Page 1 - Reedley Exponent 10-11-18 E-edition

New veterinarian in area is taking care of local pets
Panorama
Vol. 129, No. 41 | Thursday, October 11, 2018
Shelter
to open
this week
Faith House plans dedication event
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
The controversial emergency shelter in southwest Reedley that the Reedley City Council approved in April was planning to open its doors this week.
A social media post Oct. 9 by Ken Baker, pastor of Heritage Church in Reedley and director of Hope Now Ministries that will operate the shel- ter, revealed the status of the two- story Faith House facility at 1697 W. Huntsman Ave., next to entrance to the city’s wastewater and sewer treatment plants.
“After years of vision and a lot of hard work and plenty more hard work to come we are finally ready to open our doors today,” read the post on Baker’s Facebook page. The post also revealed that Hope Now Minis- tries has hired an on-site manager to oversee the shelter.
“Our onsite manager, Olivia Pa- dilla, has been working very hard to make the house ready and we currently have two families under- going the application process,” the post read. Baker said the shelter is planned to be used as short-term housing for displaced families as well as women and children who have been victims of violent crimes.
Stays at the shelter would be lim- ited to 30 days, or 60 days maximum with a vetted and thorough review of residents.
The City Council approved the emergency shelter April 10, more than six months after the proposed shelter was introduced and approved by the Reedley Planning Commission. The shelter is being underwritten by $560,000 in grant funding from the California Department of Finance.
It was that funding — and what they claimed was deceptive actions by city officials — that caused a group of neighborhood residents liv- ing north and east of the shelter prop- erty to file a formal complaint against the council. The residents’ opposition to the project stemmed from what they claim was increased crime when the facility was open for 13 years as a local site of the Marjaree Mason Cen- ter for victims of domestic violence.
After the shelter was approved on a 4-0 council vote — Frank Pinon, mayor pro tem, recused himself as he is a partner in the nonprofit Hope Now Ministries — plans were to open the facility to clients by the start of summer. But necessary re- pairs and improvements needed on the property delayed the opening.
Baker said in the social media post that a grand opening was sched- uled for a date in the near future.
Reedley High girls tennis captures NYL title
Sports
Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654 | 50 cents
High school royalty
www.reedleyexponent.com
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Juanita Adame / The Exponent
ABOVE LEFT: Drew Vogt, left, and Derek Wood flashed smiled after they were selected as Immanuel High School’s Homecoming Queen and King at halftime of the Oct. 5 Homecoming football game with Liberty-Madera Ranchos. Other queen candidates were Tiffany Bamford, Alex Dayka, Steffani Garza, Noelle Robbins and Ashleigh Sorensen. Other king candidates were James Friesen, Kyle Gruen, Parker Philpott, Tyler Schlesselman and Joel Young. More details on the Eagles’ home- coming game are in Sports, Page B3.
ABOVE RIGHT: Reedley High School’s Homecoming Queen Carmen Hernandez and Homecoming King Michael Marin posed for photos immediately after their crowning at halftime of the Pirates’ homecoming football game on Oct. 5. Other queen candidates were Nikole Rodriguez, Leila Wright, Kayla Rocha and Serena Tamez. Other king candidates were Eddie Gonzalez, Justin Fonseca, Hector Morales and Eleazar Ramirez. Underclass couples were Daniel Nava and Emily Medina, freshmen; Isaac Cardenas and Samantha Reyes, sophomores; and Danny De La Rosa and Jessica Lemus, juniors. More photos of Carmen and Michael are in Panorama, Page B1.
‘Human Library’ participants share their stories
Oct. 9 event at RC attracts 35 entries
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
The second annual Reedley Col- lege Human Library in the campus quad area on Oct. 9 reflected the growing interest in the interactive event.
Thirty-five people — 13 more than last year’s inaugural event — participated as “human books” while telling their unique life story, according to organizer Rebecca Al Haider.
“The student participation last year was about 200 students, This year we’re anticipating about 400,” said Al Haider, an English as Sec- ond Language instructor on cam- pus.
The event is inspired by the world Human Library concept that began in the Netherlands about 20
years ago. The human books are made up of people of different eth- nic, gender and sexual orientation along with many people carrying a unique story or life experience — domestic violence survivors, genocide survivors, teen mothers, stat-at-home fathers to name a few.
But there were unique addi- tions this year, like “My mom was in a gang, I want to be a police of- ficer” and “I’m not Mexican, I’m Salvadorian.”
Another attraction for the stu- dents was 94-year-old Kingsburg native and resident Robert Yano, who was in internment camp for Japanese Americans at the start of World War II who later served in the U.S. military during the war.
See HUMAN on page A3
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Kingsburg resident Robert Yano, right, a 94-year-old internment camp survivor from World War II years, shared his story with Reedley College students and visitors during the college’s second annual “Human Library” event on Oct. 9.
Ron and Carol Surabian are 2018 Fiesta King & Queen
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Ron and Carol Surabian posed in front of the family piano in their Reedley home. The couple are this year’s Fiesta King and Queen.
Classifieds - A6-7 Directory - A5 Legals - B6-7
Couple’s music part of their involvement in community
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
He’s known locally for his sing- ing voice, earning the moniker of the “Reedley Troubadour.” She spent more than three decades as an educator in the Reedley-Dinuba area. And in recent years, they take their musical talents to local retire- ment homes.
Now, Reedley’s Ron and Carol Surabian have a new designation — King & Queen of the 2018 Reedley Fiesta.
Ron Surabian said he was at a doctor’s appointment when he re- ceived a contact request text from
Rachel Uyeda with the Reedley Li- ons Club, which selects each year’s King & Queen. He said Carol texted him with the news.
“You’re not going to believe this, she said. I said ‘Wow.’ There’s nothing else to say,” he said.
“You don’t really think about that,” Carol admitted. “You don’t look up ‘how to become king and queen.’ You just live your life. And then for the community to come around and notice you, it’s such an honor that’s really not on your radar at all.”
But the Surabians have made their mark in Reedley through music, education and community
dedication.
Ron — a lifelong Reedley resi-
dent — gained local fame with his singing voice and world recognition with feats of natural (drug-free) strength on the bench press and as a farmer and a field supervisor with Kapprelian Brothers and Bal- lantine Produce. A 2012 article in Kings River Life magazine called him the Reedley Troubadour.
“The reason they call me the troubadour is because wherever I was in town, they would ask me to sing,” he said. “Uncle Harry’s, Main Street [Cafe]. We’d walk into a restaurant and they would say ‘Ron, sing us a song!’ I can’t even sit down.”
That singing includes regular renditions of “Happy Birthday” to residents at Sierra View Homes, where he’s been serenading resi-
See SURABIANS on page A8 Sports - B3-4 Lights & Sirens - A3 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4