News-Ledger WEST SACRAMENTO
USPS 388-320
S E RV I NG TH E W EST S AC R A M E N TO R E G I O N S I N C E 19 6 4 55th Year • No. 08
LEGALS PAGE 5
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
COMICS & PUZZLES PAGE 8
LOCAL SCENE
SEE WHAT’S GOING ON PAGE 10
Crews to close traffic It’s our lanes on Tower Bridge turn to save OPINION:
Weekend daytime closure scheduled
them
BY MICHELE TOWNSEND I originally began to write this article because of the condition of the fire stations in West Sacramento. That, in itself, is an important topic that our community members need to be aware of. What I have learned while researching this (and this statement is not the view of the News-Ledger, it is my personal opinion), as a resident of West Sacramento, I am embarrassed and a bit ashamed of my city right now because of the pathetic care our city has taken of our firefighters! We’ll get back to that… There are several stations that have been invaded by black mold, along with many other structural problems. But that is just the beginning. It is reported that the city has been aware of the structural problems with the stations for up to 8 years. I went to a couple of the stations and saw for myself the condition of the stations. I went to station 45, located on Lake Washington Blvd (on 10/11/18), and Deputy Chief Steve Binns gave me a tour, and showed me the problem areas. It looked pretty severe, considering that basically the entire east wall of the building seems to be leaking. There is plastic hanging on that same wall, in every room that we looked in. Some were bedrooms, some, meeting rooms, and some offices. There are cracks the length of the wall on the exterior, and rusted out spots in some doors. Part of this is bad construction! The door that I looked at with a rust hole at the bottom of it had two downspouts directly above it with no alternative but to empty just inches in front of that exterior door. The roof and windows leak badly, throughout the building and there has been black mold. In addition, the building seems to be dropping Station 45 is not the only station with structural issues. It lists as follows: Station 41 was torn down in 2007, and rebuilt due to mold. Station 42 has a leaking roof, some mold and a wall needs to be removed/replaced. Station 43 has a leaking roof – throughout the building, including bedrooms, where they had plastic walls put up for the last several months. The roof itself collected water to the point that there are bubbles under the asphalt type roof from the build up of water. It needs ceiling panels and the sheetrock on several walls replaced. In 2009 the city bought land to rebuild Station 43, but that project has not yet begun. Station 44 looked like it had some growth where mold was beginning. Jeremy, a Construction Manager in the Public Works Department, gave me a fairly clear picture on what the city has done, what they are doing now, and as much as he knew about the future. I asked Jeremy why the city has been so neglectful to our Fire Department as a whole. He said that he believes that “Revenues weren’t high, we have older facilities, and there was a lot of deferred maintenance during the downturn.” He continued with, “they had to prioritize what they could do”. He said that Public Works got the project of station 45 in June (2018). The mold in Station 45 mitigating process was completed within two weeks. But only in the work out room and the Chief ’s living quarters, Two months later there was a complaint from Station See Townsend, page 7
Police Logs COMPILED BY: MONICA STARK The news items below are collected from police dispatchers’ notes and arrest reports. The information in them has often not been verified beyond the initial reports. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Reporting date and time: Oct. 13 at 7:30 a.m. Location of incident: 1000 block of West Capitol Avenue Unknown suspect broke business window.
Unknown value of damage, blood sample collected. Status: Active. Reporting date and time: Oct. 13 at 1:30 a.m. Location of incident: 530 block of 7th Street Suspect unlawfully entered an occupied apartment during the night. Status: Active. Reporting date and time: Oct. 11 at 8 a.m. Location of incident:1300 block of Danbury Court
Caltrans is alerting motorists to expect daytime traffic delays on the Tower Bridge because of ongoing bridge work. One westbound and one eastbound lane will remain open to traffic from 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27. Caltrans advises motorists to allow additional travel time or use alternate routes. Bridge work is anticipated to continue through the end of December. During this time, motorists can expect continued intermit-
tent traffic-interfering work on weekdays and full overnight closures. Caltrans is upgrading the electrical and mechanical systems of the iconic drawbridge. DMZ Builders is the contractor. Weather or other unexpected delays could postpone the work. Caltrans advises motorists to “Be Work Zone Alert” and “Slow for the Cone Zone.” The latest highway traffic news and updates on projects can be Dist3 and on Facebook found at http://www.dot. at CaltransDistrict3. ca.gov/d3/projects/ or on For real-time trafTwitter via @Caltrans- fic, click on Caltrans’
QuickMap quickmap. dot.ca.gov/ or download the QuickMap app on iTunes or Google Play.
Santa Claus loves this town BY TOMMY KING AND TOM MARTIN SPECIAL TO THE NEWS-LEDGER Editor’s Note: Tom Martin is a lifelong resident of West Sacramento. He graduated from James Marshall High School and is a past and current business owner. He has Santa Claus down to a “T”. He portrays the perfect charm, attitude and warm personality to be the real North Pole Santa. How lucky are we that he resides right here in good ol’ West Sac! This is his story....
suit from scratch and used newspaper as a pattern. Still not knowing how to get started, she told me to call Broadway Customs. We borrowed some ideas How I became Santa! from them, and with a Some 39 years ago, flat few adjustments, Santa broke, unemployed and was born. Christmas was just a That first year I played few weeks away, my wife Santa for four friends. Jan asked me how much Jan took the money and money I had and I told went out and bought a her $20. She said, “Give few toys and food for it to me.” So, I did and Christmas dinner. I only off she went. I’m think- advertised by word of ing that she was going to mouth. As the years went the store for food. by, the demand for Santa I was puzzled when she got so big that Jan was came back with several taking reservations a year yards of red material. So in advance to have Santa I asked, “What’s this for?” come to their home. We She looked me in the eyes took the regular customand said that she was go- ers first and fit in the othing to make me a fat Red ers around that schedule. Man suit, and you are goI have been so lucky to ing to go out and make us be able to do the Alandsome money for Christ- er’s home the last Friday mas. She had to make the before Christmas. I also
do Santa for Tommy King and Judy Tyson’s “Christmas for Kids”, Yolo County Food Basket, VFW, and the Club Pheasant. Also all the city of Sacramento elementary schools, offices, homeless shelters, and a hospital. The kids at the shelters ask for mom to have a new coat, and a home to call their own. The kids in the hospital ask Santa, “Can we go home”? I had a cousin in the hospital and thought that I would cheer her up. I walked into the hospital and a nurse asked me if I would talk to a boy who had broken his arm. Another nurse asked if I would take a picture with a newborn who was not going to make it. I was asked if I would talk to a lady in her late 90s and
Victim ordered a $2,000 diamond watch, was shipped to house by UPS and signed for. Victim states box was empty when she opened the package. Status: Active
reporting party send her $2,500 worth of gift cards.
Reporting date and time: Oct. 13 at 9:07 a.m. Location of incident: 800 block of Ikea Court Unknown man entered store and stole two packs of beer. He exited the store through an alarmed door and left in a white sedan. Status: Active. Reporting date and time: Oct. 13 at 11 p.m. Location of incident: 1000 block of Jefferson Boulevard
Unknown suspect vandalized the reporting party’s gas tank on her vehicle. Unknown value. Status: Active. Reporting date and time: Oct. 13 at 3:55 p.m. Location of incident: 1400 block of Enterprise Boulevard Unknown suspects vandalized and burglarized the reporting party’s vehicle, taking about $7,000 worth of cigarettes Reporting date and time: Oct. 13 at 8:46 p.m. Location of incident:1500 block of Alabama Avenue Unknown suspect pretended to be a Microsoft employee and had the
Reporting date and time: Oct. 12 at 10:32 p.m. Location of incident: 330 block of 3rd Street Employees believe repeat diner is victim of sex trafficking and concerned for her well-being. Reporting date and time: Oct. 11 at 1:39 a.m. Location of incident: E and 7th streets Officers were dispatched to the above location regarding a collision. Officers arrived and saw a single vehicle collision that was smoking. Kevin Torress Ro-
help put a smile on her face. There is nothing better than to give somebody a few minutes of happiness and the look on the Children’s faces when I enter the room is priceless! The hard part being a Santa was that I was never home Christmas morning for my boys. One Christmas Eve I started in West Sacramento at 8 a.m. and ended in South Lake Tahoe at 2 a.m. Christmas Day. Although I have a new suit now, it doesn’t have the magic that the suit Mrs. Claus first made me. It was very special to me.. In 2016, I was in a motorcycle accident so I had to cut back. I am only able to do three Santas a season, all for local charities. *The yearly Alander’s Christmas Lights is held the last Friday before Christmas in Ferndale Court in West Sacramento. Every home in the entire court strings up thousands of lights and Christmas scenes. They set me up in the court, under a tent, with a Big Santa chair to greet the children, rain or See Santa, page 7
sete was seen behind the driver seat of the vehicle. He was belligerent, cursing and unable to maintain his balance. He later admitted to driving. He had a moderate smell of alcohol coming from his person and showed signs of intoxication. He was placed under arrest and happened to have a suspended driver’s license. Reporting date and time: Oct. 11 at 1:39 a.m. Location of incident: E and 7th streets E and 7th streets Officers were dispatched to the above location regarding a colSee Police Logs, page 4