Page 12 December 10, 2020 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Featured Pets of the Week
Happy Tails
Oreo came to spcaLA in September and
was adopted and returned in October. Luckily,
a great family from Temecula fell in love
with Oreo in November. Oreo’s new dad is a
veteran. Adoptions for veterans and members
of their family were free thanks to the Animals
Meow meow! My name is Gilbert and
I am a 2 year old domestic short hair,
black, and white male. I am looking for a
forever home I can spend my days playing
and napping. Will you be my Friend
for Life? https://spcala.com/adoptable/
pet/?ss=21-00765
Broly, like many huskies, is actually part
cat. He takes a minute to warm up, he rubs
on you, and he uses his front paws to bat at
you when feeling playful. He enjoys pouncing
on toys but doesn’t demean himself to fetch.
Broly is a 4 year old male Husky mix. https://
spcala.com/adoptable/pet/?ss=21-01010 •
Provided by Hannah Collett, spcaLA
I am learning that humans are good and
will give me hotdogs! I am Blue, a young,
1 year old Pit Bull mix spirited fella who
needs an experienced and loving owner
who will continue training me with positive
reinforcement methods. I am smart and
love learning new things. https://spcala.com/
adoptable/pet/?ss=21-00846
Just like my name, Magenta, I am vibrant!
If you are looking for a 2 month old male
domestic short hair kitten, look no further. I
will grow into a beautiful cat. https://spcala.
com/adoptable/pet/?ss=21-00761 Broly
Magenta
Gilbert
Blue
For Armed Forces Foundation. spcaLA has
partnered with AFAFF for almost ten years
to offer no fee adoptions for military, typically
twice a year – on Memorial Day and
Veterans Day. That means a happy adoption
for dozens of animals including Oreo. •
Congratulations to Oreo finding a new family.
Hometown Heros from page 3
turned to Rosemeyer for his problem-solving
abilities. His police training and knowledge
about traffic management helped improve
the traffic barrier setup at Richmond Street
School. The former motorcycle officer from
coastal Florida recommended the city try
another type of traffic barrier that is sturdier
and harder to move if rammed by a vehicle.
Problem solved.
Having someone on El Segundo’s side with
a diverse skill set that includes patrol experience,
supervision, and riding out countless
storms along Florida’s coastal hurricane has
made it possible for the incident managers to
prioritize what needs to happen next. Leyman
assigned Rosemeyer to coordinate resources
and anticipate the necessary equipment and
gear for the pandemic response and a threat
of rioting that soon followed.
Rosemeyer experienced Hurricane Andrew
in 2002 as it came ashore on the Gulf Coast
before incident-management teams were
common as they are today. The response in
his community to the Category 5 winds and
storm-driven flooding caused by Andrew was
scattershot and chaotic, Rosemeyer recalls.
Nowadays, fire and police departments train
and fine-tune response plans so that a response
to any imaginable emergency is coordinated.
Rosemeyer again volunteered last month to
attend a FEMA training in Long Beach. The
FEMA trainers threw Rosemeyer and his fellow
trainees into mock scenarios and asked them
to think quickly on their feet. He says, much
like his experience with the monstrous Gulf
storm Andrew, a wrong decision in FEMA
class is a learning experience. Down the line,
he and his teammates can make the right call
to save lives and property.
When an email went out asking for individuals
and groups making a difference for
the community in the year of COVID-19,
Leyman came back quickly with his nominee.
“If there were ever a guy more deserving of
this recognition, I’d like to meet him,” the
incident commander wrote. When the city’s
lead resource coordinator for the COVID-19
response was reassigned, Rosemeyer had earned
the trust of Leyman enough to move up into
the vacant leadership post. The incitementmanagement
team meets mornings Monday
through Thursdays in the command center at
The Joslyn Center, and Rosemeyer is there
at 7:30 every morning for the day’s briefing.
He regularly logs 32 hours a week.
For him, that’s “being part of a team, making
a difference and doing something for the
community.” When he retired from the Monroe
County sheriff’s department, his supervisor
told the local newspaper that Rosemeyer
didn’t know the meaning of the word “no.”
His hand always goes up when his department
and community needs a volunteer.
Some More Silver Linings
There are more silver linings beginning
to show, too, in spite of the restrictions that
have created a palpable fatigue across El Segundo.
AYSO is the only game in town right
now, though practices were suspended when
Los Angeles County issued a stay-at-home
order through December 20. No team athletics
are allowed for the three-week cooling-off
period because of escalating COVID-19 cases
and hospital admissions. Before the suspension
of team practices, 370 children were signed
up for the delayed fall season.
“As soon as we get the green light, we’ll
be ready to get back out there!” Region 92
commissioner Shad McFadden wrote in an
email last week. It’s only practices at this
point, but the parents and their children are
just happy for the exercise, the fresh air, and
a chance to play again with old friends and
new teammates.
Volunteers have stepped up to support the
players and coaches, and the COVID protocols
created a need for safety marshals to monitor
the practices and ensure that participants are
following social-distancing rules and wearing
face coverings when they step on the field.
With some El Segundo families deciding to
sit out this year, the number of AYSO players
is down in 2020. Coaches and volunteers are
in shorter supply, too. “We’ve added over 20
new volunteers in the last two weeks since
we started, and it has allowed us to keep the
kids on the field,” McFadden wrote before the
county shut down AYSO at least until Christmas
week. “The El Segundo community stepped
up, came together, and made it happen!”
Richmond and Center Street schools have
received approval to reopen their lower
grades, and the district planned to restart
in-person learning on Tuesday, December 8.
Los Angeles County health officials gave the
green light to the El Segundo Unified School
District to start a hybrid learning schedule
for transitional kindergarten through second
graders at the two elementary schools.
El Segundo City Council, the Chamber of
Commerce, the school employee unions, and
the Ed! Foundation backed the district’s petition
for a waiver to reopen partially.
Superintendent Melissa Moore and other administrators
credit the teachers and support staff
at The Learning Connection preschool program,
aka TLC, for providing the district’s leaders
with a much-needed boost of confidence that
schools can reopen safely. The TLC program
restarted for the fall term and hasn’t recorded
a single positive case of the virus among the
children or adults in the popular program.
Be on the lookout for other acts of kindness
that promote community spirit and announcements
about the annual El Segundo Christmas
Parade, which won’t be canceled. The parade
and display of floats will go on, though it
will be a “reverse holiday parade,” according
to Ryan Delgado, a supervisor with the Parks
and Recreation Department. Vehicles will drive
through the Joslyn Center parking lot so that
families and small children can safely enjoy
the annual holiday tradition. “Home for the
Holidays” is the theme for the celebration,
which is fitting given everything that’s happened
in 2020. •
Saving one animal won’t change the world,
but the world will surely change for that animal.