Page 7 - Mid Valley Times 9-23-21 E-edition

Thursday, September 23, 2021
The View From Here
I took a sip of my coffee on the (very early) morning of Sept. 13. The po-
MVT Staff Report
The Reedley Historical So- ciety will celebrate another year of operation with its an- nual fundraising dinner meet- ing at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 7, at the Reedley Opera House.
Honored speaker for the evening is local author James M. Spitze of Minkler. His fourth book. "Treasures en route to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks," was published in June and has
been selling well at the Reed- ley Museum. The book con- tains interesting facts, pic- tures and historical informa- tion that would appeal to resi- dents of the area and Central Valley.
All four of Spitze's books have focused on some aspect of California history. He is a member of numerous histori- cal societies, the most notable being E Clampus Vitus, or "The Clampers."
Spitze is a fourth genera- tion Californian, married to a
fifth generation Californian. He grew up in Berkeley and is a graduate of the Univer- sity of California. He and his wife of 54 years live on their ranch, Palm Lane Farms, near Minkler.
The event is open to mem- bers of the Historical Society and the community. Reserva- tions can be made at the Reed- ley Museum on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon, or by calling anytime at (559) 638-1913 or (559) 318-7165.
lice scan-
ner was
going off
in the background, it was just after 5 a.m. when I hap- pened to catch the tail end of some type of shots fired call and recognized the streets being broadcast.
Manning, Ponderosa ar- ea. It was still dark out and I decided to drive over and check it out. “No one should be out there,” I thought to myself. Meaning no other news outlets. So I decided on a pair of jeans and left my grey sweatshirt on. It has a picture of several glasses of red wine on the front and underneath reads "Group therapy," ohandIhadman- aged to spill coffee on it just before I left, but I reassured myself no one would be out there to see that and no one would care.
It's mostly a sweatshirt I wear around the house, Its comfortable and pretty worn out. As I pulled into the parking lot on Manning Avenue, I was quickly cor- rected when I saw two news vans parked near a string of patrol vehicles with their lights flashing. I regretted leaving my dirty sweatshirt on but it was too late.
“I should have picked a more decent top,” I thought to myself. I met up with a fellow news friend and she told me there had been an officer involved shooting and a suspect was still at large.
The scene was active and far from over. I quickly updated our local Reedley Exponent audience about what was happening and the questions began to flood in. People were just waking up, it was Monday morning and most residents were prepar- ing for the workday ahead.
We later learned that a man by the name of Joaquin Luna broke into the Ace Hardware store and officers chased him into the nearby neighborhood. (Story on page A1.)
It was an interesting sto- ry to cover. How must the officer feel after the inci- dent? Will Luna be charged with any additional crimes since his actions caused the injury of the homeowner?
Throughout the rest of the day on Sept. 13, I kept thinking back to that morn- ing's events. How it will all play out? We don't know just yet we will have to wait for the investigation to be com- pleted.
Juanita Adame
Reedley Historical Society to host dinner
James M. Spitze
Sanger's Tom Flores enjoys community welcome
Photo by Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
From left, Tom Flores, and his wife Barbara posed for a photo dur- ing the Sept. 18 welcome home celebration for the former NFL coach and pro football hall of famer.
Reedley 4H Club shows off window display at Sam's Shoe Store
Tribute to country women at opera house
Photo Contributed
A Legends: Grande Ole Opry performance, honoring women of country music is taking place now through Oct. 3 at the Reedley Opera House. For ticket information contact (559) 638-6500 or visit RCTCReedley.com. From left, Cady Mejias, Chrystal Laita, Au- dra Jones Abby Cantu, and Jacquie Nuckles in front row.
Photo of the week
Contributed
The Reedley 4-H club has finished their window display for Na- tional 4-H week. The display is available for viewing at Sam's Shoe Store in downtown Reedley. From left, Logan Kuykend- all Jonathan Hofer, Kaycie Huffman, Taylor Cockrell, and Harlan Hudgins
Kevorkian Open House to be held on Oct. 2
MVT Staff Report
The Reedley Airport Commission has announced the return of the Korky Kev- orkian Open House & Bar- becue at Reedley Municipal Airport on Saturday, Oct. 2. The event, canceled in 2020 by the COVIDS-19 pandemic, will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the airport, 4557 S. Frankwood Ave. north of Reedley. Admission is free to the event (donations are
welcome) and a barbecue hot dog meal will be served at 11 a.m. Free airplane rides are available from 9 a.m. to noon, and guest speaker and aero- batic flyer Susan Bell will give a presentation at noon. Free airplane rides will take place from 9 a.m. to noon; sign up at the information ta- ble as availability is limited.
For more information, call the city of Reedley (559) 637- 4203 or email Kayl.cheney@ reedley.ca.gov.
Contributed
This photo of 5-month-old Vader, a labradoodle who was caught being a bad pup playing in the mud, was sent in by his human, Ali Buller. Have a photo you'd like featured? Email juanita@mid- valleypublishing.com.