Page 7 - Mid Valley Times 4-22-21 E-edition

Thursday, April 22, 2021
Returning to help her community
The View From Here
The eve-
ning of April
17wasabit
cooler than
I expected. I
walked down
the lawn
area of The
Wakehouse
Bar and Grill in Reedley and found a seat next to “Mr. Reedley,” better known as Danny Jimenez.
We’d gathered at The Wakehouse along with more than 200 friends to celebrate this year’s "Greater Reed- ley Chamber’s Business and Community Awards Gala."
The theme this year was “MASKerade” and paid hom- age to making it through the very difficult year that was 2020.
Sitting next to Danny at the table were Harry and Lil- lie Valencia as well as, few other Reedley locals.
Everyone at the table was dressed rather nicely. So nicely in fact that I felt a bit underdressed. I was wearing jeans, a somewhat nice top and some sandals. I knew I’d be there taking photos and gathering video, so dressing up would have made those tasks difficult for me.
Danny was wearing a suit and Harry a tuxedo. Lilie a beautiful black dress, her hair swept up. What really struck me about Lillie, however, was her makeup.
She’d strategically placed a little gems on the outer cor- ners of her eyes almost as a replacement for eyeliner. Oc- casionally they’d catch the setting sunlight and would sparkle beautifully.
I couldn’t help but admire how nice her makeup looked, and kept wondering the entire night how she’d managed to place each tiny gem so per- fectly in line.
Those who know me per- sonally know that I have a love for makeup. So I couldn’t help but appreciate how well she’d coordinated the entire look. I soon learned that Lil- lie was also the creative mind behind the centerpieces for the event. She is definitely a talented gal, great job on that, Lillie.
The evening of April 13 was also cooler than I ex- pected. I had also run into Danny Jimenez that evening as well.However that night was no where near as glamor- ous. Danny and I were at the scene of a shooting in front of the Bravante Produce Plant in Reedley.
The only thing that grabbed my attention this night were the numbered yellow markers on the floor of the parking lot showing where bullet casings had landed.
We learned that moments earlier a young man walking back from his break was shot and killed. Police are still in-
SEE COLUMN on page A8
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
It was not long ago that a young Orosi native named Barbara Alvarado found herself working in a foreign country as a teacher while battling some health issues at the same time.
“I was living in Korea and the different living en- vironment caused me to go I through a lot of health prob- lems,” she said on the after- noon of April 15.
It was also that experience that she said led her to the ca- reer she has today; Alvarado began working as a family nurse practitioner at the Oro- si Family Medical Care clinic in Orosi.
She started with the clinic back in December and said it's a good feeling to be help- ing out her community.
“My family is from Orosi, this is my hometown, it feels good to be back helping my community,” she said. “In sixth grade we moved to Di- nuba, so I went to high school in Dinuba but my aunts, un- cles, my parents, everyone is from Orosi.”
"My family is from Orosi, it just feels good to be back."
-Barbara Alvarado Orosi Family Medical Center
After the health scares in Korea, Alvarado said she re- turned to the United States and immediately changed her career path from teaching to health care.
“My route is very differ- ent from a lot of people in this field,” she said. “I did an entry level masters program so I had my bachelors in psy- chology.”
“Then I went into teaching and of course taught for a few years,” she continued. “I fin- ished the RN program within 15 months full time, as I was working as an RN I continued school full time and did the masters portion.”
For information on Orosi Family Medical Care, contact (559) 528-4717.
Juanita Adame
Reedley's youth shine at chamber awards gala
Photos by Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
Barbara Alvarado grew up in the Dinuba and Orosi areas and said she feels happy to be back in Orosi helping her community. Alvara- do works as a Nurse Practitioner for the Orosi Family Medical Care health clinic.
The Orosi Family Medical Care clinic is located on Avenue 416 in Orosi.
Sanger Rotary to offer fitness program
Staff Report
The Sanger Rotary Club will offer a new fitness pro- gram called "Fit-n-Able" starting in early September
The program will be de- signed for kids, teens, and young adults with autism and other developmental disabilities.
According to recent data, in 2020, the CDC reported that approximately 1 in 54 children in the U.S. is diag-
nosed with an autism spec- trum disorder (ASD), ac- cording to 2016 data. Boys are four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than girls.
The Sanger Rotary Club has partnered with the Sanger Fire Department and Sanger Police Depart- ment to offer the program.
For information on Fit-N- Able, email sangerrotary@ gmail.com
Photo Contributed / Danny Jimenez
Emily Medina Delgado smiled as she gave her acceptance speech for the "Junior Citizen of the Year" award she received during the Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce Business and Community Awards Gala.
Photo Courtesy / Reedley Boy Scout Troop 282
The Reedley's Boy Scout Troop 282 posed for a photo during the event. The group helped to serve dinner and deserts during the awards gala.
Contributed
This photo of Natlalie Ensz smiling in front of the Blossom Trail wassentinbyDougEnsz.Haveaphotoyou'dlikefeatured? Email juanita@midvalleypublishing.com.
Photo of the week