Page 1 - Mid Valley Times 4-16-20 E-edition

Thursday, April 16, 2020
Vol. 1, No. 42
Region's cases steadily increase
Employee at Reedley DMV tests positive
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
At least 24 positive cases of the novel coronavirius (COVID-19) are in the Sanger, Reedley, Parlier and Orange Cove areas in Fresno County, with as many as 30 in the ar- ea of Dinuba, Orosi and Cut- ler in Tulare County.
That includes a report of a positive test involving a De- partment of Motor Vehicles employee who works at the Reedley DMV field office on East Dinuba Avenue. That positive test was confirmed on April 9 by the deputy di- rector of the California DMV Office of Public Affairs.
See COVID-19 on page A7
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Signs reminding visitors of shelter in place policies were on the doors of the closed-up Reedley DMV field office on Dinuba Avenue on April 10. On April 9, the California Depart- ment of Motor Vehicles confirmed that an employee at the Reedley DMV office had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. All DMV field offices in the state current are closed.
50 cents
Coronavirus Shelter in Place — Week 4
COVID-19 update
As of Tuesday, April 14, there had been 251 confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19) in Fresno County, with seven deaths.
Eleven of the confirmed cases are in Sanger, seven in Reedley, six in Parlier and four or less in Orange Cove. The county reported that 53 of the positive cases had recovered.
In Tulare County, there were 296 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 13 deaths through April 14. Of these positive cases, 30 are listed as having occurred in the region featuring the zip codes of Dinuba, Cutler-Orosi and the rural area south of Reedley and near Orange Cove.
The 296 positive COVID-19 cases in Tulare County include a total of 15 recovered cases.
Two Sanger non-profits
up for Measure S gang,
drug prevention grants
Fire damages Dinuba market
An early morning fire on April 13 caused major damage to the roof and attic of the Magnolia Market. The market, which is located near Dinuba High School, also had sub- stantial smoke and water damage in the interior, according to Dinuba Fire Chief, Chad Thompson. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The Reedley Fire Department assisted in fighting the fire, which started at about 5 a.m.
George M. Villagrana / Mid Valley Times
Reedley Fire Department firefighters helped battle the blaze in the early morning hours.
Reedley Fire Department / Photo Contributed
MVT Staff Report
The city of Sanger’s Citi- zen Oversight Committee for Measure S had only its second meeting of the year on April 13.
Introduced at the meet- ing via video and telecon- ferencing due to the CO- VID-19 pandemic were newly appointed commit- tee members Mayra Cam- pa and Gina Mendoza, who were both given the oath of office.
Among the actions con- sidered by the committee was the recommendation to select the Sanger Boys and
Girls Club and SAM Acad- emy as the grant applicants for the Measure S Gang and Drug Prevention/Interven- tion Services Grant.
The two non-profit or- ganizations were selected among four applicants and, if approved by coun- cil, could receive a total of $100,000 in grants, with $45,000 going to the Boys and Girls Club and $55,000 going to SAM Academy.
The grant money is used to curb gang-related vio- lence, retaliatory acts, de- crease anti-social behavior
See GRANTS on page A7
Dinuba cancels its Cinco de Mayo Festival for 2020
Chamber of Commerce issues refunds to vendors
By George M. Villagrana
Mid Valley Times
The Cinco de Mayo Festival in Dinuba scheduled for Friday and Saturday, May 1-2, has been canceled.
The Dinuba Chamber of Commerce shared the news in a social media post on April 13.
The weekend event would have been the 42nd year for the annual festival for the city. One of the festival's main draw is the entertainment, parade and food and ven- dors’ booths at Rose Ann Vuich Park.
Chamber president Sandy Sills said re- funds were being issued to vendors. The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandem-
ic is being felt throughout the community and the future of events that includes the annual car show.
“At this point the car show is looking like we will need to cancel, as the event is primarily paid for by sponsors,” stated Sills. “Given the economic impact, I am not sure that our sponsors will be able to spon- sor. If we don’t get the ok until mid-May, that would be not enough time to solicit and put everything together for the event.”
The city has had to postpone the city's annual Relay for Life event as well as other activities tied into that event. In addition, the COVID-19 crisis and state shelter in place has forced the cancellation of the city's rec- reation baseball and softball seasons.
Mid Valley Times file photo
Children parade down the street during the 2019 Cinco de Mayo Festival.
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