A 13-year-old girl named Susan Wiley was reportedly a prisoner in her home for all of her life until a social worker discovered the child abuse. Susan's parents Clark Wiley and Irene Wiley were arrested. The family home is at 6722 Golden West Avenue, in a county area of Arcadia. Susan Wiley was living in an environment of total isolation and deprivation and was malnourished. She cannot talk, is deformed, barely able to walk and is not toilet trained. She has been placed in the care of Children's Hospital. The child has come to be known by the alias "Genie." See hard copy in VF Wiley, Susan aka "Genie"
15-year-old Richard Ung was arrested at his parents' home in Arcadia, where sheriffs recovered nine guns, including an AK-47 assault rifle and an assault pistol. Ung is being investigated for alleged involvement in the stabbing death of Boo K. Lee.
17-year-old Arcadia High School student Courtney Chou Lee has been named the 91st Rose Queen. Six other young ladies are princesses including another AHS student, Lauren Valenzuela. The Rose Queen and her royal court will reign over the 120th Rose Parade and the 95th Rose Bowl. Article contains some quotes from Courtney Lee's parents, Andrew Lee and Ulanda Lee.
A 47-page pamphlet on teen-age topics such as substance abuse, adolescent suicide and gangs was mailed last month to every Arcadia parent. "The Small Book of Big Issues for Arcadia Parents" was spearheaded by Foothills Middle School parent Carol Eifert.
About 60 parents, teachers, and students staged an emotional show of solidarity for teacher Gary Southworth, who began a 1-year jail sentence in connection with a car crash that killed a 21 year old La Verne woman, on December 12, 1992. He pleaded guilty to felony vehicular manslaughter and 2 counts of felony drunk driving.
About 150 Asian parents told city and school officials at a meeting that they are troubled by two fights at Arcadia High School between Asians and Caucasians.
Although Magna Entertainment Corp. (MEC) , the parent company of Santa Anita Park race track, filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday, the fate of the track's paymaster accounts remains uncertain. The bankruptcy judge could declare the $15 million, which was placed in the joint trust account, an asset of MEC and order it frozen.
An Arcadia woman's life was saved when her neighbor's carbon monoxide alarm went off. Neighbors alerted authorities who then broke into her apartment to find her unconscious. She was rushed to the hospital and is now in good condition.
The Arcadia Board of Education adopted a policy to prohibit the use of anabolic steroids and other controlled substances. It goes further to hold coaches responsible for educating students and parents about the dangers of using uncontrolled substances and diet supplements.
The Arcadia Board of Education promised parents and supporters of former teacher Sandra Ragusa a statement on why she was not allowed to withdraw her resignation.
The Arcadia Board of Education will vote on a policy change regarding the release of students' personal information to military recruiters, colleges or prospective employers. In the past, Arcadia has had an "opt-in" policy, in which parents must specifically request information be made available, particularly to military recruiters. This policy is no longer allowed under federal guidelines, so the district will adopt an "opt-out" policy, putting the burden on parents to decide when information will be withheld.
The Arcadia Council PTA in cooperation with Parent Alert has organized evening programs for parents of all 5th and 6th grade, junior and senior high school students. The programs are designed to offer education on drug abuse.
Arcadia Council PTA is joining with Parent Alert in sponsoring two town meetings to encourage parents and other citizens to join a community-wide campaign aimed at fighting school age substance abuse. Meeting to be held at 7:45 P.M. on succeeding Wednesdays, Nov. 2 and 9 at First Avenue Junior High School auditorium.
Arcadia has a new emergency notification system called Alert Arcadia. Anyone can sign up to receive messages via phone voice mail, e-mail, and/or text.
The Arcadia High School Apache Marching Band will travel to Arcadia's sister city, Newcastle, Australia, in late June. Parents have agreed to make up the difference, if the $37,000 still needed cannot be raised. Besides Newcastle, where they will perform for 5,000 high school students, the band will sight-see and perform in Canberra and Sydney.
Arcadia Police, alerted that a home was being burglarized, wound up confiscating 23 kilos of cocaine valued at $500.000 and arresting two men on suspicion of drug trafficking.
Arcadia Police are cracking down on parents who drop off their children at Arcadia High School in red zones or by double parking. Police are using a video camera that records the violation and the violator's license plate. Violators receive a $30 citation in the mail. Police hope this will discourage unsafe practices.