• What Is a Wildomarian?

Thou art thyself, though not a Wildomarian.

What's a Wildomarian? It is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man.

(apologies to W. Shakespeare)

I’ve lived in SoCal my entire life. I was born in Riverside and spent my spent early years in the IE. My dad owned a motorsports dealership in Corona and that’s where I first heard the word:

 Wildomar 

I had to have been 18 at the time (1983ish), and one customer, that stood out, came from Wildomar. I remember asking him where Wildomar was, and he really didn’t like having to deal with a kid (me) asking such stupid questions.  He grunted out that it was "near Lake Elsinore."

This was a serious man, though he dressed like he’d just got done plowing the north forty. He’d been one of my dad’s steady customers for a few years. Always bought ATVs from us, back when they only had three wheels. 

Mr. Wildomar

One year he thought he had an agreement that:

the first of the new model would go to him and his family

(he’d get at least three at a time if I’m remembering correctly). 

Who knows what happened, but something soured the deal. Though he did get his ATVs when he came for them, he was incensed that someone else got one the day before. He vowed to never do business with my dad again, and took his business elsewhere. That’s the last any of us heard from him, and it helped forge my opinion of what a Wildomarian was. A Wildomarian was/is a no nonsense person.

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Today I met another

 Wildomarian 

with the same kind of ‘no nonsense’ grounding. 

I stopped by the flower man on Grand and while getting flowers for my wife, told him about my new blog and asked if I could profile him in it. He lowered his eyes a bit, shook his head slightly and said “No thank you.”

I was a little taken aback as he continued. He told me he’s busy enough already, and that he doesn't believe in such things (either advertising or the internet in general, not sure). He was nice, and told me it was nothing personal. He then mentioned something about the city and codes, in somewhat unflattering tones, about having enough parking spaces or not (he’s on a dirt lot) I didn't push him.

Out of respect for him, I've left out the name of his business here, 

but my wife likes the flowers just the same. 

If anyone has need of some very reasonably priced flowers,
he’s pretty easy to spot. 

• CERT Training Classes - Wildomar

   What is CERT ? 

 (hint, there is no "Retsyn")

• Community

• Emergency

• Response

• Team

 Click this link to read about Riverside County CERT

Click this link to get to Wildomar's CERT page

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It's a three day class, that is designed to prepare you to be

able to assist the community in the event of an emergency.

 Day one is on a Friday Evening

It's comprised of lecture/discussion with plenty of class participation.

 

PowerPoint presentation

Topics such as:

Various disasters that are possible, area vulnerability (from regionally all the way down to the room you're in —where's the fire extinguisher or the AED (automated external defibrillator) located?) Developing a disaster plan, removing dangers around the house, emergency food and water storage. Too many things to list... you'll learn when you attend. 

 The class for the first day/evening runs from 5:30pm to 8:30pm, though ours went long. I think the timing can vary depending on the amount of class participation (we had a lot, which was enjoyable, until the clock hit 8:35  —and I ran out of gas).  

I'm going to sleep now or be grouchy... you choose.

Remember to bring some bottled water...

even if it isn't Summer, it's good to stay hydrated.

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 Day Two

Getting our CERT backpacks

This backpack was full of goodies. A CERT vest, Helmet, goggles, pry bar, caution tape, LED flashlight, gloves and many other handy things. The cost of the bags were taken care of by federal grants.

Practice Drills
Proper use of a Fire Extinguisher

Michelle and Bobby Swann knocking down a raging fire!

START
Simple Triage And Rapid Treatment

Instructor Zuzzette Bricker holding the yellow portable stretcher
while Grace Morabito lies down with many injuries (just ask her).

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 Day Three 

Sunday morning started with more discussion... Yeah!

 Learning about Cribbing

NOT that kind of cribbing...

 We learned Box Cribbing 

 If you think life size "Jenga" you'll have a good picture in your mind.

 

Cribbing is a temporary framework used to support a fallen object that is trapping a person. We used 4"x 4"s to brace the object (the trailer ramp in this exercise), as it was being jacked up by a pry bar on a fulcrum, that was also being 'built' with 4"x 4"s.

 

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  Drill Baby Drill 

After breaking for lunch we came back to a disaster... a simulated earthquake. There were six victims that were in a dark room (though we didn't start with a head count). It was a rather large room, with "debris" everywhere. Though we all knew it was a drill, we did take it seriously and it was a bit nerve wracking putting our training to use. 

The 'victims' played their parts very well... between their 'acting' and the special effects make up they had on, it was nearly convincing. We were so caught up in it, I didn't take any pictures.

D'oh!

 

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In conclusion, I'm very happy I took the class,

and that my wife was able to also.

I'd highly recommend it.

It's true that CERT is designed for disasters where professional First Responders are in high demand, and can't get to the scene in the usual amount of time. CERT is also used for other things. Most recently CERT was activated during the search of David Soto (the special needs student that went missing). 

In addition to the info and training, it was a good opportunity to meet, and get to know, other members of the community. Though the odds of ever being pressed into service for a true catastrophic emergency are minimal, it's good to get a glimpse of what our first responders deal with on a recurring basis.

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The only thing that was difficult about this class, was that it took the entire weekend —and the Friday 5:30 start time.

I can see how this would ace out many that would otherwise like to participate. Perhaps they'll be able to tailor a future class that is four Saturday mornings, at five hours a clip, to get the requisite 20 hours in.

The next class is already scheduled for

February 21, 22 and 23, 2014

Sign up early... like now!

Click this link! 

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We have cool helmets and vests... and you don't.

• Spring Meadows Ranch

 

The Kazman Resigns.

I’ve been to three planning commission meetings and I haven’t heard Kenny Rogers’ double, Michael Kazmier, ever say a word. So, though his chair was empty tonight, I didn’t really notice a difference. 

Let’s hope his replacement is a little more vocal. 

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The big topic of the night was the proposed 

Spring Meadows Ranch 

development. 

Shapouri & Associates got up there and did their best imitation of the Twilight Zone episode One For The Angels where the old pitchman cheated death by selling him anything it took to keep his attention.

I was seriously dazzled by this guy... I'm just glad I left my wallet at home, he could have sold me anything... and I'd have gladly paid double.

That will be eleventy billion dollars please

The place has everything. In addition to the houses, there's the community center, a ball field, seven miles of trails, the neighborhood shopping area, 

and don't forget the 

equestrian center. 

The question of public services came up and the salesman… I mean spokesman was quick with:

“We have plenty of land. If we need a fire station or a school, we can do that, tell us what you need and we'll see what we can do.”

(My Dictaphone was broken, so you’ll just have to settle for my paraphrasing) 

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If that wasn’t enough to convince you, this will reel you in for sure.  He uttered the immortal, 

“I want The Farm residents to use our parks and amenities.”

Thankfully my inner dialog  volume control was functioning properly or everyone would have heard me guffaw like no other. This project is going to have homes that start at $350K to $400K and he thinks his new residents are going to welcome the humble folks from The Farm??? 

 Hardy Har Har! 

Some of my other favorite quotes of his included:

•“I’ll show you the detail… if we get that far.”

•“[For the egress and ingress] from Baxter it would be easier to tunnel”

•“[There’s a] tremendous amount of time to do this.”

•“I’m not saying, “Trust me,” I’m saying, “work with me.””

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There were six speakers from the public.

Ken Mayes:

He was talking about “Tried and Failed” approaches of the past, dating back to the railroad days.

Miss Miller:

I love this woman. She is pound for pound the most entertaining person I’ve seen give a dramatic performance at city meetings. Someone get her an Oscar already.

George Taylor:

Speaking as a private resident from the farm, he made it clear that he doesn’t want any part of the project… and he doesn’t want them using his roads. 

Rocky Jackson:

President of The Farm HOA, I found him to be pretty reasonable. He said “[I’m] not necessarily ‘against it’”, and even reached out saying he’s interested in working with the developer.

Sheryl Ade:

She was the hot sun that made the developer’s ice cream melt all over his hands. 

He went from a smile to a blank stare while she delivered point after point about the various times the same land had been suggested for previous projects that never got off the ground. 

Her quote of the night was, “You can’t afford this project… unless you want to lose money [speaking of the expensive infrastructure]. I’ve never met a developer that wants to lose money” 

Harv Dykstra:

Was asking about several neighboring developments that are nice, “Why isn’t that in Wildomar?” That he liked the basic idea of it, but the ingress and the egress issues need to be designed to benefit Wildomar first. The way things stand, most of the traffic would lead the residents into Murrieta or Menifee and that’s where many would end up with default shopping destinations.

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There were other issues concerning the project, but mostly the ingress and the egress issues. The place looks bigger than Windsong and there are currently only two proposed ways in or out… unless they sign a peace treaty with The Farm that is… but it was clear that the residents there aren’t overly keen on that... and I'm thinking the jest of the tunnel to Baxter was just that.

As for me, I take Harv's POV here. Why can't we have nice things in Wildomar? Sorry, but I don't want to look like Lakeland Village, and I'd like to live in such a development as this. It's not a question of whether it's "nice" or not. It's a question of logistics, and can it be done feasibly and will the infrastructure actually get put in, and not cost the rest of us a penny more than we already pay?

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The vote was 4-0 recommendation to the council.

In the end, the meeting was really only,

as the developer’s spokesman said, 

“The first step in a thousand mile journey.”

Sounds like one tedious trek he has in store for himself.

• Still Missing UPDATE

Still Missing   
FOUND 11-8-2013
Please click here to read more

Picture by Courtney Kemp

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Original Story

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ David Allen Soto, of Wildomar is still missing as of 11:30AM November 6, 2013. He was last seen at 8:00AM the day before (11-5-13) at Lake Elsinore High School. He is 18 years old, and is a special needs student.


Anyone with any information about this case should contact Lieutenant Zach Hall by calling 951-445-7951 or dispatch personnel by calling 951-776-1099.

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 Volunteers are canvassing the area, handing out flyers.

 

The search is still on, and you can volunteer your time

by checking in at the staging area behind the library. 

Staging area behind the Library in Wildomar.

Check in being manned by CERT and SERT (Community Emergency Response Team and Sheriff's Emergency Response Team)

• The Ken Mayes Effect

Quick review of the Ken Mayes citizen’s meeting about the parks.

First,  nine people showed up. 

There are reasons that city officials couldn’t be there, so I get that… and I also know that this wasn’t planned for weeks or months. 

Still, 

N I N E 

people?  

Before anyone chirps that was because it was suggested by the oft vaunted “Wildomar Three” let me remind everyone of  last week’s Great Day of Service, where a city of nearly 33,000 people, couldn’t muster 500 volunteers on a beautiful Autumn morning. [That is NOT to denigrate the effort and the work done by those that put in the hours (so don't think I'm suggesting otherwise)... just an indictment of those that were too disconnected {read: lazy} to even know it was happening.]

Let's face it, Wildomar is no different than the rest of SoCal… where people have no clue what’s going on in their community… and they seem as happy as a pig in foshizzle in their ignorant bliss, yet are front and center to complain.  

C’est la vie.

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The Nuts and Bolts of It

 

Like any meeting of it’s kind, it took a awhile for it to find its bearings. First it was a history lesson of sorts, which was fine for me since the info was new to me; I was the greenhorn of the bunch. There was a relative amount of order, but there were also times where two people were speaking at once… which is always delightful. 

I only have two ears and they usually work as a team

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Early on, I heard Ken jokingly refer to it as a Bitch Session... which is eerily similar to how one FaceBook user predicted it might end up being.

There were no “sides” here. It was nice to see how well people interact when they are in person and not behind a screen on the net. 

There were agreements among some, and disagreements 

among others as each idea was mentioned. 

Communication and Respect go a long way to push a community forward. We need more of it… and less of places like the local privy The Patch and it’s wretched comment section. Something about a keyboard and a display that can sour the nicest of people, not to mention those of us prone to be edgy in the first place.

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What I came away with is that there is a desire for Wildomar to have a 
• Parks Commission,  
• Parks Committee [of non elected people]
• Parks Workshops
• Regularly scheduled public meetings on the parks, where actual public input is welcomed, invited and wanted.

Seems fair enough. We all share in Wildomar, and it makes sense to push for making things in a way that reflects the majority of the residents here. In all things really, but especially the parks.

My only question was,

 “Sounds nice, but how realistic is it that there will ever be a Parks Commission, Committee, or Workshop?”

Seriously... what's the over/under on any of it coming to fruition?

 

I just hate “Happy Talk” where a lot of ideas get bandied about, then promptly swept under the rug. The only way such things will come about is if people care enough to push for it.

If there's a downside to such things, please elaborate.

I like learning.

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Oh, and do I have to say that The Ken Mayes Effect is a play on the video editing term called The Ken Burns Effect? Tell me you picked up on that one right away... M'kay? 

Ken's a good guy, and it's fun to play with words.