EYE ON SJC
Building Hope Final families move into Habitat for Humanity Capistrano project By Austin Reagan The Capistrano Dispatch
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n November of 2006, Habitat for Humanity designated an unoccupied plot of land in San Juan Capistrano as the site of its new affordable housing project. Since then, the anticipation has been building—quite literally. For nearly four years, thousands of volunteers from all around Orange County have laid foundations, hammered nails, and shingled roofs for twenty-seven economical and
The Stannard family stands in front of their newly purchased Habitat for Humanity of Orange County home during the dedication ceremony at the east end of Calle Rolando.Photo by Robert Rooks
SJC Sheriff’s Blotter C O M P I L E D B Y J O N AT H A N V O L Z K E All information below is obtained from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Web site (www.ocsd.org) and reflects data available from calls placed from the field by the responding officer(s). An arrest doesn’t represent guilt. The items below are just a sampling of the entries listed on the OCSD Web site.
Sunday, October 3 SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES Via Flores, 32000 Block (2:42 a.m.) A caller thought someone was jiggling the gate in their front yard.
Saturday, October 2 DISTURBANCE Verdugo Street/Camino Capistrano (10:57 p.m.) A man and woman got into an argument. The man left. The woman took a taxi to the Best Western.
The Martinez family, alongside San Juan Capistrano Housing Advisory Commission member and Family Partner Dave Solt, received the key to their new Habitat for Humanity of Orange County home from Mark Mathews, President & COO of Toshiba America Business Systems, during the September 25 dedication. Photo by Robert Rooks
state-of-the-art homes. All of the hard work came to a conclusion on September 25, when the community gathered to dedicate the third and final 18-home phase in the development. The event commemorated the complete transition from dirt lot to thriving neighborhood. The ceremony began with Sharon Ellis, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, welcoming those in attendance, and explaining that 11 of the 18 houses being dedicated that day were going to military families. This specific project, deemed the “Habitat for Heroes and Foundations for Families” development, is truly monumental, as it will act as a model all around the country for other Habitat for Humanity neighborhoods specifically earmarked for military personnel and their families. These homes also feature solar panels,
an eco-friendly initiative that Habitat for Humanity of Orange County hopes will inspire the construction of environmentally conscious neighborhoods elsewhere. After discussing the innovations seen specifically in this Habitat project, Ellis went on to thank the thousands of volunteers who had given their time, as well as the numerous financial contributors, some of whom have donated up to $50,000. But the best was saved for last. Each family, along with its sponsor (individuals who have guided the families through the ownership process), was welcomed to the stage, and presented with the key to the home, a Bible and, of course, the mortgage. The mortgages are helping Habitat repay about $3 million it borrowed from the city of San Juan Capistrano to finish the project. The charities donations are
BRANDISHING A WEAPON Via Positiva/Alipaz Street (9:16 p.m.) A carload of San Clemente gang members allegedly pulled up to a party and pointed a gun at someone.
(7:46 p.m.) A man was burned when his van was spotted engulfed in flames. He was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana.
MISSING CHILD Via Rueda, 32700 Block (12:21 p.m.) A worried parent called when their 10year-old son did not show up on time. He was found at a friend’s house about 90 minutes later. UKNOWN TROUBLE Camino Capistrano/Junipero Serra Road (7:20 a.m.) A man called saying he’d found a dead body. His directions were only that deputies would first see pine trees, then go into the orange field. Cadaver dogs were called in, but no body found.
Friday, October 1 SUSPICIOUS PERSON Connemara Drive, 33800 Block (7:27 p.m.) A resident reported a man about 25 years old knocked on his door asking for money. The caller thought he might have been a drug addict. ASSIST OUTSIDE AGENCY La Novia/San Juan Creek Road
Page 6 • The Capistrano Dispatch • October 8–21, 2010
BATTERY REPORT Summerfield Lane, 27600 Block (7:31 p.m.) A parent reported their 10-year-old daughter was assaulted by a classmate at school. DISTURBANCE Verdugo Street, 26700 Block (6:59 p.m.) A man was reported yelling and trying to start a fight. A few minutes later, a fight was reported. THEFT Ortega Highway, 27100 Block (3:50 p.m.) Three men took two sixpacks of beer and jumped into a black Dodge without paying.
down because of the economy. Often, people make the common misperception that Habitat for Humanity “gives” away homes to those in need, however this is not entirely true. While Habitat does aim to serve low-income families that move frequently or are living in unsafe neighborhoods, selected families assume a mortgage when they receive the house, and must also complete 250 “Sweat Equity Hours” (per house occupant), in which they usually participate in the building process of the homes. However, being a not-for-profit organization, Habitat for Humanity sells the homes for the cost that it takes to build them, and no interest is charged on the mortgage. The interiors of the homes have been fully furnished by the organization “Furnishing Hope,” and, as a nice final touch, each family received a brand new laptop from Toshiba. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was then held at the front door of each home. I became involved as a volunteer with the project in August of 2009, and watching the homes in the cul-de-sac grow from the ground up has been an incredibly rewarding experience. But nothing could say “thank you” like the looks I saw on the new homeowners’ proud faces as they opened their front doors for the first time. This was truly representative of the many doors that owning a home will allow them to open in the future. New opportunities for education, work, and family life will undoubtedly bloom as a result of this new community, and several families—many of which give constantly through their military service—were helped in return to achieve the American Dream. CD off the overpass. SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES Del Obispo Street, 31800 Block (5:43 p.m.) A merchant reported that a woman known to live in her truck was using the bushes as a restroom.
Wednesday, September 29 DISTURBANCE Sundance Drive, 31500 Block (11:30 a.m.) A man reported he let a woman stay at his home and she began talking to herself, and yelling at herself, too. SUSPICIOUS PERSON Del Obispo/Los Rios Street (4:14 a.m.) A man was walking down the railroad tracks, waving his arms.
Tuesday, September 28
SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES Mission Street/Lobo Street (9:16 a.m.) A caller reported finding a bloody towel and shirt behind a tree. It was paint.
RECKLESS DRIVING Camino Capistrano/Del Obispo (4:22 p.m.) A woman in a black Audi was reportedly driving on the wrong side of the road.
Thursday, September 30
DISTURBANCE San Juan Creek Road, 28000 Block (9:51 a.m.) A woman reported a man hit her car, yelled at her and banged on her vehicle.
ASSIST OUTSIDE AGENCY Ortega Highway/Freeway (2:52 p.m.) Kids were reportedly throwing rocks
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