Canyons Aquatics Club hosted the event, which brought some of the best swimmers in the country to the choppy waters of Castaic.  The 10K and 5K served as qualifying races for the Open Water World Champions coming up this July in Barcelona, Spain,

Wind whipped through the Santa Clarita Valley, making the swim a little tougher but the competitors would not be stopped.  Twenty-two year old Andrew Gemmell of the Nations Capital Swim Club pushed his way up from the middle of the pack to take the lead and never looked back, winning with at time of 57:22.07.

2012 Olympic silver medalist Haley Anderson took the lead in the women’s 5K early and never let it slip out of her grasp.  She won in dominating fashion, beating the next closest swimmer by almost two seconds, with a time of 1:00:36.51.

After winning each of their respective races, Gemmell and Anderson both qualified for the Open Water World Championships in Barcelona this coming July.

Relay for Life brings the community together for 24 hours to celebrate the lives of those that have died of cancer and to bring hope for those that are survivors.

The event takes place every year to help help educate the community and to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

So far the event, consisting of 136 teams and 1,500 participants, have raised over $330,000 for the cause.

To learn more or to donate, visit www.relayforlife.org.

Update: 4:45 p.m.: Evacuation orders have been lifted for homes along Elk Ridge Road and Vista Point Place. Residents may return to their homes.

Update: 4:30 p.m.: Fire is 0% contained.

Update: 4:27 p.m.: The fire has grown to 350 acres. Evacuations are complete, Elk Ridge Road and Vista Point Place have been evacuated.

Earlier: A brush fire has charred more than 200 acres of land in Castaic, slowing traffic and threatening a nearby school.

The fire broke out around 1:30 PM prompting authorities to place Northlake Hills Elementary on lockdown for an hour.

The blaze shut down lanes of Interstate 5 and nearby streets as flames moved through the area.

Fire crews have made good progress in protecting the school as sustained winds fanned the blaze.

As of 3:20 p.m. all Northlake Hills Elementary School students have left the campus including Sunshine Daycare-bound students.

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for 19 homes along Elk Ridge Road and Vista Point Place in Castaic.

More updates to come.

Photo: Holly Anderson Roehn

Sagan broke three-time Champion Levi Leipheimer’s  Amgen Tour of California stage win record of seven last year when he took five stage wins. His stage wins at America’s largest cycling race now total nine, including today’s dramatic victory.

“The last three kilometers were crazy with all the sprinters who wanted to win,” said Sagan of today’s finish. “When I won I knew it was a good stage for me.”

After several breakaways on the windy 110-mile course, the peloton came back together in the final 10 kilometers culminating in a tightly packed bunch sprint over the line after several leader changes.

Team Garmin-Sharp’s Tyler Farrar (Wenatchee, Wash.) claimed third place in the fast finish.

There was no change to the overall standings after today’s stage with Team Jamis-Hagens Berman’s Janier Alexis Acevedo (COL) continuing on in the Amgen Race Leader Jersey tomorrow.

 VALENCIA – For the next month, students will be showcasing their artwork in the College of the Canyons Art Gallery at the 17^th Annual Student Art Exhibition.

 This rare opportunity to view student artwork only comes around once a year.

 The art ranging from sculpture to 3D design, is on display throughout the room and gives the viewer plenty of room to stand back and appreciate it all.

 Giving students the opportunity to view their artwork and their peers’ in a professional setting helps students learn about the importance of presentation and professionalism.

 “There are mostly professional exhibitions here so art students can see what kind of art is out in the real world,” says Virgina Arnold, administrative assistant.

 The gallery does not put price tags on any of the art and any sales are between the potential buyer and the student artist.

 “Usually I contact the artist and see if they want to get in touch with the buyer,” says Arnold.

 The goal of the student art exhibition is to create a program that allows students to participate in a competition for the district art collection.

 The chosen pieces of art will be part of the Santa Clarita Community College District’s permanent art collection and will be displayed at either the Canyon Country Campus or the Valencia Campus.

The event was held to celebrate the diverse Latin culture in the city of Santa Clarita.

At the event Latin music was performed, a gymnastic performance by Hugo’s Gymfitness gymnasts, as well as different dances from various cities of Mexico and there was even Cumbia dance lessons. Latin music was played by Golden Valley High School students.

“The kids performed and we are representing and introducing their culture and heritage.the kids have been waiting for Cinco de Mayo it is usually are most celebrated holiday, said Amber Martinez, Director of Ballet Folklorico.

The event not only celebrated Mexican heritage but all Latino cultures as well.

“It’s the third year we are celebrating with the city of Santa Clarita. Really this is a celebration of culture. This event is to celebrate Mexico and the different cultures of Latin America and join together to celebrate the diversity in this country,” said Patsy Ayala, Board member of the SCV Latino Chamber of Commerce.

“We are all Latinos, we are all basically the same. We speak the same language and culturally we are similar,” said Bill Miranda, CEO of the SCV Latino Chamber of Commerce.

Mexicans celebrating their Mexican heritage is all of us [Latinos] celebrating.”

Cinco de Mayo is often confused as Mexican Independence day but, in actuality it is the victory of Mexico versus France in the Battle of Puebla. The Battle of Puebla was on May 5, 1862 and that day 4500 Mexican soldiers defeated 8000 French soldiers.

Cinco de Mayo is still celebrated in the city of Puebla, Mexico but they call it the “El Dia de La Batalla de Puebla” (“The Day of the Battle of Puebla”.

The idea began in January, and was inspired by other cities and schools that have already made these Pre-Health Symposiums an annual event. Schools like Cal State Northridge and UC Davis, and even the city of Washington D.C., already hold these symposiums and influenced the president of the American Medical Student Association, also known as AMSA, to bring this event to COC. Organizations represented in the event included Stanford University, Kaplan University, the Army, AMSA and the COC nursing department.

Students, graduates and even people that have already worked in the field for several years came to gather any new information that may give them an advantage in a very competitive career field. It was not just people from the community that were present, people from all over California drove out to attend. The sizeable and diverse turnout made this event a big success. Lundby fully expects the Pre-Health Symposium to become an annual event here at COC.

The event was put together by kids and students involved with the “Yes I Can” social inclusion program directed by Golden Valley High School teacher Bret Lieberman.

“It’s really our kids party,” said Lieberman. “They’ve worked extremely hard setting up t-shirts, banners, stage, sound and lighting.”

The event also raised funds and awareness towards Autism.

For more information about this event visit www.summermeltdown2013.com

Now he sends that same message to his students, players, and kids. “The power of words is strong, and if can articulate well more things will come to you.” Growing up in Oxnard, CA Cesar is the first child of two immigrant farm workers. “By Kindergarten I was fluent in both English and Spanish, so I became the family translator.” Cesar stresses the idea of articulation, and the fact with proper English, the world is in your hands.

Referred around campus as “Coach A” he was the head coach for the Freshmen Football, then the Junior Varsity. With Canyon Country being a football town, the pressure of developing the future never fazed him, “I like the fact that the head coaches had trusted me with that.”

Allan’s favorite part about being a teacher here is working with his students. He describes improv class as “something you sign up for when you have a goal in mind”, and loves to see by the end of the semester how far his students have progressed and how much they’ve learned.

He also encourages everyone to come see his students perform live on May 25 at College of the Canyons.