Since you used my name, you could have at least given me the respect of hearing the other side of the story; apparently that is not your agenda, hence you have deemed yourself ready for the Soylent Green Factory.  Tim Myers would have you believe that this argument resides between loving families who want nothing but the best for their kids and a band of crotchety old grumpy people who hate kids having fun, when in fact it’s sensible adults who placed their energy, resources and reputations on the line making responsible decisions for the benefit of our entire Summit community.  As a good friend of mine stated, this entire issue is a microcosm of our national political arena.

If Tim Myers had been present at our Summit HOA board meeting in January 2009 he would have heard my comments regarding the Summit Seal’s annual contract.  My concerns were simply that our governing documents (CC&R’s and Pool Use Rules) prohibited much of the swim team activity, plus I felt it was inappropriate for the swim team to have a free clubhouse use whereas all other homeowners must pay rental fees. 

It should be noted that board members assume a great deal of fiduciary responsibility; therefore I simply could not rubber stamp the board president’s decision.  That particular board meeting was my second board meeting that I had ever attended as a board member and so I carefully studied our documents in preparation. 

Until that time, I rarely attended board meetings.  I recall that Cam Noltemeyer was firmly concerned about safety and liability.  Shortly thereafter, pro swim team board members and pro swim team sympathizers ousted Cam from our board claiming she was an “obstructionist”.  It’s a fact that when Summit homeowners voice their concerns about swim team activity, they are immediately demonized, lied about, and personally attacked even going so far as making false accusations to employers and law enforcement.  Tim Myers, a useful special interest pawn, created a “one sided” column attacking my reputation and character right in line with those tactics that have existed here for years.

During that January Board meeting, I asked that the board take more time to match swim team activities to our governing documents; after all, their activities would not begin until May.  I was stunned at the blow back from two of our board members; you would have thought I had assaulted Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy.  Swim team sympathizers who had crowded into our clubhouse that evening screamed and yelled at both Cam and myself; there we were as volunteer board members and we were denigrated and shouted down for voicing our concerns.  At one board meeting, a pro swim team mother stood up and yelled, you old people should move to retirement homes.  One man yelled at me claiming I had no honor; as a combat Veteran and Purple Heart recipient that was hard to take.  But I kept my mouth shut.  In the end, a vote was forced and the Board approved the swim team contract three to two which resulted in children diving into the shallow end of our pool for yet another season.

This year, after much haggling, it appears that the swim team is well on its way again with free use of the clubhouse and most of its usual activities.  However, if you read the blogs it appears that the swim team has agreed to cease allowing children to dive into the shallow end of our pool, they’ve stopped various dubious events and they have possibly corrected their historically inadequate insurance coverage. 

If these changes are indeed true, then much credit goes to the Stratford HOA because if they had not stepped up, it would be business as usual, meaning our HOA would endure yet another year with unnecessary and excessively high liability with children diving into the shallow end of our pool. 

Based on my observations, the behavior of pro swim team board members and many pro swim team activists forced the Stratford board to pursue a legal course to resolve these critical matters.  That special interest swim team group, including certain board members, adopted an entitlement mentality some years ago and they have not concerned themselves with conducting any level of rational conversation towards resolution, which is why I finally resigned from the board in protest. 

In fact, following a signed agreement by the Summit board that stated swim team activities would not proceed while the two boards’ negotiated resolution, the Summit board immediately violated that agreement and approved a new swim team contract. 

Additionally, the Summit pro swim team board members recently changed our clubhouse rental policy and our “No Diving” policy strictly favoring the swim team.  They have shown that there are no bounds to their limits of providing entitlements for the swim team to the encumbrance of our community at large.  Entitlements beget dissension.

In closing, I strongly believe that the Stratford HOA was forced to take action and for that I thank them for reducing our HOA’s liability and greatly reducing the risk of injury to swim team children.  Furthermore, it’s now abundantly clear that Cam Noltemeyer’s concerns have been vindicated.

William L. Reynolds- Guest Commentary

William L. Reynolds is a community volunteer who has served on the Summit HOA board. His commentaries represent his own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization he may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon.

Sikora is an eighth grade student at Rosemont Middle School in La Crescenta. Evans says Tyler had a genetic heart condition that according to the American Heart Association is a common cause of death among young athletes. A candlelight vigil was planned at the high school Friday night.

In 1973 Yogi Berra was still so famous that you could stick his picture on a bottle of Yoo-hoo Chocolate Drink and everyone in America would know that the nation’s most personable hero had thrown in his winning cards with this new chocolate drink with a rather watery texture. 

But when I met Yogi that year, he was dressed in an unfamiliar dark business suit and surrounded by somber men in his company wearing matching somber suits.

Yogi’s suit disguised many of his strengths, including putting away his massive Popeye forearms that made him one of greatest home-run hitters on the home-run crazy Yankees.  Yogi’s business suit over his open shirt also disguised his massive legs that overcame his constant crouching at the plate for almost two decades and as a young man impressing spectators as one of America’s most promising young soccer players. 

The one thing that Yogi’s suit could not disguise was his 5’8’ height, which made him look a little modest among his business colleagues but – standing next to the massive Yankees in the field at Yankee Stadium – had him appear almost like a muscular midget in his playing days. 

Still, the most distinctive thing I noted about standing in front of Yogi Berra is that he did not have the overwhelming personal power of a super athlete, which was the kind of impression I received when I once met with the Hall of Fame NFL quarterback Fran Tarkenton.  Tarkenton overflowed with the colors and the energies of a popular superstar. In contrast with his fellow sports Hall of Famer, even when Yogi Berra smiled, he looked a little pale and worried.  

Yogi was right about computers 

I remember just one thing Yogi told me.  “These computers are going to be all over the place in a few years,” he more or less said, as I remember he used the word “these” maybe five or six times.  It was a colloquialism he had probably learned from the tough St. Louis neighborhood where he was brought up.  In fact, eighty-five years ago – which was all the way back to 1925 – Yogi was hardly able to learn much English from his Italian immigrant parents, who had just recently arrived on Ellis Island to join so many other many other Italian immigrants then in St. Louis. 

In 1973, computers were mostly thought of as big machines by which you controlled payrolls and tabulated what you paid for versus what you received.  Today, it would seem that anyone investing in something called computer software in 1973 might seem as out of time balance as a venture in 1873 to build airplanes.  But Yogi Berra wasn’t about to explain to me why he liked “these computer software developments.”  He deferred the explanation to one of his associates, who peppered me with technical words. 

I am sure that Yogi Berra was the only 8^th grade dropout in this group.  Like a lot of poor immigrant families, the Berra’s were forced to put their children to work during their school age to put food on the table.  Berra in fact never even got a chance to play baseball in high school.  His father had never even heard of baseball.  But young Yogi discovered the game in the city that then boasted two major league baseball teams – the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Browns.   

There were also semi-pro teams around St. Louis. With the mind that later made Yogi one of only four major league managers to win both the American League and National League pennants, Berra paired down all the things baseball players do until he concluded that the two most indispensable positions  were pitcher and catcher. He also saw that coaches were widely prejudiced against playing 5’8” pitchers, so Yogi set out hanging around semi-pro players and learning day by day how to become the greatest catcher who ever lived.   

He got so good that by the time World War II was in full fling he was about ready to become a major league catcher.  But he felt the duty to his nation first and joined the U.S. Navy at a time — after Pearl Harbor — there was an enormous need to rebuild a U.S. Navy to fight a war that was taking place around both oceans. 

By the time the 19-year-old Berra received his training, the new Navy was bring rolled out to be used in the invasion of Normandy.  There was an especially new boat invented just for this invasion and never used afterwards called the “jet boat.”  The “jet boat” was a tiny suicidal sea-craft small enough to sail practically right up into the sand of the beach so that its crews could clear the beaches of Nazis before the main invasion came ashore. 

Because the jet boat literally puts its crews into the valley of death with no mechanism for anything but forward maneuver, the Navy could do nothing but ask for volunteers to man this dangerous and untested boat.  The teenage Berra was one of the first volunteers. 

While so many died around him, Berra managed to survive with only a dangerous wound.  At that point, his most outspoken concern was that his mother not hear about his battle experience — not even that he had received a Purple Heart – because he didn’t want her to worry about him. 

After serving on the most important winning team in world history – these General Eisenhower’s allied forces – Yogi’s life was devoted to creating more playful winning teams.  Whether he was a play-calling catcher, or a play-calling coach, or a play-calling manager – or whether he wore the uniform of the New York Yankees, or the New York Mets, or the Houston Astros – he would always eventually guide his team to a division title, or a pennant, or a world champion.  While becoming only one of six players to win the American League Most Valuable Player three times, he never gave his teams anything less. 

The year I met Yogi, he had become the only major league baseball managers in history to win pennants for two different teams within the same city, when he won the pennant for the New York Yankees in 1964 and the New York Mets in 1973. 

Strangely enough, both the Yankees and the Mets fired Yogi shortly after he managed the teams into pennant-winners. Then both teams took a dog’s lifetime to win another pennant after he was ousted. 

The problem wasn’t that Yogi wasn’t winning.  He was always winning.  The problem was that he was such a soft-spoken manager that his bosses didn’t really believe he was really managing.  They thought he was only winning because of his lifetime good luck.  Nor did these baseball bosses understand that in tough Italian-American neighborhoods like “The Hill” in St. Louis, where Yogi grew up, being soft-spoken like Yogi Berra was a mark of strength. 

Anyway, to celebrate his birthday and his 85 years of good luck, I would like to quote from wise-guy All-Star Yankee third-baseman Graig Nettles, whom Yogi helped coach to back-to-back world championships in 1977 and 1978:  “It’s far better to be lucky than to be good.” 

Most of the salient information in this piece was gleaned from the marvelous W.W. Norton biography of Yogi that is coming out later this year in paperback, and was written by Allen Barra: “Yogi Berra: Eternal Yankee.”  I heartily recommend this very nice book to any young person in the Santa Clarita Valley – and in every valley – to show how great Americans can remain good Americans throughout their lives. 

And although 85 years may seem like a very long time, in the end it is the most famous quote by Yogi Berra that rules: 

“It ain’t over till it’s over.” 

Chris Sharp- Commentary

Chris Sharp is an Educator and a prize-winning professional writer. His commentaries represent his own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization he may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon.

Head out to Heritage Park for tennis skill drills, crafts and games, including racquet demonstrations and a Hit for Prizes challenge. Tennis enthusiasts of all ages can take a swing in the Family Fun Zone and stick around following the event to sit courtside for an exciting exhibition match from local tennis players.

“The City of Santa Clarita offers several tennis courts at local parks, which are regularly attended by community members of all ages,” said Mayor Laurene Weste. “I encourage residents of all tennis experience levels to come out and seize this exciting opportunity to celebrate tennis with their friends and neighbors.”

Tennis Jubilee is free to attend and open to the public. Valencia Heritage Park is located at 24155 Newhall Ranch Road.

For more information on this fun inaugural event, contact Jodi Jones, Recreation Services Administrator for the City, at (661) 250-3751, or visit santa-clarita.com/tennisjubilee.

Head out to Heritage Park for tennis skill drills, crafts and games, including racquet demonstrations and a Hit for Prizes challenge. Tennis enthusiasts of all ages can take a swing in the Family Fun Zone and stick around following the event to sit courtside for an exciting exhibition match from local tennis players.

“The City of Santa Clarita offers several tennis courts at local parks, which are regularly attended by community members of all ages,” said Mayor Laurene Weste. “I encourage residents of all tennis experience levels to come out and seize this exciting opportunity to celebrate tennis with their friends and neighbors.”

Tennis Jubilee is free to attend and open to the public. Valencia Heritage Park is located at 24155 Newhall Ranch Road.

For more information on this fun inaugural event, contact Jodi Jones, Recreation Services Administrator for the City, at (661) 250-3751, or visit santa-clarita.com/tennisjubilee.

“USL selected the City of Santa Clarita as the host City for its W-League Championship from a large, elite pool of competitive bids,” said City of Santa Clarita Mayor Laurene Weste. “Broadcast nationally on FOX Soccer Channel, the high-profile Championship will place Santa Clarita at the forefront of the national soccer community, reinforcing our position as one of the nation’s premier sporting event destinations and offering a direct positive economic impact to our businesses.”

Santa Clarita is home to the W-League’s Santa Clarita Blue Heat, who join the W-League’s Western Conference in 2010 and were instrumental in Santa Clarita’s bid to host the Championship.

 “Having the support of a respected presenting sponsor such as UMBRO, along with the sheer enthusiasm and dedication being offered by the City of Santa Clarita and the Santa Clarita Blue Heat, there’s no doubt in my mind the 2010 W-League Championship will be our most successful event to date,” said Senior Director of W-League Operations Melanie Fitzgerald.

 The 2010 W-League Championship will be held in a “final four” format, with two semifinals played on Thursday, July 29 at Harry Welch Stadium and the winners meeting for the championship on Saturday, July 31. A consolation game featuring the other two semifinalists will precede the final.

“We are very excited to be the presenting sponsor of the 2010 W-League Championship, and are looking forward to partnering with USL and Santa Clarita to make this showcase a great success for players and fans alike,” said Richard Nightingale, general manager of UMBRO USA.

The first and longest-standing women’s league in North America, the W-League is USL’s highest level of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada. The 2010 USL W-League campaign features 29 teams in three regional conferences playing 10 or 12 regular season matches. In addition to featuring international and professional stars, elite amateur players have the opportunity to compete on amateur teams in the league while maintaining their collegiate eligibility. The league is recognized throughout the world for providing superior competition for female players, while offering affordable family entertainment for fans across North America. 

United Soccer Leagues 
Founded in 1986, United Soccer Leagues has become the largest organization of elite-level soccer leagues in North America by building on the vision, commitment, and passion of players, fans, and investors. Now in its third decade of operation, USL continues to be a driving force in the growth of soccer in the United States, Canada, and Caribbean. USL provides a clearly defined path for the progression of male and female soccer players beginning at the youth level (USL Super Y-League/USL Super-20 League), continuing up through the amateur level (USL Premier Development League/USL W-League) and on to the professional level (USL First Division/USL Second Division). A platform for countless players to reach for their dreams each year, USL is devoted to developing the sport at the grassroots level in every community across the region.

“Having over 1,400 Dodger fans across the County utilize the Dodger Stadium Express helped relieve congestion and improve air quality.  By ‘Thinking Blue, and Acting Green’ the new Dodger Stadium Express is a home run for everyone.

A member of the Governing Board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD), Antonovich secured a $300,000 grant from the Mobile Sources Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee to operate a no-cost Express Bus connecting Dodger Stadium to Union Station for the 2010 season. 

State-of-the-art 40-foot clean-burning compressed natural gas buses will run between Union station and Dodger Stadium every 10 minutes prior to the start of the game and run approximately every 30 minutes throughout the game.  Union Station is served by Metro buses and rail, Metrolink, and many regional bus lines.  Dodger game admission tickets will be honored as fare payment to ride the bus.  For specific route and schedule information, visit http://www.metro.net/around/dodger-stadium-express/ or call 1-800-COMMUTE.

Supervisor Antonovich serves on the Board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

(From Science Daily)

The observed improvements in bone mineral density, strength and postural balance due to recreational soccer are of particularly interest for a large group of women but also for elderly men, says project leader Associate Professor Peter Krustrup, Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences, and continue “It is well known that the risk of falls and fractures increases with age as a result of weaker bones, poorer balance and attenuated ability to trigger rapid muscle force, but the present results suggest that soccer — and possibly other ball games — is an effective training method to reduce bone weakening that comes with increasing age.”

Better bones from soccer than from running

A 14-week study in which women aged 20-47 years trained soccer twice a week showed marked increases in bone density in the left and right tibia. Furthermore, soccer training showed an elevated mass of the calf muscle, greater muscle strength, and an improved balance. A 16-months training intervention for the same subject group showed that prolonged soccer training for untrained premenopausal women elevates whole-body bone mineral density. The women who participated in the study had never played soccer before, implying that all can benefit from soccer. Interestingly the short- and long-term training effects on bone mineral density were greater for the soccer players than for a similar group of runners and an inactive control group.

Read more here: Soccer Reduces Risk of falls and Bone Fractures, Study Finds

Assemblyman Jared Huffman is pushing for a crackdown after Gunnar Sandberg, 16, was critically injured while pitching for Marin Catholic High School when he was struck in the head March 11 by a line drive from a player using a metal bat.

The San Rafael Democrat called the incident a wake-up call to protect pitchers from laser-like drives hit by “performance-enhancing metal bats” while they stand virtually unprotected less than 60 feet from home plate after releasing the ball.

Read more here: Bill would ban metal bats in high school baseball

A member of the Governing Board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD), Antonovich secured a $300,000 grant from the Mobile Sources Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee to operate a no-cost Express Bus connecting Dodger Stadium to Union Station for the 2010 season.

 “Dodger fans across the County can now avoid the traffic, save gas and help improve air quality by using public transit and our new Dodger Stadium Express Bus to get to the game,” said Supervisor Antonovich. “We want all of our Dodger fans to ‘Think Blue, Act Green,’ and as a Angels fan who grew up in South Central Los Angeles, we want to see in 2010 the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim play the Los Angeles Dodgers of Chinatown for the World Series.

State-of-the-art 40-foot clean-burning compressed natural gas buses will run between Union station and Dodger Stadium every 10 minutes prior to the start of the game and run approximately every 30 minutes throughout the game.  Union Station is served by Metro buses and rail, Metrolink, and many regional bus lines.  Dodger game admission tickets will be honored as fare payment to ride the bus.  For specific route and schedule information, visit www.metro.net or call 1-800-COMMUTE.

Supervisor Antonovich serves on the Board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the South Coast Air Quality Management District. 

Service:

• Seven CNG buses would be used for 83 home games — two preseason and 81 regular season games.
• Pre-Game – service will be provided on a 10 minute frequency from 90 minutes prior to game up to the 3rd inning.
• Mid-Game – service will be provided on a 30 minute frequency between the 3rd inning and 7th inning
• Post-Game – service will be provided “load and go” from 7th inning to 45 minutes after game ends

For video of the press conference please, click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ika3w3zxR-Q