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Volume 49, Number 10, Published on 03/04/1996

News

Frankly speaking, we'll miss ya

Frank Martin, the "Town Crier on Wheels," is retiring and moving to El Dorado Hills. But long after he leaves his tread marks, he will still be seen around the Town Crier.

Disco on duty: Los Altos K-9 hit the streets Feb. 28

Los Altos Police Chief Lucy Carlton beamed as she presented two surprise visitors to City Council members at their meeting Feb. 27.

LAH council to assess future of private streets

Public or private? That's the question many Los Altos Hills residents were asking their city council after a town newsletter last October that listed 130 streets with private designations.

Free mediation services available

Burglary team continues to operate in Los Altos area

She was home alone, drying off from a shower, when she heard the first loud crash downstairs. The Los Altos Hills woman would soon be witness to an attempted burglary.

LAH claim typical of deep pockets filings

Los Altos Hills, along with other cities, often get hit with "deep pockets" lawsuits - served by attorneys with little idea or research concerning what agency is to blame.

Purissima Hills raises water rates more than 12 percent

Only six Purissima Hills Water District customers turned out for a Feb. 14 meeting on a proposed rate increase, but those customers in attendance encouraged the board of directors to go ahead and raise the residential service and water usage prices more than 12 percent.

Pettingill appointed Kaiser hospital executive

Pettingill will manage Kaiser hospitals in San Francisco, South San Francisco, San Rafael and Santa Rosa, and supervise Kaiser physician offices in Marin County.

Truly the best at El Camino

Nurses featured in many starring roles at El Camino Hospital

City Council considers block grant requests

Mary Ashley, acting executive director of the Support Network for Battered Women, told the Los Altos City Council that crisis calls last year to the Support Network more than doubled, from 2,000 to 5,500.

LAH council gives final approval to Quarry Hills development plans

After years of stumbling blocks, the Los Altos Hills City Council gave unanimous final approval for construction of 23 homes on 78 acres in the Quarry Hills subdivision at its Feb. 21 meeting.

Comment

Comment

Quarry Hills project OK worth the wait

People

Namo Jeffery Lundeen

A salesman for Consilium Inc. he is survived by his sister, Connie Schimbor of Houston, Texas, and children Jennifer Lundeen and Namo MacArthur Lundeen, both of Santa Rosa.

Robert J. Donoghue

A native of Teaneck, NJ., he moved to Los Altos in 1968. A graduate of University of Notre Dame with a degree in electrical engineering, Mr. Donoghue retired in 1994 after 32 years with Nash Engineering Company where he was regional sales manager for the last 28 years. He was a member of the Fremont Hills Country Club where he served as president of the board during 1973-74.

Audrey E. Birnie

A registered nurse at the Palo Alto Veterans Hospital, she is survived by her children, Greg Birnie of Mountain View, David Birnie of Sunyvale, Jeff Birnie of Berkeley and Kim Grawert of Los Altos, and six grand children.

Dorothy A. Ellis

A sales manager with Stoesser Industries, she is survived by her children, Judy Tomasello of Cupertino, and Sherrilynn Palladino of Los Altos and three grandchildren.

Italo Patrick Romanolo

A native of Oakland, he was a construction supervisor with Casey-Fogli for many years and in semi-retirement worked as custodian of St. William School for six years. A 36-year resident of Los Altos Hills, he served five years in the U.S. Army during World War II in Africa, Italy, Germany and France.

Hillary McArthur

Services will be held Friday at 10:00 a.m. at the Alta Mesa Memorial Park, 695 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto. A native of San Diego and an office clerk at La Canada newspapers, she is survived by her sons, Cameron McArthur of San Jose and Gerry Sgambati , and a nephew, Steve Furniss of Kneeland, Calif.

James E. Perkins

Mr. Perkins served as the cook for the Delta Tau Delta fraternity at Stanford from 1952 to 1978 and was fondly revered as "Mr. Barns." Over those 26 years, he became the fraternity member's father, mother, friend and finally an initiated brother in the international fraternity as the only fraternity member to be admitted without having attended a university.

Marion G. Sanford

She is survived by her children, Marion S. Mueller, Barbara S Atlee, Patricia S. Pfieffer.

Community

March Chefs Who Care at Los Altos Bar and Grill

The event will feature the restaurant's new chef, Larry K. Toy and his culinary specialties. Toy was named "1995 Chef of the Year" by the Pacific Coast Chefs Association while working at Burlingame Country Club.

Outstanding violinist, pianist highlight El Camino Youth Symphony concerts

The Saturday concert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the College of Notre Dame Theatre in Belmont. The Sunday concert is set for 2 p.m. in Smithwick Theatre, at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills.Quint has won the 1996 Carnegie Hall Concerto Competition. He will play a Tchaikovsky concerto in May of this year at Carnegie with the New York Symphony Orchestra. In 1994 Mr. Quint won the Aspen and Juilliard Concerto Competitions, and recently the Hedida Hermann's International Young Artists Competition in Connecticut..

Local romance author has book signing at Heintzelman's

"White Wind," a first novel by Los Altos resident Susan Edwards, received excellent reviews from many critical sources praising the romance novel's debut. Edwards will be present at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Heintzelman's Bookstore, 205 State St., Los Altos, signing her paperback edition and discussing the background to writing a romance novel.

In The Past...

In its March 10, 1971 issue, the Town Crier reported Mayor Peter Lewis issued a proclamation celebrating March 7-13 as Girl Scout Week in Los Altos

Panel to discuss racism in forum at Foothill College

A panel of guests will join keynote speaker Jewelle Gibbs, M.S.W., Ph.D. in discussing the ways all of us are responsible for eliminating racism in ourselves and our society in a forum 4-6 p.m. March 17 at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills.

Local church provides additional money for day labor program

Foothill Congregational Church in Los Altos donated $900 to assist the establishment of a new job and education center for day laborers in Mountain View.

State legislature and more city groups get in on Acts of Kindness Week

Special to the Town Crier

Noteworthies

Holloway has been a member of the POST board of directors since 1984. Serving as the chairman of the community planning process, which enabled the Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve to become one of the most publicly used open space preserves.

Search announced for Mrs. Los Altos

On the state level areas of competition include interview, aerobic wear and evening gown. There is no talent or swimsuit required.

League of Women Voters offers educational hearings for March 26 election

Want to learn more about the candidates and issues in the March 26 election? The League of Women Voters is sponsoring two kinds of events to assist voters in making their choices.

Mountain View announces 24-hour Moffett Field hotline

The City of Mountain View has established a 24-hour telephone hotline for information about Moffett Field. The hotline has been created to provide residents with information and periodic updates about Moffett. Residents will be able to hear information as well as leave messages expressing their opinions and concerns.

Police Report

Feb. 26, 10 a.m.: Alegre Avenue. Realtor reports she had a listing and placed furniture in the vacant house to show. Now everything is gone.

Almanac

Today

Arts in the area

Second Monday of every month: Los Altos Art Club demonstration on painting techniques, 7 p.m., Hal Brady Room, Hillview Community Center, 97 Hillview Ave. Information: (408) 725-8662.

Looking for somebody? Try it on-line

If the person you are looking for has a home page, a traditional search engine (i.e. Yahoo!, WebCrawler, Altavista, Inktomi) can help. By typing in a keyword search of the person's name you are looking for, you can find that person's home page and follow a link to it. Unfortunately, everybody doesn't have a web page, so after searching the listings of several search engines, you may still end up empty handed.

Rotary speaker covers life in the emergency room

Dr. Leroy's talk included some interesting facts about emergency room practice and the impact that the changing health care environment has had on it. For example, current law mandates that the medical staff see each patient who appears in an emergency room, but a full 40 percent of physicians' charges for these visits are never paid.

Sridhar

Vleisides

Senior Briefs

Los Altos Senior Center

Los Altos Weather

Friday Feb. 23 56 34 33 Good

Fly fishing author to speak at Hidden Villa benefit

Noted fly fisherman Hal Janssen will be the featured speaker at the first in a series of special fund raising dinners and wine tasting events in the Duveneck House at Hidden Villa in Los Altos Hills. The first event will take place on March 14 and raising funds for summer camp scholarships.

AISE seeks host families for foreign students

Each year, AISE places thousands of students with families across the United States. Families may select their students according to country, sex, age, religious beliefs, hobbies, grades and family background. Local area representatives are on hand to show student profiles and help families select the student who best suits them.

CSMA offers financial assistance for music lessons

"We are pleased that over the years we have been able to meet the needs of many families seeking music education," said Dr. Nicholas Isaacs, music director. "By offering tuition assistance, we have not only served students at all skill levels, but we have also identified students with outstanding musical talent.

Would-be trail builders - Hidden Villa calls

If you'd like to learn how to build trail, lead volunteers, and help keep our trails healthy, come to the Trail Center's crew leader training session. This weekend workshop, scheduled for April 13-14 at Hidden Villa in Los Altos Hills, is the first step to becoming a volunteer trail crew leader for the Trail Center, but is open to anyone who cares about our precious open spaces and the trails that traverse them.

Expert offers seniors tips for cutting fat from diets

Medical research has proven that people with high blood pressure, dangerous cholesterol levels or a history of heart and blood vessel diseases, should reduce fat in their diet. But, according to Drew Vranicar, as important as this topic is, it is overlooked by a lot of medical personnel.

Los Altos sculpture competition under way

The competition, open to all artists in the United States, Canada and Mexico, is a juried exhibition with the winners on display for 18-24 months at selected sites throughout Los Altos.

Just Say Yes! to volunteering at the YMCA

The campaign, which began in January, raised nearly $100,000 last year, all of which was invested back in the community. Volunteers need not be YMCA members or familiar with the YMCA, just interested in improving the lives of at-risk children.

Schools

Foothill theater receives Critics Circle nominations

Foothill College thespians received 11 nominations for the 1996 Bay Area Theater Critics Circle Awards for its productions of "Assassins" and "The Most Happy Fella."

CUSD offering parent information nights

For a list of locations, times, and schools presenting on each night, call the district at (408) 252-3000, ext. 523. Kindergarten registration will be held at district elementary schools from March 26 through April 5, 1996.

Parent discussion of substance abuse

The discussion, sponsored by the Mountain View Parents Association at the high school, will feature panelists: Linda Miller, director of the Community Health Awareness Council's "New Outlooks" day treatment program; a student in recovery; Stephen Newton, Ph.D., clinical director, adolescent behavioral health, Good Samaritan Hospital; William Crawford, school resource officer for the Mountain View Police Department; and Hugh Riddell, assistant principal for discipline at the high school.

MVHS music parents hold a Casino Night benefit

The $15 price of admission includes an evening's worth of fun, food, musical entertainment, starter supply of chips for casino games, opportunity to win a grand prize and bid on exciting auction items, and the satisfaction of knowing you are contributing to a successful music program at Mountain View High.

CAC discusses proposed changes in LAHS bell schedule

The Community Advisory Council (CAC) of Los Altos High School had its monthly meeting Feb. 28 in the LAHS band room to discuss proposed changes in the current bell schedule and in the advanced placement (AP) physics classes.

Springer School alliance taps help of business community

Does your company have access to stationery supplies or computer equipment? Do you have a son or daughter enrolled at Springer School? Or do you just want to keep the youth of Los Altos up-to-date in their education? If the answer to any or all of these is yes, the Springer School Business Alliance is for you.

Hold the phone for Foothill College winter musical Bells Are Ringing

Evening performances are slated for Thursday through Saturday, March 14-16, and 21-23 at 8 p.m. Afternoon matinees will be staged Sunday, March 17 and 24 at 2 p.m.

High schools display musical talents in Harmony concert

Featured will be choral or orchestral groups from both schools, including choral groups led by Los Altos High's Mark Shaull, and instrumental music under the direction of Los Altos High's Don Miller and Mountain View High's Robin Kramer.

Sports

Saint Francis CCS basketball playoffs

Special to the Town Crier

Sports Shorts

TEEING OFF: Los Altos-based Golf Connect holds an Executive Women's Golf Empowerment Clinic 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 16 at the Stanford University Driving Range. LPGA pros Christie L. Smith and Shelly Hogan will introduce the fundamentals of the game in a unique and creative format. For more information, call 941-7303.

Regina Holan

Town Crier Sports Editor

Saint Francis Girls CCS soccer playoffs

Town Crier Sports Editor

Pinewood CCS basketball playoffs

Special to the Town Crier

Coach Joe Schram Gets His 1,000th Win

Town Crier Sports Editor

Sports Calendar

SOFTBALL

Athlete Of The Week - Jeff Schram

Women's NorCal basketball playoffs

Town Crier Sports Editor

Business & Real Estate

Chamber looking for new director

The Los Altos Chamber of Commerce is looking for an executive director to replace Penny Maynard, who is leaving March 15.

Business Briefs

Harrell Remodeling, Inc. of Menlo Park recently won three META Awards for their work on two Los Altos residences.

Los Altos schools a big participant in Net Day

To prepare our children to have a competitive edge later on, they must be exposed to the tools of today.

Real Estate transactions - week of Feb. 28

19680 Auburn Drive - D. & K. Scherlizin to W. Wu/L. Cheung for $350,000.00

Good customer service recognized during Acts of Kindness week

During the week, Los Altos residents were able to pick up "Customer Service Recognition" cards from the Chamber of Commerce or the Los Altos Town Crier office and when they received good customer service from a local merchant, they could present them with a card to show their appreciation.

Joint effort links local K-14 schools online for Net Day

Special to the Town Crier

Weekly Special

The First Lady Of Cooking

In the early sixties I spent many week-ends in Tijuana at the bullfights, either at the old wooden ring downtown or the new one out by the Bay.

Recipes Of The Week

2 3-pound chickens, cut into quarters, or 1 6-pound fricassee chicken cut into serving pieces

What I believe about God - No. 4 in a series by local spiritual leaders

Special to the Town Crier

Spiritual life briefs for 3/6/96

Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1715 Grant Road, Los Altos, added a contemporary, family oriented, worship service to their Sunday schedule at 9:15 a.m. beginning last Sunday.

Women take advantage of chance to run services at Foothills church

This Sunday, for the third year in a row, the services at Foothills Congregational Church will be conducted entirely by lay women. The original concept came after Joni Ratts, a Los Altos resident and member of Foothills Church, attended such a service at a Lutheran church. She had been moved by the unique spiritual perspective revealed that day.

Women at the Well, a peaceful place for women

When Patti Pierce started Women at the Well, an inter-faith retreat center for women, she wanted to create an "oasis for soul refreshment," a safe place for women to come.

At the Culinary Academy kids have fun and eat good

There's a mean looking weapon lying around in many kitchens and not everyone knows how to use it. But go to the Children's Culinary Academy in Palo Alto and you will see 7 to 13 year old future chefs use it gracefully. It's called a rolling pin. They use it to make pasta since everything is made from scratch.

Espirit de la Danse

Let your kids march to the beat of a different drummer.

Just for kids: A page of their own

For the next Children's Page, students K-6 are invited to submit artwork and/or essays on the holidays, the winter season or write a letter to Santa.Please limit submissions to a half-page and use ink rather than pencil.

Theater briefs

DOING DICKENS: Los Altos Youth Theatre performs "Nicholas Nickleby," the Charles Dickens play about a sorrowful crippled orphan who is rescued by the valiant young master Nickleby, March 15-17, 21-24 and 28-30 at Bus Barn Theater, 97 Hillview Ave. For tickets and times, call 948-6903.

A Unioue Opportunity For A State-Of-The-Art Primary Education In The Bay Area

Special to the Town Crier

Summer Camps for Kids

The cold winter days are slowly coming to a close and soon so will the doors to school. What are you going to with your kids this summer? Why not a summer camp.

Getting in tune for life through music training

Five year old Christopher Heistad is getting ready for his second violin lesson at Gorin School of Music. He's also going to have his picture taken by the Town Crier photographer.

How to get an A in life

Los Altos resident John Dudek made a promise to his 6-year-old son when Jonathan was born.