October 6, 2011
Ramona Sentinel
VOL. 125, ISSUE 33• 50¢
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2011
Inside
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Sheriff’s Rodeo Two Ramona men win big at the Sheriff’s PRCA Rodeo............4 Disaster List San Diego CERT provides a Disaster Supply Checklist..................9
Board gives up on Bargar water treatment plant By KAREN BRAINARD After about four years of working with third party firms and spending approximately $380,000, Ramona Municipal Water District directors have agreed to no longer pursue a plan to bring the out-ofservice Bargar water treatment plant into operation for use as a water source in emergencies. The Bargar plant was closed in 2007 when it could not meet new re-
quirements and the board at that time determined it would cost too much to bring the plant to required standards. Because water to the Bargar plant would be gravity-fed from Lake Sutherland, which the city of San Diego owns, RMWD board members saw Bargar as a possible source for treated water in times of emergencies. The district’s water is pumped up 1,000 feet from the Poway pump station, which relies on power from
SDG&E. RMWD Assistant Manager David Barnum brought the item before the board at its Sept. 27 meeting with estimates from Southwest Water, the firm that the district has been working with. Those estmates showed that if Bargar was operational, the cost of treated water would be about three times the amount charged by the San Diego County Water Authority. Additionally Lake
Sutherland only has water seven out of 10 years, the proposed plant would only be able to supply half of the current demand for treated water and, depending on the severity and nature of the emergency, water might still not be available. Director Darrell Beck said he was disappointed that the district would not be able to have the gravity-fed water and in Southwest Water, which “led us to believe they could do
Planners to see clinic’s redesign
RHS Volleyball Bulldog spikers play in tight match against University City. Coach Halfaker is pleased with team skills.......26
Index
Presorted Standard US Postage PAID Ramona CA Permit No 136
Wine Guide.................6 Our Town....................7 Opinion......................8 Sports........................24 Classifieds.................27 Coupons....................36 Obituaries.................38
Borrego Springs resident Scott E. Burnham photographs scenes of the 2,000-acre Great Fire that started east of Julian near Scissors Crossing about 1 p.m. on Saturday. At the wildfire’s peak on Sunday, 1,486 firefighters from various agencies fought the blaze that closed state Route 78 from Wynola Road to Scissors Crossing
P.O. Box 367 Ramona, CA 92065
this at a reasonable price. This doesn’t solve the problem...we need to think about our supplying the community with water in the future, because we’ve had several of these close calls and I think we need to start thinking about the next one.” Although board members discussed tearing down the plant, which is on districtowned property, General Manager Ralph McIntosh said the site is still used as a lab for testing water.
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Photo/Scott E. Burnham
and resulted in evacuation warnings to area residents. By Tuesday morning, the fire that spread to federal Bureau of Land Management and state park land was 75 percent contained. Full containment was expected Thursday. No injuries or structural damage were reported and the fire’s cause is being investigated.
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Palomar Pomerado Health (PPH) will present its plans for a downscaled health clinic on 13th Street at the Ramona Community Planning Group’s meeting on Thursday, Oct. 6. The meeting will start at 7 p.m. in the Ramona Library Community Room at 1275 Main St. The size of the hospital district’s health clinic has been reduced from a twostory 36,000-square-foot building to a 7,600-squarefoot, single-story building. The re-design conforms to county zoning requirements. The clinic’s downsizing is due to a major prospective tenant withdrawing from the project and inadequate leasing interest See CLINIC on page 4