Amazingly, although rainfall totals in some parts of Palomar Mountain hit 15 inches over the weekend, this area made it through the weekend deluge without any disasters or dangerous debris flows.
Although there was A LOT of rain, it fell steadily most of the time. Only a couple of times did the rate of rainfall reach dangerous levels.
As a precaution on Friday Sheriff’s deputies went around to about 100 residences along Hwy 76 and issued warnings that they should consider evacuating because of possible debris flows.
Hwy 76 was closed for a short time on Monday morning after CalTrans crews discovered a significant mudslide had occurred, about 24' feet wide crossing Highway 76, about 1/2 mile east of Harolds Road.
Two culverts leading under Hwy 76 were clogged and backed up; the water flowed over the roadway for a time.
The highway reopened Monday afternoon.
Tracy Nelson, chairman of the La Jolla Indian Reservation, which was mostly burned in October and will have concerns about possible debris flows for the foreseeable future, reported, “We did all right. A little mudslides coming off the sides. We’re pretty saturated and we’ll worry if we get more rain. But there was nothing too drastic this time. Little stuff that we took care of.”
During the storm CalTrans closely monitored and patrolled the creeks along Hwy 76 with equipment ‘ready to go’ in the event a debris flow either breached Hwy 76 or clogged one of the many culverts/creeks intersecting with Hwy 76.
Rain totals varied widely. Valley Center, for instance, recorded about 4 inches for the storm.
On Sunday, after the second of the three storms had hit, the following rainfall totals were recorded:
Birch Hill (Palomar Mountain): 12.5" storm total, 1.65" in the last three hours, 0.75" in the last hour (before 5:30 AM).
Palomar Observatory: 6.25" storm total.
La Jolla Amago: 2.75" storm total, 0.39" last three hours (before 5;30 AM)
Rincon Springs: 1.33" storm total
Cole Grade Road: 1.18" storm total
Oak Flats: 3.5" storm total
(The Oak Flats gauge is about 1/4 mile east of northern Pala Temecula Road, on the ridgeline west of the Poomacha Fire burn area, at an elevation of 3,068 feet).
We were unable to get the figures for the third of the three storms, which hit on Sunday.
You can help honor Valley Center’s Citizen of the Year Ron McCowan (see related story this page) by attending this year’s annual Chamber of Commerce Installation & Awards Banquet, which will be held Jan. 26, 6 p.m.–midnight at the Pavilion ballroom of Harrah’s Casino.
Tickets are $45 each with table sponsorship opportunities available.
You are invited to join friends, neighbors and business associates for an evening of gourmet food (including Harrah’s famous 5-star dessert table), liquid libation, entertainment, prizes and even dancing after dinner.
The Chamber will install its new Board of Directors and Ambassadors and present the 2007 Citizen of the Year to McCowan, and bestow other awards.
Buy tickets at the new Valley Center Chamber office, Community Pharmacy, Tri-City Carpet, or the Valley Roadrunner... or call Sue at the Chamber of Commerce office at 760-749-8472.
For businesses and organizations that wish to combine fun and marketing, table sponsorships can be purchased for $1000.
The Executive Gold Sponsorship Package includes:
• 10 Complimentary Banquet tickets
• Display promo materials
• Table signage at the event
• Verbal acknowledgement from the podium
• Acknowledgement in all press materials
• Featured throughout the year in the Chamber newsletter
• Prominently placed ad on Chamber website
• Ability to control seating at your table
• Business visibility and networking opportunities with an audience of business leaders
Other business opportunities include providing the Chamber with your promotional business items for gift bags and sponsoring floral centerpieces for $50.
For more information on sponsorship and promotional participation call Shawneen Burdick at 760-594-2795 or Verle Yoder at 760-522-7548.
Lael Montgomery, one of the more influential members of the Valley Center Planning Group has resigned, after serving since 2002.
“Time to give some others a turn,” she told The Roadrunner when asked why she was stepping down.
She will continue to serve on the Valley Center Design Review Board, which she currently chairs.
Prior to being elected to the planning group she also served for a year on General Plan 2020’s land use subcommittee, which she was briefly chairman of.
“What I have loved most about my tenure is getting to know and love the characters in the story— all of them. The greatest intellectual challenge has been to learn the discipline; the greatest personal challenge has been, first, to understand and, second, to appreciate its political nature. I’ve learned more about ‘the system’ than I ever imagined and more about my own deficits than I ever wanted to know,” she said.
She added, “I’ll be focusing on DRB and some personal projects that I've been antsy to do.”
The 15-person planning group, which advises the County Dept. of Planning & Land Use, has had trouble keeping up with resignations this last year. Every time it seems that the group will be full-strength again, someone resigns.
Its bylaws require that it go through a two-month nomination process, inviting applications to the board, and then screening them before a vote. Then it will send recommendations for filling the vacancy to Supervisor Bill Horn, who has the final say.
Ron McCowan, principal of the VC High School, has been named Citizen of the Year by the VC Chamber of Commerce.
He will be honored at the Chamber’s Installation and Awards Banquet Jan. 26, at the Pavilion at Harrah’s Rincon Casino.
McCowan is being honored for taking the initiative during October’s wildfires, when he organized and ran the high school shelter, aided by volunteers and staff members, until relieved two days later by the Red Cross.
Last year’s Citizen of the Year, Marcia Townsend, who chaired this year’s selection committee, described her experience with McCowan and the shelter volunteers: “The Reverse 911 calls came at dawn and people started showing up at the high school gymnasium, the established evacuation site.
“Ron and his staff personally started cooking breakfast for the evacuees and their families. They also served dinner that night. Ron started organizing and leading people to establish the center and get the equipment for these families to live there. Many of the school staff and some of the students were there to help. They were there and worked the whole week.
“After the evacuation site was in operation, Ron didn’t stop there. He and Pastor Bill Trok [of Ridgeview Church] went down to Rincon to help families that had lost their homes. They helped them get established with FEMA and the Red Cross and any additional services they might need.”
She adds, “I’ve learned what a dynamo this guy really is. Ron gets people involved. Ron never asks you to do something he would not do himself. He is constantly building support from those around him assuming a leadership role with creativity, organization and always listening for input from his associates.”
McCowan, who prefers to credit the people he works with, was surprised at the honor. “I’m not sure why I got it. I told Marcia I was pleased to be following someone with her class.”
He was born and raised in Escondido. His grandparents and great-grandparents moved to VC in 1963 and opened a market in Ramona—So he qualifies as a longtime area resident!
He and his wife Nell Rose have lived in Valley Center for three years. They have three boys, two 8-year-olds and a 10-year-old.
They are building a house near the high school where McCowan has been principal for two years. “The reason we moved up here was I spent a lot of time trying to have the best educational environment possible. So it didn’t make sense to live in Escondido and have my kids go to school there,” he says.
VC residents first met McCowan when the high school opened ten years ago.
Previously he had been at Orange Glen High School for 8–9 years as a biology teacher and football and wrestling coach.
He came to VC as assistant principal under Ed Loman. He later served as principal of the Upper Elementary School for two years before returning to VCHS.
McCowan has established an incredible rapport with students. Many mornings early he joins the “The Breakfast Club,” pumping iron with athletes in the gym’s weight room.
“One reason I do that is that it puts me in a different light than just the principal,” he explains. “You’re working together on a common goal and that’s how you build relationships. That’s one reason I try to be involved in the ASB as much as I can. Watching the sports teams, going to plays and performances, all are things where the kids are in their element. It’s kind of a neat way to see them perform.”
His rapport with kids is why he’s in the business, he says. “As a classroom teacher I used the curriculum to build a relationship with the students. As an administrator it’s a little more difficult to build that relationship, but to me that’s the most important part of my job.”
From his years as Upper Elementary principal he knows many parents and siblings of students he now has at the high school. Many kids he had at the upper school are now freshmen.
Of his experience running the shelter, he says: “It was really rewarding to be in a position to help, and I was lucky, to be able to provide for people in a time of need.”
The high school was not outfitted as a shelter, but it had access to a mother lode of supplies and materials. So they improvised.
They didn’t have cots. So one of the casinos brought mattresses the first night.
“I happened to know a couple of people from just about every church. Each one brought something for us, whether blankets or clothes. The other big piece of the puzzle was Tom Bumgardner making phone calls. As a result [Supervisor] Bill Horn and Valley View Casino came up with sandwiches and food,” he says.
The district’s kitchens had food for two to three weeks. Some kitchen staff had been evacuated to the high school. Supt. Lou Obermeyer authorized using anything from any of the schools.
District maintenance supervisor Gary Pay collected supplies and brought them to the school.
“Sometimes people even had a choice of what they could eat!” says McCowan with a smile.
“Another guy who was big was David Dugger with the CERT team. We held administrative meetings every two hours to see what was for dinner, who would do trash and so forth,” he says.
On that Monday there were 450-500 evacuees to feed. But on Tuesday the Poomacha Fire roared through two reservations and parts of Pauma Valley, swelling those numbers to 2,000.
“We had elderly people coming in and families with three or four kids,” he recalls.
They set up the dance room as a quiet area for the 30 or so very elderly, including a 97-year-old woman.
The second day they opened the football field. It filled with motor homes and RVs.
Camille Martineau ran the “pet room,” at the ag farm, populated by all kinds of refugee critters.
“A big key was that we formed a relationship with the fire department. Every few hours Dan Beeson or some other firefighter would give a briefing. Often it wasn’t anything new but it was good to hear from a uniformed person.”
Among lessons learned was to get the first thing done and then worry about the next. “You serve breakfast first and then worry about lunch. You improvise. The book on how to run an evacuation center sat on the desk because there wasn’t time to open it,” he says.
They organized on the fly. “Mr. Adams was in charge of the inside of the gym. A couple of guys were in charge of security. Dugger was in charge of making sure that supplies from the other schools were delivered. Bill Trok was in charge of getting stuff from the outside.
“We would meet and set up tasks and the next two hours address the next set of challenges, all the while thinking.”
At this time the Red Cross was prevented from getting into VC because few were being allowed into the evacuated areas.
“One really rewarding thing was that when the Red Cross did show they asked us to run it until the next morning. Everyone that put in the time running it felt good about that,” he says.
After the Red Cross took over Wednesday morning, McCowan went back to his house and fell asleep. He had seen to his family’s evacuation on Tuesday.
He remained on call to the Red Cross. “I had the keys, I knew where things were and knew the people in the shelter. Carl from the Red Cross was really easy about asking for things and so we worked really well together.”
He adds, “One neat thing was that in a situation where people were having the same problem, it was amazing how well they got along. People were very considerate of others. As a community we shined.
“Everyone pitched in. If there was a truck with supplies, there was eight guys to unload it. Students volunteered as translators. A lot of our staff came back to help, whether it was Rob opening the snack bar, Bill Dunkle running around to get supplies or Dennis Zabinsky helping with administration.”
The district office moved to the high school to provide support.
“It’s hard not to get choked up talking about it. Emotionally it took a toll,” McCowan recalls.
When he offered to pass off the responsibility to Dr. Obermeyer, she immediately gave him a vote of confidence.
“No, you are doing just fine.”
A final emotional high came when they honored the first responders at a high school football game in November.
“What a great night we had! Every time a fire vehicle went through everyone stood and gave a standing ovation!”
NBC/739 TV studios have invited the cast of VCHS’s High School Musical production to visit on Jan. 12, between 7 a.m.–9 a.m.
Fourteen students will appear on that Saturday morning several times.
That should make for some positive energy among the cast of the Disney-inspired musical, directed by Laralee Beck and Tammy Merrick.
“I am excited about the opportunity to be featured on television and cannot wait to perform on stage,” said cast member and freshman Allegra Much. “The entire experience of meeting new people, similar to myself in the sense of being musical, from all grades has been a wonderful adventure.”
She added, “I have enjoyed both singing and dancing and will definitely do this again next year. In fact, as a result of this positive influence on my life I would like to become some sort of music teacher.”
Much plays one of two, “brainiacs” selected from the cast to attend. There will be two cheerleaders. VC residents are invited to watch for their own favorite character depicted by the cast of talented teens.
They will meet at 4:30 a.m. for the hour long trek to the studios and will be microphoned ready for a sound check at 6 a.m. sharp in the outside patio area.
Anchors Rory Devine, a former teacher, and Steven Lucas, will conduct impromptu “breakaway interviews and snippets,” and several 30-second teasers.
The longest will occur about 8:40 and last 4–6 minutes. The group will close out the broadcast, which ends at 9 a.m. with production numbers.
“I've been in a few plays but this is my first time in musical theater,” said junior Tyler Jiles, who plays Coach Bolton. “It is really fun! Dancing, singing and making connections with other students on campus.”
She added, "The idea of being on television is very, unbelievably exciting and the next week end we will all be on stage at the Maxine. I love the stage. When I leave high school I'd like to be part of a Broadway like traveling musical company presenting productions across the nation. I love it. It’s that fun!”
“This is my third year in musical theater,” said 17-year old Desiree Duncan, a senior, who plays the exuberant “Sharpay.” “It’s all so exciting because I’ve never been on TV before and it’s my first year of getting a lead role.”
She added, “I’m looking forward to everything—it’s a good show with nonstop action, singing, dancing, kid and parent friendly, everyone in the community should make it a point to see. A definite must see on both TV and at the theater.”
Flyers are scheduled to go home with 3,000 students in the school district both this week and next. Parents of cast members are reminded to tune in to the broadcast of NBC 739 and buy their tickets online immediately afterwards as record numbers have been hit at theaters in San Diego that are presenting Disney’s High School Musical.
“Last year was my first time on TV,” said Stephanie Stratford, a senior. “I was so excited and nervous [Stratford played Peter Pan), this year I'll be more prepared.”
She plays Kelsey, who is the student that wrote the “play” within the play.
“My very favorite part of being in High School Musical is that it is easier to relate to the situation and slip into character mode. This is absolutely the best ever production. We own the sets, by that I mean we the students built, painted and put together everything from costumes, to sets to the acting, singing and dancing. We are jacks of all trades.”
She added, “We've (the students) done everything and there is real pride in this production. This is the best show yet! The music and everything is fun not only for kids but adults too. Everyone will enjoy it! So tune in and show up,”
High School Musical runs at the Maxine Theater Jan. 17, 18 and 19 at 6:30 p.m. with a matinee performance on the 19th at 1:30 p.m. All seats are reserved at the bargain price of $12 and can be purchased one hour before the show or in advance at <http://maxine.vcpusd.net/
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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