Page 1 - Mid Valley Times 1-23-20 E-edition

Thursday, January 23, 2020
Vol. 1, No. 30
Sanger looks north
with hotel
proposal,
annexation
By Rick Curiel
Mid Valley Times
The city of Sanger is look- ing north and if all things go as planned the city may soon have its first large-scale hotel near the intersection of Acad- emy Avenue and Highway 180.
The city has been looking at annexing the north portion of Academy Avenue for some time now. Part of that vision involves bringing a large ho- tel chain to the north part of town, in what many in the community, including city staff, believe would be the prime location.
But before the city can proceed with efforts to an- nex the northern portion, the feasibility of such a hotel was first evaluated. For that, the city commissioned the hotel consulting group Cushman and Wakefield to see if a ho- tel at the location could work.
The results for the hotel feasibility study were provid- ed to the city council at the Jan. 14 meeting, and the an- swer was a good-solid maybe.
One of the big factors in conducting the study was sup- ply and demand.
“The supply is very limited here,” said a representative from Cushman and Wakefield, “The value compared to the cost really determines what the feasibility is.”
For the study, a 90-unit ho- tel room was considered for the location at Academy and 180 and it was determined that such a hotel could bring in potential revenue of $1.3 million per year. But the big- gest hurdle for the hotel’s prospect is the building cost.
See ANNEX on page A10
50 cents
Graffiti spurs RHS absences
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
Graffiti written inside a re- stroom last week at Reedley High School led to a brief po- lice investigation that showed no credible threat, but the re- sulting fallout — widely spread on social media — caused the absence of nearly two-thirds of the school’s student body the following day.
The graffiti was discov- ered at the end of a sched- uled minimum day on Jan. 15, when school officials found a brief message scrawled on a stall inside a boys restroom at the school. The message read “Shootout Challenge here, Jan. 16, 20, lunch.” Classes already were dismissed for the day, so officials had Reedley police come to campus and investi- gate the scene. Police deter- mined there was no credible threat from the graffiti, but said they would have an extra presence on campus on Jan. 16.
“We work with our law en- forcement partners, to assure that everybody’s safe,” RHS Principal John Ahlin said on Jan. 17. “[With] this incident, it was graffiti. It became some- thing that really was highlight-
Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times
A threat found in the form of graffiti in the boys bathroom at Reedley High caused nearly two-thirds of the student body to not come to school on Jan. 16.
Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times
Gerald Galvan was introduced as Sanger's new interim police chief at the Sanger City Council meeting on Jan. 16.
MVT Staff Report
The city of Sanger announced on Thursday, Jan. 23, that Chief Gerald Gal- vin will serve as the Interim Police Chief for the city’s police department. Chief Galvin has over 30 years experience as a Police Chief, including in the cities of Albuquerque (NM), Clovis, Mendota, Morgan Hill, Toledo (OH) and Vallejo.
Galvin’s last police chief position was in the city of Mendota, where he started the police department from the ground up in 2009. At the time, Mendota report- edly had the highest crime rate in Fres- no County.
“To start something from scratch was fun,” said Galvin. “And we were able to reduce in half in that period of time.”
Chief Galvin said he found the Sanger
Police Department in good order and was impressed with the fact that the city of Sanger passed Measure S, a pub- lic safety tax, twice.
“It made this department what it is to- day,” Galvin stated. “It means to me that the citizens of the city have confidence in their elected officials, their staff, and their police officers and firefighters.”
He is expected to serve as Interim Po- lice Chief for four to five months while the city of Sanger recruits for the perma- nent replacement to Sanger Police Chief Silver Rodriguez, who retired on Jan. 15.
Rodriguez was hired on as the Sanger Police Chief in June 2012. Dur- ing his time as chief he also able to cut the crime rate in half. His retirement marked the end of a 40-year career in law enforcement.
ed on social media.”
A photo of the graffiti made
it onto social media that after- noon, and concerned parents spread the word and posted comments criticizing the
school for not immediately notifying them of the incident and the subsequent police in- vestigation. Compounding par- ent unrest was a post circulat- ing on Snapchat that showed a
firearm and stated the poster would “return to campus to- morrow.” Police quickly de- bunked the post, saying it origi-
See GRAFFITIonpageA12
Gerald Galvin to serve as Sanger's interim police chief
Adjusting to new life led to community efforts for Tolentino
By George M. Villagrana
Mid Valley Times
Chelan Tolentino had a tough time adapting to her new country at the age of 12.
Tolentino and her mother left the Philippines for the U.S. in 2013. Leaving behind family was very difficult for the Dinuba High School senior.
“Being away from my family members took a toll on me,” she wrote in her essay for the Dinu- ba Teenage Citizen of the Year application. “Not only was I financially challenged, given that my mother worked a low-income job, but I was also challenged emotionally.”
Tolentino wrote that she was closed off as a child and wasn’t as social as others around her age. “My immigration, to what seemed like a whole different world to me, intensified my in-
troversion.”
Accustomed to Asian traditions, the Western
societal norms took a while for Chelan to get used to.
“Anxiety hindered my ability to become in- volved in school during elementary and middle school years. There were many times during these dark days that I felt like I didn’t belong. I felt like I was always going to be the ‘new girl’ like how Cady Heron was at the beginning of “Mean Girls.”
“Being different from my peers in the sense that I don’t share the same ethnicity and the dif- ference in our upbringing created a barrier, an invisible barrier that tricked me into believing that I will never get close enough to reach and to connect with my peers.”
Chelan decided to open up, pushing herself outside of her comfort zone. At DHS, she was
See TEEN on page A6
George M. Villagrana / Mid Valley Times
Chelan Tolentino is among three finalists for the Dinuba Junior Teen- age Citizen of the Year Award. Tolentino arrived from the Philippines in 2013 overcoming various obstacles to become an active member of Dinuba High and the community.
This is the third of three profiles on the finalists for Dinuba Teenage Citizen of the Year.
Classifieds - B4 Directory - B3 Legals - B0-0
Sports - B6-9
Lifestyle - A7-9
Lights & Sirens - A3 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4