Breaking Bread Ministry and Desert Congregational Church will be serving free meal and fellowship, 3 to 5 p.m tomorrow at Little Church of the Desert Community Hall in Twentynine Palms. Taco salad and dessert are on the menu.

Joshua Tree Community United Methodist Church will provide a free Community Breakfast buffet Saturday morning 9 to 10 a.m. Used clothing, shoes, coats and blankets are free to those in need as supplies last. The church is located at 6213 East Parkway.

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The Joshua Tree Veterans of Foreign Wars Post will be serving up an oven-fried chicken dinner tonight from 4:30 to 6:30 at the Post on Veteran’s Way. There will be no Sunday breakfast, but don’t forget about Taco Wednesday from 11 to 1.

The Summer Concert series continues tomorrow evening in the Town of Yucca Valley. Assignment reporter Corrisa Evans invites you to enjoy the sounds of “Silverado”…
On July 14 the town of Yucca Valley’s Summer Music Festival is hosting the country western band Silverado. Silverado performs a variety of Top-40 country songs from hit artists such as Martina McBride and Shania Twain. The concert is free and begins at 7 p.m. at the Yucca Valley Community Center Ballfield. There will be food being sold at the event, but outside food is welcome. Don’t forget to bring lawn chairs or blankets to sit on, and come enjoy the cool evening under the stars.

The Homestead Valley Community Council invites you to their next meeting Monday at 3 p.m. at the Yucca Mesa Community Center at 3133 Balsa Avenue just off Aberdeen. The HVCC addresses County, State and Federal officials concerning issues held in common by Yucca Mesa, Flamingo Heights, Landers and Johnson Valley. Go online to find out more about the actions the Council is taking, such as opposing development of renewable energy projects on Black Lava Buttes and Flat Top Mesa above Pipes Canyon, the proposed expansion of the Marine Base into the Johnson Valley Open Riding Area, and the ban on development of properties that rely on the use of hauled water. You’ll find these issues and more at www.hvccsite.org.

The Andromeda Astronomical Society will meet at 7 p.m., tonight, July 13, at the Yucca Valley Community Center. The program will feature a DVD, “The Constellations.” Hospitality is included.

Free Federal surplus food will be distributed to low-income individuals and families this Monday, Reporter Dan Stork tells us when and where…
The Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino will distribute surplus food to low-income residents of the Morongo Basin Monday, July 16th. The locations and times are: the Church of the Lighted Cross, at 11518 Elbow Lane in Morongo Valley, from 8 to 10; Belfield Hall, on Reche Road in Landers, 8:30 to 10:30; the Community Center in Yucca Valley, 8:30 to 10:30; Copper Mountain Mesa Foundation, 65336 Winter Road in the Copper Mountain area, 9 to 11; the Community Center in Joshua Tree, 9 to 11; Sunset Village Apartments, 6036 Sunset Road in Joshua Tree, 9:30 to 11:30; the fire station in Wonder Valley, 10:30 to 11:30; and Little Church of the Desert at 6079 Adobe Road in Twentynine Palms, from 10 to noon. Proof of income and address may be provided in a variety of ways, including self-certification on a form that will be available at each site. Recipients are requested to bring their own paper or plastic bags. The Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino is a private, non-profit organization that seeks to serve the low-income families, elderly, disadvantaged and homeless of the county. For more information, call 909-723-1580.

Come August, there’ll be a new Sheriff in town. Captain Donnie Miller, who’s been the Chief of Police for Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms for the last four years, will be retiring August 10. Miller has lived his entire life in Twentynine Palms and started in law enforcement as a reserve deputy with the Sheriff’s Posse in 1979, then went to the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Academy in 1981. Like most new deputies, Miller started out working in the jails, until an opening on patrol opened up and he was transferred back to the Morongo Basin. During his 31 years at the Sheriff’s Department, Miller has worked as a patrol deputy, on the Regional Gang Task Force, in the Crimes Against Children unit, narcotics, court services, working all over the county, including Needles, Victorville, San Bernardino, and Big Bear, as well as the Morongo Basin. When Miller was promoted to captain in 2008, he returned to take command of the Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Station. Miller told Z107.7 news that he’s had a great career; he got into law enforcement to make his community a safer place and he’s had fun chasing the bad guys. One of the major changes he’s seen in law enforcement over the years is the increasing requirements for training and education that deputies must undergo, and he added that AB109, the Prison Realignment Act and the state’s budget crisis, are making it much more strenuous and complicated for today’s deputies to deal with criminals. Miller added that he has mixed emotions about retiring; he has enjoyed his career and will miss law enforcement, but he’s looking forward to retirement and vacations. A replacement has not yet been named. A retirement party for Miller will be held on August 3 at 11 a.m. at the Yucca valley Community Center.

With thunderstorms and accompanying lightning dancing through our desert, you need to protect your electrical equipment. Managing Editor Tami Roleff offers these suggestions…
Lightning strikes are one of the major sources of external power surges that can severely damage electronic equipment and cause fires–both of which can be dangerous and are a huge disruption to a family or business. For lightning protection, a whole-house/building surge protector is the best starting point for reducing the risk of damage. In addition, use ssurge protectors for electronic equipment and any telephone and cable/satellite TV lines connecting to the equipment. These devices are available at most home improvement and electronics stores. For more information on how to reduce the risk of lightning damaging your home or business, visit www.DisasterSafety.org.

A recount of ballots cast for the new 8th Congressional District is going on today. The County registrar of voters said Republican candidate Phillip Liberatore, requested a recount of 24 precincts. Liberatore finished third in the race, 240 votes behind Assemblyman Paul Cook, who finished second to Gregg Imus. Imus and Cook are slated to face each other in the November general election. The massive 8th Congressional district runs from the Nevada border as far west as Highland and Crestline, south and east from Bridgeport to Needles and the Colorado River including our Morongo basin communities. The new district had 13 candidates in the primary. Liberatore paid $11,335 for the first day’s recount. He will pay roughly $6,000 for each day after that. Workers will recount the ballots by hand. The ballots were initially scanned and counted by machine.

A meeting of involved parties and agencies was held last night to determine the future of fire protection in Twentynine Palms. Reporter Dan Stork was there and said a consensus was reached at the meeting…
Let the County take over fire services. That was the consensus among the members of the Twentynine Palms City Council and Water District Board, at a joint workshop on the subject of the future of the Twentynine Palms Fire Department. Voters recently turned down a ballot measure to extend and increase the tax that funds the department’s operations. After that vote, the Water District resolved its intent to divest itself of responsibility for the Fire Department, but hadn’t chosen a course of action. Chief Mark Hartwig of the San Bernardino County Fire Depart presented two service models – “contract” and “annexation.” Under the “contract model,” the county would absorb stations that are outside city limits, and would contract with the city for operation of the two stations within city boundaries. Under this model, services such as emergency medical services would be constrained to some extent by geographical boundaries, and the county would charge the city a “contract management fee” in the neighborhood of $250,000 per year. Hartwig clearly preferred the “annexation model,” which would give the county full control of how it provides fire services, and he persuaded both sets of officials of its superiority. He projected integrated services, and elimination of duplication of expertise, infrastructure, costs, and administration as benefits of this approach. Hartwig cited Yucca Valley as a role model for how a municipality and the county can cooperate without contracting for services. Hartwig handled questions about the future employment of local firefighters, and the fate of existing assets and the current local fire tax by deferring to firefighter labor organizations and future negotiations among other interested parties. Kathleen Rollings-McDonald, Executive Officer of the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) said that in order for local fire services to be taken over by the county by July 1 of next year, the Water District will have to submit a complete application, including an application fee, by October 1 of this year, at the very latest. She cautioned that there may be many hurdles along the way, including an opportunity for public protest and rejection of the change.

A pair of earthquakes, the first moderate and the second small, just one minute apart, rattled the communities of the Morongo Basin yesterday. According to the USGS, the first 3.9 magnitude temblor struck at 10:54 this morning, the second, a 2.6, hit at 10:55. The twin quakes were felt as a sharp jolt followed by a rolling motion at the Z107.7 studios in Joshua Tree. They were centered 2 miles and 3 miles respectively south-southeast of Yucca Valley. There were no reports of damages or injury.

The Town of Yucca Valley shut down an illegal marijuana dispensary Wednesday afternoon. The Town’s Code Compliance department received an anonymous tip that a marijuana dispensary was operating out of a storefront in the 55900 block of Twentynine Palms Highway and went out to investigate about 4:30 Wednesday. Leanthon Clark, 34, of Adelanto, was cited for operating an illegal marijuana dispensary. During the investigation, deputies determined that Clark had given them a false name to conceal the fact that he was a registered sex offender who had been convicted of a 1999 offense with a child under 14. The district attorney will determine if additional charges will be filed against Leanthon Clark.

A Sheriff’s deputy crashed his car Wednesday enroute to a high-speed chase in Twentynine Palms. Sheriff’s Sergeant Jason Radeleff said about 4:45 Wednesday, a deputy tried to pull over, Tina Maurer, 33, for broken tail lights, she fled northbound on Mesquite Springs Road at a high rate of speed blowing through stop signs. Four other deputies responded to the pursuit, one in Twentynine Palms, and three others driving at a high rate of speed eastbound on the highway. As Deputy Erdem Gorgulu approached Sunfair Road with lights and siren activated, Charles Wright, 26, of Joshua Tree, in the left turn lane onto Sunfair, saw the approaching patrol car and drove across both eastbound lanes of the highway to move over to the right shoulder of the highway, directly into the path of the patrol car. Gorgulu swerved onto the right shoulder to avoid the car, soft dirt sent the patrol car flying to the left, across all four lanes, hitting a berm on the north side, through a narrow opening between a fire hydrant and a telephone pole, before stopping in the open desert. Sergeant Radeleff said Deputy Gorgulu was “lucky” and was not injured in the crash, but the patrol car suffered serious damage. The CHP is investigating the incident. Meanwhile, Tina Maurer crashed her car at the intersection of Mesquite Springs Road and Old Chisholm Trail and was arrested on a $75,000 felony warrant for burglary and felony failure to yield.

The Morongo Basin has been treated to performances of Mother Nature’s grand spectacles in recent days – thunder, lightning, sudden torrents. Ranger Pat Pilcher gives us a larger view of summer monsoons…
Summer sun and rising humidity makes us really feel the heat. At Joshua Tree National park, we watch the sky for clouds and wonder about monsoon rains. The word “monsoon” refers to a wind system that often bring moisture. Summer thunderstorms are typically vigorous with sheets of water washing across the land. Never predictable, summer storms elicit a quick response from Mother Nature. A carpet of golden cinch weed commonly follows after summer storms and barrel cactus grow plump. Desert tarantulas appear during summer rains as well as elusive desert tortoises. The excitement of summer rain reminds us that water is precious. Storm runoff is a critical resource for desert life, and recharges underground aquifers for humans. Benefits of a summer storm come with dangers, too. When the rains come, be sure to heed warnings for flash floods as you pause to smell the wet earth and watch the desert turn green.

It’s already the fourth week of the Yucca Valley Summer Music Festival. Reporter Corrisa Evans invites you to come out to listen to a night of country music…
On July 14 the town of Yucca Valley’s Summer Music Festival is hosting the country western band Silverado. Silverado performs a variety of top 40 country songs from hit artists such as Martina McBride and Shania Twain. The concert is free and begins at 7 p.m. at the Yucca Valley Community Center Ballfield. There will be food being sold at the event, but outside food is welcome. Don’t forget to bring lawn chairs or blankets to sit on, and come enjoy the cool evening under the stars.

Sharp eyes and a good memory by a Sheriff’s sergeant led to the arrest of at least two people suspected in an armed robbery in Morongo Valley in April. Early Thursday morning, Sergeant Trevis Newport was patrolling in Yucca Valley when he saw a car, belonging to people suspected of being involved in the robbery, drive westbound on the highway. Sergeant Newport followed the car and made a felony traffic stop near Ramona Trail in Morongo Valley. Newport, assisted by Deputy Mike Abel, pulled two women out of the car at gunpoint, and arrested Sandra Beneke, 41, of Morongo Valley, for investigation of aiding and abetting. Futher investigation led to a home in the 11600 block of Rosewood Avenue in Morongo Valley. There, they arrested Morris McCormies, 37, on suspicion of armed robbery. Sheriffs said two men and a woman entered a home April 18 in the 50200 block of Oak Drive in Morongo Valley and threatened the resident with a gun, telling him he had just four days to vacate the premises. The robbers stole a number of items and told the victim if he called police he would be dead. On June 16, McCormies’ suspected partner in the robbery, David Wilson, was arrested for investigation of another armed robbery from February. Morris McCormies and David Wilson are both being held at West Valley Detention Center. McCormies’ bail is set at $450,000. David Wilson’s total bail is $2.35 million.

A Twentynine Palms man who is no stranger to the law was arrested again Thursday. According to a Sheriff’s report, a woman in the 6900 block of Fortynine Palms Avenue called 911 at 5:19 p.m. to report that Thomas McCool, 41, pushed her against the wall, and then, while running after the dogs, bit her nose. Thomas McCool, who has been convicted of being under the influence of a controlled substance, evading a police officer, and was arrested in April on a burglary charge, was arrested for investigation of domestic battery. McCool is being held at the West Valley Detention Center with his bail set at $25,000.

A Yucca Valley woman was arrested Thursday afternoon, accused of preventing her friend from leaving. According to a Sheriff’s report, Kaley Brown, 25, of the 56200 block of Navajo Trail was arguing with a woman and was refusing to let her leave the home. Brown allegedly held the woman by her arms, causing pain. Kaley Brown was arrested for investigation of domestic battery, and was booked into the Morongo Basin Jail. She was released two hours later on $25,000 bail.

There will be an open house all next week at the Morongo Basin Senior Support Center in Yucca Valley. The open house will allow residents to see first hand what the facility at 57121 Sunny Slope Drive has to offer. Enjoy a week of warm water exercise FREE. Anybody 18 years or older are invited from July 16-20 between 9-2 p.m. Call for details 760-365-9661.