do anything to get yourself too! onto a dance floor? Is it the Free swing dance classes cost? Well, these classes are for both adults and kidz will free to all. Is it because guys start on Tuesday, January 12 dislike the idea of holding at 6:00 p.m. All beginners of a lady in their arms? Is it all ages are most welcome, because girls hate the idea of specifically males, as swing moving to music or meeting is a partnership dance and we new guys? How about the need boys and men to balance excuses: “I’m too shy” or out the class. Make this a “too short,” “too heavy,” or class for the entire family. We anything like that? provide the most essential A good dance program ingredient for learning a like this one prides itself on dance skill: a warm supportmaking everyone comfortable. ive environment. This helps We want you to enjoy dancing. everyone relax and learn, as We don’t want to let you down. people help one another. So Hey, you can always drop if if you choose to dive into a the class doesn’t measure up. world of music, movement Better yet, visit the first class and friendship, know this: on January 12th to see how you could end up loving it for much fun everyone will be a lifetime. having. All you have to lose is But if it’s that good, why a lifetime of enjoyment. isn’t the whole world danc So mark your calendar for ing? More specifically, why a family outing on Thursday,

Cheryl Griffith and Joan Robinson.

December 17 to the Sunland Recreation Center, 8651 Foothill Boulevard in Sunland and learn about all the excit-

ing programs being offered to our community in 2016.

Pre-registration is required for all classes.

THE FOOTHILLS PAPER • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 — 11

VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 25 • www.thefoothillspaper.com

Giving Thanks for a Shotgun Christmas Jim Laris

sample the wine and then wait to see who will be the Hello, everyone this first one to ask my two sons, Christmas season. Or as we Mike and Casey, who are say here in the United States, 41 and 36, why they aren’t hello everyone this holiday married yet. Man, it’s heartseason where it would warming. I get shivers. probably kill us if we said We’ve been doing this for the word Christmas without the past 10 years. And no, some kind of qualifier. Yes, I we don’t care about their can still be pissy during this feelings. At first, we just time of year. Pissy knows no hinted at it, and we’d say, season.

“Would everyone who is a By the way, do you think normal person and is married Muslims would protest if we please stand up.” And they said they shouldn’t celebrate would be the only two people Ramadan because it offended sitting, and we’d point at four people in the United them and mock them and States? Just wondering. We laugh at them and call them wouldn’t want to offend sissies and they would just anyone. look at us and say something I’m just going to write a defensive like, “It’s my life, shotgun column this time.

Fuddy Duddy Face,” or, Shoot from the hip or shoot “pass the gravy.” from the lip. There’s just We tried everything over going to be some shooting, the years. Becoming more but you won’t know where vicious each year. One year it’s coming from. Duck. my son-in-law, Michael, said We had a really nice that if you were an unmarried Thanksgiving at our house. man over the age of 30 in We like to celebrate an old Alaska, Eskimos would put tradition (as opposed to a your “sorry asses” on a raft young tradition) by all sitting and push you out to sea and down at the Thanksgiving shoot at you with flaming dinner table and giving arrows dipped in goat piss as thanks for all we have, and you drifted away. then taking a brief pause to And another year, my by

daughter-in-law, Anh, who young, beautiful, teddyis Vietnamese, suggested wearing vixen who used birth that in her country men who control pills, and not settling weren’t married by a certain down and having a bunch of age were poked with large rug rats so their father could sharp sticks with poison tips finally be happy with life and and when the wounds got all live out his few remaining bloody and filled with pus single-digit years with the the elders would walk over to sound of little pitter-pattering the unmarried losers and hit feet to soothe his sick and them right in the nose with dying soul. “How selfish can the butt of a rifle. you be!?” I yelled. “Still got We all put down our wine a a ways to go, Pops,” one of and clapped. the losers answered.

Personally, I tried to use This year, after exhausting guilt. I’m pretty good at mak- our arsenal of fear and guilt, ing my sons guilty. I’ve had all of us married good people a lot of practice. A couple had a secret meeting to plan of years ago I asked them if our strategy. We decided to they could hear that sound. insult their manhood and try And they said, to humiliate them and even “What sound?” I said, “The traumatize them, if that’s sound of your mother crying. what it took. The vote was The sound of the teardrops 8-0. Of course, I was the one hitting the hardwood floor who had to implement the and splashing up as your plan. Somehow Mike, the mother sits on an old wooden older non-married loser, got chair with splinters in her wind that something was up semi-aging buttocks while and he didn’t come to dinner listening to a Pat Boone this year. So I had to try it on record.” We’re still waiting Casey alone. for their response.

Excuse me, I started, I’ve taken some pretty “Would any so-called man good shots at ‘em, too. I who is not married yet and remember back in 2004, I has erectile dysfunction asked them if they actually problems please share them liked being with a different, with us? We are here to be

Jim Laris is Jim Laris. supportive, and we know with the right drug and an understanding mate, you can solve this problem. Would that unmarried person please stand up now, and we will call them Ed (as in E.D.) to make the conversation flow a little easier?”

There was a silence for a long time. Then the silence was broken. No, it was not by a tear hitting the floor. It was the sound of a ball of mashed potatoes hitting the forehead of a never-to-be grandfather.

Jim can be contacted at jimlaris@mac.com.

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12 — FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 • THE FOOTHILLS PAPER

www.thefoothillspaper.com • VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 25

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Letters, from pg. 3 son was responsible, the guy that goes out to post the “no parking” certain dates for scheduled road repairs.

Yes it turns out that this guy posted signs declaring that Thousand Oaks Drive east of Plainview would be resurfaced the week prior to Thanksgiving, and yes: they did get the entire street done that week.

However, that block of Thousand Oaks Drive had already been resurfaced last year and was not in need of work.

You guessed it, they were supposed to post west of Plainview and complete the first resurfacing in over 30 years — the week prior to the holiday.

So Los Angeles, now you know the truth about how responsible the government service departments spend

Wealth, from pg. 2 buy for them. They’re not like your mother – they think your reward is to buy them stuff and make them feel better.

But, if you win the lottery, you can count on the fact that your mother and friend will want a piece of the pie. This

your hard earned tax dollars!

Can anybody tell me the total cost of this error? There are the payroll costs, tar, asphalt, water, fuel, tires and maintenance costs of the heavy equipment. Not to mention that we all have to cover these expenses because nobody noticed how nice the road was that they were about to rip out. Amazing that not one crew member had the thought to double check that the perfect road in front of them was the correct job order?

Now as I write my check to pay my property taxes, I wonder: should I just put it in the septic tank? It would be as responsible as the money handling ways supervised by our over-paid, over-staffed, expense account junkies we call the Los Angeles City Council!

How many of you residents reading this today get

paid over $180,000 a year for a part time job, one that includes allowing you to decide when and how much of a raise you are going to give yourself?

Did you know that voters actually approved that policy along with allowing unlimited assistants to do the real work and free cars with expense accounts and each district gets discretionary funds to give their community treats? That will keep them elected until they time out and run for higher office!

Well, folks, I am available and a lot more conservative with money. Elect me and I will lower those bloated salaries and hold them accountable for such gross mismanagement of OUR money.

Sincerely, Debbie S., Tujunga, CA •••

Word Trumps The Court

“Write a letter,” They said. So, I penned the truth.

David’s possible jail time may be seen as a restitution to society, but that prospect Dear Editor, is punitive and depressing What does a homeless adto him. He feels that would vocate do? Fight! For the pull him back from progress universality of the human he’s made in life here. Please spirit. I chose the word. consider home confinement.

In my recent altercation David will never return to with the Monterey Court, and Monterey. Resources could encourage others to follow. better serve local youth. And Early this year a kid came to for David, it would keep the my gate seeking help. So I flame of hope burning versus took him in. Grateful for the throwing him back into destability of a home, he proceeded to delight me by fixing pression. As a Rotarian, I’ll bet that any fellow business everything in sight. Raise owner would rather invest in the kitchen ceiling as a future hope than vindictiveness of project, if feasible. I Left for incarceration. the evening. On my return the Sincerely, ceiling was gone. Scrounging Amelia Anderson wood, the kid built cabinets inset between thick old walls, PS. I’ll write for anyone who saving space and money. first consults with their local Then he disappeared, extrapastor, priest, or rabbi. dited to Monterey on an old minor charge. But they want••• ed six months, Not so minor.

is why China’s system is better than ours: nobody knows it’s you under the mask; certainly not your friendly bank teller.

So, even though wearing a mask is a good idea, it may not be a good idea to wear it to the bank when you go to deposit your winnings.

L.A. Firemen’s Relief Association’s New Building Christmas Greetings from our family to yours

L.A. Hogs present a $27,000 check to the L.A. Firemen’s Relief Association at the new office and museum.

Last Saturday was the opening of the new Los Angeles Firemen’s Relief Association office and museum building.

With more than 200 active, retired and disabled firemen in attendance, there was a warmth of camaraderie and a renewing of old friendships.

The Association was presented a check for $27,000

from the L.A. Fire Hogs, a firefighters motorcycle club.

On a separate floor, there was a museum display of photographs from the Incident Response Photographers that spanned 10 years.

With great food, great people and a great organization, there was something for everyone.

The Grapevine Photographers.

Josie’s A-Z Discount store wishes you a very Merry Christmas! 8456 Foothill Blvd. Sunland, CA.

14 — FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 • THE FOOTHILLS PAPER

www.thefoothillspaper.com • VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 25

Sunland-Tujunga Lest We Forget!

Crime Stats On December 12, 2006, my life as an editor changed. Michelle Wincentsen was killed in a head-on collision on LaTuna Canyon Rd. by a teen-aged driver. This driver had previously been seen driving through stop signs and driving at high rates of speed on Foothill Blvd. Because I called him out and asked for my readers to join with me to stop him, certain individuals called for a boycott of The Paper, my resignation from the STNC and an apology. All well and good for them, but their loved one did not die in this crash.

I made both enemies and friends in the community, but I continued my campaign to stop stupid drivers. Every issue I ran a “Wreck of the Week.” Then it became “Wrecks of the Week,” and now it’s up to “Best of Wrecks of the Week.” But nothing was learned from this carnage.

How long are you going to tolerate this situation? During this holiday season, please slow down—you might live until next year.

Theft 11/22/15 10:30 PM 10600 BLOCK OF LANGMUIR AV

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Burglary 11/26/15 03:00 PM 8200 BLOCK OF FOOTHILL BL Burglary 11/27/15 07:00 PM 9900 BLOCK OF PINEWOOD AV Theft 11/28/15 07:00 PM 10600 BLOCK OF RHODESIA AV Theft 11/28/15 02:45 PM 8200 BLOCK OF FOOTHILL BL Burglary 11/30/15 12:00 PM 7000 BLOCK OF SAINT ESTABAN ST Theft 12/02/15 06:00 PM 10700 BLOCK OF FLORALITA AV Theft 12/02/15 09:20 AM 8800 BLOCK OF FOOTHILL BL Assault 12/03/15 02:20 PM 00 BLOCK OF HILLHAVEN AND FOOTHILL BL

Theft 12/04/15 10:20 AM 00 BLOCK OF CLAYBECK AND LUDDINGTON ST Burglary 12/04/15 05:00 PM 8200 BLOCK OF OWENS ST Theft 12/04/15 09:30 PM 8400 BLOCK OF NORRIS AV Assault 12/05/15 04:00 AM 7500 BLOCK OF HOLLYWOOD WY Burglary 12/06/15 10:00 AM 10000 BLOCK OF SAMOA AV Burglary 12/06/15 10:00 AM 10000 BLOCK OF SAMOA AV Burglary 12/07/15 06:00 AM 12100 BLOCK OF EAST TRAIL

VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 25 • www.thefoothillspaper.com

THE FOOTHILLS PAPER • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 — 15

Tujunga Artist Paints The Town

by Jackie

Houchien

Perhaps you’ve seen Tom Smith in your travels along Foothill Boulevard; for sure you’ve seen his artwork. He’s a slight man with a curling gray ponytail and paint spots on his jeans. He’ll probably have a brush in his hand and an open car trunk full of paint cans. If you listen closely, you may even hear a whisper of jazz music.

For more than 25 years Tom Smith has painted cartoon decorations or advertising on windows and walls of scores of businesses in Sunland-Tujunga.

His main gig in winter is painting Christmas decorations – Santas, Snowmen, kids on sleds – but he’s up for any holiday or seasonal decoration. It may be ghosts and ghouls on Halloween, hearts and Rafael-like cupids on Valentine’s Day, a cornucopia, or a cheerful batch of spring flowers.

He’ll even paint caricatures of real people, such as Kathy Anthony’s grandkids on her “Kathy’s Kreation’s” store window.

Tom says he doesn’t like to drive very far these days and only paints windows “from Sunland Park to Ocean View.”

Sounds like a pretty big art gallery to me, Tom! But before you dismiss Tom as “merely” a cartoon illustrator, you should know that he is also a talented portrait painter. On easels and stacked against his wall are beautiful, framed portraits in acrylics or pastels. Others are safely stored in large chests or as Polaroid photos in albums.

A stunning likeness of jazz trumpeter, Miles Davis, and another of John Lennon (autographed by the musician himself) caught my attention.

There is a self portrait of a much younger Tom, another of his mother.

“I like painting people,” the artist admits. “Real light hitting real flesh…you can’t beat it!” But Tom also paints from photos. “I’ve painted almost every president from Truman on up.” When asked if a portrait of Obama was a possibility, he said, “Yes, if I can get the right photo. Lighting is important.”

Born and raised in Iowa, and encouraged and influenced by his musician father, Tom’s love of cartoon drawing surfaced early. A retired professor neighbor who saw some of the 10-year-olds car-

toons put in a word for him to Dick Spencer III (at one time the owner and editor of Western Horseman magazine) who was teaching Editorial Cartooning at the University of Iowa. He agreed to tutor Tom. “We met every day that summer in his studio inside an old Quonset hut. He’d give me an assignment – say, a baseball player at bat – and I’d draw it.”

By the time Tom was 13, he was drawing the editorial cartoons for the Daily Iowan. “I was a pint sized illustrator in a big office. The editor would say what the editorial was about, and we’d discuss ideas for the cartoon. I was really into Eisenhower and Korea in those days.”

Tom graduated high school in 1957, writing his senior thesis on Animated Cartooning. After two years at Iowa U. (at his Dad’s insistence) he came to Los Angeles to study at the Chouinard Art Institute (now, Disney’s Cal-Arts in Valencia). He loved the Animated Drawing class using live models, but when he was showed the first step in actual animation - tracing drawings – he was turned off and headed back to Iowa.

For seven years Tom was totally away from drawing.

He got a job going door to door selling cookware, did a stint in the Marine Corps Reserve, and got married. When

Whatever the season, Tom can make your windows pop! he returned to LA, he remained in sales for a couple years before starting classes again at the Art Center.

In 1970 he moved his family to Fort Lauderdale where he thought of selling caricatures. He drew a couple samples, showed them to hotel guests and before long was painting two a day. He’d draw life-like heads in full color then ask the person what they wanted the “little bodies” to be like.

Tom Smith.

His son, Leonardo (a painter too) was born there. in Hollywood hair styling sa“One day I saw some Christ A couple years later he was lons and gay bars. mas decorations on a store doing the same thing on Hol And he painted willing window and thought, That lywood Blvd, using caricanudes at Pirate’s Cove beach might be fun.” And so it was. tures he’d painted of Johnny “every chance I got.”

If you are interested in Carson and Diana Ross as For a while Tom painted hiring Tom to paint for you samples. “Here’s where my with Hector Ponce, the pre(either a store window or door to door sales experience mier Latino muralist, whose a portrait), please contact helped.” paintings stretch 20 stories him at (818) 273-4740.

He found many customers high on some L.A. buildings.

Bring the gift card above to Classy Jewelers before January 7, 2016 and receive $100 off any jewelry purchase of $250 or more. We look forward to seeing you soon.

8325-D Foothill Boulevard, Sunland CA 91040 • (818) 352-2380

16 — FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 • THE FOOTHILLS PAPER

www.thefoothillspaper.com • VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 25

Live Performance of “Behold The Lamb of God” at New Hope Church In response to the overist, Andrew Peterson, called whelmingly positive reaction ‘Labor of Love,’ a song about to last year’s debut of a Christ- Mary the night she gave birth mas work, New Hope Church to Jesus and what intrigued me has decided to make Andrew most about the lyric and hauntPeterson’s “Behold The Lamb ing arrangement was the emoof God: The True Tall Tale of tional ‘word pictures’ he was the Coming of Christ” an anpainting for the listener.” He nual Christmas holiday event. added, “As I dug deeper into This year it will be performed his material, I discovered that on December 18, 19 and 20. this song was from a collec New Hope’ s Worship Arts Di- tion of folk-rock-Americana rector Tim Borquez explains his songs he had composed for a attraction to the concept piece: concept album he recorded in “I heard one stand-alone song 2006. Every year thereafter, by contemporary Christian art- Peterson and fellow musicians

have toured and performed this set of music for a few weeks during the Christmas season. The project has morphed into a wonderful experience for the audience, but also for the musicians on the stage performing. After the successful response from last year’s audiences, we felt we should build our Christmas Celebration around this piece for a couple of more years.”

Borquez adds, “It is an elevated artistic challenge that brings fresh new music, musi-

cians, vocalists and storytelling all together for just three evenings, and an opportunity for our church team to gather the community in celebration of the Christmas Story in an novel way. We want the evening to be a casual concert experience, with refreshments and people and families from our community coming together to hear and celebrate the Christmas Story, through some fantastic folk-rock music, performed by an awesome collection of musical performers.”

“Behold The Lamb Of God” will be performed at New Hope Community Church (10438 Oro Vista Avenue in Sunland) on Friday and Saturday, December 18th and 19th at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, December 20 at 6:30 p.m.

There will be a Christmas Open House happening an hour before each performance, where refreshments, a Kid’s Corner and nursery care will be available. Seniors and Students under 18 are FREE and Adults 18 and over are $5.00.