Dinuba Sentinel 3-21-19 E-edition
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Dinuba Sentinel Serving the communities of Dinuba, Cutler-Orosi and Monson-Sultana
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Community, A5
Established 1909, Dinuba, California Thursday, March 21, 2019
50 Cents
Dinuba men
arrested in
major Valley
meth bust
Sentinel staff report
Three men from Dinuba were arrested last week after being connected to what the Fresno Police Department is calling one of the biggest drug busts in their history. The three men, Francisco Rafael Gonzalez Navarro, 24, Alfonso Ortega Cruz, 38, and Ponce Orjelio Galvan, 25, all of Dinuba were taken into custody on Friday, Mar. 15 after being found with 67 pounds of methamphetamine.
The bust began in central Fresno after police there received an anonymous tip regarding a vehicle that was possibly trafficking narcotics. Officers from the Fresno Police Department, with the assistance of agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, conducted a traffic stop on a Toyota Corolla near the intersection of Ventura and F streets in Fresno.
With the help of drug sniffing dogs, officers located 11 pounds of crystal meth hidden in the vehicle’s wheel well.
Navarro, the driver of the vehicle, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of drug sales and trafficking. The arrest and subsequent investigation led detectives to a trailer park in the 9000 block of Avenue 392 in Dinuba.
There, officers reportedly raided six trailers and located another 56 pounds of methamphetamine. In addition, detectives also found three pounds of cocaine, a handgun and 1,200 rounds of ammunition. Cruz and Galvan were arrested at the home in Dinuba.
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer believed the drugs were smuggled in by Mexican drug cartels.
“No question this methamphetamine came across the border from Mexico through a port of entry,” said Dyer. “No doubt hidden through a vehicle somehow undetected,” Dyer said.
The three men were reportedly from the state of Michoacan in Mexico and had been in the area for about two years.
Dyer also stated the bust was significant because methamphetamine is a large contributor to crime in the Valley.
“It drives the violence in our communities,” Dyer explained. “It fuels the gang violence and removing this amount of narcotics from our streets is significant,” Dyer says.
Detectives appraised the wholesale value of the drug bust a over half a million dollars. The street value, they said, is much higher.
GAC holds
Emperors' baseball diamond gets upgrade
discussion
on sidewalk
vendor law
City Council will take another look at proposed ordinance on Tuesday
By Rick Curiel
Editor@thedinubasentinel.com
A roundtable discussion at last Wednesday’s Dinuba Government Affairs Committee meeting became heated at times, all in regards to a new California State law that, according to many at the meeting, gives street vendors an unfair advantage over brick and mortar stores.
The committee, which serves as a liaison between commerce and government, felt the new law is such a concern for local business that they devoted their entire monthly meeting to discussing its impact.
Prior to the law going into effect at the beginning of this year, efforts were made locally to deal with street vendors.
“Here in Dinuba we’ve championed based on our relationship, great relationship, with our city, tougher restrictions on sidewalk vendors,” said GAC Chair Reda Bennani.
As an example, Bennani sited a problem many communities have been having, including Dinuba, with people setting up stands to distribute fee cell phones.
“They will literally come onto properties unauthorized,” he explained. “They will put up their easy-up in your parking spot or on the grass without any authorization from the landlord, without having proper documentation from business licensing authorities here in the city.”
Bennani added that the city’s code enforcement officers began cracking down on these street vendors, resulting in fewer set-ups.
“The reason we went after these people is not because we didn’t want them to make a living. That is not the reason,” said Bennani. “But we have currently 14 dispensaries that sell cell phones in Dinuba. These people pay high rents to be in a location. They go through the licensing process. They
See GAC, Page A7
Photos by Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
Top: New additions to the Dinuba Emperor's Baseball Diamond include two new units on the first base side. The unit on the left is the new snack bar. A ladder accesses a perch on top of the building that can be used as a press box.
The unit to the right is the all new bathroom facility, offering two all- gender restrooms.
Right: One upgrade to the baseball diamond was actually done last year, with the district adding all new brighter LED light bulbs to the existing light poles.
Sentinel staff report
The Emperor’s Baseball Diamond on the corner of Hayes Avenue and Davis Drive recently underwent a major makeover. At a cost of around $764,000, the new baseball diamond has plenty of much needed upgrades.
“We went from two Porta-Potties and an old Coke trailer to what we have now,” said Dinuba Unified School District’s Director of Facilities and Operations Jack Schreuder. “We really stepped it up.”
Features added to the baseball diamond include the replacing of the old chain link fencing behind the backstop with a new pro-league netting. The netting allows for a better view for spectators, while providing the same safety.
Also for added safety, the dugouts were modernized with higher safety fences in front of them. The old barriers were about a foot shorter and allowed foul balls to fly into the dugouts, keeping the heads of players and coaching staff on a swivel.
The access to the bleachers was completely redone with the addition of ramps. With the addition of all new
bleachers, the bleacher area is now completely ADA compliant. The announcers' booth is now located in the middle of the bleachers.
But the biggest upgrades would be the all-new snack bar and restroom facility. Both units are equipped with hot water and air conditioning. The bathroom unit offers two all-gender restrooms. The project was done by Bush Construction of Hanford.
A new flagpole was also added, and tying it all together is new landscaping.
It was completed at the beginning of this month, just in time for the Emperor’s baseball season.
The upgrades were the result of a modernization project at Washington Intermediate School in 2015. Back then, when state architects inspected the junior high campus they noticed the 'bootleg' press box at the baseball diamond.
Schreuder said he was afraid the district wouldn't get clearance for the modernization project because the press box was not compliant. So he promised he would get it fixed.
"This was part of me holding up to my end of the bargain," said Schreuder.
A Peach Blossom tradition of over four decades
Lincoln Elementary School sixth grade teacher Greg Olson takes his 43rd class to Fresno State
There are many memories that stand out for Mr. Olson’s many students, but one of the greatest comes from participating in the annual Peach Blossom Festival, held on the campus
of California State University, Fresno.
Prior to beginning his career as an elementary school teacher, Olson, a Fresno State alumnus, attended the festival as part of his student teaching. He knew then it was something he would take his students to.
“It was the performing part,” said Olson of his draw to the festival. “Just the idea of being in front of people. And they realize that speaking isn’t just speaking. There’s pitch in your voice, there’s drama in your voice. I just thought it was a great experience and so when I started teaching I
wanted to take kids starting on day one.”
See Blossom, Page A7
Lincoln Elementary School sixth grade teacher Greg Olson gives pointers to a group of students preparing to go to the 61st Annual Peach Blossom Festival at California State University, Fresno. This year marks the 43rd year Olson has taken students to the annual festival.
Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
His classroom is filled from top to bottom with guidelines for various lessons, classroom rules and commemorative items he’s
collected over the forty-plus
years he’s been there – Room 3. It’s the same room he’s been in since first arriving at Lincoln Elementary School in 1976. Even when Dinuba Unified School District established a sixth grade academy at what is now Kennedy Elementary School, Greg Olson stayed put. He continued to teach in Room
3, only to fifth graders.
On the back wall of his
classroom is a collection of
class photos, all of them. Every
class Mr. Olson has had is on
that wall. In all, over 1,000 students have had the privilege of being part of Mr. Olson’s class. And he remembers every one of them.
By Rick Curiel
Editor@thedinubasentinel.com
“I just thought it was a great experience and so when I started teaching I wanted to take kids starting on day one."
-Greg Olson 6th Grade Teacher
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Making a splash
DHS swim team looking to make strides this year Sports, Page B1
