Page 1 - Mid Valley Times 4-22-21 E-edition

Thursday, April 22, 2021
Vol. 2, No. 42
Reedley
votes to
contract
out trash
services
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
In a decision that city lead- ers admitted was one of the toughest they had to make, the Reedley City Council on April 13 unanimously approved the start negotiations to outsource and franchise the city's solid waste services with a private company.
The action means that Reedley ratepayers will see a decrease of about $100 in annual trash collection fees, and also prevent the city from having to hike monthly fees by anywhere from 25 to 40 percent. But the downside is that the city would have to lay off the 10 city employees who work on solid waste col- lection.
See SOLIDWASTEonpageA2
'Pod' Rave in Sanger
50 cents
Man is
fatally
shot in
Reedley
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
What started as an ordi- nary Tuesday for employees at the Bravante Produce Plant in east Reedley on April 13 soon turned into a late after- noon of vio-
lence, lock-
downs, and
hours of po-
lice question-
ing.
Hobb's Grove east of Sanger hosted Central California's first-ever socially distanced "pod rave" on April 17. The event was a near sell- out, with attendees following guidelines by staying within 8 feet by 10 feet pods holding up to five people each. Attendees were able to dance under the stars and listen to color- ful dance music. The festival was compliant with CDC, state and Fresno County health guidelines for COVID-19. The event was hosted by Eclectic Events and EDM Maniac.
ABOVE: ArtistGAWMleadsthenear-sellout crowd during his performance.
RIGHT: Attendees in individual pods watched from near the front of the stage.
Matt Clausen / Photos Contributed
The de- velopments
came af-
ter one of
the plant's Diaz employees, 27-year-old
Elizandro Diaz, was shot and killed in the parking lot of the company at 1356 S. Buttonwil- low Ave.
It was shortly after 6 p.m. that Reedley police received the shots fired call in the 1300 block of Buttonwillow Avenue.
Upon arrival, police found the victim suffering from a
See HOMICIDEonpageA6
Elizandro
Reedley Chamber salutes its top citizens at Gala
The Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce honored 10 individual and business recipients at its MASKerade business and community awards gala on April 17 at The Wakehouse Restaurant.
A photo of Junior Citi- zen of the Year Emily Medina Delgado can be found in Lifestyle on Page A7. More photos from the event can be found on the back page, Page A18.
Fresno County advances to Orange tier
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
The Central Valley faded to a bright- er hue of orange this week, as Fresno and Kings counties joined Tulare County in the orange tier (moderate) category regarding new coronavirus cases.
There were a few select instances of increases when it came to the virus, the Central Valley region along with Califor- nia in general continued to see declines
Coronavirus Update
in active cases and no signs of new out- breaks.
The April 20 statistical update by the Fresno County Department of Pub- lic Health showed that the rate of new infections per 100,000 in population had dropped to 4.8, under the level of 5.9 for a second consecutive week. Because of that statistic and a low positivity rate of
just more than 2 percent, the county is able to move up to the orange tier level and the looser restrictions that go with the designation.
In the orange tier, indoor business- es and organizations are allowed to in- crease capacity from previous state guidelines. The most common number of interest to people is restaurants,
SeeCOVIDonpage A6
Webster sworn in as Dinuba's interim fire chief
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
Dinuba has its new fire chief in place on an interim basis, and potentially much longer.
Jordan Webster, a 10-year veteran of the department who rose through the ranks of firefighter and captain, was sworn in as Interim Fire Chief during the Dinuba City Council virtual meeting on April 13. Also sworn in it the meet- ing was Dustin Espino, the department's new Battalion Chief.
The 39-year-old Webster and Espino are replacing Chad Thompson and Sean Doyle, respectively, as chief and bat- talion chief for the Tulare County city's department. Both Thompson and Doyle retired from their positions; Thompson on March 23 after 11 years at the post and Doyle on April 1.
Webster thanked both Thompson
and Doyle for their service and mentor- ship helping him to earn the promotion. Webster was the first firefighter hired by Thompson; a year after he became chief following the retirement of the late Myles Chute in 2010.
"They've taken time for training and to teach me the ropes and everything I needed to know to fill in the role," Web- ster said.
Webster said he's thrilled to continue his work with the department as interim chief, and continuing to serve the city.
"Dinuba is a small community, and the fire department has support from the citizens, City Council and all," he said. "Everybody works really well to- gether. I love it. I feel like we have a hundred percent backing and support."
Currently, the department has 27 line employees, with staffing of nine person-
See WEBSTER on page A2
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Jordan Webster, who has spent 10 years with the Dinuba Fire Department includ- ing six years as captain, was sworn in as interim fire chief on April 13.
Classifieds - A11 Directory - B0 Legals - A12-16 Sports - A9, A17 Lifestyle - A7-8 Lights & Sirens - A3, A5 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4