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.
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 76 members of the Arcadia Fire Department raised $14,521 for victims of the Bay Area earthquake by giving up one shift of paid vacation time each. The money will be donated to Santa Cruz County through the Arcadia chapter of the American Red Cross.
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 Automobile Club of Southern California will relocate its Temple City and Monrovia offices to its new facility at 420 East Huntington Drive, Arcadia, beginning October 16.
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.
The Arcadia Unified School District has about 130 new elementary school students this year, prompting district officials to hire 4 new teachers, combine classes and add portable classrooms.
The Arcadia Redevelopment Agency is looking for developers to submit building proposals for 2 new major development projects on 5 acres of downtown property. The agency wants to house corporate headquarters, business and professional offices, retail stores and restaurants.
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.
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 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.
Some Sierra Madre parents want to split from the Pasadena Unified School District and join the Arcadia Unified School District because of Arcadia's high-ranking CAP scores and low dropout rate. Members of Arcadia's Board of Education question whether they could handle the influx of new students.
Qualified low and moderate-income homeowners may receive up to $7500 for the rehabilitation of single-family owner-occupied homes through the Arcadia Planning Dept.'s Housing Rehabilitation Program. This program is financed with Community Development Block Grant Funds, and monies are available on a first-come first-served basis through June 30, 1990.
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 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.
Russell J. Ribb, former superintendent for the Hacienda-La Puente Unified School District, has been named to serve as Arcadia's interim school superintendent. Elaine Boyce of the School Service of California, a Sacramento-based consulting firm, has been hired to recruit a new superintendent.
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.
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.