At its Sept. 24 meeting, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved the request from the Registrar of Voters to appoint the directors for Fern Valley, Idyllwild and Pine Cove Water districts to their new terms beginning in December. All three local water districts had seats to be filled in the August mail election. However,…

As Riverside County Fire Chief John Hawkins reminded local fire officials at last week’s Mountain Area Safety Taskforce meeting, the 2016 fire season is approaching quickly. “MAST is about preparation and cooperation,” he stressed. “We do all we can in a systems approach to reduce probable threats ahead.” Confirming Hawkins’ statement, items discussed during the…

Directors of the Fern Valley Water District adopted three new personnel policies that changed retirement and health benefits for new hires and the requirements for what employees must pay into their own retirement. At the March 16 board meeting, directors voted to reduce retirement benefits from the existing 2.7 percent of salary per years served…

A four-man Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit (RMRU) team headed by locals Lee Arnson and Chad Marler fought their way down steep terrain and rugged brush to rescue a first-time deer hunter who had become stranded in the Rouse Ridge area near Anza on Saturday, Oct. 1. “We got the call out around 9 p.m.,” said…