The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 110, No. 40 - October 7, 2021
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................14
City Council..........................2
Classifieds............................6
Coloring Contest.........12-13
Crossword/Sudoku.............6
Legals............................ 11,14
Obituaries.............................2
Real Estate.......................7-9
School Spotlight..................3
Sports.............................. 5,16
Weekend
Forecast
Friday
AM Clouds/
PM Sun
68˚/56˚
Saturday
Sunny
67˚/55˚
Sunday
Sunny
72˚/57˚
El Segundo Fire Department Brings
Joy to Students at Center Street
El Segundo E31 gave a demonstration at Center Street School for Fire Safety Day. What a special day by learning first hand from our ES Firefighters. Photo courtesy El Segundo Fire Department.
Nancy Jacobson and Julie Stolnack
Help Feed El Segundo Residents
By Kiersten Vannest
“Why don’t we donate them to our local food
pantry?” They looked at me like I’d sprouted
a second head.” This is Nancy Jacobson, a
longtime resident of El Segundo, on her experience
spreading the word about El Segundo’s
own local food pantry and nonprofit, CASE.
CASE stands for Community Alliance
to Support and Empower. At its core, it’s a
program designed to help keep El Segundo
residents in their homes and help them save
money by providing food.
A pantry located in El Segundo allows
residents in need to “shop” for their grocery
items every two weeks, stocked and supplied
by donations and volunteers.
In the early 1990s, founder Father Alexei
Smith of St. Andrews saw a man living out of
the bushes near his church. He observed the
man going to work during the day and returning
to the bushes to sleep at night. Wanting to
help him, he offered him food and a place to
stay until he could get back on his feet. And
CASE was born.
“I’ve been volunteering for CASE for twentyfive
years,” says local Julie Stolnack. After
her parents got involved, she became heavily
involved, and so did her husband (a now-retired
ESPD member) and her son. As Stolnack’s
family became intertwined in the program,
they discovered new ways to improve and
expand upon its original mission. For example,
pantry’s shelves were originally filled with
donations, made up of leftovers from local
pantries getting cleaned out (think near expired
beans and lots of canned pumpkin). Stolnack
began creating grocery lists and asking for gift
cards and monetary donations to allow her to
stock the shelves with items that could be used.
Stolnack’s son grew up stocking shelves for
the pantry and volunteering his time. When
he became devoted to the El Segundo school
system, he started school food drives and instead
volunteered to load and unload the truck.
Though the program does not aid homeless
individuals, any resident with a need for
food can contact CASE and fill out a simple
application. After review from the board, the
individual or family can meet with CASE
members to determine their level of need
and plan out the best method of support.
“It’s hard to ask for help. For us, that’s
always been enough,” says Jacobson. It’s
rare that they decline an application. For
Stolnack and Jacobson, having a need to fill
and the courage to ask is reason enough to
help someone, especially a neighbor.
Though CASE currently serves many individuals
and families residing in El Segundo,
Kelly Burner is Anticipating
a Profitable Holiday Season
By Duane Plank
Photos courtesy of Kelly Burner
With the Holiday season quickly approaching
and, cross your fingers, the
COVID-19 scourge continuing to abate,
businesses big and small are looking to
the Holiday selling season to bounce
back after the virus put a damper on
most companies’ profits during the Fall
and Winter of 2020.
El Segundo’s Kelly Burner, the founder,
and owner of Kelly’s Beach Hut: Coastal
Gifts and Such, is one such entrepreneur
who is anticipating the possibilities of the
next three months.
I dropped by Burner’s store, which
is located at 204 West Grand Avenue
Nancy Jacobson
in our downtown district, on a recent
warm, “beachy” afternoon, and spoke
to the mother of five about the genesis
of her store.
The first iteration of Kelly’s Beach Hut
began in January of 2016 when she ran
a small boutique out of her back house.
She said her wares were available for sale
at a kiosk in the Manhattan Village Mall
the next year. Continuing her trajectory
towards owning and running her own
brick-and-mortar business, she returned to
El Segundo and next ran her burgeoning
business from “a small space” in the back
of Tyler Surfboards.
Finally, in September of 2019, Burner
See ES Residents, page 6
See Kelly Burner, page 10