Mid Valley Times 3-4-21 E-edition

Thursday, March 4, 2021
Vol. 2, No. 35
Fresno County
declines to
6 percent in
positivity rate
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
Fresno and Tulare counties are getting closer to escaping the purple widespread tier when it comes to COVID-19 positive cases.
In the March 2 figures re- leased by the Fresno County Department of Public Health, the county had reached the red stage in two categories: positivity rate (6 percent) and health equity metric (7.1 per- cent).
The category which will bring Fresno County back in-
See VIRUS on page A18
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Officials at Sanger High School tested and checked temperatures of students coming onto cam- pus for instruction and tutoring on March 2. The high school still is conducting predominantly distancelearning,althoughasmallnumberofstudentsareoncampus.Theschool istransition- ing into a blended (online and in-person) learning system.
More students are making return to on-campus learning
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
High school was back in session on campus for most students in the Kings Canyon Unified School District this week.
On March 2, the majority of stu- dents at Reedley High School, Orange Cove High School and Kings Canyon High School returned to on-campus learning at the district's three upper grades campuses. Renee Delport, KCUSD's School to Home Communi- cations Officer, said that 93 percent of the district's high school students are attending in person.
At Reedley High, Principal John Ahlin and a group of student ambas- sadors were masked up at the main en-
SeeSCHOOLSonpage A18
50 cents
Coronavirus Update — Numbers Keep Falling, Color Tier Change Near?
Some more steps closer to normalcy
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
The front wheel of a pinned motorcycle could be seen from underneath the semi truck following an accident on Hills Valley Road and Manning Avenue on the night of Feb. 26. The rider suffered only mod- erate injuries.
Pair of crashes
in Orange Cove
result in 1 death
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
A series of major accidents, one proving fa- tal, kept police and emergency personnel in Or- ange Cove busy during the weekend of Feb. 27.
It was just after 1 a.m. Feb. 28, that a man, now identified as Martin Chavez, 45, was killed when the truck he was riding in crashed into a concrete wall in the areas of Park Boulevard and Hills Valley Road.
It is believed that Chavez had been involved in a bar fight moments earlier at the “El Bu- kanas” restaurant in Orange Cove when gunfire erupted in the parking lot.
Once police arrived, Chavez and two other individuals fled the scene in a black truck.
As the truck fled from police it crashed into the wall, killing Chavez and leaving the two other men, including the driver, in critical con- dition.
Just a few miles away and no more than 48 hours earlier, police responded to the area of Hills Valley Road and Manning Avenue after a semi truck collided with a motorcycle leaving
See CRASHES on page A18
Sacrifice remembered
Law enforcement, community
gathers Feb. 25 to honor fallen
Reedley police officer Javier Bejar
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
More than 100 people attended the annual flag lowering ceremony in honor of Javer Bejar on the morning of Feb. 25, in front of the Reedley Police Department.
The event is held each year to honor the life of Bejar, a Reedley police officer who was killed in the line of duty on Feb. 25, 2010 following a shootout in the town of Minkler. The incident claimed his life as well as that of another law enforcement officer,
deputy Jo- el Wahlen- mair with the Fresno County Sheriff’s office.
“The hurt we felt on that
Javier Bejar
ABOVE: A lone bugler played "Taps" at far left as the crowd on G Street stood in silence in honor of fallen Reedley police officer Javier Bejar on Feb. 25.
LEFT: Members of the Reedley Police Honor Unit raised the flag that would later be lowered to half-staff during the Feb.
25 ceremony.
Photos by Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
day has subsided, but the memories and the sacrific- es of those two men, made on Feb. 25, 2010 have not disappeared,” said Joe Garza, Reedley’s police chief. “That is why we
SeeBEJARonpage A2
Classifieds - A9 Directory - A10 Legals - A12-15
Sports - A11
Lifestyle - A7-8
Lights & Sirens - A3, A5
Health & Fitness - A16-17 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4