Safe Place

GLENDALE — Beeline buses are now for protection, as well as travel. In conjunction with efforts from the Salvation Army, city buses have now become part of the national "Safe Place" program — a youth outreach program that provides children and teenagers ages 10 to 17 with fast responses and support for their problems. "Safe Place is a program that gives kids that are in distress or trying to escape a violent environment a place to go," said Capt. Barbara Sloan of the Glendale Salvation Army.

CHARLES J. UNGER I hope the American Automobile Assn. gets hit hard in this case. When one calls AAA, the hope is that they will come and help, and I imagine that is why we pay our $35-per-year dues. This is the story of a woman who never got the help she both wanted and needed and paid the ultimate price. On July 11, 1999, Melissa Gosule, a 27-year-old elementary school teacher, got into her 1986 Pontiac, only to find that the car would not start.

Several locations throughout the city are set aside for youth to have a place to go in times of emergencies, and these are known as Safe Places. Mayor Laura Friedman issued a formal proclamation on March 13 naming March 18 to 24 as Safe Place Week in Glendale. As part of the celebration, the Safe Place Advisory Committee hosted an appreciation reception for all of its supporters on March 21 at the home of Advisory Committee Chairman Norman Mamey and his wife M.J. Karmi. More than 50 Safe Place network volunteers, site representatives and supporters attended, including representatives from the Glendale police and fire departments, Glendale public parks, Glendale Bee Line, YMCA and members of the Salvation Army Advisory Board.

This is going to be a busy weekend for the Valley. Memorial Day services abound and the La Cañada Chamber of Commerce's Fiesta Days offers plenty to do, including music, barbecues and fireworks. Also happening this weekend is the prom for Crescenta Valley High School seniors. CV will be holding their event on Saturday evening, May 26 at the Globe Theatre at nearby Universal Studios. Without a doubt, prom is a highlight for many of the students. Unfortunately, this is also a perilous time as well.

The Safety Trailer made a stop at Mountain Avenue Elementary to help kids have fun while learning safety tips in case of fire, how to call 911 and what to do if they need help. The trailer is sponsored by the Children’s Burn Foundation and Glendale and Burbank Fire Departments and is a hands-on way to bring fire and safety education to third graders. “We have kids call 911 so they know how it works,” said Patrick Dawson, Glendale firefighter. Second and third graders began their safety day with an assembly featuring Inspector Danger, Nick Dalton-Pawle, The Great Smoke Detective, Barry Schwan and Wanda, Koni Dalton-Pawle.

About two dozen Glendale High School students and teachers were taking their seats Friday to protest prejudice and harassment of all types, when a student a few yards away repeatedly yelled a derogatory term for homosexuals. The incident occurred as students handed out small notices that said they muted themselves to represent the unheard victims of discrimination and name-calling as part of the national Day of Silence. Participating students kept silent all day and wrote their responses to questions.

Crescenta Valley High School was recently awarded $500,000 in the form of an anti-violence grant. CVHS is among 33 schools that have been awarded a total of $16.1 million in state grants to protect students from violence in school and in their community. And Crescenta Valley High has put the money where their mouth is. "We want to be pro-active about our students and their safety," said Betty Barnes, coordinator for Student Support Services at Glendale Unified School District.

For me, this Memorial Day weekend started with my first experience attending Prom Plus. This event began because of a tragic loss of life, but has turned into a real celebration of life and growing up. I knew the event was important for the safety of our children. Most teenagers feel immortal, however on prom night that intensifies because the world is theirs. They are excited about graduation, moving on to the next step in their life and loving being young. With all of this, they forget that there is danger out there, either from being on the road or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

LA CRESCENTA — Local teens began setting their own rules Tuesday night for a new youth center established to help thwart substance abuse and keep them off the streets. The group of roughly 40 teens yelled out rules, including no smoking, drinking and fighting, at the center's official opening on the 2500 block of Foothill Boulevard. The Rev. Bryan Jones assured teens that the center was for their use only and that it would staffed with three adults only during its operation.

Several locations throughout the city are set aside for youth to have a place to go in times of emergencies, and these are known as Safe Places. Mayor Laura Friedman issued a formal proclamation on March 13 naming March 18 to 24 as Safe Place Week in Glendale. As part of the celebration, the Safe Place Advisory Committee hosted an appreciation reception for all of its supporters on March 21 at the home of Advisory Committee Chairman Norman Mamey and his wife M.J. Karmi. More than 50 Safe Place network volunteers, site representatives and supporters attended, including representatives from the Glendale police and fire departments, Glendale public parks, Glendale Bee Line, YMCA and members of the Salvation Army Advisory Board.

LA CRESCENTA — Local teens began setting their own rules Tuesday night for a new youth center established to help thwart substance abuse and keep them off the streets. The group of roughly 40 teens yelled out rules, including no smoking, drinking and fighting, at the center's official opening on the 2500 block of Foothill Boulevard. The Rev. Bryan Jones assured teens that the center was for their use only and that it would staffed with three adults only during its operation.

About two dozen Glendale High School students and teachers were taking their seats Friday to protest prejudice and harassment of all types, when a student a few yards away repeatedly yelled a derogatory term for homosexuals. The incident occurred as students handed out small notices that said they muted themselves to represent the unheard victims of discrimination and name-calling as part of the national Day of Silence. Participating students kept silent all day and wrote their responses to questions.

In 1988, Bridget Fogg had lost everything. She couldn’t keep a job and had no money for her rental room. She owed it to alcoholism. She asked her father to take her in. Instead, he gave her $100 and told her to go to a women’s recovery home. Flipping through the phone book she found two listings and decided to try Vesper House. Twenty-one years later, she’s still sober. “Vesper House saved my life,” she said. “I couldn’t stop drinking on my own. I was trapped.

Recent church shootings have sparked discussion among various church officials on the possible need to carry weapons to religious services. The premise behind this is that churches are no longer seen as immune from violence as they once were. Do you believe that people should carry guns in church for protection or do you believe officials are overexagerrating when they say churches are no longer safe? Do you think churches have done enough to try to curb violence? What do you believe churches should do?

GLENDALE — Teens seeking shelter or counseling for depression will be able to get assistance in the Glendale Galleria mall and from the police department starting this month. The Salvation Army’s Safe Place program, an active safety network, has teamed up with the Glendale police to house a Safe Place connection site at the police department and its Glendale Galleria substation, police Sgt. Oscar Rodriguez said. “Now, kids more and more in the community need access to people who care about them,” he said.

GLENDALE — Community development officials continue to search for an alternative service provider for a 13-unit domestic violence shelter after the YWCA of Glendale, beset with financial strains, decided to opt out of the venture. The YWCA notified the property’s owner, Verdugo Housing Corporation, of its decision to withdraw from operating the transitional housing facility for single mothers and their children in March. PATH Achieve Glendale, the city’s largest homeless services provider, had tentatively agreed to take over and modify the program, but the nonprofit’s board of directors recently backed out of the deal, also citing financial constraints.

The Safety Trailer made a stop at Mountain Avenue Elementary to help kids have fun while learning safety tips in case of fire, how to call 911 and what to do if they need help. The trailer is sponsored by the Children’s Burn Foundation and Glendale and Burbank Fire Departments and is a hands-on way to bring fire and safety education to third graders. “We have kids call 911 so they know how it works,” said Patrick Dawson, Glendale firefighter. Second and third graders began their safety day with an assembly featuring Inspector Danger, Nick Dalton-Pawle, The Great Smoke Detective, Barry Schwan and Wanda, Koni Dalton-Pawle.

Brittani Idom, a student at Glendale Community College, received a fatal shot to the head in Los Angeles while on Washington Boulevard near Crenshaw Boulevard by someone in a car that pulled up alongside her. According to Los Angeles Police Department homicide officer Ted Urena, around 1:30 a.m. on July 6 an unknown driver pulled alongside Idom's vehicle and shots were fired. "She [Idom] was transported to Cedars Sinai Hospital and pronounced [dead] at 3 a.m.," Urena said. There was a passenger in the car, however she was not injured.