After terminating former Idyllwild Water District (IWD) General Manager Michael Creighton’s contract Sept. 25 at a special closed-session meeting, the IWD board approved the hiring of two employees — a field supervisor and general manager — at its Oct. 16 general meeting. The board selected Lake Hemet Municipal Water District’s (LHMWD) Mitchell Freeman to be…
Idyllwild group is one of event’s organizers By Democrats of the DesertContributed Seas are rising. Horrific hurricanes are wreaking havoc. The Salton Sea is shrinking. Drought is bringing raging wildfires to California. One-third of North American birds have disappeared. Climate change is not coming. It’s here. A group of concerned area activists are holding a…
Norm Kyriss, of Hemet, volunteered his time to offer a petition to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom Sunday on Highway 243 near the Idyllwild Shell station. Kyriss read sections of the petition out loud: “Over a decade of proven mismanagement of policies, public monies, resources, lack of leadership, poor schools, crumbling infrastructure, outrageous rise of cost…
Idyllwild Fire Here are some of the calls Idyllwild Fire Protection District responded to recently. • Oct. 12 — Emergency medical service, 11:40 a.m. Highway 243. • Oct. 12 — Medical aid, 12:55 p.m. Highway 243. • Oct. 12 — Medical aid, 3:11 p.m. N. Circle Dr. • Oct. 12 — Motor vehicle accident with…
Two traffic collisions occurred last week on the mountain, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Edward Nunez. On Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 1:05 p.m., two semitrucks collided on McCall Park Road one-half mile west of Highway 74. Mario Lopez, 62 years old of Miami, Florida, was parked off to the side of McCall Park Road…
The Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit (RMRU), a volunteer rescue group overseen by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD), recently became certified in “man tracking.” The training occurred Oct. 11-13 near Hurkey Creek and Apply Canyon in Garner Valley. The training is used to help find lost hikers or someone who has gone missing by tracking…
Caltrans will hold a community meeting from 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29 at Idyllwild School’s gymnasium (26700 Highway 243) to give an update on Highway 243 from Lake Fulmor to Banning. Mountain Disaster Preparedness coordinated the meeting with Idyllwild School. At the last community meeting on Aug. 27, Chief of Public and Media Affairs for…
This year’s Ernie Maxwell Community Spirit Award goes to Phyllis Mueller. “I do consider it such an honor,” said Mueller. “Ernie Maxwell is such a legend and I admire him. Winning this award makes me very happy.” Mueller serves as the chief of staff to Idyllwild’s beloved Mayor Max. Mueller works tirelessly to get the…
The back room of the Idyllwild post office is like an ocean of every form of paper you can imagine. Hundreds of forms, envelops, packages of all shapes and sizes take over every inch of the rooms, except narrow walking paths for the workers to maneuver through. It’s organized chaos, but to the untrained eye,…
Ever been traveling on Highway 74 out to the desert and needed to stop for gas or a snack? Well, that will be possible starting in the spring. The Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians is building a gas station and convenience store, the Santa Rosa Pit Stop. The station and store will be “about…
