Reedley Exponent 10-4-18 E-edition

From Reedley’s concert hall to Carnegie Hall
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Reedley High volleyball continues NYL domination
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Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654 | 50 cents New murals unveiled on Rails to Trails Parkway
Vol. 129, No. 40 | Thursday, October 4, 2018
Three works by college artists dedicated in Sept. 28 ceremony
By Juanita Adame
juanita@midvalleypublishing.com
It took hours of detailed work and close to a six-month commitment to finish three murals displayed on the east- ern wall of the Lock & Leave Storage Facility along the Rails to Trails Parkway near East Dinuba Avenue in south Reedley.
A dedication ceremony was held on Sept. 28 honoring the artwork as well as the Reedley College student artists who contributed their time and talent to complete them.
The three newest murals include; “Somewhere in
Time” painted by Abrianna Lopez, “Thank you Mr. Reed,” painted by Julio Zanic, and “The Marigold Dancer” painted by Erika Perez. There now are seven murals displayed on the wall.
“These murals are a dedication to Reedley,” said Lopez.
Lopez said her mural depicts a horse and carriage in front of Campbell Mountain and added that it makes her extremely proud to see her painting displayed for every- one to see.
“We are an agricultural city and it’s just nice to think of the history here as well as our town’s representative,” she said.
Lopez is studying animation at Reedley College and thanked everyone who has supported her along her jour-
See MURALS on page A8
Three murals by Reed- ley College students were dedicated on Sept. 28. Pictured are two
of the murals: at left is Julio Zanic’s work called “Thank you Mr. Reed,” and at right is “The Marigold Dancer” by Erika Perez.
Juanita Adame / The Exponent
ALRB OKs
Gerawan’s
vote to
oust UFW
Staff Report
The California Agricultural La- bor Relations Board on Sept. 27 of- ficially certified Gerawan Farming’s rejection of the United Farm Work- ers as their union representative.
The ALRB certification means the Reedley-based company’s No- vember 2013 employees vote to break from the UFW was approved by the state’s labor board. Ger- awan’s demand to count the votes had been tied up in courts for nearly five years before a Sept. 12 Califor- nia Supreme Court ruling upheld an earlier 5th District Court of Ap- peals ruling saying the votes were illegally impounded.
Six days later, on Sept. 18, the votes were officially counted and made public. Although 635 ballots were disputed, Gerawan employees still voted to break from the UFW by a 1,098 to 197 count.
The ALRB — which in 1992 ruled that Gerawan was to be represented bytheUFW—saidinaSept.27rul- ing that the company “did not inter- fere with the employees’ free choice to such an extent that it affected the outcome of the [decertification] election. Therefore, the Board cer- tified that a majority of the valid ballots were cast for ‘No Union’ in the representation election, and that the UFW lost its prior status as the exclusive representative of the em- ployees for the purpose of collective bargaining.”
Silvia Lopez, one of the Gerawan workers who fought the ALRB for years, expressed her surprise at the state labor board’s action.
“I cannot believe what just hap- pened. The ALRB certified our votes and results,” Lopez said in a news re- lease. “I am speechless and beyond excited and happy because justice was finally done.”
See GERAWAN on page A3
Big Fresno Fair preparations
ABOVE: From left, Reedley High School senior Joseph Caquias and junior Alejandro Ramirez, both with the Reedley FFA program, moved boxes of fruit on Oct. 1 while helping to set up the city of Reedley’s ag-
ricultural exhibit stand for the 2018 Big Fresno Fair. Caquias, Ramirez and junior Christopher Dieter were student volunteers working on behalf of the FFA. Local cities represented with ag booths inside the fair’s Agricultural Building are: Reedley, Parlier, Orange Cove, Sanger, Fowler, Selma and Kingsburg.
RIGHT: From left, Reedley High School senior Joseph Caquias, junior Christopher Dieter and junior Alejandro Ramirez stood for a photo while working on putting together the exhibit booth Reedley FFA will participate in the fair’s swine, sheep, goats and poultry divisions. Stu- dents also will have entries in the fair’s Junior Exhibits Building. This year’s fair runs daily from Oct. 3 through Sunday, Oct. 21.
Photos by Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Frog Jump anniversary a highlight for Grand Marshal
Eddie Vasquez, original 1968 member, continues work with popular event
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
This year already was going to be a special Reedley Fiesta Frog Jump contest for Eddie Vasquez, one of the event’s founders 50 years ago.
But the golden anniversary took on extra meaning for Vasquez, who recently was named grand marshal of the annual Fiesta Parade. He and his wife of 54 years, Cookie, will ride down G Street on Saturday, Oct. 13, to lead the annual proces- sion.
“Man, oh man, why did they pick me?” the 75-year-old Vasquez told himself when he received word of
of Commerce report on the history of the frog jump said the event was inspired after then-Reedley mayor, Gail Ball, suggested that the still- relatively new Fiesta needed some- thing different. The original crew of frog jump organizers came up with the idea of catching frogs from the river and local ditches, then have a contest to see who could get a frog to jump the farthest.
In addition to Vasquez and Ball, the group of founders for the contest were longtime Exponent editor and publisher Bud Brock- ett, Ralph Parichans, Don Jadoon, Bob Lock and Robert Lock, Nick Pavlovich, and Larry Green. in the mid 1980s Scott Brockett, Bud’s son, took the reins and continued the tradition.
Vasquez told how Robert Lock, a 7-foot basketball star at Reedley
See GRAND MARSHAL on page A8 Lights & Sirens - A3 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Eddie Vasquez, grand marshal for the 2018 Reedley Fiesta parade, used a trash grabber stick on a ceramic frog to demonstrate how he captures the amphibians.
the grand marshal honor. “Thank God, it was really neat. Everybody has been so great.”
Speaking from his work chair at E&DBarberShop—wherehehas cut hair for thousands of customers the last 40 years — Eddie told of the many memories he’s had being in- volved with Frog Jump event.
“We would have different people come in and we’d go down to the [Kings] river,” he said of collect- ing frogs for the jump competition. “This time of year, the water is real low. So it was easy for us, and we had clamps to grab them.”
The Greater Reedley Chamber
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