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Re: Perceptions of Trona

PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 6:33 am
by cactuspete
tronagirl: There really have been some positive changes made in the last couple years. But the two eyesores I'd like to see fixed up the most however are right along the highway in Pioneer Point. Something needs to be done about the Pinnacle Inn (old Wildrose Motel) and the vacant lot where the Mormon Church used to be needs to be fixed up. There's something really unattractive about a chainlink fence around a vacant lot.

Re: Perceptions of Trona

PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 7:58 am
by panamint_patty
Don't forget about the new roof on the high school gymnasium. That probably catches the attention of a lot of people who haven't been through here in awhile and it took me a little while to get used to. Now I think it's a huge improvement, but at first it looked odd to me. Overall it's true that the community has seen a lot of improvements in the last couple years. Hopefully the trend will continue!

Re: Perceptions of Trona

PostPosted: Sun Nov 22, 2015 9:13 am
by mrfish
This is from the Trona Football Thread:
cactuspete wrote:
wildrose wrote:
recluse wrote:The Sandman (official video)
Well, it's a bit melodramatic and the religiosity gets real old real fast, but the production is pretty good. The problem is that the video takes itself WAY too seriously.

It would be interesting to know if this video was authorized by the administration of the school district. It certainly puts the district in a rather precarious legal position. All it would take is one competent lawyer to turn this into a $2 million settlement. The ACLU has quite a list of lawyers who could have lots of fun with a video like this.

The legal ramifications of this video are truly startling. IMHO, whoever authorized this video is a total and complete idiot. The cheap theatrics and melodrama are annoying to say the least, but it gets worse. Not only does the video put the school district in a bad legal position, but the video-maker then engages in some serious Trona-bashing at the end of this poorly conceived clip. From the last forty seconds of the clip:
Trona sits alone against a derelict desert landscape, not far from the infamous California Death Valley. The scorching heat and salinity of the ground make it impossible to grow grass, giving Trona High School the only official dirt football field in the entire U.S. Blah... blah... blah... BS and more BS...

While it is true that Trona has one of only two sanctioned high school football fields in the USA, the negativity about the desert is inexcusable. If you don't love the desert, then you don't love Trona.

The last thing we need is more Trona-bashing and even worse would be a huge lawsuit. I don't know if anyone in the video actually lives in Trona or not, but it makes the town look bad to have a religious nutjob acting like the coach. People are going to think that religious cultists run the school and have the kids here as their captive audience. This video makes the town look bad. The school needs to take legal action against anyone who was involved in making this video since it represents the school in an incredibly negative way. There have been lots of lawsuits over religion in schools and this video is like an advertisement begging for a lawsuit.

Re: Sandman

PostPosted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 8:39 am
by hokey smokes
mrfish: Although I have to agree with what's said here and in the Trona Football thread, I don't think it's anything to get all bent out of shape about. Sure the video was poorly conceived and it does make a bunch of obvious mistakes from a public relations point of view, but basically it's just the work of an amateur hobbyist and you can't expect an amateur to consider all the angles. Having said that, I would think that as long as everyone appearing in the video signed waivers and that the school approved the project that it's a case of no harm, no foul... probably.

Re: Perceptions of Trona

PostPosted: Mon Dec 14, 2015 7:31 am
by cactuspete
From my perspective, high school sports are about the least important thing in Trona. It's just something to occupy the kids and hopefully keep at least some of them out of trouble. Think of sports as a pacifier for big kids and not much more. The history and the beauty of the desert are what matter. People who appreciate those two things, appreciate Trona, Searles Valley, and the desert wonderland we live in.

Re: Perceptions of Trona

PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2016 4:04 pm
by wildrose
The remains of a once-bustling boomtown
Nothing surprising in this article, but it's not negative at least!
Named for the chemical used to make soda ash, a substance typically found in glass and some detergents, Trona looks like a ghost town. It's a dry land with average temperatures exceeding 100 degrees during the summer.

LINK: http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/06/travel/cnnphotos-trona-mining-town-california/

Re: Perceptions of Trona

PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2016 4:07 pm
by wildrose
Trona: Home Is Where Your Heart Is
Here's another write up about our charming desert town... :roll2:
Andy knows the history of every house, every block, and the town in toto, not to mention every one living there. When I say he is the “mayor” of Trona, he says, "no that would be Lit Brush." He is the “assistant mayor.” A twinkle of pride and fun crosses his face. He loves this town and almost every one there. His story will have to wait, as he has to be on his way to visit another sister.

LINK: https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/trona-california-population

Re: Perceptions of Trona

PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2016 7:31 am
by panamint_patty
wildrose: As long as it's not an article bashing Trona, then I guess it's not a bad thing. Both articles were a little on the boring side, but they were nice articles. You know, the kind of thing you skim through quickly to see who's names you recognize, but don't actually read. Thanks for posting them, otherwise I wouldn't have noticed them.

Re: Perceptions of Trona

PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2016 8:26 am
by camel
panamint_patty: Face it, most news is bad news and newspapers that don't print negative stuff go out of business fairly quickly. People don't get excited about good news and so it stands to reason that most of the time news about anything is going to be negative. That's not to say that Trona bashing doesn't happen, just that you can't expect everything to be written about a small town in the middle of the desert to be pretty flowers and chirping birds.

Re: Perceptions of Trona

PostPosted: Wed May 18, 2016 4:38 pm
by MojaveMike
To Trona, Calif., residents, that awful smell spells $$$
This is an old article, but some of it is interesting at least to some degree.
One of the things that folks around here will tell you is that more wealth has been taken from Searles Lake than from all the gold mined in California since the Gold Rush of 1849. Buried beneath the lake’s crust are 98 of the 104 known chemical elements, valued by Kerr-McGee at $150 billion.

LINK: http://tronahistory.com/to-trona-calif-residents-that-awful-smell-spells/