Page 1 - Reedley Exponent 4-11-19 E-edition

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Vol. 130, No. 14 | Thursday, April 11, 2019
www.reedleyexponent.com
Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654 | 50 cents Shootings on April 6 leave 1 dead, 2 wounded
Incidents occurred just hours
apart in east Reedley area
By Juanita Adame
juanita@midvalleypublishing.com
Four reported shootings in the last month. One person dead, three wounded, and a bizarre turn of events has kept the Reedley Police De- partment working around the clock as they try to gain control of the influx of violence that has
Antennas added
to water towers
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
The Reedley City Council on April 9 unanimously approved the installation of additional telecommunication equipment onto the historic Reedley water towers.
The city will sign an agree- ment with new Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC — or AT&T — that is initially for 20 years and has an extension option of two addition- al five-year terms. The anten- nas would be about 80 feet off the ground but below each main tower tank.
Paul Melikian, assistant city manager, said the public input on making sure the towers keep their aesthetic quality was well- received and written into the deal. The new agreement will give the city about $1,350 per month — $16,200 annually — and will increase by 2 percent for each year of the agreement.
Money from the agreement – which would come to more than $650,000 through a poten- tial 30-year span, would go to maintain and cover the increas- ing costs of keeping the near- 100-year old towers in good con- dition.
Melikian said that the city ne- gotiated an additional provision that should the city experience a natural disaster or casualty event involving the towers, that AT&T has the option to pay ad- ditional repair costs if damage exceeds $30,000.
Some residents were ada- mant about a minimal amount of aesthetic damage to the towers. Anthony Jewell of the Reedley Historical Society had told the Reedley Planning Commission last month that the city should avoid “incremental creep” with continu- ing additions to the towers.
The city has agreed to avoid adding any more antennas to the water towers in the future.
plagued the city in early 2019.
The most recent of the incidents — initially
believed to be gang related — took place on the evening of April 6.
“Our dispatch center received multiple calls of shots fired,” said Lt. Hector Aleman with the Reedley Police Department. “Callers were saying that two people were shot multiple times, in the 1600 block of East Springfield [Av- enue].”
Aleman added that officers responded within a few minutes and found two male sub-
jects in the driveway with multiple gunshot wounds. Both survived their injuries.
“Currently our suspect description, is one male suspect, likely Hispanic, early 20s, 5’2” to 5’4”, regular build, white shirt. We were not given an accurate description on the color of hat,” said Aleman. “Witnesses also said he had a baseball cap, possibly black.”
A couple hours after the Springfield shoot- ing, officers were dispatched to a home in the area of Duff and Sunset Avenues.
“We then responded to that call and the in-
dividual was declared deceased at the hospital a short time later. We weren’t sure if this was a gang retaliation because both of these loca- tions — the Sunset and Duff location and the Springfield location — are known to have a his- tory of gang members living there,” Aleman said at the time.
“Opposite gangs, so it seemed to us this was likely a rapid retaliation from the first shoot- ing, and at that point we thought to investigate
See SHOOTINGS on page A3
A new RMCHS campus
City and education leaders, Reedley Middle College High School students and staff and community representatives turned out for the April 3 grand opening and ribbon cutting of the new campus in the northwest portion of Reedley College.
Facility opens on April 3, less than 13 months after breaking ground
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing
Less than 13 months after the first ceremonial shovel hit the ground, the new Reedley Middle College High School was formally dedicated the morning of April 3 before a large crowd of education, city and community leaders — and a group of eager students ready to move into their new home.
The hour-long festivities were capped by another cer- emony — members of the Kings Canyon Unified School District board, student reps and educational leaders — cut- ting a ribbon to pave the way for tours of the new campus.
Attendees checked out the brand-new classrooms, labs, offices and outdoor areas.
John Campbell, KCUSD superintendent, called it a “great day” for Reedley and those who teamed in making the facility a reality – KCUSD and Reedley College, the State Center Community College District and the city of Reed- ley.
“Days like this happen be- cause of hard-working people who put kids first,” he said.
Campbell also praised the initial vision of Juan Garza, retired KCUSD superinten- dent, in quickly bringing the concept of the school to real-
See RMCHS on page A6
John Campbell, su- perintendent for the Kings Canyon Unified School District, spoke to attendees at the April 3 dedication and ribbon cutting for the new Reedley Middle College HighSchool campus. Campbell said that “days like this happen because of hard-working people who put kids first.”
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Denny Mason / Photo Contributed
Crews clean trash from encampment near Kings River
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
A private cleanup crew collect trash and debris that collected on remote private property just east of the Kings River and south of the Manning Bridge on April 8.Thetwo-dayprojectremoved trashleftbyhomelesscampingalongtheriver.
Project clears debris from private property while abiding by fed law
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
About seven months after a federal appeals court ruling sidetracked Reedley’s plans to dispose of trash left by the homeless on city-owned property along the Kings River, crews were able to clean out debris left on private property along the east bank of the river south of Manning Avenue.
On April 8 and 9, members of a private cleaning or- ganization collected clothing, baskets, broken furniture, boxes and other items from multiple encampments in wooded locales along the riverside. Reedley Police and the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office had a bulldozer stack a trail of dirt to make a path down near the river where the collected trash could be transported up the hill.
Members of the Fresno County Environmental Health department were present to oversee the opera- tion.
Reedley police Sgt. Gary Kincaid said that law en- forcement had the permission to clear the debris as it was on private property. However, officials still needed to place signs notifying homeless people and vagrants staying in the area that any personal property collect- ed by the county will be stored for 90 days after the cleanup.
The same sign — posted by the sheriff’s office the morning of April 8 near the encampments — said that “any individuals loitering or residing in this area may be trespassing, and must immediately move off this site and remove any personal property they own.”
For the two days, Fresno County oversaw the clean- up of the area, which included the removal of all in- dividuals, personal property, temporary shelters, junk and/or garbage from the area.
While the city or county can discourage homeless people from camping and residing by the river, they are unable to enforce this ban on public property. That’s because of a ruling last September by the U.S. 9th Cir- cuit Court of Appeals that a camping ban ordinance
See CLEANUP on page A6
Classifieds - B5 Directory - A5 Legals - B6-7
Sports - B3-4 Lights & Sirens - A3 Obituaries - A2 Opinion - A4