Canyons

Stough Canyon Nature Center is transforming from educational center into a ?Haunted Adventure? for two nights of frightful, fun thrills that officials hope will leave guests screaming for more. The scary tour is planned by the Burbank Park, Recreation and Community Services Department on Friday and Saturday and pays homage to tinsel town with its ?Haunted Hollywood? theme. The nature center?s docents are conjuring up the spooky ambience that features paparazzi, a re-creation of Grauman?

BURBANK — Not even the hot summer days could cool off the members of the Burbank Major Softball All-Star team. Playing in temperatures that reached close to 100 degrees, Burbank did its best work when needed en route to winning the Section 2 Tournament at Parkview Little League Field in Lancaster. Burbank, which captured the District 16 crown, wrapped up the championship Sunday with a 14-0 win against District 40 champion Canyon Country. The game was called in the middle of the fifth inning because of the 10-run mercy rule.

BOYS TRACK AND FIELD Burroughs 77 1/2 , Canyon 58 1/2 : Danny Cruz came up big for the Indians on Thursday, as he had a hand in three victories to power the team to a nonleague win on the road. Cruz won the 100 meters (11.2 seconds) and the 200 (22.7) and ran a leg on Burroughs’ 4X100 relay team with Dominique Barnes, Josh Velandria and Chris Morris (43.8). Western Nelson was a double winner in the 1,600 (4:30) and 3,200 (9:34), Dustin Blankenship took the 800 (2:05)

BELLARMINE-JEFFESRON HIGH — The Bellarmine- Jefferson High girls’ basketball team found itself in an unfamiliar situation Tuesday in the CIF State Basketball Division V Championships. The Guards, who haven’t played many games in which they had such a slim lead so late, had just a one-point advantage going into the fourth quarter against Sierra Canyon, something the team hadn’t experienced throughout the postseason. However, a big run to begin the fourth quarter and a huge effort from Margeaux Gupilan helped the Guards earn a 79-65 victory at home.

Plant invaders were the target Sunday for Yeva Mirzakhanyan, who was roaming the trails of Stough Canyon armed with a hand-held satellite mapping system and a list of species. The 16-year-old junior at Clark Magnet High School is part of a team of students who have been using global-positioning-system coordinates to mark the locations of invasive plants — species that are not native to the region and hurt local ecosystems, her teacher, Dominique Evans-Bye, said. “This is Spanish broom,” said Yeva, pointing out a green shrub of pointy stems after having already identified several mustard plants and tobacco trees, which are also invasive plants.

BURBANK — Plant invaders were the target Sunday for Yeva Mirzakhanyan, who was roaming the trails of Stough Canyon armed with a hand-held satellite mapping system and a list of species. The 16-year-old junior at Clark Magnet High School is part of a team of students who have been using global-positioning-system coordinates to mark the locations of invasive plants — species that are not native to the region and hurt local ecosystems, her teacher, Dominique Evans-Bye, said.

Cary Michel huffed and puffed Saturday morning all the way back down from Fire Warden’s Grove, a 3.6-mile hike one way. It was the Glendale resident’s first time hiking in the Verdugo Hills, and after Saturday’s hike, she couldn’t explain why. She only knew she’d be back soon. “It was great,” Michel said in between heavy breaths near the bottom of the fire road off La Tuna Canyon Road. “So beautiful . . . and everyone on the trail was great.

Jeffrey Maxim held on tightly to his mother’s hip. The 10-year-old didn’t want to meet the creatures of the night, lurking in the bushes, waiting to hear his footsteps so they could pounce. He and his mother waited in line Friday to hitch a ride up the hill to the Stough Canyon Nature Center, where laboratory animals had supposedly taken over the grounds. Jeffrey, a Burbank resident, had been to haunted houses in the past and said he can sense when the enraged animals will stay silent or scream, or when they’re creeping through the bushes.

Bob Fisher wanted something to occupy his time after retirement — little did he know that his new hobby would send him back to the books. Fisher picked up woodcarving two years ago and took his skills to a whole new level when he joined the Smokey Hollow Wood Carvers in May. Avid carver George Smith formed the club to give locals a chance to learn the craft. Since then, up to 16 adults, seniors and college students have showed up on Wednesday afternoons at the Stough Nature Center to try their hand at transforming pieces of wood.