Page 1 - Mid Valley Times 12-2-21 E-edition

Thursday, December 2, 2021
50 cents
State success for Sanger runners
Vol. 3, No. 22
HOLIDAY EVENTS
Thursday, Dec. 2, 6 p.m. Pioneer Park Reedley Christmas in the Park Electrical Parade Friday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m. Downtown along G Street Sanger Toyland Parade Saturday, Dec. 4, 11 a.m. Downtown Sanger Dinuba Christmas Parade Saturday, Dec. 4, 5:30-8 p.m. Downtown Dinuba
Reedley Tree Lighting
Trio of
parades
on tap
this week
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
The Christmas season spir- it will be flowing in Reedley, Sanger and Dinuba this week- end.
Each city in the Mid Val- ley Times coverage region will mark the return of live and traditional winter holiday parades; all coming within a 24-hour span.
Reedley begins the busy week of events with its "Christmas in the Park" cel- ebration that features the theme "Christmas in Toyland." The first portion of the cel- ebration is Thursday, Dec. 2, at 6 p.m. with the tree light- ing ceremony in Pioneer Park. The spot in the park along G Street, across from the police department, is the new per- manent home for the holiday tree, which during the pan- demic moved from its former location at the intersection of 11th and G streets.
On Friday, Dec. 3, the city celebrates the return of the popular Reedley Electrical
See PARADESonpageA6
LEFT: Sanger High's girls cross country team gathered for a pre-race huddle with coach Sean Martzolf, back- ground, prior to the start of the Division II girls state final race at Woodward Park in Fresno on Nov. 27. The Apaches finished ninth in the team standings.
ABOVE: Sanger High's David DeLoera, right, applaud- ed during the awards presentation for the Division II boys Top 10 medalists. The senior finished 10th in a time of 15 minutes, 38.0 seconds, and the Apache boys placed 12th in the team standings. More on the state cross country meet is in Sports on page A8.
Photos by Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Coronavirus Update
Latest numbers show decline on eve of Omicron
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
The Omicron variant making its way into this country may be a concern to health of- ficials, but for now overall COVIDE-19 case numbers in the Valley are on the decline.
The Tuesday, Nov. 30, update by the Fresno County Department of Public Health showed that the ratio of new cases per 100,000 in population had declined for the week from 19.1 to 13.6. Hospitalizations remained relatively the same, increasing by just one for the week to 506 in the county.
The county's positivity rate had dipped as low as 5.2 percent before trending back up to 5.6, and more important 30-day case
See VIRUS on page A2
Drive-thru celebration
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
A live nativity scene was part of the attraction of the Drive-Thru Christmas Celebra- tion in Reedley the evening of Nov. 30. The event at Adventist Health-Reedley also featured Santa Claus and his elves, treats including milk and cookies, and a live choir performing. A long line of vehicles drove by during the three hour-long event.
Body, shooting, crashes, part of active week in Sanger
Photo Courtesy of Sanger Live
Police tape blocked off the area in an alleyway behind the Amigos Market near Jensen Avenue and 7th Street on Thanksgiving morning Nov. 25, after a man's body was discovered in the alleyway.
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
A body was found on Thanksgiving morning in the areas of Jensen Avenue and 7th Street in Sanger. Investigators received a call about a man down in the alleyway behind the Amigos Market con- venience store.
“Police located a man in his 50s who was unconscious and EMS then deter- mined the man was deceased,” said Lt. Joshua Johnson with the Sanger Police Department.
The man was not homeless and is well known to police. Just a few hours later, at 3:30 p.m., police responded to a shots fired call in the areas of Church and J Streets.
The victim, who has not been identi- fied, was a male in his 20s and was report- edly the victim of a drive by shooting. He was transported to a local hospital and is in stable condition. Investigators said
that neither witnesses nor victims are cooperating with the investigation. Po- lice are looking for nearby surveillance cameras and witnesses who might have seen the crime take place. Anyone with information on either of these cases is asked to call the Sanger Police Depart- ment at (559) 875-8521.
Two accidents kept first responders busy on the afternoon of Nov. 30. The first call came in sometime around 1 p.m. Reports of a semi truck that collided with a power pole in the areas of North and Academy Avenues kept the roads near the area closed for several hours. No in- juries were reported.
Just before 3:30 p.m. a separate semi truck crashed into four vehicles on High- way 180 and McCall. Traffic was backed up for several hours in both directions. It is not known if there were injuries in the crash. Both accidents are under in- vestigation.
Classifieds - A9 Directory - A10 Legals - A11-15 Sports - A8 Lifestyle - A7 Lights & Sirens - A3, A5 Health & Fitness - A16-17 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4