Page 1 - Mid Valley Times 12-17-20 E-edition

Thursday, December 17, 2020
Vol. 2, No. 24
Flight Science school pioneers
50 cents
Launer
is new
Dinuba
mayor
Newly-elected Nerio-Guerrero sworn into office
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
Linda Launer — newly elected to a second term rep- resenting District 5 on the Dinuba City Council — last week was ap-
pointed as the city's mayor for the next two years.
Launer
and District 2
Council Mem-
ber Maribel
Reynosa were appointed
mayor and
vice mayor
at the Dec. 8
council meet-
ing. At the
same time,
Rachel Ne- rio-Guerrero
was sworn in
as District 1
council repre-
sentative, af-
ter she she defeated Joshua Huerta by a 54-46 percent cushion in the Nov. 3 election.
With the appointments, Launer succeeds District 4 Member Kuldip Thusu as mayor. Reynosa replaces Armando Longoria, council member for District 3, as vice mayor.
Launer defeated two chal- lengers in the 2020 election, garnering 50.45 percent of the
See LAUNERonpageA14
Reedley College
graduates its first
on-site class to be
trained as pilots
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
The Reedley College Flight Science program marked a milestone in the college's lengthy aviation program last week. Graduating its first on- site group of future pilots.
During a Dec. 10 live and virtual ceremony at the col- lege's Aero building, five graduates (four in person) were presented with flying jackets featuring a patch say- ing "Reedley College Flying Ti- gers). They all are members of the Class of 2020, but because of COVID-19 restrictions and numerous wildfires in the state through the summer, weren't able to complete all formal flight training until this fall.
"These gentlemen that are graduating today, it demon- strates their perseverance," said John Johnson, Flight Sci- ence coordinator for the pro- gram at RC. The five graduates are David Castaneda-Brown, Antonio Chacon, Zachary Clay- ton, Jhonathan Flores and class speaker Lorenzo Rios. Clayton participated in the ceremony viz Zoom video from Mon- tana, where he is participating in flight school instruction at Rocky Mountain College.
See FLIGHT SCIENCE on page A14
ABOVE: From left, Reedley Col- lege Flight Science coordinator John Johnson, graduate David Castaneda-Brown, graduate Jho- nathan Flores, Jim Brannan (own- er of of JB Aeronautics), graduate Antonio Chacon, graduate Lo- renzo Rios and Chief Instructor Emilio Rosales posed for a photo after the Dec. 10 ceremony.
MIDDLE LEFT: Jhonathan Flores, one of five flight science school graduates, has his flight jacket placed on him by George Takata, the college's director of market- ing and communications.
LOWER FAR LEFT: Graduate Zach- ary Clayton put on his flight jacket from his home in Montana during the ceremony. Clayton, working with flight school instruction at Rocky Mountain College, watched the ceremony on Zoom.
NEAR LEFT: Reedley College president Jerry Buckley spoke to the graduates at the ceremony.
Photos by Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Linda Launer
COVID-19 vaccine makes its way to the U.S.
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
A health care worker in Queens, New York named Sandra Lindsey was the first known person in the United States to be administered Pfiz-
er’s BioNTech COVID-19 vac- cine on the morning of Dec. 14. And, as the vaccination campaign continues to make its way across the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control has issued information to help the public with any questions
they may have about possible side-effects, the vaccines ef- fectiveness, and how the vac- cine will be administered once its availability increases.
According to information released by the CDC on Dec. 13, there is currently a limited
supply of COVID-19 vaccine in the United States, but sup- ply will increase in the weeks and months to come.
Two doses of the currently available COVID-19 vaccine will be needed to ensure its
See VACCINE on page A13
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
A Reedley man was arrest- ed and charged with involun- tary manslaughter after mis- takingly shooting his friend following a night of drinking.
Elvis Hernandez, 30, was arrested and booked into the Fresno County Jail on Dec. 14 after investigators de- termined how a 23-year-old Clovis man named Bradely Smith, ended up dead on the night of Dec. 13.
According to informa- tion from the sheriff’s office, shortly before 10:30 pm on
Dec. 13, dispatchers received a call of a person shot and se- riously injured at a home in the 28000 block of Burrough Valley Road in Tollhouse.
Police and EMS personnel arrived at the location and be- gan to rendeer medical aid to Smith however he died a short time later. Deputies detained two men at the scene, Elvis Hernandez and a second man whose identity is not being re- leased at this time.
The department stated that both Hernandez and the unidentified man fully cooper- ated during the investigation and gave the same account of
what happened.
The men told police that
after a night of drinking they discovered some rubber bul- lets and a firearm that was being stored inside the home.
Smith and Hernandez shot the unidentified man with the rubber bullet as he slept and although he was not seriously injured, Bradley agreed to let the unidentified man shoot him back as “payback.”
Investigators said that Bradly then put on a military style helmet and protective vest. The unidentified man pointed a shotgun and fired a rubber bullet at Elvis, striking
him. “Bradly then told Her- nandez he could shoot him as well,” the department said in a statement. “Elvis picked up a different shotgun than the one initially used by the un- identified man used and fired it at Bradly, hitting him in the upper body, and quickly real- ized Bradly was bleeding and seriously hurt, so they dialed 911.”
Detectives discovered Bra- dly had not been struck by a rubber bullet, but by a round of buckshot (#00 buck). Inves- tigators determined the men mistakenly loaded this type of lethal shell into the shotgun.
Photo Courtesy / FCSO
Elvis Hernandez, 30, of Reedley was arrested on Dec. 14.
Maribel Reynosa
Reedley man arrested following shooting in Tollhouse
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