By  Miriam Raftery

Update July 6, 2016:  The Medical Examiner has confirmed the identity of James Peter Keefe,53 and also confirmed that the second body is that of his wife,but has not released her full name pending efforts to locate her relatives in Canada.

Memorial fund established for Jim and Kyrie Keefe

July 3, 2016 (Potrero) –A memorial service is planned for July 10^th at 11 a.m. to commemorate Jim Keefe and his wife, Kyrie.  The service will be held at 28020 State Route 94 in Potrero,  the site where the young couple lived.  Bodies believed to be theirs were found by volunteer searchers among boulders 50 to 70 yards behind their home after the Border Fire.

“Let’s get together to honor them, talk to each other about what happened that tragic day, and salute two wonderful people who brightened our lives and made us smile. See their art, tell some stories on the mic, hear some music, walk the property, cry, hug,and laugh,” Claudia Millerbragg posted on the Potrero Town page on Facebook, adding that people should bring chairs.

East County News Service

July 3, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – You’re invited to bring your green waste, trash, waste and brush for disposal  at four community clean-up days  coming up in Potrero, Campo, Boulevard and Jacumba.  Free mulch and wood chips will also be available.  The clean-up days are all on Saturdays from 7 a.m.to 1 p.m.  Locations and dates are:

By Liz Alper

Photo: Shanieka Thomas, courtesy goaztecs.com

July 3, 2016 (Kingston, Jamaica) - Former San Diego State Aztec track and field athlete Shanieka Thomas qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics today with a runner-up finish in the triple jump at the Jamaican Senior National Championships in Kingston, Jamaica.

By Miriam Raftery

July 3, 2016 (San Diego) – A woman who worked as a party planner for notorious convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein has come forward as a witness, claiming she saw Republican Donald Trump rape a 13-year-old girl at Epstein’s home in 1994.  This is the third time that Trump has been accused of rape—but this time, the charge is backed up by an alleged eyewitness to the crime.

The witness is identified as “Tiffany Doe” in a case filed by “Jane Doe” against Trump.  “I personally witnessed the Plaintiff being forced to perform various sexual acts with Donald J. Trump and Mr. Epstein, a hedge fund manager. Both Mr.  Trump and Mr. Epstein were advised that she was 13 years old,”  states a declaration by Tiffany Doe, who indicated her duties were to ”get attractive adolescent women [children] to attend these parties” including Jane Doe.

Board member responds to Robert Perry's editorial: Discussion and possible vote July 6

Photo: Large crowd at a prior SMF meeting on financial issues prior to the contract with Cal Fire

By Theresa McKenna,  Board Member, San Miguel Fire Protection District

As I relayed in my phone conversation with Mr. Perry recently, I personally believe there has been a great deal of notification to the public on this specific topic.  In fact, significantly more notice has been given to the Community than was ever made by the prior Board that voted to contract out fire suppression services.

East County News Service

July 2, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) - The San Diego Astronomy Association hosts events throughout the year.  You can visit their calendar or scroll down for events that the SDAA will be participating in or sponsoring in the next month–including several at East County locations. Inclement weather may postpone or cancel outdoor events, so check with the SDAA or the event coordinator to be sure the event is still scheduled.

• Stars in the Park
• Stars at Mission Trails
• Stars at Sycamore Canyon
• Stars at West Sycamore
• Program Meetings
• Tierra del Sol (TDS)
• Julian Star Fest

Some fault Council for lack of transparency on selection process

East County News Service

July 2, 2016 (La Mesa) -- The La Mesa City Council has appointed Yvonne Garrett as the new City Manager, replacing Dave Witt, who is retiring on August 5 after 31 years with the Planning Department.  Garrett has served as Assistant City Manager Director of City Services for a decade. 

Update:  San Miguel Fire Protection District board member Theresa McKenna has responded to Robert Perry's editorial to detail how much notice and discussion has been held on this issue. Read her remarks here.

By Robert Perry, community resident

Photo:  Protest at station closed due to budget gaps back when San Miguel was a stand-alone station, before contracting with Cal Fire. Opinions ran hot on both sides of the partnership deal at that time.

July 2, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) --With zero public input and zero community discussion (thus far) the San Miguel Fire Protection District has an action item on the agenda for the board meeting of July 6, 2016 to "discuss and may approve returning to a stand alone District".  View agenda.

The district has contracted with CAL FIRE the past four years after facing a structural deficit of their own making.  There is one more year of the contract.

July 1, 2016 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting-edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• 9 plants that bug bugs—including mosquitoes (USA Today)
• List of possible Zika birth defects grows longer  (Scientific American)
• Bright, Bluish-White LED Streetlamps Disrupt Sleep Cycles, AMA Says (NPR)
• Groundbreaking Skin Cancer Treatment Given Approval In Record Time [in the UK) (iflScience)
• Bad News For Kids Who Don't Like Flu Shots (NPR)
• Abortion demand 'soars' amid Zika fear (BBC)
• For Centuries, A Small Town Has Embraced Strangers With Mental Illness (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• BMW's recycled electric car batteries to power homes (CS Monitor)
• Battle erupts over security of chip-enabled credit card readers (CS Monitor)
• Fake fingerprints: The latest tactic for protecting privacy (CS Monitor)
• India launches 20 satellites at one go; most to serve U.S. customers (Reuters)
• Did our planet once have more than two magnetic poles?  (CS Monitor)
• Facebook's political influence under a microscope (Reuters)
• ACLU files lawsuit over U.S. anti-hacking law (Reuters)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

By Miriam Raftery

June 30, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – Emotions ran high at a community meeting on Border Fire issues convened by Supervisor Dianne Jacob this morning at the Barrett Junction Café in Dulzura.

 Rural residents praised efforts of firefighters, but voiced frustrations and pointed criticisms over problems that arose including lack of adequate care for animals in the evacuated areas and at shelters. communications failures, and inadequate help to locate a missing couple found dead yesterday by volunteer searchers in Potrero.

Jacob  converted a  previously planned coffee with the community event into a forum for the public to air concerns and for officials to respond.  Representatives from Cal Fire and the Sheriff’s Department turned out, but Animal Services did not.  “Not being here is not a good thing,” Jacob said of Animal Services, adding that she has heard many complaints from rural residents about both Animal Services and the Sheriff’s Department.

East County News Service

June 25, 2016 (La Mesa)—Hope for Iraqi Christians, a La Mesa based organization that assists Iraqi Christian refugees fleeing genocide in the Middle East, has received a pledge from the  Anahid Oram Memorial Refugee Fund to match $10,000 in monthly donations, sponsoring 100 families per month, but only if they can secure sponsors for at least 100 families by July 4. If that goal is met, the matching funds will mean that 200 families will be helped.

You can sponsor a family for as little as  $1 a day. Each donor will receive information on the family adopted.  Smaller donations will be pooled to help reach the total. Or consider adopting multiple families.

June 29, 2016 (Barrett Junction)--Supervisor Dianne Jacob has pulled together an emergency meeting in response to all the concerns raised by Border Fire survivors. The meeting will be held at 8:30 a.m. at the BarrettCafe, 1020 Barrett Lake Road in Dulzura.

A note from her office states: "She will be there with Fire Officials, Sheriff's Department, Office of Emergency Services, Animal Services, BLM, Border Patrol to listen to residents' concerns andanswer questions. This meeting was scheduled already. Sup Jacob has quickly reformed it to include the very people who need to hear from residents there on the ground.  She is well aware of the concerns you've shared with her office."

Listen to Destination East County, also aired on KNSJ, by clicking the audio link.

We thank the County of San Diego for a Community Enhancement Grant supporting Destination East County.

East County News Service

June 28,2016 (San Diego's East County) --This week’s Destination East County includes Fourth of July activities galore, including picnics, parades, a train ride and of course, fireworks!

Plus we’ll have previews of coming attractions including Descanso Days, Pine Valley Days, and a production of the Lion King. 

So stay tuned for all of these events and much, much more!

East County News Service

June 29, 2016 (Santee) -- It’s time to break out the cowbells and get your spots on because Chick-fil-A is issuing a cattle call. The nine Chick-fil-A restaurants in San Diego County, including the Chick-fil-A restaurant at 9418 Mission Gorge Road, Santee, are preparing to give away free food on Tuesday, July 12, as part of the chain’s nationwide promotion called “Cow Appreciation Day.” On that day, Chick-fil-A restaurants nationwide will offer a free entrée to any customer who visits a restaurant dressed as a cow.

By Miriam Raftery

June 29, 2016 (Potrero) -- The  Border Fire destroyed five homes, ravaging lives and memories.  In Potrero, one of the families whose home burned had already suffered a devastating loss. 

Their son, Army Sgt. Brud Cronkrite,  was killed in Karbala, Iraq, when a rocket-propelled grenade was fired into a nearby building while he was on a security patrol during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004. He was born and raised in Potrero, before joining the Army and deploying first to Kuwait, then Iraq. He was 22 years old when he lost his life in service to his country.