Next month will be the mail-in ballot election for three seats on the Idyllwild Fire Protection District Commission. Four candidates — Commission President Jeannine Charles-Stigall, Rhonda Andrewson, Steve Kunkle and Nancy Layton — are vying for three seats on the commission. The Town Crier is interviewing each candidate and sponsoring a Candidate’s Forum in early…

About 100 people came out to Town Hall Thursday night to hear Idyllwild Fire Chief Patrick Reitz, Riverside County Fire Chief John Hawkins and U.S. Forest Service Fire Chief Dan Felix talk about preparing for fire season and then answer questions from the audience. Mountain Communities Fire Safe Council sponsored the informative meeting that lasted…

At its Dec. 16 meeting, the Fern Valley Water District Board of Directors unanimously accepted the 2015-16 audit and heard General Manager Victor Jimenez report that water supply was in good condition. Teaman, Ramirez and Smith of Riverside performed the audit and reported that “the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the respective…

On Saturday, a female hiker, who had injured her ankle in the area of Wellman’s Divide Trail, near Idyllwild, needed a helicopter to get off the mountain. About noon on Saturday, Feb. 11, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department was advised that the hiker required medical assistance and could not continue hiking. Two state park rangers from…

Three years after initially requesting public comment on the proposed May Valley non-motorized trail project for the San Jacinto Ranger District, the U.S. Forest Service has just completed an Environmental Assessment of the project and its alternatives. The May Valley area contains about 55 miles of both unclassified or unauthorized non-system trails and classified or…