Downey High School

A Downey math instructor has won top honors in the annual Jaime Escalante Mathematics Teacher Awards. Deborah Hack, who teaches at Downey High School, received a $1,500 award in the contest, which is named after Escalante, a former Los Angeles calculus teacher who was the subject of the movie "Stand and Deliver." Students nominate teachers for the award. For this year's contest, students wrote about 190 essays in support of 70 Los Angeles County teachers.

Re "Teen with staph infection dies," July 25 There are practical steps California parents and educators can take to protect their students from the community-acquired "superbugs" in our schools. Downey High School wrestler Noah Armendariz's tragic death should inspire everyone to take extra precautions. Encourage students to wash their hands frequently, and make it possible for them to do so without leaving class. Parents of children 8 and older should tuck a small container of hand sanitizer in their book bag. School authorities should install dispensers of hand sanitizer inside classrooms.

Joe, one of the Mandela brothers, was there, but this time he had none of the bootleg wine his family made during Prohibition. Ray, Rollie, Art and few other boys from the Class of 1926 were there too. The boys remember the Mandelas' wine. They say there was always a ready jug of it behind the piano at the Downey High School dances. "The Italians around here made wine in those days," recalled Ray Bogue, who admits to drinking his share.

A Downey High School wrestler has died after being hospitalized for 20 days with pneumonia and other complications of a staph infection. Noah Armendariz, 17, died Sunday at Children's Hospital of Orange County, said his mother, Cynthia Magana. The infection was caused by methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, or MSSA, Magana said. Another form of S.

Police arrested two teen-aged boys on suspicion of burglary after capturing them on the grounds of Warren High School in Downey, where several hundred students' lockers had been looted.

A Downey High School wrestler has died after being hospitalized for 20 days with pneumonia and other complications of a staph infection. Noah Armendariz, 17, died Sunday at Children's Hospital of Orange County, said his mother, Cynthia Magana. The infection was caused by methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, or MSSA, Magana said. Another form of S.

Two Downey High School service clubs began installing free smoke detectors for senior citizens Saturday in a program to put as many as 1,000 of the safety devices in homes during the next six months, according to a spokesman for the Downey Fire Department.

Charging that his 1st Amendment rights were infringed, a man who tried to rent a poster listing the Ten Commandments in the outfield of a Downey High School baseball diamond has sued the city's school district. Businessman Edward Di Loreto said he was trying to instill moral values by renting the $400 advertising space. Revenues from the posters were to benefit the school's sports programs.

A May 21 preliminary hearing has been set for three people accused of murdering a Downey high school vice principal at his Long Beach home, Deputy Dist. Atty. Shawn Randolph said Monday. Alex Freddy Vega, 42, Monica Mary Chavez, 40, and Gilbert Raul Rubio, 36, all of Los Angeles, will be arraigned in Long Beach Municipal Court on murder charges in the death of George Blackwell. The school administrator died Jan. 12 during a robbery and burglary, Randolph said.

A major classroom renovation at Downey High School has became a victim of the softening real estate market. District officials recently postponed the renovation indefinitely after failing to sell other school property to raise $5 million to $7 million to pay for the high school project and several smaller plans. After the agreement fell through last fall, the district has been unable to find buyers willing to pay top dollar for the 10.

Marine Sgt. Rick Carloss is as familiar to students as some teachers at Downey High School. He does push-ups with students during PE classes and plays in faculty basketball games. During lunch, he hands out key chains, T-shirts and posters that proclaim: "Think of Me As Your New Guidance Counselor." On a recent morning, Carloss drove his silver 1996 Mercedes-Benz from his recruiting station to the school two blocks away. A parking attendant waved him into the lot, saying, "Hi, dear."

It was by no means your usual movie premiere: The screening took place in Norwalk, not Hollywood, and the invited guests arrived in school buses instead of limousines. About 12,000 young scholars, ranging from fifth-graders to high school seniors, walked on a red carpet into the 20-screen AMC movie house over a three-day period recently. They got a day off from classes to see a hot film before its release date: "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."

In a unanimous decision, a state appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling against a Downey businessman who wanted to display the Ten Commandments on a fence at the Downey High School baseball field. Edward DiLoreto had asserted that his religious and freedom of speech rights were violated when the high school decided not to display the sign, which would have hung with other advertisements around the field. The court ruled Tuesday that the school's action was not a violation of his rights.

A group of Sierra Canyon Middle School legal eagles was honored Tuesday by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for their first-place win in the 21st annual Los Angeles County Mock Trial Competition, junior division, held late last year. The 16 seventh- and eighth-graders had put in more than 100 weekend and lunch hours at the Chatsworth campus, practicing their roles as attorneys and witnesses.

A May 21 preliminary hearing has been set for three people accused of murdering a Downey high school vice principal at his Long Beach home, Deputy Dist. Atty. Shawn Randolph said Monday. Alex Freddy Vega, 42, Monica Mary Chavez, 40, and Gilbert Raul Rubio, 36, all of Los Angeles, will be arraigned in Long Beach Municipal Court on murder charges in the death of George Blackwell. The school administrator died Jan. 12 during a robbery and burglary, Randolph said.

The dispute is headed for a legal showdown over the 1st Amendment, the separation of church and state and baseball. And if businessman Ed DiLoreto carries the day, he will be able to post the Ten Commandments in an advertisement along the outfield fence of the Downey High School baseball field. DiLoreto, who runs a Downey engineering firm, insists that he is simply exercising his 1st Amendment rights and promoting good morals among youngsters.

Fourteen Southeast-area school systems and three community college districts will have board elections Nov. 2. Enrollment: 16,000 students. Areas served: Downey and portions of South Gate, Bellflower and Bell Gardens. On the ballot: Two school board seats. Although board members serve by district, they are elected at large. Incumbent Betty N. Ferraro, who represents Area No. 5, which includes central Downey, faces no challengers and will be reappointed.

The Downey Unified School District's plan to sell a vacant site to raise money to refurbish Downey High School has fallen through, officials said this week. The district had a preliminary agreement to sell the 10.5-acre Edith Unsworth School site to developer Lewis Homes for about $8 million. But the home builder, citing a slumping housing market, asked the district to renegotiate the sale price. District officials declined because they want to receive at least $8 million for the site, Supt.

Charging that his 1st Amendment rights were infringed, a man who tried to rent a poster listing the Ten Commandments in the outfield of a Downey High School baseball diamond has sued the city's school district. Businessman Edward Di Loreto said he was trying to instill moral values by renting the $400 advertising space. Revenues from the posters were to benefit the school's sports programs.

Holly Asuncion and four of her friends lost hours of precious primping time Wednesday on the third floor of Norwalk Superior Court. On what was to be the crowning day of their careers at Downey High School, the five seniors found themselves waiting for a judge to rule on whether Asuncion could participate in commencement ceremonies that evening.