By ALYSSE AVILES
For an hour and a half on Tuesday, March 30, Valley Center High School experienced the realities of drinking and driving.
Roughly 1500 students gathered in the amphitheater to watch a reenactment of a car crash involving five students. They then went to the gym, where they listened to four guest speakers.
According to ASB advisor Rob Gilster, the goal of the day was to show the consequences, responsibilities, and liabilities that follow drinking and driving.
“Within the hour and a half there were so many ways a student could be affected,” he said.
At 8 a.m., seniors Kimberly Vaughn and John Zeugschmidt, junior Renae Swift, and sophomores Ivan Castilleja and Jacob Coronado gathered in the drama room to prepare for the crash. With help from drama class students and a lot of stage make-up, they simulated deep, bloody gashes and tattered clothing without the actual fatal car crash.
John said, “Drama did it all up. It was weird—no one would look at me because they were scared of my face.”
ASB experienced a minor setback when the cars were two hours late arriving.
Gilster was feeling stressed but said, ‘When you have 15 things that have to come together, something is bound to happen. You just have to be ready for things to go wrong.”
When the cars arrived, Gilster, Vice Principal Ron McCowan, and ASB students piled the student actors into the cars and quickly covered them with a tarp.
The amphitheater filled within minutes and when everyone was in place, ASB President Callie Anderson began the reenactment. After giving a drinking-related car accident statistic, she said, “Today there has been a horrible accident and students from our high school have been critically injured.”
After this introduction, students were startled by the loud sound of two colliding cars. Kim, the driver of one car, screamed for help, then two VC Fire Department trucks came roaring through the outdoor basketball courts, lights flashing and sirens blaring.
As a policeman tested Kim’s alcohol level, the firefighters got to work tearing apart the car containing John.
After half an hour of cutting the car, he was removed and put into a Mercy ambulance.
At that moment, the sound of a Mercy Ambulance helicopter silenced the crowd and students looked to the sky.
The chopper landed and medics transferred John into it and “air-flighted” him to the hospital.
Junior Beth Tupper said that the reenactment made her realize how “truly traumatic it is having to think about losing your friends.”
Adam Gettman and Mike Hernandez were two of the firefighters on the scene.
Hernandez said, “We’re putting on a show, but in reality this is what we do regardless if we are doing it here or at an accident scene.”
Gettman said that they do all kinds of public relations programs for schools. He compared the reenactment to real life, saying. “Physically it’s very realistic with the gore, sometimes there can be more. The cars would be more damaged than what they are now. The emotional state, though, is nothing, it wouldn’t compare.”
After the mock crash, students heard from guest speakers in the gym.
They ranged from a California Highway Patrolman to an emergency room nurse. All shared professional experiences dealing with the results of others’ drinking and driving.
The last of the four to speak was Jodie Breton, deputy assistant district attorney for the County of San Diego.
According to freshman Andreana Garcia, Breton had a rather harsh tone in explaining the legal and financial consequences of drinking and driving. Breton then showed a video about her niece, who was killed in an alcohol-related car accident.
Andreana said, “After the way she came off I kind of zoned her out. Then when she talked about her loss I started to pay attention.”
Turner Lake Monday took another step towards becoming a recreational area.
Although more than a dozen residents of the Betsworth area attended to object to recreational uses for the lakeside property, directors stressed that this would benefit the greatest number.
Director Merle Aleshire said that if the district couldn’t find a use for the land that it might be sold off for housing development.
The VC Water Board voted to go forward with a 25-year lease agreement with the VC Parks & Rec board to develop the land around the 30 plus year old reservoir, which has very little actual practical value to the district.
The lease requires that the parks district, with considerable oversight by the water district, develop some of the land around the 43-acre lake.
Uses could include day camping, equestrian, picnicking, nature appreciation trails, canoeing, and a variety of others.
The vote to approve the lease agreement was 3-0, with Aleshire, Chuck Stone and Gary Haskell voting yes. Board Pres. Gary Broomell was absent. Director Bob Polito, because he owns land near the lake, couldn’t vote.
Aleshire has served on a joint committee with Stone and park directors Fran DeWilde and Ron Lamb, water district Gen. Mgr. Gary Arant and parks Gen. Mgr. Joyce Johnson for many months to work out details of the agreement. Annual rent will be $1.
The parks district is charged with design, construction, maintenance and operation of recreational facilities.
Phase I
Within 18 months of the agreement being signed the parks district must complete the conceptual phase of the master planning for the development.
Upon completion of the master plan and before applying for permits, the master plan must be approved by the water district.
VCMWD will provide $20,000 for to plan and develop the facilities. The district sees a benefit in less security problems once the lake is open.
“Our main concern is that the recreational activities won’t interfere with the primary use,” said Arant. That use is emergency water storage.
Phase II
During Phase II, the parks district will conduct environmental review and obtain required permits from the county.
The plans must be approved by the water district.
Phase III
Construction of the facilities will occur during this phase. All facilities in the master plan must be completed by the end of the 25 year period.
Phase IV
The parks district will be responsible for operating and maintaining the recreation facilities. It must have liability insurance of at least $2 million per incident.
A joint steering committee of representatives of both districts will oversee the planning, construction and operation phases to ensure that the agreement is implemented.
If all the requirements are met, the lease will automatically be renewed for another 25 years.
Audience Comments
Fourteen neighbors of the lake spoke against the lease.
One woman expressed their opinions in a nutshell: “I don’t know why you want to do something with Turner Lake. Why not leave it alone?”
Muriel Walker, of Turner Heights Drive, said she was concerned about fire from picnics and other activities.
Because of the updraft, “If a fire started we wouldn’t have a prayer in hell of getting out of there,” she said.
Most other residents similarly spoke about their concern for fire.
Others worried that activities would disturb wildlife such as lynx, deer, Canadian geese, mountain lions and vireos.
Rosalyne Orner said she and her neighbors want to continue “to have some enjoyment of our homes, peace, quiet and security. We would hope that whatever you would do it would be something that you would want in your own back yard.”
Another woman said she feared that the area would be taken over by homeless people.
“This is a small lake and I don’t know why we have to have humans on every available piece of land anymore,” she said.
Kelly Spier expressed concerns about increased traffic and trash.
A woman claiming to be in law enforcement, but who declined to state which agency, said that crime will increase as a result of the project.
“We don’t live in Mayberry RFD anymore,” she said. “This kind of stuff will be a public nuisance, nothing short of it. It will attract crime, complete vandalism, trash, fires started, drug use, alcohol, sex. This is what this type of place attracts. This will only be a trouble and liability. . . You will regret the day that you approved something like this.”
Arant, answering some of the comments, noted that the area is already environmentally disturbed land, because that’s where the dam was built in the 1970s.
The south shore , on the other hand, won’t be used for recreation since it is steep and inaccessible.
All issues about the environment will be addressed in the environmental impact report that must be done before the land can be developed, he said.
“Any development of the lake will have to include mitigation efforts. That would be a major issue of using the lake,” he said.
There is already considerable crime, trash dumping and vandalism around the lake.
“In our view, if there is regular use of that lake, we think that problem will diminish. The problem we have out there is that it is secluded. What makes them attractive is that they are not used by the public.”
The public will have many opportunities to make its concerns known.
“There will be ample opportunities before the parks and rec board, before the planning group, the planning commission, and probably in front of the Board of supervisors before this is done,” he said.
The preparations for this year’s Western Days Festival held Memorial Day weekend are in full swing.
Committees have been meeting for several months and volunteers are busy at work making sure this year’s event is bigger and better.
Non-profit organizations in town are choosing their candidates for the title of Honorary Mayor and planning their fund-raisers.
The design for the official Western Days t-shirt has been chosen from the entries submitted by members of the community and will be unveiled in an upcoming issue of The Roadrunner.
The entertainment committee is lining up bands that will perform at VC Community Center throughout the weekend activities, once again due to the sponsorship of Valley View Casino.
The parade committee chose “United We Stand” as their theme and are busy organizing all the entrants. The Grand Marshal for this year’s parade has been selected. Information on all events planned this year as well as applications for booths and entries for parade are available on website (vcwesterndays.org).
Also for those interested, ABC Training will be held at VC Community Hall on Wednesday, April 14, at 6 p.m.
By DAVID ROSS
Many misconceptions exist about the VC Design Review Board.
Let’s start with the fact that most people don’t know that it exists. Add to that the misconception that the planning group handles its functions.
But what ARE its functions?
Robert Hancock, chairman of the five person board, and Leon Schwartz, secretary, dropped by The Roadrunner office recently to set us straight on what this volunteer board actually does.
It consists of five people, appointed by the Board of Supervisors on recommendation from the public, the Chamber of Commerce and the VC planning group.
The full board consists of Schwartz, Hancock, Lael Montgomery, John Ruggieri, and Gary Martin.
The board interprets and applies the Valley Center Design Review Guidelines, adopted by the County in 1986.
This is a required step in the development approval process for a wide range of projects within the planning area. This includes all commercial development, and all minor use residential developments of more than four houses. Other steps include review by the VC planning group and the county Planning Commission.
The board meets by appointment only. People have to request a meeting because the board generally doesn’t have enough work to meet every month.
“We get a letter requesting a meeting and we set a date,” Schartz told The Roadrunner.
The Design Review board must sign off on what the project looks like architecturally and whether it meets the guidelines, which can include types of foliage that are allowed, and signage.
What distinguishes it from the planning group is that the Design Review board doesn’t consider zoning.
“That’s not part of our parameters. We look at it from an aesthetic aspect. For example, whether there’s enough landscaping,” said Hancock.
He added, “We do a careful examining of a project’s site planning, architecture, landscape design, details such as signage, location of the building.”
Schwartz noted “I keep hearing that we are a subcommittee of the planning group. We are definitely not. We are two distinct organizations with clearly defined responsibilities. Everything we follow is in the design guidelines, which are available in the library reference desk, or from DPLU at a cost.”
The hottest development item for discussion these days is the Village Square project. But, despite opinions by some that it violates the Design Guidelines, the board that will determine that has not yet formally met with the proponent.
“We’ve had two meetings with the proponent in an informal process,” said Hancock. “It hasn’t gone far enough for it to come to us from the County.”
How much will the size of the project’s major market be considered when the board looks at it?
“We will consider, I think, the market size in relationship to where it is located,” said Hancock. “It is located in the town center area which is distinct from other areas.”
According to Hancock, the shopping center’s original design “fits the design guidelines as far as architectural styling.”
In discussing the board’s philosophy, Hancock commented, “We’re pro-business, pro-local merchant. We’re not here to hold anybody up. We’re concerned with how a property is going to look, to maintain the country setting, but also to maintain the rights of the developers.”
Schwartz added, “Plus, we encourage people to submit things to us informally to get our preliminary review. It saves them having to do two formal submissions.”
One complaint that the board hears frequently is from people building new projects who say they have to spend money to fit into the guidelines, when old businesses don’t comply.
Of course, existing commercial enterprises don’t have to meet the Design Guidelines, except insofar for signage.
Different people approach installing a sign differently.
“You get someone who is on the ball and understands the permit process as opposed to someone who paints a board and says ‘We’re open!’ ” says Hancock.
Very few signs that exist in VC actually conform to regulations.
“There’s actually three,” says Hancock.
That may change as the widening of VC Road progresses.
“The new road is what the County has determined to be the line in the sand,” said Hancock. “From that point forward they won’t allow the violations.”.
Signs not permitted include roof signs, signs mounted on sloped parapets; and internally-illuminated plastic signs.
“We’re just trying to inform and educate. To make the buildings as aesthetically pleasant as possible,” said Schwartz, adding, “We’re also very conscious of the section on saving the oaks and sycamores. We try to save them wherever possible.”
Researchers at the Valley Center History Museum are trying to find a missing house.
The building is the old Vesper School, built about 1877. Museum director Petei McHenry said the status of the old schoolhouse has long been the topic of debate.
“Some people said the building had been demolished, while others said it had been moved from it’s original location on Vesper Road,” she said. “We were unable to prove either argument.”
The mystery apparently was solved when a couple visited the history museum seeking information on what they said was their current home. The house, McHenry was surprised to discover, was the old Vesper School. However, the couple departed without leaving either their name or the building’s present location.
Museum historian Bob Lerner subsequently conducted several exhaustive surveys of Vesper Road, but has been unable to identify what might have been the old schoolhouse.
“It is likely that the building was moved to a nearby street,” he said. “We’re hoping someone recognizes the photo and contacts us.” Telephone number at the Museum is 749-2993.
Lerner said the original Vesper School was built under large oaks and next to a stream at 15030 Vesper Rd. The mature trees and the stream are still visible, but a house of more recent vintage now occupies the site.
If located, the 126-year old building would rank as one of the 10 oldest structures still standing in Valley Center.
The school and the street were named in honor of Karl H. Vesper who immigrated from Germany and settled in Valley Center in the late 1800’s. Records show that he filed for his U.S. citizenship on July 20, 1900.
In addition to many exhibits, artifacts and displays on local history, the museum maintains an archival collection of photos and documents which are housed in the adjoining Valley Center Room of the County Library.
Kaela Laue is going to give up something very personal, something she has treasured for decades, to help fire survivors.
Her hair.
The VC woman has decided to have her long tresses cut off at an “Evening After the Ashes” a fund-raiser in Temecula that will directly benefit fire survivors all over San Diego County. No money will go towards administration.
In fact, the organizers are buying the paper and the printing for the event, and paying for their own tickets as well.
Mrs. Laue told The Roadrunner that she is having her hair shorn to show her level of commitment to the fire survivors and her desire to inspire others to donate as well.
The event will be held April 17, 5:30-10 p.m. at Ponte Family Estate Winery, 15 minutes east of I-15 on Rancho California Road, in Temecula.
After the Ashes was started on Dec. 28 by six North County women who knew each other and had found that many fire survivors had been “left behind” by the various recovery agencies.
Many were struggling with no insurance and no way to rebuild.
“We decided that we could make a difference,” Sherry Jarrett, executive administrator, told The Roadrunner this week. “We met and started to make plans.”
She added, “We wanted to have a very nice event to do fund raising and we wanted it to be an event where people could come to, have a blast, and yet give a tax exempt donation.”
The event will be a formal, black tie affair.
It will include a gourmet dinner by the chef at the winery, Corrine Toignet, who will create dinner stations where guests can select the kind of food they want to eat.
When guests register they will be handed a glass of champagne which they can sip as they browse the silent auction items.
Items include tickets to the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Golf Tournament, The La Costa pro tournament, Accenture Match Golf Play Championship in La Costa; a variety of beauty packages, some wines for connessuers from Napa Valley and local vintners. It will include Kendall Jackson Vintner Reserve signed by the vintner, and La Crema Chardonnay.
There will also be a selection of trips to theme parks, wellness packages, jewelry, paintings and sculptures
The silent auction will be followed after dinner by a live auction.
Live entertainment will begin at 8 p.m. with the band Reseeded, which plays mostly classic rock.
After the Ashes is also affiliated with REINS, the therapeutic horse riding program.
To thank REINS for its support, After the Ashes will donate five year long scholarships to REINS for five handicapped children.
Tickets are $150 per person.
You can donate through the After the Ashes website: www.aftertheashes.com
Jarrett emphasized the all-volunteer aspect of the project.
“We’re not giving this to a bureaucracy to distribute funds. It’s going directly into the community. Everyone is a volunteer. Every dollar we can lay hand to is going right back to the people.”
You can send donations to:
After the Ashes C/O
Lorraine Casserly
932 Quail Hill Rd.
Fallbrook 92028
Or call them at 760-451-3014.
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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