Page 1 - Reedley Exponent 3-28-19 E-edition

Another accident-free year for KCUSD maintenance department Panorama Immanuel’s Rodriguez named Central Sequoia League MVP Sports Vol. 130, No. 13 | Thursday, March 28, 2019 www.reedleyexponent.com Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654 | 50 cents Body of man, 75, found in orchard east of city Dinuba resident fatally shot near Alta, Dinuba avenues By Juanita Adame Juanita@midvalleypublishing.com Mohamed Ahmed, a cashier at the Sunrise Mini Mart on Alta and Dinuba Avenues, just east of Reedley, let out an audible gasp on the afternoon of March 24. “Oh my gosh, is that what happened?” he said after finding out that the body of a man was found shot to death in a nearby orchard. “I was won- dering why there were so many cops around here last night.” It was just one day prior, on the night of March 23 after 7:30 p.m. — less than a mile from Ahmed’s work — that 75-year-old Andres Cardenas was found dead from an ap- parent gunshot wound. Multiple Fresno County Sheriff’s vehicles lined the 22000 block of East Springfield Av- enue near Alta Avenue. As their flashing red and blue patrol lights lit up the otherwise dark county road and their yellow crime scene tape draped several rows of the orchards, investiga- tors worked to piece together what happened. “I didn’t even hear gunshots,” Ahmed said. “Later I seen the helicopter, and I seen the am- bulance and all that. I was shocked, I seen cops going over there and I thought it was some- thing else.” “I never knew what happened,” he contin- ued. “I never knew that someone had been shot and killed.” According to information released from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched to the property after receiv- ing reports of an injured person. They learned from family members that Cardenas was last seen alive sometime between the hours of noon and 7 p.m. on March 23. Ahmed has worked at the convenience store for two years. He said violence is not common in the area. “I do see a lot of car accidents at this in- See HOMICIDE on page A5 Council OKs plan for mural downtown By Jon Earnest jon@midvalleypublishing.com The Reedley City Council took the first step toward bring- ing a new mural to the downtown region. At the March 26 regular meet- ing, the council unanimously ap- proved a resolution taking $2,500 of city money in matching do- nations — and $1,000 in unused money from City Manager Nicole Zieba’s travel budget — to cover the $6,000 cost of painting a mural on the north side of the Bank of America building at 936 G St. “Our hope is that by putting up some community murals, we might incentivize folks in the downtown area — property own- ers and store owners – to spruce up their stores and in the case of some very distinct properties potentially doing some murals,” Zieba said. The project — a joint effort by the city and Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce — will use the artist who painted elec- tric power boxes in the city three to four years ago. The plan is to paint a Reedley-themed portrait of the area, and will be revised to put more references to the region’s reputation for growing fruit. The $2,500 city funding will match donations from Reedley College ($1,000), Kings Canyon Unified School District ($1,000) and the chamber board ($500). The remaining $1,000 will come from unused funds that Zieba didn’t use when she didn’t attend last year’s League of California Cities Conference. With the council’s approval, neighbors to the site will be noti- fied and designs will be amended. The proposal will then go through a public hearing on Tuesday, April 23, followed by a request for final council approval. Town Hall addresses crime Police officials share pressing issues in local law enforcement By Jon Earnest jon@midvalleypublishing.com Most everything community members wanted to know about crime and gangs in Reedley was laid out to them by law enforce- ment on March 25 at the latest Reedley Town Hall meeting. Between 45 and 50 people at- tended the hour-long session at the Reedley Community Center’s Senior Room. They listened to in- formation and experiences from three prominent local law enforce- ment officials — Police Chief Joe Garza, Lt. Hector Aleman and Dana Boss, the department’s crack crime analyst. Garza and City Manager Nicole Zieba assured residents that Reed- ley statistically is one of the safest cities in Fresno County, and per- haps even the Central Valley. “I would be naive, and we as a community would be naive to think that crime does not occur in our community,” Garza said. “But it’s how we deal with the crime that makes the difference.” While property crimes and the crime rate per thousand have de- clined in the past four years of sta- tistics, last year did see a slight up- tick in violent crime. Much of that was because of two gang-related homicides and a double murder- suicide where a mentally-disturbed mother drowned her two children before killing herself. Garza said the department has been pro-active in dealing with crime trends through crime analy- sis. He praised Boss, who has been an analyst with the department See TOWN HALL on page A5 Photos by Jon Earnest / The Exponent TOP: Joe Garza, Reedley Police Chief, read off some of the city’s crime rate numbers from 2015 to 2018 during a Town Hall titled “Gangs, Crime & Community Safety” at the Reedley Community Center’s Senior Room on March 25. ABOVE: Dana Boss, crime analyst for the Reedley Police Department, explained her job and how she comes up with data to investigate and monitor crime activity in the city. The latest Town Hall meeting drew about 45 to 50 people. Andres Cardenas Expanded parking coming soon for Post Office vehicles Construction crews moved dirt as they began work on March 19 to put additional parking space at the Reedley Post Office. The paved space will be used to park and store postal delivery vehicles. Previously, the vehicles had been parked just north of the old St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church . Vehicles now will be parked in the new lot just west of the Post Office building once the lot is completed in early May. Jon Earnest / The Exponent Classifieds - A7 Directory - A6 Legals - B6-7 Sports - B3-4 Lights & Sirens - A3 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4