STORIES FROM THE PAST
50 years ago
Sixty years ago today the first Imperial County Board of Supervisors sat down in the old Valley State Bank building on Main Street in El Centro and got to work.
They were serious men, and probably somewhat dour. They immediately wrote and passed their first ordinance, and legally prohibition was imposed throughout the county. (As it turned out, the ordinance did not work very well. More about that later.)
An section had been held on Aug. 6. to put the county together. Under a recently passed law from Sacramento, counties could break up if the majority of the registered voters in the potential new county wanted to. The voters of the Valley did just that, and broke off from San Diego County which reportedly found the arid region to the east something of a bother. Irrigation at that time was not yet working as well as it might.
In the election, the voters also picked out the new county seat. There had been a heated race between El Centro and Imperial, and after the votes were counted the people of Imperial put up a great how. For a time they threatened to insist on a recount, but things cooled down and El Centro kept the honor.
40 years ago
Two persons charged with false imprisonment this week following a raid on a Wharton County, Texas, “rest home” are also suspects in a manslaughter case field in Imperial County last April, the district attorney’s office said today.
Wharton County’s two principal suspects, Elmer Tompkins and Lillian Gobert, both of Van Nuys, were originally scheduled to appear in El Centro Municipal Court Sept. 13 in connection with a traffic accident on Interstate 8 on April 9 that claimed the lives of three Holtville residents.
Tompkins, however, is currently in custody in Texas on $60,000 bail. Miss Gobert was arrested early today at a Los Angeles home after being sought by federal officials including the FBI and the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
“It would appear at this time that neither defendant will be in court here next month,” Deputy D.A. Richard Busby said today.
30 years ago
Rogers Cable Systems of America Inc. announced today it has sold the television cable system serving Imperial County to a Texas company. The sale is contingent on the new owners getting necessary approval from the Federal Communications Commission and other agencies.
Tom Mixon, manager of the local system Rogers Cable TV — said it will take 60 to 90 days before the sale to the Adam Corporation of Bryan, Texas, is completed.
Keith Kuttler, Adam vice-president and chief financial officer, said no changes are expected. “The viewer will probably not notice any difference except for the name on the trucks and the bills. When the sale is complete, those will be different.”
20 years ago
Members of the El Centro (elementary) Teachers’ Association voted at their annual general meeting Tuesday to boycott open house participation in the fall schedule at all El Centro (elementary) School District campuses. The association also plans to continue boycotting all extracurricular and after-school activities during the coming school year.
Teachers stopped most voluntary activities last March to protest stalled contract negotiations. They decided to continue doing so last week during a teachers union “crisis committee” meeting attended by teacher/representatives from every school in the El Centro (elementary) School District.
Al Dempsey, president of the association, said, “A motion was made from the floor that we boycott the open houses scheduled for the beginning of school. A majority of the teachers voted not to attend the open houses to be scheduled until the negotiations are settled.