STORIES FROM THE PAST
50 years ago
A body was reportedly found in the back seat of a car stopped at a Border Patrol check station this morning.
The body has been identified as Robert Edward Kovar, 40, of Los Angeles.
Two men have been arrested on charges of felony manslaughter. They have been identified as Glenn House, 51, Los Angeles, and Rex Murrie, 46, Hollywood, unemployed painting contractors.
The car containing two men was stopped at the Trifolieum check station at 9 a.m. the intersection of Highways 78 and 86 northwest of Salton Sea. Sheriff’s officers dispatched to the scene reportedly took the two men into custody.
40 years ago
CALEXICO — A routine check of a suspected stolen vehicle led police to the discovery of nine rifles and shotguns Thursday night at Highway 98 and 111.
Booked on suspicion of driving an embezzled vehicle were James Anthony Reese, 22, Sparks, Nev., and Richard Pierce, 21, no address given. The pair was riding in a small compact car with Nevada license plates, according to police.
However, police found the nine weapons in the rear seat of the small vehicle when police officer Adam Pena pulled the car over about 11 p.m. just south of the intersection. The pair offered no resistance.
Police Chief Marcel Jojola today said a preliminary check on the weapons failed to indicate whether the guns had been stolen. All were unloaded when the car was stopped. A pair of bolt cutters was found with the guns, police said.
Jojola said there was a “strong possibility” the suspects intended to sell the weapons in Mexico. Although he could not place a total value on the weapons, Jojola said several of the guns cold be resold for about $500 each.
30 years ago
IMPERIAL — The city of Imperial was blanketed Thursday with a “new” local newspaper that has been around for years, at least in name.
The paper, the Imperial Hometown Review, is an effort by Holtville Tribune publishers Quentin and Ellen Burke to give the city a “local” weekly paper of its own.
The Burkes, who have owned the Tribune for the past 23 years, purchased the Imperial Valley Weekly and Imperial Hometown Review from its long-time publisher, Nettie Brown of El Centro, last January. They now intend to change the paper’s focus from Imperial Valley to Imperial, which is reflected in a new emphasis on the paper’s masthead.
Co-publisher Ellen Burke on Friday said she and her husband feel Imperial may be ready for its own paper, citing recent growth which includes the Sunset Ridge subdivision. Developers also are eyeing the area for a possible big wave-type water recreation park and a defense-related plant, Burke noted.
20 years ago
If you’re getting dizzy, it may be from the spin of public relations firms trying to shape your views on water issues.
Powerful PR firms are helping fuel the debate on the proposed Imperial Irrigation District-San Diego water transfer.
The messenger is drawing headlines along with the message.
The latest twist involves Edelman Public Relations Worldwide of Los Angeles, hired in November by the Metropolitan Water District at $38,500 a month to promote its positions on water issues.
About a third of Edelman’s campaign has focused on the IID-San Diego water transfer, and its rubbed San Diego the wrong way.
Edelman is trying to sink the water swap, say San Diego County Water Authority leaders, who claim Edelman is portraying them as pawns for greedy Imperial Valley landowners such as the billionaire Bass brothers of Texas.