Page 1 - Reedley Exponent 7-19-18 E-edition

GATE program reaches ‘infinity and beyond’
Panorama
Reedley College to honor latest athletic HOF inductees Aug. 4
Sports
Vol. 129, No. 29 | Thursday, July 19, 2018
www.reedleyexponent.com
Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654 | 50 cents Police: Reedley woman killed 2 children, self
Children found drowned
in apartment unit July 9
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
Autopsies of a woman and her two young children found dead July 9 in their Reedley apartment have confirmed evidence on the scene that the children were drowned and the mother committed suicide by hanging.
Meanwhile, friends of the family have started a GoFundMe page in an effort to raise $10,000 as a goal to transfer the victims
to Mexico to be buried. As of July 17, nearly $3,800 had been raised.
The Reedley Police Department said in a July 11 news release that 32-year-old Vera Lucia Diaz Nunez died by hanging herself in the bedroom sometime after she drowned her children — 4-year-old son Octavio Far- fan Diaz and 21-month-old daughter Miranda
Farfan Diaz — in the apartment’s bathroom. “According to the coroner, it was any- where from four to eight hours [from the deaths to discovery of the bodies],” Reedley Police Chief Joe Garza said July 12. Nunez’s husband, also the children’s father, discov-
ered the bodies and called police.
A news release from police said officers
found the children lying on the floor in the bathroom when they arrived. The children had been removed from the bathtub by the father, who found them there when he re- turned from work. The father moments ear- lier found his wife hanging in the bedroom, cut her down and laid her on the floor.
The news release stated that police inter- views during the investigation revealed that Vera Diaz Nunez had recently been suffering from depression. The department had not had any previous contact with Diaz Nunez or the family and there had been no prior calls for
See DEATHS on page A2
KCUSD approves $124.4m budget
By Jodie Reyna
Mid Valley Publishing
The Kings Canyon Unified School District governing board ap- proved a $124.4 million budget at its June 26 meeting.
It’s a slight increase from the 2017-19 budget of $121 million. Over- all, the school district is in good fis- cal standing, according to Dr. John Quinto, assistant superintendent of business services.
“The governing board has a long history of ensuring fiscal stability,” he said. “Our multi-year projections are optimistic.”
About $24.2 million in revenues is designated to improving servic-
See BUDGET on page A3
CPR from
officers helps
save woman
Staff Report
Two Reedley police officers helped save a 61-year-old woman from drowning on July 16 by per- forming cardiopulmonary resus- citation on her after she was un- responsive when pulled from the Kings River near Reedley Beach.
Reedley police said in a news report that officers Anthony Walk- er and Daniel Ybarra arrived on the scene shortly after 6 p.m. af- ter receiving a call of a possible drowning. The officers found the woman was not breathing and ad- ministered CPR until she started breathing on her own. The woman
See RESCUE on page A2
A GoFundMe page has been established to help pay for expenses to send Vera Lucia Diaz Nunez, Octavio 4-year-old Farfan Diaz and 21-month-old Miranda Farfan Diaz to Mexico to be buried. As of July 17, $3,753 out of an initial $10,000 goal has been raised. To donate, go online to gofundme.com/funeral-expenses-farfan-family.
State dominance in trap shoot
Immanuel High School wins at first California competition
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
Immanuel High School is ahead of the curve in the fast- growing sport of trap shooting.
The school’s club team — one of nine among California high schools in 2018 – captured first place out of eight competing high school teams at the California State High School Clay Tar- get League’s state championship on June 2 at Kingsburg Gun Club.
Immanuel’s team total of 445 (out of 500 possible) points was three points ahead of Calvary Chapel High School from Santa Ana. Rounding out the top five in state were Potter Valley High School in Mendocino County, Orland High School in Glenn County and Calvary Chapel Christian School in Downey.
“The competing and winning is good — it’s fun to do all
See IMMANUEL on page A6
ABOVE: Immanuel High School’s trap shoot club team captured the inaugural state championship competition at the Kings- burg Gun Club on June 2. Pictured are (from left) assistant coach Brett Philpott, Parker Philpott, Makaila Hall, Carissa Hall, Colton Vogt, and head coach/adviser Bill Vogt.
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
LEFT: Colton Vogt holds some of his indi- vidual hardware won this past season. Vogt placed first in state high gun overall and male categories and also was first in high gun average and high gun average male.
Bill Vogt / Photo Contributed
Firefighters put out blaze at 14th Street structure
Reedley firefighters quickly put out a fire that broke out in a back building at 1550 14th St. shortly before 9 a.m. on July 17. One unit responded to the blaze, which torched the back building and burned part of a fence adjacent to an alley. Immediate action by firefighters doused the flames and pre- vented fire from spreading to adjoining structures. The fire caused about $2,000 in damage to the fence and yard equipment. Also damaged in the building was a refrigerator-freezer. Chief Jerry Isaak said the cause of the blaze is undetermined.
LEFT: Flames shoot from the back building and burn a fence surrounding the property. The burn damage was limited to that area of fencing.
RIGHT: Reedley firefighters check out hot spots inside the burned structure after the initial fire was extinguished.
Photos by Jon Earnest / The Exponent
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