Page 7 - Reedley Exponent 6-28-18

The Reedley Exponent BPanorama
Local youngsters sing, dance with princesses at "Sparkle!" show See B8
Section | Thursday, June 28, 2018 www.reedleyexponent.com
'Memphis' is a Valley first
Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654
RCTC musical features talented 21-member cast
File Photo
In 2015, the city's Community Servic- es Department held its first "Movie in the Pool" event at the Reedley High School Aquatics Complex on Manning Avenue. This Friday, June 30, the city will show Disney's "The Little Mer- maid" at the pool at 8 p.m.
City presents
'Movie in the
Pool' night
By Jodie Reyna
Mid Valley Publishing
The City of Reedley presents its annual “Movie in the Pool” on Friday night, June 29.
Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” will be shown at 8 p.m. at the Reed- ley High School Aquatics Complex on Manning Avenue.
The movie will be broadcast on the scoreboard.
“This is a very fun family event,” said Sarah Reid, Interim Director of the city’s Community ServicesDepartment. “Seeingthe movie on the large scoreboard is a unique experience and fun envi- ronment.”
No movie was shown last year, but the event is reinstated this summer, back by popular demand.
“When the movie was shown the first time [in 2015] there was a great response from the public,”
See MOVIE page B2
Jodie Reyna/The Exponent
Nyles Terry, 8, makes a guitar out of a cereal box at the city's Summer Day Camp held at the Reedley Community Center.
Summer Day
Camp fun
Staff Report
Children at the city’s Summer Day Camp enjoyed “Fiesta Week” at the Reedley Community Center last week, June 18-22.
The day camp, which began in May, features sports, games, walk- ing trips, guest speakers, and arts and crafts. Each week has a dif- ferent theme.
During “Fiesta Week,” chil- dren made guitars out of cereal boxes. Other activities included making tissue paper flowers, pa- per bag maracas, and playing “dance freeze” and dodgeball. The week concluded with the Disney movie, “Coco.” Lunch is served at General Grant Middle School, ad- jacent to the Reedley Community Center.
See DAY CAMP page B8
By Jodie Reyna
Mid Valley Publishing
River City Theatre Company’s summer production of “Memphis” is a first for the Central Valley, ac- cording to director Joseph Ham.
The musical opens on Friday, July 6, and plays selected dates through July 29 at the Reedley Op- era House. Ham said this is the first time a local theater company will perform “Memphis.” The 21-mem- ber cast features talented artists from throughout the area.
“This show has fantastic music. It’s an energetic, uplifting musical with a powerful story and message,” he said. “It also has a lot of fun char- acters.”
Ham announced that perfor- mances are dedicated to the late Pam Melville, who passed away on Saturday, June 23. She was an RCTC board member.
In 2010, “Memphis” won four Tony Awards, including Best Musi- cal. It played on Broadway between 2009 and 2012.
“Memphis” - written by David Bryan and Joe DiPietro - takes place in the 1950s. It highlights racial ten- sions at the time between African Americans and whites living in the South.
One of the leading characters, “Huey,” is played by Fresno resident Jonathan Wheeler. Huey is a white DJ in Memphis who plays African- American rock n’ roll songs.
The musical focuses on the ro- mantic relationship that develops between Huey and “Felicia,” another leading character played by Fresno resident Camille Gaston. Felicia is an African-American aspiring sing-
er. Controversy surrounds the inter- racial couple as they face prejudice and discrimination from the public.
The musical is set in the 1950s, but Gaston said it’s message is still relevant today.
“Music brings the two racial groups together,” she said. “They are able to make a connection with each other - their color and differ- ences aside. Through music, they discover that they are alike in many ways.”
Gaston has been acting for nine years and began her career at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater in Fresno. This is her first time performing with RCTC.
Gaston has always wanted to play the role of Felicia. When Ham first approached her about a year ago and asked if she would join the cast, Gaston gladly accepted. Gaston is drawn to “Memphis” for its mu- sic, which features a wide variety of musical styles, including rock ‘n’ roll.
"This show has fantastic music. It's an energetic, uplifting musical with
a powerful story and message."
– Joseph Ham "Memphis" director
“I like the music and the story because it shows how rock ‘n’ roll and rhythm and blues grew out of the South,” she said.
Ham said the show’s music is de- manding and challenging, but is also
one of the best aspects of the musi- cal. Memphis features rock ‘n’ roll, rhythm and blues, as well as gospel.
“It’s very vocally demanding, es- pecially for the leading rolls, but the cast is doing a great job,” Ham said.
This is the third show that Ham has directed solo at River City The- atre Company. He directed “The Wizard of Oz” in 2016 and “Miracle on 34th Street” in 2017. Since Ham first watched “Memphis” two years ago, he has dreamed of directing it.
“After I saw the show, it was in- stantly one of my favorites,” he said. “And now, I am getting to see it come to life on stage with a great cast.”
When Ham is not directing shows for RCTC, he is a Visual and Per- forming Arts (VAPA) technician for Kings Canyon Unified School Dis- trict. Also an employee of KCUSD, Sarah Wiebe has returned to RCTC, after a brief two-year absence, to direct the choreography for “Mem- phis.” She had previously worked with RCTC for 13 years before be- coming an English Language Arts and drama teacher at Reedley High School. Wiebe recently finished di- recting Reedley High School’s spring musical, “The Little Mermaid.”
With “Memphis,” Wiebe said the era and style of music - 1950s rock
‘n’ roll - makes it fun to choreograph. “I’m working with a great group of people. Everyone is working hard
and giving it their all,” she said. Wheeler, who plays the charac- ter “Huey,” describes the show as “intense.” Wheeler began acting in 2002 at Roger Rocka’s Dinner The- ater in Fresno. He previously per- formed at RCTC in “Les Miserables”
and “Sweeney Todd.”
Wheeler said his biggest chal-
lenge with “Memphis” is staying in character. Huey is strange, awk- ward and somewhat of a community outcast, Wheeler said. When he first auditioned for “Memphis,” Wheeler was not familiar with the story, but once he heard the soundtrack, he fell in love and is confident the audience will too.
“You get to dance, cry, be happy, and there’s a lot of laughter,” he said. Other cast members include: “Delray” played by Samuel Walls, “Bobby” played Eloy Mireles, “Ga- tor” played by Jeremy Salas, “Sim- mons” played by Steve Jones, and “Gladys” played by Lilly Dale Reed. The ensemble includes: Glenda Stewart, Cassie Charles, Olivia Gon- zales, Isaiah Bueno, Jorge Ramirez,
See MEMPHIS page B2
Wiebe retires from KCUSD after 36 years
By Jodie Reyna
Mid Valley Publishing
A Facebook page designed by her son that is overflowing with well-wishes and memories from students from the past 36 years is affirmation that Sheila Wiebe has accomplished what she set out to do.
Wiebe retired this year from Kings Canyon Unified School Dis- trict as the administrator for educa- tional programs. Wiebe’s last day is June 30. On July 1, her position will be filled by Jose Guzman who has served as the principal of Ahwahnee Middle School for the past six years. Guzman has a total of 20 years of service with Fresno Unified School District.
For almost four decades, Wiebe has poured her heart and soul into educating students and giving them opportunities. Although education is primarily reading, writing, and arithmetic, Wiebe said being an ed- ucator is first and foremost about building relationships.
“If you’re in this business for any other reason than serving peo- ple then it’s not going to be a satisfy- ing career for you,” she said.
Wiebe’s passion has been evi- dent since the start. She began her career with KCUSD as a first grade teacher at Great Western and Riverview schools. At the close of each school year, Wiebe would tell her students before they moved onto second grade, “I love you and I will always love you. Anytime you need my help, I’m always here for you.”
Wiebe was unsure if these words made a lasting impact on her young students. But, years later, at a sixth grade promotion ceremony, a student speaker recalled “Mrs. Wiebe’s love for us.” Wiebe said it was a humbling and revealing mo- ment to know that she had made a difference.
At her retirement celebration earlier this year, Wiebe was praised by many of her coworkers, family and friends.
Said Superintendent John Camp- bell at the event, “I have worked closely with Sheila as she has led both a K-5 school and a K-8 school, as principal. After very successful stints in those roles, she was pro-
moted to the cabinet level position of administrator for educational pro- grams. Ineachofherroles,Sheila’s work ethic and desire to do every- thing she can for her kids shines through.”
After being a first grade teacher for 12 years, Wiebe made a jump to Reedley High School where she both created and taught the Youth Educa- tion Services (YES) program, also known as cross-age tutoring. This program offers tutoring support to struggling students and is still in place today. For Wiebe, this was one of the highlights of her career - being able to create a program and see it prosper. This was supposed to be a three-year position at the most, but turned into 11 years.
Wiebe spent a brief time as learn- ing director at Navelencia School be- fore serving as principal at McCord and T.L. Reed elementary schools. Wiebe has served in her current po- sition with the school district for the past four years where she oversees special education services. Another aspect of her job is to make sure the school district is in compliance with state and federally funded programs.
"In each of her roles, Sheila's work ethic and desire to do everything she can for her kids shines through."
– KCUSD Superintendent John Campbell
That program is called LCAP (Local Control and Accountability Plan), which serves socioeconomi- cally disadvantaged students, as well as foster students and English learn- ers. Wiebe unofficially renamed the program “Let’s Create Amazing Pos- sibilities.”
This plan includes a wide variety of programs intended to help stu- dents succeed. Some programs have helped boost attendance and gradu- ation rates, and others that have al- lowed for a state preschool at nearly every school site in the district. With LCAP, Wiebe said both the plan and results are clearly tied together, and
Jodie Reyna/The Exponent
Sheila Wiebe (left) is retiring from her job at Kings Canyon Unified School District asadministratorforeducationalprogramseffectiveJune30. JoseGuzman(right), former principal of Ahwahnee Middle School, will take over her position on July 1.
Career marked by love for students, people
the school district is so far seeing a lot of positive results.
“We are on a steady incline and making progress,” Wiebe said. “I am excited to have been a part of it.”
Jose Guzman, who will take over for Wiebe effective July 1, said he’s looking forward to continuing the work that Wiebe started.
“Sheila is not someone you re- place. She has done some amazing things that have helped make Kings Canyon Unified what it is today,” he said. “This district is doing some great things and I plan to keep that momentum going.”
Over the years, Wiebe has wit- nessed the school district go through many changes.
Wiebe has worked under the leadership of every superintendent that has served KCUSD since its inception. Those superintendents include Roger Freet, John Rogalsky, Carl Campbell, Jean Fetterhoff, Juan Garza and John Campbell. The only superintendent that Wiebe did not work for was the late Silas Bartsch, KCUSD’s first superintendent. But, he was her professor at Fresno Pa- cific University where she earned a master’s degree. Bartsch imparted
wisdom and advice to Wiebe that she continues to rely on today.
“It’s been an incredible honor to work for all of them and see their dedication to the district,” she said.
In 2016, Wiebe had the opportu- nity to move into KCUSD’s newly- built headquarters on 10th St. from its previous location on Manning Av- enue, which the school district had outgrown.
“The new building is in a beau- tiful setting, provides access to the community, and shows that we are proud of our district and who we are,” Wiebe said.
As for why she chose educa- tion as a career, Wiebe said it “just made sense.” Wiebe’s two paternal grandparents were teachers. Her dad and grandfather were pastors. As a child, Wiebe recalls teach- ing her younger sister the Pledge of Allegiance and “playing school” with neighborhood friends. Sheila’s husband, Wayne Wiebe, is a retired teacher from Immanuel Schools.
After retirement, Sheila Wiebe, 58, intends to continue working as a part-time consultant for KCUSD and
See WIEBE page B8