The Community was staying busy in the early 1990s. Public servants were coming and going–and getting promoted—while drug busts dotted the front page and water rates were a topic of debate. Here’s a Blast From the Past from 1993.
Corcoran Police Chief Gary Prince has announced his departure. He will be accepting a police chief position in Rocklin, near Sacramento. City Manager Don Pauley will work through budget sessions for the upcoming fiscal year prior to making a final decision on Prince’s replacement. In the meantime, an interim chief will be put in place.
A local drug bust had netted two out-of-town men who allegedly were attempting to purchase four kilograms of cocaine from local undercover officers. Officers also took almost $23,000 in cash and seized two vehicles.
The city council has approved an eight percent increase in local water utility rates to cover $2.9 million in improvements needed by the community’s water system. This rate hike follows a 15.3 percent in water rates approved by the council last July. There were several near-failures of the water system during the hot summer months, prompting an analysis of the system—and the need for many improvements.
In an attempt to prove that Mario Amado did not commit suicide in a Mexican jail, his family has given the Mexican government permission to exhume his body from its gravesite at the Corcoran Cemetery. He and others were in Rosarita when his girlfriend had him arrested. A few hours later, Amado was dead. A Los Angeles coroner
said the man had undergone a terrible beating and a ligature mark on his next was caused by a thin cord, not by the victim’s own sweater, as Mexican officials claimed. The case will be profiled on an upcoming Unsolved Mysteries.
Customers, community members and employees of the local branch of Bank of America were shocked to learn that the branch will be closing in just a few months. According to a bank spokesman, the decision was made on the basis of careful financial analysis, as well as a review of the local market area.
The board of trustees of the Corcoran Unified School District has approved a four-year contract for Superintendent Allan Asplund. Additionally, two other administrators have been given promotions: Corcoran High School Principal Stan Carrizosa will become the district’s new business manager; and Steve Bogan, vice principal at CHS, will take over the principalship.
Coach Mark Hatton is walking on air: the Corcoran Panthers defeated Coalinga to make it to the state Southern Section play-offs in basketball.
John Muir Principal Steve Brown was not amused by a recent hoax that sent several vendors to his school delivering items that had not been ordered. And if the Corcoran Police Department catches the culprits, they will face multiple felonies. It began when repair vehicles started to appear at the middle school and continued on during the day: pizzas arrived, six yards of cement were driven to the campus, sod came from Salyer Sod and aluminum—cut to order—came from Robinson’s Sheet Metal. The calls reportedly were made by a male with an accent, according to school personnel. The same person who contacted local businesses is also believed to have called the school at least twice to taunt school staffers.
