In the last two editions of the Chino Valley Champion, a trio of Carbon Canyon residents have been highlighted for their varied activities and contributions to our area.
In the issue of the 15th, the paper ran an article reporting that the 2020 winners of the Fred L. Burns Community Service Award for their work in furthering the aims of the Chino Valley Fire District in community service and public safety are Charles Blank and Peter Pirritano.
Blank, who has been the chairperson of the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council for ten years, "has been instrumental in preventing and minimizing the devastating effects of wildland fires through the bi-annual brush removal program that eradicates up to three tons of dead brush per session." He coordinates these important activities with the City of Chino Hills and Republic Services/Chino Hills Disposal and oversees Fire Safe Council volunteers for the sessions.
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| The mural by artist Lena Sekine on the Sleepy Hollow residence of Jeff and Rosemary Kilby. Photos by Lena. |
The article added that Blank oversees the organization of Wildfire Awareness Fairs held by the Council, as well as the removal of invasive plants in Carbon [Canyon] Creek and the creek running eastward through the Summit Ranch neighborhood where he lives and he was critical in getting Carbon Canyon designated as a FireWise community.
Pirritano was heralded for giving "his time to attend donation and training events, where he speaks with community members and the business community about his dedication to help fund public access medical equipment," specifically AED (Automated External Defibrillators) and trauma kits. These important life-saving materials have been installed for free, thanks to Pirritano's support, at schools and businesses and with community groups in Chino and Chino Hills.
Not mentioned is that Pirritano, who lives in the Carriage Hills community where he is very active with the homeowners' association, is also a member of the Fire Safe Council, and has contributed much of his time and given financial contributions so that it can continue its important work.
Past winners of the award, given out since 1993, include Sarah Evinger, longtime fire board and Fire Safe Council member, who was recognized in 2005 and Ron Nadeau, a fixture of decades in Sleepy Hollow and also a longtime Fire Safe Council member, who was honored in 2015.
Finally, yesterday's Champion ran a feature about my amazingly talented next-door neighbor, artist Lena Sekine, and her mural for the home of fellow Sleepy Hollow residents Jeff and Rosemary Kilby. Lena, who has painted murals at her house and a few others in the community and whose job is interior decoration specializing in restaurant decor, painted a mandala with a peace sign at its center (the latter being the Kilbys' only requirement—otherwise Lena used her considerable imaginative abilities for the rest.) The artwork involves many overt and covert symbols and meanings reflective of the family and broader concepts.
Jeff Kilby told Marianne Napoles of the Champion that the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially hard because they work in the health-care industry and witness much of the devastation first-hand, have severely limited contact with their neighbors and community, which they value so much. So, afterreaching out to Lena and getting approval from their neighbors and having the mural painted on the side of their house, he and Rosemary now have something beautiful and healing for them during this particularly problematic period and beyond.
One of the very best attributes of Sleepy Hollow is the strong sense of community built here thanks to people like Jeff, Rosemary and Lena. Similarly, one of the most important elements of community in Carbon Canyon broadly is embodied in the volunteer work and financial support provided to the Fire Safe Council and Chino Valley Fire District by Charlie and Peter.
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