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Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654 | 50 cents City reps preparing 2019-20 budget for council
Vol. 130, No. 20 | Thursday, May 23, 2019
Second budget workshop is
scheduled for Tuesday, June 4
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
It’s a late spring tradition. The Reedley City Council listens to budget presentations from the city’s various departments. And Reedley’s 2019-2020 fiscal planning already is underway.
On May 21, the council listened to presen-
Assembly
member
Arambula
acquitted
Staff Report
Joaquin Arambula is back on the job representing California’s 31st Assembly District – which in- cludes Reedley — after being ac- quitted last week
of a misdemean-
or chid abuse
charge involving
his 7-year-old
daughter.
A jury spent
less than a day
deliberating on
May 16 before
finding the Fres-
no Democrat not
guilty of abuse.
The trial in Fresno County Superior Court had lasted nine days, and cul- minated a five-month legal battle for the assemblyman. Arambula was arrested in early December after officials at his daughter’s el- ementary school notified police af- ter speaking with the girl.
The Fresno County District Attorney’s office filed charges of misdemeanor abuse in March. Ar- ambula defending himself in media interviews shortly after his arrest, saying he only spanked his daugh- ter on the buttocks. The DA’s of- fice prosecuted the case, alleging Arambula caused a small bruise on the daughter’s temple. The daugh- ter, other family members and law enforcement testified in the case.
Arambula thanked his fam- ily, his attorneys and the jury at a news conference after the verdict was announced.
“To the members of the jury, I appreciated your service,” he said. “I trusted in the system, and today my faith has been restored. Thank you for recognizing that I am a good father and did nothing to harm my daughter.”
Arambula asked the media for privacy with his family.
“It is time for me to do what I do best as a father,” he said. “To sit and to play with my girls on the ground, to tuck them into bed tonight, to read them a story, and
See ARAMBULA on page A2
tations on 2019-20 budgets from three city de- partments – Public Works, Engineering and Community Development. In addition, City Manager Nicole Zieba presented the bud- get presentation to the council and received comment while the Administrative Services department also gave a budget summer and financial position for the upcoming fiscal year.
The second budget workshop — featuring presentations from remaining departments including public safety agencies like fire and police — is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tues-
day, June 4. The next regular council meeting will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 28.
•••
In addition to the latest phase of the Al-
mond Grove project, the City Council approved resolutions signifying notice of completion for two notable projects: the demolition of the Roy- al Valley building and the construction of the new Cricket Hollow boat launch facility.
The demolition of the building that once housed packing operations and cold storage for Royal Valley had been put out to bid in
October 2018, and the actual demolition be- gin on Jan. 21. Hazardous materials were re- moved and disposed, with all concrete foun- dation taken from the site that eventually will be used for parking.
The Cricket Hollow boat launch consists of a single lane v-grooved boat launch ramp, boat ramp extension, restroom and acces- sible parking spaces and walkways. Final cost of the construction was just more than $935,000 and was completed in time for the summer water recreation season.
Paving way for feedback
May’s Town Hall allows attendees to sound off on Reedley’s streets
By Juanita Adame
juanita@midvalleypublishing.com
There were approximately 25 people who attended the latest town hall meeting on the evening of May 20 at the Reedley Community Cen- ter’s Senior Room.
The May topic was “Where the Rubber Hits the Road,” and city offi- cials elaborated on various items in- cluding where funding comes from for road projects, and how those projects are prioritized.
“Over the last five years the city has invested, with funding and grants, twenty six million dollars into the roadway system and we’re pretty proud of the fact that we’ve been able to do that,” said John Robertson, engineer for the city of Reedley.
“Most of the funding that we get is for maintenance, the asphalt, the paint striping the gutter drainage, a large portion of the funds we do re- ceive, the federal funds, does go to taking care of those items.”
Robertson added that portion of funding sources also come from federal grants, Measure C money, vehicle impact fees, and recent gas tax increases.
“We get about $2.9 million from grant funds, and other funds to do roads, and that ranges from the maintenance projects to the full re- construction,” he said. “So looking at these different strategies that we have to fix our roads.”
Several concerns raised from citizens at the meeting included flooding at the intersection of North Columbia and Parlier avenues.
“We do know about your inter- section, trust me when I say it’s on our radar,” said Nicole Zieba, city manager. “One of the tricky parts with that particular road and that
See TOWN HALL on page A8
Joaquin Arambula
ABOVE: John Robertson, Reedley city engineer, discussed the cost of the city’s paving strategies at this month’s Reedley Town Hall at the Reedley Community Center’s Senior Room on May 20. The topic for May was “Where the Rubber HitstheRoad.” Onemoremeeting in the series of six Town Halls is scheduled. It will be at 6 p.m. Mon- day, June 24, and will discuss the city’s water quality and conserva- tion efforts.
RIGHT: A slide described some of the roadway capital projects scheduled to be done in Reedley during the next three years. That includes Phase1andPhase3of the Manning Avenue improvement project.
Photos by Jon Earnest / The Exponent
RC honors its employees at May 16 event
College’s annual commencement is Friday, May 24 Staff Report
As the school prepares for its 91st commencement ceremony, Reedley College honored its longtime em- ployees — and a dozen more retiring at the end of the school year — during the an- nual Employee Recognition Awards Ceremony on May 16 in the school cafeteria.
The college recognized 35 employees for terms of service starting at five years and ranging in five year blocks up to 40 years. Sara Aguirre, Spanish in- structor was the longest- tenured employee honored,
starting at the college in 1979.
Cheryl Hesse, curricu- lum analyst, was recognized for 35 years of service; 30-year employees at the college were Mark Genera (history instructor), Colleen Snyder (music instructor), David Clark (dean of in- struction) and Juli0 Bernal (career technical education
laboratory technician) while 25-year veterans were Rudy Guzman (automotive tech- nology instructor) and Da- vid Lopez (animal sciences instructor).
Twelve employees reached the 20-year mark in 2019; four employees each reached the 15- and
Reedley College / Photo Contributed
Donna Berry, left, Reedley College’s interim president, spoke as Spanish instructor Sara Aguirre, right, was honored for her 40 years of service during the college’s Employee Recognition Awards Ceremony in the college cafeteria on May 16.
OTHER UPCOMING GRADUATIONS
Orange Cove High: Thursday, May 30, 8 p.m., OCHS Titan football stadium
Immanuel High: Thursday, May 30, 7 p.m., Reedley Mennonite Brethren Church
Exponent office closed on May 27
The business office of The Exponent will be closed on Monday, May 27, in observance of Memorial Day.
There will be early dead- lines this week because of the office closure. Classified liner ads and legal notices are due by noon on Thursday, May 23. Regular and classified display ads also are due by noon on Thursday, May 23.
The Exponent’s office will reopen for business at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, May 28.
Reedley High: Friday, May 31, 8 p.m., RHS football stadium
Kings Canyon High School/Adult School: Tuesday, June 4, 8 p.m., RHS football stadium
Reedley Middle College High School: Wednesday, June 5, 8 p.m. Reedley High School Performing Arts Theatre
Classifieds - A6-7
Directory - A5 Legals - B5-6 Sports - B3-4
See COLLEGE on page A8
Lights & Sirens - A3 Obituaries - A2 Opinion - A4