Calexico

President Lyndon Johnson offered his support to a fellow Texan running for office, "I'll either campaign for you, or for your opponent, whichever you think will help more. " From the time he ate knuckle sandwiches on the East Coast to the time he abandoned the kids on his basketball team in México, to the time he rumbled, fumbled and stumbled in his sweat stained tee-shirt and dirty pants at Stella Mendoza's victory party while bunny-hopping to his mantra of "¡Viva la Raza!" and all the times in between, you could tell that Daniel Santillan was leadership lumber for the Southwest Voter Registration Project and canvassing voters.

DAN BYERLY Services will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Glen Abbey Memorial Park and Mortuary at 3838 Bonita Road in Bonita for Dan Byerly, 82, of Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, who died June 11 in his home. Mr. Byerly was born March 12, 1919. He served with honors as a pilot and landing signal officer for the U.S. Navy during World War II. He married his first wife, Merle Oliver, in 1942. She died in 1987. They had lived in the Imperial Valley until 1983, when they moved to Lake Havasu City, Ariz.

Calexico

The Calexico Chamber of Commerce board of directors will have a meeting at noon today at Don Pedro's Authentic Mexican Food Restaurant, 1074 E. Cole Blvd. in Calexico. This meeting is open to chamber members only. — VICKY MAGANA vmagana@ivpressonline.com

The city of Calexico, Consulado de Mexico in Calexico and Instituto de Los Mexicanos en el Interior are proud to present the art exhibition of embossed work by Patricia Arango at 6 p.m. Saturday and from noon Monday to Tuesday at Center of Arts in Calexico formerly Hotel De Anza. This event is free. The public is invited to attend. — VICKY MAGANA vmagana@ivpressonline.com

Cries of “Viva Mexico!” rang out across the crowd Thursday night in Calexico as the Mexican flag was waved in celebration of the country's 201 years of independence. The event, which brought thousands to Crummett Park, was hosted by the Mexican consulate. To read the rest of this story, see today's print version or e-edition .

CALEXICO - The controversial search for a new police chief may come to a close tonight as the City Council considers appointing Pompeyo Tabarez to the position during its regular meeting. City Manager Oscar Rodriquez is recommending Tabarez for the position vacated by Jim Neujahr earlier this year, according to backup information in the agenda. If hired, Tabarez's annual salary would be $118,000 plus benefits, and employment is contingent on him passing pre-employment psychological and medical evaluations.

CALEXICO - Christmas music oddly played amid piles of charred Christmas decorations Friday morning as investigations of Thursday's raging warehouse fire continued. Firefighters from all over the Valley as well as from Yuma and Mexicali responded to assist in battling the four-alarm blaze that rained ash down in the surrounding neighborhood and could be seen from as far as Interstate 8. Flames engulfed the massive amount of content that included everything from fake Christmas trees to baskets to plastic Nativity scenes.

> > 50 Years Ago   - Thousands of dollars in prizes will be given away during the two days, plus balloons for the youngsters and a special free gift to every adult. In addition to the Grand Prizes, McMahan's will also award many $10 gift certificates each day. Mr. A.A. Asper, general manager of the McMahan's Stores said, “It became obvious several months ago that with all of the activity in the City of Calexico, a good local furniture store would provide Imperial Valley homemakers with another source for their home furnishings in one of the most active cities in the Valley.

> > 50 Years Ago   - CALEXICO - The quick action of fireman Jack Goodspeed possibly save the life of two-year-old Josephina Ruelas yesterday. Fireman Goodspeed answered an ambulance call to a residence in Calexico. Mrs. Eva Ruelas said her baby was having trouble breathing. On the way to the hospital, Goodspeed stuck his finger in the baby's mouth to make her regurgitate. Up came a piece of plastic and the baby was breathing normally again.   > > 40 Years Ago   - A “more rapid than anticipated” deterioration of the scores of bridges on Highway 86 between Westmorland and Indio may speed up state Division of Highways plans for replacing the road with a freeway or, at least, an expressway.

UPDATE 6:20 P.M. Six firefighters and one fire engine from the Mexicali Fire Department have joined the fight to battle the warehouse blaze, according to fire officials on the scene. Officials have also confirmed that the fire is a four-alarm fire, bringing mutual aid from as far as Brawley, Westmorland, Calipatria and Niland, as well as fire engines from Naval Air Facility El Centro and the two state prison fire departments. Firefighters are also having to deal with hot conditions, with temperatures hitting more than 100 degrees today.

CALEXICO - Clouds of black smoke surrounded nearby homes, as a warehouse fire challenged firefighters throughout the Imperial County and beyond, Thursday evening. Responding to the structure at about 4:15 p.m. on the corner of Grant Street and Pierce Avenue, the Calexico Fire Department was the first to enter the facility and later rang out a four-alarm fire call for mutual aid assistance as the blaze rapidly increased. The structure had between 50 and 60 firefighters combating the flames, from as far as Yuma, Mexicali, Brawley, Westmorland, Calipatria and Niland, as well as fire engines from Naval Air Facility El Centro and the two state prison fire departments, Calexico Fire Chief Peter Mercado said.

A man was found dead in a motel in Calexico on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Imperial County Coroner's Office. The 49-year-old man, who was not identified as his next of kin had not yet been notified, was found about 12:30 p.m.by a cleaning crew at the Villa Sur motel, said Sheriff's Deputy Coroner Steven Green. He had last been seen the day before by the cleaning crew. There was drug paraphernalia found in the room where the man was found, Green said. An autopsy has been scheduled for Friday.

Calexico Mission School 601 E. First St., Calexico 760-357-3711 www.calexicomissionschool.org   Tell us how you ended up in this line of work. Both my parents were teachers.   Describe what your business does. We are a K-12 school.   What are memories from your career that stick out with you the most? Students that graduate from our institution and then become doctors, nurses, teachers and lawyers, etc.   What do you most like and least like about your work?

CALEXICO - The Calexico City Council agreed to fight the slated closure of its Calexico courthouse during a special meeting Monday. Councilman Joong Kim presented a petition form with signatures against the closure of the court, and Councilman John Moreno suggested forming a resolution stating that the city is against the closure. City Manager Oscar Rodriquez said the city is also requesting financial documents that preceded the decision to close the court to bolster the city's fight to keep the Calexico court.

For Manuela Ceja, relying on outside assistance to support her family was not on option. As a result, the single-mother of three began taking English courses at Imperial Valley College in the hopes of earning a degree that would lead to a career. “It was really hard for me in the beginning,” Ceja said. “It took me about six or seven years to receive my (associate degree) because I had to learn the language first.” During the time it took the Calexico resident to receive her degree, she said her mother was a tremendous pillar of support.