Idyllwild Town Crier

Rainfall during the past two weeks was not sufficient to rescind Gov. Jerry Brown’s drought declaration. Less than an inch of rain fell on the Hill since Jan. 31. The Keenwild Ranger Station recorded just 0.28 inches on Friday, Jan. 31, and another 0.6 inches from Thursday night, Feb. 6, through Friday morning, Feb. 7. George Tate recorded just...

Third-place finisher for Hemet Unified School District’s 37th-annual Spelling Bee is Joshua Gray, a seventh grader at Idyllwild School … The National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners has certified Dr. Charles “Chip” A. Schelly, an Idyllwild chiropractor, as a medical examiner. He is authorized to provide medical examinations to commercial motor vehicle drivers in accordance with the regulations of the...

I often get questions as to whether payments a client has received are taxable and the answers are often surprising. Many taxpayers are receiving Form 1099-C reporting cancellation of debt income. In general, cancellation of debt is taxable. Several exclusions are available that you will want to discuss with your tax preparer. Often Form 1099-C is inaccurate, especially when reporting...

Like a lot of people, I was fascinated by the almost complete shutdown of Atlanta from 2.3 inches of snow last week. It was a failure of government to manage a threat to public safety, which cost millions of dollars and some people their lives. But the actors were not irresponsible people. They thought they were making the best decisions...

The number of people dying from influenza continued to grow last week. In California, 52 more deaths were attributed to this season’s flu called H1N1. Nationwide the mortality in 122 U.S. cities exceeded the epidemic threshold. For California, 147 deaths have been confirmed as influenza-related and another 44 deaths are under investigation, according to county, state and federal reports. In...

Planning for the fifth-annual Lemon Lily Festival is underway. Shelley Kibby, new festival chair, is organizing the two-day festival for the weekend of July 12 and 13; but the whole event will kick off Friday night with the traditional Lemon Lily Launch. The 2014 festival’s mission is to educate the public of the plight of the lemon lily and to...

The citizen members of the Idyllwild Fire Protection District Finance Committee are Chris Davis and Susan Weisbart. David Gogerty was chosen as an alternate citizen member. The commission established the Finance Committee in November. Besides two citizen members, two commissioners and the fire chief will compose the committee. Its function is to assist the chief in preparing a budget for...

Last Saturday, Jeff Dvorak of Palm Springs, assumed the chair of the Idyllwild Arts Foundation. He was the vice-chair and succeeds Faith Raiguel, who was IAF chair since 2008. Similar to Raiguel, Dvorak brings a financial background to the foundation. After a 32-year career, including 20 as a partner in the Los Angeles Lead Tax Services Group, Dvorak retired as...

65 years ago - 1949 The “Year of the Big Snow” continued; the chapel at Idyllwild Pines collapsed under the load and icicles hung from roofs in solid sheets. 60 years ago - 1954 Several huge crates arrived at the County Park. They contained the prefab makings of a 30-foot observation tower. 55 years ago - 1959 It was announced that the U.S. Geological...

I believe that your self-education on, and then involvement in, the future of Idyllwild Fire’s dispatch services is critical to all of us who reside and visit the Hill communities. The current dispatch service with Riverside County Fire is a superior service and offers a vital skill our rural communities can’t afford to lose. That skill is the ability for...