Page 1 - Reedley Exponent 5-9-19 E-edition

Kings Canyon High School wins state ‘model school ‘ award
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Reedley High girls make it three straight NYL track and field titles
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Vol. 130, No. 18 | Thursday, May 9, 2019
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Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654 | 50 cents Huge arsenal of weapons seized in gang sweep
11 arrested in what Reedley police chief calls biggest haul he’s seen in his career By Juanita Adame
juanita@midvalleypublishing.com
It was the largest collection of firearms Reedley’s police chief said he’s seen in his career.
A total of 33 firearms — 10 of which are
illegal to possess in California — 100 rounds of various cali- bers of ammunition, 152 grams of methaphetamine and a bag full of home made ecstasy pills were just some of the items seized during a city-wide multi-agency gang sweep on the afternoon of May 1.
David Yama
in one house. This is the biggest haul that I’ve ever seen in my career,” said Chief Joe Garza. “This is tremendous.”
Garza added that the large weapons find came from a home located just steps from a school and a church.
“One of our stops included a house in the 1000 block of South Church Avenue,” he said. “It was the home where David Yama, 35, was living.”
Garza said Yama is a convicted felon and known gang member. He was on probation at
the time of his arrest.
“Twenty of these firearms, if they were in
the possession of just a normal person [they] would be legal to possess, but because they were in Yama’s possession it was illegal. He cannot possess any firearms,”
The operation came as a response to re- cent violence that Garza said has plagued the city in the past two months.
“About a month or so ago, we experienced a
See GANG SWEEP on page A3
Kevorkian Fly In on May 11 at airport
Staff Report
If you’ve never had the chance to fly in a private plane before, the perfect time is Saturday, May 11, at the Reedley Municipal Airport.
That’s when the Reedley Air- port Commission hosts the annual Korky Kevorkian Memorial Barbe- cue and Fly In, which begins at 9 a.m. and features a variety of small craft planes coming to town with pilots offering free airplane rides. There’s also a free barbecue hot dog meal at 11 a.m.
Free flights are offered from 9 a.m. to noon and availability is limited. Sign up at the information table before the event starts, and there is a minimum height require- ment for children.
The Fly In’s guest speaker this year is Raymond McClure, who will speak at noon in the main air- port hangar. McClure has seven decades-plus of flying experience, has flown more than 50 differ- ent types of aircraft and also has trained hundreds of flying stu- dents. His motto is “If I can start it...I can fly it!”
A special attraction provided by the airport for visiting pilots is a Pilot’s Raffle, with one of the pilots winning a $100 fuel card do- nated by Kings River Sinclair. Pi- lots come from Fresno County and other parts of the Valley to offer plane rides to the public, children in particular.
In addition to all the visiting airplanes, another attraction is the all-electric airplanes that will be part of a joint partnership program featuring Reedley and Mendota. The state of the art electric planes eventually will be part of a training program for young pilots through Reedley College.
The Memorial Fly In event is an
See FLY IN on page A8
“In the 30 years that I’ve
been a police officer here in the city of Reed- ley we have never seen this many weapons
Street Faire highlights
Photos by Jon Earnest / The Exponent
ABOVE: Audience members watched the Silas Bartsch School Folkloric Dancers in the morning at G and 12th streets under mild, sunny skies. NEAR LOWER RIGHT: Reedley College’s “Give Cancer the Boot” team won the annual Fire Truck Pull fundraiser.
FAR LOWER RIGHT: Children enjoyed the horse rides. More photos from the 2019 Street Faire will run in the May 16 issue of The Exponent.
Good crowds treated by ideal weather conditions
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
Main street in downtown Reedley was buzzing with activity on May 5, as hundreds walked along G Street during a sunny, mild day to enjoy food, music, the popular Nomads car show, games and camarade- rie with their neighbors.
There were the usual attractions at the annual event, but with a few tweaks. Now under the direc- tion of the Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce in partnership with remaining members of the Reed- ley Downtown Association, the Street Faire exhibited
See STREET FAIRE on page A8
Reedley pastor challenges community to pray
Robertson is keynote speaker at May 2 Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
Ron Robertson, keynote speaker at the 39th annual Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast at the Reedley Community Center, had a pretty direct message at the May 2 event — take time to pray.
“I’ve had too many things happen in my life where prayer just is something I don’t have time for,” said Robertson, senior pastor since 2014 at Full Gospel Tab- ernacle in Reedley. “We need to have time for prayer. There’s too much at stake in our lives, in our families, in the nation.
“It’s very easy to complain about all the things that are happening, and how much we don’t like this and don’t like that. But what are we doing about it? Prayer is the thing that will change everything.”
Robertson was the latest local to speak at the prayer breakfast, which has been an annual spring event in the city since the National Day of Prayer was first established for the first Thursday in May in 1981.
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The event draws Reedley’s civic, political and busi- ness leaders, and is sponsored by the Sunrise Kiwanis Club of Reedley along with the Reedley Rotary Club and the city.
Mixing biblical passages with stories of his fam- ily and background, Robertson stressed the power of prayer.
“Today i want to challenge you to pray,” Robertson said. “I want you to believe that there’s a God who will hear that prayer. And he will work in ways that you will never believe. God never says something just to throw it out there. He means what he says. He says you’ll hear from heaven, and he will heal your land.”
Frank Pinon hosted his first breakfast as mayor of Reedley. Pinon told the audience about this year’s Na- tional Day of Prayer theme of “Pray for America.” He asked attendees to remember the city leaders, police and firefighters and other city workers with prayer,
“I ask you to also pray for our schools, our church- es and our community organizations that do so much good for all of us,” Pinon said.
Other speakers at the breakfast included Rev. Neal Harris of First United Methodist Church, Kiwanis Club
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Ron Robertson, pastor at Full Gospel Tabernacle in Reedley, was the keynote speak- er at the Kiwanis 39th annual Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast at the Reedley Community Center main hall on MAy 2.
See PRAYER on page A2
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