The Rossmoor Woman’s Club continues community work throughout the summer months with one of their most rewarding efforts being when members recently cooked for residents of the Long Beach Ronald McDonald House.
City gets credit rating increase
Standard and Poor’s Rating Services notified the City of Los Alamitos that they have recently raised the credit rating on the city’s 2006 Series Certificate of Participation Bonds from AA- to AA+.
Local teams ready to battle in Empire League
This is a new year for the Cypress High School volleyball team. A new season, a new coach and a new attitude. Yorba Linda, which is no longer part of the Empire League, won league title last season and edged runner-up Cypress.
Cypress finished the Empire League with a 10-2 mark to once again take second place behind Yorba Linda, which barely escaped with the crown. Cypress qualified for the postseason, as usual, but did not make the final.
And that was that…
Yet the coaching staff and players claimed they felt satisfied, more than satisfied, with the team’s effort and result. Indeed, all and all, the 2013 campaign turned out to be a success, when one considers a team without a star, and nothing but chemistry, almost upset Yorba Linda for the league crown and made a run to the CIF final.
Still, the program suffered its biggest losses during the 2013 offseason.
The team’s lineup endured a massive hit with the graduation of five seniors – all of whom went on to play at the collegiate level. That list included four-year varsity players Alyson Utke and Alina Smith, whose departure creates holes at the outside hitter and setter positions. Additionally, hitter/defensive specialist Jasmine Manu and outside Amber Rose, both two year players, and defensive specialist/libero Ashley Collins graduated, too.
Players come and go, though. It’s part of high school sports, but the loss of the team’s skipper definitely hurt and left a huge hole to fill prior to the start of 2014.
Kim Binder coached at Cypress for four years. She replaced Marcelo Guanes, who, with the team’s last star, captured the school’s last league title in 2009.
Binder has been replaced by Aric Anderson, who previously coached at Savanna and the Quest Volleyball Club. Anderson is already having an impact on his team, bringing experience and a tough, mentality to the heavily-laden senior team.
The team’s returners include senior blocker Kayley Stephens, senior setter Andrea Pedneault, senior libero Amanda Vongries, senior defensive specialist Angela Gjonovich, senior defensive specialist Miranda Freight, senior defensive specialist Miranda Freight, senior hitter Darya Mehri, senior blocker Skye Young, and junior opposite Katie Ashman.
Western High
Western High always gets stuck behind Cypress and Yorba Linda – almost every year.
In 2013, the Pioneers chalked up a 7-5 record in league to snatch third place and a playoff berth. Cypress and Yorba Linda, as expected from the top two teams, swept them.
However, the Pioneers graduated four players, which includes standouts McKayla Dole and Kassidy Harrington, but it features seven returners. The group will be strong at the net, where it returns senior middle blockers Rockelle Gholson, Lylybeth Arambula, Sina Amasio, and junior Adrianna Nester. Other returners include opposite Karina Rubalcaba, sophomore defensive specialist Emily Muro and junior hitter Alyssa Conkle.
Kennedy High
Last year, Kennedy High didn’t finish at the bottom of the Empire League standings, but it didn’t end that campaign at the top of the pack either. The squad delivered a 3-8 league mark to take fifth, finishing ahead of sixth place Pacifica and winless Valencia.
The Irish swept the Mariners and picked up another win against Tustin, which settled for fourth place. They never faced Valencia.
The program’s struggles stemmed from inexperience. After all, the squad featured just four seniors. However, it will only lose captain Emily Parker, libero Kiana Story, blocker Ashley Mar and co-captain Heather Huynh.
The returning eight Irish players definitely picked up enough experience last season to make a climb up the standings. That group includes senior utility Molly Killen, senior hitter Nicole Mankey, senior blocker Calissa Jones, junior hitter Rachel Poirier, senior setter Sierra Stone, senior blocker Jordan Adamson, and sophomore blockers Breanna Robinson and Cyan Scott.
Pacifica High
As stated earlier, Pacifica High came close to finishing the Empire League in the cellar. However, it managed to pick up a pair of wins with a 2-10 league record. It also produced an overall mark of 9-19.
The Mariners only league triumphs came against Valencia. They also lacked senior leadership and lose just four players, but it seemed like every other program lacked seniors.
When school is out, the club is in
It’s back to school time and the slower pace of summer will be quickly replaced by school project deadlines, sports practices and the general busyness of today’s very active families.
Here at the Boys & Girls Club of Cypress we provide the support that kids and families need to reduce the stress involved with trying to get everything done well and on-time. We provide a daily Power Hour homework assistance program for our members and require all members to participate.
This gives children an opportunity to complete their homework and school projects while at the club, relieving some of the pressures on mom and dad. The consistent encouragement and support helps members stay more motivated more likely to stay on track with their assignments.
The club is open Monday-Friday until 6:30 p.m. and offers a variety of small group activities that teach members about technology, health and nutrition, fitness, and provided character and leadership development opportunities. We maximize students’ time at the club by encouraging skill development as well as offering a wide variety of games and activities.
Registration for the upcoming afterschool program is in progress. No child is ever turned away for inability to pay. For those who can afford to pay, the club charges $135 a month and includes all activities and a daily healthy snack. Transportation from school to the club is available for another $135 a month. Families who are unable to pay these fees are able to apply for scholarships that are funded by donations from community members and local businesses.
The club provides free program and transportation services to children from active military families. If you’d like to help the club raise the $30,000 needed to support this project, please send donations to Boys & Girls Club of Cypress, 10161 Moody Street, Cypress CA 90603 Attention: Military Scholarship Program. Donations can also be made online at www.boysandgirlsclubofcypress.com
Boy Scouts make rank of Eagle Scout
On Sunday, Aug. 10, Nathan Harrison and Preston Lee were honored by Boy Scout Troop 660 for attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. The Eagle Court of Honor was held at the Cypress Community Center, with over 100 family and friends in attendance. Boy Scout Troop 660 is associated with St. Irenaeus Catholic Church in Cypress, and has produced over 100 Eagle Scouts since it was organized in 1966. All Eagle Scouts must perform a service project that benefits their community.
Nathan built seven large wooden racks to hold the guitars for the music classes at Lexington Junior High School in Cypress.
Preston landscaped the planter in front of Landell Elementary School in Cypress, surrounding it with bricks, preparing the soil, and planting it with flowers and shrubs. Both boys raised all of the funds and purchased all of the materials for these projects, providing them at no cost to the schools.
Those in attendance at the ceremony included Nathan’s parents, James Harrison and Josephine Chow, his grandmother Pauline Harrison, and grandparents Lai Hah and ChakKiu Chow, and Preston’s parents Komund and Annabella Lee. Taking part in the ceremony were the current Scoutmaster of Troop 660, Mark May, and former Scoutmasters Richard Braun and Kent Gregory. The Master of Ceremonies was Eagle Scout Andrew Kim.
Mayor Pro Tem of Cypress, Rob Johnson, was unable to attend but sent a letter of congratulations to Nathan and Preston, saying, “You are to be congratulated for your dedication and hard work in attaining the highest advancement in Boy Scouting.”
Nathan Harrison graduated from Cypress High School in June, and will be attending San Diego State University in the Fall, majoring in Environmental Engineering. Preston Lee graduated from Los Alamitos High School and is attending the University of California San Diego majoring in Electrical Engineering.
Suspect arrested in Rossmoor shooting
A Rossmoor woman was arrested on Thursday on charges that she murdered her mother at a home on Wallingsford Road.
Los Al council appoints new members
Election season was a little more peaceful this year. The City of Los Alamitos appointed its new council on Aug. 23, with unanimous votes for the only three candidates who had filed to run in the November election.
LAUSD hires new Dir. of Fiscal Services
The Los Alamitos Unified School District Board of Education announced Renee Arkus as the district’s new Director of Fiscal Services.
Youth Center graduates Leadership students
With high hopes and aspirations graduates of the 2nd Annual Youth Center Leadership Academy received their certificates of completion at a celebratory breakfast served by the Seal Beach Lion’s Club at the Youth Center on Aug. 23.
Empire League Preview: Cypress, Kennedy attempt to move up in standings
Two teams seem to win the Empire League crown every single year: Yorba Linda, which captured the crown last year, and Tustin, which won the year before. In fact, the two schools seem to rotate from the top of the heap.
Last year, Cypress High and rival Kennedy, which rarely enters discussion to win the league crown, finished in a two-way tie for third place with 3-3 records.
Cypress, which played under second-year head coach and the aging Bob Burt, will once again feature a new head coach – the third since the dismissal of Ray Fenton, who led the program to a successful run a few years ago.
Indeed, Cypress has not won a share of the Empire League title since Fenton, who did the deed for the last time in 2011, when it tied with Tustin and Yorba Linda at the top of the standings with a 5-1 mark. That year Tustin bested the squad, handing it a lone loss in league play.
It did go 5-0 under Ray Fenton during the 2009 season and defeated La Habra for the CIF title.
Feldman, a teacher at Cypress High, landed the position in February. He previously served as an offensive coordinator under Mike Cobleigh, who replaced Fenton.
Despite minimal head coaching experience Feldman might provide the Centurions with the stability they need in order to climb back on top of the mountain.
This year the squad will return standout Quintin Pounds, who has been on the squad since his freshman season. Pounds, a top wide receiver and defensive back, will provide firepower on offense and help eliminate the opposition’s passing game on defense. He will also likely win accolades at the end of the season.
Wide receiver and defensive back Bobby Brito, as well as quarterback Nick Buras will also return to anchor the offense. Sean Roberts, who also played quarterback, will return as well.
As for Kennedy, it won the CIF title in 2006, but has not dominated since that season. The program won that title under head coach Mitch Olson, who led the squad to a 29-10 victory against Anaheim in the championship game. Brit Johnson, who currently serves as the team’s head coach took over the following season, and has coached the Irish since.
The team will return a slew of returners, though. This includes running back T.J. Williams, who had strong performances last year as a junior.
Western High, on the other hand, finished last season with a 4-4 overall record and 2-4 mark in league to occupy the lower half of the standings. It finished ahead of Pacifica (1-5) and Tustin (1-5), the latter which endured a rebuilding year, but never stays down for too long.
Cypress Cheer: stronger than ever
The Cypress High School cheerleading program is hoping to have another successful season, and they seem to be on track.
“We are even stronger this year. We have more tumbling, and that’s going to help us in competition,” said Courtney Harper, senior cheerleader, and this year’s varsity captain.
Winning paid bids to a regional and national competition based on their superior performance at United Spirit Association’s (USA) summer cheer camp, the team looks forward to continuing that excellence during their 2015 competition season.
Coach Leslie Allen, or Coach “A”, as the cheerleaders call her, confirms that the team is stronger than before with tumbling.
“We have full-squad standing back handsprings this year, and we are trying to do harder stunting and more advanced tumbling this year…we want to set the bar a little higher,” she said.
Last year, the team won first place at their first regional competition and a Cheer Pros competition. Taking second and third place at two other competitions, the team held one of Cypress High School’s best competition records in the program’s history.
Part of the team’s attribution to advanced tumbling, is credited to members like Ashley Kim, who did gymnastics since she was in third grade, but didn’t decide to put her tumbling to use with cheerleading until high school. Kim ended up enjoying cheerleading, and even encouraged her younger sister, Julia, to join the team, despite also having no previous cheer experience.
Julia Kim made the varsity team as a freshman. She says joining the cheer team was initiated by her sister, but has helped give her some confidence on her own:
“I look forward to this season, to help me get out of my comfort zone and be more loud,” she said.
Her sister says having a member of the family on the team has allowed them to see each other more often, and also help their family gain insight on how difficult cheerleading is as a sport. She commented on their relationship:
“As sisters, we now have more things to talk to each other about, and more things to argue with each other about,” said Ashley Kim, laughing.
Coach Allen has been instructing the team for the past two years, in which the team made it to the final day of USA Nationals both years. The team says that making it to finals at the national competition is always the goal. After achieving “day two” status last year, but earning sixth place for their final performance, the team seems hungrier than ever to win the title this season.
Prior to coming to Cypress, Allen coached for 12 years at Orange Lutheran High School. Allen grew up locally, starting her personal cheerleading career in junior high, and then attending Loara High School, participating there as a song leader.
Allen’s daughter, Lyndsie Olson, coached the junior varsity team at Cypress for one year alongside her mother, but now has been hired as the head coach at Esperanza High School in Anaheim, while former Cypress High School cheerleader, DJ Fleming, has been utilized for coaching the junior varsity team.
Four-year varsity cheerleader, and recently elected captain of the varsity team, Ashley Wells, says she doesn’t know where her life would be without cheer; she has been cheering for 12 years. She commends Allen for what her coaching has brought to the Cypress Spirit Squad program.
“Coach A is a really good coach. She has helped us by bringing in choreographers, and other coaches to help us learn more, along with improving our tumbling,” Wells said.
Samantha Hara, another freshman on the varsity team, gave up her involvement on a competitive cheer team to experience high school cheer. Her older sister was formerly the captain of the varsity cheer team in 2012.
Hara says she is looking forward to starting high school in the fall with her team performing at the football games, something she didn’t get to do with her competitive team.
With Cypress football kicking off shortly after school starts, Coach Allen says fans can expect to see fun basket tosses, routines learned at camp, and more of their strong stunting and school spirit, all in which serve as a forum for the team to practice their skills in preparation for competition season. The team will showcase their routine in November, and compete for the first time this season in December.
Los Al PD addresses Rotary
The Los Alamitos/Seal Beach Rotary Club hosted Los Alamitos Police Department Officer Justine Kim at their meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 5 at Pike Restaurant and Grill in Los Alamitos.
Los Alamitos earns one win in World Series
Los Alamitos Youth Baseball’s All Stars achieved their only win of the PONY Baseball Bronco World Series against Los Mochis, Mexico on Aug. 2 at Wells Fargo Field in Los Alamitos.