First Avenue PTA honored three volunteers for their commitment and support of children at First Avenue Middle School and their community. The three were Elizabeth Renfrew, Pat Medina, and Teri Deimel.
Arcadia High School has been honored with the 2002 BRAVO award for excellence in arts education by the Music Center of Los Angeles. The award recognizes art programs, including music and drama. Notable people Garry Marshall and Gayle Wilson, wife of former California governor Pete Wilson, attended the gala event.
The Arcadia Beautiful Commission presented its annual awards in a ceremony to honor residential and business owners for outstanding landscaping and overall appearances. Business owners awarded were Union 76, Sav-on Drugs, and the Baldwin Plaza.
Some members of Arcadia Christian Academy's boys basketball team acted as heroes after a 65 year-old woman lost control of her Mercedes and ran it through a group of children and adults in Eagle Rock, where the team attended a game. The boys ran to the scene and helped lift the car off two children and an adult. There were no fatalities.
The Feds (Secret Service, part of the U.S. Treasury Department) take over counterfeiting case from Arcadia Police Department. Five individuals were arrested on suspicion of passing counterfeit bills at Robinsons-May, Macy's and possibly JC Penney, at Westfield Shoppingtown in Arcadia.
The Arcadia City Council has approved a 12-month pilot program to expand its Dial-a-Ride service to include a new non-emergency medical appointment transportation program for seniors and disabled persons. The program includes service to five hospitals outside the city limits--Huntington Hospital, Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park, City of Hope Medical Center and Santa Teresita Hospital, both in Duarte, and Mountainview Dialysis Center in Monrovia.
Arcadia High School and music teacher, Mike Danielson from First Avenue Middle School, are among the nominees for the BRAVO awards presented by the Education Division of the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County.
The Universal Studios film, Seabiscuit, based on the non-fiction book by Laura Hillenbrand, will be filmed at Santa Anita Park race track in November and December. Arcadia mayor Gail Marshall will be an extra on the film.
City Manager Bill Kelly outlined a $16 million program to finish all public building projects for Arcadia in three years, as part of the city's five-year capital budget. The spending would include a new $6.5 million City Hall, a $1.3 million upgrade to Fire Station 106 on Baldwin Avenue. The city plans to build a new fire station to replace Fire Station 105 on Santa Anita Avenue. A city gym for the civic center property is in planning stages. The city plans to re-roof the community center for $150,000 and to put up 1/2 of the $800,000 cost to make the high school sports field an all-weather facility.
The Successful Partners Adult Reading Center (SPARC) of Arcadia, has been awarded a $775 grant from the Laubach Literacy National Book Scholarship Fund (NBSF). The grant will be used to purchase New Readers Press books and other educational resources to promote literacy and good reading habits at home.
Arcadia Public Library will have a new conference room constructed and will remodel the existing room into offices and a work area. An office will be created for the Friends of the Library. This is the first phase and the contract was awarded to K & S Design for $106,500. Phase 2 of the project, to be completed at a later date, will include a teen center and an enlarged international language area.
Highland Oaks PTSA gives service awards and installs its Executive Board on May 28, 2003. Yoshiko Hayashi and Dick Grumm received "Very Special Friend" awards. Teacher Teresa Sarrail received the Honorary Service Award. Volunteers Cindy Forillo and Stephanie McNutt also received the Honorary Service Award. Lisa Lucas was installed for a second term as PTSA president.