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In the News - Friday, April 25, 2003
Hold your horses:
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After four months of nonstop competition and grueling challenges in a variety of climates, a five-athlete team will be rewarded with a Mount Everest summit expedition that will take place next month. This was the latest twist in the Global Extremes: Mt. Everest– 4Runners of Adventure reality-television series that premiered in January on the Outdoor Life Network (local cable channel 104).
Petit Pinson, 33, of Three Rivers was the first to be announced as one of the five who will be given the opportunity to climb the world’s highest mountain (elevation 29,035 feet above sea level) with an expedition led by expert Everest guide Russell Brice. Petit emerged from a field of 700 applicants, of which 50 of these amateur athletes were selected to appear on the show.
The numbers dwindled as the participants competed in various outdoor challenges — just 24 left the initial Moab competition to face more challenges in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado; 12 continued on to the Kalahari Desert in Africa; 11 went to Costa Rica, Central America; and the remaining nine headed north to experience Iceland in winter.
Episode 16, April 21— After a recap of the weeks spent in Iceland enduring the worst weather they’ve encountered during their global journey, the Mount Everest summit team was selected. First, the athletes were required to eliminate two of their own, not an easy task considering they had all grown quite close during their months of living, eating, sleeping, traveling, and competing together.
Eliminated via the majority vote of the athletes were Trynt Young (Encinitas, Calif.) and Jesse Haynes (Phillips, Wis.).
The judges’ decision for the final team was announced by Eric Philips, who had been accompanying the athletes as a judge during their Iceland stay. He gave a brief description of the athlete’s skills, explained why they were selected, then announced their names: Petit; Ted Mahon, 30 (Aspen, Colo.); Troy Henkels, 35 (Eagle River, Alaska); Colleen Ihnken, 38 (Alma, Colo.); and Jesse Rickert, 30 (Gunnison, Colo.). This announcement automatically eliminated Andy Corra (Durango, Colo.) and Samantha Gehring (Cardiff).
Global Extremes will air again on Monday, May 12 and 19, with “Live from Mt. Everest” episodes. Beginning Tuesday, May 13, until the “Live Climb,” the Outdoor Life Network will air daily updates of the expedition.
The summit attempt will also be aired live on a date to be announced. Descent updates will be aired the morning following the summit attempt.
On Tuesday, April 22, the Tulare County Board of Supervisors approved the sale of “safe and sane” fireworks in unincorporated areas of the county, including Three Rivers. The approval is expected to give a boost to sales-tax revenue and also help nonprofit groups that depend of fundraisers.
Tulare County Fire Department officials said that permitting safe fireworks would allow the department to step up enforcement aimed at illegal and fireworks like bottle rockets, M-80s, and cherry bombs. No specific plans were revealed as to how investigators would monitor the use of illegal fireworks, especially in the more isolated and wildfire-prone areas like Three Rivers.
In the recent past, because of the extreme fire danger, all fireworks have been illegal here, and sheriff’s deputies would investigate any fireworks activity in the Three Rivers area. Now residents may be reluctant to report fireworks because of the confusion as to their legality.
A public hearing on fees for operating a fireworks booth is scheduled for May 6. For information on how to attend please call the Board of Supervisors at 733-6271.
Thousands of anglers fishing in the annual Eastern Sierra trout opener on the last Saturday in April is proof it is one of the most popular fishing events in the country. All the excitement stems from the fact that most of the Eastern Sierra slope streams are closed for six months and some trophy brown and rainbow trout have been taken on opening day, especially in Twin Lakes (Bridgeport), Convict Lake, and Crowley Lake.
For a successful opener, it’s all timing, and to catch early-season trout at high elevations (above 7,000 feet) the conditions must be optimal. This year, those hearty souls who venture over to the East Side will encounter unseasonably cold temperatures but generally ice-free conditions on lakes below 8,000 feet.
Because of the colder weather this winter, anglers can expect streams to be very fishable.
“It’s the timing of when we get whatever high flow may come that affects the fishing,” said Curtis Milliron, a biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG). “Usually when you have a good snow pack, you don’t really have streams swollen with snowmelt until late-May or June. In a season like this, the peak flow might come earlier and may not be large enough to affect angling.”
Most savvy Kaweah Country anglers know that conditions can be similar on the west slope to what the DFG has predicted for the eastern Sierra. However, the Kaweah drainage is not subject to any closures and may yield limits of trout year-round.
For the past several weeks, Lake Kaweah has been yielding small rainbow trout and even some impressive bass.
One thing anglers need to remember is that colder water can make trout less likely to chase lures. For better results, experts say, slow down your retrieve or try bait.
One local Three Rivers fisherman recently landed a 10-pound brown trout on a night crawler purchased at Three Rivers Market. German browns are termed “wild” trout by DFG biologists because they are not stocked. In the Kaweah River, they are actually descendent from brood stock planted by packers more than a century ago.
Most local fisherman are reluctant to reveal their secret spots, but river hikers willing to spend some time exploring will find these deep holes. Start your search in the vicinity of the confluence of Yucca Creek and the North Fork and patient anglers will eventually locate these legendary lunkers.
A newly published book The Definitive Guide to Fishing in Central California, by Chris Shaffer, will help local fishing enthusiasts and visitors find nearly every fishing opportunity on both sides of the Sierra.
In describing his book, Shaffer says it’s a fun way to get more out of fishing and is especially for those who realize that fishing is not just a sport, but tonic for the soul.
“[The book] tells anglers how to target world record spotted bass in Pine Flat Reservoir, record brown trout in Bridgeport, pure golden trout in Golden Trout Creek, giant striped bass in San Luis Reservoir, pure steelhead in Whale Rock Reservoir, a record largemouth bass in Lake Success, stocked trout in Dinkey Creek, self-sustaining brook trout in Sequoia Park’s Twin Lakes and much, much more,” wrote Shaffer.
In the past five years, Shaffer has fished more than 1,000 streams and lakes in compiling this landmark work. The book, with more than 500 color photos, is available at Costco, Borders, Barnes & Noble or online at www.fishingcalifornia.net
For weekly updates on fish stocking throughout California including Lake Kaweah and the Kaweah River log onto the DFG’s website: www.dfg.ca.gov/fishplant/index.html.
Randall Eugene “Gene” Fleming died Saturday, April 19, 2003, in Visalia. He was 82.
Gene was born at home to F.R. Fleming and Alma Paden Fleming on June 27, 1920, in Frankfort, Kansas, the youngest of nine children.
Gene’s father was a banker and wheat farmer, but the Great Depression caused those of the family still in Kansas to follow the sisters and brothers who had already emigrated to Alhambra in Southern California. After a few years, Gene and his parents and some of the rest of the family moved to Spokane, Wash.
Gene finished elementary school and started high school in Spokane. In 1936, Gene and his parents moved to Visalia. His brothers were all actively involved in the Visalia business community — Ross as owner of the Boys Store; Ardath, a building contractor; and Kenneth, working on the Hyde Ranch Dairy.
While attending Visalia High School, Gene met his wife-to-be, Kay Kottmeier. Gene attended College of the Sequoias and Long Beach College.
In 1940, he returned to work for his future father-in-law, Wesley Kottmeier Sr., at the Visalia Exeter Mercantile Company. In 1941, at the Kottmeier home on Beverly Drive in Visalia, Gene and Kay were married.
Gene enlisted in the U.S. Army Ordinance of the 177th Battalion and fought in World War II. In 1946, he was honorably discharged as a captain.
He returned to work at Exeter Mercantile where he, his father-in-law, and brothers-in-law purchased the company, eventually renaming it Kottmeier Equipment Company. The partners sold the business nearly 20 years later.
In 1971, Gene and Kay moved to Bakersfield where he became corporate sales manager for the Kern County Equipment Company. In 1981, they returned to Tulare County where Gene worked for C.J. Ritchie and S.R. Shannon’s S&R Farms until his retirement.
Gene and Kay lived in Three Rivers for nearly 20 years. They moved back to their Visalia home in 1999. Gene was a Boy Scout leader and Explorer troop leader, a longtime member of the Visalia Rotary, Visalia Elks, and Visalia Masons, a member of the Three Rivers Lions Club, the Presbyterian churches in Three Rivers and Visalia, and a lifetime member of the PTA.
Gene is survived by his wife of 62 years, Kay, daughter Aurolyn Bachan of Pleasanton; six grandchildren; two great-grandchildren and soon-to-be-born twin great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his two sons, Gregory Ross Fleming and Russell Eugene Fleming; his parents; two sisters; and five brothers.
A memorial service was held Thursday, April 24, 2003, at the First Presbyterian Church in Visalia. Interment followed at Visalia District Cemetery.
The Woodlake Valley Chamber of Commerce is proudly hosting its 50th annual Western Week from May 3 through 10.
The Chamber is marking the anniversary with a special retrospective video. On view from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 3, the video will play throughout the day at the Chamber of Commerce’s booth at Miller-Brown Park. The half-hour video features images and highlights of celebrations from the early 1950s, when Western Week first began.
Also at the booth, the Chamber of Commerce will be selling commemorative deputy badges for $5 as souvenirs of this year’s festivities. Toni Lenz, Chamber of Commerce CEO, pointed out an additional function of the badges.
“They’ll keep you out of jail for the week,” she warned. “If you don’t buy one, make sure your cell phone is working.”
The Chamber has put considerable effort into coordinating events sponsored by businesses and organizations from all over Woodlake.
“It epitomizes the union of the businesses and social and civic organizations coming together to make Western Week the success that it is,” Toni said.
The schedule of events can be found at City Hall, Valero Brothers gas station, Nailz by Genny, and in next week’s (May 2) issue of The Kaweah Commonwealth.
For more information, contact the Chamber of Commerce, 564-3559.
Porta-Potty raceBesides coordinating all of Western Week, the Chamber of Commerce is also sponsoring one of the events for Kick-off Day (Saturday, May 3): the Porta-Potty Race.
Having acquired six vintage Potter’s Acme Porta-Potties, the Chamber invites six teams to step up to the starting block.
The teams have wide latitude within the competition rules. Each team must have at least five members of any age. One team member must ride in the porta-potty, which has been cleaned and sanitized, any time the potty is being moved. The Chamber will loan a helmet and gloves to the “jockey.”
Beginning at 9 a.m. on May 3, the teams will have one hour to decorate their potties, build any non-motorized potty-moving conveyances, and transfer their potties from Woodlake Plaza to the starting gate in Miller-Brown Park.
The race begins at 10 a.m., with a trophy going to the team that crosses the finish line first.
After all decorations have been removed, the six classic porta-potties, each one guaranteed to be at least 50 years old, will be auctioned off to the highest bidders ($25 starting bid).
Interested teams should register at City Hall by close-of-business on Thursday, May 1. There is a non-refundable registration fee of $10 per team.
Participation invitationOn behalf of other event sponsors, the Chamber of Commerce invites community participation in the cook-off, soapbox derby, and steer drop.
Sponsored by the volunteer firefighters, the May 3 cook-off seeks chefs to display their culinary skills at chili, ribs, and salsa. Chefs are required to supply their own cook-stoves and utensils, and all food must be prepared on location at Miller-Brown Park.
All meat in the chili must be beef; any chili with beans will be disqualified. All ribs must be beef.
A panel of five judges will award trophies to the top three winners in all categories. Contact the Woodlake Fire Department, 564-2181, for more information.
Also sponsored by the volunteer firefighters is the May 7 soapbox derby. Open to participants ages seven years and up, races take place from 4 to 8 p.m.
The race course is on Lakeview Avenue from Valencia to Magnolia. The Fire Department will provide helmets.
Legal guardians must sign a waiver for minors. Contact the Fire Department, 564-2181, for more information.
The annual steer drop, sponsored again this year by Woodlake Growers Supply, solicits benefactors to purchase tickets. Priced at $50 per ticket, the first drop pays $500 and the second pays $1,000.
All proceeds benefit the Future Farmers of America Boosters to fund FFA projects. The event takes place Tuesday, May 6, from 6:30 p.m. until the prized FFA show steer “drops.” Contact Mike Rivas, 564-2124, to purchase tickets.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks have released two planning documents detailing possible future activities for the fire and fuels management program: the draft Fire and Fuels Management Plan (FFMP)) and companion draft Environmental Assessment (EA). The public is invited to review these documents and provide comments through May 30, 2003.
The EA outlines four different alternatives and how they would affect park resources and local communities. The parks’ preferred alternative (Alternative 4) is a multi-strategy approach. The FFMP describes how this preferred alternative would be implemented.
The parks began this FFMP revision in 1999 and held seven scoping meetings to receive public ideas at the beginning of the process. Park staff will host two other public meetings during this public comment period. The meetings will be held in Visalia on Tuesday, May 13, 7 p.m., at the Tulare County Office of Education, and in Three Rivers on Wednesday, May 14, 7 p.m., in McDowall Auditorium at Three Rivers School.
The parks have prepared a brochure summarizing the EA and FFMP for those interested in a preliminary summary. To read the entire text, go to www.nps.gov/seki/fire/ffmp/ffmp/htm To request the brochure or a hard copy of the plan, call (559) 565-3703.
Comments may be sent in writing to: Superintendent, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, 47050 Generals Highway, Three Rivers, CA 93271-9651. Comments may be emailed to SEKI_Superintendent@nps.gov (include name and address).
