Page 7 - Reedley Exponent 10-18-18 E-edition

The Reedley Exponent PB anorama
Section | Thursday, October 18, 2018 www.reedleyexponent.com
A successful night for Reedley Fire
Smiling faces from this year's Fiesta Parade
See B2 and B8
Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654
The View From Here
The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy for the city of Reed- ley. I had the opportunity to attend sev- eral events in town starting off with the annual Dia- per Derby at
Juanita Adame
By Juanita Adame
Juanita@midvalleypublishing.com
It was visible from blocks away- a large American flag hang- ing nearly 100-feet in the air, wav- ing atop the extended ladder of Reedley Fire's engine 131 on the evening of Oct. 11.
"We thought maybe a couple people would be here and we fig- ured, why not lets go check it out," said Heather Emerson. "And yeah, there are so many people here."
Emerson was among the many people who showed up to the an- nual open house event hosted by the Reedley Fire Department.
Jerry Isaak, fire chief for the Reedley Fire Department, said the event was a tremendous suc- cess with nearly 1,500 people in attendance.
"There was a fire safety trailer simulating a fire inside of a smoke- filled home, a smoke-filled school bus, a fire suppression prop allow- ing children to put out a house fire and so much more," he said.
Chief Issak said other events
See FIRE page B2
the Sierra View Homes, followed by Reedley Fire's annual Open House downtown.
I spoke to several people there who told me they were surprised at how many people as well as other departments showed up. Reedley Fire Chief, Jerry Isaak said that 1,500 people attended this year and it was a huge suc- cess.
I had a good time taking pic- tures of families interacting with fire personnel. One of the demon- strations that stood out to me was the "smoke" filled school bus. Basi- cally a school bus with a fog ma- chine made to simulate a smoke filledroom. Participantsentered the bus through the back door and walked straight to the front of the bus, sounds easy enough, right? That's what I thought at first.
I walked up the stairs and into the bus. There were a few guid- ing lights but those soon became lost in the smoke. What struck me is how quickly my brain became confused as to which way to go.
I mean logically I knew to walk straight ahead, but my brain was almost trying to put together a sense of dimension before I con- tinued walking. When I finally exited the bus, I had a whole new appreciation for what fire per- sonnel are put through when they enter smoke filled rooms with no visibility. Thank you to our local firefighters for all they do and the dangers they encounter while on fires. And congratulations to Reedley Fire on a successful night.
Juanita Adame / The Exponent
ABOVE: The large American flag displayed during Reedley Fire's annual open house on Oct. 11
Photos by Juanita Adame / The Exponent
ABOVE: Albert Rodriguez, an EMT with Sequoia Safety Council handed out stick- ers during Reedley Fire's Open House.
LEFT: MichellePriestandHeatherEmersonposedforaphotowiththeirfamilies on the evening of the open house event.
Reedley High's Class of '41
Photo Contributed
ABOVE: The Reedley High Class of 1941 celebrated their 77th reunion on Oct. 13, guests enjoyed lunch and memories with friends. Pictured from left are Laverne Wyro Youngberg, Harry Nicholas, Leona Penner Dick, Kenne Preheim, Simona Huerta-Zavala, Marjorie Blaine and Frances Tunnel Borton.
Babies race in Diaper Derby
Juanita Adame / The Exponent
ABOVE: Babies dashed to the finish line during the annual Diaper Derby on Oct. 12 held at the Sierra View Homes. The yearly event draws a large crowd of specta- tors, family and friends.
Photo Contributed
ABOVE: Jeremy Salas practicing for his upcoming performance.
RIGHT: Cast members for Smokey Joe's Cafe pose for pictures.
Smokey Joe's Cafe debuts this week
By Juanita Adame
Juanita@midvalleypublishing.com
The River City Theatre in down- town Reedley was bustling with ex- citement as last minute preparations took place on the evening of Oct. 11 for the debut of their latest show, Smokey Joe's Cafe on Oct. 19.
Inside, cast members and staff were busy painting, sewing and practicing their musical numbers.
"I'm going over the music for Loving You," said Jeremy Salas. "It's one of the ballads for the show, I'm in the background for this one but I do have a couple of solo songs."
Salas sat in one of the booths of the theatre with his musical note- book open and said he's been want- ing to be a part of Smokey Joe's Cafe for quite some time.
"I am excited, I've actually been wanting to do this show since 2002," he said. "This is the first time I've performed Smokey Joe's Cafe, but its my third time performing here."
“It's really fun to see the history of these costumes, it's like these clothes tell a story."
– Jocelyn Balladarez Costume Design
At the table across from Salas, costume designer Jocelyn Ballad- arez concentrated on the meticu- lous details of tailoring the various dresses and shirts for the show.
"This is my first time costuming a show, I've had a lot of sewing expe- rience since the 5th grade," she said.
"And I learned how to use a sewing machine when I was a sophomore in high school."
Balladarez said she feels hon- ored to be part of the show and her goal is to make all cast members look and feel great in their costumes.
"It's really fun to see the history on some of these costumes to see where stuff has been stitched or where things have been altered," she said. "It's kind of like these clothes tell me a bit of a story."
Tidy Gill , director for the show, said that Smokey Joe's is a jukebox musical and has the theme of Rock N' Roll.
"I've directed several jukebox musicals and they always have a theme," she said. "There's no plot, there's no written dialogue except one song."
Smokey Joe's will debut at 8 p.m. on Oct. 19 and shows will run through Nov. 4. For a full list of showtimes and ticket information visit ReedleyRiverCityTheatre.org or call (559) 638-6500.