Off the I-15

We almost came to blows, it almost turned violent, and we had to impose a City Council-style time limit on speaking, but the newsroom at the Desert Dispatch was able to agree on the top five local stories of 2007.

1) Personnel changes at the Barstow Police Department

There were stories about leadership changes at the Barstow Police Department, officers leaving the department and new ones coming on, and so we had to lump changes at the police department into one category, and it was an obvious choice for the most important story of 2007. When four officers resigned in April, it was only the beginning of months of concerns, questions and changes to hammer the department. The ship appeared righted again when Chief Dianne Burns took over in July.

Under Burns, the department has filled out its ranks, brought back the rank of corporal, the street impact team and created other task forces as incentives to stay on the force and cracked down on property theft in the area. Officers in the department say they enjoy coming to work more now, more arrests and responses by the police litter the daily action logs, and people in the community are noticing the impact.

2) City terminates City Manager contract

Tensions within the city’s leadership began to brew in July when members of the council, led by Mayor Lawrence Dale, decided to ditch a contract with HDR to build a new wastewater plant and pushed for a deal with the yearling MicroMedia. On the council, the move pitted the Mayor against Council members Joe Gomez and Steve Curran.

But after the council voted to terminate City Manager Hector Rodriguez’s contract in July, it appeared the fissures went deeper. At the time, no reason was given for the departure, but a four-sentence press release from the city said the separation was agreed to mutually.

Later, a memo surfaced which indicated Rodriguez left after disagreements with the City Council over the bidding process for the wastewater treatment facility.

“The Mayor told me that the Council’s direction to me in this matter had been to write a (Request for Proposals) that would result in a contract award to Micromedia by effectively eliminating other potential bidders,” Rodriguez wrote in the memo.

“(T)his was in direct contradiction of Council’s direction to me. As city manager, it is my charge to carry out the direction of the Council majority. For me to do otherwise would be both illegal and unethical … Council’s direction to me was to administer an open Request For Proposals process, the ultimate outcome of which is unknown at this time.”

Judging from letters to the editor and comments on the Web site, Rodriguez’s departure and the on-going scrutiny of the Mayor’s actions could throw public support away from Barstow’s popular leader, who is up for re-election in 2008. More on that next year.

3) Casino compacts fail in state legislature

Is it dead yet? If you asked yourself this question regarding the casino project in Barstow this past year, you weren’t alone. For years, everyone one from the Mayor to greeters at Wal-Mart have talked about the casino buzz. In 2006, plans to build a dual-tribe casino in Barstow took shape but failed by year’s end. In 2007, we saw a repeat, but this time with potentially fatal consequences.

When the compacts expired in September after failing to move out of the state senate, the leadership of both tribes were unsure what the next step would be. The Big Lagoon Rancheria from Humbolt County said it might still consider Barstow, but after 10 years of fighting for a casino, it also might abandoned off-reservation hopes and begin construction on its ecologically sensitive reservation. To add further doubt, documents later surfaced that showing a possible split between the other tribe, the Los Coyotes, and developer BarWest.

“The tribe is in the process of starting over and will attempt to open discussions with the Governor’s office to obtain a new gaming compact. As part of this new beginning and at least for the time being, the tribe will disengage from LCB BarWest LLC,” the letter stated.

4) President George Bush visits Fort Irwin

After all, he is the president. Bush’s visit to Fort Irwin and the National Training Center in April highlighted the importance of the work the soldiers and staff do at the desert post. Isolated from Barstow by 35 miles, Fort Irwin’s high tech and critical training programs were shown on the national stage when the commander in chief stopped by for a visit.

For the soldiers at Fort Irwin, many of whom have recently fought in Iraq of Afghanistan, meeting the president was an experience they will not soon forget. During lunch, the president made an effort to speak with as many soldiers as possible, and several remarked that he was a down-to-Earth guy who really cared about them. In his speech, the president said Fort Irwin will have a lasting impact on the world.

“The work that you have volunteered to do will have a lasting impact on the world in which we live. When we succeed at helping this Iraqi government become a country that can sustain itself, defend itself, govern itself and serve as an ally in the war on terror, we will have delivered a significant blow to those who may have designs on harming American people.”

5) Raquel Beezley named Miss California

Maybe someone forgot to carry the one, but in December, Barstow learned that their very own Raquel Beezley, a former Miss Barstow, was named Miss California.

She won the title after an accounting mistake was discovered in the state-wide competition results. Christina Silva, from Los Angeles, relinquished the title and days later Beezley was wearing the state’s sash and tiara. The local waitress showed grace and poise in accepting the title.

“I didn’t want it to happen this way,” she said. “But then again, I worked so hard for it … She (Silva) was so sincere, full of congratulations. You can’t help but feel sympathy towards her.”

So in April, Barstow and the nation will be watching as Beezley struts her stuff in competition for Miss USA in Las Vegas. You might say the High Desert gal has home field advantage.

- Aaron Aupperlee | City Editor