Mid Valley Times 11-5-20 E-edition
P. 1

Thursday, November 5, 2020
50 cents
Ontiveros captures Sanger mayor race
Vol. 2, No. 19
Hurtado, Martinez retain council seats, Tuttle wins in Reedley while Launer, Nerio-Guerrero lead in Dinuba races By Jon Earnest
counted in District 3, incum- bent Dan- iel Mar- tinez had 1,459 votes (64.76 per- cent) to 793 votes (35.20 per- cent) for
2,276 votes (42.06 per- cent) for Baker. Two other seats were up for new four-year terms this fall, but in- cumbents Bob Beck (District 3)
Mid Valley Times
Challenger Eli Ontiveros defeated incumbent Frank Gonzalez in his bid to become Sanger's next mayor, but it appears that the winner will continue to serve only a two- year term.
Ontiveros, current District 4 council member, had 3,290 votes (53.39 percent) to 2,863 (46.46 percent) for Gonza- lez, seeking his third term as mayor. All eight precincts had reported as of 10 p.m. on elec- tion night.
Mea- sure H, the initiative seeking to extend the Sanger mayor's term in of- fice from two to four years, was
solidly
beaten by a 63 to 37 percent margin with all eight pre- cincts reported as of 10 p.m.
Sanger also had contests for City Council Districts 1 and 3, and both incumbents
went on to
post con-
vincing vic-
tories. In
District 1,
appointed
incumbent
Esmeralda
Hurtado
had 662
votes (60.07
percent) to
435 votes
(39.47 percent) for challenger Fernando Lopez Jr. with all three precincts reporting.
With the lone precinct
Daniel Martinez
Matthew Tuttle
Eli Ontiveros
Esmeralda Hurtado
challenger Kevin Thomas
Carter.
•••
Meanwhile, in Reedley, newcomers Ken Baker and Matthew Tuttle were vying to succeed Frank Pinon for the District 1 seat on the Reedley City Council. With all eight of the precincts reported as of 10 p.m., Tuttle led the way with 3,131 votes (57.86 percent) to
and Anita Betancourt (District 5) were running unopposed.
•••
There were two council
seats up for grab this year in Dinuba. In Ward 1, two candi- dates are battling to succeed vacating council member Jo- ey Morales. With two of three
See ELECTIONonpageA6
Dinuba
Unified
applies for
waiver
Students may return in January
MVT Staff Report
Primary grade students in Dinuba may soon be able to return to in-person instruction as the Dinuba Unified School District is in the process of applying for a waiver to bring students back safely.
According to a letter post- ed on the district’s website, if the waiver is approved, in- person instruction in Dinuba may begin as soon as Janu- ary 2021. The district plans to bring back students in grades transitional kindergarten through sixth, with a distance learning option for students
See DUSDonpageA2
Calm under pressure
Sanger boy helps his grandmother after she falls
By Rick Curiel
Mid Valley Times
A Sanger grandmother is recovering from a fall at home thanks to the calm re- sponse of one young man — her 7-year-old grandson, Noah.
On the weekend of Oct. 24, Javier Zarate and his wife, Becky, of Sanger went away for a much needed weekend vacation to the coast. The va- cation had been in the works for some time and before leaving for their trip to Mor- ro Bay, the Zarates went over what to do in the case of any emergency with their son, Noah.
Noah, a second-grader at Del Rey Elementary School, would stay home with his grandma, who lives with the
Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times
Noah Zarate, 7, of Sanger is happy to spend more time with his grandmother, Donna Reyes, after she returned home from having surgery for a broken femur. Reyes, 89, had a fall on Oct. 24 while home alone with Noah. His response helped ensure that she received the proper medical attention. She is now recovering at home with Noah and his parents.
Zarates at their family home on K Street.
So when Javier received a Facetime call on Saturday
afternoon from Noah, he thought at first that he was just checking in.
“We have a problem,” No-
ah reportedly told his father over the phone, before add-
See GRANDSON on page A18
'Flying on Sunshine' takes flight at Reedley Airport
Electric plane makes first brief aerial trip using newly-installed mobile charging unit
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
Within a matter of hours last week, the Reedley Munic- ipal Airport was stocked with a mobile solar-powered charg- ing unit that set the stage for a brief historic flight over the airport.
The flight and program — dubbed "Flying on Sunshine" by Beam Global, the lead- ing provider of sustainable
technology for electric ve- hicle charging — only lasted a few minutes on Oct. 29 but marked another milestone in the Sustainable Aviation Proj- ect of electric aircraft. It's a partnership between the cit- ies of Reedley and Mendota and New Vision Aviation that eventually will bring electric plane flights from the cities and training of pilots with Reedley College.
This achievement began one night earlier, when Beam Glob- al installed the charging unit in front of the main terminal of- fice at the airport, just south of the main hangar. Moments before the flight, the Pipistrel Alpha electric airplane was
fully charged from the unit and headed out onto the runway. Pilot Joseph Oldham, presi- dent and CEO for New Vision aviation, then took the quietly- running plane up for the brief flight over the area.
"It's challenging to install charging infrastructure at re- gional airports," Oldham said in a news release. "Flying on Sunshine using these rap- idly deployed, transportable changing units works for us because it allows for rapid de- ployment of electric aircraft charging support concurrent with electric ground vehicles.
"It can turn regional local
SeeFLIGHTonpage A18
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
A Pipistrel Alpha electric airplane, right, received a charge from the newly-installed Beam Global EV ARC solar-powered charging unit prior to its flight over Reedley Municipal Airport on Oct. 29. It was the first flight taken using the mobile solar charging unit.
Classifieds - A9 Directory - A10
Legals - A12-15 Sports - A9
Lifestyle - A7-8 Lights & Sirens - A3 Health & Fitness - A16-17 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4


































































































   1   2   3   4   5