Page 1 - Mid Valley Times 6-25-20 E-edition

Thursday, June 25, 2020
Vol. 1, No. 52
Coronavirus Update — Coping With Increased Cases
Region adjusts as cases spike again
Sheriffs of Fresno, Tulare counties won't enforce state mask mandate
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
California Gov. Gavin Newsom last week issued a mandate calling for citizens to wear protective face masks while at in- door public locations in an attempt to mini- mize risk of spreading COVID-19 — but top law officials in Fresno and Tulare County said they won't be enforcing the order.
Newsom's announcement came on June 18, and the California Department of Public Health guidelines said the masks should be worn when people are in the fol- lowing high-risk situations such as going to indoor public spaces or lines to go into these spaces; medical, dental and hospital visits; riding public transportation or ride-
SeeMASKSonpage A14
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Attendees to the June 23 Reedley City Council meeting wear masks. Most crowd members were present to voice support or opposition to a proposed beer-wine license for a business that was on the agenda. On June 18, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a mandate that all residents should wear protective face coverings when entering indoor public spaces to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Positive test leads to second closure of Dinuba's TulareWORKS, child welfare district offices
MVT Staff Report
For the second time in less than two months, the Dinuba TulareWORKS and Child Wel- fare Services District Office is closed after an employee tested positive for the coro- navirus.
The Human Services Branch of the Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency (HHSA) confirmed last week that one public employee tested positive
See CLOSURE on page A14
50 cents
Reedley,
Dinuba
approve
budgets
for '20-21
MVT Staff Report
The city councils of Reedley and Dinuba formal- ized 2020-20201 budgets for their respective cities dur- ing meetings on June 23.
In Reedley, the City Council voted to approve a $38.16 million budget for 2020-2021 that includes a salary and benefit schedule for unrepresented employ- ees, a three-year agreement with the general services unit, a two-year agreement with the Reedley Police Of- ficers Association that in- cludes a 3 percent cost of living raise and increased uniform allowance, and a revised master salary table for all city employees.
Meanwhile, in Dinuba, the $66.3 million budget going into effect on July 1 focused on the following goals: manage impacts from COVID-19 crisis; maintain and restore service levels; amd deliver major capital projects.
Despite several chal- lenges, the city's sales tax revenue remained strong and residential construction remained steady.
More on the budgets will be in the July 2 issue of The Times.
Sanger previews its general plan
By Rick Curiel
Mid Valley Times
The Sanger City Council got a sneak preview into the future of Sanger at its June 18 meeting after hearing an update to the city’s general plan that will take into the year 2035.
The main focus of the plan, according to Com- munity Development Director Tom Navarro, will be the development of the North Academy Av- enue annexation, something the city is banking on for its proximity to the highly-traveled Highway 180 and the potential for commercial develop- ment in the area.
At a cost of over $28 million, the annexation and development of the North Academy Avenue corridor is growing closer to a reality. At last week’s meeting, the council agreed to enlist the service of the grant writing firm Quad Knopf, the same firm that helped the city acquire a large grant for their new water tank.
See GENERAL PLAN on page A14
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
A look at North Academy Avenue north of Sanger, headed north toward Highway 180. The annexation of the area is a main focus of the city of Sanger's general plan through the year 2035.
New El Monte MS principal right at home
Tumacder has decade of service at Orosi school
By George M. Villagrana
Mid Valley Times
For the past decade, El Monte Middle School has been called home for Sunsie Tumacder.
Tumacder, who has served as a teach- er and assistant principal, stepped into the principal role that had been held by Marlena Chavez after she left to become the principal at Orosi High.
“I love El Monte,” Tumacder said. “I was in the classroom for six years, and three years as vice principal, and now principal. I’m holding the lives of 844 students in my hands. It’s a huge respon- sibility.”
Tumacder graduated from Redwood
Photo Contributed
Sunsie Tumacder has served as a teacher, assistant principal and now principal at El Monte Middle School in Orosi.
High School, then attended St. Mary’s College where she was a member of the rowing team as a walk-in before getting
a full ride scholarship her last two years. After receiving her BA in Business Ad- ministration, Tumacder had her sights on going to law school before making a career change.
“I started subbing to make some mon- ey and it was an awakening for me,” she said. “Do I really want to be a lawyer? I fell in love subbing and building relation- ships with the kids. I had a really good time with it.”
The Visalia native decided to attend- ed Pepperdine University where she received a masters in education and a teaching credential.
After teaching in Culver City, Tu- macder wanted to come back to the Val- ley. She said she had applied for an open- ing at Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified School District in January of 2010 and got hired
See TUMACDER on page A14
Classifieds - A9 Directory - A10 Legals - A11-12 Sports - A7
Lifestyle - A5-6 Lights & Sirens - A3 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4