GBU Mountain News LVI April 24, 2014 (PDF)

GBU Mountain News

GBU Mountain News

April 24, 2014 - LVI
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independent - unbiased – professional
April 24, 2014 – LVI

There is Always Time
to see the Flowers!

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Custom anti-bullying mobile reporting app being
piloted by Kern County schools by Rob Meszaros
News from the El Tejon Unified School District
o What’s for Lunch?
Frazier Mountain High School
o Sports
o Baseball & Softball Schedule by Jerry Quick
El Tejon School
Frazier Park School
Peak to Peak Mountain Charter School
Gorman School
All Things Local
o Wildfire Awareness Expo’s in Frazier Park
o Pine Mountain Club – Car Accident on Mil
Potrero Highway
o Gorman – Roll-over Accident on the I-5
o Townhall Meeting by the Frazier Park Public
Utility District (FPPUD) confirmed the need for
water rate increases
o 32nd Annual Pine Mountain Club Lilac Festival
by Rosetta Burgelin
o Mommy & Me Calendar
o Kern County Fire Department Declares the End
to Open Burning within the State Responsibility
Areas of Kern County
All Things Regional
All Things Global
People
Law Enforcement Corner
o Kern County Sheriff’s Office – Frazier Park
o Nationwide Drug Take-Back Day
o Incident Log Aril 8 - 14
o Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department
o California Highway Patrol
o Distracted Driving
o Bakersfield Police Department (BPD)
o DUI / Driver’s License Checkpoint
Animals Matter
o Animal Control Officers Save 7 Dogs From
Property
Our Library
Calendar
Incidents & Accidents in our Region
o Homicides, Arrests, Traffic Accidents, Fires &
Rescues throughout Kern County

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Arts – Music – Theatre
Business Affairs
o Bakersfield Young Professionals kicks off with
Superbowl Couch and Businessman Dick
Vermeil
o List of announced stores at the Tejon Outlets
Teens
Nature, Science & Technology
Weather
o Frazier Park Weather Forecast
Kern County
o EMS in Kern County - The Saga about Secrecy
and the lack of Transparency will continue.
o Board of Supervisors Meetings
Upcoming Events
Safety & Disaster Preparedness
o Earthquakes - Somewhat unusual concentration?
o Six P’s for immediate evacuation
o Kern
County
Fire
Hazard
Reduction
Requirements
Media Affairs
o Freedom of the Press Index
o Northern California Journalists Sue Sheriff For
Discrimination
Legislative Affairs
o Appointments by Governor Edmund G Brown Jr
on April 23, 2014
o Salas Legislation to Prevent Illegal Gambling
Clears Key Committee
Where to Go – What to Do
Op-Ed
Health & Fitness
Business Directory
Classifieds
Job Offers
Important Phone Numbers

‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’

GBU Mountain News is now on
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/GB
U-Mountain-News/1400308640212535
See what’s happening in the Frazier
Mountain Communities

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Custom anti-bullying mobile reporting
app being piloted by Kern County schools
By Rob Meszaros, Kern County Superintendent of
Schools
April 22, 2014 — Studies show that more than 160,000
students in the United States miss school every day
because they are afraid of being bullied. For this reason,
Kern County Superintendent of Schools (KCSOS)
spearheads the Safe Schools Ambassadors (SSA)
initiative locally, which trains diverse student leaders
with the skills to safely and effectively speak up when
they encounter their peers bullying others. SSA is
supported with funds from community partners and state
and national grants, and is administrated through
KCSOS’s anti-bullying partner Community Matters.
In an effort to simplify the existing paper and pencil
reporting system used within the SSAprogram,
Community Matters has partnered with Sprigeo,
developers of an innovative tool that allows students
involved as Ambassadors to report whenthey witness
bullying and other forms of mistreatment and how they
have employed SSA skills to diffuse the situation through
a mobile app or desktop computer.
Six Kern County school districts are involved in the pilot
program, with seven local schools currently pilot testing
the technology: Bakersfield High School, Golden Valley
High School, Greenfield Middle School, Lincoln Junior
High, Rosedale Middle School, Taft High School and
Tehachapi High School. These schools are the national
pilot sites for this project.
“Sprigeo is proud to be partnering with Community
Matters and the Safe School Ambassadors program to
create a user-friendly app for students to use to track their
interventions,” said Julie Sorenson, Sprigeo’s vice
president of customer service. “Consistent with our focus
on keeping students safe, this application will streamline
the documentation process associated with the great work
that Safe School Ambassadors are doing in their
schools.”
The app allows students to report their SSA actions using
a smart-phone (Android or iPhone) or laptop/desk top
computer. For example, when students who are trained
as Ambassadors notice bullying or mistreatment on
campus, they think about the situation and act using one
of the Ambassador skills and then follow through as
“upstanders”, not bystanders. Then they can simply file
a report using their mobile device with a click of a few
buttons. The report is then sent directly to the site

advisor, which helps track the effectiveness of the
program.
Districts committed to support the pilot project through
May at which time feedback will be analyzed and used to
make adaptions in the app design so that it may be
improved and eventually be used in some or all of the
more than 1,500 SSA public and private school sites
across 32 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and Canada.
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About Safe School Ambassadors® (SSA)
The program was developed by Community Matters in
1999 to help prevent and stop peer mistreatment and
violence among 4th through 12th grade students. Since
then, over 1,500 public and private schools have adopted
this powerful program in 32 states, Puerto Rico, Guam
and Canada.
The SSA program mobilizes the bystanders to stand up
and speak up safely and effectively toimprove school
climate. SSA empowers leaders from the diverse groups
and cliques on campus and equips them with nonviolent
communication and intervention skills to prevent and
stop bullying and violence among their peers.
An independent two-year study showed suspension rates
were 33 percent lower in schools that implemented Safe
School Ambassadors®, compared to matched non-SSA
control schools, where suspensions increased 10 percent
during the same period.
About Sprigeo
Sprigeo is on a mission to keep kids safe at schools and
in their communities. Its platform gives schools the tools
they need to report bullying and other safety threats
anonymously.
Sprigeo's
online
system
(www.Sprigeo.com) allows students to report at any time
and from any device with an internet connection. The
Sprigeo system also includes a free app for smartphones
andtablet devices. Now in use by over 1,000 schools and
community sites across 27 states, the online reporting
system has proven itself as a safe way for kids to report
bullying, resulting in fewer incidents over time.

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News from the El
Tejon Unified School
District (ETUSD)
What’s for Lunch?
See the April 2014 Lunch Menus for the Frazier Park
Elementary, El Tejon Middle, and Frazier Mountain
High Schools at https://www.facebook.com/pages/GBUMountain-News/1400308640212535

Frazier
Mountain
School (FMHS)

High

Sports
Schedule
Info provided by Jerry Quick
Varsity Softball
o Tuesday, April 22nd Home vs Bishop at 3:15pm
o Friday, April 25th @ Bishop at 3:15pm
o Tuesday, April 29th @ Rosamond at 3:15pm
o Friday, May 2nd Home vs Rosamond at 3:15pm
o Tuesday, May 6th Home vs Cal City at 3:15pm-no
JV baseball or softball
o Friday, May 8th @ Cal City at 3:15pm-No JV
baseball or softball
Varsity Baseball
o Tuesday, April 22nd Home vs Bishop at 3:15pm
o Friday, April 25th @ Bishop at 3:15pm
o Tuesday, April 29th @ Rosamond at 3:15pm
o Friday, May 2nd Home vs Rosamond at 3:15pm
o Tuesday, May 6th Home vs Cal City at 3:15pm (No
JV)
o Friday, May 8th @ Cal City at 3:15pm (No JV)
Junior Varsity Softball
o Tuesday, April 22nd vs Bishop at 3:15pm
o Friday, April 25th @ Bishop at 3:15pm
o Tuesday, April 29th @ Rosamond at 3:15pm
o Friday, May 2nd vs Rosamond at 3:15pm

El Tejon Middle School

Frazier Park Elementary School

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All Things Local

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Tehachapi - May 17, 2014 at Meadowbrook Park
from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

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Pine Mountain Club – Car Accident on
Mil Potrero Highway
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Wildfire Awareness Expo’s in Frazier
Park
By Kern County Fire Department

On Wednesday, April 23, 2014 at 1:54 p.m. a traffic
accident was reported on Mil Potrero Highway, about 0.5
miles west of the "Y" (intersection with Cuddy Valley
Road).
The driver, a resident of PMC in her 40s, had lost control
over her red Kia Sportage and crashed into a sizable tree.
The impact knocked the tree over and heavily damaged
the front of the vehicle.
CHP, Hall Ambulance, and the Fire/Paramedic Crew
from Kern County Fire Station 58 (PMC) responded.
Despite the heavy impact, which had triggered the airbag
release, the single occupant of the car suffered only
minor injuries. As a precaution, the woman was
transported to a local hospital.

The Kern County Fire Department will be holding
Wildfire Awareness Expo’s in Frazier Park, Lake
Isabella, and Tehachapi to provide the communities with
valuable information on wildfire awareness, hazard
reduction, and emergency preparedness.
On display will be wild land firefighting equipment and
the opportunity to meet local wild land firefighters. There
will be free hot dogs, chips, drinks, educational materials
for children, Kern County Fire Explorers, Forest Service,
Cal Fire, CERT Teams, Fire Safe Councils, and Kern
County Fire Hand Crews will be in attendance. Smokey
Bear will be available for pictures.
o Frazier Park - May 3, 2014 at Frazier Mountain Park
from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
o Lake Isabella - May 10, 2014 at Uffert Park from
11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

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Gorman – Roll-over Accident on the I-5

On Thursday, April 17, 2014 around 1 p.m. the driver of
a four-door Lexus lost control on the northbound
(towards Bakersfield) Interstate 5, about one mile south
of Gorman. The vehicle rolled over and came to on the
embankment. Fire Crews from Los Angeles County
Station 77, Kern County Station 56 (Lebec), the AMR
ambulance from Gorman, and CHP rushed to the scene.
Fortunately the driver sustained only minor injuries and
was transported to an area hospital. No other vehicles or
people were involved and traffic on the I-5 was not
impacted either.
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Townhall Meeting by the
Frazier Park Public
Utility District (FPPUD)
confirmed the need for
water rate increases
On Thursday, April 17, 2014, about 30 members of the
public as well as the entire staff and Board of the FPPUD
attended the Townhall Meeting. Consultant Rob Shirley
gave a very detailed presentation of his in-dept water rate
study. Afterwards, in a public Q & A session/discussion
not one member of the public opposed the water rate
increase and everybody seemed to fully understand the
need. As one individual even put it:
“I have no problem to pay the higher water bill. I do not
want to end up like Lake of the Woods. This is the best
Water district I have seen so far, with no fiascos in the
past”.
Seen in the audience and participating in the debate were
Linda Robredo, Emilie Wainright, Bill Hopper (Treasurer
with the Lebec County Water District) and other

interested community members. The questions and
discussion covered a variety of water related topics,
including the desperate situation with the Lake of the
Woods Water District, the aging water infrastructure,
particularly pipes, at FPPUD, the current lack of any
reserve funds, etc.

A member of the next generation points out the costly
consequences of an aging water infrastructure in Frazier
Park. Pipes and water lines are often more than 80 years old,
prone to leaks, and in desperate need of repair and
replacement. Corroding pipes like this one can also have an
adverse effect on correct metering.

The FPPUD Board, following the suggestions made in
the water rate study, will approve an increase for the
monthly water service charge to
o $38.81 for ¾ inch meters,
o $44.81 for 1 inch meters,
o $62.81 for 1 ½ inch meters (Business and
organizations only).
The commodity (water usage) charge will be
o $1.60 per 1,000 gallons for 1 to 10,000 gallons;
o $1.65 per 1,000 gallons for 10,001 to 15,000 gallons,
o $1.70 per 1,000 gallons for 15,001 to 20,000 gallons,
and
o $1.80 per 1,000 gallons for over 20,000 gallons.
With the adoption of Proposition 218, which added
Article XIIID Section 6 to California’s Constitution, the
FPPUD as a public agency is required to hold a “majority
protest” hearing before any increase in certain property
related fees and charges may be adopted. During the
Townhall meeting the Board explained the process.
Notices will be sent to residents and landowners 45 days
prior to a public hearing. That hearing has been
tentatively scheduled for June 21, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. and

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its purpose is to review any protests of possible proposed
changes.
However, the California Water Code 540 states
“Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a water
district, as defined in Section 20200, may … charge a fee
that is equal to the district's cost for providing that
service.”
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32nd Annual Pine Mountain Club Lilac
Festival
By Rosetta Burgelin PMC-CPOA Events Director
Take a typical southern California spring weekend in
May, add tall trees, snow-streaked mountain peaks, blue
sky and pine-scented air, and you have the beginnings of
a recipe for Family Fun.
Begun in 1982 as a way to forget winter and welcome the
approaching summer, the Lilac Festival started as little
more than a bake sale and a Maypole Dance, and has
grown into a full-fledged Mountain tradition. The Lilac
was chosen as a centerpiece for the Festival because it
thrives in our mountain climate, and its short flowering
season falls roughly at the same time as the Festival. The
powerful scent of lilacs is one of the few that outshines
the always-present scent of sugar pine.
This year’s Festival is Saturday & Sunday, May 17th &
18th, and begins at 9 am each day, and ends at 5pm or so.
The traditional Parade is at 11 am on Saturday. Over 100
Arts & Crafts booths will be open all day, along with
international food vendors, restaurants and unique shops,
live music throughout the Festival, and a kiddie
amusement area. There are also lots of places to sit,
relax, and enjoy the beautiful surroundings of the Village
and all of Pine Mountain Club.
If you would like to be a vendor (Art & Crafts or Food),
participate in the Lilac Festival Parade, or help out as a
volunteer, please go to www.pmclilacfestival.com, or call
Rosetta Burgelin at 661-242-1996.
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Mommy & Me Calendar
Info provided by Amy Crippen, Family Resource Center
o

Wednesday, April 30, 10-12: Meet at the Park Planting Party, We will make our own Herb garden.
Let’s celebrate Spring!
The Mommy & Me group meets weekly on Wednesdays.
The group provides parents with social opportunities to
meet other parents in the Mountain Communities, while
offering fun, child development and stimulating activities
that everyone can enjoy. If you have any questions or

would like to know about upcoming events please
contact Amy Crippen at (661)245-4303.
####

Kern County Fire Department Declares the End to
Open Burning within the State Responsibility Areas
of Kern County
By Kern County Fire Department
As of April 14, 2014 and effective immediately the Kern
County Fire Department has declared an end of open
burning within the State Responsibility Area of Kern
County.
This declaration has been made a little earlier than usual
due to higher than normal temperatures, low humidity
and drying conditions of the vegetation.
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Animals Matter
Animal Control Officers Save 7 Dogs
From Property
By Maggie Kalar, Kern County Animal Services
Kern County – At approximately 11 a.m., on April 17,
2014, Animal Control Officers with Kern County Animal
Services Department served a search warrant at the
property in the 17000 block of Arlington Place in
Stallion Springs.
Animal Control officers had received an earlier
complaint from an officer with the Stallion Springs
Police Department regarding the mistreatment of animals
on the property. When the animal control officers
arrived, they noticed the home appeared to be abandoned
and found the animals to be living in inhumane
conditions. Animal Control officers removed 7 dogs
from the property.
Animal Control officers are continuing the investigation
and charges may be filed with the Kern County District
Attorney’s Office pending the outcome of the
investigation.
All animals from the property are being medically
evaluated by the Kern County Animal Services medical
team.

All Things Global

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