Two Calif. Officers Lauded for Toddler’s Rescue

The officers administered CPR to a toddler who had fallen into a swimming pool

Cop brings food to man battling cancer

A Tustin police officer and his wife have been bringing food for more than a year to feed a man living in a motel.

By ELYSSE JAMES / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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TUSTIN – In 2005, Johnny Bottema checked himself out of an assisted living home and moved into the Tustin Motor Lodge.

That was the year Bottema was hit by a car on his way to his job as a bicycle mechanic. That’s also when doctors found that he had thoracic cancer, and his stay at the motel took on a permanent feel.

After Bottema was released from the hospital, family members had moved him into assisted living for round-the-clock care. But Bottema didn’t like living there.

“A lot of the people were older than me, they would talk about the lady in room 3 who had just passed away,” he says. “I was so depressed hearing about death and who didn’t make it.” Read the rest of this entry

TEMECULA: Actor Gary Sinise to pitch benefit concert in Temecula

By AARON CLAVERIE aclaverie@californian.com | Posted: Friday, January 6, 2012 3:00 pm | (3) Comments

Gary Sinise, who stars in "CSI: NY,'' is scheduled Tuesday to address the Temecula City Council about a benefit concert he wants to hold in the city in March. Courtesy photo of SONJA FLEMMING

Gary Sinise —- who has starred in “Forrest Gump,” “Apollo 13″ and “CSI: NY” —- is scheduled to appear Tuesday before the Temecula City Council to ask for the city’s support of a fundraising concert that would benefit an injured Marine.

The Gary Sinise Foundation and the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation have teamed up to build the Marine a special “smart home” in Temecula.

Proceeds from the concert —- a performance by Sinise’s Lt. Dan Band, tentatively set for March 1 at the Civic Center —- would be used to help pay for the home-building project, said Chris Kuban, a spokesman for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

Lance Cpl. Juan Dominguez, 27, is a triple amputee who was injured during his service in Afghanistan.

Sinise, an Oscar nominee for his work in “Forrest Gump,” could not be reached for comment Friday, but the Tunnel to Towers Foundation released a statement from him.

“I’m deeply honored to have the opportunity to address the Temecula City Council,” Sinise said. “I see our concert as a tangible way to recognize the heroism, sacrifice and determination Juan has displayed as he attempts to move past his injuries.

“I firmly believe our concerts will go a long way towards helping build a home for Juan that will allow him to lead a more independent and fulfilling life with his 9-year-old daughter Victoria.”

Temecula Mayor Chuck Washington said Friday that foundation officials decided to stage the concert in front of the Civic Center after seeing pictures of the Steve Miller concert that was held there in September.

“They were very impressed,” he said.

The seating capacity for the concert would be around 4,000, Washington said, which is a bit higher than the capacity for the Miller show.

If the city approves the concert plans, tickets would go on sale starting Wednesday at the Old Town Temecula Community Theater, with prices ranging from $35 to $150, Kuban said.

Dominguez is a Deming, N.M., native who is being treated at Naval Medical Center San Diego.

Talking about Dominguez’s decision to settle in Temecula, Washington said it speaks volumes about how people view the city.

“He sees Temecula as a great place to live; he’s impressed with the school system and the safety of the community,” he said.

Sinise formed the Lt. Dan Band —- a nod to the injured veteran he immortalized in “Forrest Gump” —- in the early part of the last decade to perform for troops on USO tours.

Since then, the band —- with Sinise on bass —- has averaged 30 to 40 performances a year, according to its website.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation, known for its annual Tunnel to Towers Run at ground zero in New York, has pledged to build 42 “smart homes” for quadruple- and triple-amputee members of the military from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Gary Sinise Foundation is supporting the cause, Kuban said, in keeping with its mission of honoring the nation’s defenders, veterans, first responders, their families and those in need.

Read more: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/temecula/temecula-actor-gary-sinise-to-pitch-fundraising-concert-in-temecula/article_9b984607-3f39-5d73-b271-9d1521a475c3.html#ixzz1io7Vmv67