Author: dfasdt4

Rlynn Smith-Thomas likes to spend time in the kitchen cooking meals that are rich in flavor, nutritious, and will put a smile on her friends’ and family’s faces.  The self-taught home cook creates a wide range of meals but her favorite dish to make is meatloaf with mashed or creamed potatoes and peas because it was her children’s favorite growing up.  Despite never having culinary training, Smith-Thomas takes her time perfecting dishes with flavor and presentation.  After every dish she’s proud of, the Santa Clarita Valley resident likes to snap a photo and send it to her oldest son, Joshua Thomas, who has…

Jaine Garcia grew up loving horses and began riding at the early age of 4. After traveling the world and riding horses in places such as South Africa and Australia, she wanted to take a break from them and the sport.  Until one day a friend told her about Win Place Home.  “‘You have to come see this place. It’s completely different from any barn you’ve ever known,’” she recalled her friend telling her.  Once she set foot at Win Place Home and met dozens of retired race horses who needed guidance and some extra love, she never left.  Garcia, who is now an…

When Jessper Maquindang was in the second grade, he was diagnosed with asthma. His parents kept him away from any and all physical activities, they shielded him from pets for fear that dog hair or cat fur might spur on an asthma attack, and for the most part, they kept him inside. Of course Maquindang would want to run a marathon. “Those limits — I just didn’t want that to be my story,” he told The Signal over the phone following the completion of his 15th marathon on June 22 in Anchorage, Alaska. “I was inspired by the major goals of marathon…

It’s not every day that 11-year-olds can say they have painted a mural in an iconic neighborhood restaurant. But for Lily Diaz, this is not the case. Lorena D’s has been a staple for Diaz and her family for years. So, when the restaurant’s owner Lorena Delgado asked her to paint a mural on the walls, Diaz was ecstatic to take the offer.  “I feel like it was a big opportunity, and I’m definitely getting more like, what’s the word? More recognized for my art now that I painted on a famous restaurant,” Diaz said.   Diaz said that she’d only been painting…

Nine-year-old Titus Hwang was overjoyed with his new trophy to add to his collection and showed it off to his friends and fellow competitors.  “I’m going to put it with my other trophies,” he said when asked about where he would place the new award, adding, that he hopes to participate in Taekwondo “forever.” Like Hwang, approximately 200 students as young as 3 years old tested their physical and mental strength and simultaneously showed off their newest skills in Taekwondo to their friends and families in the large audience on Saturday.  The ONE TaeKwonDo hosted its sixth in-house competition at La Mesa Junior…

“Si se puede, si se puede!” became a chanting echo in the 1970s from the United Farm Workers of America when they fought for higher wages and Cesar Chavez was at the forefront of the fight.  Dolores Huerta, the woman behind the famous slogan “Si se puede!” and a labor leader fighting alongside Chavez, made a special visit to Golden Valley High School on Friday and connected with students, encouraged them to dream big, pursue higher education, and advocate for issues they believe in.  Erika Cedeño, Golden Valley High School World Language Department chair and Spanish teacher, often boasts to her husband…

Deputies with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station and L.A. County Fire Department personnel were dispatched to a three-vehicle collision in which a truck slammed into the Chi Chi’s Pizza location on the northbound side of Sierra Highway on Monday afternoon. According to Howard Tieu, spokesman for the Fire Department, personnel were dispatched at 3:16 p.m. and arrived on the scene at 3:19 p.m.  A commercial truck was exiting the State Route 14 freeway when the driver began to apply his brakes and realized they were not working, according to Deputy Whitaker, who was assisting on the scene.  Deputies with the Santa Clarita…

Juanita Rojas has had a common goal with all her students throughout her three-decade teaching career. She wants to help her students form a “sense of belonging,” she said.  “Sometimes some of these kids come to school, day in and day out, and they still don’t feel connected,” she added.  On a Thursday morning, over 20 Golden Valley High School students made up of diverse backgrounds, ranging from freshmen to seniors, began to tap their feet in unison onto the polished wooden floor while Mexican music played in the background. The students were dancing ballet folklorico, a cultural dance that originated in…

The Sand Canyon Country Club welcomed many furry friends at the Titania K9 Fund’s 8th annual fundraiser with the theme of “Wanted: Wild West Gala” on Sunday afternoon to raise funds for the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles dog therapy program.  Titania K9 Fund Founders Denise and Mark Kane hold superhero Titania and her sidekick pooch K9 which symbolizes the superhero spirit inside children facing illness and injury during the Wanted Wild West Gala, a fundraiser to support the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles therapy dog program on Sunday. 092924 Katherine Quezada/The SignalTitania K9 Fund committee member, Denise Kane, said that her daughter,…

Dogs and dog owners were invited to the American Cancer Society’s “Bark for Life,” fundraiser on Sunday morning at the Canyon Country Community Center put on by Relay for Life.  Local resident Claribel Diaz said she and her partner were taking their usual morning walk with their two dogs, Simon and Theodore, when they noticed the setup for the fundraiser. She said they asked if they could join in and were welcomed immediately. “We just lingered around and we’re enjoying events here,” said Diaz.  Kathleen Pavard, event organizer, said that the American Cancer Society hosts two big local events in the year. The…