COLTON COURIER Weekly
November 28, 2024
Vol 152, NO. 48
CJUSD WorkAbility Program Awarded $150,000 Grant to Help Students Transition from School to Success in Adulthood
IECN.com
Loma Linda University Children's Health Celebrates Groundbreaking for New Specialty Clinics Pg. 3
Thousands of Students in San Bernardino County Honored for Mastering Two or More Languages
PHOTO TAWNA RENAUD/CJUSD CJUSD WorkAbility students work at Smart & Final.
Community News
T
he Colton Joint Unified School District Board of Education accepted a $150,000 grant at a recent meeting to help students with disabilities transition from school to work, independent living and post-secondary education or training. The grant is part of annual funding from the California Department of Education, which initiated the program more than 40 years ago as a way to provide students with the opportunity to complete their secondary
education while also obtaining marketable job skills as well as understanding of the job-seeking process. “This program truly changes lives,” said CJUSD Curriculum Program Specialist Lisa Lennox, whose longtime hairdresser enrolled in WorkAbility while a student of hers in high school, was placed in a job at a beauty supply store and eventually attended beauty school with the assistance of state funding. “This isn't just about helping students learn about themselves to get them a job, this is about helping them craft and prepare for their future.”
During the 2023-24 school year, CJUSD’s WorkAbility I Program provided preemployment skills training to 351 students in high school and helped 87 students by either providing subsidized wages for tryout employment or by working with students to be directly hired by the businesses. Students are matched with employers based on skills and interest and provided with ongoing employee support services. To accomplish this, the district partners with the East Valley Transition Advisory Committee, in addition to other agencies Workability, cont. next pg.
A Family Shattered: Two Toddlers Killed in Rialto Hit-and-Run; Driver Faces Murder Charges
Pg. 4
Urgent Call for Male CASA Volunteers: 55 Boys in Riverside Foster Care Wait for Advocates Pg. 5
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PHOTO RIALTO PD
A child’s car seat lies face down on the street, ejected from a white Honda Accord involved in a devastating hit-and-run collision on November 24, 2024, in Rialto.
By Manny Sandoval
A
late-night hit-and-run crash killed two toddlers and critically injured their parents in Rialto on Sunday, November 24, 2024, in what police say was caused by a suspected drunk driver who fled the scene.
PHOTO AVILEZ FAMILY
Neveah and Alinah Yanez, ages 4 and 3, tragically lost their lives in a hit-and-run collision in Rialto, remembered for the joy and laughter they brought to those around them.
The Rialto Police Department received reports of the three-vehicle collision at 11:01 p.m. near Riverside and Walnut avenues. Officers arrived at the scene within a minute, followed by paramedics, who discovered three victims inside a white Honda Accord.
Rialto Fire Department paramedics pronounced 4-year-old Neveah and her 3year-old sister, Alinah, dead at the scene. Their mother, 24-year-old Valencia Avilez of Rialto, was driving the vehicle. Both she and the children’s father, 25-year-old Marky Yanez, sustained serious injuries DUI Crash, cont. next pg.