Editor’s note: This week begins the Town Crier’s two-part series examining the top 10 stories affecting Idyllwild in 2014. IFPD inundated with grand jury investigations In 2014, the Idyllwild Fire Protection District was again the subject of a Riverside County grand jury investigation. Two reports were issued about the local fire district and possibly a…
Despite an advance of $300,000 on the current-year property tax revenue, the Idyllwild Fire Department’s expenditures through November still exceed revenues by more than $160,000 for this year. This is a substantial reason that Fire Chief Patrick Reitz has recommended the fire commission defer tucking any of the September 2013 proceeds from the cell tower…
Cautious about short-term cash flow, the Idyllwild Fire Protection District Finance Committee still felt comfortable at last week’s meeting to recommend that the commission authorize Fire Chief Patrick Reitz to investigate and evaluate financing to purchase one or two new ambulances. Fire Chief Patrick Reitz told the committee he has had early discussions with several…
With only three of the five members of the Fern Valley Water District Board of Directors present last Friday, the election of new officers and committee assignments for 2015 was postponed until the January meeting. Board President Robert Krieger and Director Charle Wix were absent. The recent rainstorms have improved the ground level of the…
Directors of the Idyllwild Water District re-elected Jim Billman for a second term as president last week. John Cook was re-elected vice president. Despite the recent siege of rainstorms, the district’s Foster Lake reservoir remains empty. Although Strawberry Creek has been flowing in various locations, little surface water has passed near IWD’s diversion site to…
The Idyllwild Downtown Historic District review board met last Thursday afternoon at the Idyllwild Library. The public meeting was scheduled to begin at noon, but with only two board members then present — Chair Warren Monroe and Barbara Jones — a third board member was required for a quorum. Board member Ron Kammeyer did not…
Fire log The Idyllwild Fire Station responded to the following calls, Wednesday to Friday, Dec. 17 to Dec. 19. The station was unable to provide the rest of the week’s report by the paper’s deadline. Idyllwild • Dec. 17 — Medical aid, 11:49 a.m., one patient. • Dec. 19 — Medical aid, 7:13 a.m., one…
The Idyllwild Community Fund Advisory Committee completed a successful year, continuing an almost 20-year tradition of providing grants to local nonprofits. In 1996 a local couple, wishing to remain anonymous, provided the initial testamentary gift that would become the Idyllwild Community Fund. Their intention was that interest from the fund would be used to provide,…
During the Dec. 17 Mountain Area Safety Taskforce meeting, Riverside County Fire Chief John Hawkins re-emphasized the purpose of the county’s Fire Code Committee he established this past summer. “Several people indicated that they were concerned about the potential fire threats posed by unabated properties which had no structures,” he began. While there is some…
