Fallbrook Regional Healthcare District responds to community criticism of hospital sale – page A-6
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July 20, 2017
Appeals court affirms Allyn verdict
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 28
Art center burns mortgage papers
Lucette Moramarco Staff Writer
Five years after the initial filing of Elaine Allyn vs. Fallbrook Union Elementary School District in May 2012, the Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division One, State Of California has denied motions from both sides of the case. On July 11, the appeals court filed its decision which denied the district’s appeal of the judgment and orders of Superior Court Judge Jacqueline M. Stern, notwithstanding the verdict. The decision also affirmed the order denying the plaintiff’s motion for attorney fees. Allyn filed the suit against FUESD after being terminated in May of 2012, saying what led to her losing her job was her refusal to delete email archives in an effort by her supervisors (superintendent Candace Singh and associate superintendent, business services Ray Proctor) to cover up a violation of public policy by misusing public funds. The first trial, which ran seven days in October 2013, ended in a mistrial declared by Stern due to the time consumed versus the established 10-day availability of the jury. The re-trial started the end of January 2015. On Feb. 26, 2015, a jury found that FUESD had wrongfully terminated Allyn, the district’s former information technology director and retaliated against her. The jury verdict awarded to Allyn $1,046,000
With firefighters present as a precaution, Fallbrook Art Center supporters wait their turn to put a piece of paper in the fire pit, symbolically burning the center’s mortgage. Lucette Moramarco Staff Writer A crowd of more than 40 people gathered in the parking lot behind the Fallbrook Art Center to symbolically burn the center’s mortgage papers on July 14. The crowd continued celebrating the milestone with a reception inside the art center at Alvarado Street
and Main Avenue. Jerri Patchett, President of the Fallbrook Arts Inc. (FAI) Board of Directors, said in January that FAI’s goal for the year was to pay off the mortgage on the art center, which at that time was about $65,000. Patchett led the fundraising effort with a lot of community support. According to a center
spokesperson, the original mortgage on the Fallbrook Art Center building was secured from a local bank in the amount of $300,000 at 7.5 percent interest in 1996. A group of 14 directors and loyal donors of Fallbrook Arts, Inc. (FAI) agreed March 30, 2011, that they would form a group and put up $300,000 to replace the bank
FRHD votes to table resolution thisweek ratifying sale of hospital see VERDICT, page A-8
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Julie Reeder Publisher
The Fallbrook Regional Health District (FRHD) board voted to table a resolution ratifying the sale of the Fallbrook Hospital building to Crestwood Behavioral Health following an influx of questions and concerns voiced by community members during its July 12 meeting. As a follow up, the board announced it will hold a special meeting Friday, July 28 at 6 p.m. at the Fallbrook Public Utility District office in the boardroom to address the sale and other issues. At the July 12 meeting, both opponents and supporters spoke out regarding the decision made by
FRHD to sell the vacant hospital building to Crestwood Behavioral Health, Inc., which plans to open a mental health rehabilitation center. The offer from Crestwood comes after nearly two years and no offers from acute care hospital organizations, making it the most viable option for the district, according to the board. During the public comment period of the meeting, numerous opponents and supporters voiced their opinions regarding the sale. Many left after giving their comments and were not present when the board responded to their concerns and voted unanimously to table Resolution No. 419, which ratified the execution of the purchase and sale agreement and authorized signatories in
connection with the sale. FRHD attorney Blaise Jackson reminded the board that the sale is currently in escrow with a close pending July 31, leaving the board only two weeks to take any action. Director Stephen Abbott noted that while the board has been working on the sale of the hospital for two years, he would like board and staff to have a little more time to do additional homework and communicate with the community. As part of Director Abbott’s “additional homework,” he is visiting three Crestwood facilities in Northern California this week, including one in Napa Valley, Vallejo and San Jose. Crestwood made a presentation
see SALE, page A-8
Village News
USPS Residential Customer
Fallbrook welcomes Marine to new home
Shane Gibson photo Dozens of people gather to welcome Marine Private First Class Isaac Blunt and his family to their new Fallbrook home during a key ceremony July 15. Homes For Our Troops presented the specially adapted custom home to PFC Blunt, who was seriously wounded while serving in Afghanistan in 2011. See more photos on C-1
Ken Seals photo
loan with a new loan at 4.0 percent interest. No monthly payments were required until January 1, 2013. As time went by, many of the investors started donating back to the Art Center some or all of their investment in the new loan. There were also many other loyal
see PAPERS, page A-11
FPUD ends all dealings with Western Rivers Conservancy Tom Ferrall Staff Writer
The Fallbrook Public Utility District (FPUD) board, which June 26 rejected a motion to extend an escrow agreement with Western Rivers Conservancy (WRC) for the purchase of 1,384 acres of land along the Santa Margarita River, held a special board meeting July 14 and voted to end all dealings with WRC. The FPUD board, in September 2015, approved a sale agreement of the property to WRC for $9,975,000. The purchase and sale agreement set an escrow closing date of December 31, 2016
see FPUD, page A-8
North County Fire consolidating resources to equalize response times
FALLBROOK – The North County Fire Protection District board recently voted to consolidate resources to equalize response times to area emergencies. The district received just under 5,800 emergency calls in 2016 and has experienced nearly a 20 percent increase in emergency calls over the last couple years compared to 2014, according to district data. The district attributes the increase in calls to many factors, including the hospital closure and increased traffic volume along the I-15 corridor. At one point, response times to the Rainbow community were over nine minutes while the district average is seven minutes,
see RESOURCES, page A-8