Times-Advocate from Escondido, California • 13

TIMKS ADVOCATE 1991 B3 NORTH COUNTY REPORT Vista district focuses on kindergarten FRIDAY. KKBRl'ARY 8, of what type of teaching was appropriate at the kindergarten level, said Bill Loftus, the districts assistant superintendent of instruction. The symposiums organizers will take a look Tuesday at the concerns raised during the meeting and see if any stand out more than others, said Mekie Bedore, a kindergarten teacher at Empre-sa Elementary. The symposium will reconvene March 4. School district officials met several times during the past two years with teachers and parents for a high school symposium to create the districts graduation outcomes, which the district adopted in September 1990.

Those goals detail more specific ways to meet the districts mission statement, which is to edu- cate all students to become responsible, thinking, contributing members of a global society." Loftus said that one of the more challenging issues raised during Mondays meeting was how to handle children ho are at different learning levels in kindergarten. The district has 64 kindergartens with 1,860 students. Luceille Werner, the director of a project in Illinois that focuses on preventing early school failures, reminded the audience that some children come from homes where the parents use drugs while others have parents that aggressively promote their childrens learning, Loftus said. How to approach kindergarten teaching so that both situations cameras and a lens, Feb. 1 or Feb.

2. Window broken. Estimated loss, $755. Main Street, 1 200 block. A toolbox and miscellaneous tools, Jan.

22 or Jan. 23. Window broken. Estimated loss, $1,320. Street, 600 block.

Miscellaneous tools, Jan. 28 or Jan. 29. Bolt cutter used to cut lock. Estimated loss.

$102. A Street, 700 block. Amplifier, Feb. 2. Window broken.

Estimated loss, $150. 10th Street, 100 block. Three VCRs, several video tapes, Jan. 3 1 or Feb. 1 Window broken.

Estimated loss, $824. ARRESTS Tonas Philipe Dominguez, a transient of unknown age, on suspicion of burglary. Arrested Feb. 3 in the 100 block of Main Street. Oscar Salas, 28, of Ramona, on suspicion of possession of a dangerous weapon.

Arrested Feb. 3 in the 700 block of Main Street. Carol Sue Poindexter, 47, of Ramona on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. Arrested Feb. 1 in the 1 00 block of 1 4th Street.

Salvador Medina, 23, of Ramona on suspicion of possession of stolen property. Arrested Feb. 1 in the 1 500 block of Montecito Road. MISCELLANEOUS Grand theft. Montecito Road, 1400 block.

Miscellaneous tools, Jan. 14orJan. 15. Estimated loss, $175. Grand theft.

Ninth Street, 1 200 block. A ring, nine compact discs, Jan. 28. Estimated loss, $590. POLICE BLOTTER Following are selected reports released by the Sheriff-s Department.

fallbrook BURGLARIES Hillside Lane, 3000 block. Tools stolen Feb. 4. Estimated loss $550. East Mission Road, 300 block.

Dental vacuum stolen Feb. 4. Estimated loss 1 ,800. Baja Mission Road, 4500 block. Bow and arrows, knife and spear gun stolen Feb.

3. Estimated loss $560. East Mission Road. 1000 block. Marlboro cigarettes, 36 cartons, stolen Feb.

2. Estimated loss $731. ARRESTS James Drummond, 36, of Colorado, arrested Feb. 1 at E. Mission Road and Capra Way on suspicion of possessing marijuana for sale.

Julian Zamudio, 19, of Fallbrook, arrested Feb. 1 in the 200 block of S. Main Road on suspicion of possessing burglary tools. MISCELLANEOUS Avocado theft. Rainbow Valley Boulevard, 2700 block.

Hass avocados, 600 pounds stolen Feb. 2. Estimated loss $600. Assault with a deadly weapon, Sancado Terrace, 500 block. Man beaten with an aluminum club Feb.

3. RAMONA BURGLARIES Highway 78, 2300 block. A camera, revolver, watch and coins, Feb. 2. Unknown entry.

Estimated loss, $340. 1 4th Street, 400 block. Two GAS PRICES IN NORTH. COUNT $1.65 JANIS SIHTimes Advocate Del Dios School students at the countys science fair. all down to a science are dealt with is an issue the district wants to answer, he said.

That problem was familiar to Bedore. Im living and breathing it right now, she said. Ive got a child that has a hard time sitting in a chair and Ive got another child thats reading everything Im giving him." Other issues raised were whether holding children back when they dont pass kindergarten is beneficial, or whether kindergarten should have more emphasis on play instead of getting academically ready for first grade. Were hoping to tune in March 4 to find out the answers to the questions that we formed on Monday night, Loftus said. Builder sues city over road contract LAW: R.E.

Hazard argues that the San Marcos council improperly overlooked bid irregularities MICHAEL FISHER "limes Advm ate SAN MARCOS A City Council decision late last month awarding L.lt. Hubbard Construction Co. a multimillion-dol-lar city contract to widen Mission Road prompted another contractor vying for the job to sue San Marcos this week. On Tuesday, attorneys for R.E. Hazard Contracting Co.

filed a Superior Court suit challenging the councils Jan. 25 decision to overlook an irregularity in Hubbards sealed bid and award the roadway contract to the San Diego builder. Hazard submitted the second lowest of seven bids received by the city for the Mission Road project. Hubbard, the lowest bidder for the contract, proposed to widen the road for $7.32 million, about $73,000 less than Hazard. But attorney James Ehlers, Hazards legal counsel, said Hubbard failed to properly complete its proposal by failing to quote the city a price for mobilization the amount of money the builder estimates will be spent to hire subcontractors and move equipment to the construction site before building begins.

According to city staff, Hubbard reportedly left that portion of their application blank, an oversight or deliberate move that Ehlers argues gave Hubbard an unfair advantage over other bidders. Despite the error, the council voted 4-0, with Mayor Lee Thi-badeau absent, to ignore the irregularity and award the contract to Hubbard. Were asking the court to determine if the City Council acted properly to award this contract, or improperly by waiving the irregularities in the Hubbard bid, Ehlers said. A court decision in favor of Hazard could nullify the citys contract with Hubbard. The case is scheduled for a Superior Court hearing March 5.

Ehlers also argues that Hubbard does not qualify for the contract because the builders original bid does not meet the citys guidelines requiring a contractor to construct at least 50 percent ol a project itself. However, city planning staff reported that Hubbard will perform 54 percent of the work and hire subcontractors to finish tin project. Deputy City Manager Paul Malone said Hazards challengt was not unexpected because Eh lers had already threatened to challenge the councils decision during the Jan. 25 meeting. The contract calls for widenii Mission Road from four to six lanes between Vineyard Road and Woodland Parkway, and from two to four lanes between Bougherand Barham roads.

The widening is expected to cost $12 million, with the city paying $8.2 million of the cost and the remaining $3.8 million being divided among area EDUCATION: Symposium will try to set goals from the very beginning ROBERT DUCKETT Times Adiiicate VISTA To get students started toward their goals, Vista School District officials have gone back to kindergarten. The district has decided what it wants high school students to know when they leave. Now district officials want to decide the best way to get students started. Teachers, parents and administrators met Monday for the first of two meetings in a symposium on kindergarten. Mondays meeting focused on the questions Robert Widner will join 14 other Getting it JANiS SIH For the Times Advocate ESCONDIDO If youve ever wondered about the strength of your plastic grocery bags, eighth-grader Robert Widner could probably help you out.

Hes tested the durability of local grocery store bags for more than four months as part of an experiment for his schools science fair. The winner: Advantage. The loser: Ralphs. Roberts project, which won first-place honors, was one of more than 650 entries fashioned by seventh- and eighth -grade students at Del Dios School. This is the best science fair weve ever had, said science department head Bruce Peterson.

This year, local scientists chose 15 students, including Robert, to represent Del Dios Civic leader DEATH: Ex-POW moved to Escondido after surviving the Bataan Death March JOETASH Times Advocate ESCONDIDO William Hayes Montgomery, who survived the Bataan Death March and spent 1,031 days as a POW during World War II, died Jan. 31 at his home in McMinnville, Ore. He was 83. After his release from captivity and a 2V2-year hospitalization, Montgomery and his wife of 14 years, Florence Waechter Montgomery, moved to Escondido. He worked as a news reporter for the Daily Times-Advocate and served 15 years on the Escondido Elementary School Board.

A memorial service for Montgomery is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Feb. 17 at the First Congregational Church, 1800 N. Broadway in Escondido. A reception will follow for family and friends.

at the 37th annual countywide competition to be held later this year. Last year the school sent seven students to the competition. Judges based their decision on data sample, analysis of data, creativity and problemsolving methods. The project, assigned to all students in September, is part of a lesson on the scientific method. Students tested their curiosity in such subjects as life science, psychology and physical science.

With prompting from his mom, Robert decided to test the biodegradability of plastic bags at local grocery stores. He began his experiment by burying a few plastic grocery bags in his back yard, hanging some from his backyard fence and keeping some in his bedroom. Four months later, he retrieved the bags and cut them BIRTHS PALOMAR MED. CENTER Mark and Ann Penn of San Diego, a 7-pound, 1 -ounce son born at 4:03 a.m. Jan.

14. Margarita Mendoza of Escondido, a 7-pound, 7-ounce son born at 1:54 p.m. Jan. 14. Sergio and Olivia Almaraz of Temecula, an 8-pound, 4-ounce daughter born at 1 Jan.

14. Warren and Debra Paulsen of Escondido, a 7-pound, 14-ounce daughter born at 12:40 p.m. Jan. 14. William and Lori Havens of Escondido, a 5-pound, 7-ounce son born Jan.

14. Jeffrey and Cynthia Cress of Escondido, a 9-pound, 1 1 -ounce daughter born at 12 a.m. Jan. 1 5. Montgomery dies at 83 into 12-inch strips.

He then applied weight to the plastic strips to measure how far they stretched. This is high-level stuff, said Jan OHara, sixth-grade science teacher. Another first-place winner, also going on to county competition, was eighth-grader Margaret Kim. Her mother, an artist who works with pottery glazes, inspired Margaret to experiment with making glass. She heated several minerals with varying concentrations of silica and colemanite in a kiln to see how she could make the minerals turn into glass.

We teach (the students) to develop analytical skills, (to) be problem-solvers and to learn methods of science something which is lacking these days, Peterson said. We dont want to stifle their creativity or just have them learn facts from textbooks. When he was finally freed in 1945, Montgomery returned to the United States, where he remained hospitalized until 1947. Malnutrition and disease left him legally blind, nearly deaf and only able to walk with a cane. He retired from the military at the rank of captain.

Jess Montgomery said his father wrote the book because he felt that his story was important enough to be told. So many of his fellow soldiers died in prison camp and during the ordeal before, that he felt he had a responsibility to tell of the circumstances of their death, Jess Montgomery said. When he came back, he wrote to the families of every soldier he could remember and described the details of their death. He wanted them to know what really happened to help put them at ease. Montgomery and his wife raised their son in Escondido and besides his work, Montgomery taught adult Bible classes.

His wife died in 1963. Montgomery later married Florence Ruth Shaw and the couple moved to Oregon in 1970. Montgomery is survived by his son, Jess Montgomery of Anaho-la, Hawaii; and his sister, Jane Montgomery of Burbank. Man stabbed as friend tries to break up fight JAMES FOLMER, JANIS SIH Times Advocate Manuel and Eugenia Ruiz of San Marcos, a 6-pound, 6-ounce daughter born at 10:58 a.m. Jan.

15. Jose and Dora Rodriguez of Escondido, a 6-pound, 1 -ounce daughter bom at 3:27 p.m. Jan. 1 5. Rosalba Echeverria of Escondido, a daughter born at 1 2:55 p.m.

Jan. 15. FALLBROOK HOSPITAL Geary and Audelia Garcia of Fallbrook, an 8-pound, 7-ounce son born at 6:52 a.m. Jan. 26.

Tim and Maria Rodebush of Vista, a 1 0-pound, 4-ounce son born at 3:15 p.m. Jan. 27. Duane and Sylvia Dixon of Fallbrook, a 9-pound, 3-ounce son born at 2: 10 p.m. Jan.

30. To emphasize the point, the suspect swung at the witness with a knife. It didnt hurt him, but it cut his nylon jacket, said Sgt. Ken Burkett. The suspect then turned back to Morales, who was on the ground.

The suspect plunged his knife twice into Morales, puncturing Morales right lung and cutting his liver. The suspect and the two onlookers fled on foot south on Pine Street. Paramedics rushed Morales to Palomar Medical Center where he underwent surgery Thursday night. This morning, Morales was listed in critical, but stable, condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male, about 5-foot-7 or 5-foot-8, 180 pounds, with a round face and a mustache.

He was wearing a pinkish red shirt, and blue jeans. Montgomery was born April 18, 1907, in Los Angeles. After graduating from high school, he worked in a metal-smith shop for two years and then joined the Army Air Corps in 1927, according to his son Jess Montgomery. He was taken prisoner in 1942. In his memoirs, he recalled the bare-bones subsistence of prisoners, who lived on a rice-and-wa-ter mixture and soup made from a watercress-like weed that grew along the canals.

Montgomery also wrote of the disease and brutality suffered by the prisoners of war. The men who died in prison camp died early, Montgomery wrote. Whether from disease, wounds, or lack of faith, I cannot say. Some died of each. Those who lived through the first year were awfully hard to kill.

Many men lived whom the doctors said could not be expected to live. They lived because they refused to die. Montgomery dedicated his book to his son. In a letter to Jess in 1953, Montgomery said of his ordeal: I do not look upon it with anger or horror or repugnance. It taught me much about life.

Certainly, I do not look upon our captors, the Japanese, with any rancor or blame. BRUCE RICHARDSONTimps Adaocnfg ESCONDIDO A 22-year-old man was stabbed Thursday night in front of Lopez Market as his friend watched, police said. The witness, Anastasio Vas-quez, 31, of Escondido, was walking from the Cali-Mex Market on West Grand Avenue to Lopez Market on South Pine Street just after 9 p.m., saw two men fighting. As the witness approached, he realized one of the men fighting was a friend, Javier Morales, 22, he told police. According to the police account: The witness demanded to know from two onlookers what was going on.

Stay out of it. Its not your business, they told him. Meanwhile, Morales was knocked to the ground by his assailant. The attacker then turned to the witness and told him to mind his own business..