Last week, Hemet Unified School District honored and recognized two employees from every school and the district offices, including two from Idyllwild School. Middle School teacher Bob Leih was designated teacher of the year and Melissa Churchill, the health technician, was classified employee of the year for Idyllwild School. Leih also was recognized as the…

Gender-based violence is the concern of a new group on the Hill and the subject of a public event Tuesday, Dec. 1. Callie Wight, a member of the group, says its formation was not a reaction to incidents on the Hill and stressed that children who live here from high school to later, spend considerable…

The rain season ended June 30, and for the fifth consecutive year, rainfall was below the historical level. The total rainfall recorded at the U.S. Forest Service’s Keenwild Ranger Station was 21.27 inches, which is 82 percent of the long-term average of 25.67 inches. In Idyllwild and Pine Cove, slightly more than 25 inches, or…

Five center-of-town businesses were open Thursday following the previous evening’s evacuation and remained so throughout the evacuation. Fifteen customers graced the Red Kettle restaurant at 9:15 Thursday morning. Most appeared to be residents, but a few were fire-related personnel, including freelance fire photographer Jenny Kirchner. Fire photographer Jenny Kirchner had placed herself in the thick…