Off the I-15

Apparently he doesn’t want to make a big deal (or no deal) out of it, but Fort Irwin’s own Brig. Gen. Dana JH Pittard was on spotted on NBC’s “Deal or No Deal.”

The commanding general at Fort Irwin presented the show’s contestant, Shequila Farrelly with a National Training Center coin, given out as a symbol of excellence. Pittard said he wanted to thank Shequila, whose husband is a soldier at Fort Hood and bound of Afghanistan, for her role as a military family.

“The sacrifice, the selfless service of all our soldiers is so important,” Pittard said on the show, “but just as important is the sacrifice and the service of our family members just like you Shequila.”

In a post-show interview, Shequila, who also got to meet Ellen DeGeneres and walk away with $36,000 — not a bad deal — said she was honored to have Pittard on the show with her.

“For him to show up and give this to me was incredible,” she said. “That Shequila was presented this coin was amazing.”

Watch Pittard in this post-show interview clip from www.nbc.com. Pittard comes on with about one minute and 36 seconds left to go in the clip.

Pittard on “Deal or No Deal”

Aaron Aupperlee | city editor

Firefighers never seem to get a break. Sometimes that means missing out on the cake at their own party.

At Monday’s City Council meeting, the department received a city proclamation honoring them for their efforts to promote community safety during fire prevention week. State fire officials, council members, and fire board members gathered in council chambers to thank firefighters for their hard work and eat cake with firefighters.

Mike Chrisman, Secretary of the California Resources Agency read a statement from Gov. Schwarzenegger’s office praising the district.

“Whether it’s a fire, car accident or other emergency, firefighers are often the first on the scene, and their actions often save lives,” he said.

As he was reading the statement a radio crackled, and firefighters shared a familiar look in recognition of the tell-tall beeping sound advising them of an emergency call.

Three firefighters grinned and walked out of the room to respond to a medical aid call. They didn’t seem to mind missing out on the cake.

Jason Smith — staff writer

Staff photo by Jason Smith
City council member Julie Hackbarth-McIntyre reads a proclamation in honor of the Barstow Fire Protection District’s efforts during National Fire Prevention Week. Four members of the fire department left midway through the ceremony to respond to a medical emergency.

Not a lot of extracurricular shooting this week, but I did manage to snap these on the drive home from work on Thursday.

With a potential storm rolling through Barstow this weekend, should see some good skies.

Remember, to submit photos for the Friday foto blog, send copies to
 aaupperlee at desertdispatch.com

We take a lot of pictures at the Desert Dispatch and many do not make to the paper’s pages. Here are some that didn’t make it.

A Barstow firefighter walks out of burnt house on Maxine Avenue at the end of August. Firefighters responded quickly and contained the fire to only one room.
Photo by Aaron Aupperlee, Staff writer

A Barstow firefighter puts out the final flames inside a home on Maxine Avenue at the end of August.
Photo by Aaron Aupperlee, Staff writer

The sun sets behind a mosque in Jabal, an Iraqi village at Fort Irwin.
Photo by Aaron Aupperlee, Staff writer

A bunker protecting Jabal at Fort Irwin.
Photo by Aaron Aupperlee, Staff writer

Do you have photos that didn’t make the paper? Send us a digital copy, and we’ll include them in next week’s Friday foto blog.

Send photos to:  aaupperlee at desertdispatch.com

The weather proved favorable on the east coast, allowing the space shuttle Endeavor successfully touch down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday. According to NASA, the shuttle landed at 12:32 p.m. eastern time after nearly two weeks in space. Concerns about Hurricane Dean approaching Mission Control in Texas brought the shuttle home a bit early, but the astronauts were still able to complete four space walks to install and repair equipment on the International Space Station, a NASA release stated. It flew a total of 5.3 million miles.

NASA officials deactivated Edwards Air Force Base, the shuttle’s back-up landing site, on Monday for the possible Tuesday landing. Crosswinds might have shifted the shuttle landing to the Mojave Desert on Wednesday, but shuttle commander Scott Kelly and pilot Charles Hobaugh got the go ahead from NASA to bring the shuttle down in Florida. The next shuttle mission is scheduled to launch in October. No word on the potential weather around landing time.

Aaron Aupperlee | Staff writer
 

Photo by The Associated Press 

A ‘gator who somehow staked out digs in a Los Angeles lake for almost two years now has posh accommodations at the zoo. (Read my previous post about Reggie here.)

Reggie gets his own fenced pond, which features a waterfall and marshy plantings, according to the Associated Press.

Hundreds turned out for Reggie’s debut on Thursday. The slippery gator, who eluded intense offers to root him out, inspired Reggie wear such as T-shirts and hats.

Reggie’s popularity provided zoo officials with an opportunity to educate the public about exotic animals, which should not be released into the wild. Before his lake adventure, Reggie was most likely an illegal pet.

The full AP story is below.

— Stevie St. John

Photo by the Associated Press

Spectators at the Los Angeles Zoo reptile exhibit view the debut of Reggie, Los Angeles’ most famous reptile.

LA Zoo unveils new home of Reggie the wayward alligator

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Reggie, the alligator that cruised an urban lake for nearly two years while eluding what were purported to be some of the world’s best gator wranglers, was introduced to adoring fans on Thursday at his new home in the Los Angeles Zoo.

The 7 1/2-foot-long, 114-pound alligator was brought in to his own exhibit area to cheers and chants of “We want Reggie.”

Hundreds of people, many wearing Reggie T-shirts and alligator hats, watched as about a dozen handlers lugged the gator into the compound, his jaws wrapped up in a towel and duct tape.
He was unwrapped and, after a nudge or two, slid into his pool.

The zoo has six other American alligators and two Chinese alligators. But Reggie gets his own fenced pond, which features a waterfall and marshy plantings.

“I think he’ll be happy here. He’s got a luxury suite, it’s absolutely gorgeous,” Councilwoman Janice Hahn said. “It’s a great ending to a great story.”

Reggie was spotted in Harbor City’s Machado Lake in August 2005. Authorities say a man who illegally raised Reggie as a pet dumped the gator in the lake when it got too big.

Over the next two years, Reggie cruised the 53-acre lagoon, apparently dining on frogs, crayfish and the occasional tortillas and chicken leg left by visitors and park officials. He outwitted several efforts by professional wranglers to capture him as his fame spread.

The city spent about $180,000 trying to grab Reggie and on security measures to protect lakegoers from him, said Hahn, whose council district includes Harbor City.

The gator was finally corralled in May after a park maintenance worker spotted Reggie catching some sun on a lake bank.
Zoo officials quarantined Reggie until his official unveiling.

The gator, believed to be 7 or 8 years old, is still growing and could become 10 feet long and weigh 350 pounds, said zoo director John Lewis.

“We are proud to offer the alligator a safe haven and even happier to have this opportunity to speak to the importance of not releasing exotic animals into the wild ecosystem,” Lewis said.

Marcus Allen, 13, skates at the city’s new skate park at Dana Park on Tuesday.

Bikers and skaters share the bowl at the skate park. Several people at the park Tuesday said there’s no problem with the two groups sharing the facility.

— Stevie St. John

Sunday’s blood and marrow drive for Dena Hibbetts-Gerardi was “a huge success,” according to her mother, Shirley Hibbetts. Hibbetts e-mailed me on Monday to let me know about the impressive community response that caused an event slated for 2-7 p.m. to last until about 10:30.

Hibbetts-Gerardi, 45, has an aggressive form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma and needs a bone marrow transplant. See the Desert Dispatch story here. Finding a donor is a challenge because the donor and recipient must have such similar genetic make-ups, according to the Blood Bank of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. A cheek cell swab (a “buccal swab”), which types the DNA of possible donors, usually costs about $50, but the fee is waived for blood donors.

During the drive, the blood bank collected 119 units of blood and did 154 bone marrow screenings, Hibbetts said.

“The blood bank and hospital volunteer staff were totally overwhelmed with the turnout,” Hibbetts wrote. “To keep everyone hydrated, volunteers distributed water to people in the waiting lines that wound down both sides of the hallways on the bottom floor of the hospital and out the door into the parking lot.”

Hibbetts commented that the “wonderful and uplifting day” illustrated that the people of Barstow are “truly amazing.”

“When one of their own is in need, they don’t hesitate to come out to help,” she wrote. “The outpouring of love and support was mind-boggling.”

Dena Hibbetts-Gerardi draws the winning ticket for a quilt given away during the blood and marrow drive. Karen Jones donated the handmade, king-sized quilt.

Laura Hibbetts fills out paperwork in order to give a buccal swab. She sat on the ground outside because of the crowd at the blood and marrow drive.

Shirley Brand gives a buccal swab so her DNA can be tested.
— Stevie St. John

* Photos were provided by Shirley Hibbetts, who also gave permission to use information from her e-mail.

I still got it.

Another ride-along down, another arrestless night.

During the few hours I spent with the California Highway Patrol and the Barstow Police Department at their sobriety checkpoint, we arrested no one for driving under the influence. My ride-along record currently stands at only one arrest, made with the Barstow PD several months ago.

I suspect the lack of intoxicated drivers passing through the checkpoint on Saturday night had little to do with prospective criminals knowing I would be there, pen, pad and camera in hand and much to do with the fact that a gaggle of CHP and police cars had set up shop on East Main Street near Muriel Drive.

The checkpoint began around 8 p.m., and by 10, very few vehicles rolled down Barstow’s main drag. With signs posted as far up as Yucca Avenue and the checkpoint designed to give motorists “an out” — an opportunity not to pass through the checkpoint — I suspect many bar patrons, and many sober drivers avoided the area completely. Plus, CHP and Barstow PD officers said with in hours of setting up the checkpoint, every bar in town would know where it is and warn their customers about driving home.

 www.checkpointchecker.com.

CHP officer Zach Stumbaugh stops a car at the checkpoint on Saturday night.

CHP officer Dan Pence demonstrates a field sobriety test. In the background, Barstow police officer Lee Howard explains the test to new officer David Edwards.

CHP officers and Barstow PD officers search a car after a stop on Saturday night.

The rest of the High Desert may be in a drought right now, but on Tuesday, it looked like the Desert Dispatch had more water than it knew what to do with.

I returned from my daily routine of checking the police and sheriff’s logs to find much of the floor covered in water and newsprint. Most surprising of all, Ben Heldreth, a graphic designer, had a mop.

Apparently, a toilet malfunctioned and sent the water spewing into the office. Though I am not sure, I think the problem has been fixed. I really hope so.

Ben with a mop. He later wrote a song called, ‘This is why I mop.’

The Desert Dispatch staff simply asking, ‘What happened?’ and then finding a good use for newsprint.

In an e-mail to the entire staff, Ad Director Bea Lint wrote:

“Although you can’t see how much water was on the floor, everyone sprang into action by putting newsprint on the floor to stop it from migrating to the rest of the building - GREAT Thinking. Nothing got ruined due to their quick thinking.”