Murrieta man making film of his 2014 feats to inspire others, A-10
Gardening with Mediterranean plants, B-1
Calendar of Events, A-13
VALLEY
A
Section
NEWS
September 19 – 25, 2014
Education Forum for TVUSD School Board candidates announced
www.myvalleynews.com
Volume 14, Issue 38
Ceremony remembers September 11
With three seats up for grabs on the Temecula Valley Unified School District (TVUSD) Governing Board, seven local residents have declared their candidacy and will be on the November 4 ballot. To help voters make informed decisions, as well as provide voter registration materials, the Temecula Valley Council of PTAs (TVC PTA) will sponsor Meet the Candidates Forum, a nonpartisan, public event, on Wednesday, Sept. 24 from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m., at the TVUSD Conference Center, 31350 Rancho Vista Road in Temecula. see page B-11
Entertainment
“West Side Story” comes to Temecula Temecula Valley Players will present an adaptation of the Broadway musical “West Side Story” at the Old Town Temecula Community Theater. see page A-12
thisweek Business ����������������������������������� B-12 Businesss Directory ������������������� B-13 Calendar ����������������������������������� A-13 Classifieds �������������������������������� B-13 Dining Guide ���������������������������� A-11 Education ���������������������������������� B-11 Entertainment �������������������������� A-12 Hard News ���������������������������������A-2 Home & Garden ������������������������B-1 Local ..............................................A-3 Real Estate ����������������������������������B-1 Service & Real Estate Directory ��������������������������������������B-3 Sports �������������������������������������������B-6
People gather around the Veterans Memorial site at the Temecula Duck Pond during the September 11th Memorial.
Alex Groves Staff Writer “We shall never forget,” was the prevailing message as more than two dozen people gathered together in a ceremony at the Temecula Duck Pond to remember the events that occurred September 11, 2001. City officials and members of
the community took to a podium that had been setup to share their thoughts, memories and insights on a tragic event that is now 13 years past. “I turned on the radio and I remember the announcer say that the first World Trade Center had fallen,” Temecula Mayor Maryanne Edwards said. “And I thought it
was a joke, or a re-enactment.” Eventually, however, Edwards realized that it wasn’t a joke when the announcer on the radio said they weren’t sure whether the collapse was structural or the result of a terrorist attack. When she arrived to the Rotary Club at the Sizzler for an event she had to attend, everyone was doing the same thing.
Shane Gibson photo
“They were all huddled there around the television set and everyone was looking in silence,” Edwards said. “And we continued to stand there and discuss, and of course the images on the television were horrific and the tower was burning. And we stood there until
see MEMORIAL, page A-6
Somber candlelight vigil in Murrieta remembers those lost on 9/11
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Michelle Mears-Gerst Special to the Valley News As the heat of the day subsided and sun set, a few hundred people gathered on a grassy knoll outside the Murrieta Library on Thursday, Sept. 11 for a candlelight vigil to remember and pay tribute to the victims of 9/11 who perished 13 years ago in terrorist attacks. Families sat on picnic blankets and children played and waved miniature American flags while waiting for the city sponsored ceremony to begin. The sound of bagpipes from the Inland Empire Professional Firefighters Pipes and Drums tuning up lent a somber sound fit for the day. A fire truck hoisted its ladder over a stage where an American flag
waved in the evening breeze. The ceremony began at sunset with the Pledge of Allegiance. As the crowd stood facing Old Glory, a glow emerged from 2,977 luminary bags placed along the pathways along the knoll. Each bag represented a person killed in the terrorist attacks on 9/11. The victims’ names were printed on the bags as well as which attack they died in – the World Trade Center, the Pentagon or the fields in Pennsylvania. Murrieta City Council Member Rick Gibbs began the ceremony by giving a personal account of how the events of 9/11 affected him and his family. Gibbs had family who lived three blocks from the WTC and his son was working in the
see VIGIL, page A-7
The Color Guard presents the colors during the ceremony held Michelle Mears-Gerst photo outside the Murrieta Library.
Because Nice Matters inspires local students VALLEY NEWS
Paul Bandong Staff Writer
Children at a local elementary school in Temecula celebrate Because Nice Matters in front of the ambassador bus painted by TVHS students. Courtesy photo
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Three words – Because Nice Matters – are written on a plaque that hangs on the wall of the office of Judy Stapleton, an Assistant Principal in charge of discipline at Great Oak High School. Those three words are inspiring a revolutionary grass roots movement that is changing the culture at her school, permeating throughout the district and is now reaching out into the community. The movement is growing, even attracting the attention of professors at USC and in Israel, according to Stapleton.
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“I saw the plaque in a catalog,” said Stapleton, “and my first thought was ‘what a sad commentary on our society that we need to be reminded’ and then it dawned on me that we do need to be reminded – and held accountable. So I bought it and hung it on my office wall.” Stapleton also said that 40 percent of all high school bullies have a felony on their record by age 25. The three words inspired Stapleton to reach out to her coworker at the Temecula Valley Unified School District (TVUSD), Michael Hubbard, with a plan to emphasize
see NICE, page A-3
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