Couple Sues Over Noise by School Band

In the lobby of El Dorado High School hangs a giant color portrait of the school’s most celebrated graduate: Olympic gold medalist Janet Evans.

But after years basking in the glory of the swimmer’s achievements in worldwide competition, the school finds itself in the awkward position of being sued by her parents.

Over drums.

Paul and Barbara Evans, whose home abuts the school’s football field, claim that the El Dorado marching band’s early morning practices--particularly the drums--make Olympic-size clamor.

“It never should have gotten this far,” Paul Evans said in a brief interview Tuesday.

Evans, who has lived next to the school since 1971, said he has been unwaveringly supportive of school activities.

“I put three kids through that school,” he said. “The last thing we want to do is stop the band from practicing.”

Janet Evans is a 1989 graduate of El Dorado High School and won gold medals in swimming in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics.

The band has practiced in the morning for several years but recently began rehearsals at 7 a.m. instead of the usual 8:45 a.m. School officials could not be reached to explain the change.

The couple would like to have the band practice on a field farther away from the homes on their street.

The lawsuit states that “incessant nonstop pounding for 30- to 45-minute intervals at a time” 17 yards from the rear of their home has made a peaceful life impossible and occasionally forced them to check into a hotel.

The couple’s attorney, William B. Hanley, said they believe they had no choice but to take legal action after several meetings with school officials this fall failed to resolve the problem.

Also named in the lawsuit is the band’s director, Richard Watson, whom the Evanses accuse of defiantly stationing the band’s drum corps directly behind their house.

They also allege in the lawsuit that Watson has led a campaign among the band’s booster club members to encourage community members to stop patronizing Paul Evans’ Placentia veterinary clinic.

Watson did not return telephone calls Tuesday.

Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District officials say the lawsuit, filed last week in Orange County Superior Court, has placed them in an uncomfortable position.

“Both the school district and the school feel very badly about the whole situation,” said district spokeswoman Karen Bass. “The Evanses have lived behind the high school for many years and the band has practiced in the same place. The kids need to practice somewhere.”

Neighbors also sympathize with the couple’s plight but are reluctant to join the fray.

“It’s pretty loud, but it’s been going on for 25 years,” said next-door neighbor Sal Piraino. “It’s a part of living here. But they do seem to be practicing longer these days.”

On Monday, the Evanses filed a separate lawsuit against the city of Placentia, seeking to have an exemption to its noise ordinance declared invalid and ordering the city to enforce the ordinance.