Gains & Losses

GAINS

A LONG AND HAPPY MARRIAGE

Diane and Harold Schechter could probably teach many young couples a

thing or two about getting along. The pair have been married almost 62

years. And it’s not that they haven’t had their share of marital spats,

they just know how to deal with them. “You fight, but you have to make

up. And never go to sleep mad,” Diane said. As for Harold, he has another

theory about their success as a couple: “I say I’m the lord and master of

my house, and she could do whatever she likes,” he said.

HOLDING OFF ON WATER MIX

The Orange County Sanitation District has decided to hold off on

releasing waste water that contains a higher concentration of bacteria

into the ocean until researchers determine the cause of contamination

that forced the city beaches to close last year. The district received

the OK in October to change the current mixture of water that has

received primary treatment with water that has gotten a more stringent

secondary treatment, from a 50-50 blend to a 70-30 blend. While the

mixture -- which is pumped five miles off the coast -- is safe, it’s nice

that the district is concerned about the effect it might have on the

effort to pinpoint a cause of the contamination.

FUTURE WORLD LEADERS

A week after they returned from a Model United Nations conference in The

Hague, Netherlands, students from Edison High School’s Model United

Nations team were jetting off to compete in another event at Old Dominion

in Virginia. Preparing for the competitions is challenging for the high

school teens. “You have to do college-level research,” said Ken Ammann,

the team’s advisor. “You have to make an oral presentation in front of

thousands of people, and you have to learn your country’s policy.”

LOSSES

REHLING FORCED TO RETIRE

Ken Rehling gave 32 years to the Marina High School football program --

first as a player, then as an assistant coach and most recently as head

coach. His involvement ended last week when Principal Carol Osbrink and

Athletic Director Paul Renfrow asked him to resign. “I was told that it

wasn’t anything that I did, that it didn’t have anything to do with our

staff nor our football team,” Rehling said. Osbrink and Renfrow said they

want to take the team in a new direction, and they wanted someone else to

lead the way. Marina finished the 1999 season with a 5-5-1 record.

A MILLION TO GO

The Take the Plunge campaign and the Huntington Beach Union High School

District have begun construction on a new aquatic complex at Huntington

Beach High School. The only problem is, the group is still $1 million

short of what it’s going to cost to finish the project. So far, Take the

Plunge members have raised about $600,000. “We need the school district

and the city to come up with the rest of the funds,” said Dan Hay, a

member of the Huntington Beach Foundation, which is the umbrella

organization for Take the Plunge. Meanwhile, school district officials

are scratching their heads. “I don’t see where the money will come from

in such a short time,” Assistant Supt. Patricia Koch said.