La Habra

Estella Reynoso remembers the slap. She was in the third grade with other Mexican-American children from a nearby migrant camp and was one of the few who could speak English. "I remember the teacher asking me to read out loud from a book in English. I stumbled on a difficult word and couldn't say it. The teacher got up from her desk, came over to me and slapped me hard in the face," Reynoso said.

Paul Kim was seen as a deeply religious man who acted as a mentor to teens at the Korean church in La Habra that he attended. He sometimes served as a translator and took it upon himself to counsel youth he saw as troubled. But authorities say that in at least one case, his "counseling" crossed a line. Kim is accused of beating the 15-year-old son of a fellow church member with an inch-wide metal pole until the boy's legs were bruised and swollen. The misbehavior that prompted the alleged attack: The boy's parents believed he had been smoking.

WEDNESDAY'S RESULT La Habra 58, No. 12 La Habra Sonora 44 Leading contributors: Senior guard Randall Nygren scored 19 points and senior guard Jordan Sachs had 16 for host La Habra. Senior guard Christopher Bearden scored 16 points and senior forward Nathan Kuester had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Sonora. The scoop: Sonora made only five of 26 three-point shots and eight of 26 shots from inside the arc. "We just couldn't make a shot," Coach Mike Murphy said.

Peer pressure motivated Sean Wale of La Habra to join the football team as a freshman. "All my friends were playing and I didn't want to be left out," he said. He had played soccer his "whole life," and the team needed a kicker, so he was an obvious choice. "I had no idea what I was doing," he said. "I went out there to have fun. Everyone told me I should learn how to do it. " In his last two seasons on varsity, Wale has made 16 field goals and become one of the top kickers in Southern California entering his senior year.

La Habra won its third consecutive section title -- and the fifth this decade -- with a 21-0 victory Saturday over Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills in the Southwest Division championship game at Angel Stadium. Highlanders junior quarterback Cody Clements was involved in every touchdown. He threw 29- and 18-yard strikes to sophomore receivers Brett Bartolone and Robert Gonzalez. And he had an 11-yard touchdown run. The Highlanders (13-1) limited the Mustangs (12-2) to 101 yards of total offense, and senior quarterback A.J. Josue was only five of 12 for 52 yards with two interceptions.

GAME OF THE DAY No. 12 La Habra Sonora (21-1, 6-0) at La Habra (16-7, 4-2) Tonight at 7:30 Why it matters: Sonora is riding an 18-game winning streak and wants to remain unbeaten in Freeway League play. La Habra hopes to maintain its tenuous hold on second place in the league standings and close within a game of the Raiders. Sonora won the first meeting, 53-39, on Jan. 14 in part by holding La Habra senior guard Jordan Sachs to 19 points, nine below his season average.

The La Habra Chamber of Commerce will hold the first after-hours mixer of the year at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. The event, hosted by the La Habra Journal and La Habra Business Connection, will be at the La Habra Masonic Temple, 1701 W. La Habra Blvd. The cost is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Information: (714) 697-1504.

Dressed in a velvety Santa suit and carrying a goody bag slung over his shoulder, Richard Goodman worked the international crowd at the Shenzhen, China, Crowne Plaza Hotel's lobby cafe, handing out gingerbread cookies with a hearty "Merry Christmas. " The Western guests played along. The Chinese guests looked bewildered. "Xie xie," a woman said, inspecting the cookies and saying thanks in Mandarin before asking her dinner companion, "What is it?" Another guest wanted to know why only his children received the treats.

Senior running back Drake Griffin of La Habra was simply unstoppable in the second half, rushing for 217 yards and three touchdowns over the final two quarters of the Highlanders' 35-26 victory over Tustin in the Southern Section Southwest Division championship game Saturday afternoon at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Griffin, a transfer from Santa Fe Springs St. Paul, finished with 317 yards and four touchdowns in 29 carries, and quarterback Cody Clements, who has committed to Washington State, completed five of eight passes for 58 yards and one touchdown for the third-seeded Highlanders (11-3)

No. 23 Mission Hills Alemany at No. 11 Westlake Village Oaks Christian, 7 p.m. — Oaks Christian lost some A-list luster with the graduation of quarterback Nick Montana, but the Lions still have plenty of star power. Receivers Jordan Payton and Blair Holiday lead a talented cast that will take its act to the Marmonte League after playing this one nonleague game. Oaks Christian still has some celebrity chops too, with receiver Trey Smith and quarterback Trevor Gretzky, the sons of actor Will Smith and NHL Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky.

Name, School, Ht., Wt., Yr., Comment Aaryn Bouzos, La Mirada, 5-11, 185, Senior. Quick safety has committed to Nebraska. Jackyle Cooper, L.A. Jordan, 6-0, 185, Senior. Two-way player who makes an impact. Su'a Cravens, Vista Murrieta, 6-1, 190, Sophomore. All signs point toward becoming big-time player. Ryan Henderson, Rancho Verde, 5-10, 170, Senior. Committed to Utah. Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Chino Hills, 5-11, 190, Senior. Has all the qualities of a college player.

There's probably no more impressive-looking athlete playing quarterback in Southern California than Corona Centennial's muscular Michael Eubank. He's 6 feet 5, weighs 225 pounds and could seemingly play any position on the field. But he wants to be a quarterback, and this summer, he has started making a jump in mastering the Huskies' no-huddle offense. "His development has been unbelievable," Coach Matt Logan said. Eubank guided Centennial to the championship game of the Huntington Beach Edison tournament Saturday before losing to La Habra, 25-24.

The end of a career Re "One answer ends a career of questions," June 8 White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs should remember that the country for which he works protects free speech, even if he and his employers deem that speech to be "offensive and reprehensible." What is truly offensive and reprehensible is that Helen Thomas, an iconic figure with a decades-long career, can be forced out of her position because she states her opinion about Israel. As for the ageist remark by Talk News Radio bureau chief Ellen Ratner that, at 90, "people just don't have the same filters" — if filtering is what we are doing when we refuse to stand up against oppression, maybe it's time for those of all ages to turn off the filters.

It began in Sacramento last July, when an Orange County assemblyman, unaware that his microphone was on, began to brag about his sexual exploits with a female lobbyist. A scandal erupted quickly and the career of Assemblyman Mike Duvall (R-Yorba Linda) came to a swift end. In a special election in January, Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby won the race to replace the disgraced lawmaker. Now, voters will settle the last bit of business by filling Norby's term, which was set to end in January.

1. BREA OLINDA (24-2, SS-Div. 2AA) Def. El Modena, 68-23; Tustin, 82-8. Next: Thursday vs. Alta Loma. (1) 2. MATER DEI (24-1, SS-Div. 2A) Did not play. Next: Saturday vs. Mark Keppel or Culver City. (2) 3. LONG BEACH POLY (23-2, SS-Div. 1AA) Def. Long Beach Cabrillo, 56-29; Compton, 88-22. Next: Thursday vs. Aliso Niguel. (3) 4. HARVARD-WESTLAKE (26-1, SS-Div. 4AA) Def. Alemany, 68-55; Flintridge Sacred Heart, 84-28. Next: Saturday vs. Covina or St. Lucy's. (4) 5. CORONA SANTIAGO (25-2, SS-Div.