Page 1 - Mid Valley Times 7-25-19 E-edition

Thursday, July 25, 2019
50 cents
Vol. 1, No. 4
Upward Bound goals
High school students hone robotics skills in RC program
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
It wasn't your everyday swimmer navigating beneath the surface of the pool water at the Reedley High School Aquatics Complex on July 18.
Water-prepared robotics devices – built by members of the Reedley College Up- ward Bound pre-college pro- gram — churned underwater through a variety of hoops and other obstacles during the final day of the college's six- week summer program. This year's summer session drew 321 high school students from from communities including Reedley, Dinuba and Sanger.
For the first time, the pro- gram had underwater robotics after the RC Upward Bound received more than $240,000 in federal money through the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Initia- tive.
"We serve a large area. We're at 10 high schools and 13 com- munities," said Diana Tapia-
See UPWARD onpageA14
Contributed Photo
Father Raul Diaz of Saint Catherine's Catholic Church in Dinuba will not face charges of inappropriate contact, ac- cording to Dinuba police.
No charges
to be filed
against
Dinuba
priest
By Rick Curiel
Mid Valley Times
Father Raul Diaz of Saint Cath- erine’s Catholic Church in Dinuba will not be facing criminal charges for inappropriate contact with a mi- nor, said the Dinuba Police Depart- ment on July 16.
“I am thankful and relieved,” said Diaz after hearing of the deci- sion. “I thank God for the Dinuba Police Department and the District Attorney for being objective. And I am grateful for all the prayers from the community.”
Back on May 25, the Diocese of Fresno placed Father Diaz on paid administrative leave after a report surfaced of possible inappropriate contact.
According to the Dinuba PD, the claims were originally reported to an employee of the department, not to a police officer, on the evening of May 15. Because the employee also serves as a mandated reporter, the claim was passed along to investiga- tors the following morning.
What ensued was a six-week long investigation into the matter.
The Dinuba PD shared that near- ly 100 people came forward, either in person or by telephone, mostly in defense of Diaz. Of those, however, the department said approximately 30 people provided testimonies that were ultimately incorporated into the final report.
That report was filed with the Tulare County District Attorney’s
See DIAZonpageA6
Rios-Hennecke to lead Sanger Unified's classified
By Dick Sheppard
Mid Valley Times
Monica Rios-Hennecke will re- place recently retired Vicki Roth as the Sanger Unified School District's director of classified personnel at the beginning of the new school year.
The school board confirmed the ap- pointment at its July 23 meeting.
Rios-Hennecke will oversee Sanger Unified's "Classified Personnel Com-
mission" which plays a key role in one of the few "Merit" school districts in Fresno County and California: deter- mining who gets hired or promoted for classified, or non-teaching positions in the district.
Sanger and Madera Unified and the State Center Community College District are the only Merit districts in Fresno County, according to the Cali- fornia School Personnel Commission- ers Association website.
What is the "Merit System?" It con- sists of rules and procedures for clas- sified (non-teaching) school personnel.
Prospective employees at Sanger Unified must take a written test, an oral examination or a performance test and an additional oral interview by de- partment or school site administration.
It's a competitive process to make sure the most qualified applicant is
See CLASSIFIED on page A6
By Rick Curiel
Mid Valley Times
Former Dinuba City Mayor Ray Millard died after being struck on East El Monte Way over the weekend, say Dinuba police.
According to the Dinuba Police Department, at approximately 6:10 a.m., officers were dispatched to the 1500 block of East El Monte Way on July 20 for a report of a vehicle ver- sus pedestrian collision. Upon arrival, officers located an 87-year-old adult male who had been struck while cross- ing the intersection at Palm Drive. The adult male, who was later identified as Millard, was traveling on a motorized wheel chair.
Officers say
the driver of the
vehicle, identified
as Ralph Wymen-
ga, 71, of Dinuba,
was determined
to be driving east-
bound on East El
Monte Way when
he collided with
Millard in the
crosswalk. Millard
passed away at the scene of the acci- dent from what officers described as severe injuries.
Police say Wymenga was coopera- tive in the investigation and will not be facing any charges.
“He’s pretty distraught,” said Di-
nuba Police Sergeant Reynaldo Vela of the driver. “He actually knew Mr. Millard.”
The incident occurred at an inter- section notorious for accidents in Di- nuba. According to Dinuba PD, there have been seven accidents at the cross- walk in just the past eight years. Two of the accidents involved vehicles ver- sus bicyclists while three have been vehicle versus pedestrian. A few years back, the city of Dinuba, in an effort to make the crossing safer, installed crossing lights along the crosswalk.
It’s unknown whether those cross- ing lights were on during the collision, but some believe the time of the day
See MILLARD on page A5
ABOVE: Upward Bound students (from left) Luis Cruz of Sel- ma, Fernando Bonilla of Kingsburg and April Quintana (in pool) of Kingsburg prepared their SeaPerch rover robotic devices for competition on July 18 at Reedley High School pool.
LEFT: Students in
the summer Upward Bound program at Reedley College posed for a group shot after the competition.
Photos by Jon Earnest /MidValleyTimes
Former Dinuba mayor dies in accident
Ray Millard
Editor's Note
You may notice that our type is easier to decipher. That's because we've enlarged our type size in response to feedback to from our Mid Valley Times customers to make the reading experience a bet- ter one. Enjoy the change!
Classifieds - B3 Directory - B4
Legals - B5-9 Sports - B1-2, B10 Lights & Sirens - A3
Obituaries - A2-3
Opinion - A4