Thanking the Special People
On Saturday, April 21 something very special happened in the Crescenta Valley. There was a gathering of over 800 people … students, community leaders and neighbors who came together for a Special Olympics Track and Field Meet at Crescenta Valley High School. It was a beautiful day, not because the sun was shining and the sky was blue … it was beautiful to witness the celebration of peaceful competition, good will and the triumph of human spirit.

CVCAN (Crescenta Valley Committed to Athletic Needs) decided as a group that hosting this event was exactly what was needed in our community.  Our friends at Montrose Church partnered with us this year and their efforts and dedication helped to make the day as special as it was. This dedicated group of people from CV CAN and Montrose Church chaired the various portions of the event to make it happen – but the most important part of that day’s success were the volunteers.

The hope of our committee was to enlist 300 volunteers to help provide a good event for the 300-plus athletes who were scheduled to attend. What a surprise to us when on the day before the event we had 400 people already pre-registered to help us out! And on the morning of the track meet more showed up to lend their support.

Local individuals, business people, students and law enforcement helped to feed all the volunteers and coaches, cheered on the athletes and placed the medals around their necks. That day the community of Crescenta Valley learned a great lesson from each other – everybody counts, and everybody can do something very, very important and good.

We thank all of you who made a difference that day. The businesses and individuals who discounted or donated items, the volunteers who came out in masses, the law enforcement groups who brought a smile to an athlete’s face, the Glendale Unified School District for their support of the facility. But the most important group to thank is the athletes themselves. They are the living symbol that we can reach across human differences and disabilities to unleash the God given potential that lies within each individual. These athletes showed the 800-plus people at CVHS on Saturday that when given the chance they can do extraordinary things. We thank them for that gift they gave us.

Yes, on Saturday, April 21 something very special happened in the Crescenta Valley. Eight hundred of us shared the spirit of giving and teamwork. They made our community a more welcoming and accepting place.

Thank you for making a difference.

Grace Chase
Montrose              

Editor’s note: Grace Chase is a lifelong resident of the Crescenta Valley, vice president of CVCAN and Chairman – Special Olympics Event

Defining Extraordinary
A woman becoming school board president isn’t something extraordinary, like a woman becoming mayor or governor [Walters Named GUSD Board President, April 5]. On the GUSD board, there are four women and one man. In Los Angeles, San Francisco, and elsewhere across the country, women make up the majority of school board seats. Yet, the Glendale City Council only has one woman. The Los Angeles City Council has one, and San Francisco’s board of supervisors has three. All over the country, women are a political “minority” in city government (and other levels of government) relative to their proportion of the population (roughly half). I find this very bothersome.

Many would argue that this isn’t an issue, claiming that women are just naturally uninterested in politics, while men are. And that women are naturally more interested in things that affect children (like what the school board does). This is simply wrong.

There isn’t much of a disparity in the numbers of male and female voters. And women make up half or nearly half of the parliaments of Sweden, Finland, Andorra, and Wales (the lower house of the Rwandan legislature is majority-female, but that’s because a certain number of seats are reserved for women).

The problem is that women in the United States are often discouraged from running for office.

Morgan Nrykkyyn
Glendale