Multi-talented James Johnson, a triple-threat athlete, is The Roadrunner’s Newsmaker of the Year for 2009. Johnson is a senior at Valley Center High School.
Just six years ago, James Johnson probably never imagined his life would be on the fast track for stardom.
Never having played sports growing up, Johnson decided to try basketball in seventh grade.
Seeing how naturally talented he was, it wasn’t long before his family was encouraging him to try some other sports as well.
“My brother and his cousins all played football, and I had always wanted to play. So I thought, ‘Why not give it a try?’” he says.
From the first time he stepped onto the field, Johnson says he knew sports would play a major role in his life.
“I love to compete, I love to win, in everything I do,” he says. “Whether I’m in school, or on the field, I’m going to do whatever I have to do to be the best.”
Just as his athletic career was about to take off, Johnson came to Valley Center in the summer between his eighth- and ninth-grade years.
“Back then, I was living with my brother in San Elijo, and my brother was looking to buy a house,” Johnson says. “He found a great place in Valley Center, so we moved up here. That was about four years ago.”
At first, Johnson wasn’t even sure where he’d be going to school, much less where he’d be playing football.
“I was thinking I was going to go to Escondido,” he says. “I didn’t even know there was a high school in Valley Center. But God put me here for a reason.”
Since becoming a varsity starter in his sophomore year, Johnson has dazzled coaches and opponents with his abilities.
“He’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever coached, and he has all the potential to have a great college career, and maybe even move on to the NFL,” varsity football coach Rob Gilster said. “He’s got a lot of God-given abilities, and he works really hard to get better and better every day.”
In his three years on the varsity team, Johnson set a new CIF San Diego Section career record with 2,907 receiving yards.
In his senior season, Johnson caught 57 passes for 1,261 yards and 17 touchdowns in 13 games, as he helped the Jaguars win their fourth CIF Division IV championship in five years. Johnson also plays varsity basketball and runs on the track team.
“I’m going to miss those guys,” Johnson said of his teammates. “They’re my extended family for the rest of my life. You don’t win two rings together without becoming brothers.”
Johnson also told how important is has been for him to be a part of the Valley Center community.
“There are a lot of good, quality people here,” he says. “It’s been great to be out in the country, I’ve been able to really focus. And the community support has been great. There’s not a lot of other places like it.”
Despite his burgeoning fame, Johnson hasn’t let success go to his head. He still spends his free time with his closest friends and stays away from potentially negative situations.
“I’ve never been a party guy,” he says. “I’m more of a homebody, so I’ll invite some friends over to watch a movie or something.”
Always humble, Johnson makes sure to point back to some key people who have influenced his life through the years.
“Number one is God, and number two is my brother, Greg Taylor,” he says. “He took me under his wing and helped make me the man I am today. He did everything he could to help me, and I love him a lot.”
Johnson also recognizes the impact that his football coaches have made.
“All the coaches [at Valley Center] have been great, especially coach [Rob] Gilster,” he says. “He did a lot of networking and making calls to get schools to come out and see me play. He’s done so much for me, and I learned a lot from him.”
Coach Gilster says he’s learned just as much from Johnson.
“Through some of the trials he’s overcome, he’s learned to be gracious, patient, forgiving, and compassionate,” he says. “Those neat things that he’s learned, they can’t help but rub off on you when you’re around him. It’s been great to teach and learn from the younger generation like that.”
As for his future, Johnson says that he expects nothing short of success as he pursues his goals. He has scholarship offers to play football for every school in the Pac 10, with the exception of USC, and hopes to play in the NFL someday.
“That’s everybody’s goal [to play football professionally]. If it’s not, then why are you out there?” he says. “That’s what I’m working for, but if it doesn’t work out, then I’ll have my degree to fall back on. It’s such a blessing to have the chance to get school paid for. Not a lot of people get that opportunity.”
Johnson, who was on a recruiting trip during this interview, has yet to announce where he will play football at the college level. He has admitted, however, that his mind is made up.
“All I can say is that I’ve made a decision,” he says. “I don’t want to announce it just yet, but I’ll tell you pretty soon.”
Wherever he goes, the people in Johnson’s life all seem to agree that where he’s come from has helped set him up for success no matter what’s next.
“He knows what he wants to do, and he understands what he needs to do to get there,” Gilster says. “He’s had to go through a lot, and it’s stretched him, but it’s also made him a better person. He overcomes, no matter what, and he will find a way to excel. He will find a way to be a winner.”
Lance Armstrong is coming. The Amgen Tour of California Professional Cycling Race is coming to Valley Center, Pauma Valley and Palomar Mountain on the weekend of Feb. 21-22 and it’s going to be one of the BIGGEST things to hit the area in years.
One of the nation’s largest and most recognized annual sporting events, the race features elite professional cyclists from around the world. It is nearly as big in the world of bicycling as the Tour De France.
Its concluding round will take it through Valley Center first on Lake Wohlford Road and later on Valley Center Road. It will also go down Cole Grade Road and along Hwy 76, up Palomar Mountain by the South Grade and down on the East Grade.
As many as 40,000 are expected at the finish line in Escondido, with a possible 60,000 spectators along the route.
The 2009 race will include world-renowned cyclist Lance Armstrong, two-time defending Amgen champion Levi Leipheimer and 2007 Tour de France winner Alberto Contador.
During the grand finale in Escondido cycling enthusiasts will be able to take advantage of a variety of free, family-friendly activities for the public to experience at both the start and finish line.
They include:
• Stage 8 Experience in Rancho Bernardo – Autograph Alley with the cyclists, activities, food and entertainment.
• Lifestyle Expo in Escondido – Amgen Tour of California awards presentation, a variety of booths, demonstrations, kids’ zone, bike valet, food and entertainment.
This is the first time that the race will be held in North County. The 96.8-mile San Diego North route will provide the most challenging course the tour has ever seen with a 4,200 foot climb up Palomar Mountain.
The race will start locally in Rancho Bernardo and finish in Escondido at the intersection of North Broadway and West Grand Avenue.
The nine-day race through California starts in Sacramento on Feb. 14 and finishes in Escondido on Feb. 22.
On Sunday, Feb. 22 from 9 a.m.–2 p.m. will be the Stage 8 Experience in Rancho Bernardo
• noon – Stage Start in Rancho Bernardo
• 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. – Lifestyle Festival in Escondido
• 3:34 p.m. to 4:43 p.m. – Estimated Arrival Time for Finish Line
The San Diego North Amgen Tour of California website features a variety of information about the race, including the best viewing spots and fun, free family-friendly activities for the race day. The website is updated daily, making it a great resource for up-to-date race information. You’ll find it at www.sandiegonorth.com/amgen/
Concerns from local fire chief
Palomar Mountain Volunteer Fire Dept. Chief George Lucia last week expressed concerns about the ability of the local fire department to answer emergency calls if all the local roads are blocked.
“Our local jurisdiction will be faced with an undetermined amount of spectators throughout the entire weekend,” he wrote.
“Additional issues include the shutdown of South Grade Road (S6) and the shutdown of East Grade Road (S7).
“For Fire Station 79, this presents the problem of responding to local calls for normal tourism such as the observatory, state park, Christian Conference Center and the 6th grade camp complex.”
A Mercy ambulance will be staged at the summit heliport on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m..
Mercy airship will be staged at summit heliport on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For the first time in many months, the reserves of the Valley Center Fire Protection District could be boosted up to 36 firefighters when a second fire academy is completed on Feb. 28, according to a report given at Thursday night’s board meeting.
The fire district has been struggling to keep the number of reservists up. But they fell as low as 17 last year.
The district’s new chief, Jeffrey A. Johnson, said he expects to keep the numbers of reservists at near those numbers for the next five months, until Cal Fire begins to recruit aggressively statewide in anticipation of fire season.
“If we can keep sixty percent of these reservists that will greatly enhance our program,” commented board member Mel Schuler.
“We’ll probably be able to keep these for awhile,” said Johnson.
The state’s current budget crisis could have an indirect effect on keeping some of the reservists from being hired away from the district shortly after their qualify.
There is currently a state hiring freeze in effect, and area city fire departments are also not hiring.
New Engine
The district’s new fire engine has arrived and the staff is working to get all of the equipment on it so that it can go into service.
This will happen in about two weeks, according to Engineer Dan Beeson.
The new engine is made by Smeal. It is a Type 1 pumper. Its acquisition cost was nearly $374,000 and there will be an additional $120,000 spent for related apparatus and equipment.
District administrator John Byrne praised Beeson for being as busy “as a one-armed paper hanger,” in getting the engine in service. “He has done wonders,” he said.
This didn’t stop the board from urging Beeson to be even faster about getting the engine into service so as to avoid extra maintenance costs associated with keeping the other engines covering for the new engine.
When the new engine is finally rolling, there will be two pumpers in service, plus several support vehicles.
Road Widening
Fire Marshal George Lucia talked about the current discussions involving the VC planning group and the road widening proposal for Cole Grade Road and other roads.
“I feel they [the planning group] are doing an amazing job in looking after our interests,” he told the board.”
Lucia said he expects to finish the department’s annual business inspections by mid-February.
Brush Abatement
The district has been working with the County on a common brush-abatement program where the County would handle enforcement, i.e. oversee paying the companies that will do the abatement if property owners don’t do it themselves after being given warning.
“The County is finally getting its act together on getting contractors to come out and bid to do the abatement,” commented Bryne.
The county Dept. of Planning & Land Use’s code enforcement division (DPLU) recently published an RFP (request for proposal) and expects to let the contract in 30 days.
“It’s only been since last July, you have to be patient,” quipped Byrne. He noted that representatives of DPLU and participating fire districts have been meeting regularly with the intent of kicking off the brush abatement program smoothly soon.
Lucia is providing as much input to the County on a possible program, since Valley Center apparently has the largest brush problem in the county.
Director Weaver Simonsen commented, “We’ve had a disconnect with the County so far. What I see needed is a run through to see that everyone is on the same page.”
Byrne said he was hopeful that the County’s code enforcement division would have everything on track in time for spring.
“There wasn’t anyone at the meeting I attended that didn’t agree that the current system is screwed up?”
A skeptical Mel Schuler said the district should look into alternative ways of dealing with the situation if the County doesn’t match its talk with action. He said Byrne should bring a proposal to the board, “so we can do it,”
“By February we should know a lot more,” said Byrne.
Hydrants
VCFPD has been in talks with the Valley Center Municipal Water District about the water district maintaining the fire hydrants in the area—at fire district expense.
Directors were flabbergasted to learn that it is not the water district’s responsibility to maintain these hydrants.
“We were surprised to learn that there are nearly 1,000 hydrants in Valley Center,” said Byrne. “That’s one hundred and fifty more than we thought there were, that are not on our maps. The water district isn’t sure they are on their maps,” he said.
He noted that having the water district conduct the annual inspections and flow testing on the hydrants will save in possible liability.
“I think there would be a major advantage to having the water district do the work,” Byrne told the board.
Allen Lawson was reelected chairman (spokesman) of the San Pasqual Tribe of Diegueño Mission Indians on Jan. 11 in a meeting of the general council in which 172 eligible tribal members attended and all of them voted.
The tally for chairman was as follows: Allen Lawson, 103; Steve Cope, 35; Jim Quisquis, 34.
Also elected were vice chairman, Victoria Diaz; secretary/ treasurer, Tilda Green; delegates: Dave Toler and Jim Thorpe.
The tribe is the owner of the Valley View Casino.
A number of people—a number estimated at 50—who claim to be tribal members, but whose membership is denied by the tribe, were kept out at the gate to the community center by a mixture of tribal security and Sheriff’s deputies.
Security had a list of eligible voters provided to them by the tribal election board, which acts as the tribe’s “registrar of voters.” Anyone who was not on that list they didn’t allow inside.
Some of those who attempted to gain admission had cameras rolling. This footage of about five minutes in length can be viewed on YouTube on the Internet by Googling “San Pasqual Tribal Election.”
The tribe’s action of disenrolling descendents of Marcus R. Alto, Sr. is a subject of dispute between the tribe and Alto’s descendants, and between the tribe and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, (BLA) Pacific Regional Office.
On Nov. 26, in answer to the tribe’s July 2008 request that the BIA approve its disenrollment of Alto’s descendants, the bureau’s Pacific Regional Office’s Director Dale Morris sent a nine-page letter detailing why it disagreed with the Enrollment Committee’s reasoning as to why the Alto family are not legitimate members.
On Dec. 1 the tribe requested a decision from the BIA regarding recognition of the tribal government for purposes of government-to-government relations.
On Dec. 18, James Fletcher, superintendent of the bureau’s Southern California Agency (subordinate to Morris), sent a letter reaffirming that its ruling (first made in 1994) was that the Alto family descendants were members of the tribe and refusing to recognize the tribal government that had been elected in 2007, and ONLY that tribal government, because of the Alto dispute.
Note: The suspension of Angela (secretary/treasurer) was at a General Council meeting where there was no question of enrollment nor was anyone denied attendance.
According to tribal members The Roadrunner has spoken to the process and actual impeachment of Jerry Cope (delegate) and Robert Phelps (Vice-chairman) and the election to fill the vacancies, was done in the manner required in the San Pasqual constitution.
Fletcher continues, as of Dec. 18, to consistently maintain recognition ONLY of the five elected in 2007.
However, when the tribe protested Fletcher’s letter, Morris sent a letter on Dec. 2 to the tribe noting that his decision “is not yet effective,” and would be stayed if the tribe appealed it to Washington, D.C.
Morris reiterated an earlier statement encouraging the tribe “to remove the BIA from the band’s enrollment process.” and adding, “We apologize if the original statement was offensive.”
This series of letters would appear to reinforce the tribe’s assertion that it was not required to let the 50 disputed members vote at the Jan. 11 election.
Another interpretation is that, until the ruling is overturned, that it stands. However the tribe’s interpretation is that since the ruling has been stayed, that the tribe’s position is upheld until the Washington bureau upholds the regional ruling.
Since the tribe will, by all likelihood, appeal the bureau’s decision if it is unfavorable, the dispute could go on for many more months or years.
Shawneen Burdick will be installed as 2009 Chamber of Commerce president at the annual Award & Installation Dinner Friday, Jan. 23, at Harrah’s Rincon Casino at the same time that Sherrie Ness is honored as Citizen of the Year.
Her praises will be sung by last year’s Citizen, Ron McCowan.
The Chamber’s biggest party of the year will include the installation of the other officers, and the honoring of outgoing CofC Pres. Verle Yoder.
The incoming president will, if she follows custom, give a brief address in which she will talk about what she hopes to accomplish in the coming year.
There will be some major giveaways for attendees, including products from many of Valley Center’s merchants.
Local politicians have been invited, including Senator Dennis Hollingsworth, Assemblyman Keven Jeffries and Fifth District Supervisor Bill Horn.
Also on the evening’s agenda will be recognitions of local businesses of the year, as well as the committee that put on last year’s Western Days festival.
The installation begins with cocktails at 6 p.m., followed by dinner.
Contestants for the Miss Valley Center Pageant and Junior Miss Valley Center gathered on Saturday, and according to Pageant Director Debra Jockinsen, “All the contestants are excited to get started on the road to the pageant.”
There will be three contestants competing for the title of Miss Valley Center and nine contestants competing for the title of Junior Miss Valley Center.
The contestants and their parents were full of questions. There to help answer them were Brittany Byler, Miss Valley Center 2007; Holly Hart, Miss Valley Center 2006; Tanya Cottrell, 1st princess 2004; and Kaytee Hayes 2nd princess 2004.
The pageant is March 21, 6 p.m. at the Maxine Theater. Learn more about the contestants in next week’s Roadrunner.
Thoroughly Modern Millie plays this week, Jan. 22–24 at Valley Center High School. Some of the main actors include back row, (from left) Rachel Heller, Aaron Mendez, Kelsey Schwarz, Katelyn Collie, Dylan Wolff, Torre Price, front, Alex Carr, Samantha Carr, Francisco Moncada.
By DAVID ROSS
I think I’ll talk about some things that everybody is NOT talking about this week, like this one: The New York Times put an ad on its front page for probably the first time in its history. Front page advertising in the national daily press has been taboo for many years, but the current financial times has forced the Old Grey Lady to buckle.
Although, it might also be that the Times, like many daily papers today, is not serving its readers what they want to read. I note that many, if not most of weekly community newspapers are weathering the storm because they provide news that their readers want to read. They don’t treat their readers like idiots if they are church members or have middle American values.
Well, times are rough all over, although they are NOT as rough as the media would lead us to believe—not yet anyway.
The current unemployment rate is not the highest since the Great Depression. It is currently 7.2 percent. There have been several times in the last 30 years when it has been higher, most notably during when Ford was president, when it was 9 percent, when Carter was president, when it was 7.5%, when Reagan was president, when it was over 10 percent for awhile, and under Bush I, when it was 7.8% for awhile.
What made the times particularly rough during Ford and Carter’s terms, and partially into Reagan’s, was the high inflation, which created a phenomenon called Stagflation.
By the way, did you know that the term “Depression” was invented by Herbert Hoover to try to describe the proverbial ton of bricks that fell on his administration in 1929. There were depressions before that, but they were called “panics.” Actually, I think that might be a good term with what we are experiencing today. Panic. Yeah, that’s suits the mood.
Oh yeah! One thing IN the news today. Good luck to the new “the Man,” POTUS. I wish him luck in curing the nation’s ills. I don’t need my guy in the White House to remain patriotic.
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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