Keep a handle on those balloons

BARBARA DIAMOND

Laguna Coast Wilderness Park Ranger Barbara Norton patrols and guards

the park with a strong body, a sunny smile and keen eyes.

Not everything she sees makes her happy.

“I must pick up two or three Mylar balloons a week,” said Norton,

a Laguna Beach resident and former powerhouse volunteer in the school

district. “People let them go and they drift into the park, and

sometimes park visitors bring them in.”

She picks them up and tacks the deflated balloon to a post near

the Information Center behind the parking lot off of Laguna Canyon

Road near El Toro Road, inadvertently creating “found art.”

The colors mingle and combine with metallic sparkle to send a

profound message of unintended consequences. Mark Chamberlain, who

created The Tell in Laguna Canyon with Jerry Burch, would love it.

This is by no means a demand for a ban on the bright, shiny

balloons, a joyful emblem of ebullient spirits. It is a reminder to

hang on to the helium-filled balloons and prevent damage no one

wants.

Helium balloons tangled with electrical wires on July 8 and

shorted out power for 1,800 Southern California Edison customers for

as much as 16 hours, according to Steve Nelson, Edison region manager

and a member of the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce.

“Standing outside and letting the balloons go is not a good idea,”

he said.

Service has been interrupted for more than 11,000 Orange County

customers in June. The balloons have caused 160 outages so far this

year, disrupting service to nearly 100,000 customers.

The drifting balloons can down power lines, which can arc and

start fires, Nelson said.

Fire is one of the most dreaded words in Laguna, a too-real threat

to people, property and park wildlife.

“Park animals mistake them for food,” Norton said. “Imagine trying

to digest a chunk of Mylar. It can kill them, and the strings or

ribbons can strangle them.”

Don’t let disasters happen by carelessness. Hang on to the

balloons.

Norton would be happy if she never added another thing to her

“found art.”

WRITE ON

The Festival of Arts wrote another chapter Tuesday in its

partnership with Montblanc and South Coast Plaza.

A cocktail reception was hosted by Montblanc and festival

directors to open a special exhibit of works by festival artists and

a display of Pageant of the Masters costumes, masks and headdresses

at the plaza. The Montblanc boutique donated a pen and a watch for a

silent auction. Proceeds will benefit the festival.

This is the third year of the partnership. The week-long exhibit

will be in place until Monday. Artists will be demonstrating from

noon to 1 p.m. and 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Arts Commissioner Mike Tauber coordinated the exhibit, which

includes works by more than 20 festival artists, including Carolyn

Reynolds, Marsh Scott, Troy Poeschl, Hal Lambert, Spencer Grant,

Gerald Schwartz, Sherri McEuen, Julita Jones, Patricia Phillips

Whiteside, Regina Jacobson, John Warren and Fredrick Hope, who

attended the opening reception.

Festival Board President Anita Mangels was stuck in Sacramento on

business and couldn’t attend.

Other guests included Arts Commissioners Pat Kollenda and Nancy

Beverage, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Verlaine Crawford,

city Arts Coordinator Sian Poeschl, Jean Fallowfield, festival

Director of Special Events Susan Davis, festival Director of

Marketing Sharbie Higuchi and her assistant Cindy Purdue, Annette and

festival Vice President Bob Henry, Linda and festival board member

Bob Dietrich and Suki McCardle.

Next up for the festival: Tie-One-On fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 2

p.m. Saturday, followed by a special membership meeting to determine

whether the board of directors should canvass the entire voting

membership by mail on a bylaw addition and a clarification of

another.

The first change would prohibit anyone connected to the festival

from cloning or copying the Pageant of the Masters by any means. The

clarification deals with the allocation of assets if, by horrible

chance, the festival corporation folds. The proposal to guarantee

that the assets, after payment of all debts, would be distributed to

similar nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations, adds nothing new to the

bylaws, Mangels said.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS HONORED

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently presented

awards to five young women and five young men.

“What these young men and woman have accomplished should be an

inspiration to others,” said Laguna Beach resident Vangie Crockett, a

member of the church’s public affairs council.

Nikki Chesley, Natalie Sand, Anna Newall, Sara Stevenson and

Morgan Olsen received the “Young Women Womanhood Recognition Award.”

All five graduated from Laguna Beach High School in June.

To qualify for the award, each girl accomplished 42 personally

selected goals, completed 70 hours of service or self-improvement

projects and was interviewed by their church leaders.

The award is the highest honor given to young women 12 to 18 who

are members of the church’s Young Women’s Organization, which

includes the Bee Hives, 12 to 13; the Miamaids, 14 to 15 and the Laurels, 16 to 17.

“I was in the program as a girl,” said Crockett, 51. “I set my

goals and then voluntarily met every three months with my advisor to

look at how I had done.”

The organization president and advisors go out into the community

to learn about projects that are needed and discuss them with the

members of each age group.

Projects have included organizing a summer youth soccer team and a

rafting trip, providing dinners for the homeless, creating a youth

video, tutoring, quilting and making scrapbooks for fellow

recipients.

Vicki Anderson is president of the Young Women’s Organization. She

and Tom Taylor, president of the Young Men’s Organization, report

monthly on current activities to the bishop of the Laguna Beach ward.

Jason Kimball, Gary Samuelian, Jonathon Montgomery, Brae McMullin

and Alex Wilson received the Duty to God Award. The award honors

young men who have completed more than 50 tasks including service

projects, family and quorum activities, personal goals and scouting.

All five have achieved the Eagle Scout rank.

* OUR LAGUNA is a regular feature of the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. Contributions are welcomed. Write to Barbara Diamond, P.O. Box

248, Laguna Beach, 92652, hand-deliver to 384 Forest Ave., Suite 22;

call (949) 494-4321 or fax (949) 494-8979.