Bobcats are spotted on the bike trail in southwest Bakersfield, outdoors columnist Steve Merlo dies and sharing some memories of old Bakersfield

 * ... BOBCATS: There have been more bobcat sightings out on the bike trail to the west of town, the latest coming earlier this week when my friend Jason Barnes was cycling out toward Enos Lane.

Barnes managed to snap a handful of pictures of the young cat as he rode past. The bobcat seems undisturbed by Barnes on his bike and simply sauntered alongside the path as Barnes rode past, cell phone camera in hand. The drought has pushed bobcats and other wildlife closer to the neighborhoods in the southwest, but there have been no indications that they pose a threat to anyone.

 * ... CYCLISTS: And speaking of cyclists, Bakersfield has always had a robust cycling community but there has been a noticeable spike in the number of cycling "commuters" on our streets, particularly in the downtown area where millennials on fixed gear bikes share the road with the more serious recreational cyclists. If you are driving, make sure you are alert and "share the road" with these folks.

 * ... STEVE MERLO: I was saddened to learn that outdoors columnist Steve Merlo died of an apparent heart attack. Merlo was an avid outdoorsman, and I appreciated how he wrote about the hunting and shooting sports in ways that made them accessible to folks who never owned a weapon. He was a strong advocate of the 2nd Amendment, a proponent of the environment and a level head when it came to how the shooting sports can play a healthy role in our society.

 * ... OVERHEARD: A commuter who lives on the east side of town but works off Truxtun is telling a colleague: "I just won't go through California and Oak at rush hour anymore. I am thinking of taking Rosedale to Mohawk ... that is how bad it has gotten."

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK:" I’ll call it a smartphone the day I yell 'Where’s my phone' and it yells 'Down here! In the couch cushions!'

 * ...MEMORIES: Here’s a follow-up on Loren Stroppe’s memories of Ewing’s Stockdale Inn, compliments of Cheryl Saki: "After the Ewings failed to renew the lease on the site with the owner of Tenneco Oil, the building was purchased by a group of local businessmen. It was cut in half and moved to California and Oak at the site of the Santa Fe Railroad Roundhouse. The building was remodeled to resemble a train station with a vintage Pullman car sitting on the tracks in front. An authentic red caboose was located inside for additional seating for diners. The restaurant was named the Iron Horse and it was decorated with artifacts from closed train stations throughout the state. Milton Huggs of Milt’s Coffee Shop was the owner of the Iron Horse. Milt eventually sold the restaurant and the property was turned into the the strip mall that currently occupies the corner of California and Oak. I am honored to say that Milt is my dad and I am so proud of his creative genius that has enhanced and enriched the restaurant scene in Bakersfield for the past 50 plus years."

* ... MORE MEMORIES: And finally, John Pryor adds this memory when "all development west of Oak Street was limited to cattle grazing land of Kern County Land Company. My uncle, dentist C. E. (Doc) Pryor lived on the west side of Oak, north of Brundage. He had horses corralled behind his home... My parents belonged to Stockdale Country Club at the time (with something like $22 per month for dues).  o get there, we had to drive through all open fields between Oak and Fairway except for one little frame building. The sign said Shell -- not global Shell Oil but rather local Joe Shell's 'oil patch.' That was in the 1930s and 40s. Even in the 1950s when I played on the Bakersfield College golf team (Jack Frost was coach) this was evident. The surroundings of Stockdale were all open fields for cattle grazing."

Local baseball standout Jarret Martin to take the mound this week against the Bakersfield Blaze, and embracing the serenity of the Bakersfield National Cemetery

* ... MEMORIAL DAY: Hundreds of people visited the new national cemetery outside of Arvin on this Memorial Day weekend, a beautiful setting that has grown in popularity as more people discover this peaceful final resting place for those who served our nation. If you have not been there, it
is worth spending some time to enjoy the California oaks in the rolling hills. The cemetery is located off Bear Mountain Boulevard.

 * ... MARTIN: Jarret Martin, a Centennial High graduate who was originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles out of high school, is scheduled to be on the mound with the Cucamonga Quakes (a Los Angeles Dodgers affiliated team) against the Bakersfield Blaze this Thursday. His proud mother, local writer Dana Martin, also reminded me that the coaches have learned that Jarret is a scratch golfer and has been hitting the links with former big leaguers Charlie Hough, Matt Herges and Jose Vizcaino. (photo courtesy of Martin's Facebook page)

* ... AMGEN: Do you remember when the Amgen pro cycling race came to town and the city spruced up the area around Bakersfield College? Judy Henderson does, and she wishes it would return. "I miss the Amgen Race... In short time, tumble weeds were removed and ground up, trash and weeds disappeared. Center dividers were planted and wood chips were spread over dirt areas where many spectators would gather. The areas of Manor Drive, Panorama Drive and Alfred Harrell Highway looked like an All America City. Now, tumble weeds abound, weeds grow in the center divider and the streets. Trash litters roadways and weeds grow among the wood chips.  Even the  Panorama rain drain is clogged.  I miss the Amgen Race."

 * ... DRIVERS: Are Bakersfield drivers any more or less angry and impatient than in other communities? One reader, who asked that I withhold her name, has been verbally abused numerous times after picking up her grandsons from school. "I travel north of Gosford Road and I go through the very busy intersection at Ming Avenue," she said. When she finds herself in the right lane at Ming, intending to go straight, drivers behind her invariably get impatient if she doesn't take a right on red. "I am very aware of the glares and impatience of drivers behind me, who apparently think I don't care that they wish to make a right turn. I have even had people honk at me, but I really don't have a choice... I always pull to the as far to my left as I can, because small cars can move past me and make my turn."

 * ... BAD FORM: And speaking of road rage, shame on the driver of a white oil field utility truck who deliberately side swiped - and could have killed - a cyclist on the Granite-Woody Road Saturday. The cyclist was riding on the far right painted line, but apparently that wasn't good enough for the truck driver who came within a few inches of brushing the cyclist and taking him down.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From reader Linda Welch: You may be a Bakersfield old timer if you remember the two headed calf in the "old science building at Kern County Union High School. It was enclosed in a glass case."

Father Craig heads for Russia with iPad in hand and what about a "I Love Bakersfield" campaign?

 * ... HIGH ACHIEVER: Reader Georgann Greene wrote to tell me about a remarkable young man who is about to graduate from UCLA. He's Richard Rodriguez, a 2006 Centennial High graduate who was the first in his family to go to college. He is also a hemophiliac and has received treatments at the UCLA Medical Center his whole life. Yet despite this, he is graduating with a major in microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics. Richard spent last summer studying and working in a science lab at Harvard University. His goal is to become a research physician specializing in blood disorders. Now, that's a high achiever.


* ... HAPPY 90TH: An anonymous caller left a happy birthday wish for John Evelyn, a longtime Bakersfield resident who will turn 90 years old this week. Apparently John is a regular hiker of the Panorama Bluffs and has amassed quite a fan club over the years. The caller said he's headed to Morro Bay to celebrate his 90th and wanted to wish him all the best. Happy birthday John.
 

 * ... BAKO LOVE: If New York can have its ubiquitous "I LOVE NEW YORK" slogan plastered on T-shirts and car stickers, how about a "I LOVE BAKERSFIELD" campaign? At least that was the thought of Ray Dezember, the retired banker and Bakersfield booster who took the idea to Sheryl Barbich, head of the local Vision 2020 effort. Ray wrote a check and Sheryl ordered 5,000 "I Love Bakersfield" car stickers. Expect to see them around town. You can pick them up at the downtown Chamber of Commerce or the Bakersfield Convention and Visitors Bureau.

 * ... ROAD RAGE: More feedback from my post on cyclists almost being killed by irate drivers on the road to Woody. This from reader Layne Logan: "As much as I'd like to see the guy who tried run  your fellow cyclists off the road get his just desserts, I'm afraid I have to side with (reader) Marty Richardson on this one. It appears to me that (an earlier reader) didn't quite comprehend what Richardson was saying. She didn't say anything about the cyclists doing anything illegal, only that the road was dangerous. While the rise of riding can never be eliminated, it can be minimized. I ride daily, but on wide roads or roads with marked shoulders or bike lane. Just because you're legal doesn't mean you're safe. Being in the right (legally) will be little consolation to you or your family if you end up badly injured or killed (remember Norm Hoffman). As I told my kids when teaching them to drive defensively - you can be dead right."

 * ... IPAD: Ran into Monsignor Craig Harrison at The Padre Hotel the other afternoon and he was busy showing off his new iPad tablet from Apple. He was clearly impressed with the iPad's impressive array of applications but admitted he was a novice at technology. Father Craig also told me he was preparing for a trip to St. Petersburg, Russia, with 60 other folks from the parish. Cutting edge technology meets old world Mother Russia.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're a Bakersfield old-timer if "you remember the names of Bakersfield's two first-rate Jewish delis around the corner from each other. (Dave's on Chester and Joe's around the corner on 21st Street.

Road rage almost takes out a cyclist and local dairymen face tough times in this recession

 * ... ... CASA FRIEND: Lauren Burson could be a poster child for what we all want our children to be. She's only a fifth grader at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, but she has already learned the benefits of generosity and caring. Every year on her birthday, in lieu of birthday presents, she asks friends and family to make a donation to a charity of her choice. This year, on her 11th birthday, she chose CASA of Kern County. "We were touched by her generosity and give kudos to her parents, Les Burson and Susan Walker Burson, for encouraging philanthropy at such an early age," said Teresa Fahsbender, CASA's resource development manager.


 * ... GRANUCCI-LAFOND: Had the opportunity to officiate a wedding for a wonderful young couple on Saturday, Matthew Granucci and Denise LaFond. Picture perfect day and the Metro Galleries looked splendid for the wedding. Matthew and Denise met at Thompson Junior High, lost touch when both went to different high schools but reunited at UC Santa Barbara when Matt randomly moved in across the street. Now that's a love story. Denise is the daughter of Steve and Lisa LaFond and Matt  is the son of Peter and Susan Granucci.


* ... PROUD DAD: Reader Ralph Bartel dropped me a note to update me on all the San Diego State Aztecs in his family. His daughter, Emily Joann Bartel, received her masters in education counseling from San Diego State on May 23, finishing with a 4.0 GPA and graduating summa cum laude. Older brother Benjamin Bartel also graduated from SDSU (class of 2007) and is teaching high school in San Mateo. Both Ralph and his wife Kathryn also graduated from SDSU (class of 1974), making the entire household loyal to
 the Aztecs.

* ... GETTYSBURG GRAD: Good to hear that Centennial High graduate Steven Moxley has graduated from Gettysburg College, magna cum laude. He received a bachelor of arts in computer science with three minors. He is now headed to George Washington University to work on his master's in science and technology policy in the Elliott School of International Affairs. And there's more. His father Larry Moxley told me  that Steven has a paid summer internship with Google. Not a bad gig. His brother, Richard Moxley, will start his sophomore year at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., in early August. Two high achieving lads.

 * ... ROAD RAGE: Had a scary moment Sunday while cycling with my group on Granite Road headed toward Woody. A late model maroon Ford pickup truck, with a blue disabled sticker on its rear license plate, almost took out a cyclist who was riding straight and as far to the right as possible. The road was clear and this was clearly a case of someone attempting to brush us off the road, or worse. Turns out this same truck is known for terrorizing cyclists and one day, someone is going to get hurt. What makes people so angry? Bet this guy is just a prince at home.

 * ... OVERHEARD: What's going on with the local dairy industry? Heard from a friend at Uricchio's the other day that Central Valley dairymen are suffering. The dairymen are getting less for their product, and they are stuck with high fixed costs (the cows have to eat and you have to milk them.) Wasn't long ago when our local dairy industry was booming and farmers from other parts of the state were moving here. So what's causing the steep drop in prices? Yet another industry suffering in this long recession.

* ... EAST BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're an East Bakersfield old timer if you remember getting your foot X-rayed every time you went into Ricard's Bootery.

Cyclist run down and killed on South Union; the second Kern County cyclist killed within 72 hours

Received some horrible news this afternoon when I learned that Alton Saceaux, a 55-year-old local cyclist, was run down and killed on South Union Monday night. I didn't know Alton well but did know him from the occasional ride (I am also a cyclist) and last saw him in Starbucks on California Avenue and Stockdale about a month ago. Alton was always - and I mean always - utterly upbeat and effervescent. The guy loved cycling and personal fitness was a his lifelong personal mission. The cops say the guy who ran him down was likely drunk. This is a tragedy of enormous proportions: we lost a friend, a good man, a father of a couple kids, a husband, a good citizen. Kerry Ryan, owner of Action Sports over off Brimhall Road, knew Alton since 1994 and described him as "incredibly upbeat, high energy type of guy, always trying to get people into cycling, kind of a Norm Hoffman kind of guy." Norm of course was the longtime cyclist and Bakersfield College professor who died when his bike was crushed by a driver off Fairfax Road in 2001. (no alcohol involved in that) Added Kerry of Alton:

"He crewed on the 2004 Race Across America (which Action Sports won) and he was just always upbeat and willing to do anything. He'd come into the store and say 'Kerry we need to get so and so on a bike! He wants to get in shape.""



Alton is the second Kern County cyclist to die on a bike in just a few days. The other death happened in Malibu and has yet to be reported by the local press, but it involved a Tehachapi man who was completing a "double century ride" (that's a 200 mile ride) with his 14-year-old son on the back of a tandem. According to a story in the Ventura County Star, Rodrigo "Rod" Armas, 45, died at the scene after his bike was hit about 1:30 a.m. Sunday on Pacific Coast Highway. His 14-year-old son was injured but is expected to recover. You might ask why they were riding in the dark so early in the morning. The reason: these 200-mile rides take all day and last into the night, certainly dangerous in any circumstances. Once again, the cops say the man who hit the cyclists showed signs of being legally drunk. And so it goes. We lose another one. Thoughts for the families. (photo courtesy of The Bakersfield Californian)