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WHAT DOES THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT DO?

    According to Richard Corneille, retired from the SBCWCD and president of the Water Board, at the Chamber of Commerce meeting on Tuesday, January 28, the District does not provide water; it comes from Northern California. The District’s job is to capture as much of the River and other sources such as the mountains, as possible and replenishes our water supplies underground. Its main intake is in the Wash just east of Garnet Street and also east of the aggregate mining by CEMEX, etc., which pay the District for doing so  The District is comprised of 50,000 acres, 70,000 acre feet of water, only 1,000 acre feet of which would supply one or two homes for a year. (Also, see brochure below)    

The SBCWCD purchased 25 acres of the former Lockheed property (now Seven W Enterprises) and its basins; in response to audience members’ questions he said the water quality is constantly monitored for toxins. Lockheed paid for cleanup for years, he stated. The District plans to keep the area in its present habitat and as a buffer, protecting several native animal and floral species (but not Mentone residents, he admitted in response to an audience member’s joke). The San Bernardino Municipal Water District is much larger, he explained.    The District also owns and rents a four-bedroom house to Steps4Life, which provides transitional housing for persons, from homeless to their own home, said Corneille. MM 

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Water-Conservation-Brochure

Water-Conservation-Brochure-IIDownload
Water-Conservation-Brochure-II

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Upcoming Events

Adopt a Highway: February 1 (this Saturday): meet at 7:30 at the Chamber of Commerce office/Noteworthy Realty, 1911 Mentone Boulevard. Everyone is welcome to clean up the Boulevard for a couple of hours. If you haven’t volunteered to do so before, CalTrans requires you to watch a short video, then head out to clean up. 

On February 6 at the Redlands Senior Center, 111 W. Lugonia at 9 a.m., the County Aging and Adult Services will hold their once-every-four-years event for years 2020-2024. Everyone is invited to attend and give input as to ideas of what Aging and Adult Services can do for seniors in Mentone. The County department will implement new programs or modify existing programs based on community input.  

The Senior Center at the Library will hold its Valentine’s Day pizza party on February 12 from 12-2.

The Chili Cookoff will be on June 13 this year, Mentone’s 123rd anniversary. Volunteers are invited to submit chili crockpots, as well as to coordinate the cookers, the parking or the vendors.  To volunteer, call the Chamber office at  909-362-7860. 

More on the successful First Annual Film Festival: 60-70 people attended most of the day at the Mill Creek Cattle Company, in the Diamond Jim’s Saloon. Mill Creek provided a popcorn machine, there were 20 entries and a red carpet with the Mill Creek insignia were features. One feature was a short film on the Zanja, which is accessible on Gazebo Gazette’s Facebook page. Awards were trophies and pictures.  The 2020 Second Annual Film Festival will be around November 6 for three days, starting with Thursday’s “Meet and Greet,” Friday night and all day Saturday, in a tent on the vacant land next to Hovey Tile (by the Chamber of Commerce sign). Mill Creek Cattle Company will host the Saturday Night red carpet event. More details will come later. 

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Mentone Film Festival 2020

Mentone held its First Annual Film Festival in November 2019. The Second Annual Film Festival will take place later this year. Here are some of the attendees. Click on the link/logo below to see information from the 2019 Festival. 

Mentone Film Festival

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MACA news

Rachel Chilly, Sheriff’s Department spokesperson: In December there were 12 arrests: 3 good felonies.  On December 30, there was a incident on the Boulevard at Chrysolite; a “man with a gun” = high priority for the Sheriff’s Department. There were several different versions, however. someone shot into the air but no one was hit, apparently [Ed.’s note: what goes up can come down and people have been shot a long ways away by gunshots up in the air]. Someone reported a suspicious person sitting in a car near a school, however, it turned out they were there legitimately. Audience members asked about mail theft: the Department says the problem is more prevalent during the holidays and tax season.  By 9 p.m., it is suggested, make sure your mailbox is emptied, lock gates, lock your cars, turn on lights, put everything away.  The U.S.P.S. has a program, called Informed Delivery, where they will e-mail you what they get for you. If you see someone stealing mail, take down the license number, get the make and model, a description of the vehicle they are driving and call the Sheriff. The Feds will prosecute large, documented cases, she said.  Early in the month people are stealing money to buy drugs; at the end of the month they are seeking to replace their benefits, which have run out. Audience members also talked about people driving while on their phones; the Sheriff will ask for more CHP enforcement. MACA will apply to have the Second Annual Film Festival like the one last Fall. Adopt a highway is the First Saturday of February, meeting 7:00-7:30 at the Chamber office/Noteworthy Realty, on the Boulevard. Lloyd White, a Beaumont City Council member and Republican, is running for Senator Morrell’s seat, which he is losing because of term limits. As for the “pot shop” on the Boulevard, it alleges a religious base so the Department is still working on it. Counsel for COMET (Community of Mentone Empowered Together”) spoke for a few minutes, bringing everyone up to speed as to the progress of the case against Redlands for forcing annexation in exchange for water and – where available – sewer services to new developments.  Counsel had filed a Motion for Injunction, which she explained is a document that is filed, opposed in writing and then a reply brief, then a hearing by Judge Donald Alvarez, the same judge who decided on the “Harmony Project” across the River.  The Motion sought several injunctions – orders prohibiting Redlands from demanding the annexations, enforcing the annexation agreements already signed, and several others.  The judge issued his decision later, denying the requested injunctions, which COMET’s counsel briefed to the Court of Appeal.  The Court denied COMET’s request to waive fees.  COMET’s counsel had also filed a Motion for Relief from the late filing of claims for damages to Redlands.  Defendants Redlands and LAFCO (Local Area Formation Commission) opposed and COMET replied.  The Judge also denied that Motion.  

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DRAIN THE SWAMP!

At the M.A.C.A. (Mentone Area Community Association) meeting last Tuesday, a representative of the County Public Health Department introduced the Aedes mosquito (see brochure below).  It is very small, she said, and can breed in very little water.  It lays its eggs on the sides of containers and the eggs can lie dormant for up to a year.  Very hot and cold weather affect it but it does well in temperate weather.  It has a 7-day life stage.  Only the females bite and they are attracted to heat, light and body odor – even if we can’t detect it!  She continued that it bites mostly between the knee and ankles and itches really bad; it feeds in stages, rather than all at once.  It also feeds in the daytime and can even come down the fireplace.  The Zika virus it carries can be transmitted to unborn babies, through transfusions and when people go out of the U.S. Symptoms are flu-like: fever, rash, pain; tests to detect it include blood and urine.  There is no vaccine or medication; victims have to ride it out.  It can also carry yellow fever and West Nile fever.  
To avoid having them breed in your yard, she said, get rid of all standing water: tires and saucers are their favorite, she said.  Changes pets’ water every three days. For some vessels, you can get granules to put in water; for ponds you can get free mosquito fish from the Department’s headquarters.  Bracelets made with DEET to repel the mosquitoes are also available. 

INTERESTED IN MENTONE HISTORY? On January 27, 2020, at 7 p.m. at the Contemporary Clubhouse, 173 S. Eureka, Redlands, Marie Reynolds, whose grandfather-in-law published the Mentone newspaper from the 1930s to 1943, will give a talk on Mentone history.  

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SB-County-Mosquito-Info

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AMERICAN PICKERS IS COMING TO MENTONE

American Pickers recently called the Mentone Chamber of Commerce. They are coming back to California in March, looking for participants again  this year and prefer individual homes this time: no businesses [Ed.’s note: sorry, Jim Lotito]. Call the Chamber at 909-362-7860 if you have interesting “stuff” for them to make an offer on.

They previously came to the Captain’s place on Garnet in Mentone (for non-locals, the home of Paul Bunyan and a giant rooster and acres of other stuff); it aired on October 24, 2017 as episode “Bachelor Park (Season 18)” on YouTube, if you wish to watch it again.

Note that it was erroneously designated as being located as being in “Napa Valley” – obviously a more “attractive” location than the Southern California desert.

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M.A.C.A. VP PASSES

Richard Orbaker, vice president of MACA and active in the Mentone Chamber, of Commerce passed away on October 18, 2019.  Rich was responsible for raising the money for and supervising the placing the red metal weather-proof “Welcome to Mentone” signs at the entrances to Mentone, two of which you readily see next to the Chamber of Commerce sign on the Boulevard, next to the Chamber’s sign; and on the corner of Wabash and San Bernardino Avenue. MM believes that Rich was working on a third sign, to the east of Mentone, at the time he died.
Please enjoy this loving tribute written by his wife, Jan, presented to MM at the celebration of Rich’s life on November 9, 2019, at their farm in Greenspot across the River:
“On October 18, 2019, this community lost one of its most enthusiastic supporters, Rich Orbaker, Vice President of MACA.
“A resident of the Greenspot area of Mentone since 1976, Rich was a small business owner. Redlands Pet Store (most recently of Mentone) was dedicated to good health and nutrition for all kinds of animals. It will continue, but customers will miss his caring manner and vast knowledge of feeds and supplies.
“Owners of numerous cats, dogs and horses, Rich and his wife built and operated their own farm, very involved in showing, training and selling show horses.
“Rich was an avid supporter of Mentone Chamber of Commerce and felt it was the base for Mentone’s future, independent of Redlands.
“Rich moved to California from Arizona in the early 60s, where he attended Arizona State University.
“He founded the ‘Checkmates’ car club and established a drag strip to keep young car owners from racing on the streets, was a music promoter and agent for singer Linda Ronstadt. One of his high school classmates was the late John Denver, with whom he continued to correspond.
“Rich is survived by his wife, Jan, and his son, Kevin and Kevin’s family.
“The next time you enter Mentone, either from Mentone Boulevard or San Bernardino Avenue, and see the wonderful ‘Welcome to Mentone’ signs, say a quick ‘thanks’ to Rich. They were his prized project, for which Senator Mike Morrell awarded him a Good Citizenship Declaration.
“Happy trails and good fishin, Rich. We’ll miss you.”
M.A.C.A. stands for Mentone Area Community Association, which meets in the Diamond Jim Saloon behind the Mill Creek Cattle Company Restaurant at 7 p.m. on the Second Tuesday of each month. Mentone residents and those interested in Mentone are most welcome to come and hear what’s going on in and about Mentone.