Page 18 - Mid Valley Times 2-10-22 E-Edition

Thursday, February 10, 2022 | A18 | Mid Valley TiMes
Decorated Sanger veteran Tony Velasquez dies at 93
Purple Heart recipient was grand marshal for 2015 Veterans Day parade
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
Services will be held Tues- day, Feb. 15, for decorated Sanger veteran Tony Velas- quez Sr., a Purple Heart re- cipient and grand marshal of the 2015 Sanger Veterans Day Parade.
Velasquez died peacefully at his Sanger home on Jan. 27 at the age of 93.
Velasquez served in the United States Army, and was
assigned to the First Calvary Division, Third, Regiment, Fox Company, Third Platoon. He was wounded on a desti- nation "X" combat patrol on July 8, 1951, and hospitalized for two weeks. While being wounded, he saved the lives of other platoon members.
In addition to receiving the Purple Heart, Velasquez was recognized for his bravery by being selected to become a member of Gen. Thomas Leonard Harrold's "Purple Heart Platoon." In 2013, was was selected by the U.S. Army Historical Foundation as the first 2013 candidate to be in- stalled in The Arlington Reg- istry of the American Soldier.
Velasquez received a proclamation of commenda- tion from the city of Sanger in 2014, recognizing him for his bravery and service to his country. A year later, he served as grand marshal for the city's annual Veterans Day Parade.
A graveside service for Velasquez will be held at 1 p.m. on the new side of Sanger Cemetery. Attendees are asked to wear masks.
More information on Velasquez can be found on a special Facebook page, "Ko- rean War Hero's Final Wish." It can be found at www.face- book.com/TonyVelasquezSr/.
Images Courtesy of the Velaquez Family
ABOVE LEFT: Tony Velasquez with his wife, Sallie, in an undated photo.
ABOVE RIGHT: Tony Velasquez with his son, Michael, in 2015 when he was grand marshal for the Sanger Veterans Day parade.
COVID
Continued from page A1
vaccinated people and students.
The Central Valley had been lagging in de- clines of positive case numbers compared to the rest of California, but noticeable drops fi- nally took effect last week. Tulare County's active COVID cases dropped by nearly 4,000 in a six-day span; falling from 14,299 on Feb. 1 to 10,562 on Feb. 7. The Feb. 8 numbers had not been released as of 4 p.m. that day, but the downward trend was expected to continue. The daily new case rates dropped from 194.9 to 128, and positiv- ity rates went from 27.7 percent to 26.4 percent.
Hospitalizations in general dropped for the week; from 601 to 537 after reaching a high of 611 and getting as low as 524 on Feb. 7. Tulare County hospitalizations
declined by 22, and in- tensive care patients remained at 21. Total deaths increased to 2,493 in Fresno County and 1,256 in Tulare County.
Vaccination num- bers were increasing at a slower rate, with
the number of Fresno County residents ages 5 years and older and re- ceiving one dose up to 69.5 percent. Just more than 220,000 people in the county had received a booster shot, and the number of residents ful-
ly vaccinated had sur- passed 590,000.
The rate of increase in vaccinations in Tulare County slowed dramati- cally this past week. Af- ter more than 9,700 new vaccines were reported for the week ending Feb.
1, that number increased by just 5,679 last week. The county's website also hasn't posted an up- date for more than three weeks of people fully vaccinated.
Fresno County's data on juvenile COVID case showed that children ages 5 to 11 years were the highest age group in contracting the virus. Cumulative numbers for 2022 showed that just more than 1,500 children in that age group had contracted COVID, and total cases for the age group since the start of the pandemic had sur- passed 12,500 (12,772).
The second highest incidence of COVID cases continued to be teens ages 16-19; with 1,040 cases in 2022 and 11,382 since the start of the pandemic.
FCDPH date showed that just more than 600 babies and hildren younger than 5 had con- tracted COVID in 2022.
AWARDS Continued from page A1
ness of the Year,
• Ahmad Jaber of
Jaber Motors, Entre- preneur of the Year,
• Minerva Resen- diz, Community Hero of the Year, and
• Yanez Construc- tion/Homes, Reedley Beautiful Award.
The Gala's theme for 2022 is "The Roar- ing Twenties: Reed- ley Roars Back!" The chamber encourages guests to wear 1920s attire. The dinner re- turns to its regular February indoor set- ting after being held outdoors in April 2021.
Seating begins at 5:30 p.m., and the dinner, entertainment and awards begin at 6 p.m.
For ticket informa- tion and to purchase tickets or a table, contact the Greater Reedley Chamber at (559) 638-3548.
WRESTLING From page A11
Jesus Acosta all fin- ished third. Gabriel Esquibel finished in fourth place at 120 pounds.
Reedley's boys will compete Friday and Saturday, Feb 11-12. at the Central Section Division IV-V tourna- ment at Matilda Tor- res High School in Madera, The girls will compete in section ar- ea tournament Friday, Feb. 11, at Clovis East High School.
As of the Tuesday, Feb. 8 update, there were 216,495 total cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19) out of 2,410,316 tests in Fresno County, with 2,493 deaths and 537 people hospitalized (87 in ICU).
(3,694 regional) cases and 20 deaths. Del Rey was at an updated 449 cases (1,287 in region) while the Fowler region had 1,726 cases (1,500 in the city) and an updated 32 deaths through Feb. 8. Squaw Valley (an updated 231 cases), Dunlap and Miramonte had a total case number of 590.
Among Mid Valley Times cities in the county through Feb. 8, the Reedley region continued with the most total overall positive cases with 9,744 (an updated 5,200 in the city proper), and 91 deaths in data on the Fresno County Department of Public Health website. There have been no updated numbers since December.
In Tulare County, there was a total of 96,627 confirmed cases (10,562 active, a decrease of 3,737 for the week) of COVID-19 with 1,256 deaths and 151 people hospitalized (21 in ICU) as of Monday, Feb. 7. The breakdowns by cities/regions show 7,757 total cases in Dinuba, 2,637 in Orosi, 1,343 in Cutler, 499 in Traver, 195 in the rural area south of Reedley and 51 in the area southeast of Orange Cove.
Through Feb. 8 with no recent updates, Sanger (including immediate surrounding rural areas) continued to show 9,556 cases (an updated 6,900 in the city) and 87 deaths; Parlier was at 3,600 cases (3,815 region) with 49 deaths and Orange Cove had 2,200
A total of 84,809 people (87.8 percent) in Tulare County were listed as recovered as of Monday, Feb. 8.
COVID-19 update
Flu season amps up, CDC recommends flu shots
Contributed
Flu season is offi- cially here in California, with more than a dozen influenza related deaths already reported this season by the California Department of Health. To help prevent the flu in people who are at high risk for severe compli- cations, the American Lung Association and Anthem Blue Cross Foundation, released a toolkit specifically for caregivers of adults 65 and over through their “Fend Off Flu” cam- paign.
Influenza (flu) is a serious and highly con- tagious disease that can have severe health con- sequences for all, and
especially for vulnerable adults 65 and older, and those with chronic health conditions. The new tool- kit is a resource to edu- cate caregivers including healthcare providers and personnel in long-term care settings about the flu and the importance of vaccination to protect adults 65 and older.
“Nationally, 50 to 70 percent of flu hospital- izations were in patients over 65. Flu shots are especially important for healthcare workers and caregivers of vulnerable adults,” said Dr. David Pryor, Regional Vice President and Medical Director for Anthem Blue Cross.
“Not only will getting a flu shot help reduce
the chance of catching the illness, but it will also help reduce the se- verity if it’s contracted. Especially for people with underlying health conditions, the flu can turn into a serious, even deadly, illness.”
During the 2019 -20 flu season, it is estimat- ed the flu sent approxi- mately 380,000 people to the hospital with re- lated complications and caused an estimated 20,000 deaths in the
United States, which is why getting vaccinated should be a priority. The flu vaccine is the best protection against con- tracting and spreading the illness.
In addition to vacci- nation, the CDC recom- mends these everyday preventive actions
• Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
• Don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth.
• Cover your cough
and sneeze with a tissue or your elbow.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
The “Caregiver Flu Toolkit” is a comprehen- sive guide to educate caregivers of adults 65 and over about flu and the importance of vac- cination to help protect them from contracting the flu. The free down- loadable guide is avail- able at Lung.org/Fend- Off-Flu.
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