Puttin’ on the Ritz for charity B-4
Reflections of Nature viewed in art C-11
Bonsall debuts Tomlinson Games D-1
Village News Fallbrook & Bonsall
a l s o se rv i n g t h e c o m m u n i t i e s o f
Joe Naiman Village News Correspondent
North County Fire Protection District (NCFPD) fire chief Steve Abbott was a speaker at the Fire Districts Association of California conference in Monterey last month. Abbott presented a white paper on the State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Benefit Fee which assesses the owner of each property with habitable structures and in a firefighting state responsibility area $150 annually. The white paper “Rekindle: A Mutual Aid Request to Extinguish the State Fire Tax, Again” notes that fire agencies themselves are receiving little benefit from the tax. “The whole goal of the presentation was to give the districts the direction that they needed to provide information to the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association to support their claim that it’s an unfair tax,” Abbott said. “I think the mission was accomplished.” In 2011 the California state legislature made property with habitable structures and in a firefighting state responsibility area subject to the “State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Benefit Fee”. The legislature and Governor Brown left implementation of the $150 annual fee to the Board of Forestry. The assessment affects 56 of California’s 58 counties; Sutter County is mostly irrigated agriculture and has no California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection responsibility area while San Francisco County consists entirely of the City of San Francisco and is covered by its city fire department.
see TAX, page A-9
thisweek
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May 11, 2017
Chief Abbott addresses fire tax
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Volume 21, Issue 18
Cuellar, Durbin, Galvan and O’Connor saluted as Students of the Month
Supervisors get look at new budget Tracy DeFore County of San Diego Communications Office
mature while they’re there,” said Hayek. Galvan thanked her teachers for nominating her and gave a special thank you to former Ivy principal Melissa Marovich. “I would like to thank Miss Marovich for allowing me to be a student at Ivy,” said Galvan. “Ivy is such a really great school, and having a chance to be there knowing that I’m going to graduate from high school is great. I really am thankful for that.” Galvan then expressed her love for art. “Art means everything to me,” said Galvan. “I know some people may say, ‘it’s just a painting, it’s just a drawing,’ but to me it’s a voice, and I’d like to inspire people.” Teacher Adriana Lopez of Fallbrook High’s social studies department nominated Cuellar, who didn’t speak a word of English when he arrived in the United
How do you balance helping those who need it the most, meet the County’s daily obligations and build for the future? The answers are reflected in the County’s new budget. The recommended operational plan, or budget, for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2017 was presented to the County Board of Supervisors May 2. The balanced budget is $5.7 billion, an increase of 6.2 percent, or $330 million, over the current fiscal year. The plan offers more help for troubled youth, the growing aging population and seriously mentally ill people who are chronically homeless. The budget also calls for improving current services, regional public safety, roads, and renovating or replacing old, outdated facilities to better serve members of the public. Regarding young people, the budget will help those caught up in human trafficking. The County will add rapid response advocates to assist human trafficking victims reported through the child abuse hotline. The District Attorney’s Office will also add resources to prosecute human traffickers. Kids in the juvenile justice system will be paired with community mentors with similar backgrounds who have straightened out their lives. The mentors can help these kids get back on the right path. Families served by CalWORKS and Child Welfare Services will see new housing support services this coming year. The Department of Parks and Recreation is also expanding programs for at-risk youth. At the other end of the age spectrum, more emphasis will be placed on “Aging Well” programs for seniors. These programs encourage seniors to exercise, eat right, keep their minds active and stay connected to their community. The County will continue to enhance programs for those with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, and make sure those who live in residential care facilities or get home health care are also safe and
see STUDENTS, page A-12
see BUDGET, page A-12
The Students of the Month for May are, from left to right, Lilly Durbin, Kaylei O’Connor, Martin Cuellar and Melissa Galvan. Tom Ferrall Staff Writer A talented artist headed for San Francisco. A globetrotting rugby star. A dedicated individual working two jobs and learning a new language while attending high school. A “straight A” student with designs on creating new food flavors. The Students of the Month for May are an impressive group indeed. Melissa Galvan of Ivy High School and Martin Cuellar, Lilly Durbin, and Kaylei O’ Connor of Fallbrook Union High School were saluted May 4 at an awards breakfast hosted by the Fallbrook Student of the Month committee at the Fallbrook Community Center. Galvan, who had a rocky start to her high school career, was nominated by science teacher Sheri Ryan and was the first to be introduced. “Melissa is a just a beautiful, bright, friendly, sunny, wonderful kid, but, for whatever reasons, things don’t always work out at
the beginning of high school,” said Ryan. “Melissa kind of got off track but she just hopped right back on that train really, really quickly.” Ryan said art helped Galvan, who will be attending the Art Institute of San Francisco, find her way. “Melissa is a fantastic artist,” said Ryan. “She really, really is gifted and has had some works in shows. I also like to get her in my garden classes. Whatever we have in the garden, she’ll go out and pick things and put them all together (in an arrangement) and it’s beautiful. We kind of joke around that she’s our ‘hippie chick.’ She’s also been in my science classes and achieved at a high level. Melissa has been a wonderful part of the Ivy School community and we are so proud of her.” Ivy principal John Hayek noted that Galvan became Ivy’s student representative to the school board. “Melissa really epitomizes what we want our students to do at Ivy, and that is they grow and they
Courtesy photo
Water Quality Report available online FALLBROOK – The Fallbrook Public Utility District’s (FPUD) annual Consumer Confidence Report, or CCR, contains detailed information on water quality tests performed in 2016. These sampling tests ensure that the district’s water meets regulatory standards. FPUD’s tap water met or exceeded all state and federal requirements this year, as in years past. The CCR became available recently on the district’s website at www.fpud.com/CCR. It is also available at the Fallbrook Library or at the district office, 990 E. Mission Road in Fallbrook. The CCR is essentially FPUD’s report card. It includes details about where FPUD water comes from, what it contains, and how FPUD water compares to Environmental Protection Agency and state standards. All water retailers are required by the California Department of Health Services to provide the report to their customers showing water-quality test results. The test results are compared to the federal and state permitted maximum contaminant levels, or MCLs. This is the fifth year water agencies were allowed to post the CCR online rather than mailing it to all customers, thereby saving the districts thousands of dollars
FPUD’s Red Mountain Reservoir is an open reservoir with a capacity of 440 million gallons and is used to store treated water purchased from the San Diego County Water Authority. in print and mailing costs. Water agencies are required to notify their customers, via a message in their bills for example, that the report is available online. Agencies
must also provide them with a direct link to the report. Viewing the report requires a pdf reader. If one isn’t installed, they can get the free Adobe Reader
Courtesy photos
at: http://get.adobe.com/reader. Anyone with questions on the report can contact Jason Cavender, FPUD’s chief systems operator, at (760) 728-1125, ext. 1128.