Page 4 - Mid Valley Times 7-15-21 E-edition

Thursday, July 15, 2021 | A4 | Mid Valley TiMes Editorial & Opinions
Serving the Readers of the Reedley Exponent, Dimuba Sentinel and Sanger Herald.
A Mid Valley Publishing Newspaper
Founded March 26, 1891, in a two-story building on the corner of 11th and F streets, by A.S. Jones
In my OPINION The Fourth brings more
vitriol, ignorance from left
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on to them to do the same.” — Ronald Reagan
Sanger gets ready to honor its top citizens at end of the month
Fred Hall — Publisher
Jon Earnest — Editor
Dick Sheppard — Editor Emeritus
During the recent celebration on
July 4, the United States came under
withering attack from political activ-
ists, celebrities and Democratic con-
gressional members. I don't believe I have experienced such a level of vitriol and ignorance of history as that which spilled from the mouths of those people. Some little pinhead with the New York Times found time to write a column condemning both the flag and the Statue of Liberty, claiming they were both divisive and long past their effective time of purpose.
It's unseemly when ignorance comes from the mouth of Maxine Waters (“Aunt Esther,” a character from the television show Sanford and Son) and the clueless, shameless Cori Bush from St. Louis, but it's difficult to ignore. They've been given seats of power and a gener- ous salary from the very people and country they so seek to demean and destroy. The government benefits with which they have been blessed will last a lifetime.
You say that doesn't make any sense? Little, if any- thing, coming from the mouths of our folks in the me- dia or our politicians in this day and age fails to pass the smell test.
Normal ordinary citizens are being tracked down and their doors are being kicked in by the FBI over the dumb Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. Nancy Pelosi and her fellow Democrats (plus Republican Liz Cheney) are describing the actions that day as a “deadly armed insurrection” when only government officials were armed. Someone with the government shot and killed an unarmed 35-year-old female veteran of the U.S. Air Force named Ashli Babbitt. Although it was the only shot fired somehow, strangely enough, the recommen- dation was that no charges be filed against the govern- ment employee. We don't even know the name of the individual who fired the only shot, when obviously none of the rioters showed any indication of a firearm. So much for government transparency.
Anytime a local law enforcement officer is forced to use deadly force, the name of the officer is publicized before the body assumes room temperature. Almost immediately. the demonstrators are in the street with defund the police posters and personal property is be- ing vandalized, looted and burned. We have yet to hear about the FBI kicking down their doors in the middle of the night. A district attorney, usually financially sup- ported by George Soros, quickly dismisses any charges. Go figure! Looks as if we have two forms of justice!
The press, although trying as hard as they might, attributed other deaths to the Jan. 6 violence but were quickly proven wrong. Although the original claim by the Washington Post was that the Capitol Hill police of- ficer had been beaten to death with a fire extinguisher, the Post was forced to quietly walk that back when it became known that he died later of natural causes.
A presidential candidate ran on a grandfatherly sounding program of healing our divide and uniting the country. Well, that's not exactly what happened! America is deeply divided with the greatest amount of animus between the races I can remember. Bad thing about that, it seems that everything this president says adds to tearing the country asunder.
This slide toward mediocrity began in the classroom, and the teacher's unions seem hell-bent on exacerbating the situation with their insistence on teaching Critical Race theory. It appears to saddle young children with guilt over something that was neither their fault nor do they understand. Teachers call it “real history.” It's any- thing but! I, for one, have had it with our dysfunctional educational system and the dumbing down of America.
Fred Hall
Dinuba and Reedley already have honored their cities' 2021 top citizens and community members earlier this year, and now Sanger gets to do the same at the end of the month follow- ing a year's absence because of COVID-19.
The Sanger Chamber of Commerce will pay tribute to top citizens for 2020 along with 2021 when it hosts its 96th an- nual Awards Banquet on Fri- day, July 30. This year's gala is at the Belmont Country Club in Fresno, and seating capac- ity will be limited to 250 guests. With two years of recipients being honored, tickets will be a hot commodity.
To get those tickets or get more information, call the Sanger Chamber of Commerce at (559) 875-4575 or email to sangerchamber@gmail.com.
Congratulations in advance to all winners announced so far: For 2021, Ken Marcantonio (Hall of Fame), Denny Noller (Citizen of the Year), Eric and Alessandra Schletewitz (Mr. and Mrs. Farmer of the Year), Toni Avila Sanchez (Mother of the Year), Sergio Arguello (Sanger Police Department Of- ficer of the Year), Kelly Fields (Sanger Fire Personnel of the Year), and the Sanger Unified School District's educator and employee of the year (being named this week). And for 2020, the winners are Cheryl Senn (Hall of Fame), Betty Schafer Pryor (Mother of the Year), Dario Salazar (SPD Of- ficer of the Year), and Adam Melikian (SFD Fire Personnel
of the Year).
The awards banquet is the
first of three significant activi- ties hosted by the chamber this summer and fall. On Saturday, Aug. 7, the Chamber will host the first of eight Street Fair & Farmers' Market events in downtown Sanger. The events runfrom5to9p.m.Thenon Saturday, Sept. 8, Sanger na- tive and newest Pro Football Hall of Famer Tom Flores will be honored by his hometown in a "welcome home" celebration. We'll have more details on that special event in future issues. •••
During the summer, a great many residents of Sanger and Reedley — and some from Di- nuba and other surrounding communities — enjoy the cool- ing water (while it lasts) of the Kings River once the annual releases for agriculture come from Pine Flat Reservoir.
Large numbers of visi- tors on the water and along the shoreline can leave quite a mess this time of year, and that's a primary reason for the formation of a monthly volun- teer river cleanup program along the river. These events are scheduled for the third Saturday or the month, which in July happens to be this Sat- urday, July 17.
While hot weather is ex- pected, temperatures will be a bit more reasonable than the 110 degree-plus wave from this past weekend. Here's a chance to give something back for the opportunity to enjoy the luxury of a river either right through
or near the city.
For this first
cleanup day,
volunteers will
meet at the
Kings River
Wildlife Area
pavilion located
at 27709 Pine
Flat Road (you can come from either East Trimmer Springs Road or North Piedra Road via North Elwood Road). Vol- unteers will go to areas that need immediate attention and cleanup.
If you have questions about the cleanup projects or any of the participating organiza- tions, contact Soua Lee with the Kings River Conservation Dis- trict at (559) 237-5567, Ext. 115.
•••
With school out, limited
summer sessions and many people away on vacation, we're on the hunt for stories and events that would be of interest for people in the Mid Valley Times coverage area. That's anywhere from north of Sanger, east of Reedley and south of Dinuba. If there's an event or happening of inter- est, an interesting personality, an athlete or team of interest with local ties, give us a ring (559-638-2244 at our Reedley office) or electronic message (jon@midvalleypublishing.com, juanita@midvalleypublishing or our publications' Facebook pages). We hope to hear from you!
Jon Earnest is news-sports editor for The Times.
Jon Earnest
But, as always, that's only one man's opinion.
Grateful for the USPS
As a long-time subscriber, I would like to respond to the Opinion piece by Mr. Hall in the July 1 issue. I am very grateful for our USPS, especially since they had had several challeng- es over the past 15 years or so.
In 2006, Congress passed a bill requiring the Post Office to pre-find at least 50 years of retiree benefits, meaning they had to pre-fund benefits for some people who hadn't even been born yet. What other com-
pany is required to do that? The 2006 bill also banned the USPS from providing new consumer products and services.
In May 2020, Louis DeJoy became the Postmaster Gener- al at the urging of the former president. He ordered the dis- mantling of mail-sorting equip- ment that sorted over 30,000 pieces of mail a day, removed many mail drop boxes, and is closing 18 big postal distribu- tion centers. He also owns ma- ny shares of for-profit mail de- livery companies. He is one of
a group of people that has been trying to privatize the USPS for several years. Privatization would hurt rural communities the hardest.
I am very proud of our post- al workers, and I wish we could all agree to help them move forward instead of trying to hold them back. But then again, that's this woman's opinion, and I treasure the mail every day I receive it!
Sonja McHale The Dalles, Ore.
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QUOTE
“Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities.”
— Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), "Vedanta for the Western World," 1945