Ararat

Edgar Melik-Stepanyan The Glendale YMCA Panthers prevailed, 47-42, with Thursday's nonleague win against Ararat at Wilson Middle School to earn city bragging rights. The 13-year-old Panther boys' team -- which won the Valley Conference title for the first time in 10 years when it defeated the North East Eagles, 55-48, on March 16 -- took a 24-12 lead at halftime. Ararat battled back to take a 33-32 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Panthers answered the challenge, as Neil DeJesus scored eight of his nine points in the final quarter to help Glendale notch its 19th victory of the season.

Tim Willert They came by way of tour bus, some wearing suits and skirts, some pushing walkers or leaning on canes. Hundreds of elderly Armenians -- most too young to remember the Armenian Genocide, instead relying on stories passed down from family members -- packed the Mann 10 Glendale Exchange Theatres on Friday to see for themselves what happened. Friday marked the Los Angeles-area release of "Ararat," a film by Armenian-Canadian director Atom Egoyan that examines the effects of the Armenian Genocide on a contemporary family.

Gretchen Hoffman "Ararat," the first major feature film on the Armenian Genocide, earned more than $210,000 in its opening weekend despite being shown at just six theaters, according to film industry tracker Exhibitor Relations Co. The film, which examines the effects of the genocide on a contemporary family, opened Friday at three theaters in Los Angeles. Tickets to all Friday, Saturday and Sunday screenings of "Ararat" at the Mann 10 Glendale Exchange Theatres on Maryland Avenue were sold out by noon Nov. 14. A manager at the Mann 10 said four additional showings were added for a total of nine each day, due to the demand.

GLENDALE — The following are odds and ends from the local sports scene .   BUSTOS GETS PRESEASON CONFERENCE RECOGNITION Former two-time All-Area Girls’ Soccer Player of the Year Lauren Bustos , a Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy graduate, recently was named to the preseason All-Atlantic-10 Conference team. Bustos, a defender on the Fordham University women’s soccer team, was named the conference’s defensive player of the year last season, in addition to earning a spot on the conference’s first team.

Ararat basketball team has strong showing The Ararat Under-13 boys' basketball team finished in second place with a 4-1 record at the Fresno Tournament this past weekend. Ararat, coached by Azad Galustian, lost to the Ararat Under-14 squad, 43-32, in the championship game. Aragad Abramian had 11 points and three three-pointers in the game. David Sahradyan and Sevada Minassians each had eight points. Minassians also had 17 rebounds. Ararat defeated the Under-14 Massis team, 49-43, in the semifinals.

I agree with Monica Pavelka's commentary ("Rockhaven should be saved" CV Sun, Jan. 28) and I feel that Ararat, which wants to level and rebuild on the Rockhaven property, is way off track in their plans. Rockhaven currently serves as a care facility for women Alzheimer's patients. If Monica Pavelka's information is correct about it becoming a lockdown facility for the mentally ill, then what Ararat is proposing is to build a huge insane asylum in a quiet residential neighborhood.

This is in response to your article on the Rockhaven Sanitarium project ("Rockhaven to Be Replaced," CV Sun Jan. 14). There are several reasons why this project should not be allowed to move forward. First, Rockhaven is a historical landmark, which has been in existence for nearly a century. While the historical society is "working" with Ararat, it seems that the historical value is being set aside, citing code standards and the need for replacement. Furthermore, the oak trees that are also set for destruction are protected under Glendale ordinance.

VAN NUYS ? For the eighth time in nine years, there was no stopping the L.A. Homenetmen women's basketball team. And for the umpteenth time in nine years, there was no answer for Tamar Kataroyan. Kataroyan led L.A. to another A-Division championship, scoring a game-high 23 points as L.A. defeated the Glendale-based Ararat 2 squad, 47-40, on Tuesday night at Birmingham High in the title game of the 31st annual Homenetmen Navasartian Games, also known as the Armenian Olympics.

Ben Godar While the film "Ararat" has been hailed for bringing attention to the Armenian Genocide, at least one person has used it as a forum to voice hatred toward Armenians. According to an eyewitness and police, someone wrote "exterminate the rest" on the "Ararat" poster at the Mann Exchange 10 theaters in Glendale. Police were notified of the incident around 1 p.m. Saturday. Ara Soudjian, who was filming a documentary for the Armenian National Committee at the theater at the time, said he was shocked and devastated when he learned of the graffiti.

Rima Shah Genocide is not just a gruesome historical act but something that is happening in parts of the world right now, said panelists and organizers of a discussion on genocide Wednesday at the Glendale Central Library. Violence in the Darfur region of Sudan and in Rwanda make genocide a reality for the current generation, they said. It is for these reasons that educating people not only about the Armenian Genocide, but about genocide in general, is important, said panelists and organizers of the Week of Remembrance.

Glendale's Homenetmen Ararat chapter hosted an art exhibit on Oct. 1 featuring artworks created from recycled products. Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, in addition to community members, spent six months collecting material that would otherwise be thrown away. With the items such as old bottles, books, T-shirts and sneakers, they created more than a dozen dimensional art pieces which were displayed in the chapter's headquarters. The Homenetmen Ararat chapter is a community and volunteer-driven nonprofit serving Armenian-American youth.

GLENDALE — The frustrations still remain, the agony lingers and the letdown is fresh in their minds. Four years ago, the Glendale women's basketball team, representing the Homenetmen Ararat Chapter, lost in the championship game of the fourth Pan-Armenian Games in Yerevan, Armenia. Four years later, two members of that team, Melia Basavand and Aileen Vartanian, are on a path to release their frustrations and prove themselves against the best that the Armenian community has to offer.

GLENDALE — One starter — Zareh Zargaryan — just completed his collegiate career at Cal State Dominguez Hills. Another starter — Narbeh Ebrahimian — was the starting point guard for Glendale Community College this past season. A third presumed starter — Zareh Avedian — finished his playing career at Cal Lutheran in 2004, but has competed in international tournaments and can still dominate games. The trio of stars on the Glendale men's basketball team will join locals who have shined in the area to represent their city and the Homenetmen Ararat Chapter in the fifth annual Pan-Armenian Games in Yerevan, Armenia.

GLENDALE — A year ago, he was on the basketball court at Hoover High, directing the Tornadoes and managing his way through the Pacific League. A year later, Martik Ghookasian is still donning his dress shirt and pants that he was accustomed to wearing at Hoover, but he's pacing another court. It's still a basketball court, and it's still in Glendale, but instead of being concerned about high school girls' basketball players, Ghookasian is supervising athletes at the Homenetmen Glendale Ararat Chapter's basketball Developmental League.

LOS ANGELES — The last time Christine Kepenekian was at the Homenetmen Glendale Ararat Chapter facilities, she was being honored for her performance in the European Championship Women Division C Tournament in Yerevan, the Armenian capitol. The Burbank High graduate and former member of the Ararat Women's Basketball team was showered with praise and later spoke about her dream of signing with a professional basketball team. Her dream became a reality this week. Kepenekian signed a contract to play with Hatis Yerevan, the top women's professional basketball team in Armenia.

LOS ANGELES — It was the first event of its kind, but judging from the large turnout by teams and their fans that made for a lively atmosphere in the stands and an air of intense but friendly competition on the court, the First Annual Glendale Summer Classic Basketball Tournament held at the Homenetmen Glendale Ararat Chapter on Saturday and Sunday won't be the last. Glendale Panthers Coach Avedis Melkonyan, who devised and staged the idea for a local travel ball tournament along with Tomik Ebrahamian, who coaches several Ararat age-group teams, said the tournament successfully realized the main goals he had for it — exposing the Panthers' younger age-group teams, as well as Ararat squads, to higher-level competition, and creating a tournament to unify all the teams that play under the banner of Glendale.

GLENDALE — The following are odds and ends from the local sports scene .   BUSTOS GETS PRESEASON CONFERENCE RECOGNITION Former two-time All-Area Girls’ Soccer Player of the Year Lauren Bustos , a Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy graduate, recently was named to the preseason All-Atlantic-10 Conference team. Bustos, a defender on the Fordham University women’s soccer team, was named the conference’s defensive player of the year last season, in addition to earning a spot on the conference’s first team.