Chuckwalla Reveille The Voice of the Tri-Desert Empire

 

Reveille  Observatory

 

Peacock Parade   A couple of angry homeowners appeared before the council Tuesday to regret a truculent neighbor's insistence on keeping peacocks that, they say, run the rooftops at night to the perturbation of would-be sleepers.  “The squawk all night,” said Amy Bleidendorf, a resident on Gemstone Dr. “The birds are so noisy it’s just impossible.”  She said the birds are owned by resident Sam Taylor-Smith, who allegedly is not responsive to doing anything about it. Newly-hired city manager Greg Bennet said he is aware, but that It’s like barking dogs: the city has no options. “Animal control has neither the authority nor the ability to capture roosting birds,” Bennett said.  “ We just have to rely on owners to control their pets.” A Reveille inquiry left on Taylor-Smith’s answering machine got no reply. Councilman Henry Pipps said he knew of a private company in Riverside that makes a specialty of capturing escaped birds, mainly parrots. “There’s also an animal rescue farm, Beasthaven, that takes in unwanted or abused exotic pets, if the owner is interested.”  In a sympathetic aside, mayor Robert Crane said it reminded him of some people he knows. “Beautiful to look at but hard to listen to.”

Latest self-published ebooks in the Desert Empire:  

“A Modest Proposal for Surviving Nuclear War,” by Harold Caine.  Plenty of protein but harvesting will take some alteration of cultural norms.

“Like, You Know,” by CHS English teacher Molly Evens.  A vocabulary and manual for relating to the latest batch of inscrutable teenagers.

Dog Gone  The Valley Vigilance guard dog Stasi that usually accompanies the Martin Van Buren walking school bus is off-line at the vet’s for an estimated week while recovering from a tussle with a gang of pilfering raccoons.  The beyloved German Shepherd came to the rescue when some brazen masked bandits raided the second grade’s sack lunches during a school outing at Memorial Park.  Stasi chased off the intruders but received several bites and scratches.  “Nothing too serious,” says Stasi’s handler Bud Barajas, and the canine guardian should be back on duty in a week or so.

We get mail

Editor, As chairman of the Hispanic Students Union at CJC, I’d like to extend thanks and gratitude to all the participants in the very successful “Pinko de Mayo” fundraiser in support of the Latino LBGTQ+  legal action against the hiring practices of Pease Products Inc.  No discrimination in hiring! Si, se puede!  Humberto Reyes

Editor, In reply to the reader Wit’s End whose apartment is infested with roaches and rodents, I offer suggestions coming from a long career as a professional vector ecologist. In most cases such as yours that occur in low-income apartment buildings it is futile to complain to management.  The same is true of buildings owned by absentee landlords. The tenant is a wise one who determines early to deal with these problems himself. Keep in mind pests require three things: food, water, and harborage.  If you deny access to these ingredients, the tenant at the very least should succeed in driving the unwelcome visitors into a neighbor's space.  Of course the afflicted tenant will do the usual drill, by sealing any cracks along the baseboards; he will make sure all foodstuffs are collected and stored in bins with tight lids. The floor is swept and mopped daily.  Diatomaceous earth should be spread liberally.  Traps set at night. But there is more to do.  To cut off the water supply an incandescent lightbulb should be kept burning underneath the sink.  The refrigerator should be moved several feet away from the wall, and glue traps installed underneath the condenser coils.  In fact, all appliances and furniture should be moved away from the walls to limit harborage.  It’s also helpful to remove all kitchen drawers and store the contents in bins. Cupboard doors should be left open.  Lights should be kept on in the kitchen all night. Until the infestation is under control, the immaculately cleaned stove should be idled, its function replaced by a hotplate. Remember that the mice and cockroaches are inside the walls, and scrupulous attention has to be paid to any possible points in ingress into the apartment.  In serious cases, it may be necessary to remove most of the furniture, particularly couches and easy chairs. Older urban buildings and low-income poorly maintained units will be permanently affected, so ceaseless vigilance will be required.   Avery Pentel, former CEO, Ace-m Pest Removal.

Reveille Observatory

Drain the Swamp  Regarding that ad last week soliciting overnight janitorial help in Needles.  The ad didn’t say who was offering $30 an hour for a graveyard shift, but that’s pretty good money for a service job around here.  Legit?  We asked part-time intern reporter Cheryl Weiss, last year's salutatorian at CHS, to look into it.  The ad was placed by Industrial Strength Inc, a nationwide recruitment agency for business, mostly hiring cleaning crews for corporate buildings.  In this case, the contract is with Amtrak, to provide janitorial crews for the Southwest Chief  from LA to Chicago. According to David Keen, a spokesman for the FanAmtrak website, the main passenger complaint about the Chief is messy or out-of-service toilets  The toilets on Amtrak cross country trains flush into holding tanks that often fill up quickly, particularly because passengers have been told to “fluish early and often.”  Also, the unionized personnel aboard the train are reluctant to perform janitorial service since it isn’t part of their contract with the Amtrak Service Workers Union. The sleeping car porters are more inclined to do cleanup because they get tips.  But otherwise, a toilet can go all the way from LA to Chicago without much attention. A spokesman for Amtrak says the Chief’s  schedule is being adjusted to allow a 45-minute layover in Needles for the toilets to be pumped out and cleaned, hence the special crew now being recruited.  According to the train’s schedule, the train usually stops in Needles for five minutes at 12:15 a.m. but is frequently late, meaning a crew will have to be available over a span of time. Some members of the new crew will ride all the way to the stop at Lamy, New Mexico, where they will be put up in trailers while awaiting the next day’s return run to Needles.  “The hope is that dedicated swampers will solve thia."

Tow the Line  Gang Aglay Tow and Truck got the thumb’s up at City Council for a contract to handle the city’s towing needs, despite lingering allegations that the company has a history of overly-aggressive and rapacious practices.  The $50,000 contract with performance bonuses, calls for round-the- clock removal of abandoned and illegally parked vehicles plus confiscation of bicycles, scooters and mopeds blocking city sidewalks.  “We have major problems with abandoned junk cars,” said assistant city manager Abe Tennet, 214. “We also have troubles with people living in their cars beyond the 72-hour limit.”  During deliberations on the contract, Sonnie Bleau, 112, a tenant at Desert Vista Mobile Home Park, said her car had been towed without warning from the park’s visitor parking area "because the manager has it in for me.”  She said others in the park had been victims of “predatory towing” by the company.  Under state law, parking limits must be clearly posted, and towering companies must keep a photo record of each tow.  “”Gang Aglay sends spotters prowling around at night,” Bleau said, gives no notice to the owners of towed cars, and then charges excessive fees. “It can be a thousand bucks to get your car back.” But Mayor Crane said, “We got a big problem and Gang Aglay put in the only bid.”   

 

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