Page 1 - Mid Valley Times 12-5-19 E-edition

Thursday, December 5, 2019
Vol. 1, No. 23
Photo Contributed
Attendees looked at this year's Christmas tree in downtown Reedley shortly after the annual Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony took place on Nov. 30. More photos from the tree lighting and a story are in the Lifestyle section on Page A7.
Parades scheduled in Reedley, Sanger and Dinuba
By MVT Staff
The Christmas holiday spirit picks up in a major way this week with parades sched- uled for Reedley, Sanger and Dinuba.
Reedley begins the festivities with its annual Electrical Farm Equipment parade on Thursday, Dec. 5, in downtown Reedley. Two days later on Dec. 7, both Sanger and Dinuba will put on their annual winter sea- son parades.
The region officially made the switch from Thanksgiving to Christmas on Nov. 30 with the annual Tree Lighting Ceremony in downtown Reedley. The lighting ceremony took place at the intersection of 11th and G streets, where the city's Christmas tree will be on display through Christmas Day.
A look at this week's parade lineup:
Reedley Electrical Parade
The Greater Reedley Chamber of Com- merce and downtown leaders are hosting the 2019 Electrical Farm Equipment Pa- rade, which is expected to have between 35 to 40 entries. This year's theme is "Holiday Movies."
Food booths will be set up at the intersec- tion of G and 10th streets and G and 11th streets from 5 to 9 p.m., and judging of the floats takes place at 6 p.m. at the staging ar- ea on G Street just north of 8th Street. The
See PARADES on page A12
50 cents
Sanger
DUI
operation
leads to 2
arrests
By Rick Curiel
Mid Valley Times
A DUI operation conducted by the Sanger Police Depart- ment on Nov. 27 netted 39 vehi- cle stops, two DUI arrests and multiple citations, said Sanger police.
The Sanger Police Depart- ment’s Traffic Safety Unit con- ducted its first DUI operation of the holiday season on Nov. 27, focusing on impaired drivers.
The operation consisted of six officers who conducted ze- ro-tolerance saturation patrol until 3 a.m., with a focus on impaired drivers of all types.
“California has seen a sig- nificant increase in crashes involving drug-impaired driv- ers,” said Sanger police Sgt. Joshua Johnson. “That’s why Sanger PD supports the efforts by the Office of Traffic Safety to educate all drivers that DUI doesn’t just mean booze.”
Johnson said that those who take prescription medication, particularly those with a warn- ing label about driving or oper- ating heavy machinery, might be impaired enough to in viola- tion of driving under the influ- ence. He noted that marijuana can also cause impairment, especially in combination with alcohol or other drugs, and can also result in a DUI.
Of the 39 stops conducted in the operation, Sanger police made two arrests for DUI, cited four drivers for operat- ing a vehicle with a suspended license or unlicensed, issued a total of 10 traffic citations
See OPERATION on page A5
Holiday events this week
RC's 'Day of Giving' boosts Performing Arts
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Jerry Buckley, Reedley College president, spoke about the Day of Giving fund drive at the college on Dec. 3.
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
Reedley College hosted its inaugural "Giving Tuesday" event on Dec. 3 as part of the national Day of Giving drive, and dedicated 24 hours to pushing the col- lege's planned Center for Fine and Per- forming Arts closer to its financial goal for construction.
An afternoon gathering at the col- lege's Student Center featured a ceremo- nial presentation of two $5,000 checks, part of the goal of raising $25,000 in the
one day. By early afternoon, officials al- ready had raised $21,811.
"It's another opportunity today of rais- ing 25 thousand additional dollars to help make that Center for Fine and Perform- ing Arts a reality two years from now," said Jerry Buckley, Reedley College president. Buckley asked the students and others in attendance about the col- lege's annual Fall Concert held a night earlier in the Forum Hall on campus.
"What do you think is going to be dif-
SeeGIVINGonpage A12
Dinuba HS students hold blood drive for local girl
Dec. 2 event for 9-year-old Camila Herrera
By George M. Villagrana
Mid Valley Times
Coming together to help those in need, that was the spirit of a blood drive held Dec. 2 at Dinuba High School.
With the help of the Central Cali- fornia Blood Center, the school’s gym- nasium was transformed into a blood donation site, and it was all done in honor of Dinuba resident, 9-year old Camila Herrera.
Herrera, a student at Lincoln El- ementary School in Dinuba, was diag- nosed with leukemia in October.
After finding out about Herrera’s fight against cancer, students from Dinuba High’s MED Academy decid- ed to host a blood and marrow drive.
“It’s great to be able to do some-
Contributed
Camila Herrera
thing,” said DHS senior Fernando Diaz.
T-shirts were being sold to help support the family financially.
Senior Kaitlyn Ngai said the blood drive brought the whole community
together.
“Most impor-
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tantly it’s to help someone survive,” added Diaz.
Students, faculty and staff were among those who donated blood and did a mouth swab to see if they are a bone marrow match.
See BLOOD DRIVE on page A6
George M. Villagrana / Mid Valley Times
Fernando Diaz, Jason Bhangu, Joshua Corrales and Kaitlyn Ngai are students from Dinuba High’s MED Academy that hosted the blood drive for Dinuba resident, 9-year-old Camila Herrera. T-shirts were being sold to help the family financially.