2 Principals Hired, 2 Others Reassigned

Two principals are joining the Downey Unified School District and two others, already part of the district, have been given new assignments, all effective July 1, according to action by the Board of Education. George Blackwell will become principal at Carpenter Elementary School. He is currently the assistant principal at a kindergarten-to-eighth-grade school in the Inglewood Unified School District. Gary Rutherford has been named principal at Gauldin Elementary School. Rutherford is a long-time Downey resident who works in the Fullerton Elementary School District as a kindergarten-sixth-grade school principal. Being reassigned in the district are Principals Denise Takano from Carpenter to Imperial Elementary, and Georgia Ananias from Gauldin to Rio San Gabriel Elementary. Takano replaces Dick Edwards, who is retiring, and Ananias replaces Judy Fisher, who accepted a position with the Santa Ana Unified School District.

Rio Hondo President Given National Award

Rio Hondo College President Herbert M. Sussman received a national leadership award at the 69th annual convention of the American Assn. of Community and Junior Colleges held in Washington. The award, praising Sussman for his years of service to the community college concept, was presented by First Lady Barbara Bush. Sussman, 65, has been superintendent and president of the Rio Hondo Community College District near Whittier since 1982. For five years before that, he was chancellor of the San Francisco Community College District. Sussman will retire from the Rio Hondo presidency at the end of this academic year June 30, but plans to return to the classroom in the fall to teach anatomy.

Junior League of Long Beach Installs Officers

Gina Rushing, a member of the Junior League of Long Beach since 1981, has been installed as the league’s president for 1989-90. She is communications and public relations director for Integrated Health Systems Inc., and is the first full-time professional to become president of the volunteer league. She chaired the league’s Alcohol Awareness for Youth project in 1985, and developed and chaired the Long Beach Recovery Home for Youth project the following year. In 1987-88, Rushing was the league’s community vice president, and last year chaired its Leadership Development Task Force. She also is one of the founders of the Woman to Woman Recovery Center in Long Beach, has served on the board of the Long Beach Area National Council on Alcoholism since 1985, and served on a steering committee for the New Life Beginnings Mothers’ Home in Long Beach. Rushing is a graduate of St. Anthony High School and Cal State Long Beach. Other new league officers installed with her are Barbara Conn, administrative vice president; Cynthia Schoustra, community vice president; Lea Wells, project vice president; Debi Garcia, membership vice president; Cora Nichols, secretary; Diane Wamba, treasurer, and Pauline Stenberg, sustaining adviser. Karen Willer is the outgoing president and Sue Westberg was chairman of the nominating committee.

Downey Attorney Honored for Volunteerism

Downey resident Dianne Lumsdaine has been honored for volunteerism by the Southeast Los Angeles County chapter of the Assn. for Retarded Citizens. She received the award at the third annual National Philanthropy Day at the Biltmore hotel in Los Angeles. She is a member of the ARC Board of Directors and chairman of its fund-development committee. She also is an attorney, a member of the Downey Planning Commission and the mother of four children. A 10-year resident of Downey, Lumsdaine is a graduate of Bellflower High School. Her husband, Joseph Lumsdaine, also is an attorney and member of the ARC board.

Compton Schools Chief Given Doctorate

Ted D. Kimbrough has received an honorary doctorate from the University of West Los Angeles School of Law. Kimbrough, 54, who has been superintendent of the Compton Unified School District for seven years, was honored for more than 30 years of service in public education and contributions to the education of minority youths in inner-city schools. Before taking the Compton job, Kimbrough was assistant superintendent for school buildings and facility services in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

2 Gahr Students Place in Architecture Event

Two Gahr High School students from Cerritos won trophies in the architectural drafting portion of an invitational competition sponsored by Rio Hondo College. They are Kyong Jun Kim, second place, and Jose Medina, fifth place. It was the first time Gahr students in teacher Max Lizarraga’s drafting classes entered the 13th annual competition. More than 500 students from 25 high schools participated.

St. John Bosco Seniors Win Hispanic Awards

John N. Magana, a graduating senior at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, has won a $1,500 scholarship from the National Hispanic Scholar Awards Program for one year’s study at the college of his choice. Honorable mention winners of $100 from the same school are seniors Steve R. Martinez and Patricio N. Saint Lary. The students were chosen on the basis of academic records, grade-point average, test scores, personal qualities and community involvement.