Some material was contributed by Samantha Carr
An estimated 600 residents attended services Saturday at Ridgeview Church for Catherine Irene Peltzer, a 16-year-old student at Valley Center High School, who died Tuesday, June 10. She died June 10, 1:15 p.m., after she was thrown from her four-wheel farm vehicle.
She was born Sept. 20, 1991 at Zion’s hospital in San Diego. Her family members affectionately referred to her as “Puddin’.”
Robert Schloemer, associate pastor of family ministries for Valley Center Community Church, delivered the eulogy. He had known Miss Peltzer from two years of her being in his youth group.
“Catherine loved others, loved her family and loved life. She gave of herself to those around her and was incredibly loyal and funny,” he said.
He noted that Catherine grew up in San Diego County in the Oceanside, Bonsall and Valley Center areas and especially loved Oceanside.
“It wasn’t just for the beach as many would think but just for the town and places she loved to visit and hang out.
“Some of her other favorite places were Cabo, Arizona, San Francisco and of course Disneyland!
“A typical California girl, she loved sushi. Her favorite restaurant for it was Akita’s in Escondido and she loved to sit in the back Japanese style, which is on the floor. She enjoyed the crunchy roll, and when she became a vegetarian for a season she allowed sushi to be her one exception.”
She owned and rode horses. She ran away with her horse Lady and while riding Ronie, once fell off so hard she cracked her helmet. She loved her dogs as well.
She had dreams of being a chef or cosmetologist.
She enjoyed cooking. She cooked for her dad more then her mom. But cooked like her mom when she cooked—everything from scratch.
According to Schloemer, “She enjoyed ‘drama’ and not just typical teenage girl drama but theater. She stared in Annie Jr twice, once as “Pepper” and in Cinderella as a step sister while she was in Middle school and played a fairy in second grade.”
She loved to dance, liked to fish, rode horses, and loved to drive. She would drive just about anything she could.
He noted, “Catherine passed away Tuesday afternoon doing what she loved to do being adventurous/ driving.”
At the services many of her friends and relatives wore white t-shirts that had been made by the uncle of Seth Redbird. Printed on the t-shirts was “With Me Always, Catherine J. Peltzer, 9-20-91—6-10-08.” Artwork on the front was provided by the family.
Seth, who was described by family members as Miss Peltzer’s “first love,” cut off some of his hair and entwined it with roses, in a traditional Native American memorial to honor his lost loved one.
After the services a large line of students and friends passed by to give him a hug.
Survivors also include her father, Vern Peltzer and mother, Melissa Tierney, both of VC, Katie Kuipers of Oceanside and grandfather Pat Tierney of Carlsbad; three brothers, Grant :eltzer and Colton Peltzer, both of VC and Cole Clemans of Florence, Arizona; and two sisters, Lacey Rose and Cheyanne Clemans, both of Florence.
Donations are requested to the Escondido Humane Society, or the American Breast Cancer Society.
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Catherine Peltzer died June 10, 1:15 p.m., after she was thrown from her Kubota RTV-900 (Farming Vehicle) on Oak Trail Road. She lost control, drove over the east road edge and down an embankment. The Kubota, also known as a “Gator,” rolled over once, ejecting her and her passenger.
Also injured was her passenger, a 15-year old boy, Seth Redbird.
He was treated at Palomar Medical Center for multiple lacerations to his face.
According to a witness to the accident (another student), Miss Peltzer stood up after the accident, said “I’m OK,” and then collapsed.
She sustained major internal injuries and was transported to Palomar Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.
Redbird was also transported to Palomar Medical and was treated for multiple lacerations to his face.
Alcohol and/or drugs were not a factor in this collision, said the CHP.
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Miss Peltzer, who was a sophomore, had left the first semester of this year and returned at the beginning of the second semester.
The high school put up a large swath of butcher paper for kids to write things about the deceased for her parents to keep.
A psychologist was on call. Students were able to drop in to talk about how they felt about the death and how it affected them.
Pastor Bill Trok of Ridgeview Church spent Wednesday morning there, where he spoke with faculty and students.
“It was the second student this year at the high school to die in an accident,” Pastor Trok told The Roadrunner.
“There’s no blame to lay anywhere. “It was just an accident. It makes it in some cases easier to deal with,” he said.
One parent told The Roadrunner: “It has been an emotional day—especially for the sophomore class.”
A moment of silence was held Wednesday morning in all the classrooms.
Last week was supposed to be my last VCHS column of the year before we all started our summers, continuing this wonderful adventure called life.
But for one VCHS sophomore, Catherine Peltzer, that won't be happening.
You've undoubtedly heard that Catherine was killed last week in a tragic off-road accident. That’s why I asked my editor if I could write this extra piece. I wanted, in some small way, to commemorate Catherine’s life—and also remind everyone (myself included) how fragile life can be and how quickly things can take a terrible turn.
I talked with some of Catherine’s best friends who shared some of their fondest memories.
VCHS sophomore Elizabeth Mazza said, “Catherine was one of the best friends a person could ever ask for. I could always count on her to cheer me up. We never stopped laughing, and I share some of my fondest memories with her.
“One of our favorite things to do was just sit outside and enjoy nature. I loved Catherine like my sister. I’m going to miss her so much but I will never forget all the great times we had together.”
Junior Caston Turner told me, “Whenever I think about Catherine I get a big smile remembering how, when we were in the middle school’s production of Annie we would sneak backstage and put on funny costumes and masks. It never got old. She was always a bundle of laughs and I’m really going to miss her!”
Marlene Dusek, a VCHS junior said, We had so many great memories together, but what I will remember the most is when we used to go to the puppy store at the mall. Catherine truly was an amazing girl. She always had a beautiful smile on her freckled face and it always lit up my day.”
Dancy Turner, also a junior, added, “My favorite thing I'm going miss is how Catherine wasn't afraid to speak her mind, in any situation. She was the most outgoing person I knew and I loved it because she made me want to do the same. I’ll miss her, but she left a little bit of herself in all of us and we can find her whenever we want.”
And finally, some excerpts from Catherine herself from her MySpace page http://www.myspace.com/kathie393: “Well, about me. There’s a lot to say. I have these weird theories that I come up with in my mind and I live by them. I believe exactly what my mind/body wants me to. I’m trying to love myself and not compare myself to other people. I don't second guess myself and if I do I usually go back and think about it a lot ... Family is very, very important to me, so mess with them and I'll mess you up! haha. I love to laugh and read ... I am very strong willed and I know what I want. I know anything I put my mind to I will get/achieve. I believe in living healthy but a donut is great once and in a while ... Please be your own person and speak up if you know something is wrong. You could be the voice to change the world.”
Have a great summer Jags—and STAY SAFE!
Read all of award-winning writer/director Sammi Carr’s past columns at www.carrfamily.com/
Seniors at Valley Center High School’s graduation Thursday night celebrate getting their diplomas by throwing their caps in the air. See more photos on A9 and in a photo gallery on our Web site: www.valleycenter.com/
Valley Center's lengthy nightmare (well, bad dream anyway), the VC Road widening project, that has been with us for four years, will be with us just a little longer. But the end IS in sight.
Michael Long, project manager for the widening project, was in Valley Center last Friday to update the VC Kiwanis Club. We persuaded him to drop by The Roadrunner office so we could update our readers.
Phase I of the Valley Center Road widening project was from the bottom of the Valley Center Grade (i.e. the Escondido city limit) to one mile south of Banbury. It is complete.
Phase II, constructs the road widening from one mile south of Banbury to Cole Grade and is expected to be completed by late summer of 2009.
“The contractor is getting ready right now to shift southbound traffic from the east side of the grade over to the west side so they can complete the improvements along the center of the widened roadway from the southern end of the project to Mirar de Valle,” said Long.
He added, "We expect four lanes to be open on the grade October of 2008 with four lanes open for the entire length of the project by June 2009.”
That is about nine months later than the original projected completion of December of ‘08.
“The project is going along as planned, other than the delays that have taken place,” said Long.
“I think they [the contractors] have done a good job. I’m very proud of the design and implementation being accomplished," said Long. “I think that the people of Valley Center are getting a glimpse of what it’s going to look like in its final configuration and it’s exciting.”
There are several reasons for the delays which include drainage changes to improve the handling of storm water runoff, coordination with utilities, coordination with businesses and access to businesses along the right of way, and adjusting the phasing plan.
Power lines will be undergrounded from Woods Valley Road to Cole Grade Road.
Planted medians will follow the road widening from about Mirar de Valle to Cole Grade Road. They will be planted with xeriscape plants (i.e., low water use).
That should be done by late summer of 2009.
There has been some discussion at VC planning group meetings of adding landscaped medians in the area of Woods Valley to Mirar de Valle. We asked Long about that.
“I have recently been approached by local residents about implementing medians in the segment of Valley Center Road between Woods Valley Road and Mirar de Valle. My response was that the County must honor its agreement between their Department of Public Works, the Valley Center Planning Group and local businesses along that stretch of road to provide a dual left-turn pocket, as opposed to medians, for ease of access to the many businesses. The idea for additional medians in this segment of Valley Center Road must have approval of the affected businesses and concurrence from the planning group,” Long said.
Five foot wide sidewalks and gutters will be installed on the east side of Valley Center Road in the segment from Woods Valley Road to Mirar de Valle. The rest of the road widening project on the east and southern sides will have natural grading in the parkway areas between the curb and the right-of-way line.
A multi-use disintegrated granite (DG) trail with lodge pole fencing is being constructed as part of this project from Old Road to Miller Road along the west and north sides of the roadway. Ultimately, the trail will extend southerly to Woods Valley Road and northerly to Cole Grade Road.
This extension of the original trail will be constructed as a separate project made possible by a $350,000 grant from the California Environmental En-hancement and Mitigation Program (EEMP) that was jointly acquired by the County and the VC Trails Assn.
Horses, pedestrians and bicycle riders will be able to use this trail.
Trees will also be planted the entire length of the project on the west and north sides of the road. The type of trees to be planted will be decided during the design process that will begin in the upcoming fiscal year in July.
“We will involve the community in the decision making process for the types of trees that will be planted,” Long said.
No funds are available for planting on the east side of the road, although businesses adjacent to the road are encouraged to plant and maintain trees or shrubs within the Landscaped Edge Zone.
The plants and trees on the west side will be drought tolerant and maintained with grant funding during the 3-year plant establishment period.
Cole Grade Road
Long is also the project manager for the Cole Grade Road widening, for which he is working to create a "scope of work" and hire a design consultant.
There are currently no construction dollars budgeted for this project, which will encompass widening the majority of the road to four lanes for 2.5 miles from Fruitvale to north of Hilldale Road.
“We have funding for the design but right now we are at the stage for coming up with alternatives for the alignment of the road,” said Long.
A Valley Center Planning Group special meeting to gather public input on the proposed two mile, $41 million road addition that would require an estimated 3,000 homes near I-15 & Old Highway 395 to pay for it will be held June 23, 7–10 p.m. at Lilac School’s auditorium.
Note: the location of the meeting has changed from a previously announced location.
The original 2006 estimate of the cost of the road (which is called New Road 3A) by the Dept. of Planning & Land Use (DPLU) was $41,179,246 of which only about $777,000 was available from the fees that would be paid by the 100 or so units that were allowed by the existing zoning.
Interestingly enough, DPLU originally estimated that it would need to allow 5,273 homes to be built at this location. That would generate nearly $39.5 million in TIF (traffic impact fees).
For some reason that number was later capped at 3,000, although no explanation was given as to where the rest of the money for the road would come from.
The purpose of next Monday’s meeting is to get opinions of Valley Center property owners and residents regarding the proposed Road Segment 3A and Specific Plan Area (SPA). The full DPLU Board Referral map for Valley Center, containing the SPA in the upper left corner (purple area with “1.850” in it), can be downloaded (about 2MB) from the DPLU Web site: www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dplu/gpupdate/docs/ref/gp5drm08cpavalleycen.pdf
The accompanying proposed Circulation Element Roadways map, containing road segment 3A can also be downloaded from the DPLU Web site: www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dplu/docs/network_valleyctr.pdf
The referral, made at the direction of Supervisor Bill Horn, is probably the most controversial issue to come before the planning group in a decade.
And it is possible that if the road is built that it might actually take more than the 3,000 homes that have been estimated to pay for it.
Smith explained, “The reason for holding this special meeting of the Valley Center Community Planning Group is simple. The proposal to build Road Segment 3A by allowing 3,000 new homes to pay for it will affect residents and property owners throughout our community, including those on the opposite ends of Valley Center.
“In the six weeks since the current proposal was informally presented at our May meeting, I think we have gotten beyond the initial knee-jerk reactions. Peo-ple now have had a chance to look at information about different aspects of the proposal and had time to develop their own opinions. As representatives of the people of Valley Center, the Planning Group needs to hear those opinions in an open community forum. I personally look forward to hearing those comments as do the rest of the Planning Group members and invite the community to come out and participate.”
Smith added, “In May the Planning Group responded to a number of proposals from 7th grade students at the middle school, an exercise in part to show how democracy works. Now it is time for the Valley Center Community Planning Group along with Valley Center residents and property owners to come together and exercise that same democratic process! I am looking forward to an interesting and fruitful meeting.”
In the memorable film Shakespeare in Love, one theatrical person tells a neophyte player: “Mr. Fennyman, allow me to explain about the theatre business. The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster.”
“So what do we do?” asked the other.
“Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. It’s a mystery.”
On the road to imminent disaster this week, the Valley Center Community Theater found out that things do usually turn out all right in the end.
The group, under the direction of Marsi Carr, has been rehearsing the musical Oliver! for nearly four months. It opens Friday at the Maxine Theater and will play for four shows only, on Friday, Saturday (twice) and Sunday.
Last week bad things started to happen.
As VCCT’s president, Kimberly Horst, explained it to the cast members who might not have been aware of the rumblings that were occurring, “You want to get all of the bad things out of the way the last week before you open.”
It started with people getting injured or sick and moved on to a really bad thing when, on their way to the Maxine, a truck and trailer overturned, totally destroying the sets and sending the driver to the hospital. Nothing was salvageable.
Before that a high schooler in the cast, blew out her knee doing Powder Puff football. Later another cast member injured his back and a local resident stepped in to do the small part of the doctor with less than two weeks to learn the part.
On Monday the props mistress’s mother died. Her children were also the make up artists for the show.
Then the lighting board at the Maxine stopped working.
Seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
But the group of dedicated thespians rose to the challenge, including a former member of the VCCT who had been performing in another show last weekend, heard the call and showed up Monday night to help out.
Over the weekend several members of the VCCT, but also the head set builder of the Christian Youth Theater who volunteered to help, many of the adult cast members and offstage crew (too many names to mention here), broke out sets from past shows, including The Sound of Music, It’s a Wonderful Life and The King & I and started converting them into scenes from the London of Charles Dickens’s classic Oliver Twist.
The more they worked, the more apparent it became that they were infected by that same mysterious creativity that is born when your options are brutally limited.
You might think of “making lemonade from lemons,” but picture instead a whole lemon tree sprouting and spreading its branches and flowers. Beauty and utility rises out of disaster.
If you look closely Friday night when the curtain rises you may spot some of the abbey from Sound of Music in the set of the den of youthful thieves overseen by Fagin. You may recognize other scenes from other shows.
But theater is all illusion anyway, as Shakespeare in Henry V observed: “Think when we talk of horses, that you see them
Printing their proud hoofs i' the receiving earth;”—Not that there are any horses in Oliver, except, perhaps, for the clop, clop clopping of horses on 19th Century London streets.
This little theater group has risen to the challenge, come together and emerged stronger then when before disaster struck.
“Strangely enough, it all turns out well.”
“And yet....by the grace of God and the amazing people we have left, the show will go on! This you got to see!” says Horst as opening night approaches.
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Showtimes are 7 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. All tickets are $12 and can be purchased at the door or the Maxine's Web site: http://maxine.vcpusd.k12.ca.us/For more information go to: www.VCCT.org/
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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