Page 1 - Mid Valley Times 11-28-19 E-edition

Vol. 1, No. 22
50 cents
Cleanup
to begin
at new
HS site in
Dinuba
By George M. Villagrana and Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
Environmental cleanup op- erations for the planned high school in south Dinuba will be- gin on Monday, Dec. 2.
The 76-acre cleanup site on the southwest corner of East Kamm Avenue (Avenue 408) and South Alta Avenue (Road 80) is the location for a new high school to replace the ex- isting Dinuba High School. The cleanup plans were announced in a work notice from the De- partment of Toxic Substances Control.
The new campus will in- clude up to 98 classrooms and accommodate up to 3,000 stu- dents. It will replace the exist- ing Dinuba High School cam- pus, which will be converted to a middle school campus,.
Field work will be done weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and continue for about six weeks. The site will be fenced off to restrict access.
According to DTSC, field work activities include:
• Staging of heavy equip- ment, marking for underground utilities, and site preparation work
• Earth-moving activities, including soil excavation (ap- proximately 1,050 cubic yards) and soil stockpiling
• Water spraying to control dust generation
• Air monitoring around the perimeter to monitor dust dur- ing the soil distributing activi-
tiesAll trucks will be inspected and cleaned by brushing and scraping to remove soil and dust before leaving the site. Tarps or other suitable con- cerns would be used to cover truck loads hauling the exca- vated soil.
Approximately 70 truck-
SeeCLEANUPonpage A12
Thursday, November 28, 2019
Making room for more
Currently under construction, new Sanger Ed Complex soon will be the home of the district’s second high school
By Rick Curiel
Mid Valley Times
Of the 13,000-plus stu- dents currently enrolled in the Sanger Unified School District, over half come from communities outside the Sanger city limits. This is because the 190-square mile district encompasses Del Rey, Minkler, and portions of Fres- no, Clovis and the Sunnyside area, the latter of which have recently grown eastward and into the district’s boundaries.
But, to the west of Sanger city limits, the district is just months away from opening their second higher-level ex- pansion project in the past two decades.
Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times
Steven Valdez, project manager for Harris Construction, led Sanger Rotary Club members on a Nov. 21 tour of the Sanger Educational Complex. Here, he points out where offices will be located.
According to Eduardo Mar- tinez, Associate Superintendent for Sanger Unified School Dis- trict, the Sanger Educational Complex has been in the works
for the past 10 years.
“From identifying the
location, finalizing all the purchase agreements, iden- tifying an architect, identify-
ing a concept, going through the design phase, approvals through the state, and going
See ED COMPLEX on page A14
Reedley embracing farmland preservation
City developing program to ensure community's ag prominence is maintained
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
The city of Reedley is beginning to take steps to preserve its agricultural heritage.
Community Development Director Rob Terry, Associate Planner Ellen Moore and consultant presented a 45-minute Farmland Preservation Program work- shop to the Reedley Planning Commission at a special commission meeting on Nov. 14. That was followed by about 15 minutes of discussion among leaders, commission- ers and community members.
Terry began the workshop by telling the commission the city's three basic goals the city has for a farmland pres- ervation program:
• To preserve agricultural activities in the city of Reedley
• To minimize the impact or urban development on agriculture
• To enhance the city's unique small city character
File Photo / Mid Valley Times
Trees were blossoming with buds in an orchard north of Reedley in February 2017. Farmland in rural areas surrounding the city appear to be getting support from city officials, who pre- sented a Farmland Presentation workshop to the Reedley Planning Commission on Nov. 14 .
MVT offices will close for holiday on Nov. 28-29
The Mid Valley Times' business offices in Dinu- ba, Reedley and Sanger will be closed on Thurs- day and Friday, Nov. 28-29, in observance of Thanksgiving.
The Times' three of- fices will reopen for busi- ness at 8 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 2.
Parlier, Sanger educators win county awards
Georgina Vivian, a consultant from Fresno, conducted a Q&A slide presen- tation to gauge attendees' knowledge and interest in farmland preservation.
She said the next step in the city's pro- cess is to look at and study other farm-
See PRESERVATION on page A11
Torres, Wiechmann honored on Nov. 21
MVT Staff, Contributed Reports
Officials with school districts in Parlier and Sanger captured two of the top three awards at last week's regional Educator of the Year Awards ceremony, presented by the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools in partnership with the Educational Employees Credit Union.
Praxades Torres III (School Employee
Praxades Torres III
of the Year) with Parlier Unified School District and Dennis Wiechmann (Adminstrator of the Year) with Sanger Uni- fied School District were honored along with Greg Barragan (Teacher of the Year) at the Nov. 21 event at the William Saroyan Theatre in downtown
Dennis Wiechmann
Attendance department. Both Torres and Barra- gan have the opportunity to apply for the California Department of Education
awards in 2020.
The Educator of the
Year application process began in March when the County Superintendent of Schools office receives
Fresno. Torres is Director of Child Welfare and Attendance at PUSD while Wiechmann is supervisor of SUSD's Child Welfare and
the completed nomination packets from
SeeEDUCATORSonpage A12
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