Pitching In At the Playground, Pension Problems, and Pot Busts

At Mount Helix Patch, we know that in your busy lives there may be some stories that you can't read about the day they happen. With the "Week That Was" column, we'll provide a roundup of the most important stories of the week.

It was a busy day on Tuesday in Spring Valley, as hundreds of volunteers teamed up to help build a playground and fitness park at the Spring Valley-East Communities Center. A partnership between Kaboom!, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Spring Valley Youth and Family Coalition, San Diego Youth Services, and the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District, made it all possible. Check out the story, photos, and video or a fun, successful day.

Later that night, the news out of the offices was much more somber, as it announced that as many as 65 teachers were facing possible layoffs due to increased budget cuts. The District also adopted a plan whereby sixth grade students would be retained in elementary schools, turning middle schools into junior high schools.

What do a singer/actor, a Playboy Playmate, an Olympic silver medalist, a professional baseball player and a former Dallas Cowboy have in common? If you are an alum of Monte Vista High School, you may have gone to school with one or more of them.

Ratepayers showed up at the board meeting on Wednesday and voiced their displeasure at what is deemed an "inappropriate and unnecessary" benefits package for HWD employees, which includes a pension plan that employees pay noting into, 24 days of paid time off per year, and full health care coverage for both employees AND their dependents if hired before 2007, which the employees also do not pay anything to facilitate.

A man was arrested last week, charged with possessing and selling marijuana out of his Spring Valley home, which just happens to double as his mother's child day care center.

It's almost playoff time, as many high school winter sports are wrapping up. The pairings for the CIF boys and girls basketball tournaments have been announced, and many local high school teams have made it to the post season, including Monte Vista, Mt. Miguel, Grossmont and Helix.