Warnings posted around Grand Canal The...

Warnings posted around Grand Canal

The Orange County Health Care Agency posted signs Tuesday

afternoon warning swimmers and divers to stay away from Grand Canal

on Balboa Island after heightened levels of bacteria were discovered.

Testing samples taken Monday evening showed 110 bacteria, only six

more than the state-mandated standard, said Monica Mazur, the

agency’s spokeswoman.

On Thursday, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials removed a

gaggle of ducks from the canal that were suspected of unloading their

waste into the water.

However, a group of pigeons still congregates at the spot, Mazur

said.

When the agency posts at an area, it is not closed to the public.

Instead, the area is flagged as a potential health risk.

Shooting sparks investigation

Costa Mesa police are investigating an accidental shooting that

occurred Tuesday morning.

Gordon Franklyn Bridges, 43, was shot in his side in his garage in

the 1900 block of Anaheim Avenue when a 22-caliber revolver that he

and a friend were examining discharged. The two had found the gun in

a box.

Bridges was taken to UCI Medical Center, where he was listed in

serious but stable condition.

Lifeguards award

3 scholarships

Three lifeguards received scholarships on Aug. 20 at the Newport

Beach Ocean Lifeguard Assn. End of the Summer Awards Banquet.

The association celebrated its 79th year with the city at the Elks

Club.

The club presented the association with a $500 general donation

for the Don Burns Scholarship Fund. Presented annually, the

scholarship honors the late Don Burns, who was a Newport Beach

lifeguard for 40 years, as well as an Estancia High teacher and

coach. The scholarship is awarded to lifeguards who demonstrate

interest and involvement in education, youth development, sports and

sportsmanship, and community involvement.

This year’s recipient is Ben Green, a Newport Harbor High graduate

studying architecture at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

The Newport Beach Marine Safety Officers Assn. also awarded

scholarships to Ben Carlson, a UCI student from Alta Loma, and

Richard Sprout, a Santa Ana College Fire Academy student from Newport

Beach.

Kitten rescued from freeway bridge

A small, gray kitten perched precariously on a freeway bridge

Tuesday afternoon was rescued by California Highway Patrol and Orange

County Animal Control crews.

Many drivers reported seeing the feline poking its head out of an

expansion joint on a transition road between the southbound Costa

Mesa Freeway and the San Diego Freeway.

Officers arrived at the scene about 1 p.m. It took them about an

hour to find the cat, which they estimated to be 6 weeks old.

Once the kitten was found, they leaned over the railing and

rescued it with a net.

--Deirdre Newman