Long-time resident J. Lyle Cunningham, Arcadia Citizen of the Year in 1983 and former president of the Arcadia Rotary Club, died on December 15th at Methodist Hospital of natural causes. He was 82. Mr. Cunningham was actively involved in the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce, the Arcadia Red Cross, the Church of the Good Shepherd and Arcadians for Arcadia.
Arcadia teachers are eligible for mini-grants of $100-300 under a program being implemented by the Arcadia Rotary Club. The program will provide funds to district teachers for special projects beginning in February. All teachers, from kindergarten to 12th grade, are eligible to apply.
Theresa Eskola, 63, head housekeeper at the 87-room Motel 6 across from the Santa Anita Park race track, is the first employee to work 25 years for the hotel chain. Her gifts included $2500 in $100 bills, a limousine ride and the day off. Photo.
Susan Clavey, the mother of Tanya Clavey (the 16-year old girl who died following a 400-foot plunge off the Santa Anita Canyon Road) asked the Arcadia City Council to close the road's gate at dusk to prevent further fatalities. The gate, normally locked at 10 PM, was unlocked when the accident occurred at 10:15 PM.
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.
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.
Arcadia ranks at the top among US cities with the highest-paid employees, yet charges its residents less for municipal services and receives less aid than most California cities of similar size. No other US city outside California with a population between 10,000 and 50,000 pays its employees more; the average city employee earns $32,767 per year.
The Arcadia City Council approved a 5% tax on interstate and international telephone calls over the strong objections of residents. The tax, which will cost about $.40 per person per month, is expected to generate $225,000 in city revenues, which will help close the gap between the city's general fund expenditures and revenue.
Dr. Stephen Goldstone, Arcadia Unified School District Superintendent, is leaving his post here for a similar position in Chino. He says it is an advancement for him since Chino has about 23,000 students, compared to Arcadia's 7500.
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 Arcadia City Council unanimously supports a 5% utility tax on interstate and international telephone calls. The proposed tax will cost about $.40 per person per month.
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.
New zip codes go into effect today. These include: 91006 - for all post office boxes in the main post office on Wheeler Street; 91077 - for all post office boxes in the West Arcadia Post Office; 91007 - for the area south of the 210 Freeway and west of Santa Anita Avenue.
The Arcadia Redevelopment Agency's financial obligations and development projects prevent it from saving $294,000, or 20% of its tax increment, for low-cost housing, as required under California Assembly Bill 265. The state law, concerned with agencies formed since 1976, does not affect the ARA, formed in 1974. Starting in the 1996-97 fiscal year, however, all agencies will be required to set the money aside.
After serving 17 years as a crossing guard, 83-year-old Harry Christianson is retiring. The children at Highland Oaks honored him with a special Mr. Chris Day.