Transfer of West Hills Parks Supervisor Angers Residents

It’s unusual for the transfer of a local parks supervisor to arouse an emotional response, but Earl Wood is the exception.

Nearly 100 people showed up Thursday night to protest his involuntary transfer from the Shadow Ranch Recreation Center in West Hills to the Sherman Oaks/Van Nuys Senior Center.

Many were angry and could not understand why Wood, a congenial man in his 60s, would be transferred against his will after serving the same community for 23 years.

The transfer was announced Aug. 24, just 10 working days before he is to begin his job Tuesday at the senior center. Critics said the timing has disrupted many programs at Shadow Ranch, including several classes taught by Wood, who teaches baseball, soccer, boxing, a game called capture-the-flag and water sports.

“There’s a host of volunteers there. They come because they love working for the park and they love helping Mr. Wood,” said Michelle Kaufman, a neighbor whose 4-year-old daughter has attended two years of preschool at Shadow Ranch.

“He drew people here,” she said, complaining that programs for which users have already paid fees “are being dropped because he is being ousted.”

Kaufman and others described Wood as a man who was passionate about the park and would do his paperwork at home--on his own time--so he could spend more time with the children who used the park.

“I don’t think it’s fair. He’s so good with kids,” volunteer Nicole Wickstrom said.

Kaufman and other Wood fans have gathered 500 signatures to protest his transfer and said they plan present them to Councilwoman Joy Picus, whose district includes Shadow Ranch. Under city civil service regulations, however, the transfer is not under the council’s jurisdiction.

Wood did not return phone calls from The Times on Friday, but in an Aug. 26 letter to his supervisor he protested that the transfer “seems to indicate a callous disregard by the department for the needs of the community served by Shadow Ranch.”

In his letter, he argued that his qualifications do not make him the best candidate to work in a senior center, but that he is clearly the most qualified person to be supervisor at Shadow Ranch.

Despite his protest, Wood has agreed to begin the new job on Tuesday, said Olga Singer, a supervisor with the city Recreation and Parks Department.

The transfer, Singer said, is unfortunate but unavoidable because of civil service rules and a citywide hiring freeze.

“The people who are protesting are well-meaning and there’s nothing we can do about that,” Singer said. If not for the budget restrictions, she added, “we definitely would not have transferred him. We would have hired from outside or promoted someone.”

Singer said since she cannot hire or promote anyone, she has to transfer someone of Wood’s high-level classification to the senior center. Nor could she transfer his successor, Bob White, to the senior center instead of Wood.

“Bob White does not have anywhere near the well-rounded experience that Earl does. I’ve been Earl’s supervisor for 20 years and I know,” Singer said. “There’s no malice. There’s no politics. We’re just completely bound and restricted by the civil service rules.”

Wood’s colleagues at Shadow Ranch said the place won’t be the same without him.

“In the 20 months that I’ve known him he’s been very nice to everyone. He’s taught me a lot,” said Danny Holley, 33, a part-time recreation assistant. “I can see why everyone misses him. He’s great.”

The enduring image many parents and colleagues will remember is of him teaching groups of children to play capture-the-flag and then playing along with them.

“I’ve seen him outrun a 17-year-old before,” Kaufman said. “I mean you just can’t replace someone like that, can you?”