Off the I-15

As I wandered around the Sportspark during the Fourth of July event, I remembered the poll question that circulated the newsroom on Tuesday night and thought it would be interesting to pose it to a few people at the event. Here’s what they had to say.

What’s your favorite American icon?

Tim Silva: Abraham Lincoln.Why: He was honest and stayed with his vision when the country was split.

Terri Peralta: The troops.

Why? Because of “what they do for us to keep us safe and free.”

John Rader: The bald eagle.

Why? It represents freedom.

Jeanette Hayhurst: The American flag.

Why: “It represents this country through and through. Men and women have died for that flag.”

What do you think best represents what America stands for?

— Stevie St. John

A question posed to the Desert Dispatch newsroom: What is your favorite American icon?

David Heldreth: The bald eagle.
Why? “I like animals.”

Matthew Peters: The 1980 Gold Medal United States Hockey Team, aka “The Miracle on Ice.”
Why? “They beat the Soviets, and plus, it was a cool movie.”

Stevie St. John: The First Amendment, which is often displayed in newspaper offices.
Why? One of her favorite quotations is from Voltaire: “I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech and religion, Stevie said, and that’s “the key to what makes America great.”

Jason Smith: Apple pie.
Why? “It’s the icon you can eat.”

Aaron Aupperlee: The Statue of Liberty
Why: When Aaron was a child, he used to don his green foam Statue of Liberty hat, the one with the spikes and stuff, wad up a newspaper into a torch shape, stand on top of things and say, “I am the statue of wiberwee.”

What’s your favorite American icon?

Feeling a little hot? Check out this cool video about Kar Ice, the High Desert’s largest ice manufacturer.

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Then check out the story at www.desertdispatch.com

Last week a story from the Associated Press noted that two alligators (or possibly crocodiles) turned up in a Pennsylvania creek. My later efforts to track down more information led me to some Web sites claiming it was a lake, but the AP story definitely said “creek.” How does a huge reptile hide in such a small body of water?

I shared the story of the reptilian invasion with whoever was listening in the newsroom, and Aaron Aupperlee noted that those creatures were “way lost” and in a much worse situation than, for example, the whales that ended up navigating a freshwater strait in an accidental detour en route to the Pacific Ocean.

As someone who’s prone to getting lost — whether on remote desert roads or in the Hollywood Hills — I sympathize with these wayward animals. At least my main worry on such a journey is making it to the next gas station to fuel up and get directions. What must it be like to get lost among creatures of another species, like the bear who wandered into a health clinic? It must be the equivalent of me aimlessly trying to find the way out of a rain forest.

Naturally all these lost animal escapades reminded me of an ongoing story that drew a lot of interest, the tale of Reggie, the ’gator so sly he spent about two years in a California lake and eluded some serious organized efforts to get him out of there. As day-after-day of stories ran about experts trying and failing to trap the beast, Reggie stirred up not just interest but enthusiasm. How could an alligator give experts the slip for so long when they knew what lake his former owner had dumped him in? Why could he be spotted (by eager lake watchers) but not caught? With this mysterious elusive power, Reggie gained a status akin to that of a superhero. Maybe he fought crime and rescued bottom-dwellers in distress deep down at the bottom of Lake Machado. Maybe one of his fans should knit him a cape embroidered with an “R.”

But Reggie, like any other pop culture phenomenon, faded from news reports once his extended live show concluded. What happened to Reggie?

As with any offbeat query, I looked to the Internet. Several reports noted Reggie went of to the Los Angeles Zoo, but none of the stories were recent.

So I checked in with Roxanne Lane, a zoo spokesperson.
Yes, she said, Reggie is still there. He’s quarantined right now undergoing exams to make sure he’s healthy. There was an exciting benchmark passed on June 29, when Reggie devoured his first meal — quail — since arriving at the zoo in late May. Previously, he refused the offered food. That doesn’t indicate a problem, though; Lane said long stretches between meals are normal for alligators. Testing confirmed that the 111-pound, 7 1/2-foot-long Reggie is male, Lane said.

Soon, Reggie will make his zoo debut. Lane said the exact date Reggie will go on display hasn’t yet been announced.

— Stevie St. John, City Editor

You may have noticed it on a return trip from Las Vegas; the giant riverboat in the middle of the desert has closed.

One of the two casinos, Nevada Landing, in Jean, Nev., a welcome break from the desert vistas dominating the desolate northbound burn up the I-15 to Vegas, shut its doors in April to make way for a new housing development, said Yvette Monet, a spokeswoman with MGM Mirage, the company that owns the property.

“It’s good news,” Monet said. “It’s all good at Nevada Landing.”

Plans for the property currently include a residential development and a new hotel and casino on Nevada Landing’s side of the I-15. Monet said the development is still in the planning stages.

In the meantime, the Landing’s nearly 300 employees were offered the opportunity to transfer across the street to the neighboring Gold Strike Casino or to other MGM-owned properties in the area.

A facelift for the Gold Strike is also in the works. An additional 100 gaming machines will be added to the Gold Strike’s floor and renovations to its 800 rooms. Gold Strike will receive more than 100 additional gaming machines to supplement its existing casino operations. Gold Strike is also currently in the midst of a renovation of the property’s more than 800 guest rooms.

New judge, same ol’ name

Overheard in court today: “Do you realize here the judges are John, John and Steve, Steve?”
— Judge John Vander Feer to Judge John Gibson

When Judge Steve Malone swore in Judge Steve Mapes, he joined the Barstow-bench squad of two Johns — Judge John Gibson, Judge John Vander Feer — and now two Steves — Judge Steve Malone and Judge Steve Mapes.

Read more about Judge Mapes at www.desertdispatch.com

The newspaper-guy ride-along

Perhaps criminals in the Barstow area get wind that a reporter will be riding along with a sheriff’s deputy or police officer? Perhaps criminals know that I always carry a pen, pad and camera in tow? Perhaps the sheriff’s department and police department should start paying me to ride along and keep crime down.After three ride-alongs — two with Barstow PD officers and one last Friday with a sheriff’s deputy — and a meager amount of arrests or “real action,” I have decided that I am one of the best deterrents to crime in this city. It’s a trend — yes — whenever I ride along nothing happens.

My Friday night out with the sheriff’s department did not net any drug busts, no firework confiscations, not even a copper wire theft. Deputy Himes and I did assist in the servicing of a handful of warrants, made a few traffic stops, checked out a potential burglary at the Yermo school and told a man in the Harvard area of Newberry Springs to stop showing his kids science experiments a muriatic acid. Still not sure what muriatic acid is, just know you shouldn’t play with it.

A lieutenant at the sheriff’s department told me not to get down on myself, that sometimes it is just a slow night, and invited me back out sometime. A CHP officer said ride-alongs normally go like that, the unit with a passenger gets no calls while the rest of the area is swamped. I have a ride-along with the CHP coming up soon. We’ll see how that goes.

In the meantime, I am contracting myself out as a crime stopper, take me along and the criminals stay away. It only seems fitting, a news guy who has a secret identity as a crime fighter, sort of like Spider-Man.