Celebrating math, Einstein, and pie – all on the same day Chris Smith / The Valley ChronicleLaura Fenton, owner/operator of the Harvard Street Bakery and Tea Room displays an official Pi Day pie. In celebration of the Pi Day holiday, all Bakery pies are specially priced at $3.14 through the weekend. Located at 140 N. Harvard St., Hemet, the shop is open Tues.-Sat., 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. ■ Dennis Fletcher / Contributed Does 3.14 ring a bell? How about 3.14159? If you remembered the latter, you retained from junior high school the first six digits of an endless numerical constant called pi, represented by the lowercase Greek letter for pi (π). We (more…)

■ By Rusty Strait / Senior Reporter The trespassing charge against Judith McPherson brought by Harvard Street restaurant-owner Stephen Olguin (aka Steve Covington) back in September 2017 was dismissed Wednesday, March 6, in Banning Superior Court. At the time of the incident, McPherson was attending an open public forum hosted by Hemet City Councilperson Karlee Meyer inside the Downtown Deli. When Olguin was informed by an employee that McPherson was in attendance, he summoned two officers from the Hemet Police Department to escort her from the restaurant. Olguin later filed a complaint against McPherson for trespassing. The charge pertained to someone who is disruptive, then refuses to leave a business when (more…)

Cash awards given to student winners by Human Relations Council Photo by Dennis FletcherHRC board members and several of the winning students line up after the event. Left to right: Mary Morse (President, HRC board), Nikki Leslie (Monte Vista Middle School), Mariam Mekhael (Western Center Academy), Amrik Singh (HRC board), Bailey Bryan (Bell Mountain Middle School), Aileen Luke (Western Center Academy), Gabriella Mares-Galletta (Western Center Academy), Andrea Mares (UC Riverside). ■ Dennis Fletcher / Contributed Last week the winners of the 15th annual Black History Month Essay Contest received a most deserved acknowledgement for their accomplishments at the Mt. San Jacinto College Library on the San Jacinto Campus. Sponsored by the (more…)

SJ Council approves new wastewater vehicles to better aid storm aftermaths It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it! ■ Jacob Doane / Contributed In the last few weeks the storms and floods have brought about the realization that our wastewater storm and water divisions are, in terms of equipment, behind the times. Water and Utilities Superintendent Arthur Mullen spoke about the “Vactor 2100 that has been in service to San Jacinto for 14 years, is used on a daily basis, and is used an average of 10 hours a day.” He goes on to claim the Vactor 2100 as the first and only response to any wastewater emergencies, e.g, (more…)

Is life worth living after such a tragedy? A family tries to keep going after the death of their son Chris Smith / The Valley ChronicleThe little bike that Baby Anthony was learning to ride is a stark reminder of his absence from the family’s yard. Pictured also is the driveway where he was fatally struck by his father’s truck. ■ By Chris Smith / Advisory Editor Sometimes things happen in life – very bad things with no silver lining – and you question whether it’s even worth going on, whether it’s worth continuing to struggle each day to survive. That’s the depth of Eduardo’s heartache. “Why?” He asks himself every (more…)

No foul play suspected, says sheriff Courtesy Riverside SheriffHopper-Jasinski, 62, of Idyllwild was found dead last week a half mile from his home. ■ Chronicle News Staff A search-and-rescue team found the body last week of an Idyllwild man who had been reported missing only a day before. The body of Piotr Hopper-Jasinski, 62, was found in a heavily forested residential neighborhood less than a half mile from his home, where he was seen last. His family reported him missing Tuesday, Feb. 19, and said he was suffering from multiple medical conditions. Since he didn’t drive, and he didn’t have a cell phone, his disappearance was suspicious and, his family reported, (more…)

San Jacinto City Council approves funding for new police dog Jacob DoaneWaylen with his new handler Cpl. Jeff Hurd. ■ Jacob Doane & Chris Smith / Contributors The San Jacinto City Council unanimously approved funding to pay for a new police dog to replace the city’s beloved Wyatt who died recently from a rare brain tumor. During a city council meeting held on Dec. 18, San Jacinto Police Lt. Chief John Salisbury presented “Waylen” to the council as a candidate for the vacancy created when Wyatt died. This presentation was met by unanimous approval from the city council. The single question raised about the proposed purchase of the new K-9 was (more…)

US Power Soccer Association wheelchair tournament comes to Hemet ■ By Rusty Strait / Senior Reporter A local, all-Veteran wheelchair soccer team will be competing in a U.S. Power Soccer Association wheelchair competition at the Wheelhouse located on 2860 West Florida Avenue, in Hemet on Mar. 2 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. All players, coaches and team management for Veteran Warriors, the local team, are military veterans and this is the first all-Veteran soccer team to join the U.S. Power Soccer Association nationwide. Cloverlane Foundation, under the aegis of Gerald Chase, was instrumental in developing the partnership to bring the Veterans Mobility Projects adaptive sport program to be realized. Mr. (more…)

A ‘California miracle’ blesses the San Jacinto Valley Dolly Baxter/The Valley ChronicleOur very own staff member, Dolly Baxter, was driving through San Jacinto when she noticed a considerable amount of snow from her car window. Hemet experienced more hail than snow, however. ■ By Taj Shorter / Metro Editor Despite the fact that spring will soon be around the corner, the San Jacinto Valley was treated with a frosty surprise last week that hardly ever graces the likes of Southern California. If it were around the holidays, some might refer to it as a “Christmas miracle.” However, since we’re far from the days of gift-giving and family gatherings, we can only (more…)

First responders provide aid to numerous San Jacinto-area victims Courtesy Danny Smelthurst and Hemet Eye NewsA drone’s eye view of flooding near Ramona Expressway and Sanderson with Lambs Canyon in the distance from an online posting by Danny Smelthurst on Hemet Eye News. ■ By Taj Shorter / Metro Editor This past Valentine’s Day proved to be less than lovely this year for several victims and first responders involved in swift-water rescues caused by the recent heavy rain plaguing Riverside County, specifically in the San Jacinto area. Last Thursday, dozens of emergency responders conducted multiple rescue missions to aid victims caught in rain-swollen areas throughout the valley. Several motorists became trapped (more…)