Forde Shorts

Take the kids – The Tehachapi Valley Recreation and Park District's sparkling new Meadowbrook Park is scheduled to open Oct. 29. The dog park at Meadowbrook has been upgraded too. Rec & Park also is renovating the Activity Center at West Park with a $100,000 donation from Aspen Builders.

Community College campaign – Cerro Coso Community College President Jill Board spoke to the Greater Tehachapi Economic Development Council about the need for an educated workforce and how the college can help fill that need. It's a serious issue that Kern County is low on educational attainment, with 13 percent holding bachelor degrees. Ridgecrest-based Cerro Coso has a good lineup of classes in Tehachapi, and students can study for an Associate in Arts college degree while still in high school.

Voting - City Council member Ed Grimes, a retired correctional officer and an activist in the cause of public safety, urged economic council members to vote no on Prop 57, which – quoting here from the Legislative Analyst in the California Voter Information Guide – "would increase the number of inmates eligible for parole consideration and authorizes the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to award sentencing credits to inmates."

Well done – The Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District board of directors, which at times has been the object of withering criticism and has fought hard to make the new hospital happen, will cut back on its meeting schedule next year as they –- with no hospital to build or run -- recalibrate their mission to the community. The makeup of the board already is determined, as there are no contested seats. Director Henry Schaeffer is not running for re-election. Bill Steele, who formerly was on the board, filed for Schaeffer's seat. Dr. Sam Conklin filed for another four years. Mike Nixon and Duane Moats have two years left and Don Napier has three years to go. Photo below from the Oct. 18 meeting, from left, Schaeffer, Nixon, Conklin, Moats (Napier absent).