2013 Local Archive Stories

DAGGETT • For the rural communities of Yermo, Calico, Newberry Springs, Daggett, Fort Irwin and Ludlow, 37 graduates was a record number this year at the Silver Valley Alternative Education Center, according to the school’s principal Stefan Cvijanovich. “Each of my students has a very unique story,” he said before

BARSTOW • The National Labor Relations Board is expected to file an injunction in federal court against Barstow Community Hospital regarding its alleged bargaining tactics with the California Nurses Association, according to a CNA news release. The injunction could come as early as this week, according to the CNA, the union which re

BARSTOW • Plata’s Mexican food is as connected to the history of Barstow as the BNSF Railroad and Marine Corps Logistics Base, said Armando Gonzalez. True to its roots in Lenwood, the restaurant serves up authentic Mexican food to much of the city’s populace of BNSF, military and blue-collar employees, said Gonzalez, man

More money for schools with an emphasis on English-learning and lower-income students highlight Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget, which was met with optimism by both local superintendents. “It levels the playing field,” Silver Valley Unified School District Superintendent Marc Jackson said, calling the May revision of

BARSTOW • Scores of motorcyclists zipped through Joseph Boll Avenue at the Marine Corps Logistics Base on Wednesday en route to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. The “Run for the Wall” riders hope to raise awareness about prisoners of war and those killed or missing in action, according to their road guard and flag

FORT IRWIN • U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced Tuesday in a Department of Defense memo that unpaid time off would in fact be required for about 680,000 civilian employees — including workers at local bases — beginning July 8. Though the amount of furlough days will be reduced to 11; original proj

BARSTOW • East Main Street at the intersection of Yucca Avenue buzzed with construction projects Monday afternoon. On the north side of the intersection, telecommunications contractor SECC Corporation blocked off the center lane in order to repair an Internet wiring conduit, according to SECC fiber optics inspector Manuel Armenta.

VICTORVILLE • Dealing with a long-anticipated influx of caseloads and new personnel due to closed courtrooms around the county, Victorville courthouse officials said that the first full week of transition went as smoothly as it could have, but that fine-tuning is still necessary. “While it was busy, everyone got settled, staff

BARSTOW • It’s been a few months since I’ve done any sort of serious running. Right after New Years I fell into that stereotypical group that has high hopes of accomplishing regular fitness goals, the kind who join a new gym, and then stops working out altogether shortly thereafter. The night before Saturday&rsqu

BARSTOW • The Barstow Motorcycle Center made a short move up Main Street to the former H&E and True Value Hardware building, quadrupling its space from about 10,000 square feet to 40,000. The shop, now more like a warehouse, has been in business for 19 years in Barstow offering new and used motorcycles, All Terrain Vehicles, sid

BARSTOW • Angie Acosta, 73, stood outside Stater Bros. market Thursday morning in her American Legion jean jacket handing out crepe paper red poppies to passersby. The flower is a symbol of the military’s war dead, originating from a World War I poem titled “In Flanders Fields” and is worn on Memorial Day. Acosta s

Ted Quiroz is part of the Barstow Relay for Life team, "Team Unforgettable." To raise money, the team thought of the idea of "flocking" — where someone pays to have a flock of flamingos placed in the yard of a friend, family member or neighbor, along with a note explaining they've been "flocked" for a good cause. Those who

BARSTOW • Organizers of the Barstow Mud Run are busy completing last-minute touches to the deliberately dirty race scheduled for this Saturday at the Robert A. Sessions Memorial Sports Park. DeeDe Crigler, Secretary of the Barstow Kiwanis Club, said the organization hopes to attract about the same number of participants as last year

NEWBERRY SPRINGS • A new owner and a group called Oasis Theme Park are in negotiations to bring life back to the Lake Dolores water park as early as 2015. The facility sits in a patch of desert northeast of Barstow near Interstate 15. It was most recently named the Rock-A-Hoola Waterpark, but it’s been closed for nearly a deca

BARSTOW • Students at Thomson Elementary were treated to a bevy of activities Friday in celebration of completing the state’s Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) exam. A total of eleven game stations were set up throughout the school’s grounds and interior — a two-hour event of stress-release facilitated by k

BARSTOW • Spread out the length of a football field, a lot full of carnival rides and games near Ramada Inn on East Main Street this weekend will benefit Barstow youth and high school football programs. For the second straight year, Butler Amusements is in charge, running the carnival through Sunday and providing the local football

FORT IRWIN • Young students at Tiefort View Intermediate School sought more answers than NASA scientists could offer Wednesday afternoon. “If we found extra terrestrials, what would you do?” one fourth-grader posed to Dr. David Jauncey and Steve Levin after the pair wrapped up their third and last assembly of the day.

HINKLEY • David Glenn was a student in Hinkley School’s inaugural class of 7th- and 8th- graders. As a current resident of Needles working for the BNSF Railway, Glenn said he is spearheading a school reunion and open house this Saturday. “It’s nostalgic,” he said. “I have really fond memories of

BARSTOW • New walkways, rubber mulch on the playgrounds, a resurfaced basketball court and a new bathroom are just a few of the recent updates the city has made to local parks. “I think by far we’ve got some of the nicest parks in our area,” City of Barstow Parks and Recreation Superintendent Terri Peralta said. &l

BARSTOW • Former Palm Beach, Fla., news videographer D.J. Amerson and his film crew will take up residence at the old Barstow Hospital this weekend. The group will be shooting a short film based on the real-life Miami zombie-like attack that occurred in May 2012. The attack made national headlines and was a warning about the dangers

BARSTOW • The city is “on the move,” Mayor Julie Hackbarth-McIntyre told a crowded room at the Hampton Inn on Wednesday during the annual State of the City. The event brought together local and county government officials, along with local business owners and the leadership of both nearby military bases, to mingle and di

BARSTOW • Three full months into the new year, more violent offenses and less property thefts have occurred than during the same time period in 2012, according to data provided by the Barstow Police Department. Between January and March this year, 132 violent crimes were reported to police, statistics show, when compared to 106 with

Homelessness in San Bernardino County is down 19 percent from 2011, according to preliminary data released Monday from the county 2013 Point-In-Time Homeless Count. The number of those homeless in the county decreased from 2,876 in 2011 to 2,321 counted on Jan. 24, 2013, a drop of 555, according to the report. Sheri Randolph, Exe

BARSTOW • The Greater Hope Foundation foster agency in Barstow kicked off their “Project Wish” campaign on Friday by granting the wish of a 12-year-old Victorville foster child. Breione, a stylish pre-teen, said she wants to go to the One Direction concert this summer like many of her friends at school. The foster agency

BARSTOW • Two main water lines broke on Main Street Friday afternoon, causing an overflow of water in the streets westward all the way from Avenue A to Avenue E and in a second location at Main Street and Third Street. The breaks occurred at about 3 p.m. and the primary cause was old and weak piping, according to Charles McWilliams,