By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY
Staff Writer
At the final Crest Forest Municipal Advisory Council meeting of the year, the three members in attendance – Kyle Schulty, Steve Garcia and Rick Dinon – heard about several holiday toy drives being conducted by the sheriff’s department, the San Bernardino County Fire District and the CHP.
The Lake Gregory Company (LGC) is trying to raise money to show community support for an accessible playground for all ages, which would be built next to the dog park in the regional park. The grants they are seeking need to show community support by raising some funds from locals. So far, they have raised $17,000 and the LGC has been saving $50,000 a year for the past three years for this playground, so they intend to donate $150,000 toward it and are applying for grants for the other amounts, since the playground equipment and landscaping will cost over $400,000. Chamber board member Vickie Vargas urged the community to support this project.
Camp Switzerland plans are continuing to move forward. The plans for the entire sanitation system for Camp Switzerland will be completed by March 2024. Other regional park upgrades include the painting of blue pickleball lines on the courts. Pickleball players need to bring nets and paddles now.
Fishing is popular year-round at the lake, because of the extensive fish stocking the lake has received this last year. In fact, another 1,500 pounds of fish were stocked on Thanksgiving weekend. Whenever fish are available, the LGC is willing to accept them; whenever they post about stockings on their webpages, it brings fishermen to town.
Sidney Sonck of Senator Ochoa-Bogh’s office said they are researching the problem of the elimination of green waste pickup that the communities previously had. With the new bill that restricts Burrtec, locals will be required to clean their properties for fire prevention but have no easy way to dispose of that green waste. They are seeking additional solutions for this problem and would like community input. People apparently now are blowing green waste into the street which only adds to the fire danger. Sonck would like emails with residents’ ideas on this issue sent to him at sidney.sonck@sen.ca.gov.
The Crestline Chamber of Commerce is considering painting signs stating the drains lead to the lake to reduce accidental dumping to keep the lake water cleaner. They have already, with the assistance of the Lions Club, added dumpsters and port-a-potties at the parking area for the Heart Rock hiking trail for the benefit of community visitors. The USFS, although it is their very popular trail, has never provided these amenities at this site. Previously, these were paid for by contractor and past chamber president, Mick Hill, when he was an active board member.
The chamber office building is undergoing repairs from its deck falling off last winter during the snowstorms. They have installed a new shed in the back area of the office building for storage of their Corks & Hops materials and other event items.
The chamber has chosen Feb. 10, 2024, as the Mardi-Gras-themed Corks & Hops event inside at the San Moritz Lodge. The annual Duck Derby is scheduled for Saturday, March 30. They are planning on working with the other clubs and chambers to establish a mountaintop wide calendar of events for 2024 so groups will not accidently schedule large events on the same dates. To assist them in that, they are also currently hiring a part-time events coordinator for the chamber to promote the area as “Alpine Country,” designed to attract visitors, so apply on their website now.
Plans are underway for a whole Crestline-wide winter wonderland holiday decoration plan for the community to make it “Christmas Town USA.” The neon signage for Top Town Crestline, welcoming visitors, will be ready for installation soon.
Lewis Murray from County Supervisor Dawn Rowe’s office said she enjoyed riding in the Blue Jay holiday parade. The short-term rental report was to be presented to the board of supervisors later in December. This report should lead to new amendments to the current short-term rental regulations. Murray explained that, as a field representative, he helps constituents when they run into problems with the county. He has helped in 550 cases this year, and he is only one of several field reps for Rowe since her district covers so much area.
The primary election for county supervisor is upcoming in March. Rowe has been permitted by the courts to run for reelection. There are several challengers to her reelection. If she doesn’t receive a majority of the vote in the March election, the runoff will be in the Nov. 5 election.
The Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Station reported it had almost 1,100 major calls for assistance in November. The deputies are now wearing cameras when on patrol or responding to a call. They are the third station in the county to get these body cameras. They are being worn on the center of their chest. The deputies like them because they record what is occurring, in case there is a future problem.
They warned about porch pirates; when expecting a package, be sure to bring it inside as soon as possible. They suggested not ordering deliveries if residents do not plan to be home all day every day, as the porch pirates take advantage of that. The sheriff’s department has a porch pirate task force.
Officer Gonzales of the Running Springs CHP office said the weather has cooperated so Highway 38 from Big Bear to Redlands is finally open to traffic after recent mudslides. However, Caltrans is still working on the road, so some sections have traffic control from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays as they finish up the repairs.
More good news is that the CHP office on Highway 18 in Running Springs has completed its remodel and is now fully open for business. The CHP is also hiring for all positions, statewide, from office workers to mechanics to officers and all the positions in between. They want to hire up to 1,000 new workers.
The CHP and the sheriff’s department will coordinate the chain control locations this year in conjunction with Caltrans. Driving safely is the goal; however, driving with hazard lights on is not necessary unless there is an actual emergency. They have already set up plans for dealing with snow players to keep them out of the roadways and to not allow them to block roadways by parking illegally.
County Fire said they are ready for Tesla car fires since they have taken some training and have learned about the need to decontaminate the area and car after a fire. There is much more that needs to be done after an electrical car fire than a gasoline car fire.
The next meeting of the Crest Forest MAC will be on Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at the San Moritz Lodge.
0 Comments