The Desert Sun du lieu suivant : Palm Springs, California • Page 33

DESERT SUN SATURDAY, MAY 20, 2006 B7 FOR THE RECORD FOR THE LIVES REMEMBERED Mildred Wester Mildred Vaughn Wester, 78, of Huntsville, and formerly of Indio died May 18, 2006, in Escondido of pancreatic cancer. She was born Dec. 3, 1927, to Osborn and Doxie Vaughn in Indianapolis. She married Gene Wester on Dec. 16, 1946, in Tennessee.

She was a schoolteacher for 30 years, including at Eisenhower Elementary School in Indio. She was a member of the Historical Society of Coachella Valley. She is survived by two daughters, Becky Rumble of Valley Center and Karen Bell; a son, Jeffrey Wester of Temecula; two sisters, Barbara Drake of Huntsville and Zelma Hammers of Lake Malone, a brother, Walter Vaughn of Huntsville; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Gene Wester. A memorial service will be at 2 p.m.

Sunday at FitzHenry Funeral Home Chapel in Indio. Additional services and burial will be held in Rochester, under the direction of Jones Mortuary of Morgantown, Ky. FitzHenry Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. The family suggests that donations be made to the American Cancer Society in 1 Palm Desert. Due to an error, the following obituary is being reprinted with the correct photo.

Wayne Weisbart Wayne Howard Weisbart, 67, of Palm Springs died May 17, 2006, in Palm Springs. He was born Aug. 24, 1938, to Henry and Shirley Weisbart in Los Angeles. The owner of the award-winning Wilde Goose Restaurant in Cathedral City, he was also a manager for The Supremes and Marvin Gaye, president of Motown Records and producer of the movie "Someone I Touched." He served in the Navy during the mid-1960s. He is survived by his brother, Richard Weisbart of Las Vegas; a niece, Wendy Weisbart of Las Vegas; and a nephew, David Weisbart of Reno.

Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Sunday at Wiefels Son Chapel in Palm Springs. Entombment will be at Forest Lawn Mausoleum in Cathedral City. Arrangements are under the direction of Wiefels Son Funeral Directors. The family suggests that donations be made to AIDS Assistance Program in Palm Springs.

FIND MORE Desert Sun obituaries dating back to July 1999 are available online: thedesertsun.com Due to a mortuary error, the following obituary is being reprinted. Clarence Kerr Clarence "Carney" Kerr, 80, of Desert Shores died May 16, 2006, in Palm Desert. He was born Oct. 7, 1925, to Ambrose Kerr and Mary Cramer in Rittman, Ohio. He married Evelyn Harrison on March 27, 1996, in Hesperia.

He was a service writer at auto dealerships for 50 years and served in the Army from 1944 to 1946. He was a member of the Loyal Order of Moose, Desert Shores Veterans of Foreign Wars and Borrego Springs American Legion. He is survived by his wife, Evelyn Marie Kerr of Desert Shores; two daughters, Hannah Joy of Beaumont and Hilda Dubin of San Dimas; two sisters, Arlene Utz of Ohio and Georgie Langsford of Ohio; and three grandchildren. Graveside services will be at 9:31 a.m. Monday at Riverside National Cemetery.

FitzHenry Funeral Home Indio is in charge of arrangements. The family suggests that donations be made to Odyssey Healthcare Hospice in Palm Desert. Jesus Gutierrez Jesus Fuentes Gutierrez, 67, of Coachella died May 18, 2006, in Indio. He was born Oct. 22, 1938, to Arcadio Gutierrez and Lily Fuentes in Texas.

He was a farm laborer for 58 years. He is survived by his daughter, Odelia Gutierrez of Washington; two sons, Alex and Alfredo Gutierrez of Davis; two sisters, Lily Gutierrez of California and Estella Gutierrez of La Quinta; four brothers, Hector and Efrain Gutierrez of Indio, Eloy Gutierrez of Texas and Arcadio Gutierrez Jr. of Mexico; and five grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Beatriz Mendez Gutierrez, in 1996. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m.

Monday, with a rosary at 6:30 p.m. at FitzHenry Funeral Home Desert Chapel in Coachella. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 8 a.m. Tuesday at Our Lady of Soledad Catholic Church in Coachella. Burial will be at Coachella Valley Cemetery under the direction of FitzHenry Funeral Home.

Who handles obituaries? To have an obituary published, you must complete The Desert Sun's obituary form. Essential information includes: name, age and birthday, and hometown of the deceased as well as the names and hometowns of the survivors. Also essential is the name and telephone number of the relative submitting the information for publication. For details, call Nina Ronda at 778-4639. Who handles news tips? To bring a news story to an editor's attention, call 778-4625 or send an e-mail to Mouse Continued from B1 called the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan.

The plan would designate habitat for 27 species of wildlife including the Palm Springs pocket mouse living from the San Gorgonio Pass to the Salton Sea. Under the plan, builders would pay a fee of about $5,270 per acre. The money would help establish a reserve system for the wildlife of about 725,000 acres. In exchange, builders who build outside the reserve wouldn't have to negotiate with state and federal wildlife agencies to offset harm to protected species. Areas inside the reserve system would be subject to development restrictions, but building would not be prohibited.

Fred Bell, executive director of the desert chapter of Building Industry Association, said it would be better for builders to deal with the plan than to face tricky negotiations with wildlife agencies over how to offset harm to current and future protected species. "Let's say there's a chance you have habitat on your land. Then the situation gets pretty dicey," Bell said. Without a plan in place negotiations with wildlife agencies can affect how long it takes a property owner to get environmental permits and how much they will be forced to pay to offset the loss of habitat. "If you can't answer those two Joe People Joe N.

People; 56, of Cathedral City died May 17, 2006, in Palm Springs of heart failure. He was born April 30, 1950, to Joe and Ruby People in Birmingham, Ala. He married Lucille Johnson on March 8, 1975, in Alabama. He was a truck driver for 37 years. He is survived by his wife, Lucille People of Cathedral City; two daughters, Shirl Williams and Gloria Lugo; five sons, Robert and Rex Johnson of Arizona, Johnny Johnson of Utah and Arron Johnson and Roosevelt People of Cathedral City; two brothers, John People and Willie Hooper; 37 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.

A service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Forest Lawn in Cathedral City. Anastacio Torres Anastacio Torres, 27, of Cathedral City died May 14, 2006, in Desert Hot Springs. He was born July 16, 1978, to Ernest Torres and Elena Zendejas in Indio. He was a mechanic for six years.

He is survived by his daughter, Araeah Torres of Cathedral City; three sons, Ray and Justin Torres of Florida and Daniel Torres of Cathedral City; a sister, Elaine Torres of Thousand palms; two brothers, Ernest Torres Jr. of Riverside and Ronnie Torres of Cathedral City; and his parents, Elena and Ernest Torres of Cathedral City. Visitation will be from 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday, with a prayer service at 6 p.m. at Victory Outreach Church in Indio.

A funeral service will be at 9 a.m. Friday at Victory Outreach Church. Burial will be at Coachella Valley Cemetery under the direction of Casillas Family Funeral Home in Coachella. Fae Dunigan Fae Elaine Dunigan, 91, of Palm Springs died May 12, 2006, at home. She was born Nov.

8, 1914, to Richard Schumacher and Helen Carpenter in North Dakota. She was a county recorder for 15 years. She is survived by two daughters, Debra Lavorgna of Palm Springs and Diane Angella of Kelsey; a sister, Helen Freedland of Rancho Mirage; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Arrangements are under the direction of Forest Lawn Cathedral City. The family suggests that donations be made to the Braille Institute in Rancho Mirage.

between the city, property owners, plan coordinators at the Coachella Valley Association of Governments, and state and federal wildlife regulators only threatens to undermine efforts to strike a deal by a June 1 deadline. "If the negotiations are going well then we may very well sign onto the plan," Hohenstein said. "If the negotiations aren't going well then we have an alternative we might want to go with." The environmental groups, which include the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity, show no sign of backing down. "We basically feel that our backs are to the wall if this (plan) doesn't happen," Taylor said. "This and several other species are going to have to be immediately listed." As for the mouse, there are disagreements as to whether it deserves a higher protected status.

Some say the mouse is no different from a species called the little pocket mouse that lives in Southern and Central California, Arizona and Nevada. "Its status as a special subspecies is questionable in my mind," said Jim Cornett, a biologist in Palm Springs. "There is just a slight color variation." Cameron Barrows, executive director of the Coachella Valley Preserve, said in general if there are questions about prospects for a species' survival it is safer to protect the species and study it further, rather than risk its demise before the facts are settled. Robert Castro Robert "Bobby" C. Castro, 59, of Coachella died May 16, 2006, in Coachella.

He was born Dec. 6, 1946, to Guadalupe Castro and Anita Cervantes in Indio. He was a building engineer at Desert Willow Golf Resort and a cable installer at Palmer Cablevision for 20 years. He also served in the Army. He is survived by two sons, Robert Castro of Indio and Leonard Castro of Coachella; two sisters, Jovita Salomon of Coachella and Lily Young of Bermuda Dunes; four brothers, John, Daniel, Genaro and Carlos Castro of Coachella; his mother, Anita Castro of Coachella; and four grandchildren.

Visitation and a rosary will be at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at FitzHenry Funeral Home Desert Chapel in Coachella. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 8 a.m. Wednesday at Our Lady of Soledad Catholic Church in Coachella. Burial will be at Coachella Valley Cemetery under the direction of FitzHenry Funeral Home Indio.

Irwin Rinnig Irwin M. Rinnig, 80, of Palm Springs died May 18, 2006, in Palm Springs of natural causes. He was born Nov. 14, 1925, to Charles Rinnig and Rachel Posner in New York City. He married Betty Mann Parker on Feb.

9, 1975, in Palm Springs. He was a real estate broker with Fey's Canyon Realtors for 20 years. He served in the Coast Guard from 1942 to 1945. He was a member of Palm Springs Art Museum Service Council. He is survived by his wife, Betty Rinnig of Palm Springs; four sons, Marvin Rinnig of Los Angeles, John Parker of Port Hueneme, Andrew Parker of Larkspur and Matthew Parker of Sherman Oaks; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be from 1 to 5 p.m. May 27 at the family residence in Palm Springs. Wiefels Son Funeral Directors of Palm Springs is in charge of arrangements. The family suggests that donations be made to the Palm Springs Art Museum. Norman Sherwood Norman Edward Sherwood, 68, of Bermuda Dunes died May 17, 2006, in Indio.

He was born Jan. 19, 1938, to Stanley Sherwood and Frances Jones in Mineral Springs, Ark. He was a machinist in the agricultural industry for 40 years. He is survived by two daughters, Emily Copeland of Bermuda Dunes and Vonda Heitz of Oregon; and five grandchildren. Services will be private with Casillas Family Funeral Home of Coachella in charge of arrangements.

Dining Dancing Romancing "It Must Be Melvyn's" at the elegant Ingleside Inn 200 W. Ramon Road Palm Springs 325-2323 Former Motown exec, local restaurateur dies BY BRUCE FESSIER In the 1980s, THE DESERT SUN Wood was surWayne Weisbart was remem- prised to find bered this week as a man who him at the Wilde managed legendary music artists Goose restauand a ground-breaking Coachella rant in CatheValley restaurant. dral City. She Weisbart, 67, died Wednesday was a restaurant in Palm Springs. Funeral services critic for Desert are scheduled at 1 p.m.

Sunday at Post Weekly Weisbart Wiefels Son in Palm Springs. and he was the Weisbart's family said he was a president of Motown Records and a manager of the Supremes and Marvin Gaye. Collette Wood of Desert Hot Springs recalled working in publicity for Motown while Weisbart was in management promoting the Supremes after Diana Ross had left the group and was having a relationship with the head of Motown, Berry Gordy. Needless to say, Wood recalled, "It was really difficult. "He was always fighting for his people," she said.

"Motown had its own way of deciding who it was going to promote and he was always in my office trying to get a bio. But he really cared about all of his clients." Wood said he also promoted the Commodores at Motown and was an agent with the Williams Morris Agency. In 1975, he produced a film starring Cloris Leachman, titled "Someone I Touched." restaurant owner. Longtime restaurant critic Lee Stanley said the Wilde Goose was exotic for its time. "In his time, to have duck and pheasant was very unusual," he said.

"It was really an unusual cuisine and an out-of-the-ordinary dining experience." Stanley said the Wilde Goose won a Palm Springs Life Award for best restaurant in the valley in the third year of that award, and won California and Southern California Restaurant Writers Association awards at a time when it was unusual for valley restaurants to be recognized by those organizations. He said it won a Golden Platter Award three times. "He was very proud to say it was a multiple award-winning restaurant," Stanley said. Entombment will be in the Forest Lawn Mausoleum in Cathedral City. The family suggests donations be made to the AIDS Assistance Program.

said. Robbery cidents Authorities is different say each and it of is the doubt- inContinued from B1 ful the men involved in Friday's On Nov. 21, a person entered robbery are connected to the othCousins Estate Jewelers on El er crimes. Paseo, armed with pepper spray "These are all different types of and made off with an undisclosed incidents," said Cpl. Dennis amount of jewelry.

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Opposition has come mainly from some property owners who fear habitat designations will suppress land values. The Coachella Valley Association of Governments, which is coordinating the plan, says it will buy habitat land from willing sellers at fair market value. Some property owners don't trust that pledge, however. Six takers so far So far, six valley communities have signed onto the plan. But every community must participate for it to go into effect.

Leaders in Desert Hot Springs and Indio have been vocal critics of the proposal. They fear habitat designations in their communities will limit development. Both communities are still growing and their city governments, particularly in Desert Hot Springs, struggle to make ends meet as they work to build a retail tax base and residential development stock. Despite concerns about the plan, Desert Hot Springs leaders have been negotiating with planners to find a way to participate, said Councilman Hank Hohenstein. The petition to list the pocket mouse, he said, is a disruption to that process.

"I think that is threatening," Hohenstein said. He said upsetting negotiations.