October 11, 2006 - Top Stories
Democratic candidate and Hidden Meadows resident Laurel Nicholson, running in the 66th Assembly District, thinks Republicans should vote for her because she is a moderate, and because, working with Democrats in Sacramento, she will be able to get more done for the district.
Although her opponent is Republican Kevin Jeffries, she talks a lot about what she considers to be the relative ineffectiveness of the incumbent Ray Haynes. During his term, she claims, he spent little else in office but sniping at Democrats and voting against almost every budget.
This, she says, is not the way to get the district the funds it needs.
In any other district but the solidly GOP 66th Nicholson might be considered a Republican.
For instance, she says “What we have, too often, is government sticking its nose into our personal lives and telling us how to run them when they can’t even take care of what they are doing. One thing I will try to stop is the interference in personal lives by the government. We know how to run our lives thank you very much.”
She also supports Jessica’s Law (Prop. 83), although she has issues with it. For instance, with the provision making it harder for sexual predators to find a place to live.
“I have heard that you will push a lot of the predators from the city areas into the rural areas. That’s a definite concern for San Diego County. We obviously need to keep people convicted of sex crimes away from our kids. We don’t want to worry about who is living on our street.”
She also supports Prop. 90, the Save Our Homes initiative, which would reform eminent domain.
“We use eminent domain too freely and for poor reasons, to take over people’s homes for projects that will just bring more money into the cities. That’s not why it was developed,” she said.
The Roadrunner asked Mrs. Nicholson to contrast herself and her opponent, Kevin Jeffries.
“I’m a better candidate, particularly for this area, because I live here and I understand the needs of a rural community,” she said. “My opponent lives in Lake Elsinore and doesn’t understand the needs of rural communities.
“The other reason is that I’m a centrist. For too long we’ve had too much ideology and not enough common sense. I’m sick of it and I think the people in this district are sick of it!”
She is unhappy that the legislature is polarized between the far left and far right. “They spend their time spouting their own ideology and it’s a wonder that anything gets done at all.
“We’ve forgotten that regardless of party, once you win you represent everyone in that district. Your job is to serve the interests of all the people.
“That’s what I want to restore.”
She believes in following the best ideas, no matter which party comes up with it.
“I come out of corporate America. I was a senior executive at a Fortune 500 company where we learned the idea of best practices, where you take the best that has worked elsewhere and implement it. That’s what our legislators should do.
“What’s wrong with listening? Republicans have great ideas. Democrats have great ideas. You take a good idea from this person. That’s how you get things done.”
Haynes, “said he was elected by the religious right and that’s who he represents. That’s key to what’s wrong with this district. He should listen to everyone.”
Jeffries, she says, “has the same philosophy as Mr. Haynes, which means, once again, that our district will be starved for funds, because we will elect someone who doesn’t want to be a team player. The only way to get the funds that we need is with a consensus builder. That’s my strength.
“If you are in the minority party, you will become as irrelevant as Ray Haynes is.”
When she goes door to door asking for votes, most people can’t name their assemblyman.
“If you try to reach your assemblyperson, you reach an aide or staff member, because he’s not in town. Yet state assembly is important. They determine your taxes, how money is spent on education, roads and everyone else.”
Haynes lived in Sacramento, sent his children to private schools and didn’t spend much time in the district, she claims. “My opponent is is already up in Sacramento looking at homes. Do we want to continue this kind of absentee leadership?”
A resident of Hidden Meadows, Mrs. Nicholson owns her own small business. She and husband, Don, have been married for 34 years. They have three grown children, who all graduated college and are all working.
She has a BS degree from Bowling Green State University, Ohio, in journalism. She is a recent graduate of “Leadership North County,” a program offered through Cal State Univeristy San Marcos.
Her platform is based on the acronym BEST (Budget, Education, Security and Transportation).
“We have to balance the budget, but each of us has to live within our means. The state government should as well.
“In education we need to strive for smaller class sizes, more vocational training in high schools and fully funding and revising the No Child Left Behind legislation.
“Regarding security, we need to provide more funding for law enforcement and firefighters, so they have the tools necessary to fight crime and terrorism and be prepared for any kind of wildfire.
“Regarding transportation: We need to widen our freeways, but we also need to work with Riverside county to make sure that what San Diego is doing coordinates so that we don’t hit a bottleneck. We also need to explore more innovative mass transit such as rapid bus transit or high speed rail.”
As a moderate, she argues that you have to look at what’s best for the district and sometimes you will go along with your party and sometimes you won’t.
“What government should do is the things individuals cannot do, such as provide funding for roadways. Not create laws that tell us how to run, or not run our lives. In that way I guess I have a large streak of libertarianism.”
She concludes, “If people really want money for roads and improvements, they will vote for me. I’m the only one that will bring home that money.”
Learn more about Nicholson’s campaign by visiting www.nicholson4assembly.com.
It’s no exaggeration to say that firefighters hold their finger to the wind to see which way it will blow.
Valley Center Fire Chief Kevin O’Leary issued a warning this week to firefighters, pointing out that “fuel moistures” in local plants are at “critical levels.”
All they need is a stiff, hot wind.
October is the most dangerous month for residents of Valley Center, Pauma and Palomar Mountain, and indeed, for the entire state.
“October is the month that we have had the worst fires ever in California,” Chief O’Leary, who commands all of the CDF (California Dept. of Forestry & Fire Protection) personnel in the area, told The Roadrunner.
That’s because October is the month of Santa Ana winds, when fires that occur are fanned by those hot, dry, desert winds.
It was in the late part of October three years ago, that the devastating Paradise Fire burned more than 200 homes in Valley Center and claimed two lives.
Santa Ana winds are expected to start whipping up again very soon. Although the weather has been cool and moist so far, the chief warned that that could change very quickly.
Fuel moisture is the amount of moisture present in the brush of the region.
To determine how much fuel moisture is in brush, it is baked. It is weighed before and after being baked.
“How much moisture is in the fuel has a direct relationship to how easily it will burn,” says O’Leary.
Fuel samples for the test are taken from various areas in the county.
Fuel moisture levels vary during the summer and fall, usually depending on how much rain has fallen.
It is a mistake to think that because we have experienced cool, moist weather that the fire season is over.
In a memo to CDF personnel over the weekend the chief warned: “As you can see the fuel moisture levels are very critical. We must not put our guard down even with the recent weather. All that is needed is an offshore flow event, with low humidity and some strong winds.”
“We haven’t had any rain,” explained O’Leary and the fuel moisture levels are low. “All it would take is one Santa Ana.”
“We almost had one build last week,” he said.
Right now the weather man isn’t predicting a high pressure that would bring hot winds. But the chief notes that historically, when you have a low pressure system off the coast, as we have now, it is usually followed by a high pressure system, bringing Santa Anas.
“We could have one by next week,” he says. “Historically they usually start anywhere from the 15th to the 30th of the month.”
Once they get a confirmed high pressure system, CDF will add staff, said O’Leary.
Until then they wait. As do we all.
Longtime VC resident and teacher Johnny Sowers is a candidate for the VC-P school board.
He is running, he says, “Because I have an interest, because I’ve been involved in junior high and high school. I have had a couple of pseudo administrative jobs being ASB advisor and work experience coordinator, and I’m currently teaching lower division math at Palomar College.
“I was actively involved in teacher politics, serving as president of the Escondido Secondary Teachers Assn. from 1978-79. I represented teachers to the school board and worked with teacher representatives at the various campuses, various fringe benefits etc.
“More important, I served on the bargaining team as a chairperson and a member for a number of years in the 1980s and 1990s.
“I continue to have a passion for teaching and students,” he says.
Sowers feels that because of his varied background in education he would bring a good deal of knowledge and expertise to the board.
He and his family have lived in VC since 1967. His wife, Donna taught and coached at the middle school for 13 years. All four of their children attended VC schools. Now their grandchildren are attending VC schools.
Asked to talk about what he considers to be the issues of the election, Sowers said, “I think communication. They are doing a pretty good job currently. I ‘m not sure if they have a monthly or bi-monthly publication that goes out to the parents. If they don’t I would like to do that.”
That newsletter, he said, should focus on a different campus each time and include a schedule of events. “If they don’t have that I think that would be important to have,” he said.
“I’m very concerned about classroom behavior,” he said. “As a teacher I have found that was an area that was not properly attended to by the administration when I was a teacher at Orange Glen. But I would think that would be true of most districts.
“I don’t think that teachers should have to put up with students that are misbehaving in the class.
“I think there should be some kind of three strikes type policy that would be on paper and sent to all parents at the beginning of school.
“First strike: the teacher would send the student to a counselor and they would not return that day. Second strike would be the parents would be called in for a conference with the administrator and warned that if there was a third strike the student would be suspended,” said Sowers.
“I’m not sure if they have that. They may, but I don’t know how close they follow it. That’s my concern. I hear this complaint all the time from teachers here about discipline in the classroom. It’s not adequately adhered to firmly,” he says.
Sowers believes that suspensions should be “in-house,” i.e., the student doesn’t get sent home. “I’m going to promote that if we don’t currently have it.
“I would think a fourth strike you might seriously consider expulsion,” he added.
He also want to explore alternative educational programs, for example industrial arts, home economics and technical classes.
Sowers as trustee would visit the various campuses on a regular basis. “I will notify the principal ahead of time to set up an appointment with teachers and staff either during lunch or after school. Much of the time I will prefer not to be accompanied by an administrator.”
The candidate concludes:
“I’m a good listener. But I’m not afraid to ask the hard questions.”Longtime Valley Center pediatrician Doug Dechairo is a candidate for the VC-Pauma Unified School District board.
“I’m running because I think it’s time for change,” Dr. Dechairo told The Roadrunner.
“The board has been there a long time. This district started out really small and it’s grown and grown. The way you manage a program when you have fewer schools is different from how you manage a larger district. I also feel it takes a different perspective to understand high schools, particularly teenagers.”
Dr. Dechairo feels that he brings that perspective because he’s cared for the kids of this community since starting his practice in 1973 and since opening his office in VC in 1982.
“I came here because I care for these kids. I think I have a good understanding not only of health, but also what is needed to educate children. I have that understanding from raising children, and advising children who have disabilities, and learning disorders.
“I don’t think there is a whole lot of difference in being a pediatrician and being an educator,” he says.
Dr. Dechairo feels there are three issues in this election:
1) “I think it’s the responsibility of a governing board and district administration to see that we do what we can to maximize resources and classrooms so that teachers have the resources they need to educate kids,” he says.
“We need to recognize that education is different for different folks. Not all kids will go to the University of California. One fault of American education is that we don’t have enough trade school education.
“If you create a program that keeps kids happy and makes them want to attend, that’s how you deal with kids not wanting to go to school. If you teach a kid to be a great mechanic, he’ll want to go to school more than if he wants to be a mechanic and you educate him for UC.”
He adds, “There’s many ways to build programs. If we give teachers the resources and classrooms to do what they know how to do, we can only continue to improve test scores. I’ve always said that if we taught kids through singing they would learn a lot more!”
2) “The fiscal situation. I still don’t feel in my own mind that I have had an adequate explanation for how the reserves went from $8 million to $3 million in one year. I never felt it was adequately explained,” he says.
“I want to understand where federal impact aid went and if that affected the $5 million. It’s also been said that we have poor attendance and that has had an impact. But there’s no way you can add up the student non-attendance in that way,” he says.
Putting aside the reserves, Dechairo thinks many resources can be tapped to get funds.
“I don’t know how much networking we do to obtain different funding,” he says. “I’d like to find out what other schools are doing. I’d like to see us have funds to support the teachers, to support programs, to ensure that we have the revenues and to maintain the quality of education that VC has always enjoyed.”
3) Dr. Dechairo wants to improve the “C” word, communication. “There has to be improved communication between the board, teachers, parents and students. I’d like to see some kind of forum where there is increased participation.”
Asked if he means a forum besides board meetings, he replies: “I’ve gone to some of those meetings where people speak and sit down. There’s no two way communcation. There should be something outside of the boardroom where people can talk and where the dialogue includes students.”
He believes that if students feel that they have some input, they will want to participate more.
“I want to explore with the schools the best way to increase participation at the governing level. The board has to take on a bigger responsibility as far as understanding the community and making decisions whether fiscal or creating the academic environment.”
Dechario calls himself a “Harry Truman guy. I believe the buck stops here. The governing board needs to find out what the community wants and not just what we get from district personnel.”
Dr. Dechairo’s wife is Lucy Haines, who was principal at the high school for several years before leaving the district in June.
The Roadrunner asked if his candidacy has anything to do with that.
“It has nothing to do with her,” he says. “I was very seriously going to run two years ago, but I opted not to because I thought it was too much of a conflict. Now that she is no longer a part of this district I feel I don’t have a conflict anymore.”
Dechairo criticizes the current board for not adequately explaining how the district got into financial problems. “I think some among their own staff don’t understand. There’s still some unrest as to the adequacy of the explanation,” he says.
He believes he brings a fresh outlook to the board. “I’ve lived here a long time. My slogan is ‘I care for kids,’ and to expand that, for their medical as well as mental health.
“I have assets that I bring to the board. I know this community. I know most of the students. I participate on campus as a volunteer, as well as being team physician at the high school.
“I don’t come in as a novice to make this district continue to do what it has been doing, but to move it forward.”Henry Van Wyk is running for a sixth term on the VC-Pauma school board.
A local veterinarian for many years, he was elected to the board in 1986 and has been board president six times.
Dr. Van Wyk’s primary reason for running for another term, is, he says, “I feel that we should have a continuation of the work we have done. We just hired a new super, and we are faced with a lot of budgetary constraints. I want to see a good development of our district, based on past performance.”
The issues of the election he feels are mainly concerned with declining enrollment, which has resulted in decreased ADA.
“Therefore we need to pursue any other revenue sources that we can,” he says. “We have always done that, looking for grants and support of our programs, but now we are a little more intense about it.
“We are proud of being able to do a million dollars in budget cuts without affecting programs or laying off employees.”
Goals are to continue to improve test scores, be financially responsible and to expand vocational education.
“I continue ot have children and grandchildren in the district and want to see that our district remains one of the best in the state of California,” he says. “We have maintained the ability to remain fiscally solvent when other districts have gone severely in the red.”
He concludes, “I hope the community will continue to support our schools as they have in the past, because our children are our future.”Lori Johnson is running for a third term on the Valley Center-Pauma School board.
She served on the Pauma Elementary School board from 1992-2000 prior to unification and was board president from 1994-2000.
She is Director of Finance for the Yuima Municipal Water District.
She is running for a third term, she says, “Because I want to continue to serve. We have set some objectives as a board and I’d like to see those objectives carried out.”
These goals are:
• to continue to increase student achievement
• to ensure the long term fiscal integrity of the district
• to expand career and technical education.
• to continue to maintain facilities.
“I think as a board we’ve done a good job, however I think there is always room for improvement,” she says. “We have a lot of successes. We passed the school bond that built the stateof-the-art high school. We’ve obtained million dollar grants that upgraded our K-12 and adult education programs.
“We’ve ensured that we’ve kept a highly qualified teaching staff.
“We received the WASC (Western Assn. of Schools) accreditation for our high school. We’ve built Lilac Elementary, Oak Glen High School and the Maxine Theatre.”
She adds, “We’ve continued to offer our students a championship sports program. We’ve maintained beautiful school facilities and athletic fields. We created an award-winning visual and performing arts program and we continue to foster outstanding community support and volunteer programs.”
The most important recent accomplishment, she feels, is the selection of Lou Obermeyer as superintendent. “We’ve selected a new superintendent who is a proven fiscal and academic leader. She recently balanced our budget and developed a strategic long term plan for our district. It’s exciting to have her on board and I want to be there as we move forward.”
The one issue she thinks resonates with the public right now is reserves and fiscal stability, which has been written about a number of times.
“We are a healthy district,” she says. “We maintain over a seven percent reserve. We have been hit with declining enrollment and funding cuts from the state and federal government. Even with these cuts we are able to maintain our programs.”
She concludes, “If reelected I will continue to work with the governance team to make decisions that best serve all the students of the district. I firmly believe in the value of public education and have a deep commitment in the service and education of all students.
“I truly care about our schools our children and our staff and I’m willing to commit the time and energy required to be an effective team member. The district is very important to me, not only as a parent of student grads but also as a proud resident of this community that we call home.”Barbara Rohrer is running for a sixth term on the Valley Center-Pauma school board.
She was first appointed in 1983. She has been board president four times. A retired professional educator, she was Principal of the Vivian Banks Charter School in Bonsall and superintendent of the Dehesa School district for five years. She lives in the Circle R area.
Asked why she is running again, she replied, “I carefully asked myself that question and in answer I decided I still have the enthusiasm, the interest and more time and experience than I’ve ever had before. I’m retired and my kids are out of the house.”
As a trustee she has been a member of the California School Boards Assn. delegate assembly for about ten years.
This position is elected by other school boards in the county. “I think this is an advantage for Valley Center. It’s nice to have North County rural smaller districts represented. It keeps us in touch with state and county activities and gives us an avenue for direct contact with the state legislators, such as Senator Dennis Hollingsworth, who I visited last month.”
Because of this work, she feels that people up and down the state know where Valley Center is. “They didn’t know when I started,” she says.
Asked what her goals are for another term she answered: “I very much support the goals of the superintendent which are to continue to support student excellence and student achievement.”
Issues facing the district are: “To carefully monitor a tight budget. To continue to work collectively to improve academic achievement and test scores. To continue to evaluate teachers seeking highly qualified status,” she says.
“An interesting point that I think all educators and parents need to remember is, however education is more than just meeting the standards and testing. I still believe in seeking a well-rounded education and creating students who have multi-talents and interests.
“I believe that the existing Valley Center-Pauma school board has selected a great new superintendent and that the board continues to work together harmoniously and that this is good for the district. I would be honored to continue as part of the board and management team in my community.”
Ideas for what to name The Roadrunner Kids’ Page are still pouring in.
If you recall, we want to start a regular monthly kids page that will be written for and by the kids about things that interest them.
But first, of course, we need a name. We asked our smaller citizens to send us their suggestions. The one that we pick will bring the winner $25.
Now we want you kids to start thinking about some articles that you’d like to write for the kids’ page (whatever we end up calling it).
We want you to write about subjects that interest you and your friends. We hope to get enough of these articles to publish a kids page once a month.
Now let’s take a look at some of the suggestions for the name for the page:
First out of the gate was Kelly Stickler, 12 years old, who suggested that we call it “VC Kids’ Corner” or “Kids’ Mini-Roadrunner.”
Jacob Beeson contributed “Youth MATTERS” and “Small Town Business.”
Jared Kelly, 12, had a bunch of suggestions, including “Coyote Tales,” “Rattler Page,” “Quail Scratches,” “Rattlesnake Squiggles,” “Kids Klub,” “Kids Korner,” “Valley Kid Scribbles,” “Valley Center Scribbles,” “Valley Center Scrawls,” “Little Jaguar Doodles,” and “Quail Gazette.”
Other suggestions: Nichole Barnes in 11th grade offers: “Minor News,” “In Short Notice,” “Minor Update” and “Mini Hut.”
Fifth grader Matt Barnes suggests “Kids ComMents,” “Kids Corner,” “Valley Blah-blah” and “Valley Express.”
Seventh grader Mike Barnes suggests “Valley Center Kids,” “Kids Thoughts,” “Sprout-n-Shout,” and “Valley Tallyho.”
Keep those suggestions for a name for the page coming in.
The purpose of this page is to get local kids, ages 5 up to high school age, to write about the things that interest them. Whatever that may be.
Send your ideas to editor@valleycenter.com or call the editor at 749-1112. And start sending your articles to the same place.
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
Copyright © 2006, Palomar Community Newspapers, dba Valley Roadrunner. All rights reserved. This content may not be archived, retransmitted, saved in a database, or used for any commercial purpose without the express written permission of the Valley Roadrunner.