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2002 Alumni Weekend Report Alumni/Active Action Committee Founded Alumni/Active Action Committee Acts The Other Shoe Drops ... Notes from the Spring 2002 Active President Sarah Covington Williams Fire Timeline Pete Fish ‘53 #373 Honored Alumni Weekend 2002 Scholarship Thank You’s Initiation Incident and Suspension Due to time limitations, much of what follows has been copied wholesale from e-mails I sent out to the NAP e-mail distribution list. I would have liked to have written things up, reporter-like, but, well, ah, you don’t really want to hear an excuse, do you? By the way, if you did not receive these e-mails and would like to receive them in the future, please send an e-mail to editor@nu-alpha-phi.org with two current e-mail addresses. I like to have two valid e-mail addresses because they seem to change so frequently. On April 9th, a Pomona student initiating Nu Alpha Phi was hospitalized for alcohol poisoning. Thankfully, the student recovered and is fine. Due to the gravity of this event, Pomona College President, Peter Stanley, suspended NAP pending student Judicial Council findings on charges to be brought by the administration. President Stanley sent an e-mail about the event and our suspension to Pomona College staff, faculty, and students. In an April 26 meeting with Dean Ann Quinley, NAP Active officers (supported by NAP Faculty Advisor, John Seery) responded to charges including endangering the safety, health and welfare of student initiates, misusing alcohol, hazing, and violating college and fraternity rules regarding alcohol and initiations. The hazing charge was ultimately dropped and the officers accepted the other three charges as valid. Acceptance of the charges renders unnecessary a judicial council hearing and sends the matter directly to the Penalty Board for its action. The Actives will face the Penalty Board Thursday afternoon, 2 May. The infractions were serious and we should prepare ourselves for serious penalties. The Alumni Officers and Advisory Council will determine what actions we should take but we do want your comments and suggestions. These are a few of the ideas currently circulating: Applying our own consequences (revoking cabin privileges for some period of time, for example), requiring alcohol education for Actives, reviewing and enforcing fraternity regulations to prevent such incidents, establishing Alumni involvement with Actives, and setting goals to increase that Alumni/Active interaction. The Pomona College Student Penalty Board took the following actions against Nu Alpha Phi based on the charges and events described in our earlier communications: 1) Suspended NAP charter for one (1) semester. The Actives cannot host the Wash or other parties, hold meetings, or conduct rush/initiation. 2) Partially suspended NAP charter for a second semester: The Actives can meet, but cannot host the Wash or other parties or conduct rush/initiation. 3) Probation for the third and fourth semesters: Full privileges resume, however, should Nu Alpha Phi Actives commit additional infractions during this period, they would incur much more severe punishment. 4) 10 hours of community service per member on a project associated with Pomona College somehow and approved by Pomona's deans. The NAP Alumni Officers and Council will not only support these sanctions, but find them reasoned and proportionate. The NAP Alumni Officers and Council continue to consider what actions, if any, we may take on our own in addition to these sanctions. Dear Brothers and Sisters, Apparently there is nothing as motivating as adversity. In response to the on-campus events resulting directly and indirectly from both Nu Alpha Phi actions and inactions, we have drawn together. Never before have I received more e-mail, phone calls, or letters from our interested, motivated brothers and sisters. Never before have so many offered their thoughts, their dismay, and their support. Never ever before have so many committed so quickly and so willingly to *direct* participation. Pat yourselves on the back. Don't let up. Before beginning the 2002 Alumni Weekend Report, let me apologize for the delay in sending out this update. I owed it to you all some time ago. Let me also apologize for the fact that I haven't synthesized and summarized the information as well as I'd've liked to. I'm working with a number of e-mails from Don Smith '53 #384 and one from Sarah Covington '02 #1256 (Spring Semester's Active President) and hopefully the way I've cobbled them together will make sense to you. On Alumni Weekend Saturday, early in the afternoon, Don conducted our first official Active-Alumni meeting in recent memory. Hurray for that! Jim Ach '63 #565, Carmen Balber '99 #1175, Matt “Cruiser” Cohen '98 #1139, Lee Harlan '55 #147 and Don Smith met with 8 Actives for an hour and a half. During the discussion, the Alumni conveyed our disappointment in recent events but that we were there to help get the Nu Alpha Phi back on track. The Actives were very open about their involvement and accepted responsibility. Everyone agreed to work together and to form an Alumni/Active committee to restore and nurture Alumni/Active interaction. (More below on the founding of the committee.) The Actives were informed that the Alumni was revoking cabin privileges until further notice. Don had this, specifically, to say about this meeting: “I'm pleased to say that we were very favorably impressed with the Actives' positive attitude toward wanting to correct the current situation and with their eagerness to receive Alumni participation and help. I feel that the Alumni can be very helpful and together we will work our way out of the suspension situation as quickly as possible. We should emerge stronger than ever!” Late Saturday afternoon Don met with Dean of Students, Ann Quinley, to get acquainted and establish a base for working together. They discussed the factors surrounding the current Nappie suspension. Don reports the meeting went well and that he invited Dean Quinley to the Sunday Nappie brunch. She accepted. The Alumni Brunch Sunday morning was a great success. It was well organized (Thanks to Joslyn Gonzalez and Chuck Carpenter '54 #389!), the food was good, and Walt Dougher '57 #458 did a fine job as MC. There were about 50 (including about 10 Actives) in attendance. In addition to an open discussion about the Nappie suspension on campus and from the Alumni cabin, Alumni had a lot of fun catching up and reminiscing. Dean Quinley arrived toward the end of the Brunch, said a few words, and took questions from the floor. Her participation was helpful and appreciated. The annual NAP Alumni business meeting was held following brunch. In addition to the quorum of officers, the meeting was attended by several Alumni and Actives. Officers heard updates on the cabin, Alumni liaison, and The Oak Leaf. Officers discussed the following topics:
Finally, I heard that Ken Smith '33 #138 and Zibby '32 #109 were, as usual, a hit on Marston Quad. Alumni/Active Action Committee Founded Hats off to Lee Harlan for graciously “volunteering” to chair the Alumni/Active Action Committee which will review Nu Alpha Phi fraternity issues. The other Alumni volunteers are:
Advisors to the committee are: NAP Faculty Advisor John Seery and Student Dean Advisor Dave Swenson. This committee will be allowed to hold “business” meetings during the period of suspension we have just entered. The expectation is that these meetings will expedite resolution of complex issues to the ultimate satisfaction of the Actives, Alumni and Pomona College's administration. The AAAC will focus on a wide range of issues and concerns, including but not limited to: purpose and mission of Nu Alpha Phi; review and enforcement of college regulations; review and enforcement of fraternity rules; review of Nu Alpha Phi member responsibilities at all times, but especially during rush and initiation events; improvement of Alumni/Active interaction; more non-alcoholic activities, for example; community service activities; Active education about responsible use of alcohol; Alumni supervised cabin work parties; how Actives conduct themselves during period of suspension; how do we return to a Pomona-only organization; how do we work with the administration during suspension; the values of trust and responsibility; Wash programs; responsible use of Alumni cabin; initiation program; NAP history for the Actives; and member safety. Forward input to Lee Harlan. Alumni/Active Action Committee Acts Formed as a result of the penalties imposed by the student Judiciary Committee last year, the committee has met twice and interacted a good deal more through e-mails. The committee is composed of Actives John Kurtz, '03 CMC; Raschelle Rucker, '05, President; Joe Newcomb, '03; and Drew Edge, '04 Pitzer; and Alumni Lee Harlan, '55.Chair;Jim Ach '63; Cruiser Cohen, '98 and Amy Lyford, '86. It is staffed by Dave Swenson, Associate Director of Smith Campus Center. The methodology of the Committee is to meet, uncover problems, assign members to either research or actively address the problem with the proper administrator, and report back at the next meeting. For example, at its first meeting the committee was told that the Actives could not rush during the spring semester of 2003, because they will still be on probation. That would have been difficult because there are only 9 Actives from Pomona at present, and 5 of those will be on semester abroad. After some discussion both by the actives and the alumni, the College has now agreed that the actives can indeed rush Pomona students toward the end of the Semester, provided they have completed their Community Service required by the Judiciary. The current major problem under active work is a much more difficult one. Over the years starting sometime in the early '80s, Nu Alpha Phi began to add students from the other Claremont Colleges, without asking Pomona's permission. We think the Administration probably knew about this, but did nothing to stop it. At this point in time, of the 30 or so Actives, only 9 are Pomona Students. Last year, all of the officers were students from the other colleges. This came to light during the Judiciary trial when the Judiciary discovered it had no authority over the officers of Nu Alpha Phi. Pomona's initial and current stand on this issue is that only students from Pomona College can be members of the Fraternity. The Actives are not sure a Pomona only group would be viable. As an aside, there are now only two other fraternities at Pomona, none at any of the other Claremont Colleges. The committee is working on this issue from both an alumni and a student perspective, and both within Pomona College and the other Claremont Colleges. We certainly will report back to you on this. One other example of a rather humorous and curious situation. The committee discovered that several Fraternities on the east coast are named Nu Alpha Phi, and that they had written to our actives asking if we wished to join them. The Actives wrote back and said thanks, but no thanks. Alumni are now working on copyrighting our name. Who knows what other issues are out there. We are working on a few others as well as the ones reported here, and are keeping abreast of the cabin situation, as there are some potential tie-ins with our work. Alumni are welcome to comment on any of this by e-mailing the chair, Lee Harlan. – Lee Harlan, Chair Apparently Pomona College was as surprised as some of you were to learn that the Active chapter of NAP has been rushing and initiating students from all 5 colleges since an IFC decision in 1998 or 1999 granted that privilege to Pomona fraternities. Unfortunately it seems that the IFC failed to notify the Pomona Student Affairs Council (the SAC oversees student activities, including fraternity charters) and overstepped its own authority in doing so. At the end of the semester, the Actives received a letter from the SAC stating that Nu Alpha Phi must limit its membership to Pomona College students ONLY. The SAC asked NAP to formulate a plan to be approved by the SAC to insure this action is taken. While some discussion about proposing alternatives to returning NAP to Pomona-only status has been entertained, the reality is that the SAC (and Pomona College behind it) is very unlikely to agree to ongoing, mixed membership. I can't imagine that Pomona College would accept the liability for a multi-institution fraternity when the other institutions have not chartered and do not share any responsibility for the organization. Nothing here has been completely resolved and will be another hot issue for the AAAC to handle. [It is my personal opinion that we should recommend and push hard for a transition period during which NAP rushes no new off-campus students but that current off-campus Actives are grandfathered. Since NAP has openly elected off-campus officers in the past, including last semester, and off-campus Nappies have also served on Pomona’s own Intra-Fraternity Council, it seems only fair that Pomona College recognize their legitimacy. Grandfathering is essential to the continuity and stability required to permit NAP to recover from the current suspension. –Ed.] Notes from the Spring 2002 Active President Sarah Covington [The initiation incident] was terrifying for everyone and will hopefully remain in Nappie memory for a long time to come. After meeting with Dean Ann Quinley, we accepted the final charges, and received sanctions from the Penalty Board. [These were detailed in an earlier e-mail of mine. -Ed.] This upcoming year is going to be a difficult one for the members of Nu Alpha Phi. We need to remain strong and more importantly we need to stay together. I have no doubt in my mind that next year's Actives will do everything they can to unite Nu Alpha Phi and overcome the challenging times ahead of us. One very positive thing coming out of this is that the ties between Actives and Alumni will be stronger in the near future than they have been for a long while. Let's all take advantage of this and show our support for the Actives and for everyone involved. We elected the following officers to represent the Actives with both Pomona College and the AAAC during our suspension [Officers mentioned a page or so ago have been omitted here. –Ed.]: Cabinmeisters:
Intra-Fraternity Council Representatives:
Sunday, 9/22/2002, ~5 p.m. The Williams Fire begins in the Oaks picnic area of Camp Williams on the East Fork of the San Gabriel River about six miles west of Mount Baldy Village. Monday, 9/23/2002, 11:07 p.m. Jim Levesque '87 #981 sends an e-mail. He's seen a story on the 11 p.m. news (Los Angeles, CA) that there is a 4000+ acre fire in San Dimas Canyon. Tuesday, 9/24/2002, 9:38 a.m. Matt “Cruiser” Cohen '98 #1139 sends an e-mail. He's spoken with the Forest Service. They reported their damage assessment team had to evacuate. They do not expect to return to the canyon for at least a couple of days. Residents and the general public won't be allowed back in until a few days after whenever that is. Cruiser saw the president of the Canyon Cabin owners Association being escorted away while trying to protect his cabin. Cruiser suggests that NAP volunteer to in the aftermath of the fire. Tuesday, 9/24/2002 10:57 a.m. Jim Levesque '87 #981 sends an e-mail. He's driven down Baseline on his way to work. Thinks it looks bad. Wednesday, 9/25/2002 12:43 p.m. Matt “Cruiser” Cohen '98 #1139 sends an e-mail. He's spoken with the Forest Service again. They confirm 40 lost structures but can't say which ones. They say four government buildings were lost deeper in the canyon. Thursday, 9/26/2002 8:10 a.m. John Seery, NAP Faculty Advisor, sends an e-mail. He's read that 71 of the 81 cabins have burned completely to the ground. But since no one has been let back into the canyon, which cabins are which is unknown. Thursday, 9/26/2002 10:44 a.m. Matt “Cruiser” Cohen '98 #1139 e-mail: Forest Service says 66 of the 77 cabins in San Dimas Canyon have burned. After their team goes in, they will be conducting escorted tours of the site, but that, of course, is still at least a couple of days away. Thursday, 9/26/2002 12:26 p.m. Various news stories, and Paul Nagai '88 #978: The Williams Fire has exceeded 30,000 acres, is only 10% contained, has a 15 mile fire line, and is threatening Mt. Baldy homes. Some stories are claiming it has been 40 years since the area has had a fire, but I remember a fire in La Verne within the last 10. While that fire did force evacuations in La Verne, it was, I think, much smaller than this fire. Thursday, 9/26/2002 10:20 p.m. Emily Helliesen '02 #1324 sends e-mail. While she was not been able to get up to the ruins, she spoke with some of our neighbors, and they confirm that our cabin has burned to the foundation. We must volunteer to help canyon residents. We must rebuild. Friday, 9/27/2002 12:01 p.m. Adam Doerr '97 #1136 creates a Yahoo! Group for NAP cabin discussions. Here's what he had to say: I've created a Yahoo group for the cabin. Please let everyone know - alums of all generations are welcome to join. We can use the group to serve as a community-oriented home base for any efforts, whether helping out the neighbors or keeping interested alums informed. In particular, all contributions of photos (any time period, interior or exterior), documents, or opinions are welcome. To join, just send a blank message to subscribe-napcabin@yahoogroups.com. With sorrow, Adam Doerr #1136 Friday, 9/27/2002 3:21 p.m. SDCIA Meeting - Tuesday 10/1 There is a San Dimas Canyon Improvement Association (SDCIA) meeting that the Forest Service will attend to discuss all aspects of the fire. The meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday, October 1, in San Dimas Park at 6:30 p.m. All those interested in volunteering to help in any fashion should attend. Forest Service Meeting - Saturday 10/5 This meeting will take place in Ontario. I'm still confirming the location. Friday, 9/27/2002 9:23 p.m. Emily Helliesen '02 #1324 e-mails us pictures she took on the way to and at the cabin. Be careful, the cabin looks misleadingly intact in the first picture of it (bottom of the fourth page). Most of the walls do continue to stand. Whether they are structurally sound or not remains to be seen. If you are pressed for time or bandwidth, these pictures of the front door and porch, back porch, screened porch, and living room (looking toward the kitchen) will give you a pretty good idea of the state of the cabin. Saturday, 9/28/2002 - No News Sunday, 9/29/2002 - No News Monday, 9/30/2002 Cruiser passes on a new batch of pictures taken by Rashelle Rucker '05 #1340, President. Joe Newcomb '04 #1291, Vice President appears in some of the pictures. Tuesday, 10/1/2002 - No News Wednesday, 10/2/2002 [See Eric Olson’s e-mail included in one of my e-mails to NAP Alumni. –Ed.] Monday, 10/15/2002 Matt “Cruiser” Cohen '98 #1139 e-mailed pictures and videos taken at the cabin. While we don't have Bob's official report yet, the videos speak for themselves. The walls, the foundation, and even the river rocks are no longer sound. [That concludes the information on the web page. The e-mails I sent to NAP Alumni follow. They mostly summarize, but occasionally enhance information provided in the timeline. The formatting is a bit confusing. Sorry I didn’t have time to straighten it out! The “=” dividers are in the original e-mails. The solid lines over e-mail headers are intended to emphasize that a new e-mail is starting. –Ed.] FLASH NEWS! Well, folks, there is no definitive news on our cabin, nor is there likely to be any for at least a few days, but it is clear that the Nu Alpha Phi cabin is in grave danger, if it hasn't been lost already. We have been in touch with the Forest Service and the San Dimas station and all of the home/cabin owners have been evacuated. Forestry Service personnel will not be able to return to the canyon for a least a couple of days, and then they will be going in with serious fire-gear ... so count on at least a few more days before residents or the general public are allowed to return. I'm following “the wire” via this google news search: http://news.google.com/news?num=100&hl=en&output=search&scoring=d&q=san+dimas+fire Here is a web page on the fire itself: http://www.wrightwoodcalif.com/thewilliamsfire.html So far I have not found useful information on any of the national fire sites. ============================= The Question on My Mind Today Should the worst come to pass: Do we have the financial and spiritual will to rebuild (assuming the Forestry Service would even permit “new” development)? Do we? ============================= Matt 'Cruiser' Cohen '98 #1139 suggested, whatever the outcome of this fire, we Nu Alphs, Actives and Alums, volunteer to help out the other residents living in the canyon. I think this is an excellent idea. More on this as the story develops. Finally, if you have/find additional links or definitive news, please send them to me. Watch for this web page later tonight (it doesn't exist now) for updates: http://www.nu-alpha-phi.org/fire200209.htm Eric J. Olson '62 #585 sent the following e-mail report: =============================== Report from Last Night's Meeting of San Dimas cabin owners, Forest Service, etc. 1. Based on what was said last night, primarily by Marty Dumpis, our District Ranger, there is little likelihood that anyone will be permitted to start rebuilding within the next 6 months (see below). 2. Under the circumstances, the appropriate thing seems to me to be: a. Bob Nigbor will visit the cabin to assess its situation. Please advise if there are appropriate steps that can/should be taken to shore it up/keep it relatively safe/however you would characterize it for a period of a few months while the place is cleaned up and awaits the next step. b. If there are such things and they are more than absolutely nominal, Ranger Dumpis encouraged us to run it under their nose (in general he seemed to be encouraging steps to clean up damage, preserving property, and getting general infrastructure back into order pending the “Consistency Review” - see below). Getting the place cleaned up and running is also part of the message from Dana Brown, the local Association President (714 402 0429 - his cell phone - also the Association's voice mail is working and contact info, etc., can be left there 909 593 0618). His theory, which I agree with, is that among other things if that is happening it will be much harder for any Consistency Review to take an adverse view of the continued existence of the Recreational Cabins program in the area. (see below re his first project) c. The Forest is closed by order of the chief ranger, Jody Cook. They have been issuing passes to permit holders (I am informed that two have been issued to us and at least one is in the hands of the actives - if anyone needs to go up and do anything and it is not convenient to borrow one of them, it is not supposed to be a big deal to pick one up from Ranger Dumpis' office). Generally there is no one standing guard but it will be helpful if anyone comes around and questions why you or your vehicle are there. d. consistent with the foregoing there should be no objection to repair and erosion proofing of the trail -- if any of the damage is big enough to be beyond our reasonable capacity to perform it, we could discuss with the Rangers trying to include it in the “BAER” work (general restoration, such as erosion prevention, etc.). e. as far as cleanup goes, Dana Brown announced that they had installed a 40foot dumpster to put anything in that had been destroyed and they planned to replace that with a new dumpster, etc. as long as needed. Emphasis was on “burnt stuff” including refrigerators and stoves, but not rocks. marty dumpis also said they were not encouraging people to take down rock or concrete structures at this point and that even if a cabin were not to be rebuilt they may conclude that some or all of it should be left. 3. The first volunteer project Dana has in mind is getting the water system back to working and he will be working on this in the next few days, perhaps this weekend. A delegation of actives, including Rashelle Rucker and Emily Helliesen and 3 or 4 more were at the meeting and Rashelle made a nice statement about them helping out however might be helpful and recruiting others as well. She and Emily got on the contact list. it was mentioned to me by someone who seemed to be important from the Association (and who was taking contact names) that she had encouraged Rashelle to speak and that there were some older people among the cabin owners who might also need some help. This could well be a several months project. 4. a. If I correctly understood the bureaucratic procedure, before the USFS can permit the approx 60 SD Cyn cabin owners (and approx 50 San Gabriel Canyon owners burned out in the Curve Fire) to rebuild, they have to have a “Consistency Review” which essentially deals with whether continued existence of Recreational Cabins in those areas are still consistent with the purposes of the Angeles National Forest. The situation of these approx 110 cabins is apparently unique since this procedure came into existence - Jody Cook cited another huge fire in N. Calif where they lost 7 cabins. A big team is supposed to be showing up soon to start this work. An alternative to continued existence in the specific location would be to offer an alternative location. Somehow this dovetails into a major study, the draft of which is supposed to be out about June. b. While the process had the warm and fuzzy sound that it was all going to work out reasonably and favorably in one way or another for the cabin owners, there is no question that this is part of a “public” process and we need to be concerned that there will be forces, both within and without the USFS that will push the view that the cabin owners should be forced out. In light of that it will be important for people to make sure that not only the USFS but their elected representatives hear from lots of people about how these cabins should be permitted to be rebuilt and how they are a valid and valuable part of the multiple uses in our national forest. A gentleman from “Forest Preservation Society of Southern California”, David Allen james, Sr. who seems to have been through this battle in some form or another, David Allen james, Sr. 4023 Chaney Trail, Altadena, CA 91001 323 440 8259 fax 661 296 4635 commented that he was pleased with the positive tone of “rebuild” or “relocate” but urged that we all make sure the USFS and our elected reps. hear from us (and it is important that a written record is built up, particularly at the USFS since it will constitute an important part of the record as well as the fact that some ranger knows what he/she has heard). A similar message came from Barry Weatherby, President of the San Gabriel Cyn Property Owners Assn. Representatives of Congressman Dreier, including Mark S. Harmsen, were present. Supervisor Mike Antonovich is the Supervisor for the area and has taken an active interest. I tried to emphasize to the Actives present that while someone was writing a letter to Congressman Dreier a particular letter, it is good that he and the USFS hear from each and every one of them. c. I would urge people to get themselves on the mailing list from the USFS re the study (whose name I forgot); if you call Marty Dumpis or his office, I am sure they will be delighted to not only give you the name but put you on the mailing list for the materials. d. If the materials that we have about the building of the cabin survived the fire, does anyone know what happened to them? I think it might be very helpful to get someone to write up a little history of the construction of the cabin together with supporting materials to send to the USFS to help document the colorful local historical background. Keys are available from Dana if we do not have them. They urge people to preserve the locks on the gate. They are talking about 2 months minimum before Edison gets electricity back in there. I have to leave so will send this; later I will review my notes and see if there are important additional things to add. Thanks to everyone who is helping. -- Eric olson ============== Paul here: More to follow next week when additional reports on this meeting and the Saturday, October 5th meeting have come in. See our fire page for details on that meeting. The current NAP President, Rashelle Rucker '05 #1340 took some pictures and passed them on to Cruiser who webbed them for us. Joe Newcomb '04 #1291, Vice President appears in some of the pictures. I have also put a link to our fire page on our home page. I have also linked to both sets of pictures from our cabin page. I will be away from my computer until Sunday, so no updates or e-mail replies from me 'til then. Check the Yahoo! Group on the NAP Cabin for ongoing discussion, news. Send a blank message to subscribe-napcabin@yahoogroups.com to subscribe. Or, see our fire page for a web based subscription form: Oh yeah, there are additional pictures available there. Stories. Files re: some of the legal issues around rebuilding on Forest Service land (thanks Adam!). Check it out. The two pictures blending an old, pre-fire photo with post-fire photos ... well, they're poignant. Brothers and Sisters, I just received e-mail from an Active, Emily Helliesen '02 #1324. While she has not been able to get up to the ruins, she has spoken with some of our neighbors, and they confirm that our cabin has burned to the foundation. There is more, but it is incidental. I will post details on our fire page later today. We have two tasks. One, immediate and small, relatively speaking: Get as many able-bodied volunteers up to San Dimas Canyon as soon as possible, to help residents in any way we can. These people lost their homes, their possessions, their pets. One, large: Rebuild. Sad News Confirmed: I have photographs Active Emily Helliesen '02 #1324 took Friday September 27, 2002. These pictures begin with shots from the road, the dam, and the cabin below ours (we first see our cabin on page 4 ... there are 10 pgs total). I must warn you that the cabin looks *misleadingly intact* in its first shot. Be prepared for the subsequent pictures which show the roof, wall, and porch damage. Further, while many rock and mortar walls are still standing, the current assumption is that they will have to be demolished and rebuilt. Also, the walls, the remnants of the roof, and possibly even the foundation should be assumed to be unsound ... we urge you, unless on official NAP business, not to sightsee. The risk of injury is just too great. Coordinate with Matt 'Cruiser' Cohen '98 #1139, Alumni Cabinmeister, if you have reason to visit. ========================== San Dimas Canyon Improvement Association (SDCIA) Meeting San Dimas Canyon Park The more of you that can attend, the better, whether Active and Alumni. Bring paper and pen to gather and distribute names, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, etc. This will be where and when we begin addressing at least the following issues: Opportunities to help in immediate cleanup and longer term cooperation with our neighbors in San Dimas Canyon (we are all going to sink or swim together); What the County and the Forest Service will or will not require or permit; What it will take from an engineering/construction standpoint. Eric J. Olson '62 #585 will attend, but hopes and expects lots of company! ========================== National Forest Homeowners Permittee Forum: Note that this meeting has been planned since well before the fire, is a *National* National Forest Homeowners meeting, and will focus on permit policies. I don't see how they can avoid talking about the Williams Fire. Anyhow, Matt 'Cruiser' Cohen '98 #1139 will be attending this meeting. Contact Cruiser if you're interested in joining him. ============================== Cabin Inspection Scheduled Bob Nigbor '78 #794 will inspect the cabin next week. Bob is a registered civil engineer with structural engineering experience. He will assess the cabin and prepare a State of the Cabin report. ========================== NAPCabin: Yahoo! Group Adam Doerr '97 #1136 created a Yahoo! Group, NAP Cabin, for discussion, links, pictures, and news re: the cabin. He says: All contributions of photos (any time period, interior or exterior), documents, or opinions are welcome. To join, just send a blank message to subscribe-napcabin@yahoogroups.com or: ========================== NAP E-mails I do try hard to keep from filling your inboxes with multiple e-mails. Contrarily, I feel pressed to keep you informed of important NAP-related developments. However, when it rains it pours ... so rather than bombard you with daily messages (or worse), I will be posting daily updates (if only to say nothing new has come in so you know I'm on top of it) on our fire page: http://www.nu-alpha-phi.org/fire200209.htm Unless something highly significant develops, I do not expect to send another e-mail to the NAP distribution list until sometime next week, after I collect the various reports on the Tuesday SDCIA meeting. Fire Threatens 70 Homes in L.A. Suburb Tuesday, September 24, 2002 LA VERNE, Calif. — Seventy homes in an upscale suburb east of Los Angeles were evacuated as an 8,000-acre wildfire raged out of control in the rugged terrain of the Angeles National Forest. The fire has destroyed 44 structures near La Verne, but it was not immediately known how many of them were homes, U.S. Forest Service fire dispatcher Tony Heinan said early Tuesday. The fire was about 12 percent contained. Residents of La Verne, about 40 miles from Los Angeles, were evacuated as flames grew dangerously close to the town, fire officials said. “I had maybe an hour's sleep,” said Ross Snow, who loaded her car with pictures, jewelry and clothing. “We're fortunate we have such wonderful fire departments in the area.” Nearly 2,000 firefighters were battling the fire, assisted by water-dropping helicopters and airplanes. One firefighter suffered a minor injury, authorities said. A ceiling of brown smoke draped Glendora, San Dimas and other suburbs in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Highway 39 into San Gabriel Canyon remained closed early Tuesday because of the flames. The wildfire erupted Sunday evening near two privately owned camps. Winds fanned the fire, which at one point forced 300 residents and 2,000 campers to flee. The cause was not yet known. The fire was burning three miles southeast of an area scorched earlier this month by a 16,000-acre fire. In northern California's Santa Clara County, another dangerous blaze raced over 200 acres in Uvas Canyon County Park west of Morgan Hill. Hundreds of firefighters attacked the flames on the ground while 10 planes and helicopters aided from the air. Fifty homes were threatened Tuesday morning and two outbuildings had been destroyed, said Ruth Ferziger, a spokeswoman with the California Department of Forestry. Angela Gaspar Pacific writes in the July 2002 Crest Trail Communicator that Pete Fish wins national BLM and USFS awards for his volunteer work on the Pacific Crest Trail. It’s 5:30 a.m. and “Pickaxe” Pete Fish is up and brewing “cowboy coffee” in a blue enamel pot. Temperatures may reach triple digits later, but in the early morning the Mojave is cold enough to warrant fleece hats and warm drinks. By 6 o’clock the whole camp is awake. The aroma of bacon and eggs mixes with that of pack horses and trail dust. Ten “trail gorillas” or “TG’s” as they call themselves, including a professional card player from Las Vegas, an artist, and a former air traffic controller, pack their lunches. Around 7:15 a.m., everyone is off lugging brush saws, loppers and sundry other tools down the trail. For the next eight hours, Pete will lead his work crew along a portion of the 700 Pacific Crest Trail miles in Southern California that he shepherds. They’ll cut back scrub oak that’s threatening to close off the trail or split boulders to use as building materials. It’s all backbreaking work, but the volunteers keep coming back. “Because they’re following Pete,” says Bob Ballou, former director of the Pacific Crest Trail Association. “The man’s over 70 and still the hardest working of them all.” The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has named Pete one of 12 national “Making a Difference” Award winners for 2001. The awards recognize exemplary volunteer contributions made on behalf of the public lands. A national panel selected the “Making a Difference” winners from nominations submitted by BLM State Offices and National Centers. Recipients received their awards at a ceremony in Washington D.C. May 30. Additionally, Pete recently accepted (on behalf of all of the PCTA trail maintenance crews in Southern California) a prestigious award from the Forest Service. “These Chief’s Awards,” says Fran Colwell, Forest Assistant Recreation Officer for the San Bernardino National Forest, “are a way for the Forest Service Chief to annually recognize, support, and compliment extraordinary volunteers.” Extraordinary indeed – since 1992 Pete and his volunteers have provided the San Bernardino National Forest with more than 30,000 volunteer hours of labor. Additional hours have been dedicated to the Cleveland and Angeles National Forests as well as to the development of work plans, coordination of volunteers and maintenance of equipment. “Pete Fish is a national treasure,” says Liz Bergeron, executive director of the PCTA. “We’ve known that for a long time and we’re glad to see him get the recognition he deserves. Gorillas keep the PCT open If you’ve ever hiked or ridden a horse on any portion of the PCT in Southern California, Pete and the trail gorillas made your trip more enjoyable. “Without Pete,” says Jerry Stone, regional trail coordinator for the PCTA and a regular on Pete’s crew, “great portions of the trail would be impassable. In fact, before we started working, we’d hear stories of people having to push their way through brush and getting all scratched up. The conditions were miserable.” Dave Wash, Lead Recreation Planner for the BLM’s Ridgecrest Field Office, agrees. Wash has 80 PCT miles running through his 1.8 million acre BLM territory, most of which, he says, would be impassable without Pete’s crews. “We don’t have a trail budget or a crew,” says Wash, “and before Pete came along, we were at the point where the trail was almost completely closed by scrub oak. But we had no resources to deal with the problem. It would have been pretty sad and embarrassing,” remarks Wash, “for a BLM territory to have broken the PCT’s 2,655 miles from Mexico to Canada. Fortunately, Pete and his PCTA volunteers came to our rescue – we couldn’t manage the trail without them. Agencies need more resources As the second longest trail in the nation, the PCT is considered by many to be the most majestic of the three National Scenic Trails. But the BLM, Forest Service and State Park offices don’t have adequate resources to maintain it. “Without the PCTA,” Fran Colwell wrote in his nomination of Pete and the trail gorillas for the Forest Service Chief’s Award, “we would receive numerous complaints about trail conditions, not only on the PCT but on other trail systems as well.” In fact, without volunteers, public land across the nation would fall into disuse. According to the most recent BLM annual report, 17,000 volunteers serve the government agency each year. Collectively, these workers donate about 1 million hours of labor that’s worth approximately $15 million, and still there’s more to be done. One the local level, Pete and his crew have already put in more than 8,000 hours on the stretch of the PCT that runs through the BLM’s Ridgecrest territory. “And,” says Walsh, “that’s just for the 80 miles of trail in my section. I know Pete does stuff from the Mexican border to Kennedy Meadows at the southern tip of the Sierra too.” This “stuff’ includes rebuilding switchbacks, removing landslides, and, of course, clearing scrub oak and other brush. In 1991, Pete retired after 33 years as an exploration and development geologist for Chevron and set out to section-hike the PCT over four summers. Along the way he met another hiker named Alice Krueper who organized PCTA trail crews in Southern California. Over the next five years, Pete gave thousands of hours to Alice’s projects while also serving as the PCTA’s vice president for membership. With his help, membership grew from 800 members to more than 4,200 today. When Alice succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 1996, Pete took over as PCTA Trail Coordinator for Region 1. “The projects were so much fun,” says Pete, “somebody needed to carry on, so I kind of threw myself into the breeze.” Calling all gorillas It takes muscle as well as passion to be a trail gorilla. The title is reserved for volunteers who bring brute strength to the trail and complete eight days of work. It’s bestowed in the form of an official “gorilla suit” or t-shirt. “We’ve given out something on the order of 200 shirts over the past five years,” says Pete, “with the admonition that the new gorillas wear them to the ‘smart supper clubs,’ airports and bus terminals. And when someone asks where he or she can get a t-shirt – they tell them.” Pete and the gorillas now complete approximately 30 trail projects a year. Newcomers are always welcome, but Pete also has a core group of 20 to 30 “regulars” he can rely on, a number of whom never miss a project. Pete himself spends 100 days each year out on the trail with a whip saw, shovel, or axe from dawn to dusk. He spends another 100 days identifying necessary projects, sharpening tools, recruiting volunteers, shopping for supplies, and carting everything back and forth to the trail. “It’s a full-time job with him,” says Stone, “and he’s totally devoted to it.” If you were to stumble upon Pete and the trail gorillas out on the PCT, expect a warm reception. A number of hikers have taken breaks from their treks to give Pete and the gorillas a few days of work. When asked why he was chosen to accept the prestigious BLM “Making a Difference” and Forest Service’s Chief’s Awards this year, Pete says “It’s because of all the work our volunteers have done on the PCT. I’m the weak link. If I could put on more projects, I’m sure we could do them. But I’m at about the limit of what I can do – the volunteers are there, it’s kind of like ‘if you ask them to build it, they will come.’” Pete doesn’t show any signs of quitting. In his coveralls covered with PCTA patches, the stocky 70-year-old is still comfortable wielding a chain saw, building water bars, and grubbing out scrub oak root balls. “He’s 20 years older than me,” says Stone, “and only in the last year or so have I been able to keep up with him.” At the end of May, Pete traveled to Washington, D.C. to receive the BLM “Making a Difference” award. Back home in California he also attended a special Forest Service ceremony where he was awarded the Chief’s Award on behalf of San Bernardino, Cleveland, and Angeles National Forests. Aside from these awards, Pete’s legacy to the PCTA is the system he’s set up. He’s developed a way to plan, administer, and follow-up trail maintenance projects that the rest of the organization and others can emulate. “Pete gets people to do a lot of work without even asking them to,” says Stone. Perhaps that’s because working with him is fun. There’s that cup of cowboy coffee in the morning, the companionship of people who love the outdoors, the satisfaction of completing physical labor, and maybe even a trail gorilla t-shirt to boot. And of course, there’s always Pete quietly leading the pack. Marston Quad Sign-in Sheet
And, of course, some failed to sign in ... Lindsey Barske ‘04 Dear Sir or Madam, I would like to offer this letter as a symbol of my humble gratitude to your alumni association for choosing me as a recipient of the Nu Alpha Phi Scholarship. As a Pomona College junior, I am very honored by this award and hope to demonstrate my appreciation by striving to perform at the same academic level that I have achieved over the past several years. I am majoring in biology at Pomona, attempting to create a solid foundation of knowledge and skills upon which I can build a career in ecological and evolutionary research. I plan to study abroad at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia next fall; I was forced to delay this visit until the first semester of my senior year due to a debilitating knee injury. Following graduation, I plan to gain more experience in international ecological field research by working as an RA for several years, before tackling a Ph.D. Again, I am grateful for your offer of financial support, and I thank you for your overall generosity to the Pomona College community. Respectfully yours, /s Carolina Cometto Dear Nu Alpha Phi, My name is Carolina Cometto. This semester I was selected to receive a scholarship from Nu Alpha Phi. I am writing to thank you for your generosity. I am very grateful for the privilege of attending a school like Pomona College. This is a privilege that I would not have without the financial aid that I receive from people like you. Your grant will allow me to continue benefiting from all the opportunities the College provides. Last semester for example, I had the opportunity to study abroad in Santiago, Chile. This was an incredible learning experience. My majors are International Relations and Latin American Studies, and my study abroad experience taught me much in both these areas of study. Studying abroad has given me a world perspective that will serve me in whatever career I choose to pursue. Thank you again for your generosity to the College and its students. I personally appreciate very much the help you have given me. I hope you will continue to help students like me to achieve their educational goals and aspirations. I’d also like to take this opportunity to wish you and your families a very happy New Year! Best Wishes, /s Sarah Lutz Dear Nu Alpha Phi, I am writing to thank you for your contribution to the Nu Alpha Phi Scholarship that I have recently been honored to receive. I am in my junior year at Pomona College, majoring in Neuroscience with a probable minor in music. I hope to have a career in biomedical research, and plan to obtain a Ph.D. in a neuroscience-related graduate program. I’m grateful to be part of the Pomona community, and very sincerely appreciate your kindness and generosity. Yours, /s | |||
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