We have been sadly neglecting this blog for the past few months, but in case anyone is still checking it — do you know anyone doing something interesting but overlooked here in town? Sometimes we get so caught up in reporting the latest City Council decisions, school cuts, or crime incidents that we overlook stories about everyday people. That’s where our readers can help make the paper better. Do you know anyone here in town who does something innovative, quirky, charming, or otherwise interesting? Often people make the mistake of assuming that no one besides them will care about their stories, when that’s simply not true.

So let us know if you see or hear something interesting around town. We want the good news as well as the bad.

— Abby Sewell, staff writer

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I didn’t fully follow either.

I owe this place a lot. The Desert Dispatch was a great paper to start at. Here, I covered everything from a virtual baby shower to the president of the United States. I covered crime, the courts, the City Council, the school board, the 2008 election. The people here welcomed me. They became my sources, some better than others. They became people I saw at the bar, at the food store, at Chilis. They became my racing buddies, my Dodger game buddies, my Gossip Girl buddies. They became my friends.

But I also got frustrated here. The hours were long. The work was hard. The staffing at the paper was always low. Barstow, as charming as it is, is not Chicago, New York, Washington D.C. or the other cities I pictured myself living in at 25. And I know most of you love it, but I got sick of 300-plus days of sun a year. I missed the rain, the snow, the cold and even an occasional cloudy day.

Today is my last day at the Desert Dispatch. Early next week I will get back in my car and drive across the country again, this time to Michigan. I am not sure what awaits me there, but I felt it was time to pull roots and go.

I won’t forget Barstow. Thanks to the hard work of the remaining Desert Dispatch staff, I am going to keep up on you on www.desertdispatch.com. I also encourage all of you to follow me. Look for me on www.myspace.com and www.facebook.com (I won’t tell exactly how, but it’s pretty easy) or send me an e-mail to aaron.aupperlee@gmail.com.

Thanks Barstow. Miss u already.

Aaron Aupperlee | city editor

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Check it yall: http://www.sbcounty.gov/rovelectionresults/

Aaron Aupperlee | city editor

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I wasn’t the only one heading back to work today.

Richard Villegas, a candidate for City Council, had to go to work late last night while the votes were still being counted. BTdubs, the votes are still being counted. Tim Saenz, another Council candidate, had to head up to Sacramento for work today, and Marvin Ellis was going to be up bright and early to get out to Fort Irwin for work. All said they would be going to be early and seeing what the results would be today.

We know how is running the country for the next few years but we still don’t know who will be running the city. The mayor race flip-flopped overnight and Willie Hailey edged in front of Carmen Hernandez for the top spots in the Council race. That race is so ridiculously close I am not even going to try to call it.

Aaron Aupperlee | city editor

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8 | Cups of coffee I brewed this morning before leaving for work

3 | Pieces of pizza I ate (also add one chocolate dunker from Pizza Hut)

78 | Miles put on my car driving around to polling stations

2 | Red lights I ran, on accident, while trying to make it back to the paper before the 9 p.m. deadline

9 | Blogs posted, two from my iPhone.

58 | Seconds of edited video shot at the Mojave Valley Democratic Club headquarters after Obama was declared the winner

1 | Glasses of champagne offered and refused by me during the night

So it’s 11:19. I’m going to try and make it home before it is tomorrow.

Good night yall.

Aaron Aupperlee | city editor

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Austin, who is 7 and in second grade, told me that all of Cameron Elementary School voted today by placing little bears in different boxes. Barack Obama won, he said. Austin was happy because he voted for Obama. He said he read Obama likes basketball, chili and Harry Potter books, all things he likes.

His sister, Allyson, 5 and in kindergarten, also voted for Obama because he likes chili. But their other sister, Danalynn, 6 and in first grade, went the other way, voting for John McCain. She said she voted for him because he fought in a war for us.

The Lobato children thought they had the election pretty figured out. After their grandmother, Katrina Waggoner, voted, the kids guessed that she voted for McCain. Why? Because she is old.

Aaron Aupperlee | City Editor

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Within their legal rights – for the most part – fire fighters and police officers, off-duty and out of uniform, checked voter roles to see if their supporters had shown up. Fire Chief Darrell Jauss was also conducting some informal exit polling of his own.

Jauss guaged support based on the number of people who drove by his RV parked 100 feet away from the polling location and smiled, waved, gave a thumbs up or sneered. He said based on his polling, never more than three out of 10 people sneered, leaving Jauss to believe Measure D would pass.

With three of 16 precincts reporting, the yes folks lead the Measure D race, but not by the two-thirds majority they need.

Aaron Aupperlee | city editor

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Just stopped at the Methodist church at the intersection of Barstow Road and Mountain View. The Barstow association of Realtors are staffing the polling station to raise money for a sick co-worker.

The county started a partners in democracy program this year that allowed organizations or businesses to run polling places and donate the stipended as a fund raiser.

Poll workers at the lutheran church are also raising money for their youth group.

Any other groups working the polls to raise money tonight?

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Before Matt Peters, the Desert Dispatch’s sports editor, went out the final home game for the Silver Valley High School girls, he stopped at the polls in Yermo to see how things were going. There is a competitive race for Yermo’s Community Services District between incumbents Michael Henderson and Loney Weems and challenger Bob Smith for the first time in a while.

One poll worker told Matt the there are about 600 registered voters in Yermo. Thus far, about 400 of them had voted. Another person told him she has voted in almost every election and has never seen so many people.

Despite the turnout, poll workers told Matt that things have been running smoothly. No long lines, they told him, but a constant stream of voters.

Aaron Aupperlee | city editor

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So now what… It’s a lot of waiting on election night. It’s a lot of looking at maps and clicking on the county’s ROV Web site. And for JoAnne, our page designer, a night of needle point.

Aaron Aupperlee | city editor

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