Foothills Sentry February 2023

Foothills Sentry Page 10 February 2023 To learn more about conservation, visit www.eocwd.com VPWL to meet and eat The General Meeting for the Villa Park Women’s League will be held Thursday, Feb. 16. “Cooking with Pina” will feature a food handling/cooking demon- stration of Italian cuisine by chef- owner Pina of Pina’s Bistro. OUSD Board majority supporters raise concerns The wrath of OUSD parents and community members di- rected at Trustees Rick Ledesma, John Ortega, Angie Rumsey and Madison Miner for the abrupt fir- ing of Superintendent Gunn Ma- rie Hansen and the suspension of Assistant Superintendent Cath- leen Corella has been tempered by supporters who believe they did the right thing. “Change is always hard, but change is good,” was the predom- inant theme among the pro-board speakers at the Jan. 19 meeting. “Two hundred people shouting you down are not the majority,” one insisted. “Changing the su- perintendent is what we voted for.” “Hansen’s social/emotional curriculum does not jive with this board,” said another. “I ap- plaud you for starting a curricu- lum audit. The sex, gender, equity and critical race theory contracts should be reviewed. Bowing to popular sentiment is against the education code. We voted for change, we want a higher aca- demic standard.” The speakers favoring the board’s actions cited low test scores, lack of distinguished schools, mask mandates, COVID policies, teachers union influence and inappropriate sex education as reasons to overhaul OUSD. Many of the speakers were affili- ated with Orange County Classi- cal Academy, a charter school which is no longer part of OUSD. Concerns about test scores and distinguished schools were chal- lenged by other public speakers. Test scores are lower everywhere Pina's training as a chef took place in the kitchens of Beneven- to, Italy by her mother's side. She is a maestro of the art of regional Italian cooking. Pina insists upon creating every dish from scratch, without the use of flavor enhanc- ers, including her hand-crafted sausage, manicotti, cannelloni and desserts. The meeting, followed by the food handling/cooking demon- stration of Italian cuisine, will be- gin at 5:30 p.m. in the community room at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church. If you are interested in becoming a VPWL member or learning more about membership, please contact membership chair Carla Gilkerson (714) 872-3805 or see vpwl.org . due to COVID; OUSD has some 20 distinguished schools, but none last year because the district was too busy with the pandemic to apply for them. Mask man- dates were set by the state, not the district. Vaccines were never mandated. Parents can opt-out of programs they find unacceptable. One parent brought an issue to the board that horrified everyone. “My second grader has a tablet provided by the district. It has a digital library app on it,” she re- ported. Within that digital library, she found a book that contained profane language and sexual con- tent. The passages she read aloud were clearly not meant for a sec- ond grader. Board members were stunned; Ortega demanded that book be removed from the digital library app immediately and his col- leagues agreed. That material should not have been there, and several board members vowed to investigate the publisher that pro- vided it. The app is supplied by a third party and contains over 10,000 digital books, sorted by age ap- propriateness. Districts through- out the state use it, and OUSD adopted it by unanimous vote during the pandemic. A parent had previously complained about that specific book and it had been removed last year. Apparently, when the published updated the app over winter break, it reap- peared. It has now been removed. Parents who find questionable material on apps provided by OUSD are encouraged to let the district know immediately. Assistance League invites you to Embrace Orange Assistance League of Orange will hold its annual “Embrace Or- ange” gala fundraiser, “Passport to Generosity” on Sunday, April 16, beginning at 4 p.m. The event, including a live auction, lavish si- lent auction, an opportunity draw- ing, dinner and dancing, will be held at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach. A highlight of the evening will be the presentation of the Com- munity Circle Award to Vikki and Mark Murphy, in recognition of their civic leadership and ex- tensive philanthropic endeavors, both individually and jointly, in the greater Orange community. In addition to being Executive Vice President of Wilson Auto- motive, Vikki has also served on the Orange Chamber of Com- merce, the Santiago Canyon Col- lege Foundation Board, and the Board of Directors of Orange- wood Children’s Foundation. She has received numerous awards for her contributions to the com- munity, including “Good Scout,” Orange’s “Citizen of the Year” and Community Foundation of Orange “Community Champion.” Vikki is also a published author, conducts seminars for women’s groups and raises Monarch but- terflies. Mark is an Orange native, Or- ange High Panther and served as Mayor of Orange and as a councilman as well as on vari- ous commissions and commit- tees. During his tenure, he was instrumental in the completion of such community projects as Gri- jalva Park, the Outlets at Orange, Main Orange Library expansion, the preservation of Plaza Park, six other parks, and the creation of the Paseo. He was previously named “Citizen of the Year” and Orange County’s “Local Elected Official of the Year.” He serves on a number of regional boards and is active in local organizations, including the Orange Elks (32 years), the Friendly Center, the Orange Public Library Founda- tion and Community Foundation of Orange. The couple, married since 1997, represent the core values embraced by Assistance League of Orange: Respect, Integrity, Compassion, Commitment and Service. The public is invited to honor the Murphys and support the pro- grams of the Assistance League of Orange. For sponsorship or ticket infor- mation, see alorange.org or con- tact chair Deena Arnold at (714) 287-3795. Tickets are $150 prior to Feb. 20; $175 until the March 27 deadline. All funds will ben- efit the organization’s numerous community philanthropic proj- Mardi Gras to benefit Alzheimer’s Orange County Oakmont of Orange, an as- sisted living and memory care fa- cility, is sponsoring a Mardi Gras Casino Night on Wednesday, Feb. 22 to benefit Alzheimer’s Orange County. The event, which will be held from 4 to 6 p.m., will feature casino games, hors d’oeuvres and refreshments. The public is invit- ed to attend, be a sponsor, or do- nate to the silent auction; RSVP to (714) 912-8980 before Feb. 19. When? What? Why? Whodunit? The Anaheim Public Library Foundation’s 26th Mystery Au- thors Luncheon, “Anatomy of Mystery,”will be held on Sunday, April 30 at the Sheraton Park Ho- tel at the Anaheim Resort. The extensive silent auction, Vikki and Mark Murphy with Harley with every basket or item riffing off the name of a mystery novel, will open at 11 a.m., with the lun- cheon and program following at 1 p.m. The author panel of David Put- nam, George Fong and Rachel Howzell Hall will share insights on the mysterious process of writ- ing a mystery. Individual tickets are $75, a table of 10 is $700. See anaheimlibraryfoundation.com Proceeds support books, pro- gramming and library services. ects, which assist veterans, stu- dents, babies, foster youth and unaccompanied women.