Foothills Sentry March 2023

Page 9 Foothills Sentry March 2023 When you enroll at St. Paul’s, you become a part of our family. Our loving and caring staff prepares our students to be future leaders, to think critically, show empathy, and to share Jesus’ love with others. APPLY NOW! 714-921 - 3188 | admi ss ions@spl sorange . org C H U R C H A N D S C H O O L NOW ENROLLING FOR 2023-2024! WWW . S P L S O R A N G E . O R G Orange council committees will sharpen city’s focus Orange Mayor Dan Slater rec- ommended that the city council create two new committees to focus on issues important to con- stituents. The Santiago Creek Grand Central Park Preservation and Protection Committee will, as Slater outlined it, pay attention to this “amazing” asset. San- tiago Creek runs from the city’s northeast border to its southwest border at Hart Park. The commit- tee will look for opportunities to acquire properties along the creek and make recreational space for citizens. Approved by the council in a 7-0 vote, the committee consists of Ana Gutierrez (District 5) and John Gyllenhammer (District 6), as their districts include the creek. They will likely expand the com- mittee to include knowledgeable residents. Slater has also allowed that the name of the group can be changed. Cascading water is a little known feature of Santiago Creek. The Clean Orange Commit- tee will concentrate on code en- forcement, illegal signage, street vendors and unruly Chapman stu- dents, e.g., anyone and anything that compromises the quality of life in Orange. Also approved 7-1, the committee includes Ari- anna Barrios (District 1) and Kathy Tavoularis (District 3). The Homeless Outreach com- mittee, established previously, is looking for a site (vacant land, industrial building) to serve as a temporary shelter for the home- less. Slater reports that a faith- based group wants to help, as does U.S. Representative Young Kim. The Orange Police Department HEART team is on board. Fund- ing will be sought from County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, who represents most of Orange. Homeless Outreach committee members are Jon Dumitru (Dis- trict 2) and Denis Bilodeau (Dis- trict 4). Nature Center to be renamed in honor of founder In commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the El Modena High School Nature Center at El Modena High School, the OUSD Board of Trustees voted unani- mously, Feb. 2, to rename the center the “Jeanne Carter Nature Center” in honor of its founder. ElMo High chemistry teacher Jeanne Carter established the Nature Center in 1972, and has dedicated herself to its growth, maintenance and use as part of the high school curriculum and as a community resource. The Nature Center is dedicated to teaching water conservation, eco- logical principles and research techniques to students and com- munity members. Today, the Nature Center con- tinues to provide a significant hands-on learning science envi- ronment for students and com- munity members. The Center oc- cupies approximately one acre; a large pond was dug in 1975, and a 200-foot stream with wetland areas added. Over 45 Boy Scout Eagle projects and Girl Scout Gold Awards have transformed the gardens through the years, such that the Center now includes over 100 different native Califor- nia plants. The Nature Center has served and educated over 50,000 students through high school student-led tours developed by Carter. She continues to build strong part- nerships with such community organizations as the Orange Ro- tary Club, Love Orange, Circle K (Kiwanis) from California State University, Fullerton and the Boy Scouts to support the flourishing Nature Center. On June 2, 2022, the Board of Education issued a proclamation for the El Modena High School Nature Center's 50th Anniver- sary, acknowledging Ms. Carter and her significant role in devel- oping and maintaining the Nature Center. Her active participation continues, even though she has been retired from full-time teach- ing since 2001. The naming ceremony is slated to take place in March. Bernard Smith celebrates a century Bernie Smith was born Feb. 25, 1923 on his family’s farm in Charlotte Courthouse, Virginia. He was the fifth of eight children, five boys, and three girls. He at- tended Randolph Henry High School where he played on both the baseball and basketball teams. Shortly after graduation, Smith enlisted in the army during World War II where he served as a medic in the CBI theater (China-Burma– India), until 1945. After he returned home, he courted and married Clara Hall before starting college at the Uni- versity of Richmond, which later established an award for excel- lence in his name at its Business School in 1995. He began a ca- reer with a pharmaceutical firm that ultimately became a part of Pfizer. He worked there for over Bernie Smith with his great- grandson, Colton Fearns, enjoy- ing ice cream, a family favorite. 45 years, moving across the coun- try with each promotion, to Villa Park in 1974, where they lived even after his retirement in 1990. Clara passed away in 2016 af- ter almost 70 years of marriage. When asked the secret of his lon- gevity, he responded “keeping a positive attitude, and having a close and loving family”. Bernie and Clara in 1947 Jeanne Carter Esplanade Elementary reveals library surprise Beth Cipres, Esplanade El- ementary School librarian, works hard to interest the 330 students in reading, as a number of the students in the Title I school are from disadvantaged homes. When she saw a full-sized vending machine for books, she knew the novelty of the machine would intrigue the kids -- espe- cially since the vending machine The surprise vending machine was revealed at an assembly with Kassie Bravo as the fun dinosaur, Hana Ahmed as the Esplanade Eagle, inaugural user Devi Campos and Librarian Beth Cipres. would allow them to select a book that they could keep as their own. Thanks to a $2,500 grant from the Kiwanis, school funds and other sources, the vending ma- chine was delivered to the library, where it sat wrapped and hidden, tantalizing the students. There were many guesses as to what the big box-like thing might be, but only one student, second grader Oscar Moreno, guessed correctly. After the big reveal to the school, Feb. 9, fourth grader Devi Cam- pos was the first to select a book from the machine, followed by Oscar. Tokens – not money -- for the vending machine will be earned via the school incentive program which rewards good behavior and from school reading challenges.