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  • CIF San Diego Section announces start schedule for sports

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Jan 4, 2021

    Just before heading back to class with virtual learning for the 2020-21 school year, student-athletes in Fallbrook and Bonsall found out when they can get back on the courts, fields, and pools to compete this year. Fingers crossed. The California Interscholastic Federation San Diego Section (CIF-SDS) released Friday, Aug. 14, the Master Calendar for the 2020-2021 Seasons of Sport, as well as the temporary adjustments to state and section bylaws 600-605 by the board of...

  • North County Fire Protection District approves budget for fiscal year 2020-21

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Oct 2, 2020

    During its Tuesday, Sept. 22 teleconference meeting, the North County Fire Protection District approved the yearly final budget for the fiscal year 2020-21 after a roll call vote. In the staff presentation, the projected revenues for the district is $20,740,665. According to a staff report, revenue from taxes and assessments are expected to grow by 3.5%, and ambulance fees, with help from the Quality Assurance Fee program, were expected to grow by 18.3%. Revenue expected to drop in the fiscal year are donations and grants...

  • Farmers market, vintage swap meet planned for town

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer

    In one respect, it is remarkable that the community of Fallbrook doesn’t already have a weekly farmers market in town and perhaps equally so as to why the town doesn’t have it’s own vintage swap meet. No matter, both are now in the works and could arrive within the next month or so, with one starting sooner than the other. “We are starting a farmer's market on Saturdays,” Lila MacDonald, chief executive officer of the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce, said. “Again, lots of people have asked and it just has not become a re...

  • State of the Chamber event highlights Fallbrook Strong

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Sep 23, 2020

    The Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce's State of the Chamber event was unlike any other in the business-promoting organization's history. First, the entire event held Wednesday, Sept. 16, was shorter in length than any held previously. Secondly, no food was provided, though guests were encouraged to purchase something from a chamber member restaurant before joining the party. Oh yes, thirdly, nobody was allowed to physically attend either. That's of course because the entire event... Full story

  • Charles family receives keys to HFOT home in Fallbrook

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Sep 23, 2020

    Normally at a Homes for Our Troops Key Ceremony event, those in attendance to welcome home the family would watch with joy in seeing children running around the property, in and out of rooms, enjoying their very own new space. But due to COVID-19 and restrictions, this time, the people tuning in on a Zoom call would just have to take the family's word for it Saturday, Sept. 18, when Marine Corporal Darryl Charles, along with his wife Desiree Mercardo, and their son, Kingsley,...

  • FUHSD votes to extend distance learning through second grading period

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Sep 19, 2020

    During the Monday, Sept. 14 meeting of the Fallbrook Union High School District Board of Trustees, the board voted to extend the distance learning model through the second grading period at its two high schools. As of Sept. 1, San Diego County schools are permitted to reopen for in-person learning as long as the county department of public health guidelines can be followed. According to Superintendent Ilsa Garza-Gonzalez, the district isn't yet prepared to meet all of the guid...

  • Bonsall school board hears updates, perspectives on reopening schools

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Sep 19, 2020

    The Bonsall Unified School District Governing Board Wednesday, Sept. 9, heard from district representatives and employee unions on a variety of issues, but the majority of the discussion centered around the reopening of Bonsall schools. In the superintendent’s report, Superintendent David Jones swore in a student representative to the board and gave an update on the district’s progress in having students return to campus in the near future. “We have a great interest in getting the kids back to school as soon as possi...

  • High school sports teams navigating season preparations

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Sep 17, 2020

    Marco Arias, head coach of the Fallbrook High School boys' varsity cross-country team, said he is fortunate to be coaching the sport he is. "We're one of the programs that actually is pretty fortunate that they give us a class for the team," Arias said. "I've been able to engage them through the classroom, the Google Classroom, setting up training schedules for them and making sure that they have training logs. Since we're not a club and we technically can't be on campus, on S...

  • FUHSD trustees vote to extend distance learning through second grading period

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Sep 15, 2020

    During the Monday, Sept. 14 meeting of the Fallbrook Union High School District Board of Trustees, the board voted to extend the distance learning model through the second grading period at its two high schools. As of Sept. 1, San Diego County schools are permitted to reopen for in-person learning as long as the county department of public health guidelines can be followed. But according to Superintendent Ilsa Garza-Gonzalez, the district isn't yet prepared to meet all of the...

  • Warriors field hockey CIF title defense delayed by COVID-19

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Sep 11, 2020

    Coming off a run to win the CIF San Diego Section Division II Girls Field Hockey championship in 2019, the Fallbrook High School girls' field hockey program was poised to capitalize on that success with a growing interest in the sport in town. The Warriors used a senior-laden team to rattle off playoff wins that featured game-winning goals in the waning moments, a stout defense, and a cohesive team unit throughout. Fallbrook had long been a field hockey powerhouse under the...

  • Uncertain future still for youth sports leagues

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Sep 11, 2020

    While Fallbrook Youth Baseball is taking registration for a fall quote-unquote season, as permitted by the County of San Diego, other leagues are struggling to determine what their future holds. "The county is going to allow us to – using air quotes over the phone – have a season, but they won't let us play (games) between teams," Bryce Kolezar, vice president of Sponsorships for FYB said. "Say there's a team of 12 for any division. They can only split up and play amongst the...

  • The sky is green

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Sep 10, 2020

    The sky is green. Telling me differently won’t change the fact that the sky is absolutely green. Presenting me with photographic evidence otherwise, showing me scientific proof thanks to thousands of hours of hard work by unbiased scientists won’t convince me. The sky is green. Do you know how I know? Because I believe it to be green. Gone are the days of my reliance on elitist experts, proof and evidence. All I really need is my belief system, my echo chamber of associates, YouTube videos, my chosen political party lea... Full story

  • Five injured in crash involving semi, two other vehicles on I-15

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Sep 10, 2020

    North County Fire said five people were taken to area hospitals after a semi-truck overturned on northbound Interstate 15 around 2:44 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3, in a crash that involved two other vehicles in Fallbrook just south of Highway 76. North County Fire had begun a technical rescue associated with the incident, as CHP reported two people needed rescue in two different vehicles. “Impairment is not believed to be a factor within this collision,” according to CHP Officer Mark Latulippe. According to Latulippe, a truck tra...

  • Season of unknowns coming up fast for FHS boys' volleyball team

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Sep 6, 2020

    In every other school year, the boys' volleyball season is played in the spring. This year, they will start their season Saturday, Dec. 12. That's quite a few months ahead of schedule. For Jeffrey "Chip" Patterson, head coach of Fallbrook High School's varsity boys' volleyball team, it means a whole lot of things will be up in the air – not volleyballs, though – leading up to the season. "The biggest problem we have is that these boys have to get physicals and all these thi...

  • Districts vary on timetables for bringing students back on campus

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Sep 4, 2020

    San Diego County was officially removed from the state's COVID-19 monitoring list Tuesday, Aug. 18, meaning a two-week countdown was began until county schools could consider reopening campuses to students. Locally, school districts are taking slightly different approaches to bring students back to campus. According to Ilsa Garza-Gonzalez, superintendent of Fallbrook Union High School District, the exact date that the process will begin is still a bit unclear. "As you know, fr...

  • NCFPD meeting deals with alternative revenue, conflict of interest code

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Sep 4, 2020

    The meeting of the North County Fire Protection District Board of Directors, Tuesday, Aug. 25, dealt with two main issues, according to Stephen Abbott, fire chief and CEO of the district. “The one was the conflict of interest code and then the other one was the approval of the alternative revenue implementation plan,” he said during a phone interview. The revenue implementation plan Abbott referred to was a California State University San Marcos report generated after the school canvased various departments around the country...

  • Fallbrook residential fire displaces two, one firefighter transported from scene

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Sep 4, 2020

    A residential structure fire on the 1700 block of Bellington Lane in Fallbrook Wednesday, Aug. 26, caused two people to evacuate and become displaced and caused one firefighter to receive treatment after fighting the blaze. The multi-agency effort, which began at 6:30 p.m., was contained roughly an hour later. “The first units on the scene arrived to find about 50% of the structure well involved in fire,” Kevin Mahr, division chief of operations and emergency medical services, said. “And so they took a defensive strat...

  • Fallbrook football coach is excited to have a start date

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Aug 30, 2020

    When the CIF San Diego Section released its sports calendar for the 2020-2021 sports year, the countdown clock began ticking for Troy Everhart, head football coach of Fallbrook High School. Entering his second season at the helm for the Warriors, Everhart will coach a team dealing with adversity. Everhart, who came to the program with 14 years of head coaching experience in the state of Ohio, met for the first time in summer 2019 with assistant coaches and program...

  • Fallbrook residential fire displaces two, one firefighter transported from scene

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Aug 27, 2020

    FALLBROOK — A residential structure fire on the 1700 block of Bellington Lane on Wednesday, Aug. 26 caused two people to evacuate and become displaced and caused one firefighter to receive treatment after fighting the blaze. The multi-agency effort, which began at 6:30 p.m., was contained roughly an hour later. “The first units on the scene arrived to find about 50% of the structure well involved in fire,” Division Chief of Operations and Emergency Medical Services, Kevin Mahr said. “And so they took a defensive strateg...

  • Laser light beam conversation? 20 years ago, they did it

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Aug 27, 2020

    When amateur radio operators Bob Gonsett (W6VR) and Kerry Banke (N6IZW) shot a red laser beam to have a conversation over 12.7 miles just longer than 20 years ago during an Amateur Radio Field Day, oddly enough, they didn't have much to say to each other. "Trivial matters, you know, just amateur radio talk," Gonsett said. "We probably talked to each other using our amateur radio call signs, even though we weren't legally obligated to do it because we were talking over a light... Full story

  • Bonsall school board hears complaints, approves reopening plans

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Aug 20, 2020

    The Bonsall Teachers Association and the California School Employee Association Bonsall Chapter No. 703 both had some harsh words for Bonsall Unified School District during the Wednesday, Aug. 12, meeting of the governing board of trustees. "Since June 23, in our attempts to keep the lines of communication open, Bonsall Teachers Association's negotiations team has worked to collect information regarding potential staffing concerns, safety issues, learning models, requests for...

  • FUHSD board approves resolution for district solar project

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Aug 13, 2020

    The Fallbrook Union High School District Board of Trustees on Monday, Aug. 10 approved unanimously a resolution to implement a comprehensive solar project for the district's facilities. Jeff Prosswimmer of Johnson Controls presented the board via Zoom with multiple options to consider regarding how to finance the project, which would include solar carports installed in the school parking lot and more grounded solar units in an open space of property near the district offices.... Full story

  • Not Hot Summer Nights, but something like it

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Aug 6, 2020

    Hot Summer Nights are canceled thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and state and local government restrictions on large gatherings, but on Saturday, Aug. 1, it was indeed hot and a summer night when Main St. was closed in portions to allow local restaurants to expand into the streets. While the temperature hovered around 90 degrees at about 4:30 p.m., there were still residents ready to enjoy some of downtown Fallbrook's favorite eateries and brewpubs....

  • Mother continues to fight for cure for disease that took her son

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Aug 6, 2020

    It has been a little less than five years since the 2011 Fallbrook High School graduate Jeff Turner died with a rare disease at the age of 22. But his mother, Heidi Blankenship-Turner, is committed to the fight for a cure for epithelioid sarcoma, the cancer that took her son away from her in 2015. Blankenship-Turner launched a GoFundMe page to raise funds in July, which was Sarcoma Awareness Month and also the birth month of her son. "(In July) I finally felt strong enough emo... Full story

  • VFW Post 1924 offers dinner options outside

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Aug 6, 2020

    The weather was warm Saturday evening, Aug. 1, when members of Charles E. Swisher Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1924 were setting up for a special dinner, the first of many the post has scheduled to hold outside during the coronavirus pandemic. Despite temperatures reaching the mid-90s in town, VFW volunteers were setting up the EZ-Ups and other shade structures needed to keep guests cool and the hand sanitizers to clean their hands. Face coverings are required to enter, and...

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