The 1989 Arcadia Tournament of Roses Royal Court includes Jenny Chan, a Cal Poly Pomona freshman; Kathleen Lecher, a Maranatha High School senior; Jennifer Worsley, 16, Elyse Douglas, 17 and Tricia Stonecipher, an Arcadia High School senior.
The Arcadia Unified School District again ranked among the top 10% of statewide districts in the latest California Assessment Program (CAP) results. CAP scores were based on tests given to 3rd and 6th grade students last May in math, reading, and writing as well as tests given to 8th-graders in reading, math, history and science.
The Los Angeles County Commission on School District Organization voted 9-0 to deny Sierra Madre's petition to join the Arcadia School District. The matter will go to the state Board of Education, which may take 3-4 months to make a decision.
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.
Five young women were chosen for the Arcadia royal court to represent Arcadia in the Tournament of Roses. All Arcadia residents, they are: Jenny Chen, 18; Elyse Douglas, 17; Kathleen Lechler, 17; Tricia Stonecipher, 17; and Jennifer Worsley, 16. One will be chosen to be Queen at the Coronation Ball on December 9.
The Arcadia City Council approved a 6% hike in building fees, such as building permits, conditional use permits, and request for modifications. The increase, set for November 17, will be used to offset the 6% salary hike that city employees received in the 1989-90 budget.
Robert Shortell, 80, attended the World of Poetry's fifth annual convention in Washington, D.C., where he was honored with a Golden Poet Award. Shortell was a history and social studies teacher and sometime coach at Arcadia High School for 21 years.
An Arcadia undercover police officer, 28, helped a Drug Enforcement Administration team and the LAPD in Sylmar for the biggest drug bust in history, a cache of 20 tons of cocaine valued at $20 billion. Federal agents also confiscated $10 million in cash.
The Arcadia City Council has grounded a proposal that would have allowed hang glider pilots to land their grafts on an unused LA County floodplain in the north end of the city. The 30 pilots of the Mr. Wilson Soaring Society need a landing site because the one used for the last 8 years in Pasadena has been developed with the new Pasadena Rose Court homes.
Herb Fletcher, 71, a longtime Arcadian best known for questioning city government, advising local newspapers and comforting senior citizens, died of a heart attack at Arcadia Methodist Hospital.
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.
In essay tests given to California seniors last December, Arcadia students scored 273 on a scale of 400, compared to a national average of 250. However, when compared to similar districts such as Beverly Hills, San Marino and La Canada, Arcadia is ranked in only the 23rd percentile, meaning that 77% of the districts scored higher. This is of interest since San Marino had the highest score in the state.
The Arcadia Board of Education is considering a new policy that gives students the right to refuse to dissect animals on moral grounds. Such students will have their teachers assign alternative educational projects.
Amy Nelson and Kathleen Ashenfelter, both 16,toured the Soviet Union for 3 weeks with the People to People Friendship Caravan, a program which takes 1600 American youths to 50 Soviet cities. It is the largest student educational program in the history of the US and USSR.
The Arcadia Redevelopment Agency won a $495,000 settlement for removing toxic waste from 1.6 acres of downtown Arcadia land it bought from Clifford C. Bong and Co. last year. The agency sued Bong in April of 1988 to recover the money it spent to dispose of soil contaminated with high levels of lead, cadmium and hydrocarbon wastes. The agreement was reached two days before the June 27 trial was to begin.
An application for state funds to make $8.5 million worth of repairs in 6 Arcadia schools is moving ahead. Funds for the repairs, from the Leroy F. Greene State School Building Lease-Purchase Program, a bond measure, have been exhausted. However, another bond issue, coming up in the June 1990 election, is expected to pass and provide money to continue the program.
Susan Robertson, 48, a 4th grade teacher at Hugo Reid School for 26 years, died on July 4 after an 11-year battle with cancer. Mrs. Robertson graduated from USC in 1963 and worked for the Arcadia Unified School District, teaching at Hugo Reid School for her entire career.
An international businessman was abducted from his Arcadia home and later released the same evening after his abductors demanded he pay them $1 million. He was told that he would be contacted the next day with instructions about where to put the money, but no money has been paid. This is the first kidnapping of this type in Arcadia, although there have been four other kidnappings in the San Gabriel Valley since last October.
The Arcadia Unified School District Board of Education has adopted a tentative $28 million budget for 1989-90. The year-end balance of $191,326, combined with the 1988-89 balance, will total 4381,714 as a reserve fund. The final budget will not be adopted until September.