Murrieta Rotary seeks hero nominations from community Menifee street project and construction updates

MENIFEE - The city has project and construction updates to share with the community. For a current list of street projects and construction updates, visit our interactive mobile and web map at www. cityofmenifee.us/traffic.

Menifee Road South of Highway 74 – City Road Resurfacing Project

Menifee has completed paving for a minor roadway resurfacing project on a portion of Menifee Road between Highway 74 and Rouse Road. Striping work is anticipated to be completed by the end of July. Traffic control will be in place during active work.

Holland Road Overpass – City Capital Improvement Project with intermittent traffic control in place along Murrieta Road from the Salt Creek channel to San Quintin Drive. Northbound and southbound traffic lanes will be reduced to one lane in each direction through the end of July for completion of roadway resurfacing and striping. Traffic delays should be expected in the project area through mid-September 2023. in this area is now expected to continue through mid-August 2023.

Work is actively being performed related to the Holland Road Overpass project. Holland Road between Hanover Lane and Antelope Road will remain closed for the duration of the project, which is expected to last 17 months. For additional information and to sign up for project updates, please visit www.hollandoverpass.com.

SoCal Gas Company – Lazy Creek Neighborhood (Lazy Creek Road and Evans Road) Southern California Gas Company will be installing gas line connections in the Lazy Creek neighborhood area the week of Monday, July 24. Traffic impacts are expected to be minor, with traffic control in place as needed. The project is now anticipated to be completed early by the end of July.

Bradley Road at Holland Road – Storm Drain Construction Work Sewer mainline facilities are currently being installed adjacent to Holland Road as part of the Menifee 80 residential housing tract. Work remains temporarily delayed, and updates for this project will be provided when work proceeds. Holland Road is currently open in all traffic directions at this time.

Newport Road at Murrieta Road – Nighttime Lane Closures

SCE’s underground utility lines project at the intersection of Newport Road and Murrieta Road is currently on hold. Night work will resume when paving activity is scheduled. Lane closures will be in place while this project is active.

Romoland Grid Resurfacing – Capital Improvement Project

The resurfacing project for roadways in the area of Jackson Avenue, Ethanac Road east of Sherman Road, and the installation of new pedestrian ramps has been initiated. Lane closures and detours will be in place for the duration of the project through mid-September 2023.

MURRIETA – The Rotary Club of Murrieta invites nominations of “heroes” who will be honored during the 2023 Murrieta Field of Honor, Nov. 4-11.

The Murrieta Field of Honor celebrates its 15th year in 2023. The Field is presented by the Rotary Club of Murrieta in partnership with the New Generation Rotary Club of Temecula Valley and the city of Murrieta. More than 2,000 American flags will fly during the weeklong event.

The benchmark that the Rotary Club of Murrieta uses in selecting heroes who are nominated by the community: A hero is a person or group who in the face of danger or adversity or from a position of weakness displays courage or self-sacrifice for the greater good.

To nominate a hero, send a picture of the hero, a short biography, a few short sentences on why they should be selected, plus contact information, including address, email and telephone numbers of the hero and of yourself, to MurrietaRotary@gmail.com. Nominations will close Sept. 8.

For 2023, all heroes nominated must be veterans of United States military service and current residents of Riverside County.

Heroes will be honored with a special salute during the Field of Honor week, along with being featured in a special Field of Honor magazine and in media postings.

Hero selections will be made by a committee of Murrieta Rotary members; all nomination information will become property of the Rotary Club of Murrieta and may be used in promotion of the Field of Honor.

For more information, contact Linda Dozier at MurrietaRotary@ gmail.com or visit https://murrietarotaryclub.org/murrieta-fieldof-honor/

School Zone Signs and Marking Refresh Menifee Public Works Street Maintenance Crew began a citywide refresh of school zone pavement markings and crosswalks. Crews have completed refresh work at Romoland Elementary School, Harvest Elementary School, Ethan Chase Middle School, and Heritage High School. Work will be occurring in the area of Freedom Crest Elementary School the week of Monday, July 24. Traffic impacts are expected to be minor; however, motorists should avoid areas with wet paint signage. Work locations will be updated weekly throughout the summer.

Murrieta Road Improvements

– City Capital Improvement Project

The improvement project continues on Murrieta Road. Roadway grinding and paving work will continue through Friday, July 28. Traffic lanes will be reduced to one lane in each direction,

Valley Boulevard between McCall Boulevard and Ridgemoor Street

The developer of Cimarron Ridge continues installing underground improvements on Valley Boulevard between McCall Boulevard and Ridgemoor Street. Work related to the widening of Thornton Avenue between Valley Boulevard and Murrieta Road has been completed. Traffic delays should be expected in the area through July 2023.

SCE Work on Menifee Road – Newport to Holland Southern California Edison (SCE) work will continue during daytime hours at the intersection of Newport Road and Menifee Road. Traffic control will be in place, reducing travel lanes during project work; however, driveway access to businesses in the area will remain accessible. Message boards containing contact information for the project will also be placed in the project area. Completion of work

Normandy Road Street Improvements – Capital Improvement Project

Construction on pedestrian access improvements along Normandy Road over Salt Creek has started. Traffic delays should be expected between La Ladera Road and Berea Road while the project is active. The project is anticipated to be completed in August 2023.

Murrieta Road and La Piedra Road – New Traffic Signal

The developer of Quartz Ranch is currently installing a new traffic signal at the intersection of Murrieta Road and La Piedra Road. Lanes may be reduced to a single lane with flaggers present during construction. Detours will be posted. Traffic delays should be expected through the end of July 2023.

For questions on the project/ construction updates listed, please contact Philip Southard, Public Information and Legislative Affairs Officer, at (951) 746-0654 or at psouthard@cityofmenifee.us.

The TVUSD board unanimously voted to adopt TCI Social Studies Alive! elementary social studies curriculum that had been rejected twice before after a compromise to remove one controversial supplemental section for review. The carefully worded motion was made by Dr. Komrosky, part of the school board’s conservative majority, at a cost reported to be $1.6 million. The vote was seconded by Trustee Steven Schwartz.

In addition to a packed crowd, over 880 people were watching online throughout the entire 3 ½ hour special meeting. Board president Dr. Komrosky reminded the crowd several times that they had to be quiet and respectful so that speakers could have their say, or they would be ejected from the meeting.

As part of the curriculum review process, legally, there has to be a review by teachers and parents. The board was concerned not only about one supplemental portion but also that there hadn’t been enough parental involvement until about 400 parent surveys were found earlier this week regarding the TCI curriculum.

The compromise and the vote appeared to be celebrated by nearly everyone in the room.

Earlier in the week, there was a 5-hour school board meeting to deliberate on the adoption of an elementary school social studies curriculum. The possible alternative to the new TCI curriculum was presented by Jen Wiersma and included keeping the current 2006 curriculum with new 2019 supplemental materials to meet the demands of inclusive legislation at a cost of $260,000, and then over the year the district could take more time to adopt the new curriculum.

This option, ironically, according to the district attorney, wasn’t viable because the supplemental material hadn’t gone through the process of parental and district overview and consideration, even though it was just supplemental materials.

So a compromise on the new material was crafted by Dr. Komrosky.

According to California Law which took effect in 2017, the social studies curriculum has to be inclusive of the contributions of “…Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans, persons with disabilities, and members of other ethnic and cultural groups, to the economic, political, and social development of California and the United States of America, with particular emphasis on portraying the role of these groups in contemporary society.”

In past board meetings, press conferences, and statements, the board has openly said it is not being discriminatory against any groups, however, they didn’t like one of the supplemental sections of the new curriculum using gay activist Harvey Milk as a role model because he also was documented in a biography to have allegedly had a relationship with a 16-year-old, making him legally a pederast or a pedophile.

Dr. Komrosky made it clear in a press conference he held in response to Gov. Newsom’s attacks on the TVUSD school board that the board was not against Harvey Milk as a gay man, but they were against pedophilia.

This is the supplemental section that will be reviewed to make sure it is appropriate and meets the district’s guidelines for appropriate content in the curriculum prior to being released in the district.

Gov. Newsom has targeted TVUSD with bully-style name calling, threats and offensive accusations of being inept, ignorant etc, in press releases. The state has also threatened to launch a civil rights investigation into the district, purchase the state-approved curriculum, send it to the district and then charge them the $1.6 million, but also pass legislation retroactively, allowing the state to fine TVUSD $1.5 million dollars, ironically, hurting the very children the governor claims to be concerned about.

At the end of the night, Komrosky made an open statement to Gov. Newsom saying, “I am a sovereign citizen of the United States of America. I was voted in as a trustee. I will make my decisions and I don’t care what you do at the state level. Our kids need an education. They need a curriculum and we have to provide it.”

Valley News was sent this statement from Dr. Joseph Komrosky on the adoption of elementary school curriculum at TVUSD:

“I speak personally here and not on behalf of the board, when I say, tonight, the Temecula Valley Unified School District took the action we promised all along. After careful and serious deliberation, after receiving the recommendations of our educational professionals, and after receiving written input from nearly 400 engaged parents and community members, the Board of Trustees voted tonight to adopt a new curriculum for use in our elementary schools for grades 1 through 5.

“At the forefront of our deliberations was the health, safety, and welfare of our students. Included within our work were two core considerations:

“First, all students, including English Learners and students requiring special accommodations, have equal access to instructional materials that meet all state and federal mandates.

“Second, we have rigorously reviewed this curriculum to ensure that the lesson content is age appropriate. I want to be crystal clear. We are not banning content as some people would like to characterize our work. We are working to make sure that the content delivered to our students is appropriate for our students at the age and grade level presented We also believe that some topics are best left for parents to first introduce to their elementary school-age children rather than being discussed by a teacher in a classroom.

“It was also our priority to ensure that the parents and our community were materially engaged in this process. Frankly, I was not aware of the level of parent engagement until very recently and I am very disappointed that I was not provided this information earlier in this process. In fact, I was given the opposite impression that only a handful of parents had participated in the pilot. When I learned about the level of parent engagement and the overwhelming response by nearly 400 parents in support of the curriculum we adopted tonight, it was a call to values. My pledge was to represent the parents of this community and, clearly, the parents spoke during the pilot process. I listened.

“Tonight, we took steps con- sistent with these priorities and values, and in full compliance with California law. We also took this action well within the time required to get these materials into our classrooms. We fully intend to stay actively involved in the development of our children’s curriculum and make certain that all curriculum content is age appropriate.

“I would also like to address Governor Newsom. Not once did the Governor take action to actually assist our community in this process. Never once did he actually contact our school district and inquire about our ongoing process. He only took action that made our job harder. He only took action that was intended to grandstand for his own purposes and intended to further divide us. That was not helpful or anything remotely constituting leadership. We never stopped working at our local level despite the ongoing threats from Sacramento. We never stopped caring about the welfare of our children. We never stopped standing up for our values. The way the Governor sought to insert himself into our local government violates every notion of what our State stands for when it comes to the integrity of local control and governance. We did our job while the Governor played games with our community and our kids. Like I said previously, I hope the Governor negotiated a 14-day return policy for the books he apparently has purchased at taxpayer expense and that our local community never asked for or needed from the State.”

Julie Reeder can be reached via email at jreeder@reedermedia. com.