Mid Valley Times 9-23-21 E-edition

Thursday, September 23, 2021
50 cents
Vol. 3, No. 12
Welcome home, Tom Flores!
Sanger
celebrates
with newest
Pro Football
Hall of Famer
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
The weekend thousands of Sanger residents, Central Val- ley football fans and "Raider Nation" members had waited years to experience finally ar- rived on Sept. 17-18.
Tom Flores, Sanger native and the man whose trailblaz- ing success coaching the Oak- land and Los Angeles Raiders to a pair of Super Bowl titles in the 1980s earned him a long-anticipated berth in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, re- turned to his childhood home to share the experience and be honored by the city.
Flores tossed a ceremonial coin flip before Sanger High's football game against Kenne- dy High from Delano on Sept. 17, then a day later was hon- ored by thousands in down- town Sanger (see column on page A4).
More photos of Flores' cel- ebration are on page A18.
ABOVE: Tom Flores waved to the Sanger High School cheering section on the west side of his namesake stadium before the Sept. 17 game against Kennedy Delano. Flores performed the ceremonial pregame coin flip for both teams.
LEFT: From his wheelchair, Flores applauded the large throng who turned out in down- town Sanger on Sept. 18 for a celebration honoring his Pro Football Hall of Fame in- duction. Flores was honored with the dedi- cation of a mural and the renaminh of a por- tion of 7th Street as Tom Flores Boulevard.
Photos by Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
Reedley Police Chief Joe Garza, left, looked on as Brandon Purs- sell with the Fresno County Sher- iff's Office discussed the Sept. 13 officer involved shooting incident in Reedley during a news confer- ence in Fresno on Sept. 15.
Resident
shot in
Reedley
burglary
Man hit by single shot while police looked for suspect
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
In a Sept. 15 joint press con- ference at the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office headquarters, detectives
Greater Reedley Chamber dedicates new locale
Erik Valencia, president and CEO for Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce, smiled as he prepared to cut the ceremonial rib- bon to dedicate the grand opening of the organization's new office in downtown Reedley on Sept. 17. Valencia is flanked by Jose Plascencia (left), chairman of the Greater Reedley Chamber board, and Dr. Joaquin Arambula, 31st Assembly District rep- resentative. The new office at 1044 G St. has 4,000 square feet of space, triple the size of the former 11th Street location, and includes a classroom, conference room, gift shop, staff worksta- tions and storage space. The chamber hosted a grand opening event at the office after the ribbon cutting, allowing the public to tour the facility.
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
with the sher-
iff’s office and
the Reedley
Police Depart-
ment gave de-
tails about an
early morn-
ing officer in-
volved shoot-
ing on Sept. 13 Luna that injured a
Reedley homeowner after an officer mistook him for a bur- glary suspect.
“The Reedley Police De- partment requested that the sheriff’s office take over this portion of the investigation re- garding specifically the shoot- ing,” said Joe Garza, Reedley’s police chief. “Their assistance in this investigation will allow
See SHOOTINGonpageA6
Joaquin
Dinuba's Raisin Day returns in a reduced program
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
It's on a lesser scale from its tradi- tional format, but Dinuba's annual Rai- sin Day celebration is returning this year after a year's absence because of the coronavirus pandemic.
While there won't be a full parade this year, there will be small proces- sional parade in Rose Ann Vuich Park on Saturday, Sept. 25. Otherwise, the event is returning to a four-day format as in past years, according to Heathe Jones with the Dinuba Chamber of Commerce.
"After careful consideration about staffing concerns, parade participa- tion, and additional exposure risks
we have decided to cancel the parade through town," the chamber announced in a news release early this week. "However, the carni- val and park festivi- ties are still taking place."
Jones said the
parade procession-
al will include (not
necessarily in or-
der) the Dinuba Police Department, Dinuba High School NJROTC march- ing unit and color guard, Dinuba Fire Department, Dinuba Mayor and
Common Council- ors, Miss Dinuba and her court, Miss Cinco de Mayo and her court, and the Dinuba High School marching band.
There will pre- cautions requested of Raisin Day at- tendees.
"We appreciate our community part- ners for helping us
bring this event forward in the safest way possible," the chamber statement read. "We know many of you are look- ing for ways to get outdoors with your
family. We do ask that you wear a mask regardless of vaccination status. We re- alize this is an outdoor event but with COVID cases still on the rise, we want to take every precaution that we can."
A carnival for children and fami- lies will be set up in the park all four days, and there will be a full num- ber of craft and food vendors selling items on Friday and Saturday. Thurs- day and Sunday, there will be limited food vendors on hand.
Jones said there will be tables at the festival, but they are being spread out around the grounds in order to of- fer better social distancing. Attend- ees can bring law chairs, but orga- nizers ask that no tents or coolers be brought to the event.
DINUBA RAISIN DAYS
When: Carnival runs Thursday through Sunday, Sept. 23-26. Parade in the park on Saturday, Sept. 25, 10:30 a.m. Craft and food vendors will be in the
park on Friday and Saturday with limited food vendors on Thursday and Sunday. Where: Rose Ann Vuich Park, 855 East El Monte Way Admission: Free
Classifieds - A9 Directory - A10
Legals - A12-16 Sports - A11, A17
Lifestyle - A7 Lights & Sirens - A3, A5
Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4