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Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654 | 50 cents Famed composer to direct RHS Symphonic Band
Vol. 129, No. 21 | Thursday, May 24, 2018
Joe Hisaishi to conduct band in Bay Area concerts this weekend
Contributed and Staff Report
In a rare opportunity, Reedley High School’s Symphonic Band this holiday weekend will perform with the celebrated Symphony Silicon Valley under the direction of world- renown composer and conductor Joe Hisaishi.
Hisaishi, 67, is known for his lush, modern but classically based scores for films from the acclaimed Studio Ghibli of Japan. In par-
Memorial Day event on May 28 at 9 a.m.
Staff Report
There’s a change in the an- nual Memorial Day ceremony at Reedley Cemetery for 2018.
The event will begin an hour earlier — at 9 a.m. Monday, May 28 — in the veterans section of the cemetery, located at 2185 S. Reed Ave. The start time has moved up an hour so that aging veterans hosting the event won’t have to stand out in the sun too long.
Reedley High School’s Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps will present the colors to open the ceremony. The school’s jazz band also will perform mili- tary songs and “Taps” near the conclusion.
This year’s special speaker is Capt. Skylar “Voodoo” Bautista, a Dinuba resident and commis- sioned officer in the Air Force. He’s the son of Sean and Melissa Bautista, owners of the Hillcrest Christmas Tree Farm and Pump- kin Patch north of Reedley.
The 32-year-old is a 2004 graduate of Reedley High School. He previously attended Great Western Elementary School and Navelencia Middle School. While in high school Bautista was the executive officer for the junior ROTC program, played tuba in the marching band and played baseball. He graduated as a vale- dictorian with a 4.08 grade point average and, in 2008, graduated with honors from Fresno State.
After serving a year manag- ing a team of advisers for After School Programming in Fresno County, he contacted the recruit- ing office at the 144th Fighter Wing in Fresno and began train- ing to become a pilot. He started in the Air Force Pilot training program in 2012, graduating from the program in Texas in 2016.
Bautista and his wife, Saman- tha, moved to Oregon, where Bautista began flying the F-15C Eagle. The Bautistas — with new- born daughter Areni — moved back to the Valley in November 2016.
Bautista has logged more than 250 flight hours in the F-15C and now is a mission-qualified pi- lot. The Bautistas are expecting
See MEMORIAL DAY on page A2
ticular, Hisaishi has worked for more than 30 years with legendary animated filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, who is regarded as one of the greatest directors of animation. His film “Spirited Away,” with a score by Hisaishi, won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
The RHS Symphonic Band will perform a 10-minute segment of Hisaishi’s score for the film “Castle in the Sky.”
“We’re excited,” said Daniel Paulsen, one of the Pirate band directors. And the students, he said, “they’re motivated.”
In its own way, the experience is akin to be-
ing invited to the famous Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena for the 2000 event.
“It’s a similar opportunity,” said Paulsen, calling it a once-in-a-lifetime occasion. “It’s an amazing opportunity that came to us, and we couldn’t say ‘no.’”
The RHS band will perform at each of the five sold-out concerts that begin Friday, May
25, in San Jose and continue through Monday, May 28. The program is entitled “Joe Hisaishi in Concert: Music from the Studio Ghibli Films of Hayao Miyazaki.”
Other Miyazaki films scored by Hisaishi in- clude “Princess Mononoke” and “My Neighbor Totoro.” Montages from Miyazaki’s films will be shown during the performances that also will feature a full orchestra and choir.
Paulsen said the Reedley High ensemble was invited by a Symphony Silicon Valley contact who knows Sam Gipson, another RHS
See SYMPHONIC on page A2
90th RC commencement
Honors students turn their tassels from left to right to signify their graduation from Reedley College on May 18 during the college’s 90th Commencement and Cer- tificate Ceremony at the lawn south of the cafeteria. The college presented about 700 associate degrees and another 1,020 certificates.
About 700 students receive associate degrees May 18
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
Reedley College reached another milestone on May 18, sending off its 90th class of graduates in its Commencement and Certificate Ceremony on the south lawn of the college.
“I thank you for choosing Reedley College,” Sandra Caldwell told the graduates in her fifth and final commencement ceremony as college president. Later this summer, she starts her new job as executive director of Wyoming Community College Commission.
“We believe we are in the life-changing, dream-building business,” Caldwell said. “Every day our administrators, faculty and staff work to motivate and inspire. And it’s you graduates — you are what we mean when we talk about student suc- cess.”
There were unique aspects to the 2018 com- mencement:
• It was the largest graduating class in the col-
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Derek Franks, right, a Reedley College graduate who is president of the Fresno Grizzlies Triple A baseball team, received a distinguished alumnus plaque from Reedley College President Sandra Caldwell.
lege’s history. About 700 students received asso- ciate degrees in arts and science, and more than 1,000 certificates also were presented.
• This year’s ceremony started an hour later
than in previous years. That meant graduates received their diplomas under shining lights on stage while family, friends and supporters looked on.
• For the first time, 24 high school students from the Sanger Unified School District received associate degrees as part of the dual enrollment program. That means the students received col- lege degrees before their high school diplomas — Sanger High’s graduating ceremony is Friday, June 8.
There were stories of inspiration, reflected in the recognition of Juan Guerrero as the college’s Student of Note honoree. The Orange Cove native received his associate of arts degree and trans- fer degree in communications and will major in journalism and mass communications at Fresno State this fall.
Renee Craig-Marius, vice president of Student Services for the college, said Guerrero growing up overcame an environment of violence, gangs and substance abuse. Craig-Marius said that Guerrero told her how books changed his life, and enabled him to return to school.
In his mid-20s, Guerrero attended college
See COLLEGE on page A6
Longtime restaurant owner Brooks on CV Honor Flight
By Jackson Moore
Mid Valley Publishing
If you have eaten at a local Brooks Ranch Restaurant — or many other Valley restaurants such as Perko’s, Country Waffles or the old Happy Steak — you have experienced the product of 90-year-old World War II veteran Chic Brooks.
Brooks joined the Merchant Marines as a 17-year-old from Winsor, Mo. and served on the SS Hobbs Victory. In 1945, the ship was sunk during a Japanese kamikaze attack near Okinawa. The attack claimed the lives of 16 Americans, and Brooks was stranded in the water for an
Korean War veterans Arthur Johnson and Gordon Turner of Reedley participated in the Central Valley Honor Flight in April. They will be profiled in The Exponent on Thursday, June 14.
The public is invited to the RHS Symphonic Band’s final rehearsal in Reedley at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 24, in the school’s Performing Arts Theatre.
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Exponent office closed on May 28
The business office of The Exponent will be closed on Monday, May 28, in observance of Memorial Day.
There will be early dead- lines this week. Classified liner ads and legal notices are due by 10 a.m. Thursday, May 24. Regular and classified display ads are due at noon on Thurs- day, May 24.
The office will reopen for business at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, May 29.
hour until a friendly face came to his aid as part of a rescue ship.
“I had \[gone\] to school with him three years before when I was in the eighth grade,” he said of his rescuer.
Brooks still hadn’t turned 18 when the attack occurred.
“At 17, you don’t realize what’s happening, really — no fear because you aren’t old enough to be scared of anything.
But you learn to appreciate peo- ple like these guys,” he said.
The Fresno resident was one of 22 WWII veterans from the Valley to participate in the Central Valley Honor Flight’s 16thtriponMay7toMay9.The Honor Flight Network is a non- profit organization that sends veterans to Washington D.C. to see the memorials in their honor,
See BROOKS on page A2
Jackson Moore / Mid Valley Publishing
Chic Brooks shared his thoughts while touring Washington, D.C. during the Central Valley Honor Flight in May. The longtime restaurant owner was one of 66 Valley veterans who took the trip.
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