Burbank High School

Gary Casella hovered over a 17-foot bundled Christmas tree one recent morning under a large white tent on the Burbank High School soccer field. “This one's going to the city of Burbank,” Casella, 74, said of the 19-year-old tree, one of the first he would deliver this season. Casella's 75-year-old Christmas tree business - founded in 1937 by his father, Paul Casella - has been operating in Burbank for nearly five decades. “I told my dad before he passed I'd get to 75 years,” Casella said of the business.

Rotary International's coveted Silver Bell award was presented to Burbank Sunrise Rotary for being the best small club in its 33-club district for the past year. The presentation was made at the Rotary District 5260 Conference in North Hollywood in June. District Governor Tom Hardy presented the award to club President Rod Gregson in recognition of outstanding achievement for the club's hard work in numerous areas of Rotary endeavors. In addition, Gregson was presented with the Changemaker Award for the club.

Burbank Sunrise Kiwanis The 15 th Annual Mayors' Cup Golf Tournament hosted by the Burbank Sunrise Kiwanis was held on April 27 and it went very well.  Former and current city of Burbank Mayors and all their golf playing friends, as well as our high school players, participate every year in this great fundraising event. Among the Mayors present were current (at the time of the tournament) Mayor Jess Talamantes , as well as former Mayors Todd Campbell , Mary Lou Howard , Dave Golonski , Marsha Ramos , Gary Bric , and Vince Stefano . The first place winners in “A Flight” were:  Michael Cusumano , Bret Mersola , Mike Rigo and Steve Dickson .  First place winners “for B Flight”:  Gary Bric , Ken Spencer , John Bryan and Ron Jancula . The first place High School winners were:  Andy Chung and Bryan Dunayer of Burbank High School, partnered with Kelsy Danzeisen and Sivakorn Losakul of John Burroughs High School.

Seven years ago, Burbank resident Shannon Fernando traveled to the Philippines, working in a slum for six weeks with women trafficked as sex slaves. It wasn't the first international foray for the then-UCLA biology undergraduate. The child of a United Nations official, Fernando was born in Sri Lanka and spent the first 10 years of her life in far-flung regions of the world, including the Cook Islands, before settling in Burbank. But that visit to the Philippines was one that really stuck, inspiring her to take additional service trips to places like Nairobi, Kenya in 2007 and rural Haiti in 2011.

Burbank officials plan to host a meeting on Monday to update the community on progress in refurbishing the long-closed Verdugo Pool. The meeting at the Verdugo Recreation Center will catch the public up on plans for new pools and locker rooms at the site, which are slated to be completed by April 2013. In the meantime, aquatics programs will continue at McCambridge Park and Burbank High School. The City Council recently expressed concern about the delays with the pool project and decided to hold a meeting to inform residents of the construction work and answer any questions.

Few cities on the planet rely as heavily on the arts to fuel their economic engine as the city of Burbank. From the major studios to myriad businesses that provide ancillary support for the creative process, Burbank has rightfully earned its place as one of the world's most important and influential creative municipalities. With the arts playing such an important role in the makeup of Burbank, it is comforting to know that the up-and-coming generation is rife with talent that is already proving to be a creative force to be reckoned with.

A popular Burbank High School football player died at his home in Shadow Hills Tuesday night in what officials have ruled a suicide. The student was identified by Los Angeles County coroner's officials as 17-year-old Matthew Smyser. The official cause of death was released Thursday. Burbank Unified officials were notified of the death Wednesday morning by the Los Angeles Mayor's Crisis Response Team, Supt. Stan Carrizosa said. District grief counselors were immediately deployed to the school, where they remained all week.

A popular Burbank High School football player took his own life at his home in Shadow Hills Tuesday night, shocking his teammates and student body. The student was identified by Los Angeles County coroner's officials as 17-year-old Matthew Smyser. Officials on Thursday confirmed the cause of death as suicide following an autopsy. Burbank Unified officials were notified of the death Wednesday morning by the Los Angeles Mayor's Crisis Response Team, Supt. Stan Carrizosa said.

With balloons, marching bands and cheerleaders, Saturday's celebration at John Burroughs High School's Memorial Field in Burbank might have been mistaken for a homecoming game. But the celebration was for something much more important - the long-awaited dedication of the rebuilt athletic facility, a $12.2 million project that had been in planning stages for at least a decade. The new Memorial Field includes a football field, bleachers, lighting and a rubberized track and will be shared by Burbank and Bellarmine-Jefferson high schools for home football games.

Former Burbank Water and Power employee turned firefighter has died. Services for Glen W. Duke, including brief memorials at Fire Station 14, were held last Friday. He was 89. Duke, who died Jan. 14, was born in Idaho in 1922 and had seven brothers and sisters. The family moved to Long Beach before settling in Burbank. He graduated from Burbank High School in 1940 and began working for Burbank's Public Service Department (now Burbank Water and Power) later that year as a meter reader.