El Monte

A driver of a minivan died after crashing into a Caltrans truck early Tuesday morning on the 10 (Santa Monica) Freeway in El Monite, California Highway Patrol officials said.  The 4 a.m. accident occurred on the westbound freeway near Peck Road when the minivan hit the truck, which was being used to pick up cones. Two Caltrans contract workers in the truck suffered moderate injuries and were taken to a hospital. The CHP had said earlier that a Caltrans employee was killed in the accident.

A teacher who taught vocal music lessons at Glendale Adventist Academy was sentenced Wednesday to a year in county jail for allegedly engaging in lewd acts with a male high school student, officials said. Valerie Jane Gonzales, 29, of El Monte, was also ordered to serve five years of formal probation and must register as a sex offender for life, according to Jane Robison, spokeswoman of the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. Gonzales must also complete a year of sex abuse counseling.

Peter Samore EL MONTE -- Hoover High has struggled to get started in all four football contests this year, each resulting in decisions of seven points or less and no wins. Hoover's nonleague match up against El Monte was no exception. The Tornadoes marched down the field twice for touchdowns, and recovered a fumble in the end zone for another, all in the second half. However, Hoover couldn't get any closer as El Monte hung on to win, 28-21, Friday at Arroyo High.

Sergei Aftandelian Hoover High Coach Rob Swartz emotionally summarized his team's 31-14 thrashing of El Monte by saying, "This is the best effort I've seen since I've been here." The Tornadoes (2-1-1) wore down an undermanned Lions team with 273 yards rushing in the second half en route to their drubbing of El Monte (1-3) Friday night in a nonleague game at Glendale High's Moyse Field. It was a game of two different halves for Swartz's squad.

Sergei Aftandelian It finally happened. After a span of 221 minutes 9 seconds-- dating back to week nine of last season -- the Hoover High football team was able to score a touchdown Friday in a nonleague game against host El Monte at Arroyo High. However, even though the Tornadoes were able to make their first trip to the end zone this season, they couldn't climb into the win column, as the Lions clawed their way to a 24-18 victory. "We choked.

Air Force Airman 1st Class Rhea O. Dilig, the daughter of Rizalito Dilig of Glendale, has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. In 2003, she received an associate degree from Pasadena City College. Army Pvt. David A. Torres, the son of David M. Torres of Glendale, has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C. Torres is a 2002 graduate of Arroyo High School in El Monte. Air Force Airman Eric M. White, the son of Katherine W. Meyer of La Crescenta, has graduated from the telephone systems apprentice course at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas.

EDITOR'S NOTE: These people have been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of an intoxicant. They have been arrested on suspicion of a crime and, as with all suspects, are considered innocent until proved guilty. COSTA MESA Sept. 6 Roberta Lorette, 31, Corona del Mar Thursday John Michael Sissoyev, 28, Fullerton Sukki Roy Min, 33, El Monte Sherri Leeann Page, 47, Costa Mesa Saturday Juan Carlos Galan, 23, Santa Ana Liam Patrick O'Halloran, 21, Huntington Beach Hector Ramirez Reyes, 22, Costa Mesa Richard Cordova, 46, Santa Ana Melissa Marie Norton, 21, Costa Mesa Annette Reyes, 24, Costa Mesa Francisco Javier Zamarripa, 21, Fountain Valley Jaime Alberto Garrido-Jimenez, 20, Santa Ana Sunday Domingo Mondragon Acosta, 33, Costa Mesa Monday Pedro Rincon-Bernardo, 28, Costa Mesa NEWPORT BEACH Sept.

Glendale Police officers conducted a sting operation at 8:30 p.m. Dec. 20 at a medical clinic in the 2400 block of Honolulu Avenue and arrested Jun Lu for solicitation for prostitution. Lu, 48, is from El Monte. This was her first arrest, said Officer John Balian of GPD. Lu allegedly offered the undercover officers different forms of sexual acts in return for money. This is not the first arrest along Honolulu Avenue. In September another woman, Xiaoyan Zhao, 42, was arrested on the same charges.

EL MONTE 24, HOOVER 18 -- Hoover 6 0 0 12 -- 18 El Monte 0 0 12 12 -- 24 -- FIRST QUARTER H-Kermah 1 run (kick failed) 2:22 THIRD QUARTER EM-Archila 7 run (kick failed) 6:33 EM-Medina 28 pass from Archila (kick failed) 0:31 FOURTH QUARTER H-Rastegarnia 1 run (kick failed) 3:53 H-Jaco 32 interception return (kick failed) 2:40 EM-Cervantes 57 pass from Archila (kick failed) 2:18 EM-Librenjack 16 pass from Archila (kick failed)

Hamlet Nalbandyan The following are odds and ends from the Glendale YMCA Quarterback Club, which meets at noon Tuesdays at the Elks Lodge in Glendale. Just another in a fine list of speakers: Mike Walden, a member of the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Hall of Fame, was the guest speaker Tuesday at the Quarterback Club. Walden, who is the only broadcaster to have done play-by-play for both USC and UCLA athletics, talked about his career in sports journalism, which spanned more than 50 years.

A teacher who taught vocal music lessons at Glendale Adventist Academy was sentenced Wednesday to a year in county jail for allegedly engaging in lewd acts with a male high school student, officials said. Valerie Jane Gonzales, 29, of El Monte, was also ordered to serve five years of formal probation and must register as a sex offender for life, according to Jane Robison, spokeswoman of the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. Gonzales must also complete a year of sex abuse counseling.

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE - Before the season began, Albert Chamagua had his role clearly defined - carry the offensive workload. Chamagua, a senior forward on the Glendale High boys' soccer team, wasted little time carrying out the responsibility Monday. Chamagua provided the early spark, as he scored in the fifth minute to help host Glendale begin its season with a 2-1 nonleague win against South El Monte. "I like the pressure," said Chamagua, who finished with four shots on goal.

A driver of a minivan died after crashing into a Caltrans truck early Tuesday morning on the 10 (Santa Monica) Freeway in El Monite, California Highway Patrol officials said.  The 4 a.m. accident occurred on the westbound freeway near Peck Road when the minivan hit the truck, which was being used to pick up cones. Two Caltrans contract workers in the truck suffered moderate injuries and were taken to a hospital. The CHP had said earlier that a Caltrans employee was killed in the accident.

EL MONTE - After a grueling run through the stacked Mission League, the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division III-A playoffs came easy to the St. Francis boys' basketball team. It was bad news for Mountain View, the home team and St. Francis' opponent, Wednesday as the Vikings had trouble keeping up with the Golden Knights, who ran away with a dominating 64-33 victory. "We play all year long against a ridiculously tough schedule, I think we're ready to go by this time of the year," said St. Francis co-Coach Ray O'Brien, whose team held a 41-13 rebounding advantage in the game.

Andrea Kevakian and Karen Ataian arrived Friday morning at Whittier Narrows Tennis Center in South El Monte battle tested and ready to compete in the CIF Individuals Tournament. Kevakian of Flintridge Prep and Ataian of Crescenta Valley High looked to extend their stellar seasons going in the prestigious event. Unfortunately for the duo, their respective seasons ended on the first day of the competition. Kevakian fell in the third round and Ataian was eliminated in the second round.

GLENDALE — Oleg Simonyan has already shifted his attention toward next season. After the experience the Hoover High sophomore singles player encountered while competing at the CIF Individual Tournament on Friday, it's the outlook Simonyan took away from his individual postseason debut. Simonyan earned a spot in Friday's competition at Whittier Narrows Tennis Center in South El Monte after advancing to the Pacific League finals. He received a first-round bye before falling, 6-0, 6-0, to Maximilian Hawkins of Chadwick in a second-round match.

GLENDALE — During a perhaps surprising run to the Pacific League finals, Hoover High's Oleg Simonyan proved himself to be one of the top players in his league and the area. On Friday, he'll get his chance to prove himself against the best that the CIF has to offer in the CIF Individuals Tournament. "I'm happy for him," said Tornadoes Coach Julie Hoppe of Simonyan earning a spot in the CIF tournament. "He worked hard to get there. He kept improving throughout the season. "It's always great when you have a kid who wants it and works hard.

Kira Lee had no intention of resting on her laurels. Lee had just completed a season that not even she could have expected during her freshman year on the Flintridge Prep girls’ tennis team. Yet Lee knew she still had a lot of things to work on if she planned to get to the next level on the competitive stage. Lee went to the Arcadia-based Rusty Miller Tennis Academy, where she continued to develop her game. She also participated in a few junior tournaments. All this after going 49-3 and being tabbed the Prep League’s co-Player of the Year.

An application for federal funding for the “subway to the sea” stirred up a storm of controversy this week after local legislators embarked on a campaign to change the course of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. MTA Chairman Ara Najarian, who also sits on the Glendale City Council, fired back Thursday at lawmakers who had questioned whether seeking funding for the proposed Westside extension of the Purple Line subway to Santa Monica was the best decision for Los Angeles County given the state of the economy.

EL MONTE ? In dominant fashion, the rise of two up-and-coming Glendale-based fighters continued late Thursday night. Sako ?The Chainsaw? Chivitchyan ripped through Frank Baldival, and Ando Dermenjyan beat the clock to beat Andrew Patlan, as both secured first-round tapouts via rear-naked choke at a California Xtreme Fighting card in the El Monte Expo Center. ?We planned to take [their opponents] down and finish them and we did,? said Romik Kalantaryan, who cornered both fighters and trains them both at Glendale?