By Brandon HENSLEY

It was light and not very in-depth, but audience members at the Feb. 21 Crescenta Valley Town Council meeting were given an up close look at three of the candidates running for the April 2 elections.

Glendale Unified School District board of education candidates Dan Cabrera, Armina Gharpetian and incumbent Greg Krikorian each gave three-minute speeches about their background and why they are running for office. Candidates Ali Sadri and Jennifer Freemon and incumbents Joylene Wagner and Christine Walters were not in attendance, and council said they would try and host them at next month’s meeting.

Cabrera is a former Glendale High School PTA president and teacher. He said there are two problems he would like to tackle if elected: “The safety, health and security of our students and staff, and second, ensuring that we have the best teachers possible in our classroom.”

He’d also advocate for a professional development program that gives new and struggling teachers time to spend with experienced teachers.

Krikorian stressed his knowledge and involvement within La Crescenta specifically since 2001.

“I understand the importance of Crescenta Valley [High School], and also Rosemont [Middle School] and Lincoln and Valley View, Dunsmore [elementary schools],” he said. “All of our schools.”

Gharpetian, a dentist and business owner, talked about the importance of not increasing class size. She wants to engage the community by offering forums, and to keep an eye on wasteful spending. She also said she would like business owners to be more involved in schools.

“No matter how steep our budget shortfall is we cannot let our children down,” she said. “We cannot keep increasing class sizes. We cannot continue teaching our kids without adopting new textbooks.”

Another primary issue at the CVTC meeting concerned the progress of the land at the top of Rosemont Avenue, which was purchased by the Arroyo and Foothills Conservancy last year. Paul Rabinov and Frank Colcord gave a PowerPoint presentation detailing what is currently going on with the Rosemont Preserve.

There is a restoration process happening that the community can take part in on the first and third Saturdays of the each month from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. That will continue through at least May, said Colcord, who added the conservancy was given a $25,000 grant to plant 60 trees, and it has worked with the Girl Scouts to collect seeds that have been germinated.

There’s also an education process the conservancy is stressing. Colcord said the conservancy is working with Mountain Avenue Elementary to develop a curriculum for third-graders to learn about plant and animal adaptation, which will include trips to the preserve.

The conservancy is also partnering with Harvey Mudd College, having students work on improving entry ways to the canyon. Rabinov said the Crescenta Valley Water District is working to modify flood control, with criteria that includes the work being aesthetically pleasing.

“It provides us all with a place to enjoy a bit of nature,” Rabinov said of the preserve, “to learn about a variety of aspects that we don’t often consider, from biology to geology to where our water comes from, and our significant flood control that protects us.”

Toward the beginning of the meeting, Arick Gevorkian and Ellie Pipes were given certificates of appreciation and gratitude for their service to the CV community, presented by CVTC President Cheryl Davis.

Gevorkian has been instrumental within the Armenian community and helped organize last fall’s Armenian Korean Festival at CV Park. Pipes was recognized for her 50 years of service to the La Crescenta Woman’s Club.

The next town council meeting is scheduled for March 21 at 7 p.m. in the Community Room at the La Crescenta Library, 2809 Foothill Blvd. in La Crescenta.

  Brandon Hensley