September 30, 2022 (Spring Valley) - ECM Sports covered Monte Vista last week, but this week, we went to their turf for the battle of Spring Valley as they hosted the Matadors of Mount Miguel. Both teams are struggling; the Monarchs are 1-4 on the season and 0-1 in league with their loss to El Cajon Valley last week. The Matadors are 2-4 and 0-2 in league.
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Photos:f Alena Mitchem, known as Gracie; her hair was dyed green when she was last seen
September 29, 2022 (Spring Valley) – The family of 15-year-old Alena “Gracie” Mitchem is asking for public help to find her. She has been missing form her Spring Valley home since late at night on September 22. Gracie has green eyes and brown hair, but her hair was dyed green when she was last seen, according to a listing on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children website. She is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs about 155 pounds. (Note, some flyers had a misspelling. Her first name is Alena.)
Her sister, Aleena Christine Jones, posted on Facebook, “We believe she was lured out by someone online via the PlayStation platform...She took important documents that no child would think of…She’s had zero contact with anyone since her disappearance, no social media presence whatsoever… We have to bring her home.… Gracie we love you so much.”
Gracie’s mother, Shannon Hoffman, believes her daughter was lured by an adult. She is frustrated with the Sheriff’s initial response treating the matter as a runaway case, and by the lack of media notification, but added that detectives are now checking into the Playstation contacts. “As a mother, I know deep down something is wrong,” she posted, adding that she suspects someone enticed Gracie with a promise of a job, since the family has struggled financially.
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September 23, 2022 (El Cajon) - For week six, ECM Sports went to Braves country as El Cajon Valley hosted the Monarchs of Monte Vista at Daryl R. Priest Field. Both teams are struggling; the Braves are at 1-4 and the Monarchs at 1-3.
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“I am happy to share that the California Department of Developmental Services just announced Noah Homes’ reimbursement rate – and all other large home providers across the state – is being increased to better align with the actual costs of care. The change is retroactive…” --Molly Nocon, CEO Noah Homes
By Henri Migala
September 21, 2022 (Spring Valley) - The California Department of Developmental Services announced yesterday new reimbursement rates for Community Care Facilities (CCF) that supersedes a funding formula announced earlier this year and restores nearly $1 million of state funding to Noah Homes in Spring Valley.
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September 19, 2022 (Spring Valley) – Mt. Miguel High School Foundation, the nonprofit organization devoted to helping Mt. Miguel High School, is hosting Quartermania on Saturday, October 1 from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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September 16, 2022 (Spring Valley) - We’re finally mostly into conference play and to kick it off, ECM Sports ventured to Spring Valley, where the Matadors of Mount Miguel hosted the Wolf Pack of West Hills. Both teams are gridlocked at 2-2 and hoping to make some headway going into conference matchups.
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September 13, 2022 (Spring Valley) - The Rancho San Diego Sheriff's Station wants your help in finding a missing person from Spring Valley.
72-year-old Eddie Joe Taylor was reported missing on Friday, August 5. He was last seen on Thursday, August 4 when he left his girlfriend's home in Lemon Grove. As he was driving home to Spring Valley, he called his girlfriend saying he mistakenly continued on SR-125 south towards Mexico and crossed the border into Baja California, Mexico.
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September 13, 2022 (Spring Valley) - The Saps at Sea, the San Diego chapter of the Sons of the Desert, the official Laurel & Hardy fan organization, present their Halloween program, "Howl-O-Scream," October 15 at Williams Hall at Trinity Presbytarian Church in Spring Valley.
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August 31, 2022 (Lakeside) – A suspected gang-related shooting in Spring Valley on August 18 led SWAT teams to search homes in Lakeside and Santee today. The search found a stash of weapons and resulted in arrests of four individuals.
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August 29, 2022 (Spring Valley) – The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified a man who was fatally shot on August 16 shortly before 9:30 p.m.near Jamacha Blvd. and Thayer Drive. The victim is Jorkim Rose, 32.
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August 17, 2022 (Spring Valley) – A 32-year-old man has died after being shot in the upper torso last night.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of gunshots at 9:30 p.m. at the intersection of Jamacha Blvd. and Thayer Drive in Spring Valley. They found the victim and provided emergency treatment in an effort to save his life until paramedics arrived and transported the man to a local hospital, where he died.
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By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Skyler Okerman, USS Constitution Public Affairs
August 1, 2022 (Spring Valley) - Chief Petty Officer Elliott Fabrizio, a Spring Valley, California native, was awarded the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal aboard USS Constitution, July 28. Fabrizio currently serves as a mass communication specialist.
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June 22, 2022 (Mt. Helix) -- Amy Payton took these dramatic images during last night's thunderstorm from her porch in Spring Valley overlooking state route 94 at Calavo.
Her photos show some spectacular lightning strikes over Mt. Helix in San Diego's East County.
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June 8, 2022 (San Diego’s East County) -- East County teen musician Baxter Simpson is one of the primetime acts scheduled for June 17th at this year's San Diego County Fair. Simpson will perform his mix of rock and pop from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. on the Garden Show Stage.
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June 8, 2022 (Spring Valley) – A stabbing suspect has been apprehended following a search yesterday in the Casa de Oro area of Spring Valley. Rene Soto, 41, is charged with assault with a deadly weapon.
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May 22, 2022 (Spring Valley) -- On Friday, May 13th, the grand opening of the Ildica County Park located at 8604 Ildica St. in Spring Valley took place. The new park is about half an acre and includes a play area, exercise equipment and a 20-plot community garden.
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May 18, 2022 (Spring Valley) – Two people have been arrested for the murder of Ronald Ray McKinney, 59. His body was found by hikers on January 23 off the roadway in the 3500 block of Millar Ranch Road in Spring Valley.
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May 15, 2022 (Spring Valley) - Good versus evil. Most of us have a little of both. When we successfully merge the two, we become better people. Young Actors' Theatre in Casa De Oro presents Disney's “Descendants," based on the book by Nick Blaemire. Disney entertainment equals happiness. The show, directed by Katie Wallace with music director Mary Rose Vadaboncoeur, will have you leaving with a smile.
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Spring Valley community members come together to host an intersectional environmental outreach event to empower, educate, and inspire their neighbors
East County News Service
Photo: Hands Around the Earth, Public Domain Vectors
April 21, 2022 (Spring Valley) – The Spring Valley Cleanup Crew, San Diego County Parks and Recreation, and a coalition of Spring Valley community groups are collaborating for Spring Valley Earth Day this Saturday, Apr. 23, at 1 p.m. at 3180 Bancroft Dr, Spring Valley, CA 91977 for a fully encompassing and intersectional Earth Day event.
The cleanup crew plans to empower their community by involving the public in the process of planting new trees in the park, participating in a community cleanup, registering their neighbors to vote, offering free skate lessons, and providing folks with information regarding local board meetings. This way, there is a community investment in Spring Valley’s urban canopy along with a newly reclaimed agency.
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April 19, 2022 (Spring Valley) - Three people are under arrest in connection with a stabbing in Spring Valley.It happened on Monday, April 18 just before 10:00 p.m. near a fast food restaurant in the 8700 block of Jamacha Boulevard.
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April 15, 2022 (Spring Valley) -- The Spring Valley Community Alliance is working to make Spring Valley greener, cleaner, healthier and safer. The Alliance is hosting a community forum on Tuesday, April 19 at 5:30 p.m. featuring two experts on community empowerment and revitalization who will share specific examples and resources that residents can use in Spring Valley and other communities. Folks are invited to attend and learn how to become agents of change in Spring Valley and surrounding communities.
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April 14, 2022 (Spring Valley) – Six-year-old Jolyn Gutierez has been found unharmed. Her mother, Wendy Gutierez, who does not have custody, has been arrested for kidnapping Jolyn on February 22 from Kempton Elementary School in Spring Valley
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April 12, 2022 (Casa de Oro) – A dramatic transformation of the Campo Road Corridor through Casa de Oro in Spring Valley is planned to create a Main Street ambience in the heart of the community. On April 22, the County Planning Commission will hold a hearing on the proposed Campo Road Revitalization specific plan.
A central plaza for outdoor community activites, roundabouts, bike and pedestrian friendly changes, trees, outdoor seating, a center median, new street parking, and housing up to four-stories high are all in the revitalization plan. It covers 60 acres centered on Campo Road from Rodgers Rd. to Granada Ave. to be completed in three phases aimed at attracting private investors and enhancing the community. The plan would also seek grants and governmental funding, as well as potentially a planned business improvement district (PBID).
Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.
April 7, 2022 (Lemon Grove) - Lemon Grove Lions Club will host Quartermania, a cross between an auction, a raffle and bingo. The event will feature preview shopping at 10:30 a.m., quarter auction from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. and a light lunch at 12: 00pm. Bring plenty of quarters as you will need them to bid on auction items.
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March 31, 2022 (Spring Valley) - The Saps at Sea, the San Diego chapter of the Sons of the Desert, the worldwide Laurel and Hardy fan organization, present their April program, "No Fooling!", on Saturday, April 30 at Williams Hall at Trinity Presbytarian Church in Spring Valley.
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March 26, 2022 (Spring Valley) - The world is a crazy place, with everything turned upside down the past couple of years. The Addams Family is as close to normal as anybody else. Steele Canyon Players and Instrumental Music present The Addams Family: A New Musical. It’s funny, romantic and a totally entertaining production.
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March 19, 2022 (San Diego) – Today the California Highway Patrol announced the arrest of Thomas Evans III, 47 of La Mesa. He is charged with the murder of Saundralina Williams, 27, who was shot while driving her white SUV on State Route 94 in Spring Valley on March 5 near the Kenwood Drive exit.
Williams was the mother of three young children and a resident of National City.
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March 16, 2022 (Spring Valley) – A 13-year-old girl has reported that a man grabbed her from behind and inappropriately touched her on Friday, March 11 around 4 p.m. at the intersection of Conrad Drive and Campo Road in Spring Valley as she was walking home from Spring Valley Academy. Other students yelled at the man, who walked away toward Conrad, and the student went home.
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March 15, 2022 (Spring Valley) – The Sheriff’s Rancho San Diego station will host a coffee with the community on Wednesday, March 16 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Spring Valley Community Center at 8735 Jamacha Blvd., Spring Valley.
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March 12, 2022 (Spring Valley) -- Not far away in the kingdom of Young Actors Theatre in Spring Valley, a young spoiled prince threw out an old crone and was cursed. The Prince became The Beast and they both became objects. The spell would be broken only if the prince could find love and be loved in return before the last petal of the enchanted rose the crone gives the prince falls. Time is running out.
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Story and photos by Liz Alper
Story by Liz Alper
East County News Service
Story and photos by Liz Alper
Source: San Diego Sheriff's Department
East County News Service
East County News Service
By Miriam Raftery
East County News Service
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Skyler Okerman, USS Constitution Public Affairs
By Scott Simpson
By Miriam Raftery
East County News Service
Review by Kathy Carpenter
Spring Valley community members come together to host an intersectional environmental outreach event to empower, educate, and inspire their neighbors
Source: San Diego County Sheriff
East County News Service
East County News Service
Source: Lemon Grove Lions Club 
East County News Service
By Kathy Carpenter
By Miriam Raftery
By Miriam Raftery
East County News Service
By Kathy Carpenter
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