Page A2 • November 1, 2012 • Inland Empire Community Newspapers • Colton Courier

Our community inthe Service

Air Force Airman Makala Bullock-Suan graduated from basicmilitary training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio,Texas.

The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that includedtraining in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physi-cal fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an asso-ciate in applied science degree through the Community College of theAir Force.Bullock-Suan is the daughter of Monica Suan of Colton.She is a 2011 graduate of Washington High School, Colton.

Colton tee ball sign ups starting 11/3/12 thru 2/23/13, every Sat.from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at McKinley school in Colton (lowerfields). Every Thurs. from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Gonzales Cen-

ter in Colton. Registration fee in Nov is $40, fee will increase in Decem-ber. Ages 4-7 for more info. Call (909) 841-7316.

Colton T-Ball sign ups commence

City Talk with Dr. GCandidate for Colton City Council - District 6 Dr. G invites the

community for coffee and to talk about concerns related to theCity of Colton on Saturday, Nov 3 at 9 a.m. at Playa Papagayos

Restaurant, 1035 S Mt Vernon. (909) 370-3691 - Everyone welcome.

Colton Chamber donates pumpkins to Wilson Elementary

IECN PHOTO COURTESY COLTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

The Colton Chamber of Commerce, for the third year, donated pumpkins to Wilson ElementarySchool students for perfect attendance. Pumpkin carving kits were donate by Pacific Rail/Ecol-ogy Colton. Pictured with the students are Wilson Principal Ernesto Calles and Colton ChamberExecutive Director Laura Morales. Congratulations to the students for their discipline and dedi-cation - keep up the great work!

Committee

committee include members of five specific groups. The current open-ing is a two-year term for a member who is active in a bona fide taxpayerorganization.

Applications are available at the District Office at 1212 Valencia Drivein Colton, at www.cjusd.net or by calling the district’s Business Serv-ices office at (909) 580-6601. They should be submitted no later than4:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 16, 2012.

OfrendaAzulado will provide a traditionalcemetery serenade from 1 to 2 p.m.San Bernardino County MuseumCurator of History Michele Nielsenexplained that Dia de Los Muertosis a cultural tradition in Mexico andin Central and South America thatcelebrates the lives of the deceasedin a positive way. Each year itgains in popularity in the UnitedStates. This way of rememberingand commemorating the lives ofloved ones who have gone beforeis very similar to other cultural re-membrance traditions throughoutthe world. Recognizing the cycle oflife, and acknowledging the indi-vidual’s place in it, is common inmany cultures.“The original settlers who createdthe communities of La Placita andAgua Mansa on either side of theSanta Ana River developed the

cemetery,” said Nielsen. “The firstburial we are aware of took placein 1852. Many descendants of theAgua Mansans and people living inthe greater community are alsoburied at the site, with the last bur-ial taking place in 1963. There areapproximately 2,000 people in-terred here, but only about 1,000are identified at this time. We areactively seeking information aboutfamilies represented here at thecemetery, and want to collect asmuch data as possible about theburials.”Agua Mansa Cemetery is a SanBernardino County Museum his-toric site and California State His-torical Landmark #121 located at2001 W. Agua Mansa Road inColton. For more information, visitwww.sbcountymuseum.org or callCurator of History Michele Nielsenat (909) 307-2669 ext. 240.

McKinleysporting black blazers over whiteshirts and dark sunglasses, theMad Hatter from Alice in Won-derland as depicted by 2nd gradeteacher Victor D’Souza and fromWilly Wonka and the ChocolateFactory, Oompa Loompa, in fullorange make up and green hair,Julie Barnes 5th grade teacher. The event included food salesfrom vendors such as Leno’s RicoTaco who filled up the quad withthe great smell of their carneasada tacos, which parents andkids alike enjoyed at the lunch ta-bles as others went around to visitthe various classrooms and activ-ities, including a book fair. The event raised about $3,200,which will go directly to supportstudent activities throughout theyear, namely field trips to placessuch as local universities, theColton Fire Department, StaterBros., local musicals, farms andmore. And on Wednesday, October 31the festivities continued with aHalloween Parade in the quadwhere students had a chance toshow off their costumes.Staff and Principal Miranda alsogot in on the action again bydressing up as well, although Mi-randa didn’t have much of a saywho he was dressed as; NinjagoJay from Lego. Students voted forhim to wear this costume, whichwas chosen amongst other optionssuch as Dracula or Captain Amer-ica. Miranda, all dressed up in blue,was also the parade grand mar-shal.On a more scholarly note, activ-ities such as these are meant toallow kids to have fun but alsofoster a love of literacy and books,which is one of the primary fo-cuses of the school in terms of stu-dent programs, along with astrong focus on the six traits ofcharacter education. Classes who read a certain num-ber of books in a specified amountof time are rewarded with sundaeparties and other prizes. “It really encourages kids toread,” Miranda said.

IECN PHOTO CYNTHIA MENDOZA

Noah Limón, 6, 1st grade, as Living Dummy from one of his fa-vorite books, Goosebumps.

IECN PHOTO CYNTHIA MENDOZA

Oompa Loompas and MadHatters get along great, espe-cially when they work atMcKinley Elementary School;5th grade teacher JulieBarnes went all out on the or-ange and green, left, as did2nd grade teacher VictorD’Souza with his mad hattingskills and enormous hat.

Project

and textured accent walls will be going up near the main administrationentrance as well as new landscaping to give the campus what has beendescribed as a “fresher” look. There will also be renovations on Ranchoin front of the gym and near the bus drop off area, among other renova-tions. At Bloomington High there is no real focal point that leads to the ad-ministration building but that will change; the existing fencing in thatarea will be moved far back and the lawn will be replaced with concreteand trees, which will create a natural path to the administration building. The cost of each project is approximately $250,000 per school. If allgoes according to plan they will break ground at the end of the currentschool year and complete the project in time for the 2013 school year. And while not part of the Curb Appeal Project, the exteriors of bothschools will be painted and work on that is set to start immediately, if notalready underway. “This is something the board wanted to see happen, especially in lightof a new high school [in Grand Terrace],” said CJUSD Assistant Super-intendent Business Services Division Jim Ayala. “We can’t build newcampuses but the board still wanted to do something more.” “Both Colton and Bloomington High have been in need of some TLC[tender loving care] for quite some time. Student pride soars when we de-liver new facilities,” said board member Randall Ceniceros. “It is ourgoal to change and improve campuses from one end to the other.”Ceniceros added that apart from providing aesthetic improvements,projects such as this one also show that students and employees are val-ued. “This project is a complete face lift, improves ‘curb appeal’ and pro-vides an overall fresh feel,” he said.

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