Mid Valley Times 7-11-19 E-edition

Thursday, July 11, 2019
Vol. 1, No. 2
Kings River reopens
Water activities resume July 6 after being closed for a month
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
Temperatures were already well into the 90s on the afternoon of July 6. Underneath the Goodfel- low Bridge, a group of eager locals dressed in all their summer attire; bikinis, sunglasses and beach hats, carefully tip-toed down the embank- ment toward the Kings River, hold- ing inflated rafts in one arm, and coolers filled with ice and beer in the other.
Just a few feet from the group, across the river and at a private launch site on the bridge, deputies with the Fresno County Sheriff's Of- fice boating unit prepared their boats to begin enforcement on the river, just one day after Sheriff Margaret Mims announced that the Kings Riv- er would reopen.
"Can you recheck the intake?" sheriff's Deputy Alex Nikolich said to his partner, who was waist deep in water checking the boat's motor. "Yes, recheck it really good, please."
"Clear, you're completely clear," his partner replied. The deputies then launched their boat and began
50 cents
Sanger
will
rezone
6 sites
By Dick Sheppard
Mid Valley Times
A depleted Sanger city council has apparently come up with a solu- tion to an issue that has concerned the council, planning commission and public for more than a year.
Three members of the five per- son council, Esmeralda Hurtado, Daniel Martinez and Eli Ontive- ros, voted unanimously at a July 2 meeting to rezone six sites within the city limits — with a combined 54.09 acres — to comply with a state affordable housing demand.
Mayor Frank Gonzalez and councilmember Humberto Garza recused themselves — did not par- ticipate in the meeting — because of economic interests in properties near parcels that could have been rezoned.
The minimum density neces- sary to accommodate affordable dwelling units is 20 units per acre, according to the state, and the 54 acres was needed to provide
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
A floater waved as he traveled along the Kings River on a raft on July 6. The Fresno County Sheriff's Office opened the Fresno County portion of the river on that day after determining that river levels had returned to levels safe for water activities.
their patrol.
Nikolich said with the river open
again, their policing efforts had now shifted.
"Now we're looking for anyone who might need help," he said. "In terms of being rescued, that's where our first boat was coming from just
now, someone was caught in some trees over in an area we refer to as rock island, a lot of it is just looking for people in trouble."
The July 5 announcement that the Kings River in Fresno and Tu- lare counties would reopen to water activities came more than a month
after the river was closed due to high water levels.
In addition to the reopening of the river, Reedley Beach and Cricket Hol- low Park in Reedley both are open to the public for the remainder of sum-
Long pyrotechnics career brings show operator back home
Dinuba High graduate Ortiz handles 2nd straight fireworks show in his hometown
By Rick Curiel
Mid Valley Times
Since he was a kid, Adrian Ortiz has been fascinated with fireworks. He’s lit many in his days, some of which may or may not have involved some bottle rockets in his friend’s backyard in high school.
On July 3, Ortiz, a 1993 graduate of Di- nuba High School, returned home as the fireworks show operator for the Dinuba In- dependence Day Celebration, a show he ad- mitted has a special place in his heart.
“Dinuba will always be my hometown,” Ortiz shared as he prepared for this year’s show on the 18th hole of Ridge Creek Golf Course.
For Ortiz, coming home to put on the Fourth of July show at his hometown is one of his crowning achievements in this fire- works career, one that has spanned 26 years.
“I started right out of high school,” he said. “And I’ve been doing it ever since.”
The last two years of his fireworks ca- reer have been with Fireworks America, a job that has afforded him the joy of doing
the Dinuba show over the same two years. Last year was the first time in his extended career that he did a show in Dinuba.
“I like coming back here,” Ortiz ex- pressed, who now lives in Fresno. “To be hon- est, if I ever had the opportunity, I’d come back and live here. I miss the small town and now Dinuba is actually established. There are things to do here, now.”
His preparation for this year’s show started early morning on July 3, at 4 a.m. to be exact. Riding in on a Ryder truck with a special ‘explosives’ decal taped to the outside of the trailer, Ortiz pulled up to the final fair- way of Ridge Creek Golf Course.
To do so, he is licensed to both have and transport the aerial fireworks. His licensing is with the State of California, Department of Transportation, Department of Motor Ve- hicles and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive (ATF). The process, according to Ortiz, is quite extensive.
There on the 18th fairway, Ortiz and a team of about five, set up rows of mortars
See FIREWORKSonpageA12
Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times
Fireworks Show Operator for Fireworks America, Adrian Ortiz, inspected a row of mortars prior to Dinuba’s Independence Day Celebration, held July 3 at Ridge Creek Golf Course. Ortiz, a 1993 graduate of Dinuba High School, said he was proud to return to Dinuba to light up the skies for his hometown.
See RIVER on page A5 See REZONE on page A5
Sanger cousins go 'old school' to sell first Mid Valley Times
Cousins Ayvree House, left, and Sadey Weiss held up copies of the July 4 issue of The Mid Valley Times inside the press room of the Sanger Herald on July 5. Ayvree and Sadey sold copies of the inaugural issue of The Times for about 90 minutes on July 5, hawking newspapers in the spirit of a century ago.
Mike Nemeth / Mid Valley Times
MVT Staff Report
Ayvree House, 11, and her cousin, Sadey Weiss, 12, put on period-correct cos- tumes and peddled the first edition of the Mid Valley Times in downtown Sanger on July 5.
While the town appeared a little sleepy a day after the nation's birthday, the two budding entrepreneurs didn't waste any time. They moved from corner to corner over about an hour and a half, selling a stack of the freshly-pressed newspaper. They generated substantial income and excited a population not used to seeing a style of sales that was far more common about a century ago.
Back when newspapers were king, kids sold papers in the streets of every major city in the United States, reciting headlines aloud and acting as the purveyors of news. Sadey and Ayvree did the same. Their fear-
lessness caught the fancy of quite a few who gave them more than the 50 cents cover price.
The Mid Valley Times incorporates the news of the Sanger Herald, Reedley Expo- nent and Dinuba Sentinel. The three papers have been combined by owner Mid Valley Publishing to provide readers with a more regional news slate. The move triples the news staff and provides improved cover- age of the heart of the central San Joaquin Valley.
The company also has established a new website, developed in house to better adjust to the needs of residents, at midvalleytimes. com. The site remains in development and requires readers to become subscribers.
The cost to subscribe is low but is nec- essary for the Times to continue to provide content in print and electronically. The move is one of modernization and adapting to the current era.
Classifieds - B3
Directory - B4
Legals - B5-9
Sports - C1-2, 10 Lights & Sirens - A3
Obituaries - A2 Opinion - A4