Ramona High School NJROTC (Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps) drill team finished third out of 17 teams in the Area 11 State drill competition at Santa Ana High School on Saturday Feb. 20.  This is the highest finish in school history at the state meet. 
   There are 57 schools in Area 11, but only 17 schools qualified for this prestigious event.
   Ramona’s physical fitness team comprised of sit-ups, push-ups and two relay events were state champions in overall physical fitness at the competition.
   Members of the physical fitness team were Taylor Andrews, Robert Chisholm, Patrick Danby, James Dicataldo, Darien Hightower, Eli Jauregui, Levi, Lee, Alexis Baggett, Jessica Box, Adi Gutierrez, Krysta Huffman, Liz Huffman, Lexi Nagem, Brandi Hietala, Jammi Whitney, Kelsey Perry, William Wenberg, Trenton Rogers, Hector Herrera, Jackson Rath, Jose Pilar, Alec Richardson, Tanner Riches, Paul Loska, Jessica O’Conner and Bre Stotts.

   This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Music Alive-Ramona program presenting concerts to third- and fourth-grade classes in Ramona school district’s six elementary schools.
   The musicians rotate the program each year, with a string quartet one year, a woodwind program another and then a brass quintet. The rotation is an opportunity for the students to hear different instruments over their two years in third and fourth grades.
   “Our intention also is to present a program of music that covers many styles and composers,” said Pam Stubbs of Music Alive-Ramona.

   A 35-year-old convicted sex offender evicted last week from a Ramona home he was renting was in jail this week, following his arrest last Thursday in Poway.
   According to Lt. Duncan Fraser with the sheriff’s Ramona Substation, Robert Jack disabled and then removed the GPS tracking device he was required to wear as a condition of his parole, triggering action from the SAFE (Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Task Force) team and Poway deputies.
   Jack became the focus of concern in Ramona when parents learned he was listed on the Web as a serious sex offender and was living on Watt Road in San Diego Country Estates. The home is between the two elementary schools in the Estates, and an e-mail and telephone campaign began to get him out.
   The person renting to Jack reported evicting him after hearing the concerns of area residents.
   Because he violated a condition of his parole by removing the tracking device, Jack must go before a parole board, said Fraser.

 Oil painter Judi Doxey and potter and teacher Chris Castberg will be featured in the Discovery Room of the Olde Ramona Hotel Gallery this month and next.
A reception for them and other gallery members will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 13, in the gallery at 845 Main St. The public is invited.
   Doxey has been working on art since the third grade and has produced drawings for California Campgrounds and Cleveland National Forest. She has studied with Marty Pray-Stannard, Pat Kelly and Stan Sowinski and has had a graphics and commercial art business. She has written, illustrated and published two books: “No Turning Back” and “We Are the Branches.”

 The Ramona chapter  of Coffee Party USA will host a gathering in the Ramona Library Community Room, 1406 Montecito Road,  on Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
   In the midst of growing frustration with the political climate of the country, the grassroots movement Coffee Party USA has declared March 13 National Coffee House Day, during which Americans across the country will meet at coffee houses and around kitchen tables to talk about issues. This diverse and non-partisan organization has drawn members from all walks of life who wish to regain their civic pride and have a desire to contribute to the political discourse that is the basis of the country’s democracy.  
   The Coffee Party movement gives voice to Americans who want to see cooperation in government, and welcomes everyone to the table.

   Ramona Community Planning Group approved the idea of hosting a transportation summit for the community after it was proposed by a member at the group’s March 4 meeting.
   Planning group member Bob Hailey told the group that he, along with members Jim Piva and Kristi Mansolf, attended the coffee hosted by San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob on Feb. 25, and the Highway 67/Dye Road intersection was a much discussed topic.
   Hailey referred to comments made earlier in the March 4 meeting when resident  Joe Minervini   asked the planning group to take the Dye Road extension off the top  10 road priority list.
   “Take that off your top 10 list and put the Dye Road and Highway 67 intersection on the list,” said Minervini. “As for losing money already expended, so be it.”
    Citing his reasons that the Dye Road extension project should be abandoned, Minervini said the changes won’t make the road safer, won’t alleviate traffic and is 25 percent longer in distance for a driver to travel across town versus taking Main Street.  He questioned how businesses on Main Street would feel about traffic being diverted to the proposed bypass.

   Ramona High School dance students wanted to do something to help victims of the earthquake in Haiti, so they decided to take half of the money raised by their “Flowergrams” fundraiser in February and donate it to those in need.
   “They are extremely happy to be helping,” said teacher Lynn Chastang. “They just want to do some good in the world. They came up with the idea for it on their own and I am so proud that they are thinking way beyond themselves.”
   The students raised $300 and are hoping the money will aid in giving survivors clean water and medical attention.

 Since 1997, the “Coach Earl” Holsapple Benefit Basketball Games have raised $44,000 in scholarship money for 89 teens.
   The 14th annual games, named after a Ramona firefighter and Calfire captain who died while teaching training classes, are scheduled in the Ramona High School Gymnasium for Friday, March 26.
   Starting with Boys and Girls Club games at 6 p.m. and working to the Ramona High Alumni “Even” (Year) Grads versus “Odd” Grads at 8 p.m., the benefit is interlaced with opportunity drawings and introductions of former players, scholarship winners and visiting celebrities.
   In other competition planned that night, CalFire firefighters will match their basketball playing skills against the Ramona Unified School District faculty at 7:40 p.m., San Diego  County coaches will pit themselves against the Ramona High Alumni Allstars at 7 p.m., and seventh-grade and eighth-grade boys and girls will play, respectively, 6:45 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

 For the first time since 1999, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors adopted updates to the county’s public road standards.
   “It seems to me this is a good balance,” Supervisor Ron Roberts said March 3.
   Three county planning commission hearings and three subcommittee workshops led to refinements from the county staff’s original recommendations. The new standards allow for flexibility to balance community character, public safety and traffic flow.
   The standards also specify the procedure for exemptions if circumstances warrant. 
   “The standards are guidelines,” said county Department of Public Works Traffic Engineer Bob Goralka.
   The updates create 19 new road classifications and also cover pathway, engineering and driveway spacing standards.