Employee_Newsletter_8-2018

CITY OF VERNON
EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER

AUGUST 2018

HISTORY TAKES CENTER STAGE AT THE CITY’S BATTLE
OF LA MESA PLAQUE DEDICATION CEREMONY

On August 7th, at approximately 11:00 am, a literal blast from the past shook the area around Vernon City Hall.
The thunderous cannon blast was part of a planned artillery demonstration marking the start of a program
to commemorate the unveiling and dedication of a replacement plaque for California Historical Landmark
Number 167, the La Mesa Battlefield, also known as the Battle of Los Angeles.
The Battle of La Mesa was fought a short two miles east from the current location of Vernon City Hall on Jan-
uary 9, 1847. Over 1,000 men exchanged fire from rifles, The battle marked the final California conflict in the
Mexican-American War as the Treaty of Cahuenga was signed three days later. In March of 1935, the State of
California installed California Historical Landmark Plaque No. 167 to memorialize the site as one of California’s
most significant historical landmarks. The original plaque remained at the location of the battle until it was
identified as missing in 2012.
On the 7th, Vernon City Officials, the Native Sons of the Golden West, civic leaders, members of the U.S. Ma-
rine Corps Historical Company, and members of the local community gathered at Vernon City Hall to witness
the dedication of the replacement plaque and to celebrate the unveiling of this historical monument. “We
are honored to provide a site for the public to visit, enjoy and learn about the Battle of La Mesa,” declared
Mayor Yvette Woodruff-Perez as she addressed those in attendance. “We hope that you leave here with a
better understanding of our history.”

Up-to-the-Minute News

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CONGRATULATIONS!

Anniversaries

30 Years

Steven M. Ruffoni, Fire Captain; David A. Moore, Fire Captain; David J. Lazar, Fire Battalion Chief

20 Years

Alexandra Ronquillo, Police Records Technician

15 Years

Jose S. Reyna, Police Officer; Tyler Shook, Firefighter/Paramedic

10 Years

Javier Valdez, Business & Account Supervisor; Brian Linnert, Water Maintenance Worker; Ivette Alfaro, Police
Dispatcher; Hilda Moreno, Senior Account Clerk; Angela Melgar, Senior Accountant

5 Years

Vickie Harris-Trigg, Police Records Technician

New Hires, Promotions, Recruitments, and Retirements

New Hires

Jerry Alvarado, Street Maintenance Worker, Public Works Department
Dominique Alvarez, Administrative Assistant, Human Resources Department

Dwight Arce, Environmental Specialist, Temporary, Health Department
Ziad Askar, Environmental Specialist, Temporary, Health Department

Teolor Atangan, Environmental Specialist, Temporary, Health Department
Margarita Beltran, Engineering Aide, Public Works Department

Vivian Nelson, Interim Director of Environmental Health, Health Department
Duane Odonnell, Environmental Specialist, Temporary, Health Department
Xiomara Santana, Environmental Specialist, Temporary, Health Department

Iman Torbati, Associate Electrical Engineer, Public Utilities Department

Promotions

Raymond Godoy, Police Officer, Police Department
Rafael Landa, Police Corporal, Police Department
Gustavo Herrera, Police Sergeant, Police Department
Nicholas Perez, Police Lieutenant, Police Department
John Vittorio, Firefighter/Paramedic, Fire Department
Vincent Rodriguez, Public Works Superintendent, Public Works Department
Joanna Hurtado-Moreno, Assistant Civil Engineer, Public Utilities Department

Robert Farrell, Fire Captain, Fire Department

Recruitments

Public Utilities Assistant Civil Engineer - Closes on 9/16/2018
Building Inspector - Closes on 9/4/2018

Police Officer Lateral - Open Continuous
Police Officer Trainee - Open Continuous
Public Works Project Coordinator Promotional - Closes on 9/11/2018

Retirements:

Jerry Winegar, Police Lieutenant, Police Department
Andrew Thompson, Street Maintenance Worker, Public Works Department

William Niesley, Fire Captain, Fire Department
Anthony Rotell, Firefighter/Paramedic, Fire Department

EVENTS Employees enjoyed a Health and Wellness Fair on June 6th and an Employee
Appreciation Luncheon on July 12th. Each event offered a great opppor-
tunity to relax at lunchtime and enjoy the company of friends and co-work-
ers. It was great to see everyone come out and participate in the fun!

Department Highlights

Each day, employees are hard at work making a difference in their respective depart-
ments. In this section, we will highlight a few of the accomplishments, happenings, and
newsworthy events that have taken place over the last several months.

Vernon Public Utilities Provides Safety
Training for Ryerson Employees

Ryerson Steel, one of Vernon Public Utilities’ top 100
electric customers, requested that VPU visit their facil-
ity to provide safety training to three different shifts of
Ryerson employees. On May 9th, during their annual
safety week, VPU presented on personal safety best
practices when managing electrical and/or natural
gas elements.

VPU staff members Brian Montoya, Dan Cordova, Bill
Murray (with Petrelli), Anthony Serrano, Todd Dusen-
berry, and Lisa Umeda all addressed Ryerson person-
nel by sharing tips to stay safe at work and at home
along with their own personal safety experiences.

The event provided a great opportunity for VPU to
partner with the community it serves.

Department Highlights

National Night Out Connects Law
Enforcement to the Community

Vernon PD participated in National Night Out this past August 2nd. Department personnel made their way
over to the Vernon Village Park Apartments to mingle with Vernon families and connect with the community
on a personal level.

National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships
and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live. National Night
Out enhances the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of
community. Furthermore, it provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive
circumstances.

Millions of neighbors take part in National Night Out across thousands of communities from all fifty states, U.S.
territories and military bases worldwide.

Vernon Means Business

Business and industry is what we’re all about here in Vernon! This section is designed to single out a business in
Vernon and highlight their unique operation. In this edition, we are acknowledging the City’s history by featuring
Norris Industries, a World War II era manufacturer, whose site is being re-vamped for a brand new Vernon business.

Norris Industries

Vernon Site of World War II Era Manufacturer Demolished to
Make Way for a New Business

In the 1920s and 30s, heavy industries
such as steel (U.S. and Bethlehem), alumi-
num (Alcoa), glass (Owens), can-making
(American Can) and automobile pro-
duction (Studebaker) grew in the City.
The 1940s and 50s added aerospace
contractors (Norris Industries), box and
paper manufacturers, drug companies
(Brunswig), and food processors (General
Mills, Kal Kan). Giant meat packers (Farm-
er John and Swift) continued to grow. A
strong, unionized labor force meant excel-
lent middle class incomes for thousands of
families (Source: lacre.net, Pete Moruzzi,
1997).

Norris Industries (or NI Industries), was
founded in 1930. Mr. Norris started his busi-
ness with $23,015 - money he and his wife
had saved for a new house. With his sav-
ings, Mr. Norris said, he had relatively little
difficulty starting a business in the begin-
ning of the depression. “I was able to buy
most of the equipment I needed at auc-
tions that were being held for companies
that were going out of business,” he said.

During World War II the company was an
important manufacturer of seamless ar-
tillery cartridge cases fabric ated from
steel instead of brass, which had not been
thought feasible (Source: New York Times
Archives, 1972).

As recent as 2009, NI Industries was man-
ufacturing over four hundred high quality
munitions products for the U.S. Military. The
company has management, technical
and manufacturing teams with hundreds
of years of experience in the defense in-
dustry. They take great pride in their engi-
neers and researchers, as well as their pro-
duction artisans and machinists (Source:
Congressional Record Volume 155, Num-
ber 81, Tuesday, June 2, 2009).

VERNON GIVES BACK

Vernon Fire Supports the Muscular
Dystrophy Association with its “Fill
the Boot” Fundraiser

Vernon Fire personnel have outdone themselves for this year’s “Fill the Boot” Fundraiser for the Muscular Dys-
trophy Association (MDA)! In 2018, Vernon Fire was able to raise about $24,000! Great job to everyone who
roamed the Vernon streets and collected donations from passers-by.

Many thanks to our Vernon workers, residents, and those just passing through the City for your generous con-
tributions. You are greatly appreciated!

See you out on the streets next year! Let’s continue to Fill the Boot for our friends at MDA!

VERNON GIVES BACK

Vernon Public Utilities Hosts Vernon
Elementary Students for an Educational Tour!

The Water Division of Vernon Public Utilities kicked off May with facility tours for Vernon City Elementary School’s
3rd through 6th grade classes. The students learned about their drinking water, the source, water quality, and
the production to distribution process (from the ground to their homes and school). The facilities tour included
one of the City’s groundwater production wells, a booster station, and the 10-million-gallon underground res-
ervoir. The maintenance and construction crews showcased the different types of equipment that are used
in day-to-day operations.
The students, who were inquisitive and engaged throughout the tours, were treated with VPU branded goody
bags at the end of their field trip and sent on their way with a new understanding of where and how their
water makes its way to their faucet!

COMMUNITY EVENTS

The City was busy this summer! The month of August, in particular, was full of events that continue to
build the City’s positive relationship with the Vernon residents, businesses, and surrounding commu-
nities. National Night Out, The Battle of La Mesa Plaque Dedication Ceremony, Family Game Night,
and Vernon + Huntington Park Open Streets were each events that showcased the City of Vernon.

Vernon’s Family Game Night = Good Food and Good Times

The City of Vernon’s summer outreach event on August 9th was a
great success! Attendees were treated to delicious burgers, fries,
and cookies from The Habit, school backpack giveaways, and two
bicycle raffles at the City’s first annual Family Game Night! Large
scale games including checkers, Twister, and cornhole filled City
Hall’s lawn along Santa Fe and guests were free to partake in the
games and enjoy a bicycle workshop presented by the Los Angeles
County Bicycle Coalition. A fun time was had by all!

As fall nears, the City will begin preparations for its Spooktacular Hal-
loween festivities. Get ready! We hope to see you and your family
and friends there!

Vernon + Huntington Park Open Streets Offers Summer Fun!

On August 19th, Vernon (in partner-
ship with Huntington Park and Metro)
hosted pedestrians and bicyclists on
a journey through streets normally re-
served for large trucks and commut-
ers. The event was the first of its kind
for Vernon who continues to actively
engage its residents and those living
in its surrounding communities to con-
vey a friendly, welcoming environ-
ment. We hope that you were able to
join us. If not this time, we will see you
at the next event!

COMMUNITY EVENTS

The images below were captured at Vernon’s Battle of La Mesa Plaque Dedication Ceremony. This event
was a unique moment in history and Vernon did a great job commemorating the special occasion.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

The images below were captured at Vernon’s Family Game Night, and at Vernon + Huntington Park Open
Streets. These special events were great fun for all!

CITY CALENDAR

September

September 3

City Hall Closed - Labor Day Holiday

September 6

2018 NFL Kickoff Event
11:30 am - 1:30 pm

October

October

ICMA-RC Individual Appointments - exact dates TBD

October 30

Spooktacular Halloween Outreach Event for Vernon Residents @ City Hall
Time TBD
Vernon Elementary Students Visit City Hall
Time TBD

October 31

Employee Halloween Contests, Costume Parade, and Lunch
9:30 am - 1:30 pm

November

November

Open Enrollment for benefits - exact dates TBD

November

VEEP Nominations due to Human Resources - exact date TBD

November 29

City Hall Closed - Happy Thanksgiving!

Let’s make the next edition great!

Offer your interesting news and events for the employee newsletter. We want to hear your stories! Please submit inquiries,
stories, or photos to Diana Figueroa.

The next publication is due to be released in or around November 2018.