STORIES FROM THE PAST
50 years ago
Want to take a fun drive in Imperial Valley tomorrow?
Try the new 12-mile stretch of Interstate 8 from Seeley to Highway 111 near Calexico. It soars. Officially the bright black four-lane strip which cuts through green alfalfa and sunyellow grain fields open tomorrow after 19 months of construction.
I got a sneak preview this morning.
The freeway springs out of the chocolate desert at Drew Road in Seeley near Sunbeam Lake and skirts a line of cattails to Silvia Road going east.
On your right Mt. Signal seems to rise out of bright green fields which are cut occasionally by long yellow-brown stacks of hay.
The combination of color and line, punctuated at intersections by neat circles of black asphalt swirling into off-and-on-ramps, makes it a startling experience.
Halfway through the drive I discovered why the highway gives such an original view of Imperial Valley.
It stretches above the Valley. It’s like taking a tour by monorail.
40 years ago
Water use in the Ocotillo area has lowered the level of the Ocotillo-Coyote Wells ground water basin, and if the pumping is accelerated it could threaten the quality of the water.
That was the conclusion of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study of the ground water basin in the Yuha Desert area that was presented to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
Wells in the Ocotillo area have been a matter of controversy because the county has prohibited allowing the water pumped to be used outside of Imperial County.
The state Supreme Court upheld the county’s right to regulate wells through special use permits this year when Ocotillo property owner Donald Courtney McDougal appealed the process.
30 years ago
CALIPATRIA — Fred Baez struck out 13 batters without issuing a walk and blasted a grand slam home run to lead Calexico to its second consecutive District 22 Little League All-Star championship with a 9-5 victory over Holtville, here Wednesday.
Baez’ homer was one of three hit by Calexico, Steve Torres and Victor Sosa were responsible for the others. Holtville countered with a threerun home run by Ricardo Nunez.
20 years ago
From music videos to motorcycles, the Imperial County Film Commission kicked into high gear this past weekend, hosting a slew of film crews laying down fresh celluloid.
Over the space of several days, the Valley saw five major projects filmed in the desert and on local streets.
Projects included a documentary on the Apollo space missions produced by Tom Hanks and Ron Howard — both of whom were present at an undisclosed local location — a rap video by The Mexakinz featuring Xzibit, a Honda automobile commercial and still photography shoots for Harley-Davidson and Allure magazines.
County Film Commission Director Cindy Stillman said, “Everybody’s looking for the big feature films to come down, but what people don’t think about is the commercials and still photography are here every week.