Hesperia institute’s buildings to provide secure shelter for displaced people in embattled region

By HILLARY BORRUDStaff Writer

HESPERIA — Actors have used their celebrity status to focus inter-national attention on the violence in the Darfur region of Sudan, but now a local organization an hour-and-a-half away from Hollywood will help bring less glamorous yet critical aid to the area.

Using “superadobe” technology and building plans from the Califor-nia Institute of Earth Art and Ar-chitecture (Cal-Earth) in Hesperia, a Boston-based nonprofit organiza-tion plans to build a schoolhouse

and possibly entire villages that will house displaced people whose homes have been destroyed by Su-danese militias.

According to the U.S. State De-partment, there are approximately 1.8 million displaced people in the Darfur region and 220,000 refugees in neighboring Chad.

The faith-based relief organi-zation Safe Harbor from Rancho Santa Margarita is also planning to use Cal-Earth’s Eco-Dome structure plans to build a medical clinic in the village of Nyimbouli in southern Sudan in late Janu-ary, after the head of the group learned of the technology from the Boston-based group.

“Sandbags and barbed wire is re-ally all the buildings use,” said Cal-Earth’s director, E. Nader Khalili of the dome-shaped structures he

has designed. “Barbed wire and sandbags are the materials of

war,” Nader added. “In the desert environment there, there is really

nothing else.”“The biggest problem is that

they burn the whole villages down,” Khalili said of rebel groups in Darfur.

“It’s made it pretty impossible for internally displaced people to return,” said Marie Besancon, chief executive officer of American Sudanese Partnerships for Peace and Development based in Boston and a fellow who specializes in civil war studies at Harvard University’s

Cal-Earth/B2

On occasion, re p o r t e r s g e t ahold of a wacky story that results in head scratch-

ing and the question, “What were they thinking?”

There are also the weird ones that deliver countless chuck-les in the newsroom. And then there are those that are just so peculiar reporters are left speechless all together.

They are proof positive that truth can be stranger than fiction.

Here’s a look back at a few of those stories from 2006.

• February— A tour bus heading north

on Interstate 15 made an un-scheduled stop when a passen-ger started threatening the lives of everyone on board.

According to sheriff’s reports, the man was pacing up and

down the center aisle saying, “Everyone is going to die.”

O n e o f h i s h a n d s w a s wrapped with a blanket so no one on the bus could tell if the man had a weapon. When the bus pulled off I-15 and stopped on the Oak Hill off ramp, the

man told passengers that “he won’t go alone and he is taking everyone with him,” according to dispatch reports.

The man was taken into cus-tody, no one was injured and no weapon was found. A half-hour later the bus, minus one passen-

ger, was back on the freeway. • April— Of the 58 counties through-

out the state, San Bernardino County ranked the worst in the state for coronary heart disease.

WEird/B2

Dear AbbyWhat are the accepted limitations on children driving golf carts? 9High Desert

OBITUARIES 2 NEIGHBORS 3 OPINION 4-5 NEwS 6, 8-9

sUnDAY, DecemBeR 31,

2006

B1

Page edited by Justin D. Beckett

OurDesertHome

By cOnnIe WALLAceSpecial to the Press dispatch

Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from Mohahve, which was printed in 1963 by the local historical research class at Vic-tor Valley College, which came to be known as the Mohahve Historical Society.

The first school was held at Big Bear Lake in the fall of 1919 following the formation of the Big Bear Lake Elementary School District.

The first building used as a school was not constructed as such but was a cabin owned by Mr. Lowe, who operated a camp on the site of the present high school.

The cabin was located approximately where the office unit of the existing high school building now stands. During the fall of the first school year, five pupils were enrolled, three of whom were Lowe chil-dren. The average daily attendance for the entire school year reached seven. The spring semester was closed on April 27, since the cabin was needed by Mr. Lowe for other purposes.

The enrollment increased in the 1920 to 1921 school year and there was an average daily attendance of 13. Another increase was registered during 1921 to 1922, when school was held at two locations. One class was taught in a building on the present site of the Elks Club, and a second class was held in a building located at Water’s Camp across the street. The average attendance for the year climbed to 24.

In 1922 to 1923, the enrollment dropped and only the building at the Elks Club loca-tion was used. A second room was construct-

ed at this location in 1923 and two classes again were conducted. A third classroom was added in 1925.

The three-classroom school at the Elks Club location continued to serve the dis-trict until the early 1940s. The enrollment increased markedly during the war years of 1942, 1943 and 1944, and classes were held at four separate locations. These were the Elks Club location, the Presbyterian Confer-ence Grounds, the American Legion Hall and on the site of the present Big Bear Lake Elementary School.

This arrangement continued until 1948, when five new classrooms were constructed on the existing elementary site. The original construction took place in 1941 and included the two classrooms numbered 16 and 17, and the maintenance shop and boiler rooms un-der these two rooms.

The enrollment continued to increase and in 1950, eight more classrooms, the kinder-garten classroom and the principal’s office

were added. Finally, in 1958, the shop and homemaking classrooms, the multipurpose unit and the district office rooms were built.

In 1958, the Big Bear Elementary School District and the Fawnskin Elementary School District voted to form a unified school district, which is now known as the Bear Valley Unified School District. The new uni-fied school district came into existence for operational purposes July 1, 1958.

Prior to this time, both the Big Bear Lake and the Fawnskin Elementary School dis-tricts were a part of the Victor Valley Union High School District for high school purpos-es. The original Victor Valley Union High School District was formed by eight small elementary school districts. These districts were Apple Valley, Bell Mountain, Hesperia, Lucerne Valley, Midway, Oro Grande, Sun-rise and Victor.

This new union high school district began to operate for the first time during the school year of 1915 to 1916.

A Dry HeatBy Stuar t Ke l logg

Of fearswhales

and wishes

Spotlighting the Pinto Culture

When the shuttle Discovery’s astro-nauts were floating

in space in order to make repairs to the International Space Station, their space-suits — miniature Earths — reminded me of the cello-phane baggies in which gold fish are carried home from a pet store, fair or circus.

How trusting of the gold fish, how trusting of the as-tronauts!

I could never spacewalk. Even to be on the compara-tively roomy and substantial space station would cause me to have a psychotic break.

And were I to find my-self on the moon without a 238,900-mile umbilical cord connecting me to Mother Earth, my scream would be the first sound ever heard in that airless environment.

•Likewise, knowing that

the wreck of the Titanic was grinding and growling below me, I could not bear to fall overboard southeast of New-foundland.

Again, it’s the sense of un-plumbed distance that gives me the willies.

I’d much rather encounter the thrashing flukes and an-gry, lashless eye of a sperm whale. At least I could see the source of my terror.

For this thought I thank Willard, of Hesperia, who, after our recent discussion of children’s books, re-minded me of “The Cruise of the Cachalot” (1899), Frank T. Bullen’s classic ac-count of sailing ’round the world on a whaler out of New Bedford, Mass.

•Like a Melanesian “cargo

cult” (the belief that ances-tral spirits will return to the islands, bringing a bounty of desirable goods), there is a tenacious rumor that Trader Joe’s will soon be opening a specialty grocery store on this side of the Cajon Pass.

So far this rumor hasn’t panned out, even though I’ve heard from scores of readers — even people who’ve never signed a political petition or joined a prayer chain — who admit to having written Trader Joe’s headquarters in Monrovia, begging.

Another persistent rumor is that the Victor Valley will soon have a fourth bridge crossing the Mojave.

I cannot substantiate this.But every time Rock

Springs Road washes out or traffic occludes on Bear Valley Road or on D Street where it crosses the Narrows, my inner pedestrian-fleeing-Godzilla stirs, and I contem-plate writing the Department of Homeland Security.

If you share my instinct, write to Secretary Michael Chertoff, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washing-ton, DC 20528. Or leave him a message at (202) 282-8000 or (202) 282-8495.

•A fourth bridge is not the

only traffic-related item on my wish list for 2007. I also hope that High Desert drivers will finally learn to signal (it’s only a flick of your mid-dle finger) and refrain from passing on the right-hand shoulder.

To this I add world peace and an end to domestic vio-lence (related wishes, come to think of it).

And oh, yes: Happy New Year to all!

Stuart Kellogg can be reached at 951-6240 or stuart@link.freedom.com.

wild, wacky and weird...THE

...characterize another eventful year in the High Desert

cal-earth technology heads to Darfur

a group of over 25 junior high aged students march along hesperia road in hesperia, March 28, 2006. the group marched along Bear Valley road and hesperia roads carrying Mexican flags and shouting Mexico through much of the morning.

Daily Press File Photo

Daily Press File Photoabby scoots across a paved sidewalk with her new vest, and springs that act as legs. abby and her caretaker traveled to Colorado to have the vest built and fitted.

Daily Press File PhotoParticipants in the rally on Bear Valley clash with a mexican supporter at the corner of Bear Valley road and locust ave in Victorville.

Ju s t h o w w e l l d o y o u think you know your elected officials?

The Daily Press has col-lected a few of the more en-tertaining quotes our officials have said throughout the year. It’s your job to match the quote with the public official who said it.

1. “In fact, there are parts of Hesperia I’d like to de-annex.”

2. “Maybe we could split the difference.”

3. “Oh, I’m good at that.”4. “He’s a good citizen, but I

can’t endorse him — I have to endorse me.”

5. “I’m extremely at peace with what is going to happen tonight.”

6. “We are the second big-gest city, so it’s a size thing.”

7. “To make the surprise a reality I need everyone’s help to count down from three.”

8. “I guess you cannot ignore the helicopters landing, but for the most part people should stay away from the operation.”

9. “We’re thinking we’ll be drawing from the east, the west and the south.”

10. “I’m not sure it’s over ’til it’s over.”

11. “I wonder what happened years and years ago to attract the homeless to Old Town.”

12. “Hesperia always got the brunt of the jokes on roads.”

13. “How did you get a copy of that?”

14. “We’re about the most underdeveloped city up here.”

15. “This whole desert is af-fordable compared to the rest of California. When do we start taking responsibility?”

16. “We need to get our ducks in a row first in order to help the community.”

17. “Sometimes you just have to push the issue and liti-gate it to find out what the re-sult will be.”

ChECK out thE anSWErS on B8

Michael Stenerson / Staff Photographert. ted Miyake, of the faith based international relief organization Safe harbor, tours model Eco-dome structures with California institute of Earth art and architectures’ iliona outram at the Cal-Earth site in hesperia.

“the biggest problem is that they burn the whole

villages down.”E. NadEr KHalili

Cal-Earth Director

Whose line is it anyway?

robber says he was ‘just kidding’ holding up service stationsMan, unarmed, tries unsuccessfully to rob two Bear Valley Road gas stations

By KATHeRIne ROsenBeRGStaff Writer

VICTORVILLE — If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

That may have been the motto of a robber who tried to rob the Chev-ron station at Bear Valley Road and Mall Boulevard around 9:15 p.m. before going on to rob the Circle K at Bear Valley and Amethyst roads, officials said.

“He put his hand in his pocket and told the clerk ‘give me all your

money or I will blow your ... head off.’ The clerk didn’t see a gun so he refused to hand over the money. The guy said it again and about that same time some customers start-ed to walk in, so the suspect said ‘just kidding’ and walked out of the store,” said Sgt. Mike Blay of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s

Department Victorville station. About 10 minutes later, the same

man walked into the Circle K and said the same thing. That time, the clerk is said to have seen the butt of a handgun sticking out of the man’s waistband, so the clerk com-plied, Blay said.

A getaway car was seen with a

driver, but no one was able to offer a description of that man, authori-ties said. The vehicle is believed to be a black, older model mini pickup truck.

The robber is described as being in his early 40s with brown hair

StiCKuP/B2

Kennedy School of Government.Secure housing is crucial to re-

building villages that have been burned to the ground by militias, Besancon said.

The grass and mud houses tra-ditionally built in Darfur “take 47 of their little scrub trees to build,” said Besancon, who trav-eled to Sudan on Dec. 17 to be-gin work on the project. The fire-proof and waterproof superado-be structures will provide more secure housing for people in Dar-fur, she added.

The traditional mud and grass homes are more susceptible to fire and need annual repair be-cause rain causes them to rot, and desertification in Sudan means that wood for construction is hard to come by.

Besancon has known Khalili and his assistant, Iliona Outram, since she was a student at Cla-remont Graduate School work-ing on her doctorate in political science. According to the Ameri-can Sudanese Partnerships Web

site, the “prototype community for returning IDP’s” will be con-structed in a “relatively conflict free area of Darfur.”

For the Safe Harbor organiza-tion, Cal-Earth’s building tech-niques will make it possible to construct a new clinic in a re-mote area of Sudan, where all supplies have to be flown in. The group orginally planned to build a traditional brick-and-mortar structure which would have re-quired them to transport large amounts of materials into the area, but the Cal-Earth plans will allow Safe Harbor to work almost entirely with local materials.

“They’re working in a tin structure in 100-degree heat now,” said T. Ted Miyake, one of the two volunteer nurse practi-tioners at the clinic. Miyake, Bill Paquette and Steve Baugh, all of Safe Harbor, will travel to south-ern Sudan on Jan. 29 to begin construction of the clinic.

“What you will be really giv-ing to them is teaching how to

fish,” said Nader, who expressed the hope that local people will

learn how to build their own Eco-Dome structures.

JOHn cARmIcHAeLJohn Joseph “Joe” Carmi-

chael, 78, a long time resident of the High Desert, passed away peacefully on Dec. 27, 2006. He was a devoted husband and loving father.

Born Aug. 16, 1928 in Dodge City, Kansas, he grew up and worked on the family farm un-til he joined the Marines. He served his country for three years during the Korean War. While stationed in the Barstow, he fell in love with Margie Lou-ise Stankavich and married her on Feb. 13, 1954. Together, they raised five children.

Joe worked for Hayward Lumber before becoming a fire-fighter for the Marine Corps Logistics Base. He retired as a station captain after 20 years of service. Always busy, Joe was active in the Barstow Se-nior Center, entered triath-lons, and even ran carrying the Olympic flame. In 2000, Joe and Margie moved to Spring Val-ley Lake-Victorville and then to Hesperia Senior Campus in 2004. Still wanting to contrib-ute to society, Joe was instru-mental in the formation of the non-profit organization, Proj-ect Care, which makes toys and crafts for needy children. His motivation and inspiration will continue as Project Care now has three chapters and contin-ues to grow.

Joe is preceded in death by his wife, Margie.

He is survived by his daugh-ters, Louise Miller, Geralyn Holland, Mary Stapp, and Pa-tricia Hanna; his son David Carmichael; grandchildren Ra-mona and Josh Holland, Jen-nifer Yazzie, Sarah Magoun, Michelle Sandridge, Monica Stapp, John Miller, Alisha and Bree Hanna, Madison and Robert Carmichael; and seven great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Mead Mortuary in Barstow, followed by a Rosary at 7 p.m. The Mass of Resurrection will be cele-brated at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Barstow.

The family requests, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Project Care, Inc., 11451 Prairie Trail, Oak Hills, CA 92344.

ALBeRT FLAnDIWorld War II U.S. Army vet-

eran and Hesperia resident Albert Dario Flandi passed away quietly Dec. 25, 2006, at 8:36 p.m.

Albert is survived by his extended family, wife Sandra Devio of Hesperia; daughters Katherine Vine, her husband, Von, and their three sons, Bryan, Jason and Kevin, of Temple City, Renee Martin and her husband, Dewey, of Thousand Oaks, and Denise Davis and her husband, Terry, of Newbury Park.

He was born June 7, 1918, in Siskiyou County in Macdoal to Claudina and Ricardo Flandi. Albert was a lifelong resident of California.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Ricardo and Clau-dina Flandi in 1964; wife, Betty Jean Flandi in 1976; daughter Judith Flandi; brother Emilio Flandi formerly of Sonoma; and sister Mary Greger former-ly of Boyes Hot Springs.

Albert is survived by his two daughters, Claudia DiClemente and her husband, Carlo, of So-noma and Linda Lancaster of Bakersfield; two grandsons, Josh Lancaster and his wife, Barbara, and Adam Lancaster

and his wife, Irma; and four great-grandchildren, Nicholas, Mark, Jade and Trista Lancast-er, all of Bakersfield.

After his time in the service, Albert worked for 36 years for the State of California as a chief of plant operations. Al-bert’s hobbies included his 1969 converted Greyhound bus in which he traveled across the United States. His work includ-ed carpentry and when he re-tired his workshop was filled with many of the projects he loved making.

Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at Vic-tor Valley Mortuary, 15609 11th St. in Victorville.

JUDITH LAGODInsKI Judith Anne Lagodinski, 67,

a resident of Tygh Valley, Ore., died at her home, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2006.

Born in Colchester, Vt., Feb. 12, 1939, Judy was the older of two children to George Al-den Noyes and Kathleen Ruth (Dutton) Noyes. She grew up in Salisbury, Vt., and graduated from Middlebury High School.

Judy married Donald Gene Lagodinski Nov. 18, 1959, in Spokane, Wash. She was past PTA president at Rancho Verde School in Apple Valley, where she also was a member of the Moose Lodge, worked for Conti-nental as a telephone operator and a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars in Middlebury, Vt.

Judy was a resident of Apple Valley for more than 39 years. She moved to Tygh Valley, Ore. in December of 2004, and loved the wildlife that was right at her front door.

Judy took care of the home-less and was a very active moth-er, grandmother and friend.

She is survived by her com-panion of 15 years, Robert Pieper of Tygh Valley, Ore.; children Teresa Criffield and her husband, Steve, of Las Vegas, Nev., and Ronald Lago-dinski of Perris; three grand-children, Christy Mallett, Chad Criffield and Trisha Criffield, all of Las Vegas, Nev.; and sis-ter Barbara Flowers and her husband, Bob, of Kingston, Tenn.

A memorial service was held Dec. 5 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Maupin, Ore.

G r a n d m a , yo u w i l l b e missed!

Some obituaries in this section are paid for by families of the deceased, who also provide the information. the daily Press is not responsible for the accura-cy of the information published in paid obituaries. Short death notices are also offered, and these are free of charge.

PAGe B2 Press Dispatch, Victorville and Barstow, Calif. vITALs Sunday, December 31, 2006 Page edited by Justin D. Beckett

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O b i t u a r i e s

LAGODINSkI

— A local man called police to his home for help and was ar-rested in the process after they discovered dozens of marijuana plants.

Barth Leight, 49, of the 10000 block of Nambe Road was arrest-ed on suspicion of cultivation of marijuana. He called the sheriff’s dispatch center about his out-of-control daughter, officials said.

“It’s not uncommon for us to get calls to help with kids. It was a standard incorrigible child call, but he wasn’t thinking about the marijuana. When I walked in, I was overcome with the smell of marijuana,” Deputy Laura Marks of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Apple Valley station said. “He opened the garage and there he was growing about 40 plants,” Marks said.

The juvenile was found to be in school and was safe, officials said.

— Middle school students were arrested, high school stu-dents were suspended and ad-ministrators are saying “enough is enough” after continued pro-tests against the federal anti-im-migration bill. Days later more suspensions followed because students sported clothing with the American flag at their local public schools.

• May— Abby, a little Chihuahua, was

dropped off at the pound to be de-stroyed because she had no front legs — and now walks just fine.

The white-and-tan orphan with

floppy ears and big black eyes was too cute to put down, so an animal shelter employee adopted her. Her new owner traveled to Thornton, Colo., where Abby was fitted with a plastic vest that has two spring-like hoops attached underneath by Dr. Martin Kaufman.

• June — Deputy Eric Ogaz of the

Hesperia sheriff’s station went home for lunch with his son. The phone rang while he was there, and the caller on the other end had no idea that misdialing by one digit could have the potential to land her in jail.

“It’s this lady and she said she was referred to me by another woman. She said ‘I’m trying to score an 8,’ and I clarified, ‘an eight-ball?’ ” Ogaz recounted. “That’s the terminology for an ounce of methamphetamine.”

Ogaz had the woman’s name and number stored on his caller ID and immediately went outside to his patrol car and ran the wom-an’s name through the depart-ment’s system. Within an hour of the initial call, Shari Bratcher, 25, of Victorville was in handcuffs.

“She was under the influence of methamphetamine and admit-ted she was the one who made the phone call and that she was out of meth. She told me that she was off by one digit, but she said, ‘I didn’t realize it was a cop’s house,’ ” Ogaz said.

During the investigation and subsequent interview Bratcher

reportedly told authorities that she had the “worst luck.”

• July— A trail of blood led detectives

to a local man’s marijuana stash. The debacle began when a

Child Protective Services work-er arrived at a home and noted the smell of marijuana. Angela Knapp, 37, told the CPS represen-tative that it was incense she was burning in the house.

Detectives returned to the home with a search warrant.

Once there, they found Knapp’s boyfriend bleeding everywhere and didn’t know whether he cut himself when he was trying to cover things up or if it happened at work like he said, so they fol-lowed the trail of blood.

“It was great for us because we just walked everywhere he did,” officials said.

The trail took detectives to the kitchen sink, which was full of bloodstained water, backed-up from the garbage disposal.

“He was putting all the plants down the disposal. It chopped them up pretty well but we were able to pull the stems out of the piping where it got caught. I guess he just didn’t have time to deal with his hand because he was try-ing to get rid of everything really quick,” officials said.

The couple were arrested on suspicion of cultivation of mari-juana and child endangerment.

• December— Two men were robbed at

gunpoint, but then had their wal-lets returned by the robber.

The robber held a gun on two patrons and took their wallets. Then he looked at the identifica-tion in the wallets and handed them back with an apology, say-ing to the two black victims, “I’m sorry, I thought you guys were Mexican,” officials said.

On that same day, a man was shot in the head at Wal-Mart and somehow, didn’t realize it.

“They called for an airship to fly him out, and nobody really re-alizes, not even paramedics, that he had been shot. It wasn’t until they did a CT scan that they real-ize he’s got a bullet in his head,” officials said.

— Three security guards con-tracted to protect the property of Hesperia Unified School District were arrested for reportedly steal-ing thousands of dollars of goods from various campuses, school representatives said.

Search warrants were served at the homes of Eddie Roque, Bradley Clement and Sergio Martinez and several thousands of dollars in cash, computers, laptops and other miscellaneous items belonging to the school district and its employees were recovered, said district spokes-woman Debbie Baker. The men were later arrested on suspicion of theft and burglary.

Gretchen losi may be reached at 951-6233 or gretchen_losi@link.freedom.com.

weird: Dog with no front legs fitted for hoovesFroM B2

word: SubjectFroM XX

Cal-Earth: Prototypes to be constructed in more docile areasFroM B1

and was last seen wearing a long-sleeved checked shirt and jeans, Blay said.

Authorities are unsure wheth-er the man actually had a weapon or whether he just implied one, but, Blay said, “it is usually wise to cooperate with the robber.”

Officials also intend to arrest the robber for his successful rob-bery as well as his failed attempt.

“If captured he’s not going get away with the first one just be-cause he said, ‘just kidding.’ We’ll get him on attempted robbery and robbery,” Blay said.

Anyone with information as to the identity or whereabouts of the robber is asked to contact the Victorville station at 241-2911.

StickupFroM B1

PAGe B8 Press Dispatch, Victorville and Barstow, Calif. qUOTes Sunday, December 31, 2006 Page edited by Justin D. Beckett

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1. “In fact, there are parts of Hesperia I’d like to de-annex,” Hesperia City Councilman Tad Honeycutt said in regards to the annexation of Oak Hills being re-jected.

2. “Maybe we could split the dif-ference.” Victorville Mayor Mike Rothschild said regarding finding financing for the installation of a sidewalk for Nisqualli Road resi-dents.

3. “Oh, I’m good at that,” Victorville Mayor Pro Tem JoAnn Almond told Mayor Mike Roth-schild about her ability to sign documents if appointed as mayor

pro tem. 4. “He’s a good citizen, but

I can’t endorse him — I have to endorse me,” Apple Valley Town Councilman Bob Sagona said of Darryl Evey during elections.

5. “I’m extremely at peace with what is going to happen tonight,” said Apple Valley Mayor Mark Shoup during his last meeting as a town council member.

6. “We are the second biggest city, so it’s a size thing,” Kim Sum-mers, Hesperia spokeswoman said, when asked about the city being the second greatest consum-er of water.

7. “To make the surprise a reality I need everyone’s help to count down from three,” Adelanto Mayor Jim Nehmens said before the lighting of the city’s Christmas tree.

8. “I guess you cannot ignore the helicopters landing, but for the most part people should stay away from the operation,” Mayor Mike Rothschild said regarding military operations being con-ducted in Victorville.

9. “We’re thinking we’ll be drawing from the east, the west and the south,” Apple Valley Councilman Scott Nassif said in

regards to a 16-screen Cinemark theater coming to town.

10. “I’m not sure it’s over ’til it’s over,” said Victorville Coun-cilman Terry Caldwell, regarding the county’s decision on which city will get the High Desert gov-ernment center.

11. “I wonder what happened years and years ago to attract the homeless to Old Town,” said Victorville Councilman Rudy Cabriales regarding a unanimous vote where the City Council denied an appeal by the San Bernardino County Rescue Mission for a zon-ing permit, effectively shutting its

doors at the Old Town location. 12. “Hesperia always got the

brunt of the jokes on roads,” said Hesperia Mayor Pro Tem Ed Pack, who was re-elected to the City Council by a 70-vote margin.

13. “How did you get a copy of that?” Apple Valley Mayor Mark Shoup asked a resident regarding a document town officials didn’t want made public.

14. “We’re about the most un-derdeveloped city up here,” said Adelanto Councilman Charley Glasper.

15. “This whole desert is afford-able compared to the rest of Cali-

fornia. When do we start taking responsibility?” Hesperia Council-woman Rita Vogler said regarding the possibility of smaller homes being built in the city.

16. “We need to get our ducks in a row first in order to help the community,” Adelanto Mayor Pro-Tem Trinidad Perez said in regards to the city financially as-sisting the Community Tool Box.

17. “Sometimes you just have to push the issue and litigate it to find out what the result will be,” said Hesperia Mayor Pro Tem Ed Pack regarding group home ordinances.

The secrets revealed: “Whose line...” answers below