Page 7 - Mid Valley Times 7-9-20 e-edition

Thursday, July 9, 2020
The View From Here
There is only one word I can use to describe the recent Fourth of July holi- day; awful.
I have
three dogs
so the re-
sponse to loud noises caused by illegal fireworks, are no fun for them. Our cats don’t care too much, but the dogs- they were not happy.
At first the night seemed to be going smoothly. I'd pre- pared to watch tv and not much else.
There were a few calls for service both in Sanger and Reedley for illegal fire- works violations, and all seemed to be under control for the time being.
Something happened however when the clock struck 9 p.m. The calls re- porting fires began to flood the dispatching centers and my scanner as well.
For us news people, the Fourth of July is a day not really celebrated rather one to remain on stand-by just incase any news breaks.
Fire and the Fourth of July are starting to become one in the same. And we've learned to be ready.
One disturbing call that stood out in my mind; a wit- ness saw a resident deliber- ately throwing mortars at palm tress in efforts to start the tree on fire. Unbeliev- able.
Why would someone do that? I don’t understand the mentality of someone will- ing to destroy a tree solely for the purpose of entertain- ment. Have we as a society devolved that much?
Not long after that call, I was alerted to a large fire at the Town House Motel in Sanger.
As I drove to the location, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The flames were enormous. They could be seen from the other side of town. Firefight- ers on scene worked franti- cally to keep the fire from spreading. It was chaos.
I was almost certain that the entire hotel caught fire. After crews extinguished the large blaze however it turned out to only be the sur- rounding pine trees which had burned.
Officials determined that illegal fireworks were to blame.
I spoke to my mother the following day. She said the situation in her neighbor- hood was no better.
She was terrified that her home would also catch on fire because of how close fireworks were falling on it.
Back when I was a teen-
SEE COLUMN on page A8
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
At first glance, Gabriel Ditommaso said he thought the strange glow coming from a home in the 500 block of Ninth Street in Sanger was nothing more than a flickering garden fixture.
“I seen this glow on this gentleman’s front porch and I had to take a second look,” Ditommaso said on the af- ternoon of July 5. “We were passing by and decided to turn around and come back and make sure it wasn’t a fire and it turns out it was a fire.”
Ditommaso had been out celebrating the Fourth of Ju- ly holiday with family. They were on their way home when they saw the growing fire.
“The second I pulled up it started going up in flames pretty heavily,” he said. “So I ran up, and rang the door bell and ran to the side of the house and grabbed the water
hose and started spraying on it.”
The homeowner, Brandon Young was not home at the time of the fire. Young has a 'Ring' doorbell camera set up at his door.
Ring cameras have become increasingly popular in the last few years. The surveil- lance system alerts the home- owner anytime someone is at the front door and rings the doorbell.
When Young checked the surveillance video from his cellphone he couldn’t believe what was happening at his doorstep.
“I just seen the front area of the house in flames and I heard someone banging on my front door really hard,” said Young. “I told my wife there was a guy here trying to put out a fire.”
Young and his wife imme- diately drove to their home but by the time they arrived,
See FIRE on page A8
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
ABOVE: From left, Brandon Young, the homeowner met with Ga- briel Ditommaso (right) and thanked him for saving his home.
BELOW: Surveillance video from Young's 'Ring' camera showed Ditommaso arriving, running up to the front door and ringing the doorbell. When no one answered the door he ran to grab a water hose and began spraying water on the fire.
Juanita Adame
Sanger man's home saved by good samaritan
Dinuba couple celebrates milestone alongside home builder
Photo Contributed
The Chavez family from Dinuba was the 2,000th home buyer for local builders San Joaquin Homes. The family was awarded with a $2,000 check.
Bringing awareness to the 'Black Lives Matter' movement
Staff Report
A Dinuba couple is cel- ebrating alongside local builders, San Joaquin Valley Homes after they became the 2,000th customer for the relatively new home building business.
San Joaquin Valley Homes presented a check to Victor and Nancy Chavez and called the purchase an important milestone for the company.
“We’re always pleased to add another homeowner to our expanding SJV Homes family, but in this case, they were already part of our family,” said Lissa Walker, marketing director for SJV Homes.
According to the build- ers, this was the second home Victor and Nancy purchased from them.
"Their first San Joaquin Valley home was at Viscaya in Dinuba, but with a growing family of three kids, it was time to move-up to a larger home," she continued.
“We’re proud of the homes we build and the service we provide to our home buyers. Whether you’re buying your first home, preparing for an empty nest or moving up, we are committed to making ev- ery home buyer's experience a happy one.”
The local company was founded in 2013 by Joe Leal, Jim Robinson and Randy Merrill and currently have new developments in Dinuba, Hanford, Kingsburg, Porter- ville and Visalia neighbor- hoods.
For more information on San Joaquin Valley Homes visit sjvhomes.com.
Photo of the week
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
One reason for the Black Lives Matter community, De- nise Rogers-Heydt said, is to lift voices for change online and keep the cause in people’s time lines.
"The goal, of course, is also to be out on the streets,” she said on the afternoon of July 1. “However with the pandemic, it's not encouraged at the mo- ment.”
Rogers-Heydt is a sociol- ogy major at California State University Fresno and is also involved with the school’s Na- tional Association for the Ad- vancement of Colored People, or NAACP.
She said the recent support from non-black community members is a step in the right
Contributed
Denise Rogers-Heydt
direction.
"It's encouraging that we
are showing up for each oth- er," she said. "Conversations about race can be touchy, but
See BLM on Page A8
Contributed
Reedley Police Officer, John Arenas posed for a photo with 3-year- old, Joseph while on patrol at Reedley Beach. Joseph has dreams of becoming a police officer when he grows up. Have a photo you'd like featured? Email juanita@midvalleypublishing.com.