Dear Editor,
Orange County is blessed with an amazing network of 25 County Parks that include almost 40,000 acres.
 Guess how many of those acres are west of Beach Blvd.?  
Just four.  Only one hundredth of a percent (0.01%) of the total OC Parks acreage is in the western 20 percent of the County.  
And those four acres are about a half hour’s drive from Cypress’ City Hall.  Not exactly around the corner.

It was the first game the Los Alamitos varsity football team had ever played on the campus’ football field, aptly named John Barnes Field. But with all the hype and distractions at the school leading up to the game, the Griffins too seemed a little distracted in the first half.

Cypress Head Coach was admittedly concerned by the slow start his team had against Santa Monica High on Friday. But he was equally pleased with the way his team was able to control the game in the late stages and pull away for a 40-20 win against the Vikings at Western High.

Los Alamitos Unified School District recently announced two new principals for two schools in the district. Amy Belsha has been selected as the new Principal for Rossmoor Elementary School and Roni Ellis has been selected as the new Principal for McGaugh Elementary School.  
With 11 years of experience as an educator, Belsha’s leadership skills and core beliefs make her an ideal match for Rossmoor’s students, families, and staff.  This past year, Belsha joined the district and served as the Assistant Principal at McGaugh Elementary.  

For the first time since 1986, Saint Louis encephalitis virus has been found in adult mosquito samples in Orange County. The mosquito samples were collected in Garden Grove on August 9, and tested positive for St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLE) on August 17.
SLE is a native arbovirus in the same virus family as West Nile virus (Flaviviridae). SLE is similar to West Nile virus in that both viruses require a bird reservoir to maintain the virus in nature.
In 2016, SLE has been found in Los Angeles, Riverside, Kern, San Bernardino, and now Orange County.

Strong Studios just held their auditions for their fourth annual production of “The Nutcracker,” a full-length feature ballet danced by the Strong Ballet Academy.
“All of the Prima Ballerinas are very excited to dance their roles on stage,” said Megan Collaso, who’s the director of the studio.
Camille Leaveck, a Prima Ballerina dancing the role of Sugar Plum Fairy, said about her upcoming performance “It’s an honor to be a prima because it’s a big role and I’m very excited!”

Sir Speedy in Los Alamitos recently received a Century Club award, placing them in an elite group of Sir Speedy franchises worldwide.
The Century Club sales achievement award recognizes 100 of the top franchises in the entire network for outstanding sales achievement in 2015.
The award was presented at the annual Sir Speedy Convention, held in July at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans in Louisiana. Sir Speedy in Los Alamitos is owned by Lauri, Shawn and Allen McLean.

Nearly everyone receives “something” from the U.S. Postal Service almost daily, perhaps a payment due bill, a receipt, some advertisements, a greeting card, a package? So many years have passed since the Pony Express and the Stagecoach delivered “mail” in multi-time periods, and the passing use of the telegraph, the mimeographs, the fax machines, and the war-time “V-mail,” etc.
One type of correspondence seemed most likely to survive: the envelope.  

Dear Editor,
With the new school year starting, parents’ to-do lists are now filled with shopping for school clothes, school supplies, and school food.
That’s right – school food!
In the past, our nation’s schools were used by the USDA as a dumping ground for surplus meat and dairy commodities. It is neither a surprise nor coincidence that one-third of our children have become overweight or obese. Such dietary mistakes at an early age become lifelong addictions, raising their risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.

The FC Premier Los Alamitos Girls 2004 played in the OC Kickoff Tournament on Aug. 20 in Irvine.  It was a big tournament with teams traveling from many states to compete in.  
The local FC Premier team did exceptionally well and played high level soccer.  
They beat South Bay United 2-0, FC Heat Blue 1-0 and Strikers Ladera Ranch 4-1.  The Championship game was played against the Strikers OC Red, winners of their respective pool, and the game was intense and closely contested.  

Besides Surf City HB tourney and the Pats cup in July, FC Premier won the OC Brea Kickoff with coach Lyle Stamps and assistant coach Julio Santillan last weekend. The team didn’t concede a single goal in group play and beat the Yorba Linda Jaguars 4-1 in the championship match.  Pictured in the top row from left to right: Gizelle Bruno,  Brisa Mariscal, Julia Peet , Mel Navarro, Lluvia Mariscal, and Cori Flores.

With over 500 miles of summer training under their belts, Los Al’s Cross Country squads have one thing on their minds: the Sunset League title.
The title was within the reach of the girls squad last season before missing out on it by just a point.
Coach Mark Celestin said the team is focused and “shooting for the league title this year.
“Our girls team is top notch,” said Celestin.