Page 5 - Reedley Exponent 9-20-18 E-edition

The Reedley Exponent A5 Thursday, September 20, 2018
Mass burial held Sept. 13 at Fresno County cemetery
Cremated remains of nearly 800 indigent people laid to rest in ceremony
By Juanita Adame
juanita@midvalleypublishing.com
It took a total of two plots to fit the cremated remains of nearly 800 individuals who died in Fresno County — people whose bodies were either never claimed or whose fami- lies could not afford to bury them privately.
The indigent mass burial cer- emony was held on Sept. 13 at the Fresno County Cemetery, also known as Potter’s Field, in Fresno.
“Even though this may be the service of last resort, this is an op- portunity for all of us to come togeth- er, it’s a time for us to be compassion- ate, caring and loving,” said Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims. “The individuals we lay to rest today in- clude those of all ages from the very young to the elderly.”
Some of the people who were buried died as far back as 2009 while others died in more recent years. The last time the Fresno County Coroner’s Office held a ceremony of this kind was approximately 10 years ago.
One of the speakers at the cer- emony included Rev. Fr. James C.
LEFT: The Joint Service Honors Command stood at attention while “Taps” was being played on Sept. 13. The cremated remains of nearly 800 individuals who died in Fresno County were buried in a special ceremony.
ABOVE: Several family and friends of the deceased sat during an indigent mass burial ceremony at the Fresno County Cemetery.
Kings River Conservancy’s annual ‘Moonlight Over the River’ Sept. 22
Big Fresno Fair, Fresno State team to host ‘Feed the Need’
Contributed
The Kings River Conservancy will host the Annual “Moonlight over the River” on Saturday, Sept. 22, at 5:30 p.m. at the home of John and Gail Gray in Parlier.
The event will feature a live mu- sic from Brenda and Dave Ogden and a silent auction while overlook- ing the Kings River. A buffet din- ner will be provided by Food For Thought.
The public is invited to purchase dinner tickets for $60 per person. All proceeds benefit the Kings River Conservancy’s ongoing projects such as trail maintenance and public safety education.
The Kings River Conservancy will also hold a silent auction to raise money for the river with items such
as an Ansel Adam’s book with signed book plate, Parma’s gift card, REI gear, Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater tickets, and more.
The Kings River Conservancy is a non-profit organization dedicated to encourage public safety and sound public conservation practices along the Kings River corridor from Pine Flat Dam to Highway 99. They par- ticipate in functions such as invasive species removal, a trout incubator house to release trout into the river, adding warden patrols and maintain- ing safe public access points along the river.
To purchase tickets or for more information about the event, contact the Kings River Conservancy at 559- 787-9500 or visit kingsriverconser- vancy.org.
Contributed
The Big Fresno Fair again is teaming with Fresno State for the fourth year to lead an on-campus food drive from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26, to benefit the Fresno State Student Cupboard. Those who can’t make it to the “Feed the Need” Food Drive at Fresno State can donate online to support this effort.
Community members and Fresno State students, staff and faculty are asked to bring 10 or more canned food items per person to Fresno State’s Red Lot (en- trance on Barstow Avenue, just west of Cedar Avenue) from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Sept. 26 in exchange for one free admission ticket to The Big Fresno Fair, good for any day.
Food drive participants will also have the opportu- nity to meet Victor E. Bulldog, Fresno State First Lady Mary Castro and Fresno State coaches and players who will be giving away football game and Maya Cinemas movie tickets at random to participating donors. New Rock 104.1, 940 ESPN, 95.7 The Fox and 99.3 Now FM will broadcast live during the food drive, and Dutch Bros. Coffee will be on hand in the later hours of the event to energize volunteers.
The Fresno State Student Cupboard, an initiative of the Fresno State Food Security Project, provides free food and hygiene items to current Fresno State students in need. Since its inception in November 2014, the Student Cupboard has had more than 11,400 unique student visitors and over 141,500 total visits. During the academic school year, the Student Cupboard serves an average of 4,600 student visitors each month who benefit from free food and hygiene items donated by community organizations or purchased from Central California Food Bank with donor funding.
“Nearly 44 percent of Fresno State students sur- veyed suffer from food insecurity, and 81 percent re- ceive some sort of financial aid,” said Dr. Frank Lamas, Fresno State’s vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. “Food insecurity is not lim- ited to our campus. Universities throughout California are actively working together with their local commu- nities on effective ways to address this crisis including meeting all our students basic needs.
“Providing healthy food assistance and basic needs to support students’ academic success is very high pri- ority. With community support, feeding the growing need is both realistic and possible.”
Pappas of the St. George Greek Or- thodox Church in Fresno.
“My story is a little bit more per- sonal because over a year ago we found a young man sleeping in the bushes at our church,” he said. “He was a [veteran] who was a Marine, special ops, three tours of duty, so by
the time he came back, he came back damaged, severely damaged.”
Pappas said the man they took in died not long after and the local par- ish held a funeral for him, however not all stories end like that.
“Homelessness is a multi-dimen- sional issue,” he said. “But at the
same time we find one, we need to do what we can.”
Mims said the ceremony is held to respectfully honor the individuals and acknowledge their time on earth.
“Maybe they were alone at home, maybe they were loved and cared for, their identities maybe a mys-
Photos by Juanita Adame / The Exponent
tery, but what we do know is that they lived and they came under our care when they passed somewhere in Fresno County,” she said. “Those who are buried today have us to re- member that they lived and we as a community will provide the respect- ful service.”
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