Archive - News Article
June 19th, 2013
Contractors hit a gas line on Tuesday night near College Parkway on the south side of Meridian Boulevard, resulting in a full-scale emergency response that closed Meridian for several hours, according to local fire officials.
There were no injuries or damage associated with the incident and the cause of the break is under investigation, according to Mammoth Lakes Fire Department Chief Brent Harper. Harper said Kleven contractors hit a four-inch propane line west of College Parkway on the south side of Meridian, across from the Elementary School at around 5:50 p.m. Tueday, June 18.
June 18th
A small brush fire near Mono City on Tuesday morning that grew to five acres is now mostly contained, according to the county sheriff's department. There is no danger to Mono City or the surrounding area at this time.
On June 18, at approximately 7:40 a.m., Mono County Sheriff’s deputies were traveling northbound on S.R. 395 when they noticed smoke just south of Hwy 167 on the west side of Hwy 395 in the Mono City area, according to a news release from the sheriff's department.
RE: Search and Rescue Team Operation: Mutual Aid Search for a Missing Hiker on Boundary Peak
On the afternoon of Wednesday, June 12, 2013, at approximately 2:15pm, Mono County Sheriff’s Dispatch received a call regarding a potential mutual aid search and rescue on Boundary Peak, out of Esmeralda County, NV, for a 54-year-old stranded hiker.
June 17th
The National Weather Service in Reno on Monday, June 17, posted a red flag warning for Mammoth and the Eastern Sierra through Tuesday evening, saying "critical fire weather conditions" will be in effect.
Southwest winds are projected to increase to 15 to 30 miles an hour, with gusts of 35 to 45 miles an hour, the weather service said.
Combined with humidity that could go as low as five to 15 percent, "will create critical fire weather conditions," the weather service said in its alert message.
The Lee Vining Community Center received a facelift this past week after a group of volunteers and a visiting group of firefighters turned the bare, brown grounds around the center into a beautiful, landscaped garden.
According to organizer Ilene Mandelbaum, the new space is now “a green and inviting place to visit, with lush flowers and well-mulched shrubs and trees,” instead of the wind-blown bare spot it was just a week ago.
June 14th
Administrative officer started June 10
Mono County’s new top administrator is a man in a hurry to get to work.
Jim Leddy, the county’s new administrative officer (CAO), started his new job on Monday, June 10, and said in a recent interview that his worst habit is probably that he doesn’t know when to stop working.
About 3,000 expected in annual event
The vroom-vroom set bombs into Mammoth next week for the annual Mammoth Motocross, but this year the 10-day spectacle brings some added street cred.
“This is the first year with the AMA (American Motorcycle Association) sanctioning the event, which means bigger, more legit talent,” said Mike Colbert, the race director.
By
George Shirk- Times Managing Editor
New law aimed at restaurants
In spite of years of work in developing a strategy for co-existence with its bear population, Mammoth’s humans have no laws that require the use of bear boxes or bear-resistant trashcans.
In addition, the town does not have enforcement tools that such a law might allow.
In light of the absence of such laws, the Town Council began discussions on creating new measures that amend Mammoth’s current trash and garbage ordinance.
Veteran cop Worcester from Irvine
Mammoth Lakes Police Chief Dan Watson swore in the police department’s second reserve officer on June 10. Dick Worcester will join Karen Smart as a part-time Level One reserve officer, he said.
Reserve Officer Worcester began his law enforcement career in 1976 with the City of Irvine.
In addition to patrol duties, Worcester also worked as a traffic enforcement motorcycle officer, detective, traffic investigator, and DARE instructor.
June 13th
By
George Shirk- Times Managing Editor
‘Not just tweaking around the edges,’ he says in interview
Mammoth Mountain CEO Rusty Gregory said he would lead a company-wide meeting on Wednesday, June 19, to explain who will shape the future of the ski area.
“We’re making really big changes on the mountain,” he said in an interview on Wednesday, June 12.
By
George Shirk- Times Managing Editor
Jon Young makes first appearance at annual event
Among the stars in the specialized world of birding is a 53-year-old father of six—a New Jersey native who learned some of the greatest lessons of his life from listening to what birds have to teach humans.
“Birds can tell you lots of things,” said Jon Young, now a Santa Cruz resident who is making his first appearance this coming weekend at the 12th Annual Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua in Lee Vining.
County supervisors agree to increase staffing, worry about setting precedent
The Mono County Board of Supervisors hit up against the slippery slope argument this past Tuesday when officials from the Sheriff’s Department and the Probation Department asked for an increase in staffing and an increase in job classification and/or promotion opportunities for certain positions.
June 11th
By
George Shirk- Times Managing Editor
MUSD to get $180,000 for national ‘Common Core’ initiative
The Mammoth Unified School District would receive $180,000 from the state to help with establishing national standards of education, acting superintendent Lou Stewart announced last week.
The funds, an outgrowth of an effort by U.S. state governors, are to go toward bringing all schools up to speed on “what makes a student educated.”
June 10th
A frozen berry product called Townsend Farms Organic Anti-oxidant Blend sold at many regional stores, including Costco, is at the heart of a Hepatitis A outbreak affecting six victims in California, two in Reno, and many others across several states.
So far, there have been four families from Mono County and one family from Inyo County that are known to have been exposed to the product, but there have been no outbreaks of the illness in the Eastern Sierra, according to local health officials.
