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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
The Arcadia Redevelopment Agency has filed a suit against the Clifford C. Bong & Co., a former owner of the 1.6 acre redevelopment site on Huntington Drive. The ARA hopes to recover the $855,000 spent on removal of toxic waste and other debris.
A bomb scare at the J. C. Penney Co. store in Santa Anita Fashion Park mall led to the closing of about ten stores and the evacuation of more than 100 customers and employees.