Page 1 - Mid Valley Times 8:1:19 E-edition

Thursday, August 1, 2019
Vol. 1, No. 5
In a letter sent July 20-21 to parishioners
of the Reed-
ley church,
Bishop Jo-
seph V. Bren-
nan with
the Fresno
Diocese said
that Bakers-
field police
verified that
no charges
would be
filed against the 77-year-old Es- quivel.
On June 17, a Bakersfield woman said during a news con- ference that she had been mo- lested by Esquivel in the mid 1980s when he was a priest at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Bakersfield. The diocese placed Esquivel on paid administrative leave on June 21.
In the letter to St. Anthony parishioners, Brennan said the diocese is continuing its investi- gation and that Esquivel remains on paid administrative leave.
"The findings [of the diocese investigation] will then be pre- sented to the Diocesan Review Board to make recommenda- tions to the bishop," Brennan said. "Until these steps are com- pleted, no further public com- ment will be made."
See ESQUIVEL on page A6
Mike Nemeth / Mid Valley Times
California Highway Patrol officials took photos during their investigation at the scene of a two-vehicle crash on Highway 180 near Rio Vista Avenue on July 29. The crash killed a Fresno woman and injured four others. A Selma man was arrested on suspicion on felony DUI and vehicular manslaughter.
Fresno woman dies in July 29 wreck, Selma man arrested for felony DUI
By Mike Nemeth
Mid Valley Times
A 47-year-old Fresno woman is dead and a Selma man has been arrested in connection with driving under the influ- ence after a Ford Explorer and a Chevy Trailblazer collided head on the afternoon of July 29 on Highway 180 near Rio Vista Avenue, officials said.
The victim was identified as Rosario Montalvo of Fresno.
Four were injured and transported via helicopter to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno. The three survivors in the 2011 Explorer suffered major injuries, while
See CRASHonpageA12
Msgr. John Esquivel
50 cents
Esquivel
won't be
charged,
remains
on leave
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
Bakersfield police will not be filing any charges of sexual mis- conduct against Monsignor John Esquivel of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Reedley.
Another fatal crash on 180
Heat disrupts Dinuba water system
By Rick Curiel
Mid Valley Times
Heat reaching 106 degrees on July 28 put enough stress on the city of Dinuba’s water system to cause a breaker to fail, leaving thousands of residents with no or low water pressure.
According to city of Dinuba Pub- lic Works Director Ismael Hernandez, the city received an alarm notifica- tion at approximately 6:20 p.m. re- garding the city water’s SCADA (Su- pervisorial Control and Data Acqui- sition) system. The system operates the city’s eight wells, controlling how and when the wells feed into the two water towers.
“Basically, all the wells were off,” said Hernandez of the outage.
With the wells not working, the old
tower in downtown Dinuba quickly dropped to a very low level. At 11:12 p.m. the old tower lost all water pressure, leaving many residents without little to no water.
City workers immediately responded to remedy the problem.
“The first thing we did was turn on the wells by hand,” Hernandez said.
By 12:15 a.m., city workers were able to restore water pressure manu- ally. Some electrical items, such as a backup battery, were replaced in order to help prevent future short circuits.
The breakers, according to Hernan- dez, were in good working order and did not need replacing. He said the breakers simply overheated.
City workers were able to restore con- nection with the SCADA system shortly before 2 a.m.
Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times
A failed breaker with the city's water system July 28 caused a sharp drop in the water level at the old tower in downtown Dinuba.
Sam Lucido, who owns two build- ings in downtown Sanger, chided the Sanger City Council at its July 23 meeting for not taking its core values seriously. Lucido was un- happy with lack of follow through by city staff.
Dick Sheppard / Mid Valley Times
Sanger council delays decision on Measure S oversight appointment
By Dick Sheppard
Mid Valley Times
Decisions on what has be- come a controversial appoint- ment to the Sanger Measure S Citizens Oversight Commit- tee and what, if any, change to make to the mayor's two-year term of office will have to wait.
Reappointment of former mayor Michael Montelongo to the oversight committee was a sticking point, and after a 2-2 deadlock the council decided to push off a decision until coun-
cilmember Esmeralda Hurtado got back from vacation.
Councilmembers agreed that a two -year term imposed on the mayor by Measure L in 2010 made no sense, but decided to wait for more cost information before deciding if and when to put a proposed change on the ballot. Other councilmembers serve four year terms of office.
The July 23 special council meeting got off to an upbeat start with the presentation of $5,000 in Mid Valley Disposal
"ECO" scholarships by Mid Valley Disposal founder Jay Kalpakoff to Sanger students: Araceli Ramirez, $500; Jenni- fer Zarate, $1,500; and Cristian Hernandez, $3,000.
The mood changed abrupt- ly when the first two public forum speakers, Ralph Meza and Sam Lucido, pointed to a plaque on the council chamber wall listing "Sanger City Coun- cil's Core Values" and accused the council of not taking those
See OVERSIGHTonpageA11
Classifieds - B6 Directory - B3 Legals - B7-11 Sports - B1-2, B12 Health & Fitness - B4-5
Lights & Sirens - A3
Obituaries - A2-3
Opinion - A4