Westside Reader February 2016

BY JOSH PREMAKO • STAFF WRITER
Photo courtesy Newhall laNd
verall, last year was a good one
for the Santa Clarita Valley
economy and 2016 promises
to continue that trend, according
to one of the area’s leading
economists.
Basketball
Preview
24
“(We had) significant job creation,
in-migration of companies
and growth of existing companies,”
said Dr. Mark Schniepp,
founder of the California Economic
Forecast. He added the
Celebrate a
Romantic
Valentine’s Day
28
SCV also benefited from “tightening
office vacancy, higher home sales
and home prices and higher utilization
of the lodging sector. The industrial
market is also very tight.”
See Valley Vision 2016, page 7
Restaurant
Review
29
Plus . . . Town Council coverage • Opinion • Schools • Columnists • Community Calendar • Features . . . and much more!

February 2016 THE Reader • 5

6 • THE Reader
Table of Contents
February 2016
Wonderful Sand Canyon Home on
1.92 acres with 4 + 3 and 3613 sq.ft.
Formal LR with fireplace and Formal
DR; Upgraded kitchen with newer SS
appliances, large island, extra food
prep sink with additional counter
space and walk-in pantry, all which
open to family room with fireplace and breakfast area. Downstairs has a
nice sized bedroom and a full bath attached and a powder room. Inside laundry
room with sink and door to exterior. Tile and carpet flooring and ceiling
fans throughout. Spacious master suite, with retreat, fireplace, balcony with
views, bright master bath, plus huge walk in closet. 3 Car garage, large front
yard with fenced side yard. Backyard with views, Solar that is owned and
can be added to, full copper plumbing right to street. Near schools, shopping,
entertainment, and Signature Golf Course
28026 Drywell Cr $475,000
At end of a cul de sac; 3 BR 2 Bath in the hills of
Castaic, 1 mile from the lake! Remodeled home
has wood lam flooring, 2 fireplaces! Spacious
eat in kitchen is open to the family room and
shows off the 2nd fireplace, big windows and
shuttered sliding doors. Kitchen offers nice appliances and pantry cabinetry
with pull out shelves! The permitted 224 sq. ft. bonus room was added as a
giant office adjacent to the master bedroom and can be accessed from the
master bedroom as well as the covered portico.
16670 Soledad
Canyon Road
Canyon Country, 91387
661-299-5570
Contact Bobbe Higby 661- 212 -3771
Contact Angel Griesel 818- 383 -8149
19540 Ave of the Oaks $349,000
Lovely two bedroom two bath home in the SEN-
IOR community of Friendly Valley. This two car
garage home sits across the street from the
eighteen hole pitch and putt golf course
Contact Ellie Lacy 661- 341 -6226
CalBRE #01290507
26364 Sierra Highway
Suite C
Newhall, 91321
661-252-3942
16086 Comet Way
Canyon Country $899,999
19319 Avenue of The
Oaks, Suite C
Friendly Valley, 91321
661-252.9000
Call Kellar-Davis at any of
the numbers above
Or visit: www.kellardavis.com
Cover Story: Officials looking forward to a bright 2016 for the SCV
Valley Vision: A thoughtful look ahead 7
Greg McWilliams: Committed to the vision of Newhall Ranch
Mayor Bob Kellar: City of Santa Clarita - A look ahead at the year 2020 8
Larry Rasmussen: Valley Vision of Development: A Collaborative,
Market-Driven Effort
Dr. Dianne Van Hook: Growing our Capacity and Capability for
Santa Clarita’s Future 9
Potential big water merger is praised and panned 10
Roger E. Seaver: Planning for the Future to Keep Our Valley’s Residents Healthy
Assemblyman Scott Wilk: Leveraging the Power of One will make Santa Clarita
Even Better 11
Matt Stone: Our Water, Our Future
Tim Borruel: The Future of Education in Santa Clarita 12
Holly Schroeder: Santa Clarita Valley 2016 Outlook Poised for Growth
Supervisor Mike Antonovich: Los Angeles County Working on a Variety
of Projects to Improve the SCV 13
SCV History: The Life & Times of Judge John Powell 14
Steve Sturgeon: Secondary Education in Santa Clarita – Challenges for the Future 15
Congressman Steve Knight: Working in Washington to Fight for a Bright
SCV Future 16
Paul Cordeiro: A Better Education for a Better Political Process 17
John N. Kunak: Castaic: Looking Ahead to a Bright Future
Dave Bossert: What the future may hold for the West Ranch communities 19
Reader Opinion: Cameron Smyth: Santa Clarita 2016
Dave Bossert: Nothing Good Happens After Midnight 21
Feature Columns: John Boston Mr. SCV
Ray the Realtor 22
Tim Whyte: Whyte’s World 23
Reader Sports: Boy’s and Men’s Basketball
Meet Varsity Coach Varner 24
Reader Education: Hospital, Hart District partner to bring athletic
trainers to schools
Hart District re-evaluating its security and safety measures 25
Feature Stories: Entertaining Your Valentine 27
Celebrate a Romantic Valentine’s Day 28
Restaurant Review: Southern Smoke BBQ & Brewhouse 29
Feature Columns: What A Pair! 30
Out & About In The SCV: Welcome to 2016; Let’s Get This Party Rolling! 33
Feature Story: The SCV’s Most Romantic Love Stories 34
Feature Column: Garden Gates 36
Publisher
Richard Budman
Features & Entertainment Editor
Michele E. Buttelman
Staff Writers
Brandon Lowrey, Robb Fulcher, Patti Rasmussen, Lauren Budman, Beau Harrper,
Jim Walker, Jane Gates, Josh Premako, John Boston, Steve Pratt, Tim Whyte, Pearl Obispo
Contributing Writers
Steve Knight, Cameron Smyth, Dave Bossert
Michelle Sathe, Ray Kutylo, Beth Heiserman, Dave Guenther, Scott Wilk
Advertising Account Executives
Michelle Earnhart, Chuck Christensen
Production & Prepress Manager
Chris Budman
Digital & Social Media
Lauren Budman
Production
David Perez, Carol Roper
The entire contents of the SCV Reader & Westside Reader is copyrighted 2015 by BGL
Multimedia, Inc. All submitted letters and columns are strictly the opinions of the authors,
and not necessarily those of the publishers. All rights are reserved and no part of this publication
may be reproduced without the written permission of the publishers.
For information, call 661-505-7180 e-mail: info @WestsideReader.com
Mail correspondence to: 25876 The Old Rd., Suite # 66, Stevenson Ranch, CA 91381

February 2016 THE Reader • 7
Officials looking ahead to a bright 2016 for the SCV
By Josh Premako
staff writer
Overall, last year was a good one for the
Santa Clarita Valley economy and
2016 promises to continue that trend,
according to one of the area’s leading economists.
“(We had) significant job creation, in-migration
of companies and growth of existing
companies,” said Dr. Mark Schniepp, founder
of the California Economic Forecast. He
added the SCV also benefited from “tightening
office vacancy, higher home sales and
home prices and higher utilization of the
lodging sector. The industrial market is also
very tight.”
Schniepp founded the Forecast in 1989 as
a private consulting arm of the Economic
Forecast Project at the University of California,
Santa Barbara.
Among positive trends he is observing, he
cited salaries that have increased faster than
the rate of inflation over the past year, “implying
a tight labor market.” Additionally,
Schniepp said, there is solid growth in the national
and state economies, reflected regionally
in the increased demand for goods,
services and housing.
Schniepp will be one of the main speakers
at the SCV Economic Development Corp.’s
2016 Economic Outlook Conference March
10 at the Hyatt Regency Valencia.
He was not alone in his estimation of the
local economy.
“There’s great opportunity for the SCV in
2016,” EDC President and CEO Holly
Schroeder said, noting development projects
and healthy industrial vacancy rates as positive
signs.
Among the development on tap for the SCV
An important function of a
community news publication
is to periodically provide
readers a look ahead at the
community’s future. It’s a way of
taking a step back from the current
news and asking local leaders to
offer their insights on what
changes may be ahead.
We’re offering those insights to
you in this special “Valley Vision”
edition of the SCV and Westside
Reader. We asked the top government
and industry leaders in Santa
Clarita Valley to tell us what they
see for the future of their industries
and companies, and to explain
how those changes and shifts
will affect the region in the coming
years in terms of sales, growth,
employment, expansion, and general
life in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Key areas of focus in “Valley Vision”
include: planning, education,
Valley Vision: A thoughtful look ahead
retailers look for a robust year in 2016, westfield town center pictured. Photo courtesy Newhall laNd
is the addition of almost 30 million square
feet of industrial space, being accomplished
through construction and expansion at three
business parks.
● The IAC Commerce Center, being constructed
northwest of the Interstate 5/Highway
126 junction, will result in more than 1
million square feet of space over nine buildgovernment,
retail, automotive,
real estate and construction,
healthcare, and the economy.
We sincerely appreciate the contributions
of all of our guest writers
who make Valley Vision
possible. They include:
Supervisor Mike Antonovich,
Tim Borruel, Dave Bossert, Paul
Cordeiro, Mayor Bob Kellar, Dr.
Bernard Klein, Congressman
Steve Knight, John Kunak, Greg
McWilliams, Holly Schroeder,
Roger Seaver, Matt Stone, Steve
Sturgeon, Larry Rasmussen,
Dr. Dianne Van Hook and Assemblyman
Scott Wilk.
Thanks to all of you for your insights,
and for helping the Reader
provide a thoughtful look ahead at
our community’s future.
— Richard Budman
Publisher
ings.
● Gateway V, the latest phase of the existing
Valencia Commerce Center, will add more
than a half-million square feet of space. Logix
Federal Credit Union is one of the businesses
that has already committed to moving into
the new space, relocating its headquarters
from Burbank.
● Mann Biomedical Park, which was purchased
in 2014 by locally based Intertex, is
expanding its current space roughly 150 percent
by adding about 900,000 square feet of
space to the 120-acre campus.
While an uncertain international market
gives reason to be “cautiously optimistic,”
Schroeder said overall businesses in the SCV
face a year of good potential.
Housing Development Moves Forward
In addition to industrial development, a
number of housing developments also continue
to move along, particularly within the
city, as Santa Clarita City Manager Ken
Striplin recently explained during a presentation
to the Valley Industry Association.
Projects either underway or near completion
include:
● Five Knolls: Located near the junction of
Newhall Ranch and Golden Valley roads, the
first phase of the 499-unit development is
completed, and includes land for a future
senior center, YMCA and 154 senior housing
units.
● Villa Metro: Nearly all of the 315 units
have been finished for the development located
along Soledad Canyon Road near the
former Saugus Speedway.
● Trestles: Local builder Williams Homes
has completed nearly 30 of the 137 detached
condominiums, located near the intersection
of Soledad Canyon Road and Langside Avenue.
● Phantom Trail: The 29-unit development
located north of Copper Hill Drive, approved
by the county and since annexed into Santa
Clarita, is expected to open early this year.
● Habitat for Heroes: A Habitat for Humanity
project located off Centre Pointe Parkway,
the development provides homes for
qualified low-income military veterans. So far,
26 homes have been occupied, with a total of
78 planned for construction.
● Oakmont Senior Housing: The 88-unit
project is expected to open for move-in early
this year.
Striplin also touted the city’s maintenance
of a triple-A credit rating score from Standard
and Poor’s, and the current operating budget
reserve of 19 percent.
“That’s not bad for a city that’s not even 30
years old yet,” he said.
What About Minimum Wage?
It still remains to be seen how businesses
in unincorporated Los Angeles County are affected
when the county’s minimum wage increase
takes effect this summer, Schroeder
said.
Approved by the county Board of Supervisors
last year, the increase will raise the
county hourly minimum wage from $10 to
$10.50 in July, on track to reach $15 by 2020.
The businesses most affected, Schroeder
said, are particularly restaurant and retail
businesses. While the long-term effects are
still somewhat unclear, she said now is a good
time for businesses to take stock of where
they can save money.
Meanwhile, Schniepp said he believes the
initial increase this summer will not mean
much to businesses, but that long-term effects
will be felt.
“Certainly over time, as the rate is forced
upward… look for more service firms, restaurants
and hotels to begin substituting more
See Looking Ahead, page 16

8 • THE Reader
February 2016
housing
Committed to the Vision of
Newhall Ranch
By Greg Mcwilliams
President, the Newhall land and Farming company
government
City of Santa Clarita – A Look
at the Year 2020
By Mayor Bob Kellar
city of santa clarita
It has taken almost five
years, but Southern California’s
economy is
back—in a big way. And, one
of the stars of this regional recovery
is Los Angeles County
where economic growth and
job creation is nearing pre-recession
levels.
The turnaround, particularly
on the jobs front, is nothing
short of remarkable. By December
2015, the unemployment
rate in Los Angeles
County had fallen to 5.9% or
less than half the July 2010
peak of 13.2%. Moreover, a report
by the Southern California Association
of Government’s annual economic summit,
released in early January 2016, predicts substantial
job growth in multiple business sectors
in the next five years. Business and
professional services, including accounting,
finance, marketing and legal services are expected
to add 75,000 new jobs between now
and 2021, and schools, hospitals and medical
services are expected to create more than
100,000 new positions.
In short,
the demand for
tens of thousands
of highly
educated and
w e l l - t r a i n e d
workers is expected
to soar in
the coming years
to meet labor
needs across the
county’s diverse
and expanding
economy.
The problem is
where are these
workers going to
live? Los Angeles
County, like most of coastal California, is already
facing a shortfall in delivering new
housing given the strong demand. Analysts
estimate the state’s post-recovery real estate
market could easily absorb 250,000 new
units of owner-occupied or rental housing
annually, a need that is not being fulfilled.
Much of the soaring demand for housing is in
the San Francisco Bay area and Southern California,
the state’s major growth engines for
jobs and commerce. The shortage has
pushed housing prices to record or near
record highs and has driven growing numbers
of workers elsewhere to find employment
and more affordable options, including
out of state.
Los Angeles County is no different. As the
county’s economy has accelerated, the job to
housing balance has worsened. With new
construction sorely lagging behind demand,
the jobs to housing permit ratio in the county
is nearly six to one. It puts at risk the ability
to attract or retain the skilled workforce
needed to fill the job opportunities predicted
for our county over the next two decades.
“One only needs to look next
door at adjacent Valencia to
understand why key
influencers and stakeholders
in the Santa Clarita Valley
believe Newhall Ranch is
California’s future in master
planned development.”
And these workers not only
need a place to live, they want
amenities that deliver a high
quality of life—award-winning
schools, housing diversity in
style and price, parks and open
space for recreation, jobs close
to home, retail options and a
safe community to raise their
families.
Newhall Ranch, west of Interstate
5, will offer all of this
and much more. It is a master
planned community for today’s
world that is expected to be
home to more than 60,000 residents
and to have a 3 to 1 jobsto-housing
balance. The
blueprint for Newhall Ranch strikes an important
and responsible balance between
thoughtful development and land preservation.
It will not only continue the 130-year
tradition of land stewardship that began with
California pioneer Henry Mayo Newhall’s
purchase of the historic ranch in 1875, but
many believe Newhall Ranch will become a
model for 21st Century communities in California.
One only needs
to look next door
at adjacent Valencia
to understand
why key influencers
and stakeholders
in the
Santa Clarita Valley
believe
Newhall Ranch is
California’s future
in master
planned development.
Valencia
has been widely
acclaimed as one
of the best master
planned communities
in the nation. At its core, Valencia offers
residents jobs, highly touted schools, firstclass
retail amenities and some of the most
unique recreational options in the West. The
opportunity to live and work in close proximity,
a dream for many, is a reality in Valencia.
The Valencia community boasts an
impressive 3 to 1 jobs-to-housing ratio, a balance
that many cities are unable to attain.
The planning practices and concepts that
shaped Valencia are firmly rooted in the DNA
of the 15,000-acre Newhall Ranch. The commitment
to the same high level of quality can
already be seen in initial infrastructure improvements
now under construction, including
the new freeway interchange connecting
Highway 126, Commerce Center Drive and
Interstate 5. When it comes to water, Newhall
Ranch will continue the sustainable practices
the company put in motion many years ago.
Much of the community will not require imported
state water because, in part, of plans
See McWilliams, page 17
Back in 1998 when the
City of Santa Clarita was
merely a decade old,
City leaders led a group of participating
residents through a
community strategic planning
process called “Share the Vision”
— the third in a series of
strategic plans since the City’s
incorporation in 1987. Leaders
asked participating residents,
volunteers, non-profit
agency representatives and
business leaders to dream a little
and plan a lot.
Community members did
just that! Participants told the
City they wanted City ownership
of Elsmere Canyon, a performing arts
center, more festivals, connected communities,
more annexations, senior housing, more
libraries, a mentoring program for at-risk
youth, more parks, trails and open space, and
more local businesses and jobs.
Fast forward 18 years to 2016 and our City
and its partners have accomplished each of
these goals and much more. Santa Clarita is
Los Angeles County’s third largest city with a
population of about 213,000. Our City is
home to three Metrolink stations, 31 parks,
over 8,500 acres of preserved open space (including
Elsmere Canyon), 78 miles of class
one and multi-use trails, three City public libraries,
two community centers, a valleywide
and commuter bus system, miles of
landscaped medians plus a series of annual
events that includes the Marathon, Cowboy
Festival, Earth Arbor Day, Summer Concert
Series, Youth Sports Festival, and Thursdays
on Main; all managed by a dedicated and
award-winning local government.
Programs like Drug Free Youth in Town
(DFYIT) provide effective drug prevention in
our schools using a collaborative approach
that includes students, the City, County, Sheriff’s
department, school district and parents.
The program, which is in every junior and
senior high school in our Valley, boasts a
95%+ success rate for keeping kids off drugs.
The City’s “Green Santa Clarita” programs
have resulted in a 68% reduction in waste
being sent to landfills; a 44% reduction in
water usage over the last two years; the removal
of 8,000 self-regenerating water softeners
which reduces the amount of salt in the
Santa Clara River, and the addition of 44 solarpowered
compactor recycling containers located
at City parks, Metrolink stations and
Main Street in Old Town Newhall, helping our
community recycle over 3000 pounds of beverage
containers.
Today, we are working on the latest community
strategic plan: Santa Clarita 2020.
What are the needs and desires of our 21st
century city as we move into 2020 and beyond?
What programs, projects, events and
capital projects does Santa Clarita need to
grow its high quality of life and best plan for
the future?
Santa Clarita stretches from Valencia to
Canyon Country and from Saugus to Newhall
and is home to a diverse group of
people. To help meet the many
changing needs of our residents,
the City regularly surveys residents
to learn what their concerns
and priorities are and how
the City can best meet them.
These surveys as well as other efforts,
have helped us develop the
five year Santa Clarita 2020 plan.
Led by our Santa Clarita City
Council, with input from the
community, the Santa Clarita
2020 plan includes a series of
major building and master planning
projects, programs and
service enhancements that will
take us into 2020 and beyond.
The Santa Clarita 2020 plan is built around
six key quality of life themes:
Public Safety
Building and Creating Community
Enhancing Economic Vitality
Community Beautification
Sustaining Public Infrastructure
Proactive, Transparent and Responsive
Government Services
For each of these themes, the City has developed
action items that will be accomplished
over a five year period. For each year, the City
has created performance measures to keep
track of progress for each of the items.
Some of the larger projects in Santa Clarita
2020 include:
● A new and larger Sheriff Station in the City
of Santa Clarita
● A new Canyon Country Community Center
and amenities on a 6.5 acre site the City acquired
● A new library and recreation center in the
Saugus Community
● Work with the Senior Center to support the
construction of a new and larger SCV Senior
Center
● Master plan and design a Tennis Center at
Central Park
● Implement an Arts Master Plan
Other quality of life action items in the plan
include:
● Create a plan to reduce crime and retain
Santa Clarita as one of the safest cities
● Develop a comprehensive traffic enforcement
plan that reduces the number of trafficrelated
accidents and deaths and encourages
safer driving practices
● Work with community partners to address
homeless issues in Santa Clarita
● Create a partnership and funding strategy
for development of the City-owned block in
Old Town Newhall that will include parking
● Develop a plan to increase solid waste diversion
to 75%
You can visit www.SantaClarita2020.com to
view the entire plan.
I want to thank you for taking the time to
learn about and participate in our City’s future
planning. As always, you can email me your
thoughts and ideas at: bkellar@santaclarita.com
Bob Kellar is the Mayor of the City of Santa
Clarita for 2016.

February 2016 THE Reader • 9
development
Valley Vision of Development: A
Collaborative, Market-Driven Effort
By larry rasmussen
President, spirit Properties
When you work in the
development industry,
it’s not uncommon
for people to ask you to
peer into a crystal ball and
predict the future. It’s only
natural, I guess, because a big
part of our job is anticipating
the future: what consumer demands
will exist, what community
needs will arise, what
market conditions will affect
the possible success or failure
of a development.
Of course, we’re building for
the future. The development
industry helps shape communities,
from housing to grocery stores and
all the amenities people expect to make a
city or town livable. So, we’re constantly
looking ahead.
And, as we look ahead to the future of
the Santa Clarita Valley, I think it’s important
for all stakeholders to bear a few key
things in mind.
First and foremost, the market may be
the greatest factor in determining future
construction and development in the Santa
Clarita Valley.
The most successful
individuals
and companies in
the development
industry are those
that recognize the
importance of
being able to respond
to market
forces. Consumers
dictate everything
from the kinds of
homes that will sell, to the timing and location
of new development, to the kinds of
amenities that will be built in a community.
This applies across the board, to all types
of development, from residential to retail,
industry, entertainment, office properties
and more. Just as consumer tastes, appetites
and pocketbooks will drive residential
development, so too will market
forces drive the creation of jobs as well as
commercial and industrial development.
The market can’t be forced. Suppose a
developer decides he wants to build nothing
but yurts — those round, tent-like
dwellings. What happens if you build
10,000 yurts and no one wants them? You
have a failed development and a future eyesore.
Smart planning demands that we recognize
market forces, and respond
appropriately to them.
We experienced this favorably in the development
of the Centre Pointe Business
Park. Thanks to foresight from our planners
as well as those at the city, we had the
flexibility to adjust parcel sizes as the project
was built, which enabled us to accommodate
tenants that approached us in need
of different-sized commercial spaces than
“Smart planning
demands that we recognize
market forces, and respond
appropriately
to them.”
we originally expected. That
flexibility was a key in the
success of the project. The
market determined the product,
and we were able to
work within our framework
to meet that demand.
The more we all recognize
the importance of market
forces — from developers to
municipal planners and
everyone else in the development
community — the
greater the likelihood that we
will have communities and
new developments that make
sense, and prosper.
That brings us to the second major factor
we should all consider as we plan the
future of our community: We’re all in this
together.
When I think of the “development community,”
I don’t just think of my own company
and the other developers in town. The
“development community” needs to be
much more than that. All stakeholders
should be considered part of the development
community, because the new projects
we build will be
part of the change
and evolution of
our entire community.
These decisions
affect all of
us.
So, for example,
the “environmental
community”
must also be part
of the development
community.
Good development means working hand in
hand with environmental organizations, to
ensure that projects are planned with an
appropriate eye toward the way they will
interact not only with existing development,
but also with the surrounding natural
environment.
The development community also must
include government and quasi-governmental
agencies. I like to think of city and
county planners, as well as representatives
from various departments like Public
Works and local water agencies, as partners
in the development process. They all
bring something to the table, and should be
part of the collaborative planning process
from its earliest stages. Working together,
we can create projects that address the
concerns of all stakeholders, while still responding
to the demands of the market.
So, as we move forward, I’d suggest that
everyone join together in peering at that
crystal ball. There’s plenty of room at the
table!
Larry Rasmussen is president of Spirit
Properties, creator of the Centre Pointe Business
Park.
education
Growing Our Capacity and Capability
for Santa Clarita’s Future
dr. dianne Van hook
chancellor, college of the canyons
At College of the Canyons
we’re interested in not
only what the future
holds, but also in how we can
shape the future for the benefit
of the community we serve.
It’s clear there will be increasing
demand for higher education,
as the labor market will
require a more skilled workforce.
By 2020, 65 percent of job
openings in the United States
will require some post-secondary
education or training,
but not necessarily a four-year
degree. In California alone, another
1 million workers with associate
degrees, certificates, or
industry-valued credentials will be needed to
fill available jobs.
That demand creates a significant opportunity
for our students. And with that in
mind, we are focused on two things to make
the most of the future: growing our capacity,
and growing our capability.
Growing our Capacity
Growing our capacity is critical to our fu-
ture success and that of our students.
Over a 10-year period,
enrollment shot up 42 percent.
And, with the looming demand
for a more skilled workforce,
we expect to see another 15
percent increase in the next five
years.
To expand our capacity to
serve students, we must add
classes and space. In the past
five years, we have increased
available classes by 25 percent,
and we are now offering more
class sections than at any time
in the college’s 46-year history.
As our enrollment grows, so too
will the number of classes we
offer to students.
Space is also a critical issue in growing our
capacity. We worked diligently over the past
decade to grow our facilities to accommodate
rising enrollment. Since local voters passed
the $160 million Measure M local obligation
bond in 2006, we have built 338,000 square
See Van Hook, page 18

10 • THE Reader
By robb Fulcher
staff writer
Apush to combine the valley’s water
wholesaler with a major water retailer
is being hailed as a smart move to save
money, get more state grants for water projects,
and adopt a less fragmented approach
to a complex web of water transmission issues.
But critics say such a merger could bring
rate hikes, and would create a water monopoly
too large and remote for consumers to
control.
The push
The idea of combining the wholesaler, the
Castaic Lake Water Agency, with retailer
Newhall County Water District, gained momentum
early last year, as representatives of
the two entities met to try to settle legal disputes
between them.
In December, representatives from each
agency reached an agreement in principle
that could lead to the formation of a new
combined water agency.
“While this is an important milestone, it
simply marks the continuation – not the conclusion
– of our process,” representatives of
the two agencies said in a prepared statement.
“Nevertheless, it could lead to fundamental
changes to how water services are provided
and governed in the Santa Clarita
Valley,” said CLWA board President Tom
Campbell and NCWD board President B.J.
Atkins.
They said the new agency would merge the
functions of CLWA with the NCWD and two
other retailers CLWA already owns, the Santa
Clarita Water Division and Valencia Water Co.
CLWA’s ownership of Valencia Water has
been challenged in court. CLWA has successfully
defended the purchase, but opponents
said they would seek an appeal.
The new combined agency would provide
both local and imported water to valley customers.
In favor
Proponents said forming one agency
would allow water managers to resolve their
legal disputes, integrate their resources, increase
efficiency through economies of scale,
and improve their services to customers.
Steve Cole, general manager of the Newhall
County Water District, said a consolidation
would give officials a broader view of water’s
complicated spectrum, from storm water
capturing to ground water pumping, recycled
water use and water importing.
“The resources of each [separate] agency
are somewhat duplicative,” Atkins said.
The broader view of a combined agency
would encourage more “integrated projects,”
which are being pushed by Gov. Jerry Brown,
Atkins said. Those projects are more likely to
secure grant money from sources such as a
Proposition 1 water fund totaling $7.5 billion,
he said.
“They love to see integrated projects that
have benefits for multiple stakeholders,”
Atkins said. “That puts us higher in the
queue.”
A potential project to move recycled water
to the eastern part of the Santa Clarita Valley,
which has been “penciled out” at more than
$100 million, is a potential target for state
grants, Atkins said.
“If we could take good recycled water to
February 2016
Potential big water merger
is praised and panned
the east side of the valley, we could recharge
the groundwater where it normally is just a
dry gulch in the summer, and create a nice
habitat out there,” Atkins said.
“Prop. 1 money is being handed out by the
state right now,” he said.
Proponents also said a water merger
would allow CLWA and the NCWD to resolve
their lawsuits and end the associated legal
fees.
In their statement, Campbell and Atkins
pledge that customers from a current water
provider carrying little or no debt “must not
assume the financial debt of another water
provider.”
Against
Longtime NCWD board member Lynne
Plambeck said combining the district with
the rest of CLWA would create a vertical monopoly
of previously separate water retailing
and wholesaling.
“We would basically have a monopoly at
that point. The public would lose its control,”
she said.
“I’m adamantly opposed to this, and I hope
the public will see through this,” Plambeck
said.
She said the Legislature formed CLWA in
the early 1960s for the sole purpose of importing
State Water Project water, and getting
it to retailing agencies. The retailers
supply the imported water, along with local
groundwater, to consumers.
Plambeck believes CLWA acted illegally in
1999 when it acquired the retailer that became
CLWA’s Santa Clarita Water Division,
and acted illegally again in 2012 when it acquired
Valencia Water. Both acquisitions
have been the subjects of lawsuits.
“It becomes difficult for the public to have
any control over their own water supplies,”
she said. “People argue that bigger is better.
I disagree with that.”
Plambeck said democracy is best served
by “the smallest viable” water entities, which
can be better subject to local control.
In smaller water districts, candidates for
the governing boards “can walk the district
and talk to people.” In addition, she said, candidates
for the CLWA board spend as much
as $60,000 in their campaigns, making a run
for office unrealistic for many ratepayers.
Stevenson Ranch resident Chad Kampbell,
who is among those pushing for an elected
board to govern the Valencia Water Co., said
smaller “publicly answerable agencies” provide
“additional levels of accountability
when dealing with water.”
“With all the development being considered
in the Santa Clarita Valley, and in my
area of Stevenson Ranch in particular, residents
need to know how our water is being
allocated,” he said.
Kampbell called the potential water
agency consolidation “another step towards
a potential monopoly of our water” and
questioned how that would affect water
rates.
Plambeck said rates for Valencia Water
customers were raised 17 percent after
CLWA purchased it.
Dan Masnada, principal advisor to the
CLWA general manager and a member of the
Valencia Water board, said the rate increase
was 14.3 percent, and was smaller than it
would have been if the CLWA purchase had
not occurred.
See Water Merger, page 16

February 2016 THE Reader • 11
healthcare
Planning for the Future to Keep Our
Valley’s Residents Healthy
By roger e. seaver
President & ceo, henry Mayo Newhall hospital
government
Leveraging the Power of One will Make
Santa Clarita Even Better
By assemblyman scott wilk
california state assembly
The only constant in life is
change” is an old adage
that some attribute to the
Greek philosopher Heraclitus.
Regardless of its origin, it seems
more apt in healthcare today
than ever before.
As implementation of the Affordable
Care Act (the ACA, aka
Obamacare) continues to
evolve, Henry Mayo Newhall
Hospital continues to develop
programs and services to serve
our growing, vibrant community.
One of the objectives of the
ACA is to keep people healthy. To that end,
this spring we will be opening a unique,
new fitness and health center in the Santa
Clarita Valley.
The new center, called Henry Mayo Fitness
and Health, will allow us to extend our
mission into additional preventive programs
that will help improve the health of
Valley residents and assist those who are
managing chronic medical conditions.
Henry Mayo Fitness and Health will include
a technologically-advanced fitness
center that will
be co-located
with diagnostic
and therapeutic
healthcare services
provided by
Henry Mayo.
These healthcare
services
will be managed
by us with an
emphasis on rehabilitation,
ort
h o p e d i c
services, diabetic
and cardiac
conditions. With
this co-location
of services, this
will be the only
fitness and health center of its kind in the
Santa Clarita Valley.
We will also provide a robust community
education program at Henry Mayo Fitness
and Health, with the objective of empowering
people with the information they need
to help them lead healthier lives.
Another new service coming this spring
is an urgent care clinic, slated to open on
our campus in April. This clinic will help
serve our community in two primary ways.
First, we’ve found that a certain number of
patients come to our emergency department
(ED) with conditions that could be
treated in a physician’s office. Treating
these conditions in our ED is an inefficient
way to deliver medical services and is
costly to the patients. With our new urgent
care clinic conveniently located on our cam-
“Our partnership with the
school district will have the
result of placing certified
athletic trainers on our high
school campuses who are
trained to diagnose and treat
concussions and other
injuries.”
pus, next door to a new
pharmacy, we will be offering
these patients an option
that’s better for them.
Second, often patients
need to see a physician right
away, and they either don’t
have a primary care physician
or they can’t get in to
see their physician for a few
days. For these patients an
urgent care clinic staffed
with high-quality providers
provides a valuable and
needed service.
Recently, we announced a
partnership with the William S. Hart Union
High School District in which we are helping
to underwrite the cost of providing a
full-time athletic trainer in each of the six
district high schools that have athletic programs.
According to the federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, one in five
high school athletes will sustain a concussion
during a season, and one-third of athletes
who report having a concussion have
more than one in a single year.
Our partnership
with the
school district
will have the result
of placing
certified athletic
trainers on our
high school campuses
who are
trained to diagnose
and treat
concussions and
other injuries.
Their presence
will both help
protect our stud
e n t - a t h l e tes
and relieve
coaches from
having to make
medical assessments.
The next few years will also bring significant
progress on our new patient building.
When fully built, the building will have up
to 142 new beds in state-of-the art private
rooms with an expanded women’s services
unit. We hope to open this addition to the
hospital in late 2018.
There are many changes and challenges
in healthcare today. As an independent
community hospital we can keep our focus
on what’s best for our community. Henry
Mayo Newhall Hospital will continue to
provide health care services that are most
needed in the Santa Clarita Valley while remaining
financially viable.
Roger E. Seaver is president and CEO of
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital
The Santa Clarita Valley is
a wonderful place to
live — great schools, low
crime and a diversified local
economy.
Our community’s founding
fathers have brought us to this
stage overcoming an unwieldy
governance process such as the
city being confined to only a
partial piece of the valley and
with the Los Angeles County
Local Formation Commission
(LAFCO) granting a small
“sphere of influence” in giving
the city a voice in land planning
in the territory beyond the city
limits.
The city of Santa Clarita is now Los Angeles
County’s third-largest city after Los Angeles
and Long Beach. Yet, we don’t act like it.
Some of that is we are still young compared
to a city like Pasadena. But part of it might
be we haven’t spent enough time visioning
what our future should look like.
Santa Clarita Valley is geographically isolated
and that has sometimes harmed us
such as the Northridge Earthquake of 1994.
Our valley’s devastation was on par or
greater than any other region struck by the
quake, but the world didn’t know because of
the collapse of the freeway.
Santa Clarita Community College District
Chancellor Dr. Dianne Van Hook often talks
about the “power of one” and how we benefit
from having one high school district, one
community college, and one city. This structure
makes it easier to collaborate and concentrate
our collective will and resources on
challenges. I agree with that assessment and
I believe we can do more to leverage the
power of one.
Preserve Water: California is a desert and
is currently in its fourth year of drought conditions,
but Californians are experiencing a
drought due to past inaction from Sacramento.
Sacramento policy makers need to
make a concerted effort to capture, store and
convey water. When 49% of California’s
water flows into the Pacific it’s clear Sacramento
needs to be more serious on a statewide
level. Locally, we should take an “all of
the above” approach to ensure our valley has
a safe and reliable supply of clean water. That
includes groundwater management, recycling
and perchlorate cleanup of the Saugus
aquifer. Recently, it was announced that Castaic
Lake Water Agency and the Newhall
County Water District are in discussions to
merge and become a new valley-wide water
authority. I believe this can lead to better integrated
water management, as well as create
economies of scale with those cost
savings being passed on to ratepayers.
Build Roads: Because of the Santa Clarita
Valley’s topography roads will always pose a
challenge to our community. Help is on the
way via technological advancements. Last
year I visited Google which is developing a
driverless car. Once computers are driving
rather than people road capacity will at least
double as human error is removed
from the equation. But,
Sacramento needs to make a
greater investment in road
construction and maintenance.
Last year Governor
Jerry Brown in his State of the
State address acknowledged
that our state was $59 billion
in arrears for road and bridge
construction and maintenance.
I co-authored a transportation
plan that would
commit $6.5 billion more to
roads without raising taxes.
However, the governor rejected
it, wanting to raise taxes
instead. We’ll see what happens this legislative
session…
Stop the High Speed Rail Project: The Bullet
Train’s Phase I costs are currently pegged
between $68-$80 billion, making this project
the most expensive public works project in
the history of mankind. Investing this kind
of money in a 150-year old technology makes
no sense. Furthermore, the havoc it will
wreak on our communities along the 14
Freeway corridor is unacceptable. The rail
line will take out homes, churches and affect
schools. The noise and vibrations will harm
the film and television industry which contributes
over $30 million annually to our
local economy. The High Speed Rail Authority
is out of compliance with 2008’s Prop 1A,
and numerous entities are litigating the project.
The good news is I believe the next governor
or the courts will shut down this
boondoggle. Governor Brown is, in my view,
is illegally using Cap & Trade funds to finance
the project. A better use of some of those
funds would be for the proposed Hyperloop.
It’s new technology that entrepreneur Elon
Musk believes would speed travel from Sylmar
to Hayward in 35 minutes! According to
the Reason Foundation the Bullet Train may
take as long as 4 hours and 10 minutes from
San Francisco to Los Angeles. It’s time to derail
this project.
Create local jobs: Nowhere is the “power
of one” going to pay off more than job creation.
Coordinating and collaborating between
the Santa Clarita Valley Economic
Development Corporation (SCV EDC) with
College of the Canyons, Hart High School District,
the city of Santa Clarita, the Valley Industrial
Association and the SCV Chamber of
Commerce we will be able to identify future
needs of employers while still concentrating
on the five industry clusters that currently
comprise our valley’s economic foundation.
At the state level I will continue to hold the
line on new taxes, support greater funding to
higher education and job training, while advocating
for reforming workers compensation
and reducing regulations to help small
business.
Kill the CEMEX mega mine: The proposed
CEMEX mine would be the largest aggregate
mine in America (larger than Irwindale). It
See Wilk, page 15

12 • THE Reader
February 2016
water resources
Our Water, Our Future
education
The Future of Education in Santa Clarita
By Matt stone
General Manager, castaic lake water agency
By tim Borruel
Founder & superintendent, legacy christian academy
The story of water in California
is both a tale of constants
and of change, here
in the Santa Clarita Valley as well
as the rest of the state.
It's a constant, because we always
must be concerned about
it. Collecting, treating and delivering
water to our communities
has been a challenge since the
first settlements arose. We've
never reached a point where we
could rest on our laurels and say,
"There. We've got all the water
we'll ever need."
It's an ongoing pursuit.
Looking ahead, that will continue,
just as the story of our water will continue
to be a tale of change — because
California's water scenario promises to
change dramatically in the years ahead.
The introduction of Urban Water Management
Planning in the 1990s, Integrated Water
Resource Management Planning following
that, the Sustainable Groundwater Management
Act in 2014, and the first-ever statewide
water use reduction orders issued by the
State Water Board in 2015 (which continue
to be in effect), mean regional thinking and
planning is going to help us do better as communities
managing our water.
That's why the timing is so critical for the
latest news that may change the Santa Clarita
Valley's approach to
water resources
management and
service. In the
months and years
ahead, important decisions
will be made
regarding the future
of our water, on local
and state levels.
Soon after I began
my tenure as general
manager of the Castaic Lake Water Agency in
December, we announced an exciting new
possibility that arose out of negotiations over
the past year between CLWA and Newhall
County Water District. If it comes to fruition,
it would change the way the SCV's water is
managed and delivered — and better position
us to deal with the uncertainties of the
broader California water picture.
That change would be the combining of
CLWA and NCWD into one new water agency
that would serve the entire SCV, with a publicly
elected board of directors that would
guide a cohesive effort to manage our water
resources and better serve customers valleywide.
As a result of months of negotiations initiated
last year to settle litigation between the
two agencies, the two sides reached consensus
that, if certain goals could be achieved, following
a set of agreed-upon guiding
principles, it could benefit all SCV water
stakeholders — which is to say, pretty much
everyone — to combine the two agencies.
But, as we said when we announced the
potential change, it's important not to jump
“WaterFix will be the
biggest challenge. Without
new infrastructure, the
Delta, its ecosystem and its
water supply will continue
to face uncertainty . . . “
the gun. We are very early in
the process, there will be a
great deal of public review, and
the combining of the agencies
will in all likelihood require
state legislation and input from
the Los Angeles County Local
Agency Formation Commission.
You don't just flip a switch
and combine two agencies into
one. There are numerous issues
to evaluate — some of
them, quite honestly, rather
mundane — and it's important
to both agencies that the community
have ample opportunity
to provide input.
But, if it happens, it could better position
the SCV to create a more secure future for our
water supply. Not only would it facilitate
more cohesive planning and use of the resources
we have, but also it would give us a
more unified and powerful voice in the
statewide water issues that lie ahead. And,
statewide, water promises to continue being
an important and uncertain issue.
Let's start with the drought.
Snowpack levels have been running above
average for the first time in recent memory,
and the next couple of months hold the promise
of more wet weather, courtesy of El Niño.
But, as we’ve said before, one wet winter
does not signal the
an unbelievable
amount of moisture
to restore the state’s
reservoirs. Just as
importantly, the vast
u n d e r g r o u n d
aquifers that have
helped many communities
through the drought are also in
need of several wet years to be replenished.
Beyond that, this has not been California’s
first drought, nor is it the last. We will experience
this cycle again. Steinbeck put it well
in “East of Eden”: "And it never failed that
during the dry years, the people forgot about
the rich years, and during the wet years they
lost all memory of the dry years. It was always
that way."
A keen observation of timeless human nature.
California needs a long-term approach to
water use efficiency, not just drought-driven
conservation. We need to always remember
the dry years and plan well for them. We need
an ongoing ethic promoting water use efficiency,
and we need to plan for the infrastructure
that will enable water agencies
statewide to reliably deliver that precious liquid.
How the state deals with not only future
droughts, but also the everyday challenges of
“being California,” is part of a complicated
water resources planning puzzle that
When hypothesizing
ture will see the largest shift in
about the future, few
the realm of homeschool. With
topics are more important
California’s new immunization
than that of education.
laws going into effect, parents
Today’s young minds will be
who are dedicated to keeping
forced to confront some of the
their progeny vaccine free will
most difficult matters of our
pull their child from publicallyfunded
time. Political, economical, environmental
schools and begin to ed-
and social ills need
ucate them at home with
solutions which will only come
varying degrees of success.
via new ways of thinking.
We have already begun to see
Locally, Santa Clarita has
this shift towards an increase in
proven to be a place where
popularity for home-based education.
“good education” is invested in
Parents are becoming
and appreciated. Here are my
more confident in their ability
predictions for the primary educational
to teach their children thanks to
models that can be
local free and paid resources. At
found within our community’s boundaries. Legacy Christian Academy, for example, our
Beacon homeschool program has grown in
Public Schools
popularity each year. Homeschooled children
When it comes to public education opportunities,
you’d be hard pressed to find better
attend class on our campus on Fridays each
week, participating in Chapel, socializing
public educational experiences than what’s
with peers and learning writing, science,
available in Santa Clarita. While some local
Spanish and more.
schools soar higher than others when it
Charter homeschool programs, I predict,
comes to test scores, in general, SCV campuses
thrive because our community’s dis-
will see a shrinkage in enrollment as the state
begins implementing the new immunization
tricts are led by experienced, driven, talented
law. These state-funded schools, on average,
superintendents who have a passion for service
and have made a commitment to prepare
have remarkably-low immunization rates in
comparison with their community’s traditional
schools. My guess is that these parents
today’s learners for tomorrow’s future. That
being said, growing pains should be expected,
considering the estimations for SCV
will choose to pull their children from the
charter homeschool programs when it’s time
population growth can be visualized by a dramatically-climbing
arrow.
to provide proof of immunization and instead
end of the drought.
select to educate their kids from home with a
California is so
Charter Schools
private affidavit from the state.
parched, it will take
I don’t predict that SCV’s traditional public Homeschooling will also continue to rise
schools will see the mass migration that as more parents begin to see it as a means of
other towns have experienced at the hands providing the most specialized educational
of charter schools; our traditional public experience available. It is also the most flexible
campuses still have much to offer and most
educational model that coordinates most
parents will appreciate the confidence that ideally with the shift to the new Uber/Sharing/Freelance
comes with the “tried and true” educational
economy, which is only pre-
model.
dictable in its unpredictability.
Charter schools are publicly-funded campuses
that fill a niche; many parents are glad
Private Schools
As the founder and superintendent of
to discover that they have a choice in education
and that has resulted in waitlists for
Legacy Christian Academy, I feel most capable
of predicting the future of private education.
In school year 2015-16, Legacy saw
Santa Clarita’s most popular charters. Parents
who believe that their child is a “square
enrollment and application records break yet
peg trying to fit in a round hole” will continue
again. As of time of print, we have an impressive
423 students in grades Kinder through
to feel more comfortable trying a local charter
school as SCV’s charters began to meet
eighth. The increased demand we’ve experienced
has inspired us to actively pursue the
decade milestones.
Families are drawn to the “customized tuition
free” concept, and, for many, this is a
establishment of a Legacy high school.
Private schools have always served as the
good fit. Successful charters cultivate a communal
identity and many parents are right-
premier option for parents who desire protected
cultures — whether those be religious
fully zealous when they find a charter that
or academic. Santa Clarita is well populated
matches their child’s learning style or desired
with those who follow the teachings of Christ;
career path. And, because district lines aren’t
as the economy continues to improve, I expect
to see more parents investing in private
considered when it comes to who can and
cannot attend a charter school, expect to see
Christian education for their children.
more parents applying to charter schools
Santa Clarita parents also have high expectations
for their children’s academic achieve-
when their local campus, for example, assigns
their child to a teacher they don’t particularly
ment, which is why the most successful
like. Education might change – but helicopter
schools of today and tomorrow will put emphasis
not only on Christ-like character build-
parenting isn’t going anywhere.
Homeschool Options
ing but on academic success.
See Stone, page 26 I believe that Santa Clarita’s educational fu-
See Borruel, page 20

February 2016 THE Reader • 13
economy
Santa Clarita Valley 2016 Outlook –
Poised for Growth
By holly schroeder
President & ceo santa clarita Valley economic development corporation
government
Los Angeles County Working on a Variety
of Projects to Improve the SCV
By supervisor Michael d. antonovich
los angeles county Board of supervisors
One of the fastest growing
communities in Los Angeles
County, the Santa
Clarita Valley is poised not just
for continued population
growth but also tremendous
job growth. That’s because significant
new construction of industrial
facilities is underway.
While many people think of
the Santa Clarita Valley (SCV) as
a bedroom community for Los
Angeles, it has actually become
a premier business address for
major corporations and manufacturing
operations. Companies
like Princess Cruises,
Sunkist, and in another 2 years, Logix Federal
Credit Union, have headquarters in the Santa
Clarita Valley. In addition, the SCV is home to
major manufacturing companies in the aerospace
and medical device sectors.
Looking forward, I anticipate growth in
our targeted industry clusters: Aerospace,
Medical Device, Digital Media/Entertainment,
and Manufacturing. In fact, in recent
years, the Santa Clarita Valley has been a
bright spot that has gone against statewide
trends — we have seen growth in manufacturing
jobs while most of the state has seen
declines. These jobs are critical to our economic
vitality, providing quality middle-class
job opportunities for people of all ages.
Ample Commercial Space for
Business Expansion
The nearly 30 million square feet of industrial
space in the Santa Clarita Valley is being
increased through the construction and expansion
of three business parks: IAC Commerce
Center, Gateway V, the Mann
Biomedical Park, and Needham Ranch.
The land development at The IAC Commerce
Center is near completion. Consisting
of nine industrial buildings, the leasing options
range from 60,000 square feet to
250,000 square feet, with a total of 1.3 million
square feet for the first phase.
Gateway V is the latest phase of the Valencia
Commerce Center, adding another
600,000 square feet of industrial and office
space. Two parcels have already been purchased,
one by Logix and one by Adept Fasteners.
The Mann Biomedical Park, after being
bought by the Santa Clarita-based Intertex, is
expanding its space 150% by adding nearly
900,000 square feet to the prestigious business
park. Originally the site of the Lockheed
Martin aerospace firm, the park was purchased
in 2002 by biotech pioneer Alfred
Mann to house medical device companies he
created to manufacture products based on
his own inventions. The nearly 120-acre biomedical
business center is surrounded by a
park-like setting and is ideally suited for biomedical
and tech companies looking for
space for expansion.
These new development projects will provide
great expansion opportunities for LA
County companies for several years to come.
Film Incentive Boosts Local
Production
The year 2015 has seen the
most filming yet in Santa Clarita,
with 13% increase in permits
and 2% increase in film days
compared to 2014, and 2016 is
likely to be another banner year
for the region that has acquired
the nickname of “Hollywood
North.”
One factor behind this growth
is the state’s revamped film and
TV incentive program to keep
filming in California. Currently,
more than half of the current
Santa Clarita-based TV shows
are California approved. Complementing the
state-level incentive is the city incentive
package that offers such benefits as permit
refund and reduced cost for sheriff service
for qualified productions. In addition, the
city’s Film Department offers one-stop shop
services covering fire department, traffic control
and sheriff department.
Over the years, thanks to the city’s forward-looking
approach to attracting film and
TV production, Santa Clarita Valley has
emerged as the location of choice for many
filming projects. One great example of this
film-friendly approach is the creation and approval
of a special zoning designation, the
Movie Ranch Overlay Zone that supports
filming at local movie ranches. Productions
filming at properties with Movie Ranch Overlay
Zone designation benefit from reduced
permit cost and expedited permit processing
time. There are currently six movie ranches
located within the City’s Movie Ranch Overlay
Zone, It is expected that additional properties
will be annexed into the City’s Movie
Ranch Overlay Zone in the future.
Lower overall cost, availability of diverse
locations, a rich talent pool and ease of permitting
and coordination, all these factors
contribute to making Santa Clarita a thriving
production and filming hub just north of Hollywood.
LA Bioscience Initiative Spurs Growth
In 2014, Los Angeles Country launched a
new bioscience initiative with the goal of fully
exploiting the growth potential of this key
economic driver. Following the release of a
master plan from a leading consultancy, LA
Economic Development Corporation is expected
to make public its implementation report
this spring. The goal of this action plan is
to create skilled jobs and build capacity by
leveraging the region’s resources in innovation,
R&D, talent development, physical and
real estate assets, and all stages of financing
to foster significant growth in the bioscience
industry in the Los Angeles County region.
Today, while Bio-economy is a leading economic
driver for the Los Angeles County, the
key employment figure still lags behind the
national average. This is a reflection of the
fact that while Los Angeles ranked third
nationally in academic R&D expenditures in
It was a privilege to serve
you as your Mayor of Los
Angeles County in 2015.
We achieved many of our goals
and are working hard to continue
our momentum in 2016
by enhancing public safety, municipal
services, foster care, int
e r d e p a r t m e n t a l
communication, accountability,
and streamlining county government.
The Santa Clarita
Valley is a beautiful, safe, and
vibrant community and we will
continue to work to maintain a
high quality of life for our residents.
Making neighborhoods safer, improving
response times and supporting more flexible
law enforcement will be a priority this year.
We have been working diligently with the
City of Santa Clarita to identify sites and funding
for a new, state-of-the-art Sheriff’s station
in the city, as well as an annex station on the
west side of town that would allow for future
expansion. This year we will also complete
construction of a new fire station in Castaic.
Funding approved by our board for additional
unincorporated deputies will improve
proactive policing and response times, and
last year’s delivery of a new Sheriff’s mobile
command center has improved command
and communications during special investigations
and operations in the Santa Clarita
Valley.
The Board of Supervisors
recently
adopted a new ordinance
to offer rewards
for information
leading to
the apprehension of
sex offenders who
abscond while on
parole or probation.
Our highly successful
D.I.S.A.R.M. program, which targets probation
violators through random searches,
has now seized over 10,537 weapons, more
than $729 million in illegal drugs and drug
money and led to the arrest of almost 23,000
violators since its implementation in 2000.
As most readers are aware, we have been
warned that an historic El Niño pattern has
taken shape in the Pacific Ocean, and significant
and damaging storms may continue to
threaten the region until late spring. The
County of Los Angeles has spent months
preparing for these storms by monitoring
and maintaining facilities and infrastructure,
including clearing flood control facilities of
debris, mitigating potential debris flows in
burn areas, and providing preparedness
meetings to communities throughout the
county. We have also ensured that we are
able to maximize beneficial storm water capture
and ground water recharge.
Despite these efforts, dangers associated
with these storms will still persist. Those
“Making neighborhoods
safer, improving response
times and supporting more
flexible law enforcement will
be a priority this year.“
poses a particular danger to the
county’s homeless population.
Earlier this month, the Board of
Supervisors approved emergency
actions and funding to
provide for expanded winter
shelters and enhanced services.
For additional important information
about El Niño, please
visit our new website, www.lacounty.gov/elnino.
This year we are committed to
expanding services in the Santa
Clarita Valley. The Board of Supervisors
has dedicated $3 million
toward a new senior center
with state-of-the-art equipment
and resources. Construction on an Olympicsized
swimming pool in Castaic and renovations
of the pool at Val Verde Park will be
completed later this year. We have also embarked
on a trails master plan in Castaic to
ensure future trial accessibility and interconnectivity
within the Santa Clarita Valley and
beyond.
2016 also brings the opportunity for increased
civic engagement in the process of
revitalizing and establishing new county
parks and park amenities. Through the
County-Wide Parks Needs Assessment, our
communities are prioritizing their own, local
recreational needs, which will influence how
funding is allocated in the future. For more
information, please visit www.lacountyparksneeds.org.
To be more responsive
to the
needs of our residents
and business
owners, the
county now allows
for filing of conditional-use
permit
applications in
district offices.
Meaning, local
home owners and entrepreneurs can now file
at the Santa Clarita Civic Center, saving time,
money, and resources.
The Department of Regional Planning’s
“EPIC-LA” initiative has also created an electronic
submittal and review platform for land
entitlement processing and code enforcement.
This will help reduce the time necessary
to approve planning permits and
respond to code enforcement violations. Customers
will now have the ability to submit
plans and permits electronically, communicate
directly with case planners and access
information in real time from their own computers
and handheld devices.
This year, our local libraries will be hosting
“Small Business Saturdays” workshops to
provide information to those who operate
local, small businesses. Entrepreneurs are
encouraged to attend the next workshop session
held at the new Stevenson Ranch Library
on Saturday, February 27th from 10:00 a.m.
to noon.
See Schroeder, page 18
who live near recent burn areas need to be
especially vigilant and prepared. El Niño
See Antonovich, page 15

14 • THE Reader
February 2016
scv history
The Life & Times of Judge John Powell
By John Boston
staff writer
Most of us drive around in the course
of a day, passing hundreds of avenues
and boulevards, giving little if
any thought to how the streets got their
names. Just two blocks south of Lyons Avenue
and parallel is Powell Drive in the sleepy little
community of Happy Valley. It’s one of the
SCV’s oldest neighborhoods.
Powell Drive is named after one of the
most fascinating souls in SCV history.
It’s hard to believe our community was
once a shoot-’em-up wild frontier outpost.
Back in the 19th century, we had far more saloons
than churches. This was the home of
America’s most deadly range war. Shootings,
knifings, stagecoach holdups were commonplace.
The valley was filled with thieves,
rustlers, murderers, and an entire passel of
various scoundrels and characters.
Off and on, for 26 total years, one man
stood as the beacon for law and order.
Judge John Powell led simply an amazing
life. In 1859, he and the famed Dr. David Livingston
freed 705 men, women and children
from an African camp bound for slavery. He
led troops in seven major Civil War battles.
Prior to that, Powell was a famed big game
hunter and still holds the record for bagging
the largest mountain lion in California. The
creature stretched 12 feet, 6 inches from nose
to tip of tail. He also shot a rare white wolf in
Bouquet Canyon.
Powell rode through the old Newhall Pass
on June 24, 1869. He homesteaded in Dry
Canyon, which would later be called Ratsburg
(due to the miners jumping into their claims
“like rats” to avoid paying monthly squatters’
fees to The Newhall Land & Farming Co.),
which would later become, today, Seco
Canyon. He ran sheep with his brother and
had a very good relationship with the Paiutes,
Tataviam and Chumash Indians. This levelheaded
ability of Powell caught the attention
downtown Newhall looked a lot different in the late 19th century. Judge Powell’s home, his brother’s saloon and wife’s boarding house were all close together.
of L.A. County officials. On May 8, 1875, he
was appointed justice of the peace for the
Soledad Township, an area that then covered
1,200 square miles.
Up to that point, he had never set foot in a
courtroom. And for years as a judge, he kept
that streak alive.
Powell had his home (it
was torn down in 1960)
where Walnut, Ninth, Chestnut
and Eighth streets are
today. There used to be a giant
oak. Under the peaceful
shade, he held outdoor court
most of the year. Sometimes,
some of the more rancorous
plaintiffs would be chained to
the tree. Powell was given $70
a month from the county and
paid for court expenses out of
his own pocket. His brother,
Mike, ran Newhall’s Palace (it
wasn’t) Saloon and his wife
ran a boarding house.
As justice of the peace,
Powell was one of two judges
in the SCV. Lawyers were so
scarce that one would act as
prosecution. In all his years,
one of california’s most nefarious
badmen was tiburcio Vazquez.
his brother owned one of the first
buildings in Newhall and tibby
would visit, passing himself off as
a wealthy horse rancher. Vasquez
and Powell reportedly had several
dinners together.
he only had one case overturned by a higher
court — his first.
According to Blanche Brown, local newspaper
editor in the early 1920s, Powell
presided over a case involving cattle grazing
on a neighbor’s barley crop. Powell was upset
because of the frivolous nature of the trial
and ended up awarding 10 cents — yup, a
dime — to the landowner, A.J. Krazynski, in
damages. A higher court later bumped that
up to $140. Seems Powell, a Catholic Irishman,
was prejudiced against the plaintiff because
he was a Polish Jew.
Interestingly, Powell was not afraid to levy
huge fines, for, of all things, hunting and
moonshining violations. A brand new house
on a large lot sold for about $500 — total —
in the 20th-century teens and 1920s. Powell
would fine violators as much as $1,000 — or
the cost of TWO houses.
Imagine, today, a drunk driving fine costing
you $1 million.
In one bootlegging case, Powell went to the
scene of the crime. He convicted 40 mine
workers of gambling and held the trial at the
mine, up the Ridge Route. They were so incensed
at the picayune charges, they pelted
the warehouse with rocks while court was in
session AND slashed the judge’s tires.
One of Powell’s last cases involved a bank
robbery in Lancaster. A gang of eight were
racing toward the SCV. A hastily formed posse
cornered them at a Canyon Country ranch.
Three were killed in the shootout, another
two wounded. The case was presided over by
Powell. One of the posse members was local
forest ranger Thornton Doelle. During the
opening statement, the gang’s defense attorney
noticed Doelle was sitting on the jury and
Judge John Powell
protested: “Your honor, that man shot one of
my clients!”
Powell calmly noted, “Who else would better
be able to judge than someone who was
there?”
Powell worked hard nearly every day of
his life. He had just celebrated his 86th birthday
and died a few days later at his home in
Newhall, on Dec. 29, 1925.
On his deathbed, he looked over his rich
life, smiled and recalled that the best thing he
had ever accomplished was freeing those
705 slaves in Africa some 50 years earlier. R

February 2016 THE Reader • 15
education
Secondary Education in Santa Clarita –
Challenges for the Future
By steve sturgeon
Boardmember, william s. hart district Board
The Hart District is responsible
for the largest local public
agency budget of $200
million taxpayer dollars. The
school district services grades 7
through 12 in an area encompassing
everything East of the Ventura
County line to the Acton/Agua
Dulce border and north and south
by two mountain ranges.
Our quality schools are the primary
reasons families have moved
and will continue to move to our
valley as long as they deliver the
quality demonstrated over the history
of the District.
There are several factors weighing
in on the future of education in Santa
Clarita. First and foremost and somewhat
imperceptible for the community at large is
the immediate and pending future shortage
of teachers in California and other states. A
combination of the economy in California as
it relates to the cost of living, particularly
since the current recession, has made it even
more difficult for young teachers to buy
homes and raise families on a Teacher’s starting
salary in this State.
College students seeking long term job
growth and strong financial opportunities
are being directed to other occupations unless
their passion truly rests in the classroom.
California ranks 41st out of 50 states in
monies spent per student using our State
funding, about 30% less than the adjusted
National average.
Yet, the Hart District has continued to deliver
more with less and our Teachers and
staff are the reasons this has and will continue
to happen. Santa Clarita benefits from
nationally recognized academics, fine arts,
athletics, special education, continuation
schools, charter programs and our middlecollege
campus. Quality schools benefit all of
us
Secondly, the economy over the last 8 years
has had a dramatic impact on student enrollment
in the Elementary Districts that feed
our Junior High and High Schools. The record
numbers of new students to this valley that
occurred from 2000 to 2007 allowed for
broad expansion of programs and curriculum
at all ages. Fewer students in the Elementary
District in recent years will have an impact on
what kind of growth the secondary schools
will experience in the next 4 to 6 years. Long
term, with the prospect of a more robust
housing market in the Santa Clarita Valley, we
can expect to see our schools back to “normal”
populations bringing with them the
funding sources from the State to deliver
strong programs and academic growth as
well.
Classroom technology and Common Core
strategies will teach our students critical
thinking, not just rote memorization. Teachers
need resources and support to make this
ongoing transition a successful one. Expanding
our Career Pathways and providing more
Career Technical education to help our students
prepare for community college, uni-
versity or immediate job
placement after graduation is
also paramount to maintain
the school quality our families
demand and deserve.
The State Budget and what
the Legislature does with
your tax dollars and the allocation
towards education has
been a moving target and
often a battle each and every
year. The California Teachers
Union works hard to obtain
the resources to deliver an
ever expanding list of programs
to a very diverse student
population across this
state. Santa Clarita faces serious challenges
from the budgeting formulas recently put in
place which often make it difficult to serve all
of the mandated services or classes within
budget guidelines. Several times over the last
few years, accommodations were made by
Teachers and Staff in order to ensure that
See Sturgeon, page 20
Antonovich
continued from page 13
If you are a Veteran business owner who
wishes to do business with the county, you
will now be automatically registered as a preferred
vendor for county contracts. For more
information and registration, please go to
www.doingbusiness.lacounty.gov.
Some big changes are coming to our regional
transit system this year. We are happy
to announce that the Metro Gold Line extension
will open on March 5th, linking vibrant
communities like Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte,
Irwindale, and Azusa to the wider county
transportation network. Another exciting
project being launched on March 5th is the
express bus link between the Gold Line in
Pasadena, the Red and Orange lines in North
Hollywood and Bob Hope Airport. This bus
will run every 15 minutes during weekday
peak hours, reducing traffic and providing a
reliable commute from the Santa Clarita Valley
to all communities throughout Los Angeles
County and beyond.
We look forward to working with you in
the coming year and continuing our commitment
to the Santa Clarita Valley. If you would
like more information on county-related
services or have a question or concern,
please feel free to visit my Santa Clarita Valley
field office or contact us at (661) 287-
3657 or by email at fifthdistrict@lacbos.org.
Also, get the latest county updates by following
me on Facebook and Twitter.
Michael D. Antonovish is the Supervisor for
the Fifth District of los Angeles County, which
includes the Santa Clarita Valley. He served as
mayor of the county in 2015.
Wilk
continued from page 11
would negatively impact our air, water and
traffic. Thanks to the efforts of the City of
Santa Clarita and Rep. Steve Knight, we have
a temporary reprieve, but CEMEX has appealed
the federal decision to terminate its
contract. This year I am looking into introducing
legislation to re-open the public comment
process if CEMEX wins its appeal. The
initial contract was awarded in 1990 and
with the growth of our community there is
no way, in my view, for CEMEX to mitigate the
negative effect the mega mine would have on
the region.
We are blessed to live in such an incredible
community. It’s an honor to serve as your
member of the State Assembly and I believe
working together we can make our valley an
even better place to live.
The 38th Assembly District encompasses
Simi Valley, the northwestern section of the
San Fernando Valley and most of the Santa
Clarita Valley

16 • THE Reader
February 2016
government
Working in Washington to Fight
for a Bright SCV Future
By congressman steve Knight
u.s. house of representatives
Congress is poised to take
on a fairly ambitious
agenda this year and my
colleagues and I will continue
to work on the issues that
everyday Americans care
about.
A major issue facing our nation
is our national deficit that
continues to pile onto our national
debt, which is approaching
a historic amount of $20
trillion. In 2015, we cut government
spending and took steps
toward reducing the deficit, but
allowing it to grow at its current
rate will continue to burden
our economy and even pose a threat to
our national security.
What I plan to do this year in Congress is
advocate for a plan that will turn our budget
shortfall into a surplus within this decade.
This will take strong fiscal responsibility
and discipline to succeed.
We also must fund our national defense
priorities that keep us safe. The world is not
getting any safer due to mounting tensions
with Iran, Russia’s aggressive posturing, and
ISIS’ persistence in spreading pain and suffering
around the world.
At the same time, our military acquisition
process is something that can be reformed
so we have a lean and effective military that
doesn’t cost more than necessary. I have
been very active on both of these issues in
my role as a member of House Armed Service
Committee, where I continue to promote
a robust American aerospace industry that
will succeed in the world of today and tomorrow.
The third issue that we should continue
to work on is easing the numerous regulatory
burdens that hinder our businesses,
large and small, making it harder for Americans
to find jobs, or start their own companies.
Last year, Congress passed several pieces
of legislation to reduce such red-tape so that
people can more easily start new companies
and create jobs. As a member of the Small
Business Committee, I am taking an active
role in ensuring that smaller firms have a
chance to succeed, grow, and thrive. These
small businesses are crucial to the economy
of the Santa Clarita Valley because they employ
our neighbors and provide us with the
products and services we need.
Finally, Congress needs to ensure that our
workforce is equipped to handle the challenges
of today and compete effectively in
the global economy of the future. This starts
with strengthening our education system by
boosting students’ abilities in the fields of
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics,
or “STEM,” as it is called. While in
Congress I co-sponsored numerous bills
that passed the House which will give our
children the skills and resources they need
to succeed in the 21st century.
While these broader issues
are important in 2016, I will
also make sure that the Santa
Clarita Valley is well represented
in Congress this year. I
am proud to say that I am introducing
several bills this
year that will directly affect the
community and champion the
causes that are important to
this valley.
One of my very top priorities
continues to be preventing
the Cemex mine from breaking
ground in Soledad Canyon.
Last year, I worked with the
Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) to halt the mine, and in August we
scored a major victory when the BLM announced
that it was cancelling Cemex’s contracts.
BLM’s decision is currently being
appealed by Cemex, but I am confident that
the people of Santa Clarita will prevail in this
long fight. I am also working on legislation
that would prohibit any future mining on
the site so our families will be kept safe from
the many negative consequences that a
mine would bring.
Another issue that is extremely important
to me is finding a solution to California’s
drought. Last year, I co-sponsored H.R.
2898, the Western Water Act, which would
set up a process for increased pumping, capture,
and storage of water.
The bill passed the House with bipartisan
support, but unfortunately was blocked in
the Senate. Senator Feinstein instead suggested
that a similar measure be added to
the end of year spending bill, but when my
colleagues and I tried to do so in December,
she disappointed us again by changing her
mind, leaving California with no way to capture
and store the water from El Nino-related
rainfalls. Even still, I will not give
up.This year I am looking into more legislation
that will maximize the amount of drinking
water available to Californians.
Aside from those two major issues, I am
working on a few other bills that will have a
positive impact on the SCV. In 2015, I introduced
H.R. 3153, the St. Francis Dam Memorial
Act, which would authorize a
national memorial in the Santa Clarita Valley
to commemorate the 425 Californians killed
by the collapse of the Saint Francis Dam in
1928.This memorial site is a high priority
for many in the Santa Clarita Valley, andI believe
that it is important to educate the public
and honor the individuals who perished
in the St. Francis Dam Disaster. Currently
H.R. 3153 is being reviewed by the Committee
on Natural Resources, but I am confident
that it will pass in the coming months.
Another issue to keep an eye out for is
natural gas regulations, which will affect the
SCV because it is home to the Honor Rancho
natural gas storage facility. When the gas
leak near Porter Ranch was discovered last
October, I began gathering information on
Looking ahead
continued from page 7
labor-saving capital,” he said. “There will be
fewer people that will need to be hired as
firms move to automation. This will be especially
true in the restaurant industry. You
may even see a robot or two in the next few
years.”
Concerning unemployment, Santa Clarita
officials have been observing positive trends,
according to Jason Crawford, the city’s director
of economic development.
At the end of December Santa Clarita’s unemployment
rate was 5.3 percent — compared
to 5.9 percent countywide — down
from 6.9 percent in December 2014.
“The annual unemployment rate has been
declining steadily and we expect this positive
trend to continue,” he said.
in terms of jobs, Crawford said in the second
quarter of 2015 — the most current
numbers the city has — jobs in Santa Clarita
rose 5.4 percent over 2014, to 83,746.
“Overall, over 10,000 jobs have been
added in the city since the recession ended
in 2009,” he said.
Lights, Camera, Revenue
Crawford said the city continues to enjoy
a healthy relationship with the film and TV
industry, securing the valley’s position as
“Hollywood North.”
Using last year as an example, he said the
city’s film office processed a record 565 film
permits, resulting in 1,372 film days and generating
nearly $31 million in economic impact
for the community.
Crawford said 2016 is off to a strong start,
with seven network TV shows basing their
productions in Santa Clarita.
Good Prognosis for Hospital Projects
In addition to expansion at local industrial
parks, the valley’s only hospital is continuing
its own expansion work.
Over the last half-decade, Henry Mayo
the incident and looking for ways to prevent
similar problems from occurring in the future.
After speaking with all the agencies
and organizations involved and touring the
gas storage facilities in both Porter Ranch
and Santa Clarita, I came to the conclusion
that there must be standards in place for
natural gas storage at the federal level that
would complement and improve on the
state guidelines. That is why I am leading an
effort in the House of Representatives to put
in place responsible regulations on natural
gas wells that would protect families across
the country from the potential hazards of
gas leaks.
We have much to look forward to this
year and 2016 will be a very big year for the
Santa Clarita Valley. I am excited to be a part
of the process, and honored to serve you in
Congress.
Steve Knight is the U.S. Representative of
California's 25th District which covers the
Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys as well as
portions of Simi Valley.
Newhall Hospital’s projects have included
updated emergency and imaging departments,
construction of a neonatal intensive
care unit, a new parking structure and helipad.
In the coming year, the hospital will continue
work on its urgent care facilities,
hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said.
Work also continues on Henry Mayo’s addition
of six-story patient tower, expected to
be completed in 2018. When finished, the
roughly $150 million project will increase the
hospital’s bed capacity to 350, up from 238.
An entire floor will be devoted to women’s
care and maternity services.
In addition to development and expansion,
however, Moody said the hospital is also focused
on facilitating conversations about and
partnerships for health care.
As medical providers continue to see the
effects of the Affordable Care Act on facilities
and patients, he said, community partnerships
will be important.
For example, he said Henry Mayo has seen
increases in patients on Medicaid, for which
reimbursements to medical providers are
low. While it’s better to get something rather
than nothing, “it’s not really sustainable over
time.”
Additionally, hospital officials are still assessing
how new “bundled” payment systems
will work in practice. The idea is that the
medical provider receives one payment to be
divided among the various doctors and departments
involved.
“Often the devil’s in the details,” Moody
said. “As a community we need to grapple
with how to deliver services. We plan to be a
catalyst in starting these conversations.” R
Water Merger
continued from page 10
Before the purchase, Valencia Water had
prepared an application to the state for a rate
increase that was somewhat larger than the
one CLWA eventually imposed, and would
have taken place about a year earlier, Masnada
said.
Looking forward
CLWA and NCWD officials scheduled an
initial public workshop for Feb. 4, stressing
that transparency and public input are high
priorities.
Atkins said a new, combined water agency
would be governed by an elected board.
“At the outset the two boards would come
together as one larger board, then through
attrition it would shrink to maybe seven or
nine [members],” he said.
Atkins said that most of the details of a
consolidation could be worked out by the
middle of this year.
The state law that created CLWA would
probably have to be modified, “and that protracts
things somewhat,” he said.
Matt Stone, general manager of the Castaic
Lake Water Agency, estimated that the consolidation
could occur in one to two years.
“One year is probably optimistic, two
might be realistic,” he said.
“I think it’s encouraging that the agencies
are working together to try to bring this
about,” Stone said. R

February 2016 THE Reader • 17
education
A Better Education for a
Better Political Process
By Paul cordeiro
superintendent, Newhall school district
If any of you are like me,
you’ve been closely watching
the beginning of the
presidential primary season
and all of the political posturing
that goes with it. Interestingly
but not surprisingly,
candidates announce with
great confidence what each
intends to get done once
elected. Curiously, none of the
candidates acknowledges
Congress and its role in working
with (or against) the presidency
in shaping America’s
future. Candidates want us to
believe that he/she will singularly
make it happen and that all of us —the
electorate — will witness the magical transformation
that will take place for no other
reason than the presence of a new face in the
Oval Office. Sound a bit cynical? I would prefer
the word “frustrating.” At no other time in
my life have I seen the polarity that I am witnessing
in government and reflected in society
in general. Positions are entrenched with
each side believing that his/her path is the
correct path and those of the others are nothing
short of disastrous, if not un-American.
Sadly, there is very
little dialogue that
moves toward
deeper, fact-based
u n d e rstanding
and, ultimately accommodation
and
positive results.
Why do I bring
all of this up? As
an educator who
feels the weighty
responsibility for
helping our students achieve success and,
overall, happiness in life, I am reminded that
the significant changes in public education
really focus on analytical thinking, discourse,
respectful argumentation and yes, collaboration
toward attaining common goals. All of
these success elements seem minimally present
in today’s highly polarized and shrill political
climate.
In Newhall, teachers and staff, supported
by a very caring Governing Board, are working
hard to create the next generation of
American workers and, yes, voters who will
choose candidates to represent them and
their country. Thanks to rigorous new standards
linked to assessments that truly gauge
students’ analytical thinking, I can say that
there is hope for a future political climate that
values reasoned judgment, listening, empathy,
compromise and teamwork.
Based on an organizational philosophy of
continuous improvement, our K-6 writing
program, the cornerstone of the District’s
year-to-year academic preeminence, has
evolved to reflect deeper analysis of multiple
points of view, use of reliable “source” literature,
lots of in-class student-to-student discourse
to broaden understanding, and then,
finally, drafting of carefully written pieces that
“significant changes in public
education really focus on
analytical thinking, discourse,
respectful argumentation and
yes, collaboration toward
attaining common goals.“
are scored against common criteria.
With scoring comes feedback
to the student and new understandings
of how to improve
his/her writing.
Since writing is arguably one of
the highest level thinking skills
students can learn, it must be pervasive
in every aspect of learning.
In Newhall, this means students
write to demonstrate understanding
in mathematics, science, social
studies and art. To the extent the
new standards emphasize “connecting”
subjects that, cumulatively,
enhance analytical thinking
and engagement, writing becomes
the main vehicle for making connections.
Writing develops thoughtfulness in a way
that no other skill can and becomes the driver
of all future learning. It makes students more
mathematically competent, more scientifically
competent, more verbally competent
and, without a doubt, more reading competent.
This is why, for years, Newhall’s teachers
have worked together to develop, refine
and refine again and again the types of writing
they teach at every grade level and the
way each type of writing is taught. The Coherent
Writing
Program, as it
has come to be
called, has become
so successful
that it
was awarded a
Golden Bell by
the California
School Boards
Association in
2010. The Program’s
Teacher
Leaders have also presented numerous workshops
to colleagues of other school districts.
Add to writing a robust visual arts program
(the District actually has two credentialed art
teachers) a choral and instrumental music
program that serves hundreds of students,
dedicated science facilities, classroom technology
that will soon see a 1:2 student to
computer ratio, and high levels of parent involvement
and one can see that Newhall, as
the Santa Clarita Valley’s highest achieving
district, is doing its part to produce a future
electorate that is anything but polarized and
shrill.
Hopefully, these future voters will create a
new political climate that is focused on the
facts, truly values multiple points of view and
promotes the “we” over the “me.” What you
might watch and read about in the media will
be less theatrical, less tabloid and less meanspirited,
but, over time, will engage Americans
in the democratic process and renew
their belief that their vote matters. With
voter turnout across the country at an all time
low, the need for creating a more enlightened
and engaged electorate could not be more urgent.
Paul cordeiro is the superintendent os the
Newhall school district.
McWilliams
continued from page 7
to convert water used for agriculture to
urban uses. Moreover, new treatment facilities
will produce reclaimed water for irrigation
of the community’s drought tolerant
landscaping in common areas.
The Newhall Ranch Specific Plan and the
additional four villages currently have plans
for approximately 11.5 million square feet of
job generating commercial and retail space,
along with schools, parks, public services and
an array of home styles, sizes and price
ranges that will meet the needs of multiple
generations of varying income levels and our
diverse community. Plans for these villages
include approximately 60 miles of trails, a
public library and an abundance of outdoor
recreational opportunities. Planners have
worked carefully to ensure that what lured
the first residents to the area is preserved
permanently. More than 8,000 acres will become
part of the Newhall Ranch High Country
Preserve and open space, creating one of
the region’s most desirable destinations for
public use.
Newhall Ranch is a community more than
two decades in the making. The master plan
Trusted and referred since 1978
H 20
EFFICIENT!
750 sq. ft. Cleaned
Uses ≤ 2
Showers
has been refined through the years by listening
to and responding to community leaders,
stakeholders, numerous public agencies and
the community at large.
Like many projects in California, Newhall
Ranch has seen its share of project opponents
and litigation throughout its approval
process. Notwithstanding these challenges,
The Newhall Land and Farming Company remains
committed to the vision of Newhall
Ranch and has pledged to move forward with
the project. Clearly, Los Angeles County has
recaptured its economic stride and we believe
Newhall Ranch is essential to contributing
to this positive trend by developing a
community with a high quality of living for
tomorrow’s workforce.
McWilliams is president of The Newhall
Land and Farming Company, and currently
serves as Chairman of the California Business
Properties Association in Sacramento and
Chairman of the GLUE Council of the Southern
California Association of Governments. He also
serves on the Board and is former Chairman of
the Southern California Leadership Council
(SCLC). In addition to his role with Newhall
Ranch, McWilliams also managed the entitlement
and development of the final phases of
Valencia.
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18 • THE Reader
February 2016
Van Hook
continued from page 9
feet of space that enabled us to add more
class sections, increase tutoring and other
support services, and open the Canyon Country
Campus.
Looking ahead to the next decade, we plan
to expand more. We’re updating our Educational
and Facilities Master Plan by reviewing
the needs of every academic department
and projecting their enrollment through
2021. We’re also forecasting their future
needs to reflect advances in technology and
the requirements of local business and industry.
We will then develop a complementary
facilities master plan to guide
construction of new facilities at Valencia and
Canyon Country, plus the renovation of
decades-old Valencia classrooms and labs so
that we can better serve students pursuing
degrees in science, technology, engineering
and mathematics-related (STEM) fields.
Planning for a new science center at the
Canyon Country Campus is already under
way. This $18 million project will replace
modular buildings with 24,250 square feet of
permanent classrooms and labs. Architects
are developing the plans now for submittal
to the Department of the State Architect and
approval later this year. Construction is projected
to start in 2017.
Growing Our Capability
While we focus on growing our capacity,
we are also committed to growing our capability.
College of the Canyons is known as a
leader in student achievement, as an economic
catalyst, as a responsive community
partner, and as a center for innovation. By renewing
our commitment to excellence and
innovation, we will build on that foundation
of success, and create a college focused on
meeting Santa Clarita’s future needs.
Leader in Student Achievement
Already, College of the Canyons stands out
as a leader in student achievement. We are
ranked among the top five community colleges
in California — and No. 1 in Los Angeles
County — for our completion rate by
college-prepared students. We excel at sending
students on to four-year universities.
And, our transfer rate of 48 percent exceeds
the statewide average of 41 percent. We
offer more than 100 degree and certificate
programs that prepare students to transfer
to top four-year campuses, or launch highpaying
careers, and we will expand our offerings
in response to future local needs.
Economic Catalyst
College of the Canyons provides a significant
boost to the local economy. Through its
operations as the area’s third largest employer,
and as a purchaser of goods and services,
the college added $82.8 million to the
local region in 2014 according to a recent
economic impact study. Student spending
created another $1.2 million in impact. The
largest benefit comes from the education and
training provided by the college, which created
an impact of $229.5 million. This represents
the higher wages that former students
earned, the increased output of businesses
employing college alumni, and the multiplier
effects that occurred as workers spent
money at other businesses.
As well, College of the Canyons oversees
multiple initiatives that enhance economic
prosperity in Santa Clarita. In the past year,
we:
• Trained 5,032 employees at 866 companies.
• Awarded more than 250 nationally recognized
certifications.
• Counseled 791 entrepreneurs.
• Assisted 2,651 job seekers at America’s
JobCenter of California.
• Helped clients create 323 jobs and retain
93 jobs.
• Contributed to a $26.3 million increase in
sales at client firms.
• Facilitated raising $15.9 million in new
capital for clients.
We provide responsive services that enhance
the growth and vitality of area firms,
which fuel a thriving regional economy.
Responsive Community Partner
As the valley’s community college, we
make a concerted effort to develop partnerships
that create new opportunities and deliver
outstanding results for us, for our
partners, and for our students.
That is particularly evident in our work
with the William S. Hart Union School District.
Academy of the Canyons, a Hart District
high school located on our Valencia campus,
recently was named a National Blue Ribbon
School. And, to bolster career technical education,
we secured a $5.5 million grant to create
the “Pathway to My Future” program,
which enables high school students to complete
dual enrollment courses offered at their
high school or at the college and earn an associate
degree or certification in one of four
fields — advanced manufacturing, computer
networking, construction technology or legal
studies.
The City of Santa Clarita has also been a
long-time partner. Their $2 million contribution
to the Santa Clarita Performing Arts
Center enabled us to double the size of the facility
and create a regional arts venue boasting
world-class entertainment. More recently,
we collaborated on the Business Incubator
located in the old Newhall Library, where we
provide resources to entrepreneurs launching
start-up technology ventures.
Center for Innovation
College of the Canyons has built a reputation
for launching innovative projects that
promise new benefits for our students and
our community.
The University Center is the most visible
example of innovation. It was created to address
the lack of local access to bachelor’s
and master’s degree programs. We eliminated
the long commutes to distant universities
and instead brought the universities to
Santa Clarita. Today, more than 40 degree
programs from Brandman University; California
State University, Bakersfield; California
State University, Northridge; National
University, and University of La Verne are
available at the Valencia campus. Together,
they have attracted more than 5,000 students
since the center launched in 2002, with more
than 2,400 people having graduated.
A recent innovation in the classroom — accelerated
math and English classes that
nearly triple students’ chances of completing
college-level courses — recently received
two statewide honors. The California Community
College Chancellor’s Office named
College of the Canyons a recipient of the 2015
Student Success Award. While the California
Community Colleges Board of Governors
chose the classes for a 2015-16 Exemplary
Program Award Honorable Mention.
The new classes currently benefit more
than 5,000 students per year. To date, students
have saved more than 48,000 weeks of
remedial instruction and more than
$500,000 in tuition costs for remedial
courses that do not count toward earning associate
degrees.
Where do we Grow From Here?
William Jennings Bryan said, “Destiny is no
matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is
not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be
achieved.” No one can say for certain what
the future holds for Santa Clarita and College
of the Canyons. But we can say this with certainty:
By growing our capacity to serve students,
and our capability for partnerships,
student achievement, economic development,
and innovation, we will make the most
of the opportunities that lie ahead and
achieve a bright future for our students and
the amazing community we serve.
Dr. Dianne Van Hook is chancellor of College
of the Canyons, and currently is the longest
serving community college CEO in California
Schroeder
continued from page 13
the field of bioscience, it faces challenges in
commercialization, bioscience lab space, talent
and marketing.
Santa Clarita Valley EDC is one of the supporting
organizations in LAEDC’s effort to devise
a comprehensive action plan, and we see
great potential in promoting the Mann Biomedical
Park as an integral part of the overall
Los Angeles Country Bioscience cluster. By
embedding our advantages in space availability
and geographic location in the overall
bioscience cluster value chain, we can reap
more benefits than simply going it alone.
Defense Contract Win at Northrop Grumman
Lifts Aerospace Supply Chain
The Santa Clarita Valley is Southern California’s
premier destination for the Aerospace
and Defense Industry. A prime location,
strong political support, a highly educated
workforce and state-of-the-art industrial
spaces are a few of the many reasons why private
and public sector aerospace products
and parts are manufactured in the SCV.
At the end of last year, Northrop Grumman
won the contract to build the US Air Force’s
next-generation Long Range Strike Bomber
(LRS-B), an industry-shaping award that
breathes new life into the world's sixthlargest
defense company. The value of the
contract is expected to be around $60 billion
over the life of the program, and it happens
to be the largest military aircraft contract
since Lockheed Martin won the Joint Strike
Fighter (JSF) more than a decade ago.
The Santa Clarita-based aerospace companies
are an integral part of the Southern California-based
Aerospace and Defense
industry base, and this contract win by an LAbased
company will certainly benefit aerospace
companies based here in years to
come, providing a sustainable boost for longterm
growth.
Businesses will face challenges in 2016 —
an increase in the state and LA County minimum
wage will affect many employers — but
on balance I am optimistic that continued job
growth in the Santa Clarita Valley will support
economic development countywide.
Holly Schroeder is President & CEO of the
Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development
Corporation, a non-profit organization dedicated
to growing high-quality jobs in the Santa
Clarita Valley.

February 2016 THE Reader • 19
government
Castaic: Looking Ahead to a
Bright Future
By John N. Kunak
castaic area town council
Iwas fortunate to be asked by the
Editor to give a brief report on
our fabulous community of Castaic.
Castaic, like most communities,
faced some challenges but are
moving along to what I envision as a
bright future.
For anyone who is unsure of the
status of the community of Castaic,
I would like to inform you that we
are NOT part of the City of Santa
Clarita (a city I consider to be very
successful). We are in what is
known as an unincorporated area of
Los Angeles County and we are
under the control of the Los Angeles
County Board of Supervisors.
Supervisor Michael Antonovich has been our
supervisor for over 30 years and will leave
his position at the end of this year. In November
a new supervisor will be elected to
represent us.
Supervisor Antonovich did establish Town
Councils in a number of unincorporated communities
in his district. Council members are
elected by their community and serve as an
advisory body to the Supervisor. I personally
have found Michael Antonovich to be attentive
to all our
c o m m u n i t y ' s
needs, and believe
it will be a
loss to Castaic
when he steps
down.
Since we are
not a city, we
have no budget
and no Castaic
tax revenue.
Our taxes go to
Los Angeles
County and/or the State of California. Our
Town Council consists of elected volunteers
giving up their time for the opportunity to
present our views to the County.
I have had the opportunity to serve on our
Castaic School Board from 2001-2009 and
during that period of time we operated a very
successful school district. More recently, in
large part due to declining enrollment, the
school district had some serious financial
problems. They seem to be on their way back
and after a few years of stagnant growth, the
Town Council is now reviewing plans for new
housing developments and will discuss these
with the developers and provide the County
with our recommendations. I anticipate a
number of new homes to be built over the
next few years.
Once again, for informational purposes, I
would like to note for those who are unaware
that the Castaic Union School District is for
grades kindergarten through eighth only.
When our students graduate from our middle
school, they enter the William S. Hart
School District for their high school education.
The Hart District has very good high
schools, but Castaic students went through a
terrible period during which they were being
shuffled from high school to high school. This
has been rectified and our
high school students now
attend Valencia High
School.
More importantly, after
decades of failed promises,
our own Castaic High
School is being built. There
have been ongoing delays
and practically every deadline
provided to us for the
opening has been inaccurate.
But I believe this
school will open with a
freshman class in 2018!!!
Our community has a
wonderful Sports Complex
where our children (and adults) can play organized
sports throughout the year. We also
have an aquatic center, an olympic size swimming
pool, locker areas, and an area for
younger children. We also have the benefit of
a beautiful lake, with a number of activities
being offered to the public (although the
drought has resulted in the temporary curtailment
of some of these activities).
On May 1st, 2016, the Castaic Town Council
will hold its one and only annual
fundraiser, a run
“Supervisor Antonovich did
establish Town Councils in a
number of unincorporated
communities in his district.
Council members are elected by
their community and serve as an
advisory body to the Supervisor.”
at Castaic Lake.
There is a 1K
run for children,
a 5K for most
participants,
and a 10-mile
run for the
more serious
runner. There is
a pancake
b r e a k f a s t
served by our
Lions Club and a
fun day for all.
Please come out and meet your neighbors
and contribute to your community while
having fun. It would also be great to see you
at our Town Council meetings held on the
third Wednesday of every month in the
board room of the Castaic Union School District
located at 28131 Livingston Avenue, Valencia,
CA 91355 beginning at 6:30 p.m.
While the address says Valencia, this location
is actually within the boundaries of Castaic.
You may visit the Castaic website atcastaicareatowncouncil.org
to get further information
and a link to contact your local
regional representatives on the Town Council.
I look forward to a successful year and,
more importantly, a wonderful future for our
residents, particularly our children, who obviously
are our future and deserve whatever
benefits we can provide to assist them as
they become young adults.
(Disclaimer: Although I am currently in my
twelfth year on the Council, this article is written
by me personally and is NOTintended to
represent the views of the Castaic Area Town
Council or any member of that body and is
provided for informational purposes only)
government
What the future may hold for the
West Ranch communities
By dave Bossert
west ranch town council
This year will be a pivotal
one for the West Ranch
communities. In November,
Michael D. Antonovich, Los
Angeles County 5th District Supervisor,
will term out of office
and there will be someone new
elected to that position. Supervisor
Antonovich has been
stalwart champion of the unincorporated
areas on the west
side and around the Santa
Clarita Valley for decades. He
has listened to and supported
the community throughout his
tenure as district supervisor.
Under Supervisor
Antonovich the unincorporated
areas are being represented by local
area town councils like the West Ranch Town
Council on the west side. These councils act
as the eyes and ears of the community for the
county supervisor and are strictly advisory.
The system has worked well and much has
been accomplished over the years.
That will all change when a new supervisor
is elected, as it will mean new county staff
and a general change in how things are done.
Changes are good and often give us an impetuous
to review and access the way things
are at the moment. This means that it may be
a good time for our community to re-evaluate
its status. Currently the West Ranch communities
are part of the unincorporated Los
Angeles County and it could be time to look at
annexing into the City of Santa Clarita or
other options.
The question of annexation has surfaced
over the years and the general consensus has
been that the community is happy with the
way things are. That said, the West Ranch
community leadership has also looked at any
thought of annexation as a negotiation; one
that would make sure that our community is
treated fairly.
The reason for this is simple; all annexations
are not the same. The twenty-eight
communities or so that have annexed into the
City of Santa Clarita over the years have been,
for the most part, net negative. Meaning that
it is costing the City more in services taking in
the annexed areas then those communities
are generating in tax revenue.
That would be completely different on the
west side because of the enormous tax revenue
being generated along the commercial
corridor of The Old Road, which includes
Hamburger Hill, the hotels, the Valencia Marketplace,
and the other commercial businesses.
There is also Six Flags amusement
park that is nestled into the hills at the west
end of Magic Mountain Parkway. In fact,
when the community leadership looked into
it in the past, just the developed area of the
west side could support its own city based on
the tax revenue at that time.
If the entire west side area were to annex
into the City of Santa Clarita it would be considered
a net positive in terms of tax revenue,
which is why any thought of annexation
would need to be one that is negotiated in
fairness to the West Ranch residents.
There is that much revenue
at stake that it just can’t be
given away.
But before we even start
thinking about annexation, or
anything else, we have to look at
the current structure of the City
of Santa Clarita. There are five
part-time council members and
a city manager currently running
the city, since its inception.
Should the city want to annex
the West Ranch communities,
which would substantially increase
the population and geographic
area, it may be the right
time to look at also changing the
current administrative structure of the city
as well.
The City of Santa Clarita may need to expand
the number of city council positions
from the current five to seven or more and
elect those positions based on districts. At
the same time, the city should add a full-time
elected and paid mayor instead of the current
rotating appointed mayoral position. An
elected mayor would effectively act as a Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) of the City and the
city manager as the Chief Operating Officer
(COO), with the city council as a board of directors
representing the residents of the various
districts.
This new structure would essentially
allow the city to put in suitable checks and
balances to accommodate its continued
growth. Having an elected mayor would be
appropriate for a city with the size and population
of Santa Clarita. It would also assure
residents that they would be fairly represented
through the election process. Not only
would voters select the mayor but also a
council member from their own district.
The current city council members are clustered
on the east side of the city and have
been entrenched for some time, which leads
some to believe that they are focused on their
own areas and interests to the detriment of
other neighborhoods. True or not, it is an impression
nonetheless.
This all seems reasonable to consider but
the actual implementation of such changes
are challenging, to say the least, in our valley.
There are many political cross currents that
have to be considered including those of the
county, city, and of course the Local Agency
Formation Commission (LAFCO). LAFCO is
the agency that would ultimately approve
any annexation of the west side into the City
of Santa Clarita should the request be made.
If the structure of the City did evolve then
residents would have to decide to change
from the current status of a general law city
to that of a charter city before an annexation
of the west side communities could commence.
The general law status simply means
that the city follows the laws set forth by the
state government code, which gives it less
autonomy than a charter city.
See Bossert, page 20

20 • THE Reader
February 2016
Bossert
continued from page 20
A charter city has the ability “to make and
enforce all ordinances and resolutions with
respect to municipal affairs (California Constitution
Article XI, Section 5(a)). This is commonly
referred to as the “home rule”
provision. Typical examples of municipal affairs
include the manner ofconducting local
elections and the city’s dealings with its municipal
officers and employees.” San Diego,
Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Jose and San
Francisco are all good examples of charter
cities in the State of California.
Essentially, by changing the structure of
the City of Santa Clarita it would make it
more equitable for residents (who chose to
vote) to have a say in how the city is operated.
Roughly ten percent or less of the city
population actually votes in municipal elections
and certainly the make up of the city
council does not represent the diversity of
the city. If the city wants to continue to grow
through annexations than they have to grow
and evolve as well to be more representative
of the population within its boundaries now
and in the future.
Yes, 2016 will be a pivotal year and the future
is bright for our valley communities but
we also need to look at any possible changes
holistically. It would be wrong to think that
just because Supervisor Antonovich is
termed out that our community must annex
or even entertain forming a new city. Rather
it would be prudent for the West Ranch area
to look at all the possibilities as part of a nor-
The draw of the best local private schools
is the combination of a morally-protected environment
coupled with a more-traditional
classroom approach that promotes social interaction,
the development of responsibility,
athletic programs and student-body leadership
opportunities. More importantly, however,
the best private schools are most
capable of lightning-fast implementation of
curriculums and programming that prepare
students for success in life. It can take public
schools years to instigate change to even a
textbook; at schools like Legacy, we’re ready
to actively engage with the newest educational
developments and technology to provide
students with everything they need to
reach their full potential.
For example, our STEM programming admal
periodic review, especially when there is
change afoot. The community should only act
if there is a compelling reason. Ultimately, it
would have to be in the best interests of our
communities.
Dave Bossert is a community volunteer who
serves on a number of boards and councils. He
is an award-winning artist, filmmaker and author
of several books. His commentaries represent
his own opinions and not necessarily
the views of any organization he may be affiliated
with or those of the Westside Reader.
Bossert writes a weekly column at scvbeacon.com.
Borruel
continued from page 12
dresses the nation’s need for math- and science-capable
students. The fields of technology,
engineering and business are rapidly
expanding in positive correlation with the
global marketplace. That’s why, along with an
advanced academic curriculum, all Legacy
students learn Spanish and many also learn
Mandarin Chinese. We have a dedicated science
lab, student-assigned laptops, a 3D
printer and so much more because we’re
committed to using our noteworthy resources
to provide innovative hands-on
learning to our students.
Today’s parents lived through the Great
Recession and saw jobs and trusted retirement
sources disappear before their eyes.
Because of that economic trauma, parents
will work to mitigate similar risks for their
children. That’s why I expect parents to continue
to help grow the private-school sector;
it’s a relatively small investment with a lifetime
of payoff when chosen wisely. Parents
of today and in the future will be committed
to researching the best schools, looking for
proof via national standardized testing and
awards to assist them in identifying the ideal
school for their child. They want Academies
like Legacy — with ultra-low teacher:student
ratios (Ours is 1:13); high behavior standards;
mandated assessments before acceptance;
and language consistency in the
classroom. Recent Legacy touring parents are
more impressed than ever with our SAT-10
national testing marks, which put us in the
top 8 percent nationally, as well as our 2015
National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence
honor from the US Department of Education.
Legacy was the only private school in the
county, one of only four in the state and one
of only 50 in the country to receive the prestigious
award.
Tim Borruel is founder and superintendent
of Legacy Christian Academy.
Sturgeon
continued from page 15
student needs met State requirements without
impacting academic performance. As we
watch what happens over the coming years,
the District(s) will continually need to adjust
to changes imposed by the State as they settle
on what will be a positive long term formula
for educational budgets.
Finally, facilities, like a home, need ongoing
maintenance including upgrades to have
the tools for state of the art classrooms. The
Hart District is actively engaged in several
building and facility projects that will bring
new science labs, expanded technologies, up
to date classroom space, upgraded infrastructure,
fine arts and new school campuses
over the next several years.
All of this to enhance the quality of life in
Santa Clarita, thereby enriching our community,
enticing new industry with new jobs and
bringing new families into our schools. Over
time, the Santa Clarita Valley could be double
its current size. Together with all the local
agencies, we need to continue to plan deliberately
toward a common goal, a healthy and
vibrant community with the future in mind
at all times.

February 2016 THE Reader • 21
Reader Opinion
c a m e r o n s m y t h
santa clarita 2016
dav e B o s s e r t
nothing good happens after
midnight
by cameron smyth
contributing writer
by dave Bossert
contributing writer
In many ways Santa Clarita will be ground
zero in Los Angeles County (and to some
degree California) politics. Come November,
we will see contested elections for Congress,
State Senate, State Assembly, Board of
Supervisors and the City Council. As someone
involved in Santa Clarita politics for 20 years,
I have never seen an election season like
2016.
Much of the activity and attention is centered
around the Board of Supervisors (BOS),
where for the first time since 1980 Mike
Antonovich will not be a candidate for the
board as voter-approved term limits now
force supervisors out after three terms. Because
many consider the BOS one of the best
jobs in politics, we have an array of candidates
including L.A. City Councilman Mitch Englander,
State Sen. Bob Huff and Antonovich’s Chief
Deputy Kathryn Barger. After the primary in
June, the top two will continue to November.
Also generating a lot of activity is the 27th
Senate District, which encompasses much of
the west side of the Valley, including parts of
Newhall. Fran Pavley is termed out and at
least six candidates have shown interest. Senate
Republicans are eyeing this seat as a potential
pickup and could allocate significant
resources if the numbers look competitive.
Democrats, on the other hand, are hoping
the presidential race will generate a big
turnout, enabling them to break into the
Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys. They are
targeting three seats currently held by local
Republicans: Congressman Steve Knight, Sen.
Sharon Runner and Assemblyman Tom
Lackey, whose districts all are nearly equal in
party registration — and there is no doubt the
Dems will look to pool resources and hope to
steal one of the seats.
This isn’t a new plan. It just hasn’t been successful
and the Dems have yet to find quality
candidates capable of defeating popular and
well-funded incumbents.
The Democrats did find a candidate to challenge
Assemblyman Scott Wilk. However, the
38th Assembly District has a clear Republican
registration advantage and Mr. Wilk is seeking
his third term. Scott is well established in
all areas of the district and will run a strong
campaign.
The big change for Santa Clarita of course is
the change to the City Council elections. Since
incorporation in 1987, the election has been
held in April, but as part of the settlement in
the California Voting Rights Act litigation, the
council shifted the election to November.
The biggest impact of this change will certainly
be the number of new voters participating
in the council election. City elections
ranged between 15-17 percent turnout and
candidates could get elected with a mere
6,000 votes. That number will now increase
exponentially as pollsters expect a 70 percent-plus
turnout because of the national
election. To date three candidates have announced;
the two incumbents and one challenger
— although I expect more challengers
will enter the race prior to the filing period in
the summer.
For the political watchers of Santa Clarita, a
year like 2016 comes around maybe once in a
generation… Enjoy! R
Cameron Smyth is a lifelong resident of the
Santa Clarita Valley who served six years on the
Santa Clarita City Council before being elected
to represent the Valley in the State Legislature.
After leaving the Assembly in 2012, Cameron returned
to the private sector and continues to reside
in Newhall with his wife and three children.
There was a terrible accident in Stevenson
Ranch several weeks ago. It happened
in the early morning hours. A
24-year-old driver was speeding down
Stevenson Ranch Parkway at Pico Canyon
Road when he lost control of his car; hit a
boulder flipping the vehicle and hitting a
tree.
This type of event struck home for me
since my daughter just got her drivers license.
It’s every parent’s worst nightmare to
get a call saying there child was involved in
a terrible car wreck.
There are flowers now marking the spot
of impact. A passenger in the car was killed
and two others were seriously injured. The
driver was arrested on suspicion of driving
under the influence.
Sadly, this is an event that plays out countless
times a week all over the country. Individuals
go out with friends and drink
and/or do drugs beyond good judgment and
then get behind the wheel of their car to
drive. At that point it becomes a crap-shoot
as to whether or not they will get home in
one piece or, as often is the case, get into a
horrendous accident that injures or even
kills the innocent.
No matter how many times educators,
law enforcement, parents, and others talk
about the dangers of driving under the influence
of alcohol or drugs it continues to
happen. In this most recent example, the 24-
year-old driver effectively has not only killed
someone he knew and seriously injured others,
he has ruined his own life. He will likely
be charged with the death of his friend along
with a DUI among a number of other criminal
offenses.
Aside from the seriousness of what happened
in those early morning hours, there
is a ripple effect that is taking place in which
families and friendships are ripped apart;
destroyed. One is devastated with the loss of
the family member killed. Another will have
to grapple with a family member that used
exceedingly poor judgment that resulted in
serious injuries and death.
And for what? To be cool — to show off
how fast you can drive down a road at one
or two o’clock in the morning. The invincibility
of youth often knows no bounds with
some that are delusional as to the consequences
of their actions. The teen in Texas
that killed a number of people while driving
drunk only got probation because he was
too affluent to know better is a great example.
He never learned his lesson, which is
why he fled to Mexico.
What will happen in this latest display of
bad choices? Time will tell but for now it is
one more tragedy that should have never
happened. It’s one more life taken prematurely.
One more life ruined because of a
driver, apparently under the influence, deciding
to get behind the wheel of a vehicle.
It wasn’t worth it, it never is.
Talk with your children about driving
and being a defensive driver. Most of the
time, nothing good ever happens after midnight.
R
Dave Bossert is a community volunteer who
serves on a number of boards and councils. He
is an award winning artist, filmmaker and author.
His commentaries represent his own
opinions and not necessarily the views of any
organization he may be affiliated with or
those of the Westside Reader. Dave writes a
regular weekly column online at
www.thescvebeacon.com
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22 • THE Reader
February 2016
m r. sa n ta c l a r i ta va l l e y
is ‘cougar’ a socially
incorrect mascot
for coc?
r ay t h e r e a lto r®
the Future of real estate
in the scv
by John Boston
reader columnist
by ray the realtor® Kutylo
contributing writer
With a campus so crawling with early
21st century sensitivity, you’d
think College of the Canyons would
have picked a different mascot.
They’re the Cougars.
You know.
Amorously robust middle-aged women
with a hunger that cannot be filled by mere
mortal man or the Costco 144-pack of D-batteries
for $17.95? Tight fire engine red Naugahyde
skirts? Outlandish push-up bodices?
Botox lips and that siren’s Come Hither You
Tanned Naughty Pool Boy You challenging
stare?
The administration, led by Dr. Dianne Van
Damme Van Halen Van “Captain” Hook is a
self-confessed cougar. She will try to tell you
their mascot was named after the “Stealthy
Lord of Murder,” big cat, as Teddy Roosevelt
once called him.
Teddy Roosevelt was the 26th president of
the United States. A lifelong naturalist, TR is
ranked among the top five presidents in history,
with Barack Obama No. 23,047th, pending
future elections. He hated being called
Teddy, but the name stuck. He was friend to
the common man, championed workers’
rights, the environment and individual responsibility,
and developed a strong military
presence, yet was recipient of the 1906 Nobel
Prize for his work in ending the Russo-Japanese
War.
I mentioned this because from grades K-
14-Plus, SCV kids may not have heard of
Teddy Roosevelt. Under more progressive education,
they study “Why Don’t You Kids Go
Play On The Computer For A Few Hours Of
Video Games To Practice Robbing Your Boss
Of Valuable Work Hours In Your Future Go-
Nowhere Careers?”
I don’t blame COC for originally picking the
mountain lion as their mascot. However, the
last puma in the SCV was shot by local developer
Jim Backer in 1978. At lunch. From the
front seat of his Chevy Vega.
Dear Mr. Santa Clarita Valley:
I take heated umbrage at your ongoing attempts
to paint me as an adversary of this
rich and treasured heritage we all share here
in Santa Clarita.
Bulldoze a few historical landmarks in the
dead of night and suddenly, OMG, you’re a
miscreant, or, in my case, a Mr. Creant.
The cougar in question that I shot was not
local. It was in a circus boxcar on a moving
train where the tracks go by Hart Park. I am
an ethical huntsman. Though only wounding
the creature, I thought it was my duty to follow
the train all the way to Monrovia to finish
off the wild beast.
Sincerely,
Jim Backer
Developer
P.S. You’ll never guess what!?!?!?! We
were digging the other day for our swimming
pool expansion and found an old Alliklik Indian
burial ground. Unearthed EIGHT COM-
PLETE SKELETONS! What a find! Do you
have any idea how valuable this is? We’re
going to grind them up and use them for rose
mulch.
Rose Mulch.
Now there’s a name for a cougar in a
miniskirt.
Mrs. Rose Mulch.
Divorced.
I think COC’s mascot should no longer be
the cougar. It encourages an atmosphere unsafe
for innocent, young college-age boys. Picture,
if you will, a campus filled with recently
divorced 40-something women with low selfesteem,
living completely off a diet of white
wine, crammed into slinky cocktail ho’
dresses and hobbling around the hill-rich terrain
of the Canyons’ campus in 6-inch Kiss Me
On The First Date heels. Thousands of them.
(To make it even more provocative, and, as
a tribute to El Niño, let’s imagine they’re highstepping
it in slow motion. In the rain.)
All of them, running en masse, chasing
Everyone wants to know what is going
to happen in the future for real estate.
Prospective buyers want to know so
they can determine if it’s ‘the right time to
buy’. Prospective sellers want to know if
home prices will continue to go up, level off,
or go down, and whether they should sell
now or wait. Homeowners always want to
know their home’s value, and whether they
have gained equity, recovered from equity
loss, or otherwise just want to know how rich
they should feel.
The local real estate market is good. It’s not
great, but it’s good, and most indicators show
that there will be modest gains in home values
over the foreseeable future. While everything
could change tomorrow and my crystal
ball doesn’t give crystal clear answers on the
future, here are the local trends and indicators.
The National Association of Realtors
(NAR) and our local Southern California Association
of Realtors (SRAR) project that
home prices will increase 4% to 5% over the
next year, with most of the gains happening
in the next few months during the traditional
real estate selling season. This is on top of
this past year’s approximately 10% price
gains. Low inventory continues to be a major
drag on market activity, with an under two
months supply of homes available for sale at
the current sales rate. Strong price appreciation
of 10% and over for each of the last three
years has made affordability a factor in buyer
demand. Distressed sales continue to decline
reflecting overall strength in home prices and
generalized economic improvement.
While recent stock market and interest
rate volatility combined with election year
jitters can add uncertainty to consumer sentiment
and both can be drivers of real estate
activity affecting our local area, I put a positive
spin on this uncertainty. The Santa
Clarita Valley is seen as a stable and secure
environment, with growing economic activity,
a responsive local government, and relatively
low crime and good if not great schools.
Santa Clarita Valley real estate is a great investment
as a wealth-builder for people. It is
a true ‘safe haven’. While locals are understandably
proud of our little valley, our area
has also gained wider recognition as being
one of the best places to live in the nation, as
well as one of the safest places to live in. People
just like living in the SCV. I know I do, and
I grew up here.
As a Realtor, and for the moment speaking
for the entire real estate community, we need
more homes to sell!! C’mon, homeowners!
Prices are up! Interest rates are still low for
your replacement home purchase! You know
you want to move to a bigger (or smaller!)
home, a better home or neighborhood, a
newer home, or a home with a pool or a view
or, Or, OR… OK, I tried. Be that way!
Be happy where you are. ;-)
That said, call your favorite Realtor today
to get a professional evaluation of your
home’s value in today’s market and a survey
of potential replacement homes to your existing
one. Many sellers just won’t consider
listing their home until they are confident
that a replacement home meeting their particular
needs and pocketbook is out there.
LET’S MOVE IN 2016! R
Ray the Realtor® Kutylo is associated with
the SCV Home Team at Keller Williams VIP
Properties in Santa Clarita. My team and I are
ready to provide you with the best in professional
representation from start to finish,
whether you are a home seller or a home
buyer. All homeownership is personal, and we
will treat you just like we would like to be
treated if our roles were reversed. Call us.
Call or text us at 661-312-9461 or email at
Ray@SCVhometeam.com. Our Mobile App is at
www.mobile.SCVhometeam.com CalBRE license
number 00918855
after COC Vice-Chancellor Eric Van
Beethoven Van Buren Van Gogh Van Harnish.
“Mr. Harnish! Mr. Harrrr-nish!!” they yell in
their high-pitched voices, which scare the
grandkids. “Mr. Harnish can we carry your
BRIEF (punctuating the word, ‘brief’ because
it also means underwear and batting their
eyes) case? Puh-leeeeeeze?”
The word, “cougar,” has an entirely new
meaning these days.
By cracky.
After all. You wouldn’t call the Valencia
campus mascot the Marriage Wrecking Trollops
With Too Much Eye Shadow, would you?
Actually, I might. I’ve seen cheerleaders
like that over the years. Not the ones from
COC. I think it was Antelope Valley JC, where
you can get an AA in meth lab science. Some
of the pep squad ladies look like aging prop
girls from an old Siegfried & Roy show in
Vegas.
Anyway. Renaming the insignia the “trollops”
could lead to interesting cheers. Like:
“Stick out your chin! We’ll give you all such
wallops! Na-nah-nuh-nah!! We’re the COC
Trollops!!”
Perhaps a compromise is needed.
We could call College of the Canyons’ new
mascot, the Cougmires.
Half Cougar — to depict our aging Valencia
soccer moms rejoining the work force and
discovering their insistent sexual awakenings.
Half Quagmire — to depict the angst and
confusion of attending Junior College with all
its contradictions whilst using the experience
as a bridge, connecting students to the hopeless
angst of modern life.
Or, we could just stay with the Cougar… R
Author and humorist John Boston has
earned more than 100 major awards, writing
about the Santa Clarita Valley. For more of his
work, visit thejohnbostonchronicles.com.

February 2016 THE Reader • 23
w h y t e’s w o r l d
valley vision, Bunny luv and
other dirty thoughts
by tim whyte
reader columnist
Iwas playing the ol' "Who's Been Here
Longer?" game with a colleague the other
day, and we kept one-upping each other.
“I remember the Mustang Drive-In.”
“I remember the Hi-Chic burger joint.”
“I remember when the mall was an onion
field.”
“I remember when McBean Parkway was
one lane each way with nothing but dirt on
either side.”
“I remember when you could fire a rifle in
Saugus and the bullet wouldn't hit anything
until it got to Newhall.”
“I remember when there was a Tapia
Brothers fruit stand where Best Buy is now.”
“I knew the Tapia Brothers.”
That's when I tapped out. I know when I’m
beat.
Man, a lot has changed since my family
moved out here to escape
the rising crime
rate of the San Fernando
Valley neighborhood
where we lived until I
was 9. (The tipping
point? A neighborhood
kid challenged me to a
fight and asked if I
wanted to choose fists
or knives.)
We left a cartoon dust
cloud as we split the
scene in Pacoima and
headed for a far-off outpost
called Saugus. It
was quite a different
place back then.
When we arrived
here, the spot where the
mall sits now really was an onion field, and it
was right next door to a carrot patch called
“Bunny Luv.” Really. I used to see “Bunny Luv”
carrot trucks all over town.
Say “Bunny Luv” today to a Santa Clarita
newcomer and:
A) They will not know what the heck
you’re really talking about, unless they’re an
old-timer like John Boston.
B) There's a good chance you’ll get arrested.
I don't imagine the change will stop. Nor do
I regret the change that has occurred. When I
was growing up in the SCV, there really WAS
nothing to do out here. When we moved here,
there were two movie screens: The Mustang
drive-in (since paved over for a strip mall),
and the Plaza theater, which we still called
“the walk-in” back in those days.
In my high school years, the biggest local
pastime was going out into the undeveloped
hills to … Well, you know. To do Bad Things
teenagers don't tell their parents they are
doing.
In fact, my own house is built right on top
of one of those old high school party spots. On
a given Friday night, you'd find a dozen cars
parked there filled with teenagers, beer and
hormones. I’m pretty sure my living room sits
on top of Ground Zero of that party spot in
When we arrived here,
the spot where the
mall sits now really
was an onion field,
and it was right next
door to a carrot patch
called “Bunny Luv.”
Really. I used to see
“Bunny Luv” carrot
trucks all over town.
what used to be the deserted far reaches of
Seco Canyon.
Hmmm… Better not mention to my wife
that our family home is built on THAT spot.
We might have to sell the house.
Anyway, in the ensuing years the valley has
grown by leaps and bounds, and there’s a lot
more to do here now. We’ve got 750 movie
screens, 250 different places to get a $12
hamburger, and a mall where teenagers can
“go shopping” but, strangely, never actually
buy anything.
Of course, I’m not naïve. I know the kids
still go out into the hills to do Bad Things. But
I think there’s more here in town to distract
them, so maybe they spend less time in those
deserted, dirty spaces, away from what has
become the hustle and bustle of Santa
Clarita.
I’m looking forward to
the evolution that’s yet
to come for the SCV. I
imagine 10 or 15 years
from now there will be
some newly developed
amenity and we’ll all
wonder, “How did we
ever get by without
that?”
Most of all, though, I
hope this continues to be
the kind of place my parents
sought back in
1975: A place where you
can watch your kids
grow up, relatively free
from knife fights.
And, someday, when
the time is right, you
might watch your grandkids grow up here,
too — comfortable in the knowledge that
they are safe, will get a good education and
will enjoy that thing called “quality of life.”
I guess we’ll always be stuck hoping they
make good decisions when they head off to
those hills, though, which are still tantalizingly
close to town. But you know, the fact
that we can still find those spots — within a
very short drive of home — is one of the
things I love about this valley. We are virtually
surrounded by the Angeles National Forest,
and it’s comforting to know that’s not
likely to change. I can drive 10 minutes from
my house in two or three different directions
and know I will be out in the country, in space
that isn’t destined to become part of suburbia.
I find peace in that.
But you know what makes me lose sleep at
night? Just knowing that, when the young
folks talk about Bunny Luv, they’re not talking
about carrots.
Yup. I’m an SCV old-timer. R
Tim Whyte is a public relations consultant, a
member of the award-winning team at Mellady
Direct Marketing, and a part-time faculty
member in the Journalism Department at California
State University, Northridge. Find him
on Twitter @TimWhyte.

24 • THE Reader
February 2016
Reader Sports
scv s p o r t s
Boy’s and men’s Basketball
west ranch FootBall
Meet Varsity Coach Varner
By steve Pratt
sports editor
by steve Pratt
sports editor
Editor’s Note: The following is a preview of
the area boys’ and men’s basketball teams.
Look for a story on all the girls’ and women’s
teams in the next issue of the SCV/Westside
Reader.
As time ticked away in the waning seconds
of the opening game of the
Foothill League boys’ basketball season
between West Ranch and Valencia High,
no one was ready to leave.
The game had been decided by the middle
of the third quarter with the host Wildcats of
West Ranch running away with an eventual
72-46 victory over the visiting Vikings of Valencia.
Unlike the leave-early-to-beat-traffic
crowds so common at sporting events in the
Southland, the enthusiastic crowd on both
sides of the gym stayed put, only slowly descending
onto the court well after time had
hit 0:00 on the scoreboard.
Give credit to both schools’ student bodies
on this night: There was a lively and energetic
feeling in the gym that isn’t seen at many
Santa Clarita Valley sporting events.
Even second-year Valencia High Coach
Chad Phillips recognized it, saying, “I think we
were a little overwhelmed in this environment.”
He added, “This is a fun environment to
play and coach in.”
Fifth-year West Ranch Coach Shant Bicakci
echoed those thoughts, saying the huge
crowd gave his team a big lift. “It was a
packed house and our kids responded,” he
said. “It’s always an unbelievable environment
and we have incredible support from
the fans. There were a ton of people here and
you have got to be ready to play in this environment.”
West Ranch’s stubborn defense gave up
just eight points in the second quarter. “Anytime
you do that, you should be able to extend
your lead, and we did that,” he said.
In a rivalry game like this, he warned his
team to not be too overconfident. “It’s easy to
do that,” Bicakci said. “You look at our record
and we’ve beaten some good teams and you
look at their record and you start to compare
who beat who. But it doesn’t work that way.
It’s league and there’s way too much at stake
to be doing that.
“I definitely told them for two days they
should not dare have a letdown. Or else Valencia
will punch them in the mouth. They are
definitely not scared of us.”
West Ranch started the year with a respectable
10-6 record and impressive opening-night
win over Valencia. But things
turned sour from there as the Wildcats were
forced to forfeit their next game — a 72-68
overtime victory over Saugus — due to what
school officials called a “clerical error” after
using an illegible player. A nine-point loss to
Hart was followed by a 13-point defeat at the
hands of Canyon.
But West Ranch rebounded with a 10-
point win over Golden Valley to complete the
first round of league with a 2-3 mark (12-9
overall).
Sophomore Austin Galuppo led the way for
West Ranch against Valencia, scoring a gamehigh
28 points with juniors Chris Kodama
and Suren Aghazidian also contributing on
both sides of the floor.
Phillips is in his 14th year overall with the
Valencia program and teaches special education
math at the school. “We had the jitters
and I think we were a little confused at
times,” he said.
After a loss to Golden Valley, Valencia had
nice wins over Canyon and Saugus, so Golden
Valley finds itself in the same position as
West Ranch with a 2-3 record after round one
of league play, losing to a tough Hart squad to
end the first round of league.
Valencia has been paced by the play of senior
captains Issac Davis, Chibuzo Ikonte and
sophomore Zach Hawkins.
“We’re a resilient group and continue to
buckle down and continue to get better,”
Phillips said. “West Ranch is a very well-oiled
machine and they are supposed to play that
well at home. But we’re not going to go away.
Everyone knows that they still have to play
Valencia.”
The first half of the league season featured
a battle of unbeaten league teams as 3-0 Hart
High beat previously league unbeaten Golden
Valley, 66-51, at home. Coach Tom Kelly’s
Hart team is led by senior scorer Chad Donohoe
and Cameron Fuller.
Saugus is coached by Bill Bedgood and led
by junior Zach Phipps and senior Cameron
Smit, while Golden Valley is coached by Larry
Keys. After starting off fast at 11-4, Golden
Valley is primed to make the playoffs at 14-8,
3-2 in league, behind the solid play of junior
Milan Taylor and senior Bryce Tyler-St. Clair.
Canyon High Coach Sean DeLong relies on
6-foot-9-inch center Selom Mawugbe. He
helped the Cowboys come back from a 13-3
first-quarter deficit to beat West Ranch for
their first league win. Junior Yvan Yomba and
sophomore Brandon Wilson also lead the
young Cowboys.
Trinity started the season off right by winning
the 36th Annual Diamondback
Shootout, winning all four games. The squad
beat Canyon High earlier in the season in the
See Basketball, page 26
If Chris Varner could go back in time and
re-write history, he likely would have
never accepted the job local high school
coaching legend Harry Welch offered him at
Canyon High School back in 2003.
Varner, the recently hired West Ranch High
School varsity football coach and U.S. and
world history teacher, is looking to write a
new chapter of his own history at the 12-
year-old Stevenson Ranch high school.
“At Canyon and coming in and following
Harry Welch there, I thought some of the expectations
were a little bit unreasonable,”
Varner said recently in his new classroom
just 10 days into his new job. “It’s the way it
is. I get it. And I was young. I was 30 when I
got that job. Following a legend wasn’t the
smartest move. I mean, how do you do better
than Harry Welch? You don’t. How do you sit
there and say, ‘I want to do it this way,’ when
everyone is saying, ‘But Harry did it this way
and won State.’ So you can never break out of
that and it’s just the way it is. Harry was one
of the greatest high school coaches ever and
here I am just getting my feet wet.”
The Ventura native taught at Canyon for 13
years, served as a junior varsity coach for two
years, and as an assistant coach under Welch
for two more years before taking over the
program in 2007 and becoming the head
man for four seasons until finally stepping
down in 2010. He and his wife Candice still
reside in Canyon Country and have five children
under 10 years old (ages 10, 9, 4, 3, 2).
Varner took time out of his teaching duties
recently to answer seven questions:
Westside Reader: Did you miss being a
head football coach?
Chris Varner: “I didn’t think I did, but honestly
coming back and helping during the
year at Canyon this past season got me the
bug again. I’ve been helping coaching my
sons the last couple of years and just being a
dad. But being back in there I realized I
missed it, although I didn’t miss being the
head coach at Canyon. I thought a new place
and fresh start would be good. I like being
busy and into a groove and being organized
and planning things. It’s exciting.”
WR: Did you feel pressure taking over for
the legend Harry Welch at Canyon High?
CV: “There was pressure there. Once I had
a good year and we won 10 games my last
year, I was just really burned out, although I
loved teaching at Canyon. I love the students
at Canyon. But being the varsity head football
coach over there wasn’t my favorite experience.”
WR: What are your expectations for this
coming season at West Ranch?
CV: “I think there are some good athletes
here. I think Coach (Jan) Miller did the best
he could with his availability with time. I
mean, that certainly had to play into things
(being an off-campus coach). Am I looking for
building from the ground up? I don’t look at it
that way. These kids can run, they can catch
and they can tackle. I am going to build it the
way I want. It’s not like these kids don’t know
what they’re doing, but I want them to know
how to do it my way. And if that’s from their
stance to their first step to the nomenclature
of the offense or the defense, then that’s the
confines of where we’re at.
WR: Do you feel pressure now to come in
and win right away?
CV: “I think they want improvement. I
think any coach worth his salt is going to feel
pressure. You put so much time in. You like
the kids and you want to see them do well.
And when they don’t have success, it makes
you feel bad and there’s a lot of empathy
there. My goal right now doesn’t have anything
to do with wins and losses. I’m talking
about, ‘Let’s be competitive. Let’s be the best
we can be.’ I can live with that. If the kids perform
the best they could and they are put in
the best position, then wining takes care of itself.
Sometimes you’re not in control of it. I
don’t focus on the wins and losses. It’s performance
that I’m looking for.”
WR: What are your goals for this coming
season?
CV: “Setting a goal like winning a league
title is unrealistic. Goodness, I haven’t even
had a football practice with these kids. It
would be dangerous and premature to have
those expectations.”
WR: How do you get local kids to stay and
choose West Ranch football?
CV: “(Valencia) Coach (Larry) Muir has the
higher enrollment and so that’s certainly an
advantage to them, and then over at Hart,
Coach (Mike) Herrington is a legend in this
valley. It’s a little tough to say, ‘Hey, come over
to this new little school.’ I’m just interested in
the kids who are here and let’s make them the
best we can. I’m not worried about chasing a
transfer. I don’t care about that. I want the
kids that are here. I want homegrown kids
See Varner, page 25

February 2016 THE Reader • 25
Reader Education
henry Mayo Newhall hospital president and ceo roger seaver said this program is an important part of the
successful move from collaboration to partnership between the district and hospital and is vitally important
to families and athletes.
Hospital, Hart District partner to
bring athletic trainers to schools
By Patti rasmussen
staff writer
Student athletes in the Santa Clarita Valley
will soon have immediate, on-site
medical assistance during hours of
practice and play, thanks to a new initiative
geared toward promoting athletes’ health
and well-being.
A unique partnership between the William
S. Hart Union High School District and Henry
Mayo Newhall Hospital will provide certified
athletic trainers to each of the six comprehensive
high schools beginning this month.
With more than 5,000 male and female
athletes in 17 different school sports, the addition
of athletic trainers will help players receive
immediate care for everything from
minor injuries such as sprains and strains to
the more serious conditions including concussions,
heat stroke and heart-related incidents.
Greg Lee, director of Human Resources
and Equity Services for the Hart District, said
the trainers will be on site on a day-to-day
basis with all teams — freshman to varsity.
The trainers will work with the coaches to
ensure all players are safe and ready for
games.
It’s a state law to mandate concussion protocols,
which include immediate removal
from play for any athlete suspected of having
sustained a concussion. The athlete must also
complete a graduated return-to-play protocol
in order to rejoin the team, Lee said. Sports
medicine instructors on each campus will
work with the trainers to ensure compliance
with the state law.
The athletic trainers will also work closely
with the physical therapy staff at Henry Mayo
Hospital for the care and prevention of injuries.
Glen Debates, director of Rehabilitation
Services at the hospital, hopes this program
expands.
“We’d like to extend beyond the high school
athlete,” Debates said. “We are seeing preteens
with serious injuries.”
Henry Mayo Hospital and the Hart District
will share the cost for the athletic trainers and
the hospital will assist the district with the
necessary equipment. Roger Seaver, president
and CEO at Henry Mayo Hospital, said this
program is an important part of the successful
move from collaboration to partnership
between the district and hospital and is vitally
important to families and athletes.
While it is not a requirement for public
schools to have trainers on staff, many private
schools already employ them, Lee said.
“This (program) is pretty unprecedented
(in public schools),” he said. “I definitely see a
movement of it happening across the state.” R
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school saFtey
Hart District re-evaluating its
security and safety measures
By Patti rasmussen and Pearl obispo
staff writers
The recent terror threat that caused the
unprecedented shutdown of the Los
Angeles Unified School District has
prompted Santa Clarita Valley school officials
to re-evaluate security and safety measures
in each of the five districts.
Dave Caldwell, spokesman for the William
S. Hart Union High School District, said safety
measures were already in place even before
the shutdown in Los Angeles on Dec. 14.
“Our No. 1 priority is the safety and security
of our students and staff,” Caldwell said.
“We work directly with the Santa Clarita
Sheriff’s Station, and in particular, the School
Resource Officers (SRO) the station has assigned
each of our schools.” The SROs are
permanently assigned so the students and
staff know them very well, he said.
One measure new to the district is lockdown
drills, which Caldwell said started in
2015, well before the mass shooting in San
Bernardino and the threat to LAUSD.
There is plenty of fear after that type of
event occurs, said Paul Cordeiro, superintendent
of the Newhall School District. Several
changes at school sites, such as adding
fencing and enforcing visitor identification,
are in place and will continue to be evaluated.
The Sheriff’s Department recently held a
training session in collaboration with the
Federal Bureau of Investigation and all administrators
attended, Cordeiro said.
“(The Sheriff’s Department) will continue
these training session and we’ll continue to
go,” he said. “There are no clear-cut answers
Coach Varner
continued from page 24
who want to do well and start a tradition.
That’s our motto now: ‘Let’s Start a Tradition.’
That was Coach Kelly’s thing; to always
give kids an option. They could go to Valencia
or to Hart, but we want West Ranch to be an
option. But we’ve got to perform. We’ve got
to sell the product.”
WR: What type of system will you implement
at West Ranch?
CV: “It’s pretty simple. You know you see it
more these days with colleges and in the pros
with the spread offenses. I don’t have a playbook
that’s locked in the safe and we’re going
to break it out and all of a sudden we’re going
to win league. If you can teach a player to
catch, and you can teach a player to block and
do the fundamentals then you can run whatever
suits your team. It’s a very false attitude
that people have that if I come in here and install
the double-wing, then suddenly we’re
going to win. It doesn’t work. Because if they
can’t catch the ball anyway, what does it matter?
It’s all fundamentals.” R
to many of the scenarios but I think our level
of preparedness is good.”
Deputies from the Santa Clarita Valley
Sheriff’s Department routinely meet with
school administrators.
“In the event of a crisis, our school resource
deputies are going to be the first responders,”
said Shirley Miller, spokeswoman
for the Sheriff’s Department. “We have a network
of public information officers both
within the county and local governments, as
well as the school districts, who orchestrate
communication with each other.”
Quick communication with parents is essential,
said Joan Lucid, superintendent of the
Saugus Union school District.
“Times are changing and we are finding
most of our parents have stopped using email
and instead like to text,” Lucid said. “We are in
the process of completing a communication
survey so we can get information out to our
parents in the best way possible.”
Keith Karzin, director of safety, risk management
and benefits for SUSD, said the recent
passage of a local general obligation
bond (Measure EE), will bring additional
key safety measures including gate and
fence modifications, visitor management
and panic and emergency buttons in classrooms.
Administrators agree planning and revisiting
emergency procedures are the best
ways to keep the students and staff safe and
parents informed.
“The last thing we want is for this to happen
for real,” Caldwell said. “But it is best to
be as prepared as we possibly can in case it
does happen.” R
Varner, the recently hired west ranch high school
varsity football coach and u.s. and world history
teacher, is looking to write a new chapter of his own
history at the 12-year-old stevenson ranch high
school.

26 • THE Reader
Basketball
continued from page 24
San Fernando Valley Invitational Tournament
and also has nice wins over Newbury Park
and Saugus. Trinity head coach Jeremy Haggerty
is a great follow on Twitter, @jhaggs21.
And you can keep up with the Knights’ team
@tca_hoops. Top players include Noah Peterson,
Andrew Pabalan and Ian Caddow.
Over at Santa Clarita Christian, Bryce
Wilkinson scored a school-record 53 points
in a 51-point blowout over Frazier Mountain
of Lebec in a non-league contest. Wilkinson
had his hot night thanks to 21-of-30 shooting,
and added eight rebounds. Jacob Moss and
A.J. Caldwell are the other sharp-shooters for
head coach James Mosley’s squad, which was
10-2.
Injuries have decimated the College of the
Canyons men's basketball team as the team
was forced to use just seven players in dropping
its Western State Conference (WSC)
home opener against Glendale Community
College, 78-60. COC head coach Howard
Fisher team was winless in conference play
after six games (5-13 overall).
In the conference opener, COC freshman
guard James Chevious scored a team-high 18
points on a 7-of-18 shooting night. Sophomore
Victor Nwaba scored 26 points against
L.A. Valley and the other starters incude Jalen
Ewell, Harrison Haynes and Alex Sanchez.
Jacob Tobon has proved a valuable sixth man
coming off the bench.
Much like COC, things hit a snag for The
Master’s College men’s team midseason as
the club suffered a nine-game losing streak
with six of those coming in conference. At the
unlike the leave-early-to-beat-traffic crowds so common at sporting events in the southland, the enthusiastic
crowd on both sides of the gym stayed put, only slowly descending onto the court well after time had hit 0:00
on the scoreboard.
midpoint of conference season, second-year
coach Ken Sugarman’s squad was just 1-7 (4-
12 overall). Top players include Reid Shackelford
(Murrieta, Calif.), Harrison White
(Winston-Salem, N.C.) and Kaleb Anderson
(Clovis, Calif.) R
Steve Pratt reports news and notes and from
in and around Santa Clarita Valley press boxes,
locker rooms and coach’s offices.
Stone
continued from page 12
February 2016
involves a variety of factors including climate
change, aging infrastructure, wildlife, seismology
and more.
Much of it centers around the Sacramento-
San Joaquin Delta, a vital source of water for
California, including the SCV. The Delta has
been the focus of a multi-stakeholder effort
called the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, in the
works since 2009. It seeks to address two coequal
goals: Ensuring water supply reliability
for California while enhancing the Delta’s
unique and fragile ecosystem.
Out of the BDCP have sprung two companion
proposals: “EcoRestore,” which would
focus on the Delta ecosystem, and “WaterFix,”
which would seek to resolve the state’s water
supply reliability issues. The linchpin of WaterFix
would be construction of a new system
of Delta water conveyance via a pair of underground
tunnels.
WaterFix will be the biggest challenge.
Without new infrastructure, the Delta, its
ecosystem and its water supply will continue
to face uncertainty, and will continue to be
vulnerable to the devastating potential of a
major earthquake that could bring the flow
of water to a screeching halt.
What does all this mean for a future vision
of Our Water here in the SCV?
It means we must work continuously to
ensure a diverse supply of reliable, safe water
for the communities we serve — and that
whatever happens, we know the story of Our
Water will continue to be a tale of constants,
change… and constant change.
Matt Stone is the general manager of the
Castaic Lake Water Agency.
Call Today For Your Free Estimate!
•
•
Pool Service
$83/month
Tile Clean
Special!
$349
tom@thomaspools.us

Entertaining Your
Valentine
Theater, film, music, there’s lots to do for
Valentine’s Day
by Michele E. Buttelman • features and entertainment editor
Flowers, chocolates, dinner out, what else can you do make Valentine’s Day a special
event?
You can cuddle at home and watch romantic comedies on the VCR or On Demand or
you can venture out into the great Southern California entertainment landscape where
there is nearly something for everyone.
The comedy spoof
“Bullshot Crummond” will play at the Canyon
Theatre Guild through Feb. 27
Theater
Canyon Theater Guild
“Bullshot Crummond” now through Feb. 27
This parody of low-budget 1930s detective
movies typifies British heroism at its
dumbest. Teutonic villain Otto Von
Brunno and his evil mistress Lenya crash
their plane in the English countryside and
kidnap Professor Fenton, who has discovered
a formula for making synthetic
diamonds. Bullshot Crummond is called
to the rescue by the professor’s daughter
Rosemary.
“Bullshot Crummond” plays Friday, Feb.
5 at 8 p.m. Saturdays, Feb. 6, 13, 20 at
8 p.m. and Sundays, Feb. 14 and 21 at
2 p.m. Closes Saturday, Feb. 27.
Tickets: $17 for Adults; $15 for Seniors (62+) & Juniors (-18)
Box Office: 661-799-2702 or http://www.canyontheatre.org/shows
Peter Pan: The Musical now through Feb. 27
The timeless tale of the boy who never grew up comes to life on the Canyon Theatre
Guild stage with 13 catchy songs fun for the whole family. Appropriate for those who
are young, and for those who are young at heart.
“Peter Pan: The Musical” plays Fridays, Feb. 19, 26 at 8 p.m.; Saturdays, Feb. 6, 13,
20, 27 at 2 p.m. Sundays, Feb. 7 at 2 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 14 at 6 p.m.
Tickets: $19 for Adults; $17 for Seniors (62+) & Juniors (-18)
Box Office:661-799-2702 • Canyon Theater
Guild, 24242 Main St., Newhall CA 91321.
Pantages Theatre
“Dirty Dancing” now through Feb. 21
“Dirty Dancing” features the hit songs “Hungry
Eyes,” “Hey Baby,” “Do You Love Me?” and the
heart-stopping “(I’ve Had) The Time Of My
Life.” This is the stage adaptation of the film by
the same name.
Tickets: $29-$175.
The film “Dirty Dancing” is now a stage show
To Purchase Tickets: (800) 982-2787 playing at the Pantages Theatre
or visit http://hollywoodpantages.com
Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028.
Comedy
J.R.’s Comedy Club, inside Marie Calendar’s Restaurant in Valencia will offer a special
Valentine’s Day show with double headliners Carmen Lynch and Clinton Jackson at 7
p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14.
Carmen Lynch will be a headliner on Valentine’s
Day at J.R.’s Comedy Club
The J.R.’s Valentine Package includes dinner for two, a champagne
toast, and a rose for the ladies. Price is $85 per couple.
The show alone is $25 per person.
This show is appropriate for ages 16 and older. Two item
minimum.
Reservations: http://comedyinvalencia.com
J.R.’s Comedy Club Inside Marie Calendar's Restaurant,
27630 The Old Road, Valencia, CA 91355.
Film
It you want to see a film at the theater on Valentine’s Day it looks like your choices will
probably be in the “slim pickin’s” category. Unless you are 5, or a 16-year-old boy, your
choice of films will most likely be limited to: “The Finest Hours” (opened Jan. 29); “Hail,
Caesar!” (opening Feb. 5) or “How to Be Single” (opening Feb. 12). Contenders, if you like
that kind of thing, are “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” “Deadpool” or “Zoolander 2.”
I am pretty sure that some Oscar nominated films will probably be playing “over the
hill” where you can have a really Valentine’s Day film experience at either Arclight Sherman
Oaks (15301 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403) or the Landmark on Pico
(Westside Pavilion Mall, 10850 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90064.)
I enjoy visiting these two theaters because the seats are reserved and they both have
awesome concession stands.
In addition, both theaters usually have a wide variety of films, including many that never
made it to the SCV, or left long ago, before I was able to see the films locally.
Concerts
Pink Martini
This internationally beloved Portland band blends rhythms from samba and swing to
cool standards with style.
7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8
Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center at College of the Canyons, 26455 Rockwell
Canyon Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91355, 66- 362-
5304.
Tickets: $75 / $60 / $40 • www.canyonspac.com
Engelbert Humperdinck in Concert
9 p.m. Sunday, Feb.14
Saban Theatre, 8440 W. Wilshire Blvd. Beverly Hills,
CA 90211, 323-655-011.
Tickets: $58-$98 • http://www.sabantheatre.org
Fantastic Diamond
A Neil Diamond Tribute Band
7 p.m. Feb. 14
Canyon Club, 28912 Roadside Dr., Agoura Hills, CA
91301, 818-879-5016.
Tickets: $19.50 • http://www.canyonclub.net
See Engelbert Humperdinck in
concert on
Valentine’s Day at the Sabin
Theatre in Beverly Hills
See Entertain Your Valentine, page 33

Valentine’s Day is the holiday we love to
hate. If you don’t have a “Valentine” in
your life it is easy to “bah humbug” the
whole idea of Valentine’s Day. The constant
barrage of Valentine’s Day sales
ads, hearts and flowers and the neverending
sea of Valentine’s cards is
enough to make anyone miserable who
is searching and longing for love, I understand
if you want to skip this article.
However, for those who do have a Valentine, and want
to show their love, the expectation for a “perfect Valentine’s
Day” can be impossibly high.
Here are few suggestions to get that “perfect Valentine’s
Day” monkey off your back.
Romantic Wine Pairing Dinner
Reyes Winery has just the answer for a romantic Valentine’s
Day celebration. Join Robert and Rosa Reyes in the
Reyes Winery vineyard to enjoy a gourmet buffet dinner
that also includes appetizers, salad and dessert. The
Reyes Winery in Agua Dulce will offer two Valentine’s
dinners, on Feb. 13 and Feb. 14. Gourmet buffet paired
with award-winning Reyes wines.
Celebrate a Romantic Valentine’s Day
Where to go, what to do for a perfect Valentine’s Day
by Michele E. Buttelman • features and entertainment editor
A variety of dining options are available in the SCV this Valentine’s Day.
Make your reservations early!
price is $65 per person. Last year’s dinner sold out quickly and had a long waiting list. For Valentine’s Day 2016 Reyes
Winery will offer two chances to celebrate with your Valentine.
Saturday, Feb.13, check in 5 p.m., dinner at 6 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 14 check in, 4 p.m., dinner at 5 p.m.
Your romantic evening will begin with assorted hot and cold appetizers paired with your choice of a Reyes Winery
award-winning wine. Dinner begins with a mixed green salad with beets, pickled red onion and shaved Parmesan
cheese with a Cabernet pomegranate vinaigrette paired with Reyes Winery 2013 Viognier wine. Dinner entrees are either
salmon with an olive and caper tapenade and cherry tomatoes with saffron rice and asparagus paired with Reyes
2013 Amber or braised lamb shanks with a Reyes 2012 Syrah sauce.
The Reyes Winery 2012 Syrah will be served for the first time to the public at this event and guests will be the first to
taste this new release.
Dessert will be Pink Velvet Cake made with a raspberry sauce and Mascarpone cheese and drizzled with 2014 Rosa’s
Choice Rose. The cake will be paired with 2014 Rosa’s Choice Rose and a Red Velvet Port Cake with cherries, paired
with Reyes Winery Agua Dulce Delight Port. In addition a surprise dessert will be served with a surprise port pairing.
Valentine’s Dinner at romantic Reyes Winery, 10262 Sierra Highway, Agua Dulce, CA 91390. $65 per person.
Reservations required: Visit reyeswinery.com/events or call 661-268-1865.
Celebrate at the ‘Most Romantic Restaurant’
Le Chene French Cuisine has long been known as “the most romantic restaurant in the Santa Clarita Valley.” Diners
have traveled long distances, from Los Angeles and beyond, to celebrate special occasions at Le Chene.
Le Chene has also been voted “most romantic” by The Daily News and LA Magazine.
Le Chene French cuisine opened in September 1980 by chef owner Juan Alonso. The restaurant is located in a secluded
oasis surrounded by centennial oak trees. The outside
of Le Chene has the look of a small castle, made
of river rock. Once you open the door the rock motif
continues through the entrance then opens to a
large bar overlooking the garden, underground wine
cellar full of mature wine and an open patio shaded
by oak trees.
Le Chene Restaurant has been awarded year after
year with the Best of Award of Excellence by the
Wine Spectator for their wine list. Le Chene is fortunate
to possess underground cellar ideal for storage
and aging of fine wines. The restaurant boasts
32,000 bottles of wine resting and aging in the cellar
and the wine list encompasses more than 900
different French and California wines.
To celebrate Valentine’s Day Le Chene will be open
from 2-9 p.m. The restaurant will not offer its regular
Sunday Brunch but instead serve a special Valentine’s
Day dinner menu.
Appetizers include: Norwegian Smoked Salmon $14;
Lobster Ravioli $14; Crab Cake with Dill Sauce $14;
1/2 Dozen Escargot $13; Stuffed Mushrooms $13;
Shrimp Escoffier $15; Shrimp Monagasque $15; Duck
Pate $13; French Onion Soup $ 9
Baby Mixed Salad Vinaigrette or Cream Water Cress.
Entrees are all priced at $43 unless noted and include:
Roasted Filet Mignon with Béarnaise Sauce; Double
Breast of Chicken with Champagne Sauce; Roast
Bone-in Kurobuta Pork Loin with Apples; Lobster Tail
and Filet Mignon ($88); Poached Salmon Mousseline
Sauce; Roast Prime Rib Au Jus; Broiled Lobster Tail
($68); Roast Rack of Lamb with Herbs Au Jus; Muscovy
Duck Breast Red Wine Chocolate Sauce.
Served with Sautéed Green Beans, Potatoes Au
Gratin, and Butternut Squash.
All desserts are $13 and include:
Meringue Glace Au Café; Cheesecake
with Strawberries; Charlotte Mousse
Cake with Strawberry Sauce; Chocolate
Cake in Vanilla Sauce & Chocolate;
Cafe Glace with Coffee Liqueur;
Crème Brule; Lemon Tarte.
To make reservations online visit
lechene.com/reservations.html or
call 661- 251-4315. Le Chene
French Cuisine Restaurant,
12625 Sierra Highway, Santa
Clarita, CA, 91390.
There’s Nothing Like a Romantic
Murder
For a special Valentine’s Day dinner
treat enjoy the “Murder Mystery Dinner
Theater at Le Chene in association
with Sharpo Productions.”
This special dinner will be held
Sunday, Feb. 14 with cocktails
and registration at 5 p.m. and dinner and show
beginning at 5:30 p.m.
The mystery begins the moment you check in for
the mingling reception, which is a great time to get
to know the other “suspects.” After the cocktail
party the mystery continues and wraps around your
meal.
There are prizes for best solution to the mystery, so
play close attention to everything you see and hear
and you may solve the crime.
This dinner offers a special menu including: Swiss
Cheese Gougeres, Galicias Stars, Baby Mix Salad and
Salmon Dumpling. Choice of entrees: Breast of
Chicken with Champagne Sauce or Poached Salmon
with Mousseline Sauce or Roasted Filet Mignon with
Béarnaise Sauce accompanied by potatoes au gratin
and sautéed green beans.
Juan's Red 2011 wine will be served and dessert will
be Chocolate Mousse Charlotte. Enjoy Paul Cheneau
Cava Brut and coffee and tea.
See Romatic Valentine, page 30

February 2016 THE Reader • 29
restaurant review
Southern Smoke BBQ
& Brewhouse
BBQ Bliss in Old
Town Newhall
By Michele e. Buttelman
Features and entertainment editor
Ithink I may have mentioned a time or two
that I love BBQ. I especially love good BBQ.
Open only a few weeks Southern Smoke
BBQ & Brewhouse, on Main Street in downtown
Newhall, offers some of the best BBQ
I’ve ever tasted in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Trust me, I’ve tasted BBQ from nearly
every BBQ restaurant that has ever been
chilled, deconstructed s’mores. dark chocolate pots
de crème and torched marshmallow sauce served
with graham crackers. $6.50.
southern smoke BBQ & Brewhouse offers a cozy space on Main street in downtown Newhall.
open in the SCV, all of it good, from Tony
Roma’s (formerly on the site of the current
Mimi’s Restaurant), to Mountainview BBQ
(my heart still breaks at the thought that they
are gone), in addition to Memphis Blues,
Smok'n Joe's BBQ Pit, Dickey’s, Longhorns,
Coles, Rattler’s and T-Bo’s (there’s a few
more, but I can’t remember their names).
Only Rattler’s and Dickey’s remain. I can’t really
include Lucille’s on this list because I
tried it twice and found the quality lacking.
Southern Smoke BBQ & Brewhouse coowner
Sam Gardian, said he wanted to open
a restaurant that offered the kind of food he
likes to eat.
“I’m a foodie,” Gardian said. “Everywhere I
went I was left unsatisfied. I wanted a place
where I would want to eat and it would feel
like home.”
Gardian said he wasn’t interested in opening
a restaurant that would feed “5,000 people.”
“It is about getting high quality food to people
who really enjoy it,” Gardian said. “This
restaurant is about having a fun atmosphere,
where you are greeted and welcomed, where
the restaurant features artwork showing the different
cuts of meat that come from a cow and a pig.
you’re family.”
Gardian said he uses only “the freshest and
highest quality ingredients.”
The restaurant is truly a concept that is entirely
Gardian’s. The cozy space features
warm brick walls and handcrafted wood tables
and chairs.
“I designed the space and I drew the plans,”
he said.
Plans are to serve at least 30 craft brews
and nearly 20 wine labels.
However, the highlight of Southern Smoke
is the food.
See Southern Smoke BBQ, page 32
Breakfast at
Your Hometown Diner!
Only 7 Minutes North
of Valencia
Watch the Big Game at Mike’s!
Happy Hour Pricing All Game
Long on your Favorite Beers
$1.75 Street Tacos (Al Pastor, Carne Asada or Chicken)
and $3.95 Giant Pretzel Bun Hot Dogs!
Starting February 7th at kickoff!
661-257-3233
31537 Castaic Road
Open Everyday From 6am-10pm

30 • THE Reader
February 2016
w h at a pa i r!
rosé: a versatile wine
that pairs well with
many foods
reyes 2014 rosa’s
choice rosé Brussels
sprouts, top center, join
a plate of saffron rice,
cous cous with pignolis
and cherries, rainbow
carrots, salmon with
blood orange glaze
with Quinn’s Zin and
leg of lamb with blackberries
and rosemary
at the 2015 Valentine’s
day dinner at reyes
winery.
by Beth P. heiserman
contributing writer
Rosé wines, often called blush wines,
are wines normally made with red
grapes. However, Rosés have a much
lighter color than red wines based upon the
way the wine is made.
A traditional Rosé wine can be created a
number of ways. There are three ways to
make a Rosé: skin-contact, Saignée or
blending.
Traditionally, Rosés are generally made
with red wine grapes. After crushing the
grapes the wine is left to ferment for a few
hours with the skin on. The color of the wine
is based on how long the juice has contact
with the skin. The skin of the grapes determines
the color of the wine. Different varieties
of grapes create different hues of wine.
The amount of tannins in wine is also the
result of how much contact the wine has
with the grape skin. Tannins are naturally
occurring compounds that exist inside
grape skins, seeds and stems.
When a winemaker wishes to have more
tannins, and a deeper color to a red wine,
some of the pink, or “rose” juice, from the
beginning stages of winemaking can be removed.
This is the Saignée method. It
means bleeding. The pink juice that is removed
can be fermented separately to produce
Rosé.
Rosé wine may also be made by blending
red and white wines, but this is relatively
rare. However, the Rosé made at Reyes
Winery uses this method. The Reyes Winery
Rosé is a blend of Chardonnay and Muscat
with Syrah for color. Winemakers
generally choose aromatic grapes for a
Rosé. In France, it is forbidden by law to
blend grapes for a Rosé, except to create a
Rosé champagne.
In the 1940’s, two Portuguese wineries
each created their own sweet Rosé wine.
The wine was marketed to Europeans and
Americans.
I remember going to dinner with my parents
and always seeing these two brands
on every restaurant’s tables. My dad
worked for the company that distributed
the wines. We had a pair of salt and pepper
shakers that were made from the bottles of
one of the brands. One was red and the
other was green. I actually still have them
in my china cabinet.
In the 1970’s consumers preferred white
wine over red, which encouraged winemakers
to produce white wine from red
grapes using the Saignée method. In the
Romantic Valentine continued from page 28
mid-1970’s a winemaker experienced an
issue with yeast which died off before the
sugars turned to alcohol, which is called
stuck fermentation.
When he tasted it a few weeks later, he
liked it. It was a sweet pink wine, which
was called White Zinfandel. Around the
same time, another winemaker was making
white cabernet, but refused to call it that,
Tickets are $150 per person all inclusive ($128 per person includes dinner, tax,
tip, $22 per person for the Murder Mystery Show.)
To make reservations online visit lechene.com/reservations.html or call 661-
251-4315. Le Chene French Cuisine Restaurant, 12625 Sierra Highway, Santa
Clarita, CA, 91390.
Ride the Valentine’s Dinner Train
Ride “The Love Train” on Feb. 12 or Feb. 14 for a special “comedy murder mystery express”
experience.
Reservations are required for this trip aboard a Fillmore & Western Railway dinner train.
“The Love Train” departs at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14.
The historic trains of Fillmore & Western are located in equally historic downtown
Fillmore, just a short drive down Highway 126 from the SCV. The passenger coach
cars and dining cars are from the 1930’s and 1940’s, truly a step back in time for all
who venture onboard. The many locomotives used to power the train are all pre-1950
and gently restored to meet the demands of the 21st century.
Embark on an evening train ride with an excellent dinner, hearty laughs and some
less-than-serious sleuthing. Jump right in and help solve the murder; or simply sit
back, be waited on, and entertained on board the only Murder Mystery Dinner Train
in Southern California. Adults 18 and up.
The Valentine’s-themed “Love Train” is a spoof the 1970’s popular “Love Boat” characters
on their “Aloha Voyage.”
You are a guest of Hef Hubner at his retirement party and will help him set sail for
new horizons. Meet some strangely familiar characters as they collide for an evening
of intrigue and entertainment, all done up 70's style, with music to set the mood and
costumes to remind us just how fun it was to be dancing, or dying, to the disco beat.
The gang is all here, including Julie, “the too-good-to-be-true” Cruise Director;
Scooter, the Captain’s go-fer and as for Doc, is he too busy with the lonely ladies on
this train that he is neglecting his responsibilities? Don’t forget the Captain, what
would he do to keep from losing his train?
Columnist for the lovelorn, Louise Lamore, suspects someone is up to no good, but
is she in it for the news, or the notoriety? The CEO’s spoiled son, Raymond Ditwilder
is also aboard, what’s his story?
Enjoy the show, participate, or just sit back and watch the action as you enjoy a threecourse
meal including salad, entrée and dessert.
Tickets are $89 per person with a choice of chicken, pork chop, prime rib or
vegetarian dinner.
You will find “The Love Train” at 351 Santa Clara St., Fillmore, CA 93015.
Reservations: http://www.fwry-blog.com/ or call 805-524-2546.
M
e
Valentine’s Day Dinner at Salt Creek Grille
Salt Creek Grille, 24415 Town Center Drive, Valencia CA 91355 will offer a special Valentine’s
Day Dinner menu on Sunday, Feb. 14. No reservations for two will be offered, it
will be first come, first served. The menu offers a starters of Baked Brie and Raspberries
En Croute, $14.95; Wild Mushroom Soup, $7.95; Arugula and Squash Salad, $9.95;
entrees include Filet Mignon and Jumbo Shrimp $39.95; or Macadamia Encrusted Mahi

February 2016 THE Reader • 31
as a joke they came up with the name
Cabernet blush, and ended up calling it a
Blush.
Rosé can be produced from very dry to
very sweet. When pairing traditional to
nontraditional Rosés, enjoy a dry Rosé with
grilled sausage and peppers. Burgers, pizza
and many other foods can be easily paired
with Rosés. I usually prefer to pair something
spicy with a sweet Rosé.
I have always loved Brussels sprouts.
They can be boiled, baked, sautéed, etc. I
have served the recipe featured below at
many events. I had the most compliments
for this dish when I served it at the Reyes
Winery annual Valentine’s Day Dinner in
2015. I served it with poached salmon with
blood orange Quinn Zin glaze and saffron
rice. This year I am pairing our Rosé with
dessert, a pink velvet cake with mascarpone
filling and strawberries drizzled with
Rosé.
Reyes 2014 Rosa’s Choice Rosé
Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients
1 pound fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed
and sliced in half
2 tablespoons olive oil
Mahi, $26.95 and dessert of Chocolate
Raspberry Mousse Cake, $12.95.
Info: 661-222-9999, www.saltcreekgrille.com
or visit the Salt Creek Grille
Valencia Facebook page.
Valentine’s Day Dinner at The Oaks
Grille
Enjoy the romantic views from the patio
of the Tournament Players Club in Stevenson
Ranch as you cuddle up with your
Valentine near the outdoor fire pit.
Weather permitting, enjoy a cocktail outside
as you enjoy the warmth of the fire,
and get lost in each other beside the fire
pit’s dancing flames.
Enjoy a gourmet four course dinner
prepared by Chef Peyton Poulsen with
your sweetheart on Sunday, Feb. 14,
Cuddle up with your Valentine on the
patio at Tournament Players Club in
Stevenson Ranch. The Oaks Grille at
TPC will offer a special Valentine’s Day
Dinner, too
5-8:30 p.m. $90 per person. Reservations: 661-288-1995 ext. 109. The Oaks
Grille, 26550 Heritage View Lane,
Stevenson Ranch, CA 91381.
Schedule the delivery of a Singing Valentine
delivered by a four-man barbershop quartet
from The Men of Harmony
1/4 cup onions, chopped
3 strips of turkey bacon, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
1 tsp. kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. red pepper flake (optional)
3/4 cup Reyes 2014 Rosa’s Choice Rosé
Directions
1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium
heat.
2. Add the turkey bacon and onions and
sauté until beginning to crisp, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the Brussels sprouts to the same
skillet and sauté until heated through and
beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.
4. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper
flake to taste.
5. Add the Reyes 2014 Rosa’s Choice
Rosé and simmer until the wine reduces
just enough to coat the Brussels sprouts,
about 5 minutes.
6. Turn off heat.
7. Add cranberries and pecans. Leave in
skillet with lid closed for 5 minutes.
8. Serve
Singing Valentines
Perhaps nothing says “I Love You”
than a singing Valentine. The Santa
Clarita Valley Men of Harmony are celebrating
40 years of performing in
the Santa Clarita Valley by singing
songs from the 20s and 30s.
A barbershop quarter will visit your
loved one at home or at the office, or
nearly anywhere you want your
Singing Valentine delivered. Each serenade
includes a flower gift, but you can amp up the “love” by including extras, such
as chocolates or a full flower arrangement.
The price for regular delivery in the SCV, on either Saturday, Feb. 13 or Sunday,
Feb. 14, is $50. Hours are 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Time cannot be guaranteed, but is
usually within two hours of requested time.
The price for premium service is $60. Your singing Valentine will be delivered within
15 minutes of the requested time on any day of your choice.
Prices for sending a barbershop quartet to a loved one range from $50 to $175 depending
on the location and any extras, such as flowers or chocolates that are presented
to the loved one.
To order, call 661-505-7597,
or visit www.SCMenofHarmony.com.
Dinner Specials
Everyday
Happy Hour
Mon -Friday Open 5pm
LUNCH SPECIAL!
$
8
99
Many Items to Choose From
Served with Egg Roll, Pot
Stickers and Soup of the Day
COMPLIMENTARY DINNER ON YOUR BIRTHDAY!
FREE
DINE- IN ONLY
BUY ONE ENTREE AND 2
DRINKS, GET THE SECOND
ENTREE FREE
Offer valid daily for second dinner of equal or lesser value (maximum value $10) Cannot be combined
with other offers. Not valid with lunch/dinner specials. Must present SCV Reader coupon. Not valid with
other offers. Expires 2/28/16.
FREE
DINE- IN/TAKE-OUT/DELIVERY
3 EGG ROLLS
Min. $15
Not valid with any other offer or lunch/dinner special. Must present SCV Reader coupon. Expires
2/28/16.
FREE
POT STICKERS
Min. $15
Not valid with any other offer or lunch/dinner special. Must present SCV Reader coupon.
Expires 2/28/16.
PAD THAI NOODLES WITH CHICKEN
4 CHICKEN
FREE
DINE- IN/TAKE-OUT/DELIVERY
With minimum purchase of $25 (Before sales
tax). One discount per coupon.
One coupon per DELIVERY OR VISIT.
Not valid with any other offer discount or advertised specials. Not valid with lunch/dinner special. Must
present SCV Reader coupon. Expires 2/28/16.

32 • THE Reader
wild alaskan salmon, pan seared and served with
sautéed spinach and red-skinned mashed potatoes.
$19.
Southern Smoke BBQ
continued from page 29
Entrees are served with a choice of two
sides and two sauces. The guiding philosophy
is that the smoky flavor and natural juices of
well-barbecued meat can stand on its own.
All sauces are served on the side.
Guests are offered a choice of Peach Habanero
BBQ sauce, Smokey Bourbon BBQ
Sauce, Kansas City BBQ Sauce, Eastern Carolina
Sauce to pair with the pulled pork and
Maple Porter BBQ Sauce for pork and
chicken. All the sauces are house-made from
scratch.
Southern Smoke’s dry-rubbed ribs are
basted with a sweet and spicy Jack Daniel’s
Rib Glaze.
Entrees include: Brisket ($16); Santa Maria
Tri Tip ($18); Jack Daniels Glazed Spare Ribs
(1/3 rack $22 or 2/3 rack $28); Pulled Pork
($15); Texas Hot Links ($14) and Mary’s Organic
Free Range Chicken (1/2 chicken $14).
Sides include: Five cheese Mac and Cheese
with bacon and Andouille Sausage; mashed
potatoes; barrel tots; baked beans with
bacon and Andouille Sausage; coleslaw (traditional
or Wasabi Slaw); potato salad (Santa
Clarita style with bell peppers and Andouille
Sausage); collard greens (slow simmered
with ham, Andouille Sausage and secret
spices); fried dill pickles with house-made
remoulade; Deep Fried Okra and French or
Sweet Potato fries.
All sides can be ordered separately.
A “must” is the Hoe Cake ($6). Gardian said
he created this Southern minimalist cornbread
favorite topped with homemade honey
butter, Fleur de Sel and chives. The Hoe Cake
is made and served in a sizzling cast iron skillet.
If “meat” isn’t your “thing” Southern
Smoke still has you covered with the option
of three seafood entrees or a Vegan Quinoa
Salad.
The Wild Alaskan Salmon ($19) is seared
hoe cake. a southern minimalist cornbread topped
with homemade honey butter, Fleur de sel and
chives. served in a sizzling cast iron skillet. $6.
two brisket sliders topped with coleslaw and a side of Barrel tots. $11.
to perfection, moist, flavorful and paired perfectly
with sautéed spinach and red-skinned
mashed potatoes.
The Scallops ($20) are pan seared and
served with Creole or almondine sauce on a
button of mashed potatoes and topped with
chorizo. The Tilapia ($16) is sautéed with
garlic and herbs and served with grilled asparagus
and red-skinned mashed potatoes.
The Vegan Quinoa Salad ($11) is made
with fluffy quinoa, sweet onion, avocado,
black beans, roasted corn and mango with a
garlic-lime vinaigrette.
Other salads include a BBQ Tri Tip Salad
($11.50); Spring Salad ($9) and a Caesar
Salad ($9). Grilled or pulled chicken can be
added to salads for an additional $4.
The star of the restaurant is truly the
smoked meats, which are also available in
Signature Sandwiches and Sliders.
Sandwiches, (Brisket, $14; Pulled Chicken
February 2016
$13; Pulled Pork $13, Santa Maria Tri Tip
$15) are topped with Southern Sweet Slaw
and served on Brioche buns, except the Texas
Hot Link ($11) sandwich which is served on
a French Roll.
Sliders are also topped with slaw and include
a choice of side. Two sliders and side of
Brisket or mini Angus are $11; two sliders
and side of Pulled Pork or Pulled Chicken are
$10.
You can get a combo slider plate of three
meats for $14.
Southern Smoke also serves impressive
burgers. All burgers are served on Brioche
buns with a choice of side.
The Southern Smoke Burger “The Widow
Maker” ($17) includes two single grind
brisket patties, onion jam, spring mix lettuce,
applewood smoked bacon, avocado, sharp
cheddar, four blend cheese sauce and is
topped with a friend egg.
Other burgers ($13) include: Bacon Bleu
Cheese Burger, Kansas City Burger and the
PB&J Burger (smoked applewood bacon,
blackberry jam and peanut butter).
You can also build your own burger ($12)
with a variety of toppings.
Breakfast is served on Saturday and Sunday
7:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Signature breakfast entrees include a
quartet of Eggs Benedict dishes priced at $11
each, including: Classic, California (with
tomatoes and avocado), Florentine (meatless
with sautéed spinach) and Southern (pulled
pork).
The Eggcellent Hashbrown Scrambler
($12) is a hashbrown casserole made in the
Southern tradition with cheddar and American
cheese.
In addition to the classic breakfast sides
are two housemade offerings, Southern
Cheesy Grits made with smoked Gouda and
cheddar ($4) and biscuits and gravy ($4).
Breakfast favorites are also in the menu
priced from $9-$14 and include eggs paired
with: Bacon, sausage, ham, biscuits, corn beef
hash or chorizo.
The three-egg specialty omelets ($11) include:
Ham and Swiss, Spinach and Mushroom,
Meatlover’s (ham, bacon and sausage)
and Veggie. You can also build your own
omelet.
Southern Smoke BBQ & Brewhouse is the
perfect addition to the downtown Newhall
scene. I hope it become an SCV favorite.
“I love people and I love food,” said Gardian.
It looks like Gardian has the right idea
with Southern Smoke BBQ & Brewhouse.
Southern Smoke BBQ & Brewhouse, 24255
Main Street, Newhall. 661-888-4585, www.ssbbqbrew.com.
Closed Mondays. Open: Tuesday
-Thursday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday 11 a.m.-11
p.m.; Saturday – 7 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sunday: 7
a.m.-10 p.m.

February 2016 THE Reader • 33
o u t & a B o u t i n t h e scv
Entertain Your Valentine
welcome to 2016; let’s
get this party rolling!
continued from page 27
DVDs
Here are the five best films to share with your
Valentine.
by Michele e. Buttelman
Features & entertainment editor
“Lost in Translation” (2003)
“Lost in Translation” has a great romance at
its heart. The film stars Bill Murray and Scarlett
Johansson capture the feeling of being in
a foreign place and seeking a connection.
Welcome to 2016. It’s been a month
since the holidays were over and
everyone has since returned to
work and school. The holiday hangover
seemed a little long this year and I’m still trying
to remember to write 2016 when I write
the date. Thank goodness I don’t write many
checks anymore, I love the digital age!
What’s new in 2016?
It seems there are quite a few new restaurants
that have opened recently in the Santa
Clarita Valley. New, or newish, are: Crazy
Otto’s Diner, Southern Smoke BBQ & Brewhouse,
Nudie’s Custom Java, King Kogy, Masa
Ramen and JJs Bar & Grill. I know there are
many more, but these are the places I’ve run
across in my travels around town. It is wonderful
that many of these new efforts are
mom&pop establishments, too. For what it is
worth, here’s my advice: Don’t turn your
restaurant over to a minimum-wage staff and
become an absentee owner. That’s a firstclass
ticket to extinction from what I’ve witnessed
over the years. Be on premises as
much as possible. No one cares about your
restaurant like you do, no matter what your
staff tells you.
Celebrity Waiter Dinner
My favorite “adult costume party” is the
annual Celebrity Waiter Dinner to benefit the
Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center. This year’s
theme is “A Night of Fun and Games.” The
table décor is always fun and inventive.
Vanessa Wilk and Brian Koegle are co-chairs
of this year’s event. The event will be held
Saturday, Feb. 27. Doors open 5 p.m., dinner
6 p.m. at the Valencia Hyatt Regency. The
evening features an auction and competition
for the Stanley Award, the “celebrity waiter”
who raises the most money during the
evening. For reservations and information,
celebrity “waiters” perform for guests at the annual
celebrity waiter dinner to benefit the scV senior
center. this year’s event will be held Feb. 27.
contact Jennifer at 661-259-9444.
See Dave Stamey
Dave Stamey is among my favorite Western
performers. Sadly, he isn’t on this year’s
list to perform at the Cowboy Festival to be
held April 23-24 at Hart Park. However,
Stamey will appear in a luncheon show at
Rancho Camulos in Piru at 11 a.m. on Friday,
April 22.
S t a m e y ’ s
concert at
Don Ygnacio
del Valle’s
e s t a n c i a
highlights
an afternoon
at
Rancho Camulos
Museum
and
N a t i o n a l
H i s t o r i c
Landmark,
dave stamey will perform april
22 at rancho camulos in Piru.
one of the best surviving examples of an early
California rancho in its original rural setting.
It is the site that inspired the novel “Ramona”
and the filming location for Mary Pickford’s
1910 film “Ramona.” Enjoy a Southwest Vaquero
buffet, intimate performance, and costumed
docent-led tours as you step back in
time in Heritage Valley where the history,
myth, and romance of old California still
linger. All proceeds benefit the non-profit museum’s
historical preservation.
Tickets: $50 each and includes lunch, tour,
and concert. Info: http://cowboyfestival.org/
schedule/california-fiesta-de-ranchocamulos-with-tbd/
the Fourth annual sierra Pelona wine Festival will
be held saturday, april 23 at reyes winery in agua
dulce.
Sierra Pelona Wine Festival
Did you know that one of the largest wine
festivals in Los Angeles County happens right
here in the Santa Clarita Valley? The Fourth
Annual Sierra Pelona Wine Festival, featuring
more than 80 wineries, food purveyors and
more, will be held Saturday, April 23 at Reyes
Winery in Aqua Dulce. It’s a first class event
with swag bags and as many tastings and
food samples as you want for one price. Get
your $100 VIP tickets before they’re gone
(only 100 available). General admission tickets
are $75 before April 10. The event opens
at 11 a.m. for VIP, noon for general admission.
It runs until 4 p.m. in the picturesque vineyard
of Reyes Winery. This year’s event will
benefit the SCV Senior Center. For more information
visit reyeswinery.com or call 661-
268-1865. R
Michele E. Buttelman is the features and entertainment
editor of The Westside Reader.
She can be reached by email at Michele@
WestsideReader.com.
“50 First Dates” (2004)
This is the one Adam Sandler film that I really,
really like. Perhaps it is the chemistry between
Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.
Yes, it is a “chick flick.”
“(500) Days of Summer” (2009)
This is among my favorite, favorite films.
Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt
explore the architecture of downtown Los Angeles,
and fall in love, too. Then it is over.
The scene of Gordon-Levitt dancing around
the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with animated
bluebirds flying over his head is an absolute
classic. It reminds you of what it is to be in
love.
Cuddle up on the couch with your “significant
other” and bring the tissues. “Titantic” is one of
the most romantic films of all time.
Titanic (1997)
The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate
Winslett as fictional passengers on the
doomed Titanic. You know this won’t end
well, however…
Best
Romantic
Film
Ever…
Ever…
I dare you to watch this without crying. I dare
you!
“Love, Actually” (2003)
“Love, Actually” follows the love stories of
eight British couples. It is impossible to watch
this film without laughing, crying, and falling
in love, mostly all at the same time. “Love,
Actually” has been called “the best romantic
comedy ever written.”
“How to be Single” is the
perfect “date” film. It opens in wide release
on Friday, Feb. 12

34 • THE Reader
The SCV’s Most Romantic Love Stories
How do couples find their soul mates? Sometimes it is love at first
sight, but sometimes it takes a while.
February 2016
By Michele e. Buttelman
Features and entertainment editor
Imet my husband, Keith, in the “green room” in Daggy Hall
at Washington State University in 1975. I was journalism
major, but with a theatre minor. After auditioning for the
WSU Drama Department’s traveling theatre troop, The Comediennes,
I found that I had earned a spot in the cast.
I was an “actress,” he was a “techie.” My first impression of
Keith was that he strutted around with his “techie” pals and
interrupted rehearsals.
Keith’s first impression of me was that “you were too stuck
up to help with the set.”
Frankly, I was so naïve and “green” I had no idea that Comedienne
actors were supposed to help with the set.
Keith won my heart when he invited me to party he was
hosting at his apartment off campus. I thought he had invited
me to be his “date.”
I had no idea that he was such a “good guy” he had made the
rounds of the entire theater department inviting everyone
personally.
He had, in fact, met a girl on an airplane flight into Pullman,
Wash. and had invited her to be his “date” for the party.
Luckily for me, she never showed. He spent nearly the entire
evening at my side as I was too shy to talk to anyone else
at the party.
Keith invited me out to a movie the following week, “Freebie
and the Bean.”
Then we went to Moscow, Idaho, only nine miles from WSU
in Pullman, Wash. for drinks at the Mark IV Motor Inn Restaurant
and Cocktail Lounge on the outskirts of town.
It was there (two weeks after that fateful party), on Feb. 14,
1975, that Keith asked me to marry him.
I remember time seemed to stand still as we gazed into
each other’s eyes. I said, “yes.”
We were married June 19, 1976 in the Presbyterian Church
in Othello, Wash. Our wedding reception was held in the backyard
of my house. We spent our wedding night at a hotel in
Moses Lake, Wash., before leaving the next morning with a U-
Haul truck, containing all my worldly possessions, for California.
After two days staring at each other in the cab of the truck
and repeating, nervously, “Hey, we’re married!” we arrived at
our first home in the Northridge Meadows Apartment complex
in Northridge, Calif. The Northridge Meadows was later
destroyed in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, but we had
Michele & Keith Buttelman, 1976
chris & richard Budman, 1985
moved to the Santa Clarita Valley in 1978.
In June we will celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary.
One of the most romantic things my husband ever did for
me was on our 35th wedding anniversary when he arranged
a special dinner at In-N-Out Burger in Saugus. He brought
flowers and a tablecloth to decorate a booth. We each had our
favorite In-N-Out cheeseburgers and a soda. It was very sweet.
Richard and Chris Budman
Richard and Chris Budman first met on a blind date on June
9, 1983.
“I had just moved back to San Diego after seven years. A coworker’s
friend set us up on a blind date,” Chris said. “We met
for lunch near the harbor. I had just turned 26 and Richard
was 26. We were both young and cute. It was a great first blind
date.”
Chris said Richard really got her attention when she received
a bouquet of flowers about an hour later when she returned
to work.
“One of the girls in the office came running back to tell me
that someone had sent me a beautiful flower arrangement,”
Chris said. “The note said, ‘Thanks for lunch. Richard.’ That definitely
got my attention.”
The couple was married on May 12, 1985.
“We had tried to plan a small wedding, and then tied the
knot just before our honeymoon,” she said.
Chris said the most important ingredient to a successful
marriage is to be “each other’s best friend and partner.”
“We grew up in the same era, so we’ve always been able to
relate on all sorts of levels,” she said. “We also had compatible
business backgrounds. That’s helped us to be partners in several
businesses, as well. Couples find their roles as partners
and parents. In our case, it is as business partners, as well. It’s
important to honor and appreciate each other’s contributions.
That applies in marriage and life in general.”
Chris said Richard has always had a very romantic side.
“He puts a lot of thought into gifts,” said Chris, a devout fan
of the Los Angeles Dodgers. “You should see my (Sandy) Koufax
collection.” (Koufax pitched 12 seasons for the Brooklyn/Los
Angeles Dodgers, from 1955 to 1966.)
Among her favorite romantic memories is the time Richard
took Chris to “the most romantic dinner” in the Sky Room at
the La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla.
“It started at sunset and we were one of only four candlelit
tables. It was very memorable,” she said.
Don and Cheri Fleming
Cheri Fleming first met Don when she decided to get into
the sun tanning business in Southern California. Cher was
working at a savings and loan in downtown Los Angeles while
living in Valencia. She decided to become an entrepreneur and
own her own business.
A local dentist, (his name lost in the mist of time) had a sun
tanning booth in his office across from K-Mart on Valencia
Boulevard.
Cheri tried it, liked it and asked the dentist about his equipment.
He told her that if she was serious about getting into the
sun tanning business there was only one person to talk to
about equipment, Don Fleming.
The year was 1980 and he set up a meeting for Cheri with
Don at his dental office.
Don Fleming flew out from his home in Austin, Texas to
meet with Cheri.
“When I first met Don it was like this crazy silver bullet hit
me,” she said. “The minute I saw him I knew that I was going
to be with that man. I didn’t know how or when or why, but I
knew it.”
Cheri bought her sun tanning equipment from Don and
opened a salon in Encino.
“It was very successful. It was located at White Oak and Ventura.
I had a lot of celebrity clientele,” she said. “This was before
there was a sun tanning salon on every corner.”
Don Fleming made frequent visits to “make sure his franchisee
was doing ‘okay.’”
Cheri said they knew they had a mutual attraction for each
other.
“I knew we were going to be together, I didn’t know how or
when, he lived in another state, but I knew, I just knew. I never
doubted that we would be together. It was love at first sight,”
she said. “One time he came out and didn’t go back to Austin.”
Cheri said their marriage works because they have skill sets
that “compliment each other.”
“We both love people and we both have an entrepreneurial
spirit,” she said. “I love to sell, but I am also more organized
and the business person. Don is the big visionary. He is the ‘if
we can dream it, we can be it’ person.”
Cheri said Don is very romantic.
The couple was married on Valentine’s Day, 1984. This year
cheri & don Fleming, 1984

February 2016 THE Reader • 35
Kathy & Bob Kellar, 2009
the Flemings will celebrate 32 years of marriage.
Her favorite romantic memory is the anniversary year when
the couple had a busy day at work and hadn’t decided on what
to do to celebrate. Don left work before Cheri and when she
got home she found a yellow sticky note with an arrow drawn
on it with the words, “love nest this way.” She followed the trail
of sticky notes which took her to the kitchen where Don
awaited with a tray of hors-d'oeuvres.
“Don doesn’t cook, I cook,” said Cheri. “But he decided to
make hors d'oeuvres and open a beautiful bottle of wine, dim
the lights and light a few candles. It was just a quiet, romantic,
sweet and special evening.”
Cheri said the couple has had many romantic trips, dinners
in the finest restaurants and other grand adventures, but that
evening, with the trail of yellow sticky notes, is the one she always
remembers.
“I kept all those sticky notes,” she said. “I have kept them in
a special place in my jewelry drawer.”
Kathy and Bob Kellar
Kathy and Bob Kellar have each been married before. They
are living proof that sometimes it takes almost a lifetime to
find your soul mate.
“My dear friend, Diana Sevanian, introduced me to Bob at
the Hyatt Valencia during the Western Walk of Stars event that
Dale Evans spoke at,” said Kathy Kellar. “It was a very casual
meeting as there were a number of people there, but he did
look good in his cowboy hat and duster.”
The couple had their first date at a VIP event at Six Flags
Magic Mountain.
“He took me on the Superman ride which scared the beejebbies
out of me,” Kathy said. “I guess you could say that our
first date amounted to a ‘wild ride.’”
Kathy said their romance started slowly.
“At first we were just friends and with no romance going on,
but then my father died and Bob came to his funeral,” she said.
“That meant so much to me as he didn't know my father, but
out of respect for him and to support me he attended. Standing
there in the Chapel after the service when he walked up to
speak to me, I saw his kindness and genuine concern and respect,
not only for me but for my family. This had a great positive
impact on me, and one that I will never forget.”
Kathy said having similar goals is a major reason the couple
is so compatible.
“I was raised in a wonderful, loving family and my parents
set a good example of serving others,” she said. “Both Bob and
I love this community and especially all the great friends we
have made here. We have a mutual respect for each other and
for our opinions, thoughts, etc. Yes, of course there are times
we disagree, but that makes life interesting doesn't it?”
Kathy said friendship is important for a successful marriage.
The couple married on June 13, 2009.
“Bob is my best friend and we have no secrets from each
other,” she said. “As for romance, it's in the little things that he
does for me every single day, like telling me he loves me, to
covering me up with a blanket while we are on the couch
watching TV to make sure I'm warm. Small kindnesses, words
of appreciation and respect all wrapped up in a beautiful ceremony
called ‘Marriage.’”
Nicole and Kirk Stinson
Nicole Stinson, a Realtor with Estate Realty Group and Kirk
Stinson, owner of Plumbing by Kirk, met in 1990 when they
both worked at the same company in Granada Hills. Kirk was
a plumber at the company and Nicole was a dispatcher.
“When I started at the company the owner told me, ‘I have
only one thing to warn you about, stay away from that guy,’
and he pointed to Kirk,” Nicole said. “Tell me not to do something,
and then I’m right there.”
Nicole said she was curious about the warning so she immediately
sought Kirk out.
“There was something about him,” she said. “He was mysterious.”
The couple became friends before their first date, a “safe”
date for coffee at a Granada Hills coffee shop.
The couple married in 1994.
“When he proposed to me, he came to my office in Valencia,
where I worked at the time, and did the old fashioned getdown-on-one-knee,”
she said. “He had arranged for the whole
company to be there.”
Nicole said the most important part of marriage is communication.
“It’s number one, it doesn’t matter how you look, how you
feel, what you do for that person, communication is the glue
that holds you together,” she said. “If you communicate you
can get through pretty much everything.”
Nicole said that Kirk lives the saying, “Happy wife, happy
life.”
“And I’m going with that,” she laughed. “Every single night
before I go to bed I get a foot rub.”
Nicole said her most romantic memory is when Kirk surprised
her for their 20th anniversary with a surprise getaway.
“I walked outside of house and saw our good friends were
standing there with our kids in their car and they yelled, ‘Have
a good time!’”
“Waiting for me was a beautiful convertible car, my suitcase
already packed,” she said. “I was going somewhere for the
weekend without my kids and with my husband for the first
time in 16 years. We drove to Santa Barbara to a beautiful bed
and breakfast and our suite was amazing!”
Nicole found chocolate dipped strawberries and champagne
waiting for the couple when they arrived.
“We spent the weekend, talking, walking on the beach and
having great conversation for two whole days,” she said. “It
was amazing.”
Nicole & Kirk stinson, 1994
scott & Vanessa wilk, 1985
Vanessa and Scott Wilk
Scott and Vanessa Wilk first met in 1983 in Palm Springs
when Scott was working for one of the most successful Republican
political consulting firms in California.
The firm was hired to get a city ordinance in Rancho Mirage
changed and
one of the strategies the firm employed was to hire locals
to go door to door and talk to voters about the ordinance.
Scott was responsible for recruiting, training and managing
the program.
“One of the people we ended up hiring was Vanessa and that
was how we met,” said Scott.
However, couple’s road to romance wasn’t always smooth.
While the couple “hung out” together during the campaign,
Vanessa said Scott never really “declared” his intentions.
After the campaign was won and the ordinance was
changed Scott left and moved back to Los Angeles.
However, when Scott attended the 1984 wedding of Ed
Davis to Bobbie Trueblood at the Piru Mansion, it moved him
to call Vanessa and profess his love.
“This was in 1984 and there was no email, so about five days
later I got a “Dear Scott” letter from Vanessa saying she just
wanted to be friends,” Scott said.
“I thought he was really fun and I liked him a lot, but he lived
in L.A. and I lived in Palm Springs,” said Vanessa.
Then, about six months later, Vanessa moved to the L.A. area
and just by chance moved into an apartment just around the
corner from where Scott lived.
“I got in touch with Scott again and then we started hanging
out,” Vanessa said. “He told me that he would never declare
his love for me again.”
However, when Vanessa hosted a Fourth of July party and
Scott showed up with another woman on his arm, Vanessa decided
she wanted an exclusive relationship.
“When he showed up with another woman I decided that
was it and I let him know that I liked him,” Vanessa said.
The couple married Oct. 20, 1985. The Wilks just celebrated
their 30th wedding anniversary.
Vanessa said her most romantic memory is when their children
were small and the couple lived in north Valencia and for
Christmas Scott cut out pictures from a magazine and made
her card with the photos and captions that said things like,
“you can go to the spa, go out shopping and get yourself something,
go out to lunch.”
“I still have that card, it was the most romantic thing because
he really thought it out,” Vanessa said.
Vanessa said the things Scott does on a daily basis are what
makes for real romance.
“He has always been very supportive of me, and my family,
and that is really romantic to me,” she said.
Scott said Vanessa’s loyalty is one of her most attractive features.
“I know she always has my back and my interests at heart,”
he said. “She is 100 percent loyal. I always know that she will
stand with me. Especially with the career I have, I know I can
face anything because I won’t be facing it alone.”
Vanessa said she fell in love with Scott because “he is smart,
loyal and very fair. He is respectful of other people’s beliefs,
but is committed to what he believes.”R

36 • THE Reader
February 2016
g a r d e n g at e s
local seasonal gardening
tips for February
by Jane Gates
staff writer
26570 Bouquet Canyon Road • Santa Clarita, CA
661- 263 -1484
Before continuing on with putting together
the water-wise garden, I’m interrupting
my series with some
current suggestions to keep you up on some
to-do tips for the garden at the beginning of
the year and the mid-season of our winter.
This is the time to take active steps planning,
researching and starting the prep for your
new-climate landscape, or you can simply use
this time to clean up, perk up, or fix individual
areas. Some things are best done now, like
planting trees and woody plants. Not only is
the weather most conducive to healthy root
establishment, but you can find the biggest
selection of varieties at the best prices in the
form of bare-root plants that are easier to
transport and put into the ground.
Bulbs, rhizomes, tubers, corms and some
rooted, cut back plants like strawberry and
asparagus roots are also ideal for planting at
this time of year. These plants, like the woody
types – mostly trees and shrubs – are dormant
and settle into their new homes easily.
With rain, soil is easier to dig than during the
dry times of the year. Fresh rainfall helps fill
in air pockets that form when planting.
Dormancy helps plants go through less
shock when planted during cool months because
sap moves slower (they bleed less) and
plants are not trying to form new leaves, expand
root systems or set flowers. As a result,
once the warm weather comes, the newly
planted all find themselves comfortably snuggled
into their new homes when they wake
up and are ready to start into growth without
stress.
Cooler weather is more comfortable for
gardeners, too. Lower temperatures and
clean air are healthy for outdoor exercise. The
ground should be softer and garden pests (as
well as irritating aerial buzzers like flies and
mosquitoes) are less active. And with milder
sun, evaporation is minimal -- meaning you
don’t have to water so frequently. (But don’t
let the newly planted dry out if we go for a period
of no rain.) Do not dig or work soil when
it is wet and muddy. It will compact the particles
and drive out the tiny airspaces between
those particles that fill with water
necessary for root growth. It’s also not much
fun trying to remove clods of clay stuck to
your shoes! Wait at least a few days after a
soaking rain so the ground is not sticky before
working soil.
Winter is also the best time to plant lawns.
Lawns? Wait. Aren’t they the things we are
supposed to be ripping out? Well, yes…and
no. If you have a small section of lawn that is
useful or important to your overall landscape
design, your lawn may earn its keep. If you’ve
been using lawn as a default to blanket empty
areas because it is what people have done for
years, then this is a good time to update your
thinking: remove it and plant a stylish
drought-tolerant garden or convert the space
into something useful or artistic. You will
thank yourself when spring comes and excess
lawn would be guzzling your water, raising
your bills and demanding never-ending
February is a perfect time to plant decorative and
productive fruit trees.
maintenance. But, (back to winter planting)
if you need to plant, repair or reseed a special
place for lawn, cool weather is the best
time to do the job.
Do major pruning. The slow sap movement
also means less bleeding for larger cuts. Do
the big stuff now.
Water features can be cleaned and given a
rest for the winter. Leaves in garden beds can
be left for a month or two to act like a mulch
blanket during chilly nights or you can rake
them up and put them in the composter to
break down into free springtime mulch. Pull
weeds regularly, especially after rain. They
will be small and easy to remove. Waiting will
make the job harder as their roots will penetrate
deeply – and quickly.
Other things demanding attention now are
keeping gutters and drains clean to avoid
flooding in downpours. Re-design areas in
your garden that are not working for you so
you are ready for spring planting. Call in professional
design help, get some feedback
from a consultant or become an expert on
your own. Make winter gardening into
healthy exercise and fun. And, most of all,
make sure you take some time to simply
enjoy being outside in your garden during the
cooler months of the year. You’ve earned a little
rest and relaxation. Let your garden pay
you back.
You can find Jane locally at Gates & Croft
Horticultural Design where she offers garden
consultations and quick-sketch or formal landscape
plans (www.gatesandcroft.com). A professional
artist and writer, she is the author of
“All the Garden’s a Stage” and “Design a Theme
Garden”. She is a licensed landscape contractor
and a member of the Association of Professional
Landscape Designers, Garden Writers
Association and Great Garden Speakers. Jane
is a resident and avid gardener here in Santa
Clarita.

4

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