By Brandon HENSLEY

During the Dec. 15 CV Town Council meeting, goodbyes were said, awards were handed out and only then could everyone enjoy the food and drinks of the after-meeting holiday party.

With L.A. County Supervisor Mike Antonovich on hand, the council said farewell to outgoing members Steve Goldsworthy and Charly Shelton. Both took home several certificates of appreciation, handed out by Antonovich, CV Chamber of Commerce President Leslie Lesh and spokesperson for L.A. County Fire Stephanie English.

Goldsworthy spent three years on council, and will now focus on other activities.

“Steve is an extremely devoted sheriff’s volunteer and Montrose Search and Rescue is very fortunate now to have him on their team,” said President Cheryl Davis.

Of Shelton, the youngest member who spent one year on council, Davis said, “He loves geology and was an excellent representative to the county sediment task force that was formed this year.”

The new members – although only Mike Claessens, who was elected as an alternate last month, is only truly new to council – were sworn in by Antonovich. Including Claessens, they were Charles Beatty, Frank Beyt, Danette Erickson, Odalis Suarez and Robert Thomas.

New officers for the coming year were also announced and sworn in. Beyt will be vice president, Todd Thornbury will be recording secretary, Erickson will be treasurer and Robbyn Battles will be the corresponding secretary.

There were more awards to announce, though. Councilmember Charles Beatty gave La Crescenta resident Mike Scott and his family the Spirit of Christmas award for their home Christmas decorations.

“Their home is always beautiful. It’s not ostentatious. It’s not overdone,” Beatty said.

It was announced that CV Weekly reporter Mary O’Keefe had been awarded the Montrose-Verdugo Chamber of Commerce Frank Roberts Visionary Award, which annually goes to those who show outstanding involvement and concern for the community.

Battles was announced as MV Chamber Volunteer of the Year. Her work as a leader of a group called ASTER – Assisting Seniors Through Enhanced Resources – proved successful in 2011.

And before Glendale police officer Matt Zakarian spoke on behalf of the CV Drug and Alcohol Prevention Coalition, it was announced that the group had been awarded MV Chamber Organization of the Year.

Toward the start of the meeting, Davis gave her end of the year address. She talked about the progress council made in several areas this year, and credited members Dr. Young Suh and Harry Leon for increasing outreach in the Korean and Armenian communities.

She also talked about the progress of the Land Use Committee.

“With the help of co-chairs Robert Thomas and Odalis Suarez, we held four Land Use meetings in an effort to increase communication to residents and businesses regarding regional planning issues and hearings.”

It was also the first meeting since the wind-caused power outages to those in the unincorporated area of La Crescenta. In talking about emergency preparedness, CV CERT coordinator Paul Dutton called the outages a “dry run” for the town and stressed the need to always be prepared in case of an even bigger emergency.

“We’re talking about seven to 10 days that you’re going to need to have power or lights. So yeah, if you haven’t bought a generator you should definitely go buy one,” Dutton said, who reminded everyone to have extra gas for cars and possibly space heaters for when power goes out again.

The next CVTC meeting is scheduled for Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. at the La Crescenta Library. Davis said she plans on having members from Southern California Edison come and speak about the power problems that occurred.

  Brandon Hensley