Mid Valley Times 12-3-20 E-edition

Thursday, December 3, 2020
Vol. 2, No. 23
Coronavirus Update — A Purple Central Valley May Face Sanctions
Cases uptick in area, prep sports postponed
50 cents
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
COVID-19 positive cases in Fres- no and Tulare Counties continued to climb last week to mirror state num- bers, and one of the immediate fall-
Popular
KCUSD
educator
dies in
crash
MVT Staff Report
The Kings Canyon Unified School District is mourning the death of a beloved teach- er who died in a Nov. 25 traf- fic accident in rural Fresno County.
Lorene "Lori" Negrete, 57, of Del Rey,
was killed at
about 6 p.m.
outs means that prep sports' already delayed seasons are pushed back an- other month.
The California Interscholastic Fed- eration announced early evening on Dec. 1 that the California Department of Public Health has postponed the
issuance of its updated youth sports guidance. That means the CDPH is un- likely to issue guidance allowing for schools to return to full practice until after Jan. 1, 2021 at the earliest.
"Thus, all full practice and competi- tion start dates are officially on hold un-
til updated guidance is issued," the CIF news statement read. Practices for a de- layed fall sports season initially were to begin next week, and prep football was to begin the first week of January. It's
SeeCOVIDonpage A8
DUSD
awaiting
county
waiver
By George M. Villagrana
Mid Valley Times
Dinuba Unified School Dis- trict's waiver to transition to in-person learning on Jan. 19 for TK-6 students is still pend- ing, according to DUSD Su- perintendent Joe Hernandez.
"Our waiver is still pend- ing. They [Tulare County Health Department] are sup- posed to turn it around fairly quickly," Hernandez said.
In order to staff classrooms, the district had a survey for parents to fill out whether their child would like to continue distance learning or transi- tion to in-person. In a letter to the parents it stated, please be aware that your child will need to continue with the distance or blended in-person schedule op- tion you choose for the remain- der of the school year unless we are able to make a full return. The letter went on to read, "we recognize this is an important decision and you will need time to think and discuss the options with your family.
"Our parents are being sur- veyed and we are starting to contact parents who did not respond," said Hernandez.
If the waiver is approved, the district will allow for TK-6 schools in the district to open with strict health and safety guidelines.
At the moment, there is no 7-12 waiver option.
Late autumn leaves
when the car
she was driv-
ing struck a
semi-truck
pulling a
semi-box
trailer that
had pulled
out in front
of her at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Temper- ance Avenue. She died at the scene. The driver of the big rig, 29-year-old Pardeep Ku- mar of Fremont, is facing charges of vehicular man- slaughter.
Negrete had been with the district for more than 20 years, first as a substitute and then a full-time teacher for more than 17 years. She spent 12 years at Reedley High School, six years at the adult
See NEGRETE on page A8
Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times
Lorene 'Lori' Negrete
With just more than two weeks until the start of winter, autumn colors have been on full display across the Valley — with fallings leaves of orange, yellow and red. The above photo was captured in an orchard near Reed and Annadale avenues, east of Sanger, last week.
Sanger Toyland Parade canceled
MVT Staff Report
The Sanger District Chamber of Commerce an- nounced on Nov. 30 that this year's 73rd annual Toyland Parade — scheduled for Sat- urday, Dec. 5 — is canceled to protect members of the community during the ongo- ing COVID-19 pandemic.
"Our board of directors support these actions as we are acting out of precau- tion and feel it is necessary to keep everyone safe from exposure," Tammy Wolfe,
chamber president and CEO, stated in a news release.
Wolfe said in the release that the recent rise in posi-
tive COVID cases in Fres- no County, along with the
See CANCEL on page A2
Dinuba parade a go on Saturday
MVT Staff Report
The time has come this weekend for the annual Electric Light Christmas Parade hosted by the The city of Dinuba's Commu- nity Services Department.
This year’s theme is “Rocking and Rolling Through 2020.”
The drive-thru Reverse Parade is Saturday, Dec. 5, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The route will begin on
See PARADEonpageA8
Reedley welcomes Christmas season with reverse parade
Santa Claus waved at passing vehicles from his perch near the intersec- tion of G and 12th Streets during the Reedley "Holiday Lane" reverse parade on Nov.
28 in downtown Reedley.
Danny Jimenez / Photo Contributed
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
A line of vehicles, backed up well more than a mile to the northeast as far as Frank- wood Avenue, turned out to participate in the Reedley "Holiday Lane" reverse parade on Nov. 28.
The parade included the lighting of the city's Christ- mas Tree, moved this year to in front of Pioneer Park along G Street across from the po- lice station. The 7 p.m. cer- emony was followed by the reverse parade, which fea-
tured traffic jams continuing well after the parade exhibits closed off at 9 p.m.
The route followed its usu- al path down G Street from 8th to 12th streets, with ve- hicles passing lighted exhib- its on display along the main parade route.
This parade and tree light- ing capped off a day of ac- tivities downtown, including many stores open for Small Business Saturday.
Related story on Page A9, More photos on Page A16
Classifieds - A11
Directory - A12
Legals - A13-15
Sports - A10
Lifestyle - A9 Health & Fitness - A6-7 Lights & Sirens - A3, A5
Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4