Metalachi band rocks Beer Fest

50 CENTS
Weekly Edition
July 27 – August 2, 2016
Volume 2, Issue 46
www.thedesertreview.com
Metalachi band rocks Beer Fest
IID adopts net
billing program
for solar
By: Page Editor
Metalachi entertained over a thousand attendees during the second annual Gran Plaza Beer Fest. Photo by: Stella Jimenez
By: Stella Jimenez
CALEXICO — With a few specialty brewers, coupled with
all you can drink beer and
great performances by rock
bands like Metalachi and La
Cachimba, the Second Annual
Beer Fest held at Gran Plaza
Outlet entertained over 1,000
people Friday, July 22.
“This year’s beer tasting
definitely has surpassed last
year’s,” said Celeste Jimenez,
the customer service manager
for Gran Plaza Outlets. “We are
very happy with the amount
of people that have attended.
It’s approximately 9:30, and we
already hit our 1,000 visitor
mark. It’s wonderful to see people attending and enjoying the
events we put together, which of
course, benefit our merchants.”
The event featured 40 brands
of beer included Samuel Adams,
Heineken, Guinness, Miller
Light, Blue Moon, Tecate XX
Lager, and Coors Light from
over six breweries including
Claypool Distributing, Humble
Farm Brewing Company,
Early Girl Creations, Founders
Brewing, Lagunita Brewing
Company, Muxa Brewing, and
Saint Archer Brewing Company.
“All I can say is wow!” said
Crystal Villaseñor, an El Centro
resident. “This is much nicer
than last year’s beer tasting. This
year they (Grand Plaza Outlets)
gave us this little beer mug and
we are able to sample as many
beers as we want versus last
year, when we were only given
ten tickets to sample ten beers
and any additional samplings
we had to purchase. Definitely
this year we got more for our
money.”
The event also featured a
wide variety of foods including
traditional carne asada tacos,
fried shrimp, nachos and funnel cakes.
“I’m here with some of my
friends, and we are definitely
having a great time sampling
the many beers” said Fernanda
Robles.
See Metalachi, A3
El Centro resident, David Dhillon, attended the Republican convention in Cleveland, Ohio as an Imperial Valley delegate. Dhillon is
pictured with the Republican nominated candidate for President of
the United States, Donald J. Trump. Courtesy photo
Proud Member of
PMH announces new and innovative CT scans
By: Stella Jimenez
California Newspaper
Publishers Association
INDEX
Comic-Con
Sports
Sports Talk
Communities
Obituaries
Classifieds
Crossword Puzzle
Calendar of Events
A2
B1
B2
B3
B3
B4
B4
B4
BRAWLEY — An upgrade
can go a long way in improving patient care especially
when it comes to the radiation
dosage received during X-ray
computed tomography (CT)
imaging, according to physicians and techs at Pioneers
Memorial Health Care District
(PMHD).
That concern is why the
Pioneers hospital and medical center, an affiliate of the
Scripps Health Network,
announced a recent CT
upgrade in May. The system
is called a Toshiba ENCORE
VeloCT.
Reportedly, CT images can
(L-R) Joel Birdsong, M.D., Dr. Curtis Cammarata, Bobby Lira, and
Derek Tapia talked about the benefits of the hospital’s upgraded Toshiba ENCORE VeloCT. Photo by: Stella Jimenez
provide an enormous amount
of information in a short
amount of time that tradi-
tional radiographs (X-rays)
simply cannot duplicate.
See PMH, A3
During its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday, July 19,
the Imperial Irrigation District
Board of Directors voted to
approve a Net Billing program
for solar customers, which
will serve as a successor to the
district’s current Net Energy
Metering program that was
mandated under state law.
“The new Net Billing program will ensure that rooftop solar installations in IID’s
service area continue to grow
while at the same time reducing
cross-customer subsidization
between those with and without solar,” said board President
Norma Sierra Galindo. “After
hearing from our customers
and the solar industry about
the importance of adopting a
successor program, the board
felt it was prudent to adopt the
program before it today.”
Participation levels in the
new program will not be
capped as they were under
original mandates that dictated IID set the program
to 5 percent of the district’s
peak load, or 50.2 megawatts.
After a sharp increase in solar
interconnection requests,
IID reached its Net Energy
Metering program cap in the
first quarter of 2016.
Customers
c u r r e nt l y
enrolled in the original Net
Energy Metering program will
continue to reap the benefits
of that program for 20 years,
based on the date their system
were first placed into service.
Under the new Net Billing
program, IID will meter
the electricity delivered and
received to the grid in kilowatt-hours after the customer
serves his or her own load. For
those times when a solar system is not entirely offsetting
the customer’s load, the district
will charge customers for the
energy consumed from IID at
its regular retail rate.
For those times when a
solar system is producing
excess power over what the
customer is consuming, the
customer will receive compensation from IID at a rate equal
to the amount the district pays
under its lowest cost executed
solar energy contract. The district will financially “net” these
amounts on a monthly basis.
Prior to board action,
IID solicited customer input
during two public rate hearings
in the Coachella and Imperial
valleys. IID staff also presented the new program to the
Energy Consumers Advisory
Committee, which is comprised of ratepayers from both
valleys.
|A-2| July 27, 2016
www.thedesertreview.com
Valley geeks make annual pilgrimage
to San Diego Comic-Con
By: Noel Bravo
SAN DIEGO — Comic-Con International is an annual event celebrating all things
comic and pop culture, and where geeks from all over the world unite. The mega convention draws thousands from actors to writers, artists to video game programmers,
and of course, the faithful nerds and geeks who flock to the San Diego Convention
Center to bask to in the glory of everything SDCC has to offer.
Comic-Con also drew the attention of a handful of Imperial Valley residents
willing to make the drive west to experience the opportunity to meet their favorite
celebrities, comic book writers and artists, look for new collectibles to add to their
shelves, or to simply to have an excuse to dress up as their favorite characters- when
it’s not Halloween.
One such person is Luis Herrera of Calexico. For Herrera, it has been five years
since he last attended Comic-Con, and he has seen the change from the first visit.
“Well it was a great time,” said Herrera. “(It has) been five years since I’ve
been there and it has grown crazy in popularity and I’m lovi n g
the
attention and all the events going on. Just an amazing time.”
Herrera was excited to see what Marvel and
DC Comics had in store at the Con, as well as
the popular “Game of Thrones”
TV
series. What really interested him the
most, however, were big announcements
from Marvel Studios regarding the upcoming “Dr. Strange” film. Overall,
Herrera’s SDCC experience was a
fun one.
“Just being there with friends
and my loved ones having a
blast, enjoying what we are
all there to do, enjoy comics,
games, TV shows, and show
the love that we have for all
these things that make Comic-Con such
an amazing experience,” said Herrera.
“Everyone that enjoys any of those,
should experience it once.”
Herrera was not the only Valley native to attend
SDCC. Jill Kennedy of El Centro made her fifth year
attendance. This year, however, was different from the previous
four. She attended as a regular badge holder whereas in the past, Kennedy
attended Comic-Con as a volunteer worker.
As a volunteer, Kennedy was required to perform several tasks in an almost security-like manner.
“There are several things that happen, actually, once you get into the volunteer
pool, so to speak,” said Kennedy.
“You kind of wait for them to give you an assignment, and it can be anything as
crappy as what they call ‘crowd control,’ essentially telling people which direction to
head to to get into the line, to more involved things such as guiding a panel speaker
back and fourth to the right room that they’re going to be holding a seminar in,”
Kennedy explained.
While the idea of attending Comic-Con as a volunteer to get a free pass sounds like
fun, at times it is far from that. Kennedy spoke of her past experiences as a volunteer
at the event.
“It’s hard to be unappreciative when you’re getting a free day at Comic-Con.
However, you don’t often have control of your schedule, you know, it’s kind of up to
them- they try to give you as best of time that works for what you want to do, but they
can’t always guarantee that. So that can be kind of a drag, and then the second thing
is they require three hours of your time.”
Time commitment and lack of control can damper the experience, but for
Kennedy, it was still a neat opportunity that offered its share of positives such as a
free t-shirt, a whole day completely free to come into the convention without having
to purchase a badge to gain entrance, and best of all, the chance to meet all kinds of
people.
Next year’s Comic-Con will once again be held at the San Diego Convention
Center July 20 – 23, 2017. As long as there is a Comic-Con is San Diego, Imperial
Valley geeks will continue to make that pilgrimage to the drink in the glory of all
things nerdy.
Comic-Con 2016: The outer walls
By: Katherine Ramos
SAN DIEGO — Comic-Con 2016 sold out within 45 minutes of the ticket sale
server launch — which made over 130,000 people happy, but left thousands more
out in the cold.
Fortunately, Comic-Con and San Diego had planned to bring the inside-the-convention experience outside to these ticket-less people.
Due to the convention center crowds, Comic-Con has expanded outward into the
streets of the Gaslamp Quarter in Downtown San Diego, bringing the excitement
and spirit of the Con to those unable to procure tickets to the event itself.
Interactive exhibits and carnivals spread from the convention
center
into downtown. Petco Park even hosted
members of the “Impractical Jokers.” The
Petco black top was filled with booths
and food trucks. Television programmer
Adult Swim held its own small carnival
behind the convention center for
wristband holders.
The San Diego Central
Library also got into the the
act of Comic-Con, opening
to people who didn’t have
badges, such as AJ Osborn
and her son and daughter, who
made the trip from North County
San Diego.
“The convention center is too small
of a venue and too crowded with people, so it’s good that it’s spread out,”
said Osborn. “My daughter wanted to dress
up, has been taking pictures, and doing
Pokemon hunting.”
Cosplayers is a contraction of the words “costume
play,” and is a performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific
character.
They were everywhere, more than within the convention center due
to overcrowding on the exhibit hall floor. The outer areas of the convention center
were a more popular place to spot costumes.
“It’s cool to see all of these characters out here, people really get into it and dress
up,” said Eddie Pina from San Diego, one of many residents who came out to see
everything.
Outside, thousands mingled in the streets of the Gaslamp Quarter. Some celebrities were even wandering the area — like Norman Reedus from AMC’s “The Walking
Dead” and Jaime Alexander from NBC’s “Blindspot.” Interactive exhibits were set up
for fans to walk through. The “Mr. Robot” was particularly popular with the crowds.
The anxiety of being ticketless dimmed as “outside the convention” activities
offered nonstop fun day and night. Many fans shared their approval at how easily
and eagerly San Diego has embraced Comic-Con year after year.
“We love it,” said the Colyar family from Arizona, “All of the interactive exhibits,
and it’s just a good experience.”
The downtown district definitely makes bank on the crowds that attend every
year. Some places deck out their establishments in comic book decorations. Some
bars and restaurants offered discounts if someone presented their badge. This year,
with the Pokemon GO craze still going strong, there were even more places capitalizing on the crowds.
“I believe the outside events are growing more in popularity with a lot more to
do for those who couldn’t buy tickets,” said Nathan Theuret, a Brawley resident who
likes to attend just for the outside activities.
“I think it’s getting better every year, ” said Sonny Hernandez from San Diego, one
resident who was lucky enough to be inside Comic-Con four years ago. “It’s pretty
good for all the people who don’t get to go inside (they) can experience Comic-Con
on the outside.”
|A-3| July 27, 2016
www.thedesertreview.com
Supervisors rescind own pay raises after public outcry
By: Stella Jimenez
EL CENTRO — Reacting to outrage among community members, county staff and several
bargaining units, the Imperial
County Board of Supervisors
decided to revoke their own controversial 34 percent board compensation pay increase during
Tuesday July 19, board meeting.
According to Rodolfo Aguayo,
the Imperial County Director of
Human Resources Department,
the human resources, in conjunction with the County Executive
Office, met with a chairman-appointed ad hoc committee to
evaluate the current compensation structure for the Board of
Supervisors. Ad hoc committee
members included Supervisors
Ryan Kelley and Raymond
Castillo.
“In considering a restructure, the compensation of other
boards of supervisors in other
counties, including Kern, Orange,
Riverside, San Bernardino, San
Luis Obispo and Ventura, was
studied which showed that the
average monthly compensation
for the comparison boards is
$10,203.12 — approximately 54
percent more than this (Imperial
County) board’s compensation of
$4,697,” explained Aguayo.
Similarly, a review of the compensation for other Imperial
County elected officials shows an
average monthly compensation
of $10,209. This is also approximately 54 percent more than the
Imperial County board members’
compensation.
The proposed compensation
increase would have moved the
Board of Supervisor’s monthly
member compensation from the
current flat amount of $4,697 to
40 percent ($6,301.37) of the regular annual salary for a judge of
the Superior Court of the State of
California, resulting in a 34 percent pay increase.
“The Board of Supervisors
meets here on a regular basis,”
said Raymond Castillo, District 5
Metalachi
(Continued from A1)
The Gran Plaza Outlets
worked hand-in-hand with the
city of Calexico, the Calexico
Police Department and
Homeland Security to ensure
everyone’s safety, according to
organizers.
“I came to see Metalachi, but
PMH
(Continued from A1)
However, while patients can be
scanned rapidly with more detail
in a CT image, the radiation dose
to patients that come with these
scans is substantially more than
traditional radiographs, according to physicians. This has created
a dilemma for imaging technologists and physicians attempting to adhere to the principle of
ALARA (As Low As Reasonably
Achievable).
Frank Salazar, PMHD director
of marketing, said with the new
software, Pioneers Healthcare
District has the most advanced
imaging system in the Valley
keeping the facility at par with
new technology.
Pioneer Memorial Healthcare
District COO Steve Campbell
said CT imaging has become the
main diagnostic study for emergency room physicians and regular care physicians.
“It’s the same machine, but
it’s enhanced through software
significantly grading it an ‘A’
machine,” said Campbell. “This
allows us to go longer without
having to take a second CT which
obviously is a lot of expense to the
organization for that.”
According to Radiology Clinic
Coordinator Joel Birdsong, the
Toshiba ENCORE VeloCT’s technology improves the CT scan’s
supervisor. “What you see here is
probably ten percent of our total
duties and responsibilities as a
county supervisor. The 90 percent
you don’t see.”
Jack Terrazas, chairman of the
board, agreed with Castillo and
added the numerous hours the
board spends preparing for meetings. Terrazas said he suggested
the board look into the matter.
“I was the one who pushed
this thing (pay increase) to come
through to the table for discussion,” said Terrazas. “This issue is
here for discussion to see what the
feelings are from the public before
the supervisor,s because this is an
item that is always mentioned and
never floats because of bad political timing. There’s always bad
political timing. But I think if you
want to have the proper timing,
this is probably it.”
Ruth Duarte, a representative for the Teamsters Local 54,
approached the podium during
Tuesday’s meeting and expressed
strong opposition for the item.
Duarte said she believed timing
didn’t matter, and it was the fact
that the resolution was written
incorrectly.
“We elected you to be there,”
said Duarte. “You guys (supervisors) ran, and I don’t think it was
because of your salaries, because
if that was the case, I would have
run for that seat. The employees
also work 115 percent and just
received a two and a half percent
pay increase July 1, and you did
too. In that case, we too would like
to have a 40 percent pay increase.
I think you should throw it in the
trash and make a compensation
study for everyone.”
District 4 Supervisor Ryan
Kelley replied to Duarte and said
he was not in favor of the compensation amount but was in favor
of removing themselves (board)
from the yearly county employee
compensation negotiations.
Duarte also suggested placing
the item on the November’s voting ballot, providing the community the opportunity to vote in
favor of against the action.
Professional Employee Group
Representative Miguel Coronel
mimicked Duarte’s comments,
commended the Board for their
hard work but also proposed the
board do an overall comparison
for all county employees before
making a decision.
“We work hard for our positions and can assure we provide
one hundred percent and even
more for the positions that we
hold” said Coronel. “Just like you,
we also compared our positions
with other County employees and
have expressed these differences
in the past and we were turned
down from that comparison. The
question here is, what justifies
you, the Board of Supervisors
to compare yourselves to those
counties and not the employee
professional group?”
Subsequent to the numerous comments and concerns
Supervisor Ryan Kelley suggested
the Board refrain from making a
decision until a thorough study
on compensation for all county
employees is conducted in the
near future.
Supervisors John Renison,
District 1, and Michael Kelley,
District 3, agreed with Ryan’s suggestion and said they would bring
the item back to the board once
a full evaluation was completed.
“I have a very deep passion
for Imperial County, and I have
a passion for future of Imperial
County, and I have a passion
for the county employees,” said
Michael Kelley. “When I ran for
the Board of Supervisors I wasn’t
looking for a paycheck, I just
wanted to do the right thing for
thing for the County of Imperial.
It doesn’t bother me to get the
same raise as any other county
employee. I think it’s fair. But I do
know the amount of stress and
workload this board goes through
and I, for one, couldn’t live with
giving myself a raise, but I do
agree with Mr. Kelley’s suggestion
and if we are going to evaluate this
position, then we should evaluate
all positions.”
once I got here, the beer was just
too tempting,” said Viridiana
Gomez, a Calexico resident. “I
normally don’t drink, but I have
sampled a few that I might just
think of buying once in a while.”
Local rock group La
Cachimba opened the concert
with its traditional music, however, when the group Metalachi
took the stage, the lights dimmed
and the crown went wild singing
along to the unique beat of both
rock and mariachi music.
“This group is amazing,” said
Carlos Santos, a Yuma resident.
“This is the first time I’ve seen
them perform and I am in complete shock. I just don’t know
how they can play both genres
of music, mix it into one and
sound so well together. This
group really rocks.”
image quality with 40 percent less
radiation than the previous version and patients can be scanned
faster with much more detail
while increasing the radiology
department’s workflow.
“CT scans are a lot more popular now and are being used by
doctors now quite often,” said
Birdsong. “When we take a CT
scan the picture appears very
grainy, but once the software
(ENCORE VeloCT’s) clears it
up, you get a perfect diagnostic
image at 40 percent less radiation
and because the processing time
is faster, (and) this also increases
our workflow.”
Birdsong said there is no exact
number of CT images a person
should have during their lifetime,
however, he did say it was safe to
say once every six months would
be within normal range.
Dr. Curtis Cammarata, M.D.,
a radiologist, stressed the numerous benefits patients will obtain
with the new technology.
“There is definitely faster output, less waiting time for patients
and less of a radiation dose,” said
Dr. Cammarata. “These benefits
are clearly all centered around the
patient.”
Another important feature
is the improvement of the Dose
Check software. This software
shows the radiation dose the
patient will receive before the
scan, and will alert the technologist if the dose of the scan is
more than necessary. This allows
the technologist to make any
adjustment to lower at the dose
and adhere to the principles of
ALARA.
PMHD Chief Executive
Officer Larry Lewis said providing
the necessary tools for caregivers and physicians and identifying the needs are enhancements
Pioneers Memorial is currently
undergoing.
“There are a lot of opportunities out there with the shortages
of physicians, so we’ve been trying
to bring more great physicians in
here and have overall plans that
are just being conceived of and
a few that are rolled out already,”
said Lewis. “It’s really centered
around how do we provide tools
for our caregivers and where
those needs are at this time.”
Lewis also said the recent
merger with Scripps Health
Network has played a key role in
the PMH enhancements.
“Scripps has helped us move
forward and have been a very
good resource with all of their
experience,” said Lewis. “They
have certainly helped us continue
to improve our quality. I recently
learned that we (PMH) are scored
very highly when it comes to our
peers here in the Valley and San
Diego with our clinical processes
that are reported nationally.”
Lewis added that PMHD will
bring in other new technology
within the year.
Brawley citizens push back
about courthouse closing
By: Vincent Osuna
BRAWLEY — Many concerned citizens and members of the local
community held an emergency meeting Tuesday, July 19 to discuss
and fight against the closure of Brawley’s Superior Courthouse.
With the announcement of a new, 47,000-square-foot courthouse set to be built and completed in El Centro by 2019, it was
also announced the Brawley courthouse will close once the new
courthouse is open. The emergency meeting, which took place at
the recently added event facility in Brownie’s Diner, consisted of
many questions from concerned residents about how the closing of
the Brawley courthouse will affect the local community.
Ryan E. Kelley, District 4 County Supervisor, was a guest speaker
at the meeting and made it clear that the Imperial County Court
System has no control of the decision locally and that they are being
told by the state to do this.
“We’ve had conversations with the judges,” said Kelley, “and made
it clear that the county, our position is that we want to maintain
services in Brawley.”
“Some of the things that they brought up about the courthouse
here in Brawley is that there are some security issues,” explained
Kelley. “Those brought from their holding cell to the courtroom,
there are security concerns about them mingling with the judges,
the bailiffs, the court staff, and the clerks. The county has already
expressed this to the court system in Imperial County, we will help
them address those security concerns to be able to continue to operate here. We also want to discuss the lease agreement because we
want them to be able to maintain the services here. We would actually like to see them expand to a greater use of the facility.”
The floor was then opened to questions and comments from people present at the meeting. A citizen asked why the state is leaving
the community with one court and no efficient way of getting to the
new courthouse.
Another used the meeting to ask why the local transit system
cannot be relied on throughout the day compared to larger cities.
“If you live in Bombay Beach, Palo Verde, or Salton City, then
you’re going to have to find transportation to get to El Centro,” stated
Kelley. “We did share the same concern to the state court system
representative and to the local court administrator. They are putting
the burden on the citizens that live outside of the El Centro area,
especially the North End to take a bus from Niland to El Centro,
that’s an all-day affair. It’s about two hours to get to El Centro.”
A concern brought up was if any studies had been done to see if
the cost of maintaining the Brawley courthouse compared to building the new courthouse in El Centro. It was also believed that the
local courthouse in Brawley plays a big role in the local business
community.
“Economically, the North End of the county needs the courts
because of the business activity it generates,” explained Mercedes
Wheeler, a local attorney and the main speaker of the meeting. “The
court employees and visitors, whether voluntary or involuntary,
when they are here, interact with our businesses. They purchase
products, they shop at our local stores, such as Imperial Hardware,
Vons, Walmart, and AT&T. They use our car washes, they eat at
our restaurants, sometimes they even sleep in our hotels such as the
Brawley Inn. The cities of the North End need the tax money that
these visitors generate. It helps pay for the fire services, the police, the
streets, the city maintenance. Although the money that they spend
here does not appear substantial, my father-in-law used to say, ‘If
you take care of the pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves.’”
The meeting was also the starting point of organizing a plan to
stop the closure of the Brawley courthouse.
“They’ve told us that in 2019 is when they’d be moving in (to
the new facility in El Centro). We asked that they at least give us 12
months prior notice,” said Kelley. “We talked to the presiding judge
and the court administrator. Give us 12 months prior notice before
you make that move so that we can come to the table and be able
to make some kind of changes in Brawley that would mitigate their
costs and be able to keep the operations in Brawley. They agreed they
would do that for us.”
|A-4| July 27, 2016
www.thedesertreview.com
Imperial’s Sun Community hosts
grand re-opening after remodeling
By: Stella Jimenez
IMPERIAL — In an effort to
provide a state-of-the-art facility and focus on member service, the Sun Community Credit
Union in Imperial celebrated
its grand re-opening Tuesday,
July 19 after seven months of
remodeling.
The Imperial branch has been
in operation for the last twenty
years and was due for a major
overhaul, according to credit
union officials.
“Nobody else has anything
like what we have,” said Dale
Johnson, Chief Executive Officer
for Sun Community Credit
Union. “We are here for the
members, we are here for the
community, and this is a reflec-
Sun Community CEO Dale Johnson (center) along with branch
managers and employees cuts the ribbon during the grand re-opening
ceremony of the Imperial branch. Photo by: Stella Jimenez
tion of our commitment. We
turned this building into something beautiful.”
The over-all interior remodeling was completed by Tim
Walter Gaddis Contractors
(TWG) and consists of three
new offices, a safe vault, waiting
area, five tellers’ stations and an
employee lounge.
“The remodeling was a total
transformation,” said Socorro
Diaz, branch manager for Sun
Community. “Our customers
have mentioned they are very
happy with the remodeling
and feel this (branch) is partly
theirs because it is part of the
community.”
According to Johnson, out
of the eight branches located
within the Imperial Valley, the
Imperial branch is the busiest. Other locations include
Calipatria, Brawley, three in El
Centro, Holtville and Calexico.
“We have a total of eight
branches in the Valley and the
automatic teller machine (ATM)
at this branch is by far the most
popular one,” said Johnson. “We
are the only financial institution
that serves the entire Valley.”
Sun Community offers a variety of services including checking accounts, savings accounts,
auto loans, certificates of
deposit, commercial loans, real
estate loans and consumer loans.
“We appreciate the support
from our customers and look
forward to serving the community for many to come,” said
Johnson.
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|B-1| July 27, 2016
SPORTS
www.thedesertreview.com
Valley rises to challenge to restore beloved softball field
By: Gus Garcia
EL CENTRO — Debbie Pittman
Field has seen its fair share of
softball action over its 50 years
of existence - along with considerable wear and tear. With
the 2016 Imperial Valley Girls
Softball League season around
the corner, IVGSL president
James Clark, the City of El
Centro, and private citizens of El
Centro and the Imperial Valley
have been hard at work upgrading three of the four softball
fields at the Pittman Park.
“I could not be more proud to
be a part of our community after
seeing a project like this come
together. No matter how hot and
uncomfortable it was, we always
had a crowd of volunteers. No
matter how busy the local businesses were, they fit us into their
busy schedule,” said Clark of the
communities willingness to contribute to the field upgrades.
Having been built in 1964,
the field has hosted many youth
league tournaments and games,
as well as a women’s league, continuously providing El Centro
families a place to execute their
craft and love for softball. There
are currently four softball fields
in the Debbie Pittman Park
complex, including a newly
rebuilt field for the under-six
athletes.
For more than a year, Clark
has been working with the
city to provide the fields with
upgrades and improvements.
Some fields had become just
dirt and rocks, forcing games
to be canceled during even light
winds because of low visibility
and asthmatic issues.
Enough was enough and
in the beginning of June multiple companies and citizens
throughout the valley stepped
up and began to lend a helping
hand.
“The City of El Centro was
digging for extra budget money
to help us out. We even had
businesses calling us and wanting to donate materials. You
don’t find that kind of support
in many places,” said Clark.
Jimmy Abatti working hard while leveling the infield dirt at the Debbie Pittman softball fields in El Centro. Photo by: Gus Garcia
Notable donations of
time and supplies to the field
upgrades include:
Elms Equipment - donated
County presents check to Holtville high school cheerleaders
EL CENTRO — The Imperial County Board of Supervisors approved sponsorship and presented the Holtville High School Cheerleaders with a $5,000 check to purchase cheerleading uniforms during their July 19,
regular board meeting. Photo by: Stella Jimenez
equipment needed for the
renovations
Jeremy Havens (Havens and
Sons Trucking) - donating time,
equipment and vehicles, plus
purchased and delivered soil for
the field upgrades
BPS - donated PVC needed
in the upgrades.
Jimmy Abatti Mad Jac Farmstime, equipment, materials and
resources
Granite Construction employees donated their time
and labor
Garibaldo Fencing- contributed the fencing needs and labor
for the upgrades
IVGSL parents Brent Delong,
Darrin Thomason, and Gabe
Infante donated sprinklers along
with Rain for Rent’s donation of
sprinkler supplies
Carolyn Maness - who’s outstanding effort in the snack bar
helped tremendously in raising
the funds needed to make the
improvements to the fields
“We would also like to give a
huge thank you to Chris Legakis
(city of El Centro Parks and Rec
Supervisor) and the City of El
Centro,” added Clark.
Because the upgrades moved
on schedule, the IVGSL League
will begin its season with first
games scheduled for September
6th and online registration is
currently available at www.ivgsl.
com.
“The Imperial Valley truly has
special people, especially when
it comes to helping our kids,”
Clark added with gratitude.
El Centro Sunsations
beat Yuma and Holtville
at home swim meet
The El Centro Sunsations, Yuma Wahoos, and Holtville Stingrays
compete in a swim meet at El Centro. El Centro finished with 370
points for the victory. Photo by: Kalin Turner
By: Kalin Turner
EL CENTRO — The El
Centro Sunsations hosted
both the Yuma Wahoos and
Holtville Stingrays July 19th,
and the Sunsations showcased their talents with a big
win.
El Centro finished with
370 points while over Yuma
had 100.5 and Holtville 130.5.
The most notable race of
the event took place in the
boys 13-14 year old 50-meter
butterfly. The winner for the
race was Nathan Kempton of
Yuma, finishing with a time
of 42:81. Coming in second,
Jose Luis Ramirez finished
less than a second behind
Nathan with a time of 42:95.
Moving through event 33,
El Centro squeezed by with
a win in the girls 13-14 year
old 50-meter breast stroke.
The winner was Montserrat
Apolinar, 14, who finished
with a final time of 47:37.
Finishing extremely close,
Rachel Pauly had a final time
of 47:57. This hard-won race
pushed El Centro ahead for a
higher combined time.
Moving into the last race,
El Centro took the boys 15-18
year old 50-meter freestyle as
Moises Hernandez, 16, finished with a time of 28:87.
This final win from El Centro
secured their first place spot.
SPORTS
Send your sports
photos, scores &
stats to sports@
thedesertreview.
com
Got a game? Let us know!
760-351-0100
or
sports@thedesertreview.
com
|B-2| July 27, 2016
ODDS
& ENDS
By: Chris Grant
Observations from the road
As I mentioned in my last
column, I recently took a few
weeks off to drive through
the midwest and cross some
baseball stadiums off of my list
of parks visited. The journey
started in Kansas City and ended in St. Louis, hitting Wrigley,
US Cellular, Miller Park and
Great American Ballpark in between. Needless to say, a lot of
great baseball was watched and
along the way I learned some
things about these teams, their
fans and their home turf. So,
I offer to you loyal reader, the
top thing I picked up from each
stop on the trip.
Kansas City is too hot for day
baseball in the summer. Okay, I
should also say that Kauffman
www.thedesertreview.com
Stadium was my favorite of the
stadiums I went to and also
that the Royals’ fans are second
to none. Now, with that out
of the way, let’s talk about the
weather and the two-week long
sunburns it caused. I have been
to a Texas Rangers’ day game
in mid-June, and after that
experience I swore off any day
baseball outdoors in Texas. I did
not realize I needed to extend
this to Kansas City as well, but
that was the case. Despite my
best attempts, we were not in
the shade, which meant we
spent the entire game cooking
under the blazing Missouri
sun. We’ll just tally this up to a
lesson learned.
Wrigley Field is old and that
is kind of it. Friends, I have
been to Fenway Park, and Wrigley Field is no Fenway Park.
Honestly, I did not see what the
big deal was. There is ivy. It sits
on a block in the middle of the
city. There are also obstructed
views and the tickets are ridiculously expensive. Then there are
If It’s Not Broken, Why Fix It? Observations
From A Retiree Traveler With A Laptop
Emotions are running high
regarding the Energy Department assuming control of the
energy trading floor and marketing budget in excess of $200
million from Finance. Much of
this angst is due, I’m sure, to the
earlier gas trading fiasco that
resulted in the loss of several
hundred thousand dollars that
was initially hidden from the
public. I know firsthand about
this situation, as I was the first
to flag this cover up and have it
confirmed after two directors
asked me to examine a new
annual budget.
Since then much has been
done to build a solid group that
has performed at a high professional, and financially responsible level. The aforementioned
concerns were in part addressed
by hiring internal staff to carry
out the energy trading function.
This change alone has saved the
IID significant costs in avoided
consulting fees, with much of
this credit due the efforts of
the current CFO. One of these
efforts included countering
ZGlobal’s unsolicited procurement efforts to convince the
Board to hand over energy
trading to their consulting
firm, despite an assessment of
the trading floor by Shell that
recommended this function be
carried out by internal staff as
it was the most fiscally responsible approach to provide the
largest benefit to ratepayers.*
Although I believe organizations should engage in the
Two Negotiated Memorandums Of Understanding;
Two Different Outcomes
The North Fork Rancheria of
Mono Indians, has entered into
a Memorandum of Understanding with Madera County, which
will require payments to the
county to mitigate the impacts
caused by the proposed off-reservation casino project. Under
its MOU with Madera County,
the Tribe will issue a one-time
contribution of up to $17.9 million to mitigate potential onetime costs incurred due to the
Resort. The Tribe will also make
annual payments to Madera
County and local foundations of
up to $4.03 million.
Also, the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians, entered
into a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of
Madera, which is the closest municipal government to the proposed gaming facility. Under its
MOU with the City of Madera,
the Tribe will make a one-time
the fans. We’ll get back to them
in a few paragraphs.
The White Sox have some of
the best fans in baseball. I cannot say they were the friendliest
fans on the trip (again, we’ll get
to them in a little bit) but they
were the most entertaining.
The Chicago nine were playing
Toronto when we saw them
and after a while some raucous
Blue Jay fans began a “Let’s
Go Blue Jays” chant which the
people at U.S. Cellular quickly
drowned out with their own
“U.S.A.” chant. As far as I was
concerned, it was the funniest
moment of the entire trip.
The sausage race at Miller
Park is actually pretty fun. As a
baseball traditionalist you kind
of want to hate these kinds of
between-innings spectacles. I
mean, you go to the game to
watch baseball, not for mascot
races, right? Well, sure, but
when you are stuck watching a
last-place team in a half-filled
stadium, then maybe a little
extra entertainment can’t hurt.
The sausage race at Miller Park
filled that bill nicely. The sombrero-wearing chorizo won, by
the way. Just in case you were
wondering.
Great American Ballpark in
Cincinnati is one of the prettiest in baseball. Sitting on the
banks of the Ohio River, the
Reds certainly have themselves
a jewel of a ballpark. Sadly, their
team is not so great which led to
their loyal fans having to listen
to the jeers of the thousands
of Cubs’ fans who had invaded
Cincinnati for the series we
were watching. This is where I
discovered the horrible truth
about Cubs’ fans in 2016 –
they are awful! They strolled
throughout Great American
Ballpark as if they owned the
place. They taunted the Reds’
fans and booed the home team.
It was truly a disgusting display.
What makes it worse, to me, is
the fact the Cubs have not won
anything in the past 108 years.
So where does all the hubris
come from? Just because, at the
time, they had the best record
in baseball? I see a precipitous
fall headed toward these cocky
Cubs’ fans when the playoffs roll
around and their super team
again fails to win it all.
Finally, from bad fans to
great ones, the fans at Busch
Stadium in St. Louis are the
friendliest I have ever had the
pleasure to be around. We
watched the Cardinals play the
Brewers and because we had
been in Milwaukee just a few
days earlier, we decided to cheer
for the Brewers. Surprisingly,
this did not draw the ire of the
folks around us. Although they
did tell us that people in St.
Louis don’t like Brewers’ slugger
Ryan Braun, they also asked
us all other kinds of questions,
engaging us in conversation
for most of the game. Honestly,
they were so friendly that after
a few innings, I felt like I should
quit rooting for Milwaukee and
spent the rest of the game enjoying their beautiful park and
watching some good baseball.
proven methods of continuous improvement, part of
that continuous improvement
process includes the alternative
of keeping things the way they
are if the “change nothing”
alternative is the best option.
Thus, my first reaction is to ask:
“Is it broken?” If not, then why
is it being “fixed”? Has anyone
asked this basic question? If
so, what benefits are ratepayers
receiving and how have those
benefits been assessed and
substantiated? Along those
lines, I find it interesting that a
“former” ZGlobal employee will
now be in managing the energy
trading effort and budget that
his former firm could not take
away from a more efficient
internal staff. Hopefully he will
not outsource some or all of
this function to his “former”
firm as he has done with the
transmission planning and
related functions in Energy.
Transmission Planning and
energy trading are two of the
most critical and foundational
functions in energy. These two
functions are open to considerable potential for political influence and are best carried out by
internal staff with no connection to outside consultants
and associated political forces,
particularly those involved in
lobbying. Similar situations in
the same and similar industries
have resulted in huge scandals
and associated criminal activity
costing organizations tens and
hundreds of millions of dollars,
or more.
So, will the current group
be kept intact with the whole
group remaining internal? Will
they be allowed to carry out
their functions to the maximum benefit of the ratepayers
while working under a “former”
ZGlobal employee? Appearance sake alone would seem to
dictate this group should not be
integrated , or outsourced fully
or partially to ZGlobal as this
would seem to create more of
a potential conflict of interest
than simply having them work
for a “former” firm employee,
if that firm failed previously to
take over this function. It also
brings in to play the possibility of a “both sides of the
street” dilemma. And as such,
IID’s conflict of interest policy
stipulates that actions that have
an appearance of conflict of
interest shall not be taken.
Finally, since visibility and
open interaction with employees, and customers characterizes the most successful companies, I’ll end with what I think
is an appropriate quote from
the Berkeley Blog: “To erode
confidence in public – utility
decisions , meet behind closed
doors.”
contribution to the City of up
$10.3 million to mitigate such
potential one-time impacts as
law enforcement expansion and
road improvements. The Tribe
will also make annual contributions of up to $1.075 million to
mitigate recurring costs to the
City as a result of the Resort.
As a result of the agreed
amounts and signed MOU’s
with the public agencies, a positive two-part determination was
made by the Bureau of Indian
Affairs in September 2, 2011, to
move forward with the off-reser-
vation gaming project.
Looking at the MOU between
Calexico and the Manzanita
Band of Mission Indians executed on April 4, 2006, the agreed
amounts included $2,000,000.00
annual payment to the city and a
$250,000.00 annual payment for
public services. The MOU also
requires the tribe to pay for all
roads, water and sewer expansions related to the casino.
No other affected agencies;
Calexico Unified School District, Imperial Valley College,
and Imperial County, were ever
given a signed MOU, to recover
their listed cost.
For those asking why the Department of-the Interior; Bureau
of Indian Affairs, has not made a
positive two-part determination
in the proposed Manzanita Band
of Mission Indians off-reservation casino project, it was because of the negative impacts to
the surrounding communities.
Arn Lahde
* Some have characterized
ZGlobal’s unsolicited procurement, worth $millions, as out of
compliance with IID procurement policy and more fitting
the definition of Lobbying due
to private interaction with IID
management and the board. I
could not find them registered
with the State as Lobbyists.
Sincerely,
Wally Leimgruber
Holtville, CA
Stolen guns recovered in El Centro, suspects arrested
By: Page Editor
EL CENTRO — On July 21, a
burglary to a residence on the
2600 block of Orange Avenue
was reported to the El Centro
Police Department in which
several items of personal
property were stolen from the
residence, including two long
rifles and a pellet gun.
Investigators from the El
Centro Police Department
conducted a follow-up investigation using surveillance
that indicated the property
in question was located in
a motel room on Adams
Avenue.
A search warrant was
sought and obtained from
the court and due to the
potential dangers involving firearms, the El Centro
Police Department SWAT
team was deployed to serve a
warrant for a room in a motel
located on Adams Avenue in
El Centro.
An El Centro Police SWAT team was deployed to recovered stolen weapons from a motel located on
Adams Avenue in El Centro on July 21. Photo Courtesy of El Centro Police Department
Two other rooms were
identified as having a nexus
to the primary location and
were also searched during
the investigation and in the
service of the search warrant,
according to reports.
Several people were appar-
ently called out and detained
from multiple rooms at
the location, and an ECPD
canine was used to clear the
rooms prior to SWAT operators entering. Upon searching the locations, ECPD
detectives were able to locate
two of the stolen guns in
one room, and the third in
another room.
No officers or civilians
were injured during this
operation.
Suspects Mario Sandoval,
30, of El Centro and Jose
Tamayo, 35, of Calipatria,
were arrested and booked at
the Imperial County Jail on
suspicion of possession of stolen property and being felons
in possession of a firearm. The
investigation continues into
the burglary of the residence.
El Centro Police commented that they would
remind El Centro residents
to be diligent in the protection of their homes and property. Good perimeter lighting,
fencing and ensuring locks
are functioning and used regularly to secure homes are
good deterrents, according
to the police. They also suggest community members get
to know neighbors and have
a friend or family member
check on homes when traveling out of town. They also
warned against announcing
extended time away from
home on social media sites
during these summer months
and vacations.
|B-3| July 27, 2016
www.thedesertreview.com
COMMUNITIES
Grand Jury report finds excellence at IVC, yet
recommends more student support programs
By: Vincent Osuna
IMPERIAL COUNTY —
Unemployment historically has
been an issue with the quality
of life in the Imperial County.
Data shows that in January 2016,
the Imperial County had a 20.5
percent unemployment rate. In
contrast, the California and federal unemployment rates were
5.7 and 5.2 percent. It is believed
programs that help elevate a
person’s education and skill
level can improve the chances
of employment opportunities.
For this reason, the Civil Grand
Jury initiated an investigation to
evaluate if the Imperial Valley
College (IVC) Student Financial Aid programs and resources
are contributing to an increased
level of education and skills in
the Imperial County.
The grand jury report
acknowledged that recent costly
growth and improvements at
IVC have brought the campus’
quality to a level par with campuses located in larger metropolitan cities. However, it also
recognized that excellent facilities and programs alone do not
guarantee student success.
The Civil Grand Jury (CGJ)
and IVC both acknowledged the
need for support programs to
help students achieve success in
the process of setting and completing their college goals.
The report found that the
local college’s physical facilities
are first-class and the funds from
various sources, such as Measure
J. and bond issue L & J, have
evidently been well spent. The
campus has been transformed
by the construction of the two
Signature Career Technical
Buildings, which was funded by
Measure J.
It was also found that the
number and quality of resources
devoted to teaching students
new technical and vocational
skills on campus is excellent. The
campus is equipped with stateof-the-art facilities which house
smart classrooms and labs for
programs such as administration
of justice, building construction,
correction science, electrical
wiring, electronics, emergency
medical technology, fire technology, peace officer standards and
training, renewable energy, and
welding technology.
However, based on the frequent amount of college students
dropping out of IVC’s programs,
the Grand Jury recommended
the expansion and establishment
of programs which focus on student support and success. These
programs ideally include promotion of messages that encourage
students to create a goal-focused
mindset and establishment of
short-term intermediate goals.
They may also include student
goal progress tracking and
exposure to goal-focused career
mentoring and working opportunities. Counseling related to
work habits and student scheduling was also recommended.
The Civil Grand Jury recommended that to the extent that
these and similar programs exist,
they should be expanded and
strengthened, and to give serious
consideration to those programs
that do not presently exist.
The Grand Jury report concluded that jury members were
impressed with the advancements made by IVC, and the
college continues to be a vital
part of the overall success and
progress of the Imperial Valley
community.
IVC Facts
— Student Financial Aid
Government Programs include
Student aid from Board of
Governors Fee Waivers, State
Grants, Pell Grants, Supplemental Education Opportunity
Grants, and Work Study –
totaling $29,339,876 provided to about 80% of IVC
students with an average of
$3,647 per Student.
— The average cost per academic year (tuition & books)
is $3090 for residents and
$8,970 for non-residents.
Forrester Road Overpass at Interstate
8 is dedicated to S. Harry Orfanos
By: Stella Jimenez
IMPERIAL — The Imperial County Department of Public Works
hosted an unveiling ceremony Friday, July 22 to dedicate the Forrester Road Overpass at I-8 west of El Centro to the late S. Harry
Orfanos in honor of his numerous years of service for Imperial
County.
Earlier this year, the Imperial County Board of Supervisors
approved a resolution to name the bridge in memory of former
Imperial County Department of Public Works (ICDPW) Director
S. Harry Orfanos. The dedication recognized the many accomplishments Orfanos achieved throughout his 31 years of devoted service
for the county.
Native to Imperial County, Orfanos passed away in 2012. He
began working for ICDPW as an assistant civil Eengineer in 1965,
and served in various positions throughout the years. He earned
appointment to the director position in December 1985, a post he
served in until his retirement in March 1996. During his time as
director, he was responsible for designing, constructing and maintaining the county’s roads and bridges.
“Mr. Orfanos was a Calexico resident, born and raised, and has
a big history from the early part of the century as his parents were
Greek immigrants,” said John Renison, District 1 supervisor. “He
made a big impression and a big imprint on our county as a ICDPW
director. Mr. Orfanos will always be remembered.”
In 1989, Orfanos introduced a one-half cent transportation tax
increase known as Measure D, that was earmarked to go directly
to the cities and the county to pay for critical road repair projects.
“Mr. Orfanos’ efforts were instrumental since he was the first to
introduce the one-half cent transportation tax, known as Measure D,
which resulted in revenues and continue to provide transportation
benefits for the County of Imperial and the cities,” said Renison.
“That is very important because we would not have been able to keep
up with county roads if it wasn’t for Mr. Orfanos’ efforts. This is a
well-deserved recognition.”
Family members, friends and co-workers attended the ceremony
including Orfanos’ daughter Cindy Orfanos Nickus.
“Our dad was a man of great honor with great work ethic who did
his job not because of the accolades and praise he would receive, but
because what was expected of him,” said Nickus. “Today he would be
embarrassed because he was very humble, but I know he would be
very appreciative and proud. This dedication is definitely a blessing
to our family.”
Former colleague Frank Fiorenza also spoke and recalled being
hired by Orfanos in 1991 and said Orfanos had a great work ethic.
“He made a big difference in my career at the Imperial County
Public Works Department,” said Florenza. “Harry was an awesome
boss.”
ICDPW Deputy Director of Field Operations Lucio Martinez said
he gained an uncle during the first six months of his employment
with the ICDPW.
“When I first started here (at ICDPW) back when Mr. Orfanos
hired me, I was in the department for about six months and all of a
sudden I had a new uncle,” said Martinez. “They (co-workers) told
me, I heard you were related to Mr. Orfanos and I said, ‘What?’ and
said, ‘No I’m not. I didn’t know I had a famous uncle.’”
William S. Brunet, the current Imperial County Director of Public
Works, said he tries every day to fill Orfanos’ shoes, and commented
that it is a daunting task.
OBITUARIES
Dora G. Mendoza
December 27, 1922 —
July 17, 2016
Dora Mendoza, 93, of
Brawley passed away peacefully surrounded by her family at
her side. A lifelong resident
of Imperial Valley, Dora was a
homemaker and parishioner
of the 1st Mexican Baptist
Church in Brawley.
She is preceded in death
by her beloved husband Paul
Mendoza in 1991.
Dora was the last surviving
sibling of the 8 brothers and
sisters born to Juan and Maria
Guerrero of Brawley including
her only sister Lydia Lomeli
who passed away last month.
Dora is survived by her
children and their spouses,
Edward (Eladia) Carbajal,
Carlos (Lydia) Mendoza,
Pablo (Leticia) Mendoza
and Alicia (Tony) Weber, 13
grandchildren and 15 great
grandchildren.
An accomplished seamstress, Dora was known for
making the clothes of her
children and loved attending family gatherings. Her
greatest legacy was her love
for her four children and
many grandchildren and great
grandchildren. Dora will be
missed.
The Church Service will
be held on Monday, July 25 at
First Mexican Baptist Church
at 9:00 a.m.
Visitation will be held on
Sunday, July 24 at First Mexican Baptist Church from 6:00
p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Burial will be held on
Monday, July 25 at Riverview
Cemetery after the Church
service, next to her husband.
Vicente Dominguez
April 5, 1932 —
July 14, 2016
Vicente Dominguez was
born on April 5, 1932 in Brawley and passed away on July 14,
2016 while residing in Brawley.
The Mass Service for Vicente will be held on Friday,
July 22, 2016 at Sacred Heart
Church at 10:00 a.m.
The Burial will be held on
Friday, July 22, 2016 at Riverview Cemetery after the Mass
Service.
Vicente is survived by the
children, Vincent Dominguez
of San Jose, Luis Dominguez
of Brawley, Raul Dominguez
of Glendale, Maria Dominguez of San Jose, Margarita
Dominguez of San Joe, and
Lisa Dominguez of San Jose.
Vicente is also survived by sister Paula Dominguez Delgado
of El Paso, TX.
|B-4| July 27, 2016
LIFESTYLE
Supervisors approve family place areas
for Heber and Calipatria libraries
By: Stella Jimenez
EL CENTRO — The Imperial
County Board of Supervisors
voted unanimously Tuesday,
July 19 to approve an agreement with the Imperial County
Children and Families First
Commission for a Family Place
project with a grant amount of
$25,000. A Family Place Library
is one that is redesigned to be
welcoming and appropriate for
children beginning at birth, and
is geared to connect parents with
resources and programs offered
at the library and other family
service agencies.
In June, the Imperial County
Free Library received notice of
a $25,000 mini-grant awarded
for fiscal year 2016-17 from
the Imperial County Children
and Families First Commission
earmarked for a Family Place
Libraries Project that the local
libraries had applied for in May.
“With the grant money, the
Heber and Calipatria library
branches will obtain a family place designated area,” said
Crystal Duran, Imperial County
librarian.
“Part of the Family Place
Library area includes low
shelving for the children, toys,
furniture and family friendly
items,” said Duran. “Funds from
the grant will be used to train
three staff in planning developmentally appropriate library
programs for young children,
purchase materials and furnishings to transform a space in the
library to be family-friendly,
and to host a five-part workshop
series for parents and children.”
The Calipatria and Heber
sites were selected for this project because the grant will build
upon existing resources available
at both sites. Both sites also have
the necessary space to conduct
workshops, have demonstrated
the need for family-friendly programming and span the county’s
jurisdiction in the north and
south end as well as operate in
communities that are distinct
from one another — which will
also help determine the feasibility of expanding this project to
other county library branches in
the future.
Calipatria Library
Heber Library
www.thedesertreview.com
Bike 4 Friendship bike Calendar
team stops in Brawley of Events
City of Imperial 112 Birthday
Celebration and 13th Annual
Luau
July 29 @ 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Imperial Pool,
618 W. Barioni, Imperial
Backpack Saturday
July 30 @ 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
McDonalds,
105 W. Main St., Brawley
Applebee’s Flapjack Fundraiser
to Support Cancer Relay for
Life
Bike 4 Friendship riders take a break in Brawley. Photo by: Lloyd Miller
By: Lloyd Miller
BRAWLEY — The Bike 4 Friendship bike team cruised into Brawley
Monday, July 18. The cross-country
ride, consisting of nine riders and
support staff, stopped locally on
their way to Atlantic City from San
Diego at the end of the second day
of the ride.
Schneur Scop, part of the support staff, explained the ride and the
organization.
“Bike 4 Friendship is a
cross-country ride sponsored
by Friendship Circle,” said Scop.
“Friendship Circle is an international non-profit organization that
helps and supports children and
families that have special needs kids.
We take it for granted that we have
friends and social circles, but some
of these special needs kids end up
isolated. They pair teenage volun-
teers with special needs children to
give them a friend and a mentor.”
“We do this ride to raise awareness about special needs kids and
the stigma that goes along with it,”
continued Scop. “We’d like to think
a big ride like this would get people’s
attention. We see and visit many
people on this ride and let them
know about what we do. Hopefully,
we can change the views people
have, get them to help others, and be
a part of something special. We are
spreading the awareness of friendship and inclusion of everybody.”
The riders bike at an average
of 17 miles per hour. They take pit
stops about every 20 miles and try
to average 90 miles per day. The
daily rides begin at 2 a.m. and finish mid-morning to avoid the heat
of the day. Target date of arrival in
Atlantic City is August 28.
Cynthia and Wayne Harvie have
offered their home to the Bike 4
Friendship riders for the past four
years.
“We love this group,” said Mrs.
Harvie. “They can swim and rest
here. It’s so hot and we have plenty
of room. They stopped in Borrego
Springs the night before. We provide them with kosher food and
goodies, but they also bring all of
their own kosher food.”
The next leg of the adventure
ride will take them to Blythe.
July 30 @ 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Applebee’s,
2505 Scaroni Road, Calexico
BOS
August 2 @ 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM
County Administration Building
940 W. Main St., El Centro
2016 IVC Basketball Camp
August 1 @ 9:45 AM - 3:00 PM
Imperial Valley College,
380 E. Aten Road, Imperial
Session 1: August 1-4, Session 2:
August 8-11.
Calexico Family Walks
August 2 @ 6:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Crummett Park,
Dool Ave. & Belcher St., Calexico
Family Walks at Calexico will be at
6:30 p.m. August 2 (every first Tuesday of the month) at Crummett Park,
Dool and Belcher, Calexico. Safe 30
minute walks and walking games
for people of all ages and fitness
levels. Free water bottle for all who
participated. Please wear comfortable
clothes, shoes and sun protection.
For more information call the Clinicas de Salud del Pueblo, Inc., at 760344-9951 ext. 10155, 10126 or 10142.
This event is sponsored by Clinicas
de Salud del Pueblo, Inc., City of
Calexico and Calexico Recreation
Department.
American Cancer Society Bark for Life Walk
August 6 @ 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Imperial Woof Town Dog Park,
Morning Glory Trail, Imperial
A canine event to fight cancer.
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