Page 6 - Reedley Exponent 1-18-18 E-editon

MITCHELL Continued from page A1
Daren Decker, another for- mer student and player who played under Mitchell, said “Every day he addressed his team he referred to us as ‘gen- tlemen’, he always treated us with respect even if we hadn’t earned it or deserved it. ”
Decker also said “Mitchell was one of my favorite coach- es and definitely the most memorable one I ever played for. I’ve always felt that the baseball field at RHS should have been named for him. ”
During his time at Reedley High, Mitchell also coached the freshman football team.
Ernest Rodriguez, one of Mitchell’s former RHS play- ers,nowis43andisanad- junct instructor at College of the Sequoias in Visalia. He met Mitchell when he was 13 “and had him in my life for 30 years.”
“He was a mentor to me,” he said.
Rodriguez also recalled some of his favorite stories from playing for Mitchell on the RHS freshman football team. For example, he said the coach always called the same two offensive plays — “24-26 Bingo” and then the “Reedley Special.”
“He said, ‘Let’s run it un- til they can stop it’ and most teams didn’t,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez also said Mitch- ell “was a coach that pushed you to your limits. He taught you to overcome adversity and laid the basis for any men- tal strength you were going to have in the future.”
Rodriguez said that when he played on the RHS var- sity football team for three years, it was special to hear Mitchell announcing those games. Rodriguez said he felt the same way when he could hear Mitchell’s voice when he played for the Reed- ley College football team, in 1995 and 1996, and later when
RECALL Continued from page A1
opposition to a proposed tran- sitional house that the city is considering for a residence at 1697 W. Huntsman Ave., next to the city’s sewer and waste- water treatment plants.
Soleno and other council members have said they are not meeting with the resi- dents on the advice of Scott Cross, city attorney. The resi- dents group has appealed an initial conditional use permit that had been approved by the Reedley Planning Com- mission. The commission is scheduled to vote on a newly proposed conditional use per- mit at its meeting on Thurs- day, Jan. 18.
At the council meeting, Unruh said that the residents had come to appreciate the discussion they had with City Manager Nicole Zieba, Police Chief Joe Garza and Rob Ter- ry, Community Development director. But the council was a different story
“Right now, we are ex- tremely frustrated to the point that I’m just going to say it ... Ray, we’ve given you so ma- ny opportunities to visit with us,” Unruh said as he turned to speak to Soleno. “You do not know how greatly disap- pointed I am that we had to do this today.”
Soleno attempted to say
[He] was a coach that pushed you to your limits. He taught you to overcome adversity and laid the basis for any mental strength you were going to have in the future.”
— Ernest Rodriguez, a former player for Paul Mitchell at Reedley High School
returning to RHS as a coach (2001 to 2006, 2010, and 2013 to 2015).
“He was always the last one I’d see in the press box before a game and he would say, ‘Ernest, let’s go get this W,’” Rodriguez said. “He was always encouraging, and we would sit there before a game and just talk, and that’s what I will miss. He was just a great man and was a Reedley High legend.”
Mitchell’s community in- volvement during retirement included serving with his wife, Madeleine, as members of the Friends of the Reedley Library.
City Manager Nicole Zieba said that Mitchell’s passion for Reedley was evident in every conversation she had with him.
“The very first time I met him in my office, he pulled me aside and said ‘Nicole, you need to promise me to have plans ready to get Reedley a new library before I die,’” she said. “It made me chuckle and cringe at the very same time. But I promised.
“I hope it pleased him to know that just a week ago, the [City Council] approved mov- ing forward with plans to get a new library.”
A funeral is planned in Fresno but arrangements were pending at presstime. The Exponent will share more information as it receives it and publish it on the newspa- per’s Facebook page.
TOP: Paul Mitchell stands with his wife, Mad- eleine, in 2012. Mitchell, who died Jan. 13, taught and coached at Reedley High School for 33
years before retiring in 1986. He also was PA an- nouncer for Reedley College football and men’s basketball for 61 years, from 1953 to 2014.
File Photo / The Exponent
ABOVE: An undated file shot of Mitchell from a Reedley High School yearbook.
LEFT: Another undated file shot of Mitchell from a past Reedley High School yearbook included a dedication from his students.
Chamber
still accepts
nominees for
awards gala
Staff Report
The Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce continues to accept nomina- tions for its annual awards gala on Saturday, Feb. 24.
The chamber will honor Citizen of the Year, Youth Citizen of the Year, Business of the Year, Ag- ricultural Business of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, Educator of the Year, Health Professional of the Year and the new Reedley Beautification Award win- ner.
The public can nominate candidates for any of the major awards. Nomination forms are available at the Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce office, 1633 11th St., or The Exponent, 1130 G St. Nominations also can be downloaded online at reedleychamberofcom- merce.com. Nomination forms can be dropped off at those locations or emailed to info@reedleychamberof- commerce.com.
Erik Valencia, execu- tive director for the cham- ber, said that nominations are being accepted through Friday, Feb. 2. The awards committee will alert the winners before the event, and the winner’s will be publicly announced in the Feb. 15 issue of The Expo- nent.
Valencia said that spon- sorships for the awards gala are available. For more in- formation on the event and nomination process contact the chamber at 638-3548 or send an email to erik@reed- leychamberofcommerce. com.
FLU
Continued from page A1
The flu annually kills about 36,000 people nation- wide, according to the CDC, with most deaths caused by complications from the ill- ness.
On Jan. 8, Fresno Coun- ty reported its first flu death of the season. That came less than a week after the death of two women un- der the age of 65 in Tulare County.
Chapman said the stress of the Christmas season, when people try to do too many things, increases the likelihood of catching the flu.
“You tend to run your- self down more, so you’re really setting yourself up as a target,” she said. “That’s why it’s really important to get that rest, take care of yourself — and get that flu shot.”
Chapman recommends that anyone feeling flu symptoms should avoid go- ing to the emergency room for any immediate care.
“Contact your primary physician or go to one of the clinics in town,” she said. “Connect with them first in the early stages of your illness.”
Riverview Estates resident Melody Unruh addresses the Reedley City Council during public comment on Jan. 9. Unruh criticized council members for not meeting with residents to discuss the issue of a proposed transitional house in the area.
he previously had explained why he couldn’t meet with residents. Zieba spoke up and said she would soon meet with Cross, who was absent from the meeting.
Unruh continued speaking to Soleno. “You can’t return a phone call, you can’t return an email? At some point, there is a level of responsibility for the office you hold. You had our trust. You had our votes. We want you out.”
Soleno — who has gone on record that he’s leaning toward retiring this year — countered by saying “That’s
OK, you can run and take my place.” Unruh then said that he wanted a City Council that he could respect.
“We’re all scratching our heads trying to figure out how we ended up with this kind of a City Council,” Un- ruh said. “Zieba, Garza and Terry notwithstanding, they’re nice folks. But we didn’t elect them. We elected you.”
Unruh’s wife, Melody, then spoke to the council and said she was disappointed in So- leno and the council.
The Reedley Exponent A6 Thursday, January 18, 2018
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
“Not one of you made any attempt of any kind whatsoev- er to connect with the people who live there and will be af- fected by this,” she said. After a brief exchange with Mayor Anita Betancourt about her al- lotted time to speak, Melody Unruh told the council “You ought to be ashamed of your- selves for thinking you don’t need to talk to us.”
Earlier in public com- ment, resident Miller read from a prepared statement saying that neighborhood resi- dents continue to oppose the transitional house, located at the same site of the former Marjaree Mason Center that closed in 2016. He said that the city would be unable to make sure that families of criminal offenders would stay at the facility.
“As a career law enforce- ment officer, I know how limited the city’s proposed background checks for the transitional house applicants will be, because of legal limi- tations they have on what they can check,” Miller said. “As a result, there is absolutely no guarantee that criminals will not be accepted at that loca- tion.”
Miller said the city’s in- tent to operate the transitional house as a shelter for tempo- rary homeless residents goes against the intention of the
Photos Contributed
state to use grant funding to operate a facility for offend- ers released from state pris- ons and county jails.
“The residents of River- view Estates urge you to find a more appropriate location and to vote ‘no’ to any vote that comes before the coun- cil related to the transitional house at the Huntsman loca- tion,” Miller told the council as residents in attendance ap- plauded.
Soleno told The Exponent on Jan. 16 that Cross recom- mended that no council mem- ber speak with the residents group about the transitional home as the group has ap- pealed the Planning Commis- sion’s initial vote on a condi- tional use permit. Soleno said he personally hasn’t decided whether to support or oppose the project.
“I voted to apply for the [state] funds and then wait for the staff to bring informa- tion to us about what’s going to take place,” he said. “My mind is not made up one way or an- other right now. I just applied for the funds.”
After Soleno responds to the petition, the residents have 10 days to submit a completed petition to the city with signed named. The city of Reedley and Fresno County then have 10 days to respond with their approval of the petition.
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