Archive
July 8th, 2011
By
George Shirk - Times Senior Writer
The cop shop won’t ever be the same.
Sergeant Karen Smart, on the Mammoth Lakes Police Department force for 25 years, said earlier this week she will retire so that the department can save a job for one of the younger officers.
“My time is done,” she said in a poignant interview early this week. “The younger guys are the future of the department and the future of the town.”
By
George Shirk - Times Senior Writer
Now that the Fourth of July is over, at least one town councilman is already looking at the next Fourth of July.
Time is short. Matthew Lehman has only a year to figure out what the holiday should look like.
At Wednesday’s Town Council meeting, Lehman floated the idea of moving the center of attention to the Village rather than Crowley Lake.
He said he knows he’ll hear gasps all over town.
“My primary goal is to help the business community,” he said.
“Instead of being one of the worst nights of the year in Mammoth, I’d like it to be one of the best.”
By
Wendilyn Grasseschi - Times Staff Writer
Several long-time Eastside residents were the first to respond to the news that a Mexican sport fishing boat, the Erik, with 26 American citizens on board, had capsized off the eastern coast of Baja Mexico on July 3, dumping all 43 passengers into the sea in the midst of a raging storm.
Doug and Peggy Magee have owned a home in Baja for 25 years and have lived there permanently for the past ten. Gloria and Ed Vasquez own a home close to the Magee’s.
Mammoth Mountain picked up a nice mention on NBC Nightly News a week ago. The bit was about our late ski season, narrated by anchor Kate Snow. …
It’s true! Tony and Cindy Avena, stalwarts in Mammoth for 30 years, have put the venrable Slocum’s up for sale. …
We’re sure going to miss Jon Eisert, the estimable Ski Surgeon, who folded up shop Tuesday at 12:59:59 p.m. and is on his way to Paso Robles. For good. “Some decisions are made for you,” he said. “It’s time.” Memories? “Back in the day, our dirtbags were better than the current dirtbags.” …
July 7th
Heavy rain and warm temperatures could mean serious flooding throughout Mono County tonight, according to the National Weather Service. The weather is supposed to dry out after Friday, with warm dry conditions predicted for the weekend. Go to this site for detailed information: http://1.usa.gov/n6r2Iy
July 1st
By
Wendilyn Grasseschi - Times Staff Writer
Long ago, thousands of Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep roamed the high Sierra, scattered along the crest of the range from Olancha Peak and all the way north to the Lee Vining Canyon area.
Agile, swift, secretive, this unique species of bighorn is only found in one place in the world: the Sierra Nevada; The vast majority of them roam on the Eastern Sierra side of the range. They seldom descend below 4,000 feet, spending most of their lives on the knife-edged, wind-swept peaks and ridges, where they find comparative safety from predators.
By
Wendilyn Grasseschi/Times Staff Writer
“Don’t go in the water. Don’t get anywhere near the water.”
That’s the advice of everyone from Mammoth Lakes Police to county sheriff’s deputies to US Forest Service rangers this week, as hot summer temperatures finally hit the massive snowpack still suspended above Mammoth.
“You can feel the vibration when you are just standing near the river, there is so much water right now,” said Inyo National Forest spokesman Mike Johnson Thursday. “There are just torrents of water coming down. Whatever you do, don’t go in the water. It’s just very dangerous.”
Reds Meadow and Devils Postpile Roads opened Wednesday and the shuttle buses are running. Yeah! But there’s a lot of water down there, and the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River is flooding. Plus, a lot of trails are damaged or under water. So, be careful, be very, very careful. ...
June 28th
A 65-year-old Placerville woman died June 23 after trying to lead her horse across a snow bridge in the Cottonwood Lakes Wilderness area southwest of Lone Pine.
Deborah Behrendt died after a snow bridge gave way as she was trying to lead her horse across it, according to the Inyo County Sheriff's Department. A snow bridge forms across streams or small rivulets durign spring runoff conditions and is hollow underneath a covering of snow. Behrendt's horse reacted when the bridge gave way, causing the horse behind her horse to rear up and come down on Behrendt's chest.
June 27th
Mono Basin Historical Society Vice President David Dore will be coordinating a work party to repair the roof of the Upside Down House, wall of the Old Schoolhouse, and hopefully the handicapped access ramp if time, labor and materials allow this Thursday, June 30.
Meet at the Museum at 9:00 a.m. if you can help. Dore hopes to have a good turnout to accomplish the repairs.
Please direct questions to Dave, 760-647-1055.
June 24th
By
George Shirk - Times Senior Writer
Whitmore Pool’s fate came right down to the wire on Wednesday.
It came as the Mammoth Lakes Town Council struggled to balance its 2011-12 budget.
If it was not a last-second reprieve, it was certainly a last-hour reprieve for advocates of the pool.
They will find the pool’s hours of operation the same; the water comfortable and inviting, just as swimmers there have known for many years.
By
Wendilyn Grasseschi - Times Staff Writer
As a neighborhood, a community, a county, who are we?
That question is at the heart of the work that a group of local residents is doing right now.
Their answers have the potential to redefine the question.
Couched in the term “redistricting”, these residents have been working for the past several weeks to come up with ways to re-draw Mono County’s five supervisorial districts.
Redistricting is necessary in the county because the 2010 Census revealed that the districts are now lopsided in terms of population. They must be made equal.
Interim Town Manager Marianna Marysheva-Martinez’s contract runs out at the end of June, but don’t count on it sticking, say Town Hall insiders. Once the Hot Creek judgment lands, the town staff is going to need a whole lot of help, and there’s no help like MMM’s ...
Hoidy-toidy Grinnell College in Iowa put Bishop’s Drew Blumberg on the Dean’s List for the spring semester, and that’s a big darned deal in academic circles. He’s majoring in Biological Chemistry. Parents Stephen and Sandra Blumberg are proud as punch. ...
A record snowfall and resulting damage has delayed the opening of the Reds Meadow Road to Wednesday, June 29. The target date of June 24 was not met due to the time required to remove hazards and debris, and to make repairs along the roadway as a result of winter avalanches and harsh conditions. The road, with access to the Devils Postpile National Monument, will open at 8:00 am on June 29 with shuttle bus services beginning immediately.
June 22nd
By
Wendilyn Grasseschi - Times Staff Writer
Jim Arkens has been named the Mono County administrator, or CAO.
Arkens has served the county as the director for the Human Resources department for the past year. He takes the place of former CAO Dave Wilbrecht, who left the county to become the new Town manager for the Town of Mammoth Lakes last month.
Arkens, 58, was chosen by the county board of supervisors after a closed session Tuesday.
