Volunteers San Fernando Valley

When the letter arrived at her Woodland Hills home in February saying she'd been picked to carry the Olympic torch, Agnes Hector thought it was a joke. Her husband William, annoyed, promptly threw it away. The 82-year-old former ballerina said she learned it was true only after "reading my name in the newspaper."

When the letter arrived at her Woodland Hills home in February saying she'd been picked to carry the Olympic torch, Agnes Hector thought it was a joke. Her husband William, annoyed, promptly threw it away. The 82-year-old former ballerina said she learned it was true only after "reading my name in the newspaper."

Volunteer Center Assistance League of Southern California is seeking individuals interested in helping in animal shelters. Duties include cleanup and repair work as well as playing with homeless animals. The center also needs volunteers to assist temporarily homeless women. For more information, contact the center, 8134 Van Nuys Blvd., Suite 200, Panorama City, at (818) 908-5040 or visit the Web site at www.volunteers.org.

Police Sunday night found the body of a missing 8-year-old Woodland Hills girl in the apartment of a man who was arrested earlier in the day in connection with her disappearance and killing. Los Angeles Police Lt. George Rock said officers found Nicole Parker's body in Hooman Askahcapana's apartment, which is in the same Ventura Boulevard complex where the girl stayed with her father, about 11 p.m. Askahcapana, 22, was booked on suspicion of murder, police detectives said.

Like a religious tent revival, members and supporters of Habitat for Humanity, the Christian housing ministry that builds low-income housing, gathered Wednesday at a dirt lot in Pacoima to dedicate the site of its first project in the city with fiery calls for volunteers. Millard Fuller, the group's founder, opened his talk by leading the audience in a cheer, and then called the effort to build eight townhomes for low-income families a "wonderful demonstration of the value of partnership."

Despite experiencing the biggest percentage increase in homicides in Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley retained the lowest murder rate of any region in the city, according to year-end crime statistics released Tuesday. The 109 people killed in the Valley in 1995 represented a 28% increase over the previous year's toll.

A 22-year-old man was arrested and booked on suspicion of murder Sunday in connection with the abduction of 8-year-old Nicole Parker, who disappeared from a Woodland Hills apartment complex on Saturday, police said. Hooman Askahcapana--a neighbor of Nicole's father who family members said may have been the last person to see Nicole--was arrested about 9:30 a.m. at a residence in West Hills after he tried to kill himself Sunday morning, police said. Lt.

Retha Wilson's feeble heart nearly gave out when she learned of the paper sticking out of the mailbox at her Watts apartment. It was a 30-day notice demanding that she move out. The 55-year-old former nurse's aide--who has high blood pressure, suffers from a heart condition and is legally blind--pleaded with her public housing manager to let her stay. Yes, her grandson had been detained by police the week before, but he was released without charges filed against him.