STORIES FROM THE PAST
50 YEARS AGO
Imperial Valley College students spend about $2,381,000 a year in this area, it was revealed last night by IVC President Dr. Terrel Spencer.
In a report issued to the college board of trustees, he said a student survey conducted by J.A. DePaoli Jr., dean of admissions, shows the expenditures of the junior college students.
Students registering for the fall semester participated in the survey.
“While the sum make it sound as if it costs quite a lot to attend IVC,” Dr. Spencer said, “a lot of the expenses go to items such as car costs and entertainment.”
The study showed that the purchase and operation of automobiles was the largest cost to students, about $128 a month. The report said about three-fourths of the student body have cars, and 1964 models predominate.
In comparison, the cost of school fees, books and supplies was estimated at $101 a year.
40 years ago
Developer Robert Childers received a setback in his plans for the construction of a convenience shopping center on the corner of Ross and LaBrucherie roads in El Centro.
Before the city planning commission got around to giving the go-ahead on the controversial Mission Estates condominiums, it turned down, 4-2, a request to pre-zone the proposed La Donna Village subdivision. Commissioners Ed Snively and Donald Twogood voted to allow the pre-zoning, which would have marked a 3.7-acre area on the corner of Ross and LaBrucherie roads as C-1 (neighborhood commercial). The plan also called for one acre to be pre-zoned R-2, with the rest -1.
Commissioner Wilma Johnson was absent.
The fervor that appeared in previous meetings dealing with the proposed condominium units around the Imperial Irrigation District substation was not present.
30 years ago
In order to maintain services and build reserves needed to meet anticipated settlements of Salton Sea flooding claims, the Imperial Irrigation District will need to raise water rates 35 percent, or find new sources of revenue, according to figures released Tuesday night.
The figures were discussed during a public hearing scheduled to review the revenue needs of the IID Water Department and consider removing a controversial minimum water charge that farmers throughout the Valley have called unfair.
The consensus of the board is to remove the minimum charge, which will cost the district about $1.1 million a year. Replacing this lost revenue for the next six months will require a water rate increase of about 50 cents per acre-foot.
But over the long term, the district needs to increase revenues by about $8.2 million per year, said Kris Fontaine, IID finance director. The additional funds are needed to make up for the lost revenue, keep up with inflation, make equipment purchases that have been deferred for the past three years and build reserves needed to pay $18 million in currently known flooding claims, she said.
20 years ago
On the surface it would seem that the two of them could not be farther apart.
One is as close to the major leagues as he could possibly be, while it appears the other one is veiled in anonymity. But there is one thing these two players have in common — success.
Former Central Union High School baseball player David Cortes currently dominates opposing hitters while pitching for the Atlanta Braves AAA minor league team in Richmond, Va.
While Cortes is knocking on the big leagues’ door, Tim Howard is tearing up the Texas-Louisiana independent league. Howard, a graduate of Brawley Union High School, is destroying opposing pitching while playing shortstop and second base for the Amarillo Dillas. He is hitting .477 after his average had peaked at .504 just a few days ago.