Welcome to 2016! My name is Leslie Dickson and I am the new president of Crescenta Valley Town Council. I am a longtime resident of our valley and am humbled by the opportunity to serve the community I love. I have already been advised by a variety of community and county leaders, including first responders, in regards to evolving matters in the Crescenta Valley.

The new year brings us an accomplished and diverse town council. We have drawn on the many talents of our community to develop an association that will be able to work toward meeting the needs of all of our community members. I am looking forward to working together to keep La Crescenta great.

One of our first projects is the L.A. Parks Needs Assessment. Los Angeles County is asking our residents to decide what park amenities are needed in our community. Look around our community; do you see a vacant lot that might make a nice pocket park? Does the ball field need more seating or lights? Come to the Jan. 30 meeting at 10 a.m. at Rosemont Middle School. For more information visit http://thecvcouncil.com/.

The council will continue to work closely with Glendale Unified School District that has agreed to come to our general meeting every month to update our residents on pertinent issues. Ongoing issues include the superintendent vacancy, Sagebrush and the school calendar. We appreciate the school district’s efforts in communicating directly with the foothill schools.

General council meetings are held on the third Thursday of the month. At our Jan. 21 general meeting Caltrans and Metro will be discussing the sound wall project that is set to begin along the La Crescenta corridor of the 210 Freeway. This is a great opportunity for you to become informed and ask any questions regarding this project.

Our meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the La Crescenta Library community room (2809 Foothill Blvd.).

The CV Town Council has been giving scholarships to local high school seniors for several years. It’s that time again! We will soon be posting the 2016 scholarship application and due date to our website.

Our CV Youth Council is also geared up to have an amazing 2016. They will host another Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow event. This gives our community’s youngsters a chance to wear their entrepreneurial hats and sell their own crafts and goods at the Montrose Harvest Market. Participants can download the application from our council website. Seventh through 12th graders are encouraged to participate.

As a reminder, this is your community! Do you have an idea, a question, or concern? Please contact the CV Town Council so we can assist you or speak to us during the public comments portion of our monthly meeting.

Hope to see you all on Jan. 21 at our general council meeting.