2000 The year in review

August 1-18: Man drowns at dam

Aug. 1

It's supposed to be hot in the Antelope Valley, but not this hot.

It was hot enough Monday for the California Independent System Operator to issue a Stage 2 energy alert in the Valley.

Temperatures aren't expected to cool down anytime soon. Valley temperatures on Monday reportedly ranged from 102 to 109 degrees. The official high in both Lancaster and Palmdale was 102, according to the National Weather Service.

Aug. 2

PALMDALE - The Lockheed Martin Skunk Works Engineers and Scientist Guild will be disbanded under a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board that found using company e-mail in a union election dispute didn't constitute dirty politics.

Aug. 3

LANCASTER - Preparations are under way for Lancaster's 11th annual Aerospace Walk of Honor ceremony, set for Saturday, Sept. 23. The Aerospace Walk of Honor along Lancaster Boulevard pays tribute to a growing list of test pilots who soared above Edwards Air Force Base. Among them are famous names like retired Gen. Charles "Chuck" Yeager, Neil Armstrong and retired Col. William J. "Pete" Knight.

Aug. 4

EDWARDS AFB - Even the sky isn't the limit for four Edwards fliers who were named to NASA's elite astronaut training program.

Their acceptance means nearly one-fourth of this year's astronaut candidates corps hail from Edwards Air Force Base. NASA released its list of newly selected astronaut trainees on July 26. In its more than 40-year existence, few have been selected to the program, and fewer have completed it.

Aug. 5

It was probably the one and only time Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford would get away with addressing a city employee as "wench."

Decked out in full buccaneer garb, the mayor joined Palmdale Playhouse manager Dea McAllister onstage at a pirate-themed press conference Friday to announce the venue's 2000-01 performance season.

Aug. 6

LANCASTER - Twenty-four years ago, Patricia Sandoval stepped onto the Antelope Valley College campus as an instructor of psychology and social and behavioral sciences. Now Sandoval has taken another big step on the same Lancaster campus - into the job of interim president.

Aug. 7

LANCASTER - What do sky-high gas prices have to do with the well-being of the environment?

A lot, according to some Valley residents. Alternative fuel sources and environmentally-safe vehicles seem to be the way to go not only for Mother Nature's well-being but for the health of our wallets. Gas prices around the Antelope Valley have stabilized recently. Prices for regular unleaded gas still linger around the $1.55 9/10 mark, with some regular unleaded gas prices tipping the scales at $1.63 9/10.

Aug. 8

LANCASTER - An elevator with a history of malfunctioning stalled once again Monday, trapping 10 people inside for more than an hour.

The elevator at the Antelope Valley Health Care Services building, 1206 West Ave. J, stopped between floors at the two-story building at 11:30 a.m. The 10 people trapped had been attending a bereavement support group meeting prior to the late-morning ordeal.

Aug. 9

PALMDALE - The city's newest street sign swung vigorously in the high desert wind on Tuesday - perhaps as an indicator of change in the local climate. It's not temperatures in the already-hot Antelope Valley that may be warming up, though. It's perhaps the area's long-depended upon No. 1 industry.

Persistent winds set in motion the new green street sign bisecting Avenue M that reads, "Ryan Aeronautical Way."

LANCASTER - Dorene Settle, a lifelong resident of the Antelope Valley and the wife of Glen Settle for 52 years, died Monday at Lancaster Community Hospital, where she was hospitalized during her lengthy battle with leukemia.

Antelope Valley historians for many years, Dorene and Glen Settle were also a big part of the Valley's history.

Aug. 10

LANCASTER - It was a less than grand opening Wednesday for the new Gifford C. Cole Middle School on 30th Street East and Avenue I. A late start and other problems angered parents and frustrated school officials.

The key to the locked gate couldn't be located, forcing officials to cut the lock off and delaying the opening. Gates to the 20-acre campus didn't open until 7:45 a.m., just as classes were scheduled to start.

Aug. 11

BORON - It appeared as if the entire town of Boron had turned out to mourn the loss of Brent Buckley Holmes, 52, and Cynthia Lorraine (Meier) Holmes, 47, owners of the Road House Restaurant in Kramer Junction.

The parking lot of St. Joseph's Catholic Church was overflowing with classic cars Thursday. Inside the church, it was standing room only - as nearly 300 people turned out to say goodbye to the couple who were not only friends but community leaders.

Aug. 12

LITTLEROCK - A man in his 20s apparently drowned at the Littlerock Dam Recreation Area Friday afternoon as he tried to swim across the reservoir.

Divers from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department found the man's body shortly before 8 p.m. The Palmdale Sheriff's Station received a call on the incident at 4:47 p.m. The divers arrived about an hour later.

Aug. 13

LANCASTER - A week after inmates rioted, officials at the Lancaster prison are still reviewing whether to release inmates in the prison's D yard from lockdown. About 120 white and Hispanic prisoners from the D yard rioted shortly after lunchtime Aug. 2. The inmates fought among themselves, using knives and other weapons, Lt. Curtis Carson said. The fight lasted only minutes as armed guards ordered the inmates to lie on the ground, Carson said.

Aug. 14

The Democratic National Convention opens today in downtown Los Angeles, and when it does there will be a host of party loyalists from the Antelope Valley, cheering the party pep rally that marks the official opening of campaign season. A convention's success is defined largely through its comparison with the opposition's, and the Democrats boast that this week's event will have Republicans worried and America forgetting about Philadelphia.

Aug. 15

LOS ANGELES - Southern California freeway traffic pulled a vanishing act Monday.

Just like during the 1984 Olympics, which arrived with dire warnings of world-class traffic jams, commuters scared off by warnings about Democratic National Convention-related protests and road closures avoided downtown or didn't go to work. Freeways that normally crawl bumper-to-bumper during rush hours were wide open.

Aug. 16

LANCASTER - No sludge, no way.

That was the final word from local air quality district members Tuesday about the spreading of sludge on Antelope Valley farmland.

And the air district board's point is one that has been made over and over in the Valley in recent years. Both Lancaster and Palmdale have banned sludge use within their city limits, and Kern County is locked in legal and legislative battles to defend its own sludge law.

Aug. 17

BARSTOW - What was supposed to be a simple autograph signing turned into a big production as the real Erin Brockovich was on hand at Silver Screen Video in Barstow, signing copies of the recently released movie of her story on videotape and DVD.

More than 300 people turned out to see Brockovich, the legal assistant whose help in the Hinkley groundwater contamination case led to a record $333 million settlement paid by Pacific Gas and Electric.

Aug. 18

LANCASTER - Bill Olenick, president of the Antelope Valley High School District board, is the latest target of a Valley recall attempt.

Wednesday night, two representatives from the OldTown Homeowners Group Inc. served official notice on Olenick that they are starting a recall campaign against him.

Uploaded December 26, 2000