Page 7 - Mid Valley Times 1-7-21 E-edition

Thursday, January 7, 2021
The View From Here
Juanita Adame
A year in review, looking back at 2020
There is aphotoofa young girl on Christ- mas morn- ing. She looks vi- brant and comfort- able. Sit-
ting with her legs crossed near a Christmas tree, dressed in her pajamas, she holds up one of her newly opened gifts. She smiles as she poses for the photo.
A little more than 24-hours after that photo was taken, that young girl- so full of life, would be gone.
Allison Chang was killed in a traffic accident along with her cousins, Linda Chang and Christopher Vang. (See page A1 for sto- ry.)
Christopher was only 27, Linda was 21, and Allison or “Allie” as she was known to her family and friends, was only 17.
It was a few days after the accident that officials confirmed that Allison was a student at Sanger High School.
Allison was involved in various activities and known by many.
“Anyone who has spent any time with our family knows that this young lady Allison Chang is our “third daughter” and sister to Lau- ren and Leah,” said Dawn Pearson.
“It is with devastating sadness and overwhelming loss that we have had to say goodbye to this amazing young soul after she and three members of her fam- ily were recklessly taken away from us all by a driver who made a choice to speed through a red light fleeing from police the night after Christmas.”
Here at the Mid Valley Times we know Dawn. She works as a photography and journalism teacher at Sanger High. Dawn shared that Allison was a leader in the journalism community.
It is never easy losing a loved one, especially those who were so young and still had so much to live for.
To the Sanger High community, to the fam- ily of these young people taken too soon, to Dawn, to Leah and Lauren and to all the journalism students at Sanger High, we mourn with you. We assure you the loss of your beloved Allie is felt not just in Sanger but throughout Fresno County as well.
We will do our best as journalists to continue Al- lie's legacy, and to bring awareness to the dangers of illegal street racing.
Rest in peace Allison, Linda, and Christopher, you will never be forgotten.
A longtime and popular Sanger business announced in July that they would be closing their doors. The Sanger Nursery sign had been a familiar sight on Jensen for many years. The longtime busi- ness was home to hardware and insecticies and closed during the summer.
August 2020
From left, Reedley High students Gabriel Badilla and Emily White succesfully passed the FFA's Unmanned Aircraft Certificate test. Both students are part of Reedley College ROP and were enrolled in the Flight Science program. To be eligible for a remote pilot cer- tificate, students were required to be at least 16 years old, able to read, write, speak, and understand English, and be in a physical and mental condition to safely fly a unmanned aircraft.
July 2020
Members of the Community Garden located between Orange Cove and Reedley posed for a photo with Nick Lopez, an Eagle Scout who worked on building garden boxes for the seniors who help take care of the center.
Larry Nakamura, a well known Reedley High School teacher, died in early July. Nakamura was well known in both com- munities as a tough but under- standing coach, teacher and leader.
Kaylee Ventura started her 2nd grade distance learning class with a thumbs up. Ventura was one of many students from the Kings Can- yon Unified School District who began the school year online.
October 2020
September 2020
American Legion Dinuba Alta Post-19 Commander Jacob Huerta and Adjutant Joe T. Rivera presented a check for $1,000 to Wall Di- rector Moses Ibarra and Finance Officer Frank Nunez. They were surrounded by volunteers from Dinuba Post-19, Vietnam Veterans of American Chapter 646 are donating $5,000 to also help complete the project.
LEFT: A health checked is done on a student at the entrance to St. La Salle Catholic School after on campus learning began for students in late September and early October.
RIGHT: A student at Hallmark Charter School and Eagle Scout, completed his Eagle Scout proj- ect on Saturday, Oct. 17, in Sanger. The student, Christian Gonzalez installed a pedestal and laid crushed gravel in front of the building with 12 other boys. During the project the boys discovered a hundred year old time capsule with artifacts dating back to Sanger's early history.