Mid Valley Times 1-9-20 E-edition

Thursday, January 9, 2020
Vol. 1, No. 28
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Adam Sabourin, left, chief oper- ating officer with GAR Bennett, looked on as Ralph Rendon, man- ager for GAR Bennett's location in Kerman, cut the ribbon during a Jan. 7 ceremony.
New signs
Those who advanced were Amanda Nelson, promoted to corporal; Ramiro Garza, pro- moted to sergeant; Brandon Coles, promoted to sergeant; Reyes Carillo, promoted to lieutenant; and Jason Boust, also promoted to lieutenant.
“Just extremely proud of the work the men and women of Sanger police have per- formed as it relates to just re- ducing crime and keeping the community safe,” said Silver Rodriguez, police chief. “And what we have done with the gang situation, we hit them hard, we have been very ag- gressive.”
Rodriguez acknowledged the officers hard work and commended them for excel-
50 cents
Sanger police promotions
Department prepares for retirement of its chief
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
Family and friends filled the council chambers in the city of Sanger on Jan. 3 as five members of the Sanger Police Department were promoted to various ranks within the de- partment.
symbolize
GAR
Bennett merger
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
The new GAR Bennett is concluding its first week as a newly-merged company with a series of ribbon cut- ting events, including one on Jan. 7 at the former Gar Tootelian, Inc. main facility at 8246 S. Crawford Ave. east of Reedley.
Dozens of company offi- cials, community members and leaders gathered near the main entrance to unveil the new signs which read "GAR Bennett, We Help Growers Feed the World." The new company is a combination of Reedley-based Gar Tootelian and Lemoore-based Bennett Water Systems, and will pro- vide crop protection and wa- ter services.
"Our company now is the premier company for grower support services," Adam Sa-
See GARonpageA12
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
From left are newly promoted Sanger police personnel: Amanda Nelson (to corporal), Ramiro Garza (to sergeant), Brandon Coles (to sergeant), Reyes Carillo (to lieutenant) and Jason Boust (to lieutenant).
ling in their positions. He also spoke briefly about his upcom- ing retirement; his last day as police chief will be Wednesday, Jan. 15.
“I’m getting ready to leave. This is my last promotional ceremony and this is bitter- sweet for me,” he said. “All of the officers being promoted; I hired one of them and three of the others I have promoted to where they are today.”
Rodriguez said he’s watched
See PROMOTIONSonpageA5
Jason Boust, pro- moted to lieutenant during by the Sanger Police Department, was pinned by his wife, Amy, during the department's promo- tional ceremony on Jan. 3 in the Sanger City Council Cham- bers.
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
All schools to be back in session next week
MVT Staff Report
By Monday, Jan. 13, all schools in the Mid Valley Times regional area will be back in session for the spring semester.
Some of the school districts returned to the classroom this week. Sanger Uni- fied, Dinuba Unified, Parlier Unified and Immanuel Schools in Reedley all resumed classes on Jan. 6, resulting a return to regular school and commute traffic patterns.
Meanwhile, Kings Canyon Unified
School District and Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified School District were still on winter break, with some winter ses- sion classes being held at Reedley High School. All KCUSD schools — including Reedley and Orange Cove high schools — as well as COJUSD campuses re- sume classes on Monday, Jan. 13.
Students and faculty won't need to wait long for the next break in classes, as schools will observe the Martin Lu- ther King Jr. holiday on Monday, Jan. 20.
In 2020, spring vacation break for
regional schools will be the first full week of April; April 6-10 and April 13.
Also this Monday, Jan. 13, Reedley College begins its spring semester with a full schedule of classes. Traffic is ex- pected to be extremely heavy the first day of school around campus.
With the return of classes, many children again will be walking along streets to go to school. Combined with often-heavy morning fog, motorists are advised to practice extreme caution and not speed in school zones.
Finalist for top Dinuba teen has overcome obstacles
By George M. Villagrana
Mid Valley Times
Caleb Barba-Chavez has overcome obstacles and turned them into an op- portunity to serve those in need.
Caleb is one of three finalists for Dinuba’s Teenage Citizen of the Year award that will be announced during the Dinuba Chamber of Commerce’s an- nual banquet on Friday, Jan. 31, at the Dinuba Memorial Building.
The winner will receive a $1,000 scholarship from the Dinuba Women’s Club. Second and third place will each receive a $500 scholarship. The other finalist are Karla Gonzalez and Chelan Tolentino. Their stories will be printed in upcoming editions of the Times.
In his application for Teenage Citi- zen of the Year, Caleb wrote about a strained relationship with his father
and during his freshman year at Dinuba High School, the loss of an older sibling. “It brought a major blow to my fam- ily and a lot to myself,” he wrote. “My brother had my admiration. I had lost
one of my prominent heroes.”
Caleb turned the difficult moments into a positive and wrote, “It pushed me to look past it and I started push- ing harder in trying to provide a new
change to this world.”
Caleb’s first step was getting in-
volved in the children’s ministry pro- gram at Redeemer’s Church in Reedley.
SeeDINUBATEENonpage A11
Dinuba High School student Caleb Barba- Chavez is one of three finalists for Dinuba's Teenage Citizen of the Year for 2020. In his application, he wrote about overcoming obstacles including a strained relationship with his father and the loss of an older sibling during his freshman years at Dinuba High School.
George M. Villagrana / Mid Valley Times
This is the first of three profiles on the finalists for Dinuba Teenage Citizen of the Year.
Classifieds - B4 Directory - B5 Legals - B6-9 Sports - B1-2, B10 Lifestyle - A7-10
Lights & Sirens - A3
Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4