Films Replace Roughhousing on Culturally Enhanced School Bus

You can watch first-run movies when you fly from LAX to Kennedy.

You can watch the scenery when you take the train from Aspen to L.A.

Some people say that when they take the bus anywhere in Los Angeles mostly what they watch is their wallet.

Not the 65 or so first- through fifth-graders traveling from Commonwealth Avenue Elementary School in Los Angeles to Lanai Road School in Encino and back every weekday.

These youngsters are the focus of a pilot program that puts a television set and videocassettes in their bus for viewing during the 60 cumulative minutes they spend on the bus going to and coming from Encino.

They watch videos from the school district library about self-esteem, multicultural education and the environment, with an occasional feature film, such as “Beauty and the Beast”, thrown in.

According to Lanai Road Elementary School Principal Ronald Ferrier, the program, which began in February and is sponsored by the Laidlaw Bus Co., is meant to test the impact that the videos will have on the youngsters. “We are looking at what happens when the kids watch something educational rather than having 60 minutes of wasted time on their hands.”

Ferrier says one of video program’s primary benefits is that the youngsters get off the bus in the morning ready to enter a classroom in a mood for learning, not all wired up.

Ron Stone, Lanai’s integration coordinator, who rides both ways with the students, says he sees another benefit. The videos have reduced the restlessness that used to mark the ride home in the afternoon.

He says the videos have cut down on the horseplay, fighting and book throwing that occasionally characterized the afternoon bus ride. “Now all eyes are glued to the TV,” Stone said.

Although the feature films might be considered a real bonus for the students, Principal Ferrier--who with Stone selects the videos--says what the kids seem to like best is the more educational fare.

“They are really into the environment, making sure the planet is neat, clean and green,” said Ferrier.

He said that they also like the videos about multicultural learning.

Ferrier said there are 11 languages spoken in the homes of the children at Lanai.

The extra hour a day is an added bonus in working with youngsters to whom English is a second language.

It’s a Very Good Dog’s Life at Pet Orphanage in Van Nuys

Diane Scripps, 65, and Virginia Haley, 70, do not have children or grandchildren, but they have been step-parents to thousands of stray dogs and homeless cats.

The former West Side duplicate bridge partners are the dynamic duo behind the Pet Orphans Fund.

The organization, which finds homes for displaced animals, celebrated its 20th anniversary with a party for adoptive parents at its Van Nuys kennel Sunday.

What makes this organization different from others is that it does not attempt to save all abandoned animals. “We only accept pets we think we can place in new homes,” Scripps says.

“We do not think it is a kindness to animals to take them in when you know you have no hope of finding a loving family for them. We don’t want our animals to spend their lives living in cages,” she says.

Saving animals, according to Scripps, is not always a warm, fuzzy way to occupy your time. You have to acquire a toughness or you won’t last long.

“We have our hearts broken regularly. We hear about and see such awful things done to pets. Many are trashed like a Dixie cup,” she says.

Which is why, should someone be interested in adopting one of the pampered pets available through Pet Orphans, one should be prepared to fill out a four-page questionnaire.

“Many people don’t understand the commitment necessary to be a good pet owner,” Scripps says emphatically.

“You cannot, for example, leave a puppy out in the back yard when you go off to work. The puppy will dig, cry, chew and annoy the neighbors. He’s a baby. He needs looking after. You can’t just abandon him all day,” she says.

Scripps says the questionnaire is meant to protect both the pet and the owner. “We want potential owners to understand their responsibilities and make sure the animal and owner are compatible.”

Scripps, a former teacher, and Haley, who was in real estate sales, started out by trying to find homes for the animals of their friends in the mid-’60s, with a high success rate.

Soon they were being contacted by friends of friends of friends of friends.

“Finally we realized we were in the pet relocation business,” says Scripps with a sigh. “We incorporated in 1973 and went into raising funds for stray animals. We boarded them in kennels until we could find homes for them. Then, 10 years ago we got our own kennel in Van Nuys.”

Pet Orphans doesn’t give out its address for many reasons. People who want to adopt a dog or cat must call for an appointment before they are given directions.

One of the reasons for not publicizing the address is that the organization doesn’t want people just dropping off pets.

“We only have so much room and we are careful about the pets we take in or bring here from the pound,” Scripps says.

She says she often is criticized for being choosy about the pets she takes in rather than welcoming them all. But she says that what has been called her exclusivity is really an extension of her philosophy that keeping an animal safe just isn’t enough.

“Dogs and cats are domestic pets that belong with people. We don’t want pets coming here and spending their lives behind bars.”

Tragedy Allows Encino Mom To Do Very Well at Doing Good

In 1983, Jill Slavin thought her life had ended.

Her 16-year-old daughter, Jaime Beth, had just died of a vicious virus called Reye’s Syndrome that attacked the young woman’s liver and brain.

“She was a beautiful child. I didn’t want people to forget her,” Jill Slavin said.

So, instead of giving in to her sorrow, Slavin--a single mom with two young boys to rear--decided to raise money to help eradicate the disease that had taken her child.

She held the first Jaime Beth Slavin Foundation celebrity gold tournament 10 years ago with some success and the help of McLean Stevenson and Harvey Korman, two golfing buddies.

Every year she raised more and more money, which she turned over to the Reye’s Syndrome Foundation for research.

The annual tournament, held at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, became so well attended that last year she says she netted $50,000. She has also been able to select a second organization with whom to share the wealth.

This year’s open, to be held June 7, will benefit the Reye’s Syndrome Foundation and the Family Assistance Program, which helps children of homeless parents. “Jaime loved children and worked as a teacher’s assistant in a nursery. I know she’d approve,” her mother said.

Slavin did so well at arranging charity golf tournaments that she now makes it a full-time job. She says she is grateful for the support she has gotten from the entertainment community.

This year, for example, among the swingers, will be Charlton Heston, Frankie Avalon, Kevin Dobson, Ken Howard and Mike Connors.

She comes by these Hollywood connections genetically. Her dad was a musician in Jack Benny’s band for 25 years.

Overheard

“My husband went to see President Clinton at Valley College and then came home and cut our budget. He says he’s starting a new fad: trickle-up economy.”

Woman to friend at Dutton’s Bookstore in North Hollywood.