Archive - Mar 2011
The sentencing for Lupe Almaguer, a former Mammoth Lakes daycare provider who was arrested last October on child sexual abuse charges, was continued yet again at the request of Almaguer's attorney Tuesday.
Almaguer was on the court calendar to be sentenced March 29, but was granted a continuance to April 26, according to Todd Graham, Mono County Deputy District Attorney.
Graham said earlier that the District Attorney's office would be ready to move forward on March 29. "I will state on the record that I am ready to proceed with the hearing," he said in a March 25 email.
March 30th
A 24-year-old former Mammoth man was arraigned Tuesday morning on murder and arson charges related to the September killings of his estranged wifeâs grandmother and his two-year-old stepson, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported Tuesday.
Washoe County District Attorney Richard Gammick and his staff will be meeting to decide if they will seek the death penalty against Justin Tu Ouimet, currently of Reno, who is accused of fatally stabbing Lana Stone, 62, and Connor Lawrence, the two year old, the newspaper reported.
March 29th
It was horrific, in every sense of the word.
A 43-year-old woman snowboarder crashed into the side of a snowcat last week at Mammoth Mountain, losing a leg when she was entangled in the spinning tiller behind the cat.
"Her leg was gone!" said a startled employee at the ski area, who asked for anonymity until investigators could complete their work.
Kathleen Willhide-Michiulis, a season pass holder from the Saugus neighborhood of Santa Clarita, was immediately airlifted to a Reno hospital.
March 28th
The mountain community of Mammoth Lakes showed its true spirit for the winter sport of Biathlon Sunday in the 4th Annual Mammoth Winter Biathlon. Amidst heavy snowfall of 5-9 feet over the last week, the townspeople overcame blizzard conditions and mobilized in force Sunday morning beginning at 4 a.m. Volunteers built out a 20-point biathlon stadium in order to host more than 200 racers, making this race the largest winter biathlon in North America.
The Super Sign outside Main Lodge is buried up to its knees by the March snows, which over the past week packed on up to nine feet of snow. According to mammothmountain.com, this has been the snowiest March ever on record.
March 25th
By
Wendilyn Grasseschi - Times Staff Writer
Mammoth High School should know if it becomes one of Californiaâs Distinguished Schools within the ânext few weeksâ according to district superintendent Rich Boccia.
The announcement, which Boccia said he expects will reveal a âpositive outcomeâ comes on the heels of a state team of administrators that visited the school earlier in March for the formal on-site visitation required by the application process.
âThe team spent the day visiting the school, which included an opening meeting with the staff, a meeting with the leadership team and classroom visits,â Boccia said.
By
Wendilyn Grasseschi - Times Staff Writer
When Mammoth resident Christian Fuller sits down Monday night at Snowcreek Athletic Club to play 12 simultaneous games of chess with players ranging in age from seven to 77, donât expect him to lose.
In that room will be everyone from a fifth grade Mammoth Elementary student to someone in their 70s, most students that Fuller has been teaching over the past year since he moved to Mammoth to train as a long distance runner.
Fuller, best known as a winning long distance runner, has also been playing chess competitively as long as heâs been running â and winning at both.
When Kelly Bahr became an animal care volunteer for Eastern Sierra Wildlife Care she never imagined she would do physical therapy on a Golden eagle.
But a few weeks ago, she did just that. The eagle was rescued from the shoulder of Hwy. 6 on Matthew Hill midway between Hammil and Benton.
On admission, the female eagle had tightly clenched talons and could only stand on her hocks. While working to find the cause of this problem, ESWC Director Cindy Kamler ordered therapy and Bahr helped implement it.
Whodunit fans will have a thrilling murder mystery on their hands when the Mammoth Lakes Repertory Theatre debuts âDial M for Murderâ at Edison Theatre on March 31.
Written by Frederick Knott and directed by Shira Dubrovner, Dial M enjoyed a long run on Broadway before it was transformed into the infamous Hitchcock thriller released by Warner Brothers in 1954.
By
George Shirk - Times Senior Writer
Mammothâs Recreation Department has embarked on an ambitious summer schedule.
At least six new camps were announced on the town website last week, including two mountain bike camps, two skate camps and a âExperience a Bit Oâ Britain!â camp.
Um, er?
In the âChallenger British Sports Camps,â campers will learn from British coaches games like Tag Rugby, Cricket, Rounders, Kick Ball, British Bull Dogs and team relays and obstacle courses.
By
Wendilyn Grasseschi - Times Staff Writer
When the news that Mammoth had lost its bid to the state Supreme Court to review the airport lawsuit finally came down Wednesday afternoon, it was as expected as it was deeply disappointing.
The court typically only hears about five percent of the cases that reach its doors. But Mammoth had hoped to buck that percentage, arguing that the outcome of the case would negatively affect the ability of cities and counties across the state to do business with developers.
But the Court didnât see it that way.
By
Wendilyn Grasseschi - Mammoth Times Staff Writer
As Big Pine residents mourned the loss of homes and property due to a windblown fire this past weekend, Mammoth residents â already buried after a winter that has dumped 44.7 feet (561 inches) of snow on the higher elevations â are waiting out another three to four feet of the white stuff thatâs expected to fall by Sunday night.
When Mammoth headed into the second storm of the week early Thursday, it was only 17 inches from becoming the biggest snowfall winter on record â 578.5 inches set in 2005-06 â and itâs not over yet.
Ryan Hallâs favorite coffee is Peetâs Au Lait, he tweets, so if you wanna run fast and long, thereâs a tip. ...
The Fred Hall Show in San Diego is this weekend, and Quiz for the Week: âWho the heck is/was Fred Hall?â
...
Our faithful tweeters, meanwhile, say that if you havenât latched on to Steven M. Bumgardner (YosemiteSteve), youâre missing out. ...
MLPD Sergeant John Mair will be sworn in as the newest lieutenant on today at one oâclock at the Cop Shop. ...
March 23rd
Local resident Tomas Rodriquez has won the National Masters half marathon championship, held in Melbourne, Florida, on Feb. 6, 2011.
He won the national title for his age group (55-59) with a time of 1 hour, 24 minutes, and eight seconds for the 13.2 mile course.
Rodriguez, who splits his time between Mammoth Lakes and Laguna Beach, came out of retirement two and a half years ago, after a 30-year break from distance running. Although very successful during his college running days, a national title eluded him. His highest NCAA finish was 11th.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, March 25, 2011
March 29, 2011
TENNEY: ENTHUSIASTIC RESPONSE FOR GATEWAY COMMUNITY PROJECT
Contrary to Mammoth Times report (March 18, 2011), âTenney receives lukewarm response to Gateway Monumentâ and â[she] got a tepid â at best â response,â Iâve found the response overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic since December 15 when I volunteered to organize the Mammoth Gateway Community Project and complete it by November.