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COVID-19 testing Feb. 4
Another COVID-19 testing date has been announced. Riverside County Public Health has scheduled COVID-19 testing in Idyllwild from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4 at the Idyllwild Library. The library is located at 54401 Village Center Dr.
Register at http://bit.ly/IdyllwildTesting or by using the adjacent QR code.
Mountain Center evacuated for Bonita Fire, USFS reports 50% containment
Firefighters responded to a wildland fire Friday at 1:16 a.m. at the 28000 block of Bonita Vista Drive in Apple Canyon (between Mountain Center and Garner Valley). The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) took over the incident, which had been under the command of Cal Fire/Riverside...
New info on Lydia ‘Dia’ Abrams
Lydia “Dia” Abrams went missing June 6 from her Bonita Vista ranch in Apple Canyon (between Mountain Center and Garner Valley). The ranch, that is over 100 acres, was searched multiple times by Riverside County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD) and the Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit (RMRU) soon after Abrams was reported missing, but they returned empty-handed. RMRU is...
Steele T4 at the Sony; plays in La Quinta this week
Brendan Steele fired a 19-under-par 65-66-61-69 — 261 at the Sony Open in Hawaii last week to finish tied for fourth place, his best finish of the still-new 2020/21 season.
Brendan Steele FILE PHOTO
The Idyllwild native’s stats told the story: Drives averaging 310 yards found 73% of the fairways,...
Locals volunteer to clean up the community
Idyllwild has always had an influx of snow-play visitors every winter. Families from far and wide flock to the mountains for snowball fights, sledding and snowman building. It brings tourism and a lot of smiles to the town. However, in recent times it seems the snow players have increased, and while there are positives to that, it’s...
CHP response to snow play
By Marsha KennedyContributed
Over the New Years’ weekend, Idyllwild was struck by an unprecedented avalanche of snow-play visitors — more than the Hill has ever seen, in the estimate of many residents.
In addition to the illegal parking, trespassing and littering, which unfortunately have become standard features of such events, traffic...
Acting postmaster at Idyllwild Post Office
Last week, Lorraine Sonoqui became the acting postmaster of the Idyllwild Post Office. The former postmaster, Mark Smith, abruptly resigned earlier last month, leaving staff inundated with work during the holiday season.
“We do not comment on personnel issues,” wrote Eva M. Jackson, strategic communications specialist for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), in response...
New year begins with missing people still not located
As we begin 2021, five people, who went missing last year, have not been located. As the holidays were upon us, the Town Crier spoke to the families of the missing people to get their stories.
Roy Prifogle was the first to go missing in March of last year. Prifogle’s daughter, Kendra Johnson, told...
Local sculptor takes talent to the sand and snow
As heavy snow covered the mountain a couple of weeks ago and many people retreated inside to the warm comfort of their homes, Rick Emmons, on the other hand, spent many hours in the thick of it, all in the name of artistry.
Emmons took his tools and braved the cold to make a...
AAI 2021 events
By Art Alliance IdyllwildContributed
Many of the Art Alliance of Idyllwild’s (AAI) usual events were canceled during 2020 because of the pandemic. However, the AAI was able to safely stage certain events by holding them outdoors and complying with all health requirements. Providing the virus is under control in 2021, the AAI plans the...
Election update
Here are the local election results as of 6 p.m. Monday. The Riverside County Registrar of Voters has approximately 1,000 vote-by-mail and 2,000 provisional ballots left to process. The next update is scheduled after the newspaper goes to press.
Idyllwild Fire Protection District BoardChristina Reitz: 990 votesDennis Fogle (appointed incumbent): 686 votesDan Messina (appointed...
Election update Nov. 26
Here are the local election results as of 6 p.m. Saturday. The Riverside County Registrar of Voters has approximately 1,000 vote-by-mail and 5,000 provisional ballots left to process. The next update is scheduled after the newspaper goes to press.
Idyllwild Fire Protection District Board
Christina Reitz: 986...
Caltrans gives culvert update to PCPOA
The culvert work on highways 243 and 74 is now complete. Terri Kasinga, public and media affairs chief for Caltrans District 8, reported the news at the Nov. 7 Pine Cove Property Owners Association meeting.
“Culvert work was holding up traffic and was a big inconvenience to folks going up and down from Idyllwild,”...
Nov. 3 election update
Here are the local election results as of Monday evening. The Riverside County Registrar of Voters has about 215,000 vote-by-mail and 25,000 provisional ballots left to process. The next update is scheduled after the newspaper goes to press.
Idyllwild Fire Protection District Board
Christina Reitz: 544 votes
Woman found after missing in Anza
The Town Crier contacted the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD) media information bureau over the weekend after learning that another woman had gone missing. Just before the newspaper went to press, RCSD sent an email saying the woman had been located, but did not give an update on her condition.
The newspaper asked over...
New restaurant opens its doors
Stevie Davis and Jennifer Muir have spent most of their adult lives in the restaurant business. They’ve worked their way from working at other restaurants to owning their own catering company. Now, they have taken the next step — opening their own restaurant.
While they are only in the...
Idyllwild Arts senior publishes in top-tier literary journal
By Idyllwild Arts AcademyContributed
The publication this month of Idyllwild Arts Academy (IAA) twelfth-grader Rome Smaoui’s short story, “Days of Summer,” in Narrative (www.narrativemagazine.com/) is a startling achievement for a high school student. Narrative is a top-tier literary journal and it is free to register. The number of Narrative...
Mayor Max for president?
Despite COVID-19, Mayor Max has still been busy. While he’s not out greeting visitors in the center of town as he did pre-COVID, he has had visitors to his home.
A group of ladies visit Mayor Max at his home.PHOTO BY PHYLLIS MUELLER
Chief of Staff Phyllis Mueller said, “We...
Idyllwild’s Richelle Gribble heads to Mars
Artist Richelle Gribble spent her childhood in Idyllwild. She attended Idyllwild School from kindergarten through eighth grade, then went to Idyllwild Arts Academy for high school. The arts have paved her way through her career so far, expanding her understanding of how she can share it with the masses.
Hawaii Space Exploration Analog...
One fateful moment turns paramedic into an artistic carver
Idyllwild local Cory Lavy wasn’t always the artistic type. While he was born and raised in Idyllwild, Lavy was more interested in the fire and medical world than he ever was with the arts.
Cory Lavy with his most intricately carved piece to date.PHOTO BY HALEIGH LAVY
While in high...
COVID-19 Local Update: Recovered numbers rising, confirmed numbers slowing
As of press time, there are still a total of 22 reported COVID-19 cases since the outbreak and one death reported for the area of Idyllwild-Pine Cove, according to the Riverside University Health System – Public Health (RUHS) website.
Totals for Riverside County as of Tuesday, Sep. 15. For updated numbers click here.Image Courtesy...
Life Tribute: Mary DeMille 1938 – 2020
Mary DeMille, who lived in Royal Pines Estates, passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at Eisenhower Medical Center.She was known to many in town as Aunt Mary and had a dog sitting business in the past.She is survived by her son Patrick DeMille of Idyllwild.
COVID-19 Local Update: Healthcare workers still decline vaccine, however number uncertain
Forty to fifty percent of healthcare workers in Riverside County initially declined taking the COVID-19 vaccine.“Over the weeks since, the demand for the vaccine has increased among all segments of the tiers; although I do not have specific numbers,” wrote Jose Arballo Jr, senior public information specialist with Riverside University Health System – Public Health (RUHS), when...
A view from the alternate universe
By Kerry ManosContributed
I would like to respectfully respond to the two letters published in the Jan. 14 issue of the Town Crier, both of which called for the prominent “Trump 2020” sign to be removed from a private property. These writers assert the sign would be unwelcoming and intimidating to visitors, especially in...
Hot Mess Mama
My mirror lies, or at least it used to — until I caught it in the act and forced a reflection that is entirely more accurate.I spent several weeks dismayed at what I was seeing in the full-length mirror in my bedroom.How is this even possible?How does one become so disproportionate overnight?What the heck am I eating...
To all our readers:
By Jack & Becky ClarkCo-publishers
The Town Crier has been significantly impacted by the COVID epidemic. Like almost all newspapers, we have experienced a serious decline in revenues from advertising during these hard times.So, we must rely to an ever-greater extent on our readers — both for the moral force to continue providing local...
Readers Write: January 21, 2021
Support of Trump sign
Dear editor:Last week’s letter to the editor titled “Hate has no home here,” was exactly theopposite of the title.With hateful emotions the writers want to censor what legal signs a person can put up. Trump represents different things to different people, but people are not open to other views and...
The role different vitamins play
By Metro CreativeContributed
A nutritious diet is a vital component of a healthy lifestyle. When it’s part of a health regimen that includes routine exercise, a healthy diet that’s rich in fruits and vegetables can help people reduce their risk for various illnesses, including chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer and diabetes.Many adults have...
California school officials push for standardized testing waiver amid COVID-19 spike
By Sydney JohnsonEdSource
As Covid-19 cases continue to soar in California, a majority of the State Board of Education is now in favor of pursuing a waiver from the federal government that would remove the obligation to carry out standardized testing for the second year in a row.The board is grappling with what to...
CHP staffing update
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) responded to the newspaper’s inquiry regarding its current staffing levels and the status of the cadet academy.CHP Public Information Officer Matt Napier wrote in an email, “Effective Dec. 17, 2020, the CHP Academy has temporarily suspended cadet training.”CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray stated, “Cadets are critical to the CHP’s mission, however out of...
IFPD ambulance inspection and decals
The Idyllwild Fire Protection District’s new ambulance responding to a call and pulling into the station.
photo by Melissa Diaz Hernandez
The Idyllwild Fire Protection District (IFPD) received its new ambulance and has been running calls. Some members of the public contacted the newspaper regarding the ambulance running calls without...