March 1, 2006 - Top Stories
Who are the young women competing for the Miss Valley Center 2006 crown and substantial scholarships?
There are six young women, each with unique views and aspirations.
The contestants have been busy preparing for the March 25 pageant “Opening Night” which will be at the Maxine Theatre. Doors open at 6:30 and the curtain rises at 7 p.m.
The Valley Center Pageant Assn. produces the pageant with support from the Valley Center Optimists, Community Enhancement Grant Funds and the community businesses or individuals who sponsor the contestants with ads in the program or with donations.
Here is a preview of the six young women:
Gina Sannipoli
Contestant #1, Gina Sannipoli, is 17 years old and a freshman at Palomar College. She is the daughter of Floann & Alfred Sannipoli and she has three brothers. Gina stands 5’3” tall, has red-brown hair and brown eyes. She maintains a 3.8 GPA.
Her philosophy in life is to “Live every moment with joy in your heart and dream with abandonment and fall in love with life.”
Her pet peeve is driving a car that gets poor gas mileage. One of her greatest ambitions is to live her life in a way that will impart inspiration on others.
Whitney Bisplinghoff
Contestant #2, Whitney Bisplinghoff, is 17 years old and a junior at Valley Center High School. She maintains a 3.33 GPA. She is the daughter of Jamie Redding and Chris Bisplinghoff. She has two sisters. Whitney stands 5’10’’ tall, has brown hair and green eyes. Her philosophy in life is “Dreams take flight when you follow your heart.”
Her pet peeve is people tailgating her and silverware rubbing together. One of her greatest ambitions is to make people smile.
Melyssa Dube
Contestant #3, Melyssa Dube, is 19 years old and a freshman at Palomar College. She is the daughter of Carol Anne & Dan Stringfellow. She has four sisters and two brothers. Melyssa stands 5’7’’ tall, has blonde hair and green eyes. She maintains a 3.5 GPA. Her philosophy in life is “Love life unconditionally.”
Her pet peeves are smoking, gossip and disrespectful people. One of her greatest ambitions is to become an actress. She believes this will enable her to have a voice and help other people.
Holly Hart
Contestant #4, Holly Hart, is 17 years old and a senior at VCHS. She is the daughter of Rick & Gail Hart. She has two sisters. Holly stands 5’7’’ tall, has brown hair and green eyes. She maintains a 3.6 GPA, and competes in track and field at school.
Her philosophy in life is “Find God in everyone and acknowledge the differences but celebrate the goodness.”
Her pet peeve is when she is walking around in socks and steps in something wet. One of her greatest ambitions is to lead a happy life with no regrets and to know that her hard work will take her as far as she would like to go.
Malia Javier
Contestant #5 Malia Javier is 18 years old and a senior at Westview High School. She is the daughter of Arnie Javier and she has four brothers and two sisters.
Malia stands 5’1’’ tall, has brown hair and brown eyes. She maintains a 4.0 GPA. She is the entertainment editor and an inspiritational columnist for the school newspaper and writes poetry for the literary magazine at school.
Her pet peeve is when people doubt her.
Her philosophy in life is “What matters most is that you like the person you see in the mirror. If you can accomplish that, you know you’re a good person,” and she thinks you should live for yourself because you’ll always be living with that person.
One of her greatest ambitions is to help people love and believe in themselves.
Jennifer Ensign
Contestant #6 Jennifer Ensign is 18 years old and a senior at VCHS. She is the granddaughter of Mike & Julie Burton. She has one sister.
Jennifer stands 5’2’’ tall, has blonde hair and green eyes. She maintains a 3.5 GPA and has been involved in Girl Scouts for the past seven years.
Her pet peeve is when people blow problems out of proportion and they don’t understand that things could be worse. Her philosophy in life is “Live each day to the fullest for it could be your last!” One of her greatest ambitions is to keep her life focused so she can achieve the goals she has set for herself!
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So who is your choice? Tickets for the pageant are available from the contestants or by calling Debra at 751-1051 or Karen at 749-1863.
Pre-sale tickets are $10 or $15 at the door on pageant night. The doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the curtains rise at 7 p.m.
If you are interested in supporting the scholarship pageant with an ad or donation, call or email the association at Jockinsen@aol.com or vcpagassoc@valleycenterinternet.com.
The Vaqueros have a big problem. The County wants them to move everything off Aerie Park —arenas, booths, everything— and it hasn’t given them much time to do it.
They need help, in the form of strong backs, heavy machinery, even money.
The horse riding club, one of the oldest clubs in Valley Center, has used Aerie Park, a converted County landfill located at Aerie Road & Betsworth Road, for nearly 20 years.
Periodically the county Dept. of Public Works has to install clean fill at the park.
Joyce Johnson, general manager of the VC Parks & Recreation District told The Roadrunner this week: “The County has to do this every so often. They are required to. But this is kind of leaving us up in the air because we want to get the park back in shape in time for the Vaqueros Old Timers Show in May.”
The property is administered by the Valley Center Parks & Recreation District under a lease from the County.
The last event there was the Vaqueros’ Halloween costume show in October. Because of the County’s demand to move all their arenas, bleachers, announcers and refreshments booth, underground irrigation system, even the dirt that the club imported and spread over the years, the Vaqueros haven’t been able to use it since then.
At first the County was happy to have the horse club and parks district using the land, which was essentially worthless for most purposes since it sits on top of decades-old trash that continuously “passes gas.” It leased the property for 30 years to the park district.
Fifteen years into the lease the County told the parks district that it was abrogating it and substituting a three year lease.
The Vaqueros and the parks district had been expecting to get the word to move the arena equipment since last fall. But it was only recently that they had a meeting with the County.
“They want us to move everything off the area except for the very back things,” Fran DeWilde, a board member of the parks district and the Vaqueros, told The Roadrunner. “They are saying that it’s sinking in certain areas.”
Although the Vaqueros is an organization of 80 families and individuals, many members are children, women or seniors who can’t do this kind of heavy labor.
About a dozen people are available for a work force.
“We’re needing all kinds of help,” said Mrs. DeWilde. “Including workers and big equipment to move dirt.”
“We’re really concerned,” said Mrs. DeWilde. “Even if the County can get their dirt and finish the project, can we get it back in time to hold the Old Timers Show which kicks off Western Days? We might need to get another piece of property.”
She added, “The County wanted us there and now the County doesn’t want us there because they say it costs thousands of dollars more to have us there.”
Among the many things that the County must do is monitor the methane gas that is produced as trash decomposes.
Although the parks district pays $400 a year to lease the property, the County says that it pays thousands of dollars to keep it safe for use by the public.
“Because we are using it they say they have to do a lot more than they would have to do if someone wasn’t using it,” said Mrs. Johnson.
Because the County might someday yank Aerie Park away completely, the parks district has always felt that it would be prudent to locate another piece of property for a horse park.
So far, that hasn’t happened.
“It kind of puts us in a precarious situation,” said Mrs. Johnson.
“The big problem with that landfill is that it has to be very controlled. You can’t keep the gates open for the public because of the methane gas that escapes. Anytime someone wants to use it they have to get together with us to learn all the regulations.”
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If you would like to contribute something to help the Vaqueros with this effort, call the parks & rec office at 749-8852 or Mrs. DeWilde at 749-1139.
The newest jewel in Valley Center’s crown is the Maxine, a state-of-the-art proscenium theater of 577 seats on the campus of Valley Center High School.
So far, the facility has only been used by school groups; however, because the theater is a multi-use facility, it has always been anticipated that it would be available to the public.
This week we interviewed Asst. Supt. Sarah Clayton, who is the immediate supervisor of Theater Director Jane Rattmann to find out how the public may use the Maxine.
Q: Since the Maxine was sold to the community and its donors as a multi-use theater (i.e., not just for the school), and Supt. Karen Jobe emphasized that many times, how is it anticipated that this will be accomplished? Is a certain percentage allocated to the school and a certain percentage allocated to the community? Is it first come, first serve, or whatever space is available after the school uses it is available to the community-at-large?
A: What we plan to do is schedule school events in the theater by June 30. Teachers will need to tell us by that time if they want to use the theater during the upcoming school year. We will place that in the calendar and then open it up to the public. That will be on a first come, first serve basis. Having said that, there will still be a certain amount of flexibility, depending on the month. During certain months it's harder to be flexible, such as during May. But we are open to being flexible.
Q: Did the $1.7 million in matching funds from the state put any obligations upon the school district insofar as use of the theater by the community?
A: No, the matching funds did not put any obligations on the school district, except in the sense that we do have to make it available to the community. But there is no percentage of public/school use obligation.
Q: Are you using some other community theater organization as a template for how you will run the theater, e.g. Fallbrook, California Center for the Arts, Kit Carson theater?
A: We have been looking at San Dieguito, Fallbrook and Poway. We have also patterned ourselves on the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. Our fee schedule is designed off what the center charges. Obviously they have more experience than we do in these matters.
Q: Do you mean that you will be charging the same amount as the Center, or just charging for the same things that they charge for?
A: We’re looking at the things to charge for, not necessarily the same fee amount.
Q: How much, if any, will the parks and rec district be involved in the administration of the Maxine since they were a co-applicant for the state matching funds?
A: They do not need to be. If they want to be we welcome them, but there is no obligation for them to be involved.
Q: How is the theater administration run? How many staff members? Is there a separate Maxine Theater fund, or do checks paid for rent to the Maxine go to the school district's general fund?
A: That's still in flux. Currently all the money that has been raised has gone through the VCHS Foundation.
The reason is because all of the events to date have been school events. We are considering having the school district set aside a separate Maxine Fund/Budget that would be restricted. Probably that decision will not be made until July or August and will be a board decision.
The way we are leaning is to have a separate fund that wouldn't be in the district’s general fund, although it would be managed by the school district.
We're considering putting together a board that would oversee the theater. It possibly could consist of parks and rec, school board members and administration, but that's just a thought right now.
Q: And your staff?
A: We have three part-time staff members: Jane Rattmann, theater director, Matt Jenkins, the technical director and Rosemary Deskin who sells tickets.
We also have part-time caterers, from the nutrition department. If people want us to sell concessions at the breaks that is available too, through our nutrition program.
Q: What’s the procedure for that?
A: They tell the theater director that they would like concessions for that evening. If it's a school group they get part of the concession money. They don't have to pay for it, they just have to request it.
Q: What about groups selling items like t-shirts during the breaks?
A: If they go through the director there is some flexibility in selling items like T-shirts. We also can record the event, both video and audio, to sell after the event. However, that's not the case for copyrighted material, such as a Disney production.
Q: What about people taking their own photos or making their own videos?
A: We discourage photos and video recordings at all events, but if individual organizations, or persons putting on their own production, such as the Miss Valley Center Pageant, want to waive that we will be flexible. However, that is the basic house rule.
Q: What will be the procedure for non-school organizations renting the Maxine? Is it similar to how community groups arrange to use the middle school multipurpose room, or the multipurpose room at Lilac School?
A: Yes, it is similar to renting other school facilities. They call the Maxine director at 760-749-3790 and book the event. She will explain the fees, lease insurance, etc.
Q: Do they have to provide insurance?
A: They do have to provide their own insurance.
Q: How is the rent calculated? Is there a different fee structure for local community groups compared to outside groups? i.e., if Cirque De Soleil were to want to rent the theater for a few performance nights, would they pay a different fee than if the Miss Valley Center Pageant wanted to rent the theater?
A: There is a difference in what we will charge commercial vs. not-for profit. And by not-for-profit we don't mean that they necessarily have to have a 501 (3) c tax-deductible status. On some fees it's $200 less for a non-profit and some its $100 less. Depending on what people need.
Q: Could you elaborate on that?
A: By that we mean services such as load in, load out, which is a theatrical term for bringing in and taking out sets and costumes. Some prefer to do that themselves, others don't. There’s also catering. They might be charged for opening the theater and providing the technical director. There are different costs for using the theater Friday-Saturday as opposed to Sunday-Thursday. If they want the black box it's a different fee.
Q: At one time there was talk about the possibility that organizations could get a break on renting the theater if members were willing to volunteer to serve as ushers at other performances. Is that still being considered?
A: We currently have enough volunteers who usher. We no longer need to find people to be ushers. We don't believe that to be a consideration any longer.
Q: How much does the school district budget to maintain the theater? What are the actual costs to the district involved in the day to day maintenance of the theater?
A: That is a big question mark. We will know the answer to that in perhaps six months.
Q: How are the bills being paid now?
A: Right now the district is picking up the bills, but as soon as we start renting it and bringing in money we can start taking operating funds out of that.
Q: Is there a mortgage that needs to be serviced in connection with the theater, or is it just the costs of utilities, janitorial and staffing?
A: There is no mortgage and so what we need to recoup is staffing, electricity, custodial—all the actuals such as replacement of bulbs, replacement of damaged materials, wear and tear on curtains, landscaping. A technical director costs $40/hour. Add in custodial costs and electrical costs.
Q: Is the theater anticipated as being a money-maker or just breaking even?
A: We are hoping right now that it just breaks even.
Q: How much of your staff is needed during a production, as opposed to volunteers provided by whatever organization is using the theater?
A: It depends on what people are using the theater for. Say that a teacher goes over and does a performance. All we might need to do is open the doors, turn on the lights and provide a technical director, versus a full-fledged performance, where we need people to run spotlights, be behind curtains, people to load in, load out, people who might cater behind-stage food, concessions, audio videotaping, ushers and people to run curtains.
Q: What’s the low end amount?
A: Just to open the doors it would be $475 for a two hour minimum for a not-for-profit. For a commercial use it would be $675.There would be additional costs for things like like piano, projection screens, DVDs, wireless mikes, etc. Those are additional charges.
Q: As you finalize these costs and procedures, how open are you to input from the community?
A: We are definitely open to listening to input from the community.
Q: The Theater Rental Information document that you have provided to us, and which we will post on our Web site, is, we understand, just a draft. When do you anticipate a final document?
A: Probably after we have had a couple of commercial events and we see how it works and if it works.
Q: Would you call it a work in progress?
A: Yes.
The VC planning group voted Feb. 13 to set up a subcommittee to work with the San Pasqual Tribe to mitigate the effects of a parking lot that the tribe built first, and then sought regulatory blessings on only after being forced to by the County.
The subcommittee will be chaired by Oliver Smith.
The planning group’s membership was cool towards a representative of the tribe, Joe Navarro, CEO/president of the San Pasqual Casino Development Group, who appeared that night to talk about the project.
The parking lot is zoned A-70 and is being operated in violation of county zoning, but the tribe does have an active application before the Dept. of Planning & Land Use to rezone the property.
The parking lot is at the corner of N. Lake Wohlford & VC Roads, next to the middle school and across the street from the fire station and Sheriff’s substation.
While it belongs to the tribe, it is not part of the reservation. It is subject to county regulations, unlike the reservation, whose land use is controlled by the tribe.
The planners had voted a year ago to oppose the parking lot.
Navarro told the group that the plans for the parking lot were submitted to the County Dept. of Planning & Land Use in early February. It will probably make its way to them by late this month.
The plans include expanding the parking lot from 202 to 450 spaces. They address previous mitigation requests made by the group, said Navarro.
“It will have landscaping consistent with planning group requests, trees every six spaces, setbacks, all the things that we believe mitigate a negative impact.”
The parking lot is moving south and east of its current location. Parking will be used exclusively for employees, he said.
An entrance will be created along Valley Center Road with a right turn only on North Lake Wohlford Road, he said.
In answer to a question by planner Kris Preston about what they would do to mitigate extra traffic, Navarro explained that the same amount of trips would be generated if the parking lot was at the casino.
Smith explained that when the parking lot first went in issues were raised on light pollution, dust, so forth.
“Then it was paved, and that alleviated some dust issues. I’d like to know why it took so long to change to the [low sodium] lights that were supposed to be there to begin with? It was only when you were forced by the County to put in low sodium lights that you did it. If you are willing to work with the community why did it take so long?”
Navarro said the delay was in getting the manufacturer to deliver the lights as ordered. “As soon as we got the notification from the County that we had to install the low sodium lights we began the process,” he said.
Planner Leon Schwartz commented: “I’m hearing the words but I don’t see the walking or the talk. Some people have the impression that you [on the reservation] can do what you damn well please. Rather than going through a formal process, you just do it. With all the lands that the Indians own you could find a better place than a parking lot in front of the middle school.”
He asked why they didn’t put employee parking in the six level parking structure that they are building right now.
Navarro replied, “If we were just going to do what we wanted to do we wouldn’t have applied for the rezone. We are at the point where our plan addresses the concerns of the community. We anticipate that our parking garage will be full most of the time.”
Planning Chairman Keith Simpson said that the planning group has been silent on this issue for the past few months and he didn’t want their silence to be misconstrued as acquiescing in this project.
Schwartz added, “I’d ask you to reconsider adding another story to that building and moving the parking lot.”
Navarro demurred. “Our financing structure is already set towards building what we are doing. We believe that the plan takes into account every negative impact. We are always open to further suggestions to further mitigate its effects.”
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Smith’s subcommittee will meet on this subject Thursday, March 2, 6-8 p.m. at the VC Library’s map room.
The first confirmed case of a dead bird to test positive for the West Nile Virus this year in San Diego County was found last week in Valley Center.
Vector Control technicians collected the dead scrub jay from the Valley Center property of Clyde & Connie Childress.
The Childresses, who own Pikake Gardens in VC confirmed this to The Roadrunner on Thursday afternoon.
“They were astonished to see a bird infected this early in the year,” Clyde Childress said.
He later called back and said he had been told by a Vector Control official that they suspect that mosquitoes are breeding in the San Luis Rey River.
“It is early in the season to detect West Nile virus. Last year we didn’t see it until June,” said Gary Erbeck, director of the Department of Environmental Health.
A local veterinarian, Matt Matthews, told The Roadrunner earlier this year that he had identified and positively tested a dead bird in December for the virus.
According to Matthews, County officials were less than interested in this news.
Erbeck warned residents about standing water, which is the breeding ground for mosquitoes.
“Although there has been very little rain so far this winter, mosquito prevention remains the key to preventing West Nile virus. By controlling mosquitoes now, we can reduce their populations in the spring and summer.”
Last week’s rain may have been enough to fill up backyard mosquito-breeding sources such as children’s toys, old spare tires and wheelbarrows. Residents should check their property weekly to ensure that water is not collecting in their yards. Dump or remove anything that can hold water.
The County’s West Nile virus Web site, www.SDFightTheBite.com, has a mosquito prevention checklist that includes the most common backyard mosquito-breeding sources.
Larger water sources such as horse troughs, decorative fountains, ponds and inoperable swimming pools can be stocked with mosquito-eating fish to control larvae before they hatch into biting adults that can carry disease. These fish are free and available at 14 locations around the county.
Check the County’s West Nile Web site for distribution locations.
San Diego is the second county in California to report West Nile virus activity in 2006. Santa Clara reported three positive birds earlier this year. To date, there have been no human or horse cases of West Nile virus reported this year in California.
For more information on West Nile virus, or to report mosquito-breeding sites or dead birds, call Vector Control at (888) 551-INFO (4636).
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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