Page 7 - Mid Valley Times 7-2-20 E-edition

Thursday, July 2, 2020
The View From Here
The pile of burnt pro- duce boxes was nearly 10 ft. tall.
I stood
there watch-
ing a fire
truck douse
water on that
big mess of
half charred
half wet cardboard from an aerial ladder.
The day was already hot. The large industrial fire at the Maxco Supply Plant in Reedley had been burning for nearly 12 hours. Accord- ing to reports, the call for service was made sometime around 2 a.m.
As I was out there snap- ping some photos, a man by the name of Roy Ortega came and introduced him- self to me.
“Hi, I’m Roy, I am the plant manager,” he said. “Would you like to come to my office so we can talk about the fire?”
“Definitely,” I said.
As I walked into the of- fice at Maxco, I noticed em- ployees were still hard at work. They had a job to do and they were obviously not going to let some fire stop them from doing it.
Ortega told me he’s been with the company for 40 years. He said driving up to the fire he couldn’t believe his eyes, the fire was enor- mous.
Back outside, local fire- fighters looked tired. Tem- peratures that day were well into the 100s. There was some slight humidity in the air which made the heat worse.
Crews worked tirelessly to contain and extinguish that fire and were finally able to go home some 12-13 hours after it started.
A separate type of fire was burning on one of our social media platforms. This one had to do with teens ad- vocating for the Black Lives Matter movement.
A movement that by all accounts should be empha- sized and talked about no matter what city we live in.
These young adults were upset because they felt we didn’t bring enough aware- ness to the cause.
First of all, I do com- mend young people who want to bring awareness to any cause, especially one as important as this.
At one point on our Ins- tagram page, the thread of messages became vulgar and crossed over into cyber bullying.
There was name calling and plenty of outbursts and explicit language.
I had been in contact with one of the young ladies and
Local vendors prepare for busy 4th of July weekend
SEE COLUMN on page A8
Former Sanger student, Bergan Lashlee qualified for the Dean's List at Belmont Universtiy in Nashville, Tn.
Eligibiliy is based on a minimum course load of 12 hours and quality grade point average of 3.5 with no grade below a C.
Approximately 53 per- cent of Belmont's 6,313 un- dergraduate students quali- fied for the Spring 2020 Dean's List.
"This achievement for
Juanita Adame
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Publishing
The day was just begin- ning for Hermas Mills, pastor at the River Harvest Church in Reedley, when customers began to show up to her fire- works booth at the intersec- tion of Manning and I Streets in Reedley on the afternoon of June 29.
“People have been coming by a lot,” said Mills. “While we were setting up, even before we could sell people were al- ready starting to show up at our booth.”
Mills anticipated a good turnout based on the number of customers they'd helped in just a few hours.
“This should be a good year, that is what TNT is tell- ing us,” she said. “The fire- works we have for sale here
are everything from dollar poppers all the way up to $300 boxes,” she said.
The city of Reedley will be hosting a virtual fireworks celebration via Facebook Live on July 2 starting at 10 a.m.
Fireworks will be allowed in the city limits by resi- dents and booths will be open through July 6.
The city is also asking resi- dents to use caution when han- dling fireworks and to use the proper disposal methods.
It is urged that all used fireworks be picked up from the streets, sidewalks, and gutters. Keep water handy in case of an emergency, and dis- pose of all used fireworks in the brown trash can.
For more information visit reedley.ca.gov.
More photos & information on A8
'LNTC' Class of 2020
Contributed
Leadership Northern Tulare County Class of 2020 are pictured. From left to right are Noe Prado, Jacqueline Montejano, David Vasquez, Lourdes Chavez, Silvia Munoz and Tulare County Board of Supervisor, Eddie Valero.
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
From left, Karen Hatton, Hermas Mills (Pastor at the River Harvest Church) and Carlos Klein posed for a photo on the afternoon of June 29 during the booth's opening.
Cat House on Kings holds annual fundraiser
Contributed
The Cat House on the Kings is located in Parlier and has rescued nearly 800 cats and kittens.
Mid Valley Times
A ceremony commemo- rating the Leadership North- ern Tulare County Program Class of 2020 was held on June 18 at Ridge Creek Golf Course in Dinuba.
The graduates are Lourdes Chavez, Family and Children's Ministry Liaison; Silvia Munoz, Ambulance Di- vision Technician for the City of Dinuba; Noe Prado, Social Worker - Dinuba Unified; Jacqueline Montejano, Spe- cialist Services Assistant for DUSD and David Vasquez, fire batallion - Tulare County Fire Department.
Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified School District Superinten- dent and steering commit- tee member, Yolanda Val- dez, gave the welcoming ad- dress. Tulare County Board of Supervisor for Area 4, Eddie Valero, also spoke and the keynote speaker for the event was Tulare County Su- pervising Deputy District At- torney, Erica Gonzalez,
The individuals com- pleted the requirements and curriculum for the LNTC program. They participated in leadership development activities, learned about their
See GRADUATES on page A8
Staff Report
The Cat House on the Kings is having a fundrais- er to raise money for their rescue.
“Every animal we take in costs us money,” the res- cue center wrote in a state- ment. “Money for vet care, for food, for litter, and vac- cines.”
The rescue is hoping to
raise at least $30,000 to help cover some of those costs.
“At The Cat House on the Kings, we have rescued over 800 cats and kittens so far this year, because sav- ing lives is at the top of our priority list,” the statement read in part.
For information on how to donate, visit cathouseon- thekings.com/contribute.
Sanger student earns
Dean's List
Photo of the week
Contributed
A photo sent in by Elena Cortez Hernandez shows her parents in the early 1980s. "My parents immigrated from Mexico," said Hernandez. "They raised eight children and purchased their first home in Reedley. We helped pick grapes and oranges, we are proud Reedley citizens and attended KCUSD schools." Have a photo you'd like featured? Email juanita@midvalleypublishing. com.
Contributed
the spring semester indi- cates that these students have placed a high priority on their work at Belmont and have invested time and energy in their studies," said Dr. Thomas Burns, Belmont Provost.
"It is our strong belief that consistent application in this manner will reap great benefits, which will equip them for a lifetime of learn- ing and growing."
The university is known for being the location that hosted the 2020 presidential debate.