The first post Paradise fire mud slide occurred Wednesday afternoon, about 4 p.m.
Large boulders and a foot of mud flooded both lanes of Woods Valley Road near Woods Valley Campground, caused by more than a half an inch of rain earlier in the day.
CHP closed the road between Valley Center Road and North Lake Wohlford Road while firefighters and county road crews evaluated the problem.
Clean-up took about 90 minutes.
The problem was not unexpected. Typically when large areas of brush are denuded by fire they are particularly vulnerable to mud slides if rains follow within a few days. The roots hold the soil together.
VC firefighters and California Dept. of Forestry crews have been filling bags with sand for several days in anticipation of the rains. They continue to fill bags at the County road station on Cole Grade Road on Thursday and Friday.
Valley Center lost one of its most generous citizens with the passing of Scott Hilliard at the age of 82.
Heart complications forced Mr. Hilliard to leave his home at 26875 Banbury Drive to be cared for by his adopted daughter Sandra Hilliard in Oxnard.
He died on Nov. 13 at the Veterans Administration Hospital in West Los Angeles. A memorial service was held at the Alhiser Comer Funeral Home in Escondido on Nov. 18 after which the remains were carried to Washington DC for burial by the side of his beloved wife Bobbie who died in 1951.
While Mr. Hilliard was always proud to speak of his many years in the US Air Force, most people in Valley Center knew him not as a veteran with a splendid career in the service of his country but as a somewhat eccentric gentleman whose driving force was service to this community.
It was never known whether he had a passion for cutting grass but he single-handedly, unasked, trimmed both sides of Banbury Drive from his house to Valley Center Road a distance of one mile whenever weeds popped up. Neighbors on vacation would return to their homes to find their weeds knocked down and like it or not trees trimmed.
This went of for years. He performed similar duties at the Community Center on Lilac and for long periods was handyman-in-waiting at The Roadrunner. His only reward was simple gratitude from the recipients of his largess.
It went without saying that he loved planting trees, his Banbury house was lost in a forest of planting.
Mr. Hilliard had a passion for collecting, including several grand pianos, many never out of the cases in which they were shipped to him years ago. Clocks, books, phonograph records, ancient music boxes and playing devices tools, were among items touched by his collecting itch.
Loath to part with the parts of his collections valuable to him, which encompassed practically everything, daughter Sandra was horrified at the task of clearing up when illness forced her father to give up his home a couple of years ago.
So much for the Scott Hilliard Valley Center knew, this recent letter from his sister Mary, who live in Pennsylvania, gives some touching insight into his origins and remarkable career in the military:
“… my brother was a complicated person to understand but underneath he would always go that extra mile for you and only expect a simple ‘thanks.’
“After graduating from High School in 1939 Scott left the rolling hills of Pennsylvania and went to work at the Fairchild plant in Baltimore, MD. After a while he relocated to Washington DC where he joined the National Guard as a mechanic.
In 1941 he was called to active duty in the Army Air Corps. After completing training in B-24 bombers as a crew-chief/gunner, he was transferred to England where his crew flew the required 20 missions over Germany. The majority of the planes in his squadron never made it back.
He often marveled at the luck of his crew, in fact they even flew one extra mission before returning to the States in 1944. He received the Purple Heart for injuries sustained in service.
“Back in the States he returned to the Air National Guard at Andrews AFB in Washington DC. In 1951 he married Bobbie Lee Egleneck who lived in the area and who tragically died on December 14, 1951. After her death Mr. Hilliard enlisted in the regular Air Force. He immediately volunteered for two tour of duties in Germany and one in England moving quickly up to the highest enlisted rank of Chief Warrant Officer.
He returned to the States in 1963 at Mountain Home AFB, Utah. By then he was an aircraft maintenance officer overseeing jet mechanics at the base. After a short tour of duty there he returned overseas for two tours, one in Vietnam and one in the Philippines.
In the early 70s he returned to the homeland again this time Nellis AFB, Nevada where he remained until his retirement in 1974 at which time he moved to Valley Center.
“Scott received numerous medals, awards, and ribbons for valor and distinguished service to his country. He was reserved about his accomplishments, but extremely proud of his service. I can remember him saying about growing up in the Depression with very little that when Uncle Sam came calling and offered you a warm bed, clothes, food, pay, and to top it off a brand new pair of boots . . .you thought you had hit pay dirt!”
After reading Mary’s tribute to her brother, perhaps we should all feel a little humbled by the remarkable career of this “eccentric” gentleman and can pretty much guess what he thought about as he laid waste to Valley Center’s weeds.
Two people died and three others were injured Sunday night as the result of a high speed pursuit of a reckless driver by Escondido police that ended on Valley Center Road north of Old Road.
According to a report issued by the Escondido Police Dept., they observed a 1991 Volkswagen Jetta being driven recklessly within the city shortly after 10 p.m.. Police units attempted to stop the VW, but the driver, Alfredo Torres, 21, of Escondido sped away with his lights off.
The Escondido police pursued the VW through city streets at speeds up to 80 mph, running at least two red lights.
The VW traveled the wrong way at one point. Police then called off the pursuit until the car was seen to be driving on the right side of the road.
Torres traveled northbound on Valley Parkway past Lake Wohlford and up the VC grade, at speeds up to 60 mph.
As it neared Old Road, the VW drove on the left of the doubt yellow line, passing a vehicle in the southbound lane.
Escondido police then dropped back and lost sight of the VW as they neared the curve, north of Old Road.
When Torres attempted to get back into the northbound lane, he lost control and slid sideways across the double yellow line and into the path of a 2003 Chrysler van, striking a side door and killing a passenger, Eula Gladney, 70, of Beaumont, Texas, who was travelling with three other Texans. Torres also died at the scene. Police estimated that the collision occurred at 50 mph.
Other passengers from the van, Richard Taylor, 74, Johnnie Taylor, 78, and Dorthia Goodney Hefner, 52 were transported by ambulance to Palomar Medical Center.
The van’s passengers had recently visited Harrah’s Rincon Casino and were driving to Ramona.
The California Highway Patrol is investigating the incident, as is the police department to determine if department policies were followed during the pursuit.
The Valley Roadrunner
P.O.B. 1529, Valley Center, CA 92082
Tel. 760.749.1112 Fax 760.749.1688
Website: www.valleycenter.com
Email: editor@valleycenter.com
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