Page 1 - Mid Valley Times 3-10-22 E-Edition

Thursday, March 10, 2022
Vol. 3, No. 36
Big groundbreaking at RC
50 cents
Memorial
service
set for
Fred Hall
Event will be Friday, March 18 at Reedley Community Center
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
A date has been set for a memorial service to honor Mid Valley Times Publisher Fred Hall, who died at his Selma home
McClarty Center for Fine and Performing Arts slated to be open in September '23
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
Reedley's College's long- awaited McClarty Center for the Fine and Performing Arts took a giant step toward be- coming reality last week with a groundbreaking ceremony just west of the site on the northeast portion of campus.
More than 100 people turned out for the ceremony to formal- ly break ground for the $28 mil- lion, 25,000 square foot facility, although ground already has been graded and preliminary sizing already has started.
The McClarty Center will feature at 509-seat perfor- mance hall, box office, conces- sion stand, art gallery, green- room and large lobby area. De- signed by Darden Architects, the center will be built by Seal Construction.
Special speakers at the cer-
See CENTER on page A16
ABOVE: From left, State Center Com- munity College District Board Trustee Deborah Ikeda, Trustee Bobby Kahn, Trustee Magdalena Gomez, Chancellor Carole Goldsmith, major donor Harold McClarty, Reedley College President Jerry Buckley, Dennis Peters of the Pete P. Peters Foundation,and Trustee Danielle Parra shoveled dirt as part of the ceremonial groundbreaking for the McClarty Center for Fine and Perform- ing Arts on March 2.
RIGHT: Artist's renderings of the inte- rior of the center are pictured at the site before the groundbreaking. The center is expected to be completed in 18 months, in September 2023.
Photos by Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
on Feb. 26. The me- morial ser- vice will take place at 1 p.m. Friday, March 18, in the Reedley Community
Fred Hall
School mask mandates lifted this week
Center's California Room. Mr. Hall served as pub- lisher for Mid Valley Publish- ing since 1995, overseeing op- erations of the chain's three newspapers — The Dinuba Sentinel, Reedley Exponent and Sanger Herald. The three publications merged in July 2019 to become the Mid Val- ley Times, and offices remain
in Reedley and Sanger.
Mr. Hall was well-known
for his weekly columns which dealt with world, national and local issues and traditionally ended with the line, "That's only one man's opinion."
The public is invited to the memorial service.
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
At the start of the class day on Mon- day, March 14, public school students along with educators and staff will be free to go without face coverings as part of their school day.
The mask mandate that had been im- posed on public school students since campuses reopened after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 finally has been lifted by the California Department of Public Health and Gov. Gavin Newsom. Schools had been the fi- nal significant entity that still was deal-
Coronavirus Update
ing with a requirement by the state to mask up.
From March 14 on, masks are "strongly encouraged" on campuses and at indoor businesses and locations in the state, and the label also goes for unvac- cinated people.
The easing restrictions come as ac- tive and new case rates continue to drop to levels that were present prior to a spike in infections in early January. The latest Fresno and Tulare County data updates early this week show that daily
new case numbers per 100,000 in popu- lation have dropped back well below 20. In Fresno County, the most recent daily new case percentage on March 8 actually rose slightly, from 18.4 to 18.6 percent. That's well below the nearly 230 per day case rate peak in early February. The seven-day positivity rate also hit its lowest point in weeks, drop- ping to 5.8 percent (1,146 active cases) compared to 29.8 percent and more than
15,000 active a month ago.
The sharp drops also have contin-
ued in Tulare County, where new daily
See VIRUS on page A16
Wet weather doesn't deter annual Blossom Trail events
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Participants in the annual Pet Parade in downtown Sanger didn't let a chilly morning stop them from showing off their pooches. In addition to the Pet Parade, the Blossom Trail Run had an early morning start in the streets of downtown. This Saturday, March 12, the annual Blossom Trail Festival will begin at 9 a.m. with activites including the annual car show, a Lego Master competition, a beer and wine garden and other attractions.
MVT Staff Report
Blossom Trail month events began last Saturday, March 5, with activities in downtown Sanger including the Sanger Blossom Trail Run and annual Pet Parade.
In Reedley, the 32nd annual Blossom Bike Ride went off de- spite cloudy conditions and light rain. Riders started and finished their different distances of rides in the Reedley College parking lot off Reed Avenue.
Blossom Trail activities continue in a big way this Sat- urday, March 12, in downtown Sanger. The annual Blossom Trail Festival will feature the traditional car show, food and drink and multiple activities. The event starts at 9 a.m.
The annual Blossom Bike Ride carries the motto that it will run rain or shine, and this year's 32nd event on Friday proved to be no exception. At left, some of the cyclists in a longer ride roll along a rural road north of Reedley on March 5. Each set
of rides started and finished at Reedley College.
George Villagrana / Photo Contributed
Classifieds - A14 Directory - A6 Legals - A10-13 Sports - A9, A15 Lifestyle - A7-8 Lights & Sirens - A3, A5
Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4