Snow

The active search for missing hiker and former La Crescenta resident Dean Christy was called off on Sunday. The avid hiker had been missing in the snow-covered San Bernardino Mountains since late afternoon on Jan. 4. "My sister-in-law called on Friday and she said, ‘Are you sitting down? Dean is missing. He went for a walk in the rain,’" recalled Susan Cena, Christy’s sister. Cena said that since the news was delivered, they are just taking life one day at a time.

Winter Wonderland season coming to park More than 70 tons of man-made snow will serve as a winter playground at Glendale?s 30th Annual Winter Wonderland event Feb. 9 at Brand Park. Hosted by the Glendale Parks, Recreation & Community Services Department and the Brand Boulevard of Cars, the Winter Wonderland will offer snow-themed activities, including downhill snow slides. There will be a minimal charge for some of these activities. Aside from children?s activities, entertainment, refreshments and display booths by city departments and community organizations will be available.

  Ten Years Ago Then state Senator Adam Schiff, representing this area while serving as chair of the Joint Committee on the Arts, introduced a bill calling for an investment of $1 per capita in the arts. He said it would increase the budget for the California Arts Commission by $35 million “to keep California competitive with other states and nations as we move into the next century.”   Twenty Years Ago During this week 20 years ago, snow frosted the local mountains for the third time during the winter of 1987-’88.

Mary O?Keefe/Valley Sun     M artha Graham said, "Dance is the hidden language of the soul." That is true — it is an art form that has been used to express the feelings of hope, despair and love since the beginning of civilization. But the fact is that dance is also very hard work that requires dedication and, as in most art forms, sacrifice. "I lost a lot of my social life," said 19-year-old La Cañada dancer Ryan Morrison.

If my bookkeeper hadn't told me that June 21 marked the beginning of summer, I would've never known. I knew it was getting uncomfortably hot, but with global warming becoming as trendy of a topic as which SUVs have the biggest torque, I never know if the heat is a product of the season or a result of environmental recklessness. I am hoping the day will not come when we have our own version of Brazilian Rio here in the Southland. I can just imagine California as an island, Brazilian bikinis worn by all, and colorful parrots mimicking human speech in every tree.

Entrenched with custom, evolving economics and social status, nineteenth-century Chinese culture is revealed through the research and literary work of Lisa See through "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan." Being part Chinese and having spent much of her childhood in Los Angeles Chinatown, Lisa See researched her book in Tongkou and Puwei. It was there that Lisa See met Yang Huanyi, who passed away in September 2004 as the last surviving original nu shu writer, meaning that her feet had been bound and that she had learned the secret language as the only way to communicate with her friends.

The folks from Colorado or the Sierra Nevada may chuckle just a bit when you say there is good skiing near Los Angeles, but our eye-opening trip to Big Bear in January proved that, for us, it definitely was worth the trip. Wide-open cruising, sunny skies, high-speed quads, no lift lines and lots of fresh snow — could you ask for anything more? The snow, we should add, is man-made, but the operators of Big Bear Mountain Resorts are quick to point out that snow is snow, and man-made snow is, indeed, real snow.

Children and parents decked out in rubber boots, gloves and snow gear made their way up to Brand Park Saturday to bask in the crystal-white snow that covered a portion of the park grounds. While it did not actually snow in Glendale, the city offered excited kids that same feeling for a day by bringing 60 tons of snow to the park for its 29th annual Winter Wonderland. The man-made snow was used to create four snow-slides and two play areas. While many lined up for an icy ride down the slides, others created snowballs, snowmen and snow angels.

The Glendale Parks, Recreation & Community Services Department is hosting the 29th Annual Winter Wonderland event at Brand Park at 1601 W. Mountain Street, on Saturday, Feb. 10, beginning at 10 a.m. 60 tons of man-made snow will transform the west side of the park into a winter carnival setting. Children are invited to play in active and passive snow areas, and participate in various snow themed activities. Plastic snow discs will be provided for the downhill snow slides.