Tracy Davis

BY TRACY DAVIS
Identity Committee Chairwoman

Spending all of 2013 outdoors around Temescal Valley at opposition letter signings, I became more aware and proud of my surroundings. Compared to a city the size of Corona, we are a small unincorporated community with a rich heritage. We have the Temescal Valley Faire hosted by Temescal Heritage Foundation, special community events planned by for us by Riverside County Economic Development Agency, and several local businesses that I feel we all must support. 

After we fended off Corona’s annexation bid, the small group that led the opposition decided to stay involved with the community. We have formed committees to work more closely with county officials to solve problems in the Valley. We want to improve our lifestyle and our county services. 

Why do we need an Identity committee? Lessons were learned in fighting annexation. It was amazing. Many of the people we spoke to erroneously believed if they had a Corona address they lived in Corona. Their children go to the Corona/Norco Schools, but not those of our southern Temescal Valley neighbors like Horsethief Canyon Ranch, which attend Lake Elsinore schools and also have a Corona address. 

Local Realtors and Wildrose Ranch residents Glen and Kelly Nelson have included the Temescal Valley identity in their marketing materials.

Helping our residents understand where they live and where to find their local services is our main goal. One solution to this goal is outreach to our local Realtors through an informational flier about the Valley’s history and county resources which they can distribute when selling homes in Temescal Valley. We’re putting the flier together now. Additionally, we’re asking Realtors to stop marketing us as Corona. 

We’re working on getting Temescal Valley monuments placed adjacent to the I-15 at our northern and southern entrances to the Valley. This will be a big step in shoring up our visual identity. 

Our final solution is working with the United States Postal Service to get an actual postal designation for Temescal Valley. 

Have an idea that can help our identity crisis? We meet the first Thursday of every month at 6 p.m. at Senor Tom’s restaurant at Tom’s Farms. If you can make the meeting, feel free to contact me at tracycyto@yahoo.com. If you can’t make the meeting and have some ideas, please drop me an e-mail and I’ll share them with the committee. We look forward to seeing you.