User Posts : Tehachapi News

Legal-Eaze, by Maxine deVillefranche

Columnist Maxine deVillefranche is a practicing general civil attorney who answers questions posed to her regarding legal problems and concerns.

Overall Picture, by Bill Mead

Former owner and editor of the Tehachapi News, Bill Mead, has a tongue-in-cheek way of looking at life as he expounds on his own experiences and opinions with the ordinary and not-so-ordinary happenings in our changing world.

Pen in Hand, by Jon Hammond

Jon Hammond has made it his business to know about Tehachapi and his articles share his extensive knowledge of the area's history, plants, agriculture and animals.

East Kern Visitors Guide

With our focus on the natural wonders, museums, plants, animals, community festivals and recreational opportunities available to all, the East Kern Visitors Guide offers a peak into an enchanted land. Make sure you get your copy before you begin exploring!

Tehachapi Outlook/Quality of Life

We love life in Tehachapi, and every year we take stock in our community. With features about economic growth and development, or by examining quality-of-life issues such as healthcare and education, we assess Tehachapi’s viability and discuss what it will take to continue to meet the needs of our current and future residents.

Graduation Guide

Our annual graduation insert features the dates and times of all our local school graduation ceremonies and photos of our graduating seniors. We also include features on the Tehachapi High School salutatorian and valedictorian, creating a record for families to treasure for years to come.

Mountain Festival

For one of the biggest festivals in Kern County, you've got to come to Tehachapi! And our Mountain Festival guide will give you everything you need to know to make the most of it, including a detailed schedule and descriptions of events from the Mountain Festival parade to the PRCA rodeo.

Sports Preview

Let's face it --- you love sports! That's why we love publishing a schedule of yearly sports events. With our sports guide you can get those chores out of the way in time for game time, every time, so you'll always be able to support your local team.

Health and Fitness

Trying to stay fit and live healthy is an ongoing challenge in this day and age. Every month our Health and Fitness section showcases articles from health practitioners from both traditional and alternative areas of practice, promoting ways we can look and feel our best!

TALE

Every month the Tehachapi News provides a creative outlet for local photographers, artists and poets as well as those who want to publish book reviews and short stories.

Wedding Planner

A wedding is one of the biggest occasions in your life. From tips on budgeting to decorating for the wedding reception, our Wedding Planner is your ultimate local guide to creating your perfect day.

Home Improvement

Interested in the latest trends in home beautification? Our Home Improvement insert offers ideas on home up-keep and repair as well as current trends in home and yard decor.

Real Estate Showcase

Thinking about moving to the Tehachapi area? The Real Estate Showcase focuses on real estate and associated businesses within the Tehachapi area, giving you the advantage when deciding to move your family or business to Tehachapi.

Tehachapi Visitors Guides

There are four visitors guides designed to offer visitors and residents an opportunity to learn about Tehachapi by featuring interesting places to visit, take pictures and just relax. Each guide also features an article on the fascinating history of the Tehachapi area.

Thadd Turner wins top award for Western movie screenplay

Thadd Turner, former long-time resident and business operator in Tehachapi, will receive the Western Writers of America Spur Award during the organization’s meeting in Cody, Wyo., on June 10.

Turner will be honored for his screenplay for the film drama “Miracle at Sage Creek,” which is being released May 30 in DVD format at 34,000 locations worldwide, according to Thadd’s father, Bob Turner of Tehachapi. In addition to writing the original screenplay for the movie, Thadd also served as producer, co-director, actor and stunt coordinator.

The movie features veteran Hollywood actor David Carradine. The cast also includes popular actors Michael Parks, Wes Studi and Buck Taylor. It is another product of Talmarc Productions, a Turner family company. The name Talmarc, which once was used for the Tehachapi Odd Fellows Hall on Curry Street just south of Tehachapi Boulevard, which Bob Turner owned for many years, consists of the first initials of Bob Turner’s children.

Talmarc Productions is a family enterprise in the old-fashioned sense.

Bob Turner, whose business experience spans more than a half century and dozens of successful enterprises, serves as senior mentor. Thadd is supported by his wife of 22 years, Cindy, who worked alongside her husband in the real estate business in Tehachapi and who now owns her own mortgage company in Arizona. Their daughter, Tanya Cheyenne Turner, is co-producer for Talmarc, regularly dropping her executive duties to apply makeup to the professional actors. Even 7-year-old Wyatt Turner gets into the act in a literal sense, playing a key role in “Miracle at Sage Creek.”

The announcement of Thadd’s award from Western Writers of America, Inc. states that since 1953, “the WWA Spur Awards have honored the best in Western Fiction, non-fiction and film scripting.” It continues, “We are honored to add you to this list of the most distinguished Western writers of the last half century.” The award will be presented on May 17 in the Cody Auditorium.

Thadd is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, Writers Guild of America and Western Writers of America. His credits in the genre of Western literature and drama are extensive, including live theater, radio and living history reenactments in addition to several well-received books. His highly-acclaimed character portrayals include frontier Western scouts, lawmen, cowboys, outlaws, mountain men and cavalry from the time period of the late 1800s. He provided technical support for HBO’s hit series “Deadwood” in addition to other cable television productions. Thadd co-starred in one TV special entitled “Native Wisdom.”

Bob Turner said Thadd has become a scholar of Western history and provides expert advice for other filmmakers on such things as horses, tack, firearms and costuming. “Miracle at Sage Creek” is just one of more than a dozen screenplays by Thadd that have gone into production, Bob said. He is currently working on two additional Western films, “The Hard Ride” and “Meadow Lark Calling.”

Thadd’s writing portfolio includes many articles in such historical publications as True West, Wild West, Points West and Arabian Horse International and has provided historical research for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody.

Thadd, a graduate of Tehachapi schools and Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo, headquarters in Santa Fe, N.M., and on location. He lives at Hereford, Ariz., near Tombstone.