Page 1 - Dinuba Sentinel 1-24-19 E-edition

Dinuba Sentinel Serving the communities of Dinuba, Cutler-Orosi and Monson-Sultana
Dinuba's Talent
Dinuba High School Talent Show set for Saturday, 7 p.m.
Back Page, A8
Established 1909, Dinuba, California Thursday, January 24, 2019
History comes alive
Dinuba GATE sixth grader David Olea shares some of the things he learned while researching his history project. David did his history project on the Alamo and his presentation board received a lot of positive reviews and was named the Most Creative Board Design.
Last year, the top history projects went on to compete at the county level. There, at the Tulare County Office of Education office, it was a clean sweep for the Dinuba students as they took first place in all categories.
This year the group is hoping to pull off the same feat as many of those showing on Saturday will be moving
Dinuba GATE fourth grader Joshua Keo explains his history project on the Cambodian Genocide to judges at Saturday's History Day.
Winner to be announced at tommorow night's annual Dinuba Chamber Banquet
her love for education with her field of choice and hopes to one day teach psychology.
Winning Teenage Citizen of the Year, she said, would go a long way in giving her the confidence she needs to get to where she’s going.
“I would feel very proud of myself, and I know that my mom would be very proud of me,” said Beltran. “And it would mean that it would give me that confidence boost going into college.”
In addition to being the top student in her class, Beltran has also been involved in multiple school clubs, including the Key Club, NAMI on Campus and the California Scholastic Federation. She has also been the secretary for Student Council each of her four years at Dinuba High School.
“I’ve coordinated almost every school event,” she wrote in her application for Teenage Citizen of the Year. “DHS is like my home as I’ve spent countless hours planning, setting up and helping at these events.”
on next month to compete in the same Tulare County competition.
One of those moving on to the county level will be Joshua Keo, a fourth grader in the district’s Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program. For his history project, Joshua chose a topic close to home, the Cambodian Genocide.
“My family was in it,” said Joshua.
His father, Kevin, was actually born in a refugee camp in Thailand after his family was able escape the Communist regime in Cambodia. His parents were there during Cambodia’s troubling not- so-distant history.
“I remember as a kid my parents telling me stories about it,” said Kevin. “So I told him it would be a good idea for him to do this so he could learn about it too.”
As for what stood out for Joshua in learning about his family’s history, and the country they migrated from, he said it was the death count.
“1.5 million people died,” said Joshua.
Those people died at the hands of a brutal regime known as the Khmer Rouge, or the Red Cambodians.
“They were called the Red Cambodians because they killed a lot
See History, Page A7
By Rick Curiel
Editor@thedinubasentinel.com
History came alive on Saturday morning, Jan. 19, as 44 students from Dinuba Unified School District’s GATE program displayed their history projects in an exhibit at Kennedy Elementary School.
e Top ree
Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
GAC hears from
50 Cents
newly elected
representatives
stated that Hurtado, along with State Senator Anna Caballero, will be having a community swearing in ceremony on Friday, Jan. 25 at the Carpenter’s Union Hall in Fresno.
Timothy Carothers from California State Assemblyman Devon Mathis’ office filled the committee in on current bills on the floor that could affect the 26th District.
The first bill he mentioned was one that would serve to keep confidential the home addresses of professionals in the mental health field.
“This applies to a lot of therapists, family therapists,” said Carothers. “We think it’s a real simple fix that we’re excited about. A lot of us don’t want therapist’s home address to be public, not that there should ever be a fear of threat from their clients, but there should be a clear divide between the client and personal
information.” Another bill
introduced will certainly affect the rural, and some urban, parts of the Valley. AB 215 revolves around illegal dumping.
The new bill would take the current violations of dumping on private property and introduce stiffer punishments. Fines for illegal dumping would be inflicted, ranging from $250 to $3,000
for the first three offenses, but the fourth one would be punishable by a misdemeanor and potential jail time.
“What this would do is, by defining it as a crime, we are hoping that it becomes something that has a reimbursement attached to it,” said Carothers. “So if someone goes and dumps something on private property, if it’s a crime, then there is a reimbursement attached to
it and they can be held accountable to
See GAC, Page A2
By Rick Curiel
Editor@thedinubasentinel.com
Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
There were plenty of political representatives at last week’s Government Affairs Committee, all offering insight into the current climate at the state and federal level.
The monthly gathering, most recently held at the White House of the Alta District Historical Society, has hosted representatives from various offices for the past few years, and last Wednesday’s gathering was the first meeting this year with representatives from newly elected officials.
There for U.S. House Representative Devin Nunes was Terry Hendricks who stated the biggest concern is the partial government shutdown.
“I don’t really see an end in sight,” said Hendricks. “I don’t even think they’re in session this week so not much is getting done.”
She added that her office has been reaching out to local government constituents to offer assistance, but noted that the task has been difficult because many offices have been closed during the shutdown.
She went on to add
that congress passed
a bill that would allow
for government employees affected by the shutdown to get paid. At the time, though the bill was reportedly on the president’s desk, she said the bill had yet to be signed by President Trump.
“It looks promising,” added Hendricks. “Again it’s just up to the president to sign.”
She also added that the bill was introduced by congress in a bipartisan effort.
A representative from newly elected State Senator Melissa Hurtado’s office
2018 Teenage Citizen of the Year Candidates
By Rick Curiel
Editor@thedinubasentinel.com
When the 2018 Teenage Citizen of the Year is announced at tomorrow night’s annual Dinuba Chamber Banquet, one of three candidates will receive the distinguished honor. All three, however, are deserving of the title.
Up for the recognition of Teenage Citizen of the Year are Dinuba High School senior Jackie Gallardo Beltran, Jacob Rodriguez and Lauryn Paredez. All three represent some of the top students in their class.
Jackie Gallardo Beltran
Beltran actually represents the top student of the class of 2019. With a cumulative grade point average of 4.52, she ranks as No. 1 out of a class of 420. Her aspirations are to attend either Fresno State, UCLA, Berkley or USC. Her preference is to attend UCLA because she says it has the better program for the field she wants to go into, psychology. She plans to combine
Jackie Gallardo Beltran
She has also participated in three sports, cross country, tennis and track. Of the three sports she said tennis is by far her favorite.
“I really like tennis because the sport in itself takes a lot of skill,” Beltran explained. “It’s a mental game that you really have to work on. It’s challenging.”
As for where she gets her drive, Beltran says it comes from home. “My mom is very traditional,” said Beltran. “I come from a very traditional Mexican home, and my mom has always had high expectations when it comes to cooking and cleaning. And I think that
Jacob Rodriguez
has translated to academics. Because I have always had to be my mom’s helping hand, at school I just work as hard as I work at home.”
Jacob Rodriguez
Also working his way to the top ten of his class is Rodriguez. The high school senior has a cumulative GPA of 4.25 and is ranked No. 9 in his class.
“This award has a lot of history behind it,” said Rodriguez. “It would mean a lot to win it."
As a child, Rodriguez said he grew up in a household of competitive brothers, all looking to outdo each other in sports
Lauryn Paredez
and academics. The competitive nature, good for raising the play of all, went away when he was about six, as he was left having to sort through what many children, unfortunately, deal with these days, the divorce of his parents.
“All of a sudden, none of the competitiveness mattered anymore,” said Rodriguez. “Our main focus was to just be there for each other. At that point everything else got harder.”
But for Rodriguez, it just meant he had to work harder. He found comfort
See Teens, Page A8
Emps handle Huskies
Dinuba to face league's No. 1 Immanuel tonight
Sports, Page B1
“We are a non- partisan committee. But we do have a mission, and our mission is to advocate on behalf of commerce. And so our position will always be pro-commerce, pro-business, and anything that effects our local businesses you will see us knocking on your door.”
-Reda Bennani GAC Chair
thedinubasentinel.com
Inside | Lights and SirensA2 | ObituariesA2 | OpinionA4 | SportsB1 | Classi edsB6