Lady Highlanders ready for first golf season See Sports Page 16
La Habra’s Independent Community Newspaper
www.lahabrajournal.com
No. 95461
August 20, 2015
LH Police give bikes to Boys & Girls Club
Breaking from the Past
By Jay Seidel La Habra Journal
By Jay Seidel La Habra Journal
I
t was an ordinary school day in early May when the notification came. Washington Middle School was named a Gold Ribbon School, one of the only junior high or middle schools in the area to receive such recognition and the first such recognition for Washington in decades. Principal Mario Carlos smiled because he knew he was going to be able to tell his faculty and staff that their hard work and dedication the past couple years have been recognized. His smile got bigger as he thought about how he can tell his students that
they can walk the halls with pride, knowing they are attending an award winning school. That is a slight change for Washington. The school has been mired in the stigma of its turbulent past. It’s a past that consisted of under achievement, vandalism and gang violence. “It went through some rough years,” said Sandi Baltes, who served as a teacher and assistant principal at Washington in the early 1980s. Over the last 10 years, the school, which is located on the grounds of the original school in La Habra, has seen a substantial decrease in violence and gang activity, and has seen increases to student success. See SCHOOL Page 4
Heights to see road repairs
By Daniel Hernandez La Habra Journal
LA HABRA HEIGHTS
The La Habra Heights City Council approved a plan at its August meeting to repair the worst parts of the dilapidated roads in the city. After eight paving companies submitted bids to the city, The R.J. Noble Company’s bid of $568,656 turned out to be the lowest plan and much lower than the estimated cost for the road construction project. “Their unit price for the grind and pave is what got them this job. It’s a really, really good price,” said Dave Nichols, La Habra Heights public works manager. Because the bid was lower, city staff asked council to approve an increase in the expected contingency plan and raise it from 15 to 38 percent.
The $133,235 contingency plan allows Nichols to use his own discretion with change orders or extra work to the areas planned for work. The total amount approved for this project is $787,189. According to the council, the plans are to repair the worst parts of East, Fullerton, Hacienda and West roads. The project is expected to take about two months to complete, according to La Habra Heights City Manager Shauna Clark. Clark and her staff were able to scrounge the nearly $800,000 for the patchwork road repair job from six different funding and tax sources, $150,000 of which is from an expired city road tax. The largest of the funding source,
$300,000 is from an already existing gas tax. “The staff did an incredible job of squeezing every nickel out of the budget and re-directing it towards roads,” LH Heights Mayor Michael Higgins said. City Council members voted unanimously to award the contract to R.J. Noble of Orange, authorize the contingency plan as well as authorize Nichols with a counter signature by the city engineer to issue change orders as necessary for this project. According to its website, R.J. Noble has been around for over 60 years. “The R. J. Noble Company is a Class A, General Engineering Contractor specializing in grading and asphalt paving, subcontracting underground, electrical and concrete work,” the company’s website stated.
The La Habra Police Department donated 13 bicycles to the Boys & Girls Clubs of La Habra last week. The bikes range in variety of sizes and types, and were formerly held as property and/or evidence. The bicycles had all been turned in over several months and the owners could not be located. In the past, the LHPD had often auctioned these bikes or sent them out to be scrapped. With the donation, the Boys & Girls Club will distribute these bikes to some deserving club members. “It is a great gesture from the police department to offer these donations to those who would otherwise miss the opportunity to enjoy the pleasure of cycling,” said Pat Favela, program director. For more information about Boys & Girls Club contact them at: (562) 694-1805
Jay Seidel/La Habra Journal Road work: The La Habra Heights City Council approved repairing some of the roads in the city.
WHAT ’ S INSIDE THIS ISSUE Corn Festival Wrapup
Obituary La Habra says goodbye to community icon
PAGES 8-9
FEATURES PAGES 7
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En Español: En busca de la fama sin perder la humildad FEATURES PAGE 12
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