Opportunities

NORTHWEST GLENDALE — Putting the ball in the net proved to be a trying task for the Hoover boys' soccer team. The opportunities were there, yet the goals were hard to come by. Despite dominating the action of Wednesday's Pacific League match with Muir, the Tornadoes were only able to muster a scoreless tie at Hoover High. "We've been working hard to create chances, but my forwards weren't patient to put the ball in the net," said Hoover Coach Charles Martinez, whose team defeated Muir, 5-4 on Dec. 13. "[Not scoring]

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — The window of opportunity for the Flintridge Prep boys’ water polo team to qualify for the playoffs hasn’t closed yet, but it got a little tighter on Saturday afternoon. In the first of its final three Prep League matches of the year, Prep was matched up with league front-runner Pasadena Poly and made no progress toward clinching a berth, falling 14-10 at home. For the second time in as many meetings this season, Panthers junior driver Tommy Gilfillan wreaked havoc on the Rebels despite the high priority they placed on stopping him. “[Gilfillan]

Sonia Yeghkian feels blessed to be a single mother going to school and working two jobs — because it’s something she could have never done in her home country. Yeghkian is from Iran, and came to America almost three years ago to gain freedom, an education and a better life for herself and her 16-year-old son. In Iran, Yeghkian said, “opportunities are for men. There are very little opportunities for women.” Because of the laws of the government limiting women’s rights and because of her husband, she was not allowed to go out or attend the university even though she passed the entrance exam, she said.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE - With a team filled with six freshmen and four sophomores, games like Tuesday's Prep League contest against Rio Hondo Prep are bound to happen to the Flintridge Prep softball team. The Rebels struggled on the field and at the plate, committing nine errors and stranding five runners in a 9-2 home setback that kept Prep winless on the season at 0-11, 0-4 in league. "There are definitely some things we need to work on," Prep Coach Julie Jamie said. "It comes with time and experience.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE - Alertness and patience went a long way for Kaelin King. In a six-minute span, the Flintridge Prep girls' soccer player showed she could use those two characteristics to rally her team to victory Wednesday. King collected one goal and one assist in the second half to help rally Flintridge Prep to a 2-1 nonleague home victory against South Pasadena at the Glendale Sports Complex. “It's a time where you have to get it together,” said King, who helped Flintridge Prep improve to 5-1-1.

It seems like a lot of the letters written to the editor regarding the rent-control debate contain far too much hostility and less real information needed to educate the public about what rent control is really about. The last letter by Ken Carlson, in which he tells landlords who can't afford to maintain their buildings to sell out to those who can, is really deplorable. As an attorney, one would expect more professionalism in his remarks, and more reliance on factual information instead of name-calling, which in every interview so far is exactly what he has been doing to his opposition.

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE - The Glendale YMCA Quarterback Club, in its 70th year, meets Tuesdays at the Elk's Lodge. The following are odds and ends from the third meeting of the year. PACIFIC LEAGUE TEAMS TURN THE PAGE It was a forgettable week for the club's three Pacific League members, as all three were nearly shut out in their league openers. Only Hoover managed to put points on the board, but its one touchdown came late in its 48-7 Thursday night loss to Burbank, while Glendale and Crescenta Valley failed to score on Friday night in 35-0 and 36-0 losses against Pasadena and Muir, respectively.

Seeing children holding their parents' hands on a lazy Sunday on the way to the ice cream parlor, I sometimes wonder how the little boy or girl will turn out when they grow up. Will the parents look through family albums when the child is in his 20s and say to themselves: "Hmmm, he was such a good kid, he was so smart, what happened to him?" And some may say: "She was smart from day one, we always knew she would reach her full potential." I don't have a survey of how many adults consider themselves to be happy.

Elaine La Marr   When Megan Browne was recently appointed executive director of the Roger Barkley Community Center, the community got more than an individual who has been an employee of the center for seven years. With a degree in human development and family studies from Colorado State University, in Fort Collins, Colo., following her graduation she worked for the city of Fort Collins in its department of recreations, working with academic enrichment and after school programs.

MONTROSE — In their first opportunity to clinch a Section 2 title on Tuesday, the Crescenta Valley 10-11 All-Stars never had much of a chance to do so after falling far behind Sherman Oaks early. In Wednesday's "if necessary" game, Crescenta Valley rallied in the final two innings and certainly gave itself that chance, but lost to Sherman Oaks for the second time in as many days, 10-8. "We came out today and we did exactly what we wanted to do," Crescenta Valley Coach Mike Klein said.