From the Newsroom -- Tony Dodero

It seems an odd match.

Newport Harbor cheerleaders teamed with Jim “The Poorman” Trenton, the

irascible radio DJ and promoter par excellence.

But it happened.

With a little help from the local press (us) and KIIS-FM (102.7 FM)

morning radio icon Rick Dees, The Poorman tracked down five of the now

famous left-out cheerleaders and pointed them down a path of probably

even greater notoriety.

“These girls now have a real high-profile media gig,” Trenton said.

“The Deestroyers. That’s a really cool thing.”

Here’s what transpired. Trenton, a longtime Newport Beach resident who

made his name during the heyday of punk-rock themed radio station KROQ

(106.7 FM) and later as a host of the teen angst radio program

“Loveline,” read about the cheerleaders’ plight in the Daily Pilot.

After other media outlets picked up the story, and Dees began jawing

about it on his radio program, Trenton dug up a copy of the Pilot to find

a name of one of the dejected cheerleaders to look up.

He found Jennifer Nahin, an oft-quoted junior who was one of those who

first didn’t make, then made, then didn’t make the cheerleading squad.

Trenton asked Jennifer if she would like to make a connection with

Dees and turn her bad luck into good publicity.

At first, Jennifer said she wasn’t sure what to think. She called the

radio station to make sure they employed a guy named Poorman. When she

learned he was legit, she agreed to do some gigs.

The rest has been a whirlwind of publicity that doesn’t look like it’s

going to end any time soon.

Jennifer, Christin Veloz, Kara Buffalini, Katie Stephens and Rachel

Thompson were all conscripted by Dees to be the official cheerleaders for

the KIIS-FM disc jockey.

Hence, the Deestroyers were born.

The five cheerleaders have already been featured on Dees’ Super Bowl

party and have cheered at a fund-raising soiree at Doheny Beach to raise

money to help pay bills for a woman with terminal cancer.

“We’ve all had a lot of fun with this,” Jennifer said. “It’s really

cool. It’s an honor.”

And Jennifer said another benefit is she now knows the other girls a

lot better.

Jennifer’s mom, Marianne, was also a little skeptical of her daughter

getting involved with all of this, but has come to believe it’s been a

good experience.

“It’s fun for them and it’s helped their self-esteem,” she said.

She and the other mothers are looking for other fund-raising

activities and civic-minded events the girls can take part in, like

performing at the Special Olympics.

As for Dees and Poorman, they are planning some major gigs for the

Deestroyers, including possible performances at the Wango Tango concert

in June and maybe even the Los Angeles Marathon.

Even Lisa Callahan, the cheer coach who lost her job in the

controversy, has joined up with the Deestroyers, choreographing their

cheer routines and picking out their Deestroyers outfits. The Poorman

sees big things ahead for all of them.

“We’re going to try and make it grow,” he said. “The girls are so

psyched.”

So if you were worried about the cheerleaders who didn’t make the team

and how they were faring, don’t.

For Jennifer Nahin, the Deestroyers’ opportunity has taken much of the

sting out of the whole cheerleading letdown, which has become the talk of

the school.

“We had a rally yesterday where the cheerleaders had to perform,” she

said. “It wasn’t that bad. I didn’t miss it. . . . Something good always

comes out of bad situations. This is a lifelong lesson.”

* TONY DODERO is the editor. His column appears on Mondays. If you

have story ideas or concerns about news coverage, please send messages

either via e-mail to o7 tony.dodero@latimes.comf7 or by phone at

949-574-4258.