RISE AND SHINE FOR THE COMMUTE ONE MOM MANAGES MORNINGS.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

STEVENSON RANCH - Every weekday morning at 8 a.m., Jacky Holler's Ford Expedition roars to life, ready to snake though the passes and canyons on a journey that will end at a San Fernando Valley business park.

The sport utility vehicle nimbly rolls down The Old Road, speeding past another day of bumper-to-bumper traffic on the Golden State Freeway's southbound lanes at the Newhall Pass. She reaches Balboa Boulevard by 8:10 a.m.

``If traffic gets backed up to the third signal, you're doomed,'' said Holler, 44, her wheels spinning and fingers tapping to the funk of Earth, Wind & Fire.

Holler has been making this routine trip over the hill to Washington Mutual bank's sprawling Northridge complex for more than four years, and already has this leg of her daily commute distilled to an exact science. She is one of the thousands of local commuters whose careers stayed in Los Angeles when they fled to the Santa Clarita Valley to live and raise children.

The city of Santa Clarita ranked eighth in safety last year on the FBI's list of 235 cities nationwide with at least 100,000 residents.

``We wanted to have this life,'' she said. ``I have been commuting for their benefit. ... Out here, the kids can play for as long as they want outside.''

Some of the valley's estimated 213,000 residents work in the region's homegrown service and manufacturing industries. But many more commute to lucrative jobs waiting in the San Fernando Valley and beyond. According to 2000 census figures, about 97 percent of Santa Clarita residents commute an average 33 minutes to work.

Holler and her husband moved to the area from Westwood about 14 years ago when the couple decided to start a family. Over the years, work has handed her commutes to such far-flung business centers as downtown Los Angeles and Pasadena.

``It's a solid 45 minutes on the 210,'' she recalled the eastbound drive on the Foothill Freeway. ``When you're coming up on that hill, you have the sun in your eye the whole time.''

The trip to Northridge takes just about 30 minutes, but she still has to get up at 6 a.m. to take her four boys to school. At about 6:30 a.m., Blake, the eldest, was ready with coffee when his mother came into the kitchen with the morning newspaper he will dutifully unroll on the counter.

``It's for my mom,'' he said, plopping an ice cube to cool the cup of freshly brewed java in his hand. ``I do the coffee every morning.''

Blake, 12, will be the first to hit the road with Holler. Currently a student at Placerita Junior High in Newhall, he will transfer to Rancho Pico - Hart district's new junior high campus serving their neighborhood scheduled to open in August.

``It'll be great to go to school there,'' he said. ``I can't wait to get up at a normal time again.''

Once mother and son considered the day's errands and Kelly the family dog was fed, they were on their way. Holler drives Blake to a bus stop about a quarter mile away, then returns home at 7 a.m. to pick up the rest of her boys.

Conor, 11, Aidan, 7, and Donovan, 6, were preparing for another day at Stevenson Ranch Elementary, though one was straggling this morning.

``Did you brush your teeth?'' she asked Conor, who was sneaking in a few minutes of cartoons when Mom returned from the first school run. He was granted a five-minute reprieve before scurrying back upstairs.

When he returned to the kitchen with his brothers, their lunches - packed the night before - sat on the counter. They were out the door by 7:30 a.m. and arrived at school 10 minutes later.

From there, Holler heads to Northridge and transforms from a mother of four to a bank home-loan call-center manager. It began with a spot of traffic news, then a call to her assistant as she sailed down The Old Road.

``I like a half-hour to decompress so I can get out of work mode or get out of mommy mode,'' she said.

With business out of the way, she eased back to her music while keeping an eye ahead for congestion. It was a clear Thursday, and she was making good time.

But it's not always easy commuting between valleys, especially in emergencies. During October's wildfires, Holler was stranded in Northridge when firefighters battling flames along Hasley slowed traffic on Interstate 5 to a trickle. Her husband, an attorney with flexible hours, attended to the children.

``If there is a real emergency, it is a concern,'' she said. ``But I can't live for the emergency. I love what I do, and they don't have this kind of work in the Santa Clarita Valley.

``They haven't attracted big businesses up here,'' Holler said. ``They don't have my job here. It's all retail (banking).''

Thirty-five minutes later, Holler pulled into Washington Mutual's parking lot. She will hit the road again at 6 p.m., retracing her steps back home, where her job as mother of four boys awaits.

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

6 photos

Photo:

(1) Jacky Holler gets her boys' lunches ready in preparation for another busy day ahead at the family's home in Santa Clarita.

(2) Getting the SUV ready

(3) Aidan, Donovan strapped in

(4) Seeing the kids off

(5) Checking in with work

(6) Navigating through traffic

David Crane/Staff Photographer