STORIES FROM THE PAST
50 years ago
A couple of Brawley prospectors have apparently hit themselves a nice gold and silver strike in the Big Chuckwalla Mountains in Riverside County.
Richard Ransdell and U.D. Kilborn reported receiving an assay’s analysis on some samples taken from the veins which show possibilities of upwards of $300 per ton in silver and gold.
The strike comprises several veins measuring from 20 to 80 feet in length and 12 to 18 inches in width, rimming along the edge of a steep hill less than a mile from the old Red Cloud No. 2 mine. It is within five miles of other old mines, including the Northwestern, Lost Pony and Mode 1 Mine.
The pair, working in the area for the past couple of years, have excavated two exploration tunnels to a depth of 25 feet to 30 feet.
Several geologists have been at the site and according to Ransdell, “they seemed quite excited.”
40 years ago
YUMA, Ariz. (AP) — A large alien smuggling ring operating out of Mexicali, Mexico, was broken up this week when 34 illegal aliens were apprehended in California, agents of the U.S. Border Patrol announced.
Through a cooperative effort by Yuma agents and the Mexican Immigration Authority at Los Algodones in Baja California, two Mexican nationals charged with masterminding the operation and three alleged drivers for the organization were arrested, the Border Patrol disclosed Friday night.
The case unfolded Tuesday when Border Patrol agents rounded up 34 illegal aliens in three separate vehicles that were traveling in tandem on Highway 78 near Palo Verde, California in the Imperial Valley.
The border agents said the aliens told them the men behind the operation had remained in Mexico so the case was turned over to Mexican officials under a recently instituted reciprocal program.
The Border Patrol also announced that another large alien smuggling operation was broken up Thursday when agents stopped a 28-passenger bus east of Yuma on Interstate 8.
30 years ago
In perhaps the most unusual playoff game to date in the 1987 District 22 Little League All-Star tournament, Holtville advanced to the championship game tonight against Calexico after defeating Imperial 8-5 at Frazier Field in El Centro on Tuesday.
For Holtville, it was the second win over Imperial in the tournament, having posted an earlier 1-0 second round victory.
Holtville lost to Calexico 6-4 on Saturday and must beat the defending champions twice to earn the title in the double elimination tournament.
20 years ago
A 1996 federal immigration law intended to cut the number of foreign students attending U.S. public schools free of charge will have minimal impact on Imperial Valley schools.
The law only relates to student F-1 visas, something few or no students attending public school here seek, Valley district superintendents interviewed said.
The law prohibits foreign students from obtaining F-1 visas to attend kindergarten through eighth grade or adult education classes at public schools.
Students can get a one-time, one-year visa to attend public high school if the school district agrees and they pay full tuition before classes begin.
With two students using the visas in 1995, Calexico Unified School District, ranked the most of any public school district in the Valley, Roberto Moreno, superintendent in Calexico, said no students with F-1 visas attended public schools in that city last year.