Foothills Sentry April 2020

Foothills Sentry Page 14 April 2020 Connie Nelson 1953-2020 Longtime Silverado Canyon resi- dent Connie Nelson passed away in her sleep on Wednesday morn- ing, Feb. 26, after a long battle with cancer. She is survived by her son Thomas, retired from the Navy and living in St. Louis; daughter Katiana (Katie) Khouri; grandson Apollo; and Katie’s dad Tom Morgan, with whom she lived for the last 35 years. Connie was always willing to help anyone, especially when animals or children were involved. She was ac- tive in the canyons, inheriting the Canyon Watch radio system from Gene Robinson, and running it for years. She and friend Joanne Hubble got the emergency horse evacuation corral built by the old school site. She was LART certified (Large Ani- mal Rescue Team), and in charge of large animal evacuation for the can- yon. Connie instituted, and for years ran, the children’s Halloween party at the Community Center. When NOAA was predicting massive rains, Connie coordinated a creek cleanup with the volunteer group Rubicon. For these activities and countless others, Con- nie was honored as Local Hero at the 2019 Silverado Country Fair. Felix, head cook for the local café, put it best when he visited Connie in the hospital. “When you got here," he told her, "the Canyon became a nicer place.” Real Estate By Al Ricci OBITUARIES Jim Christensen 1935 - 2020 Jim Christensen of Villa Park, trombonist, music composer, conductor and arranger, was well known throughout the U.S. and Canada for “the Christensen sound” in over 250 published works. Jim was music director for Disneyland and Walt Disney World, writing soundtracks for the “Main Street Electrical Pa- rade,” and many other Disney at- tractions. Jim met his wife Karen at the University of Wisconsin in Madi- son. Jim graduated in 1957, and taught music one year in Rio, Wisconsin. They married in 1959, after Karen graduated. They lived in West Point, New York where their first son Kent, was born, and where Jim was a trombonist and arranger for the West Point Band. They returned to Madison in 1961 where Jim received his mas- ters degree and became the direc- tor of the UW Marching Band. Both Karen, on flute and piccolo, and Jim on trombone, were mem- bers of the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Jim also directed the Madison Municipal Band with Karen as first flutist. Two sons, Timothy and Brad, were born in Madison. Jim directed the UW Marching Band at the 1963 and 1968 Rose Bowls. He was called for an in- terview to become the music di- rector at Disneyland, a position he accepted in anticipation of the opening of Disney World, Dis- neyland in Paris and China. He wrote music for the new theme parks and, through the years, had many of his arrangements and compositions published. The family moved to Califor- nia in 1968 and arrived at a hotel across from Disneyland on June 4. After considering and looking at other places, the family moved into a newly-built home in Villa Park in April 1969. Living close to three schools in Villa Park seemed to be a good choice, as a fourth son, Chris, was born in 1971. The family traveled to Switzer- land and Hawaii, when Jim con- ducted and taught musicians and directed band at summer music camps. Jim and Karen were also involved in the local schools and community, using their Disney contacts to help produce two big shows featuring local residents for the Villa Park Women’s League, “Showtime” in 1980, and “Cel- ebrate” in 1982. A third show, celebrating Villa Park’s 50th year, was performed in 2012. After working at Disneyland and guest conducting commu- nity bands in California and other states, Jim was assigned to audi- tion and conduct an All-Amer- ican College Orchestra at Dis- ney World every summer for 10 years. In 2019, he was honored at their reunion in Orlando. Two of the Christensen sons auditioned and had participated in the sum- mer orchestras in 1986 and 1992. Jim is survived by his wife Kar- en, who has continued to do Phil- harmonic Society concerts in Or- ange County schools, with much of the music arranged and pub- lished by Jim. Son Timothy lives in Reseda with his wife Shari and daughter Taylor, and continues to perform at the La Mirada Theater and the Laguna Arts Festival. Son Chris was awarded “Principal of the Year” by the Fountain Valley School District, and continues to perform on his cello for concerts and events. He has three children, Brittany, Miranda and Conner. Son Brad loves food and people, and works locally. Son Kent, a drummer and gymnastics teacher, predeceased Jim. Rotary Club of Villa Park host- ed its annual middle school essay contest, Mar. 5, at the Villa Park City Hall Council Chambers. Out of the many submissions, six were selected to be read at the meeting. The essay subject was, “What does the Rotary’s Four- Way Test Mean to You?” The test, which should be applied to the things we think, say or do says: 1.) Is it the truth? 2.) Is it fair to all concerned? 3.) Will it build good will and better friendships? and 4.) Will it be beneficial to all concerned? Each of the winning essays, all by Cerro Villa Middle School stu- dents, addressed how the students could apply the test in their daily lives. First place was awarded to Trenton Ryu; second place, Mili- ani Flicker; third place, Millie Haddock; and honorable men- tion, Lucas Bates, Lily Domer and Madeline Valenta. Each stu- dent received a certificate and a check. Youth Services Chair Linda Bartrom coordinated the event; readers Marjan Roshangar, Ed Carter, Vito Canuso, Roy Bere- lowitz, Jill Kuli, Marianne Ko- epnick, Chad Zimmerman and Lesslie Giacobbi chose the win- ning entries; and Cerro Villa teachers Ben Hempel, Liisa Bu- chness and Danielle Nagle pro- moted the contest. VP Rotary hosts annual middle school essay contest As of the end of March, the in- ventory of homes for sale is at its lowest level of the year. Houses for sale that are in escrow contin- ue to close, but homes being put on the market have slowed down to a level that we have never ex- perienced before. COVID-19 has forced our industry to virtually close since real estate sales and rentals are not considered an “es- sential service.” On March 19, Governor Gavin Newsom and the State Public Health officer issued Executive Order N-33, requiring all Cali- fornians to stay at home except as needed to maintain continuity of operations in 16 infrastructure sectors. This order supersedes all existing county and city orders that are less restrictive. As it re- lates to real estate, all realtors should cease doing face-to-face marketing, sales, showings, open houses, listings and home inspec- tions. As you can imagine, this has closed our market moving forward for an unknown period of time. For those of us who are lucky enough to provide the service of property management, we are in that exempted infrastructure class because we serve a necessary fi- nancial service -- to collect rents and distribute the funds. We are responsible for maintaining the properties in good working order. Now, repair calls are at an all time high because people are home us- ing their appliances and noticing light bulbs out, more than ever before! Creative realtors are still show- ing properties virtually, via pho- tos, drones, and Matterport vid- eos, to market homes and avoid face-to-face contact. In some cas- es, agents are asking prospective buyers or home professionals to enter the home if necessary or if vacant, but to not touch anything during the visit. What’s happening to the real estate market? As the 2020 chairman of the board of the Orange Chamber of Commerce, I can tell you that landlords and tenants are asking for help or resources. Both resi- dential and commercial landlords are being approached by their tenants, who are asking them to forgive, or at least defer, their rent during this period. While land- lords understand the situation, the property taxes, mortgage and maintenance expenses are still bills that have to be paid, with no relief from the state or their lend- ers. These are challenging times for real estate investors, homeown- ers, landlords and tenants. Work- ing together, we will get through this. If you would like further in- formation on programs that may help you, please call your real es- tate professional or visit orange- chamber.com . We are continually updating the site to provide resi- dents with current information regarding COVID-19 and what we can do to help you. Or, call the chamber at (714) 538-3581. For 98 years, we have been at your side, promoting Orange as a great place to live, work and raise a family. Orange IS open! Please shop and take out locally to sup- port the businesses that have sup- ported the residents of Orange since 1888! Please keep your family safe and healthy. Beverly Ulmer 1930 – 2020 Beverly Dale Ulmer was re- united peacefully with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at 1:59 a.m. on Jan. 12. Bev was known for her beau- tiful smile for everyone she met, her innate happiness, love of fam- ily, and her genuine caring for others. Born in 1930 to Dale and Win- ifred (Win) Curtis in Los Ange- les, she married following gradu- ation from Dorsey High School, and brought daughter Cathy and twin sons Wes and Wayne into the world over the next three years. Bev loved raising her fam- ily, and then later became a CA/ NV licensed Cosmetologist. She had her own successful business in Orange for more than a de- cade while remaining an active resident of Villa Park, where she lived for 58 years. For the last nearly 30 years, Bev was married to her loving husband Rich. Together they were blessed with nine grandchil- dren (eight girls) and four great- grandchildren (three girls). She continued to smile and enjoy the richness of her family’s love even though beset with the challenges of Alzheimer’s in her last few years. She will be missed deeply by all who knew her. With retail locations and the Orange Home Grown Market closed, Dean Kim of OC Baking Company, second from left, is now selling his bread directly to the consumer. He and other vendors are bak- ing at night, working on only a few hours of sleep: from left, Shadu Mehra, ADYA Fresh Indian Flavors; Dean Kim; Tarit Tanjansiri, Crema Artisan Bakers; Miss Bosscat, @missminidonut; Florin @ printandcultivate; John Park, Toast Kitchen & Bakery; not pictured, Max Schlutz, Sessions West Coast Deli. The Woman’s Club of Orange squeezed in a performance of the play, “The Demise of Dusty Dan” before the club was closed in response to COVID-19. Club member Marty Brancucci directed the cast and narrated the show.