In the spirit of the season, Cypress Recreation and Community Services completed its’ annual Holiday Adopt-A-Family Program. With help from 24 groups, organizations, families and businesses, 36 local families were provided with gifts for the Christmas holiday.
Los Al baseball team faces off against Chinese Taipei squad
A local 12U travel baseball team was honored with a special opportunity recently. They were treated to a three game series competing against a team from Chinese Taipei. The visiting Chinese Taipei team has a rich history of producing some of the best youth baseball teams in the world. They most recently won the Bronco World Series this past summer and have won a total of seven since 1994.
Los Alamitos Holiday decorating contest winners
The Los Alamitos Recreation and Community Services Department crowned the winners of the best decorated homes in Los Al. Residents were encouraged to decorate their homes to be considered for 1st or 2nd place. Judging took place on Wednesday, Dec. 14, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Winners are encouraged to keep their decorations on display throughout the holidays. Congratulations to the following winners for each neighborhood.
Apartment Row
1st – 4191 Farquhar Ave.
2nd – 4071 Farquhar Ave.
Carrier Row
Youth Center’s Holiday surprise
Pictured are Youth Center After School staff and participants with $100 worth of new sports equipment purchased from Play It Again Sports in Los Alamitos, thanks to an anonymous donor’s gracious gift of $500. It makes up for the recent $500 theft of the children’s wish list donations from the Youth Center’s Christmas tree lot on Dec. 9. All are excited about this generous holiday gift, and are grateful for this gracious holiday gesture of goodwill.
First Rossmoor bike tour a success
Rossmoor couldn’t have asked for better winter weather. No gusty winds, no snow (well it’s Rossmoor), no blizzard storms knocking over penguin or snowmen displays.
All the stars lined up for the inaugural Rossmoor Christmas Lights Bicycle Tour this past Sunday.
Using the Christmas Lights Hot Spots Map from the Rossmoor Homeowners Association website, the organizers didn’t know how many people to expect to participate and check out lights together, as it’s never been done before.
Griffins earn plethora of football honors
The Los Alamitos High football team turned in a strong performance this year, reaching the CIF-SS playoff semifinals. With that success came a host of individual league awards, led by senior Joey Noble, who was named the Sunset League defensive lineman of the year. Sophomore Keanu Norman was a co-offensive back of the year as well.
Griffins who earned first team all-league honors were defensive end Drew Platt, offensive linemen James Stanton and Andre Leomiti, defensive backs Mike Magana and Dylan Laurent, and linebacker Issaiah Johnson.
Cypress election, council meeting recap
At last week’s Cypress City Council meeting, Paulo Morales was voted in as Mayor and Jon Peat was voted in as Mayor ProTem.
The amount of money spent by different organizations related to the Measure GG ballot initiative was also reported at the meeting.
Reports submitted to the City Clerk indicate the following:
In a report with the filing date of Nov. 4, Los Alamitos Race Course and Cypress GC reported they spent $194,694.98.
On their report with a filing date of October 31, Cypress Citizens Preserving Open Space reported they spent $2,833.97.
Local center shapes the life of a staff member from early on
When 12-year-old Joseph Maass came to the Youth Center’s After School Program six years ago, he never imagined how it would shape his life’s course and future aspirations.
Now 18, he’s been working the last nine months at his very first part-time job as a Youth Center staff member, and the Long Beach resident just enrolled in Long Beach City College’s winter session to study social work in the hopes of shaping other kids’ lives as a teacher or child psychologist.
All tied up
Marina High and Kennedy High had to settle for a 1-1 draw in December in a non-league girls soccer game at Marina High. Marina junior Erika Sosa scored first, off an assist from Ofelia Sosa-Cruz to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead. Kennedy would tie the game up on a penalty kick. (Pictured) Erika Sosa, at right, battles with Kennedy’s Kaylin Cruz for possession of the ball. Photo by Ted Apodaca.
Race on the Base in February
The Southland Credit Union 36th Annual Los Alamitos Race on the Base will take place on Feb. 24 through Feb. 25, 2017.
Register now and take advantage of ways to save or race for free.
· Register by Feb. 5 and beat the price increase for late registration.
· Join Southland Credit Union and receive a free Race on the Base registration for Glow Run/5K/10K events, or 50% off the Reverse Triathlon.
· All Military, Police and Fire personnel receive a Hero Discount of $5.00 off with code HERO2017.
Swimmers set club records
The 13-14 year old girls relay team from the Seal Beach Swim Club took first place in the 400-yard freestyle relay at The Winter Age Group Championships.
The meet took place in Palm Springs from Dec. 9-11. The girls had to qualify for entry to the meet by making time standards at prequalifying meets throughout the fall. They finished with a time of 3:44.71, which also set a new Seal Beach Swim Club record for that event.
Los Alamitos School District makes AP Honor Roll
For the seventh year in a row, Los Alamitos Unified School District has made the College Board’s Advanced Placement Honor Roll.
Los Alamitos USD is one of only four districts in the United States to make the Honor Roll for seven consecutive years.
The honor roll consists of the 433 school districts in the U.S. and Canada that simultaneously achieved increases in access to Advanced Placement® courses for a broader number of students and also maintained or improved the rate at which their AP® students earned scores of 3 or higher on an AP Exam.
King, Queen of Hearts Court revealed
The Los Alamitos Education Foundation (LAEF) announced the Royal Court candidates for the King & Queen of Hearts campaign on Dec. 15. The King and Queen will be crowned at the Royal Ball and Coronation gala on Feb.
Huskies celebrate the ‘Hour of Code’
In honor of National Computer Science Week on Dec. 5 – 9 all Hopkinson students participated in the Hour of Code, a self-guided activity, allowing students to try out the basics of computer science.
All Hopkinson students participated in hour of code in their classrooms and the Hopkinson Media Center. During this time, students were introduced to the basics of coding through apps like Kodable and Scratch.
Cypress student is Senate Youth Program alternate
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson recently announced two outstanding high school students to represent California in the 55th annual United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP), sponsored by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.
Torlakson also named two alternates in the event that one or both of the delegates are unable to attend the program. Stuti Grover, of Cypress was chosen as the second alternate.
Swim school goes the extra mile
Known for successfully teaching life saving swim skills to students of all ages and abilities, Watersafe Swim School of Seal Beach and Los Alamitos has taken an extra step to help one of their very own students who has a very special need.
Council reorganizes
The Los Alamitos City Council reorganized its positions on Dec. 12.
Newly elected councilmember Josh Wilson took over Dean Grose’s seat after successfully winning the city council election with a total vote tally of 2,676.
“Josh worked harder than the rest of us and came out on top, and I congratulate him for that,” said Grose at the meeting Monday.
Richard Murphy, who finished second with 2,137 votes, stepped down from his seat as Mayor and Shelly Hasselbrink was voted Mayor.
Statewide wage increase costs Los Al two jobs
In light of the statewide mandatory minimum wage increase on Jan. 1, 2017, Los Alamitos City staff is recommending crossing guards be removed from the city’s budget, according to a city staff report.
Los Alamitos estimates the upcoming wage increase will cost an extra $5,000 a year, which it’s expecting to cover by outsourcing crossing guards to All City Management Services and by leaving a secretary position unfilled in the Recreation and Community Services department.
Thousands flock to local Winter Festival
Over 2,000 children of all ages and their parents enjoyed an evening of holiday magic at the Second Annual Rossmoor Winter Festival, Friday, Dec. 9. RCSD President Tony DeMarco gave the opening remarks, and Senator Janet Nguyen and her son Tommy hosted the tree lighting ceremony. Also in attendance were Orange County Supervisor Steel’s Field Representative, Tim Whitacre and the entire RCSD Board of Directors.
Rossmoor crowns its Celebration of Christmas Lights winners
From the judges perspective, this 10th Anniversary Celebration of Christmas Lights was by far the most festive and fun. Why you might ask? Well, the mode of transportation was a big 45 foot long decorated bus. The monster of an orange beast drove up saying, “Yes we are pulling in front of your wonderful house.Yes we are checking out your lights. Thank you for decorating, and you made the map!”