The Los Angeles Board of Education voted 4 to 3 on October 12 to restore $2.2 million in funding to seven area charter schools, including Palisades Charter High School. ”PaliHi was one of seven conversion charters that had been seeking restoration of integrative funding from the Los Angeles Unified School District ‘that we received last year but were initially denied this year,’ said Gregory Wood, chief business officer. ”The charter schools’ motion directed LAUSD superintendant Roy Romer ‘to restore all Targeted Instructional Improvement Grant (TIIG) resources (integration funding) previously allocated to conversion charter schools for the 2004-05 school year, and urged him to conduct a full review to determine whether TIIG funding should continue to be be allocated to conversion charter schools beyond that.’ ”Pali, which became an independent charter school on July 1, 2003, will receive between $350,000 to $400,000 of the $2,218,223 that was assigned to the charter schools. It’s unclear where the money will come from or when it will be allocated since ‘the Board left it up to the district to decide,’ Wood said. ”He added that how Pali will spend the money will be determined after disctribution. ‘[The restored funding] creates a lot more flexibility to deliver and expand educational projects we’re looking to provide students.’ ”The schools and the LAUSD have yet to reach a ‘consensus’ regarding special education funding and facility, or oversight fees. ‘It’s an ongoing discussion,’ Wood said. ”Originally, funding was going to be denied because the district’s legal team determined that LAUSD is not legally obligated to distribute the funds to charter schools. Given the budget crisis and the need to cut $500 million for fiscal year 2004-05, the associate superintendant of specially funded programs recommended against the distribution. ”The three board members who voted against passing the measure probably took into consideration the district’s tight budget, said Roberta Benjamin, director of LAUSD charter schools.’They are really stretching resources,’ she said. ”Over the summer, $370,000 from Pali’s reserve funding was used to purchase text books for various departments, ‘as opposed to being constrained to buying books for just one department’ if the school was still a dependent school within the LAUSD, Wood said. ‘As a charter, we were able to take advantage of cost containments and prudent spending.’ ”In addition to Pali, other conversion charter schools that will receive funding include Fenton Avenue Charter School in Lake View Terrace, Granada Hills, Montague Charter Academy in Pacoima, Pacoima Charter School, Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood and Vaughn Next Century Learing Center in San Fernando.
Finding Samiya in the Chaos of Baghdad
By ANN KERR Special to the Palisadian-Post There it was in my mailbox ‘a beige envelope addressed to me in simple handwritten script with a colorful stamp covered with exotic fish and Arabic writing, postmarked Iraq, March 9, 2004. I had been hoping for a letter from Samiya since 1990, when I visited her in Baghdad but I knew it might be risky for her to write. My visit 14 years before was the first time I had seen her since we were roommates at the American University of Beirut in 1954-55. ”Samiya had been reluctant to meet me at the home of an American diplomat, where I was staying in January 1990 and working on a student exchange program, so we met for coffee in the lobby of the Babylon Hotel. She was nervous about being seen with an American, so our visit was disappointingly short. She spoke in hushed tones about the difficult times they had been through in the eight-year Iran-Iraq war. A quarter of a million people had died, among them her youngest brother. Samiya was the eldest sister in a Christian family of 10 children originally from Mosul. She had not married and had helped support her younger siblings as a high school math teacher. Now she was caring for her ailing mother, but they had suffered a setback two years earlier when their house was confiscated by the government with only modest compensation. Her voice lowered as she told me this, and then she explained, ‘I have to be careful’I am a teacher in the school where the children of government officials study, and information is quickly passed around. I could lose my job if they thought I was against the government.’ I learned this month that she had taught three of Saddam Hussein’s daughters. ”I opened Samiya’s letter, almost in disbelief, reading her straightforward language written in blue ink on both sides of a single piece of paper. ‘You asked me how I feel about what is happening in Iraq,’ she responded to the question I had asked her in a letter at Christmas time. ‘I will write how I feel and people around me feel. ”’Last March, I moved to my sister’s house with her husband and daughter. We made one room as a shelter. It was difficult days. One day they fired guns in our district, 35 were killed and 64 wounded. We left to my cousin’s house in the other side of the city. It was worse. I stayed six months with my sister. It was not safe for me to live alone. We thanked God my family was saved during the war. After that, as [with] other people, a car was stolen, my brother and his wife were attacked with arms as they were walking’they took money and a gold bracelet in which was written Glory to God. We didn’t have kidnapping in the family as others because we are not rich. ”’My brothers are three engineers and two computer specialists’they are good at their work and heads of their sections. They have small families, one, two and the largest three children. After the war of 1991 [the first Gulf War], all these families were not able to live with their salaries. ”’I have one brother who has lived in Germany more than 40 years. He started helping us for the last 13 years. He sends the money to me and I give it to nine families and keep $1,000 for emergency. Those who couldn’t [get] help from outside have either to bribe or steal, especially when they have big families. The government gave each family the essential things like sugar, rice, oil’The monthly salary for a teacher or a doctor can help him buy 30 eggs. My pension could help me buy 20 eggs. You can’t live a month on such a salary. ”’I am writing all this to explain to you how sanction has affected Iraq and its people. Before, all children were oblige to study at least six years. Teaching was a respected job. After the sanction, some children [couldn’t come to] school. The sanction has changed many things, the relations between people, the morals of the society. I don’t blame Saddam, only for what happen to Iraqi people. All leaders in different countries are as criminal as Saddam. They all help to keep him in his position. They all sold him weapons, they know how much he used and got rid of, but kept the sanction for 13 years. Mr. Bush the father, who had good relation with Saddam, could get rid of him in 1991. He didn’t’they say [because of] politics which I don’t understand. Now they want to give us freedom and democracy. They can rebuild a better bridge or a house, but they can’t heel the soul and the character of people. It needs years and it will not be the same. It all showed in the behavior of people in this last war. I cried only for the museum, which I love, and for the books that were stolen or buried. A year has passed and life is worse than before. We are afraid in our houses, afraid to drive and afraid to walk.’ ”Samiya ended her letter with a sympathetic story about American soldiers who had searched their house in May. ‘One of them saw my niece’s picture with Santa Claus. He called his friends and showed them the picture. I told them that I hope they will be with their families at Christmas. They said pray for us to go before. I wonder which one of them went. I feel sorry for them to be killed for what?’ ”A second letter from Samiya arrived at the end of September from Germany, where she was visiting her brother, another single page covered on both sides in her tidy penmanship. On the back of the envelope was her brother’s address. I rushed to the post office with a letter to mail to her, giving her my telephone number and asking her to phone me before she returned to Iraq on October 13’hoping she wouldn’t see evidence of the high cost of sending a letter by express mail to Germany. Meanwhile I read and reread her two letters. She had traveled with some of her family members overland in an 11-hour drive by minibus from Baghdad to Amman where she had waited 20 days to obtain a visa for Germany. ‘Here I am having a very nice time. We visited Koln which has the biggest cathedral in Germany. I attended a noon service and prayed from all my heart to have peace in all the world.’ ”’The Red Cross group in this city invited me to talk about life in Iraq. I told them how it is difficult to go by car or to walk. People are afraid that something will explode any time. The American soldiers are afraid too. If they give a sign to stop and the person doesn’t see it, they shoot and many innocent people died in this way. I told them about the electricity cuts for many hours a day and sometimes for many days and it is very hot in Iraq so we can’t keep food. They asked if it was better before. I said I don’t care about politics, but many things were good: Making teaching (required schooling) till the age of 12, or teaching the older people who didn’t have the chance before, and building schools and hospitals. Building big houses for the president and his relatives and many mosques was not good. I preferred if they had built houses for the people. Now, one and a half years have passed and they haven’t built a single school or a hospital in all Iraq. They have painted some schools, and say we are going to do this and that and make contracts, but there is nothing. ”’I told the group also about the situation of Christians in Iraq. I think you heard when they exploded six cars at six services during Sunday service. Many were killed and wounded. After that these fanatic Muslims who entered Iraq, said that Christians in Iraq should leave, and some got letters asking them to change their religion. They think Mr. Bush is our relative because he is Christian!’ ”Life in Iraq is becoming worse. Mr. Jacques Chirac, [president] of France, said a good sentence. He said they have opened one of hell’s doors and don’t know how to close it.’ Calculating that my express mail letter to Samiya in Germany would take about three days, I tried to stay off the phone in the morning hours when I told her I was usually home. Her call came about six days after my letter was mailed. I couldn’t believe I was hearing her voice’the 50-year period since we had been roommates at AUB with all its ensuing tragedy receded into the background as we renewed our friendship. I was tempted to jump on an airplane and go to Germany in the few days she had left there before returning to Baghdad, wanting desperately to do something to counter the helplessness I felt that my government had launched a preemptive war against Samiya’s country. Instead, I asked her if I could phone her several times over the next few days. ”In those phone calls I asked Samiya what she thought would happen if the Americans left Iraq. Immediately she answered, ‘There will be civil war. Bush has put his feet in the Iraqi mud’ believe me, only another Saddam can hold Iraq together. Now it is worse than before. Thirty professors were killed. The radicals want to get rid of educated people. They say it was a Zionist project. There is chaos. The world mafia came in with the American invasion. You will never know the truth from your television. Many thousands have been killed and many of the wounded die and are not counted. The Iraqis think the Americans came to control oil. They have all the Gulf States and now Iraq, tomorrow Iran. We never thought about terrorism.’ ”Samiya said she did not have the choice of staying in Germany where the country was already overflowing with refugees. But I suspect it was her feeling of responsibility as the senior member of her family to return to her siblings, nieces and nephews that enabled her to face the return journey to Amman and then the overland trip by minibus through Fallouja and Ramadi to Baghdad. ‘I will try to write you when I get back, but it might be difficult,’ she said. ‘I mostly stay at home, I read and knit. I have three good friends and we all read books and talk about them. They were teachers and professors’ and all Muslim. This was not a problem before, but I don’t know what it will be like now. The radicals came to a Christian pharmacist’s house last week and told him to convert to Islam or they would kill him. I hear they come to houses of women who live alone and kill them. Saddam kept this down.’ ”I couldn’t conceal my worry for her safe return, and the thought that having finally found her I might not be able to see her again. Hearing the concern in my voice and probably trying to quiet her own, Samiya said quietly, ‘We don’t know when we will die. I depend on God and leave it all. We cannot know when we will die.’ ”Samiya was to arrive in Baghdad last Friday. The front page of the Sunday New York Times had a color photo of Christians attending a blackened church in Baghdad, one of five that had been bombed that weekend. I searched for Samiya in the photo but couldn’t find her. (Editor’s note: Ann Kerr is coordinator of the Visiting Fulbright Scholar Enrichment Program at UCLA. In 1954-55 she studied at the American University in Beirut her junior year in college. There she met her husband, UCLA Professor Malcolm Kerr, who served as president of American University in Lebanon until 1984. That year he was assassinated in Beirut by unknown assailants who claimed responsibility in the name of Islamic Jihad. Ann is the author of two books on the Middle East.)
‘Kate’s Journey’ Follows Remarkable Recovery of Young Stroke Victim
In 1995, Kate Adamson was leading an enviable life as a vibrant, happily married 33-year-old with two young daughters living in Newport Beach. Her active lifestyle and passion for fitness was leading to work as a personal trainer. ”Then the unimaginable happened when she suffered a stroke, paralyzing her from head to toe. In ‘Kate’s Journey,’ Adamson, a native of New Zealand, tells her extraordinary story of recovery, one for which she was given little hope. ”Adamson will speak and sign copies of her book on Thursday, October 28 at 7:30 p.m. at Village Books, 1049 Swarthmore. ”Despite overall good health, Adamson had suffered from periodic migraine headaches. She went to bed with a severe one on June 28, 1995 and awoke the next morning with other symptoms: dizziness, slurred speech and the inability to move her left arm. Despite exhibiting classic signs of stroke, no one in the emergency room suspected it because Adamson was so young. ‘The myth still persists that it is only going to happen to someone old with gray hair,’ Adamson said. ”In fact, one-third of all stroke victims are under the age of 65, according to the American Heart Association. Statistics show that stroke is the nation’s third-ranking cause of death, following hearth disease and cancer. It is also the leading cause of disability in the U.S. ”The time between proper diagnosis of stroke and treatment is critical. In Adamson’s case, by the time it was determined that she had suffered a severe stroke at the base of her brain, she was paralyzed, unable to speak and given a one percent chance of survival. Medical staff predicted that even if her life were saved, she would be in a vegetative state. ”The shining light resided in her husband, Steven, and members of her church, both of whom never lost their belief she could make a full recovery. Adamson remembers hearing Steven say to the doctors ‘she’s going to be that one percent,’ planting the seed for her own amazing will to live and recover. ”Following her stroke came 50 nightmarish days in the ICU, during which Adamson was conscious, could feel pain, but could not move any part of her body, a condition known as locked-in syndrome. Tubes surgically placed in her stomach and throat allowed her to eat and breathe. ”’When I was locked into my body, it was so incredibly lonely and isolating,’ Adamson says. ‘I had no one to talk to except God.’ Eventually, Adamson found a way to communicate by blinking her eyes and later, regaining some small movement in her body, she was allowed admittance to a rehabilitation program. ”During weeks of grueling rehab, learning to swallow was one of Adamson’s big milestones, allowing her to eat and drink for the first time in weeks. Working daily with therapists, she embarked on the slow, exhausting process of regaining the use of her legs, arms and hands. ‘Miracles happened every day,’ says Adamson, who enlisted her family’s help in keeping a journal of each day’s triumphs. I remember the first time I could blow my nose, the first time I could sit on the toilet. ”’I had to have tunnel vision and complete focus,’ Adamson says about rehab. ‘It’s the hardest thing not looking down the road thinking ‘I want to walk, why can’t I walk?” ”Beyond the physical struggles Adamson endured, her road to recovery was fraught with enormous emotional difficulties, chief among them the anguish of being away from her kids. The trauma also took its toll on her marriage, leading to a cycle of separation, divorce and later reconciliation. ”Adamson has turned her pain and suffering into a positive force, working as an energetic advocate for stroke victims, others who suffer paralysis and their families. She has testified before Congress for more funding for stroke and heart research and is the national spokesperson for the American Stroke Association. She is also a much-sought-after inspirational speaker. ‘Tragedy can happen to anyone,’ Adamson says. ‘What I teach is how to get on the other side of it.’ ”Though not fully recovered (Adamson still doesn’t have use of her left arm), she feels she has little to complain about. ‘It’s important not to sit on the pity pot,’ she says ‘but to keep moving forward with what you can do.’
At the Movies
By Arnie Wishnick ‘VERA DRAKE’ Vera Drake is a good person. She visits the sick and invites hungry ones to dinner. She has a loving husband (Phil Davis) who co-owns an auto shop. They have an adult son and daughter (Daniel Mays and Alexandra Kelly). Vera is a domestic, cleaning the homes of the rich. She always has a smile. She also has a secret avocation. She’s been a back-street abortionist for nearly 20 years. It’s London in 1950. It’s a time when abortions are available only to the wealthy. After one young woman nearly dies, Vera is arrested in front of her dumbfounded family who (surprisingly) never suspected anything. When confronted, Vera says, ‘I do it for girls who are frightened and need help. I don’t do it for any money.’ (There is a moment when it’s assumed that Vera may have been in the same situation when she was young.) ‘Vera Drake’ directed by Mike Leigh (‘Secrets and Lies’) leaves no doubt about the dangers of an abortion, but it never debates the issue. Although the movie is at its most interesting before Vera’s arrest and gets rather dull afterwards, nothing but praise can be lauded on the cast and its star Imelda Staunton as Vera. She will definitely fill one spot when the five Oscar-nominated actresses are announced. Vera Drake and Imelda Staunton are two names to remember. Out of 5 Palm Trees, ‘Vera Drake’ gets 3-1/2 Palm Trees. ‘Z CHANNEL: MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION’ Before there was HBO and Showtime there was the Z Channel, the first pay cable station in the U.S., started in 1974. It was designed for the movie fan by a movie fan. Every genre of film from every culture could be found on Z. From ‘Cries and Whispers’ to ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture’ to ‘Heaven’s Gate’ even to soft porn. It was all available for a very low cost. With an obsessive interest in movies, there was Jerry Harvey, the channel’s programming chief and loose cannon. Unable to cope with mediocrity, Harvey ran everything. He hired; he fired; he ranted; he raved. He was loved a little and hated a lot. (This is what liking movies can do to a fan or movie critic.) And then one day Jerry Harvey left the studio for home and shot his pregnant wife and himself to death. With his passing the station was not the same, and in 1988 it was gone. This fine documentary directed by Zan Cassavetes (daughter of John) features interviews with filmmakers and actors whose careers were helped by being shown on the Z Channel: Robert Altman, Jacqueline Bisset, Henry Jaglom, Jim Jarmusch, Alan Rudolph, Quentin Tarantino and James Woods. ‘Z Channel’ is a movie fan’s delight about a little TV station that could, and its mastermind that just couldn’t. Out of 5 Palm Trees ‘Z Channel’ gets 4 Palm Trees.
AYSO REGIONAL ROUNDUP
U-10 Boys Striker Eric Alperin scored all three goals as the Tigers beat the Cabbage Heads, 3-1, at Barrington Recreation Center. Co-captain Alex Mack, Jacob Shmuely and Hagen Smith provided the assists. The Tigers’ defense was led by Jack Jordan, Nick Ravich, Tommy Collins, John Collier, Jonah Joffe, John Iacapino and goalie Brad Graboff kept the Cabbage Heads offense off the scoreboard except for an unassisted goal by Chad Kanoff. In another game, the Terminators defeated the Eagles 6-2. The Terminators exploded for four goals in the second quarter, led by Jacob Ashkan and Jackson Bantle. Chris Duval and Jake Mindel each scored for the Eagles, but the Terminators proved too strong despite tough midfield play by Eagles Nicholas Perr and Dinuk DeSilva. Eric Konner was a standout on defense for the Terminators. U-12 Boys Crimson United overcame a 2-0 halftime deficit to tie the Wolverines 2-2 on Saturday. Stephan Callas and Kevin Walker scored for the United off of assists from Shervin Ghaffari and Turner Hanley. Goalie Daniel Davis was assisted by defenders Jordan Lewis and Parker Hiatt. on Sunday, the United offense ignited in a 5-1 victory over B.L.U.E., with Cole Kahrilas scoring twice. Davis, Hanley and Callas also scored for United while Judd Liebman tallied two assists. Oliver de Brevannes, Orly Isrealson and Hanley each added one assist and goalie Casey Jordan made key saves. U-14 Boys Hal Washburn’s Blue Ice tied Hollywood, 1-1, Saturday with their lone goal by Joey Oetzell off of a pass from Graham MacGillvray in the first quarter. Jimmy Plavec’s dribbling produced numerous shots on goal while the defense of Ben Asoulin, John Citro and Connor MacGillvray aided goalies Sullivan Washburn and Kevin Noori. Blue Ice midfielders Wyatt Donen, Matthew Lippman and Scott Sanford remained cool under pressure. U-8 Girls The Golden Stars lost to the Soccer Stars, 5-0, at Brentwood Magnet School. In the first half, Marianne Verrone protected the Golden goal with help from defenders Libby Sondheimer and Jessica Friedman. In the second half, great ball movement and teamwork by Lizzie Howard, Devon Shalom, Caroline Scholze and Brittney Ghadoushi put pressure on the Soccer Stars and Golden Star defenders Violet Somer and Kelsey Allen-Niesen aided goalie Erica Glenn. U-10 Girls The Crushers continued their winning streak with a 3-2 victory over the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Mikaela Hong and Martine Johannessen each scored in the first half for the Crushers, then Brighton Schinto broke a 2-2 tie in the fourth quarter off of an assist from Sabrina Khalili. Victoria Lancey, Lauren Ketterer and Josephine Washburn played strong defense for the Crushers. U-14 Girls The O’ Snaps defeated the Red Uniforms, 4-0, at Palisades High on Saturday. Brittany Edelman scored the first goal, followed by two from Christine Lubieniecki and another from Drake Williams. Assists from Megan Norton and Jenna Winebaum contributed to the Snaps’ offensive attack. Tough defense by Rebecca Kelly, Michelle Spetner, Kathryn Wilson, Maggie Randolph and goalie India Hughes preserved the shutout.
PALISADES PACESETTERS
Jeff Porter, the girls’ volleyball coach at Brentwood School for 25 years, notched his 500th coaching victory October 19 in the Eagles’ 25-16, 25-20, 25-23 Olympic League victory over Maranatha. Porter started teaching at Brentwood in 1977 and won his first CIF championship in 1979. Under his leadership, the girls’ volleyball program has won 20 league titles, eight Southern Section titles and two state championships. The Eagles have also finished as CIF runner-ups seven times in Porter’s tenure. Brentwood honored Porter at halftime of the Eagles’ varsity football game Saturday night. Kristin Quinn, a sophomore outside hitter on the women’s volleyball team at Amherst College in Massachusetts, was named New England Small College Athletic Conference player of the week for the second time in three weeks on Monday after posting 38 kills, 18 blocks, three service aces and a .589 hitting percentage in a trio of matches and earning All-Tournament honors in the Hall of Fame Invitational at Smith College last weekend. Quinn, formerly an All-CIF player at Harvard-Westlake High, is among the national leaders and ranks first and second in the NESCAC, respectively, in blocks per game (1.51) and hitting percentage (.428), while adding 3.71 kills per game, good for fifth in the conference. Quinn won player of the week award honors for the first time two weeks ago after racking up a combined 42 kills and 11 blocks in three victories over Bowdoin, Bates and Colby Colleges. She also earned most valuable player honors at the WNEC Invitational and was named to the All-Tournament team at the Wesleyan Invitational earlier this season. As a freshman in 2003, Quinn was named New England Women’s Volleyball Association (NEWVA) and NESCAC Rookie of the Year and earned NEWVA Second-Team All-New England honors, finishing 10th in the nation in hitting percentage (.420) and 13th in blocks per game (1.52). Geoff McArthur, the all-time leading receiver in Palisades High football history, now holds the same distinction at California. The Bears’ senior wide receiver caught six passes for 94 yards in a 38-0 Pac-10 victory over Arizona Saturday, giving him 2,768 career yards. McArthur broke the previous mark of 2,731 yards set by Bobby Shaw’s from 1994-97. Cal is ranked No. 7 in the country and hosts Arizona State Saturday. Matt Willig is back wearing number 71 for the Carolina Panthers, hoping to lead the team to the Super Bowl for the second straight year. The 6-8, 315-pound starting right tackle, a 13-year NFL veteran, has played in all of Carolina’s games this season, one win and five losses. The Panthers are 0-1 in the NFC South division and play at Seattle Sunday afternoon.
Falcons’ Flaggers Defeat Crossroads
The St. Matthew’s 7th-grade flag football team rolled to a 26-6 nonleague victory over Crossroads last Friday, pushing the Falcon’s record to 4-1. John Rockwell ignited St. Matthew’s with a tremendous 45-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Liguori on the second play of the game. Liguori leads the team in scoring this season. Rockwell caught a 10-yard pass from quarterback Andrew Goldberg and ran for 30 yards on another Falcons scoring drive. Rockwell had two quarterback sacks on defense while A.J. Hong scored on a 10-yard run in the first half, then answered Crossroads’ only score with a 70-yard kick-off return for a touchdown early in the second half’the longest kick-off return in school history. Quarterbacks Goldberg and James Ondaatje directed the team’s offense expertly while Cary Kriegsman and Evan Biscow executed all of their snaps from center. Conner Gill scored on a screen pass from Goldberg, who caught a two-point conversion pass from Ondaatje. Barrett Meister and Christian Williams anchored the offensive line with solid blocking. On defense, Falcons’ nose tackle Daniel Deloje and defensive ends Nick Albarino and Greg London each registered a sack. Jeremy McClennon, Shahrod Khalkhari and Daniel Ohriner played solid defense all game and safety Starr Hathaway made three touchdown-saving tackles in the secondary. Marcus Hogsta intercepted his second pass of the season in the first quarter and returned it to Crossroads’ 10-yard line, setting up Hong’s touchdown run. Goldberg added an interception late in the game. The Falcons hosted Campbell Hall Tuesday and play Harvard-Westlake Friday at Berkeley Hall.
CALVARY CHRISTIAN SPORTS ROUNDUP
Flag Football Calvary’s Christian’s flag football team opened its season with back-to-back wins over Coastal Canyon League rival Carlthorp. In the league opener, Luke Mullan returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and the Cougars went on to post a 20-8 victory. Darren Rosenberg ran for a touchdown and threw a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Mullan. Calvary safety Justin Jenkins made a key sack on fourth down to preserve the Cougars’ victory. Last Wednesday, the Cougars won again, 19-14, when Justin Jenkins caught Rosenberg’s ‘hail mary’ pass for the game-winning touchdown in the final minute. Rosenberg scored on a punt return and rushed for a 50-yard score. Key blocks by Scotty Sanford and Zach Hernandez set up Calvary’s two touchdowns from scrimmage. Girls Volleyball The Cougars beat rival Brentwood 21-25, 25-18, 15-13, last Tuesday in a Junior Delphic League match. Solid spiking by Calvary’s Christina McHugh, Cati Hance and Maya Macpherson, along with the all-around play of Genevieve Dash and the digging of Catherine Price and Hilary Dahl kept momentum in Calvary’s favor in the decisive third game. Cougar Glenna Roberts helped her team with consistent setting and hustle. Two days later, the Cougars again rallied to a league win, this time over Harvard-Westlake by scores of 14-25, 25-15, 15-8. Hilary Dahl and Savannah Holte served well in the second game and Price made a key block to thwart a Wolverines’ rally. Roberts inspired her team with her athleticism and Cati Hance served five aces in the decisive third game.
REC CENTER REPORT
Large Gym Reopens Palisades Recreation Center Director David Gadelha is proud to announce that the large gym was reopened October 17, two days ahead of schedule, and is now in use. The facility had been closed since January when the wood floor was warped beyond repair when a basketball struck and ruptured a pressure gauge located four feet beyond one of the sidelines at the east end of the basketball court, causing water to gush out and flood the gym within minutes. In the spring, the City Council, at Cindy Miscikowski’s request, voted to allocate $45,000 to the Department of Recreation and Parks to replace the floor. The City hired a private contractor, Hur Hardwood Flooring, to complete the 90-day project, which began July 19. Custom crash pads will be installed this week for exposed pipes and a protective cage has been placed around the water pressure gauge that ruptured and caused the gym floor to flood, Gadelha said. Roller Hockey A new portable rink system (approximately 100 feet long and 50 feet wide) will be installed on the outdoor basketball courts for the third week of games in the Rec Center’s roller hockey league Friday night. Instructors Ethan Rille of Canada and Boris Voskoboynik of Russia are teaching 30 kids on four teams (Bruins, Avalanche, Red Wings and Kings) at four-hour practice sessions on Saturdays. Last Saturday, John Leoni scored both goals for the Kings, who beat the Avalanche, 2-1. In the other game, the Red Wings beat the Bruins, 7-6. Michael Casey had three goals and one assist for the Wings while Luke Rivera scored four goals for the Bruins. Co-Ed Basketball The fall co-ed basketball league is underway, with teams in five age divisions: Rookie (5-6), Bantam (7-8), Minor (9-10), Major (11-12) and Junior (13-15). Following are results from games played last Sunday: in the Junior Division, the Spurs beat the Lakers 52-47 while the Celtics beat the Knicks, 40-29. In the Minor Division, the Lakers beat the Mavericks 42-32 while the Kings beat the Celtics, 45-23. In the Bantam Division, the Falcons beat the Packers, 44-37, and the Raiders beat the Colts, 25-13.
PALISADES HIGH ROUNDUP
Tennis Takes Aim at League Title
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Once again, the Palisades High girls varsity tennis team is poised to win the Western League. Standing in the way of the Dolphins’ 19th league title in head coach Bud Kling’s 20 seasons is second-place Venice, which will try to gain a share of first place with a victory today at Palisades Recreation Center. The first meeting between the teams was no contest, as Palisades defeated the host Gondoliers, 6-1, on October 11. ‘I’m very happy that we’ve done as well as we have in league,’ said Palisades’ co-captain Krista Slocum. ‘We were expecting to win it, but I’m not sure we thought it would be this easy.’ Slocum said the loss of No. 1 singles player Olivia Colman (who dropped out of Palisades to enroll in an independent study program just before the start of the season) motivated the team to practice harder. ‘That forced the rest of us, especially our younger players, to work more on their strokes and improve because we knew it was going to be much tougher.’ Palisades (9-2 overall, 8-0 in league) remained undefeated in league with a 7-0 shutout of University on Monday. Slocum and Yasmir Navas won, 8-1, at No. 1 doubles while Lauren Pugatch teamed with Masha Elakovic to win 8-0 at No. 2 doubles and the duo of Brittany O’Neal-Eleylka Salamipour won 8-3 at No. 3. In singles, Contessa Brown won, 8-1, at No. 1, Sara Yankelevitz won, 8-2, at No. 2, Mary Logan won, 8-1, at No. 3 and Lotte Kiepe won, 8-0, at the No. 4 spot. Palisades hosts Fairfax in the season finale next Monday. Girls Volleyball The Dolphins will have revenge on their minds when they travel to Venice today for a rematch that could determine the Western League champion. The Gondoliers dealt Palisades (9-2, 7-1) its only league defeat but the Dolphins have since beaten Venice in a tournament and another win over their archrivals would gain the Dolphins a share of first-place and a higher seed in the playoffs. ‘We’ve matured a lot in our skills and that’s allowed us to change our strategy to a little more of an advanced offense,’ Dolphins’ first-year coach Cheri Stuart said. ‘The girls are demanding more of themselves and I think they feel if they play their best they can beat anybody in the City.’ Despite missing several players, including senior setter Diana Grubb, Palisades reached the semifionals of the Sylmar Tournament last Saturday. With their starting lineup back on the floor, the Dolphins swept visiting University, 25-18, 25-17, 25-20, on Monday. Natasha Vokhshoori had 11 kills to lead Pali while Alex Lunder added 10 kills and three blocks. Football In the varsity game last Friday night, Palisades was simply unable to stop the Venice running game, which amassed 278 yards en route to a 35-0 victory. It was the Dolphins’ fourth loss in a row and the fourth time in seven games that the Pali offense failed to score a touchdown. Known for its vaunted passing attack, the Gondoliers (4-2, 2-0) hardly needed to throw against the Dolphins (1-6, 0-2), as Ken Ashley averaged 10 yards a carry and rushed for four scores. Senior Robert Ambers, who was the Dolphins’ starting quarterback as a sophomore, completed six of 12 passes for 101 yards for Venice. Palisades quarterback Dylan Cohen completed nine of 15 passes for 81 yards and one interception and he punted four times for 165 yards. The Dolphins were held to 41 yards rushing.
