• Civil Servants Day

Faith Baptist Church in Wildomar was the site of "Civil Servants Day" where all the elected officials, with jurisdiction over Wildomar were invited, including Governor Jerry Brown... though one of his liaisons politely declined due to a scheduling conflict. 😄

A look at the church from the parking lot, and some clippings from the program.

A handful of local elected officials attended, including Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, Wildomar Mayor Ben Benoit, Wildomar Councilmember Bridgette Moore and Lake Elsinore Councilmember Daryl Hickman.

Upon arrival, after several friendly greetings by all along the route from the parking lot, the honored guests were asked to sign in. 

Making it official.

From there, they were shown to their seats near the orchestra section... imagine that, they had a live orchestra, accompanying their choir, and other singers.

Pastor Bruce Goddard started with a word of prayer, thanking the Lord for the right to gather freely. After a hymn, there were a few words about the biblical admonition of "praying for our leaders" and how that didn't just apply to those you agree with. 

After being invited to the stage, Melissa Melendez was the first to speak for a few moments. She quoted Proverbs 11:14 where it says, "For lack of guidance, a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers."

• "That's a great way to describe the people who are elected into office. We have great authority over people's lives and we and we need to do that in a way that is thoughtful and a way that is righteous and moral. And we're human, and sometimes we make mistakes, and sometimes we say things we shouldn't, and we have to apologize for them. I wish we were perfect, but Lord knows that I'm not." (the audience chuckled in unison at that)

• "When you're praying for your elected leaders ask God to help us make the right decision. Ask God to help us be strong against all the forces that are out there asking us to do the wrong thing, for the wrong reasons... and believe me, there are many. You have no idea the number of people that come in and out of my office in Sacramento saying, "We need you to do this, we want you to do that."

And when we say, "That's not the right thing for me to do for my constituents," they give you a whole list of reasons of why you should anyway. A lot of guilt is involved, as a Catholic I'm very familiar with the guilt angle, so... (at which the audience gave out a hearty laugh of concurrence). Guilt doesn't work on me." (where the laughter continued).

• "I thank you for your strength, I thank you for coming together as a community and praying for your elected leaders... because, nothing is stronger than God, nothing! Nobody that comes into my office is stronger than God, no lobbyists, no special interests, no one is stronger than the influence God has on our lives."

The next speaker was 2018 Wildomar Mayor Ben Benoit.

• "I was so happy to be able to come here today, and [be] with you here today. (Referring to Melissa Melendez's comment about guilt) It's absolutely true, the guilt thing is there every time someone comes into our office, puts their hand on the table and tells us why we have to do something... and just like Melissa grew up in a Catholic household, [same for me] and [guilt] doesn't work."
(the audience responded with laughter and applause.)

City Councilmember Bridgette Moore was next to speak. She took the opportunity to invite the congregation to the Prayer Breakfast in May.

• "We're going to have a prayer breakfast on May third, [in conjunction with] the National Day of Prayer, the first Thursday of May every year. I started this [for our area] back in 2016 when I was Mayor. I'm glad my fellow councilmembers are continuing it, so I invite all of you to attend. May 3rd at 6:30 in the morning. It will be at Wildomar City Hall in the [Council] Chambers. However, no city funds were used, this is being put on by a private organization (a bit of laughter came with that last statement) just wanted to make that clear." (which brought more laughter of understanding).

Once the local electeds were finished speaking, Pastor Goddard then bestowed some books upon the guests. The first one was about the founders of America. 

From left to right, Lake Elsinore Councilmember Daryl Hickman, Wildomar Councilmember Bridgette Moore, 67th District Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, Wildomar Mayor Ben Benoit and (with book in hand) Pastor Bruce Goddard. 

The group looks over their books, and the extra three volume set handed Melissa Melendez. 

As Pastor Goddard was handing the books about American Leaders to her, he uncorked a funny quip that got everyone laughing. 

"This is a set of books on leaders of America, and just great volumes and again you can just read a page and put it down — you've got nothing to do, right?"

- Pastor Bruce Goddard to Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez

The fun part for me came during the photo op. Though they had an in house photographer, I got out of the pew I was sitting in to get a shot for this blog. Lo and behold, I was invited by the pastor to take a picture from the same place that their photographer had been stationed. 
If someone has a shot of me while standing up there, I'd love to get a copy.

It's always fun to take photos of photo ops.

As you can see, that spot was perfect for such a group shot.
Left to right: Daryl Hickman, Bridgette Moore, Melissa Melendez, Ben Benoit and Bruce Goddard. 

What an uplifting morning. From the greetings on the way in and to our seats, to the presentations and even the sermon. What a nice and inviting place filled with caring people. I'm so glad I was invited along... thank you.

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To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.

– Thomas Aquinas

Wildomar Rap can't explain any of it.

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• New Additions To Serenity Park

Good news for those looking for additional parkland in Wildomar.

The sign you'll see at the edge of the new park while construction is going on.

☻

Ok fine, it's not in Wildomar, but it's literally less than a stone's throw from Corydon, which works as a border between Lake Elsinore and Wildomar, so I'm calling dibs for Wildomar anyway.

Serenity Park is located just north or Corydon, on Palomar. The red arrow indicates the  2.8 acre expansion.

There was a brief ceremony where four of the council members spoke at a portable lectern, then meandered over to a prime spot for a "first shovel" shot... which had six people in it. 

From left to right in the video link below is LE Councilmember Daryl Hickman, his name escapes me, LE Councilmember Steve Manos, LE Mayor Brian Tisdale, LE Councilmember Natasha Johnson and LE Mayor Pro-Tem Bob Magee.

Above is a video of the 5 minute event. 

It's not bad for being shot on a Samsung Galaxy 7, but since I didn't bring a tripod (who knew I was going to videotape it?) it was a bear to edit out the camera shake.

The view of the area, through the construction fence, from the corner of Corydon and Palomar.

I caught up with Lake Elsinore Mayor Brian Tisdale to get the lowdown on this park expansion. 

It's a 2.8 acre expansion. It's going to include a BMX feature, dog park, parking lot. Phase 2 includes some amenities down there (referring to the existing parts of the park) such as shelter for the skate park and the for the benches. 

Lake Elsinore Mayor Brian Tisdale

The timeline on this project is 120 days.

There were several well established trees that were spared the blade of the backhoe in this project.

Tisdale went on to say, "It benefits the whole community. We're right at the corner of Wildomar and the county. This is about kids playing and that's always been —Bob [Magee] and I, that's always been our contention, give them something to do then they won't graffiti they won't do other things."

Panoramic shots are always a bit dicey, but here is a look L to R (north to south) of the whole area.

While I had his attention, I asked him to tell me a bit about the new sports center that the LE City Council just approved, and where it is going to be.

He kind of chuckled as he coyly asked, "[Do you mean] the 530,000 square feet sports center?"

It's on twenty-three acres located right next to the stadium near a veterinary clinic. The  ground breaking for that is estimated to be around March of 2017.
 

Link to Press Enterprise article discussing it.

Link to July 2015 blog about Serenity getting a skate park
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It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring, who reaps a harvest in the Autumn.
– B. C. Forbes, 1880-1954

Wildomar Rap generally doesn't bother with seeds and just buys small plants in pony-packs instead.

• Wildomar Gets A New Skate Park, Thanks To Lake Elsinore ☺

It was a packed crowd over at Serenity Park, just over the border (Corydon St), in Lake Elsinore that was on hand to see the official opening of the new skate park.

A look at the impromptu dais for the dedication and ribbon cutting and those looking on.

It was a fun atmosphere with skateboarders, razor scooter-ists, and MX bikes were all represented in various age groups that ran the gamut. There were also many reps from various skateboard companies with booths set up and plenty of local dignitaries too. Including State Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, Lake Elsinore Mayor Steve Manos, Lake Elsinore Council Member Daryl Hickman, a representative of State Senator Jeff Stone's office, Wildomar Chief of Police Captain Leonard Hollingsworth, and plenty of others that I didn't know their names.

A little bit of banter between Melissa Melendez and Steve Manos during the dedication.

I asked Melissa Melendez for a quote about the new skate park:

This city has spent a number of years trying to make sure there are amenities available for young families raising children. This is another example of how hard they have worked to make sure that families are taken care of.

—Melissa Melendez 67th Assembly District

Looking at the newly dedicated monument.

I asked Steve Manos for a quick quote about the new park after I thanked him for building a skate park for Wildomar, which brought some chuckles.

We're hoping that the Serenity Skate Park serves not only the families of Lake Elsinore specifically, but also the county (Lakeland Village) and the City of Wildomar. We're very excited and we had a lot of support from many of the constituents and leaders in the area and we're very proud to go ahead and put together something that is been so well received.

—Steve Manos Mayor Lake Elsinore

The park is open from 6:00am to sunset and it's located on Palomar just north of Corydon, and though this park is physically in the City of Lake Elsinore, it's closer to Wildomar's population than it is theirs. So if you're a skateboarder, or like to use razor scooters (I assume that's what they still call them) then you should head on over there and try it out.

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Skateboarding is training, but I don't think of it as training. It's fun. —Shaun White

Wildomar Rap rues that horrid rainy Halloween where a new plexiglass skateboard was promised if 100 pieces of candy could be fleeced from the neighboring houses. What a bust, the final count didn't even come to close 60 pieces.

• Coffee with a Cop and Transportation NOW

Today in Wildomar there were a few things going on. Over at the westside Starbucks was Coffee With a Cop. An informal meet up with several officers, including Wildomar's Chief Leonard Hollingsworth, and interested members of the public.

It was a good chance to meet some of our law enforcement officers. I'd say that between 9:00 and 11:00 there were about 20 people that stopped by, including our 2015 Mayor, Ben Benoit. It was good to meet more of my fellow Wildomartinis (or Wildomatians if you prefer).

Wildomar Chief, Captain Hollingsworth (middle left) Listens to the concerns of the residents.

It was just a chance for some casual conversation. No speeches, just officers listening to concerns from the residents.

Joseph Morabito (me, center right) speaking with  Lieutenant Leonard Purvis. In the middle is Mayor Ben Benoit.

The next Neighborhood Watch meeting is Thursday June 11th at the council chambers. If you would like to be informed of such events as Coffee With a Cop, be sure to join the city's Stay Connected email blast by clicking here.

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Also on the list of things to do was go to a Southwest Transportation NOW meeting at the Wildomar Library. There was an interesting slideshow presentation by Sierra Club member Pam Nelson regarding the coming Murrieta Creek  Regional Trail.

Mark you calendars for Saturday June 6th. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony at Marna O'Brien Park heralding the official opening of the MCRT (Murrieta Creek  Regional Trail). Also that same day will be a bicycle safety event and a Volkswalk too. (Keep an eye out for a coming blog about Volkswalk)

Be sure to check out the official trail website for more details by clicking this link SCSMG.

•       •       •

Daryl Hickman and Nichole Dailey were speaking about the coming roundabouts in Lake Elsinore at Railroad Canyon. I remember hearing about that more than a year ago and didn't think it was possible, but the way the talk was going, this looks like it's coming. Though Lake Elsinore is out of my purview, I'll have to ask for more details next time I see them.

•       •       •

Kristen Huyck, of Supervisor Kevin Jeffries' office, mentioned that Grand Avenue will be under construction for the next 60 plus days. It will be getting repaved and widened a bit. There won't be any additional travel lanes, but there I was hearing about some right hand turn pockets in key areas. If you use Ortega Highway, you should anticipate delays of up to 15 mins during this time period.

•       •       •

Deni Horne, of Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez's office, spoke about ACA 4 as a bill to keep an eye on. It's a Constitutional Amendment that threatens the strength of Prop 13. Read more about it here. In short, it's trying to reduce the 67% needed today to raise taxes to just 55%.

•       •       •

Last on the list of interesting tidbits was AB 278. It deals with district-based municipal elections in cities with more than 100,000 people. I'm sure there's at least one Dub-Marian (another name for Wildomarian) that is giddy about the idea of district based voting (hint hint, nudge nudge, say no more), but from reading the bill, and hearing the talk about it, it is going to be Gerrymandering on Roids by the time it's implemented.

Check out this language and see if your stomach doesn't turn a bit

5) Requires a city that is establishing districts pursuant to this bill to ensure that all of the following criteria are satisfied in preparing the boundaries of the districts for the city council:

   a)   The boundaries are drawn to ensure fair and effective representation of all city residents including racial,  ethnic, and language minorities;

Bobby Swann, Wildomar Planning Commissioner and Secretary for Transportation NOW, mentioned that Wildomar's build out is just over 50,000. That's when it was suggested that 100,000 would be the opening salvo, that could then be followed up with lower population numbers in following years.

When Wildomar first voted to become a city, I voted against it but was glad to see that we had districts at first. Years later the downside of districts in small cities, like Wildomar, was explained to me. On the one hand you get representation from each area.

So, for example, that would have meant that Israel Leija would now be a council member from The Farm, while two out of three from the group of council members that includes Marsha Swanson, Tim Walker and Ben Benoit would have to go, since (at the time of the election) they all would have been in the same basic district.

On the other hand, if you have a concern you have five people that are working for you. If it's district based, you have your guy, and that's it.

If AB 278 becomes law, it'll be another disaster in the name of multiculturalism, which only divides us instead of uniting us as a people.

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Heaven knows what seeming nonsense may not tomorrow be demonstrated truth. — Alfred North Whitehead

Wildomar Rap is still on the fence when it comes to which is better: Java with a constable or Sandwiches with board members. Looks like more research is in order. ☺