INSIDE
FIND US ONLINE
By Carissa [email protected]
A plan to build a nearby outdoor practice shooting range for Simi Valley cops is moving forward. The city has long wanted its own range for the Simi Valley Police Department. “It’s been a longterm goal of ours to have a range that’s acces!"#$%&'()&(*)&('+&,%)!-.&!/"0&"12%)"3&City Manager Laura Behjan.& 4,,%!!"#"$"25&"!&6%5-&78"%'&('&9($",%&:"2,8&:,7/11&!/"0-&!"1,%&having a range close to the station ;(*$0&%1/#$%&('+&,%)!&2(&<)/,2",%&their marksmanship more fre=*%12$5& /10& 6%%<& 28%")& +&)%/)3&
skills fresh. “One of the most important tools (we have) that requires the most training is our handguns and )">&%!?&?&?&?&@8/2A!&/&$%B%$&('&'(),%&I want to make sure we are very competent in and that we use it ,())%,2$5-.&:,7/11& !/"0?& CD%&want to keep our training to the 8"E8%!2&$%B%$?. That training comes with a high price tag since all of the department’s approximately 120 ('+&,%)!-&')(3&28%&1%;%!2&)%,)*"2&2(&28%&,8"%'-&3*!2&=*/$"'5&(1&28%")&weapon every other month.& 7*))%12$5-& (''",%)!& F(*)1%5&nearly 30 miles to Angeles Shooting Ranges in Lake View Terrace
By Carissa [email protected]
The purpose of last week’s antidrug community forum was to inform residents about the drug abuse trend affecting Simi G/$$%5-&;"28&28%&%10&E(/$&28/2&28%&%0*,/H
tion provided would ultimately transform and even save lives. But never did organizers imagine that the forum itself could or would so immediately and radically inspire change. & D8"$%&3(0%)/2"1E& 28%& =*%!2"(1H/10H/1!;%)&<()2"(1&('& 28%&I%<2?&JK&%B%1"1E-&
one could hear the surprise and emotion in Simi Valley Police Sgt. Dwight Thompson’s voice when he got to a card /00)%!!%0&2(&</1%$"!2&7/)5&L*/!8&%1-&;8(&owns more than a dozen rehab facilities.& CM%/)& 7/)5-& 9$%/!%& 8%$<?& NAB%& 0(1%&8%)("1&'()&'(*)&5%/)!-.&28%&!%)E%/12&)%/0-&and then looked to Quashen for an answer.
Your Community Partner Since 2005
Opinion ..................................... 4Police Blotter ..........................20Neighbors ...............................21Vacation Photos .....................23Health .....................................31Family .....................................32On The Town ...........................33
Calendar .................................33Movie Listings ........................34School Days ............................36Faith ........................................37Sports .....................................38Real Estate ..............................39Classi! eds...............................40
ServingSimi Valley
and thesurrounding areas
www.simivalleyacorn.com | Volume 8, Number 40 | 34,302 Circulation
Royal grad on her way to Pepperdine hall of fame
— Page 38
Golden bootVolunteers work to restore Happy Face Hill
— Page 24
Smile savers
October 5, 2012
www.facebook.com/simivalleyacorn
CALL OF DUTY—City recognizes Simi Valley Hospital employees for heroic acts — Page 21
Weekend Forecast
Friday87o/55o
Saturday84o/57o
Sunday 82o/56o
Group sues city over Halloween ordinance! Attorney says law violates sex o! enders’ First Amendment rights
IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers
REACHING OUT—San Fernando Valley resident Laura Sherry, center, sits below a photo of Lindsay Cook, 22, who overdosed on heroin, as she talks with Action recovery program CEO Cary Quashen and Action program director Jesse Finkbeiner after an anti-drug community forum on Sept. 27 at the Simi Valley Boys & Girls Club. Sherry has attempted to quit heroin multiple times.
— Please See Page 19— Please See Page 17
! Two attendees express their desires to get cleanAnti-drug forum sees instant results
1st
OUI ARE THE WINNERS—Royal High French students read their Acorns as they get lost in the maze at Chenonceau Castle in France. Pictured are Mika Nakamura, Jennifer Riley, Noelle Anderson, Beth Vinci, Dorothy Mills-Gregg, Jamie Landtiser, Kelly McAleer, Ashley Hirasuna, Jose Serrano, Nicole Hay and Madame Coco. Coco will receive a $100 check from the Acorn. See more " nalists on Page 23.
By Carissa [email protected]
A law requiring registered sex offenders to ward off trickortreaters at Halloween may not have been such a sweet move by the City Council. A lawsuit has been lodged against the city in federal court on the grounds that the recently passed ordinance is unconstitutional.& O/1",%&P%$$*,,"-&/&I/12/&:(1",/Hbased attorney and president of California Reform Sex Offender Q/;!&RSITQU-&/1&()E/1"V/2"(1&;8(!%&mission is to restore civil liberties for those accused or convicted of sex ,)"3%!-&+&$%0&28%&!*"2&I%<2?&JW&"1&X?I?&District Court in Los Angeles. “The goal of this lawsuit is to stop 28"!&()0"1/1,%&')(3&E("1E&"12(&%''%,2-.&she said. “Halloween is coming up at 28%&%10&('&28%&3(128&8%)%-&!(&;%&;"$$&#%&+&$"1E-& /2& 28%&%10&('& 28"!&;%%6-& /&)%=*%!2&'()&/&<)%$"3"1/)5&"1F*1,2"(1?.& CD%A)%&2)5"1E&2(&*<8($0&28%&7(1H!2"2*2"(1&8%)%-.&/00%0&P%$$*,,"-&;8(&"!&)%<)%!%12"1E&YZ&<$/"12"''!-&$"!2%0&(1&the complaint as a Jane or John Doe: +&B%& )%E"!2%)%0& !%[& (''%10%)!-& 28)%%&;"B%!&('&)%E"!2)/12!-&/10&2;(&3"1()&
Simi Valley now on target for SVPD shooting range 2012 Acorn
Vacation Photo winner!
— Please See Page 15
Simi Valley Acorn October 5, 2012 Page 17
PLEASE JOIN THE SIMI VALLEY TEACHERS AND SCHOOL WORKERS! Vote:
!
"#$!%#&&'()!!!!*+$$'+!,-(.&-(.!
*-(!/0'1+!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!
FOR SIMI VALLEY SCHOOL BOARD
!" !"##$%&'($")$*+',)-'./"*$%",/$*+'-),.$+)0$,-+1/-'.$,&$*'&2&,-$,/-$3+#4-.$&5$-041+,"&)$$$$$$$$")1#40")6$.,407$.("##.8$,-+2%&'(8$*'&9#-2$.")6$+)0$:'-+#$%&'#0;$+**#"1+,"&).<$
!" =)1&4'+6-$*+'-),$")3-2-),$&)$>1/&&#$>",-$?&4)1"#$+)0$&,/-'$.1/&&#$*'&6'+2.<$$
!" @'&2&,-.$/"6/$.,+)0+'0.$&5$.,40-),$1&)041,8$1","A-)./"*8$'-.*-1,$+)0$.-#5B0".1"*#")-<$$
!" C)1'-+.-0$5&14.$&)$2+(")6$2&0-')$,-1/)&#&67$+3+"#+9#-$")$+##$1#+..'&&2.$5&'$.,40-),$$$$$$$$$.411-..D
Paid Political Advertisement
Paid Political Advertisement by Simi Educators Association PAC#972119 40S23T
ReElect BARBRA WILLIAMSON to OUR City Council
PROVEN LEADERSHIP WITH AN OPEN EAR TO OUR RESIDENTS
LOCAL JOBS FOR A STRONG
ECONOMY
QUALITY SCHOOLSMayor Pro-tem Williamson has raised her two children in Simi Valley and tirelessly strives to provide a better education in a safe environment
As a champion of a balanced budget every year, Barbra Williamson has p r o v i d e d n e e d e d government s e r v i c e s , even under tough times
FISCALLY CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT
LOCAL JOBS FOR A STRONG
ECONOMY
LOW CRIMEB a r b r a W i l l i a m s o n has worked to lower crime in SImi Valley by strongly s u p p o r t i n g our Police and being tough on criminals
Barbra has been hand-in-hand with OUR Park Dist. to design, build, maintain and keep our award winning Parks
New Business Parks, Local Jobs, Low Taxes... Barbra always puts OUR residents ! rst
BEAUTIFUL PARKS
Paid Political Advertisement
Paid Political Advertisement
!"#$%&'(%)*%+',#-%.%!"/$'01%40S10W
SIMI VALLEY
2100 First Street, Simi Valley, CA 93065Phone: (805) 582-6100 | www.simibuickgmc.com
Go to fueleconomy.gov for a full list of gas saving tips**More than six quarts of oil, balancing tires, and tax extra. Includes oil specified by the vehicle Owner’s Manual. including dexos synthetic blend (at conventional oil price) for 2011 and newer vehicles. See dealer for eligible vehicles, details, and rebate form, which most be postmarked by 12/31/12. Rebate form and details also available at mycertifiedservicerebates.com. Allow 6 to 8 weeks for delivery of debit card. Offer ends 11/30/12.
Certified ServiceGAS SAVER BUNDLE
!"#$%&'()*$+$,!-./0".*$.!0'0"!(12/3!"(0$4*&"%#*$"(53*%0"!(
$2995 $7995WITH CONVENTIONAL OIL WITH FULL SYNTHETIC OIL
After $10 Mail-In Rebate (Debit Card)** | Excludes diesel engines.
40MS51I
All Local, All the Time!
ForumFrom Page 1 —
IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers
T E L L I N G H E R S T O R Y —Recovering heroin addict Kimmi Schliekelman speaks about her experiences with drug abuse to a standing-room-only crowd at the Simi Valley Boys & Girls Club during an anti-drug community forum on Sept. 27.
“Who wrote that?” asked Quashen, the founder of Action Family Counseling Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centers. Some in the audience laughed, thinking the author wouldn’t reveal their identity. Then, a splitsecond later, the crowd erupted into cheers and applause as all eyes turned to look at a young man who’d stood up near the back of the room. “I want to get clean,” said Kyle, a 19yearold Simi resident. “Can you help me?” Quashen asked if he was willing to do whatever it took to sober !"#$%&$'&&(&($)$*$+,$-.,,/0,&'0$that Kyle would follow through. “Are you ready to do this?” Kyle said yes. “If he wants it, he goes to rehab tonight,” Quashen said. And go he did. Action representatives came to Kyle’s side, and he was ushered out of the Boys & Girls Club multipurpose room, hugging a few family members and friends as the whole room offered a standing ovation for his courage. Minutes later, at the close of the forum, another heroin addict, a San Fernando Valley woman named Laura, called out to Quashen. Her card hadn’t been pulled from those submitted, but she wanted to get help, too. “Awesome,” Sgt. Thompson said. “Let’s get two tonight.”Putting a face on addiction These public declarations of addiction and cries for help amazed most of those at the forum. “It’s stunning that two people felt they could stand up and make a difference right now,” Simi resident Greg Lea said after the event. Almost as amazing was the crowd’s response when Quashen asked how many of them were clean and sober or just getting into recovery. About a quarter of the 300plus audience stood up. It was a visual display of the need for the forum, a snapshot of how prevalent drug abuse is in Simi Valley. Quashen sees “the devastation, the destruction, the crisis” every day, on a large scale. Others have lived through it, like Melissa Siebers, who lost her 22yearold daughter Lindsay Cook to a heroin overdose earlier this year, and Kimmi Schliekelman, an 18yearold recovering heroin addict who at the forum was 610 days sober. Both shared their stories. But those who haven’t been personally touched by addiction or tragedy are often far less aware, or even in denial. “It’s not those people that live on that side of the street or that side of the tracks. It’s everybody, and it can affect us and our children,” said forum speaker Julia Feig, a mom and registered nurse who serves as director of emergency services at Simi Valley Hospital. “I don’t ever want to hear anyone say, ‘Not my kids.’” Lea, who attended the forum with his wife and their children, ages 10 and 13, said he was glad to see local agencies banding together to give the community the wakeup call it needs. “Just because this is a lovely
place to live doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its drug problems,” Lea said, “and if you bury your head in the sand it will only get worse.”Fighting drugs of all kinds While heroin has received the most media attention lately, the forum was about drug use in general. “Heroin has become a drug of choice for many people in our community, and unfortunately this trend has sadly led to way too many deaths,” said Thompson, who organized the forum with the help of several partners. “However, heroin is not the only drug being used in society today.” Prescription drugs, methamphetamine, cocaine, LSD, PCP and countless others are abused as well, he said. $ 1/2&$ .3*$-&+4$ .'$ 05&$ 40+&&046$doctors and nurses in the local emergency room have witnessed 05&$4"/2&$/'$4!740)'-&$)7!4&$*$+408hand. “The increase in drug use is dramatic,” Feig said, adding that she remembers the days when a heroin overdose was a rare, maybe onceayear occurrence. “I am not exaggerating when I tell you at Simi Valley Hospital we see at least one heroinrelated issue every day in our emergency room.”
Some like to believe that smoking pot is an innocent, common practice. But Thompson, an officer for more than three decades, said he’s never met a hardcore drug user who didn’t start with marijuana. “I’m not saying everybody that takes a hit off a marijuana pipe is going to end up dead off of heroin,” Thompson told the crowd. “But . . . why are so many of us playing a game of Russian roulette with our kids?”
Prevention is key While cops are cracking down on users and dealers, police said the war on drugs can’t be won merely through enforcement. It takes the whole community, and parents in particular. “We can’t go after addiction, we can’t prosecute for addiction; we have to stop it before it gets to that point,” said Sgt. Rich Lamb, supervisor of Simi PD’s narcotics unit.
— Please See Page 18
Page 18 October 5, 2012 Simi Valley Acorn
For more information including enteraiment schedule and parking, visit
or call (818) 597-7361
Reyes Adobe Park & Historical Site is located at
30400 Rainbow Crest Drive in Agoura HillsWWW.REYESADOBEDAYS.ORG
39ATMSC10W
We Buy:
Conejo Valley Stamp & Coin, Inc.Conejo Valley Stamp & Coin, Inc.
OVER
39ATMSC29T
$1,700GOLD
VOTED #1 Choice: “Best Attorney” by Simi Valley Newspaper Readers
P E R S O N A L I N J U R Y L AW F I R M
SLIP AND FALL
“Ask The Mayor” A TOWN HALL MEETING WITH
SATURDAY, October 13, 2012 from 10:00 AM until Noon!At the Simi Valley Town Center (Community Room)!
!"#$%&'(%)*%+')%,-).(%
MAYOR BOB HUBER
!
40S99T
“They are your kids—if you want them around, you’ve got to (take steps to) prevent the addiction. Because as law enforcement we can’t do much. . . . We’re at the back end of it.” Prevention takes awareness—knowing the signs, symptoms, trends—and communication. Quashen said parents must get between their kids and drugs—they need to intervene. That means taking time to talk to one’s children, in general and about drugs, and becoming a !"##$%&"'(&)$'*$&"'&+,$"%&-".$&+,/'&their friends or peer pressure. “The amount of time we spend talking to our kids? Two to 10 minutes,” Quashen said. “Their friends got them 16 hours (at school and online). Spend time with your kids, period.”
ForumPage 17 —
When parents discover their child has tried a drug, like marijuana, they must make it a bad learning experience, Quashen said. “Make it the end of their world. Get them drug tested, bring them to counseling.” Quashen said a kid who has nothing to hide shouldn’t have a problem getting drug tested. He believes in “trust but verify,” and Lamb agreed. The sergeant encouraged parents to look in their children’s rooms, notebooks and cellphones for signs they are using. One Simi couple, who asked to remain anonymous, attended the forum because their 17yearold son is smoking pot and has been getting high for the past 18 months, if not longer. Like Kyle and Laura, the parents are looking for help to deal with this addiction that has crept into their lives. “On one hand it is discour
aging to see how much tragedy people’s lives are in because of substance abuse,” the father said, “but on the other hand this is really helpful for us as parents just to get educated.” The pair agreed that knowledge is power, and they picked
)0&1$2$%/-&(&"$%1&3"+,& "'.4%5/6tion on local resources and treatment options. And the father was glad to hear Quashen say that parents can and should 742$%%$/*+8&".&+,$9&:&';&4)+&+,$"%&kid is smoking pot.& 7<+&%$/.:&%5$;&+4&5$&+,/+&"+&%$6
ally is a gateway drug. That’s what we’re concerned about,” he said. “Obviously we don’t want him to smoke pot, but the more worrisome concern is, what’s next?” For drug facts and resources, visit www.dea.gov or www.simivalley.org/heroinprevention.
SandlandPage 14 —
Another key item on Sandland’s agenda is keeping Simi Valley children in Simi Valley schools. She laments the districtjumping that’s become prevalent in recent years, as parents seek out better opportunities for the children and school districts look to bolster their cut of state education funding that’s tied into enrollment numbers. “Declining enrollment is an issue, not only for our district, but nationwide,” Sandland said. “I want to keep our kids in our district. We need to be sensitive to their needs and why people are leaving. “I strongly, strongly feel that the best opportunity for every student is to go to school in the community that they live in.” While Sandland has not actively solicited individual endorsements—“You know what the endorsement is? The endorsement is this community and the ballot box,” she said—she has nonetheless earned the support of the Simi Educators Association, outgoing board of education President Janice DiFatta and trustee Arleigh Kidd. “I think Debbie has a wealth of experience as a school board member, which is something we need right now,” Kidd said. “That’s always important, to have somebody with that history—the road we traveled down, where we’re at and what got us here. . . . “I think she’s been a very
good board member and is very responsive to the community. She’s somebody who’s there for the kids, not herself. She’s been a real professional.”
Visit Us OnFacebook
www.facebook.com/simiacorn
