The Sun (San Bernardino, CA)

Weekend Events

The holiday season is not only a time to be with family and friends, it also is a time for rest, relaxation and a little fun. Here are some more holiday events going on around San Bernardino County.

Church Kicking Out Day Care

BEAUMONT - Leaders of Beaumont Presbyterian Church have decided to evict The Kids' Place day-care program, a move that could force parents of 53 children to find alternatives by Dec. 29. Meanwhile, the director of the program is scrambling to find sites for possible relocation.

Electrical Burn Victim Identified

SAN BERNARDINO - Police identified a man Wednesday who they say received electrical burns over 45 percent of his body after he tried to steal cooper wire and set off a power outage that darkened several downtown buildings. Ray Castellanos, 33, of San Bernardino was taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton after he was burned about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at a vacant building in the 600 block of North G Street. His condition was not known late Wednesday.

Missing Girl's Remains Found

The shroud of mystery that has surrounded the case of a missing 4- year-old Big Bear City girl was lifted Wednesday when officials recovered her remains. Sheriff's officials who had spent more than two years searching for Lillian Leilani Gill were led back to the girl's hometown by her suspected killer, her adoptive mother, Sharon Michelle Gill, 50.

Disease Dashes Teaching Hopes

REDLANDS - Ernest "Ernie" Apodaca was looking forward to finishing his teaching credential, becoming a principal and spending more time with his two daughters when he was diagnosed with Pick's disease about four years ago. The disease, a rare neurodegenerative disorder, changed his personality and behavior, stole the Redlands resident's speech and eventually led to his recent death at age 46.

A Big Effort for Kids

For Rebecca Stafford, Tuesday morning's glittering kickoff to the Celebration of Giving campaign was about help and hope. Help from the community that will give hope to thousands of San Bernardino County's needy and at-risk children through the Children's Fund annual fundraising campaign.

Heavy Winds Tip Trees, Big Rigs

Winds gusting to 60 mph Wednesday sent trees toppling onto houses, power lines into streets and blew big rigs onto their sides on highways. Winds whipped through Highland, toppling a eucalyptus tree just past noon on Sterling Avenue and sending it crashing through an upstairs apartment. The tree took out a portion of the stairway railing, said Capt. Eric Rose of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Officer Receives Medal of Valor

Fontana Police Officer Frank Tolerico could only describe Wednesday's experience as both awesome and odd. The officer is used to patrolling the streets of Fontana, but found himself instead at the state Capitol in Sacramento with five other law-enforcement officials being honored by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger with the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor, California's highest public-safety award.

Man Sought in Woman's Death

SAN BERNARDINO - Police are zeroing in on a man believed to be the last person seen with a woman found beaten to death atop Little Mountain earlier this month. Gabriel Jose Silva, 23, was reported seen with 35-year-old Josephine Alonzo Garibay about 8 p.m. Nov. 9. Silva met Garibay at her home and was to help her put gasoline in her car. The two left the residence in separate vehicles, with Silva following behind Garibay, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in San Bernardino Superio...

Warning Issued About Painkiller

Riverside County sheriff's officials have issued a public warning on the dangers of the powerful painkiller fentanyl following an outbreak of overdoses and reported deaths on the East Coast and in the Midwest. The reported overdoses and deaths in Camden, N.J.; Chicago, Detroit and Philadelphia have been associated with the deadly mixture of fentanyl with cocaine or heroin. Fentanyl - a synthetic opiate typically prescribed to patients for pain - is 50 to 80 times more potent than morphine, ac...

Community Events Calendar

PROGRAMS/MEETINGS/SERVICES Central City Lutheran Mission, 1354 N. G St., San Bernardino, runs a daily homework-help center from 3 to 6 p.m. in English and Spanish for children ages 5-12. The mission's after-school program provides daily activities for teens at the same time, with rap and poetry writing/performance on Tuesdays and hip-hop theater and "buck" dancing Wednesday through Friday.

Safety Major Concern at Gang-Related Trial

RIVERSIDE - Safety is a top priority as Riverside County prosecutors undertake the monumental task of showing a judge why 15 defendants should be held to answer charges in what they say is a gang-related, double homicide in Banning. Sheriff's deputies placed a metal detector outside the courtroom and at least a half-dozen more were stationed inside as a preliminary hearing continued Wednesday in Riverside Superior Court.

Students Foster Harmony

FONTANA - "I see a kid who has been judged all his life, and never had anyone believe in him, so all he does is wrong because he doesn't know how to do right." Those poignant, carefully chosen words written by Erika McFarland, inspired by her friends, offer a glimpse of daily life through her 18-year-old eyes.

Sb Model: Officer-Intensive

SAN BERNARDINO - While the community has implored city leaders to beef up law enforcement and clamp down on crime, the city already has a proportionally larger police department than neighboring cities. Other cities in the area - Rialto, Colton, Fontana and Rancho Cucamonga - maintain significantly smaller police forces than San Bernardino's relative to their total populations.

Info Gap for New Citizens

Tens of thousands of foreign applicants were granted naturalized status in the United States in 2005 despite their background files being missing during the citizenship screening process, according to a Government Accountability Office report released this week. Citing concerns about terrorist access to the U.S., politicians and immigration watchers seized on the report to renew their call for improved screening and oversight of the immigration benefits process.

Loma Linda Plans to Double Size of Library

LOMA LINDA - The city is writing a new chapter in its efforts to improve literacy. Plans are moving forward to more than double the size of the county branch library next to City Hall.

In Brief 12-01-2006

SB MOUNTAINS Judge blocks housing project

Crime and Public Safety 12-01-2006

SAN BERNARDINO Blow to head, abdomen may have killed toddler

Residents Near Freeway Consulted

SAN BERNARDINO - With the Interstate 210 extension now taking shape here, the agencies handling the freeway project turned to the community Thursday night with a simple question, "What are your concerns?" A handful of city and unincorporated-area residents who live around the project attended a meeting at the New Hope Family Life Center on Highland Avenue and ticked off their list of top concerns: heavy traffic, potholes and businesses surrounded by construction.

Aids Addressed at Cal State Sb Event

In commemoration of World AIDS Day today, a Cal State San Bernardino event Thursday sought to dispel the myths and stigma surrounding the deadly disease and its precursor, HIV. Students attending the event had the opportunity to hear from people living with HIV.