Valley Voice Issue 139 (16 April, 2019)

Valley Voice

Volume XXXIX No. 8 16 April, 2019 ourvalleyvoice.com

First phase of Kaweah Delta ER expansion almost completed

Tulare spending big on community development

DAVE ADALIAN

With the help of a big windfall, Tulare will be handing out nearly $1.3 million to help fund a long list of community projects in 2019 and into 2020.

While the city makes annual allocations to various projects--mainly to low-income housing efforts--thanks to the payoff of an economic development loan to the tune of $590,000, the amount it will distribute from its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) fund will nearly double its usual payout during this cycle.

“Normally, we get about $620,000 a year, because we’re a city of 50,000,” said Margie Perez, Tulare’s housing and grants specialist.

DAVE ADALIAN

dave@ourvalleyvoice.com

dave@ourvalleyvoice.com

The first phase of Kaweah Delta Medical Center’s emergency department expansion should up and running before summer is in full swing, says Gary Herbst, CEO of the Kaweah Delta Health Care District.

What the hospital is calling its “Fast Track” area--an eight-bed, dedicated area for patients with nonlife threatening conditions that will serve as an triage area for the ER at its entrance--has essentially completed construction. Staffing, stocking of supplies and a final state inspection should be done by the end of May. “We think by mid-June it will be up and running,” Herbst said.

More Beds by Autumn

The rest of the ER expansion project is also continuing apace, with construction of a 10-bed area known as Zone 4 also wrapping up in May. “I would say (it will be) safely open by October,” Herbst said. “We’ll have added 18 beds.”

The largest portion of the project, known as Zone 5, is also moving forward, but at a slower pace.

“Zone 5 is the big one, taking the ER all the way to the helipad (located in the east of the Medical Center at Locust Avenue),” Herbst said. “Unfortunately, it won’t be complete until July 2020.”

Adding staffing, supplying and state certification, the new ER addition won’t be seeing patients until November of next year. But, when the

Ted Macauley speaks during Robyn Stearns’ launch party.

Stearns announces run for Tulare County Board of Supervisors Former Exeter mayor will run for District 1 CATHERINE DOE

catherine@ourvalleyvoice.com

Former Exeter Mayor Robyn Stearns announced her candidacy for Tulare County Board of Supervisors District 1 at a campaign launch party Friday evening. Stearns will face challenger Larry Micari and incumbent Tulare County Supervisor Kuyler Crocker.

Approximately 50 of Stearns close family, friends and co-workers gathered to launch her campaign. Ted Macauley, also a former Exeter Mayor, introduced Stearns, expressing his support for her campaign and how much he enjoyed working with her on the city council.

Macauley is also supporting Micari for supervisor and plans to donate to both campaigns. Several attendees at the event expressed their belief that

KAWEAH DELTA continued on 12 »

Manager of Hanford Carnegie Museum claims harassment CATHERINE DOE

catherine@ourvalleyvoice.com

The Director of the Carnegie Museum, Patricia Dickerson, was granted a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against Hanford resident Mike Quinn.

Quinn was ordered to stay at least 150 yards away from Dickerson, her family, house, car, the Carnegie Museum, and her daughter’s school. The TRO was granted March 15.

A hearing was held on April 5 in Kings County Superior Court where the TRO was continued but modified so Quinn could travel downtown to run necessary errands.

Quinn filed an anti-SLAPP suit against Dickerson to get the TRO dismissed.

California’s anti-SLAPP law was passed to remedy when a government entity obtains a TRO in order to silence its critics. Quinn believes Dickerson’s TRO is in retaliation for his being critical of the museum.

Two other anti-SLAPP suits are working their way through the courts in Lemoore and Coalinga and involve their city’s councils.

The next hearing is set for the first week of June.

Dickerson Claims Harassment

Dickerson’s petition states about Quinn, “All of them (her family) are followed to the park, to school or work, and followed and recorded by either a car mounted camera or cell phone. Sometimes the recording is done in front of our faces as we walk by. He (Quinn) will shout he has a right to do this. He drives by my home and business menacingly.”

“He drives by my home constantly.

When I am in the park he will get out of his car and follow me…He also follows my husband to pick up my 12-year-old daughter at school. He was escorted

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Micari and Stearns will be the top two vote getters in the March primary, leaving current District 1 Supervisor Crocker behind. Crocker has held the District 1 supervisor seat since his narrow victory against Dennis Smith in 2016.

Stearns kept her comments short as all in attendance knew her well.

“I will do a great job as supervisor, of that I am sure,” she said.

That sentiment was echoed by co-worker Linda James. “Robyn gets more done than anyone I have seen in my life. She keeps her garden, takes care of her grandkids, runs a business, and works as a realtor for Avedian Properties, on top of other volunteer work, while I am still scratching my head.”

Her sons-in law also agreed Stearns will do a great job. “She is a communi-

HANFORD MARIJUANA continued on 11 »

CDBG Sources

That state funding normally makes up the bulk of the CDBG funding the city has to offer, with other sources sweetening the pot, such as the payoff of first-time homebuyer loans. This year however, a large loan the city made to foster business development got a reimbursement late in the funding cycle, leading to an unusually oversize rollover from the 2018-19 CDBG account.

“We had one specific economic development loan paid off. It was a large amount, so this year we have quite a lot of income,” Perez said. “That’s not normal or typical.”

As it stands now, Tulare’s CDBG fund for this fiscal year should have $1,295,007 to allocate. That number, however, could change a bit.

“It may change by $10,000 up or down, hopefully up,” Perez said.

DEVELOPMENT continued on 11 »

It’s a new day for Tulare County dogs in commercial kennels CATHERINE DOE

catherine@ourvalleyvoice.com

After three years of community meetings and research, Tulare County Animal Services (TCAS) presented its updated Animal Ordinances to the Tulare County Board of Supervisors on April 9.

Patrick Hamblin, TCAS Manager, said the two main goals of the new ordinances were to address pet overpopulation and to improve the health and well being of the county’s dogs.

After a lively public hearing, with the supervisors having to retreat to closed session, the board voted 5-0 in favor of the changes.

Cassie Heffington from Kings County Animal Services listened in and was so impressed that she planned on presenting TCAS’ new ordinances to her board of supervisors for possible adoption.

To update the ordinances, TCAS formed the Animal Services Advisory

Committee, a 12 -member board that met for two years reaching out to the Humane Society, researching other municipalities’ rules, and refining the new document. TCAS also had an active presence online and encouraged community input for each new draft.

Hamblin started his presentation by saying that Tulare County used to have some of the worst kill rates in the country with only 17% of the animals being adopted. Now the rate is 65% said Hamblin, and they are working every day to improve that number.

One tactic to reduce kill rates was to break down barriers to owners getting their pets back from TCAS by lowing administration costs after the animal had been impounded.

Another was to institute mandatory spay and neuter of all pets. Hamblin said that last year 7022 dogs arrived at TCAS and of those more than 2000 were puppies.

Exceptions to the mandatory spay

KENNELS continued on 14 »

16 April, 2019 Valley Voice

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FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESK

Tulare is Copenhagen

Tulare City Councilman Greg Nunley should be positively crimson with shame after suing the city for $16.5 million.

But he’s not.

This is a breach of Nunley’s fiduciary duty not to Tulare itself, but to its taxpaying residents--especially those in the area he represents, District 5.

What’s particularly galling is that this suit represents a betrayal of his supporters, the people who elected him. I can only imagine they feel as if they’ve stumbled into a Kafkaesque judiciary proceeding where some erstwhile friend or family member is suing them for a preposterous, crushing sum of cash.

I’m not going to validate Nunley’s lawsuit by listing its particulars.

These can be found elsewhere in this paper and on our website. And I’m baffled by the amount he is seeking. Suffice it to say, though, that a suit of this size against a city the size of Tulare would be more than onerous if he were to prevail in full.

What Nunley is saying with his lawsuit is that his interests are more important than those of his constituents. He’s saying that his interests are entitlements while their interests are concerns. Fair enough, I suppose--if you’re Nunley--but you can’t adequately represent people you feel vastly superior to.

So he should immediately resign his seat. Or drop his suit. Because it seems to me he can’t have both. He can step down and legitimize his suit or, conversely, he can drop his suit and legitimize his seat.

To be clear, there could be many valid reasons for a sitting councilmember to seek legal redress against the city he represents. In the Holly Blair case, for instance, in Lemoore, an anti-SLAPP suit was brought by the city councilmember against her city to quash a temporary restraining order it had filed against her.

But can a councilmember simultaneously represent and intentionally financially harm constituents for his own gain?

This might technically be legal, but it remains far from right. If this is the case then something is rotten in the state of Denmark, and Tulare is Copenhagen.

Nunley, though, is no Hamlet--by which I mean he’s no prince.

It must be difficult to trust a city councilman willing to sue his city for his own motives. His every action, viewed through a lens of revenge or personal gain, would be suspect. And that’s when he hasn’t recused himself.

This is something Nunley has done a good job of in the past, especially regarding Tulare’s hospital. But the ramifications of his current suit must, at $16.5 million, be vast. Who can say how much future city business he’ll have to recuse himself from? That’s why it’s better he resign his seat. Nunley can’t possibly operate at peak effectivity in the present manufactured environment.

I encourage all Tulareans, especially those residing in District 5, to answer this question: Do you trust Greg Nunley? I’m asking you to respond publically, online, as a bellwether.

We recently bought a house in a peaceful Visalia neighborhood. Immediately, I noticed there was not a deadbolt on the premises. Neither was there any kind of alarm. We’re now the second owners of a 30-year old house--and in all that time it has never been burgled. That is telling. We haven’t even moved in yet and already I can feel a trustworthiness about the neighborhood.

Lock your doors, Tulare.

Failing that, you could always avail yourself of a recall. But that would be expensive, and demonstrative of impatience. Why not wait until next year when you can vote him out of office properly and on the cheap?

Joseph Oldenbourg

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Valley Voice 16 April, 2019

POLITICAL FIX

will be back next issue

New behavior policies take hold at Visalia Unified JOHN DILLON

john@ourvalleyvoice.com

A new ideology of behavior reform is taking hold in Visalia schools and the district is experiencing minor success.

Beliefs behind Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) are not new. According to the PBIS informational website, Congress amended the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1997 and included the framework for the structure that would become PBIS. Positive Behavior Support was further reinforced in the 2004 amendment to the law.

Congress wanted to be sure students with disabilities were fairly treated and the legislature strongly encouraged the implementation of PBIS. “Congress’ reasons for encouraging the use of PBIS are clear and stem from (a) the historic exclusion of individuals with disabilities based on unaddressed behavior and (b) the strong evidence base supporting the use of PBIS,” reads the website.

About five or six years ago, Visalia Unified schools began implementing PBIS practices, but they became largely dependent on an outside consultant. Nearly two years ago, a directive came from the district office to become more independent with their discipline structures.

Social worker Esmeralda Rodriguez works through Positive Support with students at Washington Elementary and Golden Oak North campus.

“I do referrals to the community and referrals to homeless shelters if those are needed among our students,” says Rodriguez. She works with parents and students together to provide support.

Her main job is to sit down with kids who get in trouble to help them understand why their actions were bad or required discipline.

“My days are never the same,” says Rodriguez. She works with families in the community as well. “A lot of families have jobs during the day,” says Rodriguez. “It’s difficult to provide adequate support by themselves.” Rodriguez is now working to begin classes for working parents to help them with basic skills.

Rodriguez operates with Visalia Unified School District’s Director of Social Wellness Ben Dhillon, whose job is to coordinate all schools’ behavior tactics and help them implement effective PBIS policies.

“My role is to help provide guidelines and support at our school sites,” says Dhillon. “There’s been changes in legislation and discipline practices in California over the last couple years.

One of the big changes is that schools are required to demonstrate interventions prior to considering suspension or expulsion.”

Dhillon also says kids often don’t learn from being expelled or suspended. He believes taking a student away from the learning environment doesn’t inspire an affinity for learning.

“The whole thing boils down to equity for kids and for staff,” says Dhillon.

PBIS works in three tiers. The first tier provides general support to all students by bolstering a positive school environment and states clear positive expectations for schools.

Acronyms are posted around the school usually relating to the site’s mascot. At Washington Elementary, their mascot is the Patriots and the expectations fit the acronym of ‘RISE.’

Posters like this one at Washington Elementary are part of PBIS.

Students are expected to be Respectful, have Integrity, be Scholarly, and be Empowered.

General support only works for

about 80% of students on average. Students who don’t respond to the first tier are elevated to the second tier of

Inspired by your extra mile.

We are on this earth for a reason. Inside of you is a great reservoir of determination. When you set a goal, nothing gets in your way. Excuses don’t exist. You’re going to forge ahead until you’re stronger than ever. You, and everyone with your willpower, inspire us to do more than practice medicine. You inspire us to transform lives.

See inspiration in action at AdventistHealth.org.

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BEHAVIOR continued on 11 »

16 April, 2019 Valley Voice

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Judge rules to disqualify attorney in Southern Inyo bankruptcy HCCA counsel argued attorney had conflict; company could pursue legal malpractice suit TONY MALDONADO

tony@ourvalleyvoice.com

The Southern Inyo Healthcare District needs a new bankruptcy attorney -- and law firm -- by May 10, after attorneys for Healthcare Conglomerate Associates (HCCA) successfully moved to disqualify the district’s current counsel.

Judge Frederick E. Clement ruled on April 10 that Ashley McDow and the law firm Foley & Lardner, which she works for, would be disqualified in the district’s bankruptcy case after HCCA, which previously managed the district’s Southern Inyo Hospital, argued that her prior work on HCCA matters represented a conflict of interest.

While the Southern Inyo district brought in special counsel to represent it in a lawsuit against HCCA, attorneys for the company claim that she continued to take adverse action against the company.

“I would direct the Court’s attention to the August 29 hearing, where Ms. McDow asked this court to order the parties to mediation, in which she made numerous negative statements about her former clients, accusing them of bad faith, accusing them of failing to provide information as necessary, accusing them of slowing down the bankruptcy proceeding,” Brandon Krueger, a legal malpractice attorney

representing HCCA, said during the proceedings on April 10.

McDow had previously worked for the Baker Hostetler law firm, including on matters related to the Management Services Agreement contract HCCA had with the Southern Inyo district; billing statements show that McDow billed HCCA 37.2 hours for activity related to Southern Inyo, Krueger said. Those hours included negotiations with Southern Inyo regarding the contract.

The Baker Hostetler firm was preferred by HCCA and its CEO, Dr. Benny Benzeevi, until Bruce Greene, an attorney with the firm, wrote in September 2017 that it would “commence termination” of its services to him and any of his companies.

“The Court’s carefully reasoned decision to disqualify Ms. Ashley McDow (formerly of Baker Hostetler) and Foley Lardner is integral to the protection of HCCA, Vi Healthcare Finance and Dr. Benzeevi, and honors the law and equity’s abhorrence to conflicts of interest and violation of the duty of loyalty to one’s clients,” wrote Hagop T. Bedoyan, an attorney representing HCCA. “As to potential affirmative claims against Ms. McDow, Mr. Bruce Greene, and Baker Hostetler, my clients have suffered immense losses and prejudice and are evaluating their rights and available options.”

Set up for conflict?

The Southern Inyo district came to HCCA after a prior board shuttered the Southern Inyo hospital in December 2015, followed by a mass resignation; in January 2016, a new board was appointed -- with the challenge of figuring out how to get the Southern Inyo Hospital open and stable.

According to a Visalia Times-Delta article from 2016, an Inyo County supervisor reached out to Assemblyman Devon Mathis, whose district includes the entirety of Inyo County, for help.

Mathis contacted HCCA; at the time, the company was in the process of turning around the Tulare district’s hospital, Tulare Regional Medical Center. It willing to step up to the challenge of working its magic at another hospital.

“This is what HCCA does,” Benzeevi told the Times-Delta. “We go into places other people don’t want to bother with.”

The board voted to file bankruptcy; and, at the same time, HCCA brought in Baker Hostetler to assist the Southern Inyo district with bankruptcy proceedings; when HCCA took over management of Tulare Regional Medical Center, HCCA also brought Baker with it.

A conflict waiver signed Janu-

ary 2, 2016, states that the Baker firm would “assess the circumstances to determine our ethical obligations and determine any appropriate course of action” if it were asked to represent HCCA, Benzeevi, or the District in “any future matter which we determine may create an actual conflict of interest.”

When it sought loans from Benzeevi’s healthcare financing company, Vi Healthcare Finance, Benzeevi and the district signed a new waiver in July 2017, with similar language to the 2016 waiver.

Both waivers stated that if the firm “determines that its continued representation of the District in the Chapter 9 filing would require disclosure of material confidential information of the Benzeevi Group to the District, or vice versa, the Firm may elect to terminate its representation of the District in the Chapter 9 filing.”

In his ruling, Clement stated the conflict waivers were “ineffective, lacking full disclosure and that they were not informed;” if the situation between the parties were to change, rules required that a new conflict waiver must be signed. But no new letters appeared appeared to be signed, he said.

They didn’t anticipate the scenario that the firm could choose to represent Southern Inyo over HCCA,

INYO continued on 14 »

Solution identified for East Orosi after 10 years of unsafe water RYAN JENSEN East Orosi is an unincorporated community in Tulare County of approximately 700 people, nearly all of whom are low-income Latino farmworker families.

East Orosi is served by the East Orosi Community Service District (EOCSD), which has been in repeated violation of drinking water standards for nitrate and bacteria for more than 10 years.

The groundwater in the immediate vicinity of East Orosi has nitrate levels that regularly exceed the federal health standard.

For that reason EOCSD identified a well site on Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified School District (COJUSD) property, several miles from the community. By far, the most feasible and cost-effective way to move water to East Orosi is by connecting them to infrastructure owned by neighboring Orosi Public Utilities District (OPUD).

EOCSD has extremely limited administrative capacity, and has been unable for many years to make significant progress on a project to provide a new source of safe drinking water.

Throughout most of 2018, EOCSD did not have a quorum of actively serving directors and was unable to hold board meetings.

OPUD has for years been largely uncooperative with efforts to address the drinking water crisis in East Orosi.

On July 13, 2018, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWB) chose to exercise their authority under SB88 to mandate a consolidation with OPUD to supply drinking water to East Orosi.

The SWB notified both water districts, and gave them 6 months (until

January 13, 2019) to negotiate a voluntary consolidation agreement.

After appointing a third director to the board of EOCSD in December, EOCSD and OPUD held their one and only joint meeting to date on January 7, 2019.

At this meeting, they decided to request a 6-month extension on the voluntary consolidation period, which was denied by the SWB. Regardless of what form a consolidation agreement takes, it will require miles of pipeline and related infrastructure to develop and move water to East Orosi.

By law, current OPUD customers are prevented from being financially impacted by the consolidation, and EOCSD lacks the financial resources to complete this huge project.

What this means is that significant funding from the SWB will be required to cover the cost of the consolidation project.

The drinking water crisis was significantly complicated by a wastewater emergency when the infrastructure which transports wastewater to Orosi for treatment failed in early 2019.

This has resulted in wastewater backing up into people’s homes and yards, causing unsanitary living conditions and property damage. The EOCSD board has had multiple emergency meetings to address the wastewater crisis.

April 10th Public Hearing on Consolidation

Since January 7, efforts to continue negotiation of a voluntary consolidation agreement have been unproductive.

On April 10, 2019, the SWB held a public hearing at Orosi High School for residents of both communities.

This hearing was the second of two public meetings required by Senate Bill 88 for the SWB to move forward with a Consolidation order.

The meeting was well-attended, with about 60 individuals, with comments made verbally, or in written form which were read aloud.

Comments centered on frustrations about the delay in addressing the community’s water crisis, the estimated length of time to implement the consolidation project, health impacts in the community, the lack of productive dialogue between OPUD and EOCSD, and deep frustration about the fact that drinking water and wastewater consolidations can’t or won’t be addressed holistically and comprehensively.

Residents made it very clear that they want to have both drinking water and wastewater services taken over directly by OPUD as expeditiously as possible, and that full consolidation and annexation by OPUD should be considered as an option in negotiations.

County Supervisor Eddie Valero, Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified School District Superintendent Yolanda Valdez, two Board members from EOCSD, and Moses Diaz, attorney for OPUD were in attendance, as well as representatives from a number of organizations including Self-Help Enterprises, Community Water Center, ACT for Women and Girls, US Water Alliance, and Leadership Council for Justice and Accountability.

The SWB will continue accepting public comment until April 30, 2019.

Members of the public are encouraged

to submit their opinions in writing to: Caitlin Juarez, Consolidation & Water Partnership Coordinator State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water 265 W. Bullard Avenue, Suite 101 Fresno, CA 93704 Email: Caitlin.Juarez@waterboards. ca.gov or Fax: (559) 447-3300

What’s Next for East Orosi?

The SWB is required to present the finding that all voluntary consolidation efforts have been exhausted before moving forward with the order for mandatory consolidation.

A clear answer has not been given by the SWB to frustrated residents on how long they will allow this process to continue before issuing the mandatory order.

The expressed desire of East Orosi residents for OPUD to take over both drinking water and wastewater service for their community is still a possible outcome, but only if it is agreed to voluntarily by both districts.

OPUD and EOCSD are planning to hold another joint meeting to discuss the consolidation later in April, though an exact date has not been confirmed.

Members of the public are highly encouraged to express their opinions about this consolidation by attending and making public comments at meetings of both OPUD and EOCSD. Public pressure to move forward quickly with a comprehensive and fair consolidation agreement is the surest way to bring relief to the community of East Orosi as quickly as possible!

Valley Voice 16 April, 2019

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AGRICULTURE Stanford study offers way to map where fields best replenish groundwater JOSIE GARTHWAITE Stanford News Service

In California, the amount of water exiting aquifers under the state’s most productive farming region far surpasses the amount of water trickling back in. That rampant overdraft has caused land across much of the region to sink like a squeezed out sponge, permanently depleting groundwater storage capacity and damaging infrastructure.

The trend – and a 2014 mandate for sustainable groundwater management in the state – has ignited interest in replenishing aquifers in California’s Central Valley through managed flooding of the ground above them. But until now there has been no reliable way to know where this type of remedy will be most effective. New research from Stanford University suggests a way to map precisely where and how to use groundwater recharge to refill the aquifers and stop the sinking.

Parts of the Central Valley sunk by as much as 28 feet during the first half of the 20th century, and in recent decades some locations have dropped by nearly 8 inches per year. Modeling in the new study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Water Resources Research, indicates the ground will sink by another 13 feet or more at some sites over the next 20 years unless pumping slows down.

Even under a scenario where pumping never exceeds the amount

of water going into aquifers, the model predicts continued sinking as past overdrafts take their toll. “There is a time delay in the system,” said geophysicist Rosemary Knight, senior author on the study and a professor at Stanford’s School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences. “The only way we can stop it is to be strategic about what we do with our available recharge water.”

A perfect storm

In a normal year, water in canals, reservoirs and rivers is sufficient for most irrigation in the Central Valley, while aquifers provide a supplement.

In recent drought years, however, surface supplies came up short and farmers contributing to the region’s $17 billion agricultural industry relied more heavily on groundwater.

“It’s a perfect storm of an extensive agricultural industry combined with low precipitation, warm temperatures, the need for pumping groundwater and an abundance of clay that is prone to subsidence,” said Knight. Clays here that compact when pumped dry also tend to be rich in arsenic, which intensive pumping can release into water supplies. “So you have problems with water quantity and water quality,” Knight said.

Recharge methods now in use or under serious consideration in California involve flooding fields or orchard groves during the winter months or

creating year-round recharge ponds.

“The key question is where does the water go?” Knight said. “If you’re going to flood a farmer’s field, you should be sure it’s going to work.”

Knowing where water will go underground depends on mapping the intricate channels of sand and gravel that interlace tightly packed clays and silts. In California, that information often comes from drilling contractors’ reports to state regulators, which are expensive to acquire and do not cover areas between or beneath the drilled wells. As a result, the most common approach to dealing with subsidence is reactive. “If we are proactively managing then we can prevent unrecoverable storage loss,” said lead author Ryan Smith, a professor at Missouri University of Science and Technology who completed the research as a PhD student in geophysics at Stanford.

The new approach, based on a marriage of two types of remote sensing data, could be applied across large agricultural regions at relatively low cost. Knight and Smith analyzed the structure of sand and clay layers that had been measured in a previous study by transmitting electromagnetic signals from a helicopter at three sites in Tulare County, about 45 miles south of Fresno, California. They also processed data from public satellite images to measure how much the

ground had sunk.

“I realized that both of the datasets were linked to clay content,” Smith said. “I thought, if there’s a mathematical way to connect these two, then we could build a predictive model of subsidence.” The study describes a method for adapting existing math and physics algorithms to integrate the two datasets into one model.

Only a sliver of California has been mapped with both types of remote sensing data, noted Tim Godwin, a senior engineering geologist with the California Department of Water Resources, which has supported Knight’s efforts to expand airborne electromagnetic surveys in the state. But as these datasets grow, he said, coupling them with tools to predict sinking will help answer questions about the best ways to meet sustainability goals.

“Groundwater managers will be able to more accurately predict susceptibility to subsidence conditions and have greater confidence in proposed projects,” he said.

According to Smith, subsidence in the coming years could be even more severe than the current model indicates if drillers deepen the region’s wells to cope with future water shortages. “There are still deeper, largely untapped aquifers that, if pumped, would have a dramatic pressure loss,” he said. “That would cause the clays to compact more than they do in the portions of the aquifer being used today.”

comprehensive immigration reform.

Farm Bureau leaders met separately with Feinstein and Lofgren on Capitol Hill to discuss the status of the legislation.

Farm Bureau also advocated for an agricultural immigration system more flexible than the existing H-2A program, saying the current program needs to be streamlined and must allow employees the freedom to move from registered employer to employer.

During the White House meeting, Kristi Boswell—who works on immigration policy in the Office of American Innovation, led by Jared Kushner—encouraged farmers to comment on needed improvements to H-2A. On water, Farm Bureau leaders urged continued federal investments in storage and other water infrastructure, and reiterated that water projects should be included in any infrastructure legislation considered by Congress. Farmers and ranchers also said streamlined environmental regulations and permitting processes would ensure that water projects can be built in a timely manner.

The CFBF group made those points during meetings with congressional offices and with top officials of the Interior Department, including Secretary Bernhardt and Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman.

During the Interior meeting, Farm Bureau leaders also discussed how accel-

erating the pace and scale of forest-management projects can benefit watersheds while helping prevent wildfires.

Five CFBF officers and board members participated in the congressional staff briefing on California agricultural issues. After Johansson provided an overview of the state’s agriculture and the issues it faces, First Vice President Shannon Douglass discussed agricultural career opportunities, CFBF board member Mike Vereschagin of Orland described the water outlook, board member Al Stehly of Valley Center talked about employment issues and farm technology, and board member Blake Alexandre of Crescent City discussed dairy production and organic agriculture.

“The briefing gave us a chance to reach an important audience: congressional staff members who work directly with members of Congress and with their constituents,” Johansson said. “We were pleased that about two-dozen congressional staffers participated, and I think they came away with a better understanding of California farmers and ranchers, and the issues they face.”

Johansson thanked House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., for making the committee’s hearing room available, as well as committee members Jim Costa, D-Fresno, and Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, for their support of the briefing.

Above and below ground

Farm leaders advocate on Capitol Hill DAVE KRANZ

California Farm Bureau Federation With a focus on the new—new members of Congress, a new Cabinet official, a renewed format for communicating with congressional staffers—California Farm Bureau Federation officers and directors visited Washington, D.C., to advocate on topics including trade, water and immigration.

The Farm Bureau delegation met last week with more than 20 members of the California congressional delegation, with a particular emphasis on members newly elected in 2018. They met with Acting U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, two days before the Senate confirmed his appointment as the Cabinet’s newest member. For the first time in several years, they conducted a briefing for congressional staff members, to describe key issues facing California farmers and ranchers.

The CFBF group also participated in an hour-long White House meeting with administration trade and labor officials; held separate discussions with U.S. Department of Agriculture representatives on topics including farm bill implementation, trade and the potential return of whole milk to school menus; heard from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield; and met with California Sen. Dianne Feinstein to discuss the potential for immigration and water legislation.

“I’ve been coming to Washington for 10 years, and this was the most successful D.C. trip I’ve been a part of,” CFBF President Jamie Johansson said. “At a key time, we had the opportunity to meet with high-ranking decision-makers who influence laws and regulations affecting our members, and we took full advantage of the opportunity to build momentum for agriculture on these issues.”

On trade, Farm Bureau encouraged ratification of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, negotiated to replace the

North American Free Trade Agreement.

CFBF told California representatives the new agreement retained the agricultural benefits of NAFTA, while modernizing rules related to biotechnology, sanitary-phytosanitary measures and market access for dairy products.

Administration officials expressed confidence in ultimately gaining passage of USMCA, but encouraged farmers and ranchers to continue advocating for it, in hope of moving toward a vote on the agreement later this year.

Johansson said CFBF was happy to take that message to Capitol Hill.

“The administration’s successful negotiation of USMCA has been encouraging for California agriculture,” he said.

“It’s time for Congress to act quickly on its passage, which would strengthen our negotiating position with China and eventually with Japan.”

Regarding the continued imposition of retaliatory tariffs by China, Ambassador Gregg Doud, chief agricultural negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, told Farm Bureau leaders during the White House meeting that progress has been made, but more work needs to be done. In a separate meeting, Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Censky also reported progress on U.S.-China trade. Both officials said freetrade talks with Japan would begin soon; later, news reports indicated the discussions would start this week.

On immigration, Farm Bureau leaders advocated for earned legal status for current California agricultural employees, many of whom are believed to be in the country without authorization. Feinstein and Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, introduced legislation early this year that would provide legal “blue card” status to immigrants who have worked in agriculture for at least 100 days during the previous two years.

CFBF welcomed introduction of the bill as an important first step toward

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16 April, 2019 Valley Voice

6

AGRICULTURE

Commentary: To advance agriculture, be creative, collaborative RICH MATTEIS

California Farm Bureau Federation I started my 45-year journey advocating for farmers and ranchers with the Farm Bureau following my graduation from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1974, serving as manager of both the Alameda and Santa Clara County Farm Bureaus and as a field representative for the California Farm Bureau. I returned to Farm Bureau as administrator in 2007 after spending 30 years lobbying for, managing and providing services to an array of agricultural trade associations.

As I look back on my career, I want first to extend my appreciation to all those in agriculture whom I worked with and for. I was provided so many opportunities to work for so many of the sectors and people that make up California’s amazing farming, ranching and agricultural business system. It is unparalleled, and I feel privileged to have been able to advocate for all that is essential for agriculture’s success.

It has never ceased to amaze me how adaptive, nimble, creative and resourceful California farmers and ranchers have been in surviving through a veritable onslaught of new regulations and programs that require intelligence, vigilance and deliberate effort to comply with.

What California farmers and ranchers do to put food, fiber and ornamental products into homes in California, across the country and around the globe is nothing short of remarkable.

They should be commended and thanked daily for their efforts, but I feel

farmers and ranchers do not receive the respect and appreciation they so richly deserve. There are those outside of agriculture who do provide recognition and support, but there are so many who take for granted all farmers do to make their lives easier and better.

I have given many speeches about California agriculture to non-agricultural audiences. I always talk about how farming and ranching is a great, enabling enterprise that benefits us all. Consider that when the census started being taken, nearly a third of U.S. citizens worked in farming and ranching. Today the number is less than 2% and in California, even lower than that.

The decline in the percentage of farmers is a testament to the amazing efficiencies and productivity agriculture has produced—and it is a good thing. Because we need so few people to feed and clothe our population, at costs that are so low as a percentage of income, human and financial resources are freed up for many other life-enhancing pursuits. Our food-production efficiency has enabled better health care, better education, production of many products that lessen the burdens of everyday life, the arts, environmental protection and mitigation, more leisure time—and the list goes on.

I am not sure the public fully appreciates the safety and security agriculture provides. A well-fed populace provides a much safer, more secure environment than one where food supplies lack.

There’s a famous quote, “There are only nine meals between mankind and anarchy.” The quote was first attributed

to journalist Alfred Henry Lewis in 1906 and was repeated often through the years, including during a 2000 gas-tax protest in Great Britain that resulted in food shortages. Those shortages caused broad-based panic for both fuel and food.

Just consider the current unrest in Venezuela, where there is an extreme food crisis and families go hungry. Peace on earth depends in large part on full bellies.

So it’s unfortunate there are many detractors who want to impede our wonderful agricultural success story. I know it often seems those in governance and many in the public create obstacles to progress in agriculture.

Shortly before I returned to Farm Bureau, a transplant from the Midwest came to manage a farm-related enterprise in California. After about six months, he summoned me to a meeting, wanting to discuss why it seemed there were so many California decision-makers who want to make lives difficult for farmers and ranchers. He said in his Midwestern state, when government did something to harm agriculture, it was done by mistake. Here, he said, it seems those in power go out of their way to further burden our food producers. As we all know, it sure feels like that sometimes.

But I do not let the challenges we face get me down. Those I know in farming and ranching display an optimism that is hard to justify, which encourages us all to double down and do more.

Walking away from the fight is not the answer. We in agriculture need to resolve to engage more in creative, collaborative ways to fight the battles that need

to be fought and earn opportunities for wins wherever they present themselves.

We need to put our shoulders to the same wheel, moving in the same direction, to help agriculture in California and nationally continue to deliver the benefits we have been delivering for centuries.

Infighting is unacceptable—solidarity is essential.

I feel fortunate and blessed to have had the chance to work with so many talented and astute folks from the farming community and with the many leaders involved in our county Farm Bureaus and CFBF. Farm Bureau has always been special to me, even when I worked outside the organization, as I knew it was iconic in farm advocacy. My family was a “Farm Bureau family” and my earliest memories go back to attending Farm Center events in our area.

A couple of weeks before graduating from college, I talked with my parents about possible job opportunities. My mother made only one recommendation: She said I should go to work for the Farm Bureau, which I ended up doing about two months later.

Although my time as CFBF administrator is up, I will still be fighting the good fight and offering what time and talents I have to the causes important to farmers and ranchers.

May God bless you all.

(Editor’s note: Rich Matteis retired as California Farm Bureau Federation administrator March 29. He remains in a consulting role as a special advisor to the organization.)

2017 USDA Census of Agriculture data now available STAFF REPORTS The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the results of the 2017 Census of Agriculture, spanning some 6.4 million new points of information about America’s farms and ranches and those who operate them, including new data about on-farm decision making, down to the county level. Information collected by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) directly from farmers and ranchers tells us both farm numbers and land in farms have ongoing small percentage declines since the last Census in 2012. At the same time, there continue to be more of the largest and smallest operations and fewer middle-sized farms. The average age of all farmers and ranchers continues to rise.

“We are pleased to deliver Census of Agriculture results to America, and especially to the farmers and ranchers who participated,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. “We can all use the Census to tell the tremendous story of U.S. agriculture and how it is changing. As a data-driven organization, we are eager to dig in to this wealth of information to advance our goals of supporting farmers and ranchers, facilitating rural prosperity, and strengthening stewardship of private lands efficiently, effectively, and with integrity.”

“The Census shows new data that can be compared to previous censuses for insights into agricultural trends SALES, SERVICE, RENTAL AG EQUIPMENT & TRUCK REPAIR

and changes down to the county level,” said NASS Administrator Hubert Hamer.

“While the current picture shows a consistent trend in the structure of U.S. agriculture, there are some ups and downs since the last Census as well as first-time data on topics such as military status and on-farm decision making. To make it easier to delve into the data, we are pleased to make the results available in many online formats including a new data query interface, as well as traditional data tables.”

Census data provide valuable insights into demographics, economics, land and activities on U.S. farms and ranches. Some key highlights include: • There are 2.04 million farms and ranches (down 3.2 percent from 2012) with an average size of 441 acres (up 1.6 percent) on 900 million acres (down 1.6 percent).

• The 273,000 smallest (1-9 acres) farms make up 0.1 percent of all farmland while the 85,127 largest (2,000 or more acres) farms make up 58 percent of farmland.

• Just 105,453 farms produced 75 percent of all sales in 2017, down from 119,908 in 2012.

• Of the 2.04 million farms and ranches, the 76,865 making $1 million or more in 2017 represent just over 2/3 of the $389 billion in total value of production while the 1.56 million oper-

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ations making under $50,000 represent just 2.9 percent.

• Farm expenses are $326 billion with feed, livestock purchased, hired labor, fertilizer and cash rents topping the list of farm expenses in 2017.

• Average farm income is $43,053.

A total of 43.6 percent of farms had positive net cash farm income in 2017.

• Ninety-six percent of farms and ranches are family owned.

• Farms with Internet access rose from 69.6 percent in 2012 to 75.4 percent in 2017.

• A total of 133,176 farms and ranches use renewable energy producing systems, more than double the 57,299 in 2012.

• In 2017, 130,056 farms sold directly to consumers, with sales of $2.8 billion.

• Sales to retail outlets, institutions and food hubs by 28,958 operations are valued at $9 billion.

For the 2017 Census of Agriculture, NASS changed the demographic questions to better represent the roles of all persons involved in on-farm decision making. As a result, in 2017 the number of producers is up by nearly seven percent to 3.4 million, because more farms reported multiple producers. Most of these newly identified producers are female. While the number of male producers fell 1.7 percent to 2.17 million from 2012 to 2017, the number of female producers increased by nearly 27 percent to 1.23 million. This change underscores the effectiveness of the questionnaire changes.

Other demographic highlights include: • The average age of all producers is 57.5, up 1.2 years from 2012.

• The number of producers who have served in the military is 370,619, or 11 percent of all.

They are older than the average at 67.9.

• There are 321,261 young producers age 35 or less on 240,141 farms. Farms with young producers making decisions tend to be larger than average in both acres and sales.

• More than any other age group, young producers make decisions regarding livestock, though the difference is slight.

• One in four producers is a beginning farmer with 10 or fewer years of experience and an average age of 46.3. Farms with new or beginning producers making decisions tend to be smaller than average in both acres and value of production.

• Thirty-six percent of all producers are female and 56 percent of all farms have at least one female decision maker. Farms with female producers making decisions tend to be smaller than average in both acres and value of production.

• Female producers are most heavily engaged in the dayto-day decisions along with record keeping and financial management.

Results are available in many online formats including video presentations, a new data query interface, maps, and traditional data tables. To address questions about the 2017 Census of Agriculture data, NASS will host a live Twitter chat (@usda_nass) Ask the Census Experts #StatChat on Friday, April 12 at 1 p.m. ET. All information is available at www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus.

The Census tells the story of American agriculture and is an important part of our history. First conducted in 1840 in conjunction with the decennial Census, the Census of Agriculture accounts for all U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them.

16 April, 2019

VALLEYSCENE

ourvalleyvoice.com

Mark Arax to launch latest book at League of Women Voters on May 21 MAILE MELKONIAN The League of Women Voters of Tulare County invites the public to its Annual Meeting to hear acclaimed author and former Los Angeles Times journalist Mark Arax speak about his latest book, Dreamt Land: Chasing Water and Dust across California.

Arax brings his in-depth, onthe-ground experience to the complicated task of understanding our San Joaquin Valley’s most pressing concern— water. Rendering arcane law, balkanized water rights, complex infrastructure and other factors into terms we can all digest, he humanizes this topic with deft story-telling.

“I’ve tried to describe the different relationships places have with water,” Arax says. “That changes depending upon geography—from the Delta to the Westlands to Imperial Valley—urban, rural and, especially, agricultural.” The formative roles of cotton, vineyards and citrus are woven into illuminating narratives of influential families such as the Mulhollands, Chandlers, Resnicks, Kirkpatricks and

Pandols.

Arax established his credentials as a well-researched authority on the history and politics of water in California with The King of California: J.G. Boswell and the Making of A Secret American Empire, coauthored with Rick Wartzman in 2005. His other works include West of the West and In My Father’s Name. While at the Los Angeles Times, his beat was central California where his investigative reporting was incisive and unflinching.

Books will be available for purchase, and the author will be signing.

The League is a non-partisan, non-profit 501(c)3 educational organization, dedicated to encouraging active participation in government, and fostering understanding of public policy. Membership is open to all—including men!

Doors open 11:30am at The Depot, 207 E. Oak Ave., in Visalia. Reservations are by check received by May 14, $25 payable to LWVTC. Indicate lunch preference: pork, fish, chicken or vegetarian. Mail to LWVTC, P.O.Box 3011, Visalia, CA 93278. For more information, please contact phoebet8@att.net.

Lorenzo Pinon (Crescent Valley Public Charter School II), Rodney Yokota (Redwood), Alex Gluckmann (Golden West), James McKernan (Mt. Whitney), and Jeff Watamura (El Diamante). Courtesy/Kaleb Kent

Local church honors five Visalia teachers with Crystal Apple award STAFF REPORTS Five Visalia teachers were presented with the Crystal Apple Award at a dinner and ceremony Wednesday, April 3, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 650 N. Lovers Lane in Visalia.

This is the thirteenth consecutive year the Crystal Apple award has been presented to local high school teachers who have positively impacted the lives of their students. Each year, students from early-morning religious education classes held by the Church, called seminary, write letters thanking teachers for their efforts in the classroom.

A student panel then selects one teacher from each school to be honored that year.

The five teachers honored this year were: Alex Gluckmann, Golden West High School; James McKernan, Mt. Whitney High School; Jeff Watamura, El Diamante High School; Rodney Yokota, Redwood High School; and Lorenzo Pinon, Crescent Valley Public Charter School II. School and community leaders were in attendance.

Nominating student Nico Segu-

ra, a senior at Golden West, says this about Mr. Gluckmann: “I believe every student should get a chance to get a teacher as caring and as passionate about their subject as you. I admire your love for your students and the pure joy that teaching government brings you. You have taught me that it is possible to find and do something you love in your life.”

Samuel Dean, a senior at Mt. Whitney, writes the following about Mr. McKernan: “After being in your class, I feel better about accepting who I am and to keep on pushing myself through years to come. You’ve inspired me to take things into my own hands and to solve my problems with courage.”

Lincoln Lillywhite, a senior at El Diamante, gives high praise to Media Arts Academy teacher Mr. Watamura.

Lincoln writes, “Your helpful advice, sometimes brutally honest feedback, and dedication to making us into better artists has made a world of difference. Without your advice, I never would have been able to make a profit doing what I love. Thank you for everything, and for helping me realize

Crystal Apple continued on 10 »

Sierra View hosting career fair set for April 18; hospital has 50+ openings STAFF REPORTS Gianna, a student in Mrs. Cardoza’s class, shares her successes in the IRC program with reporters from ABC30. The IRC program will be a feature in an upcoming Children First special. Courtesy/TCOE

ABC30 special will feature 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

Special Services continued on 8 »

In pursuit of excellence, Sierra View Medical Center(SVMC) invites potential employee candidates to their career fair on April 18, 2019 from noon to 3 p.m. to explore careers and job openings, meet hiring managers, and learn about educational opportunities. The first 100 attendees will receive giveaways.

Career fair attendees will have the chance to ask questions about more than 50 job openings, including RN jobs, clinical lab scientist positions, physical therapist positions, and several others from different departments.

Career fair attendees will also learn about the Succession Planning Program that prepares staff for management. Individuals pursuing a career in nursing, will have the chance

to learn first-hand about the Vizient/ AACN Nurse Residency ProgramTM , designed for new graduates and novice RNs. SVMC proudly serves as one of six independent CLS Trainee sites in California.

During the career fair, Dr. Jeffery L. Hudson-Covolo, SVMC’s Chief Nurse Executive will be leading a Continuing Education Unit (CEU) presentation. He will be presenting his research and article, Daily Intentional Nurse Leader Rounding on Patients, as published in the Journal of Perianesthesia Nursing.

The free CEU does require an RSVP, as space is limited. Anyone who is interested in the CEU, can reserve their spot by calling 559-788-6079. This number can also be used for any questions about the career fair.

Career Fair continued on 10 »

16 April, 2019 Valley Voice

8

Visalia Chamber announces 2019 Annual Awards business finalists STAFF REPORTS On June 13th the Visalia Chamber of Commerce will celebrate businesses and individuals who go above and beyond to support our community at the 66th Annual Awards Celebration.

This year, dozens of businesses and individuals were nominated by the community for these prestigious awards.

The business categories include; Small, Medium, Large Business of the Year and Non-Profit of the Year. The Business Selection committee has been hard at work reviewing nomination information and interviewing businesses, and we thank them for their hard work.

The 2019 finalists are:

Special Services continued from 7

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.

Small Business Nominees • • • •

• • •

Component Coffee Lab Momentum Broadcasting Quesadilla Gorilla Zeltmacher Structural Engineering

Medium Business Nominees

4 Creeks Inc. M. Green & Company LLC. Suncrest Bank

Large Business Nominees • • •

California Dairies Eagle Mountain Casino Wyndham Hotel

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 6:30 p.m., will also feature a segment about a child being served through the Bright Start Parent/Infant Program.

Non-Profit of the Year Nominees

• • • •

Assistance League of Visalia CSET Habitat for Humanity ImagineU Interactive Children’s Museum The winners of each of these categories will be announced at the 66th Annual Awards Celebration presented by the Visalia Chamber of Commerce on June 13, 2019 at the Visalia Convention Center.

Hors d’oeuvres and cocktails begin at 6:00 p.m. followed by a formal dinner at 7:00 p.m. with the program beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Annual Awards Chairman, Judy Silicato remarked, “As in years past, the nominees for each of the four cat-

egory are outstanding. Our committee has been hard at work learning as much as we can about each of these businesses. The task of choosing a single winner for each category is daunting and will be an intense conversation.”

Tickets for the Annual Awards Celebration are $75 or you may reserve a table for $600. Tickets may be purchased online at www.visaliachamber.org/awards or by calling the Chamber at (559) 734-5876.

If you are interested in sponsoring the Annual Awards Celebration please call Jon Bueno at the Visalia Chamber of Commerce.

For more information about the Annual Awards Celebration go to www.visaliachamber.org/awards.

DMI Agency unveils new Tulare County capitol display STAFF REPORTS On Tuesday, April 9, DMI Agency presented to the Board of Supervisors a new Tulare County display recently installed in the State Capitol. The diorama was designed and created by the DMI creative team at the request of the Tulare County Board of Supervisors and an ad hoc committee.

“This was one of the most exciting, and memorable projects we’ve worked on since DMI Agency’s inception 14 years ago,” said Karen Tellalian president and CEO. “To be trusted to create a project that would represent all of the best parts of Tulare County, and be viewed by tens of thousands of State Capitol visitors every year, has been a shining moment for us.”

DMI Agency Creative Director

Greg Bitney was the lead designer on the project and John Doss at 2Market Visual manufactured portions of the display, including the Plexiglas. Local historian, Terry Ommen played a significant role in developing the history timetable as well as providing historical photos used in the display.

Creative Director Greg Bitney said he feels fortunate to be a part of the project. “I enjoyed putting together a tribute to the county that I grew up in, and it’s fun knowing that some of my work is on display at the State Capitol,” said Bitney. “I will always look back on it as one of the highlights of my career.”

DMI Agency is an award winning creative and marketing firm located in Visalia, CA.

Valley Voice 16 April, 2019

Calendar

April 16 – 19 Citrus Farm Tour at McKellar Family Farms Fill spring break with one of those days with a fun and educational citrus farm tour experience at McKellar Family Farms, 10:00 – 12:00. Tours include a wagon ride around the farm, a video viewing of the picking and packing process, a meet and greet with Farmer Bob and the opportunity to pick and take home oranges! $10 per person Reservations: To book a tour slot, guests can visit the McKellar Family Farms at www.mckellarfamilyfarms. com/reservations or call their offices at (559) 731-7925 April 20: Tulare Kings Writers Marilyn Meredith will be speaking about Getting Your Setting and Characters Right—she’ll share the mistakes she and others have made, so you won’t.10 a.m. Blue Room (upstairs) in the Visalia Library, Oak St. 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 24: Collision of Vision Art Show Sponsored by the West Hills College Lemoore Arts and Letters Department, in collaboration with the WHCL Department of Hospitality and Management, SPLAAT Art Club, and other WHCL clubs features a gallery of art ranging from paintings to sculptures, live entertainment including music and poetry readings and food. 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Room 831, the Art Lab, at West Hills College Lemoore, 555 College Ave. in Lemoore.

April 25: Visalia Chamber of Commerce 2019 Annual Membership Meeting Visalia First Assembly Church 3737 S. Akers, 8:00 am. Meeting is an opportunity for Visalia Chamber members to learn about advances the Chamber has made on behalf of its members andt announcement of the 2018-2019 Epic Ambassador of the Year.This meeting is open to all Chamber members and their employees. Breakfast will be provided.

April 26: Night in the Country Music Festival Main Street Hanford is hosting the first ever country music festival in the Civic Park from 5:30pm to 10:00pm. Headlining the show is Orange County’s favorite Country band, Arnie Newman and the Country Club and local favorite JJ Brown, a US Navy Veteran and Country Singer/Songwriter. 82 Deluxe will be opening the show at 6:00pm.

Bring your lawn chairs and blankets for a night of music under the stars.

Main Street Hanford will have several food options available including Chicken Shack, Fatte Albert’s Pizza and Oree’s Fine Southern Cuisine. Beer and wine will be served in the Budweiser Beer Garden. More info visit www. mainstreethanford.com.

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

9 tickets can be purchased from the Fox Theatre box office.

April 27: Mighty Oak Chorus 38th Annual Show “Rock-N-Roll Is Here To Stay.” Central Valley Christian High School theater.

You’ll hear some of the greatest hit songs from the 1950’s, like…”Beach Boys Medley”.. “Sh-Boom”.. “At The Hop”.. “Lion Sleeps Tonight” Tickets for 2pm Matinee Show $10 for children age 17 & under.. $20 for adults.. or $45 for a special family pack. Advance tickets may be ordered by calling Dee Baughman at 280-5715 or Bud Case at 901-4615.. or by emailing: luthercase@ yahoo.com.

April 27: Become a Citizen Scientist!

Celebrate America Spring and Join Sequoia RiverlandsTrust and PBS “Nature” for a day of learning how people of any age can become citizen scientists. We are one of 10 locations across the country that have been chosen

by PBS to participate in this exciting opportunity. Kaweah Oaks Preserve from 10 am until 1 pm. Kaweah Oaks Preserve is 1/2 mile north of Highway 198 on Road 182. Bring binoculars, hat, sunscreen, food, and water.

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.

May 1 - May 31: Teresa Getty Exhibition Opening Reception at Arts Visalia Friday, May 3rd from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.Gallery Hours: Noon-5:30 p.m., Wednesdays-Saturdays. Arts Visalia Visual Art Center 214 E. Oak Ave. Contact Janelle Howard, Gallery Director. 559739-0905, artsvisalia@sbcglobal.net May 2: Tulare County Youth Orchestras Concert on the Visalia Fox Theatre stage at 7:30 p.m. Free event. For more info, visit foxvisalia.org.

May 2-4: Great Western Fan Festival at the Visalia Convention Center, Thousands of gospel music fans from across the United States and Canada will soon be headed to Visalia for this “Gospelpalooza Gathering.” “classic” gospel music sounds with the “toe-tappin’ melodies that fills everyone’s heart with joy and happiness.” See award winning artists such as “The Hoppers,” “the Booth Brothers,” “Liberty Quartet,” “Ernie Haase & Signature Sound”

Ticket information go to www.iTickets. com or call 1-800-965-9324 For more information visit www.fanfestivals.com May 3: An Evening at the Derby Assistance League of Visalia. Annual fundraiser at Koetsier Ranch 8230 Ave 272, Visalia. All proceeds from the event benefit the League’s five children’s programs. “Horse racing” at 6:30. Dinner is prepared by Koetsier Ranch chefs at 7:30. 100 silent auction items and a drawing for our Disney raffle. Info on our website -- www.assistanceleague.org/visalia – or 559-7371907.

May 3:Hands in the Community’s 6th annual Golf Tournament Ridge Creek Golf Course in Dinuba to benefit local first responder teams.

Sign ups, sponsorships and additional info available at www.hnconline.org, or call 559-625-3822.

May 3: 6th Annual Hands in the Community Golf Tournament Hands in the Community (HNC) announces its 6th Annual Golf Tournament at the Ridge Creek Golf Course in Dinuba, California. This year, in addition to regular corporate sponsorships, HNC is offering the community the opportunity to sponsor local First Responder teams as a special “Thank you” for all they do for us on a daily basis. information, sign-up forms and Sponsorship Opportunities forms are available at www.hnconline.org OR contact HNC at 559-625-3822.

May 4 – James Garner’s Tribute to Johnny Cash Fox Theatre in Visalia at 7:30 p.m., presented by Blue Shadows. Tickets are $24-$46 at ticketfly.com.

May 4: Stephen Ministry Introductory Workshop Visalia United Methodist Church in Visalia on Akers and Caldwell, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m, Registration begins 8:00 a.m. Workshop is an excellent opportunity for church leaders and other members to learn about the Stephen Series, a ministry system that equips and mobilizes laypeople for effective caring ministry. Featured will be “Ministering to Those Experiencing Grief” and “How to Care in a Distinctively Christian Way.” $15 per person or $50 for a group of four. Info, (314) 428-2600. Or register online at www. stephenministry.org/workshop.

May 4:Gadabout Meeting 10:00 AM Visalia Senior Center 310 N. Locust May 4: 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.

May 5: Micari’s Cinco de Mayo Paint Event Candidate for Tulare County Board of Supervisor District 1 Larry Micari wants to invite you to a painting event at his home 19423 Ave. 300, Exeter. Attendees can take a tutorial with Artist Loren Miller, socialize with all you can eat food and drinks, or donate to the campaign/event. You can register online or contact Beth for tickets or questions. Sponsorships range from $150-500, and “Spectator” tickets are available for $25, while “Artist” tickets include a painting tutorial for $75. 559799-3654, www.micari4supervisor@ com May 5: LGBTQ Cultural Competency Seminar Sponsored by Equality California, the

nation’s largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights advocacy organization, in partnership with the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Visalia and St. Paul Episcopal Church - Visalia, 1PM-3PM at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 120 N. Hall St., Visalia. Sminar will be a welcoming opportunity to learn best practices for interacting respectfully with the LGBTQ community and to ask about the key priorities and current issues facing the LGBTQ community.

Contact, info@uuvisalia.org.

May 10: Corcoran Farmers and Artisans Market Fresh produce and Food booths, Hand crafted Items, Beer and Wine garden and Entertainment 5:00 – 9:00. Andrew Jay Magnuson Band. Next to Christmas Tree Park. Info 992-4514 May 11: Exeter’s 16 th Annual Garden Walk Exeter Chamber of Commerce Presents “Full Bloom 2018” 9:00 – 2:00. Visitors are invited to explore beautiful and unique private gardens in and around the Exeter area. Be sure and take time to enjoy some refreshments hosted

by Exeter’s 2012 Business of the Year, By the Water Tower Antiques. Tickets $20.00 in advance, available in Exeter at the Exeter Chamber of Commerce and By the Water Tower Antiques. $25 the day of the event at By the Water Tower Antiques.

May 11 & 12: 66th Annual Woodlake Lions Rodeo and Parade Woodlake. Visit woodlakelionsclub. com for all the details.

May 21: Mark Arax launches latest book at League of Women Voters of Tulare Co. Annual Meetig Doors open 11:30am at The Depot, 207 E. Oak Ave., in Visalia. The public is invited to hear acclaimed author and journalist Mark Arax talk about the Valley’s most pressing concern: water and his new book , “Dreamt Land: Chasing Water and Dust across California,” Signed Books will be available for purchase.

Reservations are by check received by May 14, $25 payable to LWVTC. Indicate lunch preference: pork, fish, chicken or vegetarian. Mail to LWVTC, P.O. Box 3011, Visalia, CA 93278. Info phoebet8@ att.net.

May 22:The Wizard of Oz The Fox Theatre in Visalia 6:30 p.m. for the month’s Way Back Wednesdays..

Tickets $5 at ticketfly.com. The first 100 guests will receive a free popcorn.

May 25: Pride Visalia, South Valley’s premier all-ages community event For the LGBT+ community and their friends, families and allies, will have food, information and craft booths, live music and more from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Old Lumber Yard, 300 E. Oak Ave. in Visalia. Tickets are $5–$125 at eventbrite.com.

May 31 -June 28th: Rockin’ the Arbor Rockin’ the Arbor is the Lemoore Chamber’s Annual summer concert series event held on the 5 Fridays in June 6:00 pm-10:30 pm. There is live entertainment provided by various valley bands and local food vendors and beer garden.

Tues-Wed: 3PM-7PM; Thu-Sat: 11AM2PM Tulare Public Library, Veterans Resource Center, Referral services to all veterans and their families.

Every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: Visalia Duplicate Bridge Club 12 noon Tuesdays, 7pm Thursday, and 12 noon Fridays - $6 on Tuesdays and Friday and $7 on Fridays. Includes lunch. At First Christian Church, 1023 N. Chinowth St. Info Elaine Smith 559 734-4780

16 April, 2019 Valley Voice

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Mighty Oak Chorus to present “Rock-N-Roll Is Here to Stay” STAFF REPORTS The Visalia Mighty Oak Chorus will present a nostalgic musical show entitled “Rock-N-Roll Is Here to Stay” on Saturday, April 27th, 2pm, in Visalia, at the Central Valley Christian High School theater.

You’ll hear some of the greatest hit songs from the 1950’s, like: • “Beach Boys Medley” • “Sh-Boom” • “At The Hop” • “Lion Sleeps Tonight” • ..and many more!

Tickets for this one-time-only 2pm Matinee Show are just $10 for children age 17 & under, $20 for adults, or $45 for a special family pack.

Advance tickets may be ordered by calling Dee Baughman at 280-5715 or Bud Case at 901-4615, or by emailing: luthercase@yahoo.com.

“Rock-N-Roll Is Here To Stay” is the

Crystal Apple continued from 7

what potential I have as a student and filmmaker.”

Redwood student Samantha Thomas, an orchestra student of Mr. Yokota for nearly six years, writes, “You always push everyone to try their best, and you always believe in people, no matter what. I love the (sometimes) challenging music you give us because it pushes me to try harder.”

Alex Gluckmann earned degrees at Pepperdine and UCLA and earned his Juris Doctor at the Santa Clara University School of Law. Alex has taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the San Jose Unified School District, and the Visalia Unified School District, where he began teaching at Golden West High School in 1996. He has taught World History, US History,

Career Fair continued from 7 SVMC offers competitive salaries, comprehensive benefits packages, and educational opportunities. Compensation includes a $10,000 sign-on bonus for select positions, paid holiday and sick days, retirement match of up to 10%, and shift differentials. Because SVMC believes in investing in quality talent, they offer tuition reimbursement for first national certificates, and qualify as a location eligible for the

38th consecutive show in this ongoing annual series presented by major sponsors such as: • A&W Restaurants, • Quail Park Communities, • ServiceMaster by Benevento, • and Franey’s CarpetOne. The Mighty Oak Chorus was created 38 years ago as a community class of the Visalia Unified School District Adult School.

The chorus is affiliated with the 85,000 member international Barbershop Harmony Society.

Over the years the chorus has performed at various community events, including Tulare Symphony Concerts In The Park, The Kings & Tulare County Fairs, Kingsburg Band Concerts, the Springville Summer Concert Series, Tulare Concerts In The Park, and Christmas Caroling for senior care centers in Hanford, Porterville, Tulare & Visalia.

“The Front Line”, the Mighty Oak Chorus’ headliner quartet for its 2pm Matinee show on Sat. April 27th, 2019, at the Central Valley Christian High School Theater in Visalia. Quartet members (L to R) are: Baritone- Dave Douglass, Bass- Mike Alfaro, Lead- Adam Kitt, Tenor- Ken Wenger.

and Civics and is currently teaching Economics and AP Government. Alex also oversees student government and is the current CSF advisor. His other interests include politics, fitness, reading, soccer, and movies.

James McKernan attended Fresno State and earned his Bachelor’s of Science from Capella University. Prior to teaching he held various positions, including engineering. He began teaching English in 2017 and transitioned to Computer Science and College and Careers at Mt. Whitney High School in 2019.

James is the proud father of two adopted children, Katie (24) and Michael (17). He coaches football and baseball at Mt. Whitney. He enjoys doing anything outdoorsy and listening to classic rock or classical music.

Jeff Watamura graduated from Fresno State in 1994 with a BA in Art.

After receiving his teaching credential in 1995, his first job was teaching Art at Divisadero Middle School. When El Diamante High School opened in 2002, he came on staff teaching 2D and 3D Art, as well as coaching girls water polo, girls swimming, and the diving team.

Jeff began teaching with the Media Arts Academy when it started in 2015, also teaching an after-school monster making class. He is the single father of 4 kids: Brendan and Rose (in college) and Colin and Kevin (at Redwood).

Rodney Yokota attended CSU Fresno as a Smittcamp Scholar, graduating with Honors with a double major in Music Education and Computer Science. His teaching career started in Visalia Unified in 2005 where he taught string orchestra to several schools.

Rodney began teaching at Redwood High School in 2013 and continues to teach at Green Acres and Oak Grove.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and Nurse Corps. For more information about SVMC careers or to learn a little about the culture, visit jobs.sierra-view.com.

SVMC Human Resources Department and hiring managers are eager to meet potential candidates and share more insight on what the hospital has to offer. When career fair attendees arrive they will check-in at the main lobby and can follow signage to lead them to Langley, Russell, and North Palisade Conference Rooms where the action is taking place.

West Hills Art Show set for April 24

Our 44th Year in Downtown Visalia

STAFF REPORTS West Hills College Lemoore’s annual Collision of Vision Art Show will be held on April 24 and is encouraging submissions of artwork from both students and community members.

Collision of Vision will accept two-dimensional and three-dimensional works including paintings, drawings, digital art and sculptures.

The community is welcome to submit from April 8 to April 12.

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The event, sponsored by the West Hills College Lemoore Arts and Letters Department, in collaboration with the WHCL Department of Hospitality and Management, SPLAAT Art Club, and other WHCL clubs features a gallery of art ranging from paintings to sculptures, live entertainment including music and poetry readings and food.

Collision of Vision will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Room 831, the Art Lab, at West Hills College Lemoore, 555 College Ave. in Lemoore.

COS offers notary classes STAFF REPORTS

316 W. Main Street Visalia, CA 93291

He married his high school sweetheart, Carrie, and they have 5 children: Reed (12), Eli (10), Isaac (5), Amelia (3), and Dominic (1). Rodney is the principal bassist for the Sequoia Symphony Orchestra and also plays with several local jazz groups. He also enjoys coaching his kids’ sports teams, camping, fly fishing, skateboarding, and spending time at home.

Lorenzo Pinon graduated from Fresno State and is currently teaching math at Crescent Valley Public Charter II. His family includes his mother, Lupe, and brother, Tyson. Lorenzo is also the Crescent Valley head coach for boy’s basketball, cross country, and soccer. This season, they were valley champions for charter schools for both boy’s basketball and cross country. In his spare time, Lorenzo enjoys playing basketball, working out, and spending time with friends and family.

The College of the Sequoias Training Resource Center has teamed up with California Notary Academy to offer two Notary classes on June 8 and November 2. There are two classes for Starting Your Notary on June 8 and November 2 at 8:00 AM. Another class, titled Renewing Your Notary, starts at 12:00 noon on the same days. Both of these classes culminate at 4:00, when the exam will be held with an official proctor. The exam is optional but the Notary Academy strongly suggests you take the exam on the same day so that the information will be fresh in your mind. There is also an option to take the exam by itself, if you have taken the class within the past 2 years but have not taken the exam yet.

According to canotary.info, there are currently 161,010 active notaries

in California. Every one of those notaries had to go through a state-approved training and pass the state exam, which is what will be offered on November 10. Notaries need to renew their commission every four years.

Previous trainees have said that the class was excellent and the instructor broke the information down into manageable pieces. They also commented that the instructor was great, friendly and knowledgeable.

Both of these classes, and the exam, will be held on the COS Visalia Campus. The Starting Your Notary class costs $99. The Renewing Your Notary class costs $75. The exam only is $20. The exam costs a separate $40.

For more information on the costs, the classes in general, or to register, please visit our website at cos.edu/trainingcenter or call us at 559.688.3130.

Valley Voice 16 April, 2019

Tulare councilman demands $16.5m & apology from city DAVE ADALIAN

dave@ourvalleyvoice.com Tulare City Councilman Greg Nunley is demanding a public apology and a payment of $16.5 million from Tulare City Hall for what he claims is an organized effort to harm his construction and real estate development business.

Nunley’s claims--including accusations of libel, slander and defamation, as well as fabrication of documents and unfair oversight of his development projects by city staff--were presented in a letter signed by Fresno-based attorney James Wilkins and dated March 19.

The letter was sent to Tulare City Attorney Mario Zamora.

In his letter, Wilkins claims city representatives “engaged in a course of conduct designed to and has improperly interfered with” Nunley’s various businesses, including Great Valley Builders.

Those actions have allegedly harmed Nunley and his businesses, causing “substantial injury and economic damages,” as well as harming their reputations.

The claims made by Nunley and his attorney apparently stem from allegations Nunley’s businesses have failed

TULARE

continued from 1 “Sometimes, it’s right on the money.”

Big Projects

If that number goes up, Perez said the additional funding will likely go to one of the two biggest projects on the 2019-20 list of improvements. The city will be granting just more than $370,000 to help pay for a complete rehabilitation of the Bardsley Garden Senior Apartments.

“We’re only one part of the funding,” Perez said. “They’re going to make it fully ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant and energy efficient.”

The city’s other large outlay will also involve ADA improvements, this time at Sacramento Street and Maple Avenue. ADA upgrades there make up only part of that project, which will receive $390,000 in CDBG funding.

“They’re going to be doing water and sewer improvements,” said Perez.

STEARNS continued from 1

ty worker and a good people person. She

is a total optimist and has taught me to be more optimistic.”

Stearns has lived in Exeter since a toddler attending its school system kindergarten through high school. She opened the Wild Flower Café in 1991 and then got her real estate license in 2002, working for Heaton Properties. In 2008 she won a seat on the Exeter City Council and served for eight years, four of those being mayor.

“I feel that I have been walking the walk while on the city council and gained a good outlook on what would

BEHAVIOR continued from 3

targeted support.

“If a student doesn’t respond to intervention, usually the first thing we’re looking at is why. We’re troubleshooting with what happened,” says Dhillon.

If they’re having issues, students will receive counseling and intervention with a social worker or with the school’s psychologist. Some schools have rooms or spaces dedicated to reflection and these practices.

11

to pay development fees for several projects, a claim made initially by Visalia-based attorney Michael Lampe, who is currently suing Nunley on behalf of Tulare resident David Frost.

A copy of Wilkins’ letter was obtained by Lampe from Tulare City Hall through a public records request.

According to Nunley’s attorney, staff at City Hall allowed the publication of false statements about Nunley’s alleged failure to pay fees on time, as well as his alleged failure to submit proper paperwork regarding his real estate development ventures in Tulare.

Wilkins’ letter also claims city staff altered or fabricated documents to support the claims of non-payment of fees and Nunley’s alleged failure to submit proper paperwork for his projects.

Nunley’s claim for payment also alleges the sitting councilman’s development projects were singled out for additional scrutiny by city staff.

The alleged discrimination against Nunley includes unfair standards and uneven application of building codes, the letter from Wilkins states.

It also alleges Nunley was required to perform additional work not required

of other land developers.

To repair the damage to Nunley claims was done to his business and reputation he is demanding payment of $16.5 million dollars, as well as a public apology from City Hall.

Lampe, in a statement accompanying his release of the letter, called for Nunley to remove himself from the city council.

“Public officials have an absolute obligation to put the public’s interest before their own personal interests.

This obligation, legally known as ‘fiduciary duty’, is breached when a public official attempts to benefit at the public expense,” Lampe wrote. “In light of the filing of the attached claim, one would hope that Councilman Nunley will have the decency to resign his council position.”

The next step for the city council is to either accept or reject Nunley’s claim.

“Right now, we just have the claim, so there’s nothing for us to do except follow our normal procedure, which is to put it on the agenda,” City Attorney Zamora said. “We will advise them and we’ll continue on.”

A claim such as Nunley’s is an initial

step preceding a lawsuit. While Zamora cannot reveal the specific advice he intends to give the council, what he’ll tell the council will depend on what happens next, he said.

Most claims against cities are rejected.

“Most of what I can tell them at this point is dependent on whether there’s a follow-up or not,” he said.

Zamora said he was puzzled by the assertion the city had published or allowed to be published statements regarding Nunley and his business dealings.

“The documents are public, whether he paid or not is public,” he said. “We didn’t publish the statement.”

Other allegations in Nunley’s demand were also less clear than they could have been, Zamora said.

This, he said, was because the two parties have not yet reached the point of a lawsuit.

“At this point the claim doesn’t require legal specificity,” Zamora said.

He’s also not sure Nunley has cause for the demands he’s making.

“We get claims often, but that doesn’t mean they’re justified,” Zamora said.

“They’re replacing all of the water and sewer piping, and updating the ADA sidewalks and replacing pavement.”

Despite the size of the two largest funding allocations, much of the money the CDBG fund distributes is allocated in much smaller amounts. The city’s graffiti abatement program will get $30,700 in CDBG money this fiscal year, and the Continuum of Care project, which hosts single-day events to connect homeless people with available services, will receive a payout of $10,000.

cycle, earmarking varying amounts of funding for those applicants who qualify. It then refines the plan based on citizen input, which varies depending on who attends the public hearing sessions.

“We take public comments first for 30 days,” Perez said. “One of the things we heard was there was no ADA (access) at the Senior Center.”

That comment led to a $40,000 allocation for upgrades to disability access for the alleys near F and G streets, as well as on King Avenue. Other facility improvement funding by CDBG money includes upgrading lighting and benches at Parkwood Meadows Park, new showers at the Tulare Lighthouse Rescue Mission, as well as funding for a pair of low-income housing programs.

CDBG funding will also help Habitat for Humanity’s housing rehabilitation program, as well as aiding Kings

View’s programs for the mentally ill and those fighting drug addiction.

Money from the CDBG fund will go to AmVets.

“They’re going to focus more on low-income veterans,” Perez said.

“They’re also going to assist with employment services.”

A portion of the money earmarked for the United Way will assist in connecting other Tulare residents in need of housing with available services, as well as providing its clients with emergency rent and utility payments.

Brook Chapel’s funding will be used to provide similar assistance.

“They have quite a bit who reach out to them,” Perez said.

Once the CDBG spending schedule is in its final form, it must be approved by the City Council. The 2019-20 CDBG spending was up for approval at the Tuesday, April 16 meeting.

For more information about Tulare’s CDBG program, call (559) 6844256, or email mperez@tulare.ca.gov.

be necessary for the board of supervisors job.”

She said that a person becomes a true problem solver “really fast” when you have your own business. “I already see ways to save the county money.”

In co-opting President Trump’s MAGA slogan she said, “let’s make it MTCGA, or Make Tulare County Great Again.”

Visalia City Council Member Brian Poochigian was at the launch party and has officially endorsed Stearns.

“She will be a breath of fresh air for the county,” he said, ”and she has the experience.”

Stearns has in fact met with all of the Visalia City Council members in preparation of her run. “Every area has

its own issues and I have been meeting with decision makers to prepare for my run.” There is much camaraderie between the two city councils, she said, and each Visalia city council member was very supportive of her campaign.

In her initial meeting with her campaign team they discussed walking the areas of district 1 where she isn’t as well known. East Visalia has approximately 15,000 voters and she intends on pounding the pavement in that area to get to know the residents and their issues.

She said the community of Exeter already knows her but the town is just a small part of the district. Also, with her family being involved in citrus farming since 1961, she has name recognition

among the east side farmers that stretches from Exeter to Strathmore.

While on the Exeter City Council what she enjoyed the most was the opportunity to be helpful. “In this new position, that’s what I am really excited about, in being helpful on a wider scale.”

“Life skills are huge. Because of what I have done in life as a mom, grandmother, and business owner prepares me for the job as supervisor,” she said.

Stearns is not exactly excited about the campaigning side of reaching her goal to be District 1 supervisor, but sees it as a necessary evil.

“I am running because there is a lot of room for improvement in this supervisor’s district.”

“Reflection is not necessarily a core tenet or requirement to do this kind of work,” says Dhillon. “But what a number of our schools have done is to identify safe spaces that might be the office or the classroom where their behavioral technician or the psychologist share.”

The last tier affects only about 5% of students. Those who don’t respond to general or target support receive individualized support specifically from trained behavior specialists.

Students in this tier spend more time with psychologists and supporters in interventions.

On very rare occasions, students don’t fit neatly into this three-tier structure.

“For those kids whose needs are so significant that their needs are not able to be met at the school site, then there are times we may have to look at special programs within our district that will help better meet their needs but that’s a really small percentage of kids,” says Dhillon.

Dhillon espouses the virtues and effectiveness of PBIS. “Where it’s being done and where it’s been done schoolwide and done with fidelity, it is being effective,” says Dhillon.

A struggle with PBIS has been getting all schools on board. The district has had many complaints with their discipline structure and, as the Visalia Times-Delta reported last March, many school board members are forsaking the ideology.

Despite complaints, Dhillon asks for time to get all schools caught up.

“There are thousands of schools and research studies that show that this works,” says Dhillon. “Visalia Unified can’t be the outlier. We know that it works, but the question is how we make sure it works here.”

Picking Projects and Programs

While the Continuum of Care and the city’s efforts to abate graffiti receive yearly funding from CDBG, most of the other projects it funds are onetime recipients. Which projects will benefit from CDBG allocations is decided by the city’s CDBG committee.

The committee formulates a draft spending plan based on the availability of funds for the current spending

Housing and Jobs

16 April, 2019 Valley Voice

12

Restored B-17 gets its own documentary DAVE ADALIAN

dave@ourvalleyvoice.com

History buffs will soon have the chance to learn the story behind Tulare’s WWII-era B-17 bomber.

During a pair of showings at 4 and 6pm on May 11 at the Tulare Historical Museum, B-17 Archaeology--the group that restored the airplane to its original luster last spring--will present its recently completed documentary detailing the role Preston’s Pride played in America’s post-war nuclear bomb testing.

Tulare’s Lost History

“Those of us who’ve been a part of the restoration are excited to see it documented,” said museum director Chris Harrell. “It’s such an amazing part of history. People of Tulare have always been proud of having a B-17, but when they reintroduced what this plane stood for, the lost history, that just adds to the whole story and pride for having the plane here.”

The premier showings of the documentary are open to the public. Admission is free.

A DVD version of the documentary will be available for sale at the museum’s gift shop, and online at tularehistoricalmuseum.org once the public has had its first look.

“It’s going to be a fun evening. People have put in so much work,” Harrell said. “There will be familiar faces in the documentary. Everybody that’s had a piece to play in it are going to be excited to see this stage of it come full circle.”

Local Voices

Greg Stathatos, who headed both the restoration of the plane and creation of the documentary, said at least two locals involved in US atomic testing--Navy veteran Bud Sowerby of Tulare and Army veteran Don Martin of Visalia--will appear in the show. There

KAWEAH DELTA continued from 1

project is complete--with a total of 74 beds--Visalia should have an emergency department more able to handle a higher number of patients.

“We’ll have doubled the size of the ER,” Herbst said. “It’ll be very modern (with) larger rooms.”

About the same time the first phase of the ER expansion is complete, the hospital should also have

will also be a roundtable discussion featuring Sowerby and Martin and others who participated in restoring Tulare’s B-17 and worked to produce the documentary.

“The story behind this plane and the atomic testing is just incredible,” Stathatos said. “It’s part of Tulare. It’s been there since 1958. People walk by it everyday and don’t even realize what it is.”

While the plane--known today as Preston’s Pride in honor of Tulare native Gen. Maurice Arthur “Mo” Preston--never saw action during the Second World War, it did serve in the Pacific during atomic bomb testing from 1946 to 1958. Specifically, Preston’s Pride served as a mothership for drone B-17s that flew into atomic blasts during Operation Crossroads.

“It is the largest artifact from the atomic testing in the South Pacific that still exists,” Stathatos said. “This is the only one from Operation Crossroads.”

Atomic Weapon Testing

The period of above-ground nuclear bomb testing was both an interesting and dangerous period in world history, Stathatos said.

“From 1946 to to 1958, there were 46 tests at the atolls. The bombs just kept getting bigger,” he said. “If you took the first bomb on Hiroshima every day for 19 years, you would equal the megatons of all the bombs tested in the South Pacific.”

Much of the importance of Preston’s Pride stems from the aircraft being the last one surviving from that era.

“You get an idea of why it was important for not only Tulare but the world to preserve this aircraft,” Stathatos said. “I think it’s important for us as a country to know what really went on out there. I think we can do a good thing, even better than polishing it (Preston’s Pride), by telling its story.”

Sixty Megatons finished building additional visitor parking. The buildings that once occupied the land at the corner of West Street and Acequia Avenue are gone, and the area will soon be paved.

“Checker’s and Doc’s have been razed,” Herbst said of the two eateries that once stood at the corner. The new public parking area should be open

by May, he said.

New Business Model

Meanwhile, KDHCD is hoping to

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Volunteers with B-17 Archaeology performed restoration work on Preston’s Pride, a WWII-era Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. Dave Adalian/Valley Voice

Many of the military personnel who were on hand for the atomic bomb tests were there so the US government could explore the effects the explosions and subsequent radiation would have on their troops. Men like Sowerby and Martin signed agreements not to discuss how the testing affected their health, Strathatos said, and they have never received benefits stemming from their exposure to ionizing radiation.

And while Stathatos understand the need for atomic weapons testing in that era, he still wonders if our government went too far.

“I don’t want to say it was a dark period because of the veterans. I think it was necessary,” he said. “The testing afterwards, did it really have to go to 60 megatons?”

change the way it does business as the climate of healthcare evolves.

“The role of hospitals is changing,” Herbst said. “More and more we’re being asked to keep the population healthy. That’s why you see them (hospital districts) developing clinics.”

Currently KDHCD operates five clinics--four in rural areas and one in downtown Visalia housing a family medicine practice--that treated 200,000 patients in 2018.

The District also operates two urgent care centers and a chronic disease treatment facility. The plan is to regroup them under a new brand, Sequoia Health and Wellness Center, and seek status as federally qualified health centers (FQHC) by the beginning of autumn.

“The application is going in today,” Herbst said. “Likely, we won’t be until September we hear back.”

The move is intended to bring more physicians to the area, lower the cost of treatment and provide additional funding for the District.

“For the patients, it will be transparent,” Herbst said. “The buildings will have a new name on them.”

‘Another Option’ for KDHCD

For the District, however, it could signal a “potentially profound change,” as the facilities are

Cost of Saving Lives

The possibly dangerous exposure of US troops to radiation is evident in the documentary.

“When you watch the documentary, you’ll say, ‘Huh? They’re working with radiation in shorts and T-shirts with no gloves,’” Stathatos said. “The history is important and what it stands for. It stands for endurance. The amount of lives it saved to end the war has cost us afterwards.”

With the first documentary complete, Stathatos and B-17 Archaeology are planning a second that will detail the interior of Preston’s Pride based on information he and the group uncovered after the first film was complete.

For more information, contact the Tulare Historical Museum at 686-2074.

able to adopt regulations only available to FQHCs. “It gives us another option,” Herbst said.

If FQHC status is approved, the clinics will be able to hire doctors rather than contracting for their services, apply for grants that are not currently available to them and increase the amount of compensation they receive from government-subsidized medical care programs.

The final point is especially important in Tulare County, which has the highest enrollment in MediCal in the state, with up to 60% of the population using its services.

The ability to hire doctors should also be a key to attracting them to the area.

“A lot of physicians want to be employed coming out of residency,” Herbst said.

Doctors who become employees of FQHCs rather than contractors will be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs, a particular boon for new physicians who carry heavy debt loads following years of medical school. The hope is doctors hired to work at the Districts clinics and specialty centers will put down roots and remain in the area, helping to raise the Valley’s very low doctor-to-patient ratio.

“We have an incredible shortage here,” Herbst said. “We’re looking to pull out all the stops.”

Valley Voice 16 April, 2019

MUSEUM continued from 1

out of my workplace by police.”

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

Quinn Claims he is Auditing the Museum

Quinn’s anti-SLAPP suit filed April 2 states, “Petitioner, the manager of a City of Hanford subsidized museum, is trying to suppress the petition and free speech rights of Respondent. Petitioner is apparently upset that respondent has been publicly critical of the City Government’s financial subsidizing of the museum. This action has been brought to silence the criticism

by Respondent.”

Quinn told the Voice that residents are concerned because they feel the museum is mismanaged, is out of compliance with the city and state, and appears to have excessive and unauthorized use after hours.

“After the museum closed I have seen the lights on and kids going in and out. It looked like Patricia was using the museum as a private venue.”

“Because the membership is not looking, the city is not looking, the state is not looking, I’m afraid the building is going to become an unauthorized venue hall on the Hanford taxpayer’s dime.”

To substantiate his claims, Quinn has been observing the foot traffic at different times of day and night at the museum over the last several months.

He then presented his findings during public comment at the Hanford city council meetings about the irregular hours and events going on at the museum.

Quinn also told the Voice that he and other Hanford residents are concerned because several board members have resigned and old Hanford families have let their memberships go.

“The by-laws have been changed concerning who can be a member.

Now it’s being run like a private club,” said Quinn.

Former city council member Diane Sharp said that she tried to join the museum twice in 2018. The first time she was on the city council and included a donation of $100 with her application.

Weeks later Sharp was told by Dickerson that, “I was not eligible to be a member because the by-laws forbade members of the city council from being members of the museum.”

Dickerson returned the check.

The second time Sharp tried she was also rejected “because I had publicly raised concerns about the organization’s management and degree of compliance with the city’s lease as part of my job as a council member.”

Sharp’s adult daughter’s application has been pending for months.

“She’s just trying to join her town’s little history museum, not get into The Bohemian Club. It’s as troubling as it is astounding.”

Quinn said that he has never followed Dickerson’s family in the park nor yelled at them as she states in her petition.

Concerning the accusation of his following her husband, Quinn said he became suspicious when her husband slowly drove by his house, which is on a semi-isolated street.

“I thought he was stalking me so I got in my car and followed him. When I saw his daughter get in the car I left.”

13

The Lawyers State Their Case

David Lange from Dias Law Firm is representing Dickerson and considers this a civil harassment case.

He advised Dickerson not to speak to the Voice.

In a letter he wrote, “My client stated her position in her court pleadings–that she is a victim of harassment by Mr. Quinn.

The court found her side of the story was compelling enough to grant a Temporary Restraining Order preventing Mr. Quinn from coming near her.”

His letter also stated that it is better for the case to be litigated in the courts rather than the press. Lange will be filing a response to Quinn’s suit by the end of April that will be available to the public.

The Law Offices of Melo and Sarsfield is representing Quinn and filed the Artifacts displayed inside the Carnegie Museum. anti-SLAPP. years and six months ending June 30, In it they state, “Respondent (Quinn) has spoken 2031. At the end of the term the Carnat City Council meetings, on agendized egie Museum has an option to renew items, regarding the City’s continuing the lease for another 35 years.

Pyle said the museum is a private to subsidize, at taxpayer expense, the museum. Petitioner’s complaint and corporation like any other private demand for a (TRO) directly interferes business and can make its own rules with Respondent exercising his peti- on who can be a member, what events tion rights and right to free speech. to hold, and at what hours day or night Petitioner’s demand for an order ‘re- to be open. Neither the Carnegie Muframe (sic) from badmouthing me on seum nor the artifacts inside belong facebook and my family and place of to Hanford.

The city can decide not to lease the business and to the City Council who has the lease to my place of business’ building to the museum, but the lesis a text-book example of a classic sor cannot tell the lessee what to do.

Pyle pointed out that Hanford is SLAPP suit.”

“The subsidy assumes certain facts not part of the suit, which is exclusiveabout foot-traffic, public benefit us- ly between Dickerson and Quinn.

Mark Avedian of Avedian Properages, etc. Petitioner is attempting to stop Respondent’s audit of the traffic, ties said, “Whoever has the lease can conducted from a lawful place he has say who goes in or out of the building a right to be, which will in turn be re- and when it is open.” He said even if ported back to the Council. Respon- the museum were subsidized by the dent has an absolute right to report city he didn’t believe it made the Carnwhat he has learned to the City Coun- egie Museum a public building.

Avedian figured this was more of cil, and of course, he has the right to travel the city streets, including city- a matter for the lawyers to fight out in court, but in his opinion, he feels that owned parking lots.” the lease should be honored. “It’s just like a normal lease with any other busiIs it a Subsidy?

Whether Hanford is subsidizing ness owner even if it is for $1 a year.”

Mary Jarvis, a family law lawyer, the museum is not a settled issue. leaned more toward the belief that Nor is it clear if the city or residents Hanford does subsidize historical muhave any say on how the museum seum for the benefit of the residents. is managed.

She likened the Carnegie Museum to While the residents of Hanford are Visalia’s Ice House Theater, where the free to complain, and they often do, city rents its building to the organizawhat’s not clear is if Dickerson has no tion for $1 a year. recourse when she becomes their tarJarvis felt that the intangibles of get. Dickerson is not the chairperson a city bringing culture and history to or even on the museum board, but is its residents motivated Visalia and its employee.

Hanford to subsidize organizations Quinn makes the nexus between such as the ice House Theater and the the Carnegie Museum and its being Carnegie Museum.

She felt it was apa public building because the city is propriate for the city to provide more forgoing tens of thousands of dollars oversight of the museum and that a year in lost revenue; thus, making would lead to more accountability to it subsidy. its taxpayers.

But other legal and real estate “If you think of it rationally, how experts say they do not know of any do you justify that it is not subsirecognized legal analysis that states dized by the city when the historical a city is subsidizing an organization museum is getting such an awesome just because it rents their building for building.” $1 a year.

She asked rhetorically if the muAccording to Darrell Pyle, Hanford seum would have the funds to rent a City Manager, the only relationship besimilar building. “It’s a win-win situatween the city and the museum is as tion.

Could they have ever purchased landlord and tenant. that building on their own even with The lease agreement signed in the maintenance issues?”

October of 1996 is between the City Jarvis said that the Ice House of Hanford (“Lessor”) and “Hanford Theater building also needed a huge Carnegie Museum Inc., a non-profit amount of work but said the organizacorporation, of the State of California tion was happy to do it.

“That’s basical(“Lessee”).” The term of the lease is 34

ly saying thank you to the city.”

“Run like the old Tammany Hall”

Quinn also pointed out that Dickerson’s support for Hanford City Council Member Francisco Ramirez’ 2018 campaign endangers the museum’s 501(c) (3) tax exempt status. According to the lease, that would be grounds for the city to terminate the rental agreement.

“The museum is being run like the old Tammany Hall,” he said.

Ramirez did confirm that Dickerson worked on his 2018 campaign but did so as a private citizen, not on behalf of the museum. Even so, Ramirez recuses himself from voting on museum issues during city council meetings.

“Even though it is legally not necessary, I have recused myself twice,” he said.

Ramirez was present when Quinn and other members of his group were escorted out of the museum last December. He said during the museum’s Christmas event, Quinn and residents Skip Athey and Mark Cole were heckling Dickerson. He thought it was “in very poor taste” and supported Dickerson’s decision to call the police.

“Mark even wanted to get into a fight and said ‘let’s take it outside,’” said Ramirez. “I just said whatever, how about another time.”

Ramirez falls on the side that the city is not subsidizing the museum.

The Carnegie Museum solicits donations from the public but the city of Hanford has never contributed.

Ramirez said that if Hanford did donate taxpayer money to the museum then he would see that as a subsidy.

Quinn’s only concern is with Museum Quinn told the Voice that he is not adverse to Dickerson being manager of the museum and thinks she can grow into the position. He has also been encouraged that the museum has filed the necessary paperwork and is now in compliance with the city and state.

“I have zero interests in her, her kids, her husband or anything they do outside of the museum. The Carnegie has a new board and even with Patricia as the manager I hope it can become what it once was.”

16 April, 2019 Valley Voice

14

INYO

continued from 4 either, he said.

Benzeevi didn’t anticipate that either, according to a declaration filed in November. He stated that he believed the declarations meant Baker would choose him, and not the district, if a conflict arose.

“At no time was I told that if the interests of HCCA and Inyo became in conflict, that Baker could continue to represent Inyo adverse to any member of the Benzeevi Group,” he wrote. “To the contrary, it was my understanding that if an actual conflict developed, Baker would terminate its representation of Inyo and continue representing the Benzeevi Group, including as to the Inyo [Management Services Agreement.]”

On Spetember 29, Greene broke the news -- and Benzeevi’s understanding -- in a termination letter.

Greene had represented HCCA since it began operating -- records from the California Secretary of State’s office show that he signed the forms to incorporate the company, and Vi Heathcare Finance -- but he wrote to tell Benzeevi that the firm had determined it “must commence termination” of its relationship with him, and any of his companies.

The letter did not set a hard termination date.

“Finally, we again request that you settle your outstanding accounts with

KENNELS continued from 1

and neuter rule will be made for Police Dogs, dogs that wouldn’t survive the surgery, or an owner that paid for an unaltered permit. Only five unaltered permits will be allowed per owner.

The biggest changes to the ordinances were to the commercial kennel standards.

The new rules reduced the maximum number of dogs from 40 to 25. Of those only five will be allowed to breed.

The new rules also increased the size of the cage where kennel dogs spend most of their lives.

A $100 license fee is imposed on every unaltered dog and before a female dog is allowed to breed she must be examined by a vet. All dogs are required to be implanted with a microchip containing their personal information and breeding history. Such records as veterinary visits, pregnancies, sales and transfers must all be on file at the kennel and on the microchip.

Hamblin said, though fines will be imposed on non compliant kennels, the goal is not financial, but to solve the problem of overpopulation.

In addition to the stricter ordinances, TCAS has already banned selling, bartering, gifting, or transferring of live animals at swap meets.

With only a few exceptions, public comment was very supportive of TCAS and their new ordinances.

BJ Motko, from Central Valley Rescue Railroad, echoed several commenters’ opinion that anyone interested in the humane treatment of animals would not have a problem with the new ordinances.

“There is nothing in this language that will discourage humane breeders,” she said.

Susan Gundy of Visalia congratu-

the firm forthwith,” Greene added -- HCCA owed the company approximately $7,832.89. Roughly two weeks earlier, on September 10, the firm received $499,727.93 in funds from HCCA. They came from a transaction in which HCCA sold some assets of Tulare Regional Medical Center for $3m; The Tulare district filed suit against HCCA, claiming the transaction was unauthorized, and later settled it; the Tulare County District Attorney’s office has contended the action was illegal, and seized the remaining funds from the sale.

which the interests of the clients actually conflict.

McDow may still have been considered to represent HCCA and Southern Inyo, because Greene’s letter did not include a termination date -- and her motion was filed less than 30 days after the letter was sent, Clement said.

The Southern Inyo board voted to terminate HCCA’s contract on October 11, 2017, and McDow filed an emergency motion to terminate the agreement in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California on October 17, 2017, two weeks and four days later.

In it, McDow claims that the district had been making payments to HCCA for loans that were fictitious, that it presented inaccurate financial reports, that its management was lacking, and that funds had been shuttled between Tulare Regional and the Southern Inyo Hospital.

That emergency motion, the Baker firm’s letter terminating its relationship, and actions since then led to Clement’s decision to disqualify her, he said.

Clement cited a new rule in his decision, which states that “while law-

yers are associated in a firm, none of them shall knowingly represent the client when any of them practicing alone would be prohibited from doing so by Rules 1.7, the concurrent representation rule, or 1.9, the former representation rule.”

“One, as to the motion to terminate the management services agreement. The damage has already been done. It is true that these were an emergency -- that this was an emergency situation,” Clement said. “And it may well be that Ms. McDow did the only thing available to her, but by doing so she has ensured that this rule is in play against her.”

That rule applied because it was forward-looking, he said, and an exception is only allowed if the attorney did not substantially participate in the matter, or a procedure is set up to screen the lawyer out of any participation in the matter in a manner which the former client approves.

Clement also cited multiple rules from the California Rules of Professional Conduct in his decision, including Rule 3-310. The rule has multiple points; his citations included those which state that: • an attorney cannot accept employment adverse to a prior client when they have received confidential information which could create a conflict, • and an attorney cannot continue representation of more than one client in a matter in

lated TCAS but wished they would follow their own rules regarding exercise.

The new rules impose a minimum of four hours a week of exercise in commercial kennels. But no such requirement exists at the county shelter, she said, where some dogs never leave their cages.

“Even dogs on lengthy hold for ‘vicious’ behavior should be evaluated for this activity--and should be allowed to interact with their owners if it is deemed not feasible for shelter staff to do so. Anything less is inhumane and causes unnecessary suffering to the dog.”

Gundy also wished the county would revamp its system for contracting for judges and Administrative Review Appeals Officers who rule on impounded dogs.

“It is essential that …..attorneys and judges, contracted to make life or death decisions of dogs, should have verifiable experience and education/ training in canine behavior and owner training and be able to deal fairly with the diverse population of dog owners in the county.”

Currently animal control “judges” are hired and paid by the county and have been accused of deciding in favor of their boss rather than in favor of the dog.

Tricia Stever Blattler, Director of the Tulare County Farm Bureau, wanted to address the board as a private citizen. She was very supportive of the changes but wanted to see stricter rules for commercial kennels.

She said that the county is a hotbed for unscrupulous breeders and that she has seen the results of overbred, starving, and sick females picked up by rescue organizations. Huge numbers of animals end up in the county’s shelters, said Stever Blattler, because TCAS has not been able to regulate these breeders.

Ron Abbott, owner of a kennel that has been accused of being a puppy mill, sat in the audience as several speakers took their anger out on him.

One woman who ran a Lab rescue in Clovis said she has “five or seven rescues from a breeder in this room.”

While glaring back at Abbott the woman said, “Imagine you are a dog living in a cage your entire life pumping out puppies every six months. I have rescued dogs that walking on grass petrifies them or won’t get into a car.”

Tulare County Supervisor Pete Vander Poel had to request the woman address the dais instead of Abbott.

She fully supported the new ordinances but requested TCAS reconsider making the minimum requirements for the cages bigger, especially for the “birthing boxes.”

Two of the speakers were hobby breeders and also directed their anger towards Abbott. Both speakers felt that it was his fault that the kennel ordinances were stricter, making their operations almost impossible. Neither sold their dogs for profit because they considered the dogs part of their family, but both had many more dogs and puppies than will be allowed under the new rules.

When Abbott addressed the board he acknowledged that he has been the focus of a lot of hate. The “animal activists” protest against his kennel just like they protest dairies, he said. “But, I have a licensed kennel and have raised dogs for 20 years. I am living my childhood dream.”

Abbott said that he had no problem following the rules for proper care of his animals or reducing the number to 25 dogs, but didn’t understand the logic behind limiting the number of dogs that can breed to five.

“It doesn’t compute to me,” he said.

Hamblin repeated that the main

goal of updating the ordinances was to reduce the number of puppies in Tulare County. But Abbott says he is providing a service for those who want a “specific dog of a specific age.”

Tulare County Supervisor Amy Shuklian asked Abbott how many dogs he currently had. Abbott either avoided answering the question or did not know.

“Somewhere around 30,” he said.

Shuklian then asked how many different types of breeds he had and Abbott again did not answer her question rattling off the names of a few breeds.

The last person to speak during the public hearing outlined the red flags of a puppy mill. An animal advocate from Clovis said that a kennel is a puppy mill if there are more than two breeds, if many females are bred at one time, and if the owner is motivated by profit.

Responsible breeders, she said, improve one particular breed and invest time and effort into each dog.

Tulare County Supervisor Eddie Valero said he lives in the Cutler-Orosi area and there is an abundance of dogs. “Something had to be done to address the issue.”

Shuklian added that it was a long time coming and she wished the rules were more stringent. She was impressed, though, that Kings County wanted to follow our lead.

“It’s not often that Tulare County is seen as progressive,” she said.

Hamblin responded by saying that TCAS is already compiling a list of improvements to the new ordinances that he referred to as a “living document.”

“We will be coming back to the board in a few years to change and improve the ordinances and continue moving forward.”

The conflict

Actions could open new battle

As part of its settlement with HCCA, the Tulare Local Healthcare District would be required to cooperate in any action the company brings against Baker Hostetler, including its representation of the Southern Inyo Healthcare District.

“With the exception of not releasing or disclosing privileged and/ or confidential attorney-client documents and information or work product, the Parties further mutually agree to reasonably cooperate with one another, and direct their respective counsel to cooperate, in any lawsuit that either Party brings against Baker Hostetler and any and all attorneys who were, or who may or may not currently be, part of or affiliated in any way with Baker Hostetler for actions representing the District, the HCCA Parties, or Southern Inyo Healthcare District,” the settlement reads.

Richard Fedchenko, a Southern Inyo Healthcare District board member, declined to comment.

McDow did not respond to a request for comment.

Valley Voice 16 April, 2019

15

VOICES & OPINIONS

Kevin McCarthy: “100 Days of Democrat Disappointment” KEVIN MCCARTHY In the first 100 days of the new Congress, the House Democrat majority has fallen short on its promises.

In her first speech as Speaker, Nancy Pelosi said we must build “an economy that gives all Americans the tools they need to succeed in the 21st Century,” yet Democrats have refused to release their budget, much less pass a budget, for the Federal government as required by law. She said that she wants Americans to “have confidence that government works for the public interest” and wants to restore “integrity to government,” yet their highest priority bill was a massive federal government takeover that would undermine our elections. She said that this Congress would be “unifying” and that Democrats would “seek to reach across the aisle,” yet their divisive language and behavior prove otherwise.

Promises made. Promises broken.

House Democrats are wasting the responsibility they were given by the American people. Rather than actually helping the people they took an oath to serve, Democrats are quarreling amongst themselves, legislating ineffectively, and pushing for radical, socialist policies that if enacted, would threaten the freedoms of Americans everywhere. Their inaction has not

gone unnoticed – at this point in the last Congress, Republicans had passed 141 bills out of committee and 132 out of the House. By contrast, Democrats have passed 68 bills out of committee and 97 out of the House. Since the end of January, rather than passing legislation, one in five votes this Congress has taken have been non-binding “messaging” resolutions. Just last week, Democrats offered a symbolic and worthless resolution on health care to distract from their support of proposals where government would control all health care, virtually eliminating choice for patients and their doctors.

Had Democrats spent just a fraction of the time they spend bickering amongst each other working to enact real change on health care, maybe Americans would not be burdened by skyrocketing premiums and limited health provider choice. Republicans, however, stand for solutions that will protect Americans with pre-existing conditions while offering greater choice and more affordable health care options.

Despite being in the minority, House Republicans have listened to the American people and have acted.

We have condemned anti-Semitism, a stance the Democrats have simply refused to take. We have fought tirelessly against infanticide, a brutal practice

of murdering infants born alive after a botched abortion; this is not a pro-life issue – it is a matter of doing what is morally right. We have fought to end the humanitarian crisis at our southern border by supporting stronger border security which include barriers to stop the influx of crimes and drugs.

During my recent visit to the border last week, border agents informed us that the wall there is working. Illegal crossings in that region have drastically dropped by about 70 percent.

In the same way that Republicans are redefining Congress, Republicans are also working to improve the lives of Californians.

With the failed high-speed rail project, strongly supported by Sacramento liberal bureaucrats, finally coming to an end, I proudly introduced legislation – the RAILWAY Act – to repurpose federal funds that would have gone to high-speed rail projects for desperately-needed water infrastructure in California and the West.

This investment would help build water storage that could collect water during wet years for use in dry ones.

With California’s most recent drought still fresh in our minds, it is imperative that we take appropriate measures now to ensure that we are prepared for the future.

I am also working with my col-

leagues in California to stamp out Valley Fever, an infectious and deadly fungal disease spread by virtually any activity that produces dust. In an effort to increase awareness, just last month I organized a Valley Fever Roundtable at the U.S. Capitol and invited leading researchers and members from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and the Valley Fever Institute at Kern Medical, as well as passionate local patient advocates, to provide us with updates on where we stand in combatting this disease and what we can do further. They presented invaluable information that will help us better understand how to mitigate and fight Valley Fever in our communities.

We are only 100 days into the 116th Congress and House Republicans are working relentlessly to honor their civic responsibilities by listening and acting on behalf of the American people.

But I pose this question to House Democrats: what have you accomplished for the American people in your first 100 days controlling Congress? The American people deserve better and that is why Republicans are focused on policies that aim to strengthen our economy and help solve the problems facing our communities.

didnt include cost of books or a place to stay. I know some people will say the increased cost today of college is simply due to inflation. If that were so, tuition today should cost about a thousand dollars. Check the cost of a year’s tuition at Fresno State-its a lot more than a thou. And going to Cal? I hope you have a deep bank account.

In the 1960s we hadn’t yet lost sight of a crucial element of the college experience. Every society, even (or especially)the most primitive ones, have rites of passage. You have to pass a test in order to be a man-or woman.

Hunt a lion-or a head. Take a walkabout, join the Army-there are mmany examples. Luckily most of our choices aren’t so violent. In the United States one choice has been the obtaining of a diploma. For much of our history this was an elementary school graduation. Then high school became the expected rank. Nowadays the best jobs and money go to those who have a col-

lege degree.

That’s not to say everyone should go. There is plenty of room in our society for someone with good mechanical skills. Certainly many in the upper strata value a degree. otherwise there wouldn’t be so many folks willing to plunk down huge bribes to see that little Fauntleroy gets into a ‘better’ college.

There’s another value to society for this education. It serves as a safety valve for the multitudes. People tend to endure a lot of misery as long as their kids have an opportunity for upward mobility. You can tolerate a life behind a hoe if you know your kids have a chance to be a doctor or teacher. Close that gate, and you know what you get? Revolution, or repression.

Both political parties (with the possible exception of Sanders and a few allies)are pretty much ignoring this. One of the biggest problems facing millions of parents-and students-is

the payment for outrageous bank loans to go to college. When I went to college such a thing was practically unkown. It was difficult but you could work your way through. When my kids went to college we economized, but a combination of their work, junior college and relatively inexpensive tuition got them through. Today so many students are forced to take out huge loans which many can never pay off-unless you hit the proverbial pot of gold.

So lets not demonize Sen. Sanders for proposing a way to reduce debt slavery. And if you cannot support the amount of money this would cost (How about eliminating some of the billions we spend on terror weapons like atomic subs and ICBMs?) At the very least we should have interest-free loans. That would give us the pleasure of seeing the Wall St. banksters howl. Just like with health care, no one should profit from another’s need.

Rite of passage STEVE PENDLETON When you get to be as old as I am, you get to thinking about the good ol’ days. Well, they weren’t all that good in a lot of ways. I can remember horsemeat, iceboxes and the kind of ‘butter’ you put coloring in. Also blackout curtains. But there was one thing which shaped my life in a very good way-the availability of an essentially free college education, at least here in California.

So please don’t make fun of that wild-eyed Socialist pinko, Sen. Bernie Sanders. He’s only advocating something we once had. Don’t believe me?

In 1961, I was a callow freshman at San Francisco State. Total tuition cost for the year was $96. No, that’s not a misprint. I remember the number because it didn’t increase for any of the years I attended college. True, the last year was something of a waste because of campus turbulence. Of course that

Your comments from ourvalleyvoice.com

“

geesh…..I did tell my kids to vote for Valvadia after the candidate forum…..while Nunley did make some good points, as a developer I could see where his loyalty was going to lay and that’s not what we need on city council.

If you could find the recording of the candidate forum you’ll see exactly what I mean.

Because I can’t get my projects passed through the city, one of his reasons for running.

— Concerned on Nunley demands $16.5m, apology

“ “

Apologize, pay the man and stop doing things that are crooked!

Learn from your mistakes ppl!

— Monica on Nunley demands $16.5m, apology

To quote Jim Kirk, “No more, blah, blah, blah!”

— A_face_for_radio on Political Fix (4 April, 2019)

“

” ”“ ”

If anyone pays attention to the city’s budget, isn’t it ironic the amount of the claim is very close to what the city has cash on hand? ($16,742.050) If a council member had the true interest of Tulare at heart, he would not bankrupt the City. There is so much more behind this claim. Nunley has been bullying city staff for years. Please citizens of Tulare and especially members of District 5, please rally at the next council meeting on April 16th to provide comment on why Nunley should step down from his position on council. We made change for the hospital and now let’s change the faces of council.

— Larry on Nunley demands $16.5m, apology Dang! This is as good as the 33-year-old teacher in Fresno having sex with one of her students at lunch in the classroom.

I wonder if I will face the same retribution from my city government.

I do believe that our Council is most unfriendly to the city residents.

My previous experiences have been ignored.

— Dave M. on Political Fix (4 April, 2019)

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16 April, 2019

Valley Voice