Tuesday, January 13, 2015


Foothills Sentry


Orange selected as host town for Special Olympics


The City of Orange has been of-


ficially chosen as a Special Olym- pics World Games Host Town for 2015. The games will be held in Los


Angeles, beginning with the open- ing ceremonies on July 25 at the Memorial Coliseum; events will continue throughout the region. Before the games begin, more than 7,000 athletes from 177 countries will be welcomed to Southern California through the Host Town program. As many as 100 communities from San Luis Obispo to San Diego will serve as official hosts. In this capacity, Orange is


committed to providing athletes from around the globe with three memorable days as they prepare for the World Games. Chapman University will provide accom- modations and training facilities for the athletes. The Host Town program has


been an important part of the Special Olympics World Games


"Letters" continued from page 4


sion goes on. When East Orange is built out by The Irvine Com- pany, where will those kids go to middle school? There will be no schools built in East Orange, and there won’t be any land to expand Santiago Middle School because the school board is peddling “sur- plus” land that adjoins it. We elected these leaders to


run our school district. They are supposed do what’s best for now AND the future. We need to hold them accountable!


Tom Davidson Orange Park Acres


Dear Editor: The article, “Measure K post-


mortem praises pros, condemns cons,” was well done. The third paragraph illuminated just how out of focus the school board al- ways has been. Board Chair John Ortega com-


plained about politicizing the bond measure. What a whiner. The truth is, voters are smart, and they figured out that $800 million for new lavish schools was predatory and abusive to taxpayers. Trustee Deligianni-Brydges was correct in her simple explanations of just how snookered voters would be if they let this go through. A possible solution … let par-


ents cough up some money or tal- ent to repair the schools the way parents of private school students often do. Keep in mind private school


students save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, and the self- ish, greedy public school people won’t even consider giving back a dime. Then these people talk about rich people who send their kids to private schools being self- ish and not voting for the bond. Grow up, school board and rec-


ognize what private school fami- lies save the district, and lobby for some return of those monies. Maybe then a much more mod- est plan for the schools could be discussed. But the “gimme mine” $800 million plan was a colossal insult. And an expensive one for homeowners who would see their property taxes shoot through the roof.


Freda Cohen Orange


"Water district" continued from page 1


to handle any immediate fixes that the system requires.


Locals put it in writing EOCWD has already received


letters of support from Tustin and the Foothill Communities Asso- ciation. The Orange City Council agreed in December to submit a support letter, but continued the item until its January meeting in order to draft an acceptable mis- sive. The support letters will go to


Celebrating the selection of Orange as a Host Town for the Special Olympics World Games are, from left: City of Orange Mayor Tita Smith; Police Chief Robert Gustafson; Special Olympics Global Messenger Joseph; athlete, sportscaster and Olympics silver medal- ist Ann Meyers Drysdale; Vice President of the Host Town program Joann Klonowski; Chapman University President Jim Doti; and Chapman University Chancellor Daniele Struppa.


since 1995, and has left a lasting impression on local communities in Ireland, Japan, China, Greece, South Korea and the United States, all of which have previ- ously hosted the games. Orange Mayor Tita Smith said


"Trabuco" continued from page 1


Using a modified baseline for what was deemed “acceptable” vs. “nonacceptable” for motorists, the EIR found that an additional 780 road trips per day would have little impact.


Build it or bust In defending the county’s analy-


sis, Kostka noted that the EIR ac- curately reflected conditions on the canyon road, and that in terms of safety “the Santiago Canyon Road accident rate is low, anyway.” Attorney Ellison Folk coun-


tered Kostka’s arguments by not- ing that, in this case, the county simply wanted more development and altered the specific plan to fa- vor the developer. “Rutter says it can put in 65 units, the specific plan says it couldn’t have. Rut- ter says the land should change to


that the city was “deeply hon- ored” to be selected. Host Town candidates are evaluated on the availability of lodging accommo- dations, sports practice facilities and recreation/entertainment of- ferings for the athletes.


conform to development, the spe- cific plan says just the opposite.” She reiterated the lower court’s finding that the board of supervi- sors did violate the law by amend- ing the FTSP without analyzing the impacts of those changes. “Agencies are required to identify and evaluate consequences,” she said. “We know there will be bio- logical and ecological impacts, but the county did no analysis.” While the developer says that


the amendments further the goals of the FTSP, Ford noted that the huge grading exemptions, no lim- its on lot size, and no limits on cut and fill, all counter what the stated goals are. “They left the stated goal intact,” she said. “But the amendments counter what the policy says.” Justices Richard Aronson,


Richard Fybel and Raymond Ikola are expected to rule within 90 days.


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Irvine Lake website: www.irvinelake.net


the Local Area Formation Com- mission (LAFCO) that is sched- uled to either approve or deny the sewer system transfer in February. LAFCO has oversight responsi- bilities for changes in overlapping Orange County governmental in- frastructure and boundaries, and is the final say on the fate of Area 7. Although EOCWD has gar-


nered area support for its bid for the sewer system, it is not a shoo- in.


IRWD, after rejecting the


county’s overtures seven years ago, has now expressed interest. In a last-minute letter to LAFCO in December, it noted that its size, reach and resources will allow it to do the job cheaper. It provided no other details of its plans.


Due diligence In contrast, the East Orange


District has been preparing to take on the sewer system for some time and presented a com- prehensive application to LAF- CO. It has run cameras through the pipelines to identify problem areas and has, what it believes to be, a detailed understanding of the current system’s status. It has also negotiated with the affected communities, and spent several months at the table with Orange. That city’s main concern was an-


Page 5


nexation. If Orange were to an- nex any of the county areas that Area 7 services, it would want the attendant portions of the sewer system too. EOCWD agreed that it would turn over annexed por- tions of the system to the city. The district has also agreed to


freeze user rates for three years and says that its acquisition would be transparent to custom- ers. EOCWD believes that it is the best candidate to assume re- sponsibility for the sewer sys- tem because 95 percent of it falls within its existing service area, and because it is a local agency. “The benefits of EOCWD can


be summed up in two words – lo- cal control,“ says Bill Vander- Werff, president of the board of directors. “Our offices are lo- cated in a double-wide trailer in Orange. Board members live in East Orange, Tustin and North Tustin. They are elected by lo- cal residents. All user fees will go to a local agency.” He also notes that the district is "a frugal and cost-effective operation that keeps rates as low as possible.”


Home rule The City of Orange agrees. “We


would indicate a preference for EOCWD,” City Manager John Sibley told the council at its De- cember meeting. “Our concerns would be satisfied.” Mayor Tita Smith and Council-


man Mike Alvarez favored the water district’s bid because it is located in Orange; Councilwom- an Kim Nichols noted that “it is in our best interest to go with EOCWD.” The East Orange County Wa-


ter District was formed in 1961. It currently services over 10,000 acres and provides wholesale water to Tustin, Orange, Golden State Water, Irvine, and its own retail zone.


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