Reedley Exponent 6-13-19 E-edition

Sierra View Homes donations a hit at annual Spring Gala
Panorama
Riders hit Airtime BMX for state double points race
Sports
www.reedleyexponent.com
Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654 | 50 cents Police respond to drive-by shooting June 11
Vol. 130, No. 23 | Thursday, June 13, 2019
No one injured as 3 to 5
shots fired near E and 13th
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
The calm of a warm Reedley morning was shaken by gunfire on June 11, when a drive-by shooting oc- curred in an alley east of downtown. The incident shook up neighboring residents, but there were no reported injuries.
The shooting happened just after 11:15 a.m., with multiple police units quickly responding to the scene. Police detectives and officers walked the immediate area around 13th and E streets looking for evidence and talking to potential witnesses.
At the scene, Lt. Marc Ediger said that three to five rounds were fired from a person or persons in a gray vehicle driving south through an alley east of E Street
between 12th and 13th streets. According to Ediger, a man was standing in the carport area near the alley, behind a duplex on E Street. The shots came from about 30 feet away, but the man was not hit.
The vehicle then exited the alley onto 13th Street and apparently headed east. The vehicle is described as a gray sedan, but there were no details on how many people were in the vehicle or exactly where the vehicle was headed.
“There’s always a reason for this kind of shooting, but we have no motive at this time,” Ediger said.
The drive-by shooting comes a little more than two months after the last of four reported shootings in March and April. Two of those shootings took place within blocks of each other in east Reedley on April 6,
See SHOOTING on page A3
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Reedley police detectives search the area in an alley east of E Street, between 12th and 13th streets, where a drive-by shooting occurred on June 11. Three to five shots were fired, police said, but no one was injured in the shooting.
Three arrested in stabbing at Avocado Lake, page A3
A swift, vacant waterway
Public
supports
armory at
open house
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
Buoyed by promising news from Sacramento, the Reedley Area Veterans and other veter- ans groupd opened the Reedley Armory to the public for an open house event on June 8.
A steady stream of people that thinned out as the afternoon pro- gressed visited the armory for food, a mini water slide for chil- dren, and information on veterans services. The free event was meant to promote the armory and bring the community together, according to Ralph Urbano with Reedley Area Veterans.
“This was one of the things we wanted to do to get the word out,” he said. “People come up to me and ask how it’s going.”
Recently, it’s been going bet- ter for the state-owned armory, a headquarter of sorts for the RAV along with Americah Legion Post 35 and VFW. A few months back, it seemed the facility’s existence was threatened when the state an- nounced it was selling much of its property which includes the ar- mory.
But Melissa Hurtado, freshman Democratic state senator from Sanger, introduced Senate Bill 501 in February that would remove any authorization for selling the Reed- ley Armory. Currently, the Reedley Armory is listed with the Hanford, Redwood City and Placerville ar- mories as properties that might be sold by the state.
Hurtado’s bill, amended three times since the initial introduction
See ARMORY on page A8
Deputies patrol Kings River to enforce closure
By Juanita Adame
juanita@midvalleypublishing.com
The weather was warm and sunny on the afternoon of June 8 — a perfect day for anyone wanting to enjoy some time on the Kings River under normal circumstances.
However, the only boats on the water that afternoon were there with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, patrolling the water and making sure no one attempted to go on the river. The actions fol- lowed the closure announcement by the Fresno County Sheriff Mar- garet Mims just four days earlier, on June 4.
“While the river is closed, we are making sure that the closure is upheld and enforced,” said Alex Nikolich, a deputy with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. “We are making sure that no one comes on- to the river by any means whether that be some sort of water craft or a flotation device.”
Nikolich said the water on the river is too high, and the current too swift and dangerous for anyone to be in it.
“We have a lot of strainers which are basically hazards that can be a tree branch or rocks, things of that nature,” said Nikol- ich. “They can caused people to become entangled and potentially drown.”
“Also,” he continued. “Just the fact that the water is essentially ice water that also poses a danger to people on its own just with the potential for hypothermia.”
In the June 4 closure statement, the sheriff’s office announced that due to rising temperatures in the
See RIVER on page A2
ABOVE: Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputies, left, and Tulare County Sheriff’s Deputies, right, pa- trolling the Kings River by boat chatted during a stop at Cricket Hollow Park on June 8. Boats from both counties are patrolling the river to make sure people aren’t using the waterway for recreational purposes. Because of danger- ously high water flows because of substantial water releases from Pine Flat Reservoir, the river is closed indefinitely.
Juanita Adame / The Exponent
LEFT: High water levels crept up to the Olson Avenue bridge in south Reedley on June 11. The last time the river was closed to recreation- al activities — boating, swimming and floating — was in 2017. Then, the river was closed from just before Memorial Day to July 21.
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Danny Jimenez / Photo Contributed
Paul Loeffler, left, radio personality and emcee for the premiere of “The Greatest Generation” exhibit at the Reedley Museum on June 4, shook hands with World War II veteran Arnold Ewy at the event.
Attraction at Reedley
Museum on display
through Fiesta weekend
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
For most of the next four months, the public can go to the Reedley Mu- seum and see emotional images and displays that reflect the “greatest generation” in the eyes of most Ameri- cans: World War II veterans.
The exhibit – aptly titled “A Trib- ute to ‘The Greatest Generation’” — was officially unveiled to the public at a dedication event on June 4. The ever-growing exhibit is on display at the museum during its open hours (Tuesdays and Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. to noon) through the Reedley Fiesta weekend Oct. 11-13.
Danny Jimenez / Photo Contributed
Vernon Schmidt, a Reedley native and Fresno veteran who spoke at the 2019 Reedley Me- morial Day Service, saluted during a June 4 event marking the opening of “The Greatest Generation” exhibit at the Reedley Museum.
The June 4 dedication event was emceed by Paul Loeffler, host of the “Hometown Heroes” radio show that profiles veterans from World War II
and Korea. Veterans attending the ceremony included Vernon Schmidt, a Reedley native and Fresno resident who spoke at the recent Memorial Day Ceremony at Reedley Cemetery.
Karey Olson of the Reedley His- torical Society said the exhibit will continue to add attractions donated by the families of Reedley-area vet- erans who served in World War II. Olson said the museum continues to welcome any artifacts from the era while the exhibit is on display.
Here is the synopsis of the exhibit:
Who were they, what made them so special, and how did they come to be known as the “Greatest?” They were born between 1910 and 1924 and grew up during difficult times for our nation and the world. The first world war, the “crash” of the stock market and the
See EXHIBIT on page A3
WWII exhibit formally opens
Classifieds - A6-7 Directory - A5 Legals - B6-7 Sports - B3-4
Lights & Sirens - A3 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4