Page 7 - Mid Valley Times 4-1-21 E-edition

Thursday, April 1, 2021
Making the move to Kingsburg Fire
Hernandez says goodbye to Sanger Fire after nearly 9 years
The View From Here
Some- thing really good hap- pened be- tween the dates of March 23 and March 30 here in Fres- no County.
Juanita Adame
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
It was not an easy choice to leave her position with the Sanger Fire Department, but Rolinda Hernandez, who served as the team’s admin- istrative secretary for nearly nine years, said it was time to move on.
“Leaving this family was difficult,” said Hernandez on the afternoon of March 23. “If it weren’t for some changes here at the city level I prob- ably wouldn’t have left.”
Her last day with Sanger Fire was on March 26. Her- nandez accepted a position with the Kingsburg Fire De- partment where she will serve as the department's adminis- trative assistant.
I’ll be supporting the Kingsburg Fire Chief [Daniel Perkins] as well as the admin- istrative staff there,” she said.
Sanger taught her a lot about the firefighter brotherhood something she saw first hand back on Feb. 25, 2020 during the library fire in Porterville that claimed the lives of two firefighters.
"The crews here did not hesitate to go out and help their brothers," she said. “They really believe in the brotherhood and the family, whether it’s their department or another department,”
The memories and friend- ships she created with Sanger are some she won't soon for- get.
“There are a total of three shifts in Sanger, 28 people are split working those shifts,” she said. “Getting to know each one of them, working along- side them, working with the guys, and developing their trust has meant so much.”
But, be-
fore I write more about that, let me go back to one year ago. On March 29, 2020, I cel- ebrated my birthday.
At the time we'd been a few weeks into the pandem- ic. My friends joked about me having a “COVID” birthday and what a strange experi- ence that was.
We had no dinner at a nice restaurant, no celebrating with friends. I remember us gathering at my mom's house, myself and about three other people.
This year was a little dif- ferent. For the first time since then this birthday seemed “normal.” Dinner at a restau- rant this time with more than three friends, laughter, happi- ness and memories.
So back to the “good thing” I'd mentioned at the begin- ning of this column.
The Fresno County Health Department reported on March 30 that positive CO- VID-19 cases per day, per 100,000 people had dropped below 11.9 percent. This meant no more purple tier for Fresno County.
Wearenowintheredor substantial tier. What does this mean? Daily new cases are now between 4 -10 per- cent, and the positive test per- centage is now between 5 - 8 percent.
The decrease in cases is due mainly to the vaccine efforts. I learned during the Mar. 18 Sanger City Council meeting that Sanger is the lat- est vaccine site established for Fresno County.
During the meeting, city manager Tim Chapa said they’d partnered with Wal- greens to administer a vac- cine rollout on Mar. 13 and 485 people were able to re- ceive vaccinations on that day.
According to the health de- partment’s website, on April 15, all California residents ag- es 16 and older will be eligible to receive the vaccine.
Last week I also had the opportunity to speak to Ro- linda Hernandez. She is now the former administrative secretary for the Sanger Fire Department. She told me she is excited about her new ca- reer path with the Kingsburg Fire Department.
I wish her all the best of luck. Switching careers is never easy, a new environ- ment a new set of cowork- ers and managers, however I know she will do amazing. Good luck Rolinda! We wish you all the best in your new career endeavor.
Hernandez will begin her new position with Kingsburg on April 5.
Photo Contributed
From left, Greg Tarascou the Sanger Fire Department chief and Ro- linda Hernandez posed for a photo in front of the city's fire truck during a 2018 event.
Hernandez said working in
Educational leaders speak to Reedley's Junior Chamber members
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Publishing
From left, Sister Lucy Cassarino, principal at St. La Salle Catholic School sat alongside Dr. Jerry Buckley, the president of Reedley Col- lege, John Campbell the Kings Canyon Unified School District super- intendent and Ryan Wood, Immanuel Schools superintendent, the group spoke to Reedley's Junior Chamber members on Mar. 24.
Photo of the week
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
Students with the Greater Reedley Chamber of Com- merce Junior Board were able to hear from several edu- cational leaders on the after- noon of Mar. 24.
Four local leaders includ- ing, Sister Lucy Cassarino, principal at St. La Salle Catho- lic School, Dr. Jerry Buckley, Reedley College president, John Campbell, KCUSD su- perintendent and Ryan Wood, Immanuel’s superintendent, all spoke to the group about their roles within the commu- nity.
“I thought my career was going to be in the life sciences and working in that particular
segment of our society,” said Buckley.
The junior college presi- dent recalled his short lived Marine Biology career path that was impacted by then California state governor Jer- ry Brown.
“I had my hat, my name badge, my uniform,” he said. “I was ready to go to work and guess what happened? Ever hear of Jerry Brown? He cut the budget the day before I was suppose to start work.”
The others also shared sto- ries about their career paths and how they ended up where they are today. They also an- swered questions from stu- dents.
The junior chamber board will meet again on April 28.
Parlier High School senior wins student speaker competition
Thisphotoof CooperJohnson,2 goingforanafternoonstrollwith his father through their neighborhood was sent in by Erica Luna. Haveaphotoyou'dlikefeatured? Emailjuanita@midvalleypublish- ing.com.
Contributed
Contributed
A Parlier High School se- nior took home first place during the Parlier Lions Club Zone Student Speaker compe- tition. Nayeli Ignacio Reyes took the top prize after com-
peting with a Fowler High Student. The win advanced Reyes to the regional compe- tition to be held on Saturday, April 10 in Cutler-Orosi.
Along with the first place title, Reyes also won a $150 cash prize.
Photo Courtesy / Parlier Unified School District
Nayeli Ignacio Reyes held up the winning certificate from the Parlier Lions Club for the "Zone Student Speaker" competition.