Politics & Government

Council Honors Students Who Came to Aid of Bleeding Woman

Meeting also saw annual Safety Patrol awards to local fifth-graders and appearance by Iraq war veteran.

La Mesans who serve their school, fellow residents and country became the theme of Tuesday’s City Council meeting—with special honors going to three La Mesa Middle School students who came to the aid of a woman they found bleeding on Spring Street two weeks ago.

Brothers Daniel and Justin McRae and friend Xenon (pronounced ZEN-on) Richards received certificates from Councilman Ernie Ewin and shook hands with the council and staff for their May 11 acts of kindness and humanity.

Beth Thomas, their principal, also spoke—but said the young teens’ parents also deserved to be commended.

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“They should be up here and not me,” Thomas said from the dais in front a packed council chambers. (The parents were later summoned up front with their sons.)

For their part, the three students—who gave the injured woman a drink and called 911 on May 11 as cars sped by—said they enjoyed the attention and planned to frame the certificates for display at home.

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“Among the people [at school] who know, we’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback,” said Justin,  15.

Daniel and Justin will attend Helix Charter High School, and Xenon will go to Grossmont after finishing middle school, they said.

The council then presented its annual Outstanding Safety Patrol Awards to students from seven schools—all fifth-graders who volunteered to help classmates cross busy streets before and after school.

The annual awards went to Alina Fletes of Rolando Elementary School, Lovetee Williams of La Mesa Dale, Anna Kelley of Lemon Avenue, Brett Hayes of Murray Manor, Dylan Smith of Maryland Avenue, Kylie Greaves of Northmonth and Jack Sconza of Vista La Mesa Academy.

Councilman Mark Arapostathis—himself a recipient of recent honors, as director of Peter Pan Junior Theater (he received the Bravissimo Community Star Award Monday night at the La Jolla Playhouse)—is a teacher at Rolando Elementary.

With the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District adding sixth grade to elementary schools in the fall, the traditional fifth-grade safety patrol system may change.

Arapostathis said sixth-graders at Rolando would be eligible for safety patrol, but that other schools would make their own decisions on whether to keep the duty for fifth-graders.

Finally, Councilman Dave Allan completed his series of events honoring local military veterans by introducing retired Marine Tim Jeffers, an Iraq War veteran severely injured by an IED blast three months into his tour about eight years ago.

Jeffers, 27, of Rancho San Diego lost both legs, his right eye, a finger and suffered traumatic brain injuries, he said from his wheelchair. He left the service in 2007 and has been jobless ever since, he said.

“I see the police chief [Al Lanning] here,” Jeffers said, holding a microphone. “It would make my world if you could do something about getting me a job—because my dreams were to become a police officer.”


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