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Cockrell to represent La Verne to Tri-City board [Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Calif.](Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (CA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sept. 16--LA VERNE -- The City Council re-appointed a youth advocate to the Tri-City Mental Health Authority as the city's representative, approved permits to move the La Verne Habitat for Humanity house from Fairplex and added a historic house to the local landmark list during its Monday night meeting. Carolyn Cockrell, a La Verne resident who has dedicated her personal and professional lives to helping children, was named to a second two-year term as the citizen representative to Tri-City, the Pomona-based authority that offers mental health services to La Verne, Pomona and Claremont residents, public agencies and private institutions. Councilwoman Robin Carder and Parks and Community Services Director Bill Aguirre respectively serve as the city's council delegate and staff liaison to the authority. Carder and Cockrell sit on the authority's board of directors. Cockrell, a counselor at Roynon Elementary School in La Verne, moved to La Verne from Sierra Madre in 1989 and immediately became active in community and youth programs. Prior to joining the Roynon faculty in 2005, she worked as a Walnut Valley Unified School District counselor for three years and as a child birth and women's health instructor for San Gabriel Valley Medical Center and other health institutions for 20 years. Cockrell earned a bachelor of science in psychology and a master's in pupil personnel/counseling from the University of La Verne. Besides Tri-City, her volunteer efforts include service on the La Verne Youth and Family Action Committee, Roynon School Beautification Committee and Rockin' for Roynon benefit concert planning group. Designated a master gardener, she coordinated the improvements of Roynon's south campus classroom garden project and volunteers. The council accepted Community Development Director Hal Fredericksen's recommendation to approve the Pomona Valley Habitat for Humanity relocation permit request to move the La Verne house for a veteran or military family from Fairplex in Pomona to its permanent site at 1520 First St. The La Verne Habitat house is one of four being built by Habitat for Humanity volunteers and sponsors for the nonprofit's "Salute To Service" campaign. Two of the Habitat houses will be in Chino Hills and one is in Walnut. Beginning construction on the La Verne house is being done at the L.A. County Fair, will be moved after the fair ends with construction completed on site. Councilwoman Donna Redman voiced the council's enthusiasm for the fourth Habitat house in the city. She queried Jody Gmeiner, executive director of the La Verne-based Habitat regional office, about a set date for moving the La Verne house through the Fairplex, out Gate 15 which is in the city of La Verne, along Arrow Highway and to its final resting place at First and Wheeler. "We don't have an exact date yet," Gmeiner said, "but we anticipate making the move during the third week of October." She later said Cen Cal, a professional house moving firm in Montclair, will move the house. Volunteers will not do the drywall at the fair to avoid the house cracking or being damaged during the move, she said. Habitat officials also recently built a wheelchair ramp for an elderly La Verne resident, Gmeiner reported. The city of La Verne, using linkage fees from conventional residential developments which are specifically designated for affordable housing construction, purchased the lot for the La Verne house for $160,000 and donated the land to Habitat. Bill and Charlotte Neill sat quietly in the audience while council members unanimously approved a local landmark designation for their home at 2219 Third St. Mayor Don Kendrick applauded the couple that has "beautifully maintained" the Neher-Vaniman house since they purchased it. The landmark designation, requested by the Neills, requires the couple and future owners "to maintain their historic property in an exemplary manner and to retain or, where appropriate, restore historic features," Fredericksen said. The unanimous approval of the resolution making the house historic included a historical property agreement between the Neills and the city. It is a state Mills Act contract that encourages heritage properties preservation, he said. The house incorporating neoclassical, Victorian and Craftsman architectectural styles was built in 1907 by Noah Neher for him and his wife Mary Blickenstaff Neher and their six daughters. "In May 1909, three of the daughters were wed in a triple wedding held in the living room of the house," Fredericksen reported. "Daughter Clara Vaniman later bought the home from her mother in 1928 and raised her three sons in the house until her death in 1970. Clara was a teacher at Lincoln School (now Roynon) from 1925 to 1956. William and Charlotee Neill purchased the house in 1987 and have kept the home well-maintained since then." ___ (c)2014 the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, Calif.) Visit the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, Calif.) at www.dailybulletin.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |