Mid Valley Times 9-24-20 E-edition

Thursday, September 24, 2020
50 cents
Vol. 2, No. 13
Reedley
Fiesta to
go virtual,
drive-thru
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
It's not your parents' traditional Reedley Fiesta, but alterations to the 2020 annual event will allow residents and visitors to still cel- ebrate the city's popular yearly attraction despite COVID-19 re- strictions.
The 55th annual Fiesta will take place Thursday through Sat- urday, Oct. 8-10, with some signifi- cant changes. The most notable is the parade, which now will be a drive-thru event where the public travels the parade route along G
See FIESTAonpageA2
Miss Dinuba 'triple crown'
Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times
Natalie Gonzalez was crowned this year’s Miss Dinuba by last year’s winner, Katelyn Oyervidez, at a small outdoor pageant on Sept. 19 in rural Dinuba that was livestreamed on Dinuba High School’s D.E.T.V channel on You Tube. Gonzalez, a senior at DHS, was selected over seven other contestants to complete a "Triple Crown" that included princess and queen of the Cinco De Mayo Festival.
Natalie Gonzalez
adds pageant
title to previous
Cinco de Mayo
Festival triumphs
By Rick Curiel
Mid Valley Times
History was made at the 105th Miss Dinuba Pageant, held on Sept. 19 at an outdoor venue east of town, as Dinuba High School senior Natalie Gonzalez was crowned this year’s Miss Dinuba.
In an unprecedented event, held for the first time at an outdoor venue due to the on- going COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s pageant offered Dinuba a traditional mainstay attraction. Events such as the
SeeMISSDINUBAonpage A16
Sanger planning Halloween safe options
By Rick Curiel
Mid Valley Times
In a quarterly report by the Sanger Chamber of Com- merce to the Sanger City Council at the Sept. 17 meet- ing, it was revealed that the city will move forward with a safe option for trick-or-treat- ing next month.
Most years, children are allowed to trick-or-treat through downtown as part of the chamber’s annual event. However, this year, due to the pandemic, the city will be tak- ing a different route.
The chamber will be hav- ing a joint Trunk-or-Treat event with the Sanger Fire Fighters Association and the Sanger Police Officers Asso- ciation on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in down- town Sanger.
The event will be held on N Street between Jensen Av- enue and 7th Street, with ac- cess to the event through Jen- sen Avenue. The event will be held similarly to school food distributions, with partici- pants asked to simply drive through and pop their trunks. The treats, which will be pre- packaged, will then be placed into the trunks to allow for no- contact trick-or-treating.
“I have the mayor and city manager to thank for being able to make this hap- pen,” said Karen Pearson of the chamber. “We want to be
See HALLOWEEN on page A6
Coronavirus Update — The Effort To Reopen Fresno, Tulare Counties
Local schools file waivers
St. La Salle in Reedley will return to in-class live instruction on Sept. 28
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
Despite a slight hiccup early this week, active CO- VID-19 cases and hospital- izations in Mid Valley Times cities continued a gradual decline in Fresno and Tulare counties during an eight-day period.
Meanwhile, the Kings Canyon Unified School Dis-
See COVID-19onpageA6
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Sister Lucy Cassarino, principal at St. La Salle Catholic School in Reedley, wore a mask and held up COVID-19 rules and precautions for visitors to the campus while standing outside the main entrance on Sept. 22. St. La Salle learned on Sept. 22 that the school's request for a waiver to conduct in-person instruction was approved by Fresno County. On-campus live instructions will begin on Monday, Sept. 28.
DUSD superintendent lays out '20-21 goals
By George M. Villagrana
Mid Valley Times
Dinuba Unified School Dis- trict Superintendent, Dr. Joe Hernandez, has five key goals for the school year.
Hernandez presented his goals on Sept. 10 in a Zoom meeting to the Board of Trust- ees, and they were approved.
“I think these goals are more important than ever,” stated Hernandez. “Distance learning has not changed the focus of our goals which are student achievement and school safety. However, dis- tance learning has posed new challenges for us as we ad-
dress these goals.”
With no in-person classes
due to the pandemic, Her- nandez’s first goal is to maxi- mize student achievement through distance learning, hybrid models of learning, or a traditional model of learn- ing. The goal is to accelerate student learning and mitigate any learning losses incurred last spring.
The second goal is to maxi- mize student safety and pro- vide a safe distance learning environment. That will in- clude providing cyber safety for DUSD students, social
See DUSD on page A6
Joe Hernandez superintendent for Dinuba Unified School District, presented his five key goals for the 2020-2021 school year during a Zoom video meet- ing of the DUSD Board of Trustees on Sept. 10.
Dinuba Unified School District / Photo Contributed
Classifieds - A11 Directory - A10 Legals - A12-15
Sports - A9
Lifestyle - A7-8
Lights & Sirens - A3 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4