STORIES FROM THE PAST

50 years ago

The Imperial Valley Stock Car Racing Association has elected Calexico’s Lee Riggs as its new president, replacing Roy Childers who resigned.

Riggs is a well-qualified representative for the sport of auto racing. He has spent many seasons racing on various tracks around the Southwest. Before the formation of the IVSCRA, Lee was very active in Mexicali and still likes to drive in the stock car races across the border.

The IVSCRA members showed their support of Lee by voting him into the presidency unanimously. He quickly went to work and appointed members to fill vacancies in the IVSCRA.

Herb Owens of Brawley, Little Joe Glasscock of Seeley and El Centro’s big Sid Hixon were named to the board of directors.

40 years ago

MEXICALI — The long bus ride back to the hotel, aided by very warm seasonal temperatures and the monotone chatter of voices, lulled Ronnee Blakely to sleep.

The brown-haired singer, whose performance in the movie “Nashville” had attracted a following of filmgoers, was exhausted. She had just completed another day of motion picture production in the rugged desert south of here.

Now the fatigue of working outdoors in 100-degree temperatures combined with 6 a.m. production calls all week had taken all her energy.

As she dozed along the 40-mile stretch of highway between Rio Hardy and Mexicali, two other cast members tried to seem interested in talking with a reporter.

Anne Dusenberry, less than enthusiastic about discussing herself or recent credits — television’s “Eight is Enough,” and the movie “Jaws 2” — answered in vague, effortless terms. It was not an attempt to be aloof. It was simply the end of a long work week and “all reporters have a habit of asking the same dull questions.”

Seated on Anne’s right was Susan Myers, the onetime companion, friend and confidant in the recently cancelled series “James at 15.”

30 years ago

Students in the El Centro School District moved closer to the nationwide median for academic achievement in most subject areas over the past year, but the district as a whole still lags behind national averages, according to school district test results.

The district’s overall scores on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills showed student achievement ranging from the 29th percentile in fourth-grade reading to the 44th percentile in second-grade language. The 50th percentile represents the median score, with half the students taking the test scoring below that level and half scoring higher.

But the district showed progress as scores in 23 out of the 33 grade-level and subject-area categories tested moved closer to the median when compared to last year’s scores. Four categories showed no improvement and six showed a decline.

“Overall, these test scores this spring are better than they were last spring,” said Everett Taylor, assistant superintendent of educational services.

20 years ago

As reality sinks in that California’s 30-year-old bilingual education effort is history, educators are in limbo as to how to implement a new system.

Voters Tuesday overwhelmingly supported the “English for the Children” initiative, which requires all English learners in California to be taught exclusively in English. It would require all English learners to be educated through “sheltered English immersion” not normally intended to exceed one year. Local schools will be permitted to place in the same classroom English learners of different ages but with similar English-proficiency skills.