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Listen To Your News		Thursday, February 2, 2012		News Archive

MAJOR CUTS AT MORONGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, LAYOFFS, COMBINING SCHOOLS, BUS CUTS
Reacting to even more cuts to education from the state, the Morongo Unified School District announced yesterday it was taking severe actions. On top of an immediate million dollar cut for transportation, $2.4 million for next year, the state announced yet another 3.2 million will be cut from the local districts' General Fund if the governor's tax proposals don't pass. According to a press release faxed to Z107.7 News yesterday, the school district will be closing one school, at least for now, and eliminating 18 teaching positions. The school district said it will close Monument Continuation School in Twentynine Palms, and move students, faculty and staff to Sky High School in Yucca Valley. The District will also give layoff notices to 11 elementary teachers, two high school teachers and five special education teachers. The press release also said the district will eliminate some management and classified positions at the district office and at school sites. Superintendent Jim Majchrzak said, "The school district plans to restore some of the abolished positions and reopen Monument High School as soon as the funding issue is fixed, or at least stabilized." Majchrzak said he hopes teacher retirements will reduce the number of layoffs, and he plans to offer monetary incentives to senior teachers to encourage them to retire and be replaced by more junior teachers on the lower end of the pay scale. In addition, the district will compress bus routes next year to cut more transportation costs. Majchrzak pointed out that funding per pupil has gone from near the top to almost last when compared to all the states. Administrators were at school sites yesterday notifying school district employees about the cuts.

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EMOTIONAL TESTIMONY AT MORONGO VALLEY COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT BOARD MEETING
The Morongo Valley Community Services District Board of Directors met for the first time last night since Manager Meg Foley was fired in January. A large and sometimes emotional crowd showed up for their three minutes of public comment. Reporter Mike Lipsitz was there and files this report…
Last night's meeting of the Morongo Valley Community Services District was a do-over of January's meeting which was cancelled due to lack of a quorum. It was the first meeting to allow for public comment since the controversial termination of CSD manager Meg Foley. The approximate 75 residents in attendance waited patiently as the board slogged through comparatively mundane business. Even the naming of Linda Bailey as Volunteer of the Year offered little distraction to those eager to be heard. So when it came time for public comment, 20 residents cued up, each claiming their three minutes. Many tearfully read from prepared statements. Some called for Foley's reinstatement, others called for those that voted for her dismissal to step down, and still others defended the board for doing what they feel is best for the community unpopular as their actions might be. Rules of non-disclosure may prevent the motivations behind Foley's firing from ever being understood. What is clear, however, is that Morongo Valley is hurting as this community struggles to reconcile.

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YUCCA VALLEY MAN HELD AFTER SEVERE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INCIDENT
A Yucca Valley man was arrested early Tuesday morning after smashing windows of his mother's house and attacking his girlfriend. According to a Sheriff's report, Ralph Chapman, 42, called his mother shortly after 1 Tuesday morning to ask for a ride. When she refused to come pick him up, he told her he was going to come to her house and vandalize her car. His mother called for help about 1:20 to say Chapman was inside her house breaking windows. The Sheriff's report says that Chapman body slammed his girlfriend to the ground, injuring her. He was also yelling that he was going to get his gun, and that if his girlfriend didn't come outside, he was going to start breaking more windows. Sheriff deputies found Chapman hiding at the location. Ralph Chapman was arrested for investigation of felony spouse abuse and booked at the Morongo Basin Jail. His bail is set at $50,000.

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A TENSE HI-DESERT WATER BOARD MEETING LAST NIGHT
The Hi-Desert Water District's Board of Directors meeting was tense and hostile last night over one item on the agenda. Derwood Andrews reports on what caused the brouhaha...
The atmosphere was tense at last nights Hi-Desert Water District meeting. The item on the agenda that seemed to spark the interest, was a request from staff to see if any Board member wanted to attend a two hour dinner up in Sacramento, a State legislative reception for water agencies of the Inland Empire, at a cost of $750 per person. A few members of the public voiced their displeasure at this use of money and questioned the benefit for customers. A discussion between staff and the Board sited "networking" and "legislative connections" as being worth sending the General Manager and President Sarann Graham to the event in early March. An update on the new ten-hour four-day week schedule concluded that so far, it's a hit. Lastly the Water Rate Study Workshop part two, with revenue required being $6.9 million and the current trend projecting $6.9 million, we will wait for the next few workshops and a conclusion on whether we will see a raise in the rates.

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JOSHUA BASIN WATER DISTRICT APPLIES TAXES TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
At last night's meeting of the Joshua Basin Water District the Board voted to comply with state law by applying its property tax to four local government agencies which bought land after 1996. That law requires the water district annually charge Hi-Desert Medical Center $30, Morongo Basin Transit Authority $450, and Twentynine Palms Water District $1,400 for land they purchased within Joshua Basin boundaries after 1996. In addition, the new Joshua Tree Elementary School will be charged almost $1,200 annually. All of these properties paid the standby charge when they were in private ownership before being purchased by the agencies. This action does not affect any of the properties owned by those agencies before 1996. Thanks to general manager Joe Guzzetta for his assistance in the report.

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WE MEET MISS YUCCA VALLEY CONTESTANT DANIELLE HARRINGTON
The annual Miss Yucca Valley Pageant, organized by the Yucca Valley Noon Rotary Club, is this Saturday night at the Thunder Dome in Yucca Valley. Today, managing editor Tami Roleff introduces us to contestant Danielle Harrington...
My prominent lady is Sheri Wysocki. She's a nurse practitioner and I've learned a lot from her. But mainly, just how important it is to love people and love your job.
What have you learned from your experience with Miss Yucca Valley?
From this experience I've learned that it's okay to be myself and I've learned to be confident in everything that I'm saying. And I'm definitely learning to put myself out there more.
Any final words?
Yeah, I want to really encourage sophomore girls to participate in the pageant. It's a great experience and it's a lot of fun.
Thank you, Danielle.

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NEIL DERRY DIRTY POLITICS CAMPAIGN AGAINST JAMES RAMOS
The dirty politics have already started in the race for 3rd District County Supervisor. Incumbent Neil Derry launched an assault on the character of his opponent, San Manuel tribal chairman James Ramos, in a campaign mailer tying Ramos to "gang members," "drug dealers" and "killers for hire," labeling Ramos a "Casino Boss" with ties to the Mexican Mafia. It was found plastered on hundreds of windshields outside Ramos; campaign headquarters in Redlands Tuesday night, where Ramos was hosting a campaign kickoff. In a statement Wednesday, Ramos called Derry's hit mailer a "false and pathetic attempt to smear me. I believe that voters want and deserve something better than these types of gutter politics." Ramos said he would run a positive campaign on real issues and the future of the county, and announced the endorsement of District Attorney Michael Ramos. The flier was mailed to 11,000 Third District constituents Wednesday. The Third Supervisorial District includes the Morongo Basin. A Ramos spokesman said Derry's campaign tactics are those of a desperate man. "It's so pathetic," they said. "He's trying to create a story that doesn't exist there. A serious candidate would not have put out a flier like that. That kind of a mailer is a real insult to voters. It's so over the top that it backfires."

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AARP TAX-AIDE PROGRAM STARTS TUESDAY
Tax and financial statements should be arriving in your mailbox any day. Filing tax returns can be confusing. Assignment reporter Dan Stork says free help is available for some residents...
Again this year, the AARP-sponsored Tax Aide program will be helping seniors and low-income individuals to prepare and file their income tax returns in Yucca Valley. Free help will be available on a walk-in basis at Saint Mary of the Valley Church, 7495 Church Street. The hours of the program will be 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, starting Tuesday February 7, and running through April 15. No appointment is necessary, and the location is handicapped-accessible.

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TWENTYNINE PALMS LITTLE LEAGUE TRY-OUTS THIS WEEKEND
Twentynine Palms Little League kicks off its 27th annual try-outs this weekend, February 3 and 4, at Luckie Park. There will be a total of three evaluation periods; times are as follows: Friday 5:30-8:30 p.m., Saturday 9 to noon, and Saturday 1-4 p.m. Sign-ups are being accepted at 4 Sports N More (located at 73355 Sullivan Road). Registrations are also being taken at the Park and Rec youth basketball games on Saturdays at Twentynine Palms High School and Twentynine Palms Junior High School, or at the tryouts this weekend. The early bird price of $40 per player ends Saturday, February 4th. All registrations will cost $50 after. For more information call Margaret Benavente at 760-368-5531 or Rick Jenkins 760-333-5824.

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SPAGHETTI DINNER TONIGHT FOR YUCCA VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
The Yucca Valley High Schools boys basketball team will be holding a fundraising dinner tonight( Thursday) in the high school multi-purpose room. Mario's Italian Diner will be providing their awesome dinner fare for the low price of $5 per person. The dinner will last from 5:30-7:30.

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UNIQUE PERFORMANCE ARTIST IN JOSHUA TREE
BoxoPROJECTS, a new artist's program in the Morongo Basin, announces the launch of its residency and programming series in Joshua Tree, CA with a performance artist from Australia. You are invited to meet the artist and witness making her art called FROST DRAWING FOR JOSHUA TREE. Managing editor Tami Roleff introduces you to Gosia Wladarczak...
A performance artist is coming to Joshua Tree to record three days of the objects, landscape, people, and texts she encounters while she's here. Gosia Wladarczak's (GO zha VLOD ar zhak's) drawings on glass, which she calls Frost Art, create a dynamic archive of her experiences with the world on both sides of the glass. Her performance art will unfold over three days, from Friday, February 3, through Sunday February 5, at BoxoHouse, 62732 Sullivan Road in Joshua Tree. Take the highway to White Feather Road and turn left on Sullivan. The public is invited to come each day from 1 to 5 to meet the artist, watch her work, and be a part of the inauguration of BoxoHouse's local activities. For more information, call 917-669-6098.

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HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS AND SCORES
The Yucca Valley High School Trojans boys' basketball team beat the Shadow Hills Knights by the score of 66-57 to move into third place in de Anza league play. The Trojans were lead by Dutch DeMeo with 24 points and Tanner Littrell with 17 points. Jordan Batin also chipped in with 13 points and 8 rebounds.

The Yucca Valley Lady Trojan basketball team cruised to a 58-25 win last night at Shadow Hills High School in Indio. The girls were led by Whitney Rodriguez who scored a game high 21 points and LaTreya Ross who knocked in 10 points. Senior Lauren Pitts also added 8 points for the local squad who moved to 6-2 in De Anza League and 14-5 overall.

Coming up in high school sports tomorrow, the Yucca Valley High School soccer teams host the Desert Mirage High School Rams at home. Match time for the girls is 3:15; boys at 5. The Twentynine Palms High School girls' soccer team travels to Big Bear to play the Big Bear Bears tomorrow. Game time is 3:15.

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