Temecula boy wins big with Pokémon, A-5
VALLEY
Differences between landscaping professionals, B-1
Football & girls volleyball: ALL-VALLEY Awards recognize best athletes, B-10
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Section
NEWS
January 23 – 29, 2015
www.myvalleynews.com
Local
Old Town Temecula Gunfighters take 2nd place during competition
Volume 15, Issue 4
Thousands turn out in an attempt to break world record in Lake Elsinore
Daniel Lane Multimedia Journalist The Old Town Temecula Gunfighters returned home Monday, Jan. 12 from their 17th annual Gathering of the Gunfighters in Arizona. see page A-3
Local
Beleaguered water park plan flows on in fourth bid to build Temecula project Tim O’Leary Staff Writer A fourth bid to build a water park in Temecula is flowing forward following a city council decision to sell 17.47 acres to the project’s developer for $2.85 million. see page A-10
Education
Temecula education foundation awards grants to local educators TEMECULA— At the Jan. 13 Temecula Valley Unified School District Board Meeting, the Temecula Valley Foundation for Excellence in Education presented 61 educators with funds to support arts and science programs benefitting students at 23 schools in the Temecula district.
‘Breaking Records for Charities’ participants share a large fitness circuit training workout together in an attempt to break the current record of 2,061 participants. The current record was broken in Melbourne, Australia on July 31, 2013. Shane Gibson photo
Daniel Lane Mulitmedia Journalist Thousands of people turned out Saturday, Jan. 17 in Lake Elsinore in an attempt to break the world record for the most participants in a circuit training class. Nearly 2,000 people came out to the event, held
at Lake Elsinore Storm Stadium. Unfortunately, organizers were 73 people short of breaking the record. The event held in the Storm Stadium parking lot got underway just after 9:30 a.m. and was hosted by Your Fit City and Breaking Records for Charities. “We had 1,989 people participate in the circuit training work-
out,” said Roger Kaman, owner of Your Fit City and one of the organizers. While event organizers didn’t quite accomplish what they set out to do, Kaman said what transpired was a true community event. With more than 90 vendors, sponsors and businesses interacting with participants and raising money
for local charities, Kaman said that he considered the event to be a huge success in every respect. “The communities came together like we have never seen before and the event will leave a legacy of blessing the lives of thousands of people,” he said.
see RECORDS, page A-4
Day of Action highlights Former Menifee resident human trafficking in the Nia Sanchez competing Temecula Valley in Miss Universe pageant
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see page B-3
Safe Place Director Fonda McGeasy explains the purpose of Day of Action to nearly three dozen volunteers at Calvary Murrieta on Saturday, Jan. 17. Kim Harris photo
Nia Sanchez, a former Menifee resident and Miss USA 2014, will compete in the Miss Universe pageant on Sunday, Jan. 25 in Doral, Fla. Courtesy photo
Kim Harris Managing Editor
Laura Rathbun Writer
Nearly three dozen volunteers gathered at Calvary Murrieta on Saturday, Jan. 17 to raise awareness about human trafficking and how to stop it. The Day of Action campaign included the distribution of fliers in the Riverside metropolitan area, Lake Elsinore, Murrieta, Temecula and parts of the Coachella Valley. The notice details the consequences of sex and labor trafficking and how victims can get help.
Volunteers were given a brief training and then went out into town to place anti-human trafficking posters in adult book shops, bus stops, hospital emergency rooms, rest stops, truck stops and liquor stores. The event came about as a way to help enforce legislation signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2012. The legislation added to section 52.6 of the California Civil Code, creates a legal requirement for certain types of businesses to
see ACTION, page A-6
Nia Sanchez, a former Menifee resident and Miss USA 2014, will compete in the Miss Universe pageant on Sunday, Jan. 25 in Doral, Fla. The event will be televised live on NBC at 8 p.m. EST and recorded for rebroadcast at 8 p.m. PST. Sanchez, 24, won the title of Miss USA on June 8 at the Baton Rouge River Center in Louisiana. She represented the state of Nevada where she now lives after moving to Las Vegas in 2013. She beat out
50 other contestants from all the states and the District of Columbia for the title of 63rd Miss USA. Her other past titles include Miss Menifee Valley 2008, Miss Citrus Valley USA 2009, Miss Riverside County USA 2011 and Miss Hollywood USA 2012. “My life has completely changed,” Sanchez told Las Vegas Sun reporter Robin Leach in a recent telephone interview as she prepped for the upcoming pageant. “It’s been an unforgettable year,
see SANCHEZ, page A-9