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Page 2 November 30, 2017 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Japanese Students Visit ESHS
The 82 visiting students from Japan’s Hanasaki Tokuharu High School joined their El Segundo counterparts for a group photo as part of a recent visit and cultural exchange. Photo Provided by Charlotte Lassos.
Community Briefs
Hear South Bay Music Association
Play Holiday Music All Over Town
What can raise the spirits and enhance the
holidays for people of all ages? It’s music
honoring this delightful season of celebration.
South Bay Music Association presents a
long list of holiday performances at special
events in the community. Hear the Segundo
Saxes and ES Brass Ensemble playing at
the Redondo Stroll on November 30. The
Segundo Saxes will also play at the El
Segundo Farmers Market on November 30
after 4 p.m. to bring the Christmas spirit to
your holiday shopping.
You will find the El Segundo Concert Band
Brass playing at the popular El Segundo
Tree Lighting in Library Park on Saturday,
December 2 from 3 to 4 p.m.
Then the opening of Candy Cane Lane
with spectacular Christmas scenes featuring
bright lights that bring stars to our eyes will
have their grand opening on December 9 at
6:30 p.m. The entire El Segundo Concert
Band will play holiday music and entertain to
bring even more holiday sparkle to the event.
Pick and choose or attend all of these free
musical performances that will add more
joy to the world at these uplifting and fun
holiday gatherings.
– Content: Linda Cohen
Road Closures Due to Edison Tower
Replacement on Vista del Mar
Southern California Edison will start construction
of its Tower Replacement Project
on Vista Del Mar (between Grand Avenue
and 45th Street) on December 4 and continue
work through December 10. The traffic on
Vista Del Mar will be impacted during work
hours (7 a.m. to 10 p.m.). Two northbound
lanes and one southbound lane will remain
open from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., and one lane in
each direction will remain open thereafter.
Edison contact for the Public in regards
to the project: Edison Customer Service:
1-800-655-4555.
City of El Segundo contact: Lifan Xu, City
Engineer, 1-310-524-2368
This is the first phase of the Edison Tower
Replacement Project that will affect Vista Del
Mar and Rosecrans Avenue on both sides of
Sepulveda Boulevard over the next few months.
The lattice towers on portions of Vista Del Mar
and Rosecrans will be replaced with tubular steel
poles to improve safety and reliability, and it will
involve a series of one-week partial closure on
Vista Del Mar and Rosecrans. More information
will be posted as Edison confirms its schedule.
– Content: City of El Segundo
Home Burglarized in the
800 Block of McCarthy Court
On November 21, a home was burglarized
in the 800 block of McCarthy Court. The unknown
suspect(s) broke a sliding glass door,
entered the house and ransacked several rooms.
It appears the burglary possibly occurred at approximately
4:45 p.m. as a suspicious vehicle
was seen quickly pulling into the driveway and
then rapidly driving away. When the resident
arrived home, they may have interrupted the
burglary in progress and caused the burglar(s)
to run out of the house and into the getaway
car. The suspicious vehicle fled eastbound on
McCarthy Court and turned southbound on
Lomita Street.
Suspects: two males, dark complexion.
Vehicle: Four-door sedan, faded brown or
gray color, collision damage on the rear driver
side door.
If anyone has information related to this burglary,
or if you have a home video camera that
may have captured the fleeing suspects, please
contact Sgt. Aaron Corkins at (310) 524-2271
or acorkins@elsegundo.org (Case#: 17-3478).
– Content: El Segundo PD •
Tree Lighting Event from front page
This majestic and recently trimmed giant pine has held court
at Library Park since 1930 and will get lit up at this Saturday’s
Centennial Tree Lighting event. Photo provided by El Segundo
Recreation and Parks.
As it turns out, the El Segundo Herald ended
up playing an important role in the creation of
this event--thanks to the ability to log on to
the library website and view digital editions
of the paper that go back to the early days of
the community. The convenience of accessing
this wealth of historical information at the
click of a mouse has come in handy during
the centennial year and particularly in this
case. For instance, a blurb that appeared in
the February 27, 1930 Herald announced the
City’s acquisition of “the property between the
high school and grammar school buildings”
to be used for “park purposes.” The land was
to “be transformed into a park in which the
citizens will take real civic pride,” the piece
reads. Also noted was a suggestion from several
citizens that “it would be fitting were a
library building erected in the park.” Indeed,
both things happened and the park and library
remain staples of the community to this day.
Additional articles in December 1930 about
the now 87-year-old pine revealed some
interesting facts that caught the attention of
Recreation and Parks Director Meredith Petit.
“We learned last year that during the construction
of Library Park in 1930, this pine was planted
and specifically designated as the ‘Municipal
Xmas Tree,’” she said. “It was brought up that
we should light the tree for the holidays and
we decided to seriously consider doing so for
the Centennial year.” The City’s Centennial
Celebration Committee thought this was a
great idea, prompting the move of the annual
ceremony from its regular spot at the Civic
Center Plaza to Library Park—as well as the
day from Thursday to Saturday. The tree will
be outfitted with multi-colored lights and remain
illuminated through the end of the year.
Crews will also decorate the other trees and the
gazebo. “The Recreation and Parks and Public
Works departments have been busy preparing
for this event by trimming all of the park’s
trees—including the Christmas tree—as well
as slurry-sealing the walkways and upgrading
the electrical system to be able to handle the
power load from the lights and other planned
activities,” Petit added.
Woman’s Club President Carol Cervantes
said she was “thrilled to learn about the tree’s
history” and her organization’s role in bringing
it to Library Park. She noted that many members
of the club will be present on Saturday
to celebrate the occasion. As it happens, news
of the group’s gift to the City originally appeared
in the December 4, 1930 Herald. The
article reported that “nearly the entire population
of El Segundo” was expected to attend a
December 23 celebration with then-Woman’s
Club President Mrs. C.L. Broadwater delivering
the presentation speech followed by the
lighting of the “big pine.” Three weeks later,
a post-event story confirmed that “hundreds of
townfolk—children and grow-ups—turned out
for the annual municipal Christmas celebration
at the new library park.” All these years later,
the celebration continues to draw crowds--and
the City expects plenty of “townfolk” to show
up on Saturday.
“It’s exciting to celebrate our Centennial by
decorating the City’s legacy Christmas tree in
Library Park,” Mayor Suzanne Fuentes said.
“We are blessed to have this beautiful tree for
all to enjoy, gather around and take photos
with family and friends. El Segundo residents
will remember this holiday celebration for the
rest of their lives. I am grateful to participate
in this wonderful tradition as El Segundo’s
Centennial Mayor.” •