The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 19

LOS ANGELES TIMES MONDAY, MARCH 25, 1996 VIGILS: Gathering to Remember Missing Woman, Children away feeling worse about life without even getting the emotional rush of doing a charitable deed. Likewise, the panhandler gets an immediate reward when his pitch succeeds. Those on a vigil may never know whom they have touched, or if they touched anyone at all. I can't forget the dozen or so men and women so many years ago who stood like statues every day at noon on UCLA's Bruin Walk to protest the Vietnam War in silence. I always hurried by them to my class, finding them a little weird.

Today, I don't think much at all about the chaotic clashes that soon drowned them out as violent protest swept the campus. But I still recall quite vividly those mournful faces. Wondering who might be moveil by this vigil, I waited until almost 8. Hertzberg was the most aggressive recruiter. Stepping into the right-turn lane while bending to catch each driver's eye with his most beseeching smile, he repeatedly thrust fliers toward closed stood on the corner with a man in a business suit.

He was Bob Hertzberg, a Steve Allen look-alike who is running for the 40th Assembly District seat. Saying he was there in his role as an activist not candidate Hertzberg hugged anyone who would allow it and handed out leaflets pleading for help for Ovuoba, the Montrose woman whose children were abducted. Eventually, the group grew to about 20. They unfurled a banner and lit their candles in front of the gas station. Mercedeses and Lexuses paraded by.

Few drivers paid attention. Pedestrians walked briskly on their way to half a dozen nightspots or the glowing Tower Records store a block away. Almost all kept their eyes aimed straight ahead or down toward their feet. People standing on the sidewalk with candles in their hand can be as unappealing as panhandlers, maybe even more so. You sense that if you stop and listen you'll go windows.

A few opened allowing himLr! put a piece of paper in just as car accelerated around the corner J3 The women hailed pedestrian Their first catch was a woman on a bicycle who seemed taj have stopped to see what was going on. She said she'd like to help but. had homework to do and pedaled-off. I Next, after pumping gas intoSC i car with the license plate 'HPNp TYZ," an elegantly dressed womartj walked over to ask for a flier, then drove away. Then it happened.

A womart ihv, Oshkosh coveralls over a T-shiftr'. broke into tears as she talkeoMQl 1 Morrison and two others. H-. "I'll do anything I can to I she said. One heart was touched.

Then the participants drifted, away, one by one. The vision that so briefly brought two sides of the Valley together dls1-; 1 solved into the night, like a trail of smoke leaving a spent wick. bors and relatives of Sandra Nevarez, including children from toddlers to teenagers. They handed out fliers and waved banners at passing cars. The signs of the NOW-affiliated said "Juntos en Contra Racismo, Sexo Classes," and similar sentiments in English: "Fight Bigotry and Racism Now" and "Stop Violence Against Women." But a majority of the signs had large pictures of Nevarez and exhortations to call an information line.

As darkness fell, candles were passed out. Shielded from a chilly breeze by clear plastic cups, they flickered eloquently. Morrison, dressed crisply in a magenta jacket and black slacks and wearing a jewel in one nostril, stood out amid all the bustle, alternately talking on a cellular phone and reaching out to any stranger whose attention she could get. Nearby, 39th Assembly District candidate Valerie Salkin also worked the crowd. CvuiiuucJ ftOIll 51 result of a serendipitous encounter in a beauty shop.

While having her hair done, one of NOW's members saw a flier in the beauty shop seeking information about the suspected abduction of Sandra Nevarez from a Sylmar Laundromat more than a year ago. A crime long faded from the news reports, Nevarez's family is still dutifully posting notices, hoping to turn up hints, clues or witnesses. "We felt even though we planned to do one at Ventura and Van Nuys, we really wanted to do one in Sylmar for Sandra Nevarez as well," said Valley NOW President Jean Morrison, a medical administrator who hopes to make a transition into paid organizing. Rather than postpone either vigil, NOW ran them in tandem starting at dusk in Sylmar. It turned out to be something of a communal scream.

At 5:30, all four corners of the Sylmar intersection were lined with more than 100 friends, neigh Alemanv Parents to Protest A Disciplining or By FRANK B. WILLIAMS TIMES STAFF WRITER MISSION HILLS-Parents angered by the expulsion and suspension of their children from Ale-many High School over the students' involvement in a "dance crew" plan to protest at the campus this week. Vince Mercado, whose daughter was suspended and put on probation because of her association with a group called II Romantik, said the parents will rally in front of the Mission Hills campus at about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. School administrators at the Roman Catholic high school took the action Friday, expelling eighi male students and suspending four female students.

Mercado said the parents plan to protest the decision to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The "crews" are loose-knit groups of students who perform their dance routines at parties. Administrators at the school said Car Strikes Woman NORTH HOLLYWOOD-A woman and her 4-year-old daughter were seriously injured Sunday afternoon when a man drove through an intersection and ran them down, according to Los Angeles police. The woman and girl were standing on the sidewalk on Vanowen Street near Ethel Avenue about 3:30 p.m. when they were struck, said SgU Rod Grahek.

The driver of the car had lost control of his vehicle moments earlier when he collided with another car in the intersection, Grahek said. The woman and girl were airlifted to UCLA Hospital Medical Center in Westwood where the girl Dance Crew, Friday they asked the boys iriJI.5 Romantik to withdraw from Ales', many due to fears that the group's presence may incite violence students at other schools in the The school's principal, the Rev)" Robert Milbauer, added that school i policy prohibits students from1 forming dance crews that might, be, linked to gangs. students have vehemently participation in gangs. Both parents and students arguerr that officials are They cite the academic achieyef ment and participation in academic-, clubs of many of the youths as proof that they are model students.4" "It's more than apparent that Milbauer doesn't want to even5 1 listen to parents," Mercado said." "-'P'. The parents hope to force school to overturn the disciplinary actions.

Mercado charged that tlie'' expulsions and suspensions have been racially motivated, all the students involved are of Vietnamese or Filipino descenjL 5 and Daughter, 4 -if: was listed in critical condition the mother in serious condition, i The driver was taken to North- -Hollywood Medical Center, whew he was listed in stable He was being guarded by officer's" pending possible filing of charges against him, Grahek said. None of the names of those' Involved in the incident were, leased by police Sunday. Grahek said that after driver's car struck another vehiclet -f in the intersection, it spun around-, and hit the same automobile before skidding into the -and child. Police are investigating the driver ran a red light. stories.

Councilman Richard Alarcon soon arrived and exchanged hugs with Nevarez's mother, Lupe Rodriguez, her husband Pete and several brothers, sisters and children. Repeating his tale to anyone who asked, Pete Nevarez said he has still not given up, even after a Feb. 2 appearance on the "Unsolved Mysteries" television show produced no new leads. He even hoped the vigil might reach the suspected kidnapper. "I pleaded with the guy, just tell us what you did with her," he said.

"If she's alive, tell us. If you killed her, tell us." About 6 o'clock, Sandra Nevarez's cousins, Raymond and Ruben Sierra, started a chant, "Someone must knowWhere did Sandra go?" Soon the chanting spread to all four corners. It continued for 15 minutes. Shortly after 6:30, Morrison drove off, leading a caravan to Sherman Oaks, which proved a far tougher environment for the cause. When I caught up with them, Morrison and two other women "I'm VI' The idea of having animals keep down the weeds is being tried in other parts of the country, said Dick Richardson, a zoology professor and prairie ecologist at the University of Texas at Austin.

"It's still not what I would say is common," Richardson said. "But it is gaining momentum." Part of the reason the idea is attracting adherents is that traditional fire prevention methods-such as prescribed burns can be risky. And environmentalists decry the destruction of habitat and the air pollution. "Prescribed burns used to be common, but you can't do them as much anymore," Richardson said. "It's a fairly blunt instrument." Fitzpatrick says he's already noticed positive results on the land after 20 months of "holistic" management.

Microsoft Family Package Encarta 96, Works, Money, Dangerous Creatures, Scenes, Golf, CD Sampler Med Tower Case Pentium Intel CPU Triton Pentium MB 256K Cache CPU Coding Fan 8MB RAM Memory 860MB Hard Disk Drive 1.44 Floppy Disk Drive PCI Controller PCI 1MB Trident 9440 Video Card 4X CD ROM Drive 16 Bit Sound Card 14.4K Fax Modem 14' Monitor 102 Enhanced Keyboard 3 Button Mouse Pad 60W HI Fl Speakers Windows 95 Installed Microsoft Family CD Package it? PENTIUM 75 PENTIUM 90 PENTIUM 100 PENTIUM 120 PENTIUM 133 $1279 $1379 $1399 $1469 $1549 i 6524 San Fernando Rd. let. loioiioa-uji) Fax (818) 551-6414' II ROLANDO OTERO Lot Angela TUnet Frank Fitzpatrick roams Pitchess' pastures and ravinns In hit pickup truck. "You have to keep reminding yourself, It's a prison," he says. JAIL: Cattle Grazing May Reduce Fire Hazard if 1, FT- Pi Deputies told him, for example, 1 that despite downpours this year, they didn't have to use sandbags to prevent mudslides.

"I haven't healed anything here," he said. "I've just started the process." The Sheriffs Department isn't so sure, however, that this will work. "We're looking at it to make sure we decide it's the right thing to; do," Anderson said, noting that, county fire officials are closely monitoring progress. In the meantime, Fitzpatrick roams the rancho, relishing the romance of rounding up the cattle and working the land. But being a cowman is only part of it.

His, he says, is a higher goal. "Little by little, we're healing the environment." PFO Capital LEASING AVAILABLE EPSON iPaymCi tummm4 Med Tower Case Pentium Intel CPU Triton Pentium MB Pipeline Burst Cache 256K CPU Cooling Fan 16MB EDO RAM Memory 1.2GB Hard Disk Drive 1.44 Floppy Disk Drive PCI Controller PCI 1MB Diamond Stealth Video Card 4X CD ROM Drive 16 Bit Sound Card 14.4K Voice lax Modem 15" .28 Nl Monitor 102 Enhanced Kevfooard Microsoft Mouse Pad 180W HI ri speakers Windows 95 Installed Microsoft Family CD Package PENTIUM 100 PENTIUM 120 PENTIUM 133 PENTIUM 150 PENTIUM 166 $1779 $1849 $1929 $2059 $2259 it a Qerritos 11651 E. South St. Tel. (310) 8094828 1 TL Soon Man 4 i 4 1 1 V-f a week, and his macho Ram 2500 Turbo Diesel pickup puts him at eye level with the deputies who drive trucks of equal or greater height.

The only thing missing is the shotgun on a back window rack, but jail rules strictly forbid that, "He's a pretty earthy guy," Anderson said. Jail officials said Fitzpatrick's ideas fit in nicely, too. Though other cattlemen have overgrazed some properties, Fitzpatrick focuses on renewing and improving the quality of the land to reduce fire hazards and soil erosion. He has divided the jail's 2,800 acres into 16 parcels, and the cattle graze one parcel at a time. Each parcel is "rested" for 33 days, allowing the land to rejuvenate itself, he said.

Prop 199 Limits on Mobile home Rent Control. Low Income Rental Assistance. Initiative Statute. No Position Prop 200 No Fault Motor Vehicle Insurance. Initiative Statute.

No Position Prop 201 Attorneys' Fees. Shareholder Actions. Class Actions. Initiative Statute. Prop 202 Attorneys' Contingent Fees.

Limits. Initiative Statute. No Position Prop 203 Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 1996. No position with 400 corporate members and affiliates, employing Continued from Bl nating the dairy operation, Roger Anderson, field services director at Pitchess, realized that the jail had a bigger problem: fire. All those bovines had kept the area's brushy pastures trimmed.

Without them, the canyons were becoming fire hazards. Prison officials thought about bringing in goats or sheep. But truth be told, Anderson missed those cows. They gave the place a down-home, farm feel at least for people outside the fence. Fitpatrick's cattle presented the solution.

And, with his easygoing country charm, Fitzpatrick seemed to fit right in as well. At 47, he likes to point out that he is a "cowman," since he hasn't been a "boy" for years. He drives to Pitchess from his Anaheim Hills home several times run tiulco as many Valley mm VALLEY CCtJNEFT TOSHIBA tit PFtf The Board of Directors of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association recommends the following stand on the March 26 ballot propositions: mMHw.r 11 Mifenmi 4X CD-ROM Drive Maxtor 1.6GB IffiD fa.xMciml4.4X Prop. 192 Seismic Retrofit Bond Act of 19 Prop 198 Punishment for Murder. Special circumstances.

Drive by shootings. Legislative Initiative Amendment. Prop 193 Property Appraisal. Exception Grandparent-Grandchild Transfer. Legislative Constitu-tional Amendment, EDITION Iny bony SsMSTwcr Med Tower Case Pentium Intel CPU -v Triton Pentium MB Pipeline Burst Cache 256K CPU Cooling Fan 16MB EDO RAM Memory 1GB SCSI II HDD (1GBx2) 1.44 Floppy Disk Drive Adaotec 2940 SCSI II PCI Controller PCI 2MB Diamond Stealth Video VRAM BX SCSI II CD ROM Drive Sound Blaster AWE 32 ASP Card 28.8K Voice Fax Modem MAG 17 .26 Nl Monitor 102 Enhanced Keyboard Microsoft Mouse i Pad 180W HI Fl Speakers Windows 95 Installed Microsoft Family Package Vtxloejealj PENTIUM 100 PENTIUM 120 PENTIUM 133 PENTIUM 150 PENTIUM 166 $2879 $2949 $3029 $3159 $3359 Irvine 5406 Walnut Ave.

Tel. (714) 552-7055 LA. 132 S. Vermont Ave. Ste2(fe Tel.

(213) 385-8965 Fax (714) 552-7513 Fax (2131 385-1164 NOTICE. NOT RESPONSIBLE FOB TYPOORAPHCAL ERROR $39.00 1 i 'tl Printer Med Tower Case Pentium Inlet CPU Triton Pentium M8 Pipeline Buret Cache 256K CPU Cooling Fan 16MB EDO RAM Memory Hard Disk Drive 1.44 Floppy Disk Drive 1 PCI Controller PC1 1 MB Diamond Stealth Video Card Real Magic Maxima-Fun Motion MPEG Card 6X CD ROM Drive Sound Blaster AWE 32 ASP Card 28 BK Fax Modem 17V28NI Monitor 102 Enhanced Keyboard Microsoft Mouse A Pad 180W HI Fl Speaker Windows 95 Installed MPEG CD Package PENTIUM 100 $2419 PENTIUM 120 $2489 PENTIUM 133 $2569 PENTIUM 150 $2699 PENTIUM 166 $2899 Prop 197 Amendment of the CA Wildlife Protection Act of 1980 (Proposition 117). Mountain Lions. Legislative Initiative Amendment. No Position Prop 198 Elections.

Open primary. Initiative Statute. Prop 194 Prisoners, joint Venture Program. Unemployment Benefits. Parole.

Legislative Initiative Amendment. No Position Prop 193 Punishment. Special Circumstances. Car jacking. Nirder of juror.

Legislative Initiative Amendment. For more Information call (818)883-2228 Store Hours: Sat 10 AM' 7 PM Since 1949, The Valley Industry Comment Association QlCAjhas served to articulate business' agenda to elected ofUcials and the public in an tfUrt to retain andencounttethe economic vitality of the Garden Grove San Bernardino 9240 Garden Grave sis 14 1480 South Street 10 Tel. (714) 534-2530 Tel. (909) 884-1717 Fax (714) 534-5229 Fax (909) 884-6869 CASH DISCOUNT TRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT region. VICAisanon profit business organization Opening more the gtrmmtmanm Valley anditsmmmnOmgcommumties.

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