Reedley Exponent 6-14-18 E-edition

St. La Salle Catholic School students enjoy Color Run
A review of local high school champions from 2017-18
Sports
Panorama
Vol. 129, No. 24 | Thursday, June 14, 2018
www.reedleyexponent.com
Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654 | 50 cents Honor Flight trip stirred memories for Turner
Reedley resident served in Air Force in mid-1950s
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
Reedley’s Gordon Turner remains touched by his experience on the Cen- tral Valley Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. on April 9-11.
“It’s hard to describe. We were hon- ored so much,” said Turner, whose ser- vice in the United States Air Force from 1953 to 1957 earned him the distinction of
Zieba receives credential status
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
Reedley City Manager Ni- cole Zieba has joined an exclu- sive club among city managers in Fresno County.
Zieba became the first city manager in Reedley history to earn the des-
ignation of
This is the first of two articles on Reedley veterans who participated in the Central Valley Honor Flight for April. Arthur Johnson will be profiled in The Exponent on Thursday, June 21.
being a Korean War veteran even though he never went overseas. “Getting home [to Fresno], it was amazing at the number of people welcoming us.”
The large welcoming crowd includ- ed Turner’s wife, Yvonne, carrying a sign celebrating the couple’s 65th wed- ding anniversary the day of his return to California. Turner, 85, made the trip with his youngest son, David Turner, serving as his guardian.
Gordon Turner said that Arlington National Cemetery was his most distinct memory from the trip.
“The changing of the guard. That was the most impressive thing,” he said. “Also, just seeing all the monuments
See TURNER on page A8
Yvonne and Gordon Turner posed in their Reedley home with a sign Yvonne displayed for her husband when he re- turned to Fresno from the Central Valley Honor Flight on April 11.
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Completing the quest
“Credentialed
City Man-
ager” by the
International
City/County
Management
Association in
Washington,
D.C. Zieba
has been with
Reedley for almost seven years and was the first female city manager in the city’s history.
“I think it’s important for every city manager to stay as current as they can in our pro- fession, which changes so rap- idly,” said Zieba, who took an online exam and submitted an application in December. “I feel like it’s really important to know the changes [that] are going on in the profession and I don’t be- come stagnant.”
Zieba and Alex Henderson of Kingsburg are the only two city managers in Fresno County currently holding the credential designation. In addition, Zieba is the only female city manager in the San Joaquin Valley to be credentialed, a designation that is renewed on an annual basis.
Zieba called the process to earn the credential a “really rigorous” assessment from a
See ZIEBA on page A8
Reedley Middle
College High School
graduates 32 from
its Class of 2018
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
The 32 members of Reedley Middle College High School’s Class of 2018 — the school’s third graduating class — is leaving a mark of overall excellence for other classes to match.
Alejandro Juarez, school admin- istrator, described their achievemens during the June 6 ceremony at Reedley High School’s Performing Arts Theatre.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this class has the highest scores in the district and all neighboring districts, with 96 percent of the class exceeding or meet- ing the state’s standards in English and 54 percent exceeding or meeting the state’s standards in mathematics,” he said. “Just to give you an idea of their extraordinary accomplishment, the state average for English language arts is about 59 percent and for math is about 31 percent.”
The RMCHS graduates have gotten a jump on other schools’ high school graduations by already completing an average of 60 college units, according to Juarez.
“For these students, this isn’t just a celebration of potentially being the first in their family to graduate from high school, but also the first in their family to have enrolled in college and completed almost two years worth of a college education,” he said. “All of this while still in high school.”
One graduate who wasn’t the first in his family to graduate was Guillermo Viramontes. His older brother, Peter Vi- ramontes, was a member of the school’s first graduating class in 2016.
“I’m overfilled with joy,” Viramon- tes said. “My family and friends came and we’re having a good time. It’s been really rough but it’s all satisfying at the
See GRADUATION on page A2
Nicole Zieba
MacIntyre entertains in Sierra View return
ABOVE: From left, Reedley Middle College High School graduates Jeremy Hammond, Jossette Gonzalez, Jose Ramirez, Josselyn Hurtado Soto and Karina Carrillo-Cortez stood at attention during the national anthem June 6 during the school’s third an- nual graduation ceremony at Reedley High School’s Performing Arts Theatre.
LEFT: Graduate Jose Ramirez posed for a photo after receiving his diploma from John Campbell, superin- tendent of the Kings Canyon Unified School District.
Photos by Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Classified - A6-7
Directory - A5
Legals - A7
LEFT: On June 9, singer Scott MacIntyre performed at the Sierra View Homes Annual Auxiliary Spring Benefit Dinner in the retirement community’s main dining room. MacIntyre — a finalist on “American Idol” in 2009 who was born blind and is a two-time recipient of a kidney transplant — made his second appearance at Sierra View Homes after performing in 2013. Morethan200peopleattendedthe2018fundraiser,whichfeaturedasilentauction anddrawingforprizes.Moneyraised fromtheevent goestobenefitresidentsofSierraViewHomes.
ABOVE: MacIntyre visits with dinner attendees before his concert.
ABOVE RIGHT: Barbara Alatorre, director of nursing at Sierra View Homes, looks at some of the silent auction items.
Photos by Jon Earnest / The Exponent Sports - B4-5 Lights & Sirens - A3 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4