Highs and Lows

I find this week that, emotionally, I’ve been on a roller coaster.

First, I was on a high when I learned about the outreach efforts of Crescenta Valley High School students to collect food for the Bailey Center in Tujunga. Mary O’Keefe’s cover story shares how many of the students who are involved in school clubs have felt discouraged – and even a little depressed – because of the lack of volunteer opportunities. Through my involvement in the Prom Plus Club, the student arm of Prom Plus, I’ve come to know how important volunteering is for these kids. Prom Plus has been able to provide plenty of opportunities to volunteer through the barbecues the organization hosts twice a year, the holiday boutique, bingo, the Taste of Montrose and, of course, the main event: Prom Plus. But due to the novel coronavirus, Prom Plus – and the many events it hosts – was canceled this year leaving the Club’s students high and dry when it came to flexing their volunteer muscles.

So I was excited to hear how several of the school’s band and robotics team members decided to create their own fundraiser to benefit the Bailey Center that, as our readers well know, has been in desperate need of donations of food for the many homeless it serves. It’s a heart-warming story that I know you’ll enjoy.

Another story of Mary’s that you can read about this week deals with the personal struggles of members of the Goldsworthy and Bailey families as they deal with the governor’s decision to commute the sentence of convicted murderer Thomas Waterbury. Back in 1980 Waterbury murdered the sister of one of our family members and even though he got a sentence of life without parole plus two years due to the use of a firearm in committing the crime Gov. Newsom commuted the sentence. The hearing is scheduled for January 2021 when hopefully the family can make a statement regarding why Waterbury should remain in prison. The story will make your blood boil when you realize that apparently nobody is safe from criminals who may well return to the streets despite being convicted and incarcerated.

And what, as the general public, can we expect when these felons hit the streets? Possibly what happened in Alexandria, Virginia. That’s where Ibrahim E. Bouaichi was found by police, according to Fox5 News out of New York.

Bouaichi was indicted last year on charges that included rape, strangulation and abduction. He was jailed without bond in Alexandria; however, his lawyers argued for his release due to the pandemic. Over the protests of the prosecutor, Bouaichi was released on $25,000 bond.

He tracked down his accuser and fatally shot her.

He was chased down by police and crashed his car then apparently shot himself – though not fatally. But don’t worry: his lawyers are “certainly saddened by the tragedy both families have suffered here.”

Finally the news was announced this week that Kamala Harris, United States senator from California, was chosen as the running mate to democrat nominee Joe Biden. Initially I was totally turned off by the decision. What most ticked me off was Biden’s claim that he was choosing as his running mate a woman of color – not the most qualified person, which could be a woman of color, but a woman of color. As a woman I felt pandered to. As I hope every American thinks, I want the best people representing and serving the United States and I question whether Harris is the best choice to sit in the VP’s seat.

I have plenty of time between now and Election Day to learn more about the woman who might be “one heartbeat away from the presidency” if indeed Biden is elected. I’ll be using that time wisely, learning more about her and Joe Biden. The wisdom I gain will be used when casting my ballot in November – you can count on it.

  robin goldsworthy