STORIES FROM THE PAST
50 years ago
The abandoned Bonita School building in Calipatria and a nearby shack were destroyed by fire last night, and that city’s police are also investigating a reported shooting and disturbance at a party going on cross the street at the time of the fire.
It is believed there may be a connection between the party, the shooting and the fires. But Calipatria authorities are not positive.
The gunshot occurred, according to a fire department spokesman, as one of the city rigs approached the Bonita School fire. There was no reported injury as a result of the shot.
Whether the shot was directed at the fire rig is not known, but Fire Department Capt. Jim O’Brien said a second rig was directed to approach the blaze from a different direction.
O’Brien said it appeared that the abandoned shack had been intentionally ignited. “It started behind an inner door,” he said.
40 years ago
Santa Clara High School has been waiting two years for another crack at the Brawley Wildcats.
Imperial High School wants to show Valley Christian it can’t go around beating up on Chaparral League basketball teams without paying the price.
Imperial Valley sports fans might want to divide themselves into half-persons tonight as two SCIF Girls Basketball Playoffs games can be attended at the same time.
The Brawley Wildcats of the Desert Valleys League play an 8 p.m. game in the Central High School gym. The third round opponent is Santa Clara High School.
The Imperial Tigers of the Chaparral League play an 8 p.m. game at Imperial Valley College. The fourth-round opponent is Valley Christian High School.
30 years ago
Trivia question: What does the Imperial High School tennis team want to have in common with the 1937 Los Angeles Bulldogs of the American Football League?
Answer: The Bulldogs, a traveling team in a sixteam league which lasted only one year, were the undefeated league champions without playing a single home game.
Imperial defeated Francis Parker Thursday in San Diego to run its record to 3-0 in Coastal League play Imperial is the only remaining undefeated team in the league. Thursday’s loss was the first in league play for Francis Parker.
The Tigers, like the Bulldogs 51 years ago, must play the entire league schedule without a home match. Part of the league decision to allow Imperial to join the league was an agreement that Imperial would not play a home league match, at least in the first season.
Thursday’s match was the toughest to date in league play for the Tigers. They edged Parker 4-2, but the match was not decided until the second doubles match was won by Imperial’s Randy Ross and Richard Escobar.
20 years ago
Like anyone who has ever played baseball, Mike Benson had dreamed the dream.
It was the trip into the sub-conscious, slipping into the scene of stepping to the plate, looking over a bases-loaded situation with the game on the line and ... For many, that’s where the baseball dream ends. For Benson, it was just where the dream started — right off the bat.
“As I approached the place I was seated, to tell you the truth,” said Benson, a 1997 Brawley Union High graduate in his freshman year at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.