Sanger Herald 3-28-18 E-edition

Smittcamp dissects a murder
Looking for a home
Apaches cage Timberwolves
page 8A
Lifestyles 3B
Sports 1B
THURSDAY
MARCH 22, 2018
VOL 129 NO. 12
2 sections, 16 pages
CLASSIFIED 4B LEGALS 5-7B BUSINESS DIRECTORY 8B LIFE STYLES 3B OBITUARIES 2A OPINION 3A SPORTS 1B POLICE LOG 2A WEATHER 7A
Weekly Newspaper
Sanger (Fresno County) CA 93657 50¢ (tax included) Another big (Carl) Gong Show
at the Regional Science Fair
Photo contributed
This will be the 44th straight year that Sanger has sent students to the State Science Fair. Carl Gong, the very successful Sanger Unified science fair coordinator, had his picture taken with four of the 23 students who are going on to state competition. L-R: Atticus Humphrey, 1st Environmental Science; Ashley Schetewitz,1st Microbiology; Natalie White, 1st Physics; Gong; and Haidyn Washburn, 2nd Environmental Science. Sanger had 49 students at the regional award ceremony, 23 qualified to go to the California State Science and Engineering Fair and four were top award winters. See the complete list of winners on page 7A.
Dick Sheppard/Sanger Herald
Spring, the "Pineapple Express" and these ducks in Jenni Park/Lake on Wednesday morning arrived in Sanger at about the same tiime. The pattern of tropical moisture starting in the South Pacific and finally dropping rain in Sanger is called the Pineapple Express because the storm system originated over Hawaii.
Animated city counciilmember Daniel Martinez objected to giving leftover Measure S grant money to nonprofits without knowing what it was going to be used for.
Nonprofits won't get
leftover Measure S
grant money; a code
enforcement protest
and a 'demand' for
more softball fields
By Dick Sheppard
Sanger Herald
The March 15 city council meeting covered a wide range of issues in front of an equally diverse and animated audience.
The council chamber was filled with softball play-
ers and coaches, a group wearing Service Employees International Union (SEIU) T-shirts, upset residents
of council district No. 2, women military veterans and their friends and families, a cameraman from Univision's Channel 21, residents of Sanger's southern suburb of Tombstone and the usual city council watchers.
There was a lot to watch.
The women military vet- erans, Gladys Nichols, Anna Flores and Danielle Beltran, were honored as part of Women's History Month.
Softball coach Juan Es- trada told the council during the public forum that he was tired of asking the city for help getting more softball fields. "I haven't heard from anyone at the city. This is an election year and there's no more asking, I'm demand- ing," said Estrada.
Councilmember Humberto Garza explained the problem with a code enforcement is- sue in his district.
The council:
• overruled a recommen- dation from the Measure S Citizens Oversight Commit-
Coach Juan Estrada de- manded the city help with acquiring more softball fields.
A teary eyed member of the Measure S Citizens Oversight Committee, Melissa Griggs, lamented communication problems between the com- mittee and the council.
tee and rolled left over Mea- sure S grant money back into the Measure S fund instead of reallocating it to other nonprofits;
• amended its budget goals for the next fiscal year by adding softball fields and unfunded liabilities to the list;
• approved an agreement with Self Help Enterprises (SHE) that makes SHE the lead agency to seek grants to help the Tombstone area with its water problems;
• approved the emer- gency actions taken by the city manager to take care of emergency repairs to sewer
PG&E at work
Dick Sheppard/Sanger Herald
PG&E is responsible for all that work on downtown alleys and streets. "It's a PG&E gas line replacement project," said public works director John Mulligan. When will the project be com- pleted? "PG&E gives very broad completion dates," said Mul- ligan.
• March 12-23 - Women's History Month art display at city hall, 1700 7th Street.
• March 22 - Planning commission meeting, starting at 6 p.m. at city hall, 1700 7th Street.
• March 22, 23 and 24 - High school production of "Sugar," 7:30 p.m. each evening at the high school’s multi- purpose room, 1045 Bethel Avenue.
•March27- Coffeewiththepoliceandfirechiefs from 7:30-9:30 a.m. at Starbucks, 512 Academy Avenue.
Dick Sheppard/Sanger Herald
The rain arrived with spring
See COUNCIL, page 6A
SANGER HERALD: A MID VALLEY PUBLISHING NEWSPAPER • (559) 875-2511 • www.thesangerherald.com