Page 2 - Reedley Exponent 6-7-18 E-edition

Mylar balloons cause of June 1 blackout
Staff Report
A single set of My- lar balloons set off a brief power surge on June 1 that cut power off to about 3,000 Reedley residents for one to two hours.
The blackout occurred shortly after 10:30 a.m. when a string of two balloons came in contact with power lines at an alley on 13th Street be- tween E and F streets. That caused a loud noise as a pow- er line blew and came to rest on a parked vehicle.
“It sounded like a crash,” said Manuel Hernandez, who lives at a neighboring resi- dence at 13th and F streets.
When that line blew, a surge of electricity flowed through power lines and blew out a line near a transformer at 8th Street and North Ave- nue, next to the Reedley Elks Lodge and across the street from Reedley High School. Witnesses heard a loud pop
Obituaries
Paulita Zapata Ibarra
Paulita M. Zapata Ibar- ra of Parlier died May 28. She was 83.
Mrs. Ibarra worked as a medical interpreter for Valley Medical Center.
She is survived by four sons, four daughters, 18 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren.
A Rosary was held June 5 at Wallin’s Parlier Funeral Home. A Funeral Mass was held June 6 at Out Lady of Sorrows Cath- olic Church in Parlier.
Victor Lara Jr.
Victor Lara Jr. of Reed- ley died May 24. He was 38. Mr. Lara worked as a
machine operator.
He is survived by
his wife, three sons, two daughters, one brother, one sister one grandson.
Visitation will be from
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Reedley Fire Chief Jerry Isaak showed burn marks on Mylar bal- loons that caused a June 1 black- out that temporarily cut power to about 3,000 Reedley residents.
and spotted some smoke from one of the power lines. Reedley police respond-
ed to the scene and found the downed line. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. crews repaired the line near the high school, and then fixed the power line on 13th street.
A majority of downtown
See BLACKOUT on page A3
4 to 8 p.m., with a Rosary at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 7, at Farewell Funeral Ser- vice in Reedley. A Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Fri- day, June 8, at the new St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Reedley.
Maximina Martinez
Maximina Martinez of Fresno died May 23. She was 79.
Mrs. Martinez worked as a bookkeeper for Molina Labor Service.
She is survived by her husband, one son, two daughters, three brothers, two sisters, five grandchil- dren and eight great-grand- children.
A Rosary was held June 3 at Wallin’s Parlier Funeral Home in Parlier. A Funeral Mass was held June 4 at Our Lady of Sorrows Catho- lic Church in Parlier.
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Taylor Lovewell, right, adjusted a classmate’s hair on May 31 before the start of the Immanuel High School commencement exercise.
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Kawagoe with the Ed Janzen Student Excellence Award for his practice in citizenship, love for Immanuel, leader- ship and Christian commitment. Kawa- goe also received a plaque for academic achievement in science and mathemat- ics.
Justine Hatch and Anna Nippoldt also gave brief salutatorian addresses. Hatch, who will major in kinesiology in the Reedley College honors program, said that in cooking a sharp knife is important because a dull blade can do more dam- age.
“At Immanuel, they sharpen us rather than leave us dull. I encourage you to be the person that sharpens others,” she said.
Nippoldt, who will attend College of the Sequoias this fall, said that parents and family been the biggest advocates for graduates’ futures.
“To the graduates, desire to strive for wisdom,” she said. “Enjoy the attention and gifts but forget not the advice and life lessons from the experience of your elders.”
In addition to Kawagoe, two students received plaques for their academic achievements. They were Micah Braden
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The Reedley Exponent A2 Thursday, June 7, 2018
IMMANUEL Continued from page A1
coming a neonatal nurse.
Jasneet Kaur Sandhu, who will attend
the University of California Merced this fall to major in psychology, said the final month of school quickly passed.
“I’m kind of nervous, but I feel good,” she said. “I want to be a school psycholo- gist. My AP Psychology really helped
me.”MiRick Tarazon stood next to Sandhu as the students waited to enter the church sanctuary for the ceremony. He’ll attend Fresno State this fall and major in busi- ness management.
“I’m happy with how things went [this year]. I don’t know exactly what I want to do yet in business,” he said.
The class motto for the 2018 gradu- ates is “We agree to disagree.” Camryn Orosco, this year’s class valedictorian, encouraged her fellow graduates to take up that spirit.
“Become competitive. Engage in dis- course of the things you are passionate about,” she said. “Make good mistakes, and embrace controversy when it’s con- structive for all parties involved.”
Orosco — who will attend college at Loyola University in Chicago to major in English and play for the golf team — said that adults have reinforced the idea that this is the most critical stage of gradu- ates’ lives. She said adults stress that the choices they make are the most impor- tant they face because of the impact on the rest of their lives.
“The truth is, they’re the most im- portant choices we have to make right now,” she said. “There are still plenty are of choices to make — who to marry, whether or not to have children, where to live — and we can rest assured that there’s more than enough time to analyze the trade-offs before making them.”
Thomas Kawagoe, one of three saluta- torian speakers, entertained the audience with humor while saying the world “be- longs to the crazies.” Kawagoe, who plans to major in chemistry at Grand Canyon University in Arizona, said each gradu- ate should remember three important things: “One, God loves you. Two, change is a privilege. And three, be crazy about your passions. So as we go into the rest of our lives, hold tight like a lunatic and enjoy the ride.”
Kim Thiesen, principal of Immanu- el Elementary School, later presented
LEFT: Students MiRick Tarazon, left, and Jasneet Kaur Sandhu stood in the hallway of the Reed- ley Mennonite Brethren Church before the start of the May 31 commencement.
LOWER FAR LEFT: Immanuel High School valedictorian Camryn Orosco urged her fellow graduates to be competitive and embrace controversy when it’s constructive for all parties involved.
LOWER NEAR LEFT: Commence- ment speaker C.J. Haydock, for- mer treacher and boys basketball coach at Immanuel, talked
about the Class of 2018. Haydock has been the men’s basketball coach at Fresno Pacific University for three years. Before leaving Immanuel, he was the graduat- ing class’ counselor and guide.
Photos by Jon Earnest / The Exponent
(fine arts) and valedictorian Orosco (lib- eral arts).
Eighteen other graduates received certificates of achievement. They were Kallie Huebert (agricultural science), Pa- mella Hofer (agriculture education), Ka- lina Munro (art), Rilee Breckenridge (Bi- ble), Lauren Belt (choral music), Emilie Ramirez (Christian service), Hatch (eco- nomics), Elena Velez (English literature), Alyssa Regier (English prose), Preston Hajik (government), Preston Pauls (his- tory), Jack Nydam (industrial arts), Nip- poldt (mathematics), Austin Bratton (per- forming arts), Jameson Taves (psychol- ogy), Benjamin Light (science), Amanda Sanchez (Spanish) and Brandon Parkin (theatre).
The school also recognized its top athletes. Brooke Gonsalves was Female Athlete of the Year while Bradley Collins- Dunn and Adam Simonian were the Male Athletes of the Year.
Nearly all graduates have decided to attend universities or community col- leges. David Walstrom plans to enter the U.S. Marine Corps, while Hajik will be on a mission with the Mennonite Disaster Relief/Students International organiza- tion.
Chris Aguirre / The Exponent
Reedley High School’s (from left) Adam Morales, Diego Ranallo, Greg Quintanilla and Justin Lopez smile during a group picture May 31 before the school’s 118th graduation ceremony.
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GRADUATION Continued from page A1
•••
The elation of graduat-
ing was fully appreciated by Claire Santos, one of the Pi- rate Pillars. Before the cer- emony, she said her favorite memories included, as part of the Student Council, to help plan homecoming rallies and other events and “seeing the memories other kids make be- cause of the work that I put in. That’s really awesome.”
She will attend the Univer- sity of California, Santa Bar- bara, major in communica- tions and has plans to obtain a certificate in business.
Commencement, Santos said, “means so much. I’m re-
ally excited. Graduating from Reedley High School is a huge accomplishment and knowing I left my mark here on this school, it’s really great.”
John Ahlin, completing his first year as principal but previously an RHS assistant principal, before the cere- mony described the Class of 2018 as “very respectful” and that “they know what expecta- tions are and are great, loving kids.”
And, though he’d also been an RHS teacher and learning director, Ahlin said watching the seniors graduate as his first as principal was a special moment for him: “When you put kids forward into the com-
See GRADUATION on page A8
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