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

In 2005, I spent Christmas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

The city was mostly empty around Christmas in 2005. I felt like the only guest in my hotel just up the street from Manger Square. I finished up last-minute Christmas shopping in some of the city’s shops and waited in no lines. Every shop owner I talked that Christmas told me they were expecting more tourists than the last year but still begged me to buy an olive wood nativity set or a Bethlehem 2000 scarf.

Bethlehem 2000 merchandise was everywhere in the city, in 2005. Shop owners thought tourists would flood the city on the first Christmas of the new millennium and brought a surplus of gifts in anticipation. However fighting sparked up between the Israelis and Palestinians that year, and no one came.

On the morning of Christmas Eve, I accepted an invitation by a member of the Hamas-led Bethlehem City Council to ride with him in the annual Christmas parade. I was told to wear blue, a color sympathetic to local militants, as protection just in case something happen.
That morning, we met at the Israeli security barrier, the wall surrounding Bethlehem, and waited for the Catholic Patriarch from Jerusalem to arrive to lead the procession. He was delayed at the checkpoint, a problem with his identification and credentials. Marchers, many of them Muslim, as most of the resident Christian population has fled the city, sang religious Christmas carols, some in English, some in Arabic. During the parade, loud bangs, gunshots perhaps, sounded causing everyone to tense up, but then fireworks appeared in the sky above.

As we wound toward Manger Square, masses of people lined the streets. When we got to the Church of the Nativity, several people broke out guitars, a circle formed. We sang and danced right outside the church where Jesus was born. It began to rain and hail, and we kept dancing. Then we swarmed into the church where we pilgrims prayed.

Later that night, I went to mass at the church. Not fluent in Arabic or Latin, I ducked out the back of the church toward the end of the mass and dashed through the rain to a shop owned by “John,” not his real name, a shop owner who I shared several cups of tea with during my time in Bethlehem. John led me to the back of his shop, into a grotto where several other Palestinians gathered around a fire, sipping tea and coffee. More pilgrims joined us throughout the night. I stayed in John’s cave until early Christmas morning.

That morning, Israeli security forces closed the checkpoint into Bethlehem, no one would get in or out.

Pilgrims play guitar and dance outside the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem in 2005. I was one of the dancers.

Me, in the blue coat, sitting around the fire on Christmas Eve 2005 in John’s shop.

I thought this might be an interesting story ? Yesterday, my girlfriend (Joni) who is a 48 year old dental assistant in Barstow, noticed two black men breaking into her new rental car through the window of her dental office. In her scrubs, and leaving a patient still in his chair with his mouth open, she bolted out the back door and tackled one of them and wrestled him to the ground, thwarting the car theft or robbery. The guy was totally surprised and was screaming and fighting to get her off him. She wrestled him on the concrete until he was able to squeak out of his jacket. He got up and ran away. She got his jacket; she handed it to the police officers.

The other guy was chased by Joni’s co-worker (Tami) back into his apt complex. The girls raised enough attention, that the apt manager noticed and was able to identify the men and where they live.

This long, lanky, muscular 48 year old soccer mom has a few bumps and bruises… but a good story to tell.

Thanks Dan and good job Joni and Tami.

How to report a drunken driver

• Call 911 and tell them you wish to report a drunk driver.
• Give the exact location of the vehicle, including the name of the road or cross streets and the direction the vehicle is traveling.
• Give a complete description of the vehicle, such as make, model, color and license plate.
• Describe the manner in which the vehicle is being driven.

How to Spot a Drunk Driver
The following signs can help you detect an impaired driver on the road:
• Turning with a wide radius
• Straddling the center of the road or lane marker
• Appearing to be drunk (i.e., eye fixation, face close to windshield, drinking in the vehicle)
• Almost striking an object or another vehicle
• Weaving or zigzagging across the road
• Driving on surfaces other than a designated roadway
• Swerving or abruptly turning away from a generally straight course
• Turning abruptly or illegally
• Driving slower than 10 mph below the speed limit
• Stopping without cause in a traffic lane
• Stopping inappropriately
• Following others too closely
• Drifting or moving in a straight line
• Erratic braking
• Driving into opposing or crossing traffic
• Signaling that is inconsistent with driving actions
• Slow response to traffic signals, including sudden stops and delayed starts
• Driving with headlights off
source: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Try these non-alcoholic cocktails at your next party. Your non-drinking guests and designated drivers will thank you!

Virgin Bloody Mary

1 can tomato juice
1 ounce lime juice
3 ounces club soda
3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
2 pinches cumin powder
1 shake of celery salt
1 teaspoon horseradish

Mix all ingredients except club soda into a large pitcher.
Salt the rim of a highball glass.
Add club soda to glass, then add the Bloody Mary Mix (from step 1).
Garnish with celery stalk and top with lemon pepper.

Freshing Raspberry Daiquiri

2 ounces Sweet & Sour mix
2 ounces Sierra Mist Soda
4 ounces of raspberry puree
Whipped cream

Place ingredients in blender and add ice.
Mix until desired thickness.
Pour into a tall glass and top with whipped cream.

Tommy O’Collins

½ cup club soda
1 and a half tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon rum extract
1 to 2 packets sweetener 1 to 2 ice cubes

Combine ingredients in blender.
Blend on high for 10 seconds until light and frothy.
Pout over ice into tall glass.
Makes one 8 ounce serving.

Sweet and Sassy Mary

1 cup vegetable cocktail juice
1 to 2 packets sweetener
1 dash celery salt
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
2 drops Tabasco
1 lime wedge
1 cucumber spear for garnish

Combine all ingredients, except lime and cucumber, in an old-fashioned glass and stir well.
Squeeze lime wedge over mixture and add wedge to drink.
Stir and garnish to serve.

Bald Bishop

1 ounce chilled orange juice
1 and one half ounces lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar De-alcoholized burgundy or other non-alcoholic wine

Fill tall glass halfway with ice.
Add orange juice, lemon juice and sugar.
Top off with burgundy.

Chocolate Amaretto Crème

½ cup evaporated milk
¼ cup club soda
½ tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 to 3 packets sweetener
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 dash bitters
1 to 2 ice cubes
Combine all ingredients in blender.
Blend on high for 10 seconds, until smooth and creamy.
Pour into cocktail glass and serve with straw.

Sparkling Julep

De-alcoholized sparkling white wine or non-alcoholic white grape juice
Mint-flavored sparkling water
Sprig of mint
For each serving, combine in champagne flute, white “wine” and sparkling water in roughly equal portions.
With sweeter “wines” use slightly more mint mixer to taste.

Texas Sunrise

8 ounces chilled orange juice
¾ ounce grenadine syrup
Cracked or shaved ice (optional)
Add orange juice to glass and add grenadine.
Let syrup settle on the bottom or stir, as desired.
Add ice (optional) if desired.

Tropical NOT-A-Colada

¾ cup unsweetened pineapple juice
½ banana
2 to 3 packets of sweetener
1 teaspoon lime juice
¼ teaspoon coconut extract
3 to 4 ice cubes

Combine ingredients in blender.
Blend on high for 30 seconds, until smooth and creamy.
Pour into fancy glass and serve with straw.

source: The California Office of Traffic Safety