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.
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 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.
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.
The Arcadia Planning Commission approved a request for a variation in the distance between buildings for a proposed 20-unit condominium project at 412-422 California St. and 417-421 Diamond St. The variance would allow a 10-18 foot distance between buildings, instead of the standard 20-foot requirement.
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.
John Gottuso, an Arcadia minister, psychologist and family counselor, has been accused by two state licensing boards of sexually abusing 10 female clients. The trial is set for February 1990.