Dr. Cooke explains dental hygiene B-3
Free tax prep offered C-10
Fallbrook Niners celebrate D-3
Village News Fallbrook & Bonsall
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January 19, 2017
Heald aided Fallbrook community through various methods
D e L u z , R a i n b ow , C a m p P e ndl e t o n , Pa l a ,
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Volume 21, Issue 3
Taking aim at a victory
Joe Naiman Village News Correspondent
Few people who are familiar with Fallbrook were surprised when the Jan. 6 memorial service for Otis Heald filled all the seats in the Grand Tradition’s Crystal Ballroom and dozens of local citizens stood to pay respects to the community leader who passed away Dec. 25. “He was a mainstay of the community, a pillar of the community,” said Fallbrook National Bank founding president and chief executive officer Stephen Wacknitz. “He was what Fallbrook was.” Heald was born in Loma Linda on April 15, 1939, to Bill and Alice Heald. The family moved to Fallbrook in his early childhood, and Heald attended Fallbrook Elementary School from kindergarten through eighth grade. He graduated from Fallbrook High School in 1957, making him part of the first graduating class of the high school on its current campus. Heald served as a Corpsman in the United States Navy after high school and was stationed at Oakland’s Naval Hospital. After his discharge he returned to San Diego County and attended San Diego State College. He took a 1 1/2 year absence from San Diego State to work for Accion en Venezuela, which provides economic development
Lady Warrior Ella Hearn fights off her opponents from Classical Academy to take a shot on goal in girls varsity water polo action Jan. 12 at Fallbrook High School. The Lady Warriors posted a 13-1 victory. See a story and more photos on D-1.
New commander of Sheriff ’s Fallbrook substation ready for new challenge Tom Ferrall
see HEALD, page A-4 Staff Writer
thisweek
Village News
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Considering all the units Lt. Pat Gardner has served with in his nearly 30 years of employment with the San Diego County Sheriff ’s Department, it’s not surprising he is thoroughly embracing his latest assignment as the new commander of the Fallbrook Sheriff’s substation. “It’s a great new challenge,” said Gardner, a man who obviously thrives on new and varied tests. A 51-year-old native of San Diego, Gardner was hired by the Sheriff’s Department in 1987. After beginning his career working at the El Cajon jail, Gardner went on to spend 11 years working patrol in Santee and Lakeside, work as a area detective, spend 8 1/2 years with the homicide unit, become a member of the cold case team, get promoted to sergeant, serve on Vista patrol, spend some time with the criminal intelligence division, get promoted to lieutenant and serve at the Santee Lakeside command, get assigned to the special investigations division and work on the East County gangs task force, and, finally, be selected as Lt. David Gilmore’s replacement at the Fallbrook substation. “I’ve been very, very fortunate,” said Gardner. “The Sheriff ’s Department is just a wonderful organization. The department is so vast, you can do whatever career you want to, and it’s very, very supportive.” The Fallbrook assignment is Gardner’s first opportunity to be in charge of a station. At Santee Lakeside, he was one of two lieutenants working under a captain. Gardner believes his “patrol background and investigative background” will help him in his new position of overseeing a station that has a sworn staff of 36 individuals, including 27 that work the streets. “Working in this station, the deputies here are very, very proactive, and so just to be able to assist them in whatever they need as far as guidance goes,” said Gardner of his role as commander. Gardner, a personable man, said he is looking forward to meeting members of the community.
Shane Gibson photo
Supervisors call for signal at S. Mission Road and Green Canyon Road Horn may provide Neighborhood Reinvestment Program funding Joe Naiman Village News Correspondent
Lt. Pat Gardner “Lt. Gilmore, in briefing me, said one of the key things about this station is the strong support we get from the communities we serve – Fallbrook, Bonsall, De Luz and Rainbow,” said Gardner. “And I very much want to foster that collaboration with the community. “Fallbrook enjoys a very low crime rate, and I think a large
Courtesy photo to introduce himself. Today (Jan. 19), he was scheduled to attend the Fallbrook Community Forum meeting, a monthly gathering that brings together people from c o m m u n i t y, m u n i c i p a l a n d governmental organizations. Gardner will celebrate his 30th anniversary with the San Diego County Sheriff ’s Department
“Fallbrook enjoys a very low crime rate, and I think a large part of that has to do with the community.”
The intersection of South Mission Road and Green Canyon Road has been added to the county’s Traffic Signal Priority List. A 4-0 San Diego County Board of Supervisors vote January 11, with Greg Cox at a California Coastal Commission meeting, added South Mission Road and Green Canyon Road to the list of intersections where traffic signals will be installed when funding and design issues allow.
see SIGNAL, page A-5
Vallecitos District deliberates recording board meetings Andrea Verdin Staff Writer
The Vallecitos School District Lt. Pat Gardner (VSD) governing board has been
part of that has to do with the community,” continued Gardner. “They see something, they say something. That’s a large part of community support.” In doing his research, Gardner learned of the magnitude of work performed by the Fallbrook substation’s Senior Volunteer Patrol, which has nearly 50 members. “Just in 2016, they logged in 16,710 hours,” said Gardner. “They’re an amazing group of people. I’ve very impressed.” Gardner believes “dealing with people” is one of his strengths. “I look forward to working with the members of community to address crime issues with them,” said Gardner, who took over in Fallbrook Jan. 6 and immediately began attending community events
in April and said he is looking forward to many more years with the organization. “I love the job,” said Gardner. “It’s the variety. Something happens every single day that’s different, and that’s the best part about this job. Just dealing with people and all the different things that you can do in this department. And every day there’s a new challenge.” Fallbrook is the latest challenge for Gardner, and he seems genuinely excited about it. “Outstanding,” replied Gardner when asked how his transition was going. “I just look forward to working with everybody.” To comment on this story online, visit www.thevillagenews.com.
asked by some Rainbow residents to record its board meetings, and they deliberated over their options at their Jan. 10 meeting. According to board president Michael Darnley, the board has discussed their options with a legal analyst in regards to the practice of recording the public governing board meetings. Currently, the board has minutes taken, and the minutes are made available by request. “About 76 percent of the 38 San Diego school districts do some sort of video or audio recordings,” said Darnley. “That is not required by the Brown Act.” “There may be a slight difference between the two types of records, which could become a legal issue
see MEETING, page A-8