Page 14 - Mid Valley Times 7-25-19 E-edition

Thursday, July 25, 2019 | A14 | Mid Valley TiMes Working in Reedley, but
never forgetting hometown
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
Daniel Lopez, a Parlier native and engineer with the Reedley Fire Department was asked how he felt about working in town and helping the local community dur- ing calls for service. His answer was simple.
"It's a great honor," he said. "To be invited to this community, to this city, coming from another city [Parlier]. To me, it's an hon- or and a privilege that the city of Reedley welcomed me and my family by giving me the oppor- tunity to grow here, learn here, promote here."
Lopez lives in Reedley with his wife and children. He works full time for the Department of Cor- rections, and on his days off he volunteers his time to the fire de- partment. He said it's something he truly enjoys.
"Volunteering in city programs is one thing I liked about Reed- ley," said Lopez. "There were a lot of city programs, community outreach. That was a big draw for me to join this department."
Lopez's fire career initially be- gan in Parlier.
"I worked out of the Parlier station for Fresno County Fire for 16 years as a paid call firefighter, company officer, and captain," he said."I then moved to Reedley and I loved it. The camaraderie here, our staff, our crew. We have different approaches, different work habits from people."
Prior to making the move to fire, Lopez said he tried a career in law enforcement, and felt that was not the route he was meant
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
From left, the Upward Bound team of April Quintana from Kingsburg, Fernando Bonilla from Kingsburg and Luis Cruz from Selma placed second with their robotic water rover "Queen Bee" in a time of 51 seconds.
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
Daniel Lopez, a Parlier native and engineer with the Reedley Fire Depart- ment, said he still remembers the lessons he learned growing up in his hometown. "You never forget where you came from," he said.
UPWARD Continued from page A1
Wright, director of grant funded programs for RC. Tapia-Wright said 700 peo- ple attended the awards banquet at the Reedley College gymnasium the evening of July 18.
The students partici- pating in the underwater robotics on a hot after- noon enjoyed the unique event. Teams of students took anywhere from a few days to two-to-three weeks to build their un- derwater robotic, called SeaPerch Rover (remote- ly operated vehicle).
Instructor Nicolas Pe- ters of Reedley said it was the first time most of the students had built a robot.
"It's the first time they've used power tools, the first time they had to do electronics," he said. "Try it out, and if it
doesn't work try it again." Kingsburg High stu- dents Fernando Bonilla and April Quintana along with Selma High student Luis Cruz made up one of the teams. Bonilla and Cruz stood on the pool deck operating while Quintana swam under water to monitor how the
device was traveling. Their Rover, "Queen Bee", took about three weeks to build and came through with a strong performance. The vehi- cle covered the course in 51 seconds, just three seconds behind the best
posted time.
"This is my first year
doing this," Quintana said. "It's really good. It gives us a chance to be part of something big- ger than us. It gives us a chance to do things we didn't think we were ca- pable of doing."
to be on.
"In law enforcement, un-
fortunately there are negative comments, feedback, judgment against them for doing their job, he said.
"That can be stressful, it pulls a lot of stress out of someone. It takes a really strong individual to take that stress and continue to do their job and have good mo- rale."
Although Lopez no longer lives in Parlier, he still remem- bers the lessons both good and
bad he learned in his hometown. "You never forget where you came from," he said. "You learn a lot of things coming from a small
town like Parlier."
He also had some advice for
those wanting to pursue a career in fire; stay in school and main- tain an education, because the job has changed.
"Don't stop educating your- self for where you want to be, put in the extra hours. Respect those who have done their time already."
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