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The following story is true. The names of victims have been changed to protect the innocent. A nightmare began on Eagle Peak Place thirteen years ago. Finally, after the city of Rancho Cucamonga took action, life returned to normalcy. Or it may never be completely normal. Only time will tell. All documentation for this story was taken from official court records.

My involvement in this nightmare began when I drove down Eagle Peak Place in 1997 to visit my friends the Carrols. As I coasted downhill toward their home, an aggressive-looking man ran out in the middle of the street behind me and stared at my vehicle. As I observed him in my rear view mirror, he continued staring me down until I parked. I felt odd, and slightly intimidated, as if I was somehow violating his space by driving onto “his” street. I knew then that this was going to be interesting.

I drove to Bakersfield for my nephew’s wedding reception the other day. I saw the old crowd from my high school years in Delano. We hugged a lot, reminisced a lot, and generally renewed old friendships. When I saw Bishop Ron Holgate, walk in with two beautiful little girls, I wondered who they were. He said, “Rex, I want you to meet Kevin’s granddaughters.”

Kevin had granddaughters? But he was my age! I guess he did marry earlier than I. Bishop Holgate’s only son Kevin was my friend, brother, roommate. And now he had two sweet little granddaughters. I smiled at his legacy.

Every property owner in Rancho Cucamonga pays into one of the city’s 11 Landscape Maintenance Districts (LMD’s). The districts have been able to cover the cost of water, mowing, weeding, and trimming without a raise in rates since 1992. Well, all good things must come to an end. Many of the LMD’s are running out of money. The city has tried to stretch your dollars by reducing the level of service in the districts that are low on cash. In case you haven’t noticed, some parts of our city are looking a bit shabby when it comes to weeds and overgrown shrubs. Your editor has been dwarfed by weeds, as shown in the attached photo, taken on a median near Baseline and Rochester.

Just as the holiday season began, the entire nation and much of the world was revolted by the shooting death of LAPD officer Brian Brown. What caught the world’s attention was the sad little face of Brown’s son, Dylan. Officer Brown was killed in a gun battle that also claimed the life of a suspect, Oscar Zatarian. Several news organizations reported that the slain robber was from Rancho Cucamonga, though it is known that he was still active in a Long Beach gang. Zatarian presumably moved with his family from the Long Beach area to the safer confines of Rancho Cucamonga to escape the dangerous elements. We know little of the Zatarian family. Perhaps they should be given credit for trying to escape L.A. to give their children a better life. For Oscar Zatarian, by now a seasoned gang member, the die was cast long before the family’s escape to Rancho.