Page 7 - Mid Valley Times 1-28-21 E-edition

Thursday, January 28, 2021
The View From Here
I men-
tioned in
last week’s
column that
exactly one
year ago
the biggest
story of the
week was
the tragic
death of basketball star Ko- be Bryant, his daughter Gigi and seven others.
The group died in an aw- ful helicopter crash in South- ern California.
A memory of my post from that day showed up in my Facebook memories and like all other major events that have happened within my lifetime, I remember ex- actly where I was.
That day I decided to go to the gym. I remember I was on the stair-climber ma- chine and just happened to glance up at the television screen.
There I saw the words, “Kobe Bryant dead in heli- copter crash.” I remember having to do a double take because I couldn’t believe what I was reading. It took my brain a moment to fully process what I was reading. As the news spread, gym go- ers began talking about it. "I can't believe this, not Kobe," I heard one person say.
Back then, we also didn’t anticipate that, sadly, the Kobe Bryant story would abruptly take a back seat to the looming pandemic that was to follow.
Two months later, by March, we’d be sheltered in place, and the toilet paper crisis would take the top spot for breaking news.
Just this week the shelter in place order was lifted in California. It's a sign. A good sign.
This definitely feels like the beginning of the end. The end of a horrible year, so many lives lost due to COV- ID-19, a vaccine is here, and for once we all seem hopeful.
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
It began as just an idea nearly five years ago, and on the morning of Thursday Jan. 28, following intense planning and preparing, it was finally finished.
“This has been a wonder- ful addition to our facility,” said Ro Linscheid, Executive Director with Sierra View Homes. “It’s centralized in the middle of the campus so that everyone can have access to it.”
Officials with the Sierra View Homes Retirement Community held a ribbon cut- ting to celebrate the comple- tion of their dining room ex- pansion called the “Sequoia Welcoming Room.”
“Before this was here,” said Vito Gemma. “It was just the doors going into the dining room, it was very plain, the entryway into the administra- tion building was on the side.”
Gemma said visitors would constantly question where the entrance was, where the of- fice was and at times didn’t even know where the front door was.
It was something they took into consideration when plan- ning the design of the build- ing.
Juanita Adame
Expansion project completed at Sierra View
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
ABOVE: From left, Vito Gemma, Ro Linscheid, Erik Valencia and Joann Kalafut participated in the ribbon cutting for Sierra View Home's newest building on the morning of Jan. 21.
BELOW: The dining room extension is called the "Sequoia Welcoming Room" and the project's goal was to create a space that was welcoming for residents and their families.
“As a resident here,” said Joann Kalafut. “I see all kinds of possibilities for this addi- tion to our dining hall, it will be an asset to our communi- ty.”
For more information on the Sierra View Homes Re- tirement Community, call (559) 638-9226.
Citrus Middle School teacher honored
Heather Stepp
SUSD remains hopeful after delay to return additional students to campus
Photo of the week
Contributed
Contributed
A Citrus Middle School teacher was recently named Secondary Teacher of the Year by the Kings Canyon Unified School District.
Heather Stepp, an 8th grade ELA teacher has been with the district for nine years and also coaches volleyball and softball. “She pushes her- self to the best she can be and that ignites a desire for others to be their best as well,” dis- trict officials said in a state- ment. “Mrs. Stepp is such a
valuable teacher because of what she does with her stu- dents, she connects with them each and every day.”
Secondary teachers spe- cialize in students from ages 11 to 18. According to alledu- cationschools.com, secondary education teachers are sub- ject-matter experts, and they have special training so they can effectively impart their knowledge to different types of learners.
“Mrs. Stepp values rela- tionships and puts in count- less hours connecting with
parents and community mem- bers, she is always caring and treats us all with respect and takes pride in her work,” her coworkers shared.
"She puts in countless hours connecting
with parents and community members."
-KCUSD
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
In a letter released to parents and students, Adela Jones, the superintendent with the Sanger Unified School Dis- trict said that their initial plan to return additional students to campus had again been de- layed due to COVID-19 case numbers in Fresno County.
"Due to guidelines by the Fresno County Department of Public Health," Jones wrote. "We delayed our return to classes until Feb. 1."
Jones added that on Jan. 21, the district received updated guidance from the health de- partment stating they are to delay bringing back addition-
al students until the county's case rate is at 25 cases per 100,000.
"We have been able to suc- cessfully bring back 5,600 TK-6 students in a hybrid for- mat, 700 students in academic programs and cohorts, and 500 high school athletes, all the while providing distance learning for our families who chose that option." she wrote. "We are proud of our staff who have worked so hard to ensure that learning is taking place for students no matter the format."
It was just a few days af- ter the release of the letter, on Jan. 25, that Gavin New- som, California's governor an- nounced the statewide "shelter
in place" order had been lifted. "We are hopeful that the case rate target will be met sooner than later," Jones wrote. "The metrics are up- dated every Tuesday, and we will continue to follow the data
closely."
Jones concluded by saying
that parents should expect to hear from their child's prin- cipal soon to let them know if they will be returning to on campus learning.
The Fresno County Board of Supervisors announced on Jan. 26 that they are urging the request for additional dos- es of COVID-19 vaccines.
See A Section for COV- ID-19 updates.
Contributed
A photo of 4-year-old Melanie Rodriguez holding onto her doll was sent in by her mother, Jennifer Jung-Rodriguez. Have a pho- toyou'dlikefeatured? Emailjuanita@midvalleypublishing.com.