Page 7 - Mid Valley Times 2-18-21 E-edition

Thursday, February 18, 2021
Reedley seniors enjoy Valentine's Day luncheon
The View From Here
I checked and double checked my resume for mistakes. I wanted it to be perfect.
The year
was 2012. I
sat in front
of Dick Sheppard, he was the editor at the time for the Sanger Herald. I remember feeling extremely nervous. I handed my resume to him and he looked it over.
I’d just graduated from California State University, Fresno. I’d earned a degree in “Mass Comm” as they called it, or Mass Communi- cations and Journalism. My option was broadcast which meant I wanted to work in television, but somehow I ended up applying at a news- paper and there was Dick Sheppard, sitting in front of me. Funny how life works out that way.
“If you’re going to work for a newspaper,” he said with a smirk. “You should remember to check your spelling, you spelled business wrong.”
I gasped. I had looked it over three or four times, how’d I miss that?
Dick must have seen something in me, because despite the error, he ended up giving me a chance.
I always knew writing was a strong point of mine, unlike math, writing came easy to me, and I enjoyed it.
However when I was put in the position to write, it wasn’t as simple.
I’d find myself stopping and starting, thinking it didn’t sound good enough. One day, I remember Dick told me, “Get out of your own wayandjustwrite.” WordsI keep with me to this day.
On Friday, Feb. 12, we got word that, after a long year of health issues, Dick Shep- pard died.
I don’t think any of us workingherewouldever see the day when Dick would no longer roam the sidelines at Sanger High School games or hear his camera clicking away at Sanger City Council meetings . When Dick hired me, he was 75 years old. He was always at work before me and always left work af- ter me.
If there is one thing Dick taught me, it was to believe in myself. Up until that point, I don’t think anyone believed inmethewayhedid.Hesaw something in me that I hadn’t seen in me. “You have the gift of writing and of inves- tigations,” he told me. It all made sense to me then, why I enjoyed those two subjects so much. He also told me not to take life so seriously because no one makes it out alive.
SEE COLUMN on page A8
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
More than 90 senior citi- zens stopped by the Reedley Community Center on the af- ternoon of Feb. 12 to partici- pate in the city's annual Val- entine's Day Luncheon.
The event was hosted by the City of Reedley's Com- munity Services Department.
Jodie Botello, the Senior Citizen coordinator for the city said that the event was held as a drive thru event this year to follow safety protocols during COVID-19.
Lunch was provided by the Sierra View Homes Re- tirement Community and the Reedley Senior Commission, Inc.
For more information on local events for senior citi- zens, visit reedley.ca.gov, or contact the senior center at (559) 637-4200.
Juanita Adame
SLS expands auction dates following technical difficulties
Contributed
Saint La Salle Catholic School items up for auction were extended throughout the week of Feb. 15 following technical difficulties fol- lowing the online event.
Photo of the week
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
From left, Amy and George Tsuji were some of the 90 seniors who stopped by the Reedley Community Center on the morning of Feb. 12 to enjoy a drive-thru Valentine's Day lunch.
A green light for additional students to return
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
In a statement released to parents and faculty on Feb. 12, Adela Jones, superinten- dent for the Sanger Unified School District announced plans to return additional students back to on campus instruction.
"I am happy to be able to inform our families that the Fresno County Department of Public Health has ap- proved plans to bring back additional students in grades 7 -12 on our campuses," Jones wrote in the statement.
"As you may recall, we planned to being back addi- tional students on Jan. 11, but we had to delay the return. We are excited to announce that we will now be able to
move forward."
The local health depart-
ment approved the move fol- lowing a recent drop in case numbers, testing positivity and health care system ca- pacity.
The regional stay at home order for the state of Califor- nia was lifted as of Jan. 25.
As of Feb. 16, the county health department had re- ported no new COVID-19 related deaths and only 3 COVID-19 related hospital- izations.
Mass vaccination efforts continue to be a priority in the region and that has helped to slow the spread of the virus.
For more information on hybrid and on campus instruction visitsanger.k12. ca.us.
Contributed
Following some technical difficulties during the annual St. La Salle benefit auction that was held online on Feb. 13, the decision was made to expand dates so the remain- ing items could be auctioned.
The school announced on their Facebook page that the decision was made to make the class projects and live auction items available for auction bids.
The items were made available starting Monday, February 15, at 8 a.m. and will be up until Thursday, February at 10 p.m.
The following schedule is for table closing times. Tables 1-3 closed Feb. 15 at 10 p.m. Tables 4-6 closed Feb 16 at 10 p.m. High Rollers close Feb. 18 at 10 p.m. Class Projects also to close on Feb. 18 at 10 p.m.
"Thank you for your sup- port and understanding," the school wrote.
Contributed
Aphotoof 6monthold,Berlin,keepingupwiththeMidValley Times was sent in by Elizabeth Byers. Have a photo you'd like featured? Email juanita@midvalleypublishing.com.