Foothills Sentry - November 2022

Page 7 Foothills Sentry November 2022 Circulation … 41,750 Published on the last Tuesday of each month and distributed to residences, businesses, libraries and civic centers. Printing by Advantage, Inc. 714-532-4406 Fax: 714-532-6755 foothillssentry.com 1107 E. Chapman Ave., #207 Orange, CA 92866 © Foothills Sentry 2022 Publisher/Editor Anita Bennyhoff 1969-2013 Editor Tina Richards editor@foothillssentry.com Sports Editor Cliff Robbins sportseditor@att.net Graphic Designer Stephanie Gundran graphics@foothillssentry.com Advertising Sales Andie Mills advertising@foothillssentry.com 714-926-9299 Office Manager Kathy Eidson officemanager@foothillssentry. com www.christiansagainstchristiannationalism.org Villa, without notifying parents in advance or having any formalized training. A book containing racist and anti Semitic tropes was included on the GATE required reading list. At the same time, the facilities fell into disrepair. These are just several instanc- es illustrating what can happen when unqualified individuals with extremist agendas are put in charge of school districts. Miner submitted a written and signed statement to the Orange County Registrar of Voters and described herself as “an educator with the district.” These words imply that she was an educator, and that she has worked for OUSD. Such statements carry significant weight on what I refer to as Madison’s employment application for a position on the OUSD Board of Education. After researching several sources, I was unable to confirm that her statements about her employment were true. There is nothing to support, nor has Miner provided me, or anyone, with anything to support her employment or experience. I contacted Madison Klovstad Miner in writing on three occa- sions, requesting clarification of her experience. Her last response was that she was a sub last year for a school that she refuses to identify. As I see it, Miner has provided voters with an incomplete job application at best, or one complete with false information. She’s had many opportunities to clear up any confusion, and she has failed. Citizens in OUSD, we need to get this right, because those of us who have invested in this community for years have seen what happens when we don’t. The choice for OUSD trustee is clear. A vote for Kathy Moffat is a vote for experience, honesty and integrity. Karen Cohn Villa Park Dear Editor: I’m horrified to see Tim Sur- ridge running once again for Or- ange Unified School Board. His well-earned nickname of “Tim Sewage” comes from his false claims of being an educator for 25 years, his blatant cronyism and his penchant for back-door deal- ings with developers. Surridge claims to have been a teacher and an administrator in California for the past 25 years, when in fact the California Com- mission on Teacher Credentialing shows that he only ever held a preliminary credential (in the sub- ject of PE) which expired in 2000. When faced with an open board seat (due to a board mem- ber resigning), Surridge and Rick Ledesma, along with a few other board members, ignored the seven qualified candidates who applied for the seat, and instead appoint- ed their buddy, a man who had recently moved to Orange, had no children in OUSD, and by his own admission had never served in a volunteer capacity anywhere. This triggered a recall election, followed by a special election. On the last day to file to run in that special election, Andrea Ya- masaki was the only candidate to have filed, which would save the district from having to pay for the election. Five minutes before the cut-off, Surridge’s friend, who had been recalled with five times the number of required signa- tures, waltzed in and filed to run. The election followed, and Yamasaki won with 77% of the vote. The true losers in this were the kids of OUSD, as this special election caused by Surridge and Ledesma cost the district upwards of $200,000. Surridge has a reputation of shady dealings with developers. He tried to sell the OUSD Peralta property to a developer to build high-density housing, despite the public outcry against it. His cam- paigns have been financed, in the past, by donations from develop- ers. This year, he is funded entire- ly by a shady PAC connected to two men known to have extremist views. In our current school climate, counselors and mental health sup- ports for students are more impor- tant than ever, but Surridge has made comments about getting rid of counselors and mental health supports. Surridge earned a terrible repu- tation while serving on the board majority for eight years, which is why voters booted him four years ago. Grifters have no place in our school leadership. His shady deals, overt political games, and abuse of power diverted funds from classrooms, and the students suffered. Since he has gone, that seat has been filled by someone with mor- als, integrity and an actual work- ethic, who values public educa- tion and fights for all students. DO NOT turn the clock back- wards by electing Tim Surridge. We need to keep moving forward. Michelle Weisenberg Orange Dear Editor: The City of Orange is facing a critical election. We need leaders we can count on and trust. That is why the Orange Park Association has proudly endorsed Dan Slater for mayor and Adrienne Gladson for District 6 councilmember. Dan is a successful business owner and understands city hall. He served on the Orange City Council from 1994–2002. He was an early supporter (1999) of the “Save Barham Ranch” effort that prevented a housing tract on what is now Santiago Oaks Regional Park. In 2020, he did not hesitate to support the successful “No on AA” campaign as he was one of the five signers for the ballot measure. Dan is a high achiever, problem solver and community builder. Adrienne is a retired city plan- ner by profession and currently has her own consulting business. Her extensive knowledge of city government, land use, and the entitlement process makes her uniquely qualified for the city council. She served on the City of Orange Planning Commission that unanimously denied all the entitlements for the high-density Rio Santiago project on the Sul- ly-Miller site. With all the new housing laws and mandates, Adri- enne's skills are exactly what we need. She is an invaluable asset. Both Dan and Adrienne are longtime City of Orange resi- dents and respected leaders. They are not accepting campaign do- nations from developers. They both support the cleanup of the “Sully-Miller dumpsite” by the owner rather than the taxpayers of Orange. We believe they are the best- qualified candidates to run our city. Most importantly, they will respect the residents and wel- come public input and participa- tion. Sherry Hart - Panttaja President, Orange Park Association Back to the future Dear Editor: Here we go again. The Irvine Company wants to develop the East Orange area by Jamboree and Santiago Canyon Road. The city easily approved a scaled-back plan in 2005, and the land was cleared. Again in 2016, the land was cleared for construc- tion. Yet no new Environmental Impact Report (EIR) has been done since 2005. The city claimed that a new EIR was not necessary. The city additionally refused to act on public insistence to build a bridge across Santiago Canyon, which would provide safety for one of the most dangerous intersections in Orange County. There’s been no discussion on widening Jamboree Road to three lanes once it meets the Tustin city limit. How can an EIR that was done 16 years ago pass without review today? Bob Hahn Santiago Hills Stop the bucks Dear Editor: Regarding “Orange Unified Trustee asks taxpayers to compensate him for volunteer work” in the October Sentry : Charity work is just that -- charity work. Charity work is not, and should not be considered a legitimate reason to be paid for missing a regular job-related duty, just because we are "helping people." Boy Scout Troop 538 to hold open house Boy Scout Troop 538, home to Scouts from Anaheim to East Or- ange, will hold an open house on Nov. 8 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Canyon Hills Presbyterian Church. The evening will feature Scout skills and ice cream, and special events for Webelos, Arrow of Light and non-Scouts, fifth grade and up. The church is located at 190 S. Fairmont Blvd., Anaheim. Charity work stems from our heart, not another's pocketbook. I am frustrated with the brazenness of this "charity worker's" com- ments — “This isn't $100,000 or $10,000 ... it's 750 bucks. Just vote and get it over with." John Ortega was paid for three meetings prior to July that he did not attend -- that's $2,250. And between 2015 and 2019, Ortega missed (and was paid for) 34 meetings -- that adds up to $28,500. That's a lot of non-work- ing hardship! Are we supposed to pay for his missionary work? As of this publication, I have lost confidence/faith in the moral- ity of this public servant. I doubt this 1969-1971 army veteran and OC taxpayer ever votes for John Ortega again, and ask my fellow Hispanic (and all) voters to con- sider: are we properly represented by a trustee that appears to value money over devoted service? Dr. M. Duncker North Tustin Share the road Dear Editor: On behalf of many concerned Villa Park residents, I'd love to share our perspective on the traf- fic and safety issues surround- ing Cerro Villa Middle School (CVMS), as our concern is grow- ing by the day, but not for the rea- sons you think. In an ideal world, traffic flow would be carefully calculated pri- or to schools being built, and the school traffic would be easily ac- commodated without impacting neighboring streets. This is not true for any school, but it is par- ticularly untrue in the City of Vil- la Park (VP) whose schools have long outgrown the surrounding infrastructure. That being said, these schools have been pres- ent for a very long time, and the neighbors on surrounding streets purchased their homes knowing the proximity to VP schools. The relationship between CVMS, its students and the community has become quite concerning to us. But nothing has changed on our end. In fact, VPHS, CVMS and Serrano Ele- mentary have staggered their start times in order to ease this issue as much as possible. Enrollment is actually down this year, further easing the traffic. It seems that the COVID-19 shutdowns may have given neighbors a glimpse into what traffic is like outside of school zones. We understand that, and yet that is not the reality for the streets surrounding Villa Park's schools. Neighboring residents have been standing on the sidewalks yelling at 13-year-olds trying to walk home from school. This is wildly unacceptable. Adults should not be taking their frus- tration out on children, and this practice needs to end immedi- ately. Neighboring residents have also been slowing down traffic by trying to chat with drivers and pass out flyers during drop off and pick-up times. Some are going as far as claiming that drivers HAVE to use the routes they are suggesting, which is untrue. Furthermore, a CV parent re- cently witnessed a neighbor cut- ting down a CV sponsor’s banner. This banner is on school property, where our business sponsors are proudly displayed to thank them for their generous donations. We will continue to hang their ban- ners, regardless of the vandalism that is taking place. Again, this is common practice at any school site, but some Villa Park neigh- bors have turned this into yet an- other battleground. As parents of CV students, we know better than anyone the frustrations and inconvenience associated with school drop-off and pick up. We are waiting in those lines, sending our kids off to school, teaching them that sometimes things are inconve- nient -- but we make the best of it, improve what we can, and always carry ourselves with dignity and respect, treating all those around us as we would want to be treated. We love living in Villa Park. We love that our kids are going to such wonderful schools. We love the community they are growing up in. The shift in the neighborhoods' treatment of our kids and local schools is frankly heartbreaking to us. We are committed to mak- ing the traffic flow as seamless as possible, but the reality is that this will never not be an incon- venience. Luckily, that inconve- nience is limited to roughly 20 minutes before, and 20 minutes after, school. A final thought for you to consider: Our children are watching you. They see how you interact with their peers walking home from school. They see how you interact with their parents doing their daily school drop-offs. They hear your anger at council meetings. They see and feel the support - or lack thereof - coming from CVMS's surrounding neighbors. We sincerely hope you will do better -- for their sake. Beth Brunett Villa Park