Page 4 - Mid Valley Times 6-10-21 E-edition

Serving the Readers of the Reedley Exponent, Dimuba Sentinel and Sanger Herald.
A Mid Valley Publishing Newspaper
Founded March 26, 1891, in a two-story building on the corner of 11th and F streets, by A.S. Jones
Fred Hall — Publisher
In my OPINION The consequence of when
voters do the unexpected
Have you ever noticed how the elec-
torate is prone to do unexpected things
for often inexplicable reasons from
time to time? Possibly the best hypoth-
esis of this theory would be the election
of Clement Attlee as Prime Minister of
Great Britain in 1945, after that country
was led by Winston Churchill through
one of the most perilous times in his-
tory for that island nation. World War
II was truly one of those existential pe-
riods caused by mankind and faced by mankind! Attlee was a member of the Labour (Labor) Party.
After a less-than-remarkable tenure as Prime Minis- ter during which people had the opportunity to regain their sanity, he was replaced by Winston Churchill. In- teresting how the often self directing path of the politi- cal pendulum self corrects!
Fast-forward 75 years and one sees American voters doing the same thing, delivering the vote for Joe Biden to replace a president who had been wildly successful on the world stage as well as domestically. Biden cam- paigned very little, bringing nothing to the table other than he would undo the work of a man who was irratio- nally hated by the mainstream press, big tech and every socialist-leaning group in the country. We essentially got a new president because of a pandemic. COVID-19 was horrible but, perhaps, the best thing that ever happened to the Democratic Party.
The result of that decision by voters?
The border of our welfare state has been allowed by government officials to be overrun by anyone and everyone who shows up, straining that welfare system, which was such a magnet in the first place, to the break- ing point.
The cost of everything we consume is soaring from the inflation being created by out-of-control govern- ment spending; we're pleading with Iran, recognized as a world-wide sponsor of terror, to reenter that God-awful nuclear deal; we're making terrible choices, involving our greatest ally in the Middle East in the Israeli-Hamas issue; we're back now wasting money on the corrupt World Health Organization and the useless Paris Climate Accords; we've managed to slow energy markets, driv- ing up the cost of fuel precipitously; and the only reason- ing available is it's the opposite of what Donald Trump would have done.
As long as that list may be, it's far from complete. It should include the spike in crime in our major cit- ies, chaos on American streets and dividing America by managing to turn Whites against Blacks and them- selves. Hard to believe that one man has been capable of creating such a “hot mess.” Sadly, it seems that the Marxist and socialist wing of the Democrat Party seem to have his ear. This is not the Democrat Party of John F. Kennedy!
One has to be encouraged by the bravery of Democrat senators Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema, who appear as a light in the dark with their willingness to point when Democrat proposals make no sense — for either party! It's a bit like the old tale of “The Emperor's New Clothes.” Trying not to be melodramatic, but this polarization in which we find ourselves as Americans places this entire country at risk, both locally and internationally.
We have a clueless vice president who, after being placed in charge of the dire circumstances involving the human crisis to the south, has never bothered to even go to the border. One would think that she would at last be curious about what is going on instead of just declaring the border “closed.” One visit would show just how out- of-control the situation truly is.
With the world “on fire” all around us and a president who has held only one press conference, our biased, em- barrassing press can only ask questions such as “what's your favorite ice cream?” I can't imagine a similar sce- nario if Donald Trump still was president!
But, as always, that's only one man's opinion.
Attendance limited, but Sanger HS students get a stadium graduation
Jon Earnest — Reedley Editor Dick Sheppard — Editor Emeritus
Thursday, June 10, 2021 | A4 | Mid Valley TiMes Editorial & Opinions
Fred Hall
Reedley schools, Dinuba and Orosi have had graduations for their special Class of 2021 stu- dents. Now it's Sanger High School's turn, and it will be a true blast from the past.
For the first time in a hand- ful of years, SHS graduates will get to take the walk on, and then off, the field at Tom Flores Sta- dium. It's officially Chuck Shi- dan Field for Apaches football, in honor of the longtime iconic coach who hung up the prover- bial whistle after the 2016 sea- son. But graduating seniors with the school always treasured the final walk into Tom Flores Sta- dium in front of a packed crowd of more than 6,000 family mem- bers and friends.
Until it couldn't be done any- more. The school ultimately had to abandoned the home football stadium on the Washington Ac- ademic Middle School campus because the crowds simply be- came to large. Massive to the point that holding graduation ceremonies in the stadium was violating fire code rules. It led to moving the annual gradu- ation and commencement to Fresno, at the 15,000-seat Save
Mart Center where cramped at- tendance wasn't an issue.
Then COVID came in March 2020. Like nearly every other school in the Valley and state (Immanuel High a notable exception), there was no live graduation for Sanger High stu- dents. And even with California almost set to reopen to normal business and social activities, there remains restrictions that continue to stop indoor gradu- ations. In Sanger's case, it's a temporary blessing.
Keep in mind, it won't be like the past. Tickets are limited to four per graduating senior, which means that the stadium will still have substantial social distancing. But compared to 2020, and what this year's grad- uates have had to go through the past 14 months, it's truly a special sendoff.
In addition to Sanger High this Friday, Hallmark Charter School will have its gradua- tion ceremony in the stadium on Saturday, June12, starting at 9 a.m. And there will be one final regional graduation next week when Parlier High has its commencement ceremony
on Wednesday, June 16.
A sincere congratulations
to all the gradu-
ates in the Class
of 2021. You've
overcome some
amazing, un-
precedented emotional obsta- cles. Celebrate!
•••
Also this week, happy retire-
ment wishes go out to Mary Ann Carousso, longtime Administra- tor for Student Services for the Kings Canyon Unified School District. The celebrate educator is calling it a career this month with the district, and was hon- ored by the Reedley City Coun- cil at its June 8 meeting with a plaque in appreciation for her tireless work with the restor- ative justice program in part- nership with the city, Reedley Police Department and Commu- nity Youth Ministries.
We'll have more on Carous- so's retirement and presenta- tion in the June 17 issue.
Jon Earnest is news-sports editor for The Times.
QUOTE
“The world is a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to those who think.”
— Horace Walpole (1717-1797)
Jon Earnest
One man's experience in overcoming gang violence in Fresno County
By Sergio Coronel
Guest columnist
The Fresno County town I grew up in had a long history of gang violence, was heavily im- poverished, and predominantly Hispanic. On my first birthday, the carnales or homeboys were pictured behind me, and one of them was throwing up the let- ter of the gang that would in- troduce me to violence, hate, pain, and misery.
I grew up in a section of the city where gang assaults, stabbings, and shootings often took place. This was the envi- ronment I was raised in. By the time I was 13 years of age, the older homeboys who embraced me on my first birthday had reached out to me. Through- out my childhood, other kids bullied me; I grew up afraid and lacked confidence. The homeboys schooled me down on the gang subculture and changed me into a remorse- less youngster. They told me I had to be the downest (more violent) homeboy in the varrio (neighborhood). In the streets I grew up in, the more violent the youngster — the more respected he was by the old school gangsters. In my town, I became numb to the violence
the homeboys created. When I joined the gang, I felt good inside and thought it was my destiny to be a gang member.
Growing up, I did not have hate in my heart. However, that all changed when the homeboys revealed to me that we had enemies who would kill us if given the opportunity. The older veteranos, or old school gangsters, gave me a brief his- tory of the rivalry, and hatred engulfed my heart toward my enemy. I remember listening to them talk about the Mexi- can/Chicano culture and at the same time telling me that I must kill another Chicano. At that time, I believed that my enemy was different than me — even though he ate beans, rice and was brown, just like me. The homeboys brain- washed me into believing that causing violence against my enemy would alleviate my town of its problems. The gang vio- lence only brought my commu- nity grief and more brown bod- ies to the cemetery. I became a monster who felt trapped in a cycle of gang banging. The more violence I generated in my neighborhood, the more fear and respect I gained.
My career as a gang mem- ber was short-lived, as I wit-
nessed an incident that forced me to question the gang's worldview and loyalty. I woke up and realized everything was a lie. Once I realized this, the hate I carried towards my en- emies died inside me. I asked myself, how can they love and respect me if they are only guiding me toward destruction and a violent end? I decided to take control of my own life and walked away. The homeboys called me names and issued threats against my life for leav- ing the gang; however, their hate toward me only fueled a fire inside me to become some- one in life and guide young- sters away from a lifestyle of gang banging.
This lifestyle has led so ma- ny youngsters to their graves and incarceration. I understand now that a real gangster wants better for himself, the commu- nity, and his family. I believe that even the most hardened gang banger can make a posi- tive change for himself.
Sergio Coronel is a Fresno State graduate in criminology and history, and is studying toward earning his master's degree. He is the co-founder of YoungSTers for Change.