FYI: Wonder Valley on the BOS Agenda

The April 19, 2016 Board of Supervisors agenda has two mentions of Wonder Valley:

80)
Acting as the governing body of the Board Governed County Service Areas and Zones, adopt the following Resolutions continuing special taxes, which were previously approved by the voters, for 2016-17 and direct the Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector to place the special taxes on the 2016-17 tax roll:

c.
Resolution setting a special tax for County Service Area 70, Zone TV-4 (Wonder Valley Television), at $5 per parcel, per Attachment C (no increase from previous year). 

q.
Resolution setting a special tax for Zone A of County Service Area 70, Zone M (Wonder Valley), at $30.00 per parcel, per Attachment Q (includes the electorate-approved decrease for second year of special tax). 

(Presenter: Jeffrey O. Rigney, Director, 387-5967)

Participate via videoconferencing at Bob Burke Government Center, 63665 Twentynine Palms Highway.

San Bernardino County Tax-Defaulted Property Auction

The San Bernardino County Tax-Defaulted Property Auction is scheduled for May 14-20, 2016. Grant Street Group will host the 2016 online auction at https://SBCounty.MyTaxSale.com. There are over 4,000 parcels, including Timeshares.

A refundable $5,000 deposit, plus a $35 non-refundable bid deposit processing fee, is required to participate in this auction. Only one deposit per bidder is required. As a reminder, all deposits must be submitted on the auction site via an electronic debit (ACH debit) and must be made a minimum of five (5) business days before the sale begins. ACH deposits will be allowed, starting Monday, April 18, 2016. All bid deposits must be received by Grant Street Group no later than 5:00 p.m., Pacific Time, on Friday, May 6, 2016.

Be sure to get your deposit in on time, read the terms and conditions of the sale, and research all properties thoroughly before placing a bid. For more information on how to participate in the sale, please see the Tax Deed Sale Instructions available on the auction site:
https://SBCounty.MyTaxSale.com.

Sincerely,
SBCounty.MyTaxSale Administrator

Desert Trail, April 14, 2016

On Saturday, April 16, two things will take place at our Wonder Valley Community Center, 80526 ½ Amboy Road. Fire extinguisher training will be held from 10 to 2. You must RSVP for this training. Contact Teresa Sitz at teresa.sitz@gmail.com or call 760-865-9550. Then the Emergency Medical Responder training information session will be held from 2 to 4. Actual training will take place from June 13 through July 13.

The USDA Food Distribution will take place on Monday, April 18 at our community center from 10:30 to 12:30. The He Provides Ministry will also be there with free clothing and household items for anyone needing them.

We send out Rainbows-of-Diamonds-and-Sweet-Peas to Diane Brooks, Penny Root and Lonnie Casper who celebrate their special days this week. Happy birthday to all of you!

And speaking of special days, this week brings our fourth anniversary of writing this column!  We are two of three daughters of Louise Borquez who wrote this column for 18 years, so we are just following in her footsteps. Our baby sister Donna, who used to be a Wonder Valleyite but now lives in Yucca Valley, gets a special preview of our column every week. We hope all of you enjoy reading our column as much as we enjoy writing it.

Darlene’s Commentary: Have you ever had a vehicle problem, been stuck in the sand or become lost on sandy desert roads? Summer and triple-digits are unforgiving, and being prepared for the unexpected could save your life! Place these seven items in your trunk:  Two gallons of water, a wide-brimmed hat, cellphone with car-charger, a shovel, two pieces of old carpeting, a bright-colored blanket or tarp and a flashlight with extra batteries.

Karen’s Commentary: Many thanks to Jan Peek for stamps, coupons and cards, and to Rebecca Ardelino and Sue Kizer for cards. I just sent coupons to US military bases in Weisbaden, Ansbach, Bamburg, Grafenwaehr and Illesheim, Germany; Okinawa, Yokohama, Yokosuka, Yokota, Atsugi and Ikego, Japan; Alconbury, UK; Brussels, Belgium; and Gaeta, Italy. If you’d like to do this, go to www.ocpnet.org. Postage is the same as sending local.

The Food for Life Ministry is still looking for a home, and we’re hoping it will be our community center! In the meantime, they are serving free hot meals at Luckie Park from noon to 2 every
Saturday, and delivering meals to shut-ins. Call 760-361-1410.

Handy Hint: Use a vegetable peeler to shave long, thin slices of cheese from a block, or to slice cold, hard butter into thin strips.

Thought for Today: Life is the art of drawing without an eraser.

Until next time . . . remember to take time to enjoy the WONDERs all around us.

Sun as seen through a recent sandstorm in Wonder Valley

Rumors and stories

Stories about me, your MAC volunteer, digging a community swimming pool, making Wonder Valley a city, or using road tax funds to bring in the recent rainbows, are simply not based in reality.

I do not take any actions in Wonder Valley without the consent of the community.

I do not even read my monthly report on Wonder Valley at the Big MAC meeting in Joshua Tree before the community has heard it, edited it, and approved it at our monthly meeting.

So, if you have not read it on an agenda, heard it in a meeting, or asked me about it in person, any stories you’ve heard are unverified. I know gossip can be fun, but it can also be a big time waster and a distraction at a time when Wonder Valley is facing important, and real issues that deserve our full attention - like keeping our fire service.

If you want to know the truth about what I’m doing, ask me. I am ridiculously easy to reach.

Teresa Sitz
MAC Volunteer
teresa.sitz@gmail.com
(760) 865-9550

Changes at the Wonder Valley Community Center

County Fire replaced the old blinds with new metal mini-blinds. What an improvement! Many thanks, Tom Marshall!

That palm tree to the right looks like it needs some help, though.

On March 26 Special Districts replaced the old drip system with a new irrigation system better suited to our desert climate. The plants are greening up nicely! Many thanks to John Bradford and Reese Troublefield, who saw this project through.

At today's monthly meeting the community approved a new neon sign. Brad Dunning will oversee the project at no cost to the community though people are welcome to contribute. The community also approved sharing our kitchen with the local group Food for Life. Wally Currie gave an informative presentation.

Thanks everyone for attending and participating!

It's really great to see the Wonder Valley Community Center being spruced up. We have a wonderful community and the Community Center is reflecting it.

Possible Benefits of a Wonder Valley Paid Call Fire Department

If you've attended the meetings on the fire issue you're probably well aware of the benefits of having Wonder Valley having its own fire department. If you haven't, you can catch up by clicking the [FIRE] tab above and reviewing the meetings and resources. I reviewed our first meeting this week and learned a lot - and I was AT that meeting.

Anyway, here are possible benefits for re-creating (because we had one once) a Paid Call Fire Department.

The Possible Benefits of a Paid Call / Volunteer Fire Department

1. We know our roads and know how to drive our roads. We can make sure roads and driveways are wide enough, intersections are marked, and roads are accessible.
2. We know our people, and can plan for the health of our people through nutrition and exercise programs at the community center.
3. We can prepare fire pre-plans to help our neighbors prepare for emergencies and inform firefighters who are going to a property.
4. We can build a water shuttle to act as an alternative to fire hydrants, providing continuous fire flow and possibly lowering our insurance rating and premiums.
5. As firefighters work to learn the roads they will be eyes on the neighborhoods and provide greater security.
6. We will write grants to provide smoke alarms and fire extinguishers to people who cannot afford them.
7. We will have emergency services on hand in our community. Highway 62 was closed several times in the last couple of months. These closures would not affect firefighters living in Wonder Valley. If our FD was on a call we would be able to call in additional squads to serve as backup.
8. We would be able to review, and to some extent, control costs. We would have monthly FD reports and could practice a greater degree of transparency and accountability.
9. A PCF/Volunteer program would be the heart of our community. We would have direct contact with our firefighters. We would know them by name. We would see them training and maintaining the equipment.

Desert Trail Column, April 6, 2016

The special meeting about County Service Districts was very interesting and informative. A CSD is best described as falling somewhere in between an incorporated city (such as Twentynine Palms) and an unincorporated area (such as Wonder Valley). Morongo Valley’s General Manager Donna Munoz and Board President Gayl Swarat were kind enough to give us an overview of their area’s experiences over the years as a CSD. They presented pros and cons, plus how they’re currently dealing with a financial shortfall for their fire department. A CSD may be a solution to our fire service dilemma.

Mojavewifi.com has generously offered to provide free wifi at our Wonder Valley Community Center, along with free installation of equipment. The money to purchase the equipment has been donated by Wonder Valley residents, and we thank them along with mojavewifi.com so very much.

On Saturday, April 9, The Palms, 83131 Amboy Road, will be presenting Wonder Valley Experimental 8, a music festival featuring 20 bands. Music starts at 5 pm, and free onsite tent or car camping will be available festival night. Call 760-361-2810 or go to WonderValley.org for further information.

The Wonder Valley Monthly Meeting will take place on Monday, April 11 at our community center, 80526 ½ Amboy Road, from 9 to 11 am. Kristine Scott from SoCal Gas will speak about the gas pipeline that runs through our area, and Brad Dunning will speak about his desire to restore the neon on our WV Community Center sign. Call Teresa Sitz at 760-865-9550 for further information.

On Monday, April 11, the Basinwide Municipal Advisory Council meeting will take place at the Joshua Tree Community Center at 6171 Sunburst in Joshua Tree from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Our MAC representative Teresa Sitz will be there to discuss items relative to Wonder Valley.

Happy birthday, Miss Charlotte!!!

We send out Rainbows-of-Diamonds-and-Sweet-Peas to Charlotte Williams who turns 83 this week. Happy birthday, Charlotte!

We are so saddened to hear that our fellow columnist, Mary Reeves, has passed away. Mary wrote the Desert Heights News, and her columns were always filled with goings-on at the Eagles Aerie, CERT training, Connie Chaffin’s Feathers ‘N’ Fur and so many other causes, always to help others. She will be missed by many, but always remembered.

The Animal Action League, located on Highway 62 just west of the dinosaurs in Joshua Tree, provides low-cost spay and neuter services, vaccinations and microchips for dogs and cats. Nail trimming for dogs costs only $5. Call 760-366-1100 for information.

Handy Hint: Reinforce knees of new pants by putting iron-on patches on the insides.

Thought for Today: “Wisdom begins with wonder.” – Socrates

Wonder Valley sunset

Until next time . . . remember to take time to enjoy the WONDERs all around us.