Reedley Exponent 4-26-18 E-edition

KCUSD ‘Children’s Day’ event celebrates English learners
Immanuel softball has lofty postseason aspirations
Vol. 129, No. 17 | Thursday, April 26, 2018 www.reedleyexponent.com Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654 | 50 cents Man’s body found in pool
Allen visits town on eve of NFL Draft
Josh Allen, former quarterback at Reedley College and the University of Wyoming, is shown slapping hands with well-wishers upon his return to Reedley College on April 19 for an event in his honor. The college honored Allen by presentinghimwithhisgame-wornjersey. Allenplayed for the Tigers in 2014 before transferring to Wyoming, where he played the past three years. Allen is projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. The NFL Draft will begin airing live on Thurs- day, April 26, at 5 p.m. on ESPN.
Chris Aguirre / The Exponent
Police investigators call
April 24 death ‘suspicious’
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
Reedley police are calling the death of a 30-year-old Reedley man “suspicious” af- ter his body was found in a pool at a resi- dence near downtown Reedley on April 24.
The Fresno County Coroner’s Office identified the victim as Antonio DeLaCruz. He was found floating face down in a back- yard swimming pool in the 1400 block of F Street, when officers responded to the call shortly before 6 a.m.
“The arriving officer pulled the body
from the water, rendered medical aid and requested that an EMS respond immediate- ly,” said Reedley police Lt. Hector Aleman. “There were no signs of life.”
DeLaCruz was pronounced dead at the scene.
“It’s a suspicious death because we do not have any cause of death other than him being in the pool,” Aleman said. “He used to live there, and is familiar with the swim- ming pool.”
Aleman said DeLaCruz no longer lived at the house, and there was no one who could verify how he ended up in the pool.
Aleman said the residence is a duplex, with a main house in front and an apart-
See BODY on page A8
A half-century of serving God
Monsignor John Esquivel celebrates his 50-year anniversary of ordination
By Doug Hoagland
Special to The Exponent
Monsignor John Esquivel was 13 when a doctor said he would die within a month.
It was the mid-1950s, and Esquivel was sick with Valley fever. He’d been sent from his home in Visalia to a sanitarium in the hills of Tulare County. Patients around him died. The physician told his parents noth- ing more could be done for their son.
But when Esquivel was still alive after a month, he prayed simply: “What now, Lord?” He believed God must have a plan for his life.
“I decided to try the priesthood,” he said in a re- cent interview.
Try — and succeed — he did. Esquivel, who has led St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church since 2007, celebrates the 50th anniversary of his ordination this week. Events are scheduled for Friday and Satur- day, April 27 and 28. (See accompanying schedule for details.)
Ordained on April 27, 1968, he has navigated decades of change and challenge in the Catholic Church. He also has provided pivotal leadership to several parishes, including St. Anthony.
And in a never-to-be-forgotten moment, he shook the hand of Pope John Paul II at the Vatican.
Esquivel — who will turn 76 in May — was the first priest ordained in the Diocese of Fresno, which was created in 1967 when the Diocese of Monterey- Fresno was divided.
To mark Esquivel’s five decades of service, Bish- op Armando X. Ochoa of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno will visit Reedley on Friday, April 27, to lead a Mass of Thanksgiving.
“The life of a priest is a mystery of love and ser- vice that unfolds over the course of time,” Ochoa said in an email. In offering congratulations to Esquivel, the bishop said a priest blesses “countless lives” in times of sorrow and joy, as well as day-to-day life.
“Monsignor Esquivel’s care and concern for those he serves is exemplary and we are grateful for his pastoral presence among us,” Ochoa said.
The year of Esquivel’s ordination was tumultu- ous. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in early April 1968, and Robert Kennedy was assassinated that June. The Vietnam War raged, and anti-war pro- tests rocked the streets of America.
But the brought happiness to the Esquivel family as Bishop Timothy Manning ordained Esquivel at St.
See ESQUIVEL on page A3
Doug Hoagland / For The Exponent
Monsignor John Esquivel, pictured outside St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Reedley, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his ordination during scheduled events on Friday and Saturday, April 27 and 28.
Events to
honor Esquivel
Events are scheduled for Fri- day and Saturday, April 27 and 28, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ordination of Monsignor John Esquivel.
Friday, April 27
• 10 a.m. at St. Anthony of Pad- ua — Bishop Armando X. Ochoa of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving. More than 30 of Esquivel’s fellow priests are sched- uled to attend along with children from St. La Salle Catholic School.
The public is welcome.
• Noon at St. La Salle — the
school will host a luncheon for the bishop, Esquivel and other priests. The luncheon is not a public event.
Saturday, April 28
• 2 p.m. at St. Anthony — Es- quivel will celebrate a bilingual Mass of Thanksgiving. The public
is welcome.
• 5:30 p.m. at Ridge Creek Golf
Club in Dinuba — a ticketed din- ner is scheduled. No tickets remain available.
Council OKs plan ahead of trash fee hike
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
The Reedley City Council has approved a plan that would increase residents’ solid waste utility bills by 5 percent for two years and 2.5 percent for three years after that.
By a 4-1 vote — Council Member Mary Fast cast the lone “no” vote — the council on April 10 adopted a resolution accept- ing “Alternative A” from a solid waste rate study presented by HDR Engineering.
The council also scheduled a public hearing date of Tuesday, June 26, to vote on the proposed
See COUNCIL on page A2
No student walkout at Reedley High
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
At left, Stacy Carrillo, assistant principal at Reedley High School, greets a student April 20 during the time of a scheduled National School Walkout protest. School officials reported that no students had walked out of class.
Special test schedule occurred on April 20
Staff Report
Reedley High School officials reported that no students left cam- pus on April 20 in support of the National School Walkout protests meant to increase debate and gov- ernment action regarding gun vio- lence.
The high school was on a special schedule that day, with seniors un- dergoing California Science Testing (CAST) throughout the morning.
Principal John Ahlin said un- derclass students were to come to school at 8 a.m. to participate in classroom activities, but a number came later in the morning. There was no connection to tardy students
being involved with a walkout pro- test.
“We had no reported walkouts,” Ahlin said.
Stacy Carrillo, assistant princi- pal at the school, greeted students arriving on campus at the main en- trance along East Avenue during the break period. She pleasantly said “Good morning” as students reached the gate.
April 20 marked the 19-year an- niversary of the Columbine School shootings in Colorado that killed 15 people including two student shoot- ers. The date was a little more than two months after the Feb. 14 high school shootings that killed 17 stu- dents and staff members at a high school in Parkland, Fla.
On March 14, the first nation- wide student walkout took place.
See WALKOUT on page A2
Classified - A6-7 Directory - A5 Legals - B5-6 Sports - B3-4 Lights & Sirens - A3 Obituaries - A2 Opinion - A4
SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
Monsignor John Esquivel has served in the following parishes:
• 1968-70: St. Peter the Apostle Church in Lemoore and St. Joseph’s Mission in Stratford.
• 1970-81: St. John’s Cathedral in Fresno.
• 1981-83: St. Mary of the Miracu- lous Medal Church in Delano.
• 1983-94: St. Joseph’s Church in Bakersfield.
• 1991-92: Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Bakersfield (concurrent with St. Joseph’s).
• 1994-98: St. Joseph’s Church in Selma and St. Lucy’s Church in Fowler. • 1998-2007: St. John’s Cathedral. • 2007-present: St. Anthony of
Padua Church in Reedley.