YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 20, No. 20
READ FAMILY-FRIENDLY NEWS AT WWW.THEPRESS.NET
May 18, 2018
What’s Good For The Goose
Full ride for equestrian star by Aly Brown Staff Writer
Cecily Hayes recently became Independence High School’s first student to receive a full-ride scholarship to Fresno State, and, appropriately, she has her horse to thank. With a trainer for a mom, Cecily grew up riding horses and soon became involved in the competitive show circuit. But while she trained at higher levels, she struggled to keep pace with the traditional public school schedule. “I came to Independence, and it’s been incredible,” Cecily said. “Going to school every day was not working with competition schedule, and Mrs. Toelkes has been so amazing in helping me balance the life of working and riding as well as getting all of my work done to get the grades I needed to land a scholarship.” The last two years have centered around training her first competition horse Juliet, who Cecily said played a major role in helping her achieve the scholarship and teaching her patience and perseverance. “I was scouted at a competition. I went to medal finals and came out and the Fresno coach approached me and asked if I would consider joining their team,” Cecily said.
An injured gosling named Stumpie finds a safe haven, new home with local couple. Page 5
A Super Hero, Special Day Photo by Tony Kukulich
Cecily Hayes became the first student from Independence High School to achieve a full-ride equestrian scholarship to attend Fresno State. The offer of a scholarship was introduced in October, and she spent time touring campuses. But in the end, Cecily said Fresno State felt like the place she needed to be. She officially signed her letter of intent on Fri-
day, May 11, while standing in front of Independence High with her horse, her family, school officials and a handful of her biggest see Star page 34
Fire district may increase aid fees “ In the time since the original ordinance was
by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
The East Contra Costa Fire Protection District (ECCFPD) Board may increase its fees for providing medical aid to offset growing labor and equipment costs. The yet-to-be-approved changes would alter the fee from $337 per incident to $289.07 for the first half-hour and $263.37 for each subsequent half-hour the district spends giving aid. The current fee is charged to most people receiving medical aid from district firefighters. “In the time since the original ordinance was adopted, the district has experienced increased
adopted, the district has experienced increased labor costs and gained greater insight into the cost of wear and tear on district equipment.
labor costs and gained greater insight into the cost of wear and tear on district equipment,” said Fire Chief Brian Helmick, who noted that the current fee structure is falling short of expectations. The district initially budgeted $190,000 in projected revenues from the fee for the 2017-2018
fiscal year, but it has actually garnered less than $50,000, Helmick said. This lower-than-anticipated return can be attributed to several factors, including delayed implementation of the program and a smaller number of billings than was anticipated, Helmick said. The
Celebrate Share your happy news in your hometown newspaper!
Connect with The Press!
Scan QR code with your mobile device.
”
Brian Helmick, ECCFPD fire chief
www.thepress.net/announcements
ECCFPD also doesn’t collect fees on calls handled by mutual or automatic aid resources. The district adopted the fee in February 2016 but has only been actively collecting for about 11 months, due in large part to a strenuous implementation process, Helmick said. “The process for implementing the fee collection was quite involved and required significant staff work and coordination with the district’s vendor for invoicing and collections,” Helmick said. Thus far, the proposed rate hike has been met with mixed reactions. Board member Steve Smith see Aid page 34
Cannibis Tax
www.thepress.net/news/webextras
Tax revenue from the cannabis industry totaled $60.9 million since January.
Lions Club welcomes specialneeds families at annual De Luna Ranch event. Page 10
Tracking BVAL Stars
East County track teams finish regular season in league championship. Page 23 Calendar................................35 Classifieds.............................29 Cop Logs................................33 Entertainment.....................10 Food........................................11 Kid Scoop ...............................9 Milestones............................13 Opinion..................................22 Pets...........................................8 Sports.....................................23
Par Avion
www.thepress.net/news/press_releases
Postal service marks 100th anniversary of air mail with new stamp.