By DAVID ROSS
Just after sunrise on March 16 Donna Bettencourt awoke to three Animal Services officers serving a search warrant on her Hideaway Lakes mobile home.
“They came in like a bunch of Hitlers,” she recalls. “A male officer went through my lingerie drawer. They treated me like I was a drug dealer. I had no rights and that’s what they told me.”
Officers confiscated three of her Persian cats. This included Baby Susan, whose face was crushed at birth giving it severe sinus problems. She has cared for it ever since, mixing soft food that it can eat.
Handed a release to sign for the cats, she felt that if she didn’t, she faced arrest. She refused to sign for Baby Susan, but did for the others.
Simultaneously officers were descending on the former site of the Rancho Lotsa Cats feral cat sanctuary.
After devoting her life to caring for cats, 11 years after starting a feral cat sanctuary, Bettencourt has seen it shut down, her own cats confiscated and has been charged with animal neglect.
The timeline is simple. Rancho Lotsa Cats is established in 1993. In June of 2003 Animal Services raids it, claiming the cats are not being cared for properly. At a July hearing Bettencourt is admonished to provide better medical care. In October she resigns from Rancho. In November, December of ‘03 and January of ‘04 volunteers reduce the feral population of cats at the property to almost nothing. March of 2004 Rancho is raided again and so is Bettencourt’s home. Three of her cats are seized. In May she could face 200 counts of animal neglect.
Bettencourt feels like the victim of a single-minded pursuit by an Animal Services officer who dislikes her. Many who know her and the officer support her claim.
Others scoff. “I can imagine she would say that,” says John Carlson, regional director of the County’s North County Animal Shelter. “A lot of people don’t like it that they are caught doing things that they ought not to do. So they point fingers at the investigator.”
He also poo poohs the notion that she was coerced to get her signature on the release.
“We don’t threaten people with jail. If you are going to go to jail, you are going to jail,” he says, adding that she was cited for animal neglect.
Although she has her detractors, Bettencourt’s supporters are legion.
Gayle Shell of Pauma writes: “She has shown more love for these cats than anyone I have ever known. I seriously think a thorough investigation should be in order regarding the officer who states these cruelty charges . . .”
Susan L. Schnepf, a San Marcos attorney, wrote: “I have personally been to Ms. Bettencourt’s facility on several occasions. Although the cats do not enjoy the quality of life that my own cats do, I have found the facility to be clean and the cats well cared for.”
“My problem with this whole scenario is this last little bit where the animal gestapo came storming into her house at 6 a.m.!” says veterinarian, Dr. Rick Lindbeck, who has cared for many of the cats at Rancho.
Bettencourt started Rancho Lotsa Cats on two acres on Miller Road near the cemetery. At first it was just her. As the sanctuary for feral cats that could not be adopted, or petted grew, she and her volunteers gained non-profit status in 1997.
She worked with the Feral Cat Coalition, and a group called Cats in Need in three counties, and with individuals. The operation was low profile.
The first raid by Animal Services was last June 25. Bettencourt wasn’t there.
“Records mysteriously disappeared on the day that Animal Control came on the property without a warrant or my knowledge,” she says.
There were never more than 100 cats, she says. Animal Services claimed 250. Bettencourt says that on previous visits, “They kept counting the same cats over and over,” as they attempted to corral them.
“They took seven cats,” at that raid, said Bettencourt. “One that I had in a cage and four really old ones and two others I had never seen before.” Two had leukemia and were euthanized.
At a hearing July 1 an Animal Services lieutenant testified that the cats were not getting good care. Many had contagious diseases, he said.
According to Carlson, “We’ve been dealing with this issue for some time now. Basically it’s a longtime animal neglect issue.
“We have tried to get the animals out there appropriate medical care. Many have highly contagious respiratory diseases, Feline HIV, and feline leukemia virus. Unfortunately the husbandry has been woefully inadequate.”
Animal Services tried working with Bettencourt before it resorted to force, he says.
At the time of the June raid Dr. Rick Lindbeck of North Escondido Animal Hospital began donating his services to the feral cats. Sick cats were sent to him. He also visited and pointed out ones needing extra care.
Lindbeck saw the operation beginning to be overwhelmed when live-in volunteer, Annette Furling, was hurt in a car accident. “She had devoted heart and soul to the place,” he said.
From then on, says Dr. Lindbeck, “It was going to require a super-heroic effort. It got bigger than one person could handle. It got away from her. In addition she had a lot of drop-offs over the fence. It was difficult for one person or even three or four to keep a handle on.”
Carlson agrees, up to a point. “I believe this was a case where Mrs. Bettencourt got in deeper than she could handle.” But he adds, “The animals were horrendously neglected. I have seen descriptions of cats in room with no ventilation, feces all over the place, a serious health hazard. She got in way over her head and didn’t recognize it and the animals ended up suffering for it.”
Mrs. Bettencourt says that however primitive the cats’ living conditions were, “They had free living, better than they would have scavenging behind Del Taco. I paid someone to rake the poop and to go there every morning to take care of them.”
Dr. Lindbeck concedes, “There were cases of upper respiratory diseases, leukemia and feline HIV. One thing we were working on establishing when it got shut down was an isolation ward.”
But the number of ill cats was overinflated, he says.
“I saw a story somewhere in which another veterinarian said that 80 percent of the animals were sick. That was an exaggeration. During the depopulation efforts we’d do 35-40 cats a weekend. Two to five would test positive for a disease.”
He adds, “Insofar as the head cold variety of upper respiratory infections; yes it would have been nice if they could have been treated more effectively. But you are dealing with a feral population. No one was going to treat them without catching and isolating them, which was beyond anybody’s efforts.
“Rancho started off as a safe haven for abandoned cats, primarily house cats who couldn’t live where they had been living. But it shifted more and more to a feral population, because people would dump them. There were a lot of midnight drop offs.”
During the last three years, says Lindbeck, the percentage of non-touchable, non-treatable cats became 50 percent of the population. “You couldn’t walk up to them. That’s why depopulation had to be done with trapping.”
Overlying this is Bettencourt’s belief that she is being harassed by an Animal Services officer, Kathy Conwell.
“She’s threatened me so many times that I’m terrified to open my door any more,” she says. When Officer Conwell is not personally involved in the raids, she’s the instigator, she asserts.
“She came onto the property all the time, until I told her she could only do so when Dr. Rick was present.”
On another occasion “I had volunteers come in from Cats in Need in Diamondbar. Conwell showed up and demanded their names and addresses. They never came back.”
According to Lindbeck, “There’s more than a conflict. There’s an out and out war. Conwell has it out for her. She has decided it is her duty in life.”
Jim Banks, a longtime volunteer at Rancho, says, “I think the whole problem is a problem with Animal Control. The biggest problem is that this officer and Donna have a personality conflict and it’s morphed into a personality issue. This Conwell went after Donna when she didn’t toe the line.”
Christa Brown, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator who has lived on the Rancho property for several months, adds, “The two had barbs going at each other. Neither could be civil to each other.
“I know that sometimes an officer will have a personality conflict with a person and go after that person when there is no apparent reason. I know retired officers who have talked about cases like that.”
Bettencourt kept a log, recording numerous visits to the ranch by Officer Conwell between July and October.
While Bettencourt apparently believed that she had some time to get the ranch in order, that was not Conwell’s intention.
According to Dr. Lindbeck “The officer would say she doesn’t realize how bad it is. This is a done deal. We are going to shut her down. It had already been decided in the officer’s mind and Donna was going to lose Rancho.”
The alleged harassment continued even after Bettencourt resigned as general manager of Rancho on Oct. 30,, she says.
A donor’s list was in her records, which disappeared at the time of the June raid, claims Bettencourt.
Contributors to Rancho Lotsa Cats, such as Judie Mancuso, began getting phone calls from Conwell in October.
“She explained that the place was in bad shape, the grounds are dirty, and there were a lot of sick cats and she’s been trying to work with Donna on getting them well, but she wasn’t getting them well. It wasn’t moving as far as Animal Control was concerned. They obtained a list to find people who might pitch in and help,” says Mancuso.
Mancuso and other volunteers and contributors organized and began moving the cats off the property, to shelters or donors.
“She told me the cats had to leave or they would be euthanized,” says Bettencourt.
Mancuso is highly critical of Bettencourt. She became involved with Rancho five years ago when she visited to leave some feral cats that had been dropped off with her.
“We met with Annette. We saw a lot of friendly cats and a lot of cats that were ill. To me it looked manageable. It looked like if they had the money. We decided to leave the ferals there and take some of the ferals home with us. I wrote a large donation.”
She continued to write checks for several years. “I didn’t have any more contact with them all these years besides the newsletter, which sounded good.”
One day Officer Conwell called.
“I said I wanted to help, to do whatever I can to keep it going. I rode out there that Saturday with three friends,” recalls Mancuso.
“It was horrific. There was feces all over the grounds. There was a pit where it was supposedly the sand box. It was so filthy. Donna said to us, ‘See it’s not so bad here,’ and I’m thinking she’s lost touch with what’s acceptable. I’d say ninety percent of the cats had upper respiratory problems. We could hear them breathing 20 feet away. Some had open wounds. One had a tumor on its face.
“When I left, I said this is too far gone. Probably the best we can do is save the cats. We can’t save the sanctuary at this point.”
Judy Cole, a Santee volunteer cat rehabilitator who visited the center twice and who tried to get Rancho Lotsa Cats shut down, comments, “I don’t care if they are feral or not they still require the same amount of care. I complained years ago and no one would listen. They just refused to do anything. Large numbers are very difficult to care for.”
She adds, “The problem that people have when they start organizations like that is they think they can save all the cats, they think so far ahead. She gets to be a savior for everything, and you just can’t do that.”
Eventually volunteers started fund-raising and spent $10,000 for free or reduced cost medical treatment, says Mancuso. Three were euthanized. One hundred and twenty-three were rescued. The non-feral cats got homes. The feral cats are in a managed colony in Los Angeles county.
Banks, a volunteer at Rancho for over four years, and who helped in the final disposal of the feral cats, calls the charges of abuse and bad conditions, “just a joke. People don’t understand what Rancho was intended to be: a place of last resort for feral cats. The choice was they come to Rancho and have a pretty good life, or live behind a fast food joint and get chased by dogs and have no medical attention. It was run on shoestring. Donna, who is not a rich person, put all her money into it. She didn’t have the money to run it. She had a full time business.”
Banks adds, “When some people come out there they see cats that are sick, and compare them to someone’s pet in their house and say, ‘you’re not taking care of them. The vast majority you can’t catch. They are wild. At least the cats at rancho had a fenced in area that kept the coyotes out. The ones that wanted to get out could get out, but the coyotes could not get in. They were fed daily and had fresh water daily. For a feral cat, that’s not a bad life.”
None of this accounts for Animal Services’ seizing of Bettencourt’s personal pets.
On March 16 officers seizing the three cats claimed they had herpes of the eyes and respiratory problems.
Dr. William Haddock, DVM, of Escondido Hills Animal Hospital, later examined the impounded cats and wrote a letter to Animal Control.
“Each and every one of the above referenced cats are in excellent health,” he wrote. “. . . None of them displayed any sneezing, wheezing, coughing, nasal discharge or eye problems.”
It is common for Persians to have eye tearing and secreting because of their flat faces, he wrote.
“ . . . in my professional opinion I do not see any reason why any of these cats should be impounded . . .I do not feel as though they have been improperly cared for, neglected or otherwise mistreated in any way.”
“What has been done, especially to my three Persians, is inhumane and uncaring,” says Bettencourt. “They don’t deserve to be stuck in a little cage on Palomar Airport Road.”
Kathie Childs, a volunteer at the same animal hospital, questions why the Animal Services officer impounded Baby Susan.
“That wasn’t in the best interests of Baby Susan’s welfare,” she says. “There was no immediate medical attention needed. She had the same problems she always had. The saddest part of this situation is that we have this 8 year old partially blind cat paying the price. She was taken from her familiar surroundings, set in a strange cage.
“That’s inhumane treatment, when it wasn’t an absolute dire situation.”
Dr. Lindbeck comments on the charges that her Persians were sick. “She just happens to have a soft spot for cats that Mankind has made deformed. She has saved several of them. Persians have a lot of problems because of extreme overbreeding.”
According to Lindbeck, Bettencourt has always followed his instructions for treating her cats to the letter. “She has always done a fine job.”
Christa Brown agrees. “She frets about her cats a lot. She pays $300 a month to a vet in Escondido to make sure her cats are well treated. I know if one of her cats had a problem it would go immediately to the vet.”
Meantime she can’t get her Persians back. All but one, Baby Susan were adopted out, even though Bettencourt was told at the time that they were evidence in a criminal case against her.
She’s determined to get Baby Susan back. Her voice breaks when she talks about her.
“She’s healthy as a horse, or was. She’s probably not now.”
She will go to court on May 14.
“They are running me into the ground. I’ve had to go onto tranquilizers because of these individuals.”
Should Bettencourt be punished for trying to save feral cats?
“In no way does she deserve jail,” says Dr. Lindbeck. “This was not done in malice. It was done an effort to do battle against an injustice, which is that people refuse to spay and neuter cats. If there was a fault it was because it was an overwhelming problem. The heart is in the right place.”
“I think the charges of animal cruelty is total hooey and completely ridiculous,” says Banks. “They are bringing criminal charges against her and its ridiculous. Those Animal Control people ought to ask themselves if those cats are better off now. My answer is a very big no.”
Even Carlson doesn’t think Bettencourt should go to jail, although with 200 misdemeanor counts of neglect, she could.
“Is that what we want? Not likely,” he says. “We want some help. She doesn’t recognize what she is doing as being harmful. We’re going to let the criminal justice system do what it does. We’ll let a judge and jury determine what to do.”
Last November, as the Paradise Fires still raged, a public meeting attended by over 500 residents heard from government agencies such as FEMA that “everyone would be helped.”
Well that didn’t happen. Yet, there are local groups working to help those who “slipped through the cracks.” Probably the most active is Valley Center Fire Recovery, whose director. Michelle Schied, has behind the scenes been coordinating assistance with other agencies.
In case you’ve wondered if the new trailer in the County yards has anything to do with fire relief, it does.
Mrs. Schied’s operation is located at the same spot where the Local Assistance Center operated for several months.
Meantime, VC Fire Recovery has become an active member of a county-wide recovery team includes several groups: The San Diego Fire Storm Community Recovery Team (CRT).
Agencies assisting include: Workforce Partnerships, which provides employment opportunities for individuals who lost their jobs as a result of the fires; Salvation Army, American Red Cross, UMCOR (United Methodists Charities Organization). This last organization helped orchestrate 38 volunteers from Louisiana State University who helped local residents restore irrigation at their farms last week.
Another group, Student Conservation Assn. (SCA) received funding through Home Depot to assist with replanting in high risk areas. They will be working at the San Pasqual Reservation.
According to Mrs. Schied Habitat for Humanity recently met with the San Pasqual tribe, finalizing plans to rebuild several homes for elder tribal members. Volunteer labor will be needed to assist in this effort.
St. Vincent De Paul has also assisted several families directly. VC resident John Jackson is the local representative of St. Vincent. Schied took him to several property sites last week and introduced him to survivor families.
Another family lost their garage and have no insurance through no fault of their own.
“They will need assistance, “ says Mrs. Schied, “which we plan to do sometime in August.”
She is also helping several flower farm owners near Paradise Mountain to get materials and supplies that they lost in the fire.
Another grower lost 60 citrus trees near Lake Wohlford. Mrs. Schied is orchestrating volunteers to remove the burnt trees.
“At the present time we are assisting more than forty families with developing permanent housing plans and solutions,” she says.
“Some are already back home, with new or used manufactured homes. A couple are waiting for their new purchases. Some have begun construction. We’ve assisted with debris removal. We are providing moral support. We’ve had two insurance workshops to date to assist families with complications or challenges, and also general education,” she said.
Workshops planned, although not yet scheduled, will include Oakland real estate attorney George Kehrer, who lost his home in the Oakland fire of 1991. He offers workshops all over Southern California on dealing with disaster insurance claims.
Jerry Hemme, a retired insurance broker, is offering his time at the trailer as his time permits.
“We’re addressing clarifications with FEMA claims, assisting families to get all of the assistance they are entitled to from FEMA and SBA,” said Mrs. Schied.
Families can also come in to the office to use landline phone, desk space, send or receive Faxes or use the computer’s Internet.
Recovery office hours are Tuesday-Friday, noon-6:30 p.m.
It is also open on alternating Saturdays 9:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. Appointments for individuals are available for one on one consultations by calling in advance 760-749-7927 or 760-518-7135.
There is also a donations intake line for those who have furniture, appliances, artwork, kitchenware, bookcases and toys for families whose possessions were destroyed last fall.
If you have any of these items, call 749-9584.
The County Dept. of Public Works has announced that the median divider separating the east and westbound lanes of VC Road will be made permanent.
DPW is in the middle of an 18 month project widening the road from near Lake Wohlford Road up to Banbury.
Originally the plan was to build a four lane road without the divider, whose presence has led to this stretch being dubbed “The luge.”
Public pressure, including a vote of the planning group, led to DPW conceding that the K-rail divider would be put back during the course of construction and that it would be decided later whether to leave the divider permanently.
The announcement that the divider will be permanent was made Monday night by VC Planning Group Chairman Sandy Smith, who noted that the project manager, Brendan McNab, had given her the news last week.
Brook Forest
Planners also tentatively approved a zoning change that will allow the Brook Forest development to go forward.
Its recommendation will go to the planning department and the Board of Supervisors.
The 226 acre, 55 lot project on the south side of Betsworth at Old Ranch is owned by Emerald Crest Dev. II. It is located near The Ranch and Orchard Run developments.
It is unclear where the forest is.
Planner Carol Prime, who is the chairman of the subcommittee reviewing the project, said the developer has been very cooperative and “responded very responsively to public concerns.”
Engineer for the project, Thure Stedt, showed an aerial photograph and answered questions about the project.
He noted that the zoning change will allow the project to proceed as a Specific Plan Amendment (SPA) with clustering of the 52 units, and most of the land remaining as open space. Fifteen acres will be kept in agriculture.
This will create a density of of one dwelling unit per four acres and a minimum lot size of one acre.
“We are limiting ourselves to 55 lots, but what we get in exchange is one acre minimum lot size,” said Stedt. “The community gains a project that is almost 70 percent open space.”
Most of the subcommittee’s discussions have centered around providing extra access roads for this gated community.
The County is particularly touchy on this issue since the Paradise fires. At total of three accesses will be created.
Since the project first appeared before the planning group two years ago, the developer has made some changes that resulted in fewer units, and more open space.
“What we have done is removed lots shown originally, and pulled all of the project inside.”
The open space will be along Betsworth. Most of the homes won’t be visible from the road.
The entrance to the project will be directly across from The Ranch.
The developer plans to bring maps to the group as the project continues to progress.
Shopping Center
Because Weston LL, developer of the Village Square shopping center project, is ready to submit a tentative replacement map to the County Dept. of Planning & Land Use, the Shopping Center subcommittee has asked not to forward its motion of two weeks ago which had asked that the County consider an alternate plan for the center. That plan had been developed by John Ruggieri of the Villages Subcommittee of the VC planning group.
Smith made the announcement Monday night.
Once Weston submits the map, it will be forwarded from the County to the subcommittee, which will review it. The proponent hopes to have it to the County by end of next week.
It will be considered by the Shopping Center subcommittee in April and May. Smith said it should take about 90 days to expedite the review. It will then be submitted to the design review board for its review.
The date of the subcommittee meeting will be announced well in advance, she said.
The Staples Foundation will sponsor Jazz in the Gardens, Saturday, May 1 at Pikake Gardens as a fund-raiser for the performing arts theater at VCHS.
Supt. Karen Jobe notes that fund-raising efforts for the theater are nearing the $1 million mark.
“I’m hoping this event will put us over,” she told The Roadrunner.
The event, from 1-4 p.m., will include beer and wine tasting, food, performances by the student jazz band, choral group and strings group, plus a silent auction.
Miss Valley Center and her court will also make an appearance.
The middle school jazz band just returned from a triumphal appearance in Irvine where it beat several high school bands in competition.
Food will be catered by Rosemary Giger, who is the head of food services for the school district, and who has her own catering service.
Clyde & Connie Childress have donated their private gardens for the entire day. There will also be self-guided tours , including Mediterranean, Asian, Rose, Tropical and English gardens, waterfalls and ponds. Tickets are $50 per person. Call Denise McAndrews at 749-4218 to buy tickets.
The Staples Foundation is the same group that gave $250,000 fund raising seed money to the theater.
One feature of the evening will be beer and wine tasting with potables provided by Stone Brewery, Wilson Creek Winery and Schwaesdall Winery.
About 40 silent auction items are up for grabs including:
• Observatory behind the scenes
• Photo Safari Caravan--Wild Animal Park
• Tickets to Chinese Acrobats at Center for the Arts
• Golf packages
• Dinner for 4 at Escondido fire station
• Hot air balloon ride
• Guided ocean kayak adventure (La Jolla)
• local artists' works—Partricia McConnell, Kim Weed, Noel Laue
• Big Bear house for 5 days/4 nights
“It should be a great afternoon with great food,” said Mrs. Jobe. She added, “I’m just trying to make this a visible example of the communities of Pauma and Valley Center coming together to support this theater.”
The school board and administration would like to start some preliminary construction of the theater this summer, she said.
Chamber of Commerce Honorary Mayor candidate Donna “DJ” Jorgensen is the first announced candidate for the coveted title, which carries with it no salary, no benefits, no influence and no power— but a lot of bragging rights.
Her campaign slogan is “Spin and Win with DJ.”
She was chosen to carry the Chamber’s banner to be Kim Laventure’s successor because “I was the only one who had the time and energy.”
She adds, “One of my goals is to get all of the service clubs to compete against me. They have until the end of the month. That’s my challenge.”
All politicians make promises and DJ is no exception.
Hers is: “That everyone in VC can own a horse, and anyone who knows me knows that I don’t have a horse.”
She also promises that in a DJ administration, “No one will be allowed to own chickens, pigs or cows. At the same time, chickens, pigs and cows should be allowed to vote in the next honorary mayor’s election.”
All politicians release scandalous information about their opponents. DJ will be no exception.
She plans to release sneaky, inside information about her rivals (i.e. “anyone who is brave enough to run against me.” ) just in time for the presidential election in November.
As her main fund-raiser the candidate and the Chamber are selling squares on Valley Center-opoly. They also plan a turtle drop on the Saturday before Western Days.
“If anyone is brave enough, I can promise it will be a humorous and fun campaign,” she says, challenging any and all service clubs or non-profit organizations to put up a candidate before the deadline.
Asked by a skeptical reporter how she could possible both run the election and be in it she said, “So what’s your point? Whatever it takes to make money for the community.”
VC-opoly spaces are available to be purchased. For more information call Suzie at Krueger Realty, 749-0999.
Friday morning the VC cemetery district honored the late Chuck Matteson and Ed Fisher, both former employees, with a dedication of a bulletin board bearing their names and the caps that they wore.
Bill Dawson, father of the late Renee Dawson, represented the Dawson family, which funded the memorial bulletin board.
He spoke about his daughter. Louise Kelly, another guest, reminisced about her grandson, Matthew. She also made the cake served with refreshments.
Joyce Rooney, a member of the board, gave the following comments: “One of the most negative experiences in this life is death. When we lose someone who is close to us, a parent, spouse, sibling, child or friend, there is a feeling of grievance, an emotional sorrow. The feelings of those of us who survive need great care and compassion and this is exactly the attitude Chuck and Ed had when a person came to make burial arrangements.
“Not too long ago, when my husband was facing possible life threatening surgery we came here to purchase a resting place for ourselves. This was my first, but happily not my last encounter with these two gracious gentlemen. My husband Bob is still alive, thank goodness, and we did, on that day, purchase space just on the edge of the entrance driveway.
“Shortly after that our daughter Carol came to visit and we showed her where we would be many years from now. ‘Oh!,’ she said, pointing down the drive to a very large tree, ‘when I was in high school I used to come here to sit under that tree to be alone and meditate.’ After she went home to Northern California I came to the cemetery and asked Chuck is there was any real estate available near that tree. He got out his plot map and with a very happy smile showed us a gravesite directly under ‘Carol’s tree,’ and now I go there for sanctuary and solitude.
“I have another tale to tell about the superintendents. Mike Dunn, who lives in Valley Center has two daughters who were very fond of Mike’s mother and father. Several years ago he went to the mid-west where they lived, carrying a gift of a hand-painted angel crafted by his older daughter. Unfortunately both grandparents were very ill and shortly thereafter they died. Mike brought his parents to be buried here in this cemetery and at that time the angel painting lady asked her dad if she could put her ceramic piece with grandma and grandpa. ‘Certainly’ was Chuck’s answer and he and Ed raised the Dunn stone for the burial of the angel. The little one, not to be outdone, put one of her cherished teddy bears just next to the angel. Such was the kind attitude of the two very gentle men we honor today.”
Stan Johnson, board president, formally dedicated the bulletin board.
Board Vice Pres. Ken Botts, who was MC of the event, capped off the remembrance with this comment: “Where Chuck and Ed are, they will be wearing halos, because their caps are with us.”
The Valley Roadrunner
P.O.B. 1529, Valley Center, CA 92082
Tel. 760.749.1112 Fax 760.749.1688
Website: www.valleycenter.com
Email: editor@valleycenter.com
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