Mid Valley Times 8-19-21 E-edition

Thursday, August 19, 2021
Vol. 3, No. 7
Coronavirus Update
Active
cases
continue
to climb
in Valley
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
Coronavirus cases and hos- pitalizations continue to climb in the Central Valley, at the same time children and older students in the region are re- turning to school for the 2021- 2022 scholastic year.
Active cases and hospital- izations continued to rise in both Fresno and Tulare coun- ties, and that included an in- crease in intensive care pa- tients. The ICU count jumped by 13 for the week in Fresno County, to 61 of the 314 hospi- talized patients.
In Tulare County, hospi- talizations increased for the seven-day period ending Aug. 17by43,from83to126.Of those, 17 were in intensive care, a gain of six. The death count increased by six in Fresno County (to 1,753) and two in Tulare County (to 855).
The Delta variant that ap- pears to be driving the recent case surge, many involving younger people, has caused the daily case rate per 100,000 residents to soar to former color tier levels. Fresno Coun- ty's daily case rate jumped from 20.2 as of Aug. 10 to 26.1 as of Aug 17. It grew from 14.2 new cases per 100,000 to 19.1 in Tulare County over seven days.
The new school year in
See COVID on page A16
Welcome back in Parlier
50 cents
Cunha
lobbies
Reedley
council
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
The President of the Ni- sei Farmers League of Fres- no came before the Reedley City Council on Aug. 10 to ask that the city support the league's effort to convince the United States Senate to make tweaks to the Farm- workers Modernization Act and to also to support "Dreamers" in a reconcilia- tion bill.
Manuel Cunha Jr., a for- mer instructor at Reedley College who has served as president of the Nisei Farm- ers League since 1996, par- ticipated in a brief workshop presentation during the coun- cil's regular meeting. His ad- dress came after he spoke to the Dinuba City Council ear- lier in the evening.
Cunha's appearances were to push each city to sign a letter from the league and other ag leaders
See CUNHAonpageA16
MVT Staff Report
The Sanger District Cham- ber of Commerce is hosting the Farmers Market Taco Throwdown in downtown Sanger this Saturday, Aug. 21.
The third of eight Street Fair/Farmers Market events runs from 5 to 9 p.m., and will be highlighted by a taco eating contest among entered contestants. There will be food, beverage, crafts and face painting along with live music on stage from the Lat-
in Connection.
The Taco Throwdown
comes on the heels of the Back to School-themed Street Fair on Aug. 14. IT was the last summer event for youth in the city before the Sanger Unified School District be- gan the 2021-22 school year on Aug. 18.
For more information on the Taco Throwdown and fu- ture Street Fair/Farmers Mar- ket events contact the Sanger Chamber at sanger.org or call (559) 875-4575.
Visitors walked the streets of downtown Sanger on Aug. 14 for the sec- ond of eight summer-fall Street Fair/Farmers Mar- ket events, hosted by the Sanger District Chamber of Commerce. Saturday's event had a Back to School theme. This Saturday, Aug. 21, will be the Farmers Market Taco Throwdown
Sanger District Chamber of Commerce / Photo Contributed
ABOVE: Parlier High School stu- dents walked the central plaza ar- ea on campus during mid-morn- ing break period on Aug. 17, the first day of the 2021-22 school year at PHS. Students returned to live instruction on campus for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in March 2020. The school had all distance learning for students last year.
LEFT: Jenna Chavez, learning di- rector at PHS, directed a student toward their next class. Chavez is in her first year as an administra- tor at the school after 12 years teaching on campus.
Photos by Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Sanger Street Fair set for Taco Throwdown
High school football season opens for regional schools
Regional high school football teams pre- pared for this week's regular season open- ers with live scrimmages against opposing schools last week. The varsity season kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 20, as Sanger High hosts Clovis High, Reedley High is home against Hanford West High, Imman- uel High hosts Roosevelt High, and Dinuba High travels to Clovis' Lamonica Stadium to take on Clovis East High. More details in Sports on Page A9.
LEFT: Sanger junior running back Jacob Gonzalez followed his blocking on his way to a long run during a scrimmage against Cen- tral High on Aug. 13 at Tom Flores Stadium.
George Armenta / Photo Contributed
RIGHT: Dinuba tight end Matthew Herrera picked up yardage after a catch during the Aug. 13 home scrimmage against Hanford High.
Andy Gonzalez / Photo Contributed
Classifieds - A5
Directory - A10
Legals - A11-14
Sports - A9, A15 Lifestyle - A7-8 Lights & Sirens - A3, A6 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4