January 22, 2015

YOUR NO. 1 SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS, EVENTS, SPORTS AND MORE

L O C A L N E W S Y O U C A N U S EJanuary 22-28, 2015

VOLUME 10, ISSUE 4

www.sanclementetimes.com

Be Sure to Pick Up Our Special “Best of San Clemente People’s Choice Ole Awards” edition out this week

San Clemente resident Frank Christl receives a certifi cate honoring his receipt of the Congressional Gold Medal from Michael Johnson of the Montford Point Marine Association. Photo: Jim Shilander

Recognizing History

San Clemente man honored with nation’s highest civilian

honor for barrier-bursting World War II service

EYE ON SC/PAGE 5

Ground Broken for Marblehead SeaSummit Community

EYE ON SC/PAGE 3

Teachers Arrested Following Alleged Trysts with Students

at SC State Park EYE ON SC/PAGE 3

San Clemente Baseball Plays Host to MLK Day Tournament

SPORTS/PAGE 18

Be Sure to Pick Up Our Special “Best of San

Choice Ole Awards” edition out this week

LOCAL NEWS & IN-DEPTH REPORTINGEYE ON SC

www.sanclementetimes.comSan Clemente Times January 22-28, 2015 Page 3

SCSan Clemente

Work Set to Begin on Sea SummitTHE LATEST: After decades of promises and stalls, a new residential community is finally coming to the Marblehead property.

Officials from developer Taylor Morrison and the city of San Clemente celebrated a ceremonial groundbreaking of the more than 300-home development, now called Sea Summit at Marblehead Tuesday.

In addition to the homes, the project in-cludes more than 100 acres of open space, four city parks (as well as one that will be managed by the development’s homeown-er’s association but be open to the public) and four miles of trails.

Mayor Chris Hamm noted that when his grandparents bought their first home in Shorecliffs in 1961, they were told that “within two years, there’d be a new shop-ping center, an off-ramp and a whole slew of parks and homes being built,” on the property.

“(Nearly) 55 years later we’re finally at the groundbreaking,” Hamm joked. “This is going to be a tremendous asset to everybody.”

Taylor Morrison Southern California Division President Philip Bodem noted that the original plans for the development included six times the number of homes and much less open space. He compli-mented city staff with keeping a different goal in mind.

“These are the people who’ve main-tained a steadfast vision, through many ups and downs of this project, and who’ve worked tirelessly to ensure the integrity of this special and unique coastal property is held to the highest standard,” Bodem said.

The company, he said, would do its utmost to partner with the city to maintain that vision.

The development will have four neighbor-hoods. Work on three of the neighborhoods will begin in April, with the fourth scheduled to begin in June. The first residents are expected to be in homes in November.

WHAT’S NEXT: Bodem said the current timeline calls for the completion of West Avenida Vista Hermosa to Avenida Pico within the next 45 days, opening the road up to traffic in both directions. A public grand opening of the first model homes will likely be held sometime in July with the opening of the first three parks a short

time later. Three of the parks—Vista del Sol, Canyon View and Pico—are in the bid process, and he estimated construc-tion would begin in the next 60 days. Construction is set to take approximately five months. The Jim Johnson Memorial Sports Park is in the planning process.—Jim Shilander

Teachers Arrested for Alleged State Beach TrystsTHE LATEST: A pair of West Covina teach-ers were arrested Saturday after two separate alleged trysts involving underage high school students at San Clemente State Beach.

South Hills High School teachers Mel-ody Lippert, 38, and Michelle Ghirelli, 30, were arrested by Orange County Sheriff’s Department officers following an investi-gation by the West Covina Police Depart-ment into two non-school sponsored beach outings to San Clemente in which the women are believed to have engaged in sexual relationships with minor students.

Authorities allege Lippert met a group of male students at San Clemente State Beach on an unspecified date in November. During that meeting, Lippert allegedly provided the students with alcohol and en-gaged in a sexual relationship with one of the minors, the sheriff’s department said.

A second beach gathering was planned by Lippert a few weeks later in which many of the same students and Ghirelli attended, officials said. According to officials, both women are believed to have engaged in sexual relations with two of the students.

The students attended South Hills High School, sheriff’s officials said. Neither event was sponsored by the school.

WHAT’S NEXT: Lippert was arrested on conspiracy and contributing to the delin-quency of a minor and was being held on $20,000 bail. Ghirelli was arrested for oral

copulation and unlawful sex with a minor and was being held on $50,000 bail. Both had posted bail by Sunday afternoon, on-line jail records show, and are scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday, Jan. 21.—JS

Sunday Suicide by Train the Second in 9 DaysTHE LATEST: For the second time in less than 10 days, a person was killed on the railroad tracks Sunday along the San Clemente Beach Trail in what has been ruled a suicide.

Joseph Marrs, 47, of San Clemente was killed following a collision with a train just after 3 p.m. Sunday at approximately Buena Vista and Avenida Aragon.

On Friday, Jan. 9, a 22-year-old Irvine woman, Shiva Maghzi, was killed in a collision with a train just south of the 1800 block of Avenida Estacion. Both incidents have been ruled suicides by the Orange County Coroner and both delayed traffic on the tracks for several hours.

WHAT’S NEXT: Orange County Sheriff’s Department public information officer Lt. Jeff Hallock indicated that the area between San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano has often been the site of such incidents.—JS

CUSD Board Reviews Independent CFD AuditTHE LATEST: On Jan. 14, the Capistrano Unified School District Board of Trustees received a summary of an independent audit report of the district’s Community Facilities Districts (CFDs), which has been a controversial subject for the district in the past. Last year, the board requested that staff provide an audit on the CFDs, which will be conducted annually.

The district’s financial report for the

fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, was com-pleted by the firm Vavrinek, Trine, Day & Co, LLP, Certified Public Accountants. A representative of the firm presented their findings at the board’s Jan. 14 meeting.

The firm analyzed the district’s CFD finances during fiscal year 2013-14, which included the process for receiving and spending money and whether sufficient internal controls are in place, and con-cluded that there were “no internal control deficiencies to report.”

WHAT’S NEXT: During the meeting’s public comments, Talega residents Andrea Ewell and Laura Ferguson, representing Talega Residents for Fair Taxation, addressed both the audit and the CFD language discussed. They voiced ongoing concerns that CFD money is illegally being spent on school and school-related facility maintenance. Talegans have been voicing concerns over the state of the CFD since an August 2013 refinanc-ing, the proceeds of which were initially not returned to residents. That decision was reversed in early 2014.

“Talega is well aware of the laws and regulations of their Mello-Roos, and I have at my disposal 7,000 emails from Talega residents who are very anxious to know that you are going to be doing the lawful thing moving forward,” Ewell said.—Allison Jarrell

Councilmembers to Meet with Hospital StaffTHE LATEST: A number of San Clemente residents again turned out at the City Council meeting Tuesday to oppose the potential change of the hospital to an advanced urgent care facility.

A number of residents noted they, or relatives, had chosen the city to live in due to it having its own hospital. Saddleback Memorial San Clemente campus adminis-trator Tony Struthers noted that advocates for the current set-up should get behind a proposal to change the state’s rules allow-ing for free-standing emergency rooms. Dr. Gus Gialamis said members of a nonprofit group, Save San Clemente Hospital were also advocating on behalf of such a change, but were told it might take three years.

WHAT’S NEXT: Mayor Chris Hamm con-firmed at the City Council meeting that he, along with councilwoman Lori Donchak, as-sistant city manger Erik Sund and resident Mike Clark, would meet with Memorial-Care CEO Steve Geidt and Struthers next week. MemorialCare is hosting an open house event to discuss the plan Thursday, Jan. 22 at Bella Collina Towne & Golf Club, 200 Avenida La Pata, at 5:30 p.m.

FIND OUT MORE: For more on the story, visit www.sanclementetimes.com. —JS

What’s Up With...Five things San Clemente should know this week

Members of the City Council and Planning Commission join Taylor Morrison division president Philip Bodem (third from right) at the groundbreaking of the Sea Summit residential development Tuesday. Photo: Jim Shilander


EYE ON SC

Frank Christl, surrounded by a Marine Color Guard, prepares to receive his Congressional Gold Medal Friday at the Shorecliffs Terrace clubhouse. Since the award was presented in 2012, the Marine Corps and Montford Point Marine Association have tracked down thousands of Marines eligible for the award.

eventy years ago, Frank Christl served in a very different Marine Corps. But he did his duty. In doing so, he helped to make history and change the Corps for the better.

Friday, Christl, 92, was honored with one of the nation’s highest civilian honors, the Congressional Gold Medal, at the clubhouse at Shorecliffs Terrace. It came as a re-sult of more than two years of work by Christl and his good friend and neighbor, Woody Holtz.

CREATING A NEW LEGACYWhen President Franklin D. Roosevelt opened up the opportunity for service in the

Marine Corps to African-Americans in 1942, the first recruits were sent to a segregated camp, Montford Point, near what became Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. After graduat-ing from USC and officer training school in 1944, Christl, who is white, was sent there as well to serve as an officer overseeing the camp. All the camp’s officers were white, while all the volunteers, including many noncommissioned officers, were black.

The original Montford Point units were formed into ammunition depot companies. When Christl’s unit, christened the 5th Depot Company, was transferred to the Pacific, largely through Christl’s efforts, it was responsible for bringing supplies from ships to support landing parties that had gone before. The units from Montford Point would, however, fight beside white Marine companies when action dictated it and were involved in the invasions of both Saipan and Okinawa during World War II.

After the war, Christl was stationed in Tientsin, China where he worked to repatriate Japanese prisoners-of-war.

The Marine Corps, and all other branches of service, were integrated by President Harry Truman’s executive order No. 9981 in 1948. Montford Point was shut down as a training camp the following year, and African-American Marines would train with whites at Parris Island, S.C. and in San Diego from that point forward.

The Gold Medal, which along with the presidential Medal of Freedom, is the high-est civilian honor the nation can bestow, was presented en masse to all Montford Point Marines in November 2011 and was given to more than 400 former Marines at the U.S Capitol the following June. A ceremony was also held at the Montford Point site. The Marine Corps and Montford Point Marine Association have spent the last two and a half years awarding Gold Medals to hundreds of others who, like Christl, were unable to at-tend or who were initially unaware of the honor.

Marine Brig. Gen Edward Banta, commander of Marine Corps Installations West-Camp Pendleton, attended that ceremony and noted that many of the former Marines honored at the Capitol actually checked themselves out of a hospital to be there. Banta said when touring the base today, he is struck by the difference made by men, like Christl, who helped to integrate the Marines.

“As I go around our region today and visit with your Marines, I’m so proud of the di-versity I see in the ranks,” Banta told the crowd that assembled to honor Christl. “Thank

Doing What Marines Do

SSTORY AND PHOTOS BY JIM SHILANDER, SAN CLEMENTE TIMES

you, Mr. Christl, for helping us to evolve into the force we are today, and to bring dignity and opportunity to every Marine.”

A FRIENDSHIP BORN FROM HISTORYHoltz, a former Army officer and

military history instructor at Iowa State University, met Christl while preparing a short biography of the new resident for a Shorecliffs Terrace newsletter.

“I found out the basics of his service,” Holtz said. “Then I realized there was a whole big story there that needed to be told. I’m a former Army officer, so I understand the importance of history and I knew his history shouldn’t have been lost.”

There was also the matter of letting Christl’s family know about their father’s full history, since, like many World War II veterans, he often didn’t talk a lot about his experiences.

“They deserved to know, and Frank’s forgotten almost everything about his service, because his long term memory is quite bad,” Holtz said.

Holtz would meet with Christl three or four times a week in an attempt to piece to-gether his story, which was made difficult because Christl has difficulty speaking. But Holtz said once he began to talk, Christl began to remember. Holtz also used his research skills and contacts to do his best to find Christl’s war record. This included cooperation from staff at Camp Pendleton.

The search helped drum up misplaced or forgotten memories such as Christl’s role in celebrating the Marine Corps’ 170th anniversary while in China, an event that included borrowing a French officer’s sword to cut the large cake created by a German baker.

“It became a test to see if we could get to the end,” Holtz said. “As the historical aspects of Frank’s story emerged, I had a growing sense of being honored to be able to tell the story.”

Holtz’s original intent was to create a book about Christl’s war record to present to his family, but along the way, Holtz discovered the honor the Montford Point Marines had been given by Congress and believed his friend might be eligible, which was confirmed by Congressman

Darrell Issa’s office. However, that meant the duo needed to

find some sort of paper record of Christl being at Montford Point. After several months of searching, Holtz located a Ma-rine “muster roll” for Christl’s unit at the Marine Museum in Quantico, Virginia, which sent along a copy.

Holtz said he’d learned much, not just about his friend but about the history of the unit.

“The more I got into, the more I real-ized little had been written about them (the Montford Point Marines),” Holtz said. “I think it’s a fabulous story. The Gold Medal is also really one given to the Marine Corps itself, for overcoming the segregation and racial attitudes that existed in the 1930s.”

Holtz managed to compile the story of Christl’s service, together with a large number of photos of the events he would have been present for or known about into a book, which he presented to Christl at the ceremony Friday, along with mem-bers of his family.

Beth Moorhead, Christl’s oldest daugh-ter, called her father’s friendship with Holtz, “an unexpected gift.”

“Without Woody’s effort, we wouldn’t have this wonderful book, nor would we be here today to celebrate my Dad’s Con-gressional Gold Medal,” Moorhead said. “Woody did it all.”

AN HONOR FOR A FAMILYPerhaps the biggest treat for Christl

was having all nine of his children, along with many of his 30 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren, in attendance.

Frank’s son John said while he was growing up he was aware of the out-lines of his father’s service, but not the particulars. John said he knew his father had been at Montford Point and was on the beaches at Okinawa, but that was the extent of it. His father’s story came into more detail a few months before Holtz began his work, when John’s son Keith, then a student at Bernice Ayer Middle School, interviewed his grandfather for a project about events that shaped history, though Holtz’s efforts were more in depth.

John said his father, who went on to become a business litigation attorney in Los Angeles after his service, was always a humble man who didn’t necessarily see his own contributions to the Corps as particularly remarkable.

“My Dad never really thought anything of it. He was always fair and kind to everyone,” John said. “He was a Marine, doing what a Marine did.”

In some ways, John said, learning more about the man his father was in the service only served to illuminate why he became the man he was. Still, he said, the effort made by Mr. Holtz, and the award his father received, is one he and his fam-ily will always cherish.

“It was an unexpected honor and gift for my father and our family,” John said.SC

San Clemente veteran honored for war-time service with groundbreaking unit

The Congressional Gold Medal presented to Montford Point Marines, who were instrumental in breaking the color barrier in the Marine Corps. The medal is a civilian honor, not to be confused with the Congressional Medal of Honor, which is for acts of valor performed in military service.

San Clemente Times January 22-28, 2015 Page 6

EYE ON SC

SC Sheriff’s BlotterAll information below is obtained from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department website. The calls represent what was told to the deputy in the field by the radio dispatcher. The true nature of an in-cident often differs from what is initially reported. No assumption of criminal guilt or affiliation should be drawn from the content of the information provided. An arrest doesn’t represent guilt. The items below are just a sampling of the entries listed on the OCSD website.

Monday, January 19

SUSPISCIOUS PERSON/CIRCUMSTANCEAvenida Buena Ventura, 100 Block (3:31 p.m.) The caller discovered two syringes and a substance, which might have been heroin, in their side yard.

DISTURBANCECalle Puente, 1100 Block (12:10 p.m.)Five men, who were believed to be gang members, were drinking alcohol and sign-ing at Max Berg Park.

DISTURBANCEEl Camino Real, 800 Block (10:45 a.m.) About 10 men were loitering on the road-side. All were believed to be day-laborers, but the caller said they had not seen the men do any work.

SUSPISCIOUS PERSON/CIRCUMSTANCEAvenida Pico, 900 Block (2:39 a.m.) Officials received a call from a security officer in regard to an apparently drugged woman who had no place to go.

Sunday, January 18

DISTURBANCEAvenida Pico, 900 Block (10:32 p.m.) A security officer called referencing a man, who appeared to be homeless and refused to leave because he said he owned Home Depot.

SUSPISCIOUS PERSON IN VEHICLEAvenida Pico, 800 Block (3:43 p.m.) A man in a gray Acura was passed out in the vehicle and was not responding. The car was in drive but the man appeared to have his foot on the brake.

SUSPISCIOUS PERSON/CIRCUMSTANCEAvenida Serra, 100 Block (11:23 a.m.) A male transient was walking southbound on Avenida Serra going from house to house harassing people.

ANNOYING PHONE CALLAvenida Vista Montana, 200 Block (8:31 a.m.) The caller reported receiving threat-ening text messages.

DISTURBANCEEl Camino Real, 200 Block (12:30 a.m.) Two shirtless men were fighting near the rear of a business. Security was involved.

COMPILED BY JIM SHILANDER

Saturday, January 17

DISTURBANCE-MECHANICALCamino de los Mares/Calle Agua (11:37 p.m.) A loud leaf blower or other machine was being used to clean the Ocean View Plaza shopping center parking lot.

DISTURBANCE-MUSICAL OR PARTYCamino de los Mares/Calle Campana (10:40 p.m.) Loud music and ampli-fied voices could be heard near the golf course.

SHOTS HEARD-NO SUSPECT INFORMATIONCalle Sacramento, 1500 (10:17 p.m.) A man reported hearing two gunshots on top of the hill from his residence in the North Beach area.

SUSPISCIOUS PERSON/CIRCUMSTANCELa Esperanza, 100 Block (10:07 p.m.) Two subjects were seen on top of the roof of Our Lady of Fatima School. When the duo saw the caller, they began running toward the east side of the complex near the soccer field.

DISTURBANCECalle Puente, 1100 Block (7:53 p.m.) Five men with BMX bikes were smoking marijuana near the picnic benches.

SUSPISCIOUS PERSON/CIRCUMSTANCEPaseo Alba, 0 Block (6:49 p.m.) A patrol was requested after a caller reported see-ing transients start a small brush fire.

KEEP THE PEACEAvenida Del Mar, 200 Block (3:38 p.m.) A customer kept sending back food, which was hurting people’s feelings.

SUSPISCIOUS PERSON/CIRCUMSTANCEAvenida Junipero, 0 Block (2:07 p.m.) The caller believed that nearby squatters were stealing.

SUSPISCIOUS PERSON/CIRCUMSTANCECalle Puente, 1100 Block (1:51 p.m.) Three men were smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol in a gazebo in the center of the park.

SUSPISCIOUS PERSON/CIRCUMSTANCEEl Camino Real, 400 Block (1:17 p.m.) There were three or four men the caller believed were selling drugs in a hallway. One man was wearing a flannel shirt and baseball cap; one had a cane; and one had tattoos either on or next to his face.

SUSPISCIOUS PERSON/CIRCUMSTANCEEl Camino Real, 700 Block (11:34 a.m.) A “very boisterous” woman was sitting on the sidewalk with all of her belongings. She was described as “creating a scene.”

DISTURBANCEEl Camino Real, 3300 Block (2:20 a.m.) A caller reported there were at least 12 people fist-fighting in the parking lot be-hind a bar. No weapons were seen.


EYE ON SC

Have something interesting for the community? Send your information to [email protected].

Community MeetingsTHURSDAY, JANUARY 22

MemorialCare Open House5:30 p.m. Presentation on the potential future of San Clemente medical cam-pus. Bella Collina Towne & Golf Club, 200 Avenida La Pata.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 24

San Clemente Summit Hike9 a.m. Second annual hike to the city’s highest point. Meet at the end of Avenida Talega. Walkers are advised to bring a water bottle, a head covering and closed toed shoes suitable for hik-ing. 949.361.8254, www.san-clemente.org

MONDAY, JANUARY 26

Spanish Conversation11 a.m. Meet at Café Calypso for coffee and conversation. 114 Avenida Del Mar, 949.492.9803.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 27

SC Sunrise Rotary Club 7:15 a.m.–8:30 a.m. Meeting at Signa-ture Grille at the Talega Golf Club, 990 Avenida Talega, 949.369.0663, www.scsunriserotary.org.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28

Kiwanis MeetingNoon. The local Kiwanis Club meets at Carrows Restaurant. 620 Avenida Pico, 949.290.8729, www.sanclementekiwanis.com.

SC Rotary Club Noon. Pride of the Pacific Bar & Grille, 150 Avenida Magdalena, 949.361.3619, www.sanclementerotary.org.

CUSD Board Meeting7 p.m. Capistrano Unified Board of Trustees meets in the Education Center Board Room, 33122 Valle Road, San Juan Capistrano, 949.234.9200, www.capousd.org.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 29

Casa Classic 7 p.m. Recital featuring soprano Lisa Algozzini. General admission $25 and students with a valid ID are $5. 415 Avenida Granada, 949.498.2139, www.casaromantica.org.

Choral Society Seeking New Members for May Concert

San Clemente Choral Society will begin rehearsals for its Spring Concert, which will be held on May 2 at the Saint Andrew’s By-the-Sea United Methodist Church (2001 Calle Frontera) in San Cle-mente on Wednesday, Jan. 28. There will be two performances, a matinee at 2 p.m. and an evening performance at 7 p.m. The concert is titled “Movie Melodies,” and is a collection of memorable and enjoyable musical numbers from movies across the years. The 65 voice choir will be ac-companied by a small chamber group of musicians.

SCCS was created in 2004 as a commu-nity based chorus of citizens of south Or-ange County. SCCS presents two concerts each year: a holiday concert in December and another in May. SCCS’ director, Dr. Stephen Sturk, is director of music at Saint Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church in Temecula and composer-in-residence at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in San Diego.

The society is always looking for new members beginning with rehearsals on Jan. 28. Auditions are not required. Rehearsals are held at St. Andrew’s each Wednesday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., begin-ning Jan. 28 and concluding with the concert on May 2.

For more information about the San Cle-mente Choral Society, check the website at www.sccs-arts.org, email [email protected] or contact by telephone at 949.272.8435.

League of Women Voters Sponsoring Finance Program

The Capistrano Bay Area League of Women Voters is presenting a program regarding money in politics (campaign finance) on Thursday, Jan. 29 at 3 p.m. at the San Juan Capistrano Community Center.

The book, The USA. is Lesterland, will be used as the stimulus for the discussion. This book was authored by Lawrence Lessig, professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard.

Attendees are urged to read his work beforehand and to view his short talk on www.ted.com/talks/lawrence.lessig.

Arbor Day Foundation Giving Away Trees

The Arbor Day Foundation is offering California residents the opportunity to receive five free crapemyrtle trees by joining the foundation sometime during

NEWS BITESCOMPILED BY JIM SHILANDER

January 2015. The trees would be shipped between Feb. 1 and April 30. The trees arrive at between 6 inches to 1 foot tall and are guaranteed to grow, or they will be replaced free of charge.

To receive the trees and join the founda-tion, send a $10 membership contribution to 5 CRAPEMYRTLES, Arbor Day Foun-dation, 100 Arbor Avenue, Nebraska City, NE 68410 by Jan. 31. California residents can also join online at www.arborday.org/january.

CUSD Hosting Math Education NightsThe Capistrano Unified School District

will host Math Parent University Night classes in February to learn about new state math standards for all elementary and middle schools in the district. The 90-minute programs will be hosted at CUSD middle schools for middle school parents as well as parents of students attending the nearby elementary schools. Parents are welcome to attend any session offered in both levels—elementary school math and middle school math.

At each program, parents will be famil-iarized with the new standards and given an opportunity to participate in interactive math demonstration lessons with teach-ers. Parents will also be provided addition-al resources for assisting their children with math at home.

All Math Parent University Night classes begin at 6 p.m. The last program in this series takes place Thursday, March 5, in the Board Room of the district Educa-tion Center. In San Clemente, two events will be held: Tuesday, Feb. 17 at Shore-cliffs Middle School for parents at Shore-cliffs and Bernice Ayer middle schools, Concordia Elementary, Lobo Elementary, Las Palmas Elementary, Marblehead Elementary and Palisades Elementary in Capistrano Beach. The second event will be held Wednesday, Feb. 18 at Vista Del Mar Middle School for parents of students from Vista Del Mar K-8, Bernice Ayer, and all other San Clemente schools.

Baha’i Center Hosting Music Event SaturdayThe Baha’i Center of San Clemente will

host its next Music and the Faith event Saturday, Jan. 24. Music and the Faith fo-cuses on the vital role the arts and music can play in contributing to the vibrancy and cohesiveness of community life. The theme of the evening is Country and American music.

The event will be held at the Baha’i Center of San Clemente, 3316 Avenida del Presidente, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. The cost of the event is $10 per ticket. It is advisable to purchase tickets in advance as they may not be available at the door. To purchase tickets or more in-formation, call Badi Jeffers at 949.433.9555 or Badi Yazdi at 949.391.0505.

San Clemente Girls Hon-ored at Debutante Ball

Three San Clemente residents, Kylee Fracassi, Carolyn King and Megan Roby, were among 23 members of the National Charity League honored at the charitable organization’s annual debutante ball at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel held Dec. 27. Orange County philanthropies supported through NCL include: Boys & Girls Clubs of Capistrano Valley, CSP Youth Shelter, Discovery Arts, Eddie Nash Foundation/Camp to Belong, Friendship Shelter, Jessie Rees Foundation/NEGU, J.F. Shea Therapeutic Riding Center, Kostumes for Kids, Laguna Plein Air Painters Asso-ciation, Laura’s House, Ocean Institute, Operation Valentine Military Project, Orangewood Children’s Foundation, South County Senior Services, Sunshine Readers Literacy Program, Special Camp for Special Kids, Surfrider Foundation and Working Wardrobes.

Three San Clemente girls were among the members of the National Charity League honored Dec. 27. Photo: Courtesy of Leslie Bird, www.birdstudios.com

Norb Garrett

VIEWS, OPINIONS AND INSIGHTSSOAPBOXSC

San Clemente

San Clemente Times January 22-28, 2015 Page 8 www.sanclementetimes.com

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San Clemente Times, Vol. 10, Issue 4. The SC Times (www.sanclementetimes.com ) is published weekly by Picket Fence Media, publishers of the DP Times (www.danapointtimes.com) and The Capistrano Dispatch (www.thecapistranodis-patch.com). Copyright: No articles, illustrations, photographs or other editorial matter or advertisements herein may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, art, photos or negatives. Copyright 2015. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

PUBLISHER Norb Garrett

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Picket Fence Media Group Senior Editor,City Editor, DP Times> Andrea Swayne

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GUEST OPINION: Publisher’s Note by Norb Garrett

Celebrating San Clemente’s Besthis is my favorite time of year, when our readers pick their favorite shops, restaurants, services and special San

Clemente places in our exclusive “Readers Choice Best of San Clemente Golden Ole Awards.”

This year’s issue is our biggest ever and features our fi rst-ever special pullout edition to make it even easier for you to keep referring to the issue all year. And if you happen to misplace the printed edi-

Ttion, you can always go online to www.sanclem-entetimes.com and check out this year’s winners as well as the past year’s winners.

Do us all a favor and make sure to go visit and

frequent these businesses. As San Clem-ente’s ONLY locally owned and operated newspaper/community media business,

GUEST OPINION: The View From The Pier By Herman Sillas

Behind the Scenes of the Driver’s License Debatehen Americans started changing their means of transportation from horses to motor vehicles,

no one ever imagined where that would lead us. As motor driven vehicles began to appear upon the roads of our expanding nation, a concern of safety arose. A horse could see where it was going; a motor driven vehicle couldn’t. It was directed by its driver. What if the driver didn’t know how to drive? Around 1899, Chicago and New York became the fi rst cities requir-ing licenses to drive on city streets. States followed their lead.

The issuance of a driver’s license was a safety measure to protect the driver and everyone else within range of a moving motor vehicle. Once such a license was re-quired and auto owners increased, safety laws were passed and drivers had to pass driving tests in order to obtain a driving license. The purpose of licensing was to avoid accidents and save lives. Pedestrians learned new rules too, but no licenses were ever required for them to walk.

In 1978, Governor Jerry Brown appointed me Director of the California Department of Motor Vehicles. By that time, a driver’s license served an additional function. It had also become an identifi cation card.

As a new director I visited the L.A. fi eld offi ce and drove with a Korean gentleman who was taking his driving test to get his license. I sat in the back seat as the driver’s license examiner administered the driving test. After driving on the wrong side of the street, the examiner directed him back to the offi ce and told him he didn’t pass. He didn’t understand a word she was saying. I asked DMV personnel how he passed our English-written test. No one knew. A Ko-rean friend told me that the Korean commu-nity knew DMV had six written true or false tests. They memorized the fi rst question of each test and then memorized in numerical order the answers to the remaining true or

W false questions. For ex-ample, question 2, 3, and 4 were false, 6 and 7 were true, etc. They passed with fl ying colors.

Knowing this, we did a survey in all of our offi ces for three weeks to determine the number of persons visiting them and the number that didn’t

speak English. In some offi ces the per-centage of non-English speaking persons reached 20 percent. We had our driver’s manual translated into the six languages our survey showed would have the high-est use by non-English speaking persons visiting our offi ces. The languages were Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Tagalog. We dis-tributed the new manuals to those offi ces where they were needed.

I then began receiving the “American” letters. “This is America. English is our language. What are you doing spending taxpayers money on foreigners.”

My response was that we learned that non-English speaking drivers don’t just crash into non-English speaking drivers. They crash into English-speaking drivers too. Our duty was to try and prevent ac-cidents, and we concluded that if a driver learned the driving rules, an accident wasn’t as likely, regardless of the language the driver speaks.

The use of a driver’s license as an identi-fi cation card created a big problem here in California. To obtain one, a person had to prove he or she was here legally. South-ern California doesn’t have a good public transportation system. Persons travel long distances from one area to another for work. Many drivers are undocumented and without driver licenses, but drive any-way. Family needs override the risk of an arrest. If unlicensed drivers were in acci-

Thank you for your response to my book, “View From The Pier-Stories from San Clemente.” I have a book signing session on Sunday, Jan. 25, at the San Clemente Wine Company from noon to 2 p.m. located at 1223 1/2 Avenida Del Mar, San Clemente. I hope you can stop by, say hello and enjoy a good glass of wine. My book may be purchased there and is also available through Amazon.

If you want an autographed copy, you may purchase it through my web-site, www.hermansillas.com.

It is also available from the follow-ing establishments in San Clemente:The Fisherman’s Restaurant, at the pier; The Wild Flower, 1001 S. El Camino Real; San Clemente Florists, 168 Avenida Del Mar; San Clemente Arts Supply, 1531 N. El Camino Real; San Clemente Art Association, corner of Calle Seville and Avenida Del Mar; Mathom House Books, 83 Via Pico Plaza. In San Juan Capistrano: The Cotttage Gallery, 31701 Los Rios Street In Dana Point: Hogan’s Fish & Tackle, 34320 Pacifi c Coast Hwy. Ste. G

THE VIEW FROM THE PIERBy Herman Sillas

PLEASE NOTE: In an effort to provide our readers with a wide va-riety of opinions from our community, the SC Times provides Guest Opinion opportunities in which selected columnists’ opinions are shared. The opinions expressed in these columns are entirely those of the columnist alone and do not refl ect those of the SC Times or Picket Fence Media. If you would like to respond to this column, please email us at [email protected]

we are all about supporting our commu-nity which ultimately is what our Golden Oles are all about. Tell your friends and neighbors about these great businesses and be sure to support local business as often as you can.

We’re proud to call San Clemente our home, and we know you are too. Thanks for helping celebrate all that is great in our beautiful Village by the Sea. SC

dents, they sped away and became hit and run statistics. With the passage of the new law that allows undocumented persons to get a driver’s license, the document is back to what it was initially intended to do—make the roads safer for everyone.

That’s the view from the pier.Herman Sillas is a former U.S. Attorney

and longtime fi sherman on the San Clem-ente Pier. SC

www.sanclementetimes.comPage 10

2/4 CORNER By Mike Wilonsky

PLEASE NOTE: In an effort to provide our readers with a wide variety of opinions from our community, the SC Times provides Guest Opinion opportunities in which selected columnists’ opinions are shared. The opinions expressed in these columns are entirely those of the columnist alone and do not reflect those of the SC Times or Picket Fence Media. If you would like to respond to this column, please email us at [email protected].

GUEST OPINION: 2/4 Corner by Lt. Col. Mike Wilonsky, Command-ing Officer, 2nd Battalion 4th Marines, The Magnificent Bastards

A New Year, a New Missionappy New Year Bastard Nation. Now that the holidays are behind us, we are looking forward to our

upcoming spring patrol with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. We are already in the process of uploading the ships to depart from Okinawa very soon. Until we depart, we also continue to send compa-nies out to train in the jungle training areas in central Okinawa, Japan. The Marines and Sailors continue to refine their basic rifleman skills (land navigation, survival, marksmanship, etc.), and also learn new skills (communicating in compartmental-ized terrain, rappelling from helicopters, maneuvering artillery through thick veg-etation and through triple canopy jungle, etc.) The Magnificent Bastards, and our attachments, generally train in southern California, so the central training areas pro-vide them a totally different environment to work in. It is generally pretty simple to move a 200-plus man unit 10 kilometers (approx. 5 miles); however, we are quickly learning the __X2+1 equation. This means if it normally takes two hours to move five miles, it now might take two hours X 2 + 1 more hour = 5 hours. You might also add an additional two hours at night and another if there is rain, and there is always rain in Okinawa. So if you do the grunt math, it now takes eight hours to make the 5-mile journey through some of the thickest jungles Okinawa has to offer. It sounds dif-ficult, but the Marines and Sailors actually enjoy learning a new skill that will benefit their team down the road. I can honestly tell you--some of the best times I’ve ever had (in my 20 years) is being soaking wet and miserable with Marines in the Central Training Area. Some might say it actually builds character.

The Battalion Landing Team actually closed out 2014 with two fantastic events:

H(1) The Bastard Christ-mas Run/Shoot Compe-tition and (2) The Great American Smoke-Out New Year’s Eve Bastard Formation. The run/shoot competition took six hours from start to finish and encompassed over four miles of run-ning, 20 Cross-Fit and

trivia stations, and a precision shooting competition. The top three platoons were awarded for their triumphant efforts.

The smoke-out formation was due to the arrival of 1,100 cigars donated to the Magnificent Bastards by the San Clemente Marine Corps Support Group. The Bat-talion Sergeant Major and I passed out the cigars, lit them all up, and spoke to the men about the year behind us. It was a fantastic opportunity to take a break and recognize some of the fine Marines/Sailors that make this elite infantry unit. For those that con-tributed to the cigars, thank you very much from all of us.

For those that aren’t aware of the San Clemente Marine Corps Support Group, please look at them online. The address is www.scmsg.org. Please look at the great work Jim and Carla Hogan are doing for our entire Department of Defense.

As the Commanding Officer of San Clemente’s Battalion, I look forward to bringing you updates each month on your Marines and Sailors from the storied 2d Battalion, 4th Marines-affectionately known as the Magnificent Bastards. SC

SOAPBOX

Letters to the EditorCOASTAL COMMISSION REJECTS ECR PARKING LOT PLAN, SENDS IT BACK TO THE CITYTOM BARNES, San Clemente

At its Jan. 8 meeting in Santa Monica, the California Coastal Commission denied a permit for San Clemente’s proposed El Camino Real lot parking lot plan, sending it back to the city for revision. Rejecting its staff recommendation for approval, the CCC, after seeing visual presentations and hearing comments by San Clemente resi-dents Ricardo Nicol, Vonne Barnes, and Tom Barnes regarding an alternative plan, agreed with Commissioner Greg Cox’s

comment, “Frankly, I like the alternate better than I do the city’s proposal.”

The commissioners were concerned about the visual impact of the city’s plan blocking the ocean view in the El Camino Real view corridor and the extensive amount of impermeable surface (73 percent concrete and asphalt). They also preferred the extensive green landscaping of the alternative plan and found it more visually appealing.

When questioned by the commission-ers, the city’s spokesman, Assistant City Manager Eric Sund, indicated the alterna-tive plan had been considered but rejected based on public safety. He said, “[The] large grassy area would become more or less a home for homeless.”

On a motion by Vice-Chair Jana Zimmer, second by Cox, the proposal for a permit was continued on a 10-0 vote for 60 days to the San Diego meeting.

YOUR SEVEN-DAY EVENT PLANNERGETTING OUTSC

San Clemente


Photo: Courtesy Warner Bros. Entertainment

For our full calendar, visit the “Event Calendar” at www.sanclementetimes.com.

Have an event? Send your listing to [email protected]

Thursday | 22URINETOWN THE MUSICAL7 p.m. San Juan Hills High School pres-ents “Urinetown The Musical,” a comical musical satire and winner of three Tony Awards. Show runs Jan. 21 to Jan. 24. San Juan Hills High School, 29211 Vista Mon-tana, San Juan Capistrano, 949.234.5900, www.sjhhs.org.

BLACK CAT BONE7 p.m.-10:30 p.m. Live music at Iva Lee’s. 555 N. El Camino Real, San Clemente, 949.361.2855, www.ivalees.com.

Friday | 23OCEAN INSTITUTE JAZZ FESTIVAL6 p.m. Enjoy jazz music by Rick Braun & Friends, Norman Brown, Elliott Yamin and more while enjoying an evening of epicurean dining, cocktails, live and silent auctions to benefit the Ocean Institute. The festival also runs on Jan. 24, 5:30 p.m. and Jan. 25, 3 p.m. Tickets start at $95. 24200 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Dana Point, 949.496.227,www.ocean-institute.org.

IN PLAIN SIGHT7 p.m. Screening of In Plain Sight, a docu-mentary on the subject of human traffick-ing. Following the screening, there will be a panel discussion of experts including the director of the film. Pacific Coast Church, 2651 Calle Frontera, San Clemente.

LIVE MUSIC AT OC TAVERN9:30 p.m. Live music every Friday and Saturday night. Free. 2369 S. El Camino Real, San Clemente, 949.542.8877, www.octavern.com.

Saturday | 24108 SUN SALUTATIONS FOR A WARRIOR12:30 p.m. Juni Grimes enrolled in Empowered Teacher Training at pure. love. yoga. in November and was look-ing forward to becoming a certified yoga teacher when she was sidelined by a reoccurrence of cancer. Her graduating class of teacher trainers will join together to lead their first class through 108 Sun Salutations, celebrating Juni’s warrior spirit. Approximately 90 minutes with 100 percent of funds raised going to benefit Grimes. Recommended donation is $20.

The ListWhat’s going on in and around town this week

day, Friday and Sat at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25 and can be pur-chased online at www.cabrilloplayhouse.org or by calling the box office at 949.492.0465.

Monday | 26PASO ROBLES WINEMAKER DINNER 6:30 p.m. Dinner at The Cellar featuring Edgar Torres of Bodega de Edgar. Enjoy a welcome reception with four courses paired with Torres’ bold Paso wines. A menu that highlights Edgar’s wines while incorporat-ing his Mexican heritage has been cre-ated. 156 Avenida Del Mar, San Clemente, 949.492.3663, Menu and additional details at www.thecellarsite.com.

Tuesday | 27OPEN MIC NIGHT6 p.m.-10 p.m. Singer/songwriters perform at the Point Restaurant open mic every Tuesday. Bring your instrument, bring your voice, The Point supplies the sound system. 34085 Pacific Coast Hwy, Dana Point, 949.464.5700, www.thepointrestaurantandbar.com.

Wednesday | 28COMEDY NIGHT9:30 p.m.–11:30 p.m. Live comedy at Molly Bloom’s Irish Bar every Wednesday night. 2391 S. El Camino Real, San Clemente, 949.218.0120, www.mollybloomsirishbar.com.

COMPILED BY STAFF

BY MEGAN BIANCO, SAN CLEMENTE TIMES

Refreshments to follow. 415 East Avenida Pico, San Clemente, 949.492.5048, www.pureloveyogasc.com.

POWDER AND POOFF!8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Female impersonator show. Dinner Reservations recommended starting at 6 p.m. for best seating. Show reservations can be made by calling in advance. 2600 Avenida Del Presidente,949.481.1222.www.adelesanclementeinn.com.

CHERYL SILVERSTEIN8 p.m. Singing pop, jazz and blues classics at Pierside. 610 Avenida Victoria, San Clemente, 949. 218.0980, www.piersidesc.com.

PIER PRESSURE IV8 p.m. Live instrumental surf music at Knuckleheads Sports Bar & Grill, 1717 North El Camino Real, San Clemente, 949.492.2410, knuckleheadsmusic.com.

Sunday | 25SAN CLEMENTE FARMERS MARKET 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Bundles of flowers, fresh produce and much more every Sunday on Avenida Del Mar. Rain or shine.

AN INSPECTOR CALLS2 p.m. Play written by J.B. Priestly set in an English industrial city, a young girl is thought to have committed suicide and an eminently respectable British family is subject to a routine inquiry. The play runs Sunday, Feb. 8 with performances Thurs-

At the Movies: ‘American Sniper’ a Hit and a Miss

lot is being said about Clint Eastwood’s latest war piece, American Sniper. Based on true

events of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle’s (Brad-ley Cooper) life and his experiences in Iraq as the military’s most lethal sniper, the film shows not only how well he can hit, but also his emotional detachment from humanity. Some are calling it con-servative propaganda, others the best movie of 2014. And many film fans are annoyed the character study snatched six Academy Award nominations last week out of the blue over their desired choices.

Eastwood has shown a lot of pessi-mism and caution on the subject of war on screen before. With Sniper, it’s less black and white and not in a completely realized way. It is clear Eastwood and Cooper were racing to get Kyle’s story released in time for award season, with poor CGI and practical effects as the most obvious result of the speedy production. It is also apparent that Eastwood might have been battling conflicting input from both Kyle’s family and the studio.

Some scenes feel as if the filmmak-er’s building up a stark, anti-war piece, while others quickly switch over to a somber, patriotic mood by the end, dis-torting Kyle’s character development. Cooper does give a fine performance despite the movie’s lost tone and mes-sage, and clearly had a passionate dedi-cation to the role. In the end, Eastwood would’ve benefitted from more time in production and the film’s length. SC

ASATURDAY, JANUARY 31: THE ANNUAL SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO CAR SHOW The annual San Juan Capistrano Car Show is set to take place on Jan. 31 at the San Juan Capist-rano Community Center/Sports Park, featuring more than 400 hot rods, muscle cars, classics, cruisers and more. The event will again feature the Capistrano Animal Rescue Effort, or CARE, and well-behaved dogs on leashes are welcome. Proceeds from the event go toward supporting CARE as well as SJC Rotary charities. The show will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $2 for children (11-17) and free for kids under 11.

EDITOR’S PICK

San Juan resident and artist Jack Schmitt created this watercolor painting for the Jan. 31 car show. Photo: Courtesy of John Caldwell

ON LIFE AND LOVE AFTER 50

By Tom Blake

PROFILES OF OUR COMMUNITYSC LIVINGSC

San Clemente

PLEASE NOTE: In an effort to provide our readers with a wide va-riety of opinions from our community, the SC Times provides Guest Opinion opportunities in which selected columnists’ opinions are shared. The opinions expressed in these columns are entirely those of the columnist alone and do not refl ect those of the SC Times or Picket Fence Media. If you would like to respond to this column, please email us at [email protected]


The Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse roadster on display has awesome statistics, with 1200 hp, a W16 engine, top speed of 253 mph and valued at $3million. It is owned by a South County car enthusiast and will be on display up front at the show. Photo: Courtesy of John Caldwell

GUEST OPINION: On Life and Love After 50 by Tom Blake

When Internet Dating Doesn’t Work, Try Other Options

Each New Year, most older singles evaluate their single status. Many contact me in January for advice.

This week, Susan, emailed: “What is the best dating site for over 60? I’m having a lot of trouble fi nding one for women like me who are young at heart, look much younger than their age and are very active. I have kept myself in good shape, but all of the men that could be my counterpart want younger women. What is a woman to do?”

I responded, “Often, I hear from women who have the same complaint. Internet dat-ing does not work for everyone. Perhaps try things other than the Internet.”

Susan said, “I’m 72 and I think I’m maybe just too old now to play the game. I was a real head turner in my day and now get a glance now and then. My friends do not know of anyone. There is one man I fell pretty hard for about 15 years ago, maybe I should look him up.

I responded, “Yes, look him up. If that doesn’t work, simply say, ‘Next!’ Keep your eyes and ears open. Don’t give up, you are never too old. Reach out, help people, even volunteer. The main thing is to be out among new people.”

Susan said, “I do volunteer and work out at a gym four or fi ve times a week. I did meet someone there, but after a couple of dates, which I enjoyed, he told me he was married. My luck, as they say. I don’t click with a lot of men and I could be dating a lot, but I want to feel magic again and that is why I am still holding out. I have not felt magic in the last 15 years.”

I responded, “Working out is great. It’s so important to keep the body moving. OK, so you found out he was married. At least you gave it a go until you found that out. More importantly, you ended the relation-ship. Married guys are off limits. They need to get things taken care of at home before they start messing around. A

re you looking for an active dog to fi ll your home with fun and excite-ment? Well, my name is Marley

and I may just be that dog! My favorite activities include playing in

the yard with a couple of my dog buddies and going on brisk walks. When it’s time to relax, I love to curl up in a lap but don’t be surprised if I jump into your arms to give you tons of kisses. Won’t you be my new best friend?

Marley’s adoption fee is 50 percent off during the month of January.

If you would like to know more about Marley, please call the San Clemente-Dana Point Animal Shelter at 949.492.1617, or stop by for a visit at the shelter, 221 Ave-nida Fabricante in San Clemente. SC

Pet of the Week: Marley

“As far as looking for the magic you felt 15 years ago, nearly all singles would like to fi nd that, but is that realistic? It probably won’t happen. But, being with a kind, considerate person, to whom you might be somewhat attracted, is the modern-day magic for

singles 60-plus. “Keep your spirit up, and be thankful for

what you have. You are on the right path. Perhaps fi nd a couple of women friends to pal around with. You will meet some men along the way.”

One suggestion for Susan and other south Orange County singles would be to attend the singles age 50+ Meet and Greet at Tutor and Spunky’s, the Dana Point deli on the last Thursday of each month. After a two-month hiatus during the holidays, the next event is Thursday, Jan. 29, from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. There is no cost.

Over the past two and a half years, approximately 15 couples have formed, having met at these events.

Upcoming Events• Thursday, Jan. 29, 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.,

Age 50+ singles Meet and Greet, Tutor and Spunky’s Deli, Dana Point, 949.248.9008, for questions, no cost

• Sunday, Feb. 15. 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sunday at the Bookstore, San Juan Capist-rano Library, local author lecture series, featuring romance writers. Tom Blake will be discussing senior dating, his newspaper column and his dating and relationship books. SC

Each Sudoku puzzle consists of a 9x9 grid that has been subdivided into nine smaller grids of 3x3 squares. To solve the puzzle, each row, column and box must

contain each of the numbers 1 to 9. Puzzles come in three grades: easy, medium and diffi cult. Level: Medium

SudokuLast week’s solution:

BY MYLES MELLOR

See today’s solution in next week’s issue.

Historic Car Show Revving Up

The annual San Juan Capistrano Car Show is set to take place on Jan. 31 at the San Juan Capistrano Commu-

nity Center/Sports Park, featuring more than 400 hot rods, muscle cars, classics, cruisers and more. After 11 years of being known as the CARE Car Show, and later as the Rotary/CARE Car Show, the name has been permanently changed to the Historic San Juan Capistrano Car Show.

Organizers said the new name is rep-resentative of the historic link the show has to San Juan, and also represents a new partnership with the historic Mission.

The event will still feature the Capistrano Animal Rescue Effort, or CARE, and well-behaved dogs on leashes are welcome. Pro-ceeds from the event go toward supporting CARE as well as SJC Rotary charities.

The show will also feature the unveiling of a watercolor painting created for the event by San Juan Capistrano resident and commercial artist, Jack Schmitt. Prints will be available for sale at the event.

To register a car, visit www.sjcrotary.org/carshow. The show will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $2 for children 11-17 and free for kids under 11. SC

BY ALLISON JARRELL, SAN CLEMENTE TIMES

STORIES, SCORES, SCHEDULES AND MORE

SPORTS & OUTDOORSSCSan Clemente


For in-game updates, scores, news and more for all of the San Clemente High School winter sports programs, follow us on Twitter @SouthOCsports.

Now Healthy, Tritons Soccer Beginning to Click

When the season began, it seemed like a majority of the San Clemente High School girls soccer roster was in need of a trip to the doctor. Injuries piled up and the team needed to come together fast.

San Clemente got out to a rocky start but now, with more and more players returning healthy to the lineup by the day, the Tritons are beginning to click into high gear.

The team’s newfound cohesiveness was apparent on Jan. 20 when San Clemente dominated visiting South Coast League rival Dana Hills in a 3-0 victory.

With an infl ux of healthy players to the roster, San Clemente head coach Stacy Finnerty said her team focused on return-ing to the basics for the matchup against the Dolphins. The Tritons defense kept a clean sheet for a third straight game and controlled possession for most of the match in the wining effort.

“I think the reason we were successful (today) is we just went back to our roots. Just really trying to pay attention to the technical, the possession and not get hyped into who’s scoring and the goals against and the pressure and the monkey on our back about what we are doing, aren’t doing. And it worked for us today,” Finnerty said.

BY STEVE BREAZEALE, SAN CLEMENTE TIMES

Triton Report

San Clemente’s Sophia Spralja (14) and Morgan Farrier (25) celebrate after Ellie Winkelmann’s (left) goal against Dana Hills on Jan. 20. Photo: KDahlgren Photography

San Clemente’s Ellie Winkelmann scored a goal in the Tritons 3-0 win over Dana Hills on Jan. 20. Photo: KDahlgren Photography

Sophomore goalie Lauren Brzykcy and the San Clemente (4-8-2, 2-2 league) defense posted their third straight shutout in league play. Brzykcy had been sidelined earlier in the season with an injury but returned at the start of league.

San Clemente’s Sophia Spralja opened up the scoring 22 minutes in after corral-ling a Dolphins clearance out of the box and burying home the put-back to give the Tritons a 1-0 lead.

In fi rst half stoppage time Ellie Win-kelmann, another player who recently returned from injury, scored on a curling shot from just outside the box that found the top right corner of the net.

The second half was much of the same for San Clemente, who outshot the Dolphins 6-1 over the fi nal 40 minutes and scored again when Sydney Becker reeled in a nice long ball and beat the keeper to make it 3-0 at the 63-minute mark.

“We’ve just never had a group so I think

it’s nice today they all fi nally clicked and found each other so I’m really excited,” Finnerty said.

The healthy Tritons lineup will have a chance to pull above .500 in league play when they host fi rst-place Aliso Niguel on Jan. 29.

Boys Hoops Holds Early Lead in League

After two games played, the San Cle-mente boys basketball team fi nds them-selves in fi rst-place in the South Coast League standings. The Tritons (11-7, 2-0) most recently pulled off a wire to wire, 59-40 victory over league opponent El Toro at home on Jan. 16.

San Clemente’s win was never in doubt against the Chargers, as they built on an eight-point halftime lead and took a 49-29 lead into the fourth quarter.

San Clemente was led by senior Sam Darnold, who scored 20 points. Senior guard Joe Mann had one of his more productive games of the year, scoring 10 points while grabbing eight rebounds, six steals and notching four assists.

The Tritons were set to travel to play Mission Viejo (5-13, 1-1) in a league game on Jan. 21. Results were not available at press time.

Girls Basketball Continues to Roll

The San Clemente girls basketball team has settled into a winning groove over the last 10 days, recording three consecutive wins and totaling 65 or more points in each contest. Following a nonleague win over Lakewood on Jan. 10, the Tritons’ (11-7, 2-1) offense exploded against Aliso Niguel and Laguna Hills, respectively, in league play.

The Tritons posted a season-high in points against the Wolverines in a 79-44 win on Jan. 13 and followed up with a 74-32 trouncing of Laguna Hills on Jan. 15.

San Clemente is looking for a third straight South Coast League title and one of the major roadblocks standing in the way of their quest for a 3-peat is San Juan Hills (9-9, 2-0). San Juan Hills won the Sea View League last season and has yet to miss a beat since joining the South Coast League. The two teams will face each other on the Stallions home court on Jan. 22.

Boys Soccer Looking For Ninth Straight Win

The San Clemente High School boys soccer team rode an eight-match win streak into their South Coast League game against Mission Viejo on Jan. 21. Results were not available at press time.

The Tritons (12-4-2, 4-0) have not lost a match since Dec. 20. Since that 1-0 loss to Servite over one month ago, the Tritons claimed the Oceanside Classic Tourna-ment hardware and have won three consecutive league games. During the eight-game win streak San Clemente has produced fi ve shutouts and has scored two or more goals seven times.

The team’s most recent win came in a 4-0 victory over San Juan Hills on Jan. 16. Senior forward Matias Ledesma scored a goal and tallied two assists in the win.

The Tritons have been one of the hottest teams in the area and appeared in the latest CIF-SS Division 1 polls in the No. 8 spot on Jan. 20. Following the match against Mission Viejo, the Tritons will face South Coast League rival El Toro, the current No. 3 team in Division 1, on Jan. 23. El Toro touts a 7-0-5 overall record but has not played as diffi cult a sched-ule as San Clemente. The Jan. 23 match will give the victor an inside track to the league title.

Following Sixth-Place Effort in Tournament, Tritons Wa-ter Polo Readies for League

The San Clemente High School girls wa-ter polo team went 2-2 at the Dos Pueblos Tournament from Jan. 16-17, earning them a sixth-place fi nish.

The Tritons (9-6, 1-1) pulled off wins over Mater Dei and Dos Pueblos before falling to Newport Harbor and Orange Lu-theran at the event. San Clemente played the Lancers in the fi fth-place game but came up short, 12-8.

San Clemente, ranked No. 3 in the CIF-SS, was set to continue league play against Tesoro on Jan. 20 and against Dana Hills on Jan. 21. Results were not available at press time.


SPORTS & OUTDOORS

Dana Hills Rugby Club’s Jaxon Breckenridge runs the ball against Palos Verdes on Dec. 19. Photo: Courtesy

San Clemente pitcher Andre Pallante threw six innings of shutout ball against Saugus as part of the MLK preseason baseball tournament on Jan. 17. Photo: KDahlgren Photography

Tritons Baseball Plays Host During MLK Tourney

ACOMPILED BY STEVE BREAZEALE AND KEVIN DAHLGREN

s part of the Martin Luther King Jr. preseason baseball tournament, run by JSerra Catholic, the San Cle-

mente High School baseball team played host to some high-profile high school programs over the three-day event.

The Tritons were tabbed to be one of the several host sites in the area and played host to Saugas, Alemany, Harvard Westlake, Moorpark and Great Oak.

Tritons junior pitcher Andre Pallante’s six-inning shutout against Saugus on Jan. 17 was among the tournament highlights for San Clemente. SC

SAN CLEMENTE TIMES

YOUTH WRESTLINGThe San Clemente Youth Wrestling

Team claimed the 2015 SC Beach Brawl on their home turf on Jan. 11. The local team bested 19 other youth wrestling programs from around Southern Califor-nia, totaling a tournament-high 255 total points on the day.

The Tritons outscored the tourna-ment’s second-place finisher, Team Reign-Mission Viejo, by nearly 60 points.

Since taking over the San Clemente Youth Wrestling program two years ago, program director Mike Marshall has had over 40 wrestlers qualify for the youth state tournament. The win on Jan. 11 marked the first major tournament vic-tory for the program this season.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these boys. Some of these kids have been training all year for this season, wrestling over the summer and practicing three to four times per week,” Marshall said in an email. “We have also recently added

Scoreboard some mental training and visualization techniques to our practices and it has made a significant difference.”

RUGBYThe Dana Rugby Club lost their regular

season-ending match with St. John Bosco, 26-25, on Jan. 16. It was the only time the Dana Rugby Club lost a match this year.

The Braves got out to an early 14-0 lead and Dana Rugby was able to bring it to within 14-10 at halftime. In the second half, Dana Rugby earned their first lead of the game at 22-21 but St. John Bosco was able to come back and seal the win.

The Dana Rugby team finished the season with a 5-1 overall record and, despite the loss, earned the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Southern California Youth Rugby white division playoffs.

The local team, which draws players from Dana Point, San Clemente and neighboring cities, will host their first playoff game on Jan. 31 at Vista Hermosa Sports Park. Their opponent is TBA. If Dana Rugby advances, they will play in the Los Angeles division semifinals on Feb. 7. SC

The San Clemente Youth Wrestling team won the 2015 SC Beach Brawl on Jan. 11. Photo: Courtesy

Nick Pasquale Foundation Receives Donation

TSAN CLEMENTE TIMES

he Nick Pasquale Foundation re-ceived a $16,000 donation this month from Michael Anthony of Luxre

Realty in San Clemente. Anthony decided to take a percentage of

his yearly sales and donate it to the foun-dation, which awards scholarships to San Clemente High School student-athletes. Two scholarships, awarded to a deserving male and female student-athlete, will be awarded in May.

“I coached Nick (Pasquale) in Pop Warner football … I felt it was the right thing to do,” Anthony said. “It was a great thing to do to get the foundation funded every year. It’s a great organization and it’s going to the right cause.” SC

Michael Anthony, middle, presents a $16,000 check to Mel, left, and Laurie Pasquale of the Nick Pasquale Foundation. The money will go towards the founda-tion’s scholarships for San Clemente high school student-athletes. Photo: Courtesy

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SC SURF IS PRESENTED BY:

SCOOP ON THE LOCAL SURF COMMUNITYSC SURFSC

San Clemente

RESULTSWSA Championship Tour, Event No. 6, January 17-18, Oceanside Harbor, South Jetty

Key: San Clemente=SC, Dana Point=DP, Capistrano Beach=CB, San Juan Capistrano=SJC.

MICRO GROM BOYS U9: 1. Eli Park, Carlsbad; 2. Makai Bray, SC; 3. Maddox Bray, SC; 4. Hudson Saunders, La-guna Beach; 5. Jaxson Hutcheon, Laguna Beach; 6. Peyton Shaw, SC. MICRO GROM GIRLS U10: 1. Bella Kenworthy, DP; 2. Sawyer Lindblad, SC; 3. Lauren Anderson, Long Beach; 4. Mara Morales, Huntington Beach; 5. Kili Garrett, Cardiff-by-the-Sea; 6. Sierra Downer, SC. BOYS/GIRLS U10: 1. Dane Matson, SC; 2. Lucas Owston, Oceanside; 3. Luke Butterfield, Encinitas; 4. Hayden Rodgers, Laguna Beach; 5. Bryce Pinkerton, SC; 6. Conan Craig, SC. BOYS U12: 1. Levi Slawson, Encinitas; 2. Nicholas Coli, SC; 3. Taj Lindblad, SC; 4. William Mitchell, Oceanside; 5. Dane Matson, SC; 6. Patrick O’Connor, SJC. BOYS U14: 1. Griffin Foy, Huntington Beach; 2. Hagan Johnson, SC; 3. Taro Watanabe, Malibu; 4. Caleb Crozier, Encinitas; 5. Jabe Swierkocki, Ventura; 6. Jackson Butler, Encinitas. BOYS U16: 1. Gavin Doan, Carlsbad; 2. Sean Turberville, Carlsbad; 3. Ethan Mudge, CB; 4. Rodrigo Bandeira, Oxnard; 5. Noah Hohenester, SC; 6. Ben Seaberry, Huntington Beach. BOYS U18: 1. Ethan Grant, Carlsbad; 2. Jake Wetzel, Carlsbad; 3. Christopher Kervin, Newport Beach; 4. Grayson Amthor, Encinitas; 5. Michael Dennis, Carlsbad; 6. Ted Schultz, Cardiff-by-the-Sea. GIRLS U12: 1. Alyssa Spencer, Carlsbad; 2. Ella McCaffray, Cardiff-by-the-Sea; 3. Jenna Clark, La Mesa; 4. Makenna Doan, San Diego; 5. Bryce Ava Wettstein, Encinitas; 6. Noelle Walker, El Cajon. GIRLS U14: 1. Alyssa Spencer, Carlsbad; 2. Bryce Pinkerton, SC; 3. Kayla Coscino, Laguna Beach; 4. Sydney Tisdel, Carlsbad; 5. Izzy Hopkins, DP; 6. Kelly Smith, Laguna Beach. GIRLS U16: 1. Cameron Duby, SJC; 2. Sydney Tisdel, Carlsbad; 3. Joceline Marchand, Carlsbad; 4. Kiersten Noonan, Encinitas; 5. Peyton Slater, Carlsbad; 6. Kayla Coscino, Laguna Beach. GIRLS U18: 1. Maya Saulino, San Marcos; 2. Kiersten Noonan, Encinitas; 3. Cameron Duby, SJC; 4. Frankie Seely, Topanga; 5. DaniRose Hill, San Diego; 6. Sierra Garcia, Long Beach. BOYS LONGBOARD U14: 1. Koby Gilchrist, Encinitas; 2. Ben Kappes, Laguna Niguel; 3. Jimmy Wynne, SC; 4.

ith two dawn-to-dusk days of competition in 26 divisions, for surfers, making it through to a

final can involve anything from a stacked straight-to-final heat to a long, hard road beginning with 60 surfers and advancing through many challenging rounds. On Jan. 17 and 18 in Oceanside at the Western Surfing Association’s sixth event of the season, morning temperatures in the 30s—courtesy of a frigid off-shore wind—gave way to warm and sunny afternoons. And as the days heated up, so did the surfing.

For 39 local tri-city area surfers, claim-ing a spot on the podium was the exciting culmination to a day of competition in beautiful, glassy conditions at Oceanside Harbor’s South Jetty. Well overhead for the groms, the weekend waves offered ample opportunity for competitors from the U9 Micro Grom Push-in division through Legends Over 50 to showcase their prowess on shortboards, longboards, and in the case of the Adaptive division, prone boards and wave skis.

The weekend’s winningest surfer Cam-eron Duby, hailing from San Juan Capist-rano, took home a trio of trophies, winning the Girls U16, taking third in Girls U18 and logging a fifth-place finish in Girls Longboard U18. Kevin Skvarna, also from San Juan, came in third in both Open Men Longboard and Jr. Longboard U18. Other San Juan finalists included siblings Teresa and Patrick O’Connor—Patrick was sixth in Boys U12 and Teresa second in Girls Longboard U18—and Allie Frost with a third-place in Open Women.

Winning Rides at O’SideDozens of tri-city surfers made trophy rounds at Oceanside Harbor South Jetty WSA event

WBY ANDREA SWAYNE, SAN CLEMENTE TIMES

Jeff Jessee of San Clemente won the Legends 50+ division at Western Surfing Association event No. 6, Saturday at Oceanside Harbor, South Jetty. Photo: Jack McDaniel

Riley Kraatz. Photo: Patty Kraatz

The Dana Point/Capistrano Beach area was not short on finalists either. Rachael Tilly of Capo Beach took home a pair of wins in Girls U18 Longboard and Open Women Longboard, along with the Kind Snacks High Wave Score of the Day Award for an average 9.83 score out of 10. Another double finalist from Dana Point, Izzy Hopkins, was third in Girls Longboard U14 and fifth in Girls U14. Bella Kenworthy (Dana Point) was the weekend’s best in Micro Grom Girls U10. Capo Beach surfers Kyla Kelly and Riley Branom were sixth-place finishers in Girls Longboard U18 and Boys Longboard U14, respectively.

Twenty-two San Clemente surfers made it to the awards round, the top finishers being double finalists Dane Matson with a win in U10 shortboard and a fifth-place finish in Boys U12 and Kaimana Takaya-ma who was runner up in Jr. Longboard U18 and fourth in Open Men Longboard. Jimmy Bray was the Masters 30-39 sixth-place finisher and after doing double duty as push-in coach for his twin boys, Makai Bray was second and Maddox Bray third in Micro Grom Boys U9. Other San Clementeans making podium appearances were adult competitors Jeff Jessee, Ma-saki Kobayashi and Cody Canzoneri. SC grom finalists were Peyton Shaw, Sawyer Lindblad, Taj Lindblad, Kirra Pinkerton, Bryce Pinkerton, Sierra Downer, Conan Craig, Nicholas Coli, Hagan Johnson, Noah Hohenester, Jimmy Wynne, Tommy Coleman, Malia Mauch and Lexi Morgan.

The next WSA of the season is sched-uled for February 14 and 15 at the Hun-tington Beach Pier. SC

GROM OF THE WEEK

RILEY KRAATZiley Kraatz, 12, is ready to take his surfing competition to the next level. A two-year team member of the Ber-

nice Ayer Middle School surf team—com-peting on both short and longboards—he is planning on adding late season Western Surfing Association Championship Tour events to his Scholastic Surf Series schedule this year. And then next year, he will surf the full WSA season.

Riley started surfing at the age of 6, with his dad, but really got into it when he was 10.

“I love the people who surf and the whole culture,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun to be out there in the lineup with everyone. Most of the time everyone gets along and are friends.”

Now a straight-A student in seventh grade, Riley enjoys doing well in school and says it is important to him.

“My mom is really happy with my grades, and so am I,” he said. “I take school pretty seriously because if I don’t, I won’t be able to surf and play water polo. Also just I really like getting good grades.”

Riley’s hopes for surfing in the future include competing through high school.

“I want to do as many contests as I can throughout the year,” he said. “But most of

R

Riley Branom, DP; 5. Kasey Bowles, La Jolla; 6. Tommy Coleman, SC. JR. LONGBOARD U18: 1. Trevor Anderberg, Encinitas; 2. Kaimana Takayama, SC; 3. Kevin Skvarna, SJC; 4. Benjamin Goldstein, Carlsbad; 5. Andrew Neal, Manhattan Beach; 6. Koby Gilchrist, Encinitas. GIRLS LONGBOARD U14: 1. Liv Stokes, Aliso Viejo; 2. Betsey Lee, Topanga; 3. Izzy Hopkins, DP; 4. Malia Mauch, SC; 5. Sydney Zoehrer, Coronado; 6. Lexi Morgan, SC. GIRLS LONGBOARD U18: 1. Rachael Tilly, CB; 2. Teresa O’Connor, SJC; 3. Frankie Seely, Topanga; 4. Soleil Errico, Malibu; 5. Cameron Duby, SJC; 6. Kyla Kelley, CB. MEN 18-29: 1. Jared Boyd, Hermosa Beach; 2. Matthew Gentilucci, Los Osos; 3. Evan Sandison, Laguna Niguel; 4. Clinton Manley, Redondo Beach; 5. Simon Torres, El Se-gundo; 6. Andrew Fish, Venice. MASTERS 30-39: 1. Paul Pugliesi, Oceanside; 2. Sean O’Toole, Ventura; 3. Michael Graney, Carlsbad; 4. Jonathan Warren, Huntington Beach; 5. Philip Salick, Los Angeles; 6. Jimmy Bray, SC. SENIOR MEN 40-49: 1. Gavin Haughey, Laguna Niguel; 2. Pedro Diaz Rangel, Oceanside; 3. Erik Krammer, Oceanside; 4. Donald Day, Topanga; 5. Vincent Duprat, Encinitas; 6. Rick Takahashi, San Diego. WOMEN 18+: 1. Brooke Daigneault, Huntington Beach; 2. Michelle Watson, Ventura; 3. Kate-lyn Springer, Newport Beach; 4. Maddie LoMonaco, Santa Monica; 5. Morgan Gore, Mendham, NJ; 6. Emma Roll, Santa Monica. LEGENDS 50+: 1. Jeff Jessee, SC; 2. Rusty Phillipy, Cardiff-by-the-Sea; 3. Michael Boyd, Hermosa Beach; 4. Ray Kunz, Oceanside; 5. Tom Matthews, San Diego; 6. Masaki Kobayashi, SC. OPEN MEN: 1. Paul Pug-liesi, Oceanside; 2. Cody Canzoneri, SC; 3. Skylar Stokes, Del Mar; 4. Gavin Haughey, Laguna Niguel; 5. Jonathan Warren, Huntington Beach; 6. Tom Matthews, San Diego. OPEN WOMEN: 1. Maddie LoMonaco, Santa Monica; 2. Maya Saulino, San Marcos; 3. Allie Frost, SJC; 4. Morgan Gore, Mendham, NJ; 5. Brooke Daigneault, Hunting-ton Beach; 6. Avery Johnson, Carlsbad. OPEN MEN LONGBOARD: 1. Trevor Anderberg, Encinitas; 2. Nick Anderberg, Encinitas; 3. Kevin Skvarna, SJC; 4. Kaimana Takayama, SC; 5. Koby Gilchrist, Encinitas; 6. Philip Salick, Los Angeles. OPEN WOMEN LONGBOARD: 1. Rachael Tilly, CB; 2. Katelyn Springer, Newport Beach; 3. Maddie LoMonaco, Santa Monica; 4. Liv Stokes, Aliso Viejo; 5. Keili McEvilly, Carlsbad; 6. Emma Roll, Santa Monica. SR. MEN LONGBOARD 40+: 1. Benjamin Murphey, San Diego; 2. Troy Campbell, Torrance; 3. Larry Casas, Hun-tington Beach; 4. Raul Cabada, Long Beach. ADAPTIVE SURFERS: 1. Charles Webb, Oceanside; 2. Chris Oberle, Los Angeles; 3. Mark Thornton, Carlsbad.

all, I want to have fun with it.”Riley would like his first job to be working

as a lifeguard, an interest he developed through participation in Junior Lifeguards.

His future career interests include becoming a surfboard shaper or a water polo coach. He hopes to work alongside a shaper this summer to begin learning the craft while shaping his own longboard.

Riley loves surfing all the local breaks but traveling to new ones plays a big part in his love of surfing. Road trips up the coast to Pismo Beach and El Capitan are two of his favorite short trips. He is hoping to travel to Mexico this summer with his family.

“Growing up surfing and enjoying the beautiful weather in San Clemente is so fun—not like the people who have to live in the hot weather in Arizona,” Riley said. “I feel very lucky to be living the life I have.”

—Andrea Swayne

Documents

January 22, 2015