Community news
Pictured: Natalie Perez (right), one of the recipients of a Caltrans scholarship./
Caltrans awards scholarships
Deborah Lowgren, EEO Officer for Caltrans District 9 and chair of the District 9 Scholarship Committee announced the award of six scholarships to local area high school seniors. The 2012 Scholarship Committee raised $2,850 to be awarded to high school students planning on attending a college or trade school. The California Transportation Foundation matched the money raised by the District 9 Scholarship Committee with another $950 for a grand total of $3,800 to be given away.
Recipients of the Caltrans Scholarships are:
Andrew Wilkensen, Lone Pine High
Tyler Amisone, Big Pine High School
Michael Butner, Bishop Union High
Natalie Perez, Palisade Glacier High
Patrick Elliot, Bishop Union High
Robert Escallier, Mammoth High
Tip-A-Cop fundraiser
Members of Mammoth’s finest, the Police Department, will serve up a 3-course dinner at Rafter’s Restaurant, located at 202 Old Mammoth Rd., on Monday, July 2. Proceeds benefit the Youth Football League and the Mammoth Lakes Women’s Club.
The event also includes music by Mountain Mojo, and raffles prizes throughout the evening, including free rounds of mini-golf.
Starting at 5 p.m., the ticket proce of $35 includes choice of soup or salad, entrée and dessert. Reservations suggested; call 760.934.9431. Luxury SUV taxi service to and/or from the event for $5 per person/trip with all proceeds benefitting the event. Call Kelly at 530.680.4544 or email dinnershuttle@yahoo.com.
Sobriety checkpoint
“The California Highway Patrol will conduct a bi-lateral sobriety checkpoint with the Bishop Police Department on Saturday, June 30, on U.S. 395 at the southern city limits of Bishop,” announced Captain Andria Witmer, Bishop Area Commander on Tuesday.
The checkpoint will be operated from approximately 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., and will be staffed by CHP and Bishop Police Officers who are trained in the detection of alcohol and/or drug impaired drivers. CHP Drug Recognition Experts, certified by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will be on site to provide on-the-spot assessments of drivers suspected of drug use. The officers will be equipped with state of the art hand-held breath testing devices that provide an accurate measure of blood alcohol concentrations of suspected drunk drivers.
Traffic volume permitting, all vehicles will be checked and drivers who are under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs can expect to be arrested.
Coleville High Water Project
The Coleville High School Water Project, which is being jointly funded by the California Department of Water Resources (CA DWR), the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the Eastern Sierra Unified School District, recently broke ground on the school campus in Coleville, Calif. CA DWR and CDPH funding comes from Proposition 84 bonds, which were approved by voters in 2006 to support water supply, water quality, and natural resource protection. More specifically, the CA DWR funding was provided through the Inyo-Mono Integrated Regional Water Management Program (IRWMP), which has been working to secure funding for water projects in the region since 2008. In 2011, the Inyo-Mono IRWMP was awarded a grant of $1,075,000 to fund seven, on-the-ground projects that support improvements in water supply and water quality in Inyo and Mono counties.
The objectives of the Coleville High School Water Project are: (1) to remove uranium, which currently exceeds the State drinking water standard, and (2) to provide storage capacity for both the school and local emergency fire protection needs. An ion exchange unit will be used to remove the uranium. Three 6,800-gallon storage tanks will be installed (one for raw water; two for treated water) and will provide the campus with a minimum of four days of potable water. This water will also be available for fire protection via two new fire hydrants.
Work on the project began in early June. It is expected that the project will be near completion by fall.
