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Two seek seat on Fern Valley Water board

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Brickle Environmental oversaw the handling of hazardous materials as Fern Valley Water had Tank no. 5 razed last week. Photo by Steve Erler
Brickle Environmental oversaw the handling of hazardous materials as Fern Valley Water had Tank no. 5 razed last week.
Photo by Steve Erler

Three Fern Valley residents offered to fill former Director Ron Korman’s seat on the water district’s board, last Friday, but before the meeting ended, the choice was narrowed to two. The board agreed to form a committee to recommend a new director. Korman resigned in June.

Gary Parton, Richard Schnetzer and Chad Taylor attended Friday’s meeting to indicate their tentative interest in filling the vacant position. After learning that two other people were interested, Parton withdrew from consideration.

“As long as there are good people interested in assuming this responsibility, I’m happy to withdraw,” he told the board.

Schnetzer said he and his wife have owned property in the district since 2005 and have been full-time residents since 2012. He has been a teacher administrator and board member for various school and agencies serving the needs of individuals with disabilities.

Schnetzer offered a summary of his background and the reason why he wants to serve on the FVWD board.

“I’ve been on many boards; most have to do with education. I’ve been president of a number of boards,” he said. “As a full-time resident, I’m ready to be involved with community service. The water board interests me since water has become the gold of this century.”

The third interested person was Taylor, who also attended the August board meeting.

He and his wife moved to Idyllwild from Long Beach. He said he has worked for large corporations and owned his own business. Currently, he is semi-retired.

His experience with large organizations and their red tape helped him develop more efficient work skills for his own business. Taylor feels he can bring that and his economic background to the board’s decisions.

“Next to air, water is our most important substance. It’s time to be really agile with water uses,” he said.

In his letter to the board, Taylor wrote, “All aspects [of the water district] are important: capture, storage, delivery, future concerns, costs and a goal of providing our customers with FVWD goals and how they are an important part of reaching those goals.”

Board President Robert Krieger joined the meeting via telephone and suggested the committee, composed of Directors Trisha Clark and Charlie Wix, develop a recommendation for Korman’s replacement for the October or November meeting. Board Vice President James Rees conducted the meeting in Krieger’s absence. After each person spoke, he said, “I think both are very qualified and we’ll have a tough decision to make.”

The board also approved the audit, which the accounting firm of Teaman, Ramirez and Smith prepared.

In water business, General Manager Steve Erler reported that for the first eight months of 2014, Fern Valley customers have used 23 million gallons of water, which is 4 million gallons (or more than 20 percent) less than the same period last year.

This is the lowest water usage for this period in more than 12 years.

“Fern Valley constituents are doing their part conserving water, but it did hurt our finances,” Erler said. “The district was easily meeting its current water demands.”

Revenues for the current billing period were 24 percent less than in 2013.

In other water business, Erler reported that tank no. 5, a 420,000-gallon storage facility, which was 50 years old and out of service for longer than year, has been razed. It had deteriorated over time until leaks began along some of its seams, according to Krieger.

“It was located between two other tanks and the company was very careful dismantling it,” Erler said. “They mitigated the lead and hazardous material in bringing it down. We might replace it several years down the road.”

Past Tense: Sept. 25, 2014

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World War I veterans honored at an American Legion Post 800 dinner in March 1974 were (from left) O.L. McPherson, W.F. Keith, Dwight Metcalfe and George Fales. File photo
World War I veterans honored at an American Legion Post 800 dinner in March 1974 were (from left) O.L. McPherson, W.F. Keith, Dwight Metcalfe and George Fales. File photo

65 years ago - 1949
The Lucks, who manned the community telephone switchboard, figured the average number of calls serviced daily during the summer was 1,800.

60 years ago - 1954
The Idyllwild School term opened with 166 pupils, a 20-percent increase over the previous year.

55 years ago - 1959
Bow and arrow expert Frank Gorzny was the only archer to get a deer during the 10-day season.

50 years ago - 1964
The Palm Springs Tramway celebrated its first year of operation by dropping fares to $1. More than 13,000 riders in three days took advantage of the deal.

45 years ago - 1969
The Izaak Walton League was seeking community-wide support for its “America’s Cleanest Forest” program.

40 years ago - 1974
The third-annual Idyllwild Bluegrass Invitational was held at Town Hall.

35 years ago - 1979
Among the new teachers at Idyllwild School was Vic Scavarda, the new music specialist.

30 years ago - 1984
After year-long negotiations, the Idyllwild Arts Foundation and the University of Southern California worked out the final details to complete the separation of ISOMATA from USC.

25 years ago - 1989
Parents of Idyllwild Elementary School students were asked to make recommendations to the Hemet Unified School District board about whether their children should remain at the school for sixth to eighth grades or be bussed to Hemet.

20 years ago - 1994
Virginia and Bob Gray, owners of Gray’s Photo & News Store, announced that they were retiring. They had owned and operated the store for 54 years.

15 years ago - 1999
Wendy Skean of Garner Valley came in first for the female-solo category of the 24-Hours of Adrenalin bike race held at Hurkey Creek. She completed 11 laps in 24 hours, equivalent to 110 miles.

10 years ago - 2004
Riverside County’s Economic Development Agency was soliciting proposals to use the logs and wood remaining from the many dead and dying trees that had been cut down on the Hill.

5 years ago - 2009
Valley Health System directors approved a tentative agreement with the local physicians’ group — Physicians for Healthy Hospitals — to purchase the hospital district that includes Hemet Valley and Menifee Valley medical centers.

1 year ago - 2013
The San Jacinto Mountan Community Center board shared its plans for the Idyllwild Community Center site and the next steps, which would result in groundbreaking within 12 to 18 months.

News of Record: Sept. 25, 2014

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Fire log

The Idyllwild Fire Station responded to the following calls, Tuesday, Sept. 9, through Monday, Sept. 15.

Idyllwild

• Sept. 9 — Medical aid.

• Sept. 9 — Assist invalid.

• Sept. 10 — Medical aid.

• Sept. 11 — Two rescues.

• Sept. 11 — Medical aid.

• Sept. 12 — Traffic collision with injuries.

• Sept. 12 —  Medical aid.

• Sept. 13 — Medical aid.

• Sept. 14 — Medical aid.

• Sept. 14 — False alarm.

• Sept. 15 — Natural vegetation fire.

• Sept. 15 — Assist invalid.

Silverado Canyon

• Sept. 13 — Forest, woods or wildland fire.

Sheriff’s log

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Hemet Station responded to the following calls from Sunday, Sept. 7, through Saturday, Sept. 13.

Idyllwild 

• Sept. 7 — No responses.

• Sept. 8 — Battery, address undefined. Report taken.

• Sept. 9 — Petty theft, 53000 block of Toll Gate Rd. Handled by deputy.

• Sept. 9 — Suspect info, address withheld. Unfounded.

• Sept. 9 — 911 Call, Strawberry Valley Dr. Handled by deputy.

• Sept. 10 — Suspicious vehicle, Maranatha Dr. Handled by deputy.

• Sept. 11 — Suspicious person, address undefined. Handled by deputy.

• Sept. 11 — 911 call, Strawberry Valley Dr. Handled by deputy.

• Sept. 11 — Grand theft, Pine Dell Rd. Report taken.

• Sept. 12 — Alarm call, Hillsdale St. Handled by deputy.

• Sept. 13 — Suspicious person, 53000 block of Tollgate Rd. Handled by deputy.

• Sept. 13 — Noise complaint, address undefined. Handled by deputy.

• Sept. 13 — Suspicious person, Delano Dr. Handled by deputy.

• Sept. 13 — 911 call, Strawberry Valley Dr. Handled by deputy.

• Sept. 13 — Public intoxication, 54000 block of S. Circle Dr. Handled by deputy.

Mountain Center

• Sept. 8 — Follow-up, address withheld. Handled by deputy.

Pine Cove

• Sept. 10 — Follow-up, address withheld. Handled by deputy.

Pine Meadows

• Sept. 10 — Noise complaint, Lion Rd. Handled by deputy.

Poppet Flats

• Sept. 7 — Prowler, Keyes Rd. Handled by deputy.

• Sept. 8 — Narcotics, Deer Trail. Handled by deputy.

San Bernardino 

National Forest

• Sept. 7 — Public assist, 47000 block of E. Hwy. 74. Handled by deputy.

California confirms Enterovirus D68

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On Sept. 18, the California Department of Public Health confirmed four enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) cases. At that time, three patients lived in San Diego County and one in Ventura County. From mid-August to Sept. 19, a total of 160 people, none of whom are adults, from 22 states were confirmed to have respiratory illness caused by EV-D68.

Dr. Ron Chapman, CDPH director and state health officer, confirmed that these are the first cases in California in 2014. There are other specimens from throughout the state being tested at CDPH labs. Enteroviruses are quite common, causing between 10 and 15 million infections each year, but this particular strain has not appeared very often since it was first isolated in California in 1962.

“We are not surprised to find EV-D68 causing some illnesses in California given the apparent widespread nature of this virus in other parts of the country,” Chapman said in the CDPH press release. More cases are anticipated in the coming weeks.

The federal Center for Disease Control expects that the number of infections is going to drop later in the year. Most enterovirus infections in the U.S. occur in the summer and fall, so these infections are coming at a typical time for enteroviruses, Anne Schuchat, director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters in a Sept. 8 teleconference.

EV-D68, a rare viral strain, causes respiratory illness and the virus likely spreads from person to person when an infected person coughs, sneezes or touches contaminated surfaces.

“It’s not a new strain. It’s the same, based on the sequencing results we have, as EV- D68 strains identified in the United States last year and in previous specimens from other countries. So this isn’t a new virus,” Schuchat said.

Symptoms of EV-D68 include fever (although fever may not be present), runny nose, sneezing, cough, and body and muscle aches.  Some children have more serious illness with breathing difficulty and wheezing, particularly children with a history of asthma.

Parents should seek medical attention immediately for children who are having any breathing difficulty (wheezing, difficulty speaking or eating, belly pulling in with breaths, blueness around the lips), particularly if the child suffers from asthma.

There is no specific treatment for persons with EV-D68, nor is there a vaccine to prevent it. However, everyone 6 months of age and older should receive an influenza vaccine every year to protect themselves against that important cause of respiratory disease.

More information about EV-D68 may be found on the CDC website at www.cdc.gov/non-polio-enterovirus/about/ev-d68.html.

The best way to prevent transmission of enteroviruses is to:

  • wash hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds, especially after changing diapers;
  • avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands;
  • avoid kissing, hugging and sharing cups or eating utensils with people who are sick;
  • disinfect frequently touched surfaces, such as toys and doorknobs, especially if someone is sick.

Epperly changes plea

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On Aug. 12, Karen Epperly, 49, of Idyllwild, waived various rights, including her right to a jury trial, and pleaded guilty to the embezzlement charges against her. The court accepted her plea and set sentencing for Sept. 19. It was agreed that her maximum custody time would be not more than 365 days. The court also ordered a probation report.

At that Sept. 19 sentencing hearing, the court announced that it had read the probation report and that Epperly was not eligible for probation. Epperly then sought to withdraw her plea of guilty and to enter a plea of not guilty instead. After a hearing, her request was granted, and Epperly’s plea was changed to not guilty.

Her Preliminary Hearing has now been set for Nov. 6, 2014, at 8:30 a.m. in Department S204 in Murrieta.

Epperly had been charged with fraud and embezzlement, and taking, damaging or destroying property of more than $100,000 in value from Community Lumber in Idyllwild over a number of years when she was employed there.

Warrant issued for Subish

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After Matthew Subish, 41, of Idyllwild entered a plea of not guilty to a charge of possession of a firearm or ammunition by a prohibited person, his case was set for a Felony Settlement Conference to be held on Aug. 22, 2014. That conference was continued to Sept. 22, but Subish failed to appear on that new date. A warrant has now been issued for his arrest.

In October  2011, Subish was arrested in Idyllwild and charged with burglary. He was convicted of a felony on his plea of guilty in that matter.

In 2008, Subish was convicted on a plea of guilty to an earlier felony charge of possession of a firearm or ammunition by a prohibited person.

Missing hiker was never lost

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While rescuers were searching for Wendell Boydston, he was resting his twisted ankle overnight in Round Valley.

Sunday evening at about 7:30, deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Cabazon Station received a call from his wife, Paula, that he was a missing hiker.

Boydston, 60, of La Quinta, had left early Sunday for a day hike from the tram to San Jacinto Peak. About 2 p.m., he sent a text message to Paula telling her “he had reached the San Jacinto Peak, he was going to rest and then return to the tram,” according to the Sheriff’s Department press release.

By 7:30 p.m., without further contact from Wendell, his wife notified the Sheriff’s Department that he was missing.

Deputies did find his vehicle at the Palm Springs Tramway parking lot, so a search for him was initiated. Besides the Sheriff’s Department, several agencies responded and were involved in the rescue effort, including State Park Rangers, Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit, Riverside County Desert Search and Rescue, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Aviation Unit and employees of the Palm Springs Tramway.

During the night, they searched but did not find Boydston. Then about 10 a.m. Monday, he “approached rescue units near the top of the tram. Wendell had a sore, swollen ankle, but declined medical attention,” Sgt. Richard Beatty said in the release.

The press release indicated that Boydston was properly equipped for such a hike and an unexpected overnight stay.

If you haven’t already done so, meet Trine Bietz

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Trine Bietz Photo courtesy Richard Barker
Trine Bietz
Photo courtesy Richard Barker

By Richard Barker
Special to the Town Crier

Trine Bietz, one of Idyllwild’s premier holistic healers and artists, has had an eventful summer. In June, she opened a shop where she offers a variety of holistic approaches, while simultaneously showcasing her artworks, which line the walls. On Sept. 15, the San Jacinto Mountain Community Center Board of Directors elected Trine to their ranks, recognizing in her the ideal candidate to represent the artistic, as well as the holistic, community.

The essential idea underlying holism is that it is better to address the whole person (physical, mental and spiritual) than to address just the malady. From humble beginnings as a fringe practice, holism has grown over the last few decades into a widely accepted alternative to traditional Western medicine, largely in part to advancements in neuroscience that have scientifically proven many holistic claims, such as the existence of the energy flow known in Eastern healing as Qi (or Chi).

Trine is probably best known for her yoga classes she holds four times a week at Town Hall, but her two decades of studying, practicing and teaching yoga are but the tip of the iceberg of her dedication to learning and incorporating all the varieties of holistic healing. In addition to being certified in hatha yoga under Erich Schiffmann, Trine has been a Reiki master since 1998, received certification in Thai Massage in 2002, studied extensively for a year with the Zen master Mushashi Teksukoba, completed a Tibetan Sound Bowl Therapy program in 2004, studied the Alexander Technique in 2005 (in the Caribbean), was certified in Pranic Healing in 2006, completed the entire course at the Optimum Health Institute in 2010, and has been practicing Art Therapy with children since 2003. Her resume is all the more impressive considering she is only 35.

But if you are thinking that her world-class education in this esoteric field must render her profound understanding of it incomprehensible to a layperson, then you obviously do not know Trine. Her greatest strength as a teacher and practitioner lies in her gift of being able to explain lofty and nearly ineffable concepts in everyday language that makes sense even to beginners.

An example of this is a lesson she taught in a recent yoga class, where she described the accumulation of traumatic memories in these terms:

“Your experiences — especially any traumatic experiences that have not been fully processed — leave you with a distorted perception of the world. Your nervous system gets loaded with traumatic cellular impressions that manifest as beliefs about the world and your place in it. Over time, you continue to add to the ever-growing pile, as if you are adding yet another pancake to an already towering stack, until that stack becomes an obstacle to experiencing reality in a fully direct manner, in the here and now.

“Undigested trauma keeps the human spirit in bondage. Breath work and simple, yet mindful, movement — both of which are provided by yoga — are tools that can help you discard unwanted pancakes. And always discard pancakes from the bottom of the stack, for the oldest ones are the ones most likely to have become self-limiting beliefs that are hindering your spiritual evolution.”

This is pretty heady stuff, very difficult to put into words, but Trine has a knack of explaining such things in a down-to-earth and even lighthearted way; when she spoke of discarding pancakes, she made a Frisbee-throwing motion. And the fact that she utilizes physical metaphors (like “pancakes” and “undigested”) is fully in sync with holism, as versus the Western compartmentalization of mind, body, and spirit.

When describing the process of diving into your own depths to clear out undigested traumas, another metaphor she uses is spelunking. “To open up the darkest recesses of your mind, be mindful of your breathing. Your breathing becomes a flashlight; focus your attention on it and aim it where you want to go, and the body follows,” she said.

Trine has succeeded in avoiding a trap that often ensnares even the most spiritually enlightened: she is ever mindful to transcend the polarizing role of “master” or “teacher” or “healer.” “If I am a healer, that implies that you are sick or in need of repair. And I don’t teach yoga, I simply share what I am practicing,” she said. “My goal is to create a supremely safe, nurturing environment for personal growth that is approachable to everyone. I am a student myself, and always will be. Listening, changing, willing, teachable — I do my best to adhere to these principles every day.”

The schedule of her yoga classes can be found in the Town Crier’s “On the Town” calendar. Visit her shop in Oakwood Village, where she offers a variety of holistic approaches, including one of her own creation called “Original Circuitry Reboot,” which she describes as “applying the zero point field and the awesome possibilities of quantum physics into the healing arts.”

Ghosts and rampaging zombies seed a season of fright

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Prior to the October 2013 Zombie Run, a horde of zombies collected near Ghost Town.    	           Photo by Robert Sabin
Prior to the October 2013 Zombie Run, a horde of zombies collected near Ghost Town. Photo by Robert Sabin

“You Can’t Escape Your Nightmares” reads the headline on the Idyllwild Ghost Town’s website, warning any who attend Kat Wilson’s 11th iteration of her month-long fright and fear festival that they will not leave unaffected. Rather, after walking through her haunted house of the unforgiving and undead, visitors may leave injected with recurring nightmare images of ghosts, gore, goblins and blood.

And, of course, it’s all for a good cause. Wilson, who applies for all the grants and sponsorships that fund the animatronic and live (or dead) actor walk-through spectacle, confirmed that once again, all net proceeds go to the Idyllwild School PTA to fund Discovery Education programs for Idyllwild School. PTA President Wendy Read said Wilson’s ghost town has raised more than $20,000 during the seven years net profits have come to the PTA. More than 100 actors and crew stage the phantasmagorical production each night.

Although an injury in an inflatable bounce house at the Idyllwild Community Center site during the ghost town run (an attraction sponsored, said Wilson, by the ICC) temporally threatened continued operation of Idyllwild Ghost Town, Wilson noted that a finding that there was no negligence and meetings with the district school board and Idyllwild School Principal Matt Kraemer acted to green-light continued operation.

The Halloween inaugural event begins at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3 at the ghost town maze behind the Rustic Theatre and runs each Friday and Saturday through Saturday, Nov. 1. It is usually open until 9 p.m., but Wilson said that if crowds are large it may stay open later. The event has grown in popularity each year, pulling attendees from all over California. Adult tickets are $7, and for children under 13 they are $5 and can be bought on the website.

And for the second year, Wilson’s fright festival concludes with a zombie parade and zombie run on Saturday, Nov. 1. Starting at 1 p.m. is a “Zombie Call,” a parade of grotesques down North Circle, the same zombies that will later, during the Zombie Run, seek to waylay and cannibalize runner participants.

Participant runners will attempt to complete a mile obstacle course circling the ICC site while pursued by ravenous zombies. Each runner will wear three “health” flags, one on each hip and one behind, which zombies, in cold and deathless pursuit, will try to grab. Those who lose all flags are completely infected and although not long for this world, are still allowed to complete the run — if they can. The runner or runners who complete the course with flags intact will win a trophy and prize at a ceremony near Jo’An’s Restaurant in the town square.

Cost for runner registration is $25 and for zombies is $20 with professional makeup artist application or $10 with own makeup. (Register at idyllwildzombierun.com.)

Wilson said the run has garnered widespread media attention and, as a result, registrants are planning to come from as far away as the East Coast.

Death Cafe not a spooky subject

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By Elizabeth Miller
Special to the Town Crier

A remarkable new group called Death Cafe has been meeting in Idyllwild for several months now. While the name alone may shake you up, it is anything but disturbing. Here you find a gathering of curious people from wide and far, who meet for two hours over cake and coffee to discuss the only sure thing in life.

Discussions range from the bewilderment of having a loved one die and feeling basically helpless as he or she is whisked away by our funeral system, to what really happens after death, to legalities like health care directives, to Hospice, and to learning all about green burials. Meetings have no agenda and are nondirected. Topics begin spontaneously. Any issue surrounding death and dying is welcome and everything that surfaces is given respectful consideration.

Death Cafe is a worldwide movement catching on like wildfire here in the States, revolving around a subject that is quite taboo. We have forgotten that our ancestors had a cultural map on how to graciously experience death. Family and community support came right into the parlor when grandpa or mother died. In many households it went without question that they would remain at home for a few days before burial.

This simple act gave relatives and friends time to become accustomed to their passing. All day and night food and drink arrived, tears and laughter poured freely, with the result that the bereaved were spared what is increasing found today — complicated and prolonged grief. As writer Teri Uktena says, death has become “like an amputation which we are too shocked to deal with.”

The kind of support our ancestors enjoyed has almost completely dissolved with the advent of the modern funeral industry, emergency services and hospitalization. Once we accepted medicalization of childbirth, back in the ’30s and ’40s, the larger prescription had already been written. More money could be made if we tossed dying into these industries as well. And the general public has become deprived of our once-intimate participation in the ultimate culmination of our loved one’s life.

Death Cafe meets twice a month in Idyllwild at Spirit Mountain Retreat, usually on the fourth Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 2 to 4 p.m. In November and December, they will fall on the third week due to holidays.

All are welcome. Because of the close nature of this group the number of participants caps at 12 per meeting. This gives each person many opportunities to share words of experience, wisdom, concern, philosophy and humor — gallows or otherwise.

To reserve your place, contact Mary Morse at Spirit Mountain Retreat at 951-659-2523 or [email protected], or Death Cafe Facilitator Francoise Frigola at 951-659-4146 or [email protected].

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