W e e k l y COLTON COURIER
Vol 147, NO. 1 5
IECN
.com
March 28, 2019
Wa t e r C o n s e r v a t i o n L a n d s c a p i n g t o p i c o f Yo u t h L e a d e r s h i p p r o g r a m By Dr. G (Luis Gonzalez)
THIS WEEK Gloria’s Cor ner Pg. 3
Kid’s Market provides fresh produce Pg. 6
L
ast Saturday, Mar. 23, selected student members of the City of Colton’s Youth Leadership Program were part of a discussion session on water conservation landscaping presented by city Water Conservation Specialist, Rob Waner. After an introductory presentation of “water facts” with regard to the City of Colton Water Department, students were treated to some valuable examples of landscaping strategies that included the use of drought tolerant plants. “Water conservation is a way of life,” stressed Waner as he enthusiastically explained how this philosophy can be applied to plants in general, and landscaping in particular, both indoors and outdoors. “Currently we are not in an official drought, but we must develop habits that conserve our valuable water resources” Waner added. “Thoughtful landscaping can help us achieve that goal.”
IECN PHOTO DR. G From left: Dr. G, Viviana Vasquez, Juan Ayala, Jorge Vargas, Rob Waner, Jasmine Landeros, Breanna Garcia, Albert Lopez, and Steven Garcia.
All of the students in attendance at the workshop received a live succulent plant followed by a discussion on its application and continued care. “This is a great learning experience,” says Colton High 11th grade student
Breanna Garcia.
“Every time we have a workshop session, students learn important concepts about municipal functions and issues,” explains Dr. G, founder and
Director of the Colton Youth Leadership program. “This presentation was a very good example of that benefit,“ he added. “Mr. Rob Waner was great with Program, cont. on next pg.
Colton holds weed abatement public hearing at city council meeting By Manny B. Sandoval
O
Youth Grantmakers
n Tuesday, March 19th, Colton held a weed abatement public hearing at its biweekly council meeting.
marks 10th anniversary
In a unanimous decision, city council approved resolution number R-14-19 declaring weeds, rubbish and trash a public nuisance and directing Fire Chief Tim McHargue to give notice and provide for the abatement.
Pg. 7
INSIDE Gloria’s Corner
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Words To Think About 5 Opinion
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Legal Notices
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H OW TO R E AC H US
Inland Empire Com munity Newspaper s Of fice: (909) 381- 9898 Fax: (909) 384-0406 Editorial: ie cn1@ mac .com Adve r tising: sales@ iec n.c om
IECN COURTESY PHOTO
The due date to complete weed abatement is on June 1st, 2019 in the city of Colton.
“As allowed by the government code, each year the city conducts a comprehensive weed abatement program to address the annual growth of weeds and the accumulation of trash and debris on the vacant lots located within the city. By means of the declaration by resolution of a public nuisance, notification by mail and the public hearing, the city is authorized to abate the weeds,” said City Manager Bill Smith.
According to the city's meeting agenda, twice a year, in the spring and again in the fall, a list and mailing labels of all unimproved parcels within the city is obtained from Parcel Quest. Notices conforming to the Government Code are sent to approximately 1,600 parcels identified as unimproved within the city, approximately 400 of which are actual qualified parcels for the program. “The notices were mailed out by our fire marshal about a weekand-a-half ago. The due date to complete weed abatement is on June 1st, 2019. If a property owner does not abate the weeds themselves we will send out a contractor and we will bill the property owner,” said McHargue. In recent years, owner compliance has increased and last fall the city received an approximate 80 percent owner initiated compliance rate. Weeds, cont. on next pg.