STORIES FROM THE PAST
50 years ago
Imperial High School pitcher Robert Wagner struck out 14 and hurled a no-hitter over San Pasqual in a 7-1 victory yesterday.
Wagner picked up his second victory of the year against one defeat while walking only three San Pasqual batters.
It was the second no-hitter of Wagner’s high school career. He pitched a no-hit ball-game against Mt. Empire when he was a freshman. He is now a senior.
Mike Martin and Bill Spence led the eight-hit Tiger attack with three and two hits, respectively. Bouts of San Pasqual were the losing pitcher. San Pasqual got its only run in the first inning on a combination of a walk and errors.
40 years ago
A race for the construction of the Valley’s first commercial geothermal generating plant has developed now that Magma Electric Co. announced it plans to build a 10 megawatt plant on the East Mesa within a year.
Last week, San Diego Gas & Electric Co. unveiled its plans to build the Valley’s first commercial geothermal development, a 45 megawatt generating plant, in Heber by 1980.
But Wednesday, Thomas C. Hinrichs, vice president of Magma Power Co., the partner of Magma Electric, said, “We hope to be turning out electricity by next April.”
He said his firm has requested permission from the U.S. Geological Survey to construct the $5 million demonstration facility on the federal land Magma is renting 10 miles southeast of Holtville.
Hinrichs said it will take about six months to actually construct the plant, once permits are approved.
30 years ago
WomanHaven and all the people associated with establishing the haven for emotionally and physically abused women and their children celebrate the start of the local shelter’s 10th year of existence today.
The celebration culminates in a birthday luncheon at the facility with the Board of Supervisors as special guests.
But Alice Armstrong, one of the three women responsible for founding WomanHaven, also believes it is a day to celebrate the gradual change in attitude of a society which used to feel domestic violence was a private “family matter,” not to be recognized or dealt with by others outside the home.
In the last nine years, WomanHaven has housed over 10,500 women and children, served 90,000 meals, and received more than 6,600 hotline calls.
Armstrong and Virginia Samaha first heard of the problems of domestic violence when they attended a conference in 1977 sponsored by the Soroptimist International Club in San Diego.
But Armstrong admits she did not believe quiet, rural Imperial Valley had such problems. It was not until she and Samaha heard Peg Pliscou of Holtville talk at the El Centro Naval Air Facility about domestic incidents occurring right in their own community that they began to realize the scope and range of domestic violence.
20 years ago
In the span of five days Southwest High School’s Diego Aispuro helped set two school records and aided his Eagle track team in gaining its first victory of the season.
Aispuro, a 16-year old sophomore, is the Imperial Valley Press Male Athlete of the Week.
In the Yuma relay Saturday, Aispuro was part of Southwest’s 4x100 meter and 4x400 relay teams, which both set school records.
On Wednesday in a meet with Imperial, Aispuro won the 400 meters and was part of the winning 4x100 and 4x400 teams and helped the Eagles to their first team win of the year.