The town maybe fake, but the hotel and the soldier behind its name are real.

On Friday, Brig. Gen. Dana J.H. Pittard along with Lyndon and Carla Marcus opened the Lyndon Marcus, Jr. International Hotel in the simulated town of Medina Wasl. The hotel, fully functional, open for reservations and part of the training scenarios at Fort Irwin, honors the Marcus’ son, Lyndon, a private first class who served under then Col. Pittard in Iraq.

Marcus, 21, of Long Beach, was killed in Balad, Iraq when his vehicle flipped over into a canal on May 3, 2004, according to a release from Fort Irwin. He was assigned to 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division of Fort Hood, Texas. Pittard, who was Marcus’ brigade commander at the time, said he saw Marcus that morning in a dining hall, the release stated.

After taking command of Fort Irwin a year ago, Pittard learned that Marcus’ parents worked at Fort Irwin. Pittard’s wife, Lucille, suggested the hotel be named in his honor. During a speech at the hotel’s dedication, Pittard praised Marcus and the meaning his sacrifice has to each soldier who trains at Fort Irwin.

“Pfc. Lyndon A. Marcus was a great soldier and a wonderful young man. We dedicate this hotel in honor of him,” he stated. “It is fitting that a hotel that will be used for training honors one of our fallen warriors. It is important to name the hotel after one of our own.”

The hotel is just one of the many improvements Pittard has made to the training environment at Fort Irwin. Rotations of soldiers bound of Iraq of Afghanistan train at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin prior to deployment.

Taking command of the Army’s premier training post fresh from Iraq, Pittard has made it his goal to make the simulated towns dotting Fort Irwin’s desert feel, smell, sound and look as much like Iraq as possible. That has included increasing the number of Iraqi role players, hiring people from Barstow and the surrounding areas to dress like Iraqis to populate the towns and using Hollywood special-effects companies to make the blood, explosions and designs of the buildings more real.

Carla Marcus is the first to sign the guest register at the hotel named in honor of her son, Pfc. Lyndon A. Marcus, Jr. after the hotel’s dedication Aug. 22 at the National Training Center and Fort Irwin. Mrs. Marcus works at the NTC’s G-1 office. (U.S. Army photo by Vickey M. Mouze)

Aaron Aupperlee | city editor

I tossed the coupon into the center console of my car and forgot about it until Tuesday, when I was searching for quarters to pay for a Frappuccino. I figured I was thirsty; I was broke, and this drink was free so why not try it? I ordered the banana chocolate flavor, and it actually tasted pretty good — more like a milkshake than a smoothie.

Starbucks will test some new drinks on the Southern California market, according to reports. One new non-coffee drink is the Sorbetto. If Barstow is one of the test locations, local stores might see a boost in revenue from non-coffee drinkers who like the idea of a healthy alternative. We don’t have a Jamba Juice, so maybe smoothie fans will get their fix at a coffee shop instead.

But will a new drink be enough to bring back customers who left Starbucks to seek a cheaper cup of joe?

It’s easy to imagine that Starbucks is struggling right now because people cannot justify spending over $3 a day for an espresso drink when gas station coffee is only 99 cents a cup. I know I’ve had to cut my Starbucks trips back to about once a week. I don’t think a new line of smoothies will bring back those 600 stores that are closing.

I also decided to check out the claims that the Vivanno is a “nourishing blend.” Sure they pack it full of fiber and protein supplements, but does that make it healthy? A Grande sized banana chocolate flavor Vivanno contains 270 calories, the same as a Caramel Frappuccino of the same size (hold the whip cream.)

The smoothie also has 28 grams of sugar, 44 grams of carbohydrates, and five grams of fat.

It isn’t a diet drink, but it is a little healthier than some of the other blended iced drinks that Starbucks has to offer.

Andee Goodwin | Intern, The Desert Dispatch

Recently, CBS News and “Army,” the magazine of the Association of the United States Army, have published looks at Fort Irwin.

The CBS News piece, “Turning Enemies into Allies,” can be seen here. It was filmed during a rotation in June and features footage of some of the role players from the Barstow area who now work in the box.

The AUSA Army piece is in their July 2008 issue. “Between Hollywood and Hell,” by Dennis Steele is an in depth look at how the Iraq war is recreated in the Mojave Desert.

Google helped me realize just how much of my work has been focused on the Barstow Unified School District’s budget. When you do a Google search and it lists a bunch of Web sites, the number of times you’ve visited a site appears next to the URL.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that number next to the site of the Barstow Unified School District was around seven or so. I thought it strange. I cover education and have only been to this site a handful of times.

No more! As of Wednesday morning, the morning after the board approved the BUSD budget, I have visited the district site 52 times, and I suspect that number will increase.

Aaron Aupperlee | city editor

Still, it is a good story, and I wanted to share it with you, dear readers, in some form, because I love a good narrative.

A man calls his wife on Sunday evening and tells her that he was minding his own business, eating lunch and smoking a cigarette in his car somewhere in Barstow when a mysterious assailant tied him up and put him in the trunk of his own car.

The driver says he blacked out and woke up somewhere out in the desert, in the trunk of his car, looking up at an unknown person wearing black gloves, who apologized before shutting the door on him.

He says that he somehow managed to get his phone out of his pocket and dial the wife’s number with his tongue. Having managed this tricky feat, he then freed his hands and escaped by pulling the emergency cord inside of the trunk.

According to the account as reported in the sheriff’s logs, the mysterious assailant left the car keys in the ignition, enabling the victim to drive himself away from the scene. Although the supposed motive for the abduction was unclear, the man said his attacker stole eight cigarettes.

I love voting. And even though there wasn’t much on the ballot — don’t tell that to any of the candidates for First District Supervisor or the Assembly — I still walked up to the polling station in Lenwood smiling and ready to participate in democracy.

Even though I have only been voting for six years, my memories of going to the polls stretch back to when I was a child. I used to go with my dad to vote every election to the Ada Fire Station. Ada is a small town in Michigan about half the size of Barstow. The ladies working the polls knew my dad and came to know me.

When I turned 18, I went back to the fire station, still with my dad, but this time to vote on my own. The ladies, a bit older than the last time I had gone with my dad to vote, were just as excited to see me.

There is no replacement for voting at polling stations. Many people around Barstow vote by mail or absentee. I’m a fan of showing up and voting in booths.

I’ve already voted in two elections in Lenwood and feel like the people who work the St. Philip Neri Church station already know me. It might help that my name is in the paper most days, but it is nice to be greeted by “hellos” and “how are yous.”

When I voted in the 2004 election, I was studying in Germany and voted absentee. I sat on a bench inside the Erlangen post office and filled out my ballot. Sealed the envelop, dropped in the mail and felt like my vote was not going to count. No “hellos,” no “how are yous,” and no sticker.

Aaron Aupperlee | city editor

Suddenly, I had a vivid picture of my graduation at Woodruff High School. The year was 2000 and the location was in Peoria, Ill. The memories were so crystal clear that it was emotionally overwhelming for me.

This stroll in my mind was set off when I began asking the current graduate questions what there plans were. The sense of optimism I felt from their responses was the catapult to memories of an event that happened nearly a decade ago.

The memories came in a flash. Suddenly, I was in their shoes. I remember the jolt in my heart rate as I walked to receive the diploma.

I remember the sense of relief that high school was over. The sense of urgency about my future plans, and the sense of adventures on journeys and had only began to embark in my mind. Overwhelmed, I took a quick breather and soaked up my surroundings.

Graduates basking in their achievements and their hard work with people they care about probably wondering in their own minds the same thing I was wondering as a graduate from Woodruff High all those years ago. What’s next?

When guest speaker Mark Meadows discussed overcoming adversity in his speech I couldn’t help but think of all the trials and tribulations that I fought in my own life over the past eight years in my journeys to achieve my own personal goals and aspirations. But the thoughts weren’t just self-centered. I thought of the kids I interviewed. Some of the kids at the alternative school that had over came many challenges in their pursuit of happiness and security. I thought of the inspirational story of Matt Burcham. Perhaps it was Burcham’s refusal to quit after a mortifying motorcycle accident to hit the books and get his education.

“Forget being in a wheelchair again, I am walking,” Burcham said.

Or maybe it was the first kid in a line of family to graduate high school. Or Stephanie Knight, who has almost died several times, and spent nearly a whole year in the hospital. I thought of Knight, who wrote the biography of her life as a legacy, because she didn’t think she was going to live. I think at that moment I figured out what annual tradition of graduation is about.

It’s a celebratory moment of achievement on the road to more challenges in life.

Jason Blasco | staff writer

Unfortunately, real cars, the ones that drive Interstate 15 and Interstate 40, do not have these bouncy balls of safety. And even though the drivers are not pushing Speed Racer speeds — one car in the movie claimed to go 800 km per hour, nearly 500 miles per hour — or perfecting Speed Racer maneuvers — like weaving between sharp metal spikes YIKES! — the climb up Mountain Pass or an early morning blitz between Ludlow and Newberry Springs can be treacherous.

And unfortunately this week, we have all read how treacherous. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, four traffic fatalities in four days on three different roads. Each one is different and there is no way to establish a trend or rhyme or reason to the deaths.

Seatbelts might have made a difference in two of the deaths. Like the death of Brenda Wood early on Monday morning. Her niece left this comment on www.desertdispatch.com:

I have waited days to hear the details about my aunt Brenda wood’s death. I wish I couldve known in advance that she was going to be involved in this accident, maybe to try and stop it for ever happening again. It wasnt like her to forget her seatbelt, but she was really excited about her vegas trip for mothers day. She was like a mother to me. And I have not yet excepted that she is never comming back. Im never going anywhere without my seatbelt again. May you RIP Brenda Wood.

Of course, in the two fatal crashes on Tuesday and Wednesday, seatbelts did not seem to cure all. The recent deaths on roads surrounding Barstow, and all the ones still to come, underscore only one point: Those are dangerous roads out there.

So until Ford, Chevy, Toyota, Volvo or Honda comes out with Speed Racer-type safety technology and we can all bounce away from wrecks unscathed, drive safe.

Aaron Aupperlee | city editor

Matthews Hamilton, my new hero, is a 16-year-old recovering from leukemia. Although his cancer is in remission, he still can’t go to Barstow High School with his twin brother and 15-year-old sister. He has to wear a mask over his face to keep from getting an infection that could land him back in the hospital. He can’t do tricks on his skateboard or bike like he used to.

Under the circumstances, a person could easily be pretty depressed, especially when that person is a teenager. When I was 16, I remember carrying on as if the world was coming to an end over much less serious problems. But Matthews struck me as one of the best-adjusted kids I have met. He’s polite, smart, and interested in the world around him. When he couldn’t go to school any more, he made new friends at the hospital. When he couldn’t ride a skateboard, he picked up the guitar. While teenagers can be notoriously hard to get a good quote from, Matthews not only had thoughtful answers to my questions, he also had questions for me. When did I decide I wanted to be a reporter? How many people work for the Desert Dispatch? Do I like my job? He said he wanted to take a photography class, so I let him take some pictures with my camera (it belongs to me, not the paper, so I can take risks like handing it off to a 16-year-old).

It’s nice to be reminded once in a while that the kids are all right and some people can make the best of hard-luck stories.

Abby Sewell | reporter

Despite being years away from their 16th birthdays, these two students, and many other Newberry Springs Elementary School fifth-graders, knew exactly what was up with gas, the price.

While interviewing students at Newberry for a story about a proposed increase in school meal prices, many stressed that the high gas prices were more of a concern to their parents than an extra quarter for lunch. With gas prices in California up nearly 50 cents from last year and a 25 mile drive to school facing some parents, gas is the biggest concern, according to their kids.

Emily, 10, said her parents drive her from Barstow to Newberry for school each day and seem to spend a lot of money on gas. David, 12, said his parents do the same thing. When asked if they, and other fifth-graders, heard their parents talk about prices going up, all they could talk about was gas.

“That’s expensive,” said Emily. Other’s clamored about what they had heard from their parents about the price at the pump. It seems the price of gas was a daily discussion in most households and one the kids were privy too.

One student held up 10 fingers and told me that he heard gas was going to reach $10 a gallon soon. His teacher, Sheril Helms, quickly corrected him, showing only four fingers to indicate the possible gas ceiling.

Aaron Aupperlee | city editor