Mid Valley Times 9-17-20 E-edition

Thursday, September 17, 2020
Vol. 2, No. 12
Superior Court judge rules Fresno County can proceed in effort to halt in-person class instruction
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
A Fresno County Superior Court judge ruled on Sept. 15 that Fresno County can proceed with a preliminary injunction that would force Im- manuel Schools of Reedley to halt in-person class instruction during the COVID-19 pan- demic.
In his eight-page ruling released mid-morn- ing on Tuesday, Judge Tyler Tharpe wrote that "the court determines that the interim harm the County would be likely to sustain if the injunc-
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Parents, family members and supporters of Immanuel Schools gathered at the Immanuel Sports Complex the morning of Sept. 15 for a prayer vigil. That same day, a Fresno County Superior Court judge ruled that the county's health department can proceed with applying for a preliminary injunction and order
Data shows active cases on a downward tic in Tulare County
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
Tulare County appears to be turning the corner in its near-seventh-month battle against the spread of COVID-19.
As of midday on Sept. 15, the county had reported 451 active cases, a decline of 244 from the same period on Sept. 8. While the death rate grew by 11 to 337 in that time frame, hospitalizations dropped by 35 to 118 and eight to 33 in intensive care units. Perhaps most encouraging was the number of persons recovered:
SeeCOVID-19onpage A16
See IMMANUEL on page A16 that would force Immanuel Schools to halt in-person class instruction.
50 cents
Coronavirus Update — Court reversals, reduced hospitalizations
Injunction against Immanuel is OKd
Smoky air lingers from state's wildfires
Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times
Smoke from nearby fires continues to fill the Valley air, making for hazy conditions and poor air quality. Tuesday the Air Quality Index in the region was in the high one hundreds and considered Unhealthy Air Quality. Last Tuesday, just days after the massive Creek Fire began, the Air Quality Index reached hazardous conditions – reaching as high as 400 and even 500 AQI in some parts. The above photo, looking east off Reed Avenue near Sanger, was taken the morning of Sept. 15.
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
As of midday Sept. 15, the Creek Fire in the Sierra Nevada had burned 220,025 acres and containment was increased to 16 percent.
Daniel Ramey, Cal Fire pub- lic information officer, said the cooler weather and increased personnel assisting on the fire likely was the cause for the ad- vance in the firefight.
“We’re starting to get crews in, and there are currently more than 2,000 personnel here assist- ing with this fire,” Ramey said on the morning of Sept. 13.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office also announced on Sept. 15 that evacuation orders and warnings would be changed for several areas near the fire.
According to information from the department, 12 zones that were under evacuation or- ders were being changed to warnings.
An evacuation order — as de- fined by the department — was the movement of community members due to an immediate threat to life or property. A warning is the process of alert- ing community members to a potential threat to life and prop- erty.
Some of the zones where or- ders were reduced to warnings included areas south of Ponder- osa Market, the east side of Au- berry Road and SJ & E Road, and some areas near Frazier Road.
There were 8 zones where the evacuation orders were lifted
See WILDFIRES on page A15
Creek Fire in Sierra at 220,025 acres burned as of Sept. 15
Completion notice formally finishes Dinuba subdivision
By George M. Villagrana
Mid Valley Times
Marquis Subdivision, located at the southeast corner of Englehart Avenue and Kelly Drive in Dinuba, finally is complete.
The Dinuba City Council accepted the Marquis Subdivision improvements as complete and authorized the city engi- neer to file a Notice of Completion with the Tulare County Recorder’s Office at the council meeting on Sept. 8.
In 2006, the city approved construc- tion of the subdivision — a 42-lot gated planned unit development (PUD) con- sisting of smaller lot sizes and 36-foot- wide internal streets that were intended to be private streets. During construc- tion in 2008 the housing market col- lapsed, and the project was abandoned. It had been dormant ever since, with
five homes and on and off site improve- ments partially completed.
In 2018, Stock Holdings LLC pur- chased the subdivision and the city ap- proved an amendment to allow the de- veloper to move forward with the proj- ect. One of the amendments was that the city agreed to accept the internal streets in the subdivision (Osage Circle and Quapan Drive) as public streets.
Final inspection was conducted by the Public Works Inspector on Sept. 1. All public improvements have been found to be substantially complete for permanent maintenance with a one year mainte- nance bond provided by the developer as required by the subdivision agreement.
In other news, the council approved a budget amendment of $3,552 to complete the fencing around College Park Recre-
See SUBDIVISION on page A6
George M. Villagrana / Mid Valley Times
Homes in the Marquis Subdivision are pictured along Dogwood Street near Kelly Drive in Dinuba. The Dinuba City Council authorized the city engineer to file a formal notice of completion of the 42-lot subdivision.
Classifieds - A11 Directory - A10
Legals - A12-14 Sports - A9 Lifestyle - A7-8 Lights & Sirens - A3 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4