Page 2 - Reedley Exponent 10-11-18 E-edition

The Reedley Exponent A2 Thursday, October 11, 2018
SCCCD Trustee Area 4 candidates Q&A
Candidate: Ron Nishinaka (incumbent; has served eight years as a trustee). Age: 74
Occupation: Part-time lecturer in the plant science department at Fresno State. Was an instructor for 37 years at Reedley College, specializing in environmental horticulture and agriculture.
Candidate: Magdalena Gomez (challenger).
Occupation: Education consultant and businesswoman. Also has worked as a Central Valley Financial/Legal Outreach Coordinator and Global Wealth Manage- ment Senior Client Sales Associate.
Education: Bachelor’s degree from Carleton College in Minnesota. Background: Born in Fresno and raised in Selma who said she’s a “farm girl at heart.” Left her job in the financial sector to share what she learned to help make the community stronger.
Family: Married with a daughter, son and four granddaughters.
Background: Served on the Reedley City Council for eight years including two as mayor pro tem. Co-owned the family business, Dinuba Garden Center, for 25 years.
Magdalena Gomez
Staff Report
Reedley voters will have an opportunity to vote for the State Center Community Col- lege District’s Area 4 trustee in the Tuesday, Nov. 6, general election.
Incumbent Ron Nishinaka, who has served eight years on the Board of Trustees, is be- ing challenged by Magdalena Gomez. The winner will rep- resent Area 4, which includes Reedley and Reedley College, on the SCCCD board.
The Exponent asked can- didates Nishinaka and Gomez five questions about the race and key issues. Here are their answers:
What motivated you to run for the SCCCD Board of Trustees?
Nishinaka: To continue our quest for excellence to make Reedley College the best community college in California. As a graduate and instructor for 37 1⁄2-years, I have a strong desire to give back to Reedley College and the State Center Community College District.
Reedley College is a
uniquely special place to re- ceive a quality education, teach for a lifetime career, and serve as a board trustee member.
During my tenure at Reedley College, I served on numerous college committees including president of the Ac- ademic Senate, College Coun- cil, Accreditation, Curricu- lum, Extended Opportunity Programs and Services, Dis- trict Communications Coun- cil, and faculty advisor to the FFA Field Day and local high school agriculture program advisory committees.
Gomez: The community colleges play a vital role to the success of students who cannot go directly to 4-year colleges. I saw the higher ed- ucation needs of small-town residents and their families not being met. For example, community college students from outside the City of Fresno need to have better accessibility to firefighting, law enforcement, nursing programs and emerging in- dustries.
I want to be a champion for Reedley College when it comes to resources and make sure we get our fair
Ron Nishinaka
share of the pie. I am an education consultant with a background in finance and construction bond policy. All of which will be helpful in moving the community college district forward in implementing the $500 mil- lion bond measure C. I will work with my colleagues to champion for the West Fres- no Campus, Reedley College Music/Arts Center and the South East Fresno First re- sponder’s facility.
What do you feel are the biggest educational chal- lenges facing the district and its colleges?
Nishinaka: One of the big- gest educational challenges facing our district and col- leges is closing the equity gap. Our colleges are implement- ing a number of initiatives to improve the success of all stu- dents but they are particularly focused on improving success rates for those populations that are not achieving at the same level as other students. We have initiated the College Promise, which will offer stu- dents the ability to enroll at least the first semester at no cost to them.
We have used Student Success funds to hire more counselors and advisers to as- sist students with developing an individual Student Educa- tional Plan so that students have a pathway to completion. The colleges have developed robust tutorial centers that not only provide tutors at the center but also have tutors embedded in classrooms to better identify students falling behind and providing immedi- ate assistance.
An inaugural Generation Celebration for the Central Valley Promise was held at Fresno State in late Septem- ber to meet and congratulate the first 400 scholars and their families.
At SCCCD, we are very interested in changing the
Gloria Francesca “Frances” Hurtado Garcia
1/29/1936 – 9/30/2018
Gloria joined her husband, Sirilo Garcia, in heaven on 9/30/2018, a er a long battle with Dementia. Gloria was a baker at Save Mart.
Gloria is preceded in death by her parents, Luis & Margaret, loving brother Julio Hurtado Sr., and grandson Ellis Mychael Garcia.
Our family would like to send our deepest thanks, gratitude, and love to Angie & Carroll Friend, the entire sta at Mainstreet Café in Reedley, Healthy Living at Home, Sojourn Hospice; Cesar, Jackie, Kristi, and James of Sojourn Hospice, and Dr. Rosalinda Nogales for their kindness and support of Gloria and her caregivers; her son; Sirilo Louis “Chacho” Garcia, her daughter; Julia Garcia and her granddaughters; Katrina and Tracee Segura, throughout Gloria’s Dementia journey.
Other surviving family members are sons Michael & Anthony Garcia, daughters Natalie Acosta & Gloria Arrellano, 12 grandchildren, 9 great-grandchildren, and many cousins, nieces, nephews, and Godchildren.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday, October 10th, at 9:30 AM, at the Old St. Anthony’s church. Cremation burial will follow at Reedley Cemetery. In lieu of owers, please consider donating to the Alzheimer’s Association
to further research for this disease. Cairns Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
instructors would enhance student success and increase the transfer rate to make stu- dents’ dreams possible.
What are your thoughts about student safety and security on district cam- puses?
Nishinaka: As a life-long educator and your board member, I am a strong sup- porter of campus security with Title IX and maintaining transparency through clear reporting measures to ensure that all of our students enjoy and are afforded a safe learn- ing environment during their educational journey.
Unfortunately, after tragic incidents such as Columbine, we must ensure that we have an effective campus police department, necessary cam- pus security measures, and strong partnerships with our allied policing agencies to al- ways maintain and deter any acts of campus violence. State Centers Community colleges also has the regional police academy which trains the next generation of police of- ficers.
Itmaybeagoodideato review the need to formalize a District Police office (sub- station) at each of our college campuses.
The new award-winning, energy-saving solar system will provide shade and added security for students taking night classes with all of the extra lighting.
Gomez: We need to bring safety to all corners of the campus and give students, in- structors, administrators and campus police officers peace of mind at every community college. Our campus police officers need substations on every campus.
By having a police substa- tion on every campus, we can give campus police officers a place to do office work daily and be more efficient, rather than return to Fresno City Col- lege to get things done. More campus police substations would also make students, fac- ulty and administrators feel safer while in their offices or in the classroom.
Share your thoughts on district class offerings/ curriculum and educational opportunities for students. Are there areas where you
college going culture in the greater Central California region. We want students to move away from thinking “am I going to attend college?” to stating, “which college am I going to attend?”
Other challenges include the new state funding formula which reduces focus on enroll- ment only and emphasizes stu- dent success, and employee pension rate increases. We are one of the few community col- lege districts in the state that are growing so we should do well with new formula. On- going funds will be set aside to address the future pension obligation costs related to employer contribution rate increases.
Gomez: Today, students are having to take coursework at different campuses to meet their academic requirements to graduate with a certifica- tion or a degree. While meet- ing several college students and their families, they have transportation issues that still need to be addressed. Getting to and from college campuses for some of the rural residents is still a burden and I would like to address that issue. No one should fall through the cracks due to transportation issues or lack of available courses.
We need to work more closely with Fresno State Uni- versity as well regarding the lack of transportation needs for Central Valley Students. Once our students graduate from the community college system, we need to foster some collaboration with CSU system and provide greater accessibility for community college students to get to the next level of study.
In my meetings with com- munity college students, they say they don’t have enough ac- cess to their part-time instruc- tors. We need to help foster a better communication sys- tem between instructors and students. Getting office hours and space for our part-time
see room for improvement? Nishinaka: There is al- ways room for improvement but I am encouraged by the colleges aggressively moving to implement Guided Path- ways. This approach devel- ops curriculum into cluster of majors making it easier for students to identify a path- way of interest and insure the courses they are taking will not be wasted. This approach provides program maps that show students a clear path- way to completion for either transfer or employment in the field. Guided Pathways bridges the gap from K-12 to community college through the development of a strong “on-ramp” to a program of
study.
Examples of new pro-
grams at Reedley College include the new “Wheels-up” Flight Science, Enology-Wine Making, and Heavy Duty Truck programs that were established to meet industry needs. Through program en- hancement, the Automotive Technology program was re- cently awarded the NATEF (National Automotive Techni- cians Education Foundation Certification).
Our district colleges have many programs ranging from Agriculture, Aviation Maintenance Technology, Business, Forestry & Natural Resources, STEM, Entrepre- neurship, Health Sciences, Law School Pathway, Police and Fire Technology, Welding and Fabrication, Food Safety and Quality Apprenticeship, and Mechatronics.
We know through re- search that those students who complete an associate degree will earn $1.6 million lifetime dollars more than someone with a high school diploma. Excellent career opportunities are also avail- able in career technical edu- cation certificate programs.
Gomez: For small town communities, the local econ- omy is vital to downtown businesses. In the many con- versations that I have had with small business owners, they want to hire local, but sometimes the pool of work- ers come from outside our local areas. For example, lo- cal dentists would like to ex- pand Reedley College’s Dental program and include a dental hygiene program along with the dental assistant program
See S.C.C.C.D. on page A8
Obituaries
Lydia Baerg
Lydia Baerg of Dinuba died Oct. 2. She was 106.
Ms. Baerg was a long- standing member of the Di- nuba Seventh-Day Adven- tist Church and “Auntie” to everyone.
She is survived by ma- ny nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews.
Funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Sun- day, Oct. 14 at the Dinuba Seventh-Day Adventist Church. A private family burial will be at the Sev-
enth-Day Adventist Cem- etery in Dinuba.
Noe Rodriguez Jr.
Noe Rodriguez Jr. of Parlier died Sept. 30. He was 59.
Mr. Rodriguez was a re- tired truck driver.
He is survived by five sons and 11 grandchildren. Memorial services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, at Iglesia Fuente De Vi- da Church in Parlier. There will be fellowship following
the service.
HEADSTONES - MONUMENTS - GRANITE - BRONZE
1314 9th
Street
Sanger (behind Sonic)
641 10th Avenue Kingsburg
Se Habla Espanol • Payment Plans Available
Est. 1946
Sanger: 559-546-5184 • KingSburg: 559-897-2110
website: www.beermonumentworks.com
Wallin’s Parlier
Funeral Home
Serving our families with integrity and compassion since 1964
7942 S. Mendocino FD 1662
Parlier, CA
Prepayment Plans Available • Se Habla Espanol • We Offer Cremation Services
Parlier Package...........................................$3,774.00
Mendocino Package...................................$4,989.00
NEW! Reedley Special...............................$4,989.00 Casket included in all packages! Does not include cash advances.
(559) 646-6685
info@wallinfuneralhomes.com
Card Of Thanks
e family of Les Salwasser would like to thank everyone for the love and support shown to us during the loss of our loved one. He will be missed forever but he will live on in the hearts of all who shared their grief with us. Donations in Les Salwasser’s memory may be made to St. La Salle School, 404 E. Manning Ave., Reedley, CA 93654 or e Fresno Philharmonic, 7170 N. Financial Dr, Ste. 135, Fresno, CA 93720.
Warm regards, Elfrieda Cornish Salwasser, Robin, Rand,
and Melanie Salwasser, Cari Salwasser.
Respect ~ Honor ~ Remember
Cairns Funeral
Home
Serving Families for Generations
Complete Funeral Services
• Cremation Services • Preplanning Services • Monument Sales
~ Serving all Faiths ~
On call 24 hours (559) 638-2233
940 F Street • Reedley Lic.#FD626
FRED HALL ............................................................................. Publisher JON EARNEST............................................................... Editor / Sports JUANITA ADAME ...................................................Panorama Editor DEBRA LEAK........................................................................Marketing JANIE LUCIO.....................................................................Advertising DUBY TREVINO..............................................................Graphic Artist CLINTON ANTONIO......................................................Graphic Artist TOM MONTIJO..............................................................Graphic Artist KATE ISAAK................................................................ Classified Sales STACY HAWKINS .............................................................Accounting ROSEMARY OCHOA........................................................Accounting
The Reedley Exponent (USPS 458-860) is published weekly on Thursdays for $20 a year, $24.50 other areas and $26.50 out-of-state by Mid-Valley Publishing Inc., 1130 G St., Reedley, CA 93654. Periodicals postage paid at Sanger, CA 93657. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Reedley Exponent, 1130 G St., Reedley, CA 93654
The Reedley Exponent is one of Fresno County’s oldest newspapers. It was established in March, 1891, in the Knauer residence on the corner of what now is F and 11th streets. In about 1893, it moved to the building where it is still located. The newspaper’s office is at 1130 G St, Reedley, CA 93654, Phone (559) 638-2244.
015704
002270
02264