By DOUGLAS W. MOTLEY
Senior Writer
There was no shortage of pizza and salad.
Some two dozen local residents showed up at Lake Arrowhead Village Pizza on Thursday, Feb. 22 for free pizza and a chance to discuss local issues with 3rd District San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe and members of her staff. The two-hour-long event (11 a.m.-1 p.m.) began with folks saying hi to their friends and neighbors and others introducing themselves to their new friends.
Some of the two dozen local residents and county officials wait for more pizza to arrive.
When asked what inspired her to become a public servant, Rowe told the Alpine Mountaineer, “I became frustrated when I tried to divide 10 acres of land that I wanted to divide into two parcels. It took five years and ended up costing $50,000,” she said, adding that, in the meantime, she had been appointed to the county Planning Commission, whose members sided with her.
Rowe, who is a longtime Morongo Valley resident and former Joshua Tree City councilwoman and mayor, is a big law enforcement supporter and, as such, recently used some of her discretionary spending funds to provide the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Station with a Sno-Cat that the station’s deputies can use for traveling safely on snow-covered roads.
Noting that there is a movement to defund law enforcement agencies, Rowe told the assembled crowd, “We want to increase the sheriffs, not defund them. My next project is to irradicate cannabis-growing farms in the desert; it’s my top priority.”
Supervisor Rowe responds to audience questions and suggestions.
Speaking to the lunch crowd, Rowe pointed out that the county’s population is now two million people, 500,000 of whom reside in her 10,000-square-mile 3rd District, which stretches from the San Bernardino Mountains to the Arizona and Nevada borders.
“We will get to know you and your interests. We are accessible and we will answer your questions and we will get you help, if you need it,” Supervisor Rowe said.
One example of help she cited was when she and Steve Valentine, who organized the event, were able to help an 83-year-old woman who was stuck in her house during last winter’s blizzard. Together, they dug out the lady’s driveway. “It’s a good example of neighbors helping neighbors.”
One audience member brought up the difficulty they were having in getting homeowner’s insurance. “Insurance on the mountain is definitely a challenge and a lot of people are getting their insurance canceled. It’s even hard to get the Fair Plan.” (The California Fair Plan is an expensive, last-resort insurance policy that covers property damage, but not loss of use or additional living expenses.) Rowe said that State Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, who is on the Senate Insurance Committee, is working on insurance problems.
Another person asked whether it’s possible to repair the now-closed, one-lane, dirt section of Highway 173 on the back side of Lake Arrowhead so it can be used as an emergency escape route off the mountain. “Its condition limits its usage, and the state doesn’t have the money to keep it up to safe standards. If someone gets stuck, it becomes a liability issue,” Rowe said. Valentine added, “It’s something we address at every MAC (municipal advisory council) meeting.”
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