A Pine Cove meeting created frustration last week when the Riverside County representatives did not have adequate budget details to explain which projects were included the budget for fiscal year 2017-18 and the final expenditures for last year. Pine Cove’s County Service Area 38 Advisory Committee met Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 10; this was its first…
Joel Palmer announces plan to resign as director Despite good news about its water supplies and budget resources, the Pine Cove Water District directors ended their Jan. 10 meeting on a sad note. Director Joel Palmer announced his resignation from the board for a health reason. His last day as director is Jan. 31. His…
Lake Hemet’s two nesting bald eagles stared back at volunteers during Saturday morning’s bald eagle count. “We saw both eagles, one sitting at the edge (not in) of the nest and the second one perched in a tree nearby. They stayed put the whole hour we were watching,” said U.S. Forest Service biologist Ann Bowers. No…
Winter appeared to arrive last week. At least Mt. San Jacinto Peak and some higher-level elevation neighborhoods, such as upper Fern Valley, Humber Park and Pine Cove, briefly saw a few inches of snow. The center of Idyllwild was drenched from the rainfall, but snow was noticeably absent, as were the “snow-play visitors.” No winner…
Mountain Area Safety Taskforce members last week discussed concerns that the county grinding station may be limiting the size of trees accepted at the Highway 243 site. Gregg Bratcher, state forester division chief and MAST chair, was told the grinding station was not accepting wood greater than 10 inches diameter at breast height. No one…
As a result of the precipitation last week, and the possibility of some more Friday, the U.S. Forest Service is considering conducting some prescribed burns on the Hill. If a burn is initiated, it is would either be on Thomas Mountain in Garner Valley or along the Pine Cove and West Ridge Fuel breaks in…
Last week, officials from the state Department of Water Resources conducted the annual January snow pack survey. But unlike January 2017, DWR found little snow pack in the Sierra Nevada mountains. At the usual measuring site, they found some snow with the water equivalent of less than half an inch. This is about 3 percent…
On Thursday, Jan. 4, Christopher Huntley, 47, of Idyllwild, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon (a non-firearm) or force to cause great bodily injury. Judge Kelly Hansen sentenced Huntley to three years of probation, including 180 days in the custody of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. He was given…
At 5:40 p.m. Friday, Jan. 5, Jessica Nowlin, 30 of Idyllwild, was driving an orange 1967 VW bug on South Circle Drive, south of Village Center Drive, when her vehicle swerved and collided with a rock, according to the California Highway Patrol report of Officer Michael Bell. Upon investigation of the incident, Bell arrested Nowlin…
Sheriff’s log The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Hemet Station responded to the following calls Sunday to Saturday, Dec. 31 to Jan. 6. Idyllwild • Dec. 31 — Alarm call, 3 a.m., North Circle Dr. Handled by deputy. • Dec. 31 — Alarm call, 5:30 a.m., North Circle Dr. Handled by deputy. • Dec. 31 —…
