Dead apparently butchered goat

Plan focuses on roads, downtown revitalization

City's $78 million capital improvement plan includes paving 56.5 miles of roads

Hesperia will be spending $78 million of the city's record $181 million budget on capital improvements. The spending includes $28 million on roads, including paving 56.5 miles in the city.

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Local politicians get name recognition via non-election signs

Vogler, Smith adopted road signs well in advance of Election 2006

The battle of the ballot booth is fought long before Election Day. And before one can battle for votes, there is the fight for name recognition.

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Gang sweep nets 77 arrests, 53 suspects are from Hesperia

More than 50 alleged gang members and other wanted suspects were picked up during a one-day gang sweep of the city earlier this month.

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Concrete legacy

Hi-Grade Materials patriarch Robert Hove celebrates 80th birthday

The Robar Enterprises companies all stopped work for a brief period on Friday across the High Desert. Although rock dust still filled the air at the Hi-Grade Materials Company ready-mix concrete company site on Bear Valley Road, there was also the smell of steak, chicken and sausage grilling. Similar cookouts happened at company sites in Lancaster, two locations in Arizona and company quarries across the High Desert.

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Chamber to hold second monthly breakfast event

The Hesperia Chamber of Commerce has added a monthly breakfast to its arsenal of regular activities.

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Neighbors discover 4-foot shark while on daily desert walk

Neighbors Richard Doornbos and Al Embry have stumbled upon numerous mysteries of the Mojave Desert, but never anything like this.

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Bar h Rodeo rocks into high gear

PRCA Rodeo at Shearer Equestrian Center is pure Americana, pure fun

With boots shined and belt buckles sparkling, the local cowboys were looking fine, and the cowgirls even finer. Patrons enjoyed funnel cakes, hot dogs, kettle corn and other tasty goodies.

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Residential burglary, C and Muscatel

A press release from the Hesperia station of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department:

Incident: Residential Burglary                                   
Suspect(s):  3 – 17 year old male juveniles – Hesperia
1 – 16 year old male juvenile - Hesperia
Location: Muscatel/C Avenue - Hesperia
Time/date: 11:33 a.m. – 6/21/06

SUMMARY:

On the above date and time, Deputy Swoboda was dispatched to a report of a burglary in progress at the above location.

The victim reported that she was asleep in the bedroom of her apartment when she was awakened by a noise.  She looked up and saw a male standing in her bedroom.  He ran out the door.  The victim got up and noticed the door open and her T.V. and play station missing.

Two witnesses saw the suspect hand the T.V. over the retaining wall of the balcony and get in a pickup truck parked on Muscatel.  The witness followed the truck southbound on E Avenue.  The vehicle stopped in front of a house E Avenue, where the witness saw the suspect unloading the T.V.  The witness got the license plate number, and when the truck left again, the witness followed it to another address on Cactus Street.  He then returned to the victim’s residence.

The sheriff’s helicopter, 40K, was overhead and monitoring the activity from above.  The pilots in the helicopter observed the suspects coming out of the house on Cactus.  Two of the suspects grabbed bicycles and were riding away.  Deputy Swoboda apprehended the first suspect in the area of C and Bodart, and the second suspect at E Avenue and Muscatel.  40K issued commands to the third suspect from the air, advising him to stay where he was.  Sgt. Bowman took the third suspect, who was on foot, into custody. 

The truck the suspects were driving was recovered with the stolen property still inside.

All three juveniles were taken into custody and booked at the Apple Valley Juvenile Detention Center.  One of the 17-year old male suspects is on parole with the California Youth Authority for shooting at an inhabited dwelling.  A fourth suspect is still outstanding.

The witnesses were able to positively identify the suspects.

More photos from Friday's gang sweep

Click the photos to see a larger size version.

Gang-Busters

Deputies and police from the High Desert and surrounding communities turned Victor Valley College into a temporary base of operations Friday afternoon when they rounded up suspected gang members in Hesperia and Apple Valley in a "zero tolerance" sweep.

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Hesperia to add 61 employees

The city of Hesperia will hire an additional 61 employees, if the proposed city fiscal year 2006-2007 budget is approved as written at Wednesday's city council meeting.

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Park board's Hall considers council run

After 16 years on the board of directors for the Hesperia Recreation and Park District, Richard Hall is considering changing elected offices and running for the Hesperia City Council this fall.

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Local BMX riders for a cause

After 16 years on the board of directors for the Hesperia Recreation and Park District, Richard Hall is considering changing elected offices and running for the Hesperia City Council this fall.

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A Dream Realized

On a wing and a prayer -- and lots of drive, determination and hope -- the Hesperia Junior High science team that created and developed the Hands-Off Telephone Band cell phone accessory accomplished their golden dream.

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Lewis Center student to attend conference

Christopher Manghane, a student at the Lewis Center Academic Academy of Excellence in Apple Valley, has been selected to attend the 2006 Congressional Student Leadership Conference, sponsored by LeadAmerica, at San Diego State University.

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A heart for giving

If you ask what truly matters to Elvyn and Bernice Reeves of Hesperia, a couple who has enjoyed many of the finer things in life, it's very simple. It's a matter of heart.

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Star wins state park association award

The Hesperia Star Newspaper has received the 2006 "Best District, Newspaper Coverage" award from the California Association of Recreation and Park Districts.

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Carlee De Mase places second in soap box derby

Carlee De Mase of Hesperia took second place in the Masters Division of the seventh annual Greater Los Angeles Soap Box Derby in La Canada Flintridge. The event was hosted by the Kiwanis Club of La Canada and the California Family Soap Box Derby Association.

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VVC to hold PAC groundbreaking event

Victor Valley College will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for a construction of the new Speech/Drama addition to the Performing Arts Center at noon on Thursday, June 29.

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Local BMXers ride for a cause

The activity was all fun, but underneath the fast-paced commotion of bicycle motocross was a purpose of strict seriousness.

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Hamilton will not seek reelection

Decision to not run for reelection signals end to 19 years on school board

After 19 years in office, Jack Hamilton has a new title: "I'll be a lame duck now."

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City looks to add three Oak Hills 'islands'

Hesperia is looking to add three areas of Oak Hills to the city map, but each area is one many High Desert residents likely thought was already part of the city.

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City of Hesperia to Webcast city council meetings over Internet beginning in October

When the Hesperia City Council begins holding meetings in the new city hall in October, residents won't have to drive down to Juniper and 7th Streets to see the new meeting room: It'll be as close as their personal computer.

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Each step has purpose for Hesperia marathoner

The idea of long-distance running was foreign to Trisha Kirkey until it became clear that moving her legs could truly make a difference.

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Members Only Federal Credit Union celebrates

The Members Only Federal Credit Union celebrated the opening of its Hesperia location at 15885 Main Street with a party and ribbon-cutting ceremony.

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The Devil's Punchbowl

Are you interested in hiking or communing with nature this summer? If so, I've got a few prospects in mind that are dillies. The next one will appear next month and all of them are local; you won't need to wear yourself out driving for two hours just to reach it.

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Tony Bernasconi -- Bernasconi's Video

Bernasconi's Video has been serving the people of Hesperia for over 21 years, since April 1985. Tony Bernasconi, the owner and manager, also offers the largest movie selection of any video rental in Hesperia. His continued loyalty makes him very worthy of your business.

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Fastpitch: unique blend of softball, baseball

The pitcher stares at the catcher, winds up, and in a blink of the eye the ball blasts across the plate, leaving the batter wondering what just happened.

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Grammy winner headlines Big Bear event

Grammy Award winner Rodney Crowell is scheduled to perform at Bear Valley Heritage Days this coming Labor Day weekend.

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Sheriff's Log

Two Hispanic men and a Hispanic woman carjacked a 1991 blue four-door Toyota Corolla near the intersection of 2nd Avenue and Bear Valley Road, deputies were told on June 4.

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Hesperia Unified School District Police Log

A male Mojave High School student was cited for possession of a locking blade knife.

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Hesperia Star at Hesperia Business Expo tomorrow

Hesperia Star Reporter Beau Yarbrough and Office Manager Maria Bamba will be manning the Star's booth at the Hesperia Chamber of Commerce's Business Expo. The Expo will take place this year at Epicenter on I Avenue near Hercules Street between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Stop by and say hi!

Study: Casinos increase crime

Casinos raise the level of serious crime in a community over time, despite casino revenues spent on additional police, according to a new study.

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Sherburnes hope court will allow appeal

With her Highway 395-area home bulldozed by authorities, her family business taken away, and a four-month incarceration at the West Valley Detention Center all in her past, Trudy Sherburne has had more than her share of entanglements with the government. But the soft-spoken, petite woman who frequently cites Bible verses says she's not giving up pursuing what she believes is right.

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Workers replace Main Street water pipes

Over the next few weeks, workers will be replacing existing decades-old steel water pipes with new, larger-diameter PVC on a stretch of Main Street.

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For Sultana High, school is out, cars are in

It's summer break for the students at Sultana High School and many of them will be working this summer and saving up for their first major purchase of their lives: their first car.

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Lindley raises $50,000

Councilman Jim Lindley, who was publicly ambivalent about running for reelection this time last year, has raised approximately $50,000 for a November run for a record third term on the Hesperia City Council.

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Carlo's Car Care Corner BY CARLO BERRO

Here in the High Desert, we tend to put a lot of miles on our vehicles. We have to travel a good distance in and around Hesperia and many of us commute down the hill as well. We are all feeling the crunch in our wallets as gas prices are at an all-time high. There is a lot of talk these days about "alternative fuels." But just what are these alternative fuels, and why is everyone so excited about them?

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Couple is sought in connection with area copper thefts

Always a popular target for Hesperia thieves, copper was stolen from construction sites and a local business across the city in a series of burglaries over the Memorial Day weekend.

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Art as an ILLUSION

Hesperia High School students in Jennifer Campbell's Advanced Art Class eschewed conventional art paper for a larger, more urban canvas -- a school corridor.

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VVC music event, June 10

The Victor Valley College music department will host a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Dr. Thomas Miller's tenure as director of choral Music at the college.

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E-mail back to normal

OK, our e-mail seems to have been back to normal for several days. You can once again reach us at editor@hesperiastar.com, beau@hesperiastar.com and legals@hesperiastar.com.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Alternate email addresses

We're sorry for the email address problem. Please send Hesperia correspondence to our alternate addresses:

• Editor Peter Day can be reached at pday@vvdailypress.com
• Reporter Beau Yarbrough can be reached at byarbrough@vvdailypress.com
• Office Administrator Maria Bamba can be reached at mbamba@vvdailypress.com