Lucerne Valley Leader

By KRIS REILLY, Editor

The Lucerne Valley High School football team lost 24-20 to Viewpoint last Friday despite 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.

The Mustangs are now on 0-2 on the season heading into this Friday’s Homecoming Game against Animo Leadership.

The Mustangs fell behind 24-0 against Viewpoint last week and couldn’t quite complete the comeback.

“We came out really flat, with not enough energy, and by the time we figured it out it was too late,” Lucerne Valley coach Chris Klinger said.

By KRIS REILLY, Editor

LUCERNE VALLEY • The Bureau of Land Management last week announced its intention to block settlement, sale or mining claims on 332,000 acres of public land for the next five years while the Marine Corps examines a plan to expand its Twentynine Palms base.

School funding could decrease next year if attendance doesn’t pick up

By KRIS REILLY, Editor

LUCERNE VALLEY • Enrollment at local schools has been lower than expected so far this year, which could lead to a decrease in funding for a district that is already strapped for cash.

School needs about $6,000 to send students to Big Bear

FROM STAFF REPORTS

An annual tradition for Lucerne Valley Elementary School students is in jeopardy because of a lack of funding.

Mary Eller, a teacher at LVES, said the school is about $6,000 short of the money it needs to send its fifth-graders to High Trails Outdoor Science School in Big Bear.

Eller said that the funds collected from the community have been much lower than last year, and with the event scheduled for Oct. 4-8, she’s getting worried that the trip might not happen.

Ramos used Yablonsky’s photo in campaign flier

By TOMOYA SHIMURA, Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO • A Lucerne Valley murder defendant is suing San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos, claiming Ramos tainted the potential jury pool by printing the defendant’s photo in election campaign fliers.

Ramos mailed a flier to registered voters within the county during his re-election campaign in May, according to the lawsuit filed by John Henry Yablonsky.

By KRIS REILLY, Editor

LUCERNE VALLEY • Erwin Fogerson faced a tough crowd last Wednesday night.
Fogerson spoke to roughly 40 local residents at the Lucerne Valley Community Center for a discussion of the condition of the roads on the eastern side of town. Fogerson, a Public Works Operations Manager for San Bernardino County, wasn’t able to tell them what they wanted to hear.

NOTE: This guest commentary from the Lucerne Valley Economic Development Association provides updates on various issues facing Lucerne Valley. Visit lvcal.org/lveda.htm for more on these issues.

By CHUCK BELL, LVEDA Chair

By KRIS REILLY, Editor

There are a handful of athletic championship banners hanging in the Lucerne Valley High School gym, and more than half of them belong to the Mustangs’ girls volleyball team.

The Mustangs own eight volleyball league titles, including an astounding seven straight Desert Mountain league crowns from 2003 through 2009.

The task of carrying on that tradition will fall upon a young group of players and a brand new head coach.

By KRIS REILLY, Editor

There haven’t been too many victories for the Lucerne Valley High School football team in recent years, but simply having a football program can be considered a mark in the win column.

Athletic programs were on a list of possible budget cuts for the Lucerne Valley Unified School District earlier this year. When the district’s proposed bond measure failed in the June election while a cost-cutting labor agreement was still being negotiated, the district looked at saving transportation costs by slashing sports.

County says it won’t fix damaged thoroughfare

BY KRIS REILLY, Editor

LUCERNE VALLEY • Recent flash flooding has left a section of Foothill Road nearly impassable — and left the residents wondering whose job it is to fix it.

The one-mile stretch of dirt road running east-west between Midway and Lincoln is now a treacherous obstacle course of gaping ruts and soft sand. In some places, the depressions reach depths of more than three feet. In other places, a pedestrian may sink up to his ankles in sand.