INSIDE SCOOP

The community meeting held Thursday to discuss the appeal of an

encroachment permit at the Southcoast Early Childhood Learning Center

lasted well into the evening.

Many of the parents, who came to speak about the protective wall built at

the center after a Santa Ana man drove his car into the playground,

brought their preschool-age children.

It was a rough and emotional night for many who attended. A few hours

into the evening, some of the children were growing loud and

rambunctious. City Manager Allan Roeder at one point had to ask parents

to quiet their children down.

As one parent prepared to take her child outside, the child became whiny

and on the verge of tears protested by letting out a defiant “Noooo.”

Roeder apparently sympathized with the child to the amusement of the

crowd.

“I feel the same way,” he said in response to the child’s protests.

FIELD TRIP HITS SNAG

As if they haven’t gone through enough, the children at Southcoast Early

Childhood Learning Center were trapped in a hot bus for more than an hour

last week during a field trip to Knott’s Berry Farm.

In May, Steven Allen Abrams drove his Cadillac into the school’s

playground, killing two children. Then, last month, neighbors asked city

officials to tear down a wall community members built to protect the

children.

Day-care owner Sheryl Hawkinson said she hoped the field trip would be a

fun diversion for the children, but instead, on the way to the theme

park, the bus’ emergency door flew open, with a child sitting right next

to it.

A day-care worker grabbed the child, who did not sustain any injuries.

But the driver later discovered that the door was missing three bolts.

So the children had to wait for an hour and 45 minutes for a new bus to

arrive.

Hawkinson, who suffered a heart attack at a memorial for the children,

said this latest set back was almost more than she could bear.

“When you see what we have been through,” she said. “It’s just too much.”