LOS ALAMITOS : City Commission Applicants List Ideas

Fitness testing for kids and an art festival were among the ideas suggested by applicants to several city commission posts.

Three candidates for the city’s Fine Arts and Parks and Recreation commissions detailed in interviews this week what new possibilities they envision for the two commissions.

“I imagine a festival like the [Laguna Beach] Sawdust Festival, in the park, that local artists can participate in,” said Sheila Hostetler, a paralegal who recently relocated to Los Alamitos from Long Beach and sought a seat on the Fine Arts Commission.

L. Dwight McCarthy, a sports chiropractor who practices in Garden Grove, said his professional background would enable him to develop youth fitness goals.

“As a chiropractor, I get studies that say that kids today are inactive and out of shape,” said McCarthy, who applied for a seat on the Parks and Recreation Commission. “I would like to see an increased emphasis on fitness testing, muscle strength and flexibility, and [to] develop an awards-based program.”

Judy Kay Sheppard, director of Small World preschool in Los Alamitos and manager of eight other preschools in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, also sought the Parks and Recreation position.

Sheppard said her experience as an administrator and educator has made her familiar with the needs of children and parents, and could help her pinpoint areas for improvement in Los Alamitos’ Parks and Recreation Department.

“My job is to oversee the whole picture and see the areas that need help,” Sheppard said.

Three positions on the Parks and Recreation Commission and one on the Fine Arts Commission are vacant. The council decided to delay a decision on the appointments until its next scheduled meeting because Mayor Charles E. Sylvia was absent Monday.