March of Remembrance commemorates Holocaust victims, A-5
Anza Events Calendar, A-2
Growing blueberries for health and fun, B-2
ANZA VALLEY
OUTLOOK
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WITH CONTENT FROM
May 2 – 8, 2014
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Section Volume 14, Issue 18
‘From The Heart’ turns Rummage into Blessing By Jodi Thomas When you shop at one of From The Heart Christian Women’s Ministries’ (commonly known as From the Heart or FTH) Rummage Sales you help them turn rummage into blessing, a blessing that gives economically challenged children and families the opportunity to meet their ‘Back to School’ needs: new backpacks, school supplies, a pair of new shoes and a haircut. The rummage sales also provide Maggie is placed on a stretcher.
Alan Thomas photos
Drinking and driving leads to a fatality every 15 minutes.
Every 15 minutes someone dies due to drunk driving
By Jodi Thomas
Imagine you are driving down the road and as you approach the school you are slowed by the scene of an accident laid out before you. Two vehicles, a small Mazda truck and a Jeep, full of young people from Hamilton High, lie covered in blood. Who is dead? Who is alive? And who or what caused this? Just about every 15 minutes someone dies from an alcohol related collision, according to expert statistics. That’s why the organization of the same name is trying to teach adolescents of the dangers of such a thing. Over Hamilton High’s loud speakers a 911 dispatcher’s call blares just like it would to the
By Mary Litch
emergency personnel on that day. The call out brings news of a collision in front of the school it summons the students and emergency personnel to the scene. Reality hits home as the students of Hamilton High School watch their friends lay before them in mangled vehicles. Officers are on scene as well as the local fire department; they are accessing the wounded at the collision site. The ambulance arrives. Will it be needed? Students watched as emergency personnel extract from the student Jeremy Halstead from the jeep. He is still alive, but in critical condition. While being removed from the passenger side his distraught mother, Jennifer Halstead, a teacher at Hamilton, runs toward him crying. She is restrained from rushing to
his side by emergency personnel while the extraction is in progress. Mercy Air’s helicopter hovers above as it looks for a safe place to land. It is called to transport Jeremy, as he is too critical to ride in the ambulance. Trey Thornberry is removed from the driver’s side of the Jeep with the Jaws of Life; he is stunned and in shock but seems not to be physically injured too much. For the most part he’s just suffering from small cuts and bruises. He can talk and walk. Officers at the scene begin to interrogate him about what has happened. “Have you been drinking today?” “Yes,” he says. “Where were you drinking?” “Me and Jeremy were at the
park and we had a few drinks; just hanging out having fun.” Do you think you were able to drive a car? “No,” Trey answers. The officer goes on letting him know about a breath test and his rights and then he leads Trey in the walk the line test, which Trey fails. Trey is arrested for driving under the influence and for vehicular Manslaughter and is led to the officer’s patrol car and put in. Trey will go to jail and spend the night. He will later be put on trial and face a judge, which will be filmed to show students later in the year. Trey watches as the Coroner van arrives. As they pull up and park
see DRUNK, page A-7
The Pacific Crest Trail, an Anza treasure
Many area locals might not be aware that one of the most famous long distance footpaths in the world runs along Anza’s eastern edge. The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) has one end at the Mexican border near the town of Campo and traverses the major mountain ranges in California, Oregon, and Washington, eventually ending at the Canadian Border. The trail, over 2600 miles long, offers both hikers and equestrians a genuine wilderness experience. Most visitors on the PCT opt for day hikes, but there are some who go a step further. Each spring, hundreds of hikers and a handful of equestrians set off at the Mexican border with the hope of reaching the Canadian border many months later after a hike or ride of the entire Pacific Crest Trail. Volunteers play a major role in maintaining the trail. The Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA) is the organization responsible for maintaining and protecting the
trail across the three western states it spans. Nationally, over 1,600 people participate in various volunteer opportunities for the PCTA. Locally, Don Line is responsible for coordinating (and often leading) work projects on the trail between Warner Springs and Interstate 10, which includes the section of the trail nearest Anza. There are several types of PCT volunteers such as packers who bring in trail work supplies on horses and mules as well as people who trim the vegetation along the trail and make repairs to the trail tread. There are many unofficial volunteers not affiliated with the PCTA who reconnoiter portions of the trail and report on trail and water conditions, and “trail angels,” often locals who live near the trail, who offer assistance to hikers and equestrians on their trek. Several local residents are active as volunteers on the PCT. Aguanga
see TRAIL, page A-8
By Jodi Thomas Joy Edwards had a vision of adding an old time fair type competition to Anza’s Earth Day and the Wild Flower Competition was born. Last year’s Wild Flower competition was very well attended and the entries were interesting and beautiful. This year it will be held again coinciding with Anza’s 7th Annual Earth Day Fair on Sat. May 24th to be held in the Little Red School House in Minor Park in the heart of Anza. The competition is a chance for local residents to shine and showcase their creative talents. A message from the coordinator Joy Edwards: Please enter your arrangement which can be made from native,
Health
Alcoholism is not exclusive to men
Mary Litch photo Many help hikers by donating time and water to fill the water storage areas or water caches along the PCT. Pictured is Anza’s water Cache
RIVERSIDE COUNTY – In late 2013, television journalist Elizabeth Vargas, known for her work on the television news magazine “20/20,” as well as her role as anchor of ABC’s “World News Tonight,” made headlines of her own when she left that network’s popular morning show to seek treatment for alcoholism. The news came as a shock to many viewers, not only because Vargas was a successful professional who had risen to the top of her field but also because few people associate alcoholism with women. While the stereotype of an alcoholic may suggest an old man of failing health, women, even young women, can suffer from alcoholism. see page B-8
thisweek Business Directory ������������������������A-6 Business ����������������������������������� B-10 Anza Calendar ����������������������������A-2 Classifieds �������������������������������� B-11 Dining Guide �������������������������������B-6 Education �������������������������������������B-9 Entertainment �������������������������� A-10 Health ������������������������������������������B-8 Home & Garden ������������������������B-2 Local ..............................................A-3 Motor .......................................... B-10 Pets ................................................B-2 Sports �������������������������������������������B-3
Tim O’Leary Staff Writer
see AIRPLANES, page A-4
Anza’s 2nd Wild Flower Competition to be held
see FLOWER, page A-6
WWII airplanes, skydivers star at French Valley Airport stopover A three-day visit by World War II airplanes recently attracted more than 1,000 people over a three-day span to French Valley Airport. The stopover was highlighted by a special sojourn that featured 10 local skydivers dropping out of the bomb bay of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. The skydiving group, coordinated by Rich Piccirilli, descended upon Perris Valley Airport on April 22 in conjunction with the 25th
see HEART, page A-6
A group of 10 skydivers led by Rich Piccirilli (second from bottom left) boarded the B-17 Flying Fortress where they jumped from the bomb compartment of the plane over the skydive center in Perris on Tuesday April 22, 2014. Shane Gibson photos
Ina Kontaxis gets a close look of the bomb compartment in the belly of the B-17 Flying Fortress at French Valley Airport on Tuesday April 22, 2014.