STORIES FROM THE PAST

50 years ago

The County Board of Supervisor decided this morning to clear one of the two runways at the old Holtville tuberculosis sanatorium landing strip for use by drag racers and sports car clubs.

The auto enthusiasts are then to be banned from the present runway they are now using.

The supervisors have agreed to lease that runway to Pacific Southwest Airlines for use as an instrument landing system instruction strip.

The supervisors had asked the Federal Aviation Agency if the present runway could be used during the week to practice landings and over the weekend for auto races. The FAA said no.

Supervisor Tom Boley reported that county road superintendent David Pierson said that he could clear the old 6,000-foot strip of vegetation for $1,500.

40 years ago

Turning mosquitoes into fish food is the hope of Imperial County Health Department biologists, with the help of a minnow-like fish called Gambusia affinis.

The department will be giving the little fish away next week, unleashing their voracious appetites on unsuspecting mosquito larvae everywhere.

The fish, commonly called either mosquito fish or pot-bellied minnows, will be given away to county residents.

Biologist Claire Thomas said the department is offering the fish as part of its overall mosquito control program.

30 years ago

Death — it happens every day, yet most people fear it, avoid it and deal with it only when it involves family members or friends.

But JoAnne Fagan chooses to deals with death every working day.

Fagan, originally from the San Gabriel Valley, is Imperial Valley’s only woman mortician. She is performing a two-year apprenticeship at Frye Chapel and Mortuary in Brawley.

Fagan hesitates telling people outside her profession how much she likes her job, fearing they wouldn’t understand and would say she’s “weird.”

20 years ago

CALEXICO — Response to the shooting Thursday morning of two U.S. Customs inspectors here has been quick.

Inspectors at the downtown Port of Entry already are working under different procedures than those in place before the gun battle resulting in the death of a 74-year-old drug smuggler.

Inspectors Robert Labrada Jr. and Nicolas Lira were shot by Senovio Gonzalez-Birrueta in a secondary inspection office. Gonzalez had been escorted t the office by Labrada moments after Gonzalez’s van had been sent to the secondary inspection facility. Shortly after entering the office, Gonzalez produced a handgun, shooting both inspectors once.