Valley Voice Issue 138 (4 April, 2019)

Valley Voice

Cox holds his first town hall in Hanford

Volume XXXIX No. 7 4 April, 2019 ourvalleyvoice.com

State flags six Visalia schools as “underperforming” JOHN DILLON

CATHERINE DOE

john@ourvalleyvoice.com

catherine@ourvalleyvoice.com

Landing in the belly of the beast, Congressman TJ Cox decided to conduct his first Town Hall in Hanford.

Cox represents the 21st District comprising Kern, Kings, Fresno and a slice of southern Tulare County.

Though Cox enjoyed a decisive victory in Kern County, he lost to Hanford’s favorite son, former Representative David Valadao in Kings County, a prevailing reason why he decided to hold this event in the county seat.

Except for a few expected cat calls such as “You will raise taxes because you are a Democrat,” the town hall was a success with a full crowd assembled at Hanford West High School’s cafeteria.

Approximately 150 well informed constituents gathered to ask questions about taxes, Medicare, water, student loan debt, and veterans’ lack of access to health care, among other issues.

Audience members wrote their questions down as they filed into the cafeteria and Cox answered them on stage along with some follow up questions yelled out by the crowd.

Not a word was mentioned about the Muller Report just released the night before; the discussion mostly revolved around water and taxes.

“How are you going to bring more water to Kings County?”

Cox began with a joke saying, “Well, you know it started raining when I was elected.” He followed with a serious tone saying his mission is simple, “My goal is for every constituent to have clean drinkable water

COX continued on 16 »

which will most likely vote on the issue during its first meeting in April. Its recommendation will then go back to the city council.

To finalize the legalization of recreational pot within the city limits the council needs to do a second reading of the ordinance, and that will likely happen at its next regular meeting on April 2, which occurred after press time.

The city council also voted to discard limits on the number of applicants to cultivate or sell pot. The city chose instead to select a few of the best qualified businesses from a large pool of applicants.

Tuesday’s vote contradicted past city councils.

In November of 2017 the city

Six traditional Visalia schools were flagged as underperforming by The California Department of Education in January.

Divisadero Middle, Goshen Elementary, Houston Elementary, Pinkham Elementary, Royal Oaks Elementary, and Willow Glen Elementary were explicitly named in the report.

Sequoia High was also listed, but its status as a continuation school makes it a special case as the school is designed for extra support.

The report pulls from the California School Dashboard, which rates schools and districts based on values like performance in Mathematics and English Language Arts, absent students, and suspension rates. Campuses are rated on a color scale with red and orange indicating poor performance and yellow, green, and blue meaning an average to perfect performance.

Schools that appear on the list were flagged as needing “Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI).”

These are schools that have only red and orange marks on the Dashboard.

According to the report’s landing page, the list must be prepared by law. “The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires state educational agencies to determine school eligibility for comprehensive support and improvement CSI.” The Obama administration signed ESSA into law in 2015, which updated No Child Left Behind created in 2002.

The new law requires states to publicly publish a list of schools that need more support.

Visalia Unified Superintendent

HANFORD MARIJUANA continued on 12 »

VISALIA SCHOOLS continued on 16 »

The City of Hanford had previously only considered exporting medical marijuana from approved grow sites; now, recreational sales could be permitted. Courtesy/MarijuanaPropagation.com

Hanford changes course on recreational marijuana Council could allow dispensaries to open in Hanford CATHERINE DOE

catherine@ourvalleyvoice.com

Hanford City Council voted at its March 19 meeting to legalize pot deliveries and recreational marijuana inside city limits.

Recreational pot is legal in the state, but is not legal within the city of Hanford or many other Central Valley towns.

But that is about to change.

The council voted 4-1 to allow two storefront recreational pot dispensaries in the downtown retail zone and two pot delivery businesses in the industrial park.

Newly elected Council Member Art Brieno was the one dissenting vote.

Hanford City Manager Darrell Pyle said that the zoning change will now be sent to the planning commission,

“Text to 9-1-1” comes to Visalia Sheriff Boudreaux awards Officer STAFF REPORTS Wireless customers in the City of Visalia can now send a short message service (SMS) text message to 9-1-1 for emergency help when unable to make a 9-1-1 voice call.

This service will be available to any Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile, Comcast or Sprint customer within range of a cell tower in the City of Visalia.

Text to 9-1-1 was not developed as a replacement to calling 9-1-1 in an emergency situation.

Instead, it was developed as an enhancement to reaching 9-1-1 services in three specific situations: 1. The caller is hearing/ voice impaired 2. A medical emergency renders the person incapable of speech, or 3. When speaking out loud would put the caller in danger, such as a home invasion, an abduction, a domestic violence incident, or an active

shooter scenario.

The Communications Operators for the City of Visalia Police and Fire Departments are honored to be the first public safety agencies in Tulare County to provide this Next Generation 9-1-1 service to our citizens.

The City of Visalia Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) is using a secure web browser-based service that enables PSAP Operators to communicate with Texters who send text messages to 9-1-1 requesting emergency assistance.

Texts to 9-1-1 from areas where the service is not available will receive a “bounce back” message telling them to make a voice call.

Wireless customers in City of Visalia should keep the following in mind if they send a text to 911: • Customers should use the texting option only when calling 9-1-1 is not an option.

• Using a phone to call 9-1-1 is still the most efficient way to reach emergency help.

TEXT TO 911 continued on 13 »

of the Year to Deputy Christiansen STAFF REPORTS Sheriff Mike Boudreaux named Deputy Lisa Christiansen Officer of the Year Wednesday at the Porterville Exchange Club’s 58th annual Public Safety Recognition Dinner at the Porterville Veteran’s Memorial Building.

“I consider her a Phoenix because she has truly become what we recognize as the top level of respected [personnel] at the Sheriff’s Office,” Sheriff Boudreaux said. “I’m incredibly proud of her.”

Deputy Christiansen says she is honored by the recognition.

“I look at [my job] as something I love to do and I don’t ever expect any

gratitude in return,” she said. “So when someone recognizes something I’ve done that I haven’t noticed, I’m speechless. I don’t know what to say.”

Deputy Christiansen is a senior Deputy at the Porterville Substation. In addition to her regular patrol duties, she is a senior field training officer, a team leader and a pilot for the Sheriff’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) program.

Deputy Christiansen graduated from Tulare Western High School. She attended College of the Sequoias, graduated from the Tulare-Kings Counties Basic Peace Officer Academy and was hired at the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office in 2004. She has three children.

4 April, 2019 Valley Voice

2

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So Trump asks Russia to find and hack Hillary Clinton’s emails--and Russia does so. Russian operatives offer “dirt” on Hillary Clinton at a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting--and Donald Trump Jr. “loves it.” The president’s first national security advisor, General Mike Flynn, is convicted of lying to congress about his contacts with Russian oligarchs and their discussion of lifting sanctions. The president’s campaign manager leaks polling data to a Russian with ties to the Kremlin. The president lies about a Moscow construction project that would have netted him millions--a project that finally fizzled only after he had accepted his party’s nomination. And the Kremlin, avowedly, preferred Trump over Hillary Clinton.

All of this is collusion.

But, apparently--at least according to the attorney general’s interpretation of the Mueller report--they’re not conspiratorial. And it’s a conspiracy that would constitute criminality. Collusion amounts only to questionable behavior.

Still, we need to see the Mueller report and its associated evidence. It’s beyond absurd that we should take one man’s word for its conclusions.

Congress should get the full unredacted enchilada. Because we require something more akin to a jury, it is that body which needs to interpret the report and decide on a course of action.

Is the whole collusion/conspiracy nonsense a matter of semantics?

“You like potato and I like potahto You like tomato and I like tomahto…”

Possibly, although it’s important we have a high bar for establishing crimes. I don’t know what’s worse, the president’s questionable behavior or the possibility that he could be railroaded in the absence of that high bar.

It is clear from their many lies that the president and his circle--his family and campaign--have many things to hide. And I’m confident that, in time and under a watchful congressional eye, these will be revealed.

So, now, here we are. The Mueller report is in and, as we’ve loosely agreed upon as an electorate, we must abide by it. Because both major parties believe it will vindicate them, I say let’s have at it straight away. Let’s get this whole sordid mess behind us.

The collusion, that is.

There inconveniently remains the matter of obstruction of justice.

Mueller’s report specifically did not exonerate the president in this regard. Neither did it conclude his guilt. So why not let congress get on with its constitutional duty of being a check on the president? Let’s get this mess behind us as well.

We have better things to do.

We still have a wall to build. We have Muslims to ban. We have more children to separate from their parents. We have Obamacare to kill. And, while we’re at it, there’s a middle class the taxman hasn’t finished eliminating. There remain sanctions on Russia to eliminate. There remains the longest running war in our history to yet wage. There are women to grope and groups--hell, all manner of people--to insult. Campaign rallies can never stop. There are dictators to have secret discussions with. There are inappropriate people to appoint to high positions and, apparently, there are too many people in the FBI. We still have coal to reconstitute as a source of energy. There’s a boatload of money to launder, and numerous banks to yet defraud. There are inappropriate people to grant security clearances to. Enough lies can never be told. There’s always an emergency to declare.

And there conveniently remains a government to shut down.

“Things have come to a pretty pass Our romance is growing flat For you like this and the other While I go for this and that” Let’s call the whole thing off.

Joseph Oldenbourg

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Valley Voice 4 April, 2019

POLITICAL FIX SLAPP happy

I do not know how many people drive the length of Highway 198 that unfurls onto the peaceful winding road through Priest Valley when traveling to Monterey, but it is my preferred route.

Along the way you will skirt Westlands, the largest agriculture water district in the United States, Harris Cattle Ranch, that produces 150 million tons of beef a year, and the only Starbucks directly on 198 since the company closed its Farmersville store.

Coincidently, you will also pass through three small conservative rural towns that are embroiled in anti-SLAPP lawsuits – Hanford, Lemoore and Coalinga.

Not familiar with anti-SLAPP suits?

Neither was I until six months ago.

Each suit started with a city government, or government entity, filing a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against one of its residents who said or wrote something critical. The government with their ample resources uses the TRO or injunction to threaten and intimidate residents with the burden of legal fees unless they shut up.

This is an unfair tactic the government uses to silence individuals. The First Amendment forbids the government from restricting citizens’ freedom of speech with only a very few exceptions. Saying mean things about a city council member is not one of them.

This tactic is called a SLAPP suit or Strategic Lawsuit against Public Participation. The sole purpose of these suits is to keep government critics quiet.

So California passed legislation to protect these citizens who have been SLAPPed. It’s called an anti-SLAPP suit.

When the resident wins an anti-SLAPP motion, the lawsuit against them quickly terminates and their legal bills are paid by the city that sued them.

The Valley Voice has already reported extensively the City of Lemoore filing a TRO against City Council Member Holly Blair.

In her capacity as a city council member she speaks from the dais, gives radio interviews and regularly posts critical comments on Facebook about the Lemoore city manager and police chief.

In response the city filed a TRO to force her to stop.

The City of Lemoore filed their suit late January, and the last of many hearings will be April 5, when it’s possible the suit might be settled. There has been a mutual agreement between all parties not to talk to the press, so details are scant.

What’s interesting, though, about Lemoore, is that its law firm, Lozano Smith, knows this

is not a winnable case yet proceeds to spend taxpayer money.

Lozano Smith filed a similar case in Greenfield and resoundingly lost. The taxpayers ended up paying Lozano Smith’s fees and the defendant’s legal fees.

Speculation swirls around whether Lozano Smith pushed the city into filing the TRO against Ms. Blair, or if it was the other way around, with the Lemoore city manager and chief of police insisting the TRO be filed. Either way, the Lemoore taxpayers will be left paying their legal bills and most likely Ms. Blair’s legal expenses also.

The Hanford case is a little different. The Director of the Carnegie Museum, Patricia Dickerson, filed a TRO against Mike Quinn for recording the foot traffic in and out of the museum and criticizing her job performance at city council meetings and on Facebook.

The building is owned by the city and is the former Carnegie Library. It is now Hanford’s History museum and is heavily subsidized by the city, which makes it a government entity. As such, the residents have the right to critique Ms. Dickerson’s performance and how their tax dollars are spent.

The TRO was granted against Mr. Quinn and stays in effect at the least until the first hearing on April 5.

Ms. Dickerson in her petition stated that Mr. Quinn parks outside her place of business (the museum,) drives by her house, follows her in the park, and follows her husband on his way to pick up their daughter from school.

She stated, “He writes falsehoods on Facebook and reports falsehoods to city council who has the lease to my business.”

In response, Mr. Quinn filed an anti-SLAPP suit April 1 at the Kings County Superior Court. He states in his declaration that he and other concerned citizens believe that the museum is being mismanaged and that tax money is being wasted. In fact, the Carnegie Museum has been the subject of controversy over the past year about its management and the irregularity of how the museum accepts new members.

He states, “While I have been observing the foot traffic in and out of the museum, Petitioner (Ms. Dickerson) has repeatedly called the police to respond to my location. I was sitting in my car while it was parked in a public parking lot.” He was never arrested.

His anti-SLAPP suit points out that Mr. Quinn complained about the museum publicly at a city council meeting and then a month later Ms. Dickerson

3 a column by CATHERINE DOE — catherine@ourvalleyvoice.com filed a TRO. Firm Melo and Sarsfield it is statMr. Quinn states, “I intended ed, “Petitioner Adam Adkisson to again address the city coun- is a politician and a member of cil in March. However, just a few the City of Coalinga City Counweeks after speaking to the city cil. He is the quintessential pubcouncil, Petitioner filed this re- lic figure. Respondent, Mr. Cody, quest for a rehas been pubstraining order, licly critical of seeking, among Petitioner and other things, his actions on to explicitly the city counprevent me cil. In response, from sharing Petitioner has my concerns brought this acabout the mution to silence seum with the the criticism City Council.”

by Respondent.

In CoalinThe California ga, it is a classic anti-SLAPP law case of the govwas enacted to ernment versus The lovely Ms. Scott on Facebook. protect speech the little guy. such as responTwo TROs were filed against dent’s here.” senior citizen, veteran, and lifeIn the end, not only should we long Coalinga resident Greg Cody all feel grateful to live in a counby City Council Member Adam try that defends the freedom of Adkisson and his friend ,Robin speech, but we should also give Scott, who volunteers for the city. kudos to those city council memMr. Cody was served on Christ- bers who get it right. mas Eve with both suits.

When a member of the public Mr. Adkisson said in his peti- gets up to the lectern to speak, tion for a TRO filed by Coalinga’s Visalia City Council Member Greg lawyer Mario Zamora that Mr. Collins tilts his head, leans back Cody harasses him on Facebook in his chair, and rests the left side and that he “yells harassing com- of his face in the crook of his hand ments at me” during almost ev- while listening intently. Many ery city council meeting. times he incorporates what the Ms. Scott, made similar com- public says into his comments plaints in her petition that Mr. before voting on an agenda item.

Cody harasses her through soA year ago, then Mayor of Hancial media. ford David Ayers attentively lisMs. Scott also accused Mr. tened to a woman on the verge of Cody in her petition for a TRO of a mental break down as she skewtrying to run her husband over ered the city council about an in his car. But according to the unsolved crime. At the end of her police report of the incident, comments Mr. Ayers thanked her.

Ms. Scott’s husband punched Mr. Some members of the audiCody, stole his phone and was ence grumbled that the council then arrested. shouldn’t have to put up with Both Plaintiffs filed their TRO that, but I think they should. If an because they claim they fear elected official can’t take public Mr. Cody will physically harm criticism, or hear out a desponthem. Mr. Adkisson said, “I am dent resident, then they have takemotionally harmed because I en the wrong life path and need constantly fear for mine and my to resign. family’s safety….” Ms. Scott said We have a representative on her petition, also filed by Mr. right now who won’t speak to his Zamora, “I fear that if Mr. Cody is constituents because of his thin not restrained he will physical- skin and his anger over being ly harm me.” criticized. That has left the 22nd That rings a bit hollow be- Congressional District with no cause Mr. Adkisson is a bounty representation in Washington. hunter and has known Mr. Cody The moral of the story is that for years. If you are unsure what city government shouldn’t file exactly a bounty hunter does, TROs against its own citizens. they chase down 250-pound mus- Granted there are plenty of nut cle bound bad guys with war- cases out there, but just because rants for their arrest--and the bad someone criticizes you doesn’t guys are usually armed. make them one.

Mr. Cody, on the other hand, It’s our job as housewives, colis 62 years old, is 100% disabled, lege students, artists, business on oxygen, and is often seen lug- owners, lawyers and doctors to ging his tank to most city council criticize our government and meetings. elected officials, even if we get Mr. Adkisson, (and Ms. Scott) some facts wrong and even if we could probably knock Mr. Cody can’t articulate it perfectly. down with a hard stare.

And it’s our elected officials’ In response, lawyers for Mr. job to listen - without trying to Cody filed an anti-SLAPP suit. In shoot the messenger. the brief prepared by the Law

4 April, 2019 Valley Voice

4

Tulare Local Healthcare District appoints CEO

STAFF REPORTS The Tulare Local Healthcare District recently announced the appointment of Sandra L. Ormonde as the District’s first post Hospital lease Chief Executive Officer. Ormonde will begin work on May 1, 2019.

Ormonde is a Tulare native who has worked as a Systems Integration Engineer at Edwards Air Force Base since 2006.

She is experienced in leading mul-

tidisciplinary teams, and working with customers and contractor personnel to resolve program issues. She previously worked in bookkeeping and food industries.

“We are delighted to bring on board such an experienced person to help us into a new era for the district”, said Board President Kevin Northcraft.

“Our consultants have been great help but are costly when a full time staff can handle our needs at a fraction of

the cost,” added Northcraft. Additional hiring is expected.

“I am delighted to return to Tulare and be a part of the exciting new era for the district, including helping with the remaining challenges”, said Ormonde.

While no longer operating a hospital, the district continues to manage over 15 properties and monitors the hospital lease with Adventist Health (AH).

This year, a great deal of effort will be needed to resolve bankruptcy issues caused by the former board and staff. The district also will be maintaining the hospital facility, and looking at solutions to the tower that remains unfinished.

While paying off AH and City loans will stretch the District’s resources, eventually the hospital lease payments will allow the Board to consider health related funding for future needs.

Tulare Regional Medical Center sees 10,000th patient STAFF REPORTS Adventist Health’s Tulare Regional Medical Center (TRMC) saw its 10,000th patient on March 8, and has seen at least 1,400 more since, TRMC President Randy Dodd recently revealed at a Tulare Local Healthcare District board meeting on March 27.

“It’s a nice milestone for us to hit,” Dodd told the board.

Dodd said that Adventist Health planned to target providing obstetrics services at the hospital around July 15,

and that Adventist could open a sleep lab before that date.

The main transfers out of the hospital are for cardiology, neurology, and gastrointestinal services; it’s hoped that more of those specialists could be brought to the hospital, or at least on call, preventing transfers to Adventist in Hanford, Kaweah Delta in Visalia, or even hospitals in Fresno, he said.

Additionally, the amount of patients the hospital sees per day is slowly increasing, he said. In November, the hospital saw 67, increasing to 70 in

December and January, 72 in February, and 78 patients as of the 27th.

However, Dodd said the hospital’s average daily census continues to be “fairly flat,” with 9 per day in November, 10 in December, 11 in January, 10 in February, and 9 to date in March.

In order to expand services at the hospital, Dodd said that he planned to submit a request to Adventist Health’s corporate offices for $5m, which would be used to replace some imaging equipment.

“We’re about to submit a $5m in-

vestment ask of our corporate offices for the replacement of several imaging items, particularly MRI, which is really on its last leg, X-Ray, ultrasound, some portable equipment, as well as some surgical equipment that we’re looking to get done all in this year,” he said.

Officials at the hospital have identified $22m of equipment in total that is needed to establish the services that hospital officials want.

“Our initial ask is going to be for the things most important to us,” he said.

A touchdown for Tulare County kids STAFF REPORTS More than 700 people showed up Saturday to see Sheriff Mike Boudreaux kick off the Tulare County Sheriff*s Office’s new NFL Flag Football League at Ivanhoe Elementary School.

About 200 boys and girls participated from Elbow Creek, Stone Corral and Ivanhoe elementary schools. *This has been a dream of mine to get our children and our community together to work with law enforce-

ment and the Sheriff’s Office,” he said.

Sheriff Boudreaux said he wants the new NFL Flag Football League, operated under the umbrella of the Sheriff*s PAL Program, to spread throughout the county.

He thanked the coaches, the parents and all of those who have sponsored the league.

Thousands of dollars have been raised to help pay for the new flag football league, which is free for boys and girls in grades K-8.

(l-r) Sgt. Bobby Saldana, Ivanhoe Principal George Rodriguez, Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, Lt. Harold Liles.

College and Career program awarded grant STAFF REPORTS Developing industry partnerships, training teaching staff, counseling students and enhancing their leadership opportunities, and implementing high quality curriculum embedded with technology – these are a few of the goals select Tulare and Kings county high school career pathway programs will be addressing in the new school year.

For the 2019-20 school year, several Tulare and Kings County school districts will benefit from additional funding to support high quality career pathways thanks to a state grant of over three-quarters of a million dollars.

Originally approved in 2015 as AB1743, CTEIG became a standing budget line item in June 2018 when the California legislature approved the Governor’s budget to include an ongoing $150 million per year for the program.

“The new CTEIG program aligns well with our TK Collaborative priorities and provides an exciting new way to continue to serve our district partners by focusing on supporting high quality career pathways to meet the state’s 11 Elements of High Quality CTE,” said Lori Morton, College and Career engagement manager.

For more information on Career Technical Education, call Joy Soares or Lori Morton at (559) 733-6101.

Valley Voice 4 April, 2019

5

AGRICULTURE

100+ water, ag organizations urge Congress to address water challenges STAFF REPORTS Over 100 organizations representing water and agricultural interests in the Western U.S. urged Congress today to use any infrastructure package under consideration to help address severe hydrological conditions in the West.

“As a nation we must continually invest in the Western water infrastructure necessary to meet current and future demands,” the groups stated in a letter sent to key congressional committees and Western senators. “Our existing water infrastructure in the West is aging and in need of rehabilitation and improvement.” President Trump has said infrastructure might

be one area that both political parties in the 116th Congress can agree upon.

The Democratic Party’s to-do list also includes an ambitious infrastructure program. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore.— one of the recipients of the letter— now chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where he intends to lead efforts to produce a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure bill to fund transportation and water projects. “We agree with Rep. DeFazio’s assessment that infrastructure is a place of potential common ground and agreement in this Congress,” said Pat O’Toole, president of the Family Farm Alliance, one of the signatories to the letter.

“Despite a much-above-average

snowpack, many California water users will still face water shortages in 2019,” California Farm Bureau Federation President Jamie Johansson said.

“That underlines the need to improve our water infrastructure, so we can make more efficient use of water for both our economy and environment.”

“The recent wet weather notwithstanding, we know that persistent drought conditions in the western United States are the new normal,” said Western Growers President and CEO Tom Nassif. “For this reason, our nation must invest, in earnest, in the long-term security of our water supplies in the West.”

The letter underscores that water conservation, water recycling, water-

shed management, conveyance, desalination, water transfers, groundwater storage and surface storage are all needed in a diversified management portfolio.

“We need you to ensure that Western water users have every tool available to survive and recover from years of drought and to prepare for the hard, dry years the future may hold,” the letter states. “We call upon each of you to push forward on infrastructure and in so doing you must use any infrastructure package to not only address our nation’s chronic needs surrounding roads and bridges, but to also include water infrastructure needs for storage and conveyance.”

Farmers welcome federal agencies’ suits on flows plan CHRISTINE SOUZA

CALIFORNIA FARM BUREAU FEDERATION

Now that the federal government has filed its own lawsuits against an unimpaired-flows plan for San Joaquin River tributaries, farmers and other parties to the lawsuits wait to learn where they will be heard--and prepare for a lengthy court battle.

The U.S. departments of Justice and Interior filed suits in both federal and state courts last week, against the plan finalized last December by the State Water Resources Control Board.

The plan would redirect 30 to 50 percent of the flows in the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers in an attempt to increase fish populations.

According to the federal agencies’ complaint, the plan fails to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act and, once implemented, will impair the ability of the Interior Department to operate the New Melones Project on the Stanislaus River consistent with congressional directives for the project.

California Farm Bureau Federation Senior Counsel Chris Scheuring said the federal government has “a substantial interest” in water supplies on the Stanislaus River because of New Melones.

CFBF filed its own lawsuit against the unimpaired-flows plan in February, also charging the water board had failed to follow CEQA and had underestimated the harm the plan would cause to agricultural resources in the

Central Valley.

“A number of our members are served ultimately by the federal projects on the river,” Scheuring said, “so in a certain sense (the federal agencies) are articulating some of the same interests.”

Speaking on behalf of the Department of Justice, Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark said the state water board’s environmental analysis “hid the true impacts” of the unimpaired-flows plan. He said the plan could put “substantial operational constraints” on the Interior Department’s ability to operate New Melones.

In their complaint, the federal agencies said the state had failed to comply with CEQA by not providing “an accurate, stable and finite project description,” by improperly masking potential environmental impacts of the amended plan and by failing to adequately analyze the plan’s impacts on water temperature, related water quality conditions and water supply.

Scheuring said the federal lawsuit makes many of the same points as the CFBF lawsuit, specifically “that the process was insufficient, inaccurate and ultimately misleading to the public.”

The federal agencies’ lawsuits further allege that the new flow objectives would significantly reduce the amount of water available in New Melones Reservoir for meeting congressionally authorized purposes of the

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project, including irrigation, municipal and industrial purposes, power generation and recreational opportunities. The lawsuit said reduced water available for New Melones Project purposes under the state plan would also impair delivery of water under contracts the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation holds with irrigation and water districts.

The Oakdale and South San Joaquin irrigation districts, which receive water supplies from the bureau as part of their pre-1914 water rights on the Stanislaus River—and which have also sued the state board—announced their support of the federal challenge to the flows plan.

“We have always believed the state water board was asserting too much control over a federal reservoir by dictating operations counter to federal intent,” OID General Manager Steve Knell said.

SSJID general manager Peter Rietkerk said environmental and human water supply needs from the Stanislaus River “hinge on a sustainable operation of New Melones.”

“Unfortunately, the state’s current plan does not offer a sustainable operation, nor balance the river’s complex water supply needs,” Rietkerk said.

“The districts echo Interior’s concern about the impact of the state’s plan and hope a more balanced solution will emerge through the state’s voluntary settlement process.”

Since late last year, close to a dozen lawsuits have been filed challenging different aspects of the water board’s flows plan, filed by irrigation districts and urban water suppliers that depend on the three rivers, and by environmental and fishing groups that say the plan does not go far enough in redirecting water to fish.

Noting the “multiplicity of lawsuits,” CFBF attorney Scheuring described that as “an indicator of the scope of the state board’s action and how broad a swath of California is ultimately going to be affected by the flows plan.”

“We’re in company with a lot of other water users—urban as well as agricultural interests—so it shows you just how big this plan is,” he said.

Regarding next steps in the legal process, Scheuring said he expects there will be a coordination proceeding in the months ahead to determine whether the lawsuits should be combined into one proceeding, and where they would be heard.

“Obviously, each party who has filed a lawsuit is entitled to be heard in court, because they represent a constituency that is going to be affected by the plan,” he said, “but as a matter of judicial economy it is likely that all of the lawsuits will be put in one courtroom or another. In the coming months, we’ll be shaking out which courtroom it will be.”

Scheuring said he wouldn’t be surprised if the challenges to the state water board’s flows plan ultimately ended up before the California Supreme Court.

“I think folks need to be prepared for the long haul, as this works its way up through the court system,” he said. “But the wait is worth it, because these are landscape-level issues about the future of California agriculture, the future of California cities, the future of California’s economy and the future of California’s environment.”

(Christine Souza is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at csouza@cfbf.com.)

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4 April, 2019 Valley Voice

6

AGRICULTURE

Commentary: Agricultural jobs boost economies of state, nation JOHN NEWTON, MICHAEL NEPVEUX CALIFORNIA FARM BUREAU FEDERATION

A recent Feeding The Economy study, sponsored by the American Farm Bureau Federation and other organizations, was designed to measure the direct and indirect impact of U.S. food and agricultural industries on various economic factors, including employment, wages, economic output, tax revenue and exports. In this article, we review agriculture’s direct impact on the U.S. economy and provide a state-level overview of direct agricultural jobs.

The Feeding the Economy study revealed U.S. jobs directly related to food and agriculture—including direct farming and ranching, manufacturing and wholesale and retail functions—total 22.8 million jobs, representing approximately 15 percent of all U.S. employment based on February 2019 Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data. These direct jobs represent total wages of $729 billion and generate an economic output of

California leads the nation with 2.8 million jobs directly tied to food and agriculture. About 11 percent of the nation’s food and agricultural jobs occur on the farm, with the rest in sectors including manufacturing, wholesale, grocery and food service.

$2.1 trillion.

The underlying data of the model used in this study is based on 2016 employment and output data, which is used in conjunction with industry

growth rates to estimate 2019 levels.

Direct food- and agriculture-related jobs include a variety of functions such as commodity production and farming activities, manufacturing

and wholesale and retail channels. Importantly, industries included in this study go beyond purely agricultural jobs and include many jobs further down the supply chain, such as food manufacturing and service.

The largest direct job category in food and agriculture is retail—that is, grocery and food service—which represents 17 million jobs, or 75 percent of all direct agricultural and food jobs.

Principal farming jobs total 2.6 million and represent 11 percent of all direct food and agricultural jobs. Following direct farming activities are manufacturing jobs, such as rice milling or tortilla manufacturing, at 2.1 million jobs or 9 percent, and then wholesale jobs at 942,000 jobs or 4 percent of all direct food and agricultural jobs.

The number of direct food and agricultural jobs is the highest in states with agricultural- and labor-intensive industries, as well as large population centers that support the retail food sectors. California leads the nation with 2.8 million direct food and

AG JOBS continued on 15 »

Rain delays crops and spring planting KEVIN HECTEMAN

CALIFORNIA FARM BUREAU FEDERATION

Farmers and baseball players have one thing in common this time of year: rain delays.

Kulwant Johl, a tree-crop farmer in Marysville, was still seeing blooms on his peach trees last week—a time when he should have been seeing young peaches.

Persistent rainfall, such as Northern California experienced as spring began, affects peaches in two ways, he said.

“One is, we got too much rain, and the soil is really wet,” Johl said. “Peaches can’t take that,” especially if planted on ground with poor drainage where trees are left in standing water, making them vulnerable to Phytophthora and root rot, he added.

“Another is, when it keeps on raining, the bloom stays wet,” Johl said.

“Flowers rot, which kills peaches before they can get going.”

Fungicide use is limited by regulations forbidding applications within 48 hours of predicted rainfall if soil is saturated, he added.

As for how yields will be affected, “it’s too early,” Johl said. “We will find out when it gets hot. Right now, you can’t tell.”

It will be late April or early May before he knows for sure, he added.

Rich Hudgins, president and chief executive of the California Canning Peach Association, said he foresees no issues in the long run.

“We had a statewide full bloom this year on March 18,” Hudgins said, adding that the date tied the modern record for the latest full-bloom date, SALES, SERVICE, RENTAL AG EQUIPMENT & TRUCK REPAIR

set in 1990.

“That said, I would say growers are generally satisfied with what they’re seeing on the bloom,” Hudgins added.

“It’s just that, No. 1, colder-than-normal weather is slowing down crop development. And secondly, intermittent rainfall means growers are having to spray more.”

Hudgins said his association will have its first estimate of the 2019 crop in mid-May. Last year, California clingpeach farmers harvested 256,000 tons.

“At this point, we’ve got the makings of an average crop, but we’re spending more money to protect it along the way,” Hudgins said.

Cotton growers are also playing the waiting game.

Gino Pedretti III, whose El Nido farm raises the fiber along with alfalfa, corn, wheat and cattle, said rain and cooler weather are keeping him out of the cotton fields. He usually starts planting around March 25.

“Normally, we’d already have cotton in the ground, or at least doing ground work, and we haven’t been able to do any of that preparation yet,” said Pedretti, who also serves as president of the Merced County Farm Bureau. “What we look for is sunny, dry weather. (We) like to have 75-degree temperatures, roughly, during the day and warmer nights. We’re looking for the soil temperature to be around 60 degrees, which is definitely not there right now.”

Pedretti grows pima and acala cotton. He said he prefers to have pima planted by April 15, whereas acala should be fine if it’s planted by the end of April—as long as harvest weather

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Kulwant Johl looks at walnut trees in his Marysville orchard. Johl, who grows peaches, walnuts, prunes and almonds, says these trees should be blossoming but remain dormant because of late-season rain.

Kevin Hecteman/California Farm Bureau Federation

cooperates. Harvest usually begins in mid-October and runs for about three weeks, he said—and rain at harvest could cause his yield to shrink.

“You can’t pick cotton when there’s moisture in it. You have to wait till it dries out,” Pedretti said. “If it gets a lot of rain, it can actually knock some of the fiber off the plant, which you won’t be able to pick up”—and what’s left on the plant may be of lesser quality, he noted.

Cotton growers such as Pedretti often end up “playing both ends of the calendar,” said Bob Hutmacher, a University of California Cooperative Extension specialist and director of the West Side Research and Extension Center in Fresno County.

“You can’t plant too early in the spring, or the plant won’t grow very well and will be more subject to diseases,” Hutmacher said. “You can’t plant too late, or you’ll run out of growing season, potentially, in the fall.”

Cool and wet soil conditions can open the door for multiple disease issues, Hutmacher said; he’s usually concerned about Fusarium race 4 and Rhizoctonia.

“All the seedling diseases tend to be worse if you plant under cold, wet conditions and those kind of conditions persist,” he said. “Most of this,

it just depends on how long the poor conditions last.”

Hutmacher said pima farmers usually grow more concerned if they haven’t been able to plant by mid-April.

“Then, a lot of people start feeling like you’re running late on planting to where you may run into some problems with being able to mature out a high-yielding crop in time for changes in the fall weather,” he said.

UCCE maintains a Cotton Planting Forecast at ipm.ucanr.edu/WEATHER/ cottonforecast.html.

Scott Stoddard, a UCCE vegetable crops advisor in Merced County, said tomato growers in his area are running late, but not catastrophically so.

“What I hear is that everybody’s sort of saying, ‘We’re about two weeks behind where we’d want to be,’” Stoddard said. “But nonetheless, people still are started. They’re doing their thing. The biggest effect, they haven’t been able to get quite as many acres in per week as they would like.”

Tomato transplanting in his area started around March 20, he added, while growers to the north are even further behind schedule and may not be able to harvest until August.

(Kevin Hecteman is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. He may be reached at khecteman@cfbf.com.)

4 April, 2019

VALLEYSCENE

ourvalleyvoice.com

Tulare Chamber holding Business Expo 2019 on April 11 STAFF REPORTS

Once on This Island JR stars (clockwise from above) Elle Pinheiro as young Ti Moune, Ali Pullom as Daniel Beauxhomme, and Allison Hart as adult Ti Moune.

TCOE Theatre Company to perform Once on This Island JR TULARE COUNTY OFFICE OF ED This month, Tulare County theatergoers have the opportunity to visit the Caribbean through a touching story of love and loss as told in the musical “Once on This Island JR.” The production is an original adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, “The Little Mermaid.” Through almost nonstop song and dance, this full-hearted musical tells the story of Ti Moune, a peasant girl who rescues and falls in love with Daniel, a wealthy boy from the other side of her island. When Daniel is returned to his people, the fantastical gods who rule the island guide Ti Moune on a quest that will test the strength of her love against the powerful forces of prejudice, hatred, and

even death.

In the opening number, the peasants describe their world – a world that is ruled by powerful gods and an island ruled by the wealthy “grand hommes.” They explain that the peasants and the grand hommes belong to “two different worlds, never meant to meet.” “Musical theatre gives our kids the opportunity to learn about different cultures, time periods, and types of people, and tell their stories on stage,” said Theatre Company’s Charlotte Garcia Da Rosa. “What’s so amazing is what they take away from these stories after the show is done, and how they are inspired to live their lives.”

Ms. Garcia Da Rosa discovered “Once on This Island” through her

Once On This Island continued on 8 »

Lindsay Community Theater to present Dirty Cello JAMES KLIEGL From China to Italy, and all over the U.S., Dirty Cello brings a high-energy and unique spin on blues and bluegrass.

And now, Dirty Cello will grace the stage of the Lindsay Community Theater on May 4 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are just $19.99 (Early bird $14.99

by April 13).

Check out dirtycello.com to get a preview of their show. Get tickets at lindsaycommunitytheater.com.

Led by vivacious cross-over cellist, Rebecca Roudman, Dirty Cello is cello like you’ve never heard before. From down home blues with a wailing cello to virtuosic stompin’ bluegrass, Dirty Cello is a band that gets your heart thumping and your toes tapping!

“When lead guitar is replaced by the sound of hot licks on a cello, blues,

rock and bluegrass rise to a new dimension. Dirty Cello — a four-piece band from San Francisco — makes its style of string music to inspire audiences to swing, sway and dance.” Nick Diamantides, Ashland Daily Tidings.

“Dirty Cello’s music is all over the map: funky, carnival, romantic, sexy, tangled, electric, fiercely rhythmic, and textured, and only occasionally classical.” Lou Fancher, Oakland Magazine.

“The band plays every style imaginable, and does some fantastic covers.

(Their rendition of “Purple Haze” is incredible.) But what is most spectacular about them is hearing the depth of soul in Roudman’s playing—it goes beyond what most people would expect from the instrument. She plays it with so much heart, you’ll wonder why more bands don’t have a cellist.”

Good Times Santa Cruz.

The Tulare Chamber of Commerce invites the community to attend Business Expo 2019 on Thursday, April 11th.

Buying local keeps residents employed, local schools funded, public safety strong, and has multiple other positive effects on the community.

The event will bring businesses from the area together under one roof to highlight their products.

Attendees will see the wide variety of goods and services local businesses offer, which makes buying

local easy and in turn keeps the economy strong.

Business Expo 2019 will be held on Thursday, April 11th from 5:307:30pm at the International Agri-Centers Heritage Complex.

Admission is free and the event is sponsored in part by Altura Centers for Health, Family HealthCare Network, Tulare Regional Medical Center managed by Adventist Health and the International Agri-Center.

For more information, please contact the Tulare Chamber of Commerce at 686-1547 or visit www.tularechamber.org.

Sequoia Symphony ends season with classical guitar DONNA OROZCO The Sequoia Symphony ends the season with the most famous works by two composers, Respighi’s “The Pines of Rome” and Rodrigo’s guitar concerto, on Saturday, April 13 at the Visalia Fox Theatre. Both depict the glories of nature.

“Concerto de Aranjuez” by Spanish composer Rodrigo was inspired by gardens in Spain.

Guest artist is classical guitarist who goes by the name of Jiji. She was born in South Korea but spent some of her early years in Chicago, where she preferred rock ‘n’ roll.

However, she switched to classical guitar and at the young age of 15 was accepted as one of only two guitarists in the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music.

“The Pines of Rome” pays homage to topographic pine tree scenes around Rome, ending with a triumphant military march along the Appian Way. The audience is invited to attend the pre-concert preview by music director Bruce Kiesling at 6:45pm. The

Jiji. Courtesy photo

concert begins at 7:30pm.

Tickets are available at the symphony office, 208 W. Main Street, Suite D, Visalia, downstairs in Montgomery Square. Tickets are also available at 732-8600 or go to www.sequoiasymphonyorchestra.com.

Visit Visalia moves to new office STAFF REPORTS Visit Visalia, Tourism and Convention Bureau for the city of Visalia, is thrilled to announce they have moved to a new office effective March 1, 2019.

The new location is at 112 East Main Street in Visalia, just a block from the Convention Center, right in the heart of beautiful Downtown. This location will better serve visitors, convention delegates and local residents.

This past year has been filled with changes and growth for Visit Visalia, which represents both the Visalia Convention and Visitors Bureau and Visalia Tourism Marketing District.

“Along with a new website (www.

VisitVisalia.com), a new logo and a new outlook came the opportunity to

relocate and create a new space that better represents what Visit Visalia is all about: providing a welcoming and informative space that encourages travel to our beautiful city,” says Visit Visalia Executive Director Demea Metcalf.

The new location offers more space for travelers to look through maps and brochures to plan out their vacation.

There is more room to talk with staff to get recommendations on where to go, what to see, and where to eat while visiting Visalia. Also available is information on how to see the Big Trees like the famous General Sherman or go hiking up in Sequoia National Park.

Visit Visalia recently hosted a small gathering of board members, lo-

Visit Visalia continued on 10 »

4 April, 2019 Valley Voice

8

Agri-Center prepares for California Antique Farm Equipment Show STAFF REPORTS The California Antique Farm Equipment Show® kicks off Friday, April 12 at 8am at the International Agri-Center® show grounds in Tulare, CA. The event features antique tractors, trucks and engines, shopping

by Rusty Roots, tractor pulls and more family-friendly activities over the weekend.

The show runs Friday, April 12, 8am - 5pm., Saturday, April 13, 8am- 5pm, and Sunday, April 14, 8am – 3pm.

Walter Watte, 2019 show chairman, grew up in southern California and worked on dairies and farms in Chino before joining the Navy in 1969.

Throughout his 20-year military career, Watte visited his family in Tulare; he joined them as a volunteer at World Ag Expo® and the Antique Show. He now serves as president of the Topa Topa Flywheelers Antique Gas Engine and Tractor Club in Santa Paula, CA. Watte is a “Green guy,” and chose a 1947 two-cylinder John Deere as his poster tractor. The Antique Show is in

his blood – his uncle, George Watte, founded the show in 1993. “We’re featuring John Deere this year, but we love having all makes, models and colors at the show,” said Watte. “It’s fun for people to come and check them out.”

Rusty Roots, a popular local flea market, will join the show this year inside the Corteva Agriscience Center

(formerly Building C).

The Tractor Pull starts Friday afternoon at 3pm and is open to antique tractors from the show. Bull and Bronc Bucking is set to start at 9am Saturday in the Farm Credit Dairy Center. The second session, with bulls, broncs and riders, begins at 1pm.

Saturday will feature a steak din-

ner and concert by Lon Hannah & San Joaquin Junction. Formerly of Sons of the San Joaquin, Hannah and his new group continue to focus on cowboy music and Western harmonies. Social hour is at 5pm., dinner begins at 6pm and the concert will kick off after 6:30 pm in the Farm Credit Dairy Center.

Tickets are $30 per person, call (559) 688-1030 to purchase.

The tractor parade starts rolling at 10am Saturday on Median Street; a second parade is set for Sunday at 10am.

Swap Meet and Rusty Roots shopping will also be open until 3pm on Sunday, April 14.

In addition to antique tractors, trucks and engines, attendees can look forward to good old-fashioned family fun, including a Saturday antique auction, Milk Chugging and Pie Eating contest, a Kid’s Area, and tractor driving. Tickets are $5 per day and children under 6 get in free.

Retired and active military get in free with valid I.D. For a full schedule of events and attractions, please visit www.antiquefarmshow.org.

COS offers “Teaching Techniques for Special Needs Kids” class STAFF REPORTS The College of the Sequoias Training Resource Center is offering a class called Implementing Teaching Techniques for Special Needs Kids. The class will be offered twice; once on Saturday,

May 11 at the COS Visalia Campus from 9am – 4pm. The second class will be Saturday, May 18, 2019, also from 9am – 4pm. The cost is $40.

This class will provide information, examples, and modeling on how to work with special need students

in the classroom by using an ABA approach with discrete trials and Pivotal response training for verbal communication. Reinforcers, token economy, and naturalistic teaching will be discussed. Ways to help ADHD and behavioral/ struggling students will also be incorporated. This class will help teachers fulfill requirements for hours needed for professional development. It will also identify ways to get a positive response from special needs kids and teach instructors how to engage them.

The class will fulfill requirements or hours needed for professional development. It will also Identify ways to get a positive response from special needs kids and offer engagement

Once On This Island continued from 7

friend, Visalia native and Broadway performer Betsy Wolfe, during a masterclass. “Betsy sang lead character Ti Moune’s song Waiting for Life for the students, and I was instantly drawn in by the story and wanted to know more.” Last year, the production enjoyed a revival on Broadway, winning eight Tony awards. The musical was created by the legendary Broadway writing team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.

“What drew me to direct ‘Once on This Island JR’ was the amazing musical score and the central character, Ti Moune,” said Ms. Garcia Da Rosa. “The sacrifices she gives lead her to a beautiful redemption at the end of her journey. Ti Moune teaches everyone how to love without judgment or expectation.

This message of true, selfless, faithful love and redemption is an important one for our kids to experience and take with them wherever they go in life.”

•

• •

SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCES

Rotary Theater, 330 S. Dollner St., Visalia

Show Times

Evening Shows (7pm): April 11, 12, and 13 Matinee Show (2pm)

ideas for teachers to use in the classroom. The Trainees will learn how to correctly demonstrate what ABA, discrete trials, and Pivotal response training looks like. One previous trainee stated: “I love this, we work with these techniques at my elementary school so its refreshing to see it used.”

Please note, this is a not-for-credit course. As such, you will not earn units and the class will not be reflected on your banner schedule or on transcripts. To register for the class, or get more information, please visit our webpage at www.cos.edu/communityed , email us at communityed@cos. edu or call us at (559) 688-3130.

April 13 & 14

Show Ticket Information

$10 per person, available now at: • 6200 S. Mooney Blvd • 7000 Doe Ave. Monday through Friday during normal business hours.

Cash or check only.

Tickets can also be purchased at the door or by phone by calling (559) 651-1482, ext. 3329.

Principal Characters

• • • • • • • • • •

Ti Moune – Allison Hart, Redwood High School Daniel Beauxhomme – Ali Pullom, Eleanor Roosevelt Community Learning Center Mama Euralie – Morgan LaLanne, El Diamante High School Ton Ton – Job Whetstone, Mt. Whitney High School Little Ti Moune – Elle Pinheiro, St. Aloysius School Asaka – Allison Martin, El Diamante High School Agwe – Parker Chalabian, Redwood High School Erzulie – Emilie Walker, Redwood High School Pape Ge – John Piper, El Diamante High School Andrea – Jessica Peters, Redwood High School

Valley Voice 4 April, 2019

Calendar

April 1– April 5: Health Fair in honor of Healthy Tulare County Week Tulare County Health & Human Service Agency’s Visalia Health Care Center is holding a health fair April 1–5, Monday through Friday, each day from 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m., Events are co-sponsored by Anthem Blue Cross. Information about the Car Seat Program, Mental Health, WIC, suicide prevention, snacks, games, music, and prizes. 2611 N. Dinuba Blvd. Info (559) 623-0700.

April 3rd through April 26th: Tattoo Exhibition Opening Reception at Arts Visalia First Friday, April 5th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Exhibition runs Noon-5:30 p.m., Wednesdays-Saturdays. Arts Visalia Visual Art Center 214 E. Oak Ave. Info - Janelle Howard, Gallery Director 7390905, artsvisalia@sbcglobal.net April 4, 6, 11 & 13 at 7:30 p.m. “Steel Magnolias” in Lindsay Women gather in the local beauty salon, making their way over life’s many hurdles, finding comfort and a fair amount of verbal ribbing in one another. 7:30 and Sunday matinees April 7 & 14 at 2 p.m. 559 284-2223 or www. lindsaycommunitytheater.com April 5, 6, 12, 13, 19 & 20 “Rumors” The deputy sheriff on New York has just shot himself in this farcical comedy by Neil Simon. At the Barn Theater, 42 S. Plano, Porterville. 7:00 p.m. and Sunday matinees April 7 & 14 at 2:30 p.m. 559 310-7046 or www.portervillebarntheater.com April 5: Best of the Valley Quilt Show Friday, Saturday 10:00 - 4:00, Sunday 10:00-3:00. McDermont Field House 365 N Sweet Brier, Lindsay, Admission $10. Info Suzanne Kistler 936-2204 April 5: Habitat for Humanity’s 14th Annual Birdhouse Auction Wyndham Hotel 9000 Airport Dr., Visalia, Doors open at 6pm, Tickets – $100 each. Must order in advance, 559734-4040, INFO@HFHTKC.ORG April 5: Sofa Art Goes to Comic Con The Creative Center show is a quirky art exhibition featuring sofa imagery by local artists and is accompanied by a different theme each year. Theme this year is anime, illustration, comic books, pop art. Starts at 5:00, 6:30pm Cosplay Costume Contest, 7:30pm Art Awards Announced, 410 E Race Ave, Visalia.

April 5: 15th Sierra View Annual Golf Classic Sierra View Foundation Invites Golf Enthusiasts and Local Businesses to their Golf Classic at River Island Country Club in Porterville. All proceeds for the Classic will support the funding for an advanced and more sophisticated Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Scanner. Individual and team registration at sierra-view.com/golf. or contact the tournament headquarters at 559791-3922 or foundation@sierra-view. com. Deadline to register March 29 April 5, 6, 12 & 13 :“Honky Tonk Angels” at the Ice House Theatre Country classics combine with a hilarious story about three good ol’ gals who follow their dreams to Nashville in this foot-stomping musical. 7:30 pm, Sunday matinees April 7 & 14 at 2 p.m. At the Ice House Theatre, 410 E. Race, Visalia. 559 734-3900 or www.visaliaplayers.org April 5: “For the Love of Art” Visalia Education Foundation invites you to their inaugural art show, dinner and silent auction featuring the

9 work of Visalia Unified high school artists displaying paintings, pottery, sculptures, leatherwork, wood work projects, jewelry, fashion designs, and welding. Proceeds from the items auctioned will be divided equally between the artist and the Visalia Ed Foundation to be used for grants, scholarships and other projects that will benefit VUSD students. Info and tickets www. visaliaedfoundation.org or www.visaliaedfoundation.org or 5000 W. Cypress Ave., Visalia.

April 11, 12, and 13: Theatre Co. to perform Once on This Island JR Full of Caribbean flavor, production is based on Tony Award-winning Broadway show Evening Shows 7:00 p.m and Matinee Show 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.

The production is an original adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s popular fairy tale, The Little Mermaid.

Rotary Theater, 330 S. Dollner St., Visalia, Tickets $10:00. Tickets can also be purchased at the door or by phone by calling (559) 651-1482, ext. 3329.

April 6: Soroptimist International of Tulare 6th Annual Tea Sweet Treats, Tea Sandwiches,.Fresh Fruit, 11 30 am to 1 30pm. Tulare Community Church 1820 Gem St Tulare.

Fashion Show..Raffle All proceeds go to benefit Lite House Rescue Mission and Genesis House.Tickets $25.00 contact 559 731 5693.

April 12: The California Antique Farm Equipment Show® At the International Agri-Center® show grounds in Tulare.The event features antique tractors, trucks and engines, shopping by Rusty Roots, tractor pulls and more family-friendly activities over the weekend. The show runs Friday, April 12, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Saturday, April 13, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., and Sunday, April 14, 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

April 6: 3rd Annual Cars at the Park Car show Zumwalt Park in Tulare. Put on by AMVETS (American Veterans) All the proceeds will go towards services and programs for Veterans and their families.

State Headquarters, which overseas operations, is in Tulare at 157 South K St.For information please contact Sharon Allison-Crook, Director of Marketing & Programs (559) 688-3407 (559) 827-3494 or email: sharon@amvetsca. org April 6: Gadabout Meeting 10:00 AM Visalia Senior Center 310 N. Locust April 6: 1st Saturday in Three Rivers Arts Consortium presents tour 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Art studios, restaurants and merchants open their doors and invite all for a town-wide celebration. Go to the Three Rivers Historical Museum, 42268 Sierra Hwy. for a map of participating venues. For more info, visit 1stsaturdaytr.com or call 559-561-3463.

April 6: 2nd annual Totally Forked Fundraiser and Foodies’ Night Out Presented by Exeter Optimists, 4 to 7 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Building, 324 N. Kaweah Ave. Silent auction, live entertainment as local chefs dazzle attendees with off-menu delights with wine and craft beer pairings.

April 6: The Okie From Muskogee: A Tribute to the Bakersfield Sound Show at 7:30 p.m. at the Fox Theatre in Visalia. Tickets are $15-$30 at ticketfly. com.

April 6: Annual Tulare Garden Festival The UC Master Gardeners of Tulare/ Kings Counties are hosting their festival at the Tulare Public Library10:00 am – 2:00 pm. Master Gardeners will provide detailed information on landscaping, vegetable gardening, pest management, water conservation.

April 8: Soup with a Supe Tulare County District Three Supervisor Amy Shuklian will be hosting a town hall style event at 6:00 p.m. at the Board of Supervisors Office, located at 2800 W. Burrel Ave in Visalia. Get updates on current county projects, provides an overview of county operations, upcoming projects planned for District and ask questions.

April 11, 12, and 13: Singin’ in the Rain Presented by Golden West High School Theatre Arts invites you to enjoy a fun and entertaining classic. 7:30 with a Saturday 2:00pm matinee. L J Willaims Theater. Info 622- 3138. Tickets may be purchased online at https://webstores. activenetwork.com/school-software/ golden_west_high_sch/ or at Golden West High School.

April 12: Spring Cornhole Tournament & Social Downtown Visalia at Garden Street Plaza 301 E. Main Street at 5:30 pm, Teams consist of two players with a maximum roster of four. Each game is to 13 points, best of 3 games per match, single elimination. Pre-registration is recommended, on-site registration as space allows. live music and food vendors$25, per team. Info (559) 713-4365 or email recreation@visalia.city. Register in person at the Anthony Community Center, 345 N. Jacob Street.

April 12 – 14: Lemoore Chamber of Commerce 18th Annual Central Valley Pizza Festival Lemoore City Park- 350 Bush Street, Friday 5-10pm, Saturday 10am-10pm Sunday Noon-5pm. Contests, Live music, vendors.

April 13: Sequoia Symphony Orchestra “Wonders of Europe”—Rodrigo’s Concerto de Aranjuez and Respigni’s Pines of Rome—at the Fox Theatre, 300 W. Main St. in Visalia at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10-$45 at sequoiasymphonyorchestra.com.

April 13: 87th Annual Lindsay Orange Blossom Festival Lindsay Orange Blossom Parade and Festival at Lindsay Park! Parade starts at 10am, festival goes from 11am to 5pm. Live music, food vendors, bounce houses, a 5k and 10k fun-run, a carnival and more! Learn more at lindsayorangeblossom.org.

April 13: Respighi’s “The Pines of Rome” The Sequoia Symphony ends the season at the Visalia Fox Theater with “Concerto de Aranjuez” by Spanish composer Rodrigo, inspired by gardens in Spain. Guest artist is classical guitarist who goes by the name of Jiji.

Also “The Pines of Rome” pays homage to topographic pine tree scenes around Rome, ending with a triumphant military march along the Appian Way. Pre-concert preview by music director Bruce Kiesling at 6:45 p.m.

The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets, 208 W. Main Street, Suite D, Visalia, also available at 732-8600 or go to www.sequoiasymphonyorchestra.com.

April 14: The Unruly Mystic: John Muir Film with talk-back session after the screening by film-maker Michael Conti, introduced by local John Muir expert Harold Wood at College of the Sequoias, Ponderosa Building, Room 350 2:00pm. Explores the remarkable life and influential works of the patron saint of environmental activism and Father of America’s National Parks.

Tickets at door $12 Preview trailer at: https://johnmuirmovie.com. Info Harold Wood: 559-740-9455 or muirpower@gmail.com April 14: Wildflower hike in the Tule River foothills This will be a 4.5 mile round trip hike with an elevation gain of 1000 ft. Meet at Springville Community Park at 9:00 am.; bring at least 2 liters of water and a bag lunch. We expect to see a great wildflower display, and an opportunity to view the regrowth of a recently burned area. Contact Cathy Capone 559 361 9164 or cathycaponemail@ gmail.com April 13: 5th Annual Diabetes Memorial Walk Diabetes Walk in honor of the late Dr. James Mohs will be held at Visalia Medical Clinic. The 3K or 5K walk, and kids walk, begins at the clinic, 5400 W. Hillsdale, with check-in between 8 a.m. and 8:45 a.m., and kick-off at 9 a.m. (rain or shine). Diabetes and health information, resources to improve diabetes control, drawings to win gift baskets, and blood pressure and blood sugar checks. Participants will also be able to donate blood and meet VMC’s physicians, including podiatrist Jeffrey Hagen, DPM, who has a special interest in the impact of diabetes on feet. Free, Registered walkers receive a free commemorative T-shirt and water bottle, while supplies last. The registration www.vmchealth.com.

April 20: Free entry to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks In recognition of National Park Week and National Junior Ranger Day. Go to nps.gov for more information.

April 26: Family Night at Visalia Adventure Park, Hwy 198 and Akers St., 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. $18 wristband gets you unlimited access to go karts, bumper boats, mini golf, batting cages, and laser tag.

Karaoke mic will be available, too. For more info, visit adventurepark.com/ family-fun.

April 26 –3rd annual Spotlight Visalia with Stan Taylor Visalia Fox theater at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15-$55 at ticketfly.com. $5 student tickets can be purchased from the Fox Theatre box office.

April 27: First Annual Community Resource Epo by Prestige Assisted Living Prestige Assisted Living at Visalia and Senior Care Organization brings you this resource expo from 8:30 - 12:00 at the Exeter Church of God 246 West Chestnut. Topics covered - financial senior care, Alzheimer’s and dementia care,and senior living options. For vendor space or Info call Penny at 7350828, 625-3822 April 29: Culpepper & Merriweather Circus The Corcoran Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the circus. Proceeds from the benefit will go towards the 100th Christmas Tree Lighting event.

Info, Lisa Shaw at 559-992-4514.

April 29: Service of Remembrance and Hope Kaweah Delta Hospice will host its annual service on Monday, to provide families the opportunity to remember loved ones who died between March 2018 and February 2019. Music, prayer and encouragement. Those who would like to participate will be invited to light candles as each person’s name is read. Attendees should also consider bringing a picture or memento of their loved one to display. 7:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.) at the Wyndham Visalia, 9000 W. Airport Drive.

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Fresno airport, airline partners, prepare for busy spring/summer travel STAFF REPORTS Domestic and international carriers serving Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT) plan to accommodate a busy 2019 spring and summer by increasing flight frequencies and transitioning to larger aircraft.

Travelers flying for business, a family vacation or special occasion will have more destinations and increased flight schedules to choose from in the upcoming months with some services extending through the end of the year.

“Last summer, FAT experienced a 21% increase in passenger traffic during the July - September travel period,” said Director of Aviation Kevin Meikle.

“As passenger volume continues to grow at a record pace, the FATforward terminal and parking expansion program will be essential for continuing to provide convenient and efficient facilities for the traveling public and our airline partners as the demands of California’s Central Valley grow.”

As a result of strong performance in the Fresno market last summer, United Airlines will return daily nonstop flights between FAT and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) beginning March 31 and extending the service through the summer to early December. The major route, operated with mainline service on the Airbus A319 aircraft, offers seamless air access from the Central Valley to the Midwest with convenient connections to the

East Coast and beyond.

Expanded flights and destinations or connections to anywhere in the world for travelers flying FAT now and through the summer include: • AeroMexico increased frequency to Guadalajara, Mexico from five weekly flights to daily service • American Airlines added third daily departure to Dallas Forth-Worth • Mid-day Phoenix departure operated with American Airlines mainline service on the larger Airbus A319 aircraft • Continued daily service to the Guadalajara, Mexico on Volar-

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is with the addition of twice daily departures Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays Salt Lake City service on Delta permanent transition to the larger CRJ900 aircraft with more seat capacity

Additional flight options from FAT to other nonstop cities or to connect to destinations beyond include: • Allegiant to Las Vegas • Alaska Airlines to Portland, San Diego and Seattle • Frontier Airlines to Denver • United Airlines to Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco • Volaris to Morelia, Mexico

Initiatives to accommodate FAT’s continued growth trend include the completion of a new passenger boarding bridge and remodeled Gate 6/8 as well as the planned construction of a new surface parking lot. The remodeled gate provides an expanded seating area, charging outlets and dynamic signage in an open space setting complemented by a new passenger bridge for quick and easy boarding.

Construction on a new lot is underway offering more long term space to meet peak and growing parking capacity needs. The new surface lot is expected to open timely with the upcoming summer travel season.

Fresno Yosemite International Airport currently offers Valley passengers daily nonstop flights to Chicago (Seasonal - Returns March 31, 2019), Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Guadalajara and Morelia, Mexico on domestic and international carriers.

Fresno Yosemite International Airport is a municipally owned entity operating as a self-supporting enterprise.

No City of Fresno general funds are used to operate Fresno Yosemite International Airport or Fresno Chandler Executive Airport.

Like the airport on facebook.com/ FresnoYosemiteInternational or follow the airport on Twitter @FresnoAirport and Instagram @iFlyFresno .

ABC30 to feature Tulare County Special Services programs TULARE COUNTY OFFICE OF ED Several students at Liberty School in Tulare County sit on comfortable cushions on the floor, listening to Deanna Cardoza coach them through a mindfulness exercise involving slow breathing. To enhance the exercise, the room is filled with relaxing music and fragrance. Some students use a collapsible sphere to focus on their breathing.

Mrs. Cardoza leads an Intervention Resource Classroom (IRC) at Liberty School – one of 17 in Tulare County. IRCs are partnerships between the Tulare County Office of Education’s

Special Services Division and school districts to create comprehensive educational and therapeutic supports for students. With a focus on creating social emotional wellness, the IRC’s core component is teaching students the skills necessary for educational success. Skill-building is taught using evidence-based social skills curriculum in conjunction with individualized therapeutic services.

Students in special education, grades 1 through 12, experiencing various behavioral and emotional health needs are supported through an individualized process which allows them to access IRC supports as needed. The

program goals include increased student attendance, decreased problem behavior and suspensions, increased academic achievement and skill, and increased parent participation. IRC teachers and rehabilitation management specialists provide both therapeutic and academic support, plus behavior analysis and support, and social skills building.

Following the mindfulness exercise, Gianna, an eighth grader, shared how the IRC program has helped her cope with anger and other unhealthy behaviors. “Before IRC, I was the drama starter,” she said. “People would make me mad and I would just go off.

Now, I think about the things Mrs. Cardoza and I talk about and use my coping skills to keep from getting angry.”

Gianna shared her story with Aurora Diaz, executive producer/public affairs with ABC30, who is developing a Children First Special on supports for students with special needs.

The Intervention Resource Classroom is one of two Special Services programs being featured in the latest Children First series. The special, which will air on Sunday, April 28, at 6:30pm, will also feature a segment about a child being served through the Bright Start Parent/Infant Program.

Westlands Water District announces 2019 scholarship period STAFF REPORTS

Visit Visalia

on our website at VisitVisalia.com.

cal partners, and media on March 28 to unveil the new location.

A public event will be held at a later date as part of a Visalia Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting.

The office is open Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm and can be reached by phone at (5z9) 334-0141 or

Visit Visalia is a non-profit marketing organization dedicated to promoting Visalia as a leading meeting, convention and leisure travel destination.

For more information about planning a trip to Visalia, contact Visit Visalia at (559) 334-0141 or go to VisitVisalia.com.

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About Visit Visalia:

Westlands Water District is pleased to announce it is accepting applications for the District’s annual scholarship program.

This is the thirteenth consecutive year the District will provide scholarships to recognize and reward exceptional academic achievement and leadership by graduating seniors.

Scholarships are awarded to students from the following westside high schools: Coalinga, Firebaugh, Lemoore, Mendota, Riverdale and Tranquillity.

“These scholarships represent a small gesture of thanks and support to the communities on the westside of the San Joaquin Valley that contribute to making our region productive and vibrant,” commented Tom Birmingham, Westlands’ general manager. “We hope the recipients of these scholarships will continue to contribute to their communities and make them even better for future

generations.”

Each scholarship recipient will receive $1,000 to be used for college expenses.

Applicants are judged on their academic performance, school activities, and community leadership.

Past scholarship recipients have enrolled into California State University, Fresno; University of California, Berkeley; California Polytechnic State University; University of California, Los Angeles; West Hills Community College; and more.

Applications and all supporting documents are due by May 10, 2019 and may be submitted by mail to P.O. Box 6056, Fresno, CA 93703 or in person to 3130 N. Fresno Street, Fresno; between 8am to 5pm, Monday through Friday.

For an application and list of instructions, please contact the public affairs office at (559) 241-6233 or visit https://wwd.ca.gov/wp-content/ uploads/2019/02/scholarship-application.pdf.

Valley Voice 4 April, 2019

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Porterville-based Ennis Builders owners attend builders show STAFF REPORTS Sandra & Brian Ennis, the owners of Ennis Builders Inc., attended the 2019 International Builders Show (IBS) in Las Vegas, Nevada in late February, which celebrated 75 years.

They attend this show to keep their homebuilding company on the leading edge of innovation, information, and the newest products.

Sandra and Brian were among attendees from across the globe, including builders, remodelers, manufactures, and suppliers.

The show had more than 2,000 exhibitors occupying more than one million square feet of space and over 130 educational seminars. IBS and the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) once again combined shows which drew over 100,000 attendees.

This was the largest attendance in 10 years, a healthy sign both nationally and globally for the industry.

The company expanded its offerings in 2019 to include interior design, furniture, and décor for its clients.

“The IBS is an excellent way for me to stay current with the latest design

and option trends as well as the trending colors,” said Sandra Ennis who manages interior design for the company. “Although grey remains a popular background color, there are plenty of bold new colors on the horizon.”

“We attend this show to keep up with latest trends, techniques, and technology in our industry. It helps us improve our company towards our goal of being the ‘builder of choice’ and increasing the satisfaction of our clients,” said Brian Ennis.

“We want to be the best we can be in our industry, and this show helps us to benchmark our company against the best of the best builders from across the nation,” Ennis added.

The Ennis’ have been members of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), California Building Industry Association (CBIA), and the Building Industry Association of Tulare & Kings Counties (BIATK) since 1991 in which Brian has served on the board of directors of the local chapter and is the 2019 chairman.

Ennis Builders Inc is building throughout Tulare and Kern Counties.

The company is active in the cities of

Sandra & Brian Ennis

Delano, Visalia, Exeter, Porterville, and Springville.

Their current design/build projects include homes ranging from $100,000 to $1.2 million as well as commercial projects.

For more information about new and custom homes, remodeling, plan and interior design contact Sandra and Brian at (559) 788-1000.

Kaweah Delta announces patient safety heroes of the year STAFF REPORTS For their work to improve the quality and safety of care at Kaweah Delta and potentially save lives, an associate social worker and a registered nurse have been named Kaweah Delta’s Patient Safety Heroes of 2019.

Lorena Perez, RN, MSRN, and Amanda Silva, ASW, MFT, were named Kaweah Delta’s Patient Safety Heroes of the Year on Friday, March 22, in front of more than 300 leaders at Kaweah Delta’s fifth annual Patient Safety Symposium at the Visalia Convention Center. The annual Patient Safety Symposium focused on improving patient safety through just culture and featured David Marx. Marx is Chief Executive Officer of a Dallas-based risk management firm and spends the majority of his time helping organizations develop values-supportive practices and culture.

Kaweah Delta CEO Gary Herbst described “just culture” and how adopting it can elevate care, making Kaweah Delta a safer environment for the community. “Just culture is where we learn from our mistakes, where we speak openly and honestly, where we design systems and practices that are aimed at reducing human error, where we learn to speak up as simply as breathing,” he said. “That it doesn’t take some amazing act of courage to speak up when you see a mistake happen or about to happen.”

Perez and Silva were nominated for the Patient Safety Hero of the Year Award for doing just that. Both identified opportunities in their departments to improve the quality of

patient care and safety and tied for the award, which is only in its second year at Kaweah Delta. “These awards are about getting better for our patients and for our community,” said Sandy Volchko, Director of Quality and Patient Safety at Kaweah Delta. “We are committed to doing everything we can to continually improve so that we can bring the highest levels of care to our community.”

Perez, an RN working with dialysis patients, clarified a breakdown in communication on her unit that was potentially life-saving for patients, while Silva took it upon herself to create a process to improve communication with child welfare services to protect children.

“I just felt like I was just doing my job, but it’s really nice that the things we do to go above and beyond for people get recognized. It encourages people to do the right thing,” said Perez, who has worked at Kaweah Delta for 12 years and became a nurse because she enjoys taking care of people. Perez took care of her husband’s grandmother for seven years after she was bed bound after a stroke. “I want to take care of people in their time of need, in their time illness. It’s special to me.”

Silva, who has worked at Kaweah Delta for three years, said being named a “hero” was a shock. “I was overwhelmed and just started crying,” she said. “It just think it’s very important to advocate for our tiny little humans.

They are one of our most vulnerable populations and I want them to have that extra support.”

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Amanda Silva, left and Lorena Perez, right. Courtesy photo

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4 April, 2019 Valley Voice

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After years of work, Seville, Yettem break ground on new water system SELF-HELP ENTERPRISES After decades of struggling with water quality and supply issues, on Tuesday March 5, 2019 the communities of Yettem and Seville came together to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Yettem-Seville Water System Improvement Project.

Yettem and Seville are small, low-income unincorporated communities located in Tulare County, approximately 10 miles north of the city of Visalia.

Together, these communities have a population of about 700 people, mainly comprised of Hispanic farmworkers. For decades, both communities have been plagued with water quality issues due to nitrate contamination.

Longtime resident, Becky Quintana has always struggled with water reliability and quality in her community. Now in her early 60’s, Becky attributes her interest in helping her community from seeing her late father Ladislao (Lalo) Jacquez show concern about the community’s water system.

While not much change happened back then, the beginning of a dialogue was initiated. Community residents, like Becky’s father began to ask questions: “Why are we running out of water? Why does this keep happening?”

Becky’s role as a community leader began while serving on the local Stone Corral Elementary School Board where she learned more details of the severity of water issues in her community.

At that time (2007) the school attempted to build a new gymnasium but was denied approval when the responsible agencies learned that the community’s water infrastructure was practically nonexistent.

It was revealed that most of Seville’s distribution system was almost 100 years old and was in a severely deteriorated condition. The water lines were so bad and full of leaks, you could find them by following the growth of tule reeds that grew up over puddles that never went away.

HANFORD MARIJUANA continued from 1

council awarded permits to three companies to grow and test medicinal pot, but took great pains to stress that any pot grown in the industrial park would immediately be shipped out for sale in other parts of California. They also restricted the cultivation to medicinal pot all while affirming its opposition to recreational use.

But it’s a new day in Hanford.

Eight to ten residents, mostly business owners, spoke in favor of legalizing recreational pot during the public hearing and they requested that the dispensaries be located in the heart of downtown.

It seems a few business owners took a field trip to Woodlake and realized what their city was missing.

Though Farmersville is hot on their heels, Woodlake has the only legal pot dispensary in the Central Valley, and to say business is booming is an understatement. The poor rural town has transformed from a dusty outpost to a vibrant shopping destination, mostly to buy pot.

In a picturesque old brick building the Woodlake dispensary, Valley Pure, shares the sidewalk with a hip, spacious café appropriately called

To top this off, the single well supplying water to the entire community of Seville was unable to meet the community’s water demands and water produced from the well now had levels of nitrate exceeding State and Federal health standards.

These findings propelled numerous conversations that led to new partnerships. In 2009, Tulare County agreed to be the temporary receiver of the Seville water system.

Since then, community residents, county officials, state agencies and community organizations including Community Water Center and SelfHelp Enterprises (SHE) have been working together to bring about solutions to address the aged water system.

Becky was among the several spirited residents who stepped up to form the Committee for a Better Seville as a way to come together, learn and have their voices heard.

“We would go door-to-door passing out flyers for the meetings,” said Becky. “In the beginning we had several people but after a while people began to get frustrated because they wouldn’t see any progress.”

The process was long and it required patience. Delia Martinez, also a long-time resident said her motivation to get involved stemmed from her

belief this work needed to get done to benefit future generations.

“It’s not going to be so much for us anymore, but for our kids,” said Delia. “I sometimes wonder if my health problems were caused by the water. I have severe pain in my legs and hands and my 3 brothers who are also residents of Seville have similar problems.”

Delia will never truly know the real causes of her health issues, but works tirelessly alongside Becky and other community members to bring forth positive change.

SHE has long been involved with the community of Seville. Our initiator, Bard McAllister, had built up a relationship with community members in the 1970’s.

As a new SHE recruit, Paul Boyer remembers being introduced by Bard to Lalo Jacquez in 1977. Soon after, Lalo had Paul on the back of his motorcycle riding through the community and viewing the community’s challenges with water, sewer and lack of natural gas as top priorities.

Septic systems serving homes in Seville had a problem known as the Seville Adobe. This registered soil type prevented septic tank effluent from percolating into the soil.

SHE worked with residents, Tulare

“Munchies” that sells Starbucks-type drinks and oversized brownies One of the partners of Valley Pure, Wes Hardin, just happens to be a Hanford resident and attended Tuesday night’s meeting. He said during public comment that Hanford is missing out on a lot of sales tax potential.

Hardin reported that Woodlake’s dispensary has 3000 Hanford customers a month and that Valley Pure makes 15 deliveries a day to Hanford.

Licensed marijuana vendors can deliver pot anywhere in the state, even if the destination city has not legalized it.

But Hanford can’t tax a product that comes from Woodlake even now that deliveries will soon be legal. The city will only be able to tax those deliveries that originate in licensed businesses in its own industrial park.

Also, contrary to some meeting attendees’ understanding, Hanford will not be able to tax pot delivered through weedmaps even if it does originate in the city. Weedmaps is the black market happing in plain sight and is beyond the reach or Uncle Sam. Council Member Francisco Ramirez had formally only been in favor of medicinal marijuana but was swayed during the public hearing.

“If the police department had

been against dispensaries I would have not voted in favor. But Parker was supportive,” (referring to Hanford Police Chief Parker Sever.)

Ramirez said that Sever was not in favor of recreational pot but said that it was here to stay and legalizing it in the downtown area would be helpful.

He said at least now they know where to monitor it.

Locating the dispensaries downtown will have other benefits, such as its a double sales tax zone and the dispensaries will attract more foot traffic.

Ramirez’ goal was to locate a dispensary closer to Tenth Avenue to help revitalize the area around the abandoned theater.

“It’s a win/win situation. It will help our downtown, help our seniors and veterans to get their medicine instead of having to travel far away, and reduce the number of homeless downtown because there will be a higher police presence,” said Ramirez.

Brieno was the only council member unconvinced. “My support stops at medicinal use.”

“In Colorado, where it is already legal, there has been an increase in emergency room visits and accidents.”

Brieno is referring to a study that said marijuana-related traffic deaths increased by 32% since Colorado le-

County, as well as State and Federal agencies. SHE prepared the funding applications that were approved by USDA and the State to eventually build a sewer system that was constructed in the 1980’s.

With regard to Seville’s water issues, SHE, along with Community Water Center, served the role of a guide and resource.

SHE assisted in the facilitation of numerous community meetings and prepared planning and construction funding applications which are now approved for the Yettem-Seville Water System Improvement Project funded by State Water Resources Control Board.

Construction of the water system improvements will commence in two phases, with Phase 1 now started and set to be completed by the end of this year. Phase 1 will replace the deteriorated Seville water distribution system and include smart water meters and construct a new water storage tank.

Phase 2 of the project will drill a new well in Yettem and install a pipeline to connect both communities’ water systems to each other. The estimated project cost is $4 million.

In November 2018, Yettem and Seville voters approved Measure Y to form the Yettem-Seville Community Services District along with the election of five Directors to the new district’s Board.

This historic action will allow the newly formed district to operate the new combined water systems once construction is complete.

“Seville and Yettem have a very exciting future ahead of them,” said Seamus Guerin, Community Development Specialist for Self-Help Enterprises.

“The interconnection of the communities’ systems, bringing a more secure water supply for both Yettem and Seville, is on the horizon. A park, better street lighting, sidewalks; it’s all possible going forward for the communities and families of Yettem and Seville.”

galized pot. Of all the traffic deaths, almost 20% were marijuana-related.

The study also said that marijuana-related emergency department visits increased by 29% and that marijuana-related hospitalizations increased by 38%. Marijuana-related calls to the Rocky Mountain Poison Center increased by 72%.

Brieno also said that legalization leads to younger users. The Colorado study states that there was a significant drop in the age of marijuana users as a result of legalization and a greater number of 12- to 18-year-olds smoking pot.

He brought up the fact that while official dispensaries have to follow the law, the black market is going to flourish as a result.

“Why would you pay $80 an ounce when you could get it for $40 or $50?”

“The only people I come in contact with who smoke pot are shady characters. At homeless sites it’s the first thing I smell.”

So far as legalizing deliveries, he voted against that also. “If Hanford residents have to go to Woodlake, that’s better.”

“This was a downfall of the state with Proposition 64 passed. The people who promoted it were mostly from Silicon Valley,’ he said.

Valley Voice 4 April, 2019

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“Child Find Project” aims to find, support children with special needs TULARE COUNTY OFFICE OF ED Parents or friends who believe that a child may have a disability can find help by calling the Tulare County Office of Education or their local school district. The Child Find Project is designed to identify children who may be in need of special education services and connect them with appropriate educational programs.

Special education services and

programs are available in Tulare County for children with disabilities from birth through 21 years of age.

Services are available for children with disabilities in autism, blindness or vision impairment, deafness or hearing impairment, speech, physical or orthopedic disability, learning disabilities, behavior disorders, intellectual disabilities or other health impairments.

The goal of the Child Find Project

is to be sure that every child in Tulare County attends school and receives appropriate services. Child Find accepts referrals and screens children who may have a disability. The child is then referred to an appropriate educational program for evaluation and/or services. Assessments are provided at no cost to parents.

Information is confidential and the privacy of children and parents are protected.

Tulare County Superintendent of Schools Tim Hire says, “The Child Find Project is an excellent way of notifying parents of exemplary services and compassionate people who are here to help children with disabilities.” Additional information regarding special education services and programs may be obtained by calling the Child Find Project, Tulare County Office of Education at 7302910, extension 5120.

Registration still open for Chevron Fun Physical Science Camps STAFF REPORTS West Hills College Coalinga is now accepting applications for its annual Chevron Fun Physical Science Camp. Three camps will be held: one in Coalinga, one in Huron and one in Mendota. Applications for all three camps must be received by May 3.

The free camps are geared toward elementary school students. They will focus on hands-on physical science with the goal of encouraging the students to explore STEM fields: science, technology, engineering and math.

“The past 5 summers, Chevron Fun Physical Science Camp has been introducing elementary students from the West Side of our Central Valley an opportunity to learn about Physical Science and engaging stu-

TEXT TO 911 continued from 1

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Texting is not always instantaneous, which is critical during a life-threatening emergency.

It may take slightly longer to dispatch emergency services in a text to 9-1-1 situation because of the time involved: Someone must enter the text; the message must go over the network, and the 9-1-1 Telecommunicator must read the text and then text back.

Providing location information and nature of the emergency in the first text message is imperative, since the Visalia Emergency Communications Center will receive only the location of the cell phone tower

dents with hands-on STEM activities,” said Zach Soto, Director of MESA at WHCC. “We’re grateful to the generosity of Chevron for continually sponsoring these camps and giving Central Valley students a chance to learn how fun science and technology can be.”

The Coalinga camp will be held on the West Hills College Coalinga campus and feature three sessions from June 24 to July 12.

Camp 1 will run from June 24 to June 28 and be for 6th and 7th graders. Camp 2 will run from July 1 to July 5 and be for 4th and 5th graders. Camp 3 will run from July 8 to July 12 and be for 2nd and 3rd grade students. All camps will run Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 1pm.

Seats are limited so parents are

urged to sign students up now. Students will be selected by drawing and only 20 students will be accepted for each camp.

Applications for the Coalinga camps are available at West Hills College Coalinga in Room G2. For more information about the Coalinga Chevron Fun Physical Science Camp, contact Zach Soto at (559) 934-2762 or zacksoto@whccd.edu or Celena Watson at (559) 934-2342 or celenawatson@whccd.edu.

A camp will also be held in Huron this year. It will feature two sessions.

A session for 4th and 5th graders will be held from June 10 to June 14 while a session for 6th and 7th graders will be held from June 17 to June 21.

This camp will also be limited to 20 students per session. Applications

are due May 3. An application can be picked up at the Huron Middle School office. For more information, contact Principal Javier Gonzalez at (559) 9452926 or jgonzalez@chusd.org.

Finally, a camp will be held in Mendota.

The three sessions will run from June 10 to June 14, for 6th and 7th graders; from June 17 to June 21 for 4th and 5th graders; and from June 24 to June 28 for 2nd and 3rd graders.

Applications are available at the Mendota Unified School District Office at 115 McCabe Ave. in Mendota. Please contact Administrative Assistant Tabitha Plascencia at 559-655-2503 or tplascencia@mendotaschools.org or drop by the Mendota Unified School District Office.

Only 20 spots will be offered.

closest to the call’s origin.

Text abbreviations or slang should never be used so that the intent of the dialogue can be as clear as possible.

Customers must be in range of cell towers in the City of Visalia. If customers are outside or near the edge of the county, the message may not reach the Visalia Emergency Communications Center.

Texts sent to 9-1-1 have the same 160-character limit as other text messages.

Wireless customers who use Usage Controls should remove this feature to ensure full text to 9-1-1 capabilities.

Wireless customers must have mobile phones that are capable of sending text messages.

The solution is available for customers who use the native SMS provided by Wireless Service Provider.

Customers should consult their overthe-top (OTT) messaging provider to determine if and how text to 9-1-1 is provided by the OTT application.

The texting function should only be used for emergency situations that require an immediate response from police, fire or emergency medical services.

For non-emergency situations,

customers should contact their local public safety agency via a 10 digit non-emergency number.

SMS911 should only be used to communicate between emergency help and the texter with no pictures, video, other at-

tachments, or other recipients appended to the message.

The Visalia Emergency Communications Center and the City of Visalia is excited to join the ranks of PSAPs moving to use the SMS911 gateway, a significant step in making text to 9-1-1 available more broadly.

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PRESTIGE ASSISTED LIVING AT VISALIA

First Annual Community Resource Expo

Saturday

Presented by Prestige Assisted Living at Visalia and Senior Care Organization

April 27 8:30 AM – 12 Noon

Are you unsure of where to turn for questions related to aging and older adults? We’re here to help. Please join us for our First Annual Community Resource Expo.

Location: Exeter Church of God 246 West Chestnut Exeter, CA 93221

We invite you to attend one of our short presentations by industry experts, including topics on: • Financing senior care • Alzheimer’s and dementia care • Discharge planning • Senior living options Older adults and their families are encouraged to attend this FREE event.

For information, or to reserve a vendor space, please call Penny at Prestige Assisted Living at Visalia (559)735-0828 or the Senior Care Org office at (559) 625-3822 Prestige Assisted Living at Visalia 3120 W Caldwell Ave.Visalia, CA 93277 www.PrestigeCare.com

License #547200844

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VOICES & OPINIONS

4 April, 2019 Valley Voice

Re:”Trump and the Lawyer” I. HERNANDEZ Mr. Pendleton, for whatever it’s worth from someone on the sidelines, I want to congratulate you on a very well written article (Trump and The Lawyer). It’s sad that so many good people are being led the wrong path by someone who many believe (as I do) that is a racist, liar and a cheat.

He has no heart, no conscience, no respect for others. He only believes in himself. He is in love with himself and

the power his office gives him. He deserves to be impeach in my estimation.

Not because he is a Republican but because he is a poor specimen of a human being that thrives on causing destruction and unrest no matter who gets hurt in the process.

It’s time his followers get their head out of the sand and take a good look at reality. While they are at it take a good look at themselves. Please note I am not saying Republicans or Democrats; I’m saying “his” followers.

It seems to me that the only requirement to get a job at the White House lately is to be able to look the other way or keep your mouth shut.

I have come to the conclusion that some of the old timers working in the White House have been there so long that they are afraid to open their mouth as it might cost them their job.

I believe they are afraid to go out in the real world and look for a job.

They would rather lose their self respect, their dignity and worst of all

their families respect.

I feel sad for them and for the example they are setting for their children and for the children of millions of Americans. I guess in their mind every night when they go home they say to themselves, “Thank you, Mr. Trump, for giving me a job.”

It’s so sad. I only hope that someday they can look at themselves in the mirror with whatever pride is left in them.

Your comments from ourvalleyvoice.com

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Nice Point of View, but I take issue with this section: “I get my hair done, and so do millions of women in California My salon owner is afraid for her business’s future because her stylists now have to become an employee. Those who do your hair will no longer be able to set their own appointments, charge their own rates, or be independent. Instead, they will have to work eight hour schedules and adhere to their employer’s rules.”

I’m a salon owner who employs over 40 hairstylists who work the hours that they prefer–anywhere from 5-8 hours a day, from 2-5 days a week. They can book their own appointments through our salon app. The salons of today are aware that stylists need flexibility in their hours and we give it to them. In addition, we pay half of their social security, and make sure their payments to State Disability, Unemployment, and Medicare are made. We also pay for Sick Pay and for Workers Compensation. We also ensure that they are compliant with our state’s tax laws, safety regulations, and worker protections. That’s not a salon owner rule, that’s the government rule, and since you are a Senate Republican Leader, you would be aware.

You likely haven’t heard the stories of stylists who were promised Independent Contractor status only to be held to those salon owners’ rules, told to work overtime (without extra pay), were told what to charge, what product to use, restricted by non-competes, and were basically treated as employees, without the salon owner ever paying their payroll taxes. You may not be aware of how many hair and nail salons are cash-only and operate in the Underground Economy. There are plenty of salons where workers are being taken advantage of, as other workers are in other industries, and that is the point of Dynamex. And what “employer’s rules” are you referring to? State Board regulations on sanitation and customer safety? There are two sides of this story. Please interview employer salons as well as the salon you go to, so you can represent the issue fairly. There is a way to be sure that all business owners comply with the law, and that all workers can be protected and treated fairly, and there is plenty of flexibility in how they work. Feel free to reach me for questions.

— Karie Bennett on The ABC’s aren’t as easy as 1, 2, 3, in CA

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— Barbara on Largest Tulare, Kings daily papers run out of area

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Saul, “Friant Kern Canal water users are undermining it by sucking the groundwater dry underneath it and causing subsidence?” I would say your exaggeration needs to be exposed here. Orange Cove, Lindsay, Strathmore, and portions of Porterville locally rely on the Friant Kern conveyance for municipality water. Those cities have grown substantially since 1951. With that growth and California turning a blind eye to central valley population growth has caused stressors and over demand on the water supply today. This is no one’s fault but the ignorant bureaucrats. Just as I pay for the failures of our educational system, DMV, and High Speed Rail, you will help pay for fixing the subsidence of the Friant Kern because it is the right things to do for sustainable future of California and the food supply.

— FFC on Cox holds first town hall in Hanford

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Know why I am addressing these issues , A 18 yr old girl who had been out drinking all night before got up early next morning , drove when she should not have been . She struck my friend and me while we were cycling down the hill , Killing my friend instantly , nothing happened to this girl , a slap on the wrist , Do you know Steven and I were drug tested she was not , my mother is still upset over that .. this girl took a life and damaged another forever and nothing happened ..

Private investigator showed she had been out till 2 am drinking hard alchol .. these youth are getting missed big time ..

— Mylene Lucas on Shuklian to hold town hall

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If it wasn’t for the Valley Voice Tulare County would be sorely missing a lot of local news and in-depth reporting. VTD’s reporters aren’t as thorough as Valley Voice’s main reporters. Thank goodness for our Valley Voice. I know there is a lot of griping about the Valley Voice in some’s postings but they always seem to be coming back over and over reading this paper. If it was a bad as they state they no longer would be reading it. As for this reader….. I LOVE THE VALLEY VOICE!

The problem with local newspapers isn’t where the publishers live, it’s the gutting of newsoom staffs. Three reporters to cover a city of over 50,000 people?

— Wayne Steffen on Largest daily papers run out of area

I know that, as a blind person, online access to newspapers has been a real benefit to me. But the loss of local coverage is troubling.

To me, this is where Valley Voice shines. The text is easily accessible to me with my screen reader software.

— Dave M on Largest daily papers run out of area

We middle class workers are tired of you Democrats taking and taking. We just started getting money thanks to our President. Tired of all the lies.

— Margaret Holmes on Cox holds first town hall in Hanford

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Ms. Shuklian Were does one go to see what it’s costing the county for the task force for the homeless situation .

Another question why is it taking so long to develop a plan for homeless people , The city was able to develop a sports park in no time ..

Each homeless person is a humanbeing and needs to be addressed as such ..

Question : why has the youth drinking risen incredible in the last 8 yrs it’s like a elephant in the china shop ..

Go to the court house down to the ticket area see just how much the youth and drunk driving has risen ..

I care , my Dad was born raised here also a City engineer for 40 yrs ..

My Mom a Highway patrol supervisor 38 yrs ..

I’ve seen this city go downward , not upward …

— Mylene on Shuklian to hold town hall

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Yaudanchi seems to embody important and diverse interests, water being an important driver. The other drivers of science and outdoor education, living Native culture and its history and ceremony, the ecology of rare open space, and recreational benefits all seem to be rising to the surface. I see that more and more, people are becoming informed. Protection seems inevitable, but the inevitable is not always guaranteed nor does it just happen. Right now, we need a managing agency (ether State Parks or CA DFW to take the reins and establish the best management practice. Reach Friends of Yaudanchi, esp if you have influence at State Parks or CA DFW and are concerned about wild and rural lands, its peoples, and the allegedly free resources.

— Mehmet McMillan on Who closed Yaudanchi?

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Valley Voice 4 April, 2019

15

VOICES & OPINIONS

“Thank you for following my campaign..”

LARRY MICARI I would like to thank you for following my campaign and being a part of this endeavor. I have been very busy attending meetings, events, and reaching out and meeting with individuals.

I feel as though the communication is going well but there is still much work to do.

I would appreciate anything you

can help me with such as: meet n greets, fundraising events, attending and sharing my events and Facebook and Instagram posts, endorsements, and/or donations.

I would like to personally invite you to our Cinco de Mayo Paint Event.

There are different options to attend: a painting tutorial with Artist Loren Miller, socialize with all you can eat food and drinks, or donate to the cam-

paign/event.

As always, I enjoy meeting and talking with people, however I know that people and families are busy as well. We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you soon. You can register online or contact Beth for tickets or questions.

Micari’s Cinco de Mayo Paint Event will be held May 5 at 19423 Ave. 300, Exeter, CA 93221.

Sponsorships range from $150-500, and “Spectator” tickets are available for $25, while “Artist” tickets include a painting tutorial for $75.

Spectator and Artist tickets include all you can eat food and drink.

For more information, call 559799-3654 or email micari4supervisor@ gmail.com.

“Visalia’s students and taxpayers deserve better results” JERROLD JENSEN Unfortunately, I am unable to attend your joint leadership meeting for VUSD, COS and the city of Visalia.

A prior family commitment prevents my attendance to deliver the following thoughts during the public comments period: I believe Visalia’s students deserve a better education.

In January, the California Department of Education released a list of the “Lowest Performing schools in California” - they named 182 elementary schools. Five of them are in Visalia: Pinkham, Royal Oaks, Willow Glen, Houston and Goshen.

Kids currently enrolled in six more elementary schools at Crowley, Conyer, Mt. View, Highland, Annie Mitchell and Washington, will then move on to Divisadero Middle School which is also on the State’s dreaded “Lowest Performing” list.

In total, students in 11 of 25 VUSD elementary schools are either already attending schools classified as the “Lowest Performing” - or they will attend the 7th and 8th grades in a Middle School that is also on that list.

Students progressing from the failing Divisadero Middle School will then attend Mt. Whitney High School where only 15% of their 2018 graduates were eligible for Freshman admission

to UC/CSU. Redwood qualified 53% for admission to UC/CSU. El Diamante qualified 33% and Golden West 19%. Statewide, 50% of graduates were eligible.

The Department of Education also calculates a broader measurement which determines the percent of H.S. graduates who are “College/Career Ready.” VUSD scored just 39% Clovis Unified scored 63%. Dinuba Unified, Fresno Unified, Tulare Union, Cutler-Orosi Unified and Exeter Unified all exceeded Visalia’s results.

Regarding the State administered student testing: Comparing only 11th grade “English Language Arts/Literacy”scores for 35 Central Valley High

Schools, El Diamante ranked #5. The other 3 Visalia schools trailed behind all 5 Clovis schools, 2 Tulare schools, 2 Hanford schools, Kingsburg, Lindsay, Selma, Edison, Monache, Farmersville and Exeter.

Finally, according to the Dept. of Education website, 22.4% of VUSD teachers are in just their 1st or 2nd year of teaching. Only 5.4% of Porterville’s are similar “rookies.” Statewide, the number is 12.2%. Superintendent Oto says his data conflicts with the State’s official record and shows only 15% of his teachers are in their 1st or 2nd year.

Thank you for the time. Visalia’s students and taxpayers deserve better results.

Some straight shooting about gun control STEVE PENDLETON One of our local media outlets (which sometimes gets smeared by the fringe as being “Socialist”) recently ran some stories about assault rifles-and a judge who overturned the California law about extended cartridge clips.

Both are worth some elucidation.

That’s without the misinformation provided by the unholy alliance between the NRA, Big Guns, and the casket industry.

The first article ranked each county by the number of assault rifles per capita. Tulare actually ranked about in the middle.

I guess we don’t want to waste too much ammo-maybe we don’t want to hit a lot of cows or kids.

For those of you who were never in the military-or have bought the NRA’s “over my dead body” rhetoric-these are semi-automatic (supposedly)weapons designed specifically for killing people. Ive said it before but sometimes the truth needs to be pounded in. No self-respecting hunter would ever car-

AG JOBS

continued from 6 agriculture jobs, followed by Texas at 2 million jobs and Florida at 1.4 million jobs.

At the national level, as outlined above, approximately 11 percent of food and agricultural jobs are in farming-related activities, while 89 percent of food and agricultural jobs are downstream in the supply chain.

To measure the agricultural job intensity across the U.S., the percentage of direct agricultural jobs to total direct jobs in food and agriculture—agricultural jobs divided by the sum of direct food and agricultural jobs across the agricultural, manufacturing, wholesale and retail supply chain—

ry such a weapon into the forest.

No target shooter would use it in their sport. These things are wasteful of very expensive ammo, and if you train a lot they use up enormous amounts of the stuff. Add to that, if case you ever get in a firefight, they spray deadly bullets all over the neighborhood.

That may be acceptable when you are in a jungle or hostile city. The military calls it ‘”spray and pray”, which means exactly that. You pull the trigger and hope you hit a bad guy. Maybe you hit one but you are just as likely to waste an enormous amount of lead.

Now replace the jungle with your street. Let loose a volley in defense of your loved one, you might forget those bullets are lethal at a very long distance. Not so? Consider that a tiny .22 bullet can be deadly at a mile. And remember the old Pancho Villa movies? El Carnecero (Rudolfo Fierro) used to execute Federales by lining them up three in a line and shooting them through the back. Claimed he saved a lot on the cost of ammunition.

In short, those who buy these things have been bamboozled by the aforementioned Big Three. Assault rifles are profit points for the arms industry.

They were justly outlawed for years, until Big Money flowed from Big Gun and the NRA to the voracious coffers of Congress.

The problem is that California has some of the toughest regulations in the country. However, many other states lack the backbone to match us.

That means anyone who wants a mankilling weapon only has to go to a more pliant state to obtain one. The obvious answer is national legislation.

However, that probably wont work until everyone realizes that guns, just like autos, can be dangerous if misused.

For the life of me I cannot understand why the NRA chooses this suicidal mantra when they don’t make a peep about laws on the use of automobiles. Its the same thing, folks.

Then we get some nitwits like the judge who overturned the law banning large clips. He claimed it infringed the

rights of someone engaged in a firefight who ran out of ammo.

I would like to know exactly how many cases there are where that happened, and the body count for spraying the landscape with lead.

Im going to end this with a little surprise. I happen to like guns. Ive owned them since I was 14. When I was in high school I used to take my .22 to school (try that one today)when our rifle range was open.

Ive owned many kinds of guns-military rifles, semi automatics, pistols, shotguns-and I was even in my more ignorant days a member of the NRA. I also realize that you cannot legislate behavior. However, laws can be used to make it easier for society to enforce sanctions on lawbreakers. You have to start somewhere, and it seems to me logical to control these mankilling machines first.

We don’t live on a frontier, and we don’t usually have single shot muzzle-loaders. We live in a much more restricted space, and our gun laws should reflect that.

was calculated.

This intensity level will identify which states have a higher percentage of food and agricultural jobs directly tied to farming.

At the state level, the agricultural job intensity ranges from less than 2 percent to as high as 40 percent. The intensity of direct agriculture-related jobs is the highest in North Dakota and South Dakota, where 40 percent and 36 percent of all food- and agriculture-related jobs are directly tied to agriculture, respectively.

In many states, primarily in the West and Midwest, the percentage of direct food- and agricultural-related jobs is greater than 25 percent.

In portions of the country with higher metropolitan populations and less agricultural production, the per-

centage of jobs directly tied to agriculture is lower.

For example, in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey, fewer than 3.5 percent of food and agricultural jobs are directly tied to farming activities. In California, 9 percent of agricultural jobs come in direct food and agriculture categories.

Another measure of employment intensity in agriculture is direct agricultural jobs as a percentage of the state population. The percentage of the population directly employed in food or agriculture was 6.9 percent at the national level, but ranged from a low of 5.6 percent in West Virginia to a high of 11.3 percent in South Dakota. In California, the figure was 7 percent. As expected, the percentage of the population directly employed in food and

agriculture was the highest in portions of rural America with high concentrations of food and agricultural activities and a lower population.

The Feeding the Economy study determined the 22.8 million total direct jobs related to food and agriculture generated not just the total wages of $729 billion, but federal tax contributions of $537 billion, state tax contributions of $376 billion and economic output of $2.1 trillion—proving that agriculture and its related industries have a sizable impact on the U.S. economy.

(John Newton is chief economist and Michael Nepveux is an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation.

This commentary is adapted from a posting on the AFBF Market Intel blog.)

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Valley Voice

4 April, 2019

VISALIA SCHOOLS continued from 1

Dr. Todd Oto says that the district will be looking into why these schools were listed.

“We’ll be establishing a cycle of inquiry,” said Oto. “It’s our task to make these schools better.” He says schools will tackle specific ways to make sure the underperformance is remedied in the school’s School Plan for Student Achievement.

COX

continued from 1 come out of their taps.”

Cox said that he intends to invest in Kings County’s surface water, groundwater and above-ground water storage infrastructure. He also said the conveyance system needs money for repairs and improvements.

As a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Cox oversees federal works such as the Central Valley Project and major dams. One of his goals is to get the chair of the committee, Raúl Grijalva, (D-Arizona) to the Central Valley so he can understand the county’s water needs.

He said that the committee found a fund that has been left untapped to fix Bureau of Reclamation facilities, which include Pine Flat and Shasta Dams. That fund has been banked, according to Cox, for the last 47 years and amounts to $10 billion. Right

California Education Code 64001 requires a plan to be outlined and if a school or district fails to write one, the school will not receive funding for a slew of programs under California Ed. Code 64000. Affected programs would include bilingual education support, professional development programs, and school safety initiatives.

Visalia resident Jerrold H. Jensen consolidated this data and compared it to other schools in the Central Valley.

“I had concerns about Measure

A and I had worked with the district from almost day one on that. I was trying to get them to look at birth rates and their own declining numbers of first-grade students which determines the number of kids you’re going to have eventually in high school,” said Jensen.

In his report, he included the graduation rates for Visalia high schools and the percentage of students who graduate who are also ready and able to transfer to a California State Univer-

sity or a University of California.

According to Jensen’s report, only 15% of graduates at Mt. Whitney are prepared to enter a four-year state college. For Golden West, that number is 19%; at El Diamante, that number is 33%; at Redwood, 52% of graduates are ready for higher education. The state average is 50%.

“Clearly Redwood has been packed with the best students,” said Jensen.

“The priority is fixing the existing high schools now.”

now they are committing $3 million to fix subsidence damage on the Friant-Kern Canal, of which Cox has toured the entire length.

Cox has also been working with San Luis Reservoir and Shasta Dam to ensure that Westside farmers do not have to put their land out of production because of a lack of water.

An audience member shouted out asking why Cox had not signed HR 1600, a bill that would transfer federal funding from the high-speed rail to water infrastructure projects.

The bill was introduced by Kevin McCarthy(R –Bakersfield) and signed by all seven of the Republican members of Congress from California.

Cox responded by saying that, once money is allocated to one project, Congress can’t just take it and use the money for something else.

He also said he is not a believer in the philosophy of scarcity. The Federal Government can find a way to pay for

transportation and the water infrastructure he said.

Are you going to raise our taxes?

In an op-ed written by Cox to the Fresno Bee he states, “Because of the tax bill, where 83% of the benefits went to our nation’s richest one percent, we’ll hit a trillion-dollar deficit this year and every year in our foreseeable future.”

“That’s Irresponsible,” Cox said during the town hall.

He said there needs to be more of a balance between what the government brings in and what it spends.

“We need a fair tax system where everyone pays their fair share.”

Cox also said that people who were expecting a tax refund are now going to have to pay taxes because of the new bill. Along with the fact that the government was shut down for a month, Cox has introduced a bill to extend the time to file your taxes from April 15 to May 20.

Because of the new tax bill, President Trump needs to find cuts to reign in the debt. In his proposed budget he cuts social benefits by $2.7 trillion while increasing military spending by $750 million. Of that, Cox said Medicaid is being cut by $1.5 trillion in Trump’s proposed budget, “a program that 50% of the people in the 21st Congressional District rely on for healthcare.”

Cox is against those budget cuts, saying, “We believe quality healthcare can be delivered to everyone.”

If Cox has been anything, he’s has been accessible--unlike his neighbor, Congressman Devin Nunes, who has not been heard from since the election except to file a lawsuit against Twitter. In Cox’ first 60 days he has held 100 events, giving his constituents unfettered access.

“I want to be as responsive as possible. And I mean it when I say it: I work for you.”

Inspired by your powerful love.

We are on this earth for a reason. There’s no time in your day to slow down because too many people depend upon you. But you’re still able to take great care of yourself and do it all. Your motherly love fills you with energy.

You, and every loving parent, inspire us to do more than practice medicine. You inspire us to transform lives.

See inspiration in action at AdventistHealth.org.