Canyon Lake Top 10 stories of 2022

1. Fiesta Days

One of the most-missed events of the Canyon Lake year during the pandemic was its annual Fiesta Days over the Memorial Day Weekend. Last year, in an effort to provide safe social distancing, the Canyon Lake POA got creative. All of the outdoor activities were spread out over the community parks and the event was named Fiesta Hopper.

It was such a hit, that this year, with mandates lifted, the POA combined the Fiesta Hopper concept with its usual parade on the Saturday morning of the weekend.

Lake Life was this year’s theme and it was a tribute to all of the lake activities available in Canyon Lake.

One of the most incredible feats of the weekend was the placing of 4,800 US flags in the front yard of every Canyon Lake home to honor the fallen US military.

The Herculean task was carried out by over 50 volunteers and organized by the City of Canyon Lake Memorial Day Committee. It took three days to get the flags in all of those yards.

2. Vacation Park

Sierra Park North, a $2 million project which was approved through a vote of the Canyon Lake POA membership last year, opened in August after changing its name to Vacation Park.

The project, which converted a piece of useless association-owned land into a unique family park opposite the existing Sierra Park, had its “soft opening” in late August as it waited for some backordered playground equipment and fitness stations to finish the park.

The original bids for its construction came in higher than the $2 million used for construction, but through adjustments in how the retaining walls were designed and built saved enough to make the approved funds sufficient.

The park’s main feature, a pump track for bikes, skateboards and scooters, opened in August as well as accompanying bleachers, walking trails, a shaded picnic area and restrooms.

The park has been landscaped with new plants and trees. The natural landscaping will take time to mature, but will eventually transform the park into what the POA is predicting will be a serene atmosphere.

3. Woman’s Club

The Canyon Lake Woman’s Club, with newly-elected president Shawna Bowen leading the way, celebrated the club’s 50th year throughout 2022.

Both the City of Canyon Lake and the Canyon Lake Property Owners Association presented the club with proclamations of congratulations for all the club has provided the community and its members over the 50 years it has been in existence.

A unique logo was created for the occasion as part of a contest the club organized as it held multiple events throughout the year to celebrate.

The highlight of the celebration was its actual October anniversary. The club formally celebrated its 50th anniversary in the Holiday Bay Room at the Lodge with an array of activities for the club’s members and their guests. The club had been prepping for the special day for months.

The Canyon Lake Woman’s Club currently has 202 members and filled the room.

The extra special monthly meeting began with a skit put on by a couple members who reenacted how the Woman’s Club came to be.

Club President Shawna Bowen shared a slideshow with clippings of the Woman’s Club over the last 50 years, which included many of the ways the club has given back to the community over the years.

4. Lifeguards

In July, 41 Canyon Lake kids boarded a bus and headed to Lake Perris to begin the second part of their journey to becoming a lifeguard.

In the spring, Phase One started for these youngsters with two tryouts being held in Canyon Lake, hosted by the The Canyon Lake Enrichment Activities and Recreation Foundation (C.L.E.A.R.) at Sunset Beach.

The Canyon Lake kids met their fears of the unknown head on and joined other neighborhood youths on a trip to Lake Perris on buses provided by the city.

At the Lake Perris training, the Canyon Lake youths were pushed to their full potential by instructors, who were employed by the California State Parks Department. The trainees, who were once strangers, rapidly became friends.

On the final day of the two-week lifeguard program, the kids were joined by their parents for a graduation celebration.

5. Fire Station

To celebrate the formation of the new City of Canyon Lake Fire Department on Jan. 1, the community toured the updated Station 1 on Vacation Drive and formally met the personnel there during an open house on Feb. 26.

Up until Jan. 1, the fire and emergency services were provided by Cal Fire and the county. The fire station in Canyon Lake that is now City Station 1, was County Station 60 and had been in place for decades.

The station had been inhabited by the new City of Canyon Lake Fire Department since the first of the year and the city and its new staff of firefighters refurbished the station and spiffed it up. The tour showed off what they’ve done to the station.

The debut of the new fire department on Jan. 1 was a long time in coming. It took almost a full year to put together a department that needed to be ready to respond to life-threatening emergencies when it opened the first of the year.

And respond it did. On Jan. 1 at 8 o’clock in the morning, emergency calls for fire and medical service for the City of Canyon Lake were routed to the brand new City of Canyon Lake Fire Department. An eager and cohesive department of firefighters and fire captains responded and took to the streets of Canyon Lake for the first time in the community’s history.

After a year of preparation and planning, the new fire department was ready to roll. More than 25 firefighters, including 15 reserves, were on staff and were trained for the Jan. 1 debut.

6. Cheer Champs

This was quite the year for the cheer squads at the middle and high schools where Canyon Lake students attend.

The Temescal Canyon High School Cheer Team and the Canyon Lake Middle School Cheer Team both won national cheer titles.

The TCHS Varsity Cheer Team took first place in March at the USA Cheer Nationals at the Anaheim Convention Center.

The team consists of 28 girls, 11 of whom are from Canyon Lake. Canyon Lake’s Riley Smith and Kylie Hill are two of the three captains on the team and Kennedy Benham, also from Canyon Lake, is one of the Co-Captains.

Also on the team from Canyon Lake are Ryann Boshard, Zoe Kays, Sawyer Lanouette, Sydney Manning, Amara Noon, Katelynn Stout, McKenzie Cassara and Rula Katsouridis.

The team won the 2AA Division Southern Section title of the California Interscholastic Federation in February and thus qualified for the CIF State Cheerleading Invitational held Feb. 19 where it took first place.

Meanwhile, the Cheer Team at Canyon Lake Middle School were the Grand Champions at the 2022 USA Junior Spirit Nationals.

Several of the members of the team are from Canyon Lake, including River Cassara, Chloe Ortiz, Kaitlyn Usary, Kynsli Bangora, Paisley Riley Carter, Ava Jaffe, Summer Bristow, Bria Hofmann, Carisa Ronchetti, Stefani Uribe and Heaven Hewitt.

Larry Greene

7. Stepping Down

Both the City of Canyon Lake City Council and the Canyon Lake Property Owners Association Board of Directors had members of those governing boards resign this year.

First, at the end of the August board meeting, Brian Bock announced his resignation via Zoom from a hotel room where he was away on business and a trip with his family where he was coaching his son in an international tournament.

“I need to focus on work and family commitments first and foremost,” Brian said as he announced to the board his resignation.

Then, a month later, City of Canyon Lake Mayor Pro Tem Larry Greene announced that he would be moving on Nov. 1 to Montana and would, consequently, need to resign from the city council. His final day on the council was the Oct. 12 city council meeting.

“It’s been a real honor to have served this community,” Larry said at the meeting. “One of the things I’m very proud about is that a true leader doesn’t do everything themselves…it’s the team that they develop. We’ve got a great team.”

Mark Terry was appointed to fill Larry’s city council vacancy and Alex Cook was picked to take Brian’s place on the Board of Directors of the Canyon Lake POA.

8. Cannabis

After months of presentations, applications and evaluations, Culture Cannabis Club of Canyon Lake was chosen in June by the City of Canyon Lake as the first to be approved to open a cannabis business within the city.

Five bidders attempted to win the first and only permit, but scoring highest on the city’s scoring system was Culture CC.

Not only has Culture Cannabis Club won the big prize, so has the City of Canyon Lake. When the business opens in the Canyon Lake Town Center in the far-right corner of the same building in which the city and the Canyon Lake POA have their offices, the city will begin receiving 15.1% of the gross revenues of the cannabis store. Culture CC projects its first year revenues to be more than $15 million, resulting in a payment to the city of $2,265,000.

Culture CC will be required to pay quarterly payments to the city. After an up-front payment of $205,000 due immediately, the new cannabis business will pay either a minimum of $305,000 after each quarter or 15.1% of gross revenues, whichever is greater.

Culture CC will also be required to give annual contributions totaling $155,000 to city civic/non-profit organizations.

9. Fire Hero

On Jan. 6, firefighter Jonathan “Jon” Flagler was tragically killed in the line of duty battling a house fire in Rancho Palos Verdes.

Jon, 47, is the husband of the former Jenny Johnson, who grew up in Canyon Lake. Her father and mother, Dwight and Cindy Johnson, are longtime 40-plus-year residents of Canyon Lake. Jenny was born and raised in Canyon Lake with her sister Tracy.

Jon and Jenny have two sons Brody, 14, and Jack, 12. Jon was a 21-year firefighter veteran.

The family received letters of condolence from leaders throughout the state, including California Governor Gavin Newsom.

After graduating from Temescal Canyon High School, Jenny attended college at Long Beach State University where she met Jon. She and Jon eventually settled in San Clemente, but would often come out to the lake and enjoy the perks of her childhood. They frequently utilized the lake and the boat with the boys at Jenny’s childhood home.

10. City Election

In what was anticipated to be a robust City of Canyon Lake election in November, the three open seats on the City Council turned out to be unopposed. The three incumbent councilmembers were automatically seated after the city council decided an expensive election for three unopposed candidates would not be necessary.

In a specially-called meeting in October that lasted less than five minutes, the city council voted new terms for Jeremy Smith, Kasey Castillo and Jennifer Dain. It was the only item on the agenda.

With the three being the only candidates for the three seats, the City Council had two options to choose according to the California Election Code: Cancel the election and appoint the three to the three seats, or go ahead and hold the election with the three being the only names on the ballot.

It is estimated that the city saved between $20,000 and $30,000 by canceling the election, according to City Clerk Ana Sauceda.

The three councilmembers were quickly appointed to the council and will continue to serve exactly as if elected at a municipal election for the office. The three seats include two that will be four-year terms and one that will be a two-year term.

The odd two-year term is the result of Jennifer being appointed to the City Council last year to fill the seat of Jordan Ehrenkranz, who passed away while in office. Jennifer will serve the two-year term and she will be up for election again in 2024 to keep the term in its regular four-year cycle, Ana said. Jeremy and Kasey, she said, will serve the two four-year terms.