Mid Valley Times 5-13-21 E-edition

Thursday, May 13, 2021
Vol. 2, No. 45
Coronavirus Update — Seeing Yellow Pushed Back
COVID numbers remain stable, but ticking up
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
COVID-19 case numbers remained relatively stable this past week, but the new week started with a slight climb in numbers in Fresno and Tulare counties.
In the May 11 update, Fres- no County announced 23 new cases from a day earlier to bring the total case number to 101,755, a 2 percent positive rate. Of new cases, nearly 220 had developed since the start of true weekend.
The rise also was evident in Tulare County. Entering this week, active cases had dropped to 245 (down 16 from a week previous. But the May 11 update revealed 23 new cases, bringing the active number of 268 to seven above the previous week. It caused the positive case rate to 1.3 percent, up a tenth from last week.
Still, the new cases rates per 100,000 people were still well within the range to keep both Fresno and Tulare coun- ties in the orange (moderate) tier. But it lengthens the wait time, perhaps by weeks, to a desired upgrade into the yel- low (minimal) tier.
The increases haven't set off serious concerns, as hos-
See VIRUS on page A18
50 cents
A bleak summer for water
ABOVE: This photo from the Goodfel- low Bridge east of Sanger shows a below normal stream of the Kings River flowing south. This week, a state drought emer- gency was declared in an area including all Central California counties.
RIGHT: The recently-remodeled boat launch at Cricket Hollow Park in Reedley led to a small creek flow in the Kings Riv- er. A third year of dry weather has created drought conditions that will likely result in a short river run this summer.
Photos by Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Scarce river run expected, state drought emergency is declared
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
It comes as no surprise, but the Kings River Water Associa- tion is forecasting a bleak sum- mer when it comes to water for agriculture and recreational ac- tivities.
What is expected to have been the Kings River’s peak calculated natural flow (gauged as if there were no dams) oc- curred May 6, when the river released about 3,890 cubic feet per second.
“That is thousands of CFS lower than what we’d expect in an average year,” said Matt Meadows, KRWA assistant wa- termaster, in a May 10 news
See WATER on page A18
Brief fire burns brush along Kings River
Firefighters spray down flames and hot spots during a May 5 fire that broke out on the west bank of the Kings River, south of the Wake- house grill and restaurant in Reedley. The blaze broke out sometime after 3:30 p.m., and crews with Reedley Fire and Cal Fire quickly responded to put out the flames. The fire burned some logs where the island begins in the river along with about a quar- ter-acre of vegetation. There were no injuries from the blaze, and the cause of the fire was not announced.
Danny Jimenez / Photo Contributed
Sanger council votes to fund Tombstone water well
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
The Sanger City Coun- cil unanimously approved a request to fund a new wa- ter well that will connect to the city’s water system to the unincorporated area of Tombstone located just out- side the city limits.
“About four years ago, the city council was ap- proached by a representa- tive of the Tombstone com- munity,” Tim Chapa, city manager, said at the May 6 virtual meeting. “That group included the leader- ship council, a group who represents folks who lack representation, and they came asking for consider-
ation for an analysis and re- view to see if the city would allow water connection by the Tombstone residents to the city’s water system.”
Tombstone is located near Greenwood Avenue and Central Avenue just south of Sanger,and for years has been the subject of debate on whether the city should allow the con- nection.
“Due to the failure of wells from the residents who live in Tombstone and water quality issues they were having,” said Chapa.“At the time the city didn’t have any direct fund- ing to support that.”
Chapa also said that
newly-appointed state Sen. Melissa Hurtado was able to secure $1 million in funding to the Tombstone water con- nection.
“Looking to move for- ward on a project that was partially funded by the mil- lion dollars,” Chapa said. “Bring in 3 million dollars for the purposes of helping a neighbor that came to you four years ago asking for assistance. These things take time, they take a lot of partnership and teamwork.”
Public comments re- garding the Tombstone wa- ter connection were mostly to support the project, but
See WELL on page A18
City of Sanger / Map Contributed
This map shows in red where the new water well will be located in the un- incorporated area of Tombstone south of Sanger.
Classifieds - A9 Directory - A6 Legals - A10, A13-16
Sports - A11-12 Lifestyle - A7-8 Lights & Sirens - A3, A5 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4