Crime & Safety
For the Groves Family with Love
A letter from the editor to our readers: Please print out the valentines and send them to the rescuers who saved a local teacher and her two daughters.
Dear readers,
Today, we do something very different, and I hope you’ll receive it in the caring way in which it was intended.
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As many readers know – because it was among the best-read articles here at San Juan Capistrano Patch – a local teacher, Kelli Groves, and her two daughters were involved in Jan. 12 that made headlines locally and abroad.
Santa Barbara County firefighters, California Highway Patrol officers and Navy Seabees who happened to be stuck in the ensuing traffic , her then-10-week old daughter Milo and her 10-year-old daughter Sage from their BMW, perched perilously halfway off a bridge 100 feet above a creek about 35 miles north of Santa Barbara.
Find out what's happening in San Juan Capistranowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
After an eight-day hospital stay, – Milo escaped with nary a scratch. Beseeched by media almost everywhere, the Groves family has asked for privacy during their recovery.
But family members did reach out to the staff and families at with a special request. As a way to say thank you to the valiant men and women who worked to free them from the wreckage, .
The cards are due at the Del Obispo main office by Monday, Feb. 6, so that they may arrive at their destination on time.
A local professional artist, Norma Samuelson, who has illustrated two children’s books, agreed to custom design two valentines the Del Obispo family can print out and personalize. The first features the school’s very own mascot, a dragon, and the second features symbols of our historic city.
Norma says:
I hope the valentines will bring smiles to each child and adult who encounter them.
The most important message that they try to convey is to honor those who in a heroic way saved the lives of Mrs. Groves and her two kids.
Enjoy them, work with them, and send them away with lots and lots of gratitude to everyone at the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, Navy Seabees and CHP Buellton Division.
Feel free to load your printer with card stock and print out the valentines to your hearts’ content. There are two cards, and both come in ready-made versions by the artist and inked versions that children may color in themselves.
May they be a blessing on those who have already blessed the Groveses.
Sincerely,
Penny Arévalo
