Pride

GLENDALE — An age-old competition of pride, discipline and spirit unfolded in the Glendale High School auditorium Friday for the 100th consecutive year. About 1,400 students sat erect and motionless as they listened to class representatives deliver speeches as part of the school’s annual oratorical, a relic of a tradition that includes unfamiliar practices for most students, but remains exciting even for teenagers in 2009, said Mary Hazlett, director of student activities.

Neighbors warned Bruce K. Smith not to plant colorful flowers when he first moved to 1630 Santa Barbara Ave. because the deer would devour them, but he grew violet impatiens anyway. Planting colorful flowers turned out to be an award-winning decision for Smith when he and another Glendale resident, Laurann Cordero, received awards for their homes’ curbside appeal Monday. The two property owners were selected as recipients of the Gem Property Maintenance Award. The award recognizes Glendale homeowners for their civic pride and was created by Neighborhood Services and the Committee for a Clean and Beautiful Glendale.

Sports have been at the center of my life since I was able to run and jump and catch and throw. I grew up with four older brothers who taught me, and then later competed with me in every sport there ever was. Competition is in my blood, but the older I get the more I have come to believe that the best competition, the constant striving to be better than the other guy, is now more about just being a better me. The victories I once sought on...

In a survey released this summer by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, just 59 percent of 35,000 respondents said they believe in a hell ?where people who have led bad lives, and die without being sorry, are eternally punished.? That?s down from the 71 percent who said they believed in hell in a 2001 Gallup survey. And it is lower than the 74 percent who said they believe in heaven in the recent Pew poll. Why do you feel fewer people believe in hell, and should people be more concerned about going to hell?

Lydia Vannarattanarat inserted a plastic medical device called an oropharyngeal airway last week into the mouth of a medical mannequin and rotated the device 180 degrees. As she did so, Kelly Chulick, a retired Burbank firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician instructor, peppered her with questions. How did Vannarattanarat know that the device was in properly? If the device were in a real person, how would she tell that it was working? How would she remove this plastic tube-like device when she needed to?

Outer space has seemed a little closer to home recently, thanks to the outstanding work of the folks at the La Cañada Flintridge-based Jet Propulsion Laboratory. I had the pleasure and honor of being in the room at JPL when the Phoenix Lander touched down on the surface of Mars to begin its Mars Exploration mission. It was a thrilling moment, one that was the culmination of years of preparation. But the work has just begun. The Phoenix Lander Mission is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, which has the following long-term goals: determine whether life ever existed on Mars, characterize the climate on Mars, characterize the geology of Mars and prepare for human exploration.

If you’re looking for a challenge in which to test your mastery of swimming, cycling and running, you’ll certainly get that in the Danskin Women’s Triathlon Series, which makes its annual Southern California stop in Anaheim on Sunday. But the thrill of competing to be the first to finish the .35-mile open-water swim, 10-mile bike ride and 5K run is but a small part of the draw of the largest and longest-running women’s multi-sport event in the world. True to the series’ motto of “finishing is winning,” the final runner to cross the finish line is traditionally the most celebrated.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — With only a handful of matches left and the postseason out of their reach, the members of the Flintridge Prep girls’ volleyball team still have plenty to fight for. That was evidenced by the way the Rebels hung tough with visiting Westridge, the second-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA, over the first two games. It was also clear in the way they fought hard, despite trailing heavily, to hold their Prep League opponent at match point before falling 25-17, 25-11, 25-14.

After attending a mixer at the Montrose Chamber of Commerce, Chris Waldheim felt motivated to volunteer and lend a helping hand to his community. It didn’t take long for Waldheim, a Glendale resident, to join the chamber’s board of directors, and before he knew it, he was helping them prepare for the annual Oktoberfest. For the last five years, Waldheim has been in charge of ordering and distributing food to vendors for the event. Although he is no longer on the board of directors, Waldheim is still committed to doing his part for the organization.