Council, cont. from front

square foot distribution center.According to the city once the cen-ter is built it will provide 300 per-manent jobs to the city.Councilmembers expressed ex-citement over the prospect of jobs.“This is a good thing for Rialtoand I am in full support of this,”said Councilmember Joe Baca Jr.Mayor Pro Tem Ed Scott also saidhe was in support of the project.Councilmember Deborah Robert-son said she was in support of theproject but also wanted the com-pany to create a job center or cen-tral location for residents to applyfor the jobs.

Councilmember Ed Palmer saidhe believes it will create a trickledown affect and help the city’s en-tire economy.“Anytime we can bring 300 jobsto Rialto, that’s a good day,” saidPalmer.In other good news, the city isalso moving forward with the pro-posed In-N-Out Burger on the cor-ner of Riverside Ave. and Easton.There will be three retail storesthere including the highly antici-pated In-N-Out. The project hasnot received final approval fromIn-N-Out, but it is expected so thecity is moving forward on faith.“I know it is a risk we are takingbut I know it is a risk that we need

to take,” said Palmer.The council also began dis-cussing what was the end of a longstruggle. The city is now close toreceiving a settlement from the re-sponsible parties for the perchlo-rate contamination in Rialto water.The city is setting up a methodol-ogy to refund every resident whopaid the perchlorate surchargewith their water bill.The entire settlement includingthe cost of the three treatmentplants is $160 million. The fundswill begin to be distributed to res-idents in November.“It’s been a long time coming,”said Scott.

Page A2 • September 27, 2012 • Inland Empire Community Newspapers • Rialto Record

Election, cont. from front

and retail businesses with tax in-centives.He says he does not compromisewhen it comes to residents. Former teacher and current psy-chologist, June D. Hayes is alsorunning for city council. She is along time residnet and respectedutilities commissioner. She feelsthat she is finally ready and hasdone her research of what it takesto be on the council. Hayes is mak-ing fiscal responsibility one of hertop priorities of the city. She alsoplans to make water more cleanand affordable, as well as to ensurethat the environment of Rialto is asafe one. Her concern about thecity is the budget. She believesthat the community is the city'sbiggest asset. "We still have that small townmentality where everyone caresfor one another,” said Hayes. Shawn P. O' Connell is a retiredpolice sergeant from Rialto PoliceDepartment. He believes in givingback to the community and mak-ing a difference, which is why hedecided to run for council. Ifelected his top priorities are to im-plement an open government pol-icy, increase fiscal responsibilityand to provide the citizens of thecity with the support that theyneed. His concern is that the citywill have difficulty navigating thebudget within the next few yearsdue to the economy's future; how-ever, he believes that the people ofthe community are the city’s great-est asset.“If we rally the people on a cer-tain cause, anything is possible,”O’ Connell said.

Attorney Ed Palmer is up for re-election for city council. He hasserved the past four years on thecouncil and believes that it takesmore than a couple of years to im-plement every plan. He will ensurethat unfinished tasks get com-pleted. His top priorities are to in-crease public safety, create morejobs and to clean up the commu-nity. In agreement with his oppo-nents, he feels that the biggestchallenge of the city is the budgetand trying to avoid bankruptcy,but that the city has great employ-ees and residents that can help tosteer the city in the right direction.“Every candidate has their ownagenda and can bring somethingdifferent to the city,” Palmer said.“I can bring the insight that I haveas a successful businessman to thecity by helping in negotiating andcreating contracts, as well as otherbusiness matters.”Sarmad (Sam) Syed has been aRialto resident for the majority ofhis life attending Rialto schoolssince elementary school. He hasdecided to run for city council be-cause he wants to see the citychange through unity. “I feel that we can be a first classcity,” said Syed. He is one of the youngest candi-dates at 33 years old but believeshis experience working withpower utility companies, on theRialto Utility Commission andtime spent in the community giveshim a good perspective. He sayshe always wanted to help the com-munity and has been involvedthrough his children’s activitiesand the commission. He believes the city’s strengthsinclude the diversity of cultures

and also hard working staff. His hope for the city is that it willstrengthen its infrastructure to in-crease the number of businessesand homes in the city. Rafael Trujillo is an active com-munity member and congressionalrepresentative. He is the vice pres-ident of the Elm Park CommunityAssociation and a Rialto parkscommissioner. In those roles hehas worked with the police to re-duce crime in his community.He says he wants to bring jobs tothe city and make the city safer.His goals are to strengthen theneighborhood watches and com-munity policing efforts and alsoprovide more things for youth andseniors to do. He believes the de-parture of Grace Vargas and pos-sible departure of CouncilmemberJoe Baca Jr. to the state will leavea void in leadership that he can fill.He says he knows how politicsworks at the local, state and fed-eral levels, which will be helpfulin an atmosphere where gettingfunds for the city is a competitiveprocess. “I want a city where everyonefeels proud to live in Rialto,” saidTrujillo. He also believes the city is in agood location for economic devel-opment, especially around the 10and 210 freeways where retail andfood establishments can bringbusiness and tax revenue to thecity. For more information about thecouncil candidates including con-tact information visit the city ofRialto website or their respectivecampaign websites and facebookpages. The election is November6.

Ansh Bhagat, a high schooljunior, has topped thecollege courses that he

took at UC Riverside as a freshmanand sophomore in summer ses-sions. Summer session courses are5 -6 weeks of intense courses

which covers the whole years syl-labus.He has taken chemistry collegecourse as a sophomore and psy-chology as a freshman in highschool and has topped both of thisclasses, with a 4.0 GPA and A+ inthis classes at UC Riverside.Ansh Bhagat has a 4.0 GPAthroughout high school and middleschool and he also earned Princi-pals Honor roll all throughout mid-dle school. He is also a recipient offirst place in solo math pre algebraat MESA Southern California Re-gional Competition and a recipientof USAA Scholarship. As a Soph-omore, he has also got a perfectscore in Algebra 2 in l0th gradeand on the science test in 8th gradeon California Standards Tests .

IECN PHOTO NAIMA FORD

The Rialto Fire Department hosted a pinning ceremony at the Rialto City Council. Pictured here isBrian Hart being pinned by his daughter. He was promoted to Battalion Chief.

IECN PHOTO NAIMA FORD

The city has been behind in recognizing employees for ten years ofservice, so many were recognized at the city council meeting.

IECN PHOTO COURTESY RIALTO NETWORK

The City of Rialto, Rialto Kiwanis Club and Cathedral of Praise co-hosted a Job and Resource Fair for residents on September 19.Over 900 people attended to apply for full-time and part-time posi-tions.

Rialto job fair is a success

High school studentexcels in UCR courses

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