Page 1 - Mid Valley Times 3-24-22 E-Edition

Thursday, March 24, 2022
Vol. 3, No. 38
Dinuba honors retired city clerk
50 cents
Skimmers
discovered
in Reedley
Some banks, gas
stations affected
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
The Reedley Police De- partment is investigating sev- eral reports regarding thefts of funds from bank accounts in the city of Reedley dating back to February.
Victims reported to police that the funds had been with- drawn from their accounts via transactions at ATM ma- chines.
Through department said in a March 21 news release that during their investiga- tion, Reedley police detectives found that skimmers and cam- eras had been placed on ATM machines throughout the city which would record bank card information as well as PIN numbers.
Skimmers have also been reported at gas station pumps within the city. Officials did not release information re- garding exactly which bank-
See SKIMMERSonpageA5
Alta-Nebraska closure, detour starts next week
MVT Staff Report
The north Dinuba inter- section of Alta and Nebraska avenues will be closing next week, as construction begins on the roundabout project for the busy intersection.
Derek Lapsley, city engi- neer, was scheduled to give an update to the Dinuba City Council on the project at the council's March 22 general
See DETOUR on page A2
City Council pays tribute to Linda Barkley at March 22 meeting
MVT Staff Report
The Dinuba City Council honored its newly-retired city clerk for 25 years of service during a brief ceremony at the March 22 regular meeting.
Linda Barkley retired at the end of 2021, but returned to the council meeting to be hon- ored with a framed proclama- tion recognizing her service to the city. She received praised from Mayor Linda Launer and the other three council mem- bers in attendance.
The proclamation said Barkley, "whose contribu- tions and tireless enterprise enriched our community and the lives of fellow employees we offer out thanks and best wishes for the future." The proclamation was signed by multiple names of city lead- ers and employees.
ABOVE: Linda Barkley, retired Dinuba city clerk, addressed the Dinuba City Coun- cil while she was honored at the March 22 council meeting. Barkley retired at the end of 2021 after 25 years of service to the city.
RIGHT: Linda Barkley and Dinuba Mayor Linda Launer held the special framed proc- lamation of recognition for Barkley's 25 years as Dinuba City Clerk. She received plaudits from the four present council members at the March 22 meeting.
Photos by Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Coronavirus Update — Decrease in Cases Continues
Case averages at lowest rates since summer
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
Active and new cases of COVID-19 have dipped to their lowest seven-day and 30-day percentage levels in Fresno and Tulare counties since early summer of 2021.
The Tuesday, March 22 report for Fresno County showed 229,374 total cases, but just 435 active seven-day av- erage. Even though that was an increase of 14 fro the March 21 data release, it continued significantly lower from the 763 active average to start the week. The daily new case rates per 100,000 people dropped from 11.5 percent as
of March 15 to 7.2 percent. The positiv- ity rates dropped from 4.1 percent at the start of the week to 2.6 percent of 2,573,780 tests since the start of COVID in March 2020.
These numbers were the lowest in the region since July of last year, when an initial late-summer spike followed by an Omicron variant-fueled spike in early winter brought numbers to their highest percentages. But the downward trend has continued since early February.
Hospitalization also continued drop- ping in Fresno County, reaching as low as 101 patients on March 21 before in- creasing by eight the next day. But CO- VID-related intensive care patients in
the county reached their lowest level in months, dropping to 12 as of March 22.
In Tulare County, updates continued to slow to the point of only two to three times for the week. There was no update oh Tuesday, March 22, but the March 21 numbers showed that the positivity rate has fallen to 2.0 percent of one million, 6 thousand tests. The daily new case levels dropped to 5.6 per 100,000 as of March 21, and active cases declined by 346, to 506.
The death rate from COVID-related causes climbed by 25 for the week, to 2,707, in Fresno County. Tulare County
See VIRUS on page A16
Reedley, Sanger HS activity groups exhibit excellence
Victoria Martinez, Facebook / Photo Contributed
The Reedley High School Sports Medicine team and coach Kirby Kauk, right, captured fifth place in the small school division at the California Regional AACI National Sports Medicine competition on March 19. The team now qualifies for nationals competition.
MVT Staff Report
The Reedley High School Sports Medicine team and Sanger High's Apache Floral Club advanced floral students recently were honored for their talents.
The RHS team, coached by Kirby Kauk, placed fifth in the small schools division at the Cal- ifornia Regional AACI competi- tion on March 19, qualifying for national competition later this spring.
In addition, 12 SHS advance floral students recently partici- pated in the Sanger Woman's Club "Women in History" event at the club. All were honored for their floral creation abilities and talents.
Sanger High School / Photo Contributed
Some of the Sanger High Apache Floral Club's advanced floral stu- dents posed with Sanger City Council member Esmaralda Hurtado, middle, after participating in the recent Sanger Woman's Club "Wom- en in History" event.
Classifieds - A10 Directory - A6 Legals - A11-15
Sports - A9 Lifestyle - A7-8
Lights & Sirens - A3, A5 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4