A-1
Talent shines at Rotary Club of Hemet Music Competition, A-4
Basso, Bowers Ladouceur play in first Sockers alumni game in Oceanside, A-11
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SERVING TEMECULA , MURRIETA , L AKE E LSINOR E , M ENIFEE , WILDOMAR , H EMET, SAN JACINTO AND THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES January 24 – 30, 2025
VISI T myvalleynews.com
Volume 25, Issue 4
Volunteers package food at Menifee’s Temecula Valley Hospital achieves Community Cupboard during wind crisis regional first
Health
in robotic lung cancer treatment
TEMECULA – Southwest Healthcare Temecula Valley Hospital (TVH) has become the first facility in Southwest Riverside County to successfully diagnose and treat stage 1 lung cancer using a groundbreaking combination of Ion and da Vinci robotic technologies. see page A-9
Home & Garden EMWD launches ‘Fix-A-Leak’ video contest for students Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) announces its “Fix-A-Leak” video contest, inviting students to creatively explore ways to combat excessive water usage due to household leaks. The contest is open to high school students and is a teacherdirected project where students can work individually or in groups of up to three. The deadline for submissions is Friday, March 7. see page B-8
INDEX
Volunteers help pack food boxes for limited-income residents who lost refrigerated food due to the Public Safety Power Shutoffs. Tony Ault Staf f Writer During last week’s Santa Ana wind event, hundreds of Valley homes and businesses faced Public
Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) by Southern California Edison to prevent possible wildfires from down power lines in the area. While dozens of businesses and some government agencies were
forced to close for hours and some days, most of the power shutoffs affected hundreds of residents who, after hours of power outages, lost all or most of their refrigerated food. Among those facing that
Valley News/Courtesy photo
dilemma were about 50 limited-income residents living in Menifee’s Quail Valley area who called on the Menifee Community Cupboard to see FOOD, page A-2
Anza Valley Outlook ..........B-1 Business ............................A-8 Business Directory .............A-8 Calendar of Events .............A-6 Classifieds ....................... A-11 Education ..........................B-6 Entertainment ...................A-7 Health ...............................A-9 Home & Garden ................B-8 Legal Notices .....................B-6 Local ................................A-1 Opinion........................... B-10
Teen nonprofit founder Ben Diederich appointed to vacant wins prestigious Menifee District 2 City scholarship Council seat by Council
Regional News ...................B-9
USPS Postal Customer
VALLEY NEWS
Sports .............................. A-11
Ben Diederich is appointed to the vacant District 2 Menifee City Council seat after a 3-to-1 vote. Valley News/Courtesy photo
Kristi Chadha was honored as the Hemet-San Jacinto Student of the Month for October for San Jacinto Leadership Academy. Valley News/StylePhotography by Alex Tapia photo
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID HEMET, CA PERMIT #234
Diane A. Rhodes Special to Valley News Kristi Chadha goes out of her way to help others in her community and at her school. “I think it’s
just always been in me. Seeing how much my mom cared for others, even when things were hard for us, taught me the power of kindsee SCHOLARSHIP, page A-5
Tony Ault Staf f Writer Former Menifee City Council District 2 candidate Ben Diederich, while losing the November 5 election to now Menifee Mayor Ricky Estrada, will still take his seat on the next Menifee City Council following his appointment to that vacant district seat by a 3 to 1 vote of the new council Wednes-
day, Jan. 15. Following the official swearingin of Mayor Estrada, who was serving as the District 2 (Quail Valley) council member, Diederich, who ran for that seat, was nominated and approved by three of the sitting council members, Bob Karwin, Dan Temple, and Dean Deines. Estrada nominated see DIEDERICH, page A-5