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The Town of Yucca Valley is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Shianne May as the Town’s animal care and control manager. In this leadership role, Ms. May will oversee Yucca Valley’s animal shelter and animal control operations.

With over 13 years of experience across many areas of animal welfare and deep roots in the Morongo Basin, Ms. May brings a wealth of knowledge and dedication to her work. Her background includes extensive expertise in shelter operations, public relations and volunteer administration.

“Ms. May’s strong background in shelter operations, along with her genuine dedication to animal welfare and the local community, make her an excellent fit for our team,” said Town Manager Curtis Yakimow. “We’re thrilled to welcome her as the new animal care and control manager and are confident her leadership will further strengthen the animal care and control services we provide to Yucca Valley residents.”

Ms. May has served in senior-level roles with numerous local agencies, including Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter and Found Animals Registry, among other providers. She holds a degree in public relations from California State University, Long Beach.

Born and raised in Palm Springs, Ms. May has had a lifelong passion for animal welfare that began when she rescued her first cat as a child. When she later adopted her first dog from the original Palm Springs Animal Shelter, she decided to turn that passion into a career. As a resident of Yucca Valley for over five years, she is dedicated to supporting her new home.

“I am honored to bring my experience in animal welfare to this role and serve the Morongo Basin community. As Animal Care and Control Manager, I look forward to collaborating with our partners to create meaningful, lasting improvements for both people and animals,” said Ms. May.

Upon completion of the Town’s standard onboarding process, Ms. May is anticipated to join the Yucca Valley Animal Shelter mid-December.

For more information on the Town’s animal shelter services and staff, visit www.yucca-valley.org/our-town/departments/community-development/animal-care-and-control/animal-shelter.

About the Town of Yucca Valley

Yucca Valley lies in the Little San Bernardino Mountains at an elevation of 3,300 feet as the gateway to the Joshua Tree National Park and the economic hub of the Morongo Basin. Yucca Valley is conveniently situated on CA State Highway 62, intersected by State Highway 247 and easily accessible to all of Southern California.

YUCCA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) - Shianne May has been appointed as Yucca Valley's Animal Care and Control Manager, the town announced on Wednesday.

According to town officials, May will oversee Yucca Valley’s Animal Shelter and Animal Control operations. She is set to officially join in mid-December after the town’s standard onboarding process.

May has served in senior-level roles with numerous local agencies, including Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter and Found Animals Registry, among other providers. She holds a degree in Public Relations from California State University, Long Beach.

“Ms. May’s strong background in shelter operations, along with her genuine dedication to animal welfare and the local community, make her an excellent fit for our team,” said Town Manager Curtis Yakimow. “We’re thrilled to welcome her as the new Animal Care and Control Manager and are confident her leadership will further strengthen the animal care and control services we provide to Yucca Valley residents.”

Born and raised in Palm Springs, May has had a lifelong passion for animal welfare that began when she rescued her first cat as a child. When she later adopted her first dog from the original Palm Springs Animal Shelter, she decided to turn that passion into a career.

As a resident of Yucca Valley for over five years, she is dedicated to supporting her new home.

"I am honored to bring my experience in animal welfare to this role and serve the Morongo Basin community. As Animal Care and Control Manager, I look forward to collaborating with our partners to create meaningful, lasting improvements for both people and animals,” said Ms. May.

The appointment comes after controversy over the town's shelters that gained momentum in January. The town initiated a 90-day review of shelter operations in March and introduced several changes.

Former Animal Care and Control Manager Doug Smith retired in July, following public pressure.

For more information on the Town’s animal shelter services and staff, click here.

Yesterday, The Desert Region Fire Safe Council held the official ribbon cutting ceremony for their new fire safety resource space in the long vacant Fire Station #2 in Morongo Valley.

Located on the corner of Bella Vista and Hwy 62, Morongo Valley’s Fire Station #2 sat vacant in disrepair for almost twenty years. With caved-in ceilings and water-damaged drywall, it was a near-condemned structure until Desert Region Fire Safe Council’s Justin Merino saw its potential. Merino said it had been the goal of the Council to find a home like this.

“So driving past this station on my commute every day, it struck me that we could partner up with the CSD and turn this unused station that’s been unmanned for the last 20 years back into a community resource. You could imagine what a facility looks like when it’s been unmanned for 20 years—it was quite the undertaking more work than I planned or suspected but with the help of volunteers and our team and family members we were able to turn it into what it is today.”

With generous donations from Whitewater Rock for the exterior and grants from California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, Yamaha, and Southern California Edison, Merino says this doesn’t cost Morongo Valley taxpayers anything, its emphasis being a community space where they’ll offer fire safety workshops as well as a general meeting room and cooling center during the hotter months. I asked Merino about the ultimate goal of the new Fire Safe Council office: to make neighborhoods “firewise.”

“Our plan is to break Morongo Valley up into four quadrants: Morongo north, east, south and west. The idea around firewise is to get neighbors talking to each other, to act with each other and to make their homes fire safe, which makes the community fire safe. Some of the residual benefits of being fire safe are insurance discounts, but most of all it teaches folks and it allows them to connect and to actually be able to make a plan come together and make their home safe.”

Desert Region Fire Safe’s focus on resident’s “Zone 0,” the ember-resistant ignition area extending 0-5 feet from the outer walls of a structure, including attached decks and chairs. The goal is to reduce fire ignition risk from wind-borne embers—the leading cause of structural wildfire damage. Morongo Valley’s new Desert Region Fire Safe office is located at 9492 Sundown Trail, adjacent to the stoplight at Bella Vista. For more information, please visit: desertfire.org.

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