Page 2 - Mid Valley Times 12-10-20 E-edition

Thursday, December 10, 2020 | A2 | Mid Valley TiMes
Wreaths for Reedley Veterans ceremony on hold this year
MVT Staff Report
The annual Wreaths for Reedley Veterans ceremony will not take place in 2020, but families and individuals are encouraged to place an indi- vidual wreath at a loved one's gravesite in support.
Here is the message from Susan Lusk, project organizer with Wreaths for Reedley Vet- erans:
"To the Reedley Commu- nity,
"I would first like to thank
Obituaries
Maria L. Almanza
Maria L. Almanza of Reedley died Dec. 1 in Reedley. She was 100.
Mrs. Almanza was a homemaker. She is sur- vived by her husband, Jose C. Almanza, one son, one daughter, nine grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
No services were scheduled.
Terry G. Barsoom
Terry G. Barsoom of Reedley died Nov. 27 in Reedley. He was 55.
Mr. Barsoom worked in farming. He is sur- vived by one brother and one sister.
No services were scheduled.
Everardo Covarrubias Everardo Covarru-
bias of Dinuba died Nov. 30 in Tulare. He was 61.
Mr. Covarrubias worked as a farmer. He is survived by his wife, Liliana Garcia, two sons, one daughter, one granddaughter, his father, Flavio Covarru- bias, seven sisters and four brothers.
Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11, at Dopkins Reedley Dinu- ba Chapel. A mass will be at 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11, at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Dinuba.
Maria Gallardo
Maria Ines Gallardo of Dinuba died Dec. 2 in Fresno. She was 60.
all of the community members who have supported, assisted with, and participated in our Wreaths for Reedley Veter- ans Project. Over the last six years, we have honored the the more than 1,800 veterans interred at the Reedley Cem- etery by placing wreaths at their grave sites.
"Due to health concerns of gathering in large groups during the pandemic, we felt it was necessary to find an alternative way to honor our veterans this year. Therefore,
we have received permis- sion from both the cemetery board and the city of Reedley to place signs in each section of the cemetery. "These signs will be up from Saturday,
Dec.19, through Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021.
"We encourage individuals and families to place your own wreath on the grave of your veteran and perhaps, in the love of the season, to place a wreath on the nearby grave of another veteran whose family might not live in the area.
"Please remember that wreaths or other decorations must be placed only on the headstone in keeping with the recent changes in rules at the cemetery.
"It is our hope to be able to return to our normal ceremo- ny and placing of wreaths in December 2021. "Please keep all of our deceased veterans in your thoughts and prayers this holiday season. They proudly served and/or died for our country and for us."
"With appreciation and thanks, Susan F. Lusk, Wreaths for Reedley Veterans Project Organizer"
For more information on the program or this year's plans, call (559) 859-2865.
She is survived by one son, three daugh- ters, one brother, two sisters and 11 grand- children.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Mon- day, Dec. 14, at Sterling & Smith Funeral Home in Dinuba. A mass will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 15, at St. Cath- erine of Siena Catholic Church in Dinuba. Buri- al will follow at Smith Mountain Cemetery in Dinuba.
Armando Garcia
Armando Garcia of Dinuba died Nov. 24 in Dinuba. He was 60.
Mr. Garcia worked as a machine operator. He is survived by his wife, Esther Garcia, two sons, four daugh- ters, four brothers, four sisters, 13 grand- children and one great- grandchild.
Visitation will be at 1 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10, at the Garcia residence in Dinuba. Burial will be Friday, Dec. 11, at Smith Mountain Cem- etery in Dinuba.
Alfredo Hernandez Sr.
Alfredo Reyes Her- nandez Sr. of Sanger died Dec. 1. He was 93.
Mr. Hernandez worked as a farm la- borer.
He is survived by three sons, five daugh- ters, two brothers, one sister, 20 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren and four great-great-
grandchildren. Private services
were held.
Israel Morales
Israel Loredo Mo- rales of Dinuba died Dec. 1 in Fresno. He was 74.
Mr. Morales worked as a gardener. He is survived by his wife, Oralia Morales, two sons, two daughters, five brothers, five sis- ters and 11 grandchil- dren.
A visitation was held Dec. 9 at Sterling & Smith Funeral Home and Dinuba. Burial fol- lowed at Smith Moun- tain Cemetery in Di- nuba.
Hazel W. Nance
Hazel W. Nance of Reedley died Nov. 30 in Reedley. She was 98.
Mrs. Nance was a homemaker. She is sur- vived by one son, one daughter, 14 grandchil- dren, 23 great-grand- children and 30 great- great-grandchildren.
No services were scheduled.
Darlene
Yarbrough
Darlene Faye Yar- brough of Dinuba died Nov. 26 in Dinuba. She was 82.
Mrs. Yarbrough was a homemaker. She is survived by one son, three sisters, two broth- ers, six grandchildren and eight great-grand- children.
Private services were held.
COUNCIL Continued from page A1
staff to fill the seat. Echoing a process used just two years ago after then-Sanger city council member Melissa Hurtado was elected to the State Senate, the city recommended filling the seat by appoint, which would involve an applica- tion, interview and selec- tion process, as opposed to conducting a special
election.
A special election,
according to city staff, could cost upwards of $60,000-$75,000 and would leave the seat va- cant for nearly a year, as November of 2021 would be the earliest the city could hold such election.
Citizens took excep- tion to the idea, how- ever, after some argued that the last appoint- ment, that of Esmeralda Hurtado, felt too much like nepotism after she replaced Melissa Hurta- do, her older sister.
“The last time we ap- pointed someone it left a bad taste in the mouth of a lot of citizens,” said Sanger’s Kevin Carter, referring to the Hurtado appointment.
Sanger resident Shae Hill argued for the right of residents to elect their own representatives.
“If the council choses
this route, the council is setting a dangerous prec- edent,” Hill said. “This is about our right to vote.”
Mayor Ontiveros, at the suggestion of one caller, motioned to ap- point a temporary mem- ber and proceed with a special election. That idea, however, was quick- ly struck down after city attorney Hilda Cantu Montoy clarified that the process allows for one or the other and does not allow for both options in any combination.
Sanger City Manager Tim Chapa reiterated the explanation made by Montoy that does not al- low for both options.
“The language is pret- ty clear,” said Chapa.
Ontiveros then re- scinded the idea of a tem- porary appointment and moved to go ahead with a special election. How- ever, the motioned failed for lack of a second.
Longtime city council- member Humberto Gar- za then motioned to fill the seat by appointment, a motioned that passed in a 4-1 vote. Ontiveros voted against the motion.
Outgoing mayor Frank Gonzalez attended the meeting as most did, via video and teleconfer- ence amidst pandemic precautions. In his exit, Gonzalez offered his praise and appreciation
to city council and staff for all the good work that the city has been able to accomplish over the last few years.
“These are the people (city workers) that keep the city moving,” Gonza- lez shared. “It takes an entire city council and I know you guys are going to do a great job.”
After being sworn in, Ontiveros, Martinez and Hurtado shared a few words of appreciation.
“I’m happy to serve the community for anoth- er four years,” Hurtado said.
Martinez thanked his family, constituents and people of Sanger for his November success. “De- mocracy works when ev- eryone is involved,” said Martinez, who was also reelected as Mayor Pro Tem by the council.
Ontiveros read a pre- pared speech in which he promised to work with staff and council for the betterment of the city.
“I promise every one of you that I will work with every one of you to get things done,” the new mayor expressed.
Ontiveros beat out Gonzalez in the Novem- ber election by over 700 votes, with Gonzalez receiving 3,904 votes and Ontiveros receiving 4,666.
Parlier man leads police on slow pursuit
MVT Staff Report
A 19-year-old self- admitted Norteno gang member led Parlier po- lice on a slow pursuit through the city before
his vehicle was disabled and he arrested on mul- tiple charges.
The Parlier Police Department said in a news release that Gem- ini Moreno was taken
into custody without incident in the early morning hours of Nov. 22 after officers used a pursuit intervention technique (PIT) to stop the vehicle, after More- no and several individu- als in the vehicle drove through various streets in the city. Police said three of the car's occu- pants were minors, and officers initially tried to stop the vehicle on a traffic violation.
Moreno's girlfriend later reported to Selma police that the vehicle had been stolen.
See PURSUIT on page A5
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