Reedley Exponent 6-28-18

Sheila Wiebe retires from KCUSD after 36 years
Two local players participate in All-Star softball game
Sports
Panorama
Vol. 129, No. 26 | Thursday, June 28, 2018
www.reedleyexponent.com
Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654 | 50 cents Downtown business leader Pam Melville dies
Dale and Pam Melville waved to the crowd as they rode in the Oct.
14, 2017 Reedley Fiesta Parade as grand marshals. Pam Melville died June 23 in Fresno after a long battle with cancer. She was 67.
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Longtime David’s owner served 19 years on Parks commission
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
Pam Melville, longtime downtown business owner and one of Reedley’s biggest supporters during her four-plus decades in the city, died June 23 after a 12-year battle with cancer. She was 67.
Dale Melville said his wife passed away in a Fresno hospital surrounded by family. He said her health had taken a turn for the worse in the past three weeks, and she was hospitalized the week prior to her death.
Melville owned and operated David’s and Party Plus in downtown Reedley since 1980 and held various leader-
ship roles in the Reedley Downtown Association for more than three decades. She served 19 years on the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission, more than 10 of those years chairing the commission, and also served on the Sierra Kings Health Care District board.
City Manager Nicole Zieba called Melville a “phenom- enal person” who definitely will be missed.
“How do you even say how much you’re going to miss someone who has a presence like Pam? Words absolutely fail me,” she said.
Melville’s flagship store David’s, family-owned since the 1920s, had a memory book placed near the front reg- ister for customers to sign. Bibi Azeez, a clerk at the store who’s known Melville for 20 years, called her a true advo- cate for Reedley.
See MELVILLE on page A3
Police plan
patrols to
find illegal
fireworks
Staff Report
The Reedley police and fire de- partments plan to amp up enforce- ment to prevent and discourage use of illegal fireworks during the Fourth of July holiday week.
Lt. Marc Ediger with the Reed- ley Police Department said that po- lice and fire officials will conduct enforcement through the holiday to take illegal fireworks off the street. State law provides for a fine of at least $1,000 and possible jail time for violation of fireworks laws.
The definition of illegal fire- works is any device that explodes or goes into the air under its own power. Illegal fireworks include M80 and M-100 explosives, cherry bombs, firecrackers or bottle rock- ets.
Law enforcement officials en- courage anyone buying fireworks to buy from a licensed store or stand. Reedley has nine locations where “safe and sane” fireworks can be
See FIREWORKS on page A6
Parlier man
accused in
fatal stabbing
Staff Report
A 65-year-old Parlier man is fac- ing murder and attempted murder charges after
a June 23 stab-
bing in the city
west of Reedley
left one man
dead and two
others wounded.
Council tackles fiery nuisance
ABOVE: An abandoned house at 1527
S. Frankwood Ave. in south Reedley is overrun by weeds. The property owner is deceased, and the vacant structure was damaged by fire in 2014. On June 12, the Reedley City Council voted to declare the property a nuisance to gain access and clean out excess vegetation.
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
RIGHT: Flames spread to a garage and house next door after property surrounding an abandoned residence at 181 N. Justine Ave. caught fire on June 19. That aban- doned property is similar to the property on Frankwood Avenue in that both property owners are deceased.
Reedley Fire Department / Photo Contributed
Abandoned house a hazard similar to Justine Avenue site of June 19 fire
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
The city of Reedley has taken steps to try to alleviate fire hazards on one of two properties in the city whose owners are deceased.
At its June 12 meeting, the Reed- ley City Council adopted a resolution to declare a public nuisance and eventually demolish the property at 1527 S. Frankwood Ave., at the south- west corner of Olson Avenue. The abandoned house on the property had burned in 2014, months after the death of Terry A. Buckley, the owner of record.
The property on Frankwood is similar to a lot containing an aban- doned house at 181 N. Justine Ave. The owner of that property also is deceased. Before the city could try to take steps regarding that prop- erty, disaster struck.
The Justine Avenue lot was the source of a June 19 fire that spread to the adjoining house at 215 N. Jus- tine. The blaze caused $150,000 in damage to the neighboring residence that housed six people, four of them children.
City Manager Nicole Zieba said that the abandoned house on Justine had been visited more than 30 times by police or code enforcement offi- cers.
“We constantly were trying to drive people out of there that were creating an issue,” she said. “Unfor- tunately in this case — exactly what we were trying to avoid — it caught [adjoining] houses on fire.”
The Frankwood Avenue prop- erty is becoming a fire hazard as
See NUISANCE on page A2
Mario Ro-
sales was
booked into the
Fresno County
Jail on suspicion of murder, at-
See STABBING on page A3
End of an era for Nurmi Insurance
Exponent office closed on July 4
The business office of The Exponent will be closed on Wednesday, July 4, in obser- vance of Independence Day.
There will be early dead- lines this week because of ear- ly production. Classified liner ads and legal notices are due by noon on Thursday, June 28. Regular and classified display ads also are due by noon on Thursday, June 28.
The office will reopen for business at 8 a.m. on Thursday, July 5.
Classified - B5-6
See NURMI on page A6 Directory - A5 Legals - B7 Sports - B3-4 Lights & Sirens - A3 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4
Mario Rosales
After 87 years, multi-generation family business will change ownership on July 1
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Kay Nurmi DiMuro, right, third-generation owner of the Farmers Insurance agency in Reedley, is selling the business to Derek Ybarra, left, effective Sunday, July 1. Nurmi DiMuro said she will continue to work at the business as a specialty agent.
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
Next month, for the first time since 1931, the Farmers insurance agency in Reedley will not have a Nurmi as primary owner.
Kay Nurmi DiMuro, who has worked for 40 years at the agency — including the last 38 as owner — is selling the agency at 1204 11th St. to Visalia resident Derek Ybarra effec- tive July 1.
But the 62-year-old Reedley res- ident isn’t going anywhere. Nurmi DiMuro plans to continue working as a specialty agent, catering to ag- riculture clients and commercial businesses.
“It’s going to be fun. I’m looking forward to it,” she said. “I am em- bracing my next challenge.”
that began when her grandfather, Nels J. Nurmi, opened the agency in 1931 at his farm south of Manning Avenue, west of the Kings River.
“I’m very faith-driven,” she said. “I did a lot of praying. What doors are open? What doors are going to close?”
In February, Nurmi met with Ybarra, who was looking to return to the insurance business after working as a regional sales representative for Comcast.
“Because of the legacy, I was re- al concerned,” she said. “Again, I did a lot of praying. I think it’s a perfect fit. And I’m at peace about selling it to him.”
“I clicked the best with Kay, and that’s how this agency happened,” said Ybarra, who had been looking for about a year to buy a Farmers agen-
Nurmi DiMuro prayed about the decision to end an 87-year tradition