Knee Deep in the Hoopla, A-3
VALLEY
Gunfighters revive the Old West in Old Town Temecula, B-1
A
Section
NEWS
May 22 – 28, 2015
www.myvalleynews.com
Local
Opposition claims Senate Bill infringes on rights
Spring sports playoff picture painted, D-4
Volume 15, Issue 21
Active shooter drill gives first responders chance to prepare, evaluate skills
Kim Harris Managing Editor Senate Bill 277 cleared its first major hurdle last week when it passed the California State Senate in a 25 – 10 vote. The measure, if it becomes law, would require all students to be up to date on all vaccinations before entering kindergarten and while medical exemptions are allowed, those based on personal and religious beliefs are not, leaving many in the community angered and upset over the state’s attempt to determine what medical care is best for their children. see page A-4
Local
Drought forces increase in water prices
Shelli DeRobertis Writer The Rancho California Water District Board of Directors voted on May 14 to jump to Tier 4 and decrease water budgets for residential customers by 30 percent and decrease agricultural clients’ use by 10 percent as part of its Stage 4 Water Shortage Contingency Plan. see page A-7
Sports
Lady Pumas win 2015 Powder Puff Sugar Bowl JP Raineri Sports Editor The Chaparral Senior Girls Powder Puff Football Team beat Great Oak and host Temecula Valley in back-to-back games to win the 2015 Sugar Bowl City Championship and bring home the Mayor’s Cup on Friday, May 15.
VALLEY NEWS
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see page D-1
Murrieta police officers take down the actor portraying the school shooter during a training exercise designed to improve the way school, police and emergency response personnel handle a mass casualty incident. Shane Gibson photo
Daniel Lane Multimedia Journalist Multiple police cars, fire trucks and ambulances, responded with lights flashing and sirens blaring to Shivela Middle School in Murrieta on Monday, May 18 for a mock active shooter drill on campus. The drill was held after school hours and was meant to sound and feel like a real incident to help
prepare first responders to save lives in the event of a true shooting incident, according to spokesman Matt Corelli with the Murrieta Fire Department. “Today we executed what we call an ASMCI, which is an active shooter multi-casualty incident,” he said. “We were trying to simulate where an active shooter has entered an educational facility and many casualties have occurred.”
First responders learn from historic events to find ways to help prepare for future events to save lives, Corelli said. “We’re looking back at incidents likes Columbine or Sandy Hook Elementary… we have learned a lot about our response after all of those passed events,” he said. “What we have learned is that a lot of people are dying from traumatic injuries because we are waiting to secure
the scene before we get folks in there to treat the injured.” An undercover Murrieta police officer played the role of the shooter that enters school grounds through the front office armed with a revolver loaded with simunition, a simulated ammunition, according to Corelli. “The shooter enters the school
see DRILL, page A-5
Murrieta Marine identified by USMC as being one of 8 killed in helicopter crash Kim Harris Managing Editor Eric Seaman, 29, a California native and UH-1Y helicopter crew chief with HMLA-469, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing in Camp Pendleton was announced as one of eight who perished in a helicopter crash last week during a humanitarian mission in Nepal. Seaman, who had served since 2009, according to reports, is survived by his wife Samantha, son Roman, 2, and daughter Riley, 1. Samantha Seaman said her husband was a great father and a great Marine in a televised interview that aired on CNN Sunday. “He loved his country and he really wanted to go to Nepal to help those people. Last week I
got an email telling me that he felt purpose,” she said. “He was a hero. He loved us very much and we are gonna do whatever we can until we meet him again, to make him proud.” A GoFundMe account has been set up to assist Seaman’s family with expenses. Those wishing to donate should visit www. gofundme.com and search for “Eric Seaman,” or visit www. myvalleynews.com, where the full link is available. Sentiments and well wishes on the page for the fallen Marine and his family, offered support for the family left behind from Seaman’s passing. “We’ve all seen tragedy through our service but losing a brother that
see MARINE, page A-3
Eric Seaman, pictured with his wife Samantha and two children, was one of eight Marines killed when the helicopter he was flying in crashed into a Himalayan hillside in Nepal while on a humanitarian mission on May 12. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family with expenses. Courtesy photo
Temecula seeks new look for aging Jefferson Avenue corridor Tim O’Leary Staff Writer A $250,000 plan aimed at reviving an aging business district could bring the first residents – as well as six- and eight-story buildings – to a 560-acre area that hugs Interstate 15 in Temecula. That area, which is split by Jefferson Avenue north of Rancho California Road, has drawn the attention of city officials for more than a decade. Its future has come into sharper focus over the past four years as the Uptown Jefferson Specific Plan has emerged from consultant studies and many planning and community meetings. The plan has dominated the last two council meetings, and it is slated to wind its way through a trio
of advisory boards before it returns to the council for final approval in July or August. “This is a work in progress,” Mayor Jeff Comerchero said as the council’s May 12 discussion wound down. That review, which did not result in any formal action, detailed the scope of a plan that could transform a sleepy commercial area that has seen little change over the past two decades. “This is a huge undertaking,” Councilwoman Maryann Edwards interjected. Due to development patterns and other factors, no housing was ever approved in the corridor area that is bounded by Interstate 15 on the east, Murrieta Creek on the west, Murrieta’s boundary to the north and Rancho California Road to the
south. As a result, motel guests are the only people who stay overnight there. But a dramatic shift may occur there, as future apartments and condominiums could attract 10,000 or more new residents, as well as scores of additional offices and restaurants, to that area over the next 20 years. A new patchwork of roads would open the area for future development and encourage pedestrian and bicyclist traffic. “It’s critical to the plan,” Luke Watson, a city senior planner, said during his recent presentation to the council. The area isn’t pedestrianfriendly now because of the lack of parks and open space and the long distances between traffic lights, he said.
The Jefferson Avenue area was developed in the 1980s after Old Town became congested and businesses and buildings began to spread north along Murrieta Creek. The Jefferson Avenue area soon became the community’s emerging commercial core, as stores, restaurants, car repair shops, motels and other businesses clustered there. At that time, Temecula was an unincorporated community and Riverside County agencies approved shopping centers and subdivisions that would eventually blanket much of the area. Winchester Square was home to a movie theater, a large drug store, a Radio Shack outlet and a Stater Bros. market that was deemed one
see CORRIDOR, page A-6