April 18, 2007 - Top Stories
Kelly Crews reports getting pledges or near pledges for about half of the needed $32,000 for a July 4 fireworks display at Jaguar Stadium.
For nine years Crews Development has sponsored the pyrotechnic show. This year it cannot, and Mrs. Crews, who has been in charge of organizing the show each year, is looking for sponsors to take up the slack.
Some of those donations come with conditions. For instance, the largest pledge, from VC residents George & Cindy Weir, of Weir Asphalt and Paving, has been made with the condition that the rest of the $32,000 is raised.
The $10,000 that the Weirs have pledged would be enough to put down a deposit for the show, which must be paid by the end of the month.
“It would make no sense to go forward unless we have the full amount,” said Mrs. Crews.
Martha & Kevin Grangetto have pledged $1,000. Mike Peters from Bank of Escondido has $1,000, Frontier Fence has pledged $500.
Four donors are considering donating $1,000.
“We have until the end of this week to get enough pledges,” Mrs. Crews told The Roadrunner Monday.
“I’m so incredibly invigorated by the response of the community, the angels who have stepped forward and expressed interest is so overwhelming that they would want to give such a gift to their community,” said Mrs. Crews.
You can reach Kelly Crews by e-mailing kelly@michaelcrews.com. or calling her at 760-535-6166.
The first officially declared candidate in the Honorary Mayor’s Race is Jan Imonti, representing the VC Women’s Club.
Most of the other service clubs are expected to announce their candidates soon.
This year the rules are different, making it possible for smaller organizations to put forth candidates that still have a chance at the brass ring.
Jan Imonti is past president of the Valley Center Women’s Club and is currently the editor of the monthly newsletter.
In her spare time she also writes the newsletter for the Valley Center Federated Republican Women’s Club; is vice president of the Stars of Palomar, another women’s club; treasurer of the CFWC Palomar District; was recently elected secretary to her home owners association and is Queen Mother of the Scarlet Roses of Valley Center, a red hat group of fun loving ladies.
She is an active member of the Valley Center Community Church volunteering her services when ever she can.
Jan and Dominic bought a home in Valley Center in 1999 and split their time between their farm in Manchester, Michigan where she had raised beef cattle and alfalfa hay. They still have some of the farm land but it’s leased to a farmer.
Mrs. Imonti was also president and CFO of their computer peripheral distribution company until they retired quite a few years ago.
You will usually see her around town with hubby in tow since he is still recovering from a serious illness and she doesn’t want him to get bored waiting at home for her.
The candidate is promising to make our community a better place to live by providing the following:
1) There will be a special lane on the grade for the exclusive use of VC residences; violator’s vehicle will stall and automatically move to the shoulder.
2) There will be signs posted at major intersections prior to the grade (Cole Grade, Lilac, Woods Valley and Lake Wohlford) to indicate how long it will take to get from either direction to eliminate getting stuck on the grade for more than an extra five minutes.
3) All residences will be provided a computer, those with children will be provided an additional computer for every two school aged-child.
4) All residences will be provided wireless high speed Internet services that will automatically block pop ups, spam and viruses.
5) One day each month will be set aside for the relocation of endangered species (plant, animal and insect) to an area where they can be nurtured and allowed to multiply so that property owners can clear all vegetation within 200 feet of their property without having to get permits or approvals from EPA and the fire department.
She had her heart set on providing free ice cream on all hot days, but decided that she would not be able to put a serious effort into that promise until sometime very late in the year for very personal reasons.
Mrs. Imonti’s campaign manager Donna Weldon and her election committee are planning an assortment of opportunities for you to pledge your support for Jan.
There will be a rummage sale, several opportunities to win gift certificates, a spaghetti dinner is in the works and you’ll be seeing donation cans around town for your convenience. She invites voters to remember that, ‘Every Dollar in the Can is a Vote for Jan’ and she appreciates your support.
The Valley Center Women’s Club wants to hear from graduating seniors and women continuing their education—the club will be giving away three scholarships.
They also encourage any women interested in more information about the women’s club to contact Jan Imonti at 751-0419 or come to their meeting on the second Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. at VC Community Hall.
“This is the best casino and the best tribe in the world!” declared San Pasqual Tribal Chairman Allen Lawson a few minutes before the scissors snipped and the ribbon blocking the entrance plunged to the ground, making way for thousands of people to get their first look at the fruits of the Phase I expansion of Valley View Casino.
About 2,000 people turned out for an early morning ribbon cutting Friday.
The special day included remarks by Joe Navarro, president of the San Pasqual Casino Development Group and General Manager Bruce Howard.
Howard told the crowd: “The last twenty months have been a collaborative effort of thousands of dedicated men and women focused on a common goal—to design, plan, construct and open a facility that, while beautiful in appearance, allows us to concentrate our efforts on guest service and afford everyone the opportunity to enjoy a memorable meal and a fun gaming experience.
“We have built our business at Valley View on a simple adage: ‘cleanliness and friendliness,’ and nothing about that changes today with the opening of our new casino. We take pride in being awarded over 50 prestigious casino awards in 2006.”
Navarro commented: “Our beautiful new building is the result of the efforts of thousand of people working together as a team to create something amazing, and we are excited to celebrate this achievement with all of you today.
“I would like to take this opportunity to specially thank all the people that made this project possible. Building this new casino, all while maintaining an open and operational casino inside the construction zone, certainly was no easy feat, and it took the cooperation, knowledge and expertise of our amazing partners to accomplish what some may have thought was an impossible task.
“While there are countless individuals to thank for our success, I would quickly like to mention and thank the San Pasqual Gaming Commission, San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians Business Committee and tribal members, and the members of the San Pasqual Casino Development Group, as well as our construction partners: Summit Project Management, Kitchell Contractors, JCJ Architecture, Theodore Barber & Company and Bomel Construction.”
The event also included an unveiling of three bronze cast statues entitled “Three Generations,” by local artist, and San Pasqual tribal member Johnny Bear Contreras, representing native singers of the past, present and future. The statues overlook the new fountain at the entrance to the casino.
Navarro said of his work: “Back when we were still in the planning stages of this new casino the development group decided that we wanted an eye-catching piece of art to welcome our guests to our beautiful new casino. Johnny was commissioned to develop a piece and he came up with an amazing, larger-than-life concept that was not only ascetically pleasing but also culturally significant to the San Pasqual tribe.”
Contreras, a sculptor with a national reputation, has works in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, in Los Angeles, Solanus Casey Center in Detroit, Michigan, the City of Poway, St. Stephen Catholic Church and the U.S. Grant Hotel in San Diego.
After the sculptures were unveiled, the ribbon was cut, and thousands of people streamed in to see the new casino.
We cornered one of those visitors, Jack Short, a nationally-read writer on casino issues, who has previously called Valley View “thegreatest "small" casino in America. Having visited casinos in thirty-two states.”
He added, “In that the casino experience can be a positive life experience it is essential that beyond making available the slots and tables - staff attitude and talent is essential for the player to have the ultimate enhanced recreational activity. And that it is what it is recreation. No one should enter a casino thinking of it as a profit making activity.
“Plus at Valley View you have a buffet unmatched by most casinos in America. Much credit has to go to the General Manager Bruce Howard who has built a talented staff with the philosophy ‘our guests are royalty,’ ” said Short.
The new casino features over 62,000 square feet of new gaming and dining space, including a stunning new guest entrance, an all-new Players Club, a new buffet, an Elite Lounge and a non-smoking casino and bar. The casino floor now offers over 1,300 exciting new slot machines and ten new table games, including single-deck blackjack, double-deck blackjack and Pai Gow poker.
The next expansion milestones will be the opening of the Black & Blue Lounge on April 27 followed by the grand opening of the Black & Blue steakhouse on June 1.
The remainder of the expansion, including increased slot machines and table games, an all-new buffet, a 24-hour café, an ice cream shop, a homemade pastry and cappuccino bar, an event center and a cabaret bar with live entertainment will be revealed this fall.
For full texts of Joe Navarro and Bruce Howard’s remarks see our Web site at www.valleycenter.com.
The word for the year is “new!”
“We’ve got a lot of new vendors, faces and products this year at Western Days,” says LaVonne Johnson, who is in charge of vendors and the carnival for the annual festival, which happens over the Memorial Day weekend.
Food vendors this year include: Matheny’s Wagon Works. They will serve bratwurst, hog dogs, Polish and Italian sausages.
Boba Joe’s brings smoothies, coffee drinks, iced and hot, espresso and shaved ice.
Country Kettle Corn, owned by VC resident Charlie Smith offers this savory treat, a favorite every year.
Crissy’s Tropical Snow will do funnel cakes, hot fudge or caramel drizzled, ice cream and the Maui Cow.
El Guadalajara will serve tacos, burritos and tamales.
New this year is J.B.’s Catering, which will serve tri-tip sandwiches, chicken burritos, pork sandwiches and nachos.
United Buddhist will serve ribbon fries, bacon wrapped hot dogs and onion rings.
“That’s the list so far,” says Mrs. Johnson. “There may be others announced.”
Commercial booths signed up so far include:
Shato Headwear, which does straw hats, sunglasses, tote bags and different styles of hats.
Eldred’s Tae Kwon Do, which will sign up new students.
New to Western Days are: Sunshine Arts, who will bring kid toys, beanie babies and soft pellet guns; Soap Plantation, bringing handmade natural soaps, body washes and skin conditioners; Paradise Custom Jewelry, bringing glass art, glass jewelry and picture frames; NU-Cote, selling exterior windows; Crazy Bear, offering tie dye clothes; United Studios of Self Defense, who will do a demonstration on Sunday’s community day.
Other new vendors are Jeweled Memories, offering Italian charms and bracelets; New- SGO Designer Glass of Escondido, offering designer stained glass; Spanky’s Portable Services, providing all of the portable toilets this year.
Another new vendor, Suburban Propane, will hold a drawing for 200 gallons of propane and a free tank setting.
The VC Sheriff’s Dept.’s Volunteer Patrol will also have a booth, where they will talk about crime prevention.
Returning vendors this year include VB Enterprises, a local company that does woodworking, yard signs, solar lights and puppets; Ten Hands, who sell wood animals and decorative swords; Ernie Pyle Enterprises, which will have a game booth.
Of course the VC Chamber of Commerce will have a booth where they will sell Valley Center Opology and Chamber memorabilia.
Carnival
The carnival will be offered three days this year, with the same popular rides that have been offered for several years.
Gates will open on Friday at noon and run until around 11 p.m. The same hours will be in force on Saturday and Sunday.
Stunt Riders
New this year at the festival are the Sic Riders, motorcycle stunt riders. They will appear thanks to Joe Johnson of Armor Fab in Vista, who made the arrangements. In addition to being in the parade on Saturday they will put on shows at Sunday’s community day.
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If you are interested in having a booth at the festival, the cost is $125 for any kind of both, with a $25 discount for Chamber members. If you need electricity there is a $50 charge.
Deadline to sign up is the first week of May. Call 751-8350 or go to the Chamber Web site at www.vcchamber.com, download the application, terms and conditions and follow the instructions.
The Valley Center High School Dance Ensemble will perform “Live. Love. Dance” this weekend at the Maxine Theater. See story, A11.
Blasting operations previously scheduled on Valley Center Road for 2 p.m. on April 18 and 19 have been postponed.
Traffic delays can be expected to allow for the contractor to blast rock along Valley Center Road near Lilac Road at about 2 p.m. on the following rescheduled days:
April 25 and 26.
Blasting will occur on the west side of Valley Center Road south of Ridge Ranch Road.
Note that the scheduled time of 2 p.m. may change due to weather conditions.
To ensure the safety of vehicles traveling on Valley Center Road, through traffic will be temporarily stopped.
The blasting and inspection process is anticipated to take about 15 minutes. The closure time may be extended if additional cleanup work is necessary. Allow extra time while driving through the area or use an alternate route.
For questions or concerns, call the Project Hotline at (619) 232-2640.
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 © 2007, 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.