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MONDAY, OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 05 , 2023
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County officials celebrate closing phase of two-decade-long road project
VOL. 9,
NO. 144
County war vet without diploma to receive one Wednesday
By City News Service and Staff
By City News Service
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U.S. Army veteran who didn’t graduate from high school will receive his diploma next week thanks to a Riverside County program that provides graduation certificates to former airmen, soldiers, sailors and Marines who gave up school to serve their country. The county Office of Education will conduct its 17th Operation Recognition ceremony Wednesday, honoring Charles Johnson of Riverside, who applied to receive his certificate after learning about the program. County Superintendent of Schools Edwin Gomez will personally award the diploma at the Office of Education Board Room in Riverside. Johnson entered the U.S. Armed Forces in 1975 toward the end of the Vietnam War. He completed a three-year tour of duty, during which he served as a military policeman and performed other tasks. Among his medals was a presidential unit citation for service in the Republic of South Vietnam. After leaving the Army, Johnson worked as a trucker See Diploma Page 27
Riverside County officials participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Clinton Keith Road Extension. | Photo courtesy of Riverside County
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iverside County officials Wednesday celebrated the closing phase of a two-decade-long project on the north end of French Valley and Murrieta that has entailed extending an east-west artery to facilitate travel between Interstate 215 and Highway 79. The $88 million Clinton Keith Road Extension, which began with design work in 2001 and continued in construction phases, is slated to wrap up in December. “Riverside County is the fastest growing county in the state, and much of that growth has occurred right here in the Third District,” Supervisor Chuck Washington said in a statement. “This project will provide improved access to French Valley, Lake Skinner and (Temecula Valley) Wine Country for residents and visitors alike.”
Washington gathered with fellow Supervisor Karen Spiegel, who represents the 2nd District, along with County Transportation & Land Management Agency officials and others for a ribbon-cutting at the recently finished French Valley Creek Bridge, between Benton and Leon roads, which is part of the extension. The last segment of the project will connect Clinton Keith to Highway 79 via Leon, according to the TLMA. The four-phase extension was first conceived in the 1990s, when transportation officials recognized the need for a direct route with multiple lanes running between I-215 and state Route 79 to alleviate congestion. The groundwork was laid when funds began coming available in the early 2000s.
At the time, motorists largely relied on Scott Road for east-west travel in the Murrieta area, or alternately Los Alamos Road. The latter does not run all the way to the highway, and Scott was narrow and “heavily congested” daily, the TLMA said. Clinton Keith provides six lanes, with a raised center median for added safety, over most of the route. The first phase of the project was completed in 2011, adding a six-lane artery between the 215 and Whitewood Road; the next phase was finished in 2018, extending Clinton Keith from Whitewood to Leon; and the third phase involved raising the median, which started and concluded in 2018. Similar to Phase 2, a fourth phase of the project involved the area from
Whitewood Road to Leon Road that “completed the ultimate 6 lane cross section with a raised median,” according to the County Transportation Department’s project overview. Completed in fall 2018, Phase 4 was constructed simultaneously with Phase 2, “which allowed construction to proceed quickly, with no traffic control issues.” An amalgam of funding sources have been tapped, including countywide Measure A sales tax revenue, Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fee revenue, developer impact fees, as well as other allocations, officials said. Up to 14,000 vehicles utilize Clinton Keith per day, with a projection for 35,000 in the future. Additional information is available at https:// rcprojects.org/clintonkeith.
Health officials call for public awareness of childhood lead poisoning By Staff
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oinciding with Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week Oct. 22-28, Riverside County health officials urged parents and guardians to be aware of the dangers contained in a number of everyday items that contain lead and how they can impact the health of young people during. “The purpose of this campaign is to remind parents that lead poisoning can be harmful to young children’s health and development. It’s important for parents to ask their child’s doctor about blood lead testing,” Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Geoffrey Leung said in a statement. “The test is simple but can make a real difference in the life of a developing child.” Lead poisoning can dangerously affect a child’s brain and nervous system, according to the county statement. It can lead to learning and behavioral problems, and a blood test designed specifically to detect lead is the only way to identify lead poisoning in children. For California children, lead exposure happens by See Childhood lead poisoning Page 28