VOTE!

The Wonder Valley Community Center is the polling location for those residing in Wonder Valley. It is next to the old fire station at 80526-½ Amboy Road, from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

If you’re a NPP (no party preference) voter, you can still vote for the Democratic candidate by requesting a Democratic ballot. This does not hold true for NPPs voting Republican.

You may register to vote at your polling location -- same day voter registration.

Wonder Valley Community Cleanup

WONDER VALLEY NEIGHBORHOOD CLEANUP
WHEN: Saturday, March 14, 2020; 8:00 a.m. to NOON (or until equipment is full)
WHERE: Wonder Valley Community Center
80526-½ Amboy Road, Wonder Valley (next to the palm tree cell phone tower)
PLEASE BRING A PHOTO ID WITH YOUR ADDRESS

If you have questions regarding this event, please call Code Enforcement Officer Melissa Malcom at 909-266-3477.

Download the flyer: https://tinyurl.com/wvcleanup2020

WONDER VALLEY NEIGHBORHOOD CLEANUP
San Bernardino County Code Enforcement and Solid Waste Management Divisions will be providing bulky trash collection containers for the FREE disposal of accumulated trash, e-waste, and tires. Please bring your bulky items and trash to the designated container at the location listed below. This program is limited to the residents of the unincorporated County area.

We cannot accept commercial or industrial waste from businesses. Please remember to safely secure and properly cover your loads prior to traveling to the event.

If you are bringing waste tires, please limit your load to a maximum of 9 tires. Tires on rims WILL be accepted.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have oversized, loose, or hard-to-handle loads, you may be turned away to dispose of your waste materials at your own expense.

WE WILL ACCEPT household trash, bulky items, green waste and vehicle tires.

The Urban Conservation Corps will be present to accept electronics (TV’s, COMPUTER MONITORS, VCR’s, STEREOS, CELL PHONES, MICROWAVES & MORE)

WE CANNOT ACCEPT HAZARDOUS WASTE. This includes motor oil and oil filters, antifreeze, gasoline, drain cleaner, pesticides, fertilizers, fluorescent lights, wood preservatives, pool and hobby supplies, auto/furniture polish, paint thinners, paint products or similar products.

For current information, locations and times for the disposal of Household Hazardous Waste, please call the Household Hazardous Waste Program: 1-800-OILY-CAT (1-800-645-9228)

Living and learning in Wonder Valley

Volume 2

Ah! The weather, who can predict it?  Mostly no one can but it's still useful to have some idea for sure as to when to batten down the hatches. Let's take today for instance. The day before yesterday thirty-one mph winds were forcast for our little neck of the creosote bushes but now? Down to twenty five instead. I've determined also that they will usually start about three hours after your app of choice says they will. Rain is an even bigger hit or miss scenario. It can be raining literaly a quarter mile from you and nary a drop will fall on your humble abode. I've found that any percentage below 70% should be taken with grain of salt. Unfortunately, when it does rain it comes down hard and fast and usually is going to flood out your dirt road. That's why it's always an excellent idea to have plenty of canned goods and water in good supply. It's good to be able to sit out a trip to town for a couple days while the flood subsides and the roads get fixed up. Just a reminder try not to go through big patches of still water unless you at least have an all-wheel drive vehicle or better a four-wheel drive truck.

Speaking of vehicles and getting stuck. There are a few roads that I will recommend staying away from without a four-wheel drive vehicle. Pole Line Road that runs East to West along the border of the Cleghorn Wilderness is one you should be very careful to avoid if possible. There are numerous very very soft sandy areas that will surely get you stuck. Ironage Road is another at the eastern end of Wonder Valley. When we first moved here we decided to go exploring on Ironage Road on a nice Sunday afternoon. We only had our two-wheel drive Ford F150 and quickly found ourselves stuck in the sand and couldn't get out. A call to a towing service in Yucca Valley which was the only one open on Sunday was quite disappointing in that the cost to pull us out of our predicament would be $900. Luckily we were able to call a friend who pulled us out of our pending disaster. One should always bring water and keep it in your truck whenever doing such exploring because flat tires can also be a problem out here in the desert. Having charged batteries to charge your phone is also useful in case you are stuck for any length of time. These batteries are quite inexpensive now and are indispensable out here in our desert wonderland. Many can be charged with solar and and are quite efficient at staying charged when not in use.

While you're out exploring it's best to understand that you shouldn't probably assume that a cabin is uninhabited and just walk right up to the property and go in. Being respectful of other people's property is one of the things that's very important in Wonder Valley. People don't take kindly to individuals just invading their space. In addition exploring abandoned cabins has its dangers and pitfalls. Be careful to not step on loose boards and clutter because one never knows what interesting creatures might be living underneath. Rattlesnakes and scorpions are known to love to hide under such clutter. Always wear good boots and socks and long pants when possible to protect yourself from unknown assailants. I highly recommend to err on the side of caution whether a home or cabin is okay to explore. Beware of old coots like myself who might take offense at interlopers with the look of hipster on their faces. The last thing you want is an old fart with a shotgun chasing you down a questionable exit road.

One last tip for this column, don't be in a hurry down any dirt road. Drive no more than  25 mph. Your neighbors will appreciate you for it and so will the allergies of the affected. Flying dust is something no one likes and many will just be angry at you for trying to run the Daytona 500 down a country road. In addition driving too fast on these roads creates a washboard effect that will surely make your electric windows fail long before they need to. It is surprising how many parts of your car can come loose from the constant vibrations caused by the rattle and roll.

That's all for this week desert dwellers.

Ronnie Ruff

Wonder Valley, California

Follow me on Instagram @RONNIECOSMICRUFF

All photos ©ronnieruff

Desert Trail Column - February 26, 2020

The Salvation Army Food Distribution will take place on Wednesday, February 26 at our Wonder Valley Community Center, 80526-½ Amboy Road at Blower Road, from 11 a.m. until the food is gone. Food is from Trader Joe’s and usually includes meat, bread and fresh fruits and vegetables.

Most events at our community center are sponsored by our non-profit organization Friends of Wonder Valley. For additional information on any local event, contact WVCC Coordinator Teresa Sitz at teresa.sitz@sdd.sbcounty.gov or 760-367-9880.

We send out Rainbows-of-Amethysts-and-Violets to Susie Sesma who celebrates her special day this week. We don’t think Susie will mind us telling you that she only gets a real birthday every four years. So happy, happy, happy, happy birthday, Susie!

Karen’s Commentary: My main subject today is my sister Dar! She’s experiencing some serious medical problems, so there will be times when she’s unable to contribute to this column. Today’s one of those times. When she feels like it, she’ll probably write one of her uplifting and positive commentaries. (I call her Pollyanna!) But when she doesn’t feel like it, you’ll just have to put up with my commentary only. We just thought it would be good to let everyone know why Dar’s commentary will sometimes be missing. As for life around my house, hubby Ted is gradually gathering quite a menagerie of friends. He converses with two ravens who have been around here for a long time. Let me tell you, Ted speaks fluent Raven! Then there are the two cottontails that he named Sweet Lips and Sweet Cheeks. And he’s in the process of learning to speak Roadrunner because he needs to converse with Ricky Runner! And now there’s a pigeon who sometimes brings a friend. He hangs around Ted wherever he is in the yard! To add to this National Geographic documentary, I have five friends of my own: Jack O’Lantern, Jack LaLanne, Jack Palance, Jack Spratt and Jack Nicholson. Can you possibly guess what kind of animals these five are?

We want to thank our grader operator for doing such a good job on our roads! If you have a comment, complaint, question, suggestion, compliment or request concerning Wonder Valley’s unpaved roads, go to https://tinyurl.com/fixmyroad, or call 760-367-9880 or 909-387-5940.

Handy Hint: Instead of being an early bird at garage or yard sales, go at the very last minute to take advantage of the fact that everything that’s left will be VERY cheap because the seller just wants them gone!

Today’s Thought: Did you hear about the fellow whose entire left side was cut off? He’s all right now.

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

Living and learning in Wonder Valley

When we moved to Wonder Valley in September of 2017 we had a lot to learn, and out here you have to learn quite fast.

This list is a work in progress, one finds out here in the great Mojave time moves slow but problems can pop up with no notice whatsoever. Here is the first installment.

Take for instance getting the right fence.  We learned our lesson abruptly one morning when I came out our back door to check on our dogs. We had 40MPH winds the night before, winds ripping through the neighborhood, howling and rattling the rafters. As I walked out into the yard I glanced to my right to see our relatively new chain link fence blown over on it's side. We had it installed by professionals with shade cloth to provide some privacy from our neighbor, little did I know shade cloth can be tricky on a fence in Wonder Valley. What we learned was the chain link posts should probably be far closer together to withstand our desert breezes especially with shade cloth attached. Make sure your contractor is using only the best, strengthened posts!

The same advice on fencing applies to shade cloth used for canopies and porch covering. Out here in God's country that shade cloth acts as a sail during wind storms and your shade cloth could end up a few miles away quickly.  Posts to create a shade canopy should be made of heavy weight steel posts or 4 X 4 wood posts if you want to keep your canopy on your property and not a neighbor's 2 miles away.

One thing to plan for if you move to our little community will be how you get your mail.  Many folks have mail boxes along Amboy Rd and Route 62, since that's as far as USPS will go to deliver your mail. Many have had their mail bamboozled by those that want your credit card statement or Amazon package. We found the post office in 29 Palms less than efficient and rented a box at 29 Postal Plus on Adobe Rd for our mail. The drive in to get it isn't that bad and now that Starbucks opened it's just another excuse for a frappuccino.

Speaking about going to 29 Palms to get your mail we learned to be sure you have have a good spare and a jack in good working order. We have had 5 flats in our two and a half years here mostly due to potholes and various hazzards that make their way out into the middle of the road. If you are successful in avoiding flats also be careful with road shoulders as they are often very soft and not kind to vehicles that are not so desert friendly.

I will close out this week's edition of the column by talking about our ongoing war with the desert pack rat.

Spring rains bring beautiful desert flora and that food source also brings an abundance of critters to our homes.  We have been lucky not to have these little friends in our cabin but they have taken a toll on my cactus specimens and fledgling trees.  It's a never ending battle and I have learned to stick with specimens that are loaded with long spines as opposed to the smoother varieties that have less spines.  I've had my formerly four foot Mexican Fencepost eaten in half over night. 

I've tried all of the natural repellants like peppermint and dish soaps and the only thing that has worked so far is planting the species the rats don't find yummy and keeping others out of their reach. I have refrained so far from going all Caddy Shack on them. There are enough bombs exploding nearby.

See you next week with more things we've learned in our desert community.

Ronnie Ruff

Wonder Valley

Desert Trail Column - February 19, 2020

Bob Dougherty from the San Bernardino County Department of Aging and Adult Services will be at our Wonder Valley Community Center, 80526-½ Amboy Road at Blower Road, today, February 19 from 11 to noon. For further information, call 760-228-5232.

Most events at our community center are sponsored by our non-profit organization Friends of Wonder Valley. For additional information on any local event, contact WVCC Coordinator Teresa Sitz at teresa.sitz@sdd.sbcounty.gov or 760-367-9880.

Karen’s Commentary: Are you experiencing a mental health related crisis? The Community Crisis Response Team (CCRT) is a community-based mobile crisis team that provides assistance to those who are experiencing a mental health related emergency. Services include: Mental health assessments, relapse prevention, intensive follow up services and on-site crisis intervention. Call the Morongo Basin office at 760-449-4429. Teams are available from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day of the year. Also available is the Crisis Walk-in Center in Yucca Valley. They are located on Dumosa, in the medical buildings just south of the old Bank of America building, and they are open 24/7. This is a fantastic place with caring people.

Darlene’s Commentary: I had a great surprise when my son and grandson, Ian and Nickoli Parris, took me to Theater 29 for my birthday to see “Sister Act.” The theater was packed, but we had front row seats. What an amazing play! The entire cast did a fantastic job presenting beautiful angelic music, shoot-em-up bad guys and nuns galore – an outstanding musical with great characters. The audience clapped so loudly so many times that I felt we were part of the show! The stagehands who changed the scenery were amazingly fast and efficient – really on the ball! It only took a few seconds and a new scene opened up beautifully. A hilarious play and an enthusiastic audience made for a really good evening.

Friends of Wonder Valley is a non-profit with the sole mission of improving the lives of Wonder Valleyites! They have been involved in many endeavors, including making the USDA Food Distribution an efficient operation, bringing educational and informative speakers and programs to our community center, distributing free turkeys to our residents and paying for so many things no one is even aware of! We truly thank all who are involved. If you would like to donate to this fantastic group, go to Friends of Wonder Valley or contact Teresa.

Handy Hint: For fluffier and tastier rice, add a teaspoon of white vinegar to the boiling water. Rice will be less sticky.

Today’s Thought: “The cow is of the bovine ilk; one end is moo, the other milk.” – Ogden Nash

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

Desert Trail Column - February 13, 2020

Plan to attend The Love Fest at The Palms, 83131 Amboy Road at Thompson Road, on Saturday, February 15 from 7 to 10 p.m. Performers will include Nina and the Boys, Blacksmith Brown, Karl with a K, Drunk by Noon, Big Daddy Ray and Music by Doug. Camping is allowed. For further information, call 760-361-2810.

 

Our Wonder Valley Community Center will be closed Monday, February 17 in observance of the holiday. It will reopen on Wednesday, February 19 at 9 a.m.

 

Bob Dougherty from San Bernardino County Department of Aging and Adult Services will be at our community center on Wednesday, February 19 from 11 to noon. He will be helping seniors with HEAP applications and with other senior issues. For an appointment, call Breanna Parker at 760-228-5232.

Most events at our community center are sponsored by our non-profit organization Friends of Wonder Valley. For additional information on any local event, contact WVCC Coordinator Teresa Sitz at teresa.sitz@sdd.sbcounty.gov or 760-367-9880.

 We send out Rainbows-of-Amethysts-and-Violets to Christina Lindsley who celebrates her special day this week. Happy birthday, Christina!

 Karen’s Commentary:  Morongo Basin Ambulance, 6335 Park Boulevard in Joshua Tree, offers an Emergency Services Discount Plan. If you have insurance, the plan will cover all charges not covered by your policy, including co-pays and deductibles. If you don’t have insurance, your bill will be reduced by half. Cost for the Emergency Services Discount Plan is $50 per year for an individual or $85 per year for a family. Call 760-366-8474.

 

Darlene’s Commentary:  I recently called Frontier, but it took two more calls to get a representative. Unfortunately, that representative wasn’t human, even though it had a giggly, happy voice that could fool Siri! After pressing buttons for 20 minutes, I got a REAL HUMAN who cheerfully answered my questions. I was a happy camper until later when I suddenly realized I’d forgotten to ask about getting my out-of-order phone repaired!

 Wonder Valley Community Church, 82575 Amboy Road at Kuhns Road, holds services every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Bible Studies are held Sundays from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. and Mondays from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. There is a potluck following the service on the second Sunday of each month. Also, Pastor Lonnie Casper invites anyone interested to come to Luckie Park and join him in a walk every Monday, weather permitting. Call 760-401-6128 or 760-391-0480 for further information.

Handy Hint:  Raising the deductible on your homeowners insurance policy from $500 to $1000 could save you 25%.

 Today’s Thought:  “If you find it in your heart to care for someone else, you will have succeeded.” – Maya Angelou

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