Reedley Exponent 8-2-18 E-edition

Reedley trio dances in NYC with The Rockettes
Panorama
Local high schools continue to prepare for Fall Sports season
Sports
By Jodie Reyna
Mid Valley Publishing
The Kings Canyon Unified School District is com- pleting $15 million in facility improvement projects this summer.
Most projects are on schedule and should be fin- ished by the first day of school on Aug. 15, according to Dr. John Quinto, KCUSD assistant superintendent of business services.
“It’s our goal to deliver the projects on target and under budget,” Quinto said. “I am honored to be part of the team that delivers these facilities for our stu- dents, district, and community.”
Quinto reported a list of projects to the KCUSD
governing board on July 24. About half of the $15 mil- lion is from Measure K, a $40 million school bond ap- proved by voters in 2012.
At Dunlap K-8 School, the school district is pav- ing the parking lot and modernizing classrooms. Im- provements at Jefferson Elementary School include improvements to classrooms and the administration building. Upgrades are being made to the sports field at Orange Cove High School, as well as the lighting on the field. Parking lot improvements are being made at Riverview K-8 School.
Upgrades are also being made to the ag science build- ing at Reedley High School, but Quinto said the project
See FACILITIES on page A2
Wayne Ford with Western Building Material of Fresno lays out and cuts pieces of tack board inside the ag science building at Reedley High School on July 30. Im- provements are being done to the building, part of $15 million in facility upgrades within the Kings Canyon Unified School District.
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
KCUSD’s
summer
program
growth soars
By Jodie Reyna
Mid Valley Publishing
Nearly three times the number of stu- dents participated in the Kings Canyon Uni- fied School District’s summer learning pro- grams this year, and enrollment more than quadrupled at the elementary grade level.
Mary Ann Carousso, Administrator for Student Services for KCUSD, gave a report to the KCUSD governing board on July 24 about the increased numbers.
“Our summer learning program this year was bigger and bolder than ever,” she said. “The numbers are ‘wow.’”
Summer learning programs included summer school at the elementary and mid- dle school grade levels, as well as credit recovery and original credit classes at the high school level. Summer learning does not include afterschool programs. Most summer learning classes ended on July 13.
There was full participation from every school site this year. This was evidenced by increased work hours in all departments including transportation, food service, and maintenance.
“Everybody stepped up and did a tre- mendous job,” said John Campbell, KCUSD superintendent.
Added Carousso: “A lot of people put in a lot of hours.”
The elementary grade level showed the largest increase in students. Last summer, 334 students participated in summer learn- ing programs at seven school sites. This summer, there were 1,431 students in sum- mer learning programs at all 12 elementary school sites in KCUSD.
In middle school, 307 students from three school sites were enrolled in summer learning programs compared to 131 stu- dents at one school site last year.
The number of students who partici- pated in summer learning programs at the high school level doubled compared to last
See SUMMER on page A3
www.reedleyexponent.com
Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654 | 50 cents School district completing facilities upgrades
Vol. 129, No. 31 | Thursday, August 2, 2018
Victims
in fatal
crash had
local ties
Avila in Reedley College Athletic HOF, Hanning an Immanuel High grad
Staff Report
Two men with ties to Reedley were among the five people killed in a fiery two-vehicle crash in rural Madera County on July 28.
Joe Avila, 75, and 32-year-old Taylor Hanning
died when the
pickup truck they
were riding in was broadsided by a Dodge sedan, causing both vehi- cles to crash into grape vineyards. Also killed in the accident shortly after 11 a.m. was the truck’s driver, 47-year-old Wil- liam Siegel who was a former mayor of Lemoore in Kings County.
A woman and
man in the Dodge,
which apparently
ran a stop sign
and struck Sie-
gel’s vehicle trav-
eling south on Road 30, also were killed. Those victims’ identities had not been released as of midday July 31. Their vehicle burst into flames after crashing into grapevines.
Avila lived in Hanford in Kings County while Hanning lived in La- ton, a small Fresno County town just across the Kings River from Kings
See CRASH on page A8
Ferguson Fire fight
Fabian Morrales, Reedley Fire Department / Photo Contributed
Reedley firefighters Noah Montes, foreground, and Arturo Gonzales work at clearing brush as smoke billows in the background at the massive Ferguson Fire near Yosemite National Park on July 26. Four members of the Reedley Fire Department have been up in the Mariposa area for more than two weeks helping fight the Ferguson Fire, which as of 8 p.m. on July 31 had burned more than 58,000 acres and was 33 percent contained. More photos of local firefighters and information on the Ferguson Fire are on Page A8.
Joe Avila
Taylor Hanning
New name, bigger presence at California Food Expo
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Erin Reimer, right, serves custom-made Ampersand Ice Cream — featuring Grape Jammer grape and spiced vanilla plum flavoring from Brandt Farms — at the company’s booth during the July 26 California Food Expo. The annual event was renamed from the former Fresno Food Expo the day of the public show.
Former Fresno Food Expo
featured 3 local businesses
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
The annual Fresno Food Expo “grew up” this year with a new name — the California Food Expo.
Just hours before the July 26 public event at the Fresno Convention Center Exhibit Hall, event organiz- ers announced the name change and brand unveiling. It came at a time of continued growth for the Expo which had the biggest level of participation in its eight-year history with more than 135 exhibitors representing Cen- tral California’s and the state’s finest food and beverage growers and manufacturers.
Reedley was represented by three companies — Pri- ma Foods (Gerawan Farming), Brandt Farms and Farm to Table Berries.
The Brandt Farms booth was in a new location near a center aisle of the Exhibit Hall. The company has been a regular at the food expo since the introduction of its popular “Grape Jammers” grape.
said Michael Reimer, managing partner.
Customers were drawn to one of Brandt’s new fea-
tures, sales of ice cream cones made by Ampersand Ice Cream of Fresno. The companies joined up to create two flavors — Grape Jammer Swirl and Spice Vanilla Plum. Reimer’s daughter, Erin Reimer, was busy scooping out ice cream and handing out sample cones.
“We give [Ampersand] a few ingredients and our Grape Jammers, and we gave them some plums and they made some ice cream for us to sell here,” Michael Reimer said. Ampersand also had its own booth at the expo.
Prima Foods had its booth placed in front of the en- trance to the food expo, making it one of the first stops for many people who entered the Exhibit Hall.
George Papangellin, marketing specialist for Prima Farms and Gerawan, said he’s encouraged to see the pub- lic attending in greater numbers each year.
“It’s important, because we are in the heart of agricul- ture of the country, if not the world,” he said. “And most people who live here — forget about ones who live only other parts of the state — but right in this area they have no idea what we do. So this is an outreach to the public.”
Papangellin said the company uses the public session as a direct outreach to people. The morning convention session with vendor buyers isn’t as much of a priority because Prima has a number of national accounts.
“We hope to attract a lot more vendors and bring a lot of new business in. It would make it all worth our while,”
See FOOD EXPO on page A3 Classified - B6-7 Directory - A5 Legals - B8-9 Sports - B3-4 Lights & Sirens - A3 Health & Fitness - A6-7 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4