Mid Valley Times 7-22-21 E-edition

Thursday, July 22, 2021
Vol. 3, No. 3
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
LaurieBianchi,right, theSanger Chamber's Educator of the Year for 2021, posed with nominator Holly Willet on July 15.
Sanger
Chamber to honor
pair of educators
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
Cheers and applause were heard coming from the Sanger Unified School District Office on the afternoon of July 15, as the 2020 and 2021 Educators of the Year were announced and presented with flowers by the Sanger Chamber of Com- merce.
Lori Hawkyard, principal for the Sanger Adult School, was announced as the 2020 Educator of the year, and Lau- rie Bianchi was recognized as 2021 Educator of the year.
“Challenges for us during the pandemic were technol- ogy,” said Hawkyard. “For both our students and for our [English as second language] students.”
Hawkyard said they faced challenges adjusting to life online during the shutdown.
“For the adult school, ev-
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Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
Canal drowning
50 cents
One more
waiver of
rent for
Reedley's
theatre
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
The Reedley City Council last month unanimously ap- proved a waiver of rent pay- ments for the months of June through August for the River City Theatre Company, which is preparing to return to the stage for both youth and regu- lar performances.
The approval, which came at the June 22 regular council meeting, allows RCTC to save $3,150 in rent (three monthly payments of $1,050), that en- ables them to offer two sum- mer camps for young people. One of the camps was for aspiring actors, singers and dancers while the other camp was for young people to learn behind-the-scenes (scenery, lighting and sound).
Mark Luzania, president of
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Officials with the Tulare County Sheriff's Office were on the scene of a July 15 drowning in the Friant- Kern Canal east of Orange Cove. A 31-year-old Orange Cove man, Jorge Sandoval, fell into the canal and drowned.
Orange Cove man fell into Friant-Kern Canal on July 15
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
It took the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office dive team nearly three hours to find the body of an Orange Cove man after he slipped and fell into the Friant-Kern Canal southeast of the city on the afternoon of July 15.
The Tulare County Coro- ner's Office identified the victim as 31-year-old Jorge Sandoval.
“The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call of a male possibly drowning, [and] the loca- tion was determined to be in Tulare County,” said Ste- ven Sanchez, a deputy with
the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office. That location was at Avenue 452 and Road 124.
Sanchez said a medical rescue helicopter and fire personnel initially were dis- patched to the scene. How- ever, after the victim had been under the water for an
See DROWNING on page A16
Farm bureau CEO talks water issues in Reedley
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
Members of the Reedley Rotary Club last week heard some of the latest devel- opments on the Central Valley's precari- ous water situation from a knowledgable source — Ryan Jacobsen, chief execu- tive officer of the Fresno County Farm Bureau.
Jacobsen was invited by the Rotary Club to speak at its weekly luncheon at the Reedley Community Center. And he talked about a number of Central Val- ley water issues, focusing on the Kings River in particular for the audience in attendance.
"On the Kings River side, there is a lot going on as well,"Jacobsen told the group. "Locally, you have the Consoli- dated and Alta [irrigation districts]. So
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Ryan Jacobsen, CEO for the Fresno County Farm Bureau, discussed water issues during the Reedley Rotary Luncheon on July 15.
on an average annual basis, the Kings River produces in the neighborhood of 1.7 to 1.8 million acre feet. On a year like
this year, we're expecting to be some- where in the neighborhood of about 300,000 acre feet."
That means a great decrease in wa- ter deliveries for agriculture. Jacobsen said Consolidated is not running water this season while Alta is running a very abbreviated season. Even the Fresno Ir- rigation District in the FCFB's neck of the woods had its second shortest water deliver year on record in more than a century. Compounding the situation is a lack of carryover water as 2019 and 2020 were below normal precipitation years.
Jacobsen said the Kings River region is fortunate to have been relatively left alone, compared to problems elsewhere in the state.
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Dinuba council salutes retiring landscape technician
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
The Dinuba City Council hon- ored a longtime city employee who retired and welcomed a new firefighter and paramedic during its regular meeting on July 13.
Karla Radtke, who joined the city in 2005 and served more than 15 years as a landscape techni- cian, was given a plaque in rec- ognition of her service and retire- ment. She was presented with the plaque by Mayor Linda Launer, and received words of praise and compliments from city officials and council members.
The tributes praised Radtke's dedication and hard work in
maintaining the city's down- town area. Vice Mayor Maribel Reynosa said she always saw Radtke busy at work.
"I don't know how you main- tained everything, keeping our downtown area looking so great," she said. Council member Kuldip Thusu echoed the senti- ments telling Radtke "you have made Dinuba a better place."
Radtke thanked the city for hiring her and their continued support. "It was a joy. It was a dream job for me. I loved what I did and I definitely miss it," she said.
Also presented at the meet- ing was Bryan Marsh, a long- time paramedic with the city
who was promoted adding addi- tional firefighter duties. He was sworn in and introduced to the council along with his family.
In the regular meeting, the council heard a presentation from Public Works Director Ismael Hernandez regarding the current drought conditions in California. For now, the city remained in state two of water conservation that includes limited water days.
The council followed the open meeting with a closed session to discuss potential purchase of property. Among action items by the council was the cancellation of the Tuesday, July 27, regular meeting. The council will meet again on Tuesday, Aug. 10.
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Karla Radtke, who retired as a landscape technician for the city of Dinuba, addressed the City Council on July 13 after receiving a plaque of appreciation for her 15 years-plus of service.
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