He Came as a Patient, Then Turned His Skills to Making Life Easier for Disabled

When Glen Jones first came to Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center in Downey 27 years ago, it was as a patient--confined to a wheelchair and unable to walk because of arthritis of the spine.

Jones spent more than two years in rehabilitation, and even though it was successful and he walked again, he did not leave the center.

Today, at 90, he is the oldest of 2,400 employees at the county facility known for rehabilitating people afflicted with disabilities ranging from severe spinal injuries to nerve and brain damage.

Jones, who lives in Huntington Park, works in the Vocational Rehabilitation Services workshop creating special equipment to help disabled patients lead better lives.

He worked for years as a part-time employee, but for the last 10 years has been full-time. During that time, he is credited with creating hundreds of devices for the handicapped. Before coming to the center, Jones operated a sheet metal shop in Huntington Park.

“He’s a genius. We tell him what we need and he invents it,” vocational workshop supervisor Geronimo Moreno said.

Occupational therapist Arcelia Vasquez-Davis said Jones created a number of devices several years ago that improved the quality of life for an armless male patient. Jones attached a leather buckle to a pedal of a three-wheel bicycle that allowed the man to operate the bike, while steering with the other foot. Jones also made special shower attachments the man could control with his head.

Some of his other inventions include an electrically operated stapler, elevated chairs with rollers, foot-operated linen hamper lids and snap-on metal devices for wheelchairs to hold drinking cups.

His accomplishments have been noticed by others; recently, he was honored as the senior of the year by the Senior Center at Long Beach City College.

Late last year, the inventor was presented a resolution for his contributions by County Supervisor Pete Schabarum. Jones said he is grateful that the medical center was able to help him, and his work is a way of showing his appreciation.

“I love what I’m doing. I enjoy it when I can help others,” Jones said.

After 30 years as a county sheriff’s deputy and the last five as the public safety supervisor for Bellflower, Glenn D. Hutchinson is retiring. In his retirement letter to City Manager Jack Simpson, Hutchinson said how much he enjoyed his work.

“But alas, as all dinosaurs have gone, so must I,” Hutchinson said. “I am fortunate to still enjoy good health and have an ardent desire to do some traveling before my name appears in the obituary.”

Hutchinson, 60, and his wife Lisa, 50, will spend a great deal of time in San Felipe on the Baja Peninsula of Mexico, where they are building a second vacation home. The Hutchinsons also will spend some time with their son, Kim, and his family on Harstine Island on Puget Sound in Washington.

Five graduates of local high schools have received nursing scholarships from the Downey Community Hospital Trust Foundation. The students will receive $500 each semester that they are enrolled in a nursing program at a college or university.

Janet Sarmiento, a graduate of St. Joseph High School in Lakewood, will attend Cypress College. Shannon Coe and Steven Webber will enroll at Cerritos College. Both are graduates of Downey High School. Maricella Perez, a graduate of Pius X in Downey, will go to Mt. St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles. Downey High graduate Elena Balarie will attend Cal State Long Beach.

As usual, members of the Whittier chapter of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America Inc. attended the annual Harmony College Workshop recently at Missouri Western State College in St. Joseph. But this year the chapter decided to send more than a quartet. A chorus of 56 attended.

The Whittier chapter dedicated this year’s trip to Earl Moon, who was recognized as director emeritus after 20 years as director and a member of the chapter.

* Scott Calcaterra has been appointed general manager of the Long Beach Plaza shopping center by JMB Properties Co. of Chicago. Calcaterra has been with the company, which has offices in Century City, for about three years.

* Dr. Vert Mooney, an orthopedic surgeon at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, has been appointed to the state’s newly formed Industrial Medical Council by Gov. George Deukmejian. The 14-member council will screen candidates wishing to serve as medical examiners to evaluate worker’s compensation cases.

* United Parcel Service driver Roy Watamura of Cerritos was recently honored by his company for completing 15 years of driving without an accident.

Capt. Patricia A. Tracey will become commander of the Long Beach Naval Station on Aug. 22.

Tracey is the second woman in U.S. Navy history to command a major naval station. The first woman to head a major facility is Capt. Marsha J. Evans, who was recently named commander of the Treasure Island Naval Station in San Francisco Bay.

Tracey replaces Capt. Gerald W. Dunne, who is going to Washington as executive director for the Defense Policy Board.

A 20-year veteran, Tracey’s most recent assignment was head of enlisted plans and community management for the chief of naval personnel in Washington. She wears three Meritorious Service Medals and a Legion of Merit. She is from New York City and a graduate of the College of New Rochelle.

Secretary of the Navy H. Lawrence Garrett III will be the guest speaker at the change of command ceremony.