The Loop Newspaper - Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide

Chuck and Candi Hallman were wandering through Philip Marx Central Park on the 4th of July when they stopped by our booth. We finally had a chance to visit almost two months later. They said that they had moved to Stallion Springs around the first of this year. They came from Lakeview Terrace in the San Fernando Valley where they had lived for 36 years. However, The Valley was getting crowded and the traffic was annoying. They loved the slower lifestyle and the natural surroundings of the mountains and they also had family here. Tehachapi was their perfect place to retire. Chuck recently retired from 35 years with the Los Angeles City Fire Department where he had been an engineer. Candi also retired from her position as a Teacher's Aide at Village Christian School in nearby Sun Valley.

Both Chuck and Candi are California natives. Chuck was born in Tujunga, not far from Lakeview Terrace. Candi was born in Glendale. Chuck grew up surrounded by girls. He has a sister who now lives in Orange County and three who live in Tehachapi. Candi has a sister living in Houston and our visit happened just after Hurricane Harvey hit. While her sister's home had not been flooded at that time, the Hallmans were still concerned about the possibility.

Chuck and Candi met at Biola College, now Biola University, were married and now have two grown children and five grandchildren. Their son Mike lives in Phoenix. He has three of the grandchildren. The other two live in Santa Clarita and belong to their daughter Amy.

Chuck and Candi like to go camping but that may have to wait a while. They purchased a brand new home and are now faced with the project of landscaping. That project may have to wait for spring. In the meantime, Chuck likes woodworking and Candi likes to work on the house and there are lots of projects to take them through the winter.

Welcome to Tehachapi, Chuck and Candi. We know you will enjoy your new home.

Travis and Lorena Para had lived in Mojave since 2013. Their daughter Ophelia is now two years old and Lorena said that they wanted a safer environment for her. Lorena said that she thought it was "really scary in Mojave". They began looking at the Tehachapi area last fall. One day, while looking, they stopped along the road to eat a lunch they had brought with them. Lorena said that it wasn't until they actually bought their house that they realized that they had eaten their lunch right next to their new home.

Lorena was born in Panorama City in the San Fernando Valley. She is an only child. Her family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico when she was three years old and she grew up there. When she was 18 she came back to California to attend West Coast Baptist College in Mojave. It was at church in Mojave that she met Travis.

Travis was raised in California City. Lorena said that he loves the outdoors and likes to shoot when he can. He is also a level 2 HAM radio operator. He has one sister. He was hired by Scaled Composites in Mojave out of high school as a CNC (Computer Numerical Control machine) operator. He later trained and became an officer with the California Department of Corrections in California City. He worked at the prison for about two years before taking a CNC operator position at the Spaceship Company. He is currently a Quality Assurance Specialist (QAS) with the Spaceship Company.

Now that she is home with a very active two year old, Lorena said she wanted to do a fun business that she could do from home. She found it in Damsel in Defense, a home business that markets self-defense products designed just for women. Together Lorena and Travis are also troop leaders for the Mojave Rangers, a sports oriented troop for kids that they started in concert with their church in Mojave.

Ophelia may be their only human child right now, but Lorena also has to ride herd on three dogs and a cat, all rescues. Buddy is a boxer/shepherd mix; Lelia is a Chihuahua/dachshund mix; Baby is a Chihuahua/terrier mix; and then there is Kit Kat who keeps the rest in line.

To the entire Para household, a big Tehachapi Welcome.

If you have moved to the Greater Tehachapi Area within the last six months and would like to know more about your new community, call (661) 822-8188. We will be happy to make an appointment for a hostess to come by and give you lots of helpful information, some valuable coupons, gifts and much more. Many families and individuals who come to the area are pleasantly surprised with the amount of knowledge they gather about their new home. Publishing your welcome article is completely voluntary and is not a requirement of being welcomed.