Another California cop is shot and killed, Amy Travis takes over as head of CASA and Brian Dignan resigns as athletic director at Garces Memorial High School

Friday, January 11, 2018

 Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this such a special to live. Send your tips to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... OPEN SEASON ON COPS: Another cop has been shot and killed, this time a 22-year-old

rookie in Davis who seems to have been killed execution style. Authorities said Natalie Corona was investigating a traffic accident when someone calmly walked up to her and shot her. The suspect, who later shot and killed himself, lived just a few blocks from the accident scene.

 * ... CASA: Amy Travis has been appointed the new executive director of the Court Appointed Special Advocartes (CASA), replacing longtime director Colleen McGauley who recently retired. Travis worked under McGauley for years before leaving to work at OneLegacy, but was lured back after McGauley decided to retire.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "My dogs don’t understand why I have to leave the house everyday, and quite frankly, neither do I."

 * ... BRIAN DIGNAN: Brian Dignan has resigned as athletic director of Garces Memorial High School, but will stay on as head men's basketball coach. In a Facebook post, Dignan said he wanted to spend more time with his family and noted that Gino Lacava would replace him as AD. Dignan previously spent a decade as an assistant basketball coach at CSUB and he also coached at Bakersfield Christian High School. Meanwhile Dignan's wife, former TV weather person Melissa Dignan, has also taken on a new job with Environmental Safety Solutions. Congrats to them both.

 * ... HEATHER LAGANELLI: One of the pioneers of the locally sourced farm to table movement, Heather Laganelli, has purchased the building that houses her downtown restaurant, Locale Farm to Table. Laganelli tries to use food and meat products produced no father than 100 miles from Bakersfield, and her creative culinary touch has created a strong and loyal following. Her restaurant is located across from the downtown Post Office in the old Vincent's Cyclery Building. She also purchased an adjacent building that once housed a silversmith and a cobbler, and she plans to convert that into a "to go" restaurant sometime later this year. (Pictured is one of Heather's desert creations)

 * ... CRUELTY: By now we have all heard about the woman who was shamed for riding a 
Bird scooter and dragging along a dog. The story recently appeared in London and the post has gone viral on social media. If you missed it, here is the original post: "While riding bikes downtown on A and 20th street, we watched this awesome human being riding one of the Bird Scooter’s at about 15 MPH dragging this poor dog behind her by a leash. The dog was on its side and we watched it being drug at least 100 yards and there’s no telling how long she had been dragging it for before we saw her. You can see that its paws are all completely bloody. I was unable to get a good picture of the poor dogs side. Sat on the phone with BPD while following her all the way back to an apartment on 24th St. She had the nerve to tell us that “shit happens, just like with kids”! Ummm yeah I don’t drag my kids down the street by a leash. If only she would have been a guy! She told me that she was going to call the cops on me for harassment and threatened me but she sure didn’t open the door and have something to say when the police went knocking on the door. I hope to see you again girly! Feel free to share this post. " Since then police have interviewed the woman and said the dog has been treated and will fully recover. Stay tuned to see if charges are filed.

 * ... MEMORIES: I found this on the Kern County History Fans Facebook page, with this caption: "The first constructed building on the now BHS (Kern County High School) campus was in 1885 and it was called the Commercial Building. The building stood where current Elm Grove is with several of the original 1895 driveway palm trees still standing."

Local radio group adds an FM simulcast for First Look with Scott Cox and The Ralph Bailey show, heating up the local radio wars …

 * … RADIO WARS: The local radio wars heated up this week when American General Media

accounced it had added a new FM station to its broadcast of News-Talk 1180 KERN. The station will simulcast KERN-AM on 96.1 FM, giving local hosts Scott Cox and Ralph Bailey new reach on the FM dial. AGM president Rogers Brandon said the simulcast will "allow KERN-AM and the excellent talent that we have on the station to be discovered by the vastly larger FM audience."

* … BIRTH: Did you hear about the woman who gave birth on a Southwest Airlines flight from San Francisco to Phoenix? Lind Brammer wondered: "Who issues the birth certificate? Which county?  I think it would be an interesting item for that baby to put on his/her resume, that he/she was born inflight, somewhere over the San Joaquin Valley."

* … PANDHANLDERS: Sandra Hurtado witnessed something the other day that is worth sharing. In her words: "We were exiting freeway at White Lane and a young girl in her 20s was standing at the median with her cardboard sign asking for money. My daughter made a comment that it was so sad because she is so young. We all felt bad for her. I proceeded to my destination at Urner's to pick up my order. I'm standing in the back and I see the young lady walking through the parking lot and get in a car. She sat in the car for awhile … counting her money. She left in a shiny red SUV, a really nice car.  It's so hard to judge now when giving money."

 * … RIP NANCY: Nancy Sherman spent 30 years working as a nurse at Kern Medical Center, and over that time became almost legendary in her commitment to her patients. This note from my friend Gordon Westhoff speaks volumes: "I just read the obituary today for Nancy Sherman and wanted to say a few words regarding her. I had the privilege as a sales rep in healthcare to call on Nancy for over twenty years at KMC. She was the best and most dedicated clinical nurse I ever knew - her patients were all that mattered to her. Doctors and sales reps both feared and respected her  As a rep you better NEVER try and sell her a product that was not the best for her patients  I was terrified of her when I first met her becasue she let me know in VERY clear terms to not ever waste her time with salesman bull! Her nurses all respected her and her patient's families loved her. She was a true legend at KMC."

 * … FOODIE: If you are a fan of anchovies, make sure to order the Ceasar salad at The Padre Hotel which comes with lightly and delicately fried anchovies. Highly recommended.

 * … SPOTTED: A man waiting in line at the downtown Sequoia Sandwich Shop is wearing a T-shirt that reads: "Bakersfield. It's really not that bad."

 * … GOOD FORM: Hats off to Shirley Cody who recently completed 1,000 miles of water walking at the McMurtry Aquatic Center. Not a bad feat for an 80-year-old woman who devoted five years of her life to achieving this goal.

 * … BAD FORM: Kern County sheriff's deputies have arrested two teenage boys for allegedly feeding a cat to two large dogs and vide taping the grusome act. According to KGET, the video surfaced on social media and the teenagers were tracked down and arrested for animal cruelty. This kind of behavior defies all logic. In the video, the teenagers could be heard encouraging the dogs to attack the cat. No word on if the cat survived.

Yet another case of animal cruelty ... this time in Tehachapi

 Teagan, a 3-year-old tabby owned by the Hesbon family in Tehachapi, was apparently shaved and then set on fire this week. Kara Hesbon said she heard Teagan outside, opened the door and found the cat covered in burns. Apparently she had been partially shaved before being doused with a flammable and set on fire. Thanks to Melissa Vreeman over at KERO TV, news of Teagan's plight has traveled throughout the social networking community and prayers are pouring in, as well as donations to help in Teagan's recovery.

Gaggles of ex cons put downtown residents on edge, and solving the mystery of the internment camps

 * ... ANIMAL ABUSE: Am glad to see prosecutors going after the 43-year-old man accused of taking a golf club to a small dog and then spraying bleach into its eyes. It's a case of almost unimaginable cruelty, but things like this also bring out the best in our community. Folks at the Coffee Road Animal Hospital say they have been overwhelmed with donations to help the dog, named Lacey. And a rescue home has already stepped forward to care for Lacey, whose long-term prognosis remains uncertain. Meanwhile, prosecutors are filing felony animal cruelty charges against Robert Gonzales, the alleged abuser.

* ... GRAPEVINE: Larry Miller, a retired battalion commander with the Kern County Fire Department, wrote to recall the hot summer days before air conditioning when trucks would navigate the Grapevine. "I marveled at the truck drivers who would stand on the running board of their trucks trying to escape the hellish, mind-bending engine and pavement heat coming up through the floorboards of their rigs as they were creeping over the Grapevine at 10 miles per hour. With a brick propped on the accelerator to keep the rigs moving, they would reach through the open cab door with their right hand on the steering wheel while clinging to the open door frame with their left arm. No seat belts on those days." 

 * ... EX CONS: If you live or work downtown, you're accustomed to seeing groups of freshly paroled prisoners hanging out in front of the Greyhound Bus Station. They're unmistakable in their khaki pants, black slippers with no laces, white T-shirts and prison-issued manila envelopes. These are people who have served their time, but their presence has put some downtown business people on edge. Don Martin, the tireless advocate for downtown and himself owner of Metro Galleries on 19th Street, lives downtown and routinely enjoys his walk to and from work. But not always. He was outside the downtown Rite Aid the other day when he was "stopped by a guy saying he just got released from prison. He wanted me to fill a prescription for him. I told management at Rite Aid." The previous day, he was stopped on 19th Street by another man who also had just been released who was trying to sell him stamps. Martin politely declined. With the recession deepening and the state on the verge of releasing thousands more inmates because of overcrowding chances are this kind of thing will continue for a while. Meanwhile, Martin is one of a group of downtown business owners who have been working - unsuccessfully so far - to get the bus station moved.

* ... INTERNMENT CAMP:  I may have learned what happened to the couple who ran a produce stand in 1943 but were sent to a Japanese internment camp. A reader, who did not want her name published, said the name of the produce stand and market was Sogo's Produce, and it was owned an operated by Utaro and Koye Sogo and their son-in-law, Kingo Nakamoto. Their families, longtime Bakersfield residents, were relocated to Poston, Arizona where there was a Japanese internment camp. Apparently, according to this source, the business was turned over to the Lum family who successfully ran a produce business in town for many years. The produce stand was located at the intersection of Golden State Highway and Union Avenue.

 * ... OVERHEARD: Reader Becky Williams: shared her encounter with a young lady at a local sandwich store recently.  "I'd like a turkey sandwich please,"  she said. The young lady replied, "I'm sorry. I can't make you a sandwich because our lettuce hasn't come yet."  Hold the lettuce then, Williams answered.  "I can't do that," the clerk said, "because I don't have any lettuce and it has to look like the picture."

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're a Bakersfield old timer "if you've taken part in the soap box derby races held in the late 1930s on River Boulevard between Columbus and Greenlawn Cemetery." Thanks to F. Valentich for that one.