Foothills Sentry - July 2021

Foothills Sentry Page 7 July 2021 Society news Neither wildfire, mudslide, nor global pandemic could derail this year’s June 12-13 premier spring charity gala in the canyons: the beloved annual Library Swap Meet at the Silverado Community Center. Casually attired attendees en- joyed discovering “treasures” donated by neighbors who had decided that they needed more closet and garage space. That space, of course, could then be used for new treasures from the swap meet. Orchestrated by Fran Williams, longtime chair of the Inter-Can- yon League’s Friends of the Li- brary Committee, activity actu- ally began the day before, with Dennis Goldstein unloading and deploying tables and other equip- ment from his truck. The “canyon canopy construction crew” (Rick Kinsella, Andrew Tonkovich and Joe Lamanno, among others) then got to work creating shade for merchandising mavens like Connie Carter to set up areas for furniture, clothing, housewares, books, toys, art. Diane Young and Alice Phil- lips spent hours sorting cloth- ing, much of it donated by Alice herself. We also observed Judy Myers doing double duty as both donor and volunteer. Master garment rack assembler Jill Hitchcock provided pro tips for novices like “match the letters written on the ends of the pipes.” Besides Alice, Mitzi Perry also contributed pricing expertise. Mitzi brought in extra tables as well, supplementing the supply from the community center and Fran’s private collection. Also assisting on Day Zero were Pam Lau and Barbara Car- rier of Williams Canyon, and former Williams Canyon resident Mary Pearson, who saw no reason why moving to Corona should af- fect her support of the Silverado library. Starting Saturday, Barbara, Mary, Judy and Fran supervised the checkout line near the jewelry and doughnut department, while Melody McWilliams acted as ca- shier. Phil McWilliams joined Ed Amador in security operations. Spying former Silverado li- brary page Daniel Riehl wait- ing in line with Supremes, Glen Campbell, and Beatles four-track tape cartridges, we asked him if he owned a four-track cartridge player. No, but he was confident that he could find one. Tom Morgan and daughter Ka- tie furnished the horse trailer for hauling away unsold goods Sun- day evening. In trademark hat and sunglass- es, Fran informed us that this event originated as part of circa 1994 efforts to fight cutbacks due to the county declaring bankrupt- cy. Although another library was supposedly only six miles from Silverado, canyonites pointed out that six miles “as the crow flies” was not the same as “as the roads meander.” Save-the-library forc- es adopted the “six mile crow” as a mascot of sorts. With prodding from Sherry Meddick, the head librarian even- tually agreed to keep the Sil- verado branch open four days a week if librarian Lucille Cruz and assistant Ruth Loc worked on alternate days, aided by commu- nity volunteers. Lucille and Ruth agreed, and Fran began submit- ting monthly volunteer reports until the crisis passed. Fran is now interested in pass- ing Friends of the Library duties on to others—contact her for more information, including cur- rent library wants. Or chat with Fran at the Friends of the Library boutique at this fall’s Silverado Country Fair. Modjeska milestone To mark Canyon Beat Senior Correspondent Andrew Tonkov- ich’s retirement from teaching at the University of California, Irvine, wife and fellow college instructor Lisa Alvarez organized a celebratory bash at their Hill- top residence June 5. Son Louis was chilimeister, with side dishes self-catered by guests whom Lisa pronounced “not flaky … you can stay all night.” Andrew (in chic Patagonia Worn Wear) was delighted that not grading papers would allow more time for his other pursuits. He is also an author, editor, union and community activist, kayaker, surfer and runner (Indian name: “Jogs With Cougars”). Author Rhoda Huffey (“The Hallelujah Side”) proclaimed An- drew “the heart and soul of litera- ture in LosAngeles.” Union com- rade Pat Levin praised him for discerning “virtuistic potential” in people. Janet Wilson recalled seeing UCI student faces light up when talking to Andrew, and she congratulated him on “surviving UCI and mountain lions.” Andrew, in turn, described meeting UCI’s internationally famous deconstruction philoso- pher Jacques Derrida: Derrida knocked on the door one day to return Andrew’s boogie board. Rye comments Giant wild rye is an eight-foot- tall evergreen bunch grass, native to California and northern Mex- ico. Unlike the invasive giant reed and pampas grass, its stems are topped with wheat-like spikes during the summer. The giant wild rye near Silvera- do’s giant water tank has been there for years, but is more vis- ible now because the Bond Fire burned the surrounding shrubs. This area used to be part of the Irvine Ranch - barbed wire now keeping people out formerly kept cattle in. Of course, fences can break, so it’s possible that cattle may have escaped occasionally and trampled some giant wild rye, re- quiring cowboys to ride out and surround the wandering bovines. Presumably, even if it weren’t time for lunch, they would have ordered the cornered beef on rye to go. Tustin High School graduate Giovanni Andablo won a new 2021 Toyota Corolla donated by Tustin Toyota, as part of the “Drive for Student Engagement” Program. For the eighth consecutive year, Tu- stin Unified School District partnered with Tustin Toyota to increase overall student engagement by highlighting seniors who were actively engaged and performing school work throughout their senior year. Ap- proximately 770 students from more than 2,000 seniors representing five TUSD high schools maintained exemplary engagement during the school year and were entered into a lottery for a new Toyota Corolla. Numbers identifying eligible students were placed into a tumbler and the winning number was drawn at the May 17 TUSD Board meeting. The lucky number was “99,” which coincidently represents the 99th year of Tustin High School (the school is celebrating its 100th anniver- sary next fall). Andablo learned that he had won at the school’s gradu- ation ceremony, May 25. Business as usual for VP Council Notably, but not noted, Villa Park City Councilman Robbie Pitts did not attend the June 22 meeting, after reading a statement (see Open Letter, page 5) and walking out of the May session. No one on the dais acknowl- edged his absence or his com- ments, although his criticisms were included in the minutes of the May meeting, which were duly approved. The June meeting proceeded with a report by City Manager Steve Franks advising that $1.4 million in federal COVID relief funds do not need to be spent un- til 2024. He recommended having a public meeting on the topic to allow residents to weigh-in on its use; other funds will be forthcom- ing for street repair. Franks also said that city facili- ties will be open for public use, and recommended that the tents outside restaurants be allowed to remain open, in case of any new closures. During councilmember com- ments, Mayor Crystal Miles re- ported extensively about OC Vec- tor’s plans to control mosquitos. Councilman Robert Collacott stated that in a meeting between Orange County Water District (OCWD) and Army Corps of Engineers to discuss grading and plans for Santiago Creek drain- age, it was agreed that Smith Basin could be developed and rezoned for Villa Park's Housing Element. Mayor Pro Tem Chad Zim- merman, who attended the same meeting, suggested that clarifi- cation was needed, as he under- stood that the Smith Basin is an integral part of the 100-year plan for drainage, and necessary for drainage. Denis Bilodeau, OCWD Dis- trict 2 representative, reports that OCWD has no plans to develop Smith Basin. Wild rye