Pets of the Week, B-5
Temecula Special Games set to take place in late April, B-10
VALLEY
NEWS
April 1 – 7, 2016
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Volume 16, Issue 14
Vietnam War Veterans honored at Murrieta Commemoration Ceremonies
Local
South Bridge demolition set in Menifee Tony Ault WRITER
Menifee city officials and the Riverside County Transportation Department is advising motorists to be aware of traffic pattern changes around the I-215 and Newport Road interchange with the demolition of the south bridge to begin as early as Monday, April 4. see page A-3
Local
Reality Rally kicks off with new competition Kim Harris MANAGING EDITOR
Reality Rally 2016 is almost here and this year’s event will kick off with the newly added Reality Rally Lip Sync Showdown, Celebrity vs. Public Showdown Thursday, April 7, at Pala Mesa Resort in Fallbrook, so get ready to rock with Reality Rally. see page A-4
Entertainment
Volkswagen documentary premieres in Temecula
Veterans attending the ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War view a Vietnam War memorial wall at Town Square Park in Murrieta March 29. Shane Gibson photo
Tony Ault WRITER
“I want you to know, we won that war! It was the politicians that lost it,” said Duncan L. Hunter Sr. former U.S. Representative and decorated Vietnam War Veteran
speaking at the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration held at Murrieta Town Square Park, March 29. Duncan Sr. was one of a number of Vietnam War veterans, city, county and state officials called to the speakers stand to commemorate
the 58,000 servicemen and servicewomen who died in one of America’s longest and deadliest wars. All the speakers were veterans. It was 50 years ago that tens of thousands of young men from this nation either joined or were drafted into the U.S. military to fight in
the jungles and muddy waters of Southeast Asia against an elusive and deadly enemy. Too many of those brave American warriors never returned to their families. Most of the survivors of that
see MEMORIAL, page A-8
Hundreds gather at Menifee Skate Jam to honor late Temecula teen JP Raineri SPORTS EDITOR
Bryce Chechile VALLEY NEWS INTERN
Damon Ristau’s documentary “The Bug: The Life and Times of the People’s Car” will premiere in Temecula April 9. The film, part of which was shot in the Temecula area, chronicles the story behind the Volkswagen Beetle and its cultural significance.
VALLEY NEWS
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID FALLBROOK, CA PERMIT #499
see page A-13
Friends, family, professional and local skaters, members of the surrounding communities, extreme sports enthusiasts and hundreds of other supporters all gathered Sunday, March 13, at the Audie Murphy Ranch Skate Park in Menifee to pay their respects to late Temecula teen, Gage Seal. Seal, who tragically lost his life in 2015, was an avid baseball player who played in the TVHS Bears Baseball program as well as several travel ball teams and was also a passionate skater. The Skate Jam event was the biggest of its kind around this area and was held at Gage’s favorite local skate park. Organized by family friends to raise awareness of the Seal family’s efforts to bring another venue to the community
see SKATE, page A-3
Local fans stand in line to get autographs from the professional skaters that helped support the Menifee Skate Jam honoring Gage Seal of Temecula. Johnnie Saylors photo
TVUSD board approves competitive increase to executive salaries Jacob Preal VALLEY NEWS INTERN
Temecula Valley Unified School District Superintendent Timothy Ritter and other management officials will receive a sizable pay raise over the next few years. The school board voted unanimously to approve a new executive salary step schedule March 15. The schedule promotes the retention of quality staff by awarding steady growth in salary based on yearly increments. In a Board workshop, a strong desire to retain high quality staff and teachers was expressed as the district had already lost an assistant superintendent and a human resources figure. Responding to competitive executive salaries within Riverside County, the Board has approved this schedule in order
to rectify the district’s low salaries compared to surrounding areas. The executive salary step schedule was incorporated into Ritter’s employment agreement with the district through a modification amendment. When the amendment takes effect April 1, Ritter will increase from a current $216,207 in annual regular pay to $236,188 as a starting placement on the new schedule. Compared to the competitive wages in nearby districts, this will still keep him below the median salary of comparable districts in terms of budget size and student population. Provided the superintendent receives a board-reviewed positive performance evaluation, he will advance to the next increment
see SALARIES, page A-6
TVUSD Superintendent Timothy Ritter, along with other district executives, will receive a bump in salary designed to bring pay in line with other school districts in the area and promote the retention of quality staff. Kim Harris photo