Page 6 - Reedley Exponent 1-10-19 E-edition

The Reedley Exponent A6 Thursday, January 10, 2019 Valuable vouchers
GARRISON Continued from page A1
can be dispatched to calls at any time of the day or night.
Garrison also worked with the state as a correc- tional officer. Once he re- tired, he said he wanted to continue working in Reed- ley.
“I went back to work for the state, however I never left the city of Reedley,” he said. “I never wanted to leave, basically. When I left to work for the state I de- moted to a training captain, but that was so I wouldn’t have to leave Reedley. I ba- sically wanted to stay con- nected with the fire depart- ment and helping people here. That is important to me.”
Garrison said the dy- namic of firefighting is changing with the new generation of younger fire- fighters coming in.
“We are in a phase right now where the older guys are starting to retire, and these younger guys are coming in \[at\] 19 years old, 20 years old,” he said. “They are coming in and responding to calls taking up the slack that the older guys can no longer do. It’s really nice to see that type of transition.”
One of Garrison’s most memorable calls? A large fire that destroyed several businesses back in 2006.
“I remember I was on the first engine in,” he said. “And when we turned the corner it was like ‘ho- ly cow,’ a whole bunch of buildings were on fire.”
According to Exponent archives, the downtown fire, which took place on the morning of April 26, 2006 dis- placed three downtown busi- nesses and caused an excess of $1 million in damages.
Crews from Reedley, Sanger, Dinuba, Fresno and Tulare Counties responded to the fire that officials said started just before 4:30 a.m.
The article stated that the first of eight companies to respond found large vol- umes of smoke and flames engulfing the south end
Dozens of people lined up outside the Reedley Library before its 10 a.m. opening on Jan. 8 to take advantage of free vouchers to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for qualify- ing low-income families. The library gave away all 300 vouchers it had by 2:30 p.m. The vouchers — good for admission for six family members — is part of the Aquarium’s “Shelf to Shore” program. Low-income fami- lies who live in Fresno County can use their library card to receive one free pass per year. The library gave away 80 vouchers back in October, according to Kathy Sullivan, senior library assistant. Families who receive HUD- funded low-income housing assistance or who qualify for free school lunch, WIC, SNAP, Meals on Wheels, Medi-Cal, Healthy Kids or other similar services are eligible. Sullivan encouraged those who don’t qualify to con- sider an Aquarium membership.
ABOVE: People lined up on the sidewalk in front of the library waiting for the vouchers.
RIGHT: Kathy Sullivan, Reedley branch senior library assistant, left, waits on people applying to receive the free vouchers.
Photos by Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Photo Contributed
Tim Garrison held his niece, Kiera, at a school event.
of the office suites which housed Craig Larson Realty, Martin and Just, LLP and Option Care medical supply.”
“Firefighters moved briskly to prevent flames from igniting adjacent businesses,” then-Fire Chief David Powell said in describing the blaze. “Two firefighters were injured during the blaze. One was transported to Sierra Kings Hospital where he was treated for heat exhaustion and released. The other was treated at the scene for a minor shoulder injury.The fire was fully contained in 3 hours and 22 minutes.”
Garrison said he re- membered that day like it was yesterday.
“It wasn’t just one build- ing,” he said. “Not just one, but there were flames com- ing out of the roof, and I remember we were there all day, it was a very long drawn out fire.”
It is these types of ex- periences and life-saving tactics he said working in town has allowed him to have, and he hopes to con- tinue to do that.
“That is the most re- warding thing about work- ing here,” he said. “If we can get there early enough to put out the fire, reduce the damage, putting people back in their homes in a few days rather than months or years down the road, that’s why I do this job.”
End of the holiday
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Reedley city workers removed decorations from this year’s Christmas tree at the intersection of 11th and G streets on Jan. 3, when the annual holiday display was taken down for 2018. The tree had been on display since Nov. 20 when it was cut and brought down from the mountains. The tree was officially lit on Nov. 24 during the traditional tree-lighting event, and remained lit each night through Jan. 2.
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