Opportunities

La Cañada High School students on Tuesday were offered the chance to star on a televised game show, volunteer for the Special Olympics of Southern California or work at local skate store Billy’s Board shop. The offerings were presented during the sixth annual Teen MOVE Fair hosted in La Cañada High’s quad. The goal of the event each year is to bring volunteer and job opportunities to La Cañada High students and the rest of the community. The fair is sponsored by the Crescenta-Cañada YMCA, Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge, the La Cañada High School PTSA and the city’s youth council.

It will be a good weekend to be a child in La Cañada Flintridge, where free Easter events will cater mostly to youngsters. On Friday the Crescenta-Cañada Family YMCA hosts an Easter egg hunt and photos with the Easter bunny. The event takes place from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Y, 1930 Foothill Blvd. Adults can participate in their own Easter egg hunt and win prizes, including guest passes to the Y, massages and a one-month trial membership. For more information, call (818) 790-0123.

A struggling economy has some folks at La Cañada?s Flintridge Riding Club scrambling to find ways to boost membership and riding opportunities and others contending the sky isn?t falling. ?Like most clubs, Flintridge Riding Club (FRC) is struggling in this economy. As a director, I?m doing everything in my power to shore it up,? Mary Anne DeBriyn, secretary of the Flintridge Riding Club Board of Directors, wrote in a recent e-mail to the Valley Sun. DeBriyn was writing to suggest the Valley Sun let residents know about some of the upcoming activities at the club.

A few hundred teens meandered through booths and activities at La Cañada High School campus Tuesday afternoon, in the hope of finding jobs, volunteer work, or just some free pens, Hershey kisses, key chains and other cool stuff. The youths ? students from La Cañada High School, as well as other private and public schools throughout the La Cañada and La Crescenta area ? took advantage of opportunities offered at the fourth annual MOVE (Many Opportunities for Volunteering and Employment)

La Cañada Flintridge is a city of opportunities. There are opportunities for businesses to grow, opportunities for people of all ages to learn new skills, and opportunities to initiate change. With these ideas in mind, the Crescenta-Cañada YMCA (YMCA), Roger Barkley Community Center (RBCC), and city of La Cañada Flintridge Youth Council - with help from the LCF Youth Chamber of Commerce - have joined forces to bring about a valuable opportunity to area teens and businesses. The first "LCF Teen W.O.R.

Teens from La Cañada High School, Crescenta Valley High and several private high schools strolled around the LCHS campus one afternoon last week looking for opportunities to serve their community and for employment. The second annual MOVE (Many Opportunities for Volunteering and Employment) event drew numerous teens who went from booth to booth exploring opportunities in community service like Crescenta-Cañada YMCA camp councilor to T-ball coaches at the Roger Barkley Community Center.

Head coach Dan Yoder had wanted his Spartans to rely less on the aerial attack and focus more on the ground game and special teams against the Falcons. While he did not necessarily get his wish two weeks ago against Crescenta Valley, perhaps his boys finally listened to him last Friday night, as the La Cañada football team scored five touchdowns on the ground and one touchdown on special teams en route to a dominating 42-6 victory over Lynwood Firebaugh, 42-6, at Lynwood Middle School last week.

Officials at the Crescenta-Cañada YMCA said they hope to raise $450,000 through the annual Community Support Campaign in order to meet increasing financial needs within the local community. The fundraiser, currently underway, runs through March 11. Money generated by the campaign helps to fund YMCA financial assistance, senior services and physical education programs, said Kim Beattie, director of communications and public relations. Last year, the Community Support Campaign raised $390,000, money that helped 1,200 kids and families, Beattie said.

Q. I'm a baby boomer approaching retirement age and am conflicted about whether or not I should retire. Any suggestions? Some baby boomers are anxiously awaiting retirement and others are dreading it. It sounds like you go back and forth between the two emotions. Many baby boomers are not willing to give up the money, the power and the prestige their careers bring. Others are very willing to give up the stress that comes with their careers. While people who are retiring generally take stock of their financial resources, they don't always take stock of their psychological resources.

LA CAÑADA - Breakaways came early and often for the La Cañada High boys' soccer team in its 33rd La Cañada Holiday Classic Tournament opener Tuesday against Roosevelt. Unfortunately for the Spartans, the majority of those opportunities were followed by the referee raising his hand to signal an offside call. On the other side of the ball, two La Cañada mistakes deep in its own end led to goals and a 2-1 win for Roosevelt. "I just expect more," La Cañada Coach Alex Harrison said.

Rebekah Sosland remembers the first time she saw the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity touch down on the Martian surface 10 years ago . She was 14, in the eighth grade in Fredericksburg, Texas, and watching the momentous event unfold on television as classmates around her chatted and passed notes. "I saw this big bouncing popcorn thing on this red surface, and a voice said we now had two rovers on Mars," Sosland recalls. "I thought, 'Oh my gosh, we have a rover on another planet?

In January 2004, two exploration vehicles touched down on Mars, beginning a 90-day mission in search of potential sources of water, a precursor for life, on a seemingly dead planet. Armed with geological instruments, cameras and the technology required to beam down information to scientists at La Cañada's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Spirit and Opportunity were expected to traverse separate courses of about two-thirds of one mile during their three-month journeys. Now, 10 years later, scientists are still sifting through mountains of data and images collected by Spirit, which traveled 4.8 miles during its six years of mobile operation, and Opportunity, which has logged an amazing 23.6 miles and continues today.

Every state and federal official whose district includes La Cañada Flintridge is a Democrat, but local Republicans are hoping to get one of their own in the State Assembly after Tuesday's election. Ernest Koppen, president of the La Cañada Flintridge Republican Club, said that the club's focus is the State 43rd District Assembly race between incumbent Mike Gatto (D- Silver Lake) and Republican Greg Krikorian. Thanks to redistricting, next year La Cañada will be part of the 43rd District, which includes Glendale and Burbank.

La Cañada Flintridge is Girl Scouts country, and on Sunday the most recent class of accomplished young women took the stage at Lanterman Auditorium in acknowledgment of their accomplishments. This year 29 young women received the Gold Award, a high honor equivalent to earning an Eagle Scouts badge in the Boy Scouts. Christie Frandsen, mother of five Girl Scouts and leader of La Cañada Troop 3631, served as master of ceremonies. She said La Cañada is home to nearly 100 troops, about 1,000 Girl Scouts and more than 700 adult volunteers.

It will be a good weekend to be a child in La Cañada Flintridge, where free Easter events will cater mostly to youngsters. On Friday the Crescenta-Cañada Family YMCA hosts an Easter egg hunt and photos with the Easter bunny. The event takes place from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Y, 1930 Foothill Blvd. Adults can participate in their own Easter egg hunt and win prizes, including guest passes to the Y, massages and a one-month trial membership. For more information, call (818) 790-0123.

Q. I'm a baby boomer approaching retirement age and am conflicted about whether or not I should retire. Any suggestions? Some baby boomers are anxiously awaiting retirement and others are dreading it. It sounds like you go back and forth between the two emotions. Many baby boomers are not willing to give up the money, the power and the prestige their careers bring. Others are very willing to give up the stress that comes with their careers. While people who are retiring generally take stock of their financial resources, they don't always take stock of their psychological resources.

LA CAÑADA - Breakaways came early and often for the La Cañada High boys' soccer team in its 33rd La Cañada Holiday Classic Tournament opener Tuesday against Roosevelt. Unfortunately for the Spartans, the majority of those opportunities were followed by the referee raising his hand to signal an offside call. On the other side of the ball, two La Cañada mistakes deep in its own end led to goals and a 2-1 win for Roosevelt. "I just expect more," La Cañada Coach Alex Harrison said.

From soccer practice to student government, there seems to be no shortage of activities to keep high-achieving La Cañada Flintridge teens busy at school. But for teens who want to do something a little different, a pair of programs aims to give them a chance to get involved with the community. The Community Center of LCF's Youth Outreach and Events Committee offers local teens a chance to take some initiative and plan events like a dance for area teens and the Community Center's annual Thanksgiving Day run and food drive.

International non-profit organization AFS Intercultural Programs is now accepting applications from La Cañada High School students who wish to learn and travel abroad for a summer, semester or academic year. Students can enroll for summer 2012, the second semester of the 2011-12 school year, or the full 2012-13 school year. Students live with a family abroad while learning about the culture of one of the 50 participating host countries. Specialized sport, outdoor activity, service and language study programs are available.

The U.S. Forest Service has selected Thomas Contreras to be supervisor for the Angeles National Forest. He has been serving in that position on an interim basis for several months. Contreras has worked for the Forest Service since 1976, and previously served as supervisor of the Mendocino National Forest in Northern California. “I welcome the opportunity to manage one of the most heavily used urban forests within the nation,” Contreras said in a statement. Angeles National Forest recently reopened campgrounds and more than 100 miles of hiking trails after months of rehabilitation following the massive Station fire, which scorched wide swaths of landscape.