Residents make plea for DARE

A group of concerned residents will ask the City Council to

continue funding the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.

As budget cuts loom once again, the drug education program may be

placed on the chopping block once more.

Using a four-letter acronym like the program it hopes to save, the

Substance Abuse and Violence Education task force, or SAVE, is

working with school leaders, businesses, parents, local religious

groups and the police department to secure outside funding for the

program. So far, the group has secured two grants totaling more than

$250,000.

The group hopes to work with a grant writer to help them find

funding sources from outside the city.

The City Council will discuss whether to continue funding the

program at its meeting on Monday, Dec. 16. The council saved the

program, but cut part of its funding earlier this year.

Shirley Carey, a task force member and Huntington Beach City

School District trustee, said she feels the program helps prevent

many children from using drugs.

“I do think that the lives of many children’s are changed as a

result of this program,” she said. “They make decisions to not use

drugs, or at least delay the time before they use.”

Personnel Commission reevaluates its duties

The City Council and Personnel Commission held a joint meeting

last week to discuss the roles and responsibilities that the

commission faces.

The meeting, which lasted a little more than an hour, is just one

of several workshops that the city will hold to discuss the

commission’s duties, said Michael Miller, legal counsel to the city.

Personnel Commission procedures for disciplinary action and

grievances were some of the things discussed at the meeting.

Newly elected council members Gil Coerper, Cathy Green and Jill

Hardy attended the meeting last week.

Citywide siren testing will resume Friday

On Friday, the city will resume its monthly warning siren testing.

The tests, which sound from seven of the city’s fire stations to

warn of impending emergencies such as a hazardous chemical spill,

tornado or tsunami, will take place on the last Friday of each month

at noon.

Huntington Beach is one of the few California cities that has

maintained the siren system, city officials said. Testing was

temporarily interrupted to make repairs to the sirens, which have

been in place for the past 20 years.

If the sirens go off at any time other than the last Friday of

each month, citizens should prepare themselves for some type of

emergency situation. On such occasions, residents should turn their

radio dials to KWVE 107.9 FM or to 95.9 KFSH for information.

Stations will receive information within five minutes of any

catastrophic event and provide listeners with instructions.

Anyone with questions about siren testing can call the Huntington

Beach Fire Department Emergency Services office at (714) 536-5980.

-- compiled by Jose Paul Corona