Marie Steckmest is loaded with ideas. When she was teaching reading to second graders, she constructed a snug little Volkswagen for two out of cardboard for individualized instruction. When her own children were at Marquez Elementary, she developed the career week program that is still going strong. And now Marie has been named Citizen of the Year for an idea, more accurately a movement’Greening the Palisades.   She will be honored at the annual banquet, sponsored by the Palisadian-Post, on April 23 at the American Legion Hall.   ’I like to start programs, and I think I am good at organizing and getting people to join,’ Steckmest says, with the caveat that if the idea doesn’t draw enthusiasm, she moves on. ‘I get an idea, bounce it off a few people, but if the idea doesn’t sound good, I just don’t pursue it.’   Steckmest is the ideal right brain-left brain type, who not only can unleash an idea, but also possesses the discipline necessary to implement it by encouraging participation from others: ‘I think people like helping people, and I can make it easy to help and learn.’   A community builder while living for more than 25 years in the Palisades, Steckmest has amassed a network of men and women whom she has worked with through her various associations’Palisades Presbyterian Church, the Junior Women’s Club, Marquez Elementary and Santa Monica-based OPCC, which provides comprehensive services for low-income and homeless people.   Although Marie grew up in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, Southern California was part of her childhood itinerary as a consequence of her father’s sabbaticals. A math professor at the University of Minnesota, he was seduced by the weather of Southern California and thought nothing was better than playing golf at Rancho Park. In their first foray to California, the family lived on Iliff Street, while Marie, an only child, attended Palisades Elementary. Returning five years later, the family settled in Santa Monica, and Marie completed fifth grade at Roosevelt Elementary.   Marie enjoyed the fruits of a Midwestern upbringing and family life. Her mother taught her the love of cooking, and the value of a loyal, loving partnership’she typed the text for all her husband’s math textbooks.   ’My father was the driving force in the family,’ Marie says. ‘He was friendly; he liked people, enjoyed dancing and gardening and sports. He didn’t have a boy, and I was an only child, so even though I didn’t enjoy gym at school, I played softball in a vacant lot, played golf, swam and began my love of tennis.’   Tennis has played a big part in Marie’s life, introducing her to many people, including her attorney husband Larry, whom she met in 1982 at the Westside Racket Club on Motor Avenue.   The couple married and moved to the Palisades in 1984 when their son Jeff was born, followed two years later by their daughter Lisa. Jeff now works in finance in Washington, D.C.; Lisa works for a consulting firm in downtown Los Angeles.   If tennis teaches tenacity, focus and strategy and encourages sociability, Marie has mastered the game. These traits, combined with her educational background’a B.A. in psychology in 1971 and an MBA in marketing from UCLA in 1986’have proved useful in her community involvement.   Marie divides her adult life into stages, moving from fulltime employment, to volunteering in her children’s schools to her current focus on the community of Pacific Palisades.   She taught elementary school for seven years, then took an abrupt turn and sold business computers for Sperry Univac. Later, after completing her MBA she was a marketing consultant for a year.   Through the Presbyterian church, Marie met Kimberly Giancola, who introduced her to the Junior Women. The association was wonderful for Marie, who stayed in the group for 10 years, serving in a number of leadership positions, including president. She also met women, including Carol Sanborn and Suzanne Baraff, who years later have joined her on several Palisades Cares programs. And each new idea draws more volunteers, including Sid Greenwald and Chamber of Commerce President Toni Balfour, who work with Marie on the recycling efforts in town and at all the local schools.   ’I enjoyed the service aspects of the Juniors, and I loved volunteering at Marquez School,’ Marie says, but six years ago, after her children were out of high school, she turned her attention to helping those outside the Palisades who were struggling. ‘I wanted to do something and involve our church in more outreach activities,’ she says.   Intrigued by the work the late Cathie Wishnick was doing at Kehillat Israel with Turning Point (a women’s transitional housing shelter), Marie sought out Cathie, ‘who told me how to do it, the ways to volunteer and help.’   By applying her skills, seeking advice from experts, laying out a plan and developing a cadre of helpers, Marie expanded her Palisades Cares franchise from a ‘Palisades Volunteer Days’ week of service opportunities to promoting her green message: reduce, reuse and recycle, which culminated last year with the distribution of 36 recycling bins throughout the Village. The $20,000 project was accomplished with a $10,000 city grant, matched by the generosity of the community.   And now in 2009, Marie continues her greening message with updates on news and events in her Palisadian-Post Save Our Earth column and by working with her coalition of parents, students and teachers in all the schools.   Moving along with another idea, Marie surprised herself with the breadth of discussion and community participation in the first Community Reads book, ‘The Soloist,’ which focuses on the challenge of mental illness and homelessness in our city.   ’I had attended a talk on the subject by Steve Lopez (author of ‘The Soloist’) and OPCC’s Renee Buchanan (a former bank executive, who suffered from depression and spent time on the streets),’ Marie recalls. ‘Then I talked to Katie O’Laughlin at Village Books, who liked the idea.   ’Talking to friends, seeking advice from experts and listening are key for successful programs,’ Steckmest says. ‘It’s fun to work with people towards a common goal. It’s all synergy.’

Tomas Betsis-Dunstan, a fourth grade student at Marquez Charter Elementary School, was abducted by a non-custodial parent, George Betsis, on the morning of April 3. ‘We did have a custody issue,’ Principal Phillip Hollis told the Palisadian-Post. ‘It is now in the hands of the LAPD.’ According to a police report, the child was dropped off at 8:50 a.m. and the father was seen taking him away from the school a few minutes later. Police speculate that the father was waiting for the boy to be dropped off and then grabbed him. Betsis, an Australian national, is in a custody battle with his ex-wife over guardianship of the child. He asked Australian courts to grant him guardianship, but was denied. A U.S. court ordered Betsis to return his son to the West Los Angeles police station. Betsis called the station and acknowledged the order, but told an officer he would not comply. ‘He fully understands the court order,’ said West Los Angeles Detective Francene Mounger. Police are now seeking the public’s help in locating the 10-year-old boy and his 49-year-old father. Tomas is white, weighs 110 pounds, has a medium build and has dark hair, police said.   His father is described as 5’8′ tall, 200 pounds, with brown hair and eyes, a medium build and dark complexion. Betsis is believed to be driving a 2009 gray Kia Sorrento with the California license plate 6ELL191. ‘We’re eager to follow up on any information anyone might have,’ Mounger said. ‘We believe he’s still in Southern California.’ Mounger acknowledged that Betsis is considered a flight risk. ‘We’ve taken precautions so that he won’t leave the country, and Australian officials have been notified,’ she said. Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Betsis or Tomas is asked to call Mounger at (310) 444-1533. After-hours and on weekends, calls may be directed to the West Los Angeles watch commander at (310) 444-0701 or to a 24-hour, toll-free number at 1-877-527-3247. Callers may also text ‘Crimes’ with a cell phone or log on to www.lapdonline.org and click on Web tips. When using a cell phone, all messages should begin with ‘LAPD.’ Tipsters may remain anonymous.

The California Coastal Commission board voted unanimously at its April 8 meeting in Oxnard to allow the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy to keep the Temescal Pool permanently filled in with dirt and covered with sod. The Commission issued the Conservancy an emergency permit in January to fill in the empty pool, located in Temescal Gateway Park, because the pool posed a threat to overall stability of the site and the surrounding area if rain should occur, according to the emergency permit. Last Wednesday’s decision allows the work that was done to remain as long as the Conservancy wants, said Gary Timm, the Commission’s coastal program manager. From the time the emergency permit was issued on January 9, the Conservancy had 60 days to file for a regular permit to have the work be considered permanent, according to Timm. If the Coastal Commission had not received such an application, the Conservancy would have had to reverse the work within 150 days. The Conservancy can still apply for a permit in the future to reopen the pool, Timm said. The Palisades-Malibu YMCA had operated the pool until February 2008, at which time the facility was closed for repairs estimated to cost $400,000. In December, the Conservancy board decided to develop a long-term plan for the park before possibly offering a new pool lease. When the crews were filling in the pool in January, MRCA chief ranger Ken Nelson told the Palisadian-Post that the work was being done in such a manner that the pool could be reopened. For now, the area will be used for public picnicking, while the pool deck, pool house, maintenance/equipment building, and paved parking lot remain until long-term plans for the site are developed and the necessary permits obtained. The Conservancy hired Dudek, an environmental and engineering consulting firm, to conduct a master plan for the park. Executive Director Joe Edmiston told the Palisadian-Post on April 9 that the planning process has been halted because the state has frozen bond spending in the midst of its budget shortfall. Edmiston could not say when the planning process would resume. Before the April 8 Coastal Commission meeting, Friends of the Temescal Pool president Jane Albrecht submitted a letter to the Commission asking for a postponement to ‘give a reasonable amount of time for the Friends and the regional community to provide comments on the matter, and to ensure that the Commission has a full and accurate understanding.’ Albrecht added that she was notified of the meeting late because the notice had been sent to the wrong address. She said that a few days’ notice was not sufficient for Friends or the community to respond or for the Commissioners to read the submissions and properly consider them. When the Commission gave permission in January to fill in the pool, ‘neither the local government nor interested parties had any notice,’ Albright wrote, adding that the Commission gave oral permission to fill in the pool on January 7 and work began the next day. The actual emergency permit was issued on January 9. ‘Especially in light of how the emergency permit was handled, the Coastal Commission should afford the community a full, fair and meaningful opportunity to brief the commission,’ Albrecht wrote. At the April 8 meeting, Friends also submitted a 26-page report to the Coastal Commission stating its position. In January, Friends filed a lawsuit against the Conservancy and its partner, the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, asking the court to order the Conservancy to negotiate a pool lease, pay to repair the pool, and make the park fully accessible to the disabled. Friends contends that the land was purchased with Proposition A funding, which is partly intended to create recreational facilities for senior citizens. According to the lawsuit, ‘The pool was the only part of Temescal Gateway Park that was open and accessible for recreation use by many handicapped and senior citizens of the community.’ The pool was handicapped-accessible and the YMCA offered rehabilitation programs. Friends also argues that by filling in the pool, the Conservancy violated its contract agreement with the Presbyterian Synod, from which the land was purchased in 1994. The Conservancy has since filed a demurrer and Friends has until late May to reply, said Laurie Collins, Conservancy’s chief staff counsel. A demurrer is a pleading in effect that even if the facts are as alleged by the opposite party, they do not sustain the contention based on them. If the judge denies the demurrer, the Conservancy has to file an answer to the Friends’ complaint. If the judge honors the demurrer, the case is either dismissed or Friends may have the option of amending its complaint to move the case forward. In the meantime, Friends of the Temescal Pool is continuing to work on a viable business plan for an aquatics program at the pool. ‘[Edmiston] indicated that he would consider such a plan in the future, as the [Conservancy] develops its comprehensive plan for Temescal Gateway Park,’ said Jean Rosenfeld, a Friends member. ‘We believe that the pool can and will be repaired and that an aquatics program will be resumed,’ Rosenfeld added. ‘Friends continues to work in a positive and collaborative relationship with any public agency that will facilitate our purpose.’

As continuation students ran around the Temescal Canyon High School campus looking for hidden Easter eggs on April 3, Principal Allan Tamshen was sober about the school’s future. ‘We are the best drop-out prevention program in the district [LAUSD],’ Tamshen said. ‘But the district has already shut down three continuation schools for next year.’ Whitney Young at Crenshaw High, Del Rey at Westchester High and Indian Springs at University High have been closed, and given the current LAUSD budget crisis, Temescal Canyon may be next. Continuation schools serve students who are at the highest risk of dropping out by helping and encouraging them to complete their high school education. ‘We’re not profitable because our class size is 25 to 1,’ said Tamshen, who noted that it costs the state $60,000 to house a prisoner for a year, compared to about $5,750 allocated to a high school student’s education at LAUSD (which could be higher with additional allocations). Palisades Charter High School, which is fiscally independent, spent $8,270 per pupil this year. High school dropouts are far more likely to spend their lives periodically unemployed, on government assistance, or cycling in and out of the prison system, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. A 2008 California Department of Education study showed that one in three LAUSD high school students failed to graduate. ‘This school represents giving kids a second chance, keeping dropouts off the street,’ Tamshen said. ‘More programs like this might stop incarcerations.’ Temescal Canyon, located just below PaliHi, has 92 students from 13 high schools. The faculty consists of teachers Lorene Sosa (social studies), Justin Kirby (English) and Bryan Ko (math) teacher. Patricia Dunn is the school’s administrative assistant. At the April 3 assembly (a gathering that recognizes the most improved student every month), plastic eggs were filled with candy, and $5 was hidden in one. The reason for the hunt was simple: ‘These kids come from tough neighborhoods,’ Tamshen said. ‘They can let their guard down here.’ ‘It was pretty funny,’ said junior Xavier Martinez, who found the egg with the money. He lives in downtown L.A. near Koreatown and started at PaliHi before switching to Temescal as a sophomore. ‘This is way better,’ he said. ‘I do more work here.’ Tamshen explained that students need 230 credits to receive a high school diploma and Temescal High finds ways to help those students who have fallen behind or who are failing to meet the standard requirements. At Temescal, about 50 percent of the students who were failing in a traditional high school are able to catch up and eventually earn their diplomas by taking classes with more individualized instruction. In order to reach more of his students, Tamshen has also developed a special program that offers 10 classes and GED (general educational development) test preparation that helps them them attain their high school diploma equivalent. ‘I started that five years ago because a lot of the students were ‘lost,” said Tamshen, who also offers a Tuesday program from 4 to 8 p.m. that works like a study hall, but with individualized help.

Legendary Palisades Charter High School teacher Rose Gilbert received the Legacy Award at the 16th Annual California Charter Schools Conference in Long Beach on March 12. Before an audience of 2,000 teachers, principals and educational leaders, Gilbert, 90, was praised for a 53-year career in which she has inspired and mentored countless students and colleagues. ‘Generations of students experienced her passion for great literature and her dynamic teaching style,’ wrote the judges in selecting Gilbert for the award. ‘As a teacher of advanced placement and honors courses, [she] prepared thousands of students for the rigors of college, carefully guiding them through the process of critical literary analysis and impelling them to write with discipline and commitment.’ Gilbert, whose late husband Sam was a millionaire, was also recognized for her philanthropy, which includes scholarships every June to the PaliHi valedictorian, salutatorian, most improved senior, and highest-achieving female athlete in multiple sports, plus winners of the Mama G award and the AcaDec Spirit of Enthusiasm award. In addition, Gilbert also funds numerous scholarships at UCLA (where she graduated in 1940), and has contributed $2 million to build the Maggie Gilbert Aquatic Center on the PaliHi campus, with construction now underway. In 2006, after she had coached the school’s Academic Decathlon Team for 25 years, Gilbert said: ‘To me, education is power. I want to marry effort and education so students will understand the complexities of life and understand the need to contribute positively to the world.’ On March 12, the California Charter Schools Association also awarded Dr. Sharon Weir the annual Hart Vision Award as Charter School Principal of the Year, out of 750 California charter principals. Weir, principal of New West Charter Middle School in West Los Angeles, accepted her award by sharing her formula: ‘Teamwork divides the task and doubles the success.’ New West was founded in 2003 by Palisades residents Judith Bronowski, David Eagle and Gene Albrecht, with support from about 200 local families. Unable to locate in the Palisades, the school transformed an existing building on Pico Boulevard (a half-block east of Barrington) and has become one of the highest-performing public middle schools in Los Angeles. ‘Sharon is a shining example of what is possible in public schools when the right person is in the position to lead,’ said Jed Wallace, president and CEO of the California Charter Schools Association. ‘She is a model leader, a fierce advocate for charter school equity and an inspiration for educators nationwide.’ Weir was recruited to New West by Bronowski, current chair of New West’s governing board, after a difficult opening year. ‘We were so fortunate to find a leader with charter experience, educational expertise and fiscal management skills,’ Bronowski said. ‘Being super smart didn’t hurt either.’ During Weir’s four years of leadership, New West has raised its Academic Performance Index (API) score from 752 to 867, and has eliminated 82 percent of its debt. Weir is also a champion of charter school facilities rights. In 2008, she led New West to win a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Unified School District that orders the District to provide space for 285 students in conformity with Proposition 39. New West is currently in the penalty phase of the suit. New West is a state-authorized charter school, having been denied a charter twice by LAUSD. The State Board of Education deemed LAUSD’s denial prejudiced and hostile, and in 2007 unanimously approved a second five-year charter. New West is open to allcomers and the selection of 315 students (current representing 52 zip codes) is by open lottery. Established in 1995, the Hart Vision Awards were created in honor of retired California Senator and former California Secretary of Education Gary Hart. During his tenure as legislator, Hart authored California’s charter school legislation, which led to charter status for Palisades High and Marquez, Palisades and Canyon elementary schools in 1993.

Pacific Palisades resident Janette Flintoft spends her days at Horace Mann Middle School, inspiring and coaxing the students, who live in the surrounding gang-infested neighborhoods, to stay in school.   Since August, Flintoft has worked at Horace Mann in South L.A. through the Safe Schools Division of the L.A. Office of the City Attorney. Among her duties, she invites motivational speakers to campus, facilitates leadership workshops and organizes field trips.   ’I do whatever it takes to get students more engaged in school,’ said Flintoft, a 39-year-old city prosecutor who is married and has three children.   Encouraged by the success of a similar program at Markham Middle School in Watts, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo formed the Safe Schools Division last August in an effort to create a safer school environment in nine Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) middle schools.   The schools were chosen because of the high crime rates surrounding their campuses, coupled with low attendance rates and substandard Academic Performance Index (API) scores. API is a measurement system that the state uses to evaluate a school’s academic achievement.   The division focuses on middle schools because ‘that is the time we can have the most impact,’ Flintoft said. ‘The kids are starting to make decisions and developing their views’this is the population to catch.’   Flintoft, who has worked for the city attorney’s office since 1997, was chosen for the position because ‘Janette expressed an interest in working with students, and we thought her enthusiasm for the new assignment, combined with her experience as a prosecutor, would make her an ideal fit for our new division,’ said Max Follmer, spokesman for the city attorney. ‘Janette has done a tremendous job working to help improve the climate in and around Mann Middle School.’   Flintoft, who grew up in North Hollywood, received her bachelor’s degree in history from UCLA and attended law school at Southwestern University. In her first two years in the city attorney’s office, she prosecuted numerous criminal cases. In 2001, Flintoft began working for the Crime Prevention and Youth Protection Division, which led to her current position.   ’I see children’s upbringing as the root of all future problems,’ Flintoft said.   In January, she started a weekly speaker series for Horace Mann seventh and eighth graders in the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program, designed for socioeconomically disadvantaged students who want to be the first members in their families to attend college.   ’The goal is to give the students role models; I choose speakers who grew up or work in the area, or in a similar type of neighborhood,’ Flintoft said, adding that she has found speakers through her colleagues and Pacific Palisades friends.   Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Officer Juan Barillas and UCLA assistant men’s basketball coach Donnie Daniels (who both grew up in the neighborhood) recently spoke to students about reaching their goals. Flintoft also tries to improve adolescents’ self-esteem and provide them with alternatives to gang life. She has taken the students to the Museum of Tolerance and the UCLA’s ropes and challenge course. On April 23, they will travel to Southwestern University for a mock trial. On such field trips, Flintoft has paid for lunch out of her own pocket. She has also sponsored a group of girls to attend the annual Young Women’s Conference: Change, Challenge and Choice ‘ A Recipe for Success at Pasadena City College in February. ‘I want to do what I can for them to succeed,’ said Flintoft, who has lived in the Highlands since 1997 with her husband, Gerry, a senior investment officer for L.A. County Employees Retirement Association. They have three children: Collin, 9, Caroline, 8 (students at Calvary Christian School) and Aiden, 4.   Flintoft’s efforts extend to parents whom she will even prosecute for not sending their children to school. She and Horace Mann’s attendance officer canvass the neighborhood for students at home during school hours. Some students are babysitting or running errands with their parents. Before taking legal action, Flintoft explains to parents California’s Compulsory Education Laws, which require children to be in school from age 6 to 18. ‘The goal is to get the kids in school,’ she said. ‘Gang members are truant first.’ To make the campus environment safer, Flintoft works closely with the LAPD’s 77th Street Community Police Station. She reviews police reports for crime patterns, rides along with the police looking for criminals and prosecutes cases on campus and in the surrounding neighborhood. Horace Mann is located at 7001 St. Andrews Place. Marijuana was recently found on campus, so Flintoft will prosecute any misdemeanor cases arising out of the police investigation. For prevention, she has arranged for speakers to talk to the students about substance abuse in May and September. In addition to all of her work at Horace Mann, Flintoft recently helped create an LAUSD training program to teach teachers and administrators how to recognize and report child abuse. She also works in the city attorney’s Gang Division dealing with gang injunctions, a court order that prohibits gang members from engaging in activities such as associating with other gang members. ‘I find it rewarding,’ Flintoft said of her busy schedule. ‘I love what I do’ I feel fortunate to be changing lives and impacting communities for the better.’