STORIES FROM THE PAST

50 years ago

The makers of television’s long lasting “Death Valley Days” are shooting a pilot film for another TV series in and around Calexico.

The new series tentatively titled “Gavilan,” (the Hawk) is being made by Madison Productions and is the story of the adventures of a Mexican-American deputy sheriff and his co-star Angelo, a blond deputy sheriff.

Scenes of the new film are set in “Dixon” County, the name chosen to avoid association with any actual county along the border. The pilot makers, however, say that if the pilot is successful, about 60 percent of future films will be shot in Imperial County.

Makers of the pilot film say Proctor and Gamble are paying the cost of making the pilot and may sponsor the new TV series.

Stars of the show include Bill Smith and Aaron Kincaid, the tall, blond deputy sheriff, with Synde Rome playing the love interest — most successfully, it might be added.

Calexico’s two “Joe’s.” Gaxiola, president of the Calexico Chamber of Commerce, and Acuna Jr., the city’s mayor, both have been instrumental in bringing the pilot film to this area, it is reported.

40 years ago

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A state lawmaker who landed a job as a college president in California will continue drawing his state paycheck until March 2, nearly a month after he went on the college payroll.

Rep. Dan Angel, R-Battle Creek, confirmed Thursday that he is receiving paychecks from both the state and the college, but said he sees nothing wrong with it.

Angel has resigned from his House seat effective March 2 to become president of Imperial Valley College at a salary of $38,000 a year.

And while he’s continued to pull down his $24,000 annual salary as a lawmaker — and will until his resignation takes effect — he’s missed every House session but one since Feb. 1 while moving to his new job.

Angel was placed on the college’s payroll as of Feb. 6, a spokesman in the school’s personnel office said. He has been working in California since then, school officials said.

It is not illegal for a state lawmaker to hold down a second job. “It’s not all that unusual as far as I’m concerned, and I don’t really see anything wrong with it. Other people have done it,” Angel said.

30 years ago

SACRAMENTO — The project manager for the state Department of Corrections today said the department will reopen for preliminary study some of the original 28 potential prison sites in the county, because only one of the five sites chosen last week does not have an earthquake fault “touching it or running through it.”

“As it appears now,” said Jeanette Tighe, the Imperial County project manager, the only site that presents no earthquake fault problems is the site northeast of Calipatria.”

Tighe said a state geologist in Sacramento submitted the report that isolated the four sites as on or near earthquake faults just two days after the department narrowed to five the potential sites for a prison.

20 years ago

More than 30 teachers in the Holtville Unified School District called in sick Tuesday, leaving school administrators and staff scrambling to cover the teachers’ responsibilities.

Eleven of 25 teachers were absent Tuesday from Holtville Middle School, said Principal Joanne Singh.

“Some were sick and had doctor’s appointments,” she said. “So we had some teacher’s aides, counselors and substitutes covering classes.”

At Holtville High School, 17 teachers and two counselors called in sick, said Maria Elena Perdomo, the high school’s secretary. The high school has a total of 27 teachers and two counselors. Like the middle school, the high school relied on substitutes to cover classes.