Page 7 - Mid Valley Times 10-28-21 E-edition

Thursday, October 28, 2021
The View From Here
I have three dogs. Two small girl dogs and one big dog named Bam.
He’s big-
ger than
both the girl
dogs, but of
course the small dogs run the house.
I went home to pick up some food on the afternoon of Oct. 25 and was caught in a pretty decent thunder and lightning storm.
The dogs were not too happy with the thunder and lightning, so I made sure to bring them into the garage. As the rain poured down onto our front yard and everywhere else down the street, I felt a sense of relief.
We needed rain so bad. During the summer, we had been told that recreational events on the river would be cut short this year due to extremely low water lev- els. At first it didn’t seem like a big deal, I mean when are water levels not “extremely low” in Califor- nia. The words California and drought have almost become synonymous. But sadly, it was true. There were very little to no wa- ter activities on the King's River this summer.
According to an article from the New York Times, the past 12 months were the driest in a century.
The article detailed how Lake Mead, one of the states most crucial water sources, has dropped to its lowest level ever.
The rain that came through Reedley and other parts of Fresno County was a sigh of relief for most, ex- cept for my dogs of course who were afraid of the thunder.
Let's hope this is a good sign, the beginning to a rainy season that will hope- fully take California out of the drought, at least for now.
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
A small group of com- munity leaders, law enforce- ment personnel and private citizens, some wearing pur- ple ribbons gathered in front of Reedley's Marjaree Mason Center in downtown Reedley on the morning of Oct. 21. They were there for the city’s annual "24 minutes of Prayer for Domestic Violence Aware- ness” event.
“If you’re not aware, Oc- tober is Domestic Violence Awareness Month,” said Joe Garza, Reedley’s Police Chief.
“This is an opportunity where we as a society have to bring to the forefront the dan- gers of domestic violence. It’s not just to one socioeconomic group, it happens in all homes, it happens in all walks of life and we as a society have to do something about it.”
Garza along with other lo- cal pastors each took time to speak about statistics involv- ing domestic violence cases in Fresno County. They did this bring awareness to the issue he said, is too often kept se- cret.
“Statistics show that ever minute, 24 people become vic- tims of domestic violence the goal today is to reduce that number,” he said.
“We want to get that num- ber down to zero, but again,
Juanita Adame
Domestic Violence Awareness event held in Reedley
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
ABOVE: Joe Garza, Reedley's Police Chief spoke during the city's "24 Minutes of Prayer for Domestic Violence Awareness" event on the morning of Oct. 21. The faith based event included inspirational words and prayers from various local church leaders.
BELOW: Malcolm Light, the senior pastor at the Reedley Menonite Brethren Church was one of the many religious leaders who spoke during the event.
we can’t do it alone.”
Garza said they would con-
duct the 24 minutes of prayer to represent 24 victims af- fected by domestic violence each day.
Also in attendance were representatives from the Marjaree Mason Center.
“I want to thank the Mar- jaree Mason Center for be- ing here what they do for this event, there is no word for it,” he said.
“I have become much more involved with the Mar- jaree Mason Center over the last couple years, the work that they do is incredible.”
Sanger locals show up to National Night Out on Oct. 19
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
Representatives from the Sanger Police Department including Of- ficer Jorge Fernandez participated in the city's National Night Out Event on the evening of Oct. 19. Hundreds of residents and com- munity members came out to enjoy live music, food, and various vender booths.
Highlighting mental health and trauma in new book
“This is an opportunity where we as a society have to bring
to the forefront the dangers of domestic violence"
Joe Garza Reedley Police Chief
Contributed
A Reedley local has pub- lished a new psychology book called "Healing with Nature."
Rochelle (Wilder) Calvert, a RHS graduate grew up in Reedley and attended Fresno State before moving to San Diego to earn a Ph.D. in psy- chology.
Calvert is a psychologist and somatic experiencing practitioner who is certified in a variety trauma healing practices.
Calvert will be hosting a book signing on Nov. 6 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Sweet Desti- nations in downtown Reedley.
For more information contact monique@newworld- library.com or (619) 261-8510.
Grants for student readiness received in Parlier
Photo Courtesy Parlier Unified School District / Facebook Page
Reedley College was recently awarded a 5-year $1.35 Million Dollar Federal Talent Search Grant to provide additional direct college/career readiness services to students at Parlier High and Parlier Jr. High. The focus of the grant is to increase the number of first generation students accessing colleges/ universities and earning college degree. From left, Diana Tapia-Wright, Natalie Culver-Dockins, Danette Bryson (PUSD), Sarah Soria (PHS Principal), Mr. Iniguez (PUSD), Julissa Alvarado (PJHS Principal).
Contributed
Thisphotoof "Kodak"a3-year-oldLabradoodlecelebratingHal- loween was sent in by Makayla Medina. Have a photo you'd like featured? Email juanita@midvalleypublishing.com.
Photo of the week