e e k l y W EL CHICANo Vol 57, NO. 23
IECN
.com
May 30, 201 9
Juan Figueroa takes Oath of Of fice By Ricardo Tomboc
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THIS WEEK Gloria’s Cor ner Pg. 3
Crafton Hills ce l ebrat es 4 7t h commencement Pg. 6
n Thursday, May 23, newly elected San Bernardino City 3rd Ward Councilman Juan Figueroa was sworn into office during a small reception that took place in San Bernardino Mayor John Valdivia’s office among several friends, family, supporters, and city officials. Figueroa ran for the Third Ward seat vacated by then-Councilman John Valdivia who was elected mayor. Figueroa ran against Treasure Ortiz and Anthony Aguirre during the Special Election held on May 7, taking in 68% of the votes. Every vote counts, as only 1,445 mail-in ballots were recorded out of 11,263 registered potential voters in the Third Ward. That’s a little over 12% of the voting population who participated in the special mail ballot election. After the Oath of Office was administered, Figueroa received congratulations from those in attendance. Among those were his mother Josephine Figueroa and sister Laura Sanchez, both of whom were given the grand tour of the Mayor’s Office and Juan’s new office space located in the Vanir Tower. Figueroa is a lifelong resident of
By Manny B. Sandoval
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INSIDE 3
Words To Think About 5 Opinion
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Legal Notices
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H OW TO R E AC H US
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RICARDO TOMBOC
San Bernardino who grew up in the 3rd Ward. Figueroa works full time for Loma Linda Medical Center as a Medical Social Worker; he has attended the Seventh-day Adventist Spanish Church in the City of Colton. Figueroa has represented 3rd Ward residents on the San
Bernardino Fire Commission, Historic Preservation Commission, and the Community Development Citizens Advisory Committee. Figueroa was endorsed by the San Bernardino Police Officers Association, and the San
Bernardino County Professional Firefighters Local 935. Over a dozen community leaders serving on various commissions, committees, and community organizations have also endorsed Figueroa. More photos on next pg.
SB County Fire given consent to practice live fir e training on Little Mountain Drive
Local teens honored for volunteerism
Gloria’s Corner
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3rd Ward Councilman Juan Figueroa officially took office on Thursday, May 23 when he was sworn in by a representative from the City Clerk’s Office.
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n May 15, San Bernardino City Council gave consent to San Bernardino County Fire to practice live burns alongside Little Mountain Drive. “It is recommended that the mayor and city council of the City of San Bernardino adopt Resolution No. 2019-76, authorizing the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District to conduct a live fire training exercise and prescribed burn on cityowned property located along North Little Mountain Drive,” said Teri Ledoux, San Bernardino acting city manager. The live fire training was originally scheduled to take place on May 28th, 29th, 30th and 31st at 9 a.m., but due to inclement weather it has been postponed to
the third week of June. “This training exercise will enable the fire protection district to provide firefighters with critical wild-land fire management skills in addition to helping to mitigate the potential for an uncontrolled wildfire in this area by burning grasses that have grown during the rainy season, therefor creating defensible spaces around homes,” said Ledoux. According to the council agenda, the current conditions in the area including vegetation growth, climate and topography combine to make the potential for another local-area wild-land fire extremely high. “The prescribed live fire training will provide for the safety of San Bernardino residents by mitigating fire hazards and protecting homes surrounding North Little Mountain Drive while fos-
COURTESY PHOTO
The live fire training is scheduled for the third week in June on Little Mountain Drive.
tering close working relationships,” said Chris Gorman, San Bernardino County Fire Battalion Chief. “The streets in San Bernardino surrounding the live training include Little Mountain Drive, east to E. St., south of Kendall and north of Marshall. We are also asking the public to use cau-
tion and slow down when driving through the area,” said Kathleen Opliger, San Bernardino County Fire incident commander. A portion of the property within the prescribed burn training area is owned by the City of San Bernardino, the other area being a San Bernardino County pocket. For more information, visit https://www.sbcfire.org.