Page 2 - Mid Valley Times 3-25-21 E-edition

The six newest members of the Reedley Police Department are (from left) Brit- tany Urbina, dis- patcher, Cristal Galvan, dispatch- er; Eric Canada, of- ficer; Justin Batty, officer; Matthew Salas, officer; and Jose Luis Flores, officer.
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Obituaries
Kitty Marie Chesmore
Kitty Marie Chesmore of Sultana died March 8 in Sultana. She was 91. Ms. Chesmore worked as a greet-
er at Walmart.
She is survived by one daughter,
eight grandchildren and 15 great- grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, William Frank- lin Chesmore, and three sons.
Visitation was held March 24 at Dopkins Dinuba Funeral Chapel. Burial followed at Smith Mountain Cemetery in Dinuba.
Dopkins Dinuba Funeral Chapel handled the arrangements.
Carlos Ray Garza
Carlos Ray Garza of Reedley died March 10 in Reedley. He was 66.
Mr. Garza worked in a warehouse.
He is survived by his wife, Maria Lucia Ramos de Garza, two sons, one daughter, one brother and five grand- children.
Visitation was held March 19 at Dopkins Reedley Funeral Chapel. No services were scheduled.
Ricardo Joe Gonzalez
Ricardo Joe Gonzalez of Dinuba died March 13 in Dinuba. He was 33. Mr. Gonzalez worked in retail at
Walmart.
He is survived by his father Saul
Gonzalez, his mother Valarie Marie Ramirez, one brother and one sister. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m.
Thursday, March 25, at Dopkins Di- nuba Funeral Chapel. A graveside service will be at 10 a.m. Friday, March 26, at Smith Mountain Cem- etery in Dinuba.
Dopkins Dinuba Funeral Chapel is handling the arrangements.
MVT Staff Report
The Reedley Police Department had its larg- est-ever single swearing- in ceremony on March 17, adding four new of- ficers and two new dis- patchers to the force.
The new police offi- cers are Matthew Salas, a Reedley resident and Reedley High School graduate; Justin Batty of
Clovis, Jose Luis Flores of Cutler and Eric Cana- da of Tulare.
Salas, Batty and Can- ada graduated from the College of the Sequoias Police academy while Flores is a Fresno City Police Academy gradu- ate.
The new dispatchers are Brittany Urbina of Fresno and Cristal Gal- vin of Clovis.
Thursday, March 25, 2021
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Mid Valley TiMes
Additions to Reedley PD
Esther Infante
Esther Infante of Cutler died M arch 12 in Tulare. She was 92.
Mrs. Infante worked as a farm la- borer.
She is survived six daughters, one brother, two sisters, 19 grand- children, 51 great-grandchildren and nine great-great-grandchildren.
A mass was held March 24 at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Cutler. Burial followed at Smith Mountain Cemetery in Dinuba.
Dopkins Dinuba Funeral Chapel handled the arrangements.
Ramona 'Yolanda' Serna
Ramona "Yolanda" Serna of Reed- ley died March 22 in Reedley. She was 78.
Mrs. Serna worked in general labor.
She is survived two sons, two daughters, three brothers, two sis- ters, 15 grandchildren and 11 great- grandchildren.
A graveside service will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 31, at Reed- ley Cemetery.
Dopkins Reedley Funeral Chapel is handling the arrangements.
Gloria Pena Vasquez
Gloria Pena Vasquez of Fresno died March 5. She was 74.
Mrs. Vasquez worked as a recep- tionist for Dr. Sandhu's office.
She is survived two sons, three daughters, two brothers, one sister, five grandchildren and one great- grandchild.
A private memorial service will be held by the family. Wallin's Sanger Funeral Home handled the arrange- ments.
Reedley City Council honors retiring firefighters, Takacs
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
The Reedley City Council recognized the service of three former firefighters and a long- time Measure G commit- tee chair at its regular March 9 meeting.
Chief Jerry Isaak of the Reedley Fire Depart- ment made a brief pre- sentation honoring the retired engineers Rob Ledington (15 tears) and Bruce Hunter (25 years) along with firefighter/ EMT Eric Laemmlen (20-plus years). Ledinton and Laemmlen retired Oct. 31 and Dec. 31, re- spectively, of 2020 while Hunter retired in 2018. All received special rec- ognition with gifts of ap- preciation.
Isaak praised the three retirees, high- lighting their dedication and abilities. All three had experience with the Swift Water Emergency Response Team, and Laemmlen served as in- cident safety officers for many years with the de- partment.
Takacs had served as chairman of the Mea- sure G committee for the city since the county measure passed in 2008.
VACCINE Continued from page A1
residents.
The Walgreens vacci-
nation event was so suc- cessful that Chapa said they asked Walgreens to increase allotment of vaccinations and instead of 400, 485 were admin- istered.
“We have to compli-
Ruthie Greenwood, City of Reedley / Photo Contributed
Robert Takacs is presented with a plaque by Reedley Mayor Mary Fast in recognition of his many years of ser- vice and community contributions as a member of the Measure G Committee. The recognition took place at the March 9 Reedley City Council meeting.
Rob Ledington
Eric Laemmlen
Bruce Hunter
sure. Takacs,
who is moving to Texas, thanked the city for giv- ing him the opportuni- ty to serve.
He was praised by City Manager Nicole Zieba, Police Chief Joe Garza and Isaak for his dedica- tion and commitment to holding the city account- able as to how it spent the money from the mea-
ment Sanger Fire De- partment Chief Greg Tarascou. Walgreens had 10 staff, [and] we had 12 staff that the chief co- ordinated,” he said. “We put together a wonder- ful program represent- ing 485 people, mostly Sanger residents.”
The Fresno County Health Department also reported on their
"I've learned an aw- ful lot," he said. "I think it's very important to volunteer in the com- munity.And this is one thing I could do to help make the community stronger."
website that beginning March 15 healthcare providers could use their clinical judgement to vaccinate individuals from ages 16 to 64 who are deemed to be at the very highest risk for morbidity and mortality.
“What’s going to get us to turn that corner, is to get folks vaccinated,” Chapa said.
Appointments will be scheduled from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
For information on setting up a COVID-19 vaccination appoint- ment, visit online at myturn.ca.gov. You also can contact by phone at 1 (833) 422-4255.
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