YOUTH MOVEMENTS

A star football player for Dos Pueblos High School was in
critical but stable condition after a freak injury in a game last
Friday night. Brad Ebner, a senior, took a hit on the 16-yard line
and smashed his head on the ground, severing veins on the side of
his neck. He was immediately transported to Cottage Hospital, where
he underwent surgery to relieve brain swelling. As of press time
Tuesday, Ebner had not regained consciousness. Roger Ebner, Brad’s
uncle, said the community has been extremely supportive, and he
expressed his heartfelt appreciation on behalf of Brad’s family.
Anyone seeking to help can contact Roger Ebner at 729-4863.

Southern California’s other favorite basketball team – the Los
Angeles Clippers – will be kicking off their pre-season next week
with a training camp session at Santa Barbara City College. The
October 10 start-up date is the first return to action for the
Clippers, who ended last season as the best hoops team in L.A. with
a heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the Phoenix Suns in the Western
Conference Finals.

County administrators kicked a reporter and photographer from
The Independent out of a high-level meeting to discuss
ways county government could help reduce the number of children
without health insurance within the county borders. Currently Santa
Barbara County has the highest per capita rate of uninsured minors
in the state. According to Supervisor Salud Carbajal, who convened
the meeting along with Supervisor Joe Centeno, there are roughly
18,000 uninsured minors living in Santa Barbara County. Carbajal
said he was hoping to target the 3,000 most vulnerable of those
with some county help. With county coffers relatively flush this
year, Carbajal said he was hoping to spend a few million dollars to
reduce that number. He also said the county could do a much better
job identifying the kids most in need and connecting them with
state and federal funds that are already available.

The trouble continued for the much-maligned Devereux School in
Goleta last week as a report from the California State Community
Care Licensing Board declared recent allegations against the school
“substantial.” Violations such as inadequate staffing and a
generally unsafe environment prompted quick action by county
welfare workers to remove nine children from the facility during an
impromptu visit in mid-August. Devereux still hopes to reopen the
foster facility pending the state’s approval of their plan for
recovery.