Photograph of Mayor Don Pellegrino, Fire Chief Jerry Gardner, Arcadia Police Department Capt. Gordon Schneiders going over plans of new emergency dispatch and 9-1-1 communications center during groundbreaking ceremonies held last week.
Don Alcorn, a 20-year veteran of the Arcadia Police Department, has been named to the new post of Emergency Services Coordinator by the Arcadia City Council. Alcorn's job is to prepare an emergency plan that will cover any aspect of any possible disaster, from earthquake to fire to nuclear disaster.
The Fire Department has a new, green $150,000 fire engine on loan from the California Office of Emergency Services. It is specially equipped to handle large brush fires.
Concerned horse owners will make an effort to get the Arcadia City Council to extend an emergency moratorium, stopping any new subdivision in their area until a petition they presented to the council can be considered.
First Avenue Junior High, severely damaged by a fire in 1979, will reopen this fall to students in grades 7-9 although reconstruction of the building is incomplete. Portable classrooms will be used.
The Community Hotline, a 24-hour, seven-day-a week emergency crisis intervention telephone service, is primarily for adolescents and young adults in Arcadia and neighboring communities. The problems it deals with are mainly drug and alcohol related. Executive director is the Rev. Bob Johnson, youth minister of the Arcadia Presbyterian Church. The number to call is 574-0600.
Plans for a series of office buildings and a high-rise hotel in the Arcadia redevelopment area require general plan and zone changes. The first move is an environmental impact report for the area bounded by the 210 Freeway on the north, the railroad tracks on the south, Fifth Avenue on the east and Second Avenue on the west.
The Arcadia Police Department's non-emergency business telephone numbers have been changed to the following: Front desk, 570-5150; Administrative offices, 574-5178; Investigation division, 574-5160. The change is due to the switch to Pacific Bell Centrex System which gives priority to emergency services in the event of an emergency.
Twelve seniors out of 783 were denied diplomas because of their failure to pass a battery of state-mandated basic skills tests. They are the first to be denied diplomas under the Pupil Proficiency Law of 1976. Arcadia's test requires ninth grade level competency.
The Arcadia City Council has signed agreements with Republic Development Company for the development of the area along Huntington Drive east of First Avenue.
The Arcadia Redevelopment Agency recently made several changes in its relocation rules that serve as guidelines to move residents and businesses to comparable sites when the city purchases their locations for redevelopment purposes. The new rules, which go into effect January 1, were prompted by new changes in state law and the need for smoother transition periods during relocations.
Beginning October 1, Arcadia High School athletes and student government officers will have the opportunity to participate in a "strictly voluntary" urinalysis drug testing program.