East Command Town Hall Meeting on November 3, 2010

The Glendale Police Department is holding an East Command Town Hall meeting on November 3rd from 6:30-8:00pm at Wilson Middle School Auditorium (1220 Monterey St.).

Stop by and participate in the discussion and find out what is going on in the East Command? •    Meet the Chief •    Get to know your Area Commander •    Learn about burglary prevention and what you can do to avoid being a victim •    Question and answer session with our Traffic Division (Speeding? Parking?  What’s on your mind?) •    Afterward, enjoy a snack and talk to our police officers one-on-one

Pick up important phone numbers and learn how to start a Neighborhood Watch.

Light refreshments will be served.

RSVP and questions:  Contact Sue Shine-Lead Officer East Command (818) 937-8769 or: sshine@ci.glendale.ca.us

The Fall Echo - Digital Edition

In case you didn't get a chance to read the Echo that was dropped off at your house, or if you are a former Glenoaks Canyon resident that wants to keep up with the goings on in the neighborhood, you can get the digital version of the most recent Echo here: Echo Fall 2010

The Legend of the Glenoaks Bear

This story was sent to Joan Morris, GOCHA's President. We thought it would be a nice story for the website. Enjoy.

Years ago they say, a bear escaped the LA Zoo and found his way to a back yard in Glenoaks Canyon.  He survived on homegrown avocados.  The mystery continued when they say he was chased to the hills by the local wildlife: coyotes, skunks, and possums, never to be seen again.  It is also rumored that the "Glendale Bear" may have been adopted by a local canyon family, and lived his life out with them disguised as a 20-lb poodle.  The neighbors memories are "fuzzy"...but remember the said growling poodle participated in the annual BOW WOW POW WOW and enjoyed free pancakes at the homeowners breakfast.  It was also suspected that the "Glenoaks Bear" appeared as himself at the Halloween Block Party this past year!  Some say they recall the poodle enjoying walks in the canyon with his owner, who always wore a black baseball cap.    Fact or fiction?? —-- what really happened no on knows for sure; but the legend continues......

Know of any more canyon stories. Send them in and we'll put them on the website. Send your stories to mitchellr@glenoakscanyon.org.

Action Requested: Help Save Our Public Transportation

Action Alert: Vote to Terminate Beeline Shuttle This Tuesday at the Glendale City Council Meeting

Due to low ridership, the Glendale City Council is voting to terminate the BeeLine Shuttle in Glenoaks Canyon this Tuesday, Oct. 5th. Public transportation into Glenoaks Canyon has been provided continuously since the 1930s and it is a service that we hate to lose.  Please help save this important canyon resource by attending the city council meeting and speaking out in favor of keeping the Beeline.

As mentioned at our GOCHA Annual Meeting on September 22nd, the City of Glendale is now considering removal of all public transportation in our Glenoaks Canyon. The Transportation Department submitted their recommendation to remove Line 13 to the Glendale City Council for their final decision to permanently stop all public transportation up Glenoaks Blvd.

GOCHA has been advised that the most effective method of communication would be to speak during Oral Communications* at the City Council Meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010 at 613 E. Broadway, 2nd Floor.  The regular business agenda starts at 6:00 PM. Please try to attend this council meeting.

We also recommend writing to Metro, Mr. Don Knabe, knabed@metro.net, the Metro Board, Mr. Arthur T.Leahy, leahya@metro.net , and Supervisor Michael Antonovich, fifthdistrict@bos.lacounty.gov.

Please contact Angela Vukos at (818) 247-2781 or via email svukos@sbcglobal.net if you will be able to attend the City Council meeting on Tuesday.  Thank you for your support.

*ORAL COMMUNICATIONS (Per Mayor Policy – to follow after all other Agenda Items)

Discussion is limited to items NOT a part of this agenda. Each Speaker is allowed 5 minutes. Council may question or respond to the speaker but there will be no debate or decision. The City Manager may refer the matter to the appropriate department for investigation and report.

Reminder: GOCHA Annual Meeting and Pancake Breakfast Coming Up

The Glenoaks Canyon Homeowner Association has two important  events coming up this week.

The Annual Meeting will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 22 at 7:30 PM in the Joe Bridges Clubhouse at Glenoaks Park.  Our featured speaker this year will be Officer Sue Shine from the Glendale Police Department.  Some of the issues we'll be discussing at the meeting will include updates on GOCHA's proposals to limit access to the fire trails and restrict parking on certain streets to accommodate emergency vehicles as well as the possible loss of Bee Line services in Glenoaks Canyon.  Please plan to attend this informative meeting.

Then, on Saturday, Sept. 25th, from 8:00am - 11:00am, we will be holding our annual Pancake Breakfast at the same location in Glenoaks Park.  GOCHA's mouth-watering pancakes and sausages will be served once again at no charge.  What a deal!

Both of these events are great opportunities for you to meet neighbors and connect with friends.  Hope to see you there!

Language Immersion Program Being Considered at Glenoaks Elementary

We now have a survey on Survey Monkey for learning whether there is a commitment among a critical mass of area families for starting a language immersion program at our local school.

If your family is considering enrolling a child in kindergarten at Glenoaks in the Fall of 2011 or later, please take a few minutes to take the survey (it's pretty quick).  If you know someone with a pre-kindergarten-aged child in our area, please forward it to them.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LL369C

The district is interested in us first surveying families in the Glenoaks Elementary boundaries.  But these language programs also tend to draw families outside the boundaries seeking permits, so we may eventually survey outside families who would be committed to such a language program.

You may receive this from more than one source, and we only want each family/household to respond once.  We would like the survey results no later than September 20th.

(Note: this is simply a survey at this point.  There is no commitment to necessarily begin language immersion at Glenoaks, and if a program got started it would not be until Fall 2011, at the earliest.  This survey is just a starting point to assess commitment.)

Thanks to Amy Yniguez for helping create the survey on Survey Monkey.  Once we have survey results those interested could meet to split up tasks.

Contacts:  Denise Meyer at meyerdnglendale@yahoo.com and Amy Yniguez at sanamy17@yahoo.com

GOCHA Board Establishes Fire Prevention Committee - Needs Your Help

Irresponsible activity, including drinking and smoking, has continued in the Glenoaks Canyon hills at night.  Determined to prevent a recurrence of the kind of wildfire that struck our hills one year ago, the GOCHA Board has established a Fire Prevention Committee to study this problem and to consider various options with the assistance of officers from the Glendale Police and Fire Departments.  The Committee has concluded that the most direct and possibly most effective option is to make the hills off-limits to nighttime visitors. Believing that virtually all visitors entering the hills after 10:00 p.m. do so for purposes inconsistent with recreational uses envisioned by the City, the Committee proposes closure of the hills from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. (or 5:00 a.m).  Appropriate signs would then be posted at the entrances of dirt fire roads and trails in the Canyon.

We understand that the City would like buy-in by affected residents before approving any proposal of this kind.  Consequently we are continuing to canvass Glenoaks Canyon residents about this matter.  If you have not had the opportunity to respond to a questionnaire distributed to certain residents earlier in the year, you may wish to complete the questionnaire provided below:

Hill Closure Survey

Please mail your responses to:

GOCHA P.O. Box 91226 Glendale, CA  91226

City Considering Termination of Beeline Shuttle into Canyon

[UPDATE]

The City Transportation Dept. has submitted their recommendations about the Beeline to the City Council. Now is the time to contact the City Council and let them know your thoughts. They will be deliberating and making their final decision shortly. Please email the council and let them know your opinions.

jstarbird@ci.glendale.us

fquintero@ci.glendale.us

dweaver@ci.glendale.us

anajrian@ci.glendale.us

jdrayman@ci.glendale.us

lfriedman@ci.glendale.us

GOCHA is respectfully requesting your urgent communication with the Glendale Transportation Department and the Glendale City Council in order to prevent the loss of the canyon’s  public transportation service.  Without your input this will be a permanent loss to Glenoaks Canyon residents.

This is with regard to the meeting which was held regarding Glendale Beelines. We realize Beeline #13 has low ridership and is a target for cancellation in the near future. However; some type of public transportation should be provided a community that has historically had public transportation. Due to the City's failure to aggressively pursue the retention of Metro Line 201 service, we had for over 70 years, we have had all these problems.

To avoid this loss of transportation, our suggestions are to either continue the current service of Beeline #13, or, preferably, restore Metro Line 201 service one mile up the canyon, or, at a minimum, schedule a short connection to the Metro Line 201 at Chevy Chase and Glenoaks. Otherwise we will be completely stranded without any public transportation in our canyon. By the way, Metro Service is provided at no cost to the City of Glendale. The cost of the Beeline # 13 is about $ 44,000. per year.  In view of the very costly perks, paid by the taxpayers and provided  by the City of Glendale to government officials, this would seem like a very reasonable amount to pay to provide independence to the people. Loss of our public transportation in this canyon, will have a devastating impact on our students, seniors, home care and cleaning service providers. and the community. Many are unable to walk up one mile for a bus and cannot afford taxis all the time.

We have paid representation on the Metro Board, Mayor Najarian, and with the power given by the people to the City Council, we rightfully expect our voices to be heard and our needs to be considered favorably.

Comments on the proposed fare increase and service change may be submitted by email at beeline@ci.glendale.ca.us

by phone at 818-548-3960

Or in writing to:

Glendale Beeline, 633 E. Broadway Room 300 Glendale, CA 91206

Comments will be collected through September 18, 2010 and incorporated into a report to the City Council later this fall.

Angela Vukos, GOCHA Board Member would like to organize a committee to work on preserving our transportation.  Please email her at svukos@sbcglobal.net for more information and/or if you would like to help in this important effort.

Neighbors Volunteer on Clean Up Day

May 22nd, was Glendale's Annual Clean Up Day and some of our canyon's neighbors were out on Mt. Carmel doing their part to help make our canyon look beautiful. Thanks to all our volunteers who pitched in and got their hands dirty.

Another Successful Bow Wow Pow Wow

Canyon K-9's in all their furry splendor came out to the park with their humans to celebrate at the annual Bow Wow Pow Wow. Organized with perfection by the Hopperts again this year, the annual event brought out our neighborhood's finest. Awards were given for best costume, best tricks and best time through the agility course. This year, the Pow Wow started in the afternoon for the first time. Let us know if you liked the afternoon start. We love all our canyon pets and it is always great to see them celebrated in this great, annual event.

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