Foothills Sentry January 2022

Page 5 Foothills Sentry January 2022 Circulation … 41,750 Published on the last Tuesday of each month and distributed to residences, businesses, libraries and civic centers. 714-532-4406 Fax: 714-532-6755 foothillssentry.com 1107 E. Chapman Ave., #207 Orange, CA 92866 © Foothills Sentry 2022 Publisher/Editor Anita Bennyhoff 1969-2013 Editor Tina Richards editor@foothillssentry.com Sports Editor Cliff Robbins sportseditor@att.net Graphic Designer Aimee Armstrong graphics@foothillssentry.com Advertising Sales Andie Mills advertising@foothillssentry.com 714-926-9299 Office Manager Kathy Eidson officemanager@foothillssentry. com An update on Santiago Creek and the Sully-Miller dump site was presented at a neighborhood meeting, Dec. 6, by residents who have been following the issues. Santiago Creek is the last seg- ment of a flood mitigation project undertaken by the Army Corps of Engineers. The Army Corps has already completed its study of the rest of the Santa Ana River flood- plain, and just recently received funding for Santiago Creek. The study area runs from the Villa Park Dam, through the Sully- Miller property, the Bond Pits and Smith Basin, the City of Orange and Hart Park, to its intersection with the Santa Ana River. The last flood mitigation study in that area was done in 1988, and the Corps is looking for conditions that have changed since then. According to resident Bonnie Robinson, the Army Corps plans to install a mile of riprap lining from the 5 Freeway to the Santa Ana River and initiate “green” engineering. Commenting on the Corps’ initial study, residents encouraged the Corps to include habitat restoration and curb de- velopment in the mitigation plan. “The best way to protect against flooding,” Robinson says, "is to protect open spaces and not allow development next to the creek.” She also noted that the Army Corps considers the Smith Basin, adjacent to Villa Park, to be “critical to flood control.” The revised mitigation plan has not been released yet. Separate but equal Santiago Creek, of course, flows though the Sully-Miller property, which has been the fo- cus of community attention for a decade. Used for several years as a repository for construction waste while the property owners sought approvals for a housing tract, the property also attracted the attention of the Local En- forcement Agency, the county arm of CalRecycle. LEA has told the landowner that no additional waste material can be dumped there, and that the site must be cleaned up and free of contami- nates before anything can be built on or near it. Despite LEA’s directive, con- crete waste was being dumped there over the Thanksgiving holi- day. Neighbors reported the ille- gal activity to the city and LEA. Residents report status of East Orange landmarks Kim Plehn reports that the city’s response was, “If you don’t like it, call the police.” Which she did. “The police can’t do anything,” she said, “but it gives us a record of noncompliance.” A construction company was still using the site in December; LEA has issued a cease and desist order. The State Water Resources Control Board is also now en- gaged in studies of the creek and Sully-Miller property. Resident Dru Whitefeather advised that the water board found buried fuel tanks there that will need to be removed. The Board, too, will require extensive testing before anything can be built there, spe- cifically on the acreage north of the creek where the City of Or- ange approved a 22-unit housing tract. The Local Enforcement Agen- cy and state water board are ac- tively involved in the oversight of the area because citizens asked for their help. Residents feel the City of Orange has ignored the declining conditions of the prop- erty for two decades and contin- ues in its hands-off approach, de- spite residents’ complaints. Deja vu Dear Editor: Here we go again. Villa Park City Councilman Robert Colla- cott was stirring up conflict at the December 14 city council meet- ing. I don’t know why he does it. This is an embarrassment and throws shame on our great city. We should have a peaceful transition from Mayor Pro Tem to Mayor, especially if one has never served as Mayor and is an asset to our community. We also like to give each council member the privilege of serving as Mayor. Chad Zimmerman served as Mayor Pro Tem this past year. He is very active in the community, serving on committees, working with the Boy Scouts, and has held leadership roles in the VP Rotary. He will be an excellent represen- tative for the city. Villa Park has a long-standing tradition of selecting the mayor pro tem to serve as mayor, usually by a unanimous vote. The council has traditionally done this with class and good will. Now here comes Councilman Collacott nominating someone who has already served as mayor, thus leading to a split vote for Chad Zimmerman. Councilman Collacott seems to enjoy sowing dissension among council mem- bers. I hope that this will change in the coming year. James Reichert Former Villa Park City Council- man Villa Park Councilmember Crystal Miles’ last act as mayor was to rec- ognize Elizabeth and Mike Frazier and their family as Distinguished Citizens. They selflessly made and provided Thanksgiving meals to those who might be alone or need a meal. The family started with a drive-thru in 2020, and enjoyed it so much, they repeated and expand- ed their efforts in 2021, providing over 200 meals. I have someone in my life who is very dear to me. She is a thera- pist by trade and spends her days, and sometimes nights, listening to people’s problems and absorbing their asphyxiating, negative en- ergy. How a single individual can sit there, day after day, week after week, year after year, listening to concentrated negativity and de- pression, while still being able to smile and provide invaluable ad- vice and emotional support, is be- yond me. Impressively, the more distraught and problematic the scenario, seemingly comes the most valued advice. Some people who aren’t therapists are like that as well. They seem to absorb the negativity around them, and in return, breathe back joy, peace of mind, comfort and emotional solidarity. You might say you don’t have such a person in your life. I’m not telling you to go and get yourself a therapist, but I’d like to point out that we all have a little bit of that in ourselves, to some degree. We may just choose not to make that side of ourselves available to others. Trees are exactly the same. Trees are naturally carbon dioxide vacuums. Carbon dioxide, a natu- ral asphyxiant to us, is absorbed by trees, which can store up to 22 tons of it in their trunks, branches and root systems. In turn, they release oxygen to us. Oxygen is our most essential and necessary compound for life itself. When trees die, the exact same quantity of greenhouse gases are released as the tree decomposes. The decomposing wood eventu- ally breaks down, and the gaseous components are absorbed deeper into the earth in the form of hu- mus. Humus becomes more con- centrated over time, until it might finally become bituminous or an- thracite coal. So, in a way, trees are the earth’s natural therapists, always absorb- ing the negative, while breathing out life. Even after they’ve died, they continue to yield benefits and even energy itself. I choose to live like a tree, and attempt to give back positivity and support whenever I can. This is what it looks like when the Orange Elks and Emblem Club work together for the good of the community. The groups collected holiday goodies for families who otherwise might not have a merry Christmas. They made a delivery to Handy Elementary School on Dec. 16. From left, Handy Office Manager Nicole Rostom, Principal Erika Krohn, Emblem Club Liaison Frances Vargas; Emblem Club President Clau- dia Castillo; Press Secretary Karen Kremer; Recording Secretary Jan Genelle; First Guard Carole Walters; Elks Rick Ellifrit and Greg Mc- Fadden; Emblem Club Treasurer Kim Raya. The Foothills Sentry re- ceived several letters from readers criticizing its coverage of the Orange Unified School District Board meeting, as well as the accompanying editorial written by an OUSD parent [December, 2021]. None of the writers wanted their letters published.