Page 8 - Reedley Exponent 2-15-18 E-edition

PRUNING Continued from page A2
said.
Vogt has family indirectly involved
in farming. Her mother works for Rural Community Insurance Services selling crop insurance and she has uncles who farm in the Kerman area.
“I just kind of thought ‘hey, why not do tree pruning?’” she said. “My sopho- more year, my first time on the tree prun- ing team, I was not good at all. I had no clue what I was doing. But it was fun to learn.”
Vogt credited McHaley for his guid- ance to the team.
“He’s super encouraging,” she said. “We go to our practices, and he takes time out of his day to help us. Answer any questions that we might have. He helps us stay calm before all of our competi- tions.”
Balakian had a direct family tie to get him interested in the fruit tree pruning competition. His cousin, Hunt- er Ward, was a member of the 2017 champion team. Balakian joined the program as a freshman.
“I wanted to do it again this year and thought I had a pretty good chance,” he said. Balakian’s family has grown stone fruit in the Traver area for years and re- cently has shifted an emphasis to grow- ing almonds.
“I have the background, but I really hadn’t done any [tree pruning]. At least not directly,” he said.
Sorensen’s father grows plums, peaches and nectarines in the Parlier- Sanger area. The family also has ex- panded growing operations to citrus and almonds.
“I already had an interest in tree pruning, so I could appreciate more of what he does,” she said of her father. “By doing this competition, I’ve definitely grown closer with my teammates.”
Myers said event organizers and other teams praised the development of Immanuel High as a dominant force in fruit tree pruning.
“They were telling us at the competi-
Immanuel High School / Photo Contributed
Immanuel High School’s FFA program celebrates on Feb. 3 after a state-winning perfor- mance in the fruit tree pruning competition at Fresno State. Standing from left are coach Jake McHaley, sophomore Curtis Balakian, junior Ashleigh Sorensen, junior Drew Vogt, senior Preston Pauls and coach/adviser Jean Myers. Kneeling from left are seniors Adam Simonian, Hunter Ward and Callie Huebert. Simonian, Ward and Huebert were members of the 2017 state champion team and competed this year in vine pruning competition.
PLANT Continued from page A1
“Aside from having to wait coming from the west, they can come right into the facility,” he said. Snod- grass and commissioners agreed that there would be no backup of trucks entering the staging area from South Avenue.
The expansion project also will include moving existing employee park- ing from the west side en- trance off of Reed Avenue to the northeast portion of the property. New em- ployee parking will be east of truck loading area at the north end of the plant.
The new cold storage fa- cility would use ammonia re- frigerant. The project would be consistent with the city’s general plan and municipal code.
Snodgrass gave a brief biographical presentation about Sun Pacific to the com- mission. He said the compa- ny is one of the largest cit- rus packers in California and will specialize in kiwis. The company also packs lemons along with both navel, Valen- cia oranges. The company grows 400 to 500 acres or or- ganic grape in Reedley, and is home to the Cutie variety of orange.
RECALL Continued from page A1
the Reedley Planning Com- mission approved a condi- tional use permit and envi- ronmental assessment for the facility.
Residents were vocal in their opposition. Ken Baker — police chaplain and local pastor who would run the facility if it becomes a re- ality — pulled that permit
Snodgrass said fruit cur- rently is being stored offsite and brought in. Once the cold storage facility is operating, he said, the truck deliveries will be spread out over a lon- ger time period. The harvest and shipping season begins in September and lasts into winter. The facility will be relatively quiet during the summer.
Some discussion was held regarding the residen- tial subdivision planned for jus south of the plant. That subdivision will have its own dedicated right of way, Moore said, and a dividing wall at the north end of the subdivision will reduce any noise coming from the plant and trucks.
The Planning Commis- sion opened the meeting with election of new officers for 2018. Outgoing chair Alberto Custodio nominated Perez as the new chair, and commis- sioners approved the move on a 4-0 vote. Barcellos was nominated as vice chair and was unanimously approved by commissioners.
This week, Moore an- nounced that the Thursday, Feb. 15, regular meeting would be canceled because of a lack of agenda items. The commission’s next scheduled meeting is Thurs- day, March 1, at 5 p.m.
to make revisions and get more feedback from the public.
Baker and the city brought another resolution for a conditional use permit and environmental assess- ment before the commis- sion on Feb. 1, and commis- sioners approved it on a 3-1 vote. The resolutions go to the City Council at a future meeting, perhaps as soon as Feb. 27.
tion that we seem to be creating a tree pruning dynasty,”she said. “In the Reed- ley area, you think of fruit trees and ag- riculture. It’s part of our identity.”
Myers said the competition to make the school’s pruning teams has spread among the FFA members.
“The idea we have for the term is ‘next in line,’” she said. “We have an A, B and C team, like second or third string in sports.”
“It was competitive between all
eight of us because we were always moving in position,” Pauls said of prepa- ration for the event. “Actually, our sec- ond team – our B team — would have gotten second place if they had counted their scores.”
“It’s really rewarding that all of our hard work paid off,” Sorensen said. “We all really wanted to achieve that goal, and knowing that we met it with the hard work and teamwork we had is re- ally amazing.”
The Reedley Exponent A8 Thursday, February 15, 2018
Capsules of 2018 Greater Reedley Chamber award winners
Contributed
Here are brief biographies of the 2018 Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce award winners in the words of people nominating each winner.:
CITIZEN OF THE YEAR Jean Clemons
“Jean is totally devoted to com-
munity activities in whatever man- ner she can provide support. She participates as a member of numer- ous boards and service organizations. She is an outstanding communicator and facilitator.
“Jean is a member of the Reedley Rotary Club, and is involved with the Reedley Pet and Storybook Parade.”
JUNIOR CITIZEN
OF THE YEAR
Emma Reynaga “Emma Reynaga is at the top of
her class academically and strives for excellence with whatever she puts her mind to. She participates to her fullest in clubs and athletics on the Reedley High School campus. Emma can be seen on the parade route as part of the Reedley High School Marching Band.
“Emma has volunteered over 40 hours of community service through the LEO Club. She has held food drives, adopted and cleaned a por-
tion of the Reedley Rails to Trails Parklway and lent a helping hand to various charities and organizations around the city of Reedley.
“Miss Reynaga plans to serve her country in the armed forces as she has served her local community. She is an exemplary students and junior community member.”
BUSINESS OF THE YEAR Rabobank “Rabobank is one of those busi-
nesses that is supportive of the com- munity but often behind the scenes and therefore not often recognized. Rabobank strongly believes that you should give back to the community that you work and do business in. There are numerous local events and organizations that they support and donate funds and time to help succeed.
“Among the events they have sponsored are the annual Fiesta Rabobank Walk/Run, the College to Parkway Run/Walk, the Lions Club Blossom Bike Ride, Reedley High School Sober Grad Night, and the Reedley Rotary annual auction and dinner.
“Organizations they sponsor in- clude the Reedley Chapter of Golden State YMCA, the Reedley College softball program, United Health Cen- ters, the Reedley Historical Society, River City Theatre Company, the
Reedley chapter of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Fresno County, the Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce, the Cpt. Joe Lusk II Memorial Founda- tion, the Reedley Downtown Asso- ciation, Reedley Social Services, the Dinamite Sports Club, and the Reed- ley High basketball booster club.”
AG BUSINESS OF THE YEAR Brandt Farms
“Brandt Farms was established in
1941 as a packer and four years later began growing and packing their own nectar variety of peaches. Seven de- cades later, they have three genera- tions of experience in growing, pack- ing and marketing the best California peaches, nectarines and plums.
“Brandt Farms have devel- oped Grape Jammers (Thomcord grapes),a mix of two of America’s favorite grapes in one. It combines the flavor of a Concord grape with the seedless texture of Thompson.
“The company features three generations of extremely communi- ty-minded and community support- ive farmers.”
ENTREPRENEUR
OF THE YEAR Michael’s Environmental “Chris Boss has contracted with
the city of Reedley to provide acci- dent cleanup at no cost to the city. He responds to all accidents reported to the police department and provides
cleanup services including removing hazardous materials and debris, re- storing the area to its original state.
“The program has been called ‘cutting edge’ by Reedley City Man- ager Nicole Zieba and is the first of its kind in the area. Chris has done a phenomenal job of obtaining training and certification in hazardous mate- rial cleanup.
“The program is an excellent addi- tion to the city and will help decrease the amount of time the Public Works department is pulled away from other tasks to clean the city’s roadway.”
EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR Sandra Caldwell, Reedley College “President Sandra Caldwell
strongly connects Reedley College with the Reedley community. She has helped established new programs needed by the students of the area. She is most [the] innovative and an energetic leader of an educational organization in the Valley.
“Under her leadership, Reedley College has been named the number two community college in the state by the website schools.com.”
HEALTH PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR Gnardog Crossfit Gym “Matthew Tuttle has brought to
Reedley more than just products and services. He brought a service that helps out community become
CLEMONS Continued from page A1
and a Reedley Rotarian, de- scribed Clemons.
“She puts her heart and soul into everything that she does. She’s very deserving of the award,” said Dodd, whose Rabobank branch is being honored by the Chamber as Business of the Year for 2018.
Clemons’ latest community involvement is as a commis- sioner with the Reedley Com- munity Services board. She began in 2016 with the newly formed board, which previ- ously consisted of the Parks and Recreation Commission and Commission on Aging.
“It’s a whole different thing because it’s a city group rather than a service club,” she said. “When you think of
everything it includes, it’s a huge umbrella.”
Clemons’ involvement with the YMCA Committee in- cludes raising money to send children to Lake Sequoia and sponsorship of the popular Reedley Storybook and Pet Parade. The committee also co-sponsors a seniors’ Senior Prom held near the end of each summer.
In 1997, the chamber named Clemons its Woman of the Year for her community involvement and work with the school district. During her 36 years with KCUSD, she was principal at Jefferson Ele- mentary School for nine years and Alta Elementary School for 18 years.
“Iknowalotofkids,andI know a lot of parents. I know a lot of kids that now are par-
ents,” she said.
Clemons said she’ll some-
times recognize a former stu- dent by their eyes or facial features.
“I’ll ask, ‘Were you at Alta or Jefferson?’ Sometimes I can tell by age. It’s always fun to see alumni.”
Clemons remains active in her church. Christ Lutheran Church, where she serves as vice president on the church council. Her other active in- volvement is with the Kings Canyon Unified Education Foundation board. The foun- dation board distributes grant
money to KCUSD teachers who apply for the grants and also distributes scholarships.
One of Clemons’ passions is playing her vintage accor- dion which is more than 100 years old. She performs in a Scandinavian band that ap- pears at festivals in Kings- burg and Solvang. The band also plays for the Danish Dancers in Fresno.
“I learned as a child, and then my accordion sat in the closet for years,” she said. “Then you get it out and start playing again. And that’s been fun.”
healthier and promotes community service. He has changed my mind about Reedley and has given me a new desire to love this city. My mind- set about Reedley only changed be- cause of Gnardog.
“Mr. Tuttle says many times, “We love Reedley.” He also holds numer- ous events to fundraise for local indi- viduals and groups. His business has grown exponentially and has brought in individuals from neighboring cit- ies as members as well, which in turn helps our economic growth as we all hang out together in Reedley after working out. The owners of Gnardog deserve this award.”
REEDLEY BEAUTIFICATION AWARD
Hotel Burgess
“The changes that Jose and
Wendy Burgess, the new owners of Hotel Burgess, have made to their establishment are incredible. The historic hotel truly is worthy of the acknowledgement and the award af- ter reviving what had fallen to the wayside for much too long.
“Awareness of the beautiful ac- commodations, with many original features, hopefully will drive more people into the city of Reedley. This is especially so if they are able to pair of with the opera house and continue breakfast packages with the Main Street Cafe.”
2018 Annual
A V A R D S DINNER
Saturday, February 24, 2018 Reedley College Student Center
Join us as we celebrate the people and businesses that make our community special!
Social Hour - 5 p.m. • Dinner & Awards Presentations - 6 p.m. Semi-Formal Event
Featuring: Musical entertainment by our homegrown talent!
Tickets $45 per person or $325 per table of 8
For more information call: (559) 638-3548 or email: info@reedleychamberofcommerce.com
Sponsored by:
“Prime Time”
Reedley Youth Cheerleading Sign-Ups!
Lead don’t follow, come try-out for 2018 Reedley Youth Cheer Squad!!
Upcoming 3rd-6th graders welcome!
SIGN-UPS
Fri., Feb. 9th - 5pm-7pm Sat., Feb. 10th - 10am-Noon Fri., Feb. 16th - 5pm-7pm Sat., Feb. 17th - 10am-Noon
Friday Nights! Proudly featuring U.S.D.A. Choice
When:
5018
213977
213926
“Atheletes lift weights, Cheerleaders lift ATHLETES!”
“PRIME RIB” From 4:30 p.m. till it lasts!
Where: Pioneer Park (under patio) Try-OutLocationTBA
Questions:ContactCheerRep.MicaelaTellez559-281-4240
Open 6 a.m . to 10 p.m . 9 1 0 N o rth A lta , D in u b a • 5 9 1 -2 1 2 2
Registration Fee $25