Foothills Sentry March 2023

Page 7 Foothills Sentry March 2023 OUSD board members advocate for new pool at VPHS By Tina Richards The Orange Unified School Board, encouraged by President Rick Ledesma and Trustee John Ortega, is considering construc- tion of a 51-m. swimming pool at Villa Park High School. The urgency, they said at the Feb. 5 meeting, is because just as the El Modena pool failed sud- denly five years ago, the Villa Park pool is likely to fail in the same way. It took four years to replace the El Modena pool, and neither Ledesma nor Ortega want to see that happen again. “ElMo was a catastrophic fail- ure,” Ledesma recalled. “When the board took action at ElMo, Villa Park helped out. ElMo swimmers went there. This is another ElMo. If the Villa Park pool dies, this board has to take action. We have to study this and prepare.” Cynical members of the pub- lic, however, question moving a pool for VPHS to the top of the district’s major projects list and ignoring the promises made to the community during the Mea- sure S bond campaign that the next round of money would be spent on elementary and middle schools. Deep water As one public speaker pointed out, Ortega was (and still may be) on the board of the ORCA swim club. ORCA uses the Villa Park High pool. During the November election, ORCA urged its mem- bers to campaign and vote for Ledesma and Madison Miner. The speaker read from an email ORCA had reportedly sent to 1,100 parents advising that “the condition of our home pool (VPHS) will be up for discussion and a vote in the near future. If we want a state-of-the-art facility to replace the VPHS pool, these candidates (Ledesma, Miner) plus John Ortega, are our best bet.” Ortega, the speaker advised, along with ORCA, “bought votes” with the promise of a new 51-m. pool. As a nonprofit, she added, ORCA can’t participate in political campaigns. “Emails like this are illegal and John knows this. You’re trading away my tax dollars for back room deal.” The 30-m. El Modena pool, built on the same footprint as the failed pool, cost $7,962,595. That included such extras as an equip- ment room, locker room and re- strooms. According to Assistant Superintendent of Business Ser- vices Dave Rivera, a 51-m. pool, if bid today, would cost about $16,375,000, including facilities and soft costs. But it isn’t being bid today. Rivera told the board that going through the definition, approval and state review process could take 18 to 24 months. By that time, inflation could boost the cost to $18 to $19 million. Bare bones budget Asked what district funds were available for such a proj- ect, Rivera said $30,549,752, which includes $2 million for the already-promised Orange High Little Theater. That $30 million is meant to cover all major facilities improvements. “It would be great for Villa Park to have a pool,” Trustee An- drea Yamasaki said, but she had concerns about transparency and campaign issues. “Is John Orte- ga on the board of ORCA? Did you promise them a pool? We told the community we’d divert non-Measure S funds to lower schools. Have you been to West Orange or Olive? They need a lot of work. We’ve put a lot of mon- ey into high schools. We need to put money into schools that serve the Latino community. How does this fit into our priorities at the moment?” “The information provided by the public is false,” John Ortega countered. “Yes, I participate in organizations with my kids. Stop telling lies. ElMo was a highly political pool. We could have built two pools in the time it took. I’m not going to get into the poli- tics of inflation, but the pool will cost less than what’s being esti- mated here.” There was a plan Ana Page brought up the Facil- ities Master Plan. “Are we ignor- ing it?” she asked. “There were five other things ahead of this. Elementary schools need things, they need classrooms.” “I’m concerned about the pro- cess,” Kris Erickson remarked. “Seems to be a done deal. That’s the way we do business now, but we created a Facilities Master Plan, spent hundreds of thou- sands of dollars over two years. There were 10 official meetings. It identified needs for the whole district. We unanimously adopted it. We must be careful that we’re balancing needs, not doing pet projects.” The board ultimately agreed to have all three high school pools inspected and get cost estimates. A suggestion that a single pool be constructed on the Peralta site for all to use was dismissed. Elks host appreciation dinner for Orange public servants By Bill Neessen One of the best events the Or- ange Elks Lodge 1475 holds each year is the Law Enforcement & Firefighter Appreciation Dinner. At this event, the Orange Elks show their appreciation to those who risk their lives protecting our city and making it a better and safer place to live. This year’s Appreciation Din- ner recognized both 2021 and 2022 police and fire personnel. Elks Co-chairmen Janine Strom and Jennifer Weerheim or- ganized volunteers to set up the room, prepare and serve the din- ner. Boy and Girl Scout Troop 1475 presented the colors and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Orange Mayor and Orange Elks member Dan Slater welcomed the group and introduced members of the city council; former Orange Police Chief, current interim City Manager and Elk Tom Kisela pre- sented the keynote address. Chief of Police Dan Adams presented awards for Police Offi- cer and Detective of the Year; Or- ange Fire Chief Sean deMetropo- lis presented awards to members of the fire department. Each year at the Elks Grand Lodge Convention, the Enrique Camarena Award is presented. Enrique S. "Kiki" Camarena was an 11-year veteran DEA agent who was kidnapped, tortured and then murdered in Mexico in 1985. The award is given to an officer who has made a significant con- tribution in drug prevention and personifies Enrique’s belief that one person can make a difference. This year, Investigator Nyko- lo Gonzalez, 2021, and Orange County Investigator Kevin Ruiz, 2022, were given the award. Left to right, Miss Orange Madeleine Chocholaty; Kevin Ruiz; Shan- non Back, OC District Attorney; John McEntire, California Hawaii Drug Awareness Chairman; Mike Cash, Orange Elks Drug Awareness Chair, and Janine Weerheim. Left to right, Miss Orange Madeleine Chocholaty; Eileen Ruvalcaba, Fire Reserve of the Year, Elk and Orange Fire Chief Sean deMetropo- lis; Cole Ingle, Firefighter of the Year 2021; Robert Collins, Fire Cadet of the Year 2021; Blake Kasler, Fire Cadet of the Year 2022; Matt Nel- son, Firefighter of the Year 2022; and Elk Janine Weerheim. From left, Miss Orange Madeleine Chocholaty; Officer Robert Sanko; Officer Nick Tiano; Officer Ashley Christy; Detective Leslie Franco; Officer Maurice King; Chief Dan Adams; and Elk Janine Weerheim. American Legion Post 132 in Old Towne Orange welcomed National Vice Commander Doug Uhrig, left, and Dan Seehafer, candidate for National Command, right. They were given a tour by Post 132 Com- mander Victor de la Rosa (center). Dems offer program on the politics of health care The Central Orange County Democratic Club (COCDC) will present a program on Planned Parenthood and the politics of providing reproductive health- care, protecting access to afford- able and compassionate care, and protecting women’s rights to choose on Wednesday, March 22 at 7 p.m. COCDC includes Tus- tin, Tustin Hills, Orange, Villa Park, and surrounding communi- ties. COCDC meetings are held on the fourth Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. at St. Paul’s Epis- copal Church at 1221 Wass St. in Tustin. COCDC is not affiliated with St. Paul’s. Anyone wanting to connect with fellow Democrats, get in- formed, help increase community involvement in civic engagement, and hobnob with an affable group of people, is welcome to join the Central Orange County Demo- cratic Club. Inquiries can be sent to CentralOCDems@gmail.com. Orange City Coun- cil will meet twice each month, beginning in March. The council meet- ings are slated for Tues., Mar. 14 and March 28 at 6 p.m.