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Serving the Colorado River Desert Basin of California and Arizona and the City of Blythe


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The Desert Independent
Blythe, California

Publisher
Howard Markle

(Temporary E-mail)
desertinde-bob@yahoo.com

Reporting/Editorials
Bob Jensen
desertinde-bob@yahoo.com

Editor/Webmaster
Robert Winkler
desertinde-bob@yahoo.com






 

                                       

THE DESERT INDEPENDENT: BLYTHE, CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY NEWS

Monday, May 12, 2008


News and Opinion


School Board Meeting Notes

By Robert E. Jensen
The Desert Independent

BLYTHE, Calif – Activity prior to Tuesday’s School Board meeting began with the picnic and rally for the California School Employee’s Association held in the park for two hours. Very scary people there – janitors, secretaries, nurses, teacher’s aides, groundsmen, maintenance, bus drivers – all bringing their families, scarfing down hot dogs and hamburgers and making plans for making an assertive entrance to the regularly scheduled board meeting at 6:00 PM. More


Elk River & Blythe Parallels

Assembled from A Variety of Sources

The Palo Verde Unified School District appears to be saddled with the same problems today that affected the Elk River (MN) School District prior to 2005. Hindsight is always better than foresight, but perhaps if the recruiting members of the Board of Trustees would have done a little research prior to inflicting the current Supt. on us, thing may have been different. As is, things are now a mess. What parallels can be drawn?

Let’s see…

In Elk River (ER), the Supt. bankrupted the district by “balancing” the books by predicting a 6.5 percentage growth in ADA when it was actually less than 2%. The next year, the district needed to hire 25 more teachers but could not pay for them as the District was strapped paying back the State of Minnesota for this “mistake”.

In PVUSD, the Supt. intentionally brought us to the brink of bankruptcy to portray to the State that we were a “needy” district that ought to have the new Appleby entirely funded by the State. More than 50 positions have had to be cut because this smooth move in conjunction with the UberGovernator’s cuts. More


Letters to the Editor



If you have something to say and want it printed, just Email us. You can have your name in or we can keep it out (of course we need to verify the writer).


Layoffs and Travel Expenses

PVUSD Sheds Staff

Assembled from A Variety of Sources

At last count, the Palo Verde Unified School District has shed a lot of staff - unofficially, it's three administrative positions, 15 teachers and 37 classified employees. All explained, of course, by the Governor's budget cuts. However, one wonders how many of these positions could have been spared the axe if this district didn't have to travel so far afield to find replacement staff? One wonders how much it cost the district in hotels, meals, mileage, plane fare and even aviation fuel for the Supt.'s own plane(s)? How much did it cost to "recruit" in Spain, Minnesota, Michigan, Baltimore, North Carolina and Salt Lake City? How can a citizen find out? More


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9721 E. Hobsonway
Blythe, CA

760-922-5033


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General Auto Repair
9010 E. Hobsonway
Blythe, CA

760-922-0524


 

Announcements


Go Green!
Recycle Your Old Car!

Now is a good time to “Go Green” and recycle your old car by donating it to Cars4Charities. You can complete the entire donation process online 24/7 at www.cars4charities.org. In addition to being convenient, the online option is better for the environment since it reduces the use of paper and other consumables. Donated cars that need significant repair are completely recycled. Others are sold for repair and reuse.

Cars4Charities handles the entire donation process and can have your car picked up in a matter of days, free of charge. The proceeds from your car will be used to help one of over 1,000 charities, including Prevent Cancer, Autism Speaks, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and area food banks, homeless shelters, etc.

In addition to helping a very needy charity, you will be eligible for a tax deduction of up to $500 or what your car is sold for, whichever is greater.

Complete details are available at www.cars4charities.org or 1-866-448-3487 (GIVE-4-US).


Tee Up Fore Kids

The southern California office of California Police Youth Charities “Cops for Kids” is proud to announce the first annual “Tee Up Fore Kids” celebrity golf tournament. The festivities will kick off with a paring party and dinner on Saturday night May 31 at the California Palms restaurant in Hemet. This event will include a live and silent auction, live entertainment, plus a meet and greet with all the celebrities. If you are already signed up as a golfer this event is included in the green fees. Public is more than welcome to participate, the ticket price at the door is $20.00. The golf tournament itself will take place on June 1 at the Golden Era Golf Course at 1981 Gillman Springs in San Jacinto. This will be a fun filled event with many contests and prizes. There will be a shot gun start for all golfers with lunch on the links and a lovely dinner and ceremony at the conclusion that will include a wine tasting from local wineries. Guests are also welcome. More


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