Category Archives: Uncategorized

News from the December 5th Meeting

photos by Viola Sadler

The Honorable Frederick P. Aguirre, Orange County Superior Court Judge, spoke at the December luncheon meeting on the current state of the Orange County Superior Court. He gave an overview of court staffing and detailed recent cutbacks and likely future reductions. The Judge administered the oath of office to the 2014 board of directors.

installing_officers
Judge Aguirre swearing in the Association’s 2014 board. Board members from the left: Stu Fuller, Carol Morales, Bill Underwood, Dianne Hoffman, Carlos Olvera, John Moohr, Lynn Bonas, Cheryl Brothers, Joe Quiros, Robin Bowen, Terry Dancey and Roy Baker.
cheryl n carol
President Cheryl Brothers, on left, recognized retiring board member Carol Duensing.

A sad note from Viola Sadler

Today is the saddest day of my life. The love of my life passed away early this morning! I woke up this morning around 4 am because his snoring was loud and different. I tried in vain to wake him up, but couldn’t. My call to 911 brought in the police, the fire department paramedics and the ambulance. The trip to Anaheim Memorial was quick because of hardly any traffic. The doctor and staff worked on him, but he never woke up. The cause of death was a ‘massive heart attack.’

Yesterday was a very routine day for us. Getting ready for family to visit on Christmas Day, we have the ham and all the other fixings. He was looking forward to seeing Cynthia and that beautiful grandson Nicolas.

Please advise other friends of Charles’s passing. Please say a prayer for him. He was the kindest, most unselfish man in my entire life. Please ask friends not to call me at this time. Too many things to figure out. I will try to send out emails as things develop. My brother Ernie and his wife Connie as well as Charles’s brother Jim came to be with me and Chuck at the hospital and then they came over to the house for breakfast.

Jessica, my niece, will pick up Cyndi at the airport. Grateful for your thoughtfulness and prayers,

Viola Sadler

Remembering the 1994-1995 Panel and Mario Lazo

by Viola Sadler; 1994-95, 1998-99, 2002-03

It was June 1994 at the ritual known as Orientation that we met our foreman, Mario Lazo. Most of us came to the panel not knowing exactly how the county was organized, or what big issues there might be. The first six months were spent primarily educating ourselves before we issued any reports.

The Criminal Justice Committee issued the de rigueur report on the jail conditions the first week of December 1994. It was completely overshadowed by the headline that the County declared bankruptcy that same day. Before leaving for the Christmas/New Year break we were all to consider staying on the panel until December 1995. Most of us came back and stayed. Our education continued, but this time we learned about investments, floaters, hedge funds and such. Our foreman had to deal with a very diversified panel, and sometimes a contentious one, too. We did manage to produce some reports even when the DA hearings on the bankruptcy took up major time.

1994-95_Mario-2
One of the last times I saw Mario was at the retirement party for Mary Hennessey. Here is photo I took of some of the 1994-95 panel on that day: Standing L-R: Mario Lazo, Benny Benoit, Ted Tamura, Ivan McKinney and Bob Linn; Seating L-R: County counsel attorney who proofread our reports, and Gil Cruz.

Mario Lazo, 86, passed away August 23, 2013. Mario was born in Havana, Cuba and grew up in Norfolk, Connecticut. He graduated from Andover, Yale and Wharton. In 1953, he and Sarah Duffy married; and Mario always referred to her as “my bride.” They lived in New York, Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Wisconsin, until they moved to Newport Beach in 1980. Royal Lord, Mary Hennessey and I attended the memorial Mass held at Our Lady Queen of Angels, Newport Beach on October 5th. Mario, I miss your strong voice, your storytelling, your wit, and your love for romantic musical ballads in Spanish. RIP

Passing of Lecil Joel Slaback, 1976-1977 Panel

Slaback, Lecil Joel 1912-2013Lecil (Lee to friends) passed away the morning of Saturday, June 22, 2013 in Anaheim. A third generation Santa Anan, he was born in the W. Pine St. home of his parents Lester and Laura Huntington Slaback. He was preceded in death by his brother Stanley Slaback, sister Lela Green, and son James Slaback. He married Neva Rodreick in 1939, making their home on N. Olive St. They celebrated their 74th wedding anniversary just days before his death. He is survived by his wife Neva and son Thomas Slaback.

Continue reading Passing of Lecil Joel Slaback, 1976-1977 Panel

News from the September 5 Meeting

DSCF0042Lisa Wright Jenkins, President and CEO of the Orange County Council on Aging, presented an informative program to a room of very interested Association members. The Council on Aging-Orange County promotes the independence, health and dignity of older adults through compassion, education and advocacy.

Ms. Jenkins joined the Orange County Council in 2012 as President and CEO with experience in both the nonprofit and business sectors having served as Vice President of Business Operations for the Girl Scouts of Orange County and working in the printing/publishing, chemical technology businesses.

The multimedia presentation covered the forty year history of the Orange County Council and the many programs for the county’s expanding senior population. Ms. Jenkins related several examples of volunteers serving the community through the Council’s programs.

The Association supports the council on Aging by placing a Grand Jury recruitment ad in the Orange County Senior Guide. Information on volunteer opportunities can be found on the Council’s website:

http://www.coaoc.org/get-involved/volunteer.aspx

Photos from the luncheon:

DSCF0043

The many questions and comments after the presentation were an indication of the audience interest in this topic.

DSCF0037

Directors Carol Morales and John Moohr on duty at the sign-in table.

2013-2014 Orange County Grand Jury Impaneled

Photos by Glen Stroud with reporting by Glen Stroud and Cheryl Brothers.

The 2013-2014 Grand Jury was impaneled in a public ceremony in Department C1 of the Central Justice Center on Monday, July 1, 2013. Orange County Grand Jury Association President Cheryl Brothers and directors Glen Stroud, Terry Dancey and Roy Baker attended the ceremony.

Oath of Office

2013-2014 Panel taking the oath of office.

2012-13 Panel

Members of the 2012-2013 panel.

2012-13 Foreman  Ray Garcia

2012-2013 Foreman Ray Garcia addressing the audience.

Nindy Mahal

Judge Gregg Prickett recognized the 2012-2013 panel members. Nindy Mahal is pictured here receiving his certificate.

News from the June 6th Meeting

Photos by Glen Stroud and reporting by Robin Bowen

Business Meeting

Board President Cheryl Brothers introduced Director Lynn Bonas who requested that anyone desiring  to run for a board seat contact her by the September luncheon.

Program

Bill Campbell

Former Orange County Supervisor Bill Campbell gave a well researched presentation titled A Tutorial on Pen$ion$ to a full room. His talk ranged from the origins of pensions up to the present day Orange County pension situation detailing current problems and potential solutions.

The interested and appreciative audience asked many questions.

 

 

 

 

 

Social

Cheryl Brothers & Roy Baker-2

Pictured on the left is President Joyce Brothers with Director Roy Baker. Roy was recently appointed by the Board to fill the position vacated by Connie Buenaventura.

Shown below listening intently to the program (from left to right): Carlos Olvera, retired grand jury administrator Mary Hennessy, Orange County Superior Court Judge Rick Aguirre, Jerry Krans (back to camera) and Steve Coakely. Carlos and Jerry were members of the 2002-2003 Grand Jury. Steve’s wife Pat also served on the 2002-2003 panel.

IMG_1562-2