A dear friend of Brigden Ranch, Pasadena neighborhoods, and mine, has passed away. Henry Sherrod, BRNA director and officer, lost his six-month battle with lung cancer January 13.

Henry had lived on Galbreth Road in Brigden Ranch for 17 years. As a director of the Brigden Ranch Neighborhood Association, he was instrumental in working with the City to build an appealing mixed-use structure at Brigden and Allen. Henry was active in convincing the City to change the old gas station project at 1950 N. Allen from a large project that didn’t fit Brigden Ranch into a smaller, more realistic project to help provide housing for people with moderate incomes.

Through his work on behalf of BRNA, Henry became the long-time president of the Pasadena Neighborhood Coalition, an organization of neighborhood associations dedicated to improving the quality of life in all of Pasadena’s neighborhoods.

Born in Palo Alto in 1947, Henry moved to Redlands, California the same year. After graduation from Redlands High School, he completed his bachelor’s degree in economics at Claremont McKenna College (then Claremont Men’s College). He received his master’s degree in business administration from Mount St. Mary’s College in Moraga, California, and his law degree from the University of San Francisco.

Henry served in the Vietnam conflict as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army before beginning a successful career as an accomplished attorney and trial litigator in Northern and later Southern California.

He and his domestic partner, John Marquette, met in Oakland in 1983, and moved to Southern California in 1986. He worked for the Auto Club of Southern California for 13 years, retiring in 2005. Not one to sit still, Henry then worked for private legal firms as a trial attorney. Shortly after retirement, he was selected to be a member of the Los Angeles County Superior Court’s Temporary Judge Program, and was active in the program until mid-2009.

Henry and John moved from Highland Park in Los Angeles to the Brigden Ranch neighborhood on Halloween Day, 1992. He and John installed one of the first solar energy systems at their home in 2005.

Henry is survived by his domestic partner John Marquette; his sister Ann Sherrod Russell of Los Angeles; two brothers, David of Portland, Oregon and Charles of Arizona; and two nephews, Kenneth Sackett of San Diego and Kelly Sackett of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

A memorial and celebration of life Henry will be held Sunday, February 21, at 3:00 p.m. at the Altadena Town and Country Club. In lieu of flowers, the family requested that donations be made to the donor’s choice of charities assisting the children of Haiti.

Donn Dufford
President
Brigden Ranch Neighborhood Association

Pasadena’s most popular exercise track is scheduled for a facelift.

Pasadena city staff will outline steps for improving the 3.3-mile Rose Bowl recreation loop during a community meeting Wednesday, Feb. 3, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Arroyo Room at Brookside Golf Club, 1133 Rosemont Ave.  The meeting will be hosted by the Pasadena Transportation Department.

Proposed plans call for slurry seal of the entire loop, a new and wider section for walkers in both directions, a suitable lane for bicyclists and vehicles, and a narrower outside lane for vehicles. This combination was chosen for its adaptability to future changes, if needed.

“The roadways that encircle the Rose Bowl Stadium provide a unique and valuable resource to those who enjoy outdoor exercise,” said Bahman Janka, transportation administrator.

The innermost portion of the loop is a dedicated walkway currently outlined with a painted buffer zone separating foot traffic from the adjacent bicycle and vehicular traffic.

The final draft report describing the improvements is available at reference desks at all Pasadena public libraries and at www.cityofpasadena.net/rosebowlloop.  For more information call 744-4610.

Margo Morales-Fuller
District 2 Field Representative
(626) 744-4742
(626) 744-3814 fax

Here are two items that may interest you –

FIRST — During the past few weeks there has been lengthy discussion between the City, PUSD, Brigden Ranch Neighborhood Association, and residents along Roxbury and Mountain about the impact of generators and lights being used at night on Marshall fields.

The neighbors immediately impacted, and your Association, objected to an independent club soccer team (not a Marshall team) using the fields at night, with up to seven noisy generators running flood lights on tall polls.  We were concerned that the district and City were allowing outsiders to use Marshall and severely impacting the quality of life in the neighborhood, without considering the feelings of the neighbors.

The lights and generator noise prevented homeowners from opening their doors and windows at night, opening their window shades, or sitting outside on their patios.

After hearing from the neighbors, all of whom objected, the district re-wrote the permit for the soccer team.  The team will only be allowed to use Marshall during weekend days, and will not be permitted to use generators and lights.

SECOND — What also came out of this incident, is a chance as a neighborhood to voice our concerns about the impact Marshall Fundamental School has on our area.

Council Member Margaret McAustin, and PUSD Board President Tom Selinske will host a meeting to discuss the impacts Marshall has on our neighborhood.  They will listen to your concerns and respond.

Areas of concern may include how the Marshall fields/facilities will be utilized under the proposed joint-use of facilities plan.  Under this plan, the public will be able to use school facilities through Pasadena.  What some people are concerned with is who will be allowed to use the fields and facilities (neighbors, or anyone outside the immediate neighborhood).  Traffic issues.  Parking.  Crime and graffiti.  The future of Marshall.

The community meeting is scheduled for next Thursday, January 15 –

6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Marshall School Library

Members of the Brigden Ranch Neighborhood Association (like you) are being invited, as well as residents on Roxbury and Mountain.

Please feel free to invite any of your neighbors who haven’t received this note.  You may get duplicates of this information from different sources.

Should you not be able to attend, and want to have your thoughts heard, please e-mail me your ideas.

Thanks,

Donn Dufford
Brigden Ranch Neighborhood Association President

If you have questions, please contact:

Thanks to the dozen people who participated in Brigden Ranch Neighborhood Association’s first Neighborhood Watch organizational meeting last night at the Hastings Ranch Library.  This is the first formal step toward helping make Brigden Ranch safer.

The meeting was held to 1) start our first formal Neighborhood Watch, 2) to explain the duties of Block Captains who are needed to organize Neighborhood Watches, 3) to seek volunteers to become Block Captains, and 4) to answer general questions about crime in our neighborhood.

Anita Butler, our representative from the Pasadena Police Department, presented information about setting up Neighborhood Watches.  Anita shared crime statistics which showed crime in Brigden Ranch has declined over the past three years.  Anita stressed that we have a safe neighborhood with very little crime.  The Sergeant from the Central Service Area, which Brigden Ranch is part of, dropped by and repeated this message.  He encourage the start of Neighborhood Watches as a great way for neighbors to look after neighbors, and as a way of staying vigilant.

The first formal step in creating a Neighborhood Watch is for a person to volunteer to be a Block Captain.  The Block Captain organizes a group of their neighbors, works with the police department to set up an organizational meeting like last night’s, creates phone trees, and keeps the Neighborhood Watch active.  Each Neighborhood Watch is about eight to 12 homes, depending on how many the Block Captain is comfortable with.

This isn’t a lot of work, but the rewards are a safer neighborhood for all of us.  I would encourage anyone who wants more information to contact me in order to set up an organizational meeting in your neighborhood.

The first formal Neighborhood Watch was started last night in the 2200 block of Casa Grande.  Craig Valenzuela is the Block Captain.  Anyone in that area who is interested should contact Craig at cval33440@sbcglobal.net

We want to formally thank Craig for taking this on.

If you are interested in becoming a Block Captain for another block on Casa Grande, or another street, please let me know.  One other individual in the 2000 block of Galbreth has volunteered to be a Block Captain.  Neighbors there will be contacted shortly.

During the past three weeks there have been two home burglaries, an attempted burglary, and three thefts from automobiles on Brigden Road.

The burglars hit homes where there were no cars in the driveway and it appeared no one was home.

A laptop and some miscellaneous items were stolen from one home in the 2200 block about three weeks ago.

At another home in the 2200 block, neighbor Donn Dufford saw the burglars and frightened them off. Donn has been working with Pasadena Police detectives to identify one of the burglars.

As of June 18, arrests had been made in Altadena by Sherriff’s officer. Pasadena Police believe they are the same boys who committed the Brigden burglaries.

This week, a laptop, some currency from a coin bank, and a wallet were stolen between 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. in the 2100 block of Brigden. The thief or thieves preyed open a door know lock on a side door to gain entrance.

Two weeks ago, someone stole catalytic converters from two Toyota automobiles and attempted to steal a third, but may have been frightened off.

In the case of the catalytic converters, they are easy to quickly take from under the car, and have been a hot item in L.A. County for several months. Thieves take the platinum out of them and sell them to scrap dealers for about $50 each. Unfortunately for the owner of the auto, they have to pay about $1,100 for a new one.

It appears the auto thefts have occurred between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. in homeowners’ driveways.

On June 23, there reportedly was a vehicle burglary on Brigden Rd. around 7:23 a.m. The vehicle was parked in the driveway. Unknown suspect opened the door by unknown means (which means the door may have been left unlocked). Once inside, the suspect removed the loss $1.00 in currency. No one was seen or heard. (The address does not match Brigden Road addresses, so we’re not sure about this one.)
I would guess the burglaries are Marshall High School kids looking for quick cash or items they could use or sell (that’s what police have told us is common). Also they were probably kids because they only hit one house at a time and took little. If the car burglars were pros, they would have hit several cars.

What the police have told us is that the kids are starting to steal because their parents can’t afford and aren’t buying them the expensive games, phones, ipods, and such now that the economy has turned down. So the kids are stealing what they need (laptops) and what they can sell for some quick cash.

RECOMMENDATION: Take precautions to lock all doors and windows, even if you’re leaving for a short period. Let your neighbors know if you’re not home. Put your cars in secure locations. All of the cars being hit are Toyotas, with the 4Runner being the easiest to slide under, unbolt the converter, and leave off.

NOTE: The police have constantly told us the BRN area is very safe. They get very few calls from here. Vigilance is the key.

With the economy, it seems to be our turn to be hit.

Your BRNA Board is developing an Emergency Preparedness/Neighborhood Watch program. You’ll be hearing about it soon.

Anyone interested in participating, please send a note to info@brigdenranch.org.

Welcome to the new website of the Brigden Ranch Neighborhood Association. We’ll be using this space to update you on the latest news and events concerning our neighborhood.

Your questions, comments or contributions are welcome. Write us at brigdenranch@gmail.com.

As some of you know, the BRNA Board discussed Neighborhood Watch Monday night at our Board meeting and took steps to begin developing a system.

It appears that’s good timing. I wanted to alert you to the following.

I’ve spent the past couple hours dealing with the police and lookiing at burglary suspects. A teen tried to break into my neighbor’s house about 1:00 p.m. today … and I’m looking right out the window at him. I went after him, but he and another kid (the spotter) got away. The police are looking for them.

Teens (15-17). Black. Dark complexion. About 5′10″ 150 lbs. Short, buzz-type haircuts. One wearing black jeans and black short-sleeve top, the other black jeans and white short-sleeve top. One riding a bike.

They (the burglars) found five houses in a row with no cars in driveways. Figured no one was home. Walked down long driveway into back yard. Tried to pull screen off open window in kitchen. Failed. Pulled screen off another open window but couldn’t get the window up. Tried on my side of neighbor’s house and didn’t realize I was home.

Not only did they try this house, but apparently tried another earlier in the morning but were frightened off.

Watch our web site www.brigdenranch.org and our newsletter for more information.

In the meantime, keep your doors and windows locked.