Bert Lies | Rattlesnake Whisperer, Saturday, May 12 at 10 a.m.

Bert Lies, a local rattlesnake removal expert, will tell us:

• all about rattlesnakes
• why they may be on your property
• how to not have them on your property
• what to do when they are on your property
• teaching dogs and children to avoid rattlesnakes
• when rattlesnakes are out
• do's and don'ts in a medical emergency, and
• questions and answers

There will be NO live snakes present. There WILL be fresh coffee and your favorite Porto's pastries!

Everyone is invited and welcome to attend and participate.

Desert Trail Column, May 12, 2016

We were unable to attend the memorial for Mary Reeves, but we want to say how much we miss reading her columns. Rest in peace, Mary.

Monday, May 16 will be a busy day at our Wonder Valley Community Center, 80526 ½ Amboy Road at Blower Road. The He Provides Ministry will arrive at 9:30 to distribute free clothing and household items, and from 10:30 to noon, the USDA Food Distribution will take place.

Darlene’s Commentary: I read my Basinwide Weekend Hi Desert Star differently from my Desert Trail. In the Trail, I first check our column and Betty Salvini’s, then the front page for prominent items in the need-to-know category, then the Opinion Page and Soapbox, then I go over everything that I hadn’t read, and finish with the Classifieds.

Now, with the Basinwide Star, first I have to visit all seven columnists in the middle of the paper to see what’s going on in their communities, then I turn to the Classifieds. This week the first item in the Lost and Found caught my eye. I know exactly how it feels to lose your mom, with photos then being the only way that you can “see” her again. Young people take lots of photos – friends, children and family, pets, vacations, etc, but most of the photos stay in the phone and never become actual printed photos that you can hold and share with others. I would urge everyone to think about that and print out your favorite photos, and keep them safe so they can be passed to the next generations. It’s a bummer to lose your phone, but it can be replaced – pictures can’t. I hope the person that picked up Teresa’s phone at WalMart will do the right thing.

Karen’s Commentary: Many thanks go out to Marie Heddaeus for coupons and cards, to Sandi Arismendi for cards, to Sue McMahon for cards and to Jan Peek for coupons and stamps. Our military families overseas, St Jude’s Ranch for Children in Utah and the eagles in Big Bear all thank you!

If you want to know all the latest news from and about Wonder Valley, check out the website www.WonderValley.org – it has a wealth of information from both the present and the past.

Handy Hint: If you have an oven with a self-cleaning cycle, start the cycle right after you finish baking something, while the oven’s still hot. It will use less energy to heat up to cleaning temperature.

Thought for Today: Dear Algebra, Please stop asking us to find your X. She’s never coming back and don’t ask Y.

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

SoCalGas Activity Notice

Kristine Scott from SoCalGas has sent a new message copied in below.
Download the notice at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ueu8nvwy8h4dj3b/socalgas_05112016.pdf?dl=0
Thank you,

Teresa Sitz
MAC Volunteer
Wonder Valley CA

May 11, 2016
Re: SoCalGas Pipeline Maintenance Work from Essex to Wonder Valley

Dear Resident,
Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas ® ) continues maintenance work on one of our natural gas pipelines. This work is part of our system-wide plan to further enhance the safety of our pipelines throughout the communities we serve.

What to expect
During this maintenance work, you will see SoCalGas and its contractor’s trucks and heavy equipment. Crews will be working Monday through Saturday from approximately 6:00am-8:00pm.

During the week of May 17 th through May 20 th , and again on May 24 th , there will be noise coming from our pipeline as we complete different phases of the maintenance work. The noise should last approximately 15 minutes each day. In addition to the noise, you might notice a rotten-egg like odor of natural gas. Natural gas is non-toxic, odorless and colorless. For this reason, we add a minute amount of a pungent odorant to natural gas to help detect leaks. The odorant is safe but its smell has been compared to the smell of rotten eggs.

We are sorry for any inconvenience or annoyance this may have caused our neighbors and area residents. We appreciate your patience and cooperation.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Regional Public Affairs Manager, Kristine Scott at kscott@semprautilities.com or 909-809- 0317.

Property Tax programs for elderly and disabled

If you're having trouble paying your property taxes you might want to look into some of these programs:

Through the County of San Bernardino:

• Homeowner's Exemption
• Proposition 8 - Decline in Market Value
• Proposition 60 - Seniors and Disabled Replacement Dwelling Benefit 
• Proposition 90 - Seniors and Disabled Replacement Dwelling Benefit 
• Parent to Child and Grandparent to Grandchild Transfer 

http://cms.sbcounty.gov/assessor/TaxSavingsPrograms.aspx

And through the State of California:

• California Property Tax Postponement Program
  http://www.sco.ca.gov/Content-Images/ARD-Tax/PTP_FLYER_-_One-Page.pdf
• There may also be a property tax assistance program through the California State Franchise Tax Board.

You may also want to read:
Property tax exemptions, exclusions include charitable organizations

Desert Trail, May 5, 2016

The Wonder Valley Book Program has new hours, starting in May and running through September. It will be open Mondays and Wednesdays from 11 am to 3 pm. Donations of books are welcome. Thank you, Isabel, Kathy and all the volunteers for keeping this program going! Call 760-367-9880 during the above hours.

An Artists Reception will be held on Saturday, May 7 from 5 to 9 pm at the Glass Outhouse Art Gallery, 77575 29 Palms Highway at Thunder Road, featuring artists Esther Shaw and Jennifer Palmer-Lacy. Enjoy free refreshments, with music provided by The Larry and Linda Band. The gallery’s open to the public Tuesday through Sunday from 1 to 5 pm, and this week’s show runs May 7 through 29. Admission is always free. Call Laurel at 760-367-3807.

The Wonder Valley Monthly Meeting will be held on Monday, May 9 at our community center, 80526 ½ Amboy Road at Blower Road, at 9 am. Call Teresa Sitz at 760-865-9550.

The Basinwide MAC Meeting will take place on Monday, May 9 at the Joshua Tree Community Center, 6171 Sunburst, at 6:30 pm. Teresa Sitz is our councilmember.

Since the birthstone for May is the emerald, and the flower is the lily-of-the-valley, we send out Rainbows-of-Emeralds-and-Lilies-of-the-Valley to Marlene Roberts who celebrates her special day this week. Happy birthday, Marlene!

Karen’s Commentary: I must tell you about the trashbags at Dollar General. For years I bought 39-gallon trashbags with pull ties, and could only find them at Pic-N-Save/Big Lots, and only made by Hefty. When Dollar General opened, I spotted the Hefty ones at their store PLUS their own brand, and discovered their brand is almost half the price and almost double the thickness! Can you guess where I buy trashbags now?

Darlene’s Commentary: Last Friday afternoon, my sister Donna called, inviting me out to dinner while she was in town. Little did I know that we were to dine at the Tortoise Rock Casino! We had a ball, laughing, eating, talking about old times. We had fun at the slot machines and ran into loads of friends, plus I got to see her new car. We had a great time! Thanks, Donna – love you!

Our grader operator Tim Candelaria is doing a great job on our roads. If you have a comment, question or compliment, leave a message at 760-367-9880. He’ll call you back if requested.

Handy Hint: To help prevent tarnish, stash a few sticks of chalk inside your jewelry box, and replace them every few months.

Thought for Today: Teach your kids about taxes – eat 30 percent of their ice cream.

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

Marine Corps taking public input on training area environmental effects

By Z107.7 News, on May 2nd, 2016
The Marine Corps is accepting public comment on its draft environmental assessment it has prepared for its training areas on board the Combat Center. The draft environmental assessment evaluates additional landing zones within existing training areas that contain low densities of desert tortoises, the impacts of operations, and determines areas where rotary-wing and tilt-rotor aircraft landing operations can occur and where it may be restricted. The draft environmental assessment report is available at the Twentynine Palms and Yucca Valley libraries, as well as at a link in this story at z1077fm.com. The deadline for public comment is May 20.

http://www.29palms.marines.mil/Staff/G4InstallationsandLogistics/EnvironmentalAffairs.aspx

Desert Trail Column, April 28, 2016

The special meeting concerning the Local Agency Formation Commission was very interesting. How to dissolve our fire protection district and how to form a Community Service District were discussed, along with pros and cons of doing so. One eye-opening fact we found out was that it would cost $17,000 in LAFCO fees to form a CSD. Also, that there is really no advantage to dissolving our fire protection district if we plan on staying with San Bernardino County Fire. Along with LAFCO’s Kathleen Rollings-McDonald, SBCF Division Chief John Chamberlin was there to answer questions from the audience.

The Dale Basin Well Owner’s Association meeting will be held on Sunday, May 1 at our community center, 80526 ½ Amboy Road at Blower Road, at 4 pm. There will be a review of the by-laws, plus questions from the audience will be answered.



Darlene’s Commentary: Sadly, Carol Rogers, a 35-year resident of Wonder Valley, has passed away. Carol was a friend of mine, and everyone knew her as a gentle, easy-going, very kind person with a heart of gold. She leaves three children, Penny Root, Curtis Johnson and Vickie Buckley, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I will miss her, as will many people here in Wonder Valley and beyond. A memorial service will be held, but no date has been set yet.

Karen’s Commentary: I believe it was Melody Marks who told our Slice of Life group several years ago about receiving postcards from all over the world. She gave us a website address which I wrote down, but put in a “do later” file. Well, later finally came for that slip of paper, I checked out the website and was immediately hooked! Before I go any further, the website is http://www.postcrossing.com. It is SO neat! It’s all free, so check it out yourself. So far I’ve received postcards from Finland (my very first one), Romania, Holland, Belarus, Germany and the Netherlands.

Reach Out Morongo Basin will pick you up at The Palms on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 am to take you to the Twentynine Palms Nutrition Site for lunch. You will then be returned to The Palms at 2 pm. If you have a transportation problem, you can even be picked up and dropped off at your residence. Call 760-361-1410 for further information.

Handy Hint: Next time you peel a banana, start at the opposite end, not the stem. You’ll find few or none of those sticky, bothersome strings – they stay inside the banana peel.

Thought for Today:  In 1648, the first volunteer fire department was established in New York by Peter Stuyvesant.

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