Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Sorted by date Results 751 - 775 of 906
On Monday, March 13, the Tehachapi Planning Commission was presented with three resolutions regarding the proposed Flying J Travel Center which will be located at the corner of Tehachapi Blvd. and Steuber Rd. Travis Crawford, Principal Environmental Planner for Crawford & Bowen Planning, Inc. of Visalia, made a visual presentation of their Environmental Impact Report to the Committee. He said that the project will encompass 12.44 acres with 2/3 being devoted to the Flying J Travel Center and...
At the March 1 meeting of the Greater Tehachapi Economic Development Council, Tom Mendes regional representative of the State Board of Equilization presented a new tax exemption available to many small businesses. He told the group that most people don't know that if they produce anything, they may only have to pay about half of the sales tax on any equipment purchased after July 1, 2014. There are just a few forms to fill out and the claim can be retroactive He said that there are about 500 or...
Congregating in front of the District Office prior to School Board meeting on March 14, members of the Tehachapi Association of Teachers carried signs stating that "TAT not ON STRIKE yet!". The teachers' union is still in negotiations for what they feel is a fair contract. According to Traci Cunningham, Negotiating Chair, although the district offered a minimal cost of living increase, it was tied to a lengthening of the work day for elementary teachers. This plus the implementation of new...
Airport navigation issues On March 6, Tehachapi resident and pilot, Joe Biviano presented to the City Council a report on airport safety concerns and issues that he felt could not be handled with just a phone call. Biviano, a pilot with thousands of hours of experience and also a test pilot, prepared a detailed audio visual demonstration of problems that he had identified with the Precision Approach Path Indicator system (PAPI). This is the visual glide slope indicators that keep a pilot on...
Tehachapi resident and famed Hollywood manager Dick Baxter has a reason to be proud of his career in show business. Not many people can say that they have put in 54 years, but Baxter has. The farm boy from Shelbyville, Indiana started Dick Baxter Management in 1963 and has never looked back. Born on a 40 acre farm near Shelbyville, Baxter grew up like most kids working on the farm and going to school. He was on the school track team but his real interest was in the field of entertainment. Even...
Terrell (Terry) Nelson retired from the heating and air conditioning business in November with a plan to move to Tehachapi to be closer to his daughter and grandchildren. He chose Christmas Eve the move. As you may recall, it was snowing; maybe not the best day to move but he did have a White Christmas, something most people just dream about. Terry was born and raised in Oklahoma City. His sister, Nancy, still lives there. As a youngster he loved to play the drums. He played through grade...
At their Feb. 21 meeting, the Tehachapi City Council approved a plan that could move the City closer to making the Tehachapi Event Center, Rodeo Grounds and Motocross Track a reality. They voted to apply to the FAA to have that part of the airport property removed from federal obligations while keeping it within the City's Airport Enterprise Fund. A Brief History The City originally envisioned a motocross track on the airport grounds in 2006. The small triangle of land located north of the...
At their chili cook-off fundraiser Saturday, Feb. 25, the Tehachapi High School Robotics Team 585 (Cyber Penguins) unveiled their 2017 competition robot. This year's competition theme is Steampunk and the robot must perform functions using gears. The THS robot, named Toasty because of its color, maneuvers up to a suspended cord, grabs it and pulls itself up the cord. The team will be showing their robot in Sacramento, Las Vegas and, hopefully, the championship in Houston. The Tehachapi team...
Kay Ford and her husband lived in California City for almost 50 years. They raised a family there. However, it was when she was finally there alone at the end of last year, that her grandson, Josh, and his wife, DeVerie, asked her if she would move to Tehachapi to be closer to them. She always found Tehachapi to be a very unique place so she said, “Find me a place and I’ll be there.” It took them a couple of months to find the right house and Kay made the move to Tehachapi in January, altho...
With a vote of 3-2, the City Council defeated a proposal by newly elected City Councilman Kenneth Hetge requesting that the City draft an ordinance limiting the number of years a citizen can serve on the City Council. His proposal included a lifetime limit of three terms or 12 years of total service, stating that this would mirror the 2012 California state proposition supporting term limits. Mayor Grimes added that the 2012 proposition exempted any official sitting at the time of the vote....
After 25 years of being one of Kern County's best known tourist destinations, Indian Point Ostrich Ranch will be permanently closing its doors at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 26. When owners Joel and Marcy Brust decided last year that they needed to retire, they began a search for someone to take over the tourist venue either at their ranch or moving it to a new location. A year of repeated attempts to find a buyer for the gift shop and tour operations were unsuccessful so, sadly, the day has finally...
Larry and Mari LaCom lived in Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley for 23 years. They raised their kids there. Larry is now retired from his position of Graphic Designer and Photographer for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. When considering a place to retire, Tehachapi seemed a natural choice since their oldest son Zack is the music director at Bear Valley Church. In addition, in May he will become a father to Larry and Mari’s first grandchild. Larry was born in Glendale,...
Welcome to Tehachapi to Kellie Dudevoir, the new owner of Canine Creek Pet Wash and Boutique. Kellie sold her house in La Habra Heights, Orange County and purchased a new home and business in Tehachapi. She arrived on Dec. 26 to snow and ice. In 2010, Kellie had visited her best friend, Callie Murray, who lives here and while running errands, they stopped at Canine Creek. She thought it was the cutest place, loved the idea and took pictures. Fast forward to 2016, now divorced and with both of...
At the Jan. 17 City Council meeting, Development Services Director Jay Schlosser again addressed the issue of the delayed completion of the road work that began on Valley Blvd. last May. Weather and survey errors had caused delays in the project and costs to exceed the budget. At the Nov. 7 meeting, the Council approved a change order increasing approved budget overages to $160,000 to be billed on a time and materials basis. After the holiday season, it was obvious that the approved increase was...
Last July, Emily and Paul Sandholdt moved to Tehachapi from a small country town in Central Illinois called Loda. The adventure came about when Paul, who had spent the last five years with GE Wind, was offered a job with them in California. It was not an easy decision as both of them had grown up in the Midwest ; however they had friends in Los Angeles and Paul had two sisters who had moved to Northern California 15 years ago, so west they came. Emily says that Tehachapi reminds her of the rural...
Brian and Christina Porter are thrilled that they finally live in a place where Brian can be home with his family every night instead of just once a week. For the last 10 years, Brian has been a supervisor and transmission lineman with Southern California Edison. The Porter family lived in Phelan, located on Highway 138 close to the 15 Freeway and the Cajon Pass in San Bernardino County. Brian was assigned to areas of Kern County so his family rarely saw him during the week. Now that the kids...
After living 18 years in Buena Park near Knotts Berry Farm, Phil and Terry Zamora retired and moved to Tehachapi in October. They were tired of the Orange County traffic and were looking for a slower lifestyle in which to spend their retirement. Terry’s brother, who lives in Cypress, Calif. (near LA) had heard of Tehachapi and suggested they give it a look. The location was perfect as Terry has family in Shafter and Phil has family in Barstow. Now her brother also wants to move here when he r...
Updated permit fees approved by City Council In April of 2015 the City Council approved a Services (user) Fee Study from Capital Accounting Partners of Sacramento and the development of a Full Cost Allocation Plan for updating the existing fees charged by the City for services and permits. The study was to determine the true cost to the City for providing services to the community broken down on a per-hour basis per involved employee as well as processing time. The direct costs take into...
Darin Lewis of Tehachapi Floor Covering may be new to Tehachapi, but he certainly is not new to flooring. He has moved his entire Bakersfield business here, and is changing the name from AD&D Flooring to Tehachapi Floor Covering. Darin says that Tehachapi Floor Covering sells and installs "almost everything for the floor." This includes wood, vinyl and laminate flooring as well as carpet. Darin's father started AD&D in 1993 and Darin has run it for the last several years. He says that he grew...
Jake and Jessica Nelson moved to Tehachapi in September. Although they didn’t move a great distance, they are much closer to Jake’s work with Homeland Security in Bakersfield. Jake was born in Palmdale. His father now lives in Orange County but his grandparents live in Agua Dulce and he has a sister in Acton. He joined the Army and stayed for nine years. On his release from the military, it was this experience that helped to attract the attention of Homeland Security. He is currently wor...
At the Nov. 7 City Council meeting, Main Street Tehachapi President Scott Hammer presented Main Street's new Facade Grant Program. He informed the council that the primary focus of Main Street is the historic preservation and beautification as well as the economic redevelopment of the downtown area of Tehachapi. With all of their events like Farmers Market, the Wine Walks etc, they have been able to put away funds that can be put back into the community. Main Street has put $20,000 into the new...
Ryan and Megan White moved to Tehachapi in July from the Kern River Valley. Megan said that they moved the week after the start of the Erskine Fire. She said that on the first few days the fire was headed right toward their home but fortunately for them, the winds changed and the fire headed in another direction. For the White family, moving to Tehachapi satisfied two important goals; one, to expand their business to a new community and two, to find better schools for their nine year old son,...
According to the Guiness Book, Ravensburger's "Wildlife" by Educa is currently the largest jigsaw puzzle in the world. A year ago, a local Stallion Springs group decided to take on the challenge. The group who call themselves the Puzzle Nuts, are made up of Sherri Garrett and her mother Mariana Vancil of Stallion Springs, her brothers Rick Eckel of Washington and Malcolm Eckel of New Jersey and her nephew Corey Eckel of North Carolina. The 18' by 5 1/2 'puzzle of 33,600 pieces was pieced on a...
At the Oct. 11 meeting of the Tehachapi School Board, Superintendent Susan Andreas-Berval introduced Dennis Franey, the new District Interim CEO, to the School Board and to those in attendance. Franey, who is semi-retired, was appointed by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools. He told everyone that he was delighted to be in Tehachapi. Born and raised in Kern County, he said that he has come up often and loves it in Tehachapi. Superintendent Andreas-Berval told the Board that district...
Many years ago when an unacceptable nitrate level was discovered at the water well located at Snyder and D Street, making it undrinkable, the water district capped the well. Fast forward to the last few years of draught when it became increasingly difficult to justify using potable water on the playing fields at Jacobsen Middle School and Warrior Stadium. The Snyder Well Intertie Project was born from the need to provide the sports fields with the reduced cost agricultural/non-potable water....
