Many Three Rivers residents awoke this morning to what appeared to be unhealthy levels of smoke in addition to the pollution rising from the valley. Currently, the dense localized smoke-scented haze in the Case Mountain area is believed to be a left-over from the prescribed fire operations that were recently conducted by the BLM’s Bakersfield Field Office. Early next week the BLM plans to provide us with more information about what we can expect going forward.

Welcome to our first Three Rivers Together newsletter! It is a place where our community members, charitable organizations, and government organizations can share information that doesn’t have the urgency of an announcement or qualify as an event. We plan to publish it every other month at first. Click the link above to read the entire newsletter in a PDF file.

“As your County Supervisor, I am honored to serve this vibrant, small, but mighty community. Together, we’ve accomplished much, and I’m confident that with continued collaboration, we’ll achieve even greater strides in the year ahead.” Click the link above to read about the important initiatives we are tackling in the year ahead.

Our CSD is a local representative government organization that provides public services and facilities not provided by the county. Currently, it is primarily committed to serving our water quality and septic needs, but it also has the power to tackle our bear and garbage challenges. Although the CSD’s directors are supposed to be elected by the community and accountable to the community, we have not elected directors for over a decade. The board meetings provide an opportunity to get involved, though! Click the link above to learn what our CSD does, what it can do, and how you can participate.

Participants were asked to write the first sentence of a novel in the genre “Inspirational Science Fiction Westerns.” There was such a tremendous response to the contest and so many terrific entries that the Friends of the Three Rivers Library feel it only fair to give awards to two entrants. Many thanks to the twenty-nine brave and creative folk who participated! Our judges were local author Christina Lynch and avid book lover Carrie Vernon. Both said the entries were amazing.  “I loved ALL of them, so this was really hard!” Chris said. Click the link above to read the winning entries and the honorable mentions!

Work on the Highway 198 culvert rehabilitation project from the Sequoia National Park boundary down past Lake Kaweah is expected continue at least until the middle of December. Closures are typically in place from 6:30am to 4:30pm (though they could go as late as 6pm if necessary). The maximum number of simultaneous closures each day is two, with no more than 10 minute delays for each closure. Click link above for more information.

There is a lot happening on our streets to prepare for winter storms and mitigate fire risk, and we can expect driving delays on our roadways for the next few weeks. The county, Caltrans, and the SCE contractor are asking for our patience and extra caution as they conduct their work. In addition, the county is asking for our assistance in identifying potholes, sediment-filled ditches, failing shoulders, blocked and missing culverts, and other issues that could become a problem this winter. Click the link above for details.