Nine Feet of Snow Later, Big Bear Valley’s Winter Melts Into Spring on Saturday

Big Bear Valley, CA — It was just eight Fridays ago, when we were buried under five feet of snow—roads were under an R3 requirement, all highways were closed, school was canceled, and power was out—and it seemed this day would never come, but spring arrives this weekend! Since the first of the winter season’s storms began on Friday, November 13, we have received about 113 inches of snow here in the Big Bear Valley, which totals nearly nine-and-a-half-feet altogether, and nearly double the winter snowfall average of 62 inches. In the month of March, however, we have received about eight inches of snow (so far), when an average March tends to bring about 14 inches. Though the weather has tapered off, KBHR’s weatherman Ben Brissey reminds that, in Big Bear, Mother’s Day in May tends to bring us the final snowfall of the year—and, in fact, he says, in the late ’90s we even had a few inches of snow on a Father’s Day in June. You may also recall, in 2008, when we received a cold storm, bringing snow on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. As for the resorts, officials at Big Bear Mountain Resorts tell us that the El Niño winter has set up both Bear Mountain and Snow Summit for a good, long spring with excellent snow conditions—at present, the ski resorts plan to stay open into April, with plans to host another Easter egg hunt on the slopes on Sunday, April 4th. Those who enjoy the view from atop the resorts can also see that the ice is melting on Big Bear Lake and, since that first snowfall in November, lake levels have risen from about 64’ to, now, over 67’ and rising as those nine feet of snow accumulation continue to melt with the arrival of spring on Saturday.

Former Big Bear Lake Mayor Bill Speyers Passes Away Today at Age 86

Big Bear Lake, CA — The Big Bear Valley lost one of its more distinguished contributors with this morning’s passing of former Big Bear Lake Mayor Bill Speyers, who died in the 4am hour with Paddy, his wife of 65 years, at his side and one of his beloved boxer dogs nearby. Speyers had, citing health reasons, resigned from his post as Treasurer for the Bear Valley Community Healthcare District on December 31, ending a long career of community service since moving to the Big Bear Valley in 1985. Since relocating here upon his retirement from a career in engineering and aerospace, the World War II veteran served on the Big Bear Lake City Council for four years and was Mayor Speyers in 1988 and ’89; he also served as a Department of Water and Power Commissioner from 1991 to 1999, and again from 2001 to 2007, before joining the Healthcare District Board for a period of over 10 years. Speyers and wife Paddy, the parents of three daughters, were also active with Friends of the Moonridge Zoo; he is also a past president (or chairman) of SANBAG, the Valley Water Study Association, AARP, the Bear Valley Human Services Foundation, the Big Bear Amateur Radio Club, the Mining Monitoring Committee, the Association of California Healthcare Districts, and Friends of the Performing Arts, among other activities and groups, including the Elks and VFW. It was on a walk one day in Big Bear that Speyers said he saw a sign on a porch that read, “He who rocks, rots,” prompting his extensive foray into public service. Those who have worked with him have nothing but praise for his dedication, among those DWP Board Secretary Robyn Bratton, who tells KBHR, “He was very dedicated to this Valley, and totally supported DWP in every way. Bill Speyers was a good Board member, and he was a good man.” Michael Perry, who had been the DWP’s General Manager when Speyers was Mayor of Big Bear Lake adds, “He was a great Council person and Mayor, and he really cared about the City. He was really forward-looking, to assure that what we did today would make sure the City was healthy in the future.” And yet his commitment was not without a dose of humor, as the healthcare district’s CFO Rudy Shutta recalls. “I always knew he read the financial statements,” Shutta says, “because, with a little twinkle, he commented on my spelling errors.” Services for Speyers, who passed at age 86, have not yet been announced.

Breakthrough Task Force Celebrates First Anniversary of Efforts to Eliminate Teen Drinking

Big Bear Lake, CA — Big Bear’s Breakthrough Task Force, the group working to draft a social host ordinance to discourage alcohol access for our youth, will be celebrating their first anniversary on Tuesday, March 23, and the community is invited to join them at the Big Bear Discovery Center at 6pm. The Breakthrough Task Force will be reviewing their accomplishments of this, their first year, and will also be recognizing their partners, which include the Rim Youth Prevention Leadership Coalition in Running Springs, as well as the Big Bear and Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Stations and the U.S. Forest Service. Community members interested in contributing to the Task Force and its goals for the coming year are welcome to participate. For more information on Tuesday evening’s meeting or efforts to curb teen drinking in the Big Bear Valley, call the Breakthrough Task Force at Big Bear Recovery Services at 878-0101.

Community Emergency Response Team to Review Damage Assessment Training; Others Welcome to Monday Meeting

Big Bear City, CA — The Big Bear Valley’s Community Emergency Response Team meets on Monday evening for a monthly training session, which is also open to all interested community members. The March 22 meeting, to be held at the Big Bear Discovery Center at 6pm, will address damage assessment. CERT members will receive review on how to safely and efficiently assess damage in their neighborhoods following a catastrophic event, such as an earthquake, and how to then report dangerous conditions to first responders.
During this week’s Community Services District meeting, Big Bear City Fire Chief Jeff Willis reiterated that the Valley’s CERT team is called upon for assistance with, specifically, damage assessment during times of major disaster. Though CERT members served the community in assisting at the emergency Red Cross shelter in January, the entire force of 400 was not called upon. As Chief Willis explained to interested parties on March 15, “CERT was definitely not forgotten, but considered many times.” There were additional emergency responders on the mountain, provided through mutual aid assistance from CalFire, to help with roof shoveling, fire hydrant clearing and tree removal and, adds Willis with regard to January’s incidents, “Really, snow removal and getting the power back on were the main things. Mobility was probably the biggest single issue, so keeping people off the road was #1.”
So though the CERT team was not asked to leave their neighborhoods to assist in a Valley-wide response back in January, they are a crucial element in Big Bear’s disaster preparedness plan, especially in disaster instances such as wildfire or massive earthquake. To find out more about CERT, and specifically the details of damage assessment during catastrophe, call Connie Baker at 841-3969 or, better yet, attend Monday’s CERT training session which, again, starts at 6pm at the Big Bear Discovery Center.

Recreation and Park District Working to Appease Neighbors of The Ranch

Big Bear Lake, CA — Yesterday’s meeting of the Advisory Commission for the Big Bear Valley Recreation and Park District—and their first regular meeting of the year—did not include any action items, but did include discussion with regard to the district’s newest park facility, The Ranch at Erwin Lake. According to the Recreation and Park District’s Assistant Regional Manager Lorie Judd, “The Ranch neighbors are concerned about the upcoming summer season and the high traffic issues, loss of privacy, and people trespassing on their property to retrieve balls and, most importantly, road dust affecting their lives.” Neighbors were also concerned about graffiti on a tree near (but not on) district property, though it had already been addressed in the meantime. The district’s General Manager Reese Troublefield and Advisory Commissioners Kathryn Poole, Don Pletcher, Gloria Rose and Bob Ybarra responded to public comment regarding The Ranch and, adds Judd, “There was good communication and all parties remained calm during the discussion. We’re working very hard to make this work.” GM Troublefied promised Erwin Lake neighbors that issues would be mitigated in order to assure a non-disruptive summer season for them. As for the Recreation and Park District’s other big project, Paradise Park with the Big Bear City Community Services District, Proposition 84 grant funding was applied for earlier this year, though the $2.5 million in park development funds will not be awarded until October. In the meantime, parks staff continue to look for funding opportunities for Paradise Park.

MAT and CAP: Saturday Dinner Fundraisers Benefit Community Efforts

Big Bear Valley, CA — This Saturday offers two different dinner fundraisers, each of which will benefit a community effort. On March 20 at 4pm (until 7pm), local Squadron 6750 of the Civil Air Patrol and Friends of the Disaster Center will host a spaghetti feed fundraiser, an event that had been rescheduled due to snow. The dinner will be held at the Big Bear Valley’s new Emergency Operations Center, on the corner of Greenway Drive and Meadow Lane in Big Bear City, and proceeds will be used for utility and maintenance expenses, enabling the EOC to remain operational and ready for use on a moment’s notice. Saturday’s spaghetti dinner is offered at a cost of $6 per person, though free for children under age six.

Later Saturday evening, Soroptimists’ Man in Black David Leach hosts his first big event in his Man About Town campaign to raise funds to stop teen violence in the Big Bear Valley. The event is billed as a country-western hoedown, and will feature a chuckwagon BBQ and live band. Tickets to the Man About Town event, to be held at Union Bank in the Interlaken Center at 5:30pm, are $50 per person and available from Vi Holiday at 585-7037.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Community Services District Meeting Includes Recognition of Firefighters and Tim Sweet; Fire Department Unveils New Ambulance

Big Bear City, CA — The Big Bear City Community Services District celebrated three firefighters of the Big Bear City Fire Department in last night’s meeting of the CSD Board, overseen by President Marge McDonald. In a presentation by Big Bear City Fire Chief Jeff Willis, firefighter/paramedic Dan Nunes and firefighter/EMTs David Tharp and Andrew Crane were recognized for their life-saving efforts and awarded the CPR Lifesaver Ribbon. In October of 2009, Nunes, Tharp and Crane joined Big Bear Lake firefighter/paramedics Jonathan Barbour and Jeff Schwing on an emergency call, attending to a 74-year-old man who had stopped breathing, and then flat-lined, while at Carl’s Jr. restaurant. Chief Willis explained that, using a defibrillator and medication, the firefighters restored the man’s breathing—and, all, told, he was air-lifted to a hospital off the mountain and has since returned home, where he continues to enjoy a good quality of life. This restoration of the patient’s health earned Nunes, Tharp and Crane the CPR Lifesaver Ribbon.
In other good news from the Big Bear City Fire Department, their brand new 2010 Chevrolet Type 1 ambulance has arrived (see below), and was parked outside the March 15 CSD meeting for attendees to see. This one, paid for with $140,000 in funds from the department’s 2009/2010 budget, says Chief Willis, “is bright red, and a change for Big Bear City Fire. It’s victory red.” The new coloring adheres to findings of the National Fire Protection Association, which has concluded that the red is important for color recognition, and replaces the 1970s’ studies that suggested that lime green vehicles were best in terms of day and night visibility. The new red ambulance replaces a 1998 model, which will be moved to reserve status given its high mileage; Big Bear City Fire now has five active ambulances in their fleet of emergency vehicles.

This week’s CSD meeting was light on agenda items, all of which were covered within half an hour, though Directors did take time to acknowledge the contributions of Tim Sweet, a foreman in their sewer department and 27-year CSD employee, who passed away last Monday, March 8. Vice President John Day, who, as a chaplain, had been with Sweet and his wife Kim at Bear Valley Community Hospital last week, recognized the Sweets during the invocation at last night’s meeting, which was then dedicated to Tim Sweet, per a suggestion from Director Rick Ollila. President McDonald noted that the Sweet family asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations could be made to the American Heart Association in Tim Sweet’s name. It was also noted that the family may choose to do a private ceremony, per McDonald, who said of Sweet, “Not only has CSD lost a valuable employee, but the community has lost a valuable historian.”

“It’s Heartbreaking”: 36 Teachers Affected by Yesterday’s School District Notifications

Big Bear Lake, CA — Teachers across the state of California received pink slips yesterday, indicating that their positions could be eliminated in the 2010/2011 school year. Of those nearly 22,000 employees of public education, 26.8 are from among the Bear Valley Unified School District which, at present, employs 134 full-time teachers. In a conversation with BVUSD’s Superintendent Dr. Nancy Wright, she explains, “There were 26.8 FTE, which means full-time equivalency, but the reduction enforced actually impacts 36 people—so 36 received notice from BVUSD on Monday. Of those 36, some may get a reduction in hours, but it will depend on the program and schedules. The final decision will have to be made by May 15. It changes hourly based on what the state is doing, but our staff is dedicated and very skilled in determining what our financial picture will be as we begin the new funding year in July.”
Superintendent Wright goes on to explain that of those 26.8 certificated positions that may not return in the coming school year, some of those teachers may have reductions to, say, two periods or teaching half-time. “It will be a period over the next six weeks that will determine our enrollment,” she says, “as families are leaving or coming in to the district. We are developing the budget on the assumption that we will lose 100 students of our just over 2,800. Last year, BVUSD developed the budget based on the assumption of 73 students leaving because of the economy and, this fall, it turned out that we lost 191 students because of the financial crisis in the job market.”
Reduced student numbers translates to less ADA funding for the district and, as they make efforts to remain fiscally solvent, there have been cuts beyond the potential reduction of staffing. BVUSD has reduced or not replaced positions in the district office, management has taken salary rollbacks in furlough days, the librarian’s role at Big Bear High School has been reduced, and adult education services will be eliminated in 2010/2011. Adds Dr. Wright, “So much has been cut before. We have continued to reduce our staff and services over the last three years, while we have also been spending our reserves to keep what we have in place. Funding for public education has diminished greatly, so that we are forced to increase class sizes and eliminate programs. In spite of all the difficulties, in spite of the challenges of trying to continue to offer a comprehensive education for every student, I do believe that, collectively, our community and our staff will join together as they’ve done in the past and help us to implement some creative solutions and offer the best education that we possibly can under the circumstances. I know our staff will continue to do whatever it takes with the students in their classrooms, and I know that our support staff and our leadership team will continue to look to the future to provide the standards of education that our community expects and that our students deserve.”
Still, the pink slips have been issued to 36 this week, as mandated, and Wright is first to concede, “It is heartbreaking to know that we are impacting people’s lives, families and careers and that we are impacting the quality of education that we can provide our students.”
Going forward, the Superintendent says, “We welcome input from our staff and community and encourage them to attend our meetings.” Upcoming meetings, during which time there will be room for public comment, include this evening’s Budget Advisory Committee meeting at the school district offices on Moonridge Road at 5:30pm (and again on Mondays, March 22 and 29) and Wednesday’s school board meeting, also at the D.O. and scheduled to begin in open session at 6:30pm.

CalTrans Plans for Weeks-Long Closure of Highway 330, Though No Start Date Announced (Update: Closed as of Tuesday)

CalTrans announced today that a culvert failure will result in the closure of Highway 330 and though no specifics were outlined, the roadway could be closed for several weeks. Erosion accelerated by recent storms is cited for the culvert failure, approximately eight miles up the mountain from Highland Avenue. A contractor was hired today (March 15), and emergency work to repair both slope and roadway will commence once material and equipment are readied; still, no start date on this project and the closure of Highway 330 has been identified. During the Highway 330 closure which, again, could last several weeks once the project begins, motorists will be able to access Big Bear Valley using Highway 18 through the desert communities or Highway 38 from Mentone/Redlands; another (longer) option is Highway 18 from San Bernardino through Waterman Canyon and the Lake Arrowhead area to Running Springs, then on to Big Bear continuing on Highway 18 through the Arctic Circle area to the dam.
Update: Per the latest from CalTrans, Highway 330 will be closed as of late Tuesday morning, March 16, and will remain closed for an undetermined amount of time, though likely several weeks.
Revised update as of late Tuesday morning: Downbound lanes on Highway 330 to close as of early afternoon, upbound lanes to close as of 7pm today.

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