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Montgomery Named President of Citrus Board | Monrovia Dancers Place First | More Rain?

~ Joanne Montgomery has been installed as president of the Citrus College Board of Trustees during the board's annual reorganization meeting on Dec. 2. Montgomery represents Monrovia and portions of Bradbury and Duarte on the Citrus governing board. She was an elementary teacher for the Monrovia Unified School District for 32 years, she worked with the district's gifted and talented education program and was named Teacher of the Year. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona and a master's degree from Azusa Pacific University.  She completed postgraduate work at the University of Southern California; University of California, Los Angeles; Pepperdine University; and the University of La Verne. Source: press release

~ On Saturday Monrovia High School Dance placed first in its category, first in its division, and first place overall, earning the dance team the championship banner. http://goo.gl/ZxLajd

~ Cloudy with occasional rain tomorrow, Tuesday. 60% chance of showers. http://goo.gl/HdDex8

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Police: Drunken Bicycling; Refusing to Leave Hotel; Domestic Violence; Etc.

[Monrovia Police activities from the Police Department's Neighborhood Watch Report for December 11-14. - Brad Haugaard]

Following are the weekend’s highlighted issues and events.

Under the Influence of a Controlled Substance – Suspect Arrested
December 11 at 4:40 p.m., officers responded to the 500 block of West Lime regarding a family disturbance. A female subject went to the location in an effort to visit her children. Family members at the location observed the female acting bizarre and called the police. Upon investigation, it was determined the female was under the influence of methamphetamine and she was arrested. The female was taken into custody and later released on a citation after a sobering period.

Theft From a Vehicle
December 12 at 8:53 a.m., an officer was dispatched to the 100 block of North Grand on the report of a theft from a vehicle. Unknown suspect(s) entered the victim's unlocked vehicle and stole identification items from the glove box. The theft occurred sometime overnight. The investigation is continuing.

Residential Burglary
December 12 at 8:54 a.m., a residential burglary was reported in the 200 block of Jasmine. The suspect(s) entered the victim's unlocked garage and forced entry into their vehicle by smashing a window. The victim's purse was in plain view and stolen from the passenger seat. The suspect(s) then left the area undetected. The investigation is continuing.

Possession of a Controlled Substance – Suspect Arrested
December 12 at 4:40 p.m., an employee from a hotel in the 900 block of West Huntington called police to report a guest refusing to leave. The subject was contacted by an officer and found to be in possession of methamphetamine. The suspect was arrested and taken into custody. He had warrants for his arrest and was held for the warrants.

Riding a Bicycle Under the Influence of Alcohol – Suspect arrested.
December 13 at 1:15 a.m., an officer observed a subject riding his bicycle on the wrong side of the road in the 1500 block of South Myrtle. Through investigation, the subject was determined to be under the influence of alcohol and was arrested. Battery December 13 at 1:50 p.m., officers responded to a local bar in the 100 block of East Olive regarding a battery report. The fight inside the bar was over a female patron. All parties refused to prosecute.

Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol – Suspect Arrested
December 14 at 1:25 a.m., dispatch received a call from a female subject reporting her husband was intoxicated and left the residence in his vehicle from the 700 block of West Foothill. Officers found the vehicle and stopped the driver. Upon investigation, the driver was determined to be under the influence of alcohol and was arrested.

Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol – Suspect Arrested
December 14 at 3:00 a.m., an officer stopped a vehicle for a vehicle code violation in the area of Myrtle and Foothill. Through investigation, the officer determined the driver to be under the influence of alcohol. The driver was arrested and taken into custody.

Public Intoxication – Suspect Arrested
December 14 at 1:57 p.m., a male was seen walking south in the 100 block of South Myrtle and appeared to be heavily intoxicated, staggering back and forth slowly as he walked. Officers detained the subject and determined his was too intoxicated to care for his own safety; he was arrested.

Petty Theft – Suspect Arrested
December 14 at 5:29 p.m., a female was detained at a store in the 1600 block of South Mountain by store loss prevention. She had entered the store and stole bathroom items, knowing she did not have enough money to pay for them. Officers arrived and accepted the store's private person’s arrest. The female was issued a misdemeanor citation at the store, then released on a citation pending court appearance.

Domestic Battery – Suspect Arrested
December 14 at 6:23 p.m., dispatch received several calls reporting a disturbance in the 700 block of West Foothill. Police then received a 911 call from a female, believed to be the victim, who reported her husband had just beaten her up. Officers responded and determined this was an ongoing marital dispute. The female was taken to a hospital for complaint of pain to her back. The husband was arrested for domestic violence.

Mental Evaluation
December 15 at 5:58 a.m., a caller reported an erratic driver in the 200 block of South Myrtle to police. Officers responded and found the subject in the vehicle. After speaking with the subject, it was determined he was a danger to himself and others. He was placed on a mental evaluation hold and taken to a hospital, where he will be held for 72 hours.

Watch Out for Gold Line Testing Train

Watch out for the testing train. It will be riding along the Gold Line track through Monrovia until Dec. 19. It "will be moving very slowly and will result in short-term stoppages of street traffic at the intersection." Occasional short-term stoppages of street traffic at the Mountain Ave. from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Only on weekdays; no weekend testing is expected. Details: http://goo.gl/8tNPsI

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia's First Fire Engine Being Restored - Needs Another $50k

Monrovia's first fire engine, a 1917 Seagrave, is being restored by volunteers but it is going to cost another $50,000 to complete it. If you'd like to donate, send check to "Save the Grave," P.O. Box 2021, Monrovia, CA 91017. Pictures and details here: http://goo.gl/eFbo1r

- Brad Haugaard

The Origin of Pink Christmas Flamingos on Monrovia's North Alta Vista



A letter from MonroviaNow reader Anna Marie Hetman.

I noticed your compliment in MonroviaNow ( http://goo.gl/E8aSEM ) regarding the flamingos and lights on North Alta Vista. I'd like to tell "the rest of the story", stealing a line from Paul Harvey, so you have the background.

Several years ago my husband, Tom Hetman, and I returned from seeing the lights at Hastings Ranch. Tom was telling our neighbor, Tony Hunt, about the light displays on various streets. Tony suggested we should do a street theme. As the two of them discussed it Tony came up with the idea of pink flamingos with Santa hats. Why? Because no one else has done it. Tom had a friend at work make a prototype that Tony painted. Unfortunately before being able to present the idea to the neighbors Tony developed cancer, and after giving it his best he passed away the summer of 2003.

Every year Tom put up that flamingo in Tony's honor. A couple of years ago when we had the high winds our flamingo took flight. We surmise it broke into pieces and the city crew must have picked it up with the debris.

As autumn of 2013 came Tom started wondering about what we were going to do without a flamingo in honor of Tony. Tom decided it was time, ten years after Tony's passing, to make his idea come to life. He talked with our neighbor, Sherm Jaffee. Sherm, who does a lot of wood work, drew out and painted a flamingo. We invited our neighbors over one Saturday morning and presented the idea. We were not expecting the enthusiastic response that was shown. We were also not prepared for how it touched Tony's wife, Carol, and daughters, Chris and Heather.

The flamingo had to come from the same template and be pink; otherwise it was open to each family's creativity. If you take the time to look at each flamingo they are unique. Neighbor, Nancy Matthews, really built up momentum with her encouragement and ideas. Some neighbors had painting parties. Occasionally we would see a neighbor carrying the template to another neighbor to cut out.

It was fun to watch each individual flamingo go up. Tom and I were out of state for a couple of weeks, and Nancy sent reports as to how many had gone up. When we arrived home and saw the lit up flamingos it was truly amazing to see Tony's idea come to life.

The night of judging the neighbors came over, brought food and drink while we awaited the judges arrival. Nancy and Cindy had the idea of luminaries to tie the street together. Along with some of the neighbors we must have had over a hundred luminaries lining the street when the judges came.

One of the lovely things we experienced as a result of Tony's flamingos was getting to know neighbors better. Although this has always been a great neighborhood, with wonderful neighbors, it definitely brought us together with a common activity. And now, the flamingos are spreading. Several neighbors between Foothill and Hillcrest are sporting their own unique take on Tony's flamingos.

You probably are wondering why Tom felt it was necessary to make the flamingos happen in honor of Tony. Well, there are many stories to tell about Tony, but probably bottom line was his role as a homeowner mentor to Tom. Whenever there was a question Tony was right there to help. Tony truly epitomized what it was to be a neighbor. Now, many neighbors did not know Tony, but it was only right that his being a "neighbor" should blossom into the neighborliness this project has developed.

Thank you for letting me tell you about Tony's flamingos.

Merry Christmas,

Anna Marie Hetman

Also, Nancy Matthews has sent along a 12-slide PowerPoint presentation showing how to make your own giant flamingo. She said the neighborhood made the slide show "in response to the numerous requests we have received from others (as far as Sierra Madre) who want to make their own super-size flamingo. We are happy to help others." Here it is: Make a Pink Flamingo

Handel's Messiah Tonight at Monrovia's First Presbyterian Church

Handel's Messiah tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Monrovia's First Presbyterian Church (corner of Myrtle and Foothill), directed by Dr. Peter J. Green. Also other Christmas favorites with choir and orchestra, harpsichord, and organ.  Childcare provided. Concert is free (with a no-pressure free-will offering to support this and other local concerts). Arrive early for best seats as this is always well attended!

- Brad Haugaard

Mud Clean-Up on Highland Place


While not much mud made it down to Hillcrest, as you can see, quite a bit covered Highland Place.

- Brad Haugaard

Power Outage Affects 694 Monrovia Customers

Southern California Edison is reporting a 694-customer Monrovia power outage caused by rain. From the SCE map it appears to be in northeast Monrovia. It says it has identified the problem and is working to restore power. I am also reading reports of lights out on East Lime. http://goo.gl/kgQQJ7

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Rotary Holding 'Santa Clothes' Event Sunday

This Sunday, Dec. 14, Rotary Club of Monrovia will hold its third annual Santa Clothes event at the Monrovia Kohl's store, from 8 a.m. to noon. The club will take 50 4-to-12-year-old shopping for school clothing, shoes, backpacks, alarm clocks, and - new this year - one small toy. The children are chosen from the client families of Santa Anita Family Services. These are families in crisis and unfortunately, these may be the only Christmas presents some of these children will receive.

Sylvia Domotor, chair for the Santa Clothes event adds: "To make it more fun for the kids, we send the children shopping with Interact (Monrovia High School Rotary Club) students - 'cause adults ain't cool! Each child is allowed $125 in purchases ... and we expect them to use every penny! The event is usually a wild circus; 50 children, 20 Interact students, about 20 Monrovia Rotarians, volunteers from Kaizen Martial Arts and the Monrovia Wells Fargo branch and always helpful Kohl's associates."

- Brad Haugaard

Lunch at Chili's


Lunch at Chili's on Huntington. Got the $7 lunch special with chicken enchilada soup and a Fresh Mex Bowl with chipotle chicken. Plus an iced tea, $2.59. Both soup and bowl tasty. The Mex Bowl was kinda like those teriyaki rice bowl things but with Mexican ingredients.
- Brad Haugaard

Rain Runoff; Small Power Outage; Maintenance on Dec. 15

~ I checked the area below the Madison Fire on Hillcrest near Highland Place early this morning and saw just a thin and spotty bit of mud on the street. Very minimal so far.

~ Southern California Edison reports a small weather-related outage in Monrovia affecting 21 customers. Although it doesn't give an exact address, it appears from the SCE map that the outage is on Lincoln Place north of Foothill. http://goo.gl/gmyRj8

~ The city reports that to perform maintenance, on Dec. 15 Southern California Edison will cut power from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the west side of Peck Road 105 feet south of Atara Street and at the northwest corner of Peck and Jefferies. http://goo.gl/VlP8O8

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Council to Consider Extending Home Demolition and Construction Moratoriums

The Monrovia City Council will consider extending the two moratoriums it adopted at its last meeting from 45 days to 10 months and 15 days, so they'll expire on November 17, 2015.

The moratoriums prohibit demolition of homes built before 1940 ( http://goo.gl/l4G0sr ) and issuing building permits for new homes. (This second moratorium proposal, by the way, includes an interesting map showing the ages of various homes throughout the city: http://goo.gl/k5z13p )

- Brad Haugaard

Cooperative Christmas on Monrovia's Alta Vista Avenue



The folks on Alta Vista, north of Hillcrest, have really worked together this year on their  Christmas decorations. In addition to their signature pink flamingos, folks along the street have set up a strand of blue lights a block long. Very cool! Never seen that done before. 

- Brad Haugaard 

Magnolia Ave. to Be Closed Below Freeway for Construction

The City of Monrovia reports that Magnolia Avenue will be closed from Evergreen Ave. (the south-side freeway access road) for two blocks south to Genoa St. from December 18 to January 5, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., for electrical construction. Detours will route traffic to Mayflower and Myrtle avenues.

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Police: Fork-Lifting Car Stops Car-Jacking; Biting; Cutting Torch Theft; Shirt Theft; Etc.

[Monrovia Police activities from the Police Department's Neighborhood Watch Report for December 8-10. - Brad Haugaard]

During the last seven-day period, the Police Department handled 359 service events, resulting in 68 investigations. 

Commercial Burglary
December 8 at 6:17 a.m., an officer responded to a construction site in the 1800 block of South Mountain regarding a burglary investigation. Unknown Suspect(s) entered the property by cutting through a lock at a neighboring business. Once inside the lot, the suspect(s) used a blow torch to cut open the steel tool crib and stole the construction company’s tools. The tools from this company were for building the Gold Line yard. 

Battery / Child Endangerment – Suspect Arrested
On December 9 at 9:37 a.m., an officer was dispatched to a residence in the 300 block of California. A male and female who have a small child together were involved in a dispute with other family members at the location. As the father was leaving with the child in his arms, he kicked a piece of wood and it struck one of the family members. Officers arrived and detained the father. After investigation, the father was arrested for battery and for child endangerment. Additional factors regarding the care and health of the child have also surfaced that need to be addressed and the Department of Children and Family Services was contacted. 

Receiving Stolen Property / Suspicion of Auto Burglary – Suspect Arrested
On December 9 at 2:23 p.m., while officers were on a follow-up response for the above battery and child endangerment incident in the 300 block of California, they were approached by a male victim of an auto burglary. The victim reported that a subject at the location the officers were at was wearing a shirt that had been stolen from his vehicle in the 300 block of East Palm earlier in the day. The officers detained the subject and checked his vehicle. A burglary tool was located and prints taken. Other items were also stolen. The suspect was wearing the victim’s shirt; he was arrested and charged with receiving stolen property. 

Hazardous Fuel Spill
On December 9 at 5:50 p.m., a fuel truck was leaking a trail of diesel fuel, causing several vehicles to lose traction in the area of Central and Myrtle. The truck had exited from the 210 Freeway and had trailed fuel from the freeway down the off ramp. An absorbent material was applied and a street sweeper removed the remaining material from the street. 

Attempt Grand Theft Auto / Car-Jacking / Criminal Threats / Possible Gang Enhancement – Suspect Arrested
December 10 at 12:54 p.m., dispatch received a call reporting a male subject attempting to steal a car at a business in the 3000 block of South Peck. Officers responded, assisted by the Foothill Air Support Team helicopter, and located the suspect hiding in a portable office. The suspect had entered the victim's vehicle and was successful in starting the vehicle. When he began to move the vehicle, the owner of the vehicle utilized a commercial fork lift to raise the vehicle so the suspect could no longer move it. Angered, the suspect threatened the victim. He claimed a local gang and threatened they would come back and kill him. The suspect has numerous gang tattoos on his head, neck and body. The suspect was arrested and a bail enhancement is being sought, due to the nature of the threat and the gang association. 

Domestic Violence
December 10 at 1:20 p.m., a male and female who have a child in common were riding on a bus, heading east toward Azusa. The male was angry at the female for leaving the welfare office before they could accomplish what they went in for, and he bit her several times and began choking her. Other passengers on the bus intervened, and the male suspect then assaulted an older Good Samaritan who was trying to help the victim. The suspect exited the bus and fled. The suspect’s identity is known and a wanted person’s entry was made into the law enforcement system. The investigation is continuing. 

Flash Flood Preparation Tips from Monrovia Fire Department

The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Watch for all LA County burn areas for tonight through Friday evening for Los Angeles County. The storm has the potential to produce 2 to 4 inches of rain in the Foothills with the possibility of hourly rainfall between one half and one inch. Additionally, L.A. County Public Works issued a Phase 1 Alert (the first of the three levels that can be issued) for the Madison Fire Area.

Gravel bags are available to Monrovia residents impacted by the Madison Fire. Residents are encouraged to pick-up gravel bags at the Public Works Office at 600 S. Mountain Avenue, Monday - Thursday 7:00 am until 5:30 pm (please note - Thursday 12/11 the Public Works office will be closed at noon) however the Monrovia Fire Station 101 at 141 E. Lemon Avenue will be open after hours and Friday-Saturday-Sunday. Gravel to fill the bags is available at two locations, 443 Highland Place and 839 Crescent Drive in Monrovia. Residents will need eye protection, gloves and a shovel to scoop gravel into the bags.

Due to the Flash Flood warning for the Madison Fire Area, Athens has rescheduled the Friday solid waste collection to Saturday, December 13. Please remember to keep your streets cleared which includes removing vehicles, trash bins and any other obstructions from the public streets in preparation. Athens will be contacting each customer to notify them. Athens can be reached at (888) 336-6100.

For more information and tips on how to prepare go to our website at http://www.cityofmonrovia.org or contact Public Works at (626) 932-5575 or email pwcomments@ci.monrovia.ca.us

Source: Monrovia Fire Department press release

- Brad Haugaard

Christmas Eve Service at St. Luke's Episcopal Church

Christmas Eve service at St. Luke's Episcopal Church features the choir performing a 7:30 p.m. program of Anthems and Carols, including "Fantasia on Christmas Carols" by Ralph Vaughan Williams with baritone David Kress, who also performs with the Los Angeles Master Chorale. At 8 p.m. a Holy Eucharist featuring a lighthearted yuletide play about the keeper of the inn where Christ was born. 122 S. California at Foothill. Source: Press release

Citrus Ranks High in Preparing Students in Tech Jobs

Citrus College, which serves Monrovia, has been ranked among the top 125 of 1,600 participating U.S. colleges and universities in preparing students for technology jobs. Victory Media, specializing in higher education and employment recruitment, named the school a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) Jobs Approved College for 2015. Citrus is the only California community college on the list. The company ranked institutions based on public data and responses to questions concerning three indicators of success: STEM job alignment, STEM job placement, and diversity in STEM programs.

Source: Citrus press release

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Rain Report: Possible Flash Floods

The National Weather Service is again warning of possible flash floods below burn areas, such as in Monrovia: http://goo.gl/O7DeFZ . Also, the NWS says: Rainfall totals with this system from Thursday afternoon through Friday night are expected to range from 1 to 2 inches for coastal and valley locations and 2 to 4 inches across the foothills and mountains." http://goo.gl/YIYyjb

The prediction (at the moment) is 10% chance of rain this Thursday, Dec. 11, and 90% Friday. http://goo.gl/qHZq84

- Brad Haugaard

Christmas Lights in Monrovia


I saw this beautiful tree on Lemon just west of Magnolia.

- Brad Haugaard