Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
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I am grateful for the honor and privilege of serving Kern County's Second District on the Board of Supervisors. Together, we have accomplished much, and this article focuses on some of the highlights for Kern County and the Second District. Kern County Budget Update... For the Kern County Board of Supervisors, 2019 was a year that presented numerous challenges, but was also marked by much success. On Aug. 27, the Board of Supervisors adopted our final 2019-2020 Fiscal Year Budget, which successf...
Residents and visitors in the greater Tehachapi area were faced with a new challenge the last week of October. Electric power was shut off in many areas while the winds blew hard, leading to a series of Red Flag alerts. While the Kincaid, Getty and Tick fires exploded in Northern and Southern California, first responders in Tehachapi were placed on high alert to respond to multiple local fire incidents and medical emergencies. In response, a public event was held in the early evening of Nov. 5,...
SCE Outreach Team Southern California Edison provided a Community Outreach Team at the Stallion Springs Community Center, 27800 Stallion Springs Drive, during the power outages. Their vehicle was equipped with water, snacks and an electrical power station to charge devices. Residents were able to voice concerns and questions, and SCE was also available to address questions in regard to the Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS). The CSD Police Department, with the assistance of the Stallion...
On Aug. 27, the Board of Supervisors adopted our final 2019-2020 Fiscal Year Budget, and I'm extremely pleased that this budget will completely close the General Fund deficit of $44.5 million that was identified four years ago. This large deficit was caused by a significant drop in oil prices over two years and steep increases in employee pension costs (70%) over the last ten years. It took a lot of hard work from county employees and department heads to get there, but our four-year mitigation...
The Tehachapi Police Department and the Kern County Fire Department will team up for a public presentation on emergency preparedness on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the Tehachapi Police Department, 220 W. C St., Tehachapi. With the recent earthquakes in Ridgecrest we feel it is the perfect time to talk about this subject during Emergency Preparedness Month (September). The free presentation will cover individual and family preparation for emergency and disaster situations. The speakers...
Hall Ambulance Service, Inc. announced details this week of its massive implementation of the ZOLL AutoPulse making it the largest deployment in North America. The device will give the Company's Paramedics, EMTs, and Critical Care RNs, the upper hand in responding to sudden cardiac arrest. Eighty AutoPulse units have been placed into service on each Hall Advanced Life Support (ALS) and Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance in its 9-1-1 response area, which covers 88% of Kern County's population...
The City of Tehachapi assisted the City of Ridgecrest with their post-earthquake assessments on Monday, July 8. “We are all part of a Mutual Aid agreement to help each other in time of disaster. We just wanted to be there for the Ridgecrest community in any way we could help,” said City Manager Greg Garrett. Garrett had stayed in contact with Ridgecrest City Manager Ron Strand and Kern County Fire Department Office of Emergency Services regarding providing assistance following the earthquakes on July 4 and 5. Mutual Aid was requested thr...
The Tehachapi Police Department and the Tehachapi Police Foundation are hosting National Night Out on Tuesday, Aug. 6 in Central Park. “We invite families to join us in the park for a fun and educational experience with your local public safety professionals,” said Key Budge, Community Engagement Specialist. The event has been themed, Emergency Preparedness and Awareness, by our public safety partners. Joining TPD will be the Kern County Fire Department, California Department of Corrections and...
Every once in a while Mother Nature likes to prove to us just how small we really are. The latest series of earthquakes in Ridgecrest, that started on July 4, were that harsh reminder. We of course felt and continue to feel them here in Tehachapi, ourselves no stranger to major earthquakes given our location to active faults in the area. Ridgecrest, Trona and the Searles Valley took the brunt of the hit and the resulting damage. We continue to work with Ridgecrest city officials as we exercise o...
This year, with the Sierra snowpack at 180 percent of normal, the Kern River is a raging monster. While the water flow has peaked on both the upper Kern (above Lake Isabella) and the lower Kern (below the lake), the river still is dangerous. The increased flow is awesome for rafters who thrill to the whitewater challenges in safe, professionally managed operations, but it can be lethal for visitors who do not understand the danger they are facing, and who underestimate the sheer power of the...
The winners are: After delaying the Apple Crate Derby Race for a week due to the weather, the Stallion Springs Police Activities League held the running of the semiannual Derby Race on Saturday, June 1. Stallion Springs Senior Police Officer Jimmy Best directed the event. Twenty seven drivers entered the race. Prizes were awarded based on best times for the trip down the course. One of the heats had times with only .01 seconds between the cars. There was of course the required delay due to Deer...
It's raining, it's poring and even the elk are trying to keep a bit dry. Deer and elk visiting our yards has been limited during the heavy rains we have been getting. Their trips to the lower elevations for water or some of that tall grass for lunch are not quite needed as the rain has created puddles for water and tall grass further up the slopes. Police Report Police Chief Gary Crowell filed a report of statistics for April 2019. The Department had three arrests, issued three citations, had...
Kern County Fire Department held a "Sidewalk CPR Event" on Thursday, May 2. Our Stallion Springs Fire Station No. 18 personnel gave instruction on how to administer "Compressions Only CPR." Attendees were trained how to save the life of someone in cardiac arrest in minutes. Instruction for this important process and life-saving skills was free. Police Report Be aware of phone scams Stallion Springs residents have been receiving calls that their Social Security benefits have been canceled by the...
The Greater Tehachapi Valley Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), will be holding their 2019 FREE Spring Training on Sat., May 4 and 11 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Sat. May 18, from 8 a.m. to noon with graduation! This year's location will be the Alpine Forest Chalet, 18900 Alps Dr. near the West Gate in Alpine Forest. Parking is complimentary. Having trained over 1,600 residents in 17 years, CERT is under the sponsorship of the Kern County Fire Department. CERT educates volunteers about...
Six members of Congress from California are campaigning to site the proposed Space Development Agency in the military areas of Edwards Air Force Base and the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. At the March 14 meeting of the East Kern Economic Alliance (EKEA) at the Mojave Air and Space Port, Representative Kevin McCarthy's field rep Gary Medina presented a letter sent from the congresspersons to President Donald Trump, stating the case for the location. "[W]e urge you to consider two bases...
Kieffe and Sons Ford dealership is closing its doors on its two locations in Mojave and Rosamond after 59 years in business in Kern County, according to Owner Rick Kieffe. He confirmed the rumor going around that the iconic and longstanding dealership that has been selling cars and trucks for 59 years is in fact closing for good. He stated the cause by simply saying "the Future has arrived." By that he explained that the modern means of purchasing automobiles has changed so drastically that the...
I'm sure you share the pride I feel to live and work in Kern County. Our home is a special place! As we all begin 2019, I look forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Here are some of the highlights that the Board will tackle in the coming year: We are in the third year of our four-year plan to eliminate the county's General Fund structural budget deficit, originally pegged at $44.5 million, due to a drop in oil prices and steep increases in county employee pension costs....
I am grateful for the honor and privilege of serving Kern County's Second District on the Board of Supervisors. Together, we have accomplished much, and this newsletter focuses on some of the highlights for Kern County and the Second District. Kern County Budget Update The Board of Supervisors passed the county's budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year. We are in year three of our 4-year plan to eliminate the General Fund structural deficit, after several years of falling oil prices and rising...
Kern County Budget Update This week, the Board of Supervisors passed the county's budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year. We are in year three of our four-year plan to eliminate the General Fund structural deficit, after several years of falling oil prices and rising employee benefit costs. All county departments, except for Kern County Fire, have endured cuts during our four-year plan, but the Board and I have asked your county government to maintain service levels despite these cuts. The efforts...
I hoped the community enjoyed the All American 4th of July Festival and the Fireworks Spectacular hosted by the City of Tehachapi. It has become a marquee event for our community and it attracts visitors from all over, especially as many surrounding municipalities no longer provide such festivities on our Independence Day. I couldn't help but be very proud of our town, our citizens and our country this past 4th of July. We really are blessed to not only live in this Nation, but in this...
Under the leadership of Safety Officer Rob Dixon, the Old West Ranch Property Owners Association has acquired a disaster trailer fully stocked with supplies. The trailer is shared with Mountain Meadows Community Services District. Supplies in the trailer include first aid items, lights, shovels, a bolt-cutter, water, a chain saw, saline solution, hygiene items, road cones, a generator and more. Dixon is the Old West Ranch CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) leader. The Old West Ranch CERT...
The city of Tehachapi recently released its 2017 year-end report, discussing projects completed and plans for 2018 which will be completed. I found an article written by my mother Marion Deaver at the beginning of 1963 which, in essence, was a similar report for the city. In 1963 Tehachapi was the only incorporated city in Eastern Kern, having formed its city in 1909. California City did not incorporate until 1965. The article noted that the city's size had grown four times larger since 1962,...
Police Dept. School Resource Officer Amy Smith knows the students Tehachapi Police Department Officer Amy Smith is a visible presence at the six Tehachapi Unified School District (TUSD) sites. As the School Resource Officer, Smith handles law enforcement problems that arise among the students as well as providing support for the students and staff. "The kids are great," she told Forde Files. "They are personable, friendly. The kids talk to me." Smith spends most of her time on the campuses of...
Disasters seem to be a weekly occurrence, if not daily. We hear it over and over – Are you prepared? Are you ready for the BIG ONE? Do you have your 3-7 day supply of food and water? Do you have your GO bag ready; for you, your car, your office, your pet(s), your family? Do you have an escape plan or "Out-of-Town" contacts arranged? We see the horrible images on TV and/or online. Many people feel it will not happen to them; in their community; in this lifetime; and, if it does, they will just "w...
I get busy with my duties as the Mayor Pro Tem of Tehachapi and with everyday life and the next thing I know it is time for a column. I have known for a week that I had to write one, but then life happened, and I found myself scrambling for a topic. Mother's (Marion Deaver) files never fail to yield something and this time was no exception. I found a press release about the Mojave Volunteer Fire Department. This brought back all sorts of memories from my childhood growing up in Mojave. My dad Pa...
