VC traffic fatalities nearly triple in 1 year
On Saturday morning around 9 a.m. motorists on Valley Center Road saw a daunting sight: Three CHP cruisers had three cars pulled over in a short stretch of road between Miller and Old roads.
The message was clear: California Highway Patrol is cracking down in Valley Center.
The enforcement had been scheduled previously to the release of statistics showing that traffic fatalities in the VC area went from four in 2000 to 12 in 2001. Out of a total of 68 traffic fatalities in North County, 12 were in VC.
According to CHP Officer George Salas, who was handing out tickets over the weekend, there were a total of 284 traffic collisions in Valley Center. Of these 224 involved injuries and 12 fatalities.
The year before there were 56 accidents in the same area.
The locations of the fatal accidents were as follows:
Valley Center Road, 6
Couser Canyon Road, 1
Jesmond Dene Road, 1
Old Hwy 395, 1
Since Jan. 1 there has been another fatality on VC roads.
According to Salas the enforcement on Saturday and Sunday is only the beginning.
The CHP plans to go after DUIs and other violators to an extent that Valley Center has not seen before.
The special enforcement area will include Bear Valley Parkway, which feeds onto VC Road.
Officers will also speak to Valley Center High School students, targeting drunken driving, which was a factor in four of the accidents.
“There will be routinely strong emphasis on enforcement in which a group of officers congregate and enforce traffic violations. The days are going to vary and the times are going to vary,” said Salas. “The effort is to decrease the number of fatalities and injury accidents.”
The main thing they are targeting is speed. “The speeds around here are almost freeway speeds actually,” said Salas.
Another cause of accidents is motorists crossing the double yellow line.
There will also be seat belt enforcement. “We’re not sure how many fatalities would have been prevented if more had been wearing seat belts,” said Salas.
Traffic on Valley Center Road is unprecedented. In 1996 the number of average daily trips (ADTs) on Valley Center Road was 16,900. The number for 2001 was 20,600.
The causes of the increased traffic on VC road are the opening of Valley Center High School, and, most recently, two Indian casinos that have brought considerable traffic from out-of-town.
How much of this is attributable to casino traffic is not yet known, said Salas. “That study has not been made yet. But the fact is that there has been a five hundred percent increase in traffic accidents this year.”
VC Planning Group Chairman Larry Glavinic, who has been a campaigning for years for safer roads in town, told The Roadrunner he was not surprised after having heard of increased drunken driving arrests in VC for the same period.
“This is old news. The roads are in bad shape. If you don’t fix ‘em it’s going to get worse.”
Glavinic noted that Valley Center Road was built to accommodate 16,000 ADTs.
“It’s rated as an ‘F’ road, which is one that is failing. It has bumper to bumper traffic and that just increases the opportunity for road rage and bad driving behavior. Certainly we can look forward to the road widening creating an improvement in traffic circulation and hopefully minimizing deaths on our roads.”
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The CHP has also released statistics for Hwy 76 between Pankey Road and Valley Center Road.
For 2001 there were 119 collions, 62 injuries and four fatalities. Since Jan. 1 of this year there have been two fatalities.
Jerome Stehly of VC was elected Chairman of the California Avocado Commission (CAC) for the 2002 season. Tom Mitchell of Valley Center was elected CAC Treasurer.
Stehly served on the CAC board as both member and alternate for four years prior to stepping into the leadership role. Through his business, Stehly Enterprises, Inc., Stehly farms over 900 acres of avocados and became involved at CAC to participate in mapping the industry’s future course.
“Farming avocados has been a life-long career for me. It’s my livelihood, and I want to be involved in its future,” Stehly said.
As Chairman, Stehly will lead the board through tough challenges ahead including international competition, high farming costs, and implementation of the Federal Promotion Order which will promote all Haas avocados in the U.S. market.
“I am looking forward to the challenge of increasing the value of California avocados by stressing the quality of California,” Stehly said.
Burnet Wohlford a fourth generation avocado and citrus rancher of Escondido, was re-elected as alternate to Stehly.
Treasurer elect Tom Mitchell has owned and operated a 19-acre avocado and citrus ranch in Valley Center since 1990. For the past year, Mitchell served on the CAC board and is also a director of the San Diego County Farm Bureau.
Kermit Kliewer of Valley Center, a graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo who taught agriculture science for 35 years was re-elected as Mitchell’s alternate. The CAC Board of Directors include 15 members representing two members from each of five districts, four handlers and one public member. The California Avocado Commission was created in 1977 to conduct market-development activities and increase overall awareness for California avocados on behalf of the state’s 6,000 avocado growers.
Local historian Petei McHenry has been named Executive Director of the Valley Center History Museum, Norm Syler, chairman of the new museum’s Executive Committee, announced this week.
The museum, which will showcase more than two centuries of local history, is under construction on Cole Grade Road, and will share a four acre site with a new County Library branch. Completion is expected late this year.
An archaeologist and historian by profession, McHenry is the author of The History of Valley Center, California: the Homestead Years, 1860-1900. She is the archivist in the Local History Section of the Library, a unit of the Friends of the Library. She also serves as vice president of the Friends. All positions are volunteer.
As the director and curator of the new museum, McHenry will be aided by other volunteers including the current members of the Local History Committee: Gail Lamb, Bob Lerner, and Patricia Winneguth. Docents and other volunteers will be enlisted to staff the museum which is expected to attract large numbers of school children, plus visitors to such local attractions as Bell Gardens, Bates Nut Farm, the Welk Resort and area casinos.
The museum’s executive committee is a 17-member group that meets monthly to organize the new cultural complex.
By DAVID ROSS
For the first time in almost a dozen years, VC Cemetery has a new superintendent.
The cemetery board Jan. 11 bid a fond farewell to a man known for his kindness and his encyclopedic knowledge of the cemetery: Charles Matteson.
Cemetery board Pres. Stan Johnson thanked Matteson and presented him with a check to show the board’s appreciation.
“This is a very important person in our lives and we are going to miss him. He is a very important man in Valley Center,” said Johnson.
Director Larry Herron presented Matteson with a plaque for his “dedicated and meritorious service . . . for a job well done.” The plaque is engraved with the years of Matteson’s service: 1990-2002.
Director Joyce Rooney described Matteson as a man whose “empathy and compassion are legendary.”
“You people are the best,” said a teary-eyed Matteson.
Incoming superintendent Wayne Mills thanked Matteson for showing him the ropes at the cemetery.
“He knows the history of this historic cemetery like no other person,” he said. He promised to use Matteson as a resource from time to time.
The new superintendent has been certified as being in good health, according to Johnson. He has a letter from his doctor stating that he is receiving treatment for a bad back. He had a disability from the Los Angeles Fire Department where he served for many years.
Johnson welcomed Mills who commented, “Chuck has left some very big shoes to fill.”
Mills talked a little about his goals as superintendent. “It’s not only important to be on the same page but the same square. One of my prime responsibilities will be problem solving on site.”
Spending Policies
Board Pres. Johnson asked the board to consider giving the superintendent the ability to spend up to $100 without going to the board, and to give the president the authority to authorize spending $500 without going to the board first.
Director Herron agreed. “If a lawn mower breaks down he [the superintendent] shouldn’t have to bring it to the board to get it fixed.”
The board actually approved an upward limit of $500 for the superintendent and $1000 with the president’s authorization. All spending must be ultimately approved by the board at its monthly meeting.
The board tabled action on whether to allow a family to have a border around its tombstone that would make the total size of the tombstone larger than regulation size. Since the tombstone would be infringing on a neighboring gravesite, the permission of the owners of that grave were sought, and they gave permission.
However, director Larry Herron asked that the legality of the question be researched to make sure that the board had the authority to make this allowance.
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The board took final action on a new set of rules that included revisions to the bylaws on subjects such as decorations that are allowed at the cemetery.
Copies of the rules are available at the cemetery.
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The board had a closed session from 8:30-9 a.m. during which legal topics were discussed. No action was taken.
The Valley Roadrunner
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Tel. 760.749.1112 Fax 760.749.1688
Website: www.valleycenter.com
Email: editor@valleycenter.com
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