Foothills Sentry - December 2023

Page 5 Foothills Sentry December 2023 Circulation … 40,000 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 2023 Publisher/Editor Anita Bennyhoff 1969-2013 Editor Tina Richards editor@foothillssentry.com Sports Editor Cliff Robbins sportseditor@att.net Graphic Designer Jef Maddock graphics@foothillssentry.com Advertising Sales Andie Mills advertising@foothillssentry.com 714-926-9299 Office Manager Kathy Eidson officemanager@foothillssentry. com Tis the season Summer is over, with fewer racers speeding through our can- yons. Still, when the holidays ar- rive, a young man’s fancy turns to burn-outs and donuts. Visit the road near the Silverado Christ- mas tree farm and find celebra- tory yuletide skid marks. Posted on social media, our neighbor- hood is recognizable as backdrop for more auto-erotic male perfor- mance. A river ran through it Well, nearly. Our long, rainy spring, with Hurricane Hillary and late summer meets early fall mini storms delivered record pre- cipitation, causing local creeks to run almost all year, including through Harding Canyon. Frogs, an important indicator species, had a good run. Actually, crit- ters canyon residents have seen aplenty are likely Western or Cal- ifornia toads, which enjoy taking up residence in hot tubs and out- door water features, under tarpau- lins, or even indoors. Longtime residents will recall the fate of the Arroyo toad, whose habitat was defended by local activists and the Inter Canyon League from proposed luxury homes but even- tually compromised by construc- tion. The croaking of the critter is a memory, or only drowned out by the reliable carillon of St. Mi- chael’s Abbey. Ask not for whom the bell toads. More riparian news The county recently sent a let- ter regarding the Modjeska box- car bridge retaining wall, meant to be built of natural river rock. A contractor and materials have been organized, with a month of enhancement anticipated, starting mid-December, weather permit- ting. Always polite and deliber- ate, activist Dean Brown insisted on more: “Local residents ap- preciate your most recent update on the minor cosmetic improve- ments proposed to be completed in the near future. However, we are disappointed at the lack of moving forward with a focused plan to stockpile and cover the riprap on the east side of the bridge.” Brown asks for a meet- ing to “establish a plan to deposit and stockpile appropriate mate- rial at the project site and contact the General Manager of IRWD to explore the feasibility of obtain- ing material from the area behind Harding Canyon Dam.” Brown proposes this local source, with minimal cost and negative envi- ronmental impact related to im- pacts on sensitive resources and traffic. Fair thee well Jane Bove has lived in Silvera- do since 1970, arriving soon after the historic and devastating flood. She recalls neighbor Judy My- ers starting an event promoting canyon artists soon after, not yet officially the Silverado Country Fair. Jane joined up in 1979 after running the canyon Halloween party when her kids were young, as well as volunteering with the PTA at Silverado Elementary School, where the fair was held from 1979 through 1987. In 2006, with the death of organizer Dusty Mutch, Jane stepped back in. “I have run it every year since then along with Chay Peterson and a great group of volunteers,” she says. “I love the fair and truly enjoy seeing all our commu- nity come together to enjoy the weekend.” Jane announced her retirement as coordinator this year and is lauded, thanked and celebrated for her work by a grateful community. A tale of two districts Modjeska residents might be proud that State Senator Cath- erine Blakespear (D-Encinitas) has launched a book club for her constituents, assuming they even know she is, post-redistricting, their Sacramento rep. Silverado voters in District 37 have Dave Min (D-Irvine) but the maps are confusing, and it turns out resi- dents south of Silverado Canyon Road are in temporary limbo. We’re a “deferred” area of Dis- trict 38 but still, in fact, served by Blakespear, one-time mayor of Encinitas. In the November 2024 general election, we’ll see our chance to be undeferred. Meanwhile, undeterred, Blake- spear invites her default con- stituents to join her in reading her club’s inaugural selection, the New York Times bestseller, "Solito, A Memoir," by Javier Zamora. It’s the acclaimed story of an unaccompanied nine-year- old migrating from El Salvador to California in 1999. The one- hour book club Zoom meeting is Saturday, Jan. 6 at 11 a.m. Sign up via her newsletter for the 38th District “Our California Book Club” and reserve a copy of Soli- to at the Library of the Canyons. Keep reading Our own Library Book Club meets on the first Wednesday of each month. On Dec. 6, at 5 p.m., the group will read and discuss another in an eclectic line-up of fiction and nonfiction. The final 2023 book is "Sunny Days: The Children's Television Revolu- tion That Changed America," a straightforward if fun and reve- latory story of a handful of chil- dren’s public TV shows ( Sesame Street, The Electric Company," Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood ), which supported literacy, cultural education and, argues author Da- vid Kamp, paralleled the era’s adult liberation movements. (Fun fact: Sesame Street’s working title was 123 Avenue B.) January’s book selection, perhaps helpful to realizing your New Year’s resolu- tions, is "Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones." By popular request: A song of the canyons printed for all to share Tune: “The Farmer and the Cowman” from “Oklahoma!” by Rodgers and Hammerstein II. Oh, the gardener and the rider should be friends Oh, the gardener and the rider should be friends One girl likes to pick a weed, The other likes to ride a steed, But that’s no reason why they can’t be friends. Chorus : Canyon folks should stick together Canyon folks should all be palsGardeners, rid- ers, bikers, hikers Everyone dance, you guys and gals. I’d like to say a word ’bout Silverado It used to have a hotel, bar and brothel, The city folks said it was one big hovel, But I’m here to say it really weren’t that awful. Oh, the biker and the hiker should be friends Oh, the biker and the hiker should be friends One man likes to toot his horn, The other likes to rub his corns, But that’s no reason why they can’t be friends. (Chorus) Modjeskans think that they are very high class Because they’re named for some old Polish actress But that’s not all they got, They got the county parking lot And a Silverado Canyon mailing address. (Chorus) Let’s not forget to mention Williams Canyon With house styles that might be labeled random They’ve got a gate that doesn’t close Not much good except for show, And streets that look like have been abandoned. (Chorus) I’d like to say a word about the suburbs Those cars and malls and noise they call a city They got no fire or flood, When it rains they get no mud, But we look on them with over- whelming pity. (Chorus) Geoffrey Sarkissian © 2013 Tustin Area Historical Society seeks members By Gretchen Whisler The Tustin Area Historical So- ciety has been documenting the city’s and surrounding foothills’ history since the organization was established during the plan- ning of America’s Bicentennial celebration of 1976. The Society operates the Tu- stin Area Museum, originally located in what was once the po- lice department building on Third Street, and eventually found its permanent home in the Knights of Pythias building (El Camino Real at Main Street) in 1979. This charming and rejuvenated Museum is open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for visitors to enjoy displays of the community’s rich past—from citrus groves, bean fields and juice companies; the building of its Lighter Than Air Base (and the iconic blimp hangars) during World War II; to its most recent expansion into Tustin Ranch and the Legacy development. Do- cents and staff are available to help with research as well. Membership in the Historical Society is $30 for an individual; $40 for a family/household; and $100 for a business or organi- zation. Join now and your tax- deductible memberships will be valid through December 2024. The benefits of membership in- clude a 10% discount on museum store merchandise, $5 off tickets to the Society’s popular Night At The Museum series (wherein speakers provide informative Applications welcomed for Edison International scholarships Edison International will award $50,000 college scholarships to 30 high school seniors to help them follow their dreams in sci- ence, technology, engineering or math (STEM). Applications are open to high school seniors with at least a cu- mulative 3.0 GPA who plan to pursue studies in the STEM fields at a four-year accredited college or university and show financial need. Eligible STEM majors in- clude computer and information systems, engineering, engineer- ing technology, management in- formation systems, mathematics, natural resources and conserva- tion and physical sciences. Applicants must live in South- ern California Edison’s service area. The top 50 finalists will be required to submit a short video and potentially participate in a final interview. Dependents of Edison International and SCE employees and retirees are not eligible. The 2024 Edison Scholars ap- plication is open through January 23, 2024. Apply online by fol- lowing the links at edison.com/ community/edison-scholars. Edison International has awarded more than $16.5 million in scholarships to 790 students through this program since 2006. talks on a variety of historical subjects), the quarterly newslet- ter, and free access to Ancestry’s U.S. Discovery level of research and Newspapers.com offered in the Museum’s Learning Center. Tustin Area Historical Soci- ety memberships help to keep the museum operating and al- low the Society to continue its partnership with the Tustin Uni- fied School District. Volunteers bring Tustin’s rich history to third grade classrooms with tours and in-class displays provided via the History in a Box program. The Museum is located at 395 El Camino Real, and can be reached at (714) 731-5701. Visit tustinhistory.com to learn more about the Society and its current activities