As a former president of the Mountain Communities Fire Safe Council, I find Norm Cassen’s recent critical letters a bit hard to stomach. He smears the hard-working volunteers and staff with innuendos of financial conflicts of interest and corruption without making a direct accusation, which would amount to slander. Having been one of the founding…
65 years ago – 1950 Idyllwild residents performing in the Ramona pageant were Flo Wendelken as Margarita, Lee Dutton as Juan Canito and Boy Scout troup members as Indian dancers. 60 years ago – 1955 At the regular meeting of the Idyllwild Fire Protection District, commissioners set a tentative budget of $21,200 for the…
I’ve come to enjoy washing small amounts of dishes by hand because the window over the sink affords lovely views of the flora and fauna on our back deck. I also enjoy pondering issues. So while standing there over the weekend, I considered ways to reduce our water consumption by 25 percent. I remembered our…
Editor: We thought Town Crier readers may be interested in an apparent identification error in the latest edition of the paper (Vol. 70, No. 16). The salamanders in the photo on page 19 are not Tiger Salamanders as captioned, but are actually Large-blotched Ensatina (Ensatina eschscholtzii klauberi), another species of salamander in a different genus…
Editor: Was reading last week’s edition of your lovely paper and my eye caught an error in biological identification of the pair of salamanders stalking page 19. The caption claims “Two Tiger Salamanders” when, in fact, they are both the spotted subspecies of the Large-blotched Ensatina (Ensatina eschscholtzii subspecies klauberi). Since moving to Blue Oak…
Editor: Two weekends ago, my husband I watched “Wild” about a young lady trying to sort out her life by hiking the Pacific Crest Trail that runs from Mexico to Canada. Part of the trail runs through our mountains so Idyllwild is an ideal place to stop, refresh and replenish. It is now PCT season…
In 2003, Idyllwild Arts Foundation revised its Master Plan for the school to include new additions, such as a dining hall and a dormitory, among other things. The revision required OKs from county and more local agencies, such as the fire department. Any contractor who has dealt with the county on building issues (Eric Townsend,…
Q. What should I answer when my wife asks, “Does this dress make me look fat?” -Donald, Long Beach A. Don’t even look. Just bellow “NO!” immediately, with great confidence that you’ve found the correct answer. Q. What is my safe answer when my wife asks, “How do I look in this dress?” -Irwin, Palos…
Editor: Everyone wants to reduce the risk of fire. So, why is there so much controversy swirling around the committee writing new rules. It’s because of the way its members are going about it, violating basic principles, principles of conduct we all believe in. Conflicts of interest are bad. Financial conflicts of interest can be…
65 years ago – 1950 The U.S. Forest Service was finishing plans for the Lake Fulmor dedication ceremony. 60 years ago – 1955 First- and second-graders from Idyllwild School were taken by bus to Hemet for polio vaccine shots. 55 years ago – 1960 “Biggest thing since the Inn burned down!” commented Jim Johnson as…
