With another year around the sun under our belts, KHTS has compiled a list of the 10 stories that had the greatest impact on our community in 2022.
From the dropping of mask mandates to Santa Clarita being announced as the leading community in terms of fentanyl deaths in L.A. County, 2022 has been a year to remember.
As always, these stories have not been chosen on the number of views they received, but on the level of interest shown by our neighbors and the way they dominated our community conversations.
Mask Mandates Lifted
While it may seem that the COVID-19 pandemic and all that it brought with it was a lifetime ago, it was only in the first months of 2022 that we began to see mask mandates be lifted from public spaces.
On Feb. 15 of this year the outdoor mask mandate for 2022 was lifted, followed a month later in March by the lifting of the indoor mask mandate. Shortly after, mask mandates on school campuses were lifted.
Today, masks are rarely seen in public spaces with the exception of medical offices. What was once a common sight for everyone has become what many hope to be a thing of the past.
In Memorium
This year many Santa Clarita locals, philanthropists, activists and more have passed away and been mourned by the community. The following is a list of noted Santa Claritians who died in 2022.
Lila Littlejohn, Signal Editor
Lila Littlejohn died peacefully in her sleep in August, 2022 in her West Melbourne Florida home. She was a veteran journalist, journalism teacher and former editor of The Signal.
Jerry Gladbach, vice president of the SCV Water Agency
A resident of the Santa Clarita Valley since 1968, Gladbach was known to his friends and fellow SCV Water officials as a man who was dedicated to the SCV Water Agency he served and the community at large. Gladbach died on July 14.
Alan Rosenfield, Santa Clarita Judge
At the age of 70, Rosenfield reportedly passed away following a medical emergency while driving, which resulted in an accident on the 118 Freeway. Rosenfield served as a criminal judge in Newhall, Lancaster and Antelope Valley courthouses since 2000 before coming to the Santa Clarita courthouse in 2014.
Charlotte Gladys Kleeman, Philanthropist
The local philanthropist passed away on May 19, 2022, at the age of 85. Kleeman served on the board of directors and executive board of the SCV Boys and Girls Club. She chaired as the Ambassador of the SCV Chamber of Commerce and by the mid-90s became a board member of the SCV Child & Family Center, the Arts Council, on the board of the Samuel Dixon Family Health Center, AAUW, and Foundation committees at COC.
Margo Hudson, Owner of Margo Fashions
The founder of the first Miss Santa Clarita Beauty Pageant, Hudson offered her expertise to dozens of local charities, including Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, the SCV Boys and Girls Club, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, and more. She passed away on Nov. 8, 2022.
Jami Denise Kennedy, Santa Clarita Woman of the Year
The 1989 Santa Clarita Woman of the Year passed away on July 4, 2022 at the age of 74. As a volunteer, Kennedy was involved with many organizations and events, including Zonta, the Red Cross, the Boys and Girls Club Auction, the SCV Crisis Community Hotline and the American Heart Association Celebrity Waiter Dinner.
Chuck Morris, Veteran Activist
A proud former serviceman, Morris dedicated himself to several veteran organizations, including Operation Gratitude, Habitat for Heroes, Friendly Valley Veterans Club, Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center Veterans Club and Veterans Advocacy Network Inc.
Harlan Perlman, COC Women’s Basketball
Pearlman passed away on Nov. 17, 2022. He was a former assistant coach at COC for 27 seasons and taught classes in the college’s School of Kinesiology, Physical Education and Athletics. Perlman earned the “Teacher of the Year” award at the school in 2003.
Larry Fiscus, Hart High School
Fiscus was an equipment manager and scoreboard operator for Hart High School in Santa Clarita. Fiscus passed away on June 13, 2022 after suffering a stroke.
In-N-Out Opens New Location
A new In-N-Out is currently under construction across from Magic Mountain in Valencia, Calif. Zena Taher/KHTS News
The opening of any new food joint is always a cause for celebration in Santa Clarita but no other place caused as much excitement from locals this year as the opening of the In-N-Out Burger on Magic Mountain Parkway.
The restaurant opened on Oct. 14 to the joy of over 20,000 people and has since been busy with customers. It is the fourth In-N-Out location in Santa Clarita.
2022 Mid-term Election
Jason Gibbs is sworn in as mayor of Santa Clarita on Dec. 13, 2022. Photo by Linsey Towles/KHTS
The year 2022 marked an election year and here in Santa Clarita several races were ongoing during the month of November.
KHTS Radio kept the community up-to-date with real-time election coverage throughout the ballot counting. Locally, Incumbent Congressman Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, once again won against democratic challenger Christy Smith, while challenger Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, won the assembly seat from incumbent Assemblywoman Suzette Valladares.
Garcia’s re-election secured majority control of the house for the Republican party.
On the City Council, three seats were up for election and every incumbent again won their seat. Laurene Weste, Marsha McLean and Bill Miranda were sworn in once again. Jason Gibbs was elected as new Mayor for 2023.
KHTS held live interviews with school board, water board and city council candidates to help Santa Clarita voters to make their most informed choices.
Afghanistan Refugees Come to Santa Clarita
SCV Grocery founder Bradley Grose helps unload donations for Afghan refugees who recently arrived in Santa Clarita, Calif., Feb. 22, 2022. (KHTS News/Rachel Matta)
In the early weeks of 2022 news broke over the placement of 134 refugees from Afghanistan to the Santa Clarita Valley. With the combined efforts of the federal, state and local governments the refugees were placed in temporary housing or in hotel rooms as a starting block to their new lives in the United States.
All refugees were vetted and vaccinated before their placement, and spent at least 90 days in their temporary homes in Santa Clarita. During that time several community organizations and the Islamic centers came together to provide them with food, clothes, medical supplies, toys, books, money and more. Workshops on transportation, education and the workforce were held as well.
The total number of refugees added up to 134, including 70 children of varying age, from young toddlers through late teens.
Rise in Local Gun Crime
This year saw a sharp increase in gun-related crime throughout Santa Clarita, particularly in the months of October and November. Several shootings were reported within days and sometimes mere hours of each other, typically during the nighttime hours.
On Oct. 22 a shooting took place in Canyon Country, followed a week later by another shooting in Saugus where bullets were found lodged into a home. The next day on Oct. 29, another shooting was reported in Canyon Country. The very next day at 10 p.m. ta road rage incident in Saugus on Bouquet Canyon Road led to a car-to-car shooting. On Oct. 31, at 1:15 a.m. another shooting occurred at Black N Blue. Two days later a shooting in Newhall sent a 16-year-old to the hospital.
Overall, well over two dozen confirmed shootings took place in Santa Clarita in 2022. Not all the shootings resulted in arrests but many of them involved teenage perpetrators and gang-related crime.
Route Fire
Route Fire burns in Castaic on Aug. 31, 2022. Photo Courtesy of CHP Newhall
Compared to years past, the Santa Clarita Valley lucked out when it came to the 2022 fire season, with only one large brush fire breaking out in August. The Route Fire in Castaic was this year’s largest fire, burning 5,208 acres and active for five days beginning on Aug. 31.
The fire broke out alongside the 5 Freeway in Castaic, resulting in the closure of the entire northbound 5 Freeway from Parker Road, as well as the Old Road. Hundreds were stranded in hours-long traffic in triple-digit heat as the freeway came to a stand-still.
Evacuations were ordered the same day, affecting various parts of Castaic. One structure was ultimately destroyed, as well as a beloved pet dying after becoming trapped inside the home. Seven firefighters were hospitalized after suffering heat-related injuries due to the extreme heat wave at the time.
In November Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in the hopes of speeding up repairs of the damages done to the 5 Freeway due to the fire.
Blue Line
Traditionally the Saugus football team makes their entrance before games by running onto the field carrying flags that include the U.S. Flag and Centurion flags. This year, the blue line flag, which is a variation of the U.S. Flag in support of law enforcement also made its appearance.
After complaints from members of the community, the appearance of the flag was banned from being flown in the Hart District, sparking further protests from detractors and supporters alike, spreading to national headlines for weeks to come. The discussion as to whether the appearance of the Thin Blue Line Flag was interpreted as a symbol of support for law enforcement or as a symbol tied to far-right hate groups.
The flames of heated discussion were further fanned when the flag was flown by a different student on the team before a game, defying the ban.
Going forward governing board of the William S. Hart Union High School District have plans to discuss guideline to define what symbols, such as flags, would be allowed to be flown on campus and during district-sponsored events.
Legal council for the Hart District noted that as the issue related to freedom of speech, it was complex, but that as long as students or staff were appearing in an official capacity where they represented the district, then there was legal precedent for restrictions on what symbols were allowed to be displayed.
Camp Scott
Protestors lined the sides of Bouquet Canyon Road in Saugus repeatedly this year, thanks to news that Los Angeles County planned to place violent juvenile offenders into the defunct Camp Joseph Scott.
Once a rural detention center for non-violent teens, Camp Scott now sits across the street from suburban homes in the northern Santa Clarita Valley. Residents protested the reactivation of the detention center, especially in light of the fact that County officials were considering housing violent youth offenders in a only a few hundred yards away from their homes.
However, while residents fear the implications of housing young murders, rapists and arsonists near their residential homes, community leaders also point out Camp Scott is unreasonable due to possible safety hazards for the young offenders themselves.
“The dilapidated Camp Scott is located in a severe fire hazard area on a road with only one way in and one way out. It is not a safe or suitable location for this use,” former Mayor Laurene Weste said in a previous story.
Just downstream from the nearly 100-year-old Bouquet Dam, Camp Scott is also threatened by water, and would be inundated with approximately 26 feet within 50 minutes of a breach in the Dam, according to City officials.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to approve Camp Scott as the permanent location for juvenile serious offenders in March 2022. Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger was the one opposing vote.
In April 2022, the city of Santa Clarita filed a lawsuit asserting that the county had selected Camp Scott as one of its two new sites to house juvenile offenders without first complying with CEQA.
The city of Santa Clarita plans to continue to keep the community informed of this crucial issue. For more information, visit the city website.
Fentanyl
Tragically, one of the most impactful issues affecting our Santa Clarita Valley is the rising dangers of fentanyl. We have reported on hundreds of arrests, and dozens of overdoses throughout our years here at KHTS. Never has it been so insidious as the influx of fentanyl that has swept our nation in recent years, with suppliers and dealers capitalizing on the gap in the drug market caused by COVID-19 lockdowns.
Fentanyl, a pharmaceutical drug originally intended to treat severe pain for advanced-stage cancer, has become the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 45, largely due to distribution through illegal drug markets for its heroin-like effects, according to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.
In the last year, there have been over 30 confirmed deaths in the Santa Clarita Valley due to fentanyl. Our safe, tight-knit community is now a hotbed for fatal fentanyl overdoses, outstripping almost anywhere else in L.A. County.
As of August 2022, the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station had received approximately 150 calls for service regarding overdoses. Another 700 people were arrested by law enforcement personnel at the station for possession of fentanyl. SCV Station deputies have even used Narcan over a dozen times to help save lives. All of these statistics were gathered in only eight months, and stack up to one of the most prolific years on record for the area, according to SCV Sheriff’s Captain Justin Diez.
If you are one of our loyal listeners, tuning in to the Action Drug Rehab Hour with Cary Quashen, then you know that addiction and drug use are not issues that affect only “bad” people. We have reported on the deaths of children, of parents, of friends and coworkers. Each of these people meant something important to someone else. And now they are gone, because of one bad decision.
We, the news team, apologize if we sound too emotional writing on this topic. But we hear the reports of overdoses go out over the emergency responder radio waves nearly every day, multiple times a day. We receive calls from hurting, angry, grieving family members weekly because they want to help prevent other families from experiencing their pain. We report on the deaths of old high school friends we lost touch with. We read your farewell social media posts about your sibling, your cousin, your spouse.
Fentanyl is a problem that affects our entire community, and the only way for us to tackle the issue is to come together, educate each other about the dangers, and offer support for those who need it.
Ed. Note: Linsey Towles and Louie Diaz contributed to this article.
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