STORIES FROM THE PAST

50 years ago

Ben Tamblyn, retiring mathematics teacher at Imperial High School, was presented the first copy of the 1968 annual, the Oasis, which was dedicated to him at the closing school assembly. In the dedication assembly, Dick DeRooy, editor of the Oasis, recapped Tamblyn’s teaching career and read the dedicatory statement which lauded Tamblyn for his 22 years of service to Imperial High School.

Tamblyn came to Imperial in 1946 from Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., where he taught for six years. His first assignment at Imperial High School in addition to his match classes, included coaching football, basketball and track. Classes were meeting in the old high school building when he arrived in Imperial, and they met in the old barracks while the new buildings were under construction. In the new building, Tamblyn was assigned to Room 7, the room he had occupied continuously since that time.

40 years ago

The Imperial Valley College Board of Trustees have decided not to make any immediate cutbacks because of Proposition 13.

With Chairman Howard Worthington saying, “we feel it would be a wrong move to make a hasty decision at this point,” the board voted to meet June 28 to come up with a budget that would reflect a $700,000 to $800,000 cut. The board met for more than two hours in executive session Wednesday to discuss the ramifications of Jarvis. The closed session was held because the board was supposed to discuss the possibility of cutbacks in personnel.

However, IVC President Dan Angel said, “We are trying to work on the policy that we won’t have to lay off anybody. The board is working on the premise that we will reorganize on a natural attrition basis.”

The college must submit a budget to the Imperial County Superintendent of Schools by July 1.

30 years ago

Already faced with the Metropolitan Water District’s attempts to concrete line the All American Canal, the Imperial Irrigation District must now contend with a congressional attempt to satisfy Indian water rights with water saved by lining the canal.

Rep. Charles Pashayan, R-17th District, has offered amendments that would incorporate the MWD’s canal lining legislation into a bill designed to settle a 19th century water dispute between the San Luis Rey Indians and several cities in San Diego County.

Under terms of the amendment, the federal government would participate in the canal-lining effort and receive 16,000 acre-feet of the water conserved to fulfill water rights guaranteed to the Indians under legislation sponsored by Rep. Ron Packard, R-43rd District.

Without this amendment, the water would come from the federal Central Valley Project, which supplies cities and farms in the San Joaquin Valley with water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

20 years ago

The movie was filmed under a shroud of secrecy.

The actors refused to discuss its plot during interviews on entertainment shows. They said it is top secret.

But now, as the movie nears its opening date of June 19, tidbits are leaking out, and the public relations campaign is under way.

Previews offer glimpses of what awaits viewers at the theaters. The film is “X-Files, Fight for the Future,” and part of it was shot here.

Imperial Valley residents should watch the previews closely. In the desert scene where a helicopter is flying above sand dunes, take notice. Those just happen to be the sand dunes in Glamis. Cindy Stillman, director of the Imperial County Film Commission, said filming here took place May 6 and 7.

She said seven local people, all of whom provided services for the movie and its crew, had the chance to watch the filming.