Mid Valley Times 9-9-21 E-edition

Thursday, September 9, 2021
Vol. 3, No. 10
Coronavirus Update
Active
cases hit
highest
numbers
in months
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
Active cases of positive coronavirus (COVID-19) tests in Fresno and Tulare counties the past week have hit their highest levels dating back to last winter.
As of Tuesday, Sept. 7, cas- es continue to quickly pile up and put a strain on hospitals and intensive care units. In Fresno County, the daily posi- tive case rate peer 100,000 peaked at nearly 46 on the weekend before settling at 44.1. Hospitalizations, howev- er, took sharp spikes and dips, twice surpassing 400 includ- ing 401 on Sept. 7. Of those, 92 were in the ICU.
In Tulare County, the jump
See COVID on page A18
Labor Day Sanger fire
50 cents
Teacher
accused
of sexual
abuse of
student
MVT Staff Report
A 39-year-old Kingsburg-area woman who teaches at a Kings Canyon Unified independent study school was arrested last week on suspicion of sexual abuse of a 14-year-old student.
Krystal Jackson, a teacher at Mountain View (Independent Study) school in Reedley, was tak- en into custody
Sept. 3 by de-
tectives with the
Fresno County
Sheriff's Of-
fice Sex Crimes
Unit.
ABOVE: Sanger firefighters clean up the scene after a fire broke out at Academy Upholstery on South Academy Avenue in Sanger. The blaze broke out around xxx p.m. on Labor Day, Sept. 6, and flames engulfed the interior of the build- ing. Damage costs were undetermined.
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
RIGHT: This video image from the Sanger Fire Department showed the flames burning in the business when fire crews first arrived. More in- formation on the blaze is in a story on page A6.
Sanger Fire Department / Photo contributed
Jackson,
who lives in the
Kingsburg area
in Tulare Coun-
ty, was booked
into the Fresno County Jail on four counts of rape along with single counts of continuous sex abuse of a child, oral copulation with a child, lewd acts with a child, communicat- ing with a child to commit a felony and meeting with a child for lewd purposes.
Jackson's bail was set at $215,000. She remained in custo- dy in the Fresno County Jail as of Sept. 6.
A FCSO news release said that detectives with the Sex Crimes Unit began an investigation after receiving information of Jackson engaging in continuous sexual abuse of a boy. Jackson met the boy at the Dunlap Leadership Academy, and investigators said Jackson had several one-on-one meetings with the student and sexual misconduct took place.
See ARRESTonpageA2
Sept. 11 remembrance events scheduled
MVT Staff Report
There are a number of events scheduled this week to commemorate the 20-year anniversary of 9/11, the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.
This Friday, Sept. 10, two events are tentatively scheduled in Reedley. At Immanuel Schools, first respond- ers will be on campus to honor the lives lost two decades ago (see relat- ed story in Lifestyle). Reedley High School also has tentatively scheduled a brief ceremony at the school flag-
pole in front of the main building in commemoration.
There are two notable events in the region on Saturday, Sept. 11. In Sanger, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Edward Kuhlman Post 7168 will host a 9/11 ceremony and breakfast at 7:30 p.m. in the American Legion Hall, 1502 O St. For more information, contact Clint Vance at (559) 960-2337.
Also, the National Latino Peace Of- ficer Association Central Valley Chap- ter will be hosting a 9/11 ceremony on Sept. 11 beginning at 10 a.m. at the Oro- si Sports Complex, located at Avenue
419 and Road 128. The ceremony is to "honor, educate and remember." For more informationt, call (559) 273-3161.
Other scheduled 9/11 events on Saturday in the Central San Joaquin Valley area include the California 9/11 Memorial Service from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at 200 W. Pontiac Way in Clovis; a Pa- triot Day event at Clovis Community College (noon to 12:30 p.m.), 10309 N. Willow Ave. in Fresno; and a National Day of Remembrance by the Tulare Sheriff's Office and Tulare County Fire (8 to 8:30 a.m.), TCSO off South Akers Street (north side) in Visalia.
Miss Dinuba Pageant welcomes back live attendance
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
The Miss Dinuba Pageant will be wel- coming back a live public audience for its 2021 event this weekend.
Six candidates will compete for the title at this year's pageant, scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11 at Dinuba High School's Hellbaum Audi- torium. Last year's event was held at a private home and limited to a small audi- ence of 50 because of the COVID-19 pan- demic. Natalie Gonzalez was crowned as Miss Dinuba last year, and will be present this year to crown the new winner.
The scholarship pageant will feature the young women — all students at Dinu- ba High — performing a talent, answer- ing an impromptu question, sharing their platform and poise in their evening gown. Candidates will be interviewed by judges
showing why they should be selected to represent Dinuba for the next year. There initially were seven candidates entered, but one bowed out from the event.
Here are individual bios for each can- didate, in alphabetical order:
YARITSSA ARAUJO-GOMEZ
Yaritssa Araujo-Gomez is the 17-year- old daughter of Eloy Araujo and Maria Gomez. She has two older siblings and two younger siblings.
Yaritssa's academic honors include being Emperor of the Month and plac- ing fifth at the HOSA State Leadership Conference for the Health Career Dis- play Board competition. Throughout high school, Yaritssa has been involved with HOSA and served as an officer. She has served as the Across the Grid club sec-
See MISS DINUBA on page A6
Miss Dinuba Pageant / Photo Contributed
Candidates for 2021 Miss Dinuba gathered around Natalie Gonzalez, 2020 Miss Dinuba. Gonzalez will be present to crown the new Miss Dinuba at this year's pageant, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 11, at Hellbaum Auditorium.
Krystal Jackson
Classifieds - A9 Directory - A10 Legals - A12-16
Sports - A11, A17 Lifestyle - A7-8 Lights & Sirens - A3, A5 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4