Valerie Cassity
Special to the Sun

Kern River Valley Revitalization (KRVR) held their monthly Community Meeting last Wednesday, May 5, with a focus on the future.

High Speed Rail System to Create a Small World After All Ron Brummett and Rob Ball of Kern Council of Government (Kern COG) gave a presentation about the transportation plan for Kern County that will outline project priorities until 2035, most notably a high speed rail system, approved by the voters in a bond issue in 2008.

The bond provides $8 billion, along with an additional $2.2 billion from President Obama’s stimulus package, to get the project started. The high speed rail system, when it is completed, will allow people to travel from Bakersfield to downtown Los Angeles in under an hour, and San Francisco in under two hours. Ball said he expects the project to break ground in 2012 with the first test segment, which will go from Bakersfield to Fresno. “This project will expand local communities’ market base,” said Ball, “Suddenly you have 14 million people in your market.”

YMCA Center Coming to Kern Valley

Joslyn Skelton of Kern County YMCA gave a presentation about the organization’s intentions to open a YMCA center for middle- to high school aged children in the Kern Valley. Right now, the Y is in their research phase, but Skelton said it looks “very promising” that they will take over the youth center in Lake Isabella, which has been forced to close due to funding constraints, and offer new programs to our area’s youth.

Open to the community’s input, Skelton has been speaking with many key people who offer youth services in the Kern Valley, and plans for the Y to continue the programs that were lost when the existing youth center was closed, such as the Young Eagles, computer technical school, dances, and movie nights, as well as bringing sports to the area that are not currently offered, such as the basketball program that they initiated here due to requests from people in the community. They will also offer summer and holiday activity camps, so that working parents will have a safe place to send their children while working in the summer, where the kids can learn new skills and have fun. The Y will provide some new job opportunities to the Kern Valley, as well. If you have any ideas to include in the YMCA planning, call Joslyn at (661) 805-7835

Forest Service’s New Environmental Coordinator

The Kern River Ranger District’s new Environmental Coordinator and District Planner, Penelope Shibley, introduced herself to the group, and has just arrived in the Kern Valley last week from a history of local government planning. Shibley is acquainting herself with the area and its history, and is currently looking into how a bicycle path around the lake can be included into the agency’s transportation plan. Welcome, Penelope!

WhiteWater Wednesday Coming June 16

The Kernville Chamber will be holding their 23rd annual Wet & Wild Whitewater Wednesday on June 16, with two trips being offered to the community for a day of fun in the sun. The Lickety Split trip will be $27 per person, and the longer Sequoia Splash will be $47. Each trip includes a barbecue lunch at Riverside Park. For more information or to reserve your spot, visit their website at www.kervillechamber.org, or call (760) 376-2629.

KRVR meets the first Wednesday of every month, and the public is welcome and encouraged to attend. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 2, at 9 a.m. at the Kernville Chamber Building. For more information, visit www.krvr.org.