Altadena Junction: Running to remember fallen lawmen

Honoring the fallen: While the Pasadena Marathon takes place down the hill today, the annual Peace Officers Memorial Torch Relay comes to an end in Altadena. Starting Friday at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department headquarters in Monterey Park, deputies and others have been carrying a torch through all county sheriff stations as a way of honoring officers throughout California who have fallen in the line of duty in the past year. The final leg is expected to end at about 2:30 p.m. at the Altadena Sheriff’s Station, 780 E. Altadena Dr., and will be followed by a short ceremony honoring officers Anthony Giniewcz (Signal Hill), Ryan Stringer (Alhambra), and Andrew Garton (Hawthorne), who died in 2011.

Also honored will be Newhall Constable Ed Brown, who was shot to death while pursuing a suspect in 1924.

On a related note, Altadena Sheriff’s Capt. John Benedict was in Washington, D.C., this week to see Dep. Charlene “Charlie” Rottler’s name placed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Rottler, a member of the first class of female deputies in L.A. County, suffered catastrophic injuries when a drunk driver crashed into her squad car in 1972. Originally left for dead by medics, she endured multiple operations and decades of suffering before succumbing to her injuries on Jan. 3, 2010.

Library book sale: If you hurry, you can pick up a bargain at the Friends of the Altadena Library annual book sale, which is open until 4 p.m. today. The real action was at the members-only pre-sale on Friday, an event that draws a horde of used-book dealers looking to stock up on the good stuff with their empty cartons, cell phones and iPads set to “scan.” Sunday’s sale goes at a more leisurely pace, and we bet you’ll find something just right for you. The Altadena Main Library is at 600 E. Mariposa St.

Give peace a chance: The Peace & Justice Academy is a middle school (and soon a high school) with a curriculum based on the principals of the Mennonites, who, like the Quakers, are adherents of one of the historic Christian peace churches. The school, which admits students of all faiths, recently relocated to the Arches complex at St. James United Methodist Church, 2033 E. Washington Blvd. The church is in one of those border areas that actually are in Altadena but have a Pasadena postal address.

The school throws open its doors from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 26, to say hello to its new neighbors with a festive event including tours, a cake raffle and booths staffed by local vendors and community do-good organizations. Entertainment ranges from music to fire-eaters.

The event is free and family friendly. Parking is available in the lot off Washington, west of the church. Look for the balloons and banners. Check out the academy on the web at www.thepeaceacademy.org.

Hazmat roundup: L.A. County holds a hazardous-waste and e-waste roundup at the county fleet maintenance yard, 252 W. Mountain View Ave., from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 26.

Acceptable items include brake fluid, paint, paint thinner, cleaners with acid or lye, pesticides or herbicides, household and car batteries, pool chemicals, motor oil, oil filters, expired medications, anti-freeze and fluorescent light bulbs. The roundup will also accept household electronic waste, including computers, monitors and televisions. For a complete list of what you can or cannot bring, call (888) CLEAN-LA or visit www.cleanla.com.

Take an ARTBreak: The Altadena Arts Council and the Altadena Community Arts Center present the sixth annual Altadena ARTBreak with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 25, at the Temporary Gallery @ Webster’s, 2460 N. Lake Ave. The Arts Council develops the talent and creativity of young people through a series of programs and the Arts Center, which recently opened at the site of the shuttered Loma Alta Elementary School. For the second year in a row, the council has transformed a vacant storefront in the Webster’s complex into a gallery for a week of showings of young people’s art. The gallery will be open in the afternoons through Friday, June 1.

For information on Altadena ARTBreak or the Altadena Arts Council and Altadena Community Arts Center, call (626) 797-5798.

Lowered expectations: The Altadena Town Council election — in which only six candidates are running for eight vacancies —was scaled down this week. Voting will take place at just three locations on Saturday, June 9, hours will be cut (it now goes from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) and the pre-voting at the library has been canceled. Nobody is expecting a large turnout.

TIMOTHY RUTT is the publisher and editor of Altadenablog, found at www.altadenablog.com.