Page 88 - sg_vigilanceforever1994

88 VIGILANCE FOREVER - 75 years of The Signal 1919-1994

1980s

Continued from page 87
1986, it moved from its longtime down-
town Newha11 location to the Morris
Newspaper Corp. 's shiny new facility
on Creekside Road.
Two years later, the Newha11 era
would end as Scott, Tony and Ruth
departed.
The Newhalls formed their own
competing newspaper, The Citizen,
which later folded because of financial
difficulties.
After the Newhalls' departure, The
Signal named Daren Phillips publisher,
Sammee Zeile general manager and
Chuck Cook editor.
Cook wasted no time shaking things
up. The look of the newspaper became
more modern, with an aggressive style
of reporting the news. In October 1988,
The Signal began a series of stories
questioning school bus service provided
by Laidlaw Transit Inc.
The headline read, "Sex, drugs,
wreck and ro11," and things would never
be the same for Laidlaw. The Signal
reported incidents of misconduct by bus
drivers, including allegations of sexual
Signal file photos
advances toward students, drug use and
The historic Saugus Station (above) had been slated for destruction, but the SCV Historical Society circled the wag-
covering up an accident. Laidlaw even-
ons and moved it in 1980, making the station the centerpiece of Heritage Junction, adjacent to Hart Park. A little
tually was replaced by other contractors.
In January 1989, the Santa Clarita history was also made at the Limelight night club (below, left), where bikini contests attracted many an interested
Valley witnessed its first-ever gang- observer. After the bikini contest photo ran, Signal Editor Ruth Newhall insisted on equal time for the opposite sex,
related shooting as a result of a down- so the photo of a firefighter changing out of his heavy gear (below, right) was also published.
town Newhall clash between members
of rival San Fernando Valley gangs.
Miguel Jimenez, 15, was ki11ed by a
shotgun blast allegedly fired by Alfonso
Tapia, 18.
The shooting was witnessed by Jim
Finnila of Saugus, who called 911 to
report the incident. He feared for his life
as gang members approached him. But
911 dispatcher Sgt. Jim Green evidently
· didn't believe the caller had witnessed a
crime. Green hung up on Finnila, telling
him to "have a nice day."
Two months later, a tragic story
gripped the valley: Sara Nan Hodges, 7,
was found strangled to death after an
intensive three-day investigation
launched when Sara was reported miss-
ing from her Newhall home. Her body
was found stuffed behind the headboard
of neighbor Curtis Cooper, 14, a
Placerita Junior High School student.
Cooper was arrested on suspicion of
murder.
In June 1989, The Signal again went
on the offensive - this time targeting
defense contractor Space Ordnance
Systems, accused by some Sand
Canyon residents of causing cancer- been sold and relocated. By decade's end, the valley's popula- Growth - and how much of it
related deaths by illega11y dumping About a month after the SOS stories tion had more than doubled to an esti- should be allowed - would dominate
toxic waste into the ground and contam- were published, Cook and The Signal mated 140,000 in the city of Santa headlines as the 1990s began.
inating the underground water supply. parted ways due to philosophical differ- Clarita alone - and some estimates And through it all, The Signal stood
The a11egations have never been ences, and Joe Franco, 26, became The predicted as many as 270,000 would poised to keep in stride with a growing
proven or disproven, and SOS has since Signal's editor going into the 1990s. eventually reside here. community.