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What’s Up, Clovis?
CHECK OUT THE BUZZ AROUND TOWN
Don and Kelly Bain owners of Rory’s Inspiration Lapidary Arts at the Saturday Farmers Market in Old Town Clovis.
(Photo by Adam Ricardo Solis)
The following pet have been recently listed as lost on the Clovis Animal Services website! Please consider sharing to help reunite them with their families.
Visit ClovisAnimalServices.com for more information on each pet, to contact the owner directly, or to list a pet as lost or found. Call (559) 3242450.
(Photo courtesy of Clovis Animal Services)
Watering Days
From April 1 through October 31, Clovis residents with EVEN numbered addresses can water outdoor landscaping on Sunday, Wednesday, & Friday. ODD numbered addresses can water Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Please, no watering on Mondays.
If you have questions or would like to request assistance with setting the timers on your sprinkler system, please contact the Public Utilities Department at (559) 3242600.
Sheriff Mims to be Guest Speaker at Clovis Chamber’s Event Congreswoman Visits Clovis Community College
The Clovis Chamber of Commerice announced that Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims will be a guest speaker at the Clovis Leadership Summit event hosted by the Clovis Chamber. Congresswoman Connie Conway stopped by Clovis Community Collge to tour the STEM Summer Exploration Academy on June 30, 2022.
(Photo courtesy of Clovis Community College)
Sierra Vista Mall Serving as Cooling Center
The Sierra Vista Mall will be open to serve residents as a cooling center throughout the Summer anytime if temperatures exceed 105 degrees. It is open Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday from Noon to 6 p.m. Bottled water is available.
Clovis Transit provides rides at no cost and the mall can be accessed via Stageline’s Route 50 or through the use of the City of Clovis’ Round Up service. For info, call (559) 324-2770.
Tarpey Elementary Recognized for Student Council Achievement
Adam Ricardo Solis
@Adamsoliss
At the last council meeting of June for the City of Clovis, the City Council honored another council, the Student Council of Tarpey Elementary for their achievements. Officially, the Student Council received the Civic Learning Award of Excellence from the Judicial Branch of California.
This award was the most prestigious award out of three categories presented to each of the three levels of Elementary, Middle, and High Schools throughout the State of California. Three other schools in CUSD- Garfield Elementary, Woods Elementary, and Red Bank Elementary- also received Awards of Merit, an award presented to twenty different schools throughout the state.
The Award of Excellence presented to Tarpey Elementary was also received by two schools from Orange County. This award was presented to the school because of the civic events and political practices that the Student Council of Tarpey Elementary undertook. Most of the ideas came from Tarpey students themselves according to former Student Council Program Advisor and creator of the Student Council at Tarpey, Dee Dee Jett.
Jett, who started the program seventeen years ago said, “In the beginning it was really like ‘What do you guys wanna do?’ And it was like ‘Well, we wanna do something for 9/11’ and I would say ‘Okay! Let’s call the fire department and see’.” Jett explained that she as well as other advisors like current Student Council Advisor Katy Hunter would merely act as
JT Gomez/Clovis Roundup
Tarpey Elementary students were recognized at the June 27 City Council meeting for receiving the Civil Learning Award of Excellence from the Judicial Branch of California.
mediators between the students and public entities. “My role and I think Katy’s role was to assist the students and what they wanted to do.”
Jett explained, “I feel like it’s important for kids to learn how to be of service..I thought that was one thing our kids could really benefit from, was learning about service.”
Current Student Council Advisor Katy Hunter explained that the kids on the student council worked on a 9/11 memorial, worked on gift baskets for the police and fire departments, in addition to writing letters to veterans, working on a food drive, and participation in a “kids day”.
According to Hunter, being able to be connected to the community helps the students in more ways than one. “I think it makes a big impact on them, especially at their age. There’s not a lot of opportunity for children to get involved in the community. So school’s one of the only ways, especially for kiddos in our area for Tarpey, so having the opportunity to really get involved with government, the community, make that outreach and have a big impact not only on the school but the community as a whole is really impactful I think.”
Principal Tachua Vue of Tarpey Elementary illustrated, “These kids worked so hard that this just validates the work they’ve been doing…Most of all it was about them serving and giving back to the community.”
Tarpey Elementary certainly turned some heads if anything at least in the eyes of the City Council as they saw fit to honor them with a Presentation of Proclamation.
But not only did the school impress government at the local level, but at the state level as well. Being honored with the Civic Learning Award shows the relation between CUSD schools and the State Government, in favor and likeliness of a strong detail to their students.
Adam Ricardo Solis
@Adamsoliss
The Saturday Morning Farmers Market runs from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the heart of Old Town Clovis on Pollasky between 5th and Bullard.
Often overshadowed by the spectacle of the Friday Night Farmers Market, the Saturday morning market continues to provide a more intimate space for the community to connect with vendors.
In contrast to the Friday Night Farmers Market, which provides more of a festival atmosphere, the Saturday Morning Farmers Market is a more intimate, relaxed setting.
Saturday attendees are able to shop and talk to vendors about the fruits, vegetables and other specialty items being sold while enjoying live folk music in the background.
Some of the vendors expressed hope that the crowd Saturday morning would bring in more of variety of local vendors.
The vendors this week varied from a produce booth to a beauty boutique. One unique booth was the Busy Bees Honey Farm.
Operated by husband and wife, John and Lynette Ballis, the Honey Farm booth from Sanger came to the market to not only share their honey with the Clovis community, but to educate any attendees on the process behind making the honey and their family history making honey.
“A lot of people ask for honey because they’ve heard how it helps with allergies, and we do try to educate them. Not everyone is helped but the wildfire honeys have a lot more pollen in them than orange blossom,” Lynette said.
Lynette said that working as a husband and wife beekeeping team is something they
Photo by Adam Solis, Clovis Roundup
Busy Bees Honey Farm, John and Lynette Ballis.
enjoy doing and that they also hope farmers apply to be vendors for the Saturday morning market.
The Saturday Morning Farmers Market provides an opportunity for visitors to buy products from local vendors, hear their personal stories and connect with the people behind the business.
Another business that was a popular attraction on Saturday morning was Rory’s Inspiration Lapidary Arts.
Rory’s is run and operated by husband and wife, Don and Kelly Bain. Their business is named in honor of their son Rory who they lost to suicide eleven years ago.
The business consists of selling jewelry handmade by Don and Kelly. Made from rare minerals collected by Don who then cuts and polishes them. Then Kelly does the final steps of water work that produces the final product and wires the finished rock into a piece of jewelry of the customer’s choosing.
Don said he was inspired to start his business from the time he spent collecting rocks with his son.
Don said he and his wife have been coming to the farmers market for the past eight years and describe the environment of Old Town Clovis as the friendliest as compared to anywhere else.
The conversations Don has with customers has allow him to help others who have lost loved ones get through hard times is the reward that Don said keeps bringing him back.
A conversation with a couple that visited their booth during the Friday Night Farmers Market is a prime example Don said of why he continues to come to events like farmers markets.
“I was telling the guy our story and he put his hand on my shoulder and he said ‘I lost my son five years ago to suicide.’ and now we’re in contact and we’re going to be in contact so I can help them even more. It’s about helping other people to help yourself,” Don said.
Don said speaking with others was something they found rewarding because it helps other people as much as it helps themselves.
“The best thing is not about selling a stone, it’s about helping other people,” Don said.
Another unique aspect of the opportunity to show their booth to attendees, Don said, is the chance to spark interest in mineral collecting in children whose eyes are attracted to the attractive stones.
“Kids to me are the most important thing. They come to my booth and they show a high interest in stones, and I find out they have a collection of their own. I’ll tell them to come back down here next week and I’ll bring them stones from home and start another starter collection for them because I have like 2,000 pounds of stones,” Don said.
The opportunity to help youth being involved with something constructive and outdoors is an opportunity Don said he is happy to have a hand in.
The Saturday Morning Farmers Market is held year round in the heart of Old Town Clovis on Pollasky between 5th and Bullard. Applications for any vendors interested in participating in the farmers market can be found on the Old Town Clovis website.
