Year in Review – Part 2

The beginning of the year is not only a time to look to the future but it’s an apt time to reflect on the changes and revisit some of the things that happened in the community over the past 12 months.

Last week, The Friday Flyer featured part one of Year in Review with a look back at some of the things that happened in the community from January to March 2017. This week, The Friday Flyer features part two of a Year in Review and looks back at things that happened in the community from April to June  2017.

April

In early April, a son was arrested for setting the family home on fire on Canyon Lake Dr. North. There were no injuries but the home was severely damaged and the family was displaced.

Street Carts of Canyon Lake held a Poker Run Fundraiser. The award for Best Poker Hand went to Dawn Wright. The event raised $1,800 to go toward the club’s philanthropic donations.

A three-day Horse Camp for kids ages five to 15 was held at the equestrian center.

Roadrunners RV Club members traveled to Pechanga RV Resort for a five-day camping trip that included golfing at Journey Golf Course, gambling, wine tasting, shopping, games and committee catered breakfasts and dinners.

The team of Mark White and Danny Batinich won the Bassmasters Club’s April Tournament with 21.30 pounds of fish.

The Bassmasters Club held its annual Jr. Bassmasters Tournament for kids ages 11 to 15. Junior anglers Logan Flynn, Baylee Nichols, Dino Santo and Jake Nelson moved on to compete in the state finals.

The Woman’s Club wrapped up the last of five Fashion Show pre-parties with a Beauty and the Beast theme party at the home of Barbara Duncan.

Canyon Lake Library held a Day of the Child/Day of the Book event with crafts representing various cultures and a showing of the movie Moana.

The Garden Club toured the historic Heritage House in Riverside. Built in 1891, the Victorian style house is a reminder of the affluent homes that once graced Magnolia Ave.

The Canyon Lake Chamber of Commerce held a Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for Signature Dessert, a new restaurant located in the Towne Center. Those who attended were treated to complimentary food, drinks and desserts.

The Woman’s Club held its annual Fashion Show at the lodge. Approximately 200 attendees were treated to spoofs, music, opportunity drawings, lunch and a Fashion Show.

Dawn Haggerty resigned as Mayor of Canyon Lake during a specially-scheduled city council meeting.

Construction of the pickleball courts began at the lower level parking lot at East Port Park.

Several members of the Canyon Lake Car Club came away with awards at the Heartbeat Happening Classic Car Show at Bates Nut Farm in Valley Center, California. Seven of the 12 cars from Canyon Lake won awards.

The Fitness and Triathlon Club held its 6th annual Tour de Canyon Lake. Participants were asked to bring pet food donations for Animal Friends of the Valleys in exchange for a free Tour de Canyon Lake T-shirt.

The Temescal Canyon High School Winter Color Guard competed in the Winter Guard Association of Southern California at Westminster High School in Westminster, California. TCHS received a silver medal finish in round three of the Scholastic AAA class.

Family Matters Club hosted a family-friendly comedy show at the lodge featuring stand-up comedian Justin Berkman.

May

Canyon Lake resident Jim Doherty won a gold medal in push-ups at the Pasadena Senior Olympics. Jim completed 55 military-style push-ups to beat out competitors in the 70-74 age group. Photo provided by karen Doherty

The Canyon Lake Art Association held its annual Spring Art Show at the country club featuring art from local artists specializing in painting, drawing, digital art and photography.

Bladen Hartley, Drake Snyder, Zackary Zander and Zane Zander from Cub Scouts Pack 346 received their Arrow of Light award and bridged over to the Boy Scouts.

The Yacht Club held its annual Lake Clean-Up Day. Volunteers gathered on boats and navigated the lake picking up debris along the shoreline. Afterward, volunteers enjoyed refreshments at the home of Pete and Suzi Delia.

Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved a new one-year contract to re-open Fire Station 60. Under the contract, Fire Station 60 would operate with a two-man crew for 12 months. The closure of Canyon Lake’s lone fire station in 2015 was a result of a dispute with county fire officials over the cost of services.

Four-year-old Maxwell Howard landed in the hospital for two days after stepping on a sharp object while wading in the lake at Sunset Beach. A bacterial infection resulted and caused his foot to swell. Parents Crystal and Bryan Howard cautioned residents to take practical measures to protect themselves and their families.

Menifee Historical Museum celebrated its one-year anniversary with food, drinks and a special exhibit on the history of Canyon Lake. Elinor and Don Martin, docents of the museum and pioneers of Canyon Lake, provided the displays and were on hand to answer questions and sign books.

The Canyon Lake Wakeboard Club hosted Learn to Ride Day at the north ski area. The event was open to all residents at a cost of $15 per person. Boats and equipment were provided.

100 Women Strong held its annual charity luncheon. The event raised $10,250 for four local charities: Elsinore Valley Pregnancy Resource Center, Helping Hands Group, God’s Grace Outreach and the Love Song Foundation.

Founded in 2014 by Canyon Lakers Liz Murphy, Debra Kipp and Becky Ness, the idea behind 100 Women Strong was to invite 100 women who would donate $100 each to select charities.

The Temescal Canyon High School girls softball team earned the Sunbelt League championship title for the third consecutive year.

Canyon Lake Women’s Golf Club gathered for the 10th consecutive year to play in the Senior Women’s Golf Tournament. Thirty-seven ladies participated in the two-day tournament.

A blood and bone marrow screening drive was held in Towne Center in honor of Trevor Kott, grandson of longtime resident Pam Malcolmson. Trevor was diagnosed with congenital acute myelogenous leukemia and passed away at six months of age before a bone marrow donor could be found. Pam and LifeStream lauded the event a success with 30 blood donations and 11 bone marrow screenings.

Canyon Lake held its 5th annual National Day of Prayer in the Holiday Bay Room at the lodge. Honored guests included members from local fire departments, police departments and Department of Homeland Security. The event included a continental breakfast followed by prayers, music and testimonials.

On May 13, a quorum was met by members and Tom Nathan, Phil Hawgood and Mike Harris were voted in as POA Board of Directors. Tom Nathan was the front runner with 1,320 votes followed by Phil Hawgood with 1,010 votes and Michael Harris with 906 votes.

At the 2017 Veterans Service Awards Ceremony for the 28th Senate District, Senator Jeff Stone honored Canyon Lake resident Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth (Paul) LeGrice with the Outstanding Local Veterans award.

Fortunate Son, a Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR)  tribute band, performed in the Holiday Bay Room at the lodge. The concert was sponsored by the Canyon Lake Fine Arts Guild.

Lamb’s Fellowship Church held its third annual Car and Motorcycle Show. Several Canyon Lake Car Club members won awards with the top honor of “Best of Show” going to Russ Smith for his 1951 Ford Woodie Wagon. The event raised $8,000 for children’s ministries.

The Tennis Club held its annual Shadow Mountain Tournament in Palm Desert. The event is one of the club’s two largest fundraisers. The funds raised allowed the club to award two $500 scholarships to local high school tennis programs.

The Canyon Lake Choraleers held their Spring Concert at the lodge. The concert theme, “Reel Music,” was a tribute to Hollywood Motion Pictures and Academy Award winners from 1935 to 2017.

Canyon Lake Middle School choirs Cougar and Honor brought home top national superior rankings at the High Notes Music Festival.

The Fitness and Triathlon Club held its Spring Sprint Triathlon at Indian Beach.

Canyon Laker Casey MacDonald, son of Donna and Bruce MacDonald, was accepted into West Point’s prestigious Summer Leaders Experience. The TCHS junior was one of 1,000 applicants accepted out of the 5,000 who applied.

The Canyon Lake Chamber of Commerce held its first annual Ball Drop. The winners, Jill Torkelson, Carlos Ramirez and Alison Burrafato, won $273 each.

The POA added a total of 27 additional parking spaces to the lower East Port Park parking lot.

Canyon Lake Coed Softball League hosted its bi-annual championship games at Gault Field. Team Rehab won its third consecutive championship.

Hydrofoiler Kevin Thayer surprised his girlfriend Jamie Devine with a marriage proposal while hydrofoiling on the lake.

Canyon Lake Kids Club founders Nickey Frakes and Dayna Cascario retired. The two women founded the club in 2011 after the YMCA canceled its Kids Club due to lack of funding.

The annual Fiesta Day Parade kicked off the 44th Fiesta Day festivities on Memorial Day weekend. Leading the parade were Grand Marshals Nancy Carroll and Al Van Beenen.

The Woman’s Club mermaid float won the Float Decorating Contest, earning the club $100. The Yacht Club took first place in the Booth Decorating Contest for the third consecutive year.

Animal Friends of the Valleys hired two new directors, Executive Director Neil Trent and Director of Donor Development Beth Soltysiak.

Canyon Lake residents gathered at the Veterans Memorial Monument in the Towne Center on Memorial Day for a moment of silence to honor the veterans who served and sacrificed for their country.

June

Canyon Lake Library kicked off its Summer Reading Program. The Reading by Design program was a was a science, technology, engineering, art and math (S.T.E.A.M.) related program. Readers earned awards toward prizes based on the number of books they read. The library also started the Writers Club, a new program for middle school children.

Canyon Laker Norman Xiong competed in the prestigious Arnold Palmer Cup. The Arnold Palmer Cup matches top male collegiate golfers from the United States against Europe. Norman also received the Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman award in May.

Canyon Lake City Council appointed Randy Bonner as mayor. Randy, a 20-year resident of Canyon Lake, previously served on the city council from 2010 to 2014 and as mayor in 2014.

Taco Tuesday kicked-off on June 6 to hungry crowds and perfect weather. Taco Tuesdays are a Canyon Lake favorite that run weekly at Sunset Beach for two months during the summer.

The Canyon Lake Woman’s Club awarded $16,000 to local charities and a total of $15,000 in scholarships to 10 Canyon Lake students for their continued education.

Canyon Lake couple Sgt. Daniel Durkee and Sgt. Angel Durkee graduated together from the Army’s “Jumpmaster” course.

Summer Movie Nights in the Park kick-off at Holiday Harbor. The family-friendly event featured “Finding Dory” in its first of six movie nights.

Community Patrol’s Securitas Account Manager Jay Cregeen resigned from his position to pursue a position in the emergency medical service field. Nichole Durbin assumed the position of interim account manager.

Carolyn Knight, the first editor of The Friday Flyer, passed away after battling major health issues. Carolyn worked as the editor for the newspaper for 25 years prior to retiring in 2007. Carolyn was an active member in the community and advocated for others helping to change lives.

The POA held its first of three Flick-N-Float movie nights at the pool. The free family event featured “A Mermaid’s Tale.”

The Men’s Golf Club held its annual Club Championship Tournament. Fifty golfers participated in the three-day event.  Brandon Majarro won the 2017 Club Champion award after shooting even par over four rounds of golf

The Women’s Golf Club held its annual Club Champion Tournament. Inga Loy won the Club Champion title for the third consecutive year with a total of 267.

Several Canyon Lake Car Club (CLCC) members won awards at the Rods and Rails Car and Motorcycle Show held in Perris. Hans Wegs won the People’s Choice award and four raffle prizes.

Resident Dori Lowe and her five-year-old horse Maxi were viciously attacked by an off-leash pit bull while riding on the trails behind the barn. Dori suffered minor injuries. Maxi was hospitalized.

Canyon Laker Billy Wahid celebrated 20 years in business with a Customer Appreciation event at her GNC store in Lake Elsinore.

The Canyon Lake Middle School cheer team finished the year with an impressive group GPA of 3.25.

Canyon Laker Jim Doherty won a gold medal in push-ups at the Pasadena Senior Olympics. The seventy-two-year-old completed 55 military-style push-ups to beat out competitors in the 70-74 age group.

Marine Patrol responded to a call of a sinking boat in the East Bay. A swift response from Marine Patrol officers not only saved the boat from further damage but prevented harmful chemicals and fuel from contaminating the lake.

New wave band Berlin performed to an enthusiastic sold-out crowd in the Holiday Bay Room at the lodge.