Page 1 - Reedley Exponent 1-10-19 E-edition

Further look back at Reedley’s feature stories of 2018
Reedley High girls capture Parlier tournament title
Sports
Panorama
Vol. 130, No. 2 | Thursday, January 10, 2019
www.reedleyexponent.com
Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654 | 50 cents Ex-firefighter said it’s about helping his hometown
Tim Garrison retired from one career, still serves his community through another
By Juanita Adame
juanita@midvalleypublishing.com
Tim Garrison, former battalion chief for the Reedley Fire Depart- ment who’s now the department’s fires training captain, was fighting a nasty cold and cough on the evening
Former
PUSD
chief is
arrested
Alvarez accused of
embezzling funds
Staff Report
The former superintendent of the Parlier Unified School District was arrested last week on suspi- cion of embezzling funds from the district’s “Sunshine Club” between 2013 and 2014,
according to the
Fresno County
District Attor-
ney’s Office.
of Jan. 8. Still, he agreed to a phone interview to talk about what working in the city of Reedley has meant to him and why he’s continued to serve the community even after his recent retirement as a correctional officer.
“What I enjoy the most about working here in Reedley is that it is my hometown,” said Garrison. “I know a lot of the people who live in town so when we respond to medical aids or fires, a lot of those people we deal with we already know. It’s kind of nice to help someone that we know, and also, of course, helping those who
live here that we don’t know.” Garrison has worked with the de- partment for nearly 18 years. He be- gan as a paid call firefighter in 2000, then after some time, was hired full time as the department’s battalion
chief.
Paid call firefighters work on an
“on call” basis. They are trained and have the necessary equipment to re- spond to fires and will respond from their personal vehicles. Most are re- quired to carry around a pager and
See GARRISON on page A6
Tim Garrison, right, stood with retired Cal Fire firefighter David Allen. After retiring from his state job as a correctional offic er, Gar- risoncontinuestoservethecity of Reedley by continuing as the fire department’s training cap- tain. Garrison has worked with Reedley Fire for nearly 18 years, previously as a battalion chief.
Photo Contributed
Council
ups city’s
sphere of
influence
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
Reedley’s sphere of influence took the first step to becoming a bit larger, thanks to recent action by the Reedley City Council.
At the Jan. 8 regular meet- ing, the council unanimously ap- proved a sphere of influence ap- plication to submit a request for a SOI amendment throughout the Fresno Local Agency Formation Commission, commonly known as LAFCO.
In a presentation to the council Rob Terry, director of Community Development, called the action preparatory to potential develop- ment and not a direct cause.
“It can be concurrent with de- velopment, but it can also be done years in advance of anything,” he said. “This is just to keep items con- tiguous and orderly in the way that we’re growing. In our communica- tions with the county, that’s they way they would prefer to see it.”
The area falling under the sphere of influence is about 120 acres in the northern and eastern portions of the city — 80 acres on the north side of South Avenue at the intersection of Frankwood and South avenues, and 40 acres on the north side of East Manning Avenue west of the Zumwalt Av- enue alignment.
The sphere expansion is con- sistent with the Reedley General Plan Update 2030, and consists of three total parcels. While it won’t affect the city’s general plan des- ignation, it does allow for future annexation to be considered.
Terry said that at a future date, city staff will come to the council with a budget amendment not exceeding $7,500 to cover final application costs.
Classes resume
Gerardo G.
Alvarez, 56, was
arrested without
incident at his
Fresno home on
Jan. 4. He will
be facing felony
charges of embezzlement and mis- appropriation of funds. The charg- es follow a Fresno County grand jury report in 2015 along with a 2016 audit requested by the Fresno County Office of Education.
The district attorney’s office’s Public Integrity Unit investigated Alvarez — superintendent of PUSD from 2013 to 2015 — for two years prior to the Jan. 4 arrest.
The PUSD Board of Trustees removed Alvarez as superintendent in January 2016. The agreement prevented Alvarez from working in the district in any future capacity.
The federal complaint alleges that from July 1, 2013 through Ju- ly 31, 2014, Alvarez committed the felony crimes of embezzlement of PUSD property exceeding $950 and two counts of misappropriation of public funds.
See ALVAREZ on page A3
Gerardo Alvarez
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Reedley High School students lined up to enter the cafeteria during the school’s lunch hour on Jan. 8. Schools in the Kings Canyon Unified School District, Immanuel Schools and Reedley College all resumed classes on Jan. 7 after the three-week Christmas holiday break. This photo was shot from the back stairwell of the high school’s administration building. While there will be some in-service and holiday breaks at KCUSD schools, the next extended break from classes will be the spring vacation break on April 15-22.
A look at Reedley’s first baby of 2019. From left are father Edgar, 9-year-old brother Edgar Jr., mother Adriana Vazquez Mariscal, new baby Aaron Adrian and 8-year-old sister Giselle.
Adventist Health Reedley / Photo Contributed
Contributed
Babies that don’t arrive on their due date can test the patience of any mother. But Adri- ana Vazquez Mariscal, who delivered the first baby of 2019 at Adventist Health Reedley, was overjoyed at the delay.
Her baby was due on Christmas Day, but Aaron Adrian Vazquez showed up at 8:15 a.m. on Jan. 1, turning her expected Christmas gift into a New Year’s celebration.
“This is better,” her 8-year-old daughter, Giselle, said. “Because now the baby will be famous!”
Adriana’s husband, Edgar, and their chil- dren, Giselle and 9-year-old Edgar Jr., were super excited to welcome the newest member of their family, each anxiously awaiting their turn to hold and cuddle the little boy.
Aaron Adrian weighed in at 7 pounds, 3 ounces, measured 19.5 inches, and sported a full head of dark hair.
It’s not the first time the immediate fam-
Baby Aaron Adrian weighed in at 7 pounds, 3 ounces and measured 19.5 inches.
Adventist Health Reedley / Photo Contributed
ily has welcomed a baby born on the first day of the year. Edgar’s brother, Ulysses, now 28, was also born on New Year’s Day in 1991, and Adriana loves the symmetry of their birth dates — 01-01-91 and 01-01-19. She thinks it will give the two a special bond.
“I only have the wish that he grows healthy and strong,” Adriana said. The family lives in Reedley.
Edgar said Aaron’s overdue arrival was against the norm compared to the new baby’s siblings. Both Edgar Jr. and Giselle were born premature.
Reedley welcomes first 2019 baby early on Jan. 1
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