Meet Your New Neighbors

Jason and Elise Duma moved to Tehachapi in August. They came from a little town called Wildomar in Riverside County. Wildomar is not too far from Lake Elsinore. Jason had worked as a lineman for Southern California Edison for 11 years and had been trying to get a transfer some place close to mountains, the outdoors, four-seasons and camping. Elise said that he had tried to transfer to Bishop but the area is so desirable that someone has to retire before anyone new can get in. He was offered Kern County and he took it. Elise said the Duma name was already well known with Edison in this area as Jason has an uncle and cousin who had worked in Kern County.

Elise originally came from Corona. Her family moved to Canyon Lake, a gated community near Lake Elsinore where they have lived for 32 years. She is an only child, but does have step siblings. Jason also came from Corona and has an older sister. They were introduced to each other through cousins. Elise worked in human resources for medical facilities in Riverside County. Now that they have two little girls, she is a stay-at-home mom.

Four-year-old Raelyn keeps her busy and it won't be long before one-year-old Sydney will be running along behind. The two little girls, a black Lab named Koda and two rambunctious kitties named Diamond and Charlie take up most of her time right now. Elise said that she and Jason love anything that has to do with outdoors and are looking forward to exploring their new surroundings. She added that at their new Bear Valley home, they have already been visited by deer and bobcats.

You have moved to right place Elise. Welcome to you, Jason and the rest of your family.

Jaime and Miriam Diaz moved to Tehachapi at the beginning of September, not too long after Jaime started his new position as General Manager of the Tehachapi Love's Truck Stop. They came from Bakersfield where they had lived for two years. Jaime had opened and managed a Walmart there. Before Bakersfield, they were in the San Fernando Valley where Jaime also worked for Walmart in Panorama City.

Both of them were born in Guatamala. Jaime moved to the United States when he was five years old. His mom still lives in Hollywood. He has eight siblings and says he is right in the middle. He has a sister who lives in Chino Hills and she is the one who lives closest. Miriam came to the United States at the age of 23. Her family is still in Guatamala. Jaime said Miriam had only been in the United States for only 30 days when he met her.

They now have two children. Nine-year-old Jaime Jr. is a budding artist who drew me a picture of his impressions of Tehachapi, including a barn with a fence, horses and an elk. Jazmynne is four years old and like most girls her age, loves cartoon movies.

Jaime said that his real hobby is racing his supercharged 1994 Mustang Cobra. He has raced it around California including Bakersfield and Irwindale among other tracks. He said he really wants to run it on the road race track at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond since he now lives so close. Both Jaime and Miriam like to ride ATVs in the desert. Miriam said that she also enjoys getting out in nature and going to parks.

Welcome to Tehachapi Diaz family. We'll be seeing you around town.

Correction: I owe an apology and a correction to Johnna and Mitch Palmer who were the subjects of my last column. I said they were from South Dakota and they are not. They are from San Diego. I am not sure how I made that error except at some point I wrote down S.D. and my brain mis-translated it. You may recall that Mitch is an Airframe and Power Plant mechanic on the Stratolaunch, currently the largest aircraft in the world. This is the aircraft that will be launching rockets into space from our atmosphere. I sincerely apologize to Johnna and Mitch for getting their hometown so terribly wrong. They are from San Diego.

If you have moved to the Greater Tehachapi Area within the last six months and would like to know more about your new community, call (661) 822-8188. We will be happy to make an appointment for a hostess to come by and give you lots of helpful information, some valuable coupons, gifts and much more. Many families and individuals who come to the area are pleasantly surprised with the amount of knowledge they gather about their new home. Publishing your welcome article is completely voluntary and is not a requirement of being welcomed.