Veterans

JERRY PERSON When my dad was a young man, one of the biggest events in his town was the Veterans Day Parade. Only in his time it was called the Armistice Day parade and he would recount of how many neighboring towns would be entered in it. I noticed that only Fullerton held a large parade in Orange County and I didn't hear of anyone from Huntington Beach participating in it. That was sure not the case when...

Golden West College on Tuesday officially unveiled its first dedicated space for returning veterans, a resource the campus hasn't seen since the Vietnam War. The college held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its Veterans Resource Center, a place for returning servicemen and women to get help transitioning into and navigating the community college bureaucracy. College and district officials were joined by veterans old and young on the college's quad for an opening ceremony as the sun drifted behind a building.

Tom Titus Mark Bedard had thought he'd left his Golden West College acting career behind him. After four years in the school's acting company, he had graduated and moved on to UC Irvine. Then came "Hamlet." What else would a serious actor do after amassing a ton of stage credits -- including John Proctor ("The Crucible"), C.C. Showers ("The Diviners") and King Oedipus ("Oedipus Rex"), all at Golden West? "I had to come back for this one," he said.

Of all the teams in this year's Jones Cup, Santa Ana Country Club likely boasts the most familiarity among its participants. Three players: head professional Geoff Cochrane, women's champion Marianne Towersey and 2004 men's champion Bill Welch competed in the re-formatted Jones Cup last year at Newport Beach Country Club, when the team finished at 2-under-par 69, tying Big Canyon Country Club for second place. The format for this year's event evolved even more with the addition of a fifth participant for each team: a second golf staff member.

Theater runs in the family of Dawn and Ivar Vasco of Costa Mesa. In fact, to borrow one of Mortimer's lines from "Arsenic and Old Lace," it practically gallops. Dawn Vasco, a veteran of many local stage productions, is making a hard-knock life for the mischievous orphans of the musical "Annie" at the Westminster Community Theater. She plays the treacherous but hilarious Miss Hannigan, the tipsy proprietor of the orphanage -- a role definitely out of character for the bubbly singer-actress, but one she handles with expertise.

A Huntington Beach man was sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison Wednesday for the murder of a World War II veteran on Veterans Day almost a decade ago, according to the Orange County district attorney's office. John Kirk McKinney, 30, and Curtis James Hill, 29, of Huntington Beach, have been found guilty of murdering 77-year-old Cecil Warren while trying to rob his van on Nov. 11, 2003. McKinney was convicted May 21. Warren was in a coma for three and a half years before dying from the injuries he sustained during the beating, according to prosecutors.

  918 RECORDING ARTISTS “ATTACKHEAD” TO DONATE 50% OF ALL CD SALES DURING THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY TO THE IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN VETERANS OF AMERICA (IAVA) The Southern California heavy metal band, “Attackhead” will be supporting Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) to help raise funds for our Veterans. Attackhead is donating fifty (50) percent of all profits from the sales of its CD’s during the month of February to the non-profit organization.

State Sen. Tom Harman has named Dennis Bauer, an adjutant for Huntington Beach's American Legion post, as Veteran of the Year for the 35th Senate District. Bauer, an active member of Post 133 since 2000, was nominated by fellow legionnaires. He served with the Army during the Vietnam War and has also served as a commander and finance officer for the post. Harman, who accepts nominations from the community each year, awarded Bauer before Thanksgiving. "One of the first things that struck me when I met Dennis was his undying desire to make sure we never forget the service veterans have provided our nation," the senator said in a release.

The Veterans Administration offers a pension program that pays for non-medical homecare services for veterans and/or surviving spouses who qualify with a medical and financial need. This little-known program is called the Veterans Salute pension plan which is helping hundreds of thousands of senior veterans across America access pension funds to pay for homecare services so they can continue to live independently at home. It is estimated that more than 25,000 veterans and/or surviving spouses may be qualified for this benefit within the greater Los Angeles region.

A Huntington Beach man was sentenced Friday to life in state prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of a World War II veteran during a Veterans Day robbery in 2003. Curtis James Hill, 29, Huntington Beach, was found guilty Nov. 1 of one felony count of special-circumstances murder in the commission of a robbery. Co-defendant John Kirk McKinney, 29, also a Huntington Beach resident, is charged with one felony count of special-circumstances murder in the commission of a robbery and faces a sentence of life in state prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.