Page 1 - Mid Valley Times 12-30-21 e-Edition

Thursday, December 30, 2021
Vol. 3, No. 26
50 cents
Sanger
mayor
arrested
Eli Ontiveros
is accused of domestic violence in Dec. 21 incident
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
Sanger mayor Eli Ontive- ros was arrested for suspect- ed domestic violence at his
Double killing east of Sanger
Sanger home The iden- tity of the victim in the domes- tic violence incident in- volving On- tiveros was not disclosed during a Dec. 22 press con-
early last week.
Eli Ontiveros' booking mug
Reedley man to face charges of murdering grandmother, dad's girlfriend
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
The Christmas day double homicide of two women — 58-year-old Magdalena Al- varez and 39-year-old Meisa Rashid — at
ference by the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.
“To protect the victim in this case,” said Tony Botti, the spokesperson for the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. “We
See ONTIVEROS on page A2
“The initial [1:45 p.m.] call for service was a shots fired disturbance,” said Brandon Pursell, a lieutenant with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office on the afternoon of Dec. 25. “Deputies arrived on scene and we did locate two people that
See HOMICIDESonpageA16
ABOVE: Law enforcement officials gathered along blocked off Good- fellow Avenue southeast of Sanger and northwest of Reedley, the scene of a double homicide on Christmas Day. The Fresno County Sheriff's Of- fice said a 23-year-old Reedley man fatally shot his grandmother and father's girlfriend at around 1:45 p.m. before fleeing the scene. Aus- tin Alvarez was arrested later that afternoon near Orange Cove.
LEFT: A different angle of the crime scene area before a media staging area was set up on Dec. 25.
Photos by Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
the hands of Alvarez's grandson has left the city of Reed- ley and its surrounding communities in shock and disbelief.
Austin Alvarez
Case numbers avoiding spike from Omicron variant
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
There are signs of a numbers jump of positive coronavirus cases in Fres- no and Tulare Counties, but no sharp spikes in hospitalizations or intensive care patiences entering the last week of 2021.
The Dec. 28 releases by the two counties — the first in four days by Fresno County – showed only one mea- suring gauge showing a significant increase: the general 7-day positivity
rate. Fresno County's went from 5.2 percent on Dec. 24 to 7.3 percent on the 28th, but the new cases per 100,000 population only slightly increased from 11.7 to 12.3. For the week, the increase was just a tenth of a percent.
The Omicron variant hasn't made any significant impact in the region, but Kings County reported its first case of the new variant on Dec. 28. That came a little more than a week after Fresno County reported its first Omicron variant case.
Fresno County's death rate for CO-
Coronavirus Update
VID-related illnesses increased for the week from 2,341 to 2,364; with six more coming in the four-day window between reporting areas. In Tulare County, deaths increased for the week of Christmas from 1,129 to 1,137.
A positive sign has been a leveling or decrease in hospitalizations. As of Dec. 21, Fresno County had 176 pa- tients hospitalized with 45 in intensive care. Seven days later, that number had dropped to 163 and 41 in ICU.
Hospitalizations in Tulare County remained steady, with 46 patients at the start of the week and 45 as of Dec. 28. Stays in the ICU briefly jumped from 10 to 13 patients, but dipped back to nine as of the the Dec. 28 update.
The vaccination rate reached two- thirds (66.6 percent) for Fresno County residents ages 5 years and older with at least one dose, and 564,378 residents were listed as fully vaccinated. More than 75,00 residents have received
See VIRUS on page A2
MVT offices will close on Dec. 31 in observance of New Year's
The Mid Valley Times' business offices in Reed- ley and Sanger will be closed on Friday, Dec. 31, in observance of the New Year's Day holiday.
There will be early deadlines this week be- cause of the office clo- sure. Classified liner ads and legal notices are due by noon on Thursday, Dec. 30. Regular and clas- sified display ads also are due by noon on Thursday, Dec. 30.
The Times' two offices will reopen for business at 8 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 3.
Grinch brings holiday cheer to Dinuba Library
MVT Staff Report
The Grinch made another ap- pearance in the Dinuba area on Dec. 23, with guests and staff en- joying his arrival at the Dinuba branch of the Tulare County Li- brary.
The famed Dr. Seuss charac- ter came to the Dinuba library on South I Street to share Grinch lev- el antics and fun with attendees to the event. Tulare County library staff, led by librarian Stephanie Buckridge, made sure the char- acter in his Santa suit was given a Tulare County Library card to check out books, videos and other items to his heart's content.
Just three days earlier, the
See GRINCH on page A16
LEFT: The Grinch showed off his Tulare County Li- brary card during his appearance at the Dinuba branch library on Dec. 23.
ABOVE: The Grinch posed with Dinuba Library staff workers and librarian Stephanie Buckridge,
right.
Dinuba Chamber of Commerce / Photos Contributed
Classifieds - A10
Directory - A6 Legals - A11-15 Sports - A9, A16
Lifestyle - A0-0
Lights & Sirens - A7-8 Obituaries - A2 Opinion - A4