Last month Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez sponsored a Women’s Safety and Self Defense workshop for her constituents. A Karate master provided instruction on self defense, while Lt. Zachary Hall, with the Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station, gave a presentation on personal Safety.

The workshop was attended by Spanish Hills resident Barbara Paul, who wants to share key points discussed at the workshop. Here are a few points Barbara is passing on:

• A healthy level of paranoia is beneficial.
• Before getting into your car, look under the car, and in the back seat.
• If you’re riding a bike, consider riding against traffic — You may risk getting a ticket, but you’ll improve your awareness of “traffic” around you.

Barbara also was able to obtain Lt. Hall’s presentation. Lots of good stuff and you can view it HERE.

Rob Mucha

BY ROB MUCHA
Public Safety Chairman

Hello, I’m Rob Mucha and I want to give you an update on the Temescal Valley Public Safety Committee.

We have a strong team working toward the overall goals of monitoring and improving service levels, and increasing community information, participation, and preparedness related to sheriff, fire, and code enforcement.

I’m pleased to report that we have good relationships with sheriff and fire staff in our area, and have made incremental progress toward some of our more specific goals of increasing sheriff patrols in the Valley, increasing neighborhood watch participation, researching other possible improvements, such as the establishment of a new citizen patrol group, and increased CERT participation in our area.

We are always looking for new ideas and people who want to help toward specific goals. Please contact me if you have ideas or want to learn more about the committee: Robmucha@aol.com.

Lt. Dan Ybarra, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, told residents attending the March 13 Temescal Valley Municipal Advisory Council meeting that he had been able to ascertain how county sheriff response times were changed in data presented by the city of Corona.

At February’s MAC meeting, he told residents he had never seen the response times the city quoted at its February public hearing, and that he would check out where those response times came from and give an updated report at a future meeting. Those times differed from the response times reported by the city in its earlier presentations. (Read related story HERE)

Ybarra said his research showed that data supporting both sets of conflicting response times had been given to the city by the Sheriff’s Department. The reason the response times differed was because, in submitting the information to the city, two different time periods had been used by the county to gather the information.

The lieutenant said that in the last month nine burglaries had been reported in Horsethief Canyon. Thieves were taking game consoles, jewelry and cash, and that a teen-aged girl was being sought as a person of interest.

He also suggested that it might be time for residents who drive ’90s Honda Civics and Accords to trade them in. These autos are car-theft targets because they are easy to break into and steal.

Ybarra also noted a rash of copper wire thefts in the area. MAC chairman Eric Werner said he could attest to those thefts as he witnessed suspects on Temescal Canyon Road at 8:30 a.m. (Werner added, “that’s broad daylight”), stealing copper wire. He confronted the thieves and, according to Werner, “they took off at high speed down Temescal Canyon Road.”

County code enforcement officer Mano Molina said the illegal dumping site at Lake Street and Temescal Canyon Road will soon be cleared. He said that illegal dumping in Temescal Valley is decreasing, as the department now only has two active cases.

Werner praised county code enforcement relating that there was a time you couldn’t drive Temescal Canyon Road without viewing discarded rubbish everywhere.