Santa Maria Valley

Run to Remember set for Tuesday

The family of Marine Cpl. Joseph Heredia is seeking supporters for their participation in A Run to Remember at Vandenberg Air Force Base on Tuesday.

Heredia's mother, Monica Diaz, along with family and friends will run from 5 a.m. to midnight in honor of the 19 Marines killed during the tour of duty that claimed his life.

Diaz is seeking participants and donations that will be given to Fisher House facilities for families to stay near military hospitals, and the Wounded Warriors Project.

Heredia, who graduated from Santa Maria High School in 2000, was injured Nov. 10, 2004, while serving in Iraq, and died 10 days later in a hospital in Germany.

A Run to Remember kicked off Oct. 19 at Vandenberg with airmen and civilians running a mile for the more than 5,000 military members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The run has continued 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. It wraps up Wednesday - Veterans Day - with the final runners going around the clock as of Tuesday.

For more information on supporting Heredia's family, call Diaz at 478-0661, Karen Evangelista, 478-8502 or Primo Heredia at 478-0412.

Santa Barbara

Couple not injured in small plane crash

A Nevada couple escaped injury Friday when the small, single-engine plane they were in was involved a minor crash at the Santa Barbara Airport.

The Santa Barbara City Fire Department responded at 12:48 p.m. to the report of an aircraft down at the airport, the department said.

The 2006 Cirrus SR209 was found in a grass area adjacent to the runway.

Preliminary reports indicate that the pilot lost control of the aircraft as the plane was attempting to land.

The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the crash.

Santa Maria

SMPD makes 6 drug related arrests

A Santa Maria Police Department Narcotic Suppression Team operation targeting people on probation for drug-related offenses led to six arrests, police announced.

In cooperation with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's narcotics team, and county adult probation, officers made six arrests Thursday for various offenses, including possession of a dangerous drug and under the influence of a controlled substance after 12 probation searches in Santa Maria.

The arrested, whose names were not given, were taken to the Sheriff's Santa Maria substation or were cited and released for an upcoming court appearance.

Santa Maria

Checkpoint set for Sunday

Santa Maria police will be holding a drunken driving and driver's license checkpoint Sunday, the department announced.

From 6 to 10 p.m., police will check every driver stopped at the checkpoint. Police did not announce where the checkpoint will be.

The program is funded by a state Office of Traffic Safety grant.

Santa Maria

Burning food causes blaze

Food burning in an oven caused minor damage Friday in an apartment behind a home in the 300 block of Benwiley Avenue, according to the Santa Maria Fire Department

Battalion Chief Dan Orr said the blaze, at about 2:45 p.m., was extinguished by residents in the apartment without a drop of water from the Fire Department.

There was minor smoke damage and no one was injured.

- From staff reports