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Chapter Two
Mullen-Overholt
"Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our
God."
~ Isaiah 40:3 ~
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Yucca sat in the heart of Southern California's Mojave Desert, just off Highway Sixty-two.
The earliest recorded homesteader in Twin Yucca was Silas Graham, circa 1900, who,
upon digging a well, claimed it was drier on the bottom than on the top. At the end
of World War II, more and more people made Twin Yucca their home, bumping the population
from the high hundreds to the low thousands, a boom by Twin Yucca standards. Over
the ensuing years, the numbers evened out, it's neighboring cities easily outstripping
the small community in terms of citizens and attractions. To the left of Twin Yucca,
lay Yucca Valley, and to the right, Joshua Tree, both popular with tourists. In between
them, lay Twin Yucca, just a tiny way-point on the map.
Twin Yucca was a settled community, the last census placing fifty percent of it's
population over the age of sixty. This made Twin Yucca resemble more a retirement
community than a city. With so many retired people in the vicinity, businesses had
a reasonable chance to stay in business, and to cater to the occasional stray tourist.
Brad Weiss, President of the Chamber of Commerce, predicted that any time now, some
big developer would remodel their sleepy community into an "oasis of prosperity
and opportunity." That speech always got a rise of excitement from the younger
fifty percent of the population. Of course, Mr. Weiss had been saying that every
year for ten years, but it never seemed to matter.
A popular gathering place in Twin Yucca was Hanna's Family Restaurant, open from
six in the morning to nine at night, Monday through Saturday, and never on Sundays.
Other businesses included a small motel, Clark Plumbing Service and Supply, Logan's
Garden Nursery, and a convenience store, which had the only gas to be found until
Joshua Tree further up Highway Sixty-two.
Every business operates on a common principal: to make money. One class of business,
that many people take for granted as a right, are nursing homes. In 1996, a nursing
home in Twin Yucca came under the scrutiny of the city council. The owners of the
nursing home apparently cared little for the "quality care" they had promised
to give their residents. The list of neglect was long. Even so, negligence was not
what caught the attention of the city council. The owners had applied for and received
a permit for a residential care facility. The permit was for senior citizens only.
Over the preceding years, the nursing home also admitted residents who were mentally
ill, in violation with the "use permit" issued by the city. After two years
of appeals, and failures to meet the requirements, the facility was forced to shut
down. The residents were sent to other nursing homes, and the building sat empty.
It is a well known fact among the medical profession that care for the elderly is
in a state of crisis. As the Baby Boom generation ages, this crisis will reach epic
proportions, or so the Twin Yucca newspaper said in an article published one month
after the closing of the only nursing facility in, or near, Twin Yucca. Since over
half the population was over the age of sixty, this issue received spotlight attention.
The reporter who wrote the article was swamped with letters and phone calls, all
petitioning the city council for a local nursing home.
Among the first to jump into the health care spotlight was Mia Wilson, a woman who
had her sights set on the mayor's seat. She had been on the city council for five
years and had decided it was time to climb higher.
With Mia Wilson leading the way, a plan was proposed to fund the home by the citizens
of Twin Yucca, making it a community nursing home. There was one sticking point,
however. A community nursing home would mean higher taxes. Even the older fifty percent
didn't like that thought. Mrs. Wilson was just about to lose her spotlight, when
someone bought the vacant nursing facility.
The city council, who had just spent two years trying to vacate the last owners,
were slow to believe that the new ones would be any different. Even so, the new owners
attended the planning commission meeting to get approval from the city, as the law
required.
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