GOOD Luncheon message includes subtle jabs at SB 1437

DOWNEY - Gang’s Out of Downey (GOOD) held its annual luncheon last week, including a message from a former inmate who used his story to take subtle jabs at SB 1437.

The luncheon serves as a yearly fundraising opportunity, as well as a way to communicate the organization’s message.

The event saw several speakers, including Mayor Rick Rodriguez, newly appointed president Julie Garcia, 10-20 Club founder Darrell Jackson, and former GOOD president Captain Mark McDaniel of the Downey Police Department.

McDaniel highlighted the importance of the partnership between DPD and the community in their efforts to keep the city free of organized crime groups.

“The first Tuesday of every month, different stakeholders in Downey meet, collaborate, and share information that’s focused on making our community safe,” said McDaniel. “You will be hard-pressed to find any group such as this in any other city that has the ability to remain focused on their mission, which is to keep gangs out of our city.”

“Crime prevention, including keeping gangs out of Downey has to be a community effort.”

The luncheon’s Keynote came in the form of Ernest Caldwell, who gave personal anecdotes of his rough life on the streets that ended in redemption.

He also took the opportunity to seemingly speak out against recently passed controversial Senate Bill 1437 – which many in the community point to as the reason for the light sentence given to one of the defendants in the Officer Ricardo Galvez murder trial - although he did not mention the bill by name.

“If you do the crime, you need to do the time,” said Caldwell. “There’s going to be some that are going to be released because the governor wants to do it. I can guarantee it’s going to be a problem for us.”

Remembering the day Downey nearly went to war

The Dec. 6, 1989 Press-Telegram had an article about a wartime “attack” that stirred Downey. This was an article by columnist Milburn Gibbs, a businessman and Downey resident.

As the story starts, Arvin MacCauley was working the graveyard shift at the South Gate Defense factory when he and his mates ran outside when the noise began. Gordon Madru was a kid and it awakened him from a sound sleep; Grace McCarthy was giving her infant son his 2 a.m. feeding when all hell broke loose.

It was Feb. 25, 1942, the day Downey thought armageddon was unfolding. Anti-aircraft guns blazed away at “unidentified flying objects” — presumably Japanese planes. Following is what really happened on the night Los Angeles became the first -- and only -- mainland U.S. city to be attacked in World War II.

Well, almost attacked.

The Los Angeles Daily News story of Feb. 25 read: “World War II plopped down on Los Angeles’ doorstep today with a reported visit from a score of unidentified planes and a welcoming committee of dozens of anti-aircraft guns in full action…”

The Downey Live-Wire echoed, “Downey and a wide area of the coast area experienced its first general blackout and anti-aircraft action early Wednesday morning on orders from the Army’s western defense command. No bombs were dropped and no airplanes were shot down…”

Folks around Downey were understandably nervous on that February night. Pearl Harbor was only a couple of months before, and one could not know what subterfuge the Japanese might try. There were two batteries of anti-aircraft guns in Downey — one at Sixth Street and Paramount Boulevard, and another at Vultee Aircraft Co., at Lakewood Boulevard and Stewart & Gray Road.

The Paramount Boulevard guns were encased in a house with a retractable roof -- real high tech for the time. They were manned by Battery D, brave New York and New Jersey lads who were to defend us ably.

Jack Cook’s home was only three blocks from this installation and the house rattled during the night of infamy that was to follow. The liquor store beside the gun emplacement is said to have lost much of its virgin nector to the concrete floor that night.

About 2:30 a.m., a plane or planes of unknown origin were reported sighted and guns from San Pedro to Beverly Hills began to blaze. Thousands of rounds pierced the night sky. Tracers lighted the dark and babies clear to Los Angeles cried.

Air raid wardens and block wardens swung immediately into action. They directed traffic away from the gun emplacements, causing a traffic jam of sorts at Lakewood and Firestone boulevards. They diverted traffic away from the likely target: Vultee Aircraft.

In those days, everyone cooperated. Well, most did, and few who didn’t were soon sternly made aware of their patriotic stance and were contrite, the paper said.

News was very much censored during the war. News of great Allied-American victories at Corregidor and Guadalcanal were trumpeted in every paper. The War Department never did admit what really happened the day Downey went to war — one American weather balloon was mistaken for the armada of zeroes.

One other piece of evidence that came out long after the war: there was a Japanese submarine — the I-17 — operating off our coast that night, which did have the capability of launching a float plane. Later we learned that the I-17 went down in the South Pacific in 1943, her crew and logs lost for all time.

The War Department said later there were probably no enemy aircraft within 5,000 miles of Downey or her besieged neighbors that fateful night.

Around dawn, zone and post wardens were given the all clear and a much shaken group of Downeyites tried to re-group and resume their lives.

For more information on this topic, please visit the Downey History Center.

Bobbi Bruce is a docent with the Downey Historical Society.

Mom and the President

I was seven years old, and this incident of nearly 75 years ago is as “clear as a bell” in my memory today. The date was April 12, 1945.

School let out. It was raining, so I grabbed my raincoat from the cloak room and ran the half-mile home as fast as I could to get ahead of the coming downpour. When I arrived home, (and this was before dad’s do-it-yourself-remodel), I found mom in the kitchen at the old-fashioned built-in-the-wall ironing board. She was crying as she ironed.

I seldom saw mom cry, and it concerned me, so I asked her what was the matter. She replied: “Honey, President Roosevelt died.”

Mom highly respected his leadership qualities that brought the country through two of its greatest crises, the Great Depression and World War II. Sadly, he died just before the surrender of Germany in World War ll.

Simply known as FDR, he was our 32nd president and longest serving in history of the office. He assumed the presidency at a time when Americans were looking for new ideas, leadership, and hope. When war broke out, he coined the phrase, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

In addition to his many fine qualities and the tough decisions he made, he was the first president since Abraham Lincoln to support black rights.

Rightly so, he remains in the annals of history as one of our greatest presidents and a true American hero.

Sharon Benson Smith is a member of the writing class offered through the Cerritos College Adult Education Program. It is held off-campus at the Norwalk Senior Center.

Roses

1913. Rose Levinthal left Lithuania as the Russians were invading. Her parents told her to wear her hair in braids and to wear a full apron.

“If they ask you how old you are, say 11,” they told her, as the invaders were raping girls.

Rose came to America at age 14. Her uncle picked her up in a horse and wagon from Ellis Island. Rose worked in a cigar factory rolling cigars. Her aunt told her to save her money.

When Rose was 17, she took the train to New York for her cousin’s wedding. Rose sang “I Love You Truly” at the wedding.

A man introduced himself as Abe. He said Rose sang “like an Irish coleen.”

The next year, Rose went to another wedding. Abe was there. He called her “Abie’s Irish Rose.” He asked Rose to marry him.

The next year, there was a play on Broadway: “Abie’s Irish Rose.”

Years later, Barbra Streisand sang “Second Hand Rose.”

The wild rose is the state flower of New York.

When I had my house, I had ruby roses in my backyard and yellow roses on the front trellis.

My daughter, Nancy, went to the Rose Bowl to watch the Huskies play.

I live at the Grove, a senior complex in Cerritos. My living room window faces the rose garden. The yellow rose bush has a small bud, it is called the yellow rose of Texas.

“The Bachelor” on TV gave out roses.

Roses are red, violets are blue, I love you.

Dora Silvers is a member of the writing class offered through the Cerritos College Adult Education Program. It is held off-campus at the Norwalk Senior Center.

WeWork needs a new plan to address its business issues

By Angel Gutierrez

If your house had no windows, faulty wiring, and a bad foundation, what’s the first step you would take to fix it? Would you decide to repaint the house, or would you go to work fixing the essential problems first?

The answer’s obvious. But in the business world, many companies face deep foundational issues, yet nonetheless, devote their focus to cosmetics. It’s a common mistake that has spelled ruin for many promising businesses.

Could WeWork be next?

If you’re unfamiliar, WeWork is perhaps the top co-working company in the country (co-working meaning an office space where companies, usually startups, share common spaces and amenities). They’re expanding everywhere, and have recently announced a new Palo Alto location here in California.

The company hit the scene at just the right time when it was founded in 2011 – real estate was cheap due to the economic downturn, and the hip millennial business craze was in full flight across the country.

Over the last eight years, WeWork has matured from a trendy startup into a $47 billion dollar company, according to Fast Money. But as the company has grown, they’ve opened themselves up to new problems.

For starters, WeWork has a spending problem – a big one. According to Recode, last year, “[WeWork’s] net loss was $723 million in the first half of the year on about $764 million of revenue.” This wasn’t a one-off; the company has a pattern of money going in and out at just about the same rate.

That’s probably fine today while the economy is hot. But in the event of another downturn, such a small amount of cash-on-hand could be a real problem.

WeWork’s also come into some ethical dilemmas lately that threaten their reputation as a socially-conscious 21st-century company. For instance, it’s no secret that WeWork takes heavy investments from Softbank, a Japanese company that’s bankrolled by the Saudi government – especially problematic given the kingdom’s human rights violations.

Not to mention, WeWork’s also taken heat for their poor response to sexual harassment allegations and for firing cleaning staff who asked for a pay raise.

So far, WeWork has not done much to address the problems themselves. Rather, they’ve embarked on a new expansion and rebranding effort. They now operate under an umbrella brand called “the we company” and are launching new business ventures in the education and housing spaces.

Launching a new rebrand and expansion isn’t a bad thing. But if this is WeWork’s only solution to poor financial management and problematic ethical situations, then it’s not the right move.

Not to mention, the rebrand itself has raised some eyebrows. By calling itself “we,” WeWork is mirroring the name of a well-established Canadian charity called the WE Organization. The WE Organization has been around for over two decades, and in that time has made a mark around the world for their philanthropic efforts. Furthermore, the charity is involved in many of the same sectors as WeWork.

It’s one thing to change your company’s name, but when you're using a similar brand as a nonprofit that is involved in the same sectors, it's certainly not the most ideal look for the millennial-driven company.

Bottom line: WeWork’s effort to rebrand itself and grow as a business is fine. However, it is not the sole path to solving the true problems facing the company. WeWork has a lot of potential as it expands in California. If the company can solve its internal flaws, there is no doubt that WeWork will achieve even greater success.

Angel Gutierrez is the President/CEO of Crescent College.

Letter to the Editor: American Legion's 100th birthday

Dear Editor:

On Thursday, March 14, the American Legion Post 270 and the City of Downey celebrated the 100th anniversary of the American Legion at city hall.

I want to thank David Niemeyer and his band from Warren High School for playing the National Anthem. I would also like to thank the mayor's veterans sub-committee for their support and input with this celebration.

I would also thank Jason Chacon and the rest of Parks & Recreation staff for their assistance in seeing this come to fruition. And special thanks to Montebello Post 272 Honor Guard for posting the colors. Thanks also to my fellow veterans who attended this celebration.

Finally, thanks go to our Mayor Rick Rodriguez and his staff for his support.

Ray Gard
Post Commander
Post 270
Downey

Snapshots in my Mind

When I think about my life, I see certain snapshots, little glimpses or single-frame photos of different events.

They are like a Rolodex in my mind that I can call up at any moment. That event, frozen in time but there for the recall at any given whim. I have a library of theses snapshots.

Some fall into a comedy category that bring brand new giggles to me as I relive them. Some are dramatic or sad minutes from my past. Some scenes are so accurate in content that they can stir exact memories. If it is a painful moment from my past, just viewing that snapshot in my mind can bring on the exact tears that I shed in the past.

Some scenes are so joyous that just viewing it takes my mind to that happy moment. My reaction to reviewing that scene is the same exact emotion. It is not that I see the photo and think, "Oh, I must have been really happy then." It is more like, I see the photo and I immediately remember and relive how I felt and what I was thinking.

I consider myself very blessed to have this library of feelings. It is a huge library, open at all hours. Those moments that I have already lived are not gone. They are there just waiting to be recalled and enjoyed again. I enjoy thinking about how special this really is.

My life is so full. The moments and the memories I am living today are just new additions to my growing library of life.

My photos take no shelf space and use no film. It is a private library for my use only. It contains everything I have ever known. These photos are a big part of my life. They remind me of where I came from and keep me grateful. They teach me to be thankful for the life I have been given.

I love living in the present but I truly enjoy celebrating and remembering my past.

Life goes so fast. These snapshots in my mind help me to appreciate each day that I live.

Gail Earl is a member of the writing class offered through the Cerritos College Adult Education Program. It is held off-campus at the Norwalk Senior Center.

Bette Time

My mother’s name is Bette. She has always had a thing about being punctual.

Even as a child, I remember being taught never to be late for anything. My mother believed that and lived that. Even though she had four small children to get ready to go out, she always started the process very early, so never to run short of time.

This special allotment of extra time carried right through our adult lives. I'm not sure what she thought would happen, heaven forbid, were we ever late to anything, but I just knew it would never happen. Perhaps it was her "always be prepared for the unexpected" attitude that drove her.

As we children got a little older, we started referring to time as "real time" and "Bette time." “Bette time” meant that you give yourself an extra hour. Being on “Bette time,” you never miss a flight, never miss an opening curtain, never miss the start of anything.

Mom always had tables set hours before company would arrive, always had the food prepped and ready to go way before the actual time to cook.

For many years, we kids have kidded about “Bette time” but knew that to mom this was no joke. It was not optional for us.

Now, to a couple of her children, “Bette time” was a nightmare. Always having to be somewhere early was difficult. We were smart enough to know that this was something that she was unwilling to waver, so we did the best we could.

One of my funniest examples of “Bette time” happened in 1997. My mom, my sister-in-law, my two sisters and myself were traveling through Europe. It was a wonderful trip of five girls giggling their way through six countries. Because “Bette time” never rested, traveling with mom was, well, let’s just say an experience.

On our tour, we had to have our luggage outside our hotel room door by 6 a.m. (which meant 4 or 5 to her). Breakfast was at 7, which meant we were dressed and in the restaurant lobby at 6. In any given city, her pacing began before the tour guide arrived.

We often referred to “Bette time” and soon several of our traveling group began asking, “Is that Bette time or real time?"

While in London, we were having breakfast. We were to meet up with our group in the bus out front of the hotel at 7:30 a.m.

We were eating and everyone was enjoying discussing our day’s plan. Mom was getting so anxious about the time, you could just about see her quiver. She was chomping at the bit to get out to that bus, and couldn't sit another minute. She had to get out there and save our seats.

We were only about half way done eating when she got up and said she'd meet us on the bus. About 10 minutes later we went to the bus and found mom was not there. We couldn't imagine what could have happened. We piled off the bus and looked around and saw another bus down the drive way.

We ran to that bus laughing and thinking, "Oh great, we lost mom." We boarded the other bus and our eyes scanned every seat. Imagine our surprise when we saw about 70 African American women and our one little mother. One of the palest white women in the world, completely surrounded by an entire bus filled with a beautiful Baptist church group. I could be wrong, but I think I'd notice.

The funniest part was that Mom was so proud of being on “Bette time” and being in her seat early and ready to go that it never dawned on her that she might be on the wrong bus.

If we hadn't gone looking for her, I'm not sure how long she would have sat there. Well you can just imagine all the laughs we had about that. We vowed not to let her out of our sight again.

We still smile every time one of us mentions "Bette time."

Gail Earl is a member of the writing class offered through the Cerritos College Adult Education Program. It is held off-campus at the Norwalk Senior Center.

A proposal to help Downey's veterans and aging residents

A new nonprofit is launching in Downey over the next several weeks specifically to provide services for returning veterans, senior citizens on fixed incomes, disabled seniors or those seniors experiencing daily life as a shut-in.

Assistance is in the form of services and limited funding as described below and is provided by prequalified homeless program participants and returning vets, both of which are looking to stabilize their environment before deciding on a permanent service career or other career option.

Simply stated the project functions as follows: Without using any funding from any governmental source, donated funds are used to rent 3- or 4-bedroom homes in the community. A qualified homeless individual or returning veteran that we refer to as a “house and home captain” is selected to supervise the maintenance of the property as well as the qualified residents.

All residents, including the house and home captain, are paid a weekly salary based on their individual qualifications ranging from a service trainee, service specialist or house and home captain.

The name of the non-profit is Homeless & Senior Hero’s, Inc. The reason “senior” is in the name is because some seniors may wish to rent their property to the non-profit for rental income and become house and home captains to also earn a salary. Professional social workers will provide guidance for all of the house and home captains.

As of the 2010 census, Downey has 2.211 households with a person age 65 or older living alone. For the seniors who avail themselves of our services, the non-profit will provide up to $50 a month to offset the cost of meds and food. All Homeless Hero’s services are free to seniors.

The financial model for Homeless Hero’s is very similar to the Public Broadcasting Service’s (PBS) financial model whereby donations and grants drive financial support to struggling seniors and those homeless and returning vets looking to gain a new foothold on life as grants and donations drive content for PBS stations.

Once our business model is perfected in Downey it will be expanded on a county by county basis as funds become available. Donations are not limited to the residents of Downey and are accepted from all states, the District of Columbia and all possessions.

We clearly understand not all of the homeless are capable or interested in supporting our rapidly growing senior population nor will all seniors be interested in our services and/or financial assistance. That said, all of our Homeless Hero’s and returning vets are eager to provide assistance and have had a background check and are bonded.

Our immediate and focused goal is to demonstrate proof of concept here in Downey so that all of our nation’s citizens can clearly see and provide the help to begin to solve three rapidly growing social issues (homelessness, aging seniors in need of assistance and returning vets needing a stable environment to establish or reestablish themselves)

Fifty-five point seven per cent (55.7%) of the US population are over the age 18 and under the age of 65 per the census bureau as of 2018. That leaves about 183 million adults of which about fifty one per cent (51%) or about 92 million (according to the Pew Research Center) are in the middle to upper middle income brackets. If ten percent (10%) would be willing to donate $10 a month, we could have the potential to raise $1.1 billion which of course is not likely in the near term. But we come to this project with a long term view and will set goals based on our performance in Downey.

We have begun to accept donations via the internet and the GoFundMe app. Utilizing the app on your smart phone or gofundme.com on your computer. Simply look for the search window and type in zip code 90242 once on the Downey scroll down until you find “see more” and click on that title and then scroll down until you find the Homeless & Senior Hero’s title with a picture of a man standing beside a light pole at Apollo Park.

That man is long time Downey resident William (Bill or Billy) Hayes who grew up in Downey and graduated from Warren High School in 1980. After graduation Bill became interested in the tool and die business where he worked his way up to supervising a small group of workers. During grammar and high school, Bill lived in a house directly adjacent to Apollo Park allowing him to play basketball daily after school and make many friends over the years. Bill has been homeless for a number of years now and has been providing handyman services to all who ask including seniors who have come to know him. Bill is extremely well respected and liked by the homeless and non-homeless. Bill will be our first house and home captain once adequate funds are available.

Each month we’ll produce an announcement of a new member joining the team. Next month you’ll be introduced to Jeremy Ferguson, a 28-year-old from Downey. We believe his story will be quite inspiring to many.

The following are the initial services we’ll be providing: house cleaning, laundry service, fluff and fold, dry cleaning, carpet cleaning, trash removal, lawn care, Meals On Wheels delivery as volunteers, transportation, home maintenance (i.e. installation and maintenance of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, leaky faucets, changing light bulbs, etc.), referrals to other social services, to name a few of our services.

The preamble to our nation’s Constitution begins with, “We the People” and Homeless & Senior Hero’s believe with the support of “The People,” this ambitious project will be successful.

We plan to launch in April and at that time we’ll publish the different methods of contacting us, including social media. Until then you can talk to us at (714) 342-8769 if you have questions or comments.

Thank you in advance for any and all of your most kind considerations.

Watch us perform!

Dennis Billings is a senior citizen living in Downey, and president and CEO of Homeless & Senior Hero’s Inc.

Artists, filmmakers sought for Santa Fe Springs festival

SANTA FE SPRINGS – Artists, filmmakers and vendors are being sought to participate in Santa Fe Springs Art Fest, a two-day festival taking place May 2-3.

The festival kicks off Thursday, May 2, with the Collector’s Night reception where more than 500 works of art will be on display at the historic Clarke Estate.

Artists are invited to submit their applications for art on canvas, sculptures, ornate clay figures, still-life oil paintings, remarkable mixed media compositions, photography, and film.

Film entries will be reviewed with the winner of the best overall film receiving the Magnum Opus Film Award.

Artist and film entry applications are due no later than March 31. Vendor applications are due by March 30. Applications are online at ArtCrawlFest.com.

Downey players shine despite early playoff exit

DOWNEY – The Downey High School girls’ soccer team finished their season in the first round of the 2019 C.I.F. Division 3 Southern California Regional Girls Soccer Championships with a 2-1 loss at Grossmont High School in El Cajon on February 26th.

The bracket featured 1.) Oak Hills/ 8.) San Diego, 4.) Mission Oak/ 5.) Culver City, 3.) Grossmont/ 6.) Downey and 2.) Flintridge Sacred Heart/ 7.) New West Charter. Flintridge Sacred Heart defeated Culver City 3-0 in the final on March 2nd.

Downey finished the season with an overall record of 17-7-5 and a San Gabriel Valley League record of 8-1-1. The Vikings finished in second place behind eventual league champion, Warren (18-6-4, 9-0-1).

Three senior players of the Downey High School girls’ soccer team have been competing in an all-star tournament. Roxanne Victoria, Amaya Gonzalez and Alice Hernandez have been competing in all-star competitions, most recently at Newport Harbor High School in Irvine.

The three senior midfielders are also entertaining scholarships to various universities. Indiana, Long Beach State, Stanford, Occidental College and Colorado are just five of the many schools currently showing interest in the trio. Coach Aguiniga and his staff are extremely proud of his players’ accomplishments.

DOWNEY LACROSSE: The Downey High School boys’ lacrosse team currently has an overall record of 3-1 and will begin South Bay League play on March 20th when they play Culver City at Culver City.

The Vikings defeated Roosevelt at Roosevelt 10-6 on February 27th, defeated Damien at Downey 6-5 on March 1st, were defeated by Redondo Union at Redondo Union 14-1 on March 4th and defeated Beverly Hills at Beverly Hills 6-5 on March 7th.

Downey hosted Beverly Hills at Downey on Wednesday (score unavailable at press time).

Downey competes in the South Bay League against Santa Monica and Culver City. At the time of this writing Santa Monica is 3-1 overall, Downey is 3-1 overall and Culver City is 1-4 overall.

The Vikings are scheduled to play Culver City at Culver City on March 20th, Santa Monica at Santa Monica on March 27th, Damien at Damien on April 5th, Roosevelt at Downey on April 12th and El Segundo at Downey on April 17th.

The Vikings finished last season with an overall record of 4-12 and a South Bay League record of 0-4. Head Coach Bryant Hernandez, his staff and players are all looking forward to the 2019 lacrosse season.

WARREN SOFTBALL: The Warren High School softball team currently has an overall record of 4-3 and will begin San Gabriel Valley League play when they travel to play Lynwood at Lynwood on March 26th.

In preseason action, the Bears competed in the Savannah Showcase where they finished 4-1. Warren defeated Villa Park, Santa Fe, La Serna and Culver City with their only loss coming to La Mirada 3-2 in eight innings.

The Bears were defeated by La Serna at La Serna 7-1 on March 15th and will travel to La Palma Kennedy to face the Fighting Irish on March 19th. Warren is also scheduled to compete in the La Mirada Tournament on March 23rd and March 30th.

As mentioned, the Bears will travel to Lynwood to face the Lady Knights on March 26th, will travel to Paramount to face the Lady Pirates on March 28th, will host Gahr at Warren on April 2nd and will travel to cross-town rival Downey on April 4th to play in the first of their two scheduled meetings. Warren will finish their first round of league play when they host Dominguez at Warren on April 9th.

Warren finished last season with an overall record of 17-13 and was 6-4 in league play. The Bears were defeated by South Hills 4-3 in the first round of the C.I.F. Division 2 playoffs. Coach Starksen, her staff and players are all looking forward to the start of the 2019 S.G.V.L. season and competing for a league title. Gahr and Downey will once again be the teams to beat in league play.

WARREN BOYS VOLLEYBALL: The Warren High School boys’ volleyball team currently has an overall record of 4-5 and will begin San Gabriel Valley League play when they host Lynwood at Warren on March 21st.

Warren finished the Redondo Union Tournament on February 22nd and 23rd with a record of 1-4. The Bears were defeated by St. John Bosco at St. John Bosco 3-1 on March 5th, defeated Santa Fe at Santa Fe 3-0 on March 7th and defeated Norwalk at Norwalk 3-1 on March 21st.

Warren will host Lynwood at Warren on March 21st, will travel to face Paramount at Paramount on March 26th, will host Gahr at Warren on March 28th and will travel to cross-town rival Downey on April 2nd for the first of their two scheduled meetings. Coach Lane, his staff and players are all looking forward to the start of S.G.V.L. play.

WARREN BASEBALL: The Warren High School baseball team currently has an overall record of 12-2 and are 0-1 in San Gabriel Valley League play. Warren swept a doubleheader from Hoover at Hoover 15-0 and 10-0 last Saturday in non-league play.

The Bears were defeated by Paramount at Warren 1-0 on Monday and traveled to Paramount on Wednesday for their rematch (score unavailable at press time).

The Bears will travel to Dominguez on Monday and will then host the Dons next Thursday at Warren. Coach Pearson, his staff and players are all looking forward to 2019 league play.

The Paper at My Feet

I remember sitting in kindergarten class at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in 1983.

Ms. Frazier had a pretty smile and was very helpful. But I could not sit still. I could not focus nor did anything I was reading interest me, except Ms. Frazier and my coloring book. I drew a lot, mostly doodles, a lot of drawings but I was never focused on my actual homework. Eventually it was decided to hold me back a grade.

So, I repeated kindergarten. My second time in kindergarten was a little different. The teacher this time was Mrs. Richards. Her son was also in the classroom, but so was Marissa Z., and I couldn’t get my mind off of her. She couldn’t get her mind off of me.

My cousin Dennis was in the 8th grade at the time and he had a girlfriend named Susan. Susan used to love to come over and pick me up in the playground and play with me. It drove Marissa crazy, and I remember loving it.

All through my years at OLPH, I remember never being able to focus on much other than drawing, writing, reading, art and girls.

But one thing for sure that I was always interested in was the morning paper arriving outside in front of the garage. On Sundays it was the Press-Telegram or the Los Angeles Times.

I graduated from OLPH in 1992 and went on to St. John Bosco, where much of the lack of interest in school continued. Eventually I found myself in the public school system at Downey High School.

My interests became different at Downey High mostly because there was a lot more to do. I loved my typewriting class, the wood-working class and the architecture class, and there were a lot of girls. But every Friday what I looked forward to the most was the Downey Eagle.

In 1993, the Downey Eagle started showing up at our door. The Downey Eagle was the newspaper that my dad and I enjoyed the most. It featured stories from the local community, high school sports and advertising.

My brother and sister enjoyed the Los Angeles Times. My brother was really into sports and my sister into the entertainment section. But my dad and I really looked forward to the Eagle. It’s too bad that my grades couldn’t have been based on the articles of the Downey Eagle.

The Eagle continued to be published from 1993 until 2002. I graduated high school in 1996 and went on to miscellaneous adventures, but never really had a love for the papers that would arrive at our door.

The computer soon became the interest of the home, with random articles, dating sites, MySpace, and the occasional news pop-up or video games like Lemmings or DOOM.

Then one Friday morning in 2002, right before heading to my job, a shady-looking van turned the corner at Dolan Street and zoomed past my parents' house with the passenger window rolled down and a woman in the passenger seat. An arm slingshot out of the window and an object landed right at my feet. I picked it up and removed the rubber band and opened it up. My eyes opened with excitement.

It was the Downey Patriot!

My life once again was complete.

Michael Chirco is a Downey resident, community volunteer, and owner of the South Downey Facebook page.

Ian Smith

October 10, 1950 - March 11, 2019

Ian Smith was born in Westminster, British Columbia, Canada to Gwen and Cecil Smith on October 19, 1950. He and his sister Diana enjoyed playing in the forest which surrounded their home in West Vancouver. Ian’s family moved to Downey in 1965 and Ian attended Griffiths Middle School and Warren High School where he was on the swim team and was Student Body President.

Ian received a Masters Degree in Student Personal and Guidance at Oklahoma State University. He took two voyages around the world on Semester at Sea where he was Director of Student Activities.

Ian was active in youth work at First Baptist Church of Downey where he taught High School and College Sunday school. Many regard Ian as a mentor and example of enthusiasm for life and love of God. His big smile and love for people will be missed.

Ian received a heart transplant in 2006 which gave him an extra twelve years of life. He died at home from complications of heart failure, surrounded by family, on March 11, 2019. Ian is survived by his sister Diana Edmonds, his wife of 45 years, Vickie, and children Zachary (Katheryn) Smith, Landon, and Brittany (Scotty) Denton, and six grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 23, at 1:00 pm at The First Presbyterian Church of Downey. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in support of Caring for Orphans Mozambique, of which Ian was a board member at caringfororphans.com.

Robert Gifford Cormack

October 27, 1919 - February 21, 2019

Robert was proceeded in death by his first wife, Louise and their 3 sons Robert, Harold (Sherri) and Steven. He is survived by his second wife Faith, daughter Sharon (Tim) granddaughter Destiny, grandson Logan. Son Darryl (Tessie) grandson Darren (Geneva) great grandson Nolan, granddaughter Ashley, great granddaughter Janay, his beloved dog Bear and bird Rooster.

Robert “Grandpa” was a man who wore many hats (let’s not forget those cowboy boots). They included Husband, Father, Uncle, Grandpa, Great Grandpa, US Army World War II Vet, two term Mayor of Downey, City Council, School Board Member, successful business owner, Master in Engineering, world traveler, pilot, and a faithful servant of the Lord. The hat that was most important, was that of being a Grandpa. Every child should be so blessed as his grandchildren were.

We will celebrate his incredible life at Florence Ave. Foursquare Church (11457 Florence Ave.) in Santa Fe Springs Friday, March 15th at 11:00am. In lieu of flowers, the family request donations to be made to Florence Ave Church in care of the Trevor Owens Foundation for Children’s Ministry.

Ava Michael

March 11, 1933 - February 27, 2019

It is with great sadness that the family of Ava Michael announce her passing on February 27, 2019.

Ava was a long time resident of Downey. She was previously active with the Downey Little League and in 1979 obtained her Real Estate license and became active with the local Downey Association of Realtors for many years.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 45 years, Floyd “Mike” Michael in 2009.

She will be lovingly remembered by her children, Floyd “Alan” Michael and Sherry (Brian) Blair; granddaughters, Jennifer (Lyn), Stephanie and Mariah; and great grandsons, Alex, Andrew and Austin.