Jessie Ornelas-Mares splits her time as school counselor between two of the most highly regarded schools in the Hemet Unified School District, Idyllwild School and Cottonwood Elementary. “I feel very honored and privileged to have this opportunity,” said Ornelas-Mares, of serving both distinguished schools as a first-year school counselor. The longtime Hemet resident said she…
Diana “De” Eskew easily won election to a full-term as director of the Pine cove Water District. She garnered 171 votes or 45.8 percent of the total. “That makes me feel really good,” she said when told of the results. Fellow Director Tim Lange, he was appointed in July to fill former board president Mike…
The first vote totals have arrived for the Idyllwild Water District election. Far in front is challenger Steven Kunkle with 249 votes or 33.2 percent. Second place is June Rockwell with 143 votes, but Jim Billman, IWD president, is third, only one vote behind Rockwell. Incumbents Dean Lattin and Warren Monroe are trailing with 120…
Taking out a mortgage on the Idyllwild Fire Station for capital projects — and salaries and benefits — may be in the future of the Idyllwild Fire Protection District. The IFPD Finance Committee discussed the idea at its Wednesday, Aug.19, meeting and decided to explore possible terms — interest rate, length and payments — in…
September is National Preparedness Month, and the Mountain Disaster Preparedness group wants Hill residents to prepare for a significantly wet fall and winter. The National Weather Service has forecast that a major El Niño will arrive this fall and continue to affect local weather through spring 2016. On Thursday, the NWS Climate Prediction Center wrote…
Anyone who was near the Rustic Theatre last Friday night knows there were big doings in town. The fire truck outside flying the big American flag set the tone for the afternoon and evening events all in the honor of 12-year-old James Bachmann and his fight against brain cancer. There was something for all ages….
Last week, the Riverside County Superior Court announced several new systems to make obtaining court services easier and more convenient for the public. Public kiosk enhancement Court customers now have the ability to make a criminal payment at the public kiosks stationed in the court’s clerical offices. This enhances a system that previously took only traffic…
The Riverside County Board of Supervisors has approved the request from the Idyllwild Fire Protection District for an advance of its property tax revenue. IFPD requested an advance of $350,000 from the county in June. The advance will be repaid, with interest, in December and January when Riverside County makes its first allocation of property…
In the past week, Riverside County health officials have confirmed three cases of West Nile virus this year. The first two are a 37-year-old man and 53-year-old woman, according to Dr. Cameron Kaiser, public health officer. The individuals live in western Riverside County. Both patients were hospitalized but are expected to recover. The third case…
Riverside County 3rd District Supervisor Chuck Washington granted the local Forest Folk $2,500 for their shuttle bus service program. These are Community Improvement Designation funds and will be used to pay drivers and purchase gasoline for the shuttle service. Earlier this year, Forest Folk received a $157,000, three-year grant from the Riverside County Transportation Commission…
