Featured Articles from the La Canada Valley Sun

Ten Years Ago Slender Sweet Shoppe, which had been in business in La Cañada for almost a quarter of a century, announced plans to move to Honolulu Avenue in neighboring Montrose.    Twenty Years Ago Louis Niemerow, owner of Jundt's Pharmacy in Plaza de La Cañada, reported that $5,000 in cash was missing from the store's safe.    Thirty Years Ago St. Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church School, one of two private schools then sharing La Cañada Unified School District's Palm Crest campus, made a bid to buy a former Glendale Unified campus in La Crescenta.

Andy Beattie is a member of the La Cañada Flintridge Public Safety Commission, and when not working at his apparel company or on local safety issues, he can be found in close proximity to the president of the United States. He answered questions from the La Cañada Valley Sun via email. Sun: Why do you volunteer for the Public Safety Commission and what is the most important work the commission does? Beattie: I enjoy public service and believe that each of us should contribute to the community where we can. Public safety is a particular interest for me. The commission's function is to evaluate the public safety needs of the community and make recommendations to the City Council for programs and services.

When Catherine Horner first picked up the game of softball she planned on leading defenses as a pitcher. These days she's catching pitchers, but is still anchoring the La Cañada High softball team's defense. Horner first had to be bribed to get behind the plate, as her dad paid her to catch her older sister during her pitching lessons. "I have grown to love it, you're involved in every pitch," Horner said. "It doesn't matter if you get the glory or not, I am always involved and it never gets boring for me. " Most catchers don't get gobs of glory, but it's impossible to overlook Horner's solid defensive play behind the dish paired with her prowess with a bat at it. It's that total package that Horner, who's headed to play for the University of Tulsa next year, presents that forced La Cañada Coach KC Mathews to go against what he thought was his better judgment of not starting a freshman at catcher.

This week La Cañada High School students acted out some of their worst nightmares, pretending to die in a car accident or get arrested for drunk driving as part of a demonstration put on by a host of local law enforcement and public safety agencies. “Every 15 Minutes” is a traveling show meant to highlight the dangers of driving while impaired. It derives its name from a statistic showing that one person in the United States dies every 15 minutes as a result of an incident involving alcohol.

Two motorcyclists suffered serious injuries after driving off the side of Angeles Crest Highway on Sunday. At 10:52 a.m. volunteers with Montrose Search and Rescue helped a motorcyclist who had driven over the side of the road at Angeles Crest near Upper Big Tujunga Road, at mile marker 42. At 12:32 p.m. crews rescued another motorcyclist who went over the side of the road in the same area, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department....

A horse lover who has helped form the city's network of trails, the staff sergeant for a food pantry, and a student who helped build a library for others are among the volunteers to be honored Monday by the La Cañada Flintridge Coordinating Council. The council's annual Les Tupper Awards will be presented Monday night at Jet Propulsion Laboratory's von Karman Auditorium. The award is named for the former La Cañada Unified School District member and longtime La Cañada cheerleader Les Tupper, who was considered “Mr.

At the May 11 meeting of the California Transportation Commission in Los Angeles, the Commissioners heard a Caltrans update on the so-called “SR-710 Gap Closure Project.” This proposed project would extend the 710 (Long Beach) Freeway from its northern terminus in Alhambra to intersect with 210 Freeway in Pasadena by way of a 5-mile tunnel. If built, this freeway extension would bring much greater vehicular traffic to La Cañada Flintridge and would create significant health risks stemming from increased air pollution.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — Two pillars of the La Cañada High swimming program have been missing most of the season. The Spartans still haven't had a problem standing up to Rio Hondo League competition, as the boys' and girls' squads posted wins at home against Temple City Thursday. La Cañada's boys won 10 of 11 events in a 119-51 victory and the girls took home seven races for a 99-71 win. Both victories set up a showdown between La Cañada and South Pasadena on Thursday for both league titles.

A freshman and sophomore duo, Colin Morikawa and Joshua Suh, have led the La Cañada High boys' golf team all season long and expectations are for them to keep doing so in CIF Individual competition. Morikawa and Suh will start by looking to place in the top 30 to advance out of the CIF Northern Individual Regional Monday, which tees off at Las Posas Country Club in Camarillo at 8 a.m., to the CIF Individual Finals, which will be held at Riverside's Victoria Country Club on May 21. "I think Morikawa and Suh will advance," said Tetu, who will also have Daniel Rhee competing Monday.

PASADENA — Sarah Olson wasn't the first determined to beat the Rio Hondo League's 100-yard freestyle record, as Natalie Norberg's time of 52.84 seconds had stood since 1992. Olson wouldn't be denied, though, as she not only captured her fourth straight league title in the 100 freestyle, but bested Norberg's mark with a time of 52.43 in the Rio Hondo League Championships Friday at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center. "I knew for the 100 I had to get out fast and I knew the last 50 was going to be the hardest," said Olson, who had her hand in two more league championships in the 50 freestyle and 200-freestyle relay.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE - If there was any doubt, the La Cañada High softball team proved it's ready for the CIF Southern Section Division V playoffs in its regular-season finale Thursday. It was the bats that did the talking for the Spartans, who racked up 17 hits in a five-inning 10-0 mercy-rule victory over Rio Hondo League opponent South Pasadena in five innings. “We had good at-bats and that's what I'm looking for,” La Cañada Coach KC Mathews said. “The fact our girls are seeing the ball and going with those outside pitches, driving the ball up the middle and to the right side is what really sticks out to me.” Five players - Katy Lee, Catherine Horner, Annie Monroe, Lauren Cox and Selina Mohr - had multi-hit games for La Cañada (21-4-1, 10-1-1 in league)

Some of the beauty to be found in the Angeles National Forest this spring can exact a heavy price. Areas burned by the Station fire are sprouting a bush with a lovely purple flower known as the poodle-dog bush. But when it comes to this plant, hikers would do well to head warnings from officials: look, but don't touch. That's because the flowering plant,  Turricula parryi, can cause poison oak-like skin rashes and blisters. The plant thrives in areas where the soil has been ravaged by flash floods or, as in this case, fire.