Reedley Exponent 11-15-18 E-edition

RHS boys’ postseason run ends in section semifinals
Sports
Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654 | 50 cents Community turns out in support of shelter
Solar facilities approved for 11 KCUSD locations
Panorama
More than 100 attend open
house event for Faith House
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing
After three years of planning, obtaining state grant funding, overcoming resistance by residents and hard work by volunteers, the Faith House emergency facility was introduced to the community during an open house and dedication event the evening of Nov. 8.
More than 100 people visited the property at 1697 W. Huntsman Ave. to dine on tacos prepared by Ortega’s Ta- queria in Reedley, tour the two-story house and grounds
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Vol. 129, No. 46 | Thursday, November 15, 2018
and watch a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring organiz- ers and city leaders involved in the process.
Ken Baker, director of operations for Hope Now Min- istries that is running the shelter, said he didn’t want the focus of the evening to be on him or his church. Baker is the pastor of Heritage Church in Reedley.
“I want it to be about this ministry, and all the people behind the scenes that make this ministry happen,” he said.
Baker praised Olivia Padilla, who is the on-site man- ager of the facility designed to provide temporary hous- ing for needy, qualifying families for up to 30 days. He said Padilla was a blessing to him.
“I can’t imagine running this with anybody else,”
See FAITH HOUSE on page A6
Ken Baker, the director of Hope Now Ministries and pastor of Heritage Church in Reedley, stood with Olivia Pa- dilla, the on-site manager of the Faith House emergency shelter, during a Nov. 8 open house dedication ceremony for the building, located at 1697 W. Huntsman Ave. in southwest Reedley.
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Soleno,
Gomez
increase
vote leads
Staff Report
Continued counting of provi- sional ballots have increased the leads held by Ray Soleno and Mag- dalena Gomez in two notable local elections races.
Soleno — who has served 32 years on council including six as mayor — saw his lead in the Reed- ley City Council District 4 race increase slightly as he has 1,970 votes (54.50 per- cent) compared to 1,625 votes (44.95 percent) for challenger Lee Ky. There have been 20 write-in ballots turned in.
Gomez saw
her lead grow
over incumbent
Ron Nishinaka in
the race for State
Center Commu-
nity College District trustee for Area 4. In the first round of votes tallied, the Selma resident led by 230 votes in the district combin- ing Fresno and Tulare counties. Through Nov. 9, that lead has grown to 313 votes.
Gomez now has 9,157 votes (50.73 percent) to 8,844 votes (48.99 percent) for Nishinaka. There were 49 write-in ballots submitted.
Fresno County is scheduled to update its vote count at the end of this week. Since Gomez has gained votes in the first recount, she like- ly has solidified her chances at winning the trustee seat.
All general election results will officially be certified at the end of the month.
Updated local and state races — through Nov. 12 counts in Con- gressional and legislative races — can be found on Page A2.
A day to ‘Paint the R’
Ray Soleno
Group makes climb to restore iconic letter
on Campbell Mountain
By Juanita Adame
juanita@midvalleypublishing.com
Shirley Ito, waiting with several volunteers at a base camp just out- side the city of Reedley on the morn- ing of Nov. 10, said the entire “Paint the R” project began with an inno- cent comment made by one of her grandchildren back in 2015.
“My grandchildren live close to the base, and they thought it was a P,” said Ito. “I thought to myself, ‘Oh, no, we need to fix this.’”
Ito then called the property owner, Billy Freeman, and received permission to send up a crew of vol- unteer workers to repaint the R.
Three years later, Ito said their group of volunteers were once again headed up the mountain for another round of restorations.
The R letter is made up of large boulders covered in white paint. It is estimated to be at least 85 feet in width and 115 feet in length.
It is visible to residents along the northern part of the city and has been a staple in the community of Reedley for many years.
“My brother in 1965 painted it, and it’s been painted many times in between,” she said. “Ninety to one hundred people helped us when we went up in 2015, and now Reedley 4H and the Reedley Explorers the first year approached me and I said ‘great,’ and this year 4-H took over.”
Carlos Lopez, Reedley High’s FFA adviser, told the group at base camp that they were participating in something pretty historic.
“Our team, our school, our town,” said Lopez. “The history of the R is, well, I talked to several people and they told me different things on why
See PAINT THE R on page A8
Magdalena Gomez
Juanita Adame / The Exponent
The eastern valley of Fresno County loomed in the distance while volunteers slapped on fresh coats of white paint on the large boulders on Campbell Mountain on Nov. 10. The “Paint the R” project attracted more than 100 people to help paint the iconic letter on the boulders, estimated to be at least 85 feet in width and 115 feet in length. See related story on Page B1.
A salute to veterans at Reedley College
College hosts annual ceremony
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
Two days following an emotional and often-divisive midterm general election, three area veterans shared about the traits that bring Americans together.
It was part of Reedley College’s annual Veterans Day Ceremony, held at the college’s Veterans Memorial Park on the east side of campus on Nov. 8.
This year’s event featured three speakers — Ariana Quinonez, the Post-Doctoral Psychological Fel- low at the college; George Willhoite, commander for AMVETS Post 98 in Sanger and third generation military;
and Rev. Franco A. Atkinson Sr., a li- censed minister from Selma who’s a semester away from receiving a sec- ond associate’s degree in psychology.
Atkinson said the voting rights and privileges that Americans have came from those who served.
“I came back to school because I wanted to know what people have been taught,” he said. “We just voiced our opinion a couple of days ago. Whether or not your candidate won, it doesn’t matter. The fact is, if you voiced your opinion, it’s a right you have because of a U.S. veteran. I truly believe this.”
Atkinson said he was drawn to psychology because of his six years in the Army, including service at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
See VETERANS on page A2
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
The Reedley High School Navy Junior ROTC color guard unit presented the colors at the start of a Veterans Day Ceremony at Reedley College on Nov. 8.
Exponent office closed on Nov. 22
The business office of The Exponent will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 22, in obser- vance of Thanksgiving Day.
There will be early dead- lines this week because of ear- ly production. Classified liner ads and legal notices are due by noon on Thursday, Nov. 15. Regular and classified display ads also are due by noon on Thursday, Nov. 15.
The Exponent’s office will reopen for business at 8 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 23.
Classifieds - B5-6
Directory - A5 Legals - B7-8
Sports - B3-4 Lights & Sirens - A3 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4