The annual Miss Yucca Valley Pageant, organized by the Yucca Valley Noon Rotary Club, is 6:00 Saturday night at the Joshua Springs Thunder Dome in Yucca Valley. Tickets are available at the door.
Twelve juniors at area schools will be competing.

They are (with the prominent women interviewed in parentheses):
Ninarae Kieffer YVHS (Natalie Carpenter)
Cassie Cannon YVHS (Pam Naylor)
Katie Davis YVHS (Debbie Wagner)
Kenzie Collins YVHS (Valerie Aversa)
Aerielle Burnet JSCC (Dawne Edwards)
Charlotte Rowell home schooled (Lori Tuttle)
Kiarra Mora (Kari Grimes)
Margot Clyde JSCC (Debbie Gubler)
Mariana Falossi home schooled (Ann Tenbrook)
Sara (Saraphina) Cruz YVHS (Sara Viola)
Danielle Harrington JSCC (Sheri Wysocki)
Sara Polos YVHS (Roxanne Miller)

The California Highway Patrol advises you to select a designated driver before the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl tomorrow. “We hope everyone can enjoy the fun by designating a driver before the game begins,” said Morongo Basin CHP Area Commander Lieutenant Tim Tompkins. “The safety of your family, friends, and other motorists should be your priority.” Last year on Super Bowl Sunday, CHP officers throughout the state arrested a total of 452 motorists for driving under the influence, and unfortunately, two people were killed in alcohol related traffic collisions. Motorists are encouraged to assist law enforcement in keeping the roadways safe this weekend by dialing 911 to report suspected drunk drivers. Please provide the dispatcher with a description of the vehicle, including the license plate number, its location and the direction of travel.

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS SCHEDULES
In other high school sports today, the Twentynine Palms basketball teams travel to Big Bear. Tip-off for the girls is at 5; boys at 6:30.

The Yucca Valley High School basketballs teams host the Desert Mirage High School Rams. The girls’ game starts at 6; boys’ at 7:30.

The Joshua Springs Christian School boys’ basketball team travels away to play the Calvary Chapel Christian School in Moreno Valley. Tip-off team is at 6:30.

FREE BREAKFAST IN JOSHUA TREE TOMORROW
Joshua Tree Community United Methodist Church will provide a free Community Breakfast Buffet Saturday morning from 9-10 a.m. Clothing, shoes, coats and blankets are free to those in need as supplies last. The community is invited. The church is located at 6213 East Parkway in Joshua Tree.

FREE MEAL AND FELLOWSHIP IN TWENTYNINE PALMS
Breaking Bread Ministry in Twentynine Palms is serving up a free meal and fellowship tomorrow afternoon from 3 to 5 at the Little Church of the Desert Community Hall. On the menu is a baked chicken dinner. The meal is prepared and served up by the Twentynine Palms High School Interact Club.

STUDENTS ART SHOW RECEPTION SUNDAY AT 29 PALMS ART GALLERY
The 29 Palms Art Gallery will hold a reception this Sunday to kick off their student art show. Reporter Mike Lipsitz has your invitation…
The 29 Palms Art Gallery curates the Student Show opening this Sunday, February 5 with an artist reception at the Gallery from noon to 3pm. Students, families, friends, and the public are invited. Ribbons and cash prizes worth more than $1000 will be presented at the reception. The gallery is located near the Oasis of Mara and Old Schoolhouse Museum in Twentynine Palms. The 29 Palms Art Gallery and gift shop are open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 3. For more information call 760-367-7819 during open hours, or go to 29palmsartgallery.com.

TWENTYNINE PALMS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL NOTCHES WIN, LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP TONIGHT
A big win for the Twentynine Palms High School Wildcat varsity boys’ basketball team Wednesday night at Desert Hot Springs. Coach Michael Schneider said the team excelled on the court with all pistons burning as they took at 59-38 win. The defensive end held strong giving up only 11 points at the half. The offense was clicking on all cylinders too while they led most of the game with a 20-point lead.

High scorers were:
Chris Fui Fui 15 points
Morgan Cole 10 points
Michaiah Russell 10 points
Tre Douglas 7 points

The Twentynine Palms High School hoops team travels to Big Bear Friday tonight to play a game that decides the De Anza League Champion. Both teams are 7 – 1 in league.

COPPER MOUNTAIN MESA BREAKFAST TOMORROW
Tomorrow is the First Saturday Breakfast at the Copper Mountain Mesa Community Center at 65336 Winter Road in North Joshua Tree. They’ll be serving from 8 am to 11 am the best darn breakfast still only $4.50, prepared and served by the friendliest volunteers around.

JOSHUA TREE VFW KITCHEN BUSY THIS WEEK
The Joshua Tree VFW will be serving up a fish and chips tonight from 4:30 to 6:30 at the Post at 6402 Veterans Way. Sunday breakfast is a chicken fried steak from 8 to 11. And don’t forget Taco Wednesday from 11 to 1.

WE MEET MISS YUCCA VALLEY CONTESTANT SARA POLOS
The Miss Yucca Valley Pageant will be held this Saturday evening at 6:00 at the Joshua Springs Thunderdome. Tickets are available at the door. For the past two weeks we have been introducing you to the contestants. Today, Sara Polos…
Today we visit with Sara Polos, a junior at Yucca Valley High School and a candidate for Miss Yucca Valley. Hi, Sara. Tell us, who is the prominent woman you interviewed, and what you have learned…
My prominent lady is Roxanne Miller and she has helped me realize I shouldn’t take things for granted.
What have you learned from your experience with Miss Yucca Valley?
To become more outgoing and to be more proud of this community.
Any final words?
I hope everyone will come out for our pageant night, February 4, 6 p.m. at Joshua Springs and come support us all.
Thank you, Sara.

CACTUS SEWABLES QUILT GUILD MEETS MONDAY
The general meeting of the Cactus Sewables Quilt Guild will take place this Monday in the Yucca Room of the Yucca Valley Community Center. Doors open at 12:30 p.m.; meeting begins promptly at 1:00 p.m. Highlight for the afternoon will be viewing and voting on the Desert Guilds Quilt Show Challenge quilts. Prizes to be awarded. Guests are welcome. A $3 donation is requested.

TOWN SPONSORED KIDS DANCE TOMORROW IN YUCCA VALLEY
The Town of Yucca Valley’s Community Services Department will host a Kids’ Dance tomorrow, from 3 – 5 p.m. at the Yucca Valley Senior Center. Children in grades K-6 are welcome to attend. Cost for this event is $3 per person. Entertainment will be provided by the Z107.7 Mobile DJ. Recreation staff members will supervise this afternoon of fun. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, check online at www.yucca-valley.org.

A SUNDAY MATINEE AS “JAKE’S WOMEN” CONTINUES AT THEATRE 29
The Quirky comedy, “Jake’s Women” continues its run Friday and Saturday nights at 7 at Theatre 29. Reporter Mike Lipsitz reminds you that there will be a Sunday matinee this weekend…
“Jake’s Women” continues a very successful run at Theatre 29 through February 11. Director Butch Pelfrey and his talented cast are leaving audiences delighted and garnering rave reviews. In “Jake’s Women,” America’s premier comic playwright, Neil Simon, makes another hilarious foray into modern relationships. Jake, a novelist who is more successful with fiction than with real life, faces a marital crisis by daydreaming about the women in his life. You can join the fun Friday and Saturday nights at 7 or at a special matinee performance at 2:30 on February 5. 2012 Season tickets are still available for $68; $56 for seniors and military; and $46 for children and students. Tickets for “Jake’s Women” are $8 to $12, available from the box office during any performance, by phoning 760-361-4151 or online at theatre29.org.

ANOTHER POWER OUTAGE PLANNED ABOARD MARINE BASE MONDAY
The Combat Center will have another power outage Monday. The power outage will begin at 8:30 Monday night and is scheduled to last until 6:30 a.m Tuesday morning. However, Southern California Edison warns that its work may not be completed by 6:30 a.m., and so all base personnel and residents on the base should be prepared to be without power for more than 10 hours. Power to non-essential areas of the base between 1st and 9th Streets will start to be shut down starting at 3 p.m. as crews prepare for the power outage. For more information, call 760-830-6100 or 760-830-3718.

CITY OF TWENTYNINE PALMS LOOKING FOR DESIGNS FOR A PORTABLE 29!
The City of Twentynine Palms is issuing a challenge for local artists. Reporter Lenore Roberts says artists can win cash and materials compensation…
A unique challenge has been issued to local artists by the Public Arts Advisory Committee of Twentynine Palms: Envision the surface decoration for a portable replica of the iconic “29!” sculpture. The sculpture, which is 96 inches wide and 72 inches high, will be mounted on a trailer and displayed at various community functions and public locations throughout the year. Artists are invited to submit conceptual sketches to the committee by February 15, and the challenge is open to individual artists and art groups. Three finalists will be selected to elaborate their concepts, and each will be awarded $200 to compensate for time and materials. $1000 will be awarded to the winning artist or group along with $500 for materials. The final product must be durable, weatherproof, and easily maintained. For more information visit www.29 palms.org or call Jon Beard at (760) 367-7562.

ANOTHER UNION JOINS EFFORT TO MAKE SUPERVISORS PART-TIME
The labor union representing roughly 11,000 San Bernardino County employees announced Wednesday it will support another union’s effort to reduce county supervisors’ jobs to part-time. The San Bernardino Public Employees Association (SBPEA), said in a statement that the union’s board of directors had voted unanimously to support the San Bernardino County Safety Employees Benefit Association (SEBA) in its push to slash county supervisor salaries to $60,000 a year and their district budgets from $1.5 million to $250,000. The unions are accusing the board of foisting its duties onto county Chief Executive Officer Greg Devereaux and voters.

A WARNING ABOUT A LOCAL PHONE SCAM
The old adage is “If it sounds too good to be true, it is.” Managing editor Tami Roleff warns about another phone scam being used by con artists here in the Morongo Basin…
Some listeners have reported receiving phone calls from a company called Your American Funding, which promises to give you “free” money to start a business, pay bills or tuition, or buy a car or house. The “catch” it’s not actually free. First, you have to give the caller your credit or debit card number for the $4.95 “application” fee. And then, unbeknownst to you, your card will be charged about $50 a month. If you try to call the company to cancel the charges, no one ever answers the telephone. And you never actually receive any money; what you MIGHT—or might not—get is a brochure that lists agencies that give out grants and loans. There are so many red flags flying about this company’s sales pitch that it looks like a Chinese parade. A quick online search for “Your American Funding” and “scams” brings up nearly 12,000 results. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

ANOTHER ARREST FOR A TWENTYNINE PALMS COUPLE
A Twentynine Palms couple was arrested Wednesday for possession of stolen property, less than a week after they were sentenced to jail for child cruelty. According to the Sheriff’s Department, a search warrant was served on the home of Rosemary Barron, 32, and Jose Hernandez, 26, in the 6400 block of Cholla Avenue of Twentynine Palms. The deputy discovered a stolen debit card that was used to purchase a pizza that was delivered to their home. In addition, numerous other stolen items were found inside the home. Last week, both Barron and Hernandez were each sentenced to four years probation and 90 days in the county jail for a case of child cruelty from October. Rosemary Barron and Jose Hernandez were arrested for investigation of being in possession of stolen property, booked into the Morongo Basin Jail. Bail is set at $25,000 each.

SHERIFF’S, CHP, ON MAXIMUM ENFORCEMENT SUPER BOWL SUNDAY
Law enforcement will be out in full force Super Bowl Sunday. The County DUI Campaign will have special roving DUI patrols looking for drunk drivers. In 2010, over 10,000 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes that involved at least one driver or motorcycle rider with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. In Californian, this deadly crime led to 791 deaths because someone failed to designate a sober driver. Chris Murphy, Director of the Californian Office of Traffic Safety, said “Having a designated sober driver should be an obvious call in everyone’s play book.

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS AND SCORES
The Yucca Valley High School Trojans boys’ basketball team beat the Shadow Hills Knights by the score of 66-57 to move into third place in de Anza league play. The Trojans were lead by Dutch DeMeo with 24 points and Tanner Littrell with 17 points. Jordan Batin also chipped in with 13 points and 8 rebounds.

The Yucca Valley Lady Trojan basketball team cruised to a 58-25 win last night at Shadow Hills High School in Indio. The girls were led by Whitney Rodriguez who scored a game high 21 points and LaTreya Ross who knocked in 10 points. Senior Lauren Pitts also added 8 points for the local squad who moved to 6-2 in De Anza League and 14-5 overall.

Coming up in high school sports tomorrow, the Yucca Valley High School soccer teams host the Desert Mirage High School Rams at home. Match time for the girls is 3:15; boys at 5. The Twentynine Palms High School girls’ soccer team travels to Big Bear to play the Big Bear Bears tomorrow. Game time is 3:15.