Page 8 - Mid Valley Times 5-28-20 E-edition

Thursday, May 28, 2020 | A8 | Mid Valley TiMes
Reedley joins in with business reopenings
Sanger industrial accident
MVT Staff Report
Given the green light by Fresno County on May 21, the city of Reedley immedi- ately began reopening res- taurants to dine-in service and preparing for the return of other businesses.
In a social media post, City Manager Nicole Zieba said "I'm excited to say that it's time to start reopening our city! Restaurants can reopen to diner-in after co- ordinating with the County Health Department." Zieba said that not city approvals are required.
At the same time, Zieba said that salons and church- es still were required to
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For small business owners like Richard Tomajan of Don’s Shoe Store in Dinuba he said his business has been good because the malls have been closed.
But that could change, ac- cording to Tomajan.
“Once the mall opens, then I think we’ll be back to nor- mal,” he said.
Tomajan said the business will continue to adhere to the social distancing rule.
“We’re trying but it’s really hard,” Tomajan said.
He said customers who en- ter the store will have their hands sanitized and must wear a mask.
be closed by the shelter in place recommendation from Gov. Gavin Newsom. Earlier this week, the city of Fresno lifted its city-mandated shel- ter in place.
The actions to reopen businesses were spurred by the state's approval of Fresno County's request to advance further into Stage 2 of reopening. Businesses are advised practice social and physical distancing in compliance with state direc- tion.
County businesses per- mitted to operate in Stage 2 include dine-in restairants, curbside retail, manufactur- ers, logistics, childcare and office-based businesses.
Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times
A man was transported to the hospital on May 26 with major injuries following an industrial accident on North Avenue and Del Rey Avenue in southwest Sanger. According to reports, the man was run over by a tractor sometime after 10 a.m.
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issued a clarification saying that the order re- garding the use of masks was a suggestion and not a mandate.
The order was sub- sequently changed from ‘shall’ to ‘should’.
Fresno County is also in the midst of a reopen- ing process, something that quickly went from
a Stage 1 to a State 2.5, seemingly in a matter of hours.
After reviewing the state, county and local numbers, noting that Sanger’s numbers in- creased by 72 percent over two weeks (from 62 positive cases on May 6 to 107 on May 20), Chapa showed concern.
“These numbers are not yet hitting a plateau,” Chapa said. “If our policy
is purely driven by case numbers, the data does not suggest any slowing.”
In spite of those num- bers, the county is mov- ing forward with open- ing large portions of the economy – with safety measures in place.
Stage 2.5 will allow more flexibility and the city of Sanger has been preparing for what’s ahead as city staff has been in contact with lo- cal restaurant owners to ensure they are taking proper measures for pub- lic safety.
The city also estab- lished an advisory com- mittee made up of local business owners. That committee has voiced concern that may lead to a city ordinance re- quiring citizens to wear
masks when out in pub- lic or when entering a place of business – some- thing the council agreed should read ‘shall’ and not ‘should’.
Chapa also mentioned that some of the restau- rants in town are partici- pating in the Great Plates Program, in which they can receive grant fund- ing so long as they agree to prepare meals for the elderly and vulnerable. Three restaurants are tak- ing part of the program and distribute three meals a day to just over 20 quali- fied participants.
As for testing in the city, Chapa said the test- ing station at the Sanger Community Center did over 500 tests in just its first week. He further encouraged residents to take advantage of the site and get tested.
But as concerns grow for the demand placed on the city as the county con- tinues to reopen, Chapa
showed more concern for what is next.
Stage 3 of reopening includes churches, bars and gyms – places where large numbers of people can congregate.
“It’s going to happen with guidance,” Chapa explained. “We need to prepare our bars, our churches and our gyms to start preparing their plans so they can open.”
But the city manager reminded the council of the need to proceed with caution.
“It is my recommen- dation to continue to stay vigilant, stay the course,” he said. “Sanger’s num- bers are reflective of having to come up with a Sanger solution. Based on Sanger’s numbers, I be- lieve we need to be more conservative, and more cautious than maybe some of our neighboring communities.”
Mayor Frank Gonzalez showed his concern for
the lack of clarity when it comes to guidance at the state and county level.
“Confusion is ram- pant,” Gonzalez shared. “Where do we fit?”
Councilmember Eli Ontiveros expressed his concern for the possibility that the city was violating the people’s rights by not allowing them to gather. Citing the constitution, Ontiveros said, “We are violating our citizens’ rights.”
Sanger city attorney Hilda Montoy Cantu, however, shared that recent cases regarding the same concern have been shot down by sev- eral courts.
In other council news, it was announced that a five-member panel is currently being estab- lished for the interview- ing process to begin for a new Chief of Police. In- terviews are tentatively scheduled to begin on June 15.
“We want them to have a mask and if they don’t have a mask we’ll usually give them one with no charge,” Tomajan said. “We’re trying not to have too many people in the store at the same time.”
While Tomajan is bracing for customers to do shopping, an opening date for Ralph Al- varez’s Orbit Lanes may wait a little longer.
Alvarez said he is contem- plating of opening up soon.
“We are going to try some things. We’re going to try to open up with just allowing, by appointment only, with a fam- ily or two families during peak hours,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez added they will put away all the bowling balls and let people choose the one they
want to bowl with.
“We don’t’ want people go-
ing around and touching them all trying to find their fit,” Al- varez said. “We’re just going to bring out 20 different sizes and that’s it. So they will be able to pick one of those 20.”
Alvarez said he wants to open up knowing people want to do something.
City of Dinuba Mayor Kul- dip Thusu said businesses will have to take individual respon- sibility to make sure that they are safe, their workers and cli- ents are safe, and their state licenses are not jeopardized.
"We are very thankful to our citizens, staff and businesses for their patience and conduct over the past two months. We are in this together."
COVID-19 update
As of 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, May 26, there had been 1,535 confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19) in Fresno County, with 26 deaths.
Among Mid Valley Times cities, Sanger (including the region to the northeast) had the most positive cases with 123 while Reedley had 93 cases. Orange Cove had 67 cases while Parlier had 63 cases. Del Rey was at nine cases while Fowler had eight cases. The county reported that 507 of the positive cases had recovered. In Tulare County, there were 1,771 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 79 deaths as of noon on Tuesday, May 26. Breakdowns by cities/regions now are available, with 360 cases in Dinuba, 65 in Orosi, 51 in Cutler and less than 11 each in rural areas south of Reedley, in the Traver area and east of Orange Cove.
A total of 660 people had recovered from the virus in Tulare County.
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