September 20, 2011
BY JEFF HORSEMAN
STAFF WRITER
jhorseman_pe.com
Can-do spirit and a former president's bond with Temecula will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Thursday with a groundbreaking ceremony for a monument at Ronald Reagan Sports Park.
A statue of Reagan, standing with a shovel in one hand and a cowboy hat in the other, will be installed near the park's flagpole.
The monument's first phase also will have three walls, landscaping and benches.
The second phase will feature a family of four working on the 128-acre park. The Reagan statue will look admiringly at the family.
Reagan connection .
The monument recognizes the volunteers who raised money and labored to build Rancho California Sports Park in the early 1980s before Temecula became a city. The president recognized the volunteers' efforts in a March 1983 speech to the U.S. Olympic Committee.
"... the folks in a rather small town, Temecula. They got together and built themselves a sports park, held fundraising barbecues and dinners. And those that didn't have money, volunteered the time and energy," Reagan said.
"And now the young people of that community have baseball diamonds for Little League and other sports events, just due to what's traditional Americanism."
Perry Peters, a 25-year Temecula resident who led the push for the monument, said, "It's a matter of civic pride that a president of the United States recognized ... this little town ... (and) the individual initiative that many, many volunteers demonstrated by creating a park without government funds."
For many residents of Temecula -- long a Republican stronghold -- the speech deepened their connection to the 40th president. The former actor and California governor owned 771 acres of land in Tenaja near Temecula where he considered building a ranch before selling the property in 1979.
Park renamed
The city renamed the sports park for Reagan in 2004, the year he died. Temecula's City Council also declared Dec. 13, 2005, to be "U.S.S. Ronald Reagan Day" after sailors from the aircraft carrier spruced up the park; the sailors were named Temecula citizens.
The effort to build the monument started in 2004, when Peters, who used to manage the local chamber of commerce, asked the council's permission to raise money for the project.
A nonprofit group, Friends of Ronald Reagan Sports Park, took form. The all-volunteer group sponsors scholarships for Temecula and Murrieta high school seniors and annual essay contests in which grade schoolers write about the importance of individual initiative.
Volunteer group
The group also has handed out Jelly Bellies -- Reagan's favorite candy -- on his February birthday, arranged for a piece of the Berlin Wall to be displayed at the sports park and sponsored a group of students to take part in a simulated Reagan-era crisis at the Reagan presidential library in Simi Valley.
But while the group stayed active in the community, the monument fundraising efforts lagged. Peters said the recession and donors' contributions to disaster-relief efforts after the Haiti earthquake and Hurricane Katrina left fewer dollars for the monument.
Still, about $100,000 was raised in private donations for the monument's first phase.
Fallbrook sculptor Christopher Pardell, who designed the "Letters From Home" veterans memorial at Temecula's Duck Pond and the fountain in front of City Hall, created the Reagan statue.
Money is still being raised for the statue of the family of four.
Donations can be made on the sports park group's website, www.ronaldreagansportspark.com.
Can-Do Monument
A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for a monument honoring the community initiative that built Ronald Reagan Sports Park in Temecula.
Time: 10 a.m. Thursday
Ex-Officer recalls the Reagans
10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, July 19, 2011
By PETER FISCHETTI
Special to The Press-Enterprise
After leaving the White House in January 1989, Ronald and Nancy Reagan continued to attract visitors to their home in Bel Air.
At least one visitor, however, was not invited.
On the afternoon of July 4, 1990, while the Reagans were celebrating Independence Day at their home, Gregory Stuart Gordon climbed over a wall around their property and entered the house through the front door, passing through the foyer.
When Gordon was discovered in the backyard, he was apprehended by Secret Service Special Officer Fernando Ricafrente, who held the intruder against a wall and, with his weapon drawn, called for assistance.
Two agents arrived, and the three led Gordon to the front of the house. As they placed him in a prone position on the ground, Gordon said, "Ronald Reagan is the anti-Christ; he must be killed and I must kill him." A former mental patient, Gordon was sentenced to two years in prison.
Ricafrente, who now lives in Romoland, still remembers that day.
Ex-officer recalls the Reagans.pdf
Twenty-eight local middle schoolers were treated to an insider’s trip to the Reagan Presidential Library Discovery Center and came back with a new respect for our nation’s leaders.
Seventh grader Makenna Downing reflected the opinions of many in the group when she observed, “This was truly an experience of a lifetime that I will never forget.” Makenna took on the role of the Wall Street Journal lead reporter at the White House Press Room.
Friends of Ronald Reagan Sports Park raised the money to send this first busload of Temecula students to experience a Discovery Center educational program which, in order to make it seem as real as possible, the general public is not allowed to see.
Sarah Maria Fenton, an eighth grader who assumed the role of Defense Secretary Harold Brown, put it succinctly, “The Discovery Center made me realize that one wrong move could make an enormous impact on the world.”
Makenna and Sarah are students at St. Jeanne de Lestonnac, as were most of the group. By winning the Mayor’s Trophy on Can-Do Day last year, they earned the lion’s share of participants in the program. This year’s Trophy winner, Linfield Christian School, will be offered most of next summer’s slots.
The Trophy is awarded to the elementary school whose third and fourth grade students submit the greatest number of qualified essays
In the annual contest
Each student taking part in this year’s inaugural trip was given a chartered bus round trip ride to and from the Reagan Library, treated to a box lunch that was given a thumbs up by all, and a souvenir T-shirt that has a picture of the Berlin Wall segment that stands at the Reagan Library, with the quote, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” On the back is the equation, “Initiative + Independence = FREEDOM. The only cost to students was a $10.00 register fee.
T-shirt sponsorships and other donations are solicited to cover costs.
Teachers, who were from the winning school, attend as chaperones and help brief the students on the crisis before the trip to the Library.
All their expenses are paid.
This year’s sponsors were Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, Joan Sparkman, Chuck Whitehead and the Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce.
“We hope to attract more sponsors as the program becomes better known,” said FRRSP president Perry Peters. “There will be no problem attracting kids once they start talking about their experience.
To say they were enthusiastic about their roles as advisors and decision-makers would be a gross understatement.”
Additional comments by the students regarding their experiences will be posted on this website. Selected students will be available to share their experience with program chairs of organizations that need speakers.
A large part of FRRSP expenses are drawn from the annual dues paid by the organization’s Can-Do Club members. Prospective Can-Do members and other contributors may make a donation by PayPal.
Vice Director, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Major General George B. Crist
(7th grader Kellen Harter, left) confers with Admiral Wesley L,
McDonald (7th grader Rachel Bluth), one of two Supreme NATO
Commanders with overall command of Operation Urgent Fury,
and Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral James David Watkins
(Cianna Sanford, right, 8th grade). General Crist was the first
Marine to be named Commander in Chief of the U.S. Central
Command. (Students are from St. Jeanne de Lestonnac.)
The TV screen provides these members of the Command Center
with up-to-the-minute developments at the scene of the action, as
the on-the-ground leaders await instructions. The site of the
battle is top secret, going only by the name Operatin Urgent Fury.
All titles listed were at the time of this battle that occurred during
President Reagan's Administration.
A LESSON IN THE PRICE OF FREEDOM
Recently, our organization, Friends of Ronald Reagan SP, was honored to be able to bring to Temecula a section of the Berlin Wall, so our friends and neighbors could see, read the history of, have pictures taken at, and touch a symbol of the misery the totalitarian philosophy inflicts on those who come under its influence.
Some choose to deny the significance of the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. They choose not to learn the lessons of history, but the vital role President Reagan played in that world-changing event is undeniable.
Reagan was a student of history. He believed that, as Thomas Jefferson warned us, the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. He knew vigilance was not enough, He knew Peace through strength would buttress our ability to protect our freedom by building our military forces, strengthening our nuclear deterrent, and sticking to the intent our founding fathers expressed in drafting our Constitution.
He had a clear vision of what was required to defeat the Soviet Union. He had the talent to put his plan into action, the determination to make it work, and the flexibility to know when to be firm and when to bend.
As even Fred Kaplan, writing for Slate Magazine admitted, "The Soviets system was dysfunctional; its empire was collapsing; the cupboard was bare. And Reagan's surging military budgets, without question, brought this internal crisis to a head."
After Reagan initiated his Strategic Defense Initiative, Star Wars as his opponents derisively called it, the Soviets were in a tizzy over what to do about it. As Kaplan said, "Its pretty clear that in the spring of 1986, Gorbachev and all those around with him were at least a little afraid of the SDI bogeyman."
The Chernobyl nuclear disaster gave Reagan a timely assist. The accident forced Gorbachev to face the reality that information about nuclear energy had to become more generally known, and that required a more open society.
Nevertheless, as Kapan understood, "If Reagan hadn't been President, Gorbachev almost certainly would not have received the push or reinforcement that he needed. Those other politicians would have been too traditional, too cautious, to push such a proposal (to make extravagant cuts in arms reductions). Gorbachev accepted them because he needed to and he believed Reagan was sincere. "
Reagan was.
We must be vigilant. We must be strong. We must trust but verify. We need to be reminded often. That is why we brought the Wall to Temecula.
Perry Peters, President
Friends of Ronald Reagan SP.
In an event that celebrates winners, the Fifth Annual Can-Do Day Celebration
was, in the words of emcee Perry Peters, a variety show, music, dancing, speeches, prizes and presentations.
The focus was on individual initiative, from Boy Scout Troupe 337, which nearly three decades ago contributed some of the volunteers who built Temecula's first sports park, to the featured speaker, Jonathan S. Ray, who was part of an elite unit of Marine One helicopter pilots and personally ferried President Reagan to his appointments.
Among the Can-Do winners were essay contest entrants: Gianeen Almaria, first place; Tyler Michaud, second, and Taylor Roe, third. Each won U.S. Savings Bonds, certificates of appreciation and publication of their essays in the next issue of Community Little Book.
Gianeen and Taylor are fourth graders from Temecula Luiseno Elementary, last year's Mayor's Trophy winner, and Tyler is a third grader from St. Jeanne de Lestonnac, this year's Trophy winner. About 150 entries were submitted.
Janese Reyes of Community Little Book made preliminary presentations (the Little Book will be published in the summer). She also was a sponsor of the Mayor's Trophy.
Presenting the Mayor's Trophy to the elementary school submitting the greatest number of qualified entries was Temecula Mayor Jeff Comerchero. Principal Kristen Mora received the huge trophy on behalf of her students.
The Mayor also proclaimed March 3, 2010 as Can-Do Day. It was the 27th anniversary of the date President Reagan recognized the typical American spirit of the community's volunteers who built Ronald Reagan Sports Park.
Paige Lewis, Chaparral High School senior read the winning essay she submitted and received a Medallion of Initiative and a $500 scholarship check.
Dan Stephenson, who provided seed money for Friends of Ronald Reagan Sports Park, received a statuette of Reagan as he is to appear on a monument to be built in the park. Supervisor Jeff Stone made the presentation.
Michael M. McCracken explained the special relationship that has developed between the City of Temecula, the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan and Friends of Ronald Reagan Sports Park. McCracken, founder of Veterans Temecula Valley, is a retired Chief Petty Officer who was assigned to the aircraft carrier whose home base is in Coronado.
The entertainment that was promised included music provided by the Linfield Honor Choir, directed by Doug Knechtel and dancing by the local Claddagh Irish Dance Group.
In an open letter to seniors on this website, and with letters to principals of nine high schools in Temecula and Murrieta, the Friends of Ronald Reagan Sports Park have announced a new $500 scholarship to be awarded in March.
This competiton is open only to high school seniors who are residents of Temecula or Murrieta. To qualify, the senior must speak well and have a powerful, personal Can-Do story to tell. The winner also will receive a Medallion of Initiative. All entries must be e-mailed to perrypeters2_verizon.net by February 6, 2010.
Each candidate must submit an electronic version of the speech via Microsoft Word or PDF, including the name of the entrant, contact phone number and school name at the top of the first page. From these entries, finalists will be selected for interviews. Final selection will be determined by an in-person trial presentation of the 3 to 5 minute speech.
The first senior who spoke on Can-Do Day in March, 2007, was Joseph Lambert. He shared his experience of being unable to read until the age of 10, and then described the effort of trying to catch up. He excelled in academics and spoke of his dream of becoming a West Point cadet, and the path he was taking to get there. He has since gotten that West Point appointment.
The following March, Nikolas Nunez told the Can-Do Day audience how he had been inspired by his grandfather's determination to flee Castros Cuba, after having his business confiscated and having to live in a prison camp for three years. Nikolas also performed Malaguena on the keyboard, and noted that the composer also fled from Communist Cuba.
High school senior, Justin Markowitz earned his chance to appear last March, after winning awards as a talented young composer. He played two of his own musical creations for the audience and explained the challenges even gifted people face.
After a successful fund raiser, the Friends of Ronald Reagan Sports Park were able to add a $500 scholarship to the medal for March 6, the date of the Fifth Annual Can-Do Day Celebration.
FRRSP_Qualifications.pdf
FRRSP-Liability Waiver.pdf
FRRSP_Draft of App.pdf
Friends of Ronald Reagan SP
42968 Agena Street
Temecula, California 92592
perrypeters2_verizon.net
Ronald Reagan Sports Park
Rancho Vista Road
Temecula, CA
92592
