Lucerne Valley Leader

The annual Worm Race will take place today (Friday, May 17) at Lucerne Valley Elementary School. The event begins at 2 p.m.

By PETER DAY
EDITOR

Pee-wee, a buckskin-colored pony, disappeared from his Lucerne Valley pen sometime between last Sunday night and the following morning.

“People like to steal ponies because they’re easy to walk out,” said his owner Sharon Anderson. “I want him to be safe and sound, and I don't know where he is. It's really bothering me. He should be back where he belongs.”

By PETER DAY
Editor

A cross-section of the Lucerne Valley community came together last Thursday night for the annual banquet of the high school’s FFA program.

Held in the gymnasium, due to a sizeable turnout of about 180, the event was kicked off with an elaborate multi-media presentation of video and photos.

LVHS FFA advisor Troy Van Bavel presented awards for outstanding performance.

Receiving the Star Greenhand award for an outstanding first-year student was Destynie Urruthia.

May 8
9:37 p.m. — battery, 30000 area of Old Woman Springs Road
9:23 p.m. — burglary, 7000 area of Marmont Road
9:00 p.m. — Grand Theft Auto recovery, area of Banta and Wachoota roads
7:16 p.m. — repo, 1000 area of Meteor Way
3:05 p.m. — 911 followup, 9000 area of Lincoln Road
12:23 p.m. — welfare check, 37000 area of Rabbit Springs Road
10:20 a.m. — burglary, 7000 area of Silver Creek Canyon
10:17 a.m. — vandalism, 9000 area of Cody Avenue
9:21 a.m. — 911 call, 30000 area of Haynes Road

By PETER DAY
Editor

Lucerne Valley is at an historic crossroads, said participants of last Wednesday’s Lucerne Valley Economic Development Association meeting.

And, they contend, if people don’t take stand, the area’s landscape could literally be changed for the worse — forever.

“This is not about anti-solar,” said LVEDA president Chuck Bell about the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan. “The issue is the state telling us where to put it, and not us.”

By PETER DAY
Editor

The Lucerne Valley Unified School District has approved its retainer agreement with the Irvine-based Margaret A. Chidester & Associates law firm.

The agreement, which was approved unanimously last Wednesday, provides for legal services for the 2013-14 school year.
Chidester provides a variety of legal services including labor, employment, personnel, instructional compliance, business and litigation issues.

Car gathering
on May 23
The next car gather will be at Rubes' Country Kitchen on May 23 around 5 p.m.

Some months ago, a guest speaker from the nearby Marine base briefed LVEDA members as to the base mission, its fiscal impact on adjacent communities, and some proposed expansion options. Johnson Valley was one of them. We asked whether expansion could go east instead, and were told that was probably not a viable option because of a large heat-generating solar installation. Apparently, during training exercises, troops set off heat-seeking missiles — potentially a cause for a major OOOPS!

Before I took over as editor of the Leader from Kris Reilly, who is now ruling the roost of reporters as city editor at the Daily Press, I asked him what there was to cover in a sleepy town of just 6,000.

“There’s never any shortage of stories,” Kris assured me.

Boy, was he right. I quickly learned that Lucerne Valley is a surprisingly diverse community with warm, chatty people embracing life and having fun while giving back.

By PETER DAY
Editor

The county is expected to announce it has combined the Municipal Advisory Councils for Lucerne Valley and Johnson Valley within “about five weeks.”

“We think the MAC needs to get back online,” Chris Carrillo, the deputy chief of staff for Third District Supervisor James Ramos, told attendees of last Tuesday’s Lucerne Valley Economic Development Association meeting.

Carrillo said the reconfigured advisory body could start “in about five weeks” or so.