There is a team of four young folk going house to house here now. There introductory statement is something like “My boss will give me 35 dollars to scrub your carpet in one room (or a spot).”
Their tricky talk is to get you to spend between three and $5,000 on a carpet-cleaning device made by an old-time manufacturer.
According to the more than 1,400 comments on line, while there is nothing wrong with the product, their talk is devious, and you can buy the product for thousands less on Amazon.
Larry Kueneman
Pine Cove
(Editor’s note: As always, the views of our columnists and letter writers are not necessarily the views of the Town Crier editors. The Town Crier welcomes views from all writers, including those in letters to the editor.)
Very nice recognition of the outstanding legacy of Buzz Holmes to Idyllwild, to Idyllwild Arts and to music education everywhere, Marshall Smith. The Krone Family has celebrated with the Holmes Family back to the 1950s. Their leadership, talents and skills have created decades of creative service stories to Idyllwild. We appreciate Buzz, Julie and all the Holmes Family.
It has been my privilege to serve on several boards on the Hill. During the 20-plus years of living here, I have enjoyed involvement with Idyllwild School, Idyllwild School Site Council, Idyllwild Community Fund, Idyllwild Fire, AYSO soccer, Hemet youth baseball, Town Hall sports, Boy Scouts, Idyllwild Race Committee, church and, most recently, the Idyllwild Water District.
IWD has proven to be the most engaging pertaining to open debate and discussion. There are varied opinions and backgrounds that produce rich and vibrant deliberations on the effects of the decisions that must be made.
The board follows the philosophy that the Brown Act is a floor, not a ceiling, and that in a democracy, efficacy is sacrificed to transparency.
We also have community members who express themselves at your public IWD meetings. We not only listen but seek to understand their concerns and have modified some decisions based on their input. Because of those important components; debate and public input, some of our meetings have gone on for hours. There are far too many short meetings where decisions are made behind closed doors and public input is met with stone-faced silence, then followed up by ignoring it.
It is truly inspiring (and sometimes tiring) to see democracy at work in our little town.
Over the last year there has been a flurry of changes for a variety of reasons. Ongoing circumstances will necessitate further changes.
I will continue to encourage an environment of improved transparency and effective use of your funds. There is still a long way to go and the ultimate goal of a district that perfectly serves the exact needs of our community may not be soon realized but that is the direction the Idyllwild Water District is headed.
Kudos for your coverage of the parade. My friend, Whistles, and I (Ana-Banana), loved having our picture show up in the TC as we played with bubbles along the parade route.
I’ve been a reader of the paper since 1955 and have seen lots of changes in it. For a small town paper, we think you do a very good job.
Upon reading about Idyllwild Pines’ decision to provide space on its property for a pickleball court, I was immediately impressed by their continued efforts to be community supporters of our town. Perhaps more than any other private property holder in the area, they it has a demonstrated history of providing the use of its grounds for projects such as a Dog Park and the Skate Park, all of which provide direct benefits to many residents of our town.
Sadly, this has not come without some significant downsides, in spite of which, the management of Idyllwild Pines has dealt with gracefully. Local residents and those from “off the Hill” regularly walk through this private property, leaving dog waste and trash. The camp is a thoroughfare for all kinds of foot traffic (sometimes carrying BB guns) who really don’t seem to have any clue (or a care) that they are regularly walking through private property.
Undoubtedly, the regular misuse of the grounds creates liability to the camp and impacts the various groups who use their facilities. And yet, Idyllwild Pines continues to give to our community with increased access to its property rather than limiting it. That’s a truly unusual thing to see in today’s society and Idyllwild Pines deserves great recognition for it.
Editor’s note: Co-Publisher and Bottle Washer Jack Clark is taking the column this week.
My very good friend, Jeff Meltzer, turns 76 on Monday. Some of you know him as the guy with the l-o-n-g white beard who has installed many a telephone system for businesses and agencies up here on the Hill.
He also knows everything there is to know about maintaining the building occupied by Restaurant Gastrognome.
Jeff has much longer-established friends than I am —Lanny Wagstaff, for one, about 60 years now. And another is L.V. Silvernail.
Jeff and L.V. met in their very early 20s. Jeff had just finished a stint with the 101st Airborne and L.V. was a recent service vet, too.
They met while taking a class at a community college in San Diego, and one afternoon, they went for a beer at a local establishment. They showed their IDs to the bartender, who quietly disappeared to be replaced by the bouncer.
“You guys are going to have to leave,” he said. Jeff and L.V. looked at each other. “Why? What did we do?” they asked. “You swapped IDs on our bartender,” he replied. “One of you isn’t 21, so you switched IDs when you showed them to her.”
Jeff and L.V. checked their IDs, which showed they had each been born on July 24, 1941. The bouncer apologized and their beers were free that day.
After that, Jeff and L.V. remained friends. For a longtime each year, they celebrated their same-date birthday at the home of one of their families. So their folks got to know each other well, too.
Well, many years later, Jeff’s father died, and so did L.V.’s mother. ... And? ... Yup, you guessed it. Jeff and L.V. became step-brothers with the same birthdate.
If that bartender hadn’t complained to that bouncer that day, it’s likely L.V.’s dad would not have met Jeff’s mother.
L.V. still lives down south, and Jeff and wife Nancy have been Idyllwilders for decades. But Jeff and L.V. still try to get together on their birthday, and they’re trying again this year in Idyllwild.
Jeff and Nancy have done a heroic job of fighting off several medical challenges in recent years, particularly this past spring when it took a serious heart surgery and two months in the hospital to get Jeff vertical again.
All of Jeff’s friends are grateful for how that turned out. I’m one of them.
So, if sometime this summer you see two old guys enjoying Cobb salads at the Gastrognome’s outdoor table no. 51, one of them will be a very thankful me.
Last week in “Days of Our Nine Lives,” the cats and dogs were introducing themselves to the ARF kittens.
Pepper: Let’s get back to telling the kittens about ourselves. I’ll get their mommy Diamond to bring them in.
Jet & Crue
Jet: No you won’t, Pepper. Diamond was adopted last Saturday!
Crue: Remember, she said she wouldn’t be around for long. She was right! And guess what else?
Bobbie: I’ll handle this, Crue. Everyone, her sweet baby Emerald also got adopted! That leaves Topaz all by herself.
Audrey
Pepper: Poor baby. I’ll go get her so we may continue talking about ourselves!
Audrey: Ah, here she is. (Topaz enters) Hello Topaz, I’m Audrey. I’m a very friendly gal who loves to be petted.
Mr. Gray: I love to be petted, too, once I know the human. And I’m really handsome, don’t you agree?
Topaz: Oh, Mr. Gray, you really are. All of you are so beautiful.
Mr. Gray
Pepper: Do you like my tuxedo? Ha! I’m not really wearing one, but it certainly looks as if I am. I like humans, too, but they have to give me a chance to trust them.
Heavenly Whiskers: Topaz, I’m kind of like Pepper. You know, I need time to trust, but once I do, I’ll be a great family member.
Heavenly Whiskers
Sadie: Guess I’m in your club, Whiskers. I just need a chance to trust and love. Oh, and Pepper isn’t the only one wearing a tuxedo. Look at me!
Topaz: Thank you for introducing yourselves. You know, at first glance I look to be all gray, but really I’m not. I have very interesting colors, very much like my mom’s. A little calico, perhaps?
Bobbie: I hope you get adopted very soon. We don’t want you to be the lone kitten!
Will Topaz find her home this week? Be sure to keep up with the animal antics of “Days of Our Nine Lives” each week. And please stop in to say hello to the entire adoptable cast at the ARF House, 26890 Hwy. 243 on Saturdays 10-4 and Sundays 10-2, or by appointment M-F by calling 951-659-1122.
Creature Corner is in memory of David, Bajan, Tyler & Jezebel Taylor.
At its May 23 meeting, the Idyllwild Fire Protection District commission approved an increase in its ambulance service fees. The cost to district residents for its ambulance service, beginning June 1, is now $1,548.75.
The 2017-18 cost for each service, for residents and non-residents, was increased 5 percent. An ambulance trip to a local hospital will be $1,548.75 plus $36.75 per mile. The 2016-17 rates were $1,475 for the ambulance service and $35 per mile.
The cost of a “dry-run,” when the ambulance is called for, but transportation to a hospital is declined or unnecessary, will cost $177.45.
The new rates (see accompanying table) were approved unanimously on May 23, although Commissioner Larry Donahoo was excused from the meeting.
This is the seventh-consecutive year rates have increased. The annual changes have been about 5 percent. Since 2010, the basic ambulance fee is up 73 percent.
Riverside County’s property assessments continue to recover from the last recession. For fiscal 2017-18, the assessment roll exceeds its previous record achieved in 2008. Current total county property assessment is $269.1 billion, which is 5.5 percent more than last year’s total of $255.1 billion.
This is the fifth-consecutive year of growth after Riverside County suffered four consecutive years of decline.
In a press release, Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder Peter Aldana said, “Market growth in all real estate sectors is driving up the assessment roll by more than 5 percent to $269 billion for the fiscal year that began July 1. Property values in all sectors of the market have rebounded steadily over the last few years.”
Since 2012, the assessment roll has increased more than 31 percent from the recession low of $204.9 billion.
Idyllwild properties reached an assessed low of $677 million in 2011 and have been growing since. In 2015, Idyllwild assessed property values were $765.6 million, $3.7 million more than the 2008 high.
Fiscal year 2017-18 is the sixth-consecutive year of growth. In the past year, Idyllwild property assessments have grown 4.8 percent to a total of $839.3 million from last year’s $800.7 million valuation.
Property owners and residents will benefit from a 5-percent increase in home prices, but that does not mean property owners will necessarily see a commensurate increase in taxes, according to Aldana.
Despite the increases, the average property owner will not see a comparable rise in property taxes. Because the assessor enrolls most properties at their Proposition 13 value, the actual property tax cannot increase by more than 2 percent annually.
State law requires the assessor to complete the roll before July 1 and to enroll the lower value under Prop 13, adjusted for inflation or current market value, Aldana’s statement said.
Another measure, Prop 8, allows the assessor to enroll a property’s market value when it falls below the Prop 13 value. For the fiscal year that began July 1, the assessor reduced more than 101,000 such properties with single-family homes. That is nearly 19,000 homes fewer than last year.
As a property’s market value recovers, the assessor must restore previous reductions. When property-tax bills go out in October, property owners will be notified of any changes in value made pursuant to Prop 8.
Property owners who disagree with their valuation may file a free decline-in-value application online. Applications are due by Nov. 1, and are available at www.riversideacr.com. Property owners may review their assessment roll value by visiting the assessor’s website at www.riversideacr.com or calling 951-955-6200.
Thursday morning, July 12, Idyllwild Shell was burglarized by three persons, at least one of whom was caught on security film. If you have any information regarding this break-in, contact the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Hemet Station at 951-776-1099. Photo courtesy James Jang
Wednesday morning, July 12, thieves broke into the Idyllwild Shell station at Highway 243 and Ridgeview Drive, making off with merchandise and a small amount of money, according to owner James Jang. At least one of the three men was seen on surveillance camera with just the lower half of his face covered.
Also Wednesday morning, a pair of thieves visited Community Presbyterian Church’s Thrift Shoppe at North Circle Drive and Cedar Street, absconding with various items, according to volunteer “Rhonda.” The identities of the perpetrators were known and the license plate of the vehicle they were using was filed in a sheriff’s report.
Saturday morning at about 2:30, July 15, two young men vandalized a garden hose and stole a short piece of it in the back of Middle Ridge Winery Tasting Gallery on North Circle Drive. One thief maintained a look out while the other did the cutting, as can be seen clearly on surveillance videos at the Town Crier’s website. Co-owner Chris Johnston said he assumed they intended to siphon gasoline with the hose length.
