Off the I-15

I got two questions. Ed Frawley had 10 minutes of photographs and narration.

The father of an 82nd Airborne Division soldier woke up the military to the horrors of some soldiers barracks with a amateur video, a couple of photos thrown together with a plea to anyone who watched to call Senators, Reps, the local newspaper and demand change. People watched, 142,455 on one You Tube iteration, and the Army responded.

The problems at Fort Bragg, N.C., where the photos were taken, were remedied. Every barrack worldwide was inspected, and the Army began discussing fixing the barrack problem.

On Thursday, Secretary of the Army Peter Geren visited Fort Irwin. The visit had been planned months in advance, but the timing meant that barracks would be the issue at hand. I was allowed to ask Geren two questions about barracks and that was it.

Soldiers wanted me to ask more. After talking with 11th ACR soldiers in the box on Thursday, I had an idea of the questions they wanted answers to. They wanted to know how much it would cost to fix their barracks, and if the Army would be willing to spend that on them.

I asked Geren that question and he ducked.

So who really changed things here? The professional journalist with my pen, pad, fancy digital voice recorder and a photographer to tag along or a concerned father with a few snap-shots, a determined voice and YouTube.

Aaron Aupperlee | city editor

Authorities arrested a real Yuri Orlav this week in Thailand. Viktor Bout, 41, a reputed Russian arms dealer dubbed the “Merchant of Death” for his aid in fueling African civil wars, bears a striking resemblance to the Nichols Cage character in the 2005 film “Lord of War.”In the film, Cage plays a Russian arms dealer who profits nicely from the surplus of guns after the disenegration of the Soviet Union and the unrest besetting Africa. In reality, Bout did the same thing.According to the Associated Press, Bout could face war crimes charges for running guns on behalf of former Liberian leader Charles Taylor and the Sierra Leone rebel group, The Revolutionary United Front, responsible in part for the artocities committed in connection to “blood diamonds.” His guns have also been connected to a long list of countries and terrorists organizations in Asia, Africa and South America.  Stephen Rapp, chief prosecutor of a U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal, said weapons were delivered into the war zone “at the time they were conducting operations with names like ’No living thing,’ and being paid for those shipments with diamonds dug by slave labor.”At the end of “Lord of War,” Cage’s character goes free after agents track him down and discover his cache of weapons and documents in New York City. The rationale, according to Orlav:”Some of these men are the enemies of ‘your’ enemies. And while the biggest arms dealer in the world is your boss - the President of the United States, who ships more merchandise in a day than I do in a year - sometimes it’s embarrassing to have his fingerprints on the guns. Sometimes he needs a freelancer like me to supply forces he can’t be seen supplying. So. You call me evil, but unfortunately for you, I’m a necessary evil.”Bout’s fate appears to be less Hollywood. Thailand wants to prosecute him for involvement with terrorist attacks. The United States wants him on similar charges and the United Nations is considering war crimes.Aaron Aupperlee | City Editor

Before Robert left for Iraq, the Harters racked up quality family time and squeezed in every holiday that Robert would miss during his 15-month deployment to Iraq. But when the holidays hit, Betty said she was they almost passed her by.

For Thanksgiving, Betty suggested to John that they just go to Fort Irwin’s dinner. They did, but John also insisted that him and Betty also cook a dinner of their own so they would have leftovers for days after. For Christmas, Betty and John visited some of Robert’s family only a few hours away from Fort Irwin. While they were there, Betty got a call from Robert, and he was able to talk to his mother and sisters for about 15 minutes, which is quite a bit, Betty said.

Betty’s work at the post with families of the 58th kept her busy as well.
“You noticed they were gone, but that wasn’t all you think about,” she said about the soldiers being gone.

John said this deployment has been easier on him than his father’s last deployment in 2003. Most noticeably improved, John said, has been his work in school.

If you’ve got a dog, then the dog has probably had a Milk-Bone once or twice.

The popular doggie snack is turning 100 years old — that’s 700 in dog years.

To celebrate, the company is looking for its next spokesdog. Dog owners can submit photos of them and their pets at http://www.milkbone.com/ for a chance at doggie stardom and $100,000. Unfortunately, I don’t think that is $700,000 in dog money.

Milk-Bone started in 1908 out of a bakery on the Lower East Side of New York City. The F. H. Bennett Biscuit Company made the original Maltoid, a bone-shaped treat made from minerals, meat products, and milk, according to Wikipedia. The name was later changed to Milk-Bone because of all the milk in the dog biscuit.

As part of the celebration, the company poured $1 million into its Canine Heroes program. The program donates police dogs and fits service dogs with disabled people.

If you want to share your pet with the community, jump on www.desertdispatch.com and register for our new self-publishing tools. Then you can upload photos, post comments, participate in forums or start a blog.

Look no further.

OK, this is for all of incurable geography enthusiasts out there who read Friday’s article “Contest challenges students’ knowledge of geography” in the print version of the Desert Dispatch. Yes, we know it may seem mean not to put the answers in the paper. Yeah, you have to boot up the computer and find your way to the blog, but it seemed appropriate to make you have to search for the answers to geography questions used in Barstow Junior High School’s geography bee.
So here they are, curious reader, the answers to the questions you seek:

Albany and New York City are major ports on which river — the Hudson or the Potomac?
Answer) The Hudson

Which waterway serves as a shortcut for most ships traveling from New York to Los Angeles — The Panama Canal or the Inside Passage?
Answer) The Panama Canal

Name the country in North Africa that is the most populous in the Arab world.
Answer) Egypt

Name the city on Lake Michigan that is the site of the world’s largest commodities exchange.
Answer) Chicago

And, yes, how’s this for irony, I almost got lost on the way to cover the geography bee today at BJHS. Good thing, a coworker helped me with directions.

Jason Smith
Staff writer

It seems like everywhere I’ve gone since Sunday there’s been some trace of fire.

Sports Editor Matthew Peters and I were on our way to Hollywood to see a Ken Andrews concert on Sunday, and as they say, “where there’s smoke there’s fire.”

Along the Cajon Pass, the hills were charred, and fire crews cleared brush. As we got into Ontario, the wind was blowing more than 50 mph pushing smoke and debris across the freeway and splitting a big rig’s trailer in half. Near the Ontario Mills Mall plants that were less than five feet from the freeway were on fire apparently due to embers blown from other fires. Luckily we made the concert only missing a couple songs from an opening band.

On our way back we saw another trailer split in half and a few big rigs on their sides, but no flames this time. I got home at 2 a.m. and I went to sleep hoping to be done with fires.

On Monday I had a doctors appointment in Victorville. I got ready and headed down the I-15 once again. Near the Hodge Road exit I began to see smoke rising off the mountains to my left. I hadn’t watched the news yet, but apparently Lake Arrowhead, Malibu, San Diego, Santa Clarita and the Cajon Pass were all on fire. I went to the doctor, did some shopping and headed home. My doctor lived down the hill and she was forced to get a hotel when the pass was closed.

I got back to Barstow in time for my mom to call me and tell me that my brother, Robert Heldreth, was close to being evacuated from his house in Mira Mesa, a suburb of San Diego. He eventually left during the voluntary evacuation. However, he returned to his house to sleep in the middle of the night. He said he wasn’t too worried about his safety.

“I’ve got all my stuff in my car,” Heldreth said. “If it gets close to my house I’ll go to my school, and if it gets there I’ll just park my car on the beach.”

It’s now the third day, and the fires are still going. You can see the smoke from the Lake Arrowhead fire from different vantage points around Barstow. I hope the winds stop, and Southern California gets some rain so everyone can return home and so I can stop worrying about my brother and stop looking at smoke.

- David Heldreth Staff Writer

Because we took a week off last week, we’re bringing you an extra-large dose of the Friday foto blog, so big we had to wait until Saturday to go live with it. Thanks to everyone who submitted photos this week. Keep ‘em coming.

Barstow resident Steve Smith sent this photo of a hawk apparently about to enjoy a meal atop a pole in a mobile home park on West Main Street.

Lucy Bryce submitted these two photos from last weekend’s Baca family reunion. The first is of the first cousins; Bryce said lots were missing. The second is of the surviving children of Mr. & Mrs. C. Baca. More than 300 people attended the reunion. For more on the event, see A supersized family reunion.

This is Brandon Brown, 10, from Victorville, getting a taste of fire fighting from Barstow fire fighter Daniel Griego at the skate park on Wednesday. Brandon, who came up the hill to use Barstow’s skate park and see the fire protection district’s display said he wants to be a fire fighter when he grows up.

“I just like helping people. It’s just my thing,” he said.

The two above photos are from inside the Sunrise Mobile Home Park on Windy Pass. While there was little wind, the clouds were putting on quite a show.

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

Fort Irwin draws the interest of many foreign military leaders. They come to see the state-of-the-art training in the box and discuss the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan with experts receiving up-to-date intelligence from the field.

Not too long ago, Brig. Gen. Dana J.H. Pittard, commander of Fort Irwin and the National Training Center, met with Lt. Gen. H.S. Panag, a commander in the Indian Army, at Fort Irwin. Panag commands the largest field army in the world, numbering 370,000 troops, in the northern part of India, including the dicey region of Kashmir along the Pakistani border. For 18 years, he has fought a counter-insurgency battle along the border.

During his visit, he shared with personnel at Fort Irwin his insights into fighting a prolonged counter-insurgency operation and offered hope for success.

“It’s had its ups, its downs, but it’s fairly successful,” Pittard said of Panag’s operation in India during a recent interview. “It takes time. It’s that kind of perspective that we need also as we look at our counter-insurgency operation.”

Pittard used two conditions to define success in Iraq. One being the ability for Iraqi security forces to take over the protection of the country and the second, allowing the Iraqi government to provide services to the people. Success came in stages in India, he said.

It took nearly seven years for Panag to create a situation in Northern India where the police force could take over. Pittard said Panag’s force “turned the corner” in 2003. So with a long mission ahead for the United States in Iraq — possibly 18 years — Pittard said he was left with a daunting mission at Fort Irwin.

“Now our challenge here at the National Training Center,” he said, “is how do you replicate that in 14 days.”

Curious what the new parking space signs for expectant mothers look like?

Miley Cyrus, better known as Hannah Montana of Disney fame, will be hitting the road to raise money of City of Hope Medical Center and to promote her new album.

The recording artist pledged to donate $1 of every ticket sold to City of Hope when her tour kicks off on Oct. 18, according to a release from City of Hope. By the end of the tour, Cyrus hopes to raise $500,000.

Dena Hibbetts Gerardi, a Silver Lakes woman with ties to Barstow, will be admitted to City of Hope to receive a bone marrow transplant. Gerardi recently learned they had found a match for her and expects to receive the transplant by the end of October.

Cyrus and her father, county artist Billy Ray Cyrus, have performed on behalf of City of Hope before. In June, the two played at the City of Hope pediatric picnic in Los Angeles. They visited the pediatric wing of City of Hope in May.

Cyrus’s tour, “Best of Both Worlds,” comes to California in November. She will perform songs both as Miley Cyrus and her character, Hannah Montana.

Thursday, November 1 Oakland, CA The Oracle
Saturday, November 3 Anaheim, CA Honda Center
Sunday, November 4 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion at San Jose
Monday, November 5 Fresno, CA Save Mart Center
Wednesday, November 7 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
Thursday, November 8 San Diego, CA

The newly opened skate park on Barstow Road was full of people skating, biking and just taking in the scene on Tuesday. For those of you that missed the opening here’s a video.

-David Heldreth Staff writer

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