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On Saturday, September 23, 2017, at 10:30 AM, San Diego City Council President Pro Tem Mark Kersey presided over the dedication of a Final Point Monument at the Jas Arnold Trail for All People, recognizing the late Jas Arnold, PS.
Traditionally, a single Final Point monument is sited to memorialize the place of death or birth of a Land Surveyor. When asked where a monument for Jas should be located, Lisa Arnold, Jas’s widow, felt remembering Jas at Fresno State University was a fine location. "It’s where he was happiest and where he was introduced to land surveying," she said.
Working with Scott Peterson, M.S., PLS, CFedS, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Geomatics Engineering at Fresno State University, a second monument was placed outside the entrance to Lyles College of Engineering where the surveying and engineering classes are taught. This unique dedication resulted in the placement of two monuments; one in San Diego and the other at the university. The latitude and longitude on the San Diego monument denotes the Fresno location and the Fresno monument denotes the San Diego location. Both places will forever be linked.
The ceremony was well attended and included a large number of Land Surveyors from Southern California. Dirk Nasland, PS, the president of the San Diego Chapter of CLSA, officiated over the ceremony. Other speakers included Jas’s friend and former work associate, Justin Pallamary, City Surveyor Greg Hopkins, PS, County Surveyor Ray Mathe, PS and Dana J. Caccamise II, NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey’s (NGS) Pacific Southwest Region Geodetic Advisor. NSPS executive director Curt Sumner and CLSA state president Ian Wilson both sent letters of recognition, unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts.
During the last few years of his life, Mr. Arnold oversaw the creation of the Trail for All People, later renamed "The Jas Arnold Trail for All People" in his memory. The 1100- foot long trail is the first accessible park in the City of San Diego. Located in the Black Mountain area, the park enjoys a commanding view over a large lush valley dotted with subdivisions that Jas worked on while employed with San Diego-based Rick Engineering.
In an interview published in the 92129 Magazine, Mike Kelley, the secretary of the Friends of Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, "Being in a wheelchair didn’t keep Jas from loving the outdoors and wanting to provide access to it for everybody, not just the able-bodied biker or hiker. Jas worked tirelessly with me and others on the committee to make the trail happen, as he did for many other projects in the park."
Shortly after his death, Jas was awarded the prestigious Channel 10 Leadership Award, in San Diego, for his efforts. http://www.10news.com/lifestyle/leadership/10news-leadershipaward-recipient-james-jas-arnold
Jas was a devoted member of The California Land Surveyors Association (CLSA) where he served on many committees and taught a number of classes in land surveying. He was posthumously awarded a life membership in CLSA in connection with his leadership award. https://youtu.be/GLDHvXmiTQc
Michael Pallamary, PS, is the author of several books and numerous articles. He is a frequent lecturer at conferences and seminars and he teaches real property to attorneys and other members of the legal profession. He has been in the surveying profession since 1971.
A 1.050Mb PDF of this article as it appeared in the magazine—complete with images—is available by clicking HERE