Make eggnog three ways B-8
Artists seen at Wine & a Bite C-1
Little leaguers break losing streak D-2
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
Tom Ferrall Staff Writer Fallbrook Healthcare District (FHD) is changing its name. Effective Feb. 1, FHD will be known as Fallbrook Regional Health District. Bobbi Palmer, executive director of FHD, said the new name reflects that the district serves more than just the people of Fallbrook, and also the direction in which FHD is going in terms of health care. The FHD board approved the name change at its Dec. 14 meeting. “We receive our tax revenue from Bonsall, De Luz, Rainbow and Fallbrook,” said Palmer. “The board wanted to do make sure the ‘regional’ captured the fact that we are obligated, with the tax revenue, to support health services in each of those areas. So it will be ‘Fallbrook Regional Health District,’ and then underneath that name it will say, ‘serving Bonsall, De Luz, Fallbrook and Rainbow.’ “The other reason we changed the name is that Fallbrook Regional Health District is going into a direction of preventing the preventable, and health and wellness,” continued Palmer. “And therein was the reason to take out the (word) care (from the name).” FHD, which collects roughly $1.6 million annually, awarded nearly $700,000 in community health contracts for the fiscal year 2016-2017.
see HEALTH, page A-9
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December 22, 2016
Fallbrook Healthcare District to become Fallbrook Regional Health District
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 20, Issue 51
Homes for Our Troops breaks ground in Fallbrook
Area nonprofits allocated Neighborhood Reinvestment Program grants Joe Naiman Village News Correspondent
Connor Kuhn photo Marine Private First Class Issac Blunt (shown front-right) arrives at Christ the King Lutheran Church for a Groundbreaking Ceremony for his new home. See more photos on page A-2 Lucette Moramarco Staff Writer Homes for Our Troops (HFOT), a national nonprofit organization, broke ground for its latest building project in Fallbrook in an unusual place on Dec. 17. The location of the future specially-adapted home for Marine Private First Class Isaac Blunt is on Avenida de Nog, but heavy rains a few days prior to the groundbreaking event caused it to be moved to Christ the King Lutheran Church on South Stage Coach Lane. Even so, hundreds of people turned out for the ceremony to meet and welcome PFC Blunt. According to HFOT, which has built 226 homes since the organization’s inception in 2004, the groundbreaking ceremony signifies the start of the build process and introduces the severely-injured veteran to the community. On June 13, 2011, PFC Blunt, a rifleman with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, was on patrol when he stepped on a pressure plate improvised explosive device (IED) in Sangin, Afghanistan. The blast resulted in the loss of both his legs, his left eye, and several
fingers on his left hand. Now medically retired, PFC Blunt has not let his injuries hold him back. He has taken up mountaineering as part of his recovery, often climbing some of the tallest peaks in the world. He also plays wheelchair basketball on Balboa Medical Center’s team, Wolf Pack. The home being built in Fallbrook for PFC Blunt will feature more than 40 major special adaptations such as widened doorways for wheelchair access, a roll-in shower, and kitchen amenities that include pull-down shelving and lowered countertops. The home will also alleviate the mobility and safety issues associated with a traditional home, including navigating a wheelchair through narrow hallways or over thresholds, or reaching for cabinets that are too high. With the stability of a mortgagefree house, his daughter will have a place she can call “home.” The special adaptations PFC Blunt is most looking forward to are the pull-down cabinets and lower countertops, making it easier for him to reach appliances while in his wheelchair. Originally from Wisconsin,
PFC Blunt chose to have his home built in California to be near the VA and his sister who lives in Redding. PFC Blunt would like HFOT’s supporters to know their donations are going to a good cause and this home will make a difference in his daily life. “The service you provide to make our lives easier is beyond words,” he said. HFOT has hired Youngren Construction to build these specially adapted homes. Fallbrook resident Scott Youngren, along with the HFOT team, have worked together to improve the process for their building projects across the country. PFC Blunt’s home will be Yo u n g r e n C o n s t r u c t i o n s 17th build for HFOT in Southern California, and the fourth home built for HFOT in Fallbrook. The next build is coming up in Temecula for CPL Christopher Van Etten. HFOT operates solely on contributions from donors, supporters, and corporate partners which fund the building of each veteran’s home. Community members can hold fundraisers or make donations. To learn more about getting involved or making a donation, visit www.hfotusa.org.
Village News
Children meet Santa for breakfast
Hunter Boydston, 3, meets Santa Claus during the Breakfast with Santa event at the Fallbrook Community Center, Dec. 10. See more photos on page A-3.
Shane Gibson photo
The Dec. 14 meeting of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors included a 5-0 vote to allocate $79,700 of Neighborhood Reinvestment Program funding from the Fifth District budget of Supervisor Bill Horn to three projects. North County Veterans’ Stand Down will receive $50,000 to help cover costs of that Jan. 2729 event; the Camp Pendleton Armed Services YMCA was allocated $25,000 to purchase toys for the children of military members, and the Fallbrook Smiles Project will be given $4,700 to purchase personal protective gear for agricultural workers. The Neighborhood Reinvestment Program is intended to provide grants to non-profit organizations for the furtherance of public purposes at the regional and community levels. In addition to non-profit organizations, county supervisors can also fund schools and fire departments, and supervisors can also use money from their budgets to supplement other county funding for specific county projects such as parks, roads, and libraries.
see PROGRAM, page A-9
Supervisors approve purchase of 118 former golf course acres for river park Joe Naiman Village News Correspondent The County of San Diego will be purchasing 118 acres of the former San Luis Rey Downs golf course and will incorporate that land into the future San Luis Rey River Park. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 Dec. 14 to acquire the property from San Luis Rey Downs Enterprises, LLC, for the appraised value of $5,885,000. “I am happy that we’re another step closer to our goal of 1,000 acres and a continuous park along the San Luis Rey River,” said Supervisor Bill Horn. “It’s a great acquisition for us,” said Christine Tolchin, who is the chief of the resource management division of the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation. “It helps us connect our multi-use trails in the area and also preserves a large strand of important habitat,” Tolchin said. “It’s a really good linkage for the park.” The San Luis Rey River Park will encompass approximately 1,600 acres, and the linear park will stretch for approximately nine miles between the Bonsall Bridge and Interstate 15. Land will be acquired only from willing sellers, so the exact boundaries have not yet been determined. The acquisition approved Dec. 14 will bring the number of acres purchased by the county from willing sellers from 554 to 672, and approximately 850 acres are expected to be acquired as part of the California Department of Transportation mitigation requirements for the widening of State Route 76. The county and Caltrans have worked together to coordinate the plans for the river park with the plans to widen Highway 76. The river park will include open space areas such as walking, bicycling, and equestrian trails along with staging areas. The open space portion will also
see PARK, page A-10