STORIES FROM THE PAST

50 years ago

“The action of the state police resembled the Keystone Kops at their worst,” said Assemblyman Victor V. Veysey in criticizing police reaction to last week’s “invasion” of the state capitol by the armed Black Panther group.

The Brawley legislator noted today that only four of the 140-member force were available when the armed Panthers marched into the Assembly chambers during a legislative session last week. And he recounted that the four were balked in reaching the second floor chambers, because the closest elevator “is reserved for legislators.”

Veysey chided the state police for releasing the Black Panthers, “because they could think of no charges to file.”

Criticizing the state police security setup, Veysey stated: “Many changes in rules, organization and in the law are needed to provide adequate security.”

40 years ago

IMPERIAL — The shorter school day for students in the junior and senior high schools in the Imperial Unified School District died Tuesday on a 2-2 vote.

The issue came up at 10 p.m. and was disposed of in less than 10 minutes in a board meeting that lasted from 6:30 p.m. to almost midnight.

Trustees Katie Ellison and Kathy Duggins voted in favor of shortening the school day from seven to six periods. The “no” votes came from Trustees Larry Gilbert and Emma Lou Hansen.

The Imperial Teachers Association has made the shorter school part of its negotiating package in their contract talks with the school board.

Gilbert said the shorter period would cost more money than the present seven period day because more pupils would be in every class.

He noted a third of all high school students collect 240 units, 20 more than needed for graduation, adding, “That is too many to restrict.”

30 years ago

OCOTILLO — Law enforcement officers arrested six people and confiscated drugs, firearms and chemicals — identified as principal substances used in the manufacture of methamphetamine in a predawn raid today at a run-down rental area one mile west of here.

More than 30 city, county, state and federal officers, armed with a search warrant, converged on the “junkyard-like” area shortly after 5:30 a.m.

All of the arrests were made without incident, although there was an initial report of shots fired when officers first arrived.

Later, it was learned that one of the suspects had fired a couple of practice shots from a .22 caliber revolver at the precise moment the raid got underway. Despite the incident, no shots were exchanged between law enforcement officers and the suspects.

20 years ago

Wildlife officials Monday and today found more than 2,300 dead birds at the Salton Sea, including about 1,500 double-breast cormorant chicks that had been nesting on Mullet Island.

This is the first massive die-off of young birds at the sea, said Chad Karges, assistant manager o the Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge.

“You always have some natural mortality, but you don’t walk out and find 1,600 dead cormorants. That’s not normal,” Karges said.