John Burroughs High School

BOY SCOUT COMPLETES EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT Jonathan Elliot , Boy Scout Troop 50, completed his Eagle Scout Project on June 26, 27 and 28 at the Portal of the Folded Wings Aviation Museum, in the Valhalla Cemetery Memorial Park. His project consisted of repairing walls in the museum that were damaged by water, painting the rooms, and cleaning and rearranging the artifacts in each of the three rooms. The artifacts consist of the history of aviation in Burbank. The Portal of the Folded Wings Museum has been around since 1924 and is on the National Historic Register.

BURBANK BURROUGHS Burbank High School and John Burroughs High School classes of 1949 are planning a combined 60th reunion Sept. 24 at the Castaway. For more information, contact Ruth Ann ?Nuttelman? Talley at (818) 845-2107 or ruthann@tbach.com. ? BURBANK HIGH SCHOOL The Burbank High School class of 1964 will have its 45-year reunion from 6 p.m. to midnight Oct. 10 at the Burbank Elks Club, 2232 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank. The theme is ?Surf?s Up,? and it will be luau casual attire with shirts and shoes required.

While the gloom of June brought gray skies, Johnny Carson Park was transformed into a bright sea of vivid blue and red as proud Burbank and John Burroughs High School alumni gathered at the venue Saturday for the ninth annual All Class Reunion Picnic and Car Show. Welcomed by reunion committee members Linda Damarjian, Trudi Hentza, Patti Hallowes and Pam Kirkwood , the event was officially kicked off with “The Star-Spangled Banner” sung by vocalist Mallory Maisner , a junior at Burbank High School, who has been chosen to audition for next season’s “American Idol.

The Burbank Magnolia Park Optimist Club Scholarship Committee presented 10 deserving students with $1,000 scholarships at a dinner meeting May 21. It was very rewarding to hear each student talk about themselves and their dreams for the future. The committee selecting the recipients were co- chairmen Roland and Vonda Neundorf , and members Sandy Brooks, Peggy McDonald, Evie Magnante, Sue Kyle and Doreen Wydra. Brooks made the presentations to two scholars from Bellarmine-Jefferson High School.

John Burroughs High School seniors can now say they are published authors, following a senior project assigned by their English teacher. It’s a challenge to keep seniors focused in the final months of their senior year, so teacher Rex Bullington came up with the idea for the book project. “I wanted to create something that was a little more interesting to them,” he said. “The common thread for them in English this year was self-realization, and ‘who am I’ became their theme for the year.

Three earn Warner Bros. scholarships Warner Bros. Studios announced winners of the 2009 Burbank REACH Honorship on Tuesday. High school seniors Paige Andrews, Grace Babbes and Thomas DeMasters each will receive a $10,000 college scholarship, coupled with four summers’ worth of paid internships at the studio. DeMasters, of John Burroughs High School, won this year’s vocational Honorship and will receive an additional $2,500 scholarship. Andrews, also of Burroughs, plans to study communica- tions at Cal State Northridge while Providence High School senior Babbes plans to focus on film production at Chapman University.

BURBANK — The magnitude of it all — a gruesome, two-car crash outside John Burroughs High School that killed two standout students and a beloved high school teacher — had yet to sink in for John and Beth Benne, whose daughter was among the dead. The collision occurred about 10 a.m. Monday when motorist Michael Thompson plunged his Honda Accord into a pedestrian and broadsided a Ford Explorer, turning the SUV on its side and trapping two people inside. Thompson was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter.