Archive - 2010
October 8th
By
George Shirk - Mammoth Times Senior Writer
Mammoth Lakes Police Chief Dan Watson got his back up this week when he learned an Orange County man had dropped off a document to the Mammoth Times claiming the town has deliberately set up “Seat Belt Traps.”
“A law enforcement official parks his police car facing the stop sign waiting for a tourist coming from the L.A. area,” wrote Barry H. Buckser, of Lake Forest.
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area made a big push to land a spot at May’s Amgen Tour of California, but was outpaced by the Tahoe resorts. The cyclists will start at South Lake to Tahoe-Northstar, North Lake to Squaw Valley, then into the central valley, finishing in Thousand Oaks after eight stages. We is bummed but appreciate the effort put in by MMSA. ...
By
George Shirk - Mammoth Times Senior Writer
The Mammoth Huskies go on the road tonight in their first serious road game of the season.
The opponent, Boron (4-1), is one thing. But the biggest adjustment the Huskies (2-2) might face is the bus.
“You can’t put a kid on a bus and expect him to ride for five hours,” said Coach Tom Gault after a mid-week practice this week. “It’s especially hard for the junior varsity,” he said. “They have to ride the bus, jump off and be ready to play (at 4 o’clock).”
So how much is the “bus advantage?”
By
George Shirk - Mammoth Times Senior Writer
There was always a certain kind of charm to the old house trailer/rental hut at Mammoth’s Tamarack Cross Country Ski Center. Wasn’t there?
Um, no, actually, there wasn’t.
It was cramped for space, the stairs somehow always seemed whopperjawed in ice and snow, and not even the enduring charm of cross-country ski director Ueli Luthi could mitigate the scene.
This season, the house trailer is history except as a storage space. In its place is the old cabin from Sam’s Woods, and a new tent structure that is similar to the one at Little Eagle Lodge at Chair 15/Eagle Express.
By
Mammoth Times Staff/Inyo National Forest
The Mammoth and Mono Lake Ranger Districts of the Inyo National Forest and the North Zone for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) - Bishop Field Office are planning to implement several prescribed fire projects for habitat improvement and hazardous fuels reduction in the upcoming fall and winter months, the forest service announced this week.
Smoke may be visible at times from Highways 395, 120 and 203 as well as from the communities of Mono City, Lee Vining, June Lake, Mammoth Lakes and Topaz.
By
Mammoth Times Staff/ Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce
The Mammoth Ambassador Program is designed to improve the level of hospitality toward visitors to Mammoth.
It offers a community-wide hospitality training program consisting of one six-hour day presented in two modules: Spirit of Hospitality and Host training for the town. Spirit of Hospitality focuses on the culture of guest service, the kind of “active friendliness” that differentiates the best resorts in the United States from the rest.
By
By Mammoth Times Staff
There are some people living in Lee Vining and June Lake who need assistance. This food often supplements the government food program and is distributed in Food Baskets for Thanksgiving and Easter. Non-perishable food containers are in the Lee Vining and June Lake post offices.
Check donations can be made payable to: Community Presbyterian Church. P.O. Box 267 Lee Vining, CA 93541.
Please mark checks with the notation “Food Bank.” For more information call Cathy Lytle (760) 647-6157 or Linda Dore (760) 647-1055.
October 6th
By
George Shirk - Mammoth Times Senior Writer
When the Mammoth Lakes Town Council finally adjourned Wednesday night, practically everybody in the council chambers snapped to their cellphones or wristwatches to just see how long the meeting had lasted.
"I make it 14 minutes," said an astonished Police Chief Dan Watson.
Fourteen *minutes?*
This, from a deliberative body that is notorious for dragging things well into the night.
In fact, if there is a single expression that characterizes a Mammoth Town Council meeting, it's the 9:30 p.m. yawn.
A longtime Mammoth Lakes daycare provider was arrested the evening of Oct. 5 on suspicion of sexual abuse against two children, now adults, who were once in his care, according to local law enforcement officials.
Guadalupe “Lupe” Almaguer, 56, was arrested on the evening of Oct. 5 for crimes of sexual abuse against minors, according to Mono County District Attorney Chief Investigator Wade McCammond.
Almaguer was booked on five counts of Penal Code 288, or “Lewd and Lascivious Acts with a Child under 14.”
By
By Wendilyn Grasseschi
Mammoth and Mono County residents awoke Wednesday morning to the first real snow of the year on the ground.
About an inch of wet snow covered the lower reaches of the county all the way down to the county line on the Sherwin Grade with far more above the 10,000 foot line, and local weatherman Howard Sheckter said it isn’t over yet.
October 5th
By
George Shirk - Mammoth Times Senior Writer
A 24-year-old Mammoth Lakes resident was booked on charges of attempted murder Tuesday, after a wild, confusing episode in the town’s “Ghetto” neighborhood.
Jonathon Anderson also was charged with felony domestic violence, parole violation, resisting arrest and destroying a cell phone when used to make an emergency call.
Anderson, who was pulled from under the victim’s bed during the arrest, is behing held without bail at the Mono County Jail in Bridgeport.
Gloppy weather continued in Mammoth on Tuesday, but in mid-afternoon, bright stabs of sunshine burst through the rain- and snow-sodden skies.
Despite the afternoon sun, the National Weather Service wasn't buying it.
For the rest of the afternoon and early evening, forecasters at the weather service predicted more snow. Some thunder is also possible. High near 38. Northeast wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.
October 4th
UPDATED 3 p.m. Monday. The "Granite Curtain" descended in the High Sierra Monday, when snow, wind and general "inclement weather" forced Caltrans to close both Tioga Pass (S.R. 120) and Sonora Pass (S.R. 108).
Forecasters predicted four to eight 4 to 8 inches of snow are possible in the Sierra above 8,500 feet through Tuesday morning.
Snow levels near 11,000 feet will drop to near 9,000 feet later today and fall near 8,000 feet late tonight.
Snow may affect the higher passes along U.S. 395 tonight in Mono county but accumulations are unlikely to occur.
October 1st
By
George Shirk - Mammoth Times Senior Writer
The Friday Night Lights were not so kind to the Mammoth Huskies Friday night in Bishop. It was more like Friday Night Lights OUT.
The final was 59-6, Broncos, but it wasn't really that close.
The visiting Huskies (2-2) were inundated by eight Broncos touchdowns and another Bishop field goal. In the second half, the Broncos (4-0) scored 35 points without their superb starting quarterback, Chance Callahan, who was injured late in the second quarter and sat out the second half.
By
George Shirk - Mammoth Times Senior Writer
There might be worse places to crash a paraglider, but it’s hard to imagine.
A 37-year-old Santa Cruz man on Monday evening went down two miles west of the White Mountain Research Station’s Barcroft Laboratory near Barcroft Peak, breaking his back and lying in the darkness – helpless in steep, rocky, unforgiving terrain.
“Fortunately he didn’t land in a rock ditch or in a cliff band or truly challenging terrain,” said Jeff Holmquist, a member of the rescue team.
“We caught a huge break because of that, and obviously, so did he.”
