Voi. 89, No. 8
Pasadena City College
Feature:
Celebrate
'Day of the
Dead'
www.pcc-courieronline.com
Entertainment:
Paltrow portrays
poet in 'Silvia'
!
i
Sports:
C/oser
but no
cigar
- — - -
_______
fff'
■ —
;v‘
• . .. .
ИР1
■
Julian Philips/Courier
Southland Devastated by a Rash of Fires
Simi Valley residents head to safety on Monday after they are
ordered by police to evacuate. Luckily no homes were lost on that
night, but over 81 structures were destroyed. The fire covers over
100,000 acres and has already caused $4.4 million in damage. There
are 1,792 firefighters working to stop the blaze and over nine helicop¬
ters attacking it from the air. Seven other fires are ravaging the
Southland. Gov. Gray Davis believes the damages will reach over $2 bil¬
lion. More than 2,000 homes have already been lost and around 50,000
are are still in danger of being destroyed. Cooler temperatures and off¬
shore winds are expected to bring relief in containing the fires.
AS Loses
Alvarado
Terrance Parker
Copy Editor
For the third time in less than a
year, the Associated Students' posi¬
tion of vice president for campus
activities is vacant. Diana Alvarado,
the most recent office holder, was
dismissed from the AS board for
excessive absences.
On Monday, Oct. 27, Alvarado
sat with the onlookers instead of at
the board table. She waited to see
if she would be allowed to join the
other AS officers.
The AS board held a special meet¬
ing on Oct. 22 and Alvarado was
absent. The next day Jennifer Soto,
chief justice of the supreme council
at PCC, told Alvarado and AS presi¬
dent Keenan Gosset that Alvarado
had missed too many AS board meet¬
ings since taking office in June.
"I talked to her six weeks ago
and told her that she was in danger
of losing her position," Soto said.
Article IV, section
В
of the ASPCC
bylaws states: "No member may
accrue more than a total of 3 unex¬
cused absences per academic year,
nor more than 5 total absences per
academic year."
Article V, section A of the bylaws
states: "The penalty for a violation
of any section of Article IV is
removal/dismissal from the
Associated Students Executive
Board. The member in violation is
requested to submit a letter of res¬
ignation, but the dismissal
shall be in effect whether an
official letter of resignation
is received or See page
Current Trustee Tries
to Make it a Sixth-peat
Board president John Martin runs opposed for
re-election for the first time in 24 years.
Ashley Selva
Staff Writer
Gripping tightly to the books
in his hands, the man dashed
across the street, jumped over the
wall and landed in the Burger
King parking lot.
He sped to the crosswalk and
suddenly he knew something was
wrong. He looked down abruptly
and found his books missing.
It was 1974 and John Martin
had lost his textbooks.
They were stuck inside a five-
foot deep gap in the
wall that he had so
nimbly leaped over.
Late for class,
Martin left his
paperbacks behind
and cursed the lack
of parking at PCC.
It was at that
moment that he
vowed to make a
change.
At 47, Martin has
done just that as the
president of the
Board of Trustees
for Area 6, which
Rosemead, El Monte
Gabriel.
Over the past 24 years he has
been returned to his board seat
five times without opposition.
However, this time he is run¬
ning against Roland Aranjo for re-
election on Nov. 4.
Since the age of 23, Martin has
worked directly with PCC to strive
for student success and has
stressed the need for parking.
includes
and San
He pushed for the construction
of the first parking structure and
is currently supervising another
that is underway.
"Parking has always been an
issue. We have started a move¬
ment with the construction of the
second structure this year that will
add 2,000 spaces," Martin said.
"There will be parking in our
time."
Despite budget constraints,
under Martin's supervision PCC
has also emerged fiscally sound.
There have been
no full-time staff
layoffs and enroll¬
ment in the school
this fall has
increased 1.5 per¬
cent.
"At a time when
the state is cutting
funding, we need
someone who has
experienced the
good and the bad.
Martin can continue
to steer PCC in the
right direction," said
Baum, a board of
trustees member for Area 1.
Martin's master's degree in
economics from Cal State Los
Angeles and his work as a finance
officer have contributed to the
college's sound fiscal condition.
"I am able to do the work that
I do now because of this commu¬
nity college. It began with
an accounting class and a
school with fabulous
teachers who See page
Martin
Geoffrey
The Haunted Forest: a Scary Local Legend
Is It an enchanted
area, or a place to
worship evil lorces
from the other side?
Aimee Ramos
Staff Writer
In Southern California, there
are numerous reports of paranor¬
mal activity. One of the places
rumored to be haunted is the Cobb
estate or the "Haunted Forest".
The Cobb estate is part of the
Angeles National Forest and is
located in Altadena.
Some say it is home to ghosts.
According to one website,
"Screams can be heard from these
people, and strange lights can be
seen from the flashlights they
once carried. "
In high school, my friends and
I went to check it out ourselves.
We made our way up the trail,
until we saw something that
spooked us. We saw, or thought
we saw, figures in black robes car¬
rying flashlights. After that, all I
remember is a crowd of scream¬
ing teenagers racing back to the
safety of Lake Avenue. I also
remember the police waiting for
us when we got there.
Before sending us on our way
home, they told us a few stories.
Here is where my memory gets a
little fuzzy, but I distinctly
remember something about devil
worshippers and a baby found in
the forest. If they were just sto¬
ries they told us in the hopes of
scaring us away from the forest
permanently, it must have
worked. I didn't even think about
going back to the forest after
that night. That is until now.
Julian Philips/Courier
The closed gate of the "Haunted Forest" keeps the public safe from the possible hor¬
rors that many believe transpired over the years. Police deny that devil worshipping is a
problem, but every now and then hooded figures are seen rustling in the bushes at night.
For more Halloween
stories see page 7
This time, I decided I should be
a little more prepared. I called
the local sheriff's station to see if
there was any unusual activity I
should know about. I spoke with
Deputy Sam Estrada who told me
that the only reports they get are
complaints about kids who make
their way to the forest to drink
and party.
I asked Estrada about the alleged
devil worshippers. He didn't seem to
think devil worshipping was a big
problem. "Occasionally we might
find an altar, but I can't remember
anything recently," said Estrada. He
did say there was an abandoned
baby found there in the early 1990s.
But, it definitely wasn't a sacrifice
and the baby was safely turned over
to the child support services.
With that information, photog¬
rapher Julian Philips and I set out
for an adventure. I admit I was a
little nervous. We bravely made
our way up the trail at 1 1 :30 p.m.
on a Friday night. Surely, if there
were any ghosts or devil worship¬
pers in the area, they would be out
on a Friday night.
The first thing we noticed and
found to be a little odd was the
extreme warm and cold areas of
the forest we came across. Beyond
the abrupt temperature changes
and each of us nearly tripping and
falling flat on our face at least five
times, we made our way up the
trail without too much trouble. We
rested underneath a tree beside a
water fountain. We didn't see any
ghosts or devil worshippers. But,
we did notice a strange musky
smell. We decided it was
some sort of pungent plant
and forgot about it.
Our next See page
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