Forde Shorts

Another lake appears – Just as Surprise Lake in the lowlands of Bear Valley appears infrequently, a lake has arisen like Brigadoon in the lowlands of Sand Canyon (photo right). The lake is a catch basin built 50 years ago to irrigate potato crops at the bottom of the canyon. "That's the story I have heard, anyway," said Richard Cantrell of the Quail Valley Water District, which does not own the property or the lake. The lake got so high in the usually dry basin this year that water flowed over the spillway.

Transportation for the people –Kern County Supervisor Zack Scrivner's deputy Ryan Rush said the county is reviewing bus fare and routes and looking at building a transit station in Mojave.

Love those mules – The Borax 20 mule team will make an appearance at the Boron parade Oct. 7, courtesy of a grant from the Death Valley Conservancy. The wagon is undergoing a spruce-up as well. The team and wagon will appear in the Rose and Bishop parades.

Tough course – Twenty students graduated from the Hall Ambulance Bakersfield College EMT Academy. According to a spokesperson from Hall, reporting at the East Kern Economic Alliance meeting Mar. 9, 1,400 people applied to be in the course.