Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Sorted by date Results 701 - 725 of 906
The Tehachapi Unified School District handed out awards to the district students who received 100% on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress tests for the year 2016-2017 at their Oct. 10 School Board Meeting....
Photographer Ben Dewell moved to Tehachapi in July. Ben felt it was time to downsize from his home in Valencia, a town about an hour and a half south of Tehachapi. He had loved the outdoors since he was a teenager and had done some camping at Tehachapi Mountain Park. He wanted a place in the mountains and his new home in Stallion Springs was a perfect solution. Ben said he was born in Burbank, Calif. but was raised in Fresno. His father worked for Leslie Salt, a Bay Area company. He went to...
Everyone is familiar with the Lehigh Southwest Cement plant located off Hwy 58 between Love's Travel Stop and Sand Canyon. Many don't realize that the plant has been in operation for over 100 years. It was originally built by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to supply the cement for the construction of the L.A. Aqueduct which brought water from the Owens River to Los Angeles. The little town of Monolith grew up around the plant and at one time housed around 350 residents and a town...
George Runner, representative of the California State Board of Equalization, District 1, spoke to the Greater Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce at their Sept. 19 luncheon concerning the new changes affecting the Board. Elected in November 2010 and reelected in 2014, Runner represents the Board's First District and is a leading advocate for California taxpayers. During his time in office, Runner has worked to improve California's tax policies and practices and to create and retain more private...
The second of four public hearings regarding the transition from at-large council representation to district representation was held at the Sept. 18 City Council meeting. Attorney Youstina Aziz from the law firm Richards, Watson and Gershon clarified some of the concerns that came up at the last meeting. Councilman Hetge voiced a concern that CCI, which is considered part of the city, would be able to participate in elections as it contains about one fifth of the city population. Ms. Aziz...
On Sept. 14, Lehigh Cement dedicated a new cycle park on Tehachapi Blvd. across the road from the Lehigh Cement plant towers. It was constructed completely by plant management and employees. The park will be one of the rest stops for the Sept. 16 GranFondo. Lehigh has a 39 member cycling team that will be riding in the Fondo. For details on the GranFondo, and other local events, look for The Loop newspaper's Autumn Fun Guide. On stands and online now. Pictured from left is Danny Valencia, park...
"It's a small world, isn't it?" You hear people say that all the time but it was my meeting Dan and Ruth Schopen that brought true meaning to that statement. I asked Dan where he was born, he said Evanston, Ill. I said, "Me too". He said he was raised in a suburb of Chicago named Wilmette, I said, "Me too." He asked me what street I lived on and he grew up on the street right behind where I grew up. We left Illinois when I was eight, a little before his time, but who could imagine finding someon...
Tehachapi School Board Update...
The one major issue addressed by the Tehachapi City Council at their Sept. 5 meeting was a letter that the City received on July 24 from Kevin Shenkman of the law firm Shenkman & Hughes located in Malibu, Ca. representing the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project. The letter asserted that the City's at-large election system for City Council members violates the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). It claims that the system dilutes the ability of minority residents, particularly Latinos...
On Wednesday, Sept. 6, Hall Ambulance Founder and CEO Harvey Hall presented Tehachapi with three new four-wheel drive ambulances. The presentation was made at Hall's Post 11 on Pinon St. Two of the units will be placed in town, with the third at their post in Golden Hills. The 4x4 capability will allow greater access throughout the Tehachapi Valley particularly during inclement weather. Manufactured on Ford F450 chassis, the ambulances were built to Hall specifications by Leader Ambulance,...
I met Mike and Shell Christian and their family enjoying food, music and fun in Central Park on the 4th of July. They had just moved to Tehachapi in June from Corona which is a part of Southern California's vast Inland Empire. They said that they had lived there off and on since 1985, wandering off to live in places like Hawaii and the Chico area of Northern California. The Christians were looking for a less hectic environment in which to raise their three children, 14 year old Sierra, 12 year o...
Tehachapi Valley Reacreation and Park District is undergoing some organizational changes. At her first meeting as General Manager of TVRPD, Michelle Vance announced that the district has hired Bill Fisher, currently General Manager of Golden Hills Community Service District, as the new Operations Manager. Fisher will be on staff full time as soon as he fulfills his obligations to the GHCSD. Board Clerk Carrie Champlin will become the District's new Business Manager. Vance said that with all the...
It appears that the much talked about Tehachapi Park 'n' Ride project to be located on the north side of Tehachapi Blvd. between Mill St. and Pauley will become a reality. At the Aug. 21 City Council meeting, Development Services Director Jay Schlosser reminded council members that in August of 2015, they had directed City staff to pursue the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Program funds to construct the Park and Ride facility. The application was successful and the City will...
Bob Bakeman from the Tehachapi Moose Lodge appeared at the Aug. 7 City Council meeting to sell Mountain Festival Good Time Badges at gunpoint to council and audience members alike. Police Chief Kent Kroeger and Mayor Ed Grimes honored members of the Tehachapi Police Department who responded to a shooting incident at Fastrip on June 19 in which a gunman fired shots at two cars. The responding officers safely apprehended the uncooperative suspect. Commended by the Chief were Officers Alejandro...
At the Aug. 8 School Board meeting, some Board members expressed their concern about recent vandalism at Golden Hills Elementary School. They wanted to be sure repairs could be made before students returned for the school year. It was proposed that members of the Tehachapi School Board take a letter to the Kern County Board of Education to ask for assistance, perhaps in the form of night and weekend security. At least two members will be attending the county meeting. The Board was asked to...
At the Aug. 2 Greater Tehachapi Economic Development Council meeting, Zack Skow of Marley's Mutts Dog Rescue announced that the organization has purchased a 20 acre ranch in Cummings Valley with the hopes of turning it into a base for his rescue operations. The next step is for Skow to secure a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) from the Kern County Planning Commission. Once that is done, he is ready to roll and he hopes to be operational in about six months. To manage the ranch, he has hired Robbie...
Members of the Board of Art, Science and Technology Educational Corporation (AST) presented TUSD with a check for $100,000 at the August 8 School Board meeting. The grant is to reinstate the Tehachapi High School Project Lead the Way (PLTW) engineering program that had been canceled for the 2017-2018 school year. Last year AST received a $50,000 grant from the Bakersfield Californian and $20,000 from Tehachapi benefactors to build the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Agriculture and...
David and Bonnie Michaels arrived in Tehachapi at the end of June. They had lived in Chino Hills in San Bernardino County since their marriage 26 years ago. Bonnie retired on June 30 after working for the City of Chino Hills for the last 16 years. They both said that the area had become too congested. After looking at various retirement locations, Tehachapi offered the rural environment that they had once had and was still within close proximity to their grandchildren in Victorville. After...
As one of her last duties as secretary to the Planning Commission, Roxanne Davis swore in new commissioner Ken Wright at the Commission's July 24 meeting. Davis, who has been secretary to the Planning Commission since 1995, will be moving to the Department of Public Works to assist Director Ryan Montgomery....
One of Tehachapi’s newer residents is Linda Slover. Linda is also owner of Twisted Sisters Revival, one of Tehachapi’s newest businesses. Linda arrived at the end of last year from Ft. Collins, Colorado where she had lived for the last eight years. Linda said that members of her family living on the West Coast had been after her to move for quite a while. She fell in love with Le Conner, Washington and even made an offer on a house there. When that didn’t work out, her daughter asked her to mo...
At the July 17 City Council meeting, Mayor Pro Tempore Susan Wiggins recognized American Legion Auxiliary Unit 221 for their 85 years of service to the community. The Unit was formed on June 27, 1932. From left are: Gwladys Peterson. Harriet Clendenin, Linda Carmichael, Mayor Pro tem Susan Wiggins, Nancy Palmer, Deana Guardado and Pat Gracey....
Tehachapi Unified School District's Education Center will become a GED testing site. At their June 27 meeting, the Tehachapi School Board unanimously approved an agreement between the district and Pearson VUE, the computerized testing entity which will administer the tests. This means that GED candidates will no longer have to travel out of the area to complete their examination. Director of Instructional Services, Regina Green said that the Adult Education Program has tripled its graduates...
At the June 27 School Board meeting, Director of Programs Dennis Ferrell presented a Critical Incident Review containing the findings of the State Department of Education, Special Ed Dept. The review was conducted Oct. 24-28, 2016 and the findings finally sent to the district in a May 3, 2017 report. The review team consisted of six members working under Juliana Gaines, Director of Programs for the Special Education Department. Farrell said that in advance of the review, the district was asked...
It was on a road trip, looking for an affordable place to buy a home, that Ma Belle Ammie (Ammie) Graves-Fisher and her husband Anthony Fisher discovered Tehachapi. Long Beach, where they were living, was not affordable so they decided to look towards the desert. They were amazed at the amount of green in Tehachapi, certainly more appealing than the desert, and it was affordable. They moved into their Stallion Springs home in February. Once settled, Ammie could focus on her business, Alligator...
At the June 19 City Council meeting, Mayor Ed Grimes presented Certificates of Recognition to Mick and LeAnn Williams. Both were recognized for their invaluable service to the City. LeAnn was honored for her years of service to Tehachapi Recreation and Park District. She has been General Manager for the last two years. Mick has served on the Tehachapi Planning Commission since July, 2015 when he retired from the military and began flying for a commercial airline. The couple will be moving to...
