TOY DRIVE UPDATES
• The Homestead Valley Community Associations’ Toy Drive to benefit Mara’s Christmas Wish in Yucca Valley is off to a good start! Even on short notice, the toy collection began last Monday at the HVCC meeting in Flamingo Heights!
You may bring your unwrapped toys for kids of all ages to a Community Center near you – at your most convenient time!
Thanks in advance for participating!
–Dec 3: Johnson Valley Community Center, at the Dinner/Meeting, 5:00 pm.
–Also Dec. 3: JVIA Craft Fair, 2:00-5:00 p.m.
–Also Dec 3, 10, and 17: JV Saturday Breakfasts, 7:30-10:30 a.m.
From Hwy 247, turn onto Larrea Rd (paved) at the big red Johnson Valley sign, go 1-3/4 miles up Larrea to the Center on the corner, 50567 Quailbush Rd.
–Dec 10: Yucca Mesa Community Center, at the afternoon Reboot Rally
3133 Balsa Ave. just off Aberdeen Ave.
–Dec 10: Landers Belfield Hall, at the Second Saturday Craft Fair 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m
58380 Reche Rd. a short drive past the Post Office
–Dec 17: Belfield Hall, at the Landers Community Meeting, 3:00.
-Also Fridays & Saturdays now through Dec 17, at the Landers Thrift Store in Belfield Hall, 10:00-3:00 p.m.
P.S. Correction! 😮The info here last week describing the Christmas event is out of date!
We are told, “We are providing toys and a family gift bag with resources and a grocery gift card to help with their holiday dinner needs via a drive-thru event.”
Folks drive through and are handed the toys and gift bags. They do not have a congregate get-together anymore.
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INTEGRATRON & RURAL LIVING
• The Homestead Valley Community Council meeting in Flamingo Heights heard about yet another application for a permit to build a permanent commercial “campsite” in a County Rural Living Zone.
We think the proposed “Glamping” commercial project just south of Flamingo Heights in an RL Zone is outrageous.
This new proposal for a 2.5-acre parcel plans to build:
-six geodesic domes 24′ in diameter, each with decks and hot tubs;
-plus a communal dome 36′ in diameter,
-a utility building,
-an outside activity area with horseshoe pits, a pool, and a bocce court.
All on the western edge of Landers within sight of the iconic Integratron.
This spruce wood building with its wooden dome marks the jumping-off place into the wild approach to the fabled Giant Rock. Their histories were interwoven in the mid-twentieth-century conventions of UFO enthusiasts.
Adjacent to the site of the pioneer Reche homestead, the proposed “campsite” lies just north.
(Does this proliferation of dome shapes feel like a parody of the Integratron itself? Piggybacking on the world-famous image by an unscrupulous developer? Newcomers will surely draw a conclusion they are associated, when they are not.)
Besides the noise, lighting, traffic, and dust from this undesirable development, its intrusion on the open views and wildlife corridor around the Integratron, cannot be disguised.
Neither can its conflict with County Land Use Services’ allowable development:
“Zoning Desc: Homestead Valley/Rural Living
“Assess Class: SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL”
Six domes plus a bigger dome on 2.5 acres? Don’t think it qualifies.
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BIG SATURDAY IN JV
• Big day coming up at the JV Community Center as mentioned above: Saturday, December 3rd.
The Saturday Breakfast, 7:30-10:30 a.m. starts your day off right.
Shop the JVIA Craft Fair, 2:00-5:00 p.m. to find unique hand-crafted gifts. (Vendors, contact Michelle, 714-329-2027, or e-mail mzumstein14@gmail.com. Setup begins at 1:00 p.m.)
Holiday Dinner, 5:00 p.m. Delicious feast of ham, potatoes, green beans, creamed corn, plus dessert. 10:00 per person; Kids Plate 12 and under, 5.00.
General Meeting and AED lifesaving demo after!
Remember, everyone is welcome to every event at the JV Community Center. Bring your family and guests!
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JV NOTARY
Mark and Cynthia Black report they are the first customers for the new notary service offered by Legacy Leineweber at Wheeler’s Ship-It-Shop, announced last week.
The Blacks sent a review:
“She was professional and so accommodating.
“Thank you for letting us know about her services!”
Call Legacy at the Ship-It-Shop at 760-364-3392, or call/text 760-364-0898 to set up an appointment.
The Ship-It-Shop faces Hwy 247 at 51720 Hacienda Rd. I feel silly telling you this, you can’t miss it. Before I moved to JV, back in the dark ages of dial-up internet, I was advised to check out the Ship-It-Shop to reconnect with the business world via delivery services and fax as well as personal mailboxes. While talking to Joyce Wheeler (who soon became a friend), a man comes into the lobby and tells me he’s looking for the Johnson Valley business district. I told him, I think you just found it. I was right.
And Lee Blakely and Justin and Legacy Leineweber carry on the service tradition.
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ROAD CLOSURES on Route 66
• In case you’re headed out for some desert exploration this weekend, some sections of Route 66 remain closed due to horrific road washouts sustained during recent flash flooding.
However, the route between Chambless and Amboy remains open. Otherwise, the following closures are in effect:
• Both directions are closed on National Trails Highway from Amboy Road to Main Street (off I-40 in Ludlow) due to bridge repairs.
• Both directions on National Trails Highway are closed between Chambless and multiple bridges. This closure continues until the highway rejoins I-40 at Mountain Springs Summit.
• Both directions closed on Essex Road due to damage to multiple bridges.
• Both directions closed on Goffs Road due to damage to multiple bridges.
According to Supervisor Dawn Rowe’s report, County Public Works has not given an estimate yet when repairs will be completed, and these roads can be reopened. Travelers to Amboy and Chambless can use Kelbaker Road in Saltus as an alternate to Route 66 closures.
Find the areas affected on the map at https://dpw.sbcounty.gov/operations/road-closures/
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CAMPFIRES & TARGET PRACTICE
• The Bureau of Land Management California Desert District has lifted seasonal fire restrictions to allow campfires and target shooting on its public lands in San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Imperial, southern Inyo, eastern Mono, San Diego, and eastern Kern counties.
Remember:
- Always have a five-foot circle cleared around your campfire.
• Always have a shovel and plenty of water on hand and put your campfire dead out before leaving.
• Never use steel targets, steel jacketed, or steel core ammunition for recreational shooting as they are more likely to cause a fire.
• Always park vehicles away from areas where exhaust could cause grass or other combustibles to ignite.
An interactive map and list of fire restrictions throughout BLM California, are available at https://go.usa.gov/xmUEG.
For alternative recreational target-shooting locations visit www.wheretoshoot.org.
Find additional wildfire information on CAL FIRE’s website at http://www.readyforwildfire.org/One-Less-Spark-Campaign/.
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FREQUENTLY ANSWERED QUESTIONS
To new readers: this JV NEWS e-mail goe out every week or two, expanding on items published in the neighborhood column in the Hi-Desert Star. Notices of particular interest to Johnson Valley residents and property owners also circulate to this list.
If you do not wish to receive this information, just reply and tell me to remove your name.
JVIA ADDRESS & DIRECTIONS:
The mailing address is:
JVIA
50567A Quailbush Rd.
Johnson Valley CA 92285
Directions to the Community Center:
From Hwy 247, between mile markers 21 and 22, turn onto Larrea Road and go 1-3/4 miles to Quailbush Rd.
The Community Center is on your left at the corner.
The Paul Van Hook Desert Dreams Garden is next to the parking lot, open to all.
No charge; just keep the dog on the leash and kids out of the train layouts – THANKS
You can pick up your JVIA membership application in the Community Center at the Saturday Breakfast between 7:30 and 10:30 a.m. or when you come to a First Saturday Dinner.
Or, pay your 15.00 annual dues by secure credit card on www.johnsonvalley.com and download your membership form to fill out and mail to us.
(Former members: you should have received a membership application in the mail.)
Dues are due on January 30, 2023, but we appreciate your early signup, so the paperwork won’t all come in during the holiday season.
Thank you to all who have added a donation to their dues, now Member Sponsors for 2023.
Very much appreciated!!!
Best wishes to all for Thanksgiving Day. Just look out at our million-dollar view and be thankful for Johnson Valley!
Have a great weekend!
Keep smilin’
Betty
Betty Munson
c/o Ship-It-Shop
51720 Hacienda Rd.
Johnson Valley CA 92285