David Thornton, 24, who suffers from angio-dysplasia, a rare disease that affects the blood vessels, has founded the Thornton Kidney Research Foundation with the USC School of Medicine.
23 "heroes and heroines" in the Arcadia Unified School District were honored by the Board of Education in the first "Profiles in Excellence" awards. The awards were presented to "individuals who maintain a standard of excellence in their work and who represent those values and qualities which make Arcadia a special place for students." Names and positions of winners are given.
John Costanzo, 35, who teaches students with learning disabilities at Foothills Jr. High School, has been named the state's Teacher of the Year by the Learning Disabilities Association of California. Photo.
Gerry Woods, who is in the process of recovering from an almost fatal gunshot wound to the head last year, went in a wheel chair to receive his certificate of graduation from Foothills Junior High School.
23 Arcadia High School students capped third-place honors in the California State Finals of the National Bicentennial Competition. The students, in Ron Morris' advanced placement government class, last month won first place in the 22nd Congressional District contest, which included five local schools. Photo.
Burton Wallace Smith graduated Wednesday from Huntington High School with kudos from the President of the United States. The program at Huntington High School allowed Smith to complete classwork and take tests at his own pace.
Arcadia High School chemistry teacher George Stapleton's Advanced Placement chemistry class won first place in the Southern California Chemical Society Competition.
The Arcadia Rotary Club awarded grants totaling $4,990 to 17 teachers at the February 13 Arcadia Board of Education meeting. Grants ranging from $175 to $300 were given to individual teachers to help with special classroom projects. The teachers represented 5 of the 6 Arcadia elementary schools, all 3 junior high schools and both Arcadia and Huntington high schools.
Dwain Schenck, 27, who grew up in Arcadia, is project director for AmeriCares, a non-profit relief organization founded in 1982 which is currently helping thousands of refugees who have fled Kuwait for Jordan.
First Avenue Junior High was one of 3 area schools to receive the state Dept. of Education's Distinguished High School and Middle School Awards. Arcadia's Foothill Jr. High received the award in 1988. The other winners included San Marino High School and the L. A. County High School for the Arts at Cal State Los Angeles.
Partick Anderson, 23, of Inglewood remained in custody on suspicion of murder charges for the shooting death of Henry Miller, 27, of Los Angeles, who was killed in the paddock at the Santa Anita Park race track, making this the first shooting at the track in its 55-year history.
David Park, 17, a senior at Arcadia High School, is one of only 6 San Gabriel Valley students to receive a $2000 National Merit Scholarship, on of 1800 nationwide winners. Park is one of only 2 students in California to also be honored in the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, where he is one of 500 national finalists competing for 141 scholar awards.