Shared Values Focus of Panel Discussion

Community values will be the subject of a panel discussion sponsored by the local Community Coordinating Council and the nonprofit organization Bridge Focus on Wednesday at Verdugo Hills High School.

The event, titled “The Faces and Voices of Sunland-Tujunga,” will feature six panelists, including two students, all of whom live or work in Sunland-Tujunga.

Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs, who represents the area, will deliver the keynote address, and Roman Castillo, Sylmar/Verdugo Cluster administrator for the Los Angeles Unified School District, will moderate the discussion.

“The purpose of the event is to bring people together to discuss how our shared values affect our daily lives and how recognizing that can help us improve our community,” said Joanne Wright, a member of the coordinating council and outreach coordinator for Bridge Focus, an alcohol- and drug-abuse prevention organization.

“We are a diverse community and we want people to see that their neighbors, although maybe a different race or from a different culture, all subscribe to common values,” Wright said.

The two student panelists, Marissa Foegen of Verdugo Hills High and Frank Reed Jr. of Mt. Gleason Middle School, will present the results of a community survey they have been working on as members of the Sunland-Tujunga Youth Project.

The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the cafeteria of the high school, 10625 Plainview Ave., Tujunga.

To cover the cost of the event, the council is requesting a $2 donation. Boxed dinners will be available for $4, which includes admission.

Free child care for children 2 to 9 will be provided.

For more information, call Wright at (818) 895-5132, Ext. 27.