Opportunities

If you?ve thought of serving your community as a member of the Crescenta Valley Town Council, now may be your opportunity. Residents living within Montrose and the unincorporated areas of La Crescenta have until midnight Oct. 11 to file for candidacy. Elections are Nov. 1 for three open council positions, as well as three alternate positions. As of press time Thursday, only two people had committed to running for another term in office ? the others either were undecided or unavailable for comment.

Edward Han When it comes to successful businesses, a small window-washing company based in La Crescenta is not one that immediately comes to mind. But to Paul Dutton, the founder of Paul's Professional Window Washing, going door-to-door with nothing but a squeegee and a smile has led to a business that, over the course of 20 years, he has developed, grown, and now, franchised. "I made $65 all day on my first job," said Dutton, who has since worked on the houses of Nicolas Cage, Robert Redford and Pierce Brosnan.

They were meant to last 90 days. But Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars rover, Spirit, has lasted 370 and counting, and its little brother Opportunity is still running strong at 348 days, NASA officials say. JPL scientists have outdone themselves. The roving robots have exceeded even their creators expectations. JPL celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Spirit's landing on Mars this week at its offices in La Canada Flintridge. Spirit, landed on Mars on Jan. 3, 2004, and Opportunity landed Jan. 24. The rovers, equipped with panoramic cameras, magnets to collect dust particles and other instruments, were commissioned to send images back to scientists to help them determine where to perform geological tests to look for water.

Opportunities are available for both students and adults to volunteer at Descanso Gardens. Volunteer Coordinator Tali Arnold will meet potential student volunteers at the Visitor Center on Saturday, Nov. 11 from 9 to 10 a.m. to lead a tour of the Gardens. Students must be 14 years of age or older to participate in the program. Orientation for adults will be from 9 to 10 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 16. "I encourage every potential volunteer to check the Descanso website at www.descansogardens.

GLENDALE ? As far as St. Francis High soccer Coach Glen Appels is concerned, his team is still playing well. Entering Monday afternoon's Mission League game at Loyola High, the Golden Knights had won six straight contests and notched shutouts in four of their last five games. On Monday, St. Francis' steady, if not dominant, play continued. Unfortunately for the Golden Knights, it didn't result in a point, as the Cubs tallied a 1-0 victory. "It was just mostly frustrating," said Appels of the game in general, "to have as many chances as we did and not come away with anything."

Alecia Foster SOUTHWEST GLENDALE -- Before Ani Melik-Petrosyan joined the Career Exploration Opportunity program, she wasn't sure what she was going to do with her life. "I like to boss people around and want to make money," the Glendale High School student joked. After several months of analyzing her interests and learning how to achieve her goals, Melik--Petrosyan is now headed for a future in business management. The high school senior was one of 71 juniors and seniors from Glendale and Hoover high schools graduating from the career exploration program.

Darleene Barrientos Students at Holy Family High School got a glimpse of career choices by talking with nurses, police officers, firefighters, journalists and other professionals during the school's Career Day. Instead of having several professionals visit just one class, the entire school was involved in its Career Day on March 15. Students from each grade chose four sessions to ask questions and get a picture of...

Darleene Barrientos Kristine Movsisyan switched roles with her mother as they waited for the graduation ceremony to begin for Mashdots College's class of 2005. Kristine, 15, was at the ceremony to cheer on her mother, Hykui Movsisyan, as she accepted an accounting degree from the college. Her mother had previously worked as a bookkeeper and is furthering her education to get a better job, she said. "I'm very proud of her for trying to go back and find a career," Kristine said.

CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON "Opportunity is often difficult to recognize; we usually expect it to beckon us with beepers and billboards." -- William Arthur Ward First it was the phone, then it was the fax, then it was the phone again. I was working on a column, but it seemed like the more I worked, the more I was interrupted. I stopped and asked for God to guide me. I always pray about what to write, and sometimes I sense clear direction right away and other times I don't.