A glimpse at some of the more significant stories in the region over the last year
(Editor’s note: This is the second part of the year in review. The first part appeared in the Dec. 30 edition.)
July
July 1 - “Bishop reins in CHSRA finals for another year” – Bishop Chamber of Commerce and
Information Center Director Tawni Thomson during her update to the Bishop City Council on Monday “officially announced” that the California High School Rodeo Association State Finals Championship will be returning to Bishop next year.
Thomson reported that during the event at the Eastern Sierra Tri-County Fairgrounds last month the CHSRA board voted to approve a contract to bring the event back to Bishop “at least for the next year.”
Thomson noted that 300+ rodeo families were in Bishop June 10-18 and by all accounts, the week was a resounding success.
July 6 - “County advises precautions as runoff danger continues” – Inyo County officials issued a reminder last week that those recreating outdoors need to exercise caution as runoff peaks throughout the Eastern Sierra amid soaring temperatures.
The public is strongly encouraged to obey all road closures and avoid areas with swift water –
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for their safety as well as that of first responders.
The National Weather Service had issued a flood warning for the region through Tuesday evening, with the hottest temperatures of the year contributing to rapid snowmelt and excessive runoff.
The NWS warned that flooding of rivers, creaks, streams and other lowlying and flood-prone locations was likely over the holiday weekend.
Numerous local waterways are already flowing near, at, or over-capacity.
July 8 - “Working to stabilize NIHD, DelRossi asks for support” – Northern Inyo Healthcare District’s Interim Chief Executive Officer Stephen DelRossi addressed the topics of bankruptcy and the future of NIHD in two recent memos to the district staff.
DelRossi sent the memos to clarify what bankruptcy could mean for the 77-year-old healthcare district, one of the first in the state.
“In summary, we will not close, but our services will be closely examined, as they are now,” he wrote to the staff. “We are working to stabilize district’s finances, but this will take time. We appreciate your patience with us during this period.”
DelRossi, who also serves as the district’s chief financial officer, shares promising news of the state committing to providing $1.7 billion annually in additional funding for Medi-Cal reimbursements. However, the exact methodology has yet to be discovered at this time.
July 8 - “Agencies report recent recreation fatalities” – Emergency responders were kept busy over the Fourth of July weekend with reported fatalities and rescues from Death Valley National Park and the sheriff’s offices of Inyo and Mono counties.
July 11 - “County officials continue to advise outdoor safety” – The Inyo County Sheriff’s Office and administration issued a joint release Friday reminding residents and visitors how the treacherous conditions of the backcountry can lead to tragedy.
“Six people have lost their lives in Inyo and
The Inyo County Search and Rescue Team was kept busy throughout the year making rescues in varied conditions and situations.
Mono counties this season in tragic incidents involving snow, swift water, and extreme heat,” the county officials noted. “Our condolences go out to the victims’ loved ones.”
Officials state that it’s critical that people recognize that conditions this year are unprecedented with the amount of runoff seen in area creeks and rivers and the volume of snow still left to melt in the backcountry.
July 15 - “Illegal burro killings discovered in
Death Valley National
Park” – National Park Service officials are investigating the death of five burros that were discovered shot and killed earlier this week in the Lower Wildrose area of Death Valley National Park, park officials reported
Thursday.
Burros are not native to the California desert and public land managers are engaged in work to remove the animals from the sensitive desert environment by working with partners. The five burros were not part of any internal removal efforts.
It is illegal to discharge a firearm in a national park and it poses a threat to public safety. The abandoned carcasses also endanger native wildlife who inadvertently ingest toxic lead shot when feeding on the dead animals.
July 20 - “New Bishop ambulance provider seeks subsidies” – A representative of Coast2Coast Public Safety, which has been providing ambulance service to the greater Bishop area for about the last three months, told the Inyo County Board of Supervisors Tuesday that the company is seeking life support in the form of a $60,000-a-month subsidy or it could reduce the level of care provided or cease its local operations altogether.
Coast2Coast Public Safety Director of Business Development Sarah Morris, who provided an update of the service during Tuesday’s board meeting, said the expected revenue streams of 911 calls, longdistance transports from Northern Inyo Hospital that do not meet flight criteria, and flight transports of crews and patients from the hospital to the airport, currently are not covering costs of operations.
She said the company was expecting to see more long-distance transports through Northern Inyo Hospital but the hasn’t happened.
July 22 - “NIHD sees progress on financial front” – After hearing the alarm about a precarious financial position that could eventually lead to bankruptcy at some point in the future, the staff at the Northern Inyo Healthcare District has begun digging into the nuts and bolts of improving the district’s balance sheet.
The efforts to cut expenses and increase revenue have taken various forms since the start of the year. Among the relatively short-term moves are the recent renegotiating of vendor contracts at a reduced rate, office space is being shuffled with an eye to reducing costs, and the overall number of employees has dropped by more than 10%.
Longer term, the district’s business and billing offices have been beefed up with additional employees after the previous administration contracted out most billing and collections to an outside firm and left a bare-bones fiscal group to oversee the vendor and address problems. Elective, non-essential medical services are being scrutinized to make sure they don’t run at a loss.
A consultant has completed a months-long effort to basically re-educate fiscal staff, providers and support staff on the intricacies of health care billing. Improving payments from Medicare, Medicaid and MediCal has been a particular focus.
July 27 - “County secures temporary EMS contract for Bishop area” – For the second time this year, Inyo County and city of Bishop officials have united to ensure the continuation of ambulance service in the greater Bishop area.
July 29 - “Bishop Creek Canyon dams seeing peak flows” – Dams in Bishop Creek Canyon are now at or near capacity but are effectively accommodating peak runoff as designed, according to Southern California Edison Government Relations Manager Matthew Paruolo.
County officials noted Wednesday that concerns arose recently about the reservoir levels amid soaring summer temperatures, however the flows are not expected to pose significant dam safety risks.
august aug. 1 - “Inyo County to enhance emergency messaging system” – The Inyo County Office of Emergency Services (OES) will soon be facilitating a major advancement of the county’s emergency messaging and alerts system that notifies the public of disasters and other largescale events.
Inyo County OES recently entered a contract with Genasys, a leading provider of state-of-the-art emergency notification technology, to upgrade the County’s tools for effective crisis communications and evacuation management. The Genasys system should complement the existing CodeRED system utilized by the County to notify subscribers by phone, email, and text message of evacuation warnings and orders related to flooding, fire, avalanche, and power outages – resulting in an even more robust and reliable emergency communications system for all residents of Inyo County.
aug. 12 - “Inyo County Jail, Courthouse in line for upgrades” – The historic Inyo County Courthouse and the not-so-historic
Inyo County Jail and Sheriff’s Office building are being targeted for substantial upgrades and improvements over the next year.
The hissing, steam radiators that provide varying levels of heat in most of the 103-year-old courthouse will soon be relegated to the ash heap of history (but since the building is on the National Register of Historic Places, the iron radiators might remain to help retain the building’s charm).
Work to install a new HVAC system for the building is underway. That system should provide more uniform heat in the three-story building made of concrete with plenty of granite floors and high ceilings. The radiators were notoriously cranky when it came to dialing in warmth. That created the rather odd sight of some windows open wide all winter to disperse too much heat, while other areas were more than a tad chilly.
A more costly set of improvements are slated for the Sheriff’s Office and Jail, which was built in the mid-1980s. The entire jail security system is set to be replaced, along with other security-related improvements. Upgrading the county-wide radio system is also being planned. The administrative wing of the building is scheduled for significant work throughout.
aug. 15 - “Wildfire protection is a hot topic” –
The two dozen residents attending the recent public meeting about wildfire hazards in the Bishop area arrived ready to share what they saw were the issues and possible solutions to help lower their communities’ risk of being swept by a wildfire.
A lack of water and fire hydrants to fight fires, limited roads and access, narrow streets that cannot accommodate emergency vehicles and evacuating residents, confusion over jurisdiction, neighbors who won’t keep down the weeds and potential dry fuels, and public agencies not doing as much as possible to reduce fuels and provide defensible space around isolated communities.
aug. 17 - “Mojave Precious Metals still plans exploring for gold on Conglomerate Mesa” – After a contentious public battle with environmental groups and successful exploratory work that was quickly followed by a very public retreat, Mojave Precious Metals quietly continued to pursue permission to undertake a larger project to explore for gold on Conglomerate Mesa. The Canadian firm, a subsidiary of K2 Gold, has submitted its proposal to drill more test bores, disturb additional land, and build access roads on Conglomerate Mesa.
The initial approval and subsequent work by Mojave/K2 Gold promoted Friends of the Inyo, local tribes and a coalition of national environmental groups to protest the drilling plan, and then to actively work to scuttle the planned expansion of the exploratory work.
aug. 22 - “Inyo wakes up to closed roads, evacuations” – A nervous Inyo County woke up Monday morning wondering what sort of damage the rainy remnants of tropical storm Hilary had delivered from Death Valley to Bishop.
As morning arrived, it became clear the storm had accomplished what record-setting waves of Sierra snowmelt did not do: deliver enough rainfall to swell several local creeks to the point evacuation warnings were issued for three communities: the west side of the Lone Pine Paiute Shoshone
Reservation; 7 Pines on Independence Creek; and the Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery/Oak Creek.
The day also brought the news that flash floods and flooding had closed US 395 from Pearsonville to Bishop and had also closed State Route 190 in Death Valley. The road closures effectively cut off the southern routes into Inyo County and forced locals to contend with a dicey commute, at best. A number of other county roads were also closed due to flooding.
aug. 22 - “Death Valley National Park remains closed” – Death Valley National Park is still closed due to major flash flood damage. The park had its rainiest day ever on
August 20, receiving more rain than it normally does in an entire year.
National Park Service (NPS) and Caltrans road crews opened an exit lane on CA-190 by late on August 21. This provided an exit route for the 400 residents, employees, and
travelers that sheltered in place for about 24 hours.
The National Weather Service rain gauge at Furnace Creek measured 2.2 inches of rain on August 20, 2023. This exceeds the park’s annual average rainfall of 2.15 inches. This set a new single-day rainfall record for Death Valley, breaking the previous record of 1.70 inches set on August 5, 2022. The National Weather Service radar indicates some parts of the park may have received around 5 inches of rain that day. This unprecedented rainfall was due to the remnants of Hurricane Hilary.
september sept. 2 - “West Nile Virus found in mosquitoes trapped in Inyo” – The Owens Valley Mosquito Abatement Program (OVMAP) confirmed Wednesday that mosquito samples caught during trapping operations early this week tested positive for West Nile Virus.
This is the first occurrence of West Nile Virus in Inyo County since
2019. Prior to that, West Nile Virus had been detected in the Owens Valley for several years since first being discovered in the area in 2004.
During that time, no human infections were reported, but three horses died after being infected with West Nile Virus.
sept. 9 - “NIHD faces additional reductions” – Northern Inyo Healthcare District regrettably eliminated an additional six positions this week as part of its ongoing efforts to right size the 77-yearold health care organization.
These reductions include both union and non-unionized jobs concentrated within administration and support roles.
According to Stephen DelRossi, NIHD’s chief financial officer and interim chief executive officer, these reductions follow careful consideration and are driven by a commitment to sustainable
sept. 16 - “Bishop schools lock down after phone threat” – Bishop Unified School District schools went on lockdown Thursday morning after Bishop Elementary School received a threatening phone call, according to Bishop Police Chief Nate Derr.
Derr reported that the Bishop Police Department was notified at about
10:30 by the school regarding the phoned threat and immediately dispatched officers who were there within minutes.
The chief said the elementary school already was locked down and the middle school and high school also were temporarily locked down as a precautionary measure.
sept. 23 - “Inyo County Search and Rescue keeps busy” – Inyo County
Search and Rescue members continue to respond to those in trouble in the backcountry as the group reported Wednesday on an incident that occurred earlier this month.
On the evening of Friday, Sept. 8, Inyo SAR received a call from an injured solo hiker just below Shepherd Pass, according to the organization.
The hiker had attempted to ascend the pass, found the trail covered by a snowfield from last winter, and tried to cross the snow without crampons or an ice axe.
“He slipped, tumbled, lost about half of his gear, and eventually hit a rock wall that stopped the fall but also broke his leg,” Inyo SAR reported.
sept. 28 - “First restoration project at Lone Pine Airport complete” – The Friends of Lone Pine Airport, with the help of volunteers, Inyo County Department of Public Works, and a generous grant from the Recreational Aviation Foundation, has completed a restoration of the outdoor bathrooms at the Lone Pine Death Valley Airport.
The bathrooms had been boarded up for years.
Upon investigation, FLPA members determined
sept. 30 - “County issues warning to residents regarding rabies” – Inyo County HHS, Public Health would like to remind visitors and residents not to touch, handle, or feed wildlife.
Two bats in Inyo
County have been secured and tested positive for rabies, since April 2023.
On Sept. 18, Inyo County Public Health received a report that a bat was seen behaving strangely in the northeast area of Bishop that later tested positive for rabies.
october oct. 7 - “Inyo-Mono
Title records 110 years of business in the area” – In the heart of California’s picturesque backcountry, a remarkable milestone is being celebrated – the 110th anniversary of a small rural title company that has stood the test of time.
Since its inception in 1913, Inyo-Mono Title Company has been a testament to resilience, commitment and the enduring spirit of family ownership, according to Tyler R. Core, Inyo-Mono Title Company vice president and “thirdgeneration land man.”
Core notes that what sets this title company apart is not just its longevity, but also its unwavering dedication to preserving the values and traditions that have been at its core for more than a century.
oct. 12 - “IMACA finds a new home” – Inyo Mono Advocates for Community Action, Inc. (IMACA) announced Wednesday that it has move to a new location.
The new office of the social services organization is at 145 E. South St., Building A, Bishop. It is the small building behind the agency’s food warehouse.
oct. 19 - “Flower power could stop gold work” – A powerful shot of flower power could help conservationists fight plans for extensive exploration for gold on Conglomerate Mesa.
Last week, the Inyo rock daisy was listed as a “threatened” species by the California Fish and Game Commission. The total population of the rare flower (Perityle inyoensis) recently discovered on Conglomerate Mesa is estimated to be in the low thousands.
oct. 26 - “City Council approves EMS cost-share agreement” – The Bishop City Council at its regular meeting Monday approved a cost-sharing agreement with Inyo County and the Bishop Paiute Tribe to ensure that an ambulance shows up when residents and visitors to the greater Bishop area call 911.
Inyo County and the city of Bishop have been working together since the beginning of the year when Symons Emergency Services gave notice to the Inland Counties
Emergency Medical Agency (ICEMA) that it planned to cease providing advanced life support ambulance services in the Exclusive Operating Area, which encompasses the greater Bishop area, effective April 22. Symons, which had provided service in the area since 1989, cited unsustainable financial losses as the reason for the company ceasing operations in Bishop.
The county has signed agreements and extensions for services with REACH Air Medical Services, which has served the area for decades as Sierra LifeFlight, since July after another EMS company after three months found serving the area financial challenging.
oct. 31 - “Traffic collision caused by a tarantula in Death Valley” – Swiss travelers braked suddenly to avoid hitting a tarantula
november nov. 11 - “Board splits on cost-sharing for greater Bishop area EMS” –
Inyo County Supervisors Matt Kingsley and Jen Roeser cast protests votes against a cost-sharing agreement between Inyo County, the city of Bishop and the Bishop Paiute Tribe to provide ambulance service for the greater Bishop area throughout the upcoming year.
Kingsley and Roeser, who represent the county’s Fifth and Fourth districts respectively, said they had concerns that other county volunteer fire departments have been performing their emergency medical services operations in the past without additional funding from the county. Both said that the cost-sharing agreement was providing a subsidy to the city of Bishop and the Bishop Rural Fire Protection District while other departments were struggling to provide EMS to their jurisdictions without additional county funding.
The cost-share agreement ultimately passed 3-2 with Supervisors Trina Orrill, Jeff Griffiths and Scott Marcellin.
nov. 14 - “County extends short-term rental moratorium –
The Inyo County Board of Supervisors at its regular meeting last week voted to extend a temporary moratorium on shortterm rental permits to give staff more time to complete a study on the impact of short-term rentals on residential and workforce housing, and developed a comprehensive housing strategy for
december dec. 2 - “Crisis center could see significant loss of funding” – Wild Iris Family Counseling and Crisis Center and CASA of the Eastern Sierra provide victim services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and child abuse in Inyo and Mono Counties.
The agency reports it is significantly funded by grants from the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES), which disburses funds from the Federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Crime Victims Fund (CVF). VOCA grant funding supports Wild Iris and CASA of the Eastern Sierra programs including emergency shelter, court advocacy, a 24-hour crisis hotline, transitional housing, support groups, youth violence prevention, hospital response, and more.
dec. 23 - “County’s Fifth District race packed with candidates” – With the extension period to file for candidacy ending earlier this month, voters in the three county supervisor districts that are up for election will have a choice between at least two candidates, according to the Inyo County Elections Office.
In the Fifth District, where incumbent Supervisor Matt Kingsley has chosen not to run, voters will have six candidates to choose from.
The last day to register to vote for the primary election is Feb. 20, 2024, according to the
California Secretary of State’s Office.