The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo Herald Publications - El Segundo, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 105, No. 29 - July 14, 2016 Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.....................17 Classifieds............................4 Crossword/Sudoku.............4 Film Review..........................6 Legals....................... 14,15,17 Obituaries.............................2 Pets......................................18 Police Reports.....................3 Real Estate.........10-13,19,20 Sports.................................5,8 Weekend Forecast Friday Partly Cloudy 75˚/63˚ Saturday Partly Cloudy 74˚/63˚ Sunday Partly Cloudy 75˚/63˚ Scholarship Recipient Featured on Billboard in Times Square El Segundo High School 2016 graduate Taylor Samec was featured on a billboard in New York’s Times Square on June 8 after being awarded a scholarship from the Taco Bell Foundation. Photo provided by Melissa Moore. Still Moving Forward at 90: Dick Van Vranken By Brian Simon One of the most striking aspects of the interview with former El Segundo Mayor, longtime Rotarian and community mainstay Richard (Dick) Van Vranken for this article recognizing his 90th birthday was his reluctance to wax nostalgic or reflect upon his own accomplishments. School Board Views Special Presentations Involving High School By Duane Plank The Tuesday night meeting of the El Segundo Unified School District School Board featured special presentations detailing possible options in regards to replacing the turf at the High School stadium, and upgrading the air conditioning in the High School science building. Prior to the maintenance presentations, Ed! Foundation CEO Carol Pirsztuk took to the podium and updated the Board members on Foundation activities over the summer hiatus. She noted that Ed! had pledged to increase the grant to the District to $1,300,000 for the 2016-17 school year. “It takes a community to pull together in support of our students to offer rich academic programming that ESUSD is able provide,” she said. She mentioned several new programs that will be available because of the grant, including an enhanced Art instruction program at Center Street and Richmond Street elementary schools, additional counseling at the Middle School, a Middle School Link Crew program, and an advanced placement Art History offering at the High School. “Already we have organizations and business willing to help fund some of these new programs,” she added. The next presentation, about the possible replacement of the turf that was installed on Hazeltine Field in 2011, was spearheaded by Dylan Farris, the District’s Executive “I enjoy what’s going on now and am not caught up on what happened 50 years ago,” he said, holding his cup of coffee. “You gotta move forward.” Van Vranken’s philosophy may just be the secret to his longevity. Other than a few aches and pains and reliance on a walking cane for balance, he is doing quite well and is still very active around town. Though 26 years removed from retirement from The Aerospace Corporation and 34 years since he completed his tenure on the El Segundo City Council (including a stint as Mayor from 1980-82), he remains a fixture at Rotary meetings and at local restaurants as well as a much-treasured friend and mentor to many—as was evident by the large number of well-wishers present at a party celebrating his recent milestone. Born on June 25, 1926, Van Vranken grew up in a small Iowa farming town by the name of Winfield with a population of roughly 1,000. His father paid the bills by running a filling station and driving a school bus. During high school, Van Vranken joined the Air Force cadet program, but did not get the call to duty until late 1944. Trained to be a gunner and stationed at first in Nebraska, he did not have to fight a battle because the war ended before his crew would be deployed. “So then they sent me to the Philippines,” he said. Upon his discharge in November 1946, Van Vranken was able to resume his studies at Iowa Western University where he majored in Physics. While in college, he met his future wife Mary Lou and the two married in 1947. After graduating, Van Vranken worked as a high school teacher for several years in three different towns. The couple also welcomed two children, Bruce and Patty, during this period. While he found teaching rewarding, Van Vranken did not hesitate to change careers when he received an offer from Douglas Aircraft to head to Southern California and work in computer simulation. That was in 1958 and he had never heard of his new destination—some place called El Segundo. The following year, he bought the house on Loma Vista where he still resides to this day. Two years into the job, he earned a promotion. “At 32, I was the See Van Vranken, page 2 See School Board, page 17
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