Page 1 - Reedley Exponent 3-8-18 E-edition

‘Read Across America’ event at Great Western Elementary
Vol. 129, No. 10 | Thursday, March 8, 2018
www.reedleyexponent.com
Soccer players are RHS Athletes of the Month for February
Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654 | 50 cents
Council
to vote on
shelter
March 13
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
The Reedley City Council is scheduled March 13 to decide the fate of “Faith House,” a proposed emergency shelter in southwest Reedley that’s strongly opposed by a group of neighboring residents.
A resolution seeking council ap- proval of a conditional use permit and environmental assessment — ac- tion that was approved by the Reed- ley Planning Commission on Feb. 1 — is scheduled to be on the council agenda for the Tuesday, March 13 meeting.
Residents of the neighboring Riverview Estates and Reedley Mo- bile Home Park continue to strong- ly oppose the proposed shelter. Its operations would be funded by a $560,000 grant from the California Department of Finance.
If passed, the shelter would be located in a city-owned two-story home at 1697 W. Huntsman Ave. The home is the former site of the Marja- ree Mason shelter for domestic vio- lence victims. The original shelter closed in 2016.
Cliff Unruh, a resident of River- view Estates, read a prepared state- ment at the council’s Feb. 27 meet- ing, questioning the city’s actions and plans for the facility. He also called the City Council “ethically conflicted.”
Council members listened, but did not respond, to Unruh’s comments.
See SHELTER on page A3
Blossom
cyclists
brave the
elements
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
Weekend rain considerably re- duced the number of participants in the 29th annual Blossom Bike Ride on March 3, but those that came out relished their time in the elements.
“I’ve done this for 10 years. It’s usually the first ride of the year for me,” Fresno resident Paul Mullins said during a rest stop at Navelen- cia Middle School. The 67-year-old Mullins was riding with his daugh- ter, Ellie Koleen of Fresno, as part of the 45-mile ride that circles north and south of Reedley on the east side of the city.
Race organizer Bobby Ikemiya of the Lions Club said about 180 rid- ers participated this year, far less than the expected 400 riders. He said many riders wait to sign up to see if rain was in the forecast.
“If it’s cold and rainy, it’s usually going to affect the turnout,” he said. Still, there were riders willing to take on the elements to get an ex-
See BIKE RIDE on page A8
Section sweeps for Immanuel
UPPER RIGHT: The Immanuel High School boys basketball team’s bench celebrates during the Cen- tral Section Division III Champion- ship against Sanger High School on March 3 at Selland Arena in Fresno. The Eagles overcame a 16-point deficit in the second half to defeat the Apaches 68-57 and win a fifth straight section title. Immanuel won the Division V title in 2014 and three straight Division IV titles in 2015, 16 and 17.
RIGHT: The Immanuel High Eagles girls basketball team defeated the Golden Valley High Bulldogs from Bakersfield 43-37 to capture the Central Section Division III Cham- pionship on March 3 at Selland Arena in Fresno. It was the Eagles’ fifth section title in six years and first championship in Division III.
Both the boys and girls teams opened play in the Southern Cali- fornia Regional Playoffs on March 6. Results of those games were unavailable at press time. More details on the Eagles’ section final victories are in Sports on Page B4.
Chris Aguirre / The Exponent
Celebrating the life of Paul Mitchell
Memorial service
held in Fresno
on March 3
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
The church may have been in Fresno, but the feeling was defi- nitely Reedley on March 3 at a Cel- ebration of Life service for Paul Mitchell — the longtime educator and coach re-
nowned for his time at the city’s high school and community col- lege.
An esti-
mated 200
people — in-
cluding family,
friends, former
students, teaching and coaching peers — gathered at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno to salute and bid farewell to Mitchell. He died Jan. 13 at age 87, after a long battle with cancer.
Speakers reminisced about the exploits of Mitchell who was a teacher and coach at Reedley High School for 38 years. He had an even
his grandfather’s teaching career at Reedley High.
Paul Mitchell
Jon Earnest/ The Exponent
Susan McKoy, Paul Mitchell’s daughter, lit a candle as part of a “candles of re- membrance tribute” at the Celebration of Life service for Mitchell on March 3 at Unitarian Universalist Church in Fresno. Standing in the middle is Andy Mitchell, Paul Mitchell’s oldest son, while Madeleine Mitchell, Paul’s widow, stands at the far right.
“He was and will forever be a part of Reedley. It was his home,” Michael said. “It was a home that he loved dearly, and he was a man that knew how to take care of his home.
“You don’t see many men of to- day with the grit that Paul Mitchell had. Fitting to say, they don’t make them like they used to.”
Michael also had the attendees shout out a drawn-out “Go Tigers!” It was to express his grandfather’s love for the college. Among those shouting out from the congregation were Reedley College President Sandra Caldwell and Paul Parnell, chancellor of the State Center Com- munity College District.
“For six decades, it was his voice you would hear on Saturday nights,” Michael said. “And we love our football. He loved it just as much as his love of nature.”
Mateo Mitchell, read from a passage that he wrote about the fear of “two deaths.”
“The first death is often the most feared, and comes with the ex- hale of our last breath and the last beat of our heart,” Mateo said. “The second death is something that few
See MITCHELL on page A2
longer impact at Reedley College, where he was the “Voice of the Ti- gers” for 61 years announcing foot- ball and basketball.
“It was just beautiful. The whole day was just beautiful,” Mad- eleine Mitchell, Paul’s widow, said after the service.
Three of Mitchell’s grandsons
— Michael Mitchell, Christian Mar- tinez and Mateo Mitchell — paid fit- ting tribute with their words and memories.
Michael Mitchell led the con- gregation in both a moment of si- lence and a standing ovation. The moment of silence lasted 38 sec- onds — a second for each year of
Remember to set your clocks ahead an hour on Sunday, March 11.
City puts $150,000 into budget reserve fund
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
The city of Reedley has made another pay- ment into its budget reserve fund, bringing the fund’s balance back in compliance with levels set by the City Council.
Assistant City Manager Paul Melikian told the council at its Feb. 13 meeting that the city wanted to deposit $150,000 into the reserve fund, bring- ing the fund’s balance within $3,000 of having 60
operating days in the account. That balance is in compliance with a 2014 City Council resolution calling for the reserve fund to cover potential budget shortfalls.
In addition, the Community Services Depart- ment budget needed an additional $19,250 to cover additional costs associated with development ac- tivity. The two figures made up the $169,250 total requested from the general fund. The council ap- proved the appropriations.
Melikian’s presentation to the council served
as a mid-year report. The city’s budget year runs from July 1 to June 30.
“We’ve done pretty good about building into that through very prudent contributions to the reserve,” Melikian told the council. “That is in no small part due to the City Council’s actions and support to get to our 60-day target.”
Melikian told the council that it was important to maintain a full 60-day reserve to handle future
See BUDGET on page A3 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4
Classified - A6-7
Directory - A5 Legals - B6-7 Sports - B4-5 Lights & Sirens - A3