Page 1 - Mid Valley Times 6-23-22 E-Edition

Thursday, June 23, 2022
Vol. 3, No. 51
Coronavirus Update
Cases rise,
shots for
Under 5
become
available
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
COVID-19 active cases slowed their steady increase in Fresno and Tulare Counties, at the same time as clinics in Fresno County began the pro- cess of administering vac- cines for children under five years of age.
Collected data through June 20 in Fresno County showed a new daily case rate of 31.7 per 100,000, with the overall posi- tivity rate edging up slightly to 13.9 percent of more than 2.8 million tests. In Tulare County, those similar figures were 23.3
See VIRUS on page A16
Thirsting for relief
These two photos taken on June 17 showed the dry conditions at Smith Mountain Cemetery in Dinuba. The Alta Cemetery District has released a public statement (see display ad- vertisement on page A16) regarding its water situation, and the need for deeper wells. The cemetery only has one working well, as the other two are dry. District officials plan to work with the city to schedule public comment at future meetings on the situation. The cost at drilling a well 1,000 feet in depth is estimated to be in excess of half a million dollars.
Photos by Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
50 cents
Former
football
coach at
RC slain
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
The Reedley College com- munity is mourning the trag- ic loss last week of a former Student-Athlete Retention Program and former assis- tant coach for the football program.
William "Billy" Wright was fatally shot the morning of June 15 dur-
ing a visit to
Morning fire damages popular Sanger eatery
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
Drone video from a local news sta- tion showed large flames and black smoke coming from the rooftop of Velasco’s Mexican restaurant in down- town Sanger on the morning of June 21. The blaze damaged about 30 percent of the facility.
“We got this call right around 7 a.m., it came in as an investigation of smoke, someone had seen smoke coming from the attic area, the roof area,” said Greg Tarascou, Sanger Fire Chief. “We then we got multiple calls about a lot of smoke.”
Fire crews arrived and found the fire
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
Fire crews mopped up the scene at Velasco;s Mexican Restaurant in downtown Sanger on June 21.
to be in several attic spaces just above the restaurant. Tarascou said the layout
of the building was a complicated maze of attics that made the fire difficult to find and contain.
“It was almost like this building had multiple attics inside separated by walls inside,” he said. “It took a little bit of time for us to find the fire but we were finally able to find it and keep it really confined to the attic and the kitchen.”
He said a lot of drywall was taken down while crews searched for more fire but the majority of the restaurant was saved.
“The dining room in the front and the main dining room were all secure,” he said.
See FIRE on page A5
his parents in
Fresno. The
31-year-old
former RC
player (2009)
and later
coach (2019-
20) was re-
portedly slain
by his father, William Wright Sr., with a handgun following an argument. The elder Wright was arrested and booked into the Fresno County Jail on a murder charge.
Wright most recently was coaching at College of the Se- quoias, and was prepared to begin his second season at the Visalia junior college.
David Santesteban, RC Di- rector of Athletics, said in a statement that the program was "completely devastated" by the news.
"While he was only with us for a short time [working with the college], he made a positive impact on all of our student- athletes, coaches and staff."
“Mr. Wright was an ex- tremely valuable member of our family," RC President
SeeCOACHonpage A16
BIlly Wright
Sanger Chamber honors its top citizens on June 26
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
A fixture with the Sanger District Chamber of Commerce for nearly three decades and one of the community's church lead- ers headlines the persons honored this weekend at the chamber's 97th annual awards banquet.
The event runs from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Sunnyside Country Club in Fresno. It will be the second year the banquet has been back as a live event since being tem- porarily suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cheryl Ing, who served as the chamber's adminis- trative assistant for 28 years is the 2022 Hall of Fame re- cipient. Gilbert Carrisolez,
pastor of The Tabernacle of Sanger and Arbol De Vida in Sanger, is the Citizen of the Year. Other award win- ners at the banquet are Mr. and Mrs. Farmer, Mother of the Year, Educator of the Year, Rotary Youth Service Award, Fire Personnel of the Year, Police Personnel of the Year and Recycler of the Year.
As of June 21, a lim- ited number of tickets re- mained available through the Sanger District Cham- ber of Commerce office.
The honorees for 2022:
HALL OF FAME Cheryl Ing
Her nomination biogra- phy states that Cheryl Ing “symbolizes with the Sanger Chamber of Commerce and the city of Sanger.” The Sanger native dedicated 28 years as the administrative assistant for the chamber, serving from 1987 to 2015 while earning the nickname and title of “Ms. Sanger.”.
Ing was a vital force in organizing the annual Awards Banquet, Farmers Markets, Halloween Down-
See CHAMBERonpageA2
Cheryl Senn, Sanger Scene / Photo Contributed
Cheryl Ing, who served as the administrative assistant for the Sanger District Chamber of Commerce for 28 years, is being honored as the 2022 Hall of Fame recipient at this year's annual awards banquet on June 26.
97th ANNUAL SANGER CHAMBER AWARDS BANQUET
When: Saturday, June 26, 5 to 8 p.m.
Where: Sunnyside Country Club, Fresno
Tickets: Sanger District Chamber of Commerce at 875-4575
Classifieds - A15 Directory - A6 Legals - A10-15
Sports - A9 Lifestyle - A7-8 Lights & Sirens - A3, A5 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4