Valley Voice Issue 77 (14 September, 2016)

Volume XXXVI No. 18 • 15 September, 2016

www.ourvalleyvoice.com

Tulare County Supervisors Presented with Budget for Fiscal Year 2016/2017 Lisa Whitworth, principal of Farmersville High, and Roland Johnston, site manager for Forcum Mackey Construction, talk amidst the construction of Farmersville High’s new Vocational Education-Career Technology Center. Nancy Vigran/Valley Voice

Farmersville High Career Tech Center Nearing Completion Nancy Vigran Local tax payers are seeing their investment grow with the development of the new Vocational Education-Career Technology Center at Farmersville High School. Ground was broken on the project in March, and it is right on track and should be ready for use come January.

“This is realization of a dream of this community,” said Principal Lisa Whitworth, a former Farmersville student herself.

Funding for the project comes from the Measure A bond, approved by voters in 2014. The bond, which required a 55% supermajority approval to pass, was approved by a 66% majority, according to the Tulare County Elections website.

Cost of the project is projected to fall just below $3.2 million.

Farmersville is involved in a schoolto-career pathways program, which will be greatly aided by the new facility.

“This building is going to help complete that realty,” Whitworth said.

Prior to the bond, a local survey was made as to what career paths were most important in the community, she said.

Construction was polled as the number one career choice.

The career technology building will house classes for residential and commercial construction, as well as small engines, welding and mechanics. The ag industry will have a heavy presence with the building which is located close the school’s ag farm.

“The concept of career technology is for students to start in the ninth grade,” Whitworth said. “They can then [after

FARMERSVILLE continued on 5 »

For the second year in a row, Tulare County’s budget is over $1 billion. County Administrative Officer Michael Spata presented his recommended budget overview for fiscal year (FY) 2016/2017 at the September 13 Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting. The BOS will continue the public hearing on the budget to the September 20 meeting ,when they anticipate giving final approval.

Spata began his presentation by saying, “In its broadest sense, the recommended budget for fiscal year 2016/17 exceeding $1 billion is balanced, fiscally sustainable and structurally sound.

“The proposed budget reflects the direction of the Board of Supervisors that Tulare County is ‘Open for Business’ and the Board’s direction is implemented through a robust Economic Development Strategy guided by a Strategic Management System.”

Interest in reviewing raises for elected officials was suggested by Supervisor Pete Vander Poel, and it was suggested the conversation could continue during the next public hearing on the budget.

In particular, he was interested to know the last time Sheriff Mike Boudreaux got a raise. The sheriff is paid less than his peers in other counties and Vander Poel added that, “Sheriff Boudreaux has been doing an outstanding job the last two years.”

Jose Sigala, local representative for the Service Employees International Union, approached the dais and said that Sheriff Boudreaux received a two percent raise last year, just as the rest of the Board of Supervisors did. As part of approving the budget, if certain elected officials get a raise, then the BOS automatically gets a raise, which is anticipated in this budget. Sigala said that these passive raises voted on by the BOS is something that newly elected Amy Shuklian promised to try and change once she takes office.

The exact Tulare County budget for 2016/2017 is $1,182,351,937--which

Catherine Doe translates into a 1.64% increase over last year. The county’s percent increase is consistent with economic growth throughout the state and country. The country’s overall growth is estimated to be 2%. There has been a drop in the Consumer Price Index and less than 1% inflation. National unemployment is 4.9% while Tulare County’s unemployment rate is at 11.3%.

When putting together the county’s budget, Spata took all these indicators into consideration and used “cautious optimism.” Any increases in expenditures were done with an eye on the economy which could stagnate or see a downturn.

The one bright spot in the indicators for the future of the economy has been the number of building permits. In FY 2014/15 there were 3,369 building permits at a valuation of $126 million.

In FY 2015/16, there were 4617 building permits representing $324 million of added value to the county.

The increase in building permits is that much more significant because the largest contributor to the county’s budget is property taxes. The second largest contributor is sales tax. Both have increased by six to seven percent in the last two fiscal years.

The BOS and Spata’s priorities in allocating funds are public safety, economic well being, quality of life and how successful each of its entities has been.

Spata’s philosophy is to make a budget that works for today but plans for the future. That means that the county will not spend all of the income it received in 2015 but will leave money for the future in case there is another recession.

Spata added that California’s budget is balanced and sustainable, meaning that the state should not have an adverse effect on Tulare County as has happened in the past.

General Fund Five -Year History Devin Nunes speaks to constituents at his August 31 Water Forum.

Congressman Nunes Hosts Water Forum in Tulare Catherine Doe It was standing room only during Congressman Devin Nunes’ Water Forum August 31 at the International Agri-Center. More than 400 people sat at attention while Nunes outlined a grim future for agriculture if Central Valley legislators don’t act together to change federal laws affecting the California water conveyance system.

Nunes told the crowd on several occasions, “Hold your local representatives and legislators accountable. Saying they

only support increased water storage is a cop out.”

Nunes explained that three main laws are preventing the Valley farmers from getting their allotted water from the Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP). Those three laws are the Endangered Species Act, the San Joaquin River Settlement and the Central Valley Project Improvement Act. The CVP and the SWP make up California’s water infrastructure that

FORUM continued on 4 »

Fiscal Year

Budgeted Amount

Percentage Increase

2012/13

$637,125,202

6.53%

2013/14

$667,815,669

4.82%

2014/15

$674,467,830

1.0%

2015/16

$709,100,088

5.13%

2016/17

$715,084,944

0.84%

A five year history of the Tulare County General Fund, and each percentage increase from the prior fiscal year, as part of a presentation given by CAO Michael Spata.

2 • Valley Voice

15 September, 2016 From the Publisher’s desk

Cooking With Gas

We now live in a house whose stove is fueled by gas. There’s nothing unusual about this--it’s just different, that’s all, and requires a bit of getting used to. Things heat up more urgently, somehow, altering my cooking routines and confirming one saying while debunking another. I can now appreciate that when you’re “cooking with gas” things are truly proceeding apace. And the “watched pot?” It really does boil. Quickly.

The whole stove, dials and all, gets hot from one lit burner. Pots have to be lifted off with oven mitts. I can light a cigarette beneath them.

It casts me back to my college days, the only previous time I grappled with a gas stove, when I shared a ramshackle two-storey seaside hut with two pals. But all I really remember about that kitchen was the disgraceful state it was perpetually in. We were champion slobs. One day I disentombed a desiccated mouse carcass from some towering countertop detritus. I took this as a sign to finally clean the whole place up.

Of course, the sink was full, countertop real estate was unobtainable, and we were permanently out of soap. What to do?

The crafty bachelor cooks with gas.

Which in this case meant that, since it was a Sunday morning and there was no class, I could enjoy a lengthy shower. And wash all the pots, pans and dishes simultaneously.

When you live with any bunch of bachelors, a maneuver of this sort tends to confer instant--and lasting--authority.

The thing about authority--and I have this on good authority--is that it has to be good. Benign, I mean to say, and not arbitrary or self-serving if it is to be respected. I’m not talking about obedience, necessarily, but respect.

I don’t, for instance, respect people who throw their weight around. They’re called bullies where I come from.

For the first 51 years of my life I remained free of any legal imbroglio whatsoever. But in the last two years my wife and I have been sued twice by her father and his second wife, for an eviction, and now yet again for an ag land sale whose paperwork we’ve already signed. Not only are there power and control issues, it is exhausting for us. And it’s all so unnecessary. As I’ve said--we’ve signed the papers.

I suppose, though, this is the sort of thing that happens when someone refuses to speak with you for more than three years.

On my wife’s side of the family we’re the only ones with kids--and what all this has done to them is incalculable. Off the top of my head, after three lawsuits, two moves and an eviction, I’d say they feel expendable.

I can’t help but wonder why the events of the last two years have even transpired. Each day has been spent shepherding every facet of our lives through, first, a rejection, and then the myriad details of lawsuits and moving house. And because these details never seem to diminish, lingering in the back of my mind, the bigger picture tends sometimes to be shunted aside. I try to focus on the task at hand. Baby steps.

Still, as my wife says, we’ve hung together and survived. This sounds melodramatic, I know, but I can assure you of the trauma involved.

We were presented with a purchase agreement and told to sign it within a week--or else. The “or else,” of course, was that we’d be sued. We took some time to read the fine print and, after twice consulting our attorney, reluctantly signed.

They had filed before the ink was dry.

Your guess is as good as mine as to what, exactly, the fulcrum of their suit might be.

The irony is that it might ruin the deal. By filing against us, the transaction has entered into the realm of public knowledge. And this violates any confidentiality the buyer might have been expecting. Their attorney should have appreciated this and counselled against filing. But maybe they don’t talk to him, either, so much as command. Or maybe he’s fleecing them--which would constitute financial elder abuse, a charge their lawyer leveled against us during the eviction process.

I’ve now received a second offer to represent us from the Los Angeles headquarters of an international law firm, who say they “learned of the...lawsuit that has recently been filed in the Tulare County Superior Court.”

The plaintiffs might think they’re cooking with gas, but really they’re full of hot air.

— Joseph Oldenbourg

The Valley Voice is your newspaper Published by The Valley Voice, LLC.

Publisher/Editor: Joseph Oldenbourg (joseph@ourvalleyvoice.com) (559) 972-7778

Reporters:

Catherine Doe (catherine@ourvalleyvoice.com) Dave Adalian (dave@ourvalleyvoice.com) Stefan Barros — sports (stefan@ourvalleyvoice.com) Production/Website: Tony Maldonado (tony@ourvalleyvoice.com)

Sales:

Nancy Vigran (nancy@ourvalleyvoice.com) Julia Jimenez (julia@ourvalleyvoice.com)

Contact us & share your opinion: www.ourvalleyvoice.com PO Box 44064 • Lemon Cove, CA 93244

15 September, 2016

Valley Voice • 3

Political Fix Custer’s Last Stand

During the last century the United States experienced some major historical changes.

Such as when the South went from being Democratic to Republican after President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. A similar change happened when the military repealed the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy in 2010.

The Religious Right vigorously lobbied against the military’s repeal, knowing it would fundamentally change Americans’ view of gays, and they were correct. The legalization of gay marriage in the United States happened 10 or 20 years before anyone thought possible.

Another historic change happened in California in the aftermath of Proposition 187 in 1994. Written by the state’s Republican legislators and enthusiastically endorsed by Republican Governor Pete Wilson, the proposition banned children of the undocumented from attending public school or using subsidized health care. California Latinos haven’t voted Republican since, and no Republican has held statewide office in 10 years. California went from red to deep blue in half a generation.

Is the nation going to look back at the Trump campaign and see the historical significance? Could a landslide loss in November for Trump be the end of the White man’s control of American politics?

Is this Custer’s Last Stand?

Mr. Trump’s unlikely rise to the top of the Republican ticket doesn’t look so

Catherine Doe

unlikely in retrospect. He and Democratic presidential nominee Bernie Sanders tapped into a vein of national anger that has been grossly underestimated by both party’s establishments. Though both candidates have different bases, people from all walks of life feel like they are being robbed of the American Dream and being left behind.

Mr. Trump speaks the language of angry White men and legitimizes the angst they feel over losing “their” country. He practically screams about how we need to build a twenty-foot wall, not between us and Canada, from where terrorists have actually entered the United States, but between us and Mexico.

Before Mr. Trump took the political stage, the vision of a Black man in the Oval Office gave rise to White anger with the Tea Party, alt-right and White Lives Matter. The election of President Obama was the Siren call to action and Mr. Trump was their answer. These groups took the lead in clinching the Republican nomination for Mr. Trump.

The Tea Party has proven resilient these last six years and outlived its organizers. The alt-right has always existed in different forms and always will.

But will Trumpsters outlive a Trump defeat in November? Has he created a sustainable movement within the United States, and can the Republican Party survive that movement?

Six Degrees of Separation

Contemplating the current condition of Republicans made me think of

Commerce Exeter Chamber of

Exeter City Park

the Whig Party. The Whigs were the other major political party along with the Democrats from 1833 until their demise in 1854. Four of the most forgettable presidents in American history hail from the Whig Party: William Harrison, Zachary Taylor, both of whom died in office, John Tyler, who was expelled from office, and Millard Fillmore, who served the last two years of Zachery Taylor’s term.

In the 1852 presidential campaign, instead of nominating incumbent President Fillmore as the Whig candidate, the nominee was war hero of the Mexican-American war, General Winfield Scott. Gen. Scott lost in a landslide to Democrat Franklin Pierce, who won 27 of the 31 states, including Gen. Scott’s home state of New Jersey.

A Whig Representative exclaimed, “We are slain. The party is dead—dead— dead!” Increasingly, Whigs realized that they had lost their base and party leaders either quit politics or changed parties.

The 2016 electoral map predictions for Mr. Trump and Ms. Clinton look almost as bad. Most people would agree that if the Republican Party doesn’t adapt to the realities of the 21st century its future will be comparable to that of the Whigs.

While mulling over their similarities with the Republicans, I knew the Whigs produced a couple of American presidents. But what I did not appreciate was that the most well known and admired among them, Senator Henry Clay from Kentucky, was my great grandfather’s namesake, Henry Clay Tupper.

Kentucky Senator Clay was inducted as one of the greatest senators in American history, and was the Secretary of State under President John Adams. In between running for president, being Secretary of State and stints in Washington, he was a law professor at the Kentucky University.

Tullius Cicero Tupper was his loyal student and Sen. Henry Clay wrote a letter of introduction for Tullius Tupper to fellow Whig Senator John Black in 1832, a letter still in the possession of my southern family members. The death of Henry Clay in 1852 was one of the events that lead to the downfall of the Whig Party.

Tullius Cicero Tupper settled down in Canton, Mississippi, married the daughter of a plantation owner, and named his first born son Henry Clay Tupper. Henry fought alongside his two brothers and his father, who was a Major General in the Civil War. By December of 1864, engaged in a pivotal battle, the South would end up losing, Henry was shot in the leg with the bullet passing through his calf and killing his horse. In the spring of 1865, Henry, having survived being shot several times and being a prisoner of war, accompanied General Johnston at Lee’s surrender.

Would it be too serendipitous to mention that Sen. Henry Clay was also shot in the calf and survived during a duel?

Having enough of the South, Henry Clay followed a brother to California and settled down and raised a family in Fresno. Our family has been in the Valley ever since.

POLITICAL FIX continued on 10-11 »

QuickCare • Open 7 days a week • Results quickly provided to your physician • Onsite imaging and lab Non-VMC patients welcome!

Exeter Chamber of Commerce 101 W. Pine St. Exeter, CA 93221 559-592-2919 Email: Chamber@ExeterChamber.com www.ExeterChamber.com

739.2000

Q

N

QuickCare

Hillsdale Akers

Hwy. 198

Garrett German

ABC Bookkeeping and Tax Services Inc. Avedian-Heaton Properties, Hometown Emporium, Providence Group Central Valley Community Bank, Café Lafayette

Visalia Medical Clinic An affiliate of Kaweah Delta Medical Foundation

VMCHealth.com • 5400 W. Hillsdale

4 • Valley Voice

Forum

Continued from p. 1 conveys water from the Sacramento Bay Delta to the Central Valley and Los Angeles. Millerton Lake and the Friant Kern Canal are also part of the Central Valley Project .

Congressman Nunes is a staunch supporter of building Temperance Flat

15 September, 2016 Dam, but added that without modifications to the San Joaquin River Settlement the dam won’t produce one drop of water for Valley farmers. The extra stored water will be used to revive the river and reintroduce a population of salmon that was abundant in the river before Friant Dam was built.

Exacerbating the farmers’ situation is the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) that was passed in

THE KAWEAH DELTA BREAST CENTER & SEQUOIA REGIONAL CANCER CENTER PRESENT:

CHECK OUT OUR:

Makeover Wednesday, Sept. 21 5-7 p.m.

Schedule:

Sequoia Regional Cancer Center 4945 W. Cypress Ave., Visalia

5:30-6:30 p.m.

Our mammograms have gone 3D. Grab a friend and get educated on how these new mammograms have proven themselves to be the best technology to diagnose breast cancer earlier and more accurately to save

Speakers:

3D Mammograms

Aaron Berkey, M.D., Radiologist Pam Montgomery, R.N. & Breast Center Educator

5-7 p.m.

For more Infoma�on: 624-2463

Open House & Breast Center Tours

2014. The goal of SGMA is for farmers to only pump the amount of water that can be replaced. If the irrigation districts and cities of the eight sub-basins of the San Joaquin Valley do not have a plan by 2020 on how they are going to achieve sustainability, the state might take over all groundwater pumping. Even though the Department of Water Resources estimates that the Central Valley’s ground water is over drafted by 1.5 – 2 million acre-feet, the Valley is told it has to achieve sustainability by 2040.

The catch-22 is, if farmers do not get their allocated surface water from the CVP and SWP, they have to pump groundwater to keep their crops alive-which creates more overdraft. The reliability of surface water is key to ground water sustainability. Fortunately, SGMA recognizes the central role of surface water in each sub basin’s plan to achieve ground water sustainability. David Orth, of North Friant Alliance, implored the crowd to keep the conversation focused on that concept.

Nunes warned the audience, “As you know, California is on the verge of disaster. Our economy depends on the ability to move water from the state’s northern reaches to the south via the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project. This infrastructure serves more than three million acres of farmland and over 25 million people. However, due to a lack of political leadership, the state is not making the investments needed to keep these projects fully operational.

Furthermore, extreme environmental regulations have severely restricted our water supply under the Endangered Species Act. Consequently, we are facing catastrophic water supply shortages – in other words, we are experiencing a regu-

latory drought.”

Nunes’ solution is to change the three federal laws aforementioned and to increase water storage in Shasta Dam, expand San Luis and Los Vaqueros Reservoirs and build Temperance and Sites Dams. He and Congressman David Valadao, who was part of the panel fielding questions after the forum, have introduced water bills in congress to fix California’s water problems, but their bills never get past house and senate negotiations.

Though both congressmen acknowledge the drought, Nunes says that California’s water infrastructure was built to withstand a five-year drought, and that what we are experiencing now is what he refers to as a “Drought by Design.”

Nunes believes that the five-county region including Madera, Fresno, Kings, Kern, and Tulare need to have a united agenda to avoid further idling of farmland. “All local agricultural groups and water districts should require elected officials to pledge their support for these core policies: Reform the ESA through federal legislation to return pumping of Sacramento Bay Delta water to historic pre1992 levels. Reform the CVPIA through federal legislation to restore 1.4 Million acre -feet of water that is now going to the environment or flushed out to the ocean, and fix the San Joaquin River Settlement through federal legislation to restore additional confiscated water taken to revive the San Joaquin River.”

Nunes says that if these steps were taken it would allow farming on all productive land and bring water tables into balance, securing 2.5 million acre feet of water.

Because of the “Drought by Design” 100,000 acres have already been idled in the Westland Water District. Nunes says that an additional one million acres of farmland will be retired in the five-county region if the federal water laws are not changed. That translates into one third of the current farmland in the five-county region out of production.

“If you are not for reforming water laws you are for idling farm land,” declared Nunes.

After the presentation by Nunes, and a presentation by David Orth on SGMA, a panel of six water experts gave a short presentation and answered the crowds’ questions.

Nunes said that, “We only have 10% of the states’ population and if we don’t stand up for ourselves then no one else will. You have to get your message out.”

Cole Upton, the only farmer on the panel who represented farmers in the San Joaquin River Settlement in 2006 said, “We need other people to speak up. Everyone is tired of hearing from the same people.”

Another question aimed at the panel was, “What will be the first crops to go?”

Nunes said that depends on what the farmer is growing and the market. Upton said that the first crops to go will be the row crops and the water will be saved for the permanent trees. He warned that one arm of the government is trying to control the surface water and now they want to control the ground water.

“We need to control our own destiny as much as possible and not hand over control to the state. Upton said that we are in a war and we have been in a war for 25 years. Environmentalists are after us and “generations of families are moving out of the area.”

15 September, 2016

Prevention Coalition Hosting Marijuana Conference The Tulare County Prevention Coalition invites the public to the Central Valley Marijuana Awareness Conference: “The Myths, The Facts, and What Every Community Should Know.”

The conference will be held September 24, from 12-4pm at the Tulare County Office of Education Redwood Conference Center, 6200 S. Mooney Blvd, Visalia.

Lunch will be provided.

Guest speakers will include Dr. Kevin Sabet, Director of the Drug Policy Institute at the University of Florida and President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, and Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims.

Admission is free, but registration is required by going to tulare.k12oms. org/159-118242.

For additional information, contact Michelle Reynoso at 559-636-4013.

Famersville Continued from p. 1

graduation] go on to college, or right into a career.”

Enrollment at Farmersville High is currently 730 students, Whitworth said.

And agriculture is number one in the local community, making the career path an important one.

Forcum Mackey Construction of Ivanhoe was awarded the building construction job.

The 40’-200’ foot single-story, steel-beamed building project is going smoothly, said Forcum Mackey site manager Roland Johnston.

Johnston explained the ceilings in the building will be left exposed with electrical, air conditioning and heating lines, and pipework revealed for educational purposes in construction. Roll-up doors will allow for vehicles to be driven in and out of two of the rooms, and the air conditioning will automatically turn off when a door opens--an energy-saving measure. There is also a locker area and bathrooms inside.

Johnston stated that in conversation with a Lincoln Welding representative, the rep said, “this is the best thing that could have happened.” The education of new, young welders is perfect timing.

The average age for a welder is currently 54, he told Johnston.

An open house is tentatively being planned for January. The new classrooms could be put to work for the spring semester.

Farmersville High will not be done there. It is looking to build an onsite aquatic center as well. Part of the Measure A funds are designated for this, as well as a $1 million donation made by the Meek family in memory of former Police and Fire Chief Gary Meek.

Meek was a major advocate for a community pool.

The high school pool would most likely be open to the community during summer months. The estimated cost of the pool facility is $6 million. The school district recently closed a Request for Qualifications for Architectural Services for the project.

Valley Voice • 5

6 • Valley Voice

15 September, 2016

Agriculture New Markets Sought for Walnut Sector Christine Souza, CFBF Large supplies of walnuts from California and around the globe mean dramatically lower prices for the state’s farmers, who say they remain hopeful the market will strengthen in the long term. Walnut marketers say they’re expanding their efforts to find new customers for the crop.

Harvest has started for early walnut varieties. Peter Jelavich of Hawn Ranch Co., who began harvesting Vina-variety walnuts in Sutter County last week, said he’s pleased with the size and quality of this year’s crop—but worried about prices.

“Last year, I sold some Chandler (walnuts) and netted about $1.05 a pound, and sold some other Chandlers for about 85 cents; it just depends on when it was sold during the year,” he said. “I’ll probably average 90 to 95 cents on my Chandlers (this year),” he added, noting that Chandlers represent up to 80 percent of walnut production and typically earn the highest price.

“Long term, I think things will get a little stronger for walnuts,” Jelavich said.

“There’s a big demand for walnuts and we’ve proven we can sell big crops, but the prices have to be reasonable.”

Dennis Balint, executive director of the California Walnut Board and CEO of the California Walnut Commission, said the state has experienced increases in crop size and value for the last 10 years or

Sutter County walnut grower Pete Jelavich, above, started harvesting walnuts, which he said are of good quality this season, although he is concerned that an oversupply of walnuts on the market means a lower price for growers. Christine Souza/CFBF

more. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated this year’s crop at 670,000 tons, up 11 percent from last year.

“Each year, we would absorb 20,000, 25,000, 30,000 tons more walnuts into the world market without a hiccup, and demand remained ahead of supply,” Balint said. “Then in 2014-15, we had a record crop, China had a record crop and Chile had a record crop, so we wound up with 140,000 more tons in the pipeline.”

The growth of California walnut plantings resulted from 2013 market conditions, when increased worldwide demand brought a record return to

One call . . .

Does it all . . .

We own and operate all our trucks and equipment! ● ORCHARD RIPPING

Office: 559-781-5824

● WHEEL LOADERS

James: 559-358-5090

● END DUMPS ● BOTTOM DUMPS ● SLIP PLOWING

www.jtagservice.com Jtagservice1@yahoo.com

● 7 SHANK CHISEL ● STUBBLE DISCING ● (2) DIO’S ● (2) D9’S ● (3) D8’S

No job too small, or too large!

We can rip 6’ deep!

walnut growers of more than $1.80 per pound. In 2013, Jelavich said, the average price for walnuts reached $1.86 a pound, then declined to $1.67 in 2014.

Factors working against California walnut growers include China’s reduced import demand as the country’s own production increases; devaluation of the Chinese currency and the strength of the dollar, making U.S. exports less competitive; and high import duties on walnuts that inflate the price of U.S. nuts.

Many in the walnut business also link today’s market situation to a halt in momentum caused by the 2014 labor dispute at West Coast ports. At the time, Jelavich said, a delay in shipments overseas resulted in customers abandoning contracts, then agreeing to purchase walnuts at a lesser price.

“This is when our problems began,” he said.

As a result of the port labor dispute and slowdown, he said, walnut exports didn’t get shipped when prices were “sky high.” And when the products finally arrived at the destination, buyers did not want to pay the original market price.

This season, production will come from 315,000 bearing acres, up 15,000 from 2015, according to the USDA. Balint said California’s walnut acreage has increased about 70,000 acres in seven years.

Also factoring into this season’s supply are unsold walnuts from last year’s crop. Last year, Balint said, the walnut business had an 80,000-ton carryover that was added to a 602,000-ton crop, for a total supply of 682,000 tons.

This year, Balint projects a carryover of 75,000 tons.

“We shipped last year probably around 610,000 tons, so we shipped more than we grew and got our carryover down, so it’s very, very manageable,” Balint said. “The problem with the carryover is almost all of it is darker meats, not light meats, and people want the Chandlers.”

To improve market conditions for walnuts, Balint said, the walnut business is working to relaunch promotions of the nut as a heart-healthy snack, while continuing to promote it as an ingredient.

“We have to convince people to use walnuts, and the way we do that is by showing them how. All of our research

tells us that the biggest obstacle in the way of getting new users is they don’t know how to use this product, even though it has been around for centuries,” Balint said. “That’s why last year, for the first year in history, we had a meaningful advertising program, including television, and we’ll be repeating that this year.”

Jennifer Olmstead, director of domestic marketing at the Walnut Board and Commission, said the board works to reach domestic customers with advertising campaigns in television, print and digital media.

“All of our ads showcase simple recipes on how to use walnuts, whether it is entrees, appetizers, salads, vegetables and even just out-of-hand snacking,” Olmstead said. “On our social media channels, the things people most like seeing are the recipes for walnuts; they are hungry for information on how to use walnuts in different ways.”

Michelle McNeil, director of international sales and marketing for the board and commission, said the commission focuses on building demand for walnuts in top export markets such as China, Germany and Japan.

“In Asia, we are very focused on building our industrial users,” she said.

“We have a core sector of users in the bakery sector in Japan and increasingly in Korea. In Europe, we are very dominant in the retail market.”

A bright future lies ahead for the California walnut business, Balint said, adding, “We just have to be patient and understand the limitations of not being able to fix everything immediately. I think we’re at a point now where we are doing the right things.”

Phillip Filter of Filter Farms Inc., who grows walnuts and operates a walnut dryer in Live Oak, said, “Anything that they (California Walnut Board) can do to market or develop demand for walnuts can help. That’s one of the things with walnuts: We need new products, such as more walnuts going to snacks.”

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

This article reprinted with the permission of the California Farm Bureau Federation.

15 September, 2016

Valley Voice • 7

Agriculture Negotiator Talks About Prospects for Trade Deal Ching Lee, CFBF First two alfalfa cuttings typically produce the highest quality hay.

When temperatures rise, alfalfa goes into survival mode and grows more rapidly, with not as much nutrients.

Photo/Steve Adler Lack of profitability on dairies, the No. 1 consumer of alfalfa and other forages, has depressed demand for hay, dragging down prices that had reached record-high levels two years ago, when milk prices also peaked.

While demand for top-quality hay remains strong, fair- and low-quality hays are not selling as well, with inventories building around the state, said Dan Putnam, University of California alfalfa and forage extension specialist.

Because supplies for premium hay remain tight, there’s a “severe (pricing) penalty for low quality and a big reward for high quality,” he added.

“What we’ve observed over the years is that high-quality hays very rarely are in oversupply,” Putnam said. “Years like this when the supply of medium- and low- quality hays is greater and the ability of the dairies to pay for that hay is less,

they will gravitate only towards those high-quality hays that produce more milk per unit.”

A weaker market for corn and other commodities have also brought down hay prices, he noted, as dairy farmers adjust their rations to use more grains, silage and other feeds to reduce their production costs.

“The dairyman has been figuring out how to use some of the other many commodities because they’re cheaper and working that into their program,” said Bob Ferguson, a San Joaquin County grower.

Rick Staas, president and CEO of San Joaquin Valley Hay Growers Association, said there has been an undersupply of both high- and low-quality hay all season, but particularly high-end hay because many alfalfa fields have had worm and aphid infestations, while yields may also be off this year, especially for premium hay.

Growers have the best chance of achieving high quality in the first two cuttings of the year, Putnam noted. But many of those early cuttings in the Central Valley got rained on, which downgrades the quality and the price by as

Darci Vetter, chief agricultural negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, speaks to California agricultural leaders about the prospects for a congressional vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. To her right is California Farm Bureau Federation President Paul Wenger; Jim Vietheer, president of the Sacramento County Farm Bureau; and Charlotte Mitchell, executive director of the Sacramento County Farm Bureau. Ching Lee/CFBF

much as $100 a ton, Putnam said.

Staas noted that part of the reason for the shorter supply of premium hay is in recent years, with robust demand

from overseas markets and higher prices, farmers shifted to growing less-dormant varieties that produce more tonnage but

TRADE continued on 9 »

Demand for Hay Depends on Level of its Quality Ching Lee, CFBF First two alfalfa cuttings typically produce the highest quality hay.

When temperatures rise, alfalfa goes into survival mode and grows more rapidly, with not as much nutrients.

Photo/Steve Adler Lack of profitability on dairies, the No. 1 consumer of alfalfa and other forages, has depressed demand for hay, dragging down prices that had reached record-high levels two years ago, when milk prices also peaked.

While demand for top-quality hay remains strong, fair- and low-quality hays are not selling as well, with inventories building around the state, said Dan Putnam, University of California alfalfa and forage extension specialist.

Because supplies for premium hay remain tight, there’s a “severe (pricing) penalty for low quality and a big reward for high quality,” he added.

“What we’ve observed over the years is that high-quality hays very rarely are in oversupply,” Putnam said. “Years like this when the supply of medium- and low- quality hays is greater and the ability of the dairies to pay for that hay is less, they will gravitate only towards those high-quality hays that produce more milk per unit.”

A weaker market for corn and other commodities have also brought down hay prices, he noted, as dairy farmers adjust their rations to use more grains, silage and other feeds to reduce their production costs.

“The dairyman has been figuring out how to use some of the other many commodities because they’re cheaper and working that into their program,” said Bob Ferguson, a San Joaquin County grower.

Rick Staas, president and CEO of

San Joaquin Valley Hay Growers Association, said there has been an undersupply of both high- and low-quality hay all season, but particularly high-end hay because many alfalfa fields have had worm and aphid infestations, while yields may also be off this year, especially for premium hay.

Growers have the best chance of achieving high quality in the first two cuttings of the year, Putnam noted. But many of those early cuttings in the Central Valley got rained on, which downgrades the quality and the price by as much as $100 a ton, Putnam said.

Staas noted that part of the reason for the shorter supply of premium hay is in recent years, with robust demand from overseas markets and higher prices, farmers shifted to growing less-dormant varieties that produce more tonnage but don’t necessarily result in higher quality.

Growers get better quality if they harvest their crop at 25 rather than 35 days, Putnam said. The tradeoff is that the 25-day crop is about 20 percent lower in yield. When prices are high and there’s not a big spread between premium hay and lower-quality hay, growers are typically advised to aim for higher yields because the penalty for low quality is not as great. But in a low-price year, the reward is generally for quality.

Also, when there’s an oversupply of lower-quality hay, Putnam said growers run the risk of not being able to sell their hay if it is low quality.

“The worst thing that a grower can have is a product that just sits there because it’s essentially got zero value in that year,” he said. “You might have to wait another year until the price improves.

But then you have the problem of that hay getting rained on or you have to put it in the barn.”

California growers are increasingly

competing with hay from surrounding states, which can produce it cheaper, said Kings County grower Stan Azevedo, who also does custom hay work for other growers. He noted that even with added freight, out-of-state hay can still cost less, especially if that hay is coming in on back hauls.

He said part of the reason there’s more hay on the market this year is that exports have softened due to a higher-value dollar, which makes U.S. products more expensive.

But Putnam said the dollar has been strong in recent years relative to currencies of importing countries and yet hay exports from Western states continue to trend up, noting that hay exports actually increased 25 to 35 percent in the first two months of 2016 compared to the same period last year. He characterized this trend as the one “salvation” for California producers, particularly for those in the Imperial Valley that export a lot of hay, noting that 10 to 12 percent of hay produced in the West is now destined for foreign markets.

So late in the season and with the crop lacking in quality, growers agree that alfalfa hay prices are now at or below their cost of production and many of them are evaluating whether or not to do more cuttings.

Azevedo said he stopped irrigating his crop two cuttings ago because they’re older fields that weren’t producing the quality to justified the expense of the groundwater he was using.

Yolo County grower Jeff Merwin, who is wrapping up his fifth cutting, described his production and crop this year as average. He said growers in most years have trouble producing a good-quality crop by mid-summer due to the high heat, which forces the plant into survival mode and to grow very fast. By cuttings

four and five, the quality is not very good “no matter what you do,” he said.

At current prices, Merwin said he’s concerned about the viability of growing feed crops such as alfalfa in the state, especially with rising labor costs. But he noted there are also very few options for growers.

“We’re really pinched,” he said. “The sad thing is, alfalfa is supposed to be one of those cash crops. It’s not like almonds, but for open-field ground, it’s one of those crops that a farmer can make money on.”

Staas said if alfalfa prices drop lower, he thinks there will be “a mass exodus” out of the business, with less acreage being grown in the state, and that will improve prices.

California growers are expected to harvest 870,000 acres of alfalfa hay this year, up from 790,000 acres in 2015 and 825,000 acres in 2014, according to the latest forecast from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

As a grower, Azevedo said he looks to the dairy and beef markets for indications of what the forage market outlook may be and to determine how much alfalfa to grow. If milk prices improve and if there’s decent rainfall, he said he thinks some growers will be more optimistic and continue to grow alfalfa.

“Everybody is hoping for an increase in the price of milk, which will help the entire chain because these are interdependent industries—forage and dairy,” Putnam said.

(Ching Lee is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at clee@ cfbf.com.)

This article reprinted with the permission of the California Farm Bureau Federation

8 • Valley Voice

15 September, 2016

Measure N, Visalia Essential City Services Measure, On Ballot Staff Reports Over the last decade, 9-1-1 calls in Visalia have risen dramatically, with police responding to 145,000 calls last year alone.

Firefighter equipment has aged and both police and fire staffing levels have stayed the same despite increased demands from a growing population. City streets and roads are deteriorating due to lack of funding for ongoing maintenance, while Sacramento continues to reduce funding and takes local tax dollars to balance their own budget.

In response to these needs, the City of Visalia is seeking a stable source of funding for essential city services such

as police and fire, as well as maintenance of our parks and roads. Following over a year of community input, the Visalia City Council decided to put a local halfcent sales tax increase before voters. Essential services are the backbone of any community and the City of Visalia, and now, Measure N – The Visalia Essential City Services Measure, will be decided in the November 2016 election.

“We are very pleased to have had input from our residents regarding the future of our city,” said Visalia City Manager, Mike Olmos. “Through a combination of public hearings, online surveys and public comment at city council meetings, residents have expressed their desire to see a sales tax

GET SOLAR

Design your system how you want it Solar Panels & Products Solar Installations Solar System Repair Energy Management

BEST PRICES IN THE VALLEY!

1434 E. Tulare Ave. Tulare, Ca 93274 Sales@altsyssolar.com

559.688.2544

www.tularesolar.com Contractor License #944549 C-46 Solar

measure on this year’s ballot. Residents clearly want to see their city regain fiscal stability with a long-term solution to our finances.”

According to city documents, over the last five years, the State of California has taken over $40 million dollars of Visalia’s revenue. At the same time, Sacramento has scaled back funding for many state-mandated programs leaving the City of Visalia to fully fund these programs and services.

If approved by voters, Measure N would provide a local source of funding that is not controlled by Sacramento.

Measure N would help fund essential city services that have been identified by local residents. According to an initial plan that has been adopted by the Council, priorities for Measure N funding are: • Maintaining 911 emergency services, police patrols, and police and fire response times • Maintaining gang prevention efforts • Attracting businesses and jobs • Addressing homelessness • Maintaining local streets and infrastructure

Funds generated by Measure N would be subject to a set of accountability measures, which include: • Review of spending plans by a Citizens Oversight Board, and two public hearings before adoption of plans by the City Council • Annual audits to ensure spending in conformance with approved plans, with audits submitted to the Oversight Board as well as the City Council • Requirement that no Measure N funds be used for capital debt payments More details about Measure N, including the full text of the Measure, will be printed in the sample ballot sent to all registered voters in the City of Visalia shortly before the November 8 election.

In addition to Measure N, several other issues such as State Propositions, legislative and City Council elections will also appear on Visalia’s November 8th ballot.

For information about Visalia’s Measure N, visit www.visalia.city/MeasureN

Inaccurate Voter Mailing Alert The California Association of Clerks and Election Officials (CACEO) is responding to concerns from voters across the state who may be receiving solicitation mailings erroneously indicating that residents of households are not registered to vote.

The letters are from the Voter Participation Center, a non-profit organization whose published mission is to “register and mobilize the rising American electorate.”

“Whether by accident or otherwise, it is clear that the organization that sent out these mailings used bad data at least in part and failed to compare that data with the existing voter file,” said Dean Logan, CACEO President.

The Voter Participation Center indicated to the Secretary of State that

more than 4.6 million of the letters were mailed statewide. While some of the letters may have been sent to eligible, but not-registered citizens, the surge in calls to Registrars has indicated clear discrepancies in the data causing confusion and concern for Californians just months before the Presidential Election.

County Registrars urge voters to verify their registration status prior to Election Day with their local Registrar of Voters office or website.

Any voter that receives a Sample Ballot for the election, with mailings starting next month, can be assured they are listed as an active voter. Only voters who have a change in address or name need re-register prior to the October 24, 2016 voter registration deadline.

Back to School Shopping We go... %

5.99

APR*

On New Purchases and Balance Transfers offer ends September 30, 2016

VISA

R

Platinum & Classic www.tucoemas.org

Call Our Loan Dept. Today

(559) 737-5777 http://www.facebook.com/tucoemas

twitter:@tucoemas

Federally Insured by NCUA *Annual Percentage Rate 5.99% APR valid for VISA Platinum and Classic credit card new purchases and balances transferred from other institutions from 7/15/16 to 9/30/16. Special 5.99% APR rate is for 24 billing cycles. After that, promotional balances will convert to standard rates of 10.90% for VISA Platinum and 15.50% for VISA Classic.

Excludes VISA Secured. Some exclusions apply. Offer ends September 30, 2016

15 September, 2016

Valley Voice • 9

Trump Supporters Proclaim Overpass Rally a Success Staff Reports Supporters of Trump/Pence campaign came out with signs and cheers on a late sunny Saturday morning, greeting drivers traveling on Hwy 198, both Eastbound and Westbound.

The supporters took up a position on the walking bridge over highway 198 in Visalia, and set up signs. For about three hours, they received honks, cheers, waves and thumbs-up.

Of course, as with any political event, they also received jeers and opposition as well.

When asked how does it make you feel to have someone rudely gesture against the Trump signs, Amy Dickinson Campbell, a Navy Veteran and Trump supporter stated with a smile, “It

Trade

Continued from p. 7 don’t necessarily result in higher quality.

Growers get better quality if they harvest their crop at 25 rather than 35 days, Putnam said. The tradeoff is that the 25-day crop is about 20 percent lower in yield.

When prices are high and there’s not a big spread between premium hay and lower-quality hay, growers are typically advised to aim for higher yields because the penalty for low quality is not as great.

But in a low-price year, the reward is generally for quality.

Also, when there’s an oversupply of lower-quality hay, Putnam said growers run the risk of not being able to sell their hay if it is low quality.

“The worst thing that a grower can have is a product that just sits there because it’s essentially got zero value in that year,” he said. “You might have to wait another year until the price improves.

But then you have the problem of that hay getting rained on or you have to put it in the barn.”

California growers are increasingly competing with hay from surrounding states, which can produce it cheaper, said Kings County grower Stan Azevedo, who also does custom hay work for other growers. He noted that even with added freight, out-of-state hay can still cost less, especially if that hay is coming in on back hauls.

He said part of the reason there’s more hay on the market this year is that exports have softened due to a higher-value dollar, which makes U.S. products more expensive.

But Putnam said the dollar has been strong in recent years relative to currencies of importing countries and yet hay exports from Western states continue to trend up, noting that hay exports actually increased 25 to 35 percent in the first two months of 2016 compared to the same period last year. He characterized this trend as the one “salvation” for California producers, particularly for those in the Imperial Valley that export a lot of hay, noting that 10 to 12 percent of hay produced in the West is now destined for foreign markets.

So late in the season and with the crop lacking in quality, growers agree that alfalfa hay prices are now at or below their cost of production and many of them are evaluating whether or not to

doesn’t surprise me. The Democrat party has been taken over by globalists. Everything that “liberal” used to mean, has been hijacked and the supporters are angry about it. They know they don’t want Hillary, but they cannot seem to shift to the realization that Republicans are not inherently evil, either.”

She went on to say, “Besides, they’re not mad at me, just what I am supporting. They’ll be okay.”

Rally organizer, Susan Walsh had a few things to add as well, “We have had way more honks and waves in support than negative gestures anyway. It seems that people want prosperity back; they want America back, and Trump is a man who can negotiate the good deals and put America first. I am truly excited about this campaign. We’re excited about

our future, about America’s future. I haven’t felt this excited about a candidate since Obama in 2008. I was a diehard Liberal Democrat who believed everything that was said. Hope and Change! I wanted prosperity hope and change, instead all I got was poverty and race wars. Donald Trump knows prosperity and how to make it happen. And he knows how to bring people together for a common purpose and goal, and put America First.”

do more cuttings.

Azevedo said he stopped irrigating his crop two cuttings ago because they’re older fields that weren’t producing the quality to justified the expense of the groundwater he was using.

Yolo County grower Jeff Merwin, who is wrapping up his fifth cutting, described his production and crop this year as average. He said growers in most years have trouble producing a good-quality crop by mid-summer due to the high heat, which forces the plant into survival mode and to grow very fast. By cuttings four and five, the quality is not very good “no matter what you do,” he said.

At current prices, Merwin said he’s concerned about the viability of growing feed crops such as alfalfa in the state, especially with rising labor costs. But he

noted there are also very few options for growers.

“We’re really pinched,” he said. “The sad thing is, alfalfa is supposed to be one of those cash crops. It’s not like almonds, but for open-field ground, it’s one of those crops that a farmer can make money on.”

Staas said if alfalfa prices drop lower, he thinks there will be “a mass exodus” out of the business, with less acreage being grown in the state, and that will improve prices.

California growers are expected to harvest 870,000 acres of alfalfa hay this year, up from 790,000 acres in 2015 and 825,000 acres in 2014, according to the latest forecast from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

As a grower, Azevedo said he looks

For more information on what Valley Trump supporters have planned to support the Trump/Pence 2016 campaign, dial 559-429-4109.

to the dairy and beef markets for indications of what the forage market outlook may be and to determine how much alfalfa to grow.

If milk prices improve and if there’s decent rainfall, he said he thinks some growers will be more optimistic and continue to grow alfalfa.

“Everybody is hoping for an increase in the price of milk, which will help the entire chain because these are interdependent industries—forage and dairy,” Putnam said.

(Ching Lee is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at clee@ cfbf.com.)

This article reprinted with the permission of the California Farm Bureau Federation

10 • Valley Voice

Political Fix Continued from p. 3

Sitting on my mom’s bed in her master bedroom we spread out all the old Tupper photos and documents, recreating the family’s history. She showed me a portrait miniature of Elizabeth Johnson, Henry Clay Tupper’s wife, with a lock of her hair hidden in the back.

My mom said that no one believed that her grandfather actually fought in the Civil War and would say she must mean her great grandfather. But Henry Clay and Elizabeth had their youngest child, Sidney Tupper, when Henry was 56 years old. Sidney was my mom’s father and Pompa to me.

Mom and I took months going over family photographs and documents of the Tuppers, and then the Skellys and Regans on her mother’s side. I was lucky my mom was an only child and had lovingly stored and maintained all the family history. She in turn was lucky she had a daughter interested in writing it all down and who would also provide her with the next generation.

While my mom sees a bright future for the Tupper, Skelly and Regan families in her five grandchildren, I wonder – does the country see the same bright future for the Republican Party?

Clip This and Take It To The Polls!

The November 8th election is around the corner and there are 17 initiatives on the ballot. Do you know how you are going to vote? Here is an unbiased recap of the propositions.

Proposition 51: the California Public School Facility Bonds Initiative

A “yes” vote supports the state’s issuing $9 billion in bonds to fund improvement and construction of school facilities for K-12 schools and community colleges.

The measure is supported by both the California Democratic and Republi-

15 September, 2016 can parties, the California Building Industry Association (BIA), the state Parent Teacher Association, the California Labor Federation, the League of Women Voters of California and the California Association of School Business Officials.

But it is opposed by Governor Brown. He has said that it is a “blunderbuss effort that promotes sprawl and squanders money that would be far better spent in low-income communities.”

The California legislative analyst and finance director estimate costs of $17.6 billion to pay off principal ($9 billion) and interest ($8.6 billion) on bonds over a period of 35 years. Annual payments would average $500 million.

Republicans are for the measure because they support the BIA. Democrats are for it because they almost always support bond measures. Gov. Brown is a fiscal conservative and thinks long and hard before spending Californian’s money.

I hate to punt on the first proposition, but I have no recommendation.

Proposition 52: Voter Approval to Divert Hospital Fee Revenue Dedicated to Medi-Cal

Prop. 52 would dedicate fees to pay for hospital care for the poor. Voting yes would make permanent the “hospital quality assurance fee” that’s been collected since 2009 on hospital stays, ranging from $145 to $618 a day.

Under Medicaid, which is known as Medi-Cal in California, the federal government matches the amount that the states put up to fund the program. Even with those matching funds, California hospitals say they lose money when providing indigent care.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, “Prop. 52 would indefinitely extend the hospital fee and would make sure the money isn’t diverted for other purposes. In 2011 some of the money was put into the state’s general fund.”

Republicans, Democrats, California Chamber of Commerce and the California Hospital Association support this initiative. Organized labor changed from against to neutral.

Vote yes on Prop 52.

Proposition 53: the California Voter Approval Requirement for Revenue Bonds above $2 Billion

This initiative will require voter approval before the state could decide to issue $2 billion or more in public infrastructure bonds. The voting public might believe that all bonds require their vote, but bonds funded by state revenue are not required to be voter-approved. The passage of this initiative will immediately jeopardize Governor Jerry Brown’s $17 billion Sacramento Bay Delta twin tunnels project and might put a stop to the $68 billion High-Speed Rail (HSR).

The twin tunnels were engineered to bypass the problematic Tracy pumps that reverse the flow of the river and kill fish.

The tunnels were never voted on by the public. In addition, Gov. Brown is finding ways to creatively finance HSR that bypasses the public’s approval. Both of these projects obviously run over the $2 billion threshold and would have to stop until approved by the voters.

As much as Central Valley voters hate HSR, they should also take into consideration that practically every major player in state politics is also opposed to Proposition 53. The California Chamber of Commerce and state labor leaders, who seldom agree on anything, are aligned in opposition. So are the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and more than 50 other business and labor.

The California Chamber of Commerce said that passage of this proposition would mean less investment in much-needed infrastructure and encourage litigation. The chamber continued, “It also would have an impact on transportation, local school construction, UC and California State University projects, and impede the ability for emergency repairs to be made in the wake of a natural disaster.”

Vote no on Proposition 53.

Proposition 54, the Public Display of Legislative Bills Prior to Vote Proposition

A “yes” vote will prohibit the legis-

lature from passing any bill until it has been in print and published on the Internet for 72 hours prior to the vote.

This proposition requires that every bill is published in print and online at least 72 hours before each house of the legislature can vote on it and requires that the legislature make audiovisual recordings of its public proceedings and publish the recordings online within 24 hours.

This proposition has received the endorsement from everyone from California Aware to the California Chamber of Commerce, creating a diverse group to rein in special interests and give voters more access to the legislative process Vote yes on Proposition 53.

Proposition 56: Tobacco Tax Increase

A “yes” vote favors increasing the cigarette tax to $2.00 per pack. The tax would raise $1.4 billion and be used to fund health care, prevention programs and research.

If you want a loved one to cut down or quit smoking – vote yes.

Proposition 55: Extension of the Proposition 30 Income Tax Increase

This proposition would extend the personal income tax increases on incomes over $250,000 approved in 2012 for 12 more years in order to fund education and healthcare. Voting no would allow Proposition 30 to expire as intended in 2019.

Conservatives like to say that Gov. Brown never saw a tax he didn’t like. But Gov. Brown does not want to perpetuate the belief that once a tax is levied it will never go away.

Let’s dispel the myth that there is no such thing as a temporary tax and vote no on Proposition 55.

Proposition 57: Parole for Non-Violent Criminals and Juvenile Court Trial Requirements Initiative

“ We believe in our cremation process so much that we exclusively offer the Cremation with Confidence™ Guarantee.”

As cremation has become more popular in recent years, some providers have learned to cut corners. Unfortunately, this has resulted in a surge of national scandals that has put doubt in the minds of families that choose cremation.

Hadley-Marcom Funeral Chapel is the only local funeral provider in Tulare County to offer a 10step cremation process backed by our exclusive Cremation with ConfidenceTM Guarantee.

From the moment your loved one arrives at our funeral home, through the cremation process, to the return of their cremated remains to you, your loved one is well cared for at all times.

If your choice is cremation, there is no other choice than Hadley-Marcom Funeral Chapel.

Call us for more information about our Cremation with Confidence TM Guarantee.

Hadley-Marcom Funeral Chapel FD#2129 1700 W. Caldwell Ave. Visalia, CA 93277

(559) 625-8900

15 September, 2016 A “yes” vote supports increasing parole and good behavior opportunities for felons convicted of nonviolent crimes and allowing judges, not prosecutors, to decide whether to try certain juveniles as adults in court.

Most law enforcement agencies in the Valley are against this proposition because they claim that violent criminals are wrongfully getting early release.

With or without this measure, violent criminals get out too early. Case in point is when Thong Vang, who spent 14 years in jail for raping three girls under 14 years old, was let out and shot two Fresno police officers at the entrance to the Fresno jail.

Because of overcrowding in prisons these criminals are going to be let out anyway so I punt on this proposition also.

Proposition 58: the Non-English Languages Allowed in Public Education Act

A “yes” vote would repeal most of 1998’s Proposition 227 that said unequivocally the voters wanted children with limited English skills taught in English. Prop. 227 was approved by 61% of the state’s voters almost two decades ago. The passage of Prop. 58 would allow non-English languages to again be used in public educational instruction.

Prop 58 requires schools to offer a structured English immersion program to English learners, based on what teachers and parents agree are the most effective instructional methods for those students. Schools, parents and educators support this initiative.

Vote Yes on Proposition 58.

Valley Voice • 11

Price Relief Act

For those in a hurry, I’ll just be quick. Big Pharma has spent $70 million to defeat this measure as of August 11th and there is nearly two months left.

Enough said. Vote yes.

For those who want a little bit more detail, this initiative, if passed, would require state agencies to pay no more for medicines than the prices negotiated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. , The goal being to keep drug prices down for everyone. This motivation to get this initiative on the ballot sprung from the outrage of Mylan Pharmaceuticals hiking their prices on EpiPen from $57 to $700 for a two pack. The Epipen is a lifesaving device when someone has a severe allergic reaction.

Turing Pharmaceuticals’ Martin Shkreli, raised the price of a little-known drug, Daraprim, by 5,500% from $13.50 per tablet to $750 a pill. The drug is an anti-parasitic to combat toxoplaslmosis and malaria and mostly used by AIDS patients because of their suppressed immune system. The same drug is sold in Europe by the same company for about $25 for a pack of 30 pills.

Why do American Pharmaceuticals do it? Because they can. Vote yes.

Proposition 62: the Repeal of the Death Penalty Initiative

A “yes” vote supports repealing the death penalty. Life without the possibility of parole would become the maximum punishment for murder. As long as our justice system makes it better to be guilty and White than innocent and Black, the death penalty has to be repealed.

Proposition 63: the Background Checks for Ammunition Purchases and Large-Capacity Ammunition Proposition 59 asks if voters want Magazine Ban Initiative

Proposition 59: Overturn of Citizens United Act Advisory Question

the state’s elected officials to take steps to try to reverse Citizens United. The proposition has been called “a significant tool” that is one piece of a much larger nationwide strategy. Colorado and Montana have already approved similar advisory measures and the state of Washington is voting on one in November.

Citizens United was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that says corporations and unions have a 1st Amendment right to unlimited campaign spending. The decision has lead to special interests buying elections and keeping their donors’ identities secret.

Gov. Jerry Brown sent mixed signals about this initiative. He allowed the measure to get on the ballot without his signature, saying Citizens United was “wrongly decided” but also said he doesn’t like cluttering the ballot with advisory measures.

Prop. 59 is essentially an opinion poll that lacks authority to directly change the law. But it’s already on the ballot, so we should take advantage of it.

Vote Yes on Proposition 59

Proposition 60: Condoms in Pornographic Films Initiative

This initiative would require men to wear a condom during the filming of pornographic films. All you Tulare County men who don’t like wearing a condom while making a sex tape should vote no.

For all you women who don’t want to get an STD while at work – Vote yes.

Proposition 61: California Drug

This initiative will ban the possession of large-capacity ammunition magazines. A large-capacity ammunition magazine holds from 10 to 20 rounds of bullets. Does anyone really need 20 rounds of ammunition when deer hunting, shooting squirrels, doves or your husband?

No you don’t. Vote Yes.

Proposition 64: the California Marijuana Legalization Initiative also referred to as the “Adult Use of Marijuana Act”

A “yes” vote supports legalizing recreational marijuana and hemp under state law and establishing certain sales and cultivation taxes. The use of medical marijuana was legalized in California in 1998.

According to the Public Policy Institute of California, 60% of likely voters say they favor legalizing marijuana for recreational use. 37% of likely voters say they oppose marijuana legalization.

Those 60% most likely live in the major northern and southern cities.

The 37% against legalization live in the Central Valley where pot grows take our water and increase violence. Legalization of recreational use hasn’t worked out so great in Colorado either in terms of crime and visits to the emergency room.

So if you own a vacation home in Marin, sit in your hot tub, and light up a doobie every weekend, then by all means vote yes. For those of us who live with the consequences of huge pot grows that are not going away with the passage of

this legislation, it doesn’t really matter how you vote. Legalization of pot is the future and Prop. 64 is going to pass.

Proposition 65: the Dedication of Revenue from Disposable Bag Sales to Wildlife Conservation Fund Initiative

This initiative is just too cute by half.

This proposition was put on the ballot by the plastic bag industry to keep plastic bags legal in California. It says that a part of the cost of their sale would go to a special fund administered by the Wildlife Conservation Board.

“It was put on the ballot strictly to confuse voters,” said a spokesperson of Save the Bay. “There’s no environmental advocacy behind it.”

Vote no on Proposition 65

Proposition 66: the Death Penalty Procedures Initiative. Supporters refer to the measure as the “Death Penalty Reform and Savings” Initiative.

A “yes” vote sends prisoners on death row to their executions faster to save the tax payer money.

Refer to Proposition 62 for my recommendation and vote no.

Proposition 67: the Plastic Bag Ban Veto Referendum

This initiative would prohibit large grocery stores and pharmacies from providing plastic single-use carryout bags and ban small grocery stores, convenience stores and liquor stores from doing so the following year. It would allow single-use plastic bags for meat, bread, produce, bulk food and perishable items.

Plastic bags were already banned in California in the fall of 2014. But the plastic bag industry thinks they know better than us cow pokes and paid millions to get a repeal of the law on the November ballot. Voting yes will uphold Senate Bill 270 that banned plastic bags in the first place.

Vote no on Prop 67.

The Question Is...

Will the tenor of these initiatives influence the outcome of the general election? This year’s batch of initiatives ranging from the repeal of the death penalty to the legalization of pot will most likely cancel each other out.

Results are going to come down to one pivotal issue--Mr. Trump. California’s heavy Latino population is furious, but will they come out to vote? Democratic voter registration is increasing, but again, will they bother to vote? Mr. Trump has a loyal base who always votes, but do they have the numbers to win?

While contemplating the intrigue of this election, why not attend the presentation being held by the League of Women Voters? The LWV is holding a presentation of the initiatives October 18 at noon at the restaurant Left of Center in Visalia. Reservations are appreciated. 734-6501.

The League is also available to local clubs that would like a presentation on the 17 ballot measures facing voters in November. The LWV has taken a neutral stand and is focused on educating the voting public.”The Speakers Bureau will take requests to present a program beginning September 19 to November 4. For information call 734-6501 or rzeeb@ comcast.net.”

12 • Valley Voice

15 September, 2016

Voices of the Valley The Race for the 21st Congressional District Nancy Vigran The 21st Congressional District encompasses all of Kings County, a small portion of Tulare County and parts of Fresno and Kern counties as well. While candidates David Valadao, the incumbent, who is a Republican from Hanford, and Emilio Huerta, the challenger, who is a Democrat from Bakersfield, are members of opposing parties, they have mutual goals in mind for the district.

Neither man aspired to hold political office until he saw a need and felt he had to step up to the plate. Both Valadao and Huerta have stated that the primary issues facing their district, and the rest of the Central Valley, are that of water quality and quantity, immigration and migrant farm workers.

Incumbent David Valadao

The son of two immigrants from the Azores, David Valadao grew up along the Kings-Tulare County line. He saw, first hand, what it took to grow a dairy business and he and his two older brothers played a significant part in that.

“I grew up like every other farm kid in the Valley,” Valadao said. “I was driving a tractor before and after school, and feeding calves.”

The only outside activity he was able to indulge in during high school was FFA – he didn’t have time for sports or other afterschool activities. However, growing up in a “Portuguese household” the family did participate in events with that community, including local festivals.

“Still, to this day, I speak to my parents in Portuguese,” he said. “That helped me become trilingual – knowing Portuguese helped me learn Spanish.”

Valadao met his wife, Terra, during high school. There were married while in their early 20’s, a very busy time in his, and her, life, he said.

“We were building the dairy that I live on now, building my dad’s house and my house, and the dairy facility itself, and getting married at the same time,” he said.

“It made for a really interesting time in our lives.”

The couple has three children, the oldest of whom is 14.

In his mid-twenties, Valadao started getting involved in other aspects of the dairy business--working with Land ‘O Lakes as the regional leadership council chairman, serving on the California Milk Advisory board and with the Western States Dairy Association. He ended up on the California dairy delegation, and traveled back and forth to Washington.

“Before I ran for office, I had already met folks,” he said. “I met President Obama before he was president, or anybody even really knew who he was. I had met a few times with Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy. That was basically how I ended up in politics.

“It wasn’t something I had dreamed of doing, or grew up with a goal of--it always frustrated me to go to Washington and talk with folks and they’d ask ‘what is that term?’ [Meaning they didn’t understand the language of agriculture.] All they have ever done in their lives is run for office.”

Shy Guy Runs for Office

“

It wasn’t something I had dreamed of doing, or grew up with a goal of--it always frustrated me to go to Washington and talk with folks and they’d ask ‘what is that [ag-related] term?’ All they have ever done in their lives is run for office.

”

Congressman David Valadao “I am a really shy person. I am not one who likes public speaking and I am not one who runs into coffee shops, and runs around and shakes everyone’s hands,” Valadao said. “When folks started talking to me about running for office, I thought, ‘these guys are crazy, they know nothing about me.’”

“These guys” were different people in the local ag community, as well as some in DC. “I remember one day sitting in Congressman Adrian Smith’s (R-Nebraska) office in DC, and talking about ag policy, and I don’t think he remembers saying this to me, ‘You should really consider running for office, running for congress.’ It was just weird, and now I joke with Adrian all the time, and say that it’s his fault.”

When Valadao filed his paperwork to run for State Assembly, his wife was pregnant with their third child. The pressure was put on him to run when former Representative Danny Gilmore decided not to run for a second term. He won and served there for two years.

“It was interesting because the state legislature was only 80 people, and there were only 80 members of the assembly, so you really go to know each other. And, you are sitting on the floor for the whole process of the debate--because they debate each bill and vote on it, after they are done debating it,” he said. “It was tough, because you were in the minority [being a Republican], but it was a good experience because I felt like you really got to know people.

“Then you go to Washington and it is much bigger, and more spread out--just in the congressional there are three different office buildings, then you’ve got the capitol and you go across and you’ve got three senate buildings. So, you are spread out so far, you don’t get to know folks as

well there.”

On to Washington

Valadao’s decision to run for congress was an easy one, he said. He felt more had to be done at the federal level than the state, and he felt he could be of better service there. Valadao won his first congressional election in November, 2011 in a seat that was traditionally held by a Democrat.

“I felt there were issues I understood better and issues that were more important to me, personally, that I could be more passionate about at the federal level, than I could at the state level,” he said.

The Number One issue being water – “water policy at the federal level is where changes have to happen,” he said.

Valadao noted that Congressman Devin Nunes (R-California) had been fighting the fight for a while.

“He had done a good job, but I felt we also needed my part of the Valley to have a strong voice for water and to be part of that fight as well,” he said.

Immigration is another issue Valadao said is important to the Valley, as well as farm policy in general.

“Things like the farm bill – regulatory issues that we face from all the different agencies – there’s a lot that comes from the state, but it’s because of standards put in place through, like the clean water act or the clean air act,” he said. “There are things at the federal level that play a very instrumental role in the regulations that we struggle with here in the Valley.”

Valadao cites getting two bills signed into law at the state level. One in dealing with mental care services and the ability for an in-home health care worker to be able to sign legal documents for the person they are caring for. The second was with regards to cutting state subsidy for ethanol production within the state.

As a congressman, Valadao serves on the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee.

“Being on the Appropriations Committee, it’s a place where you don’t get a lot of personal bills with your name signed into law. But, you do get language put into the appropriation bill that will end up becoming law, because they are must-pass bills,” he said.

“At the federal level , the water fight, we haven’t gotten anything signed into law, but we’ve moved the ball forward a lot more than ever in the past. We’ve got water language in four or five bills sitting in the senate now. We’ve got them into appropriation bills, which has never been done before.

“We’ve actually gotten senate leadership to actually pay attention to what is going on here and Senator [Lisa] Murkowski (R-Alaska), who has actually been to the Valley a couple of times, is getting to know the issue and is very engaged in the issue. Our struggle is to get our [own] senators engaged in the issue.

“The water situation has gotten a lot worse--being in the right place at the right time certainly has something to do with it.”

Also at the federal level, Valadao said, “it wasn’t a bill that was signed under my name, but it was my language that got put into the farm bill and became law. It allows California to leave the California pricing system, and join the federal order to level the playing field for California farmers.

California right now has the second lowest paying milk price in the nation. I think New Mexico is the worst, that’s the last I saw. And, California is the largest producing state of milk in the nation. Twenty percent of the nation’s milk comes from California.”

Valadao also cited assisting in the way grants are looked at for some California communities. An example, he said, is Corcoran, now being allowed to apply for a grant to build a police station.

A Third Term

Valadao said he feels he has more to get done and that is why he is running for a third term. He wants to deal with water issues more, as well as immigration policies.

“Water --especially with all the communities like Terra Bella and Porterville, Coalinga, Huron and Avenal - -all rely on water out of the Delta, and making sure that we have a stable water supply for those communities and obviously, the farmers are who everyone knows about: but there is a direct correlation,” he said. “Those communities actually get their water from surface water, they don’t have wells, they rely 100% on surface water.

“Immigration is one I would really like to see move forward as well. I would like to, obviously, see that we have a secure border. But, we also have to make sure we have a guest worker program for agriculture – there hasn’t been one in place since 1965.

“Especially when representing a district that has more than 400 different crops – from animal agriculture that is yearround to very, very seasonal crops--there is a very short window--the guest worker programs that we have today for agriculture

VALADAO continued on 16 »

15 September, 2016

Valley Voice • 13

Voices of the Valley The Challenger: Emilio Huerta Nancy Vigran With a family history rich in civil rights, farm worker rights, health care and advocacy, it would have been difficult for 59-year-old Emilio Huerta to not have followed suit. He is the fourth of 11 children on his mother’s side of his family, and he has had four additional half-siblings on his father’s side. While born in Stockton, Huerta mostly grew up in Kern County.

Huerta spent much time on the road with his mother, Dolores Huerta, a union organizer, following farm workers around the state. It was she, who along with Cesar Chavez, formed the National Farm Workers Association and lead to the formation of United Farm Workers (UFW). He also traveled with his mother to the East Coast for farm worker boycotts in the ‘60s.

His parents divorced, and Huerta spent summers as a teen working alongside his father, Ventura Huerta, a registered nurse with a master’s degree in public health, employed by California Health & Human Services. The Huertas were responsible for creating some of the first family health centers, meeting the needs of farm workers in the late ‘60s.

“So, my father was organizing health care for farm workers, and my mother was helping with farm worker rights,” Huerta said.

Early Years

Huerta dropped out of high school at 16, having left to work as a printer for UFW. He then entered a UFW labor negotiations and relations training program, and was sent to the fields to represent farm workers. He worked at that for a couple of years until the agricultural relations board was pretty much gutted under the leadership of Governor George Deukmejian, he said.

“The union’s organizing efforts were frustrated and, so, I decided to go to college,” he said.

Huerta earned his bachelor’s degree in political science in three years at Cal State, Bakersfield, and went on to complete law school.

“We had grown up very poor. My mother took a vow of poverty--in choosing a life of labor organizer, she felt that we should not be better off than the people we were trying to organize,” he said.

“And, I think, as a family, we all agreed with that philosophy.”

But, as an adult, Huerta wanted a better life.

“When I was a labor negotiator, I was dealing with attorneys,” he said. “In my early 20’s I was doing grievance procedures and was helping structure the strategy of those legal proceedings. I was working with union attorneys, and was opposing attorneys for employers in the agricultural community. It didn’t seem like it was very hard, it was work that I was doing.

“I knew that I wanted to be in a career where I would be servicing others.

The legal career seemed to be an ideal choice given that I could continue to do, in essence, the work that I was already doing in servicing farm workers.

“I wanted to have a family. I want-

“

I knew that I wanted to be in a career where I would be servicing others. The legal career seemed to be an ideal choice given that I could continue to do, in essence, the work that I was already doing in servicing farm workers.

”

Emilio Huerta ed to have the same thing everyone else had--to be able to pay my bills, and be able to buy a washer and dryer, and that sort of thing. I only have one daughter, but I wanted to send her on to college, and she later decided to go to law school, and I was able to support her in that.”

Democratic Party

While being active in the Democratic Party and serving on the Kern County Democratic Central Committee, Huerta never saw himself running for office.

“I’ve supported other candidates since I was a teenager,” he said. “I walked precincts and raised money for other candidates.

“When Connie [Perez] dropped out – we felt that there was a void for a viable candidate--we felt we needed to be able to support someone.

“David Valadao and the Republican Party really don’t represent the interests of working families here in the Central Valley--particularly immigrant communities. We felt that someone needed to step up and at least be able to voice the concerns and the issues confronting us here in the Valley--the bad air, the bad water, the drought conditions, the use of excessive pesticides.”

Huerta was asked to help go out and look for a candidate, “but at some point my mother, my sisters said, ‘We all think it should be you,’” he said.

“I pretty much responded and said, ‘No,’ it’s a lot of work and I’m not sure that that was something I was prepared to take on.”

The more he thought about it, the more it started to set in.

“I sat down with my daughter and said, ‘OK, this is what we’ve been asked to do. This is the impact I think it is going to have on us.’ My daughter had just passed the bar in California – she was al-

ready licensed in Washington State, and we had already set out a plan to bring her into my law practice. This meant a whole change in plan in terms of what we had originally decided to do for 2016, and moving forward.

“She encouraged me, and of course, my mother encouraged me. This was before Donald Trump came out and called Mexican-American immigrants criminals and rapists, and, of course, we are highly offended by that. My brother’s a doctor, I’m a lawyer, a couple siblings are nurses, and my mother was a teacher.

My father had a career in public health.

We just felt that somebody needed to step up to the Republican Party.”

What Needs to be Done

“We [Huerta, his family and friends] just felt that it was time that we take this Valley back,” he said. “It was time that we made a change, and had somebody in Washington who really reflected the values of those hard working families in the Valley, and somebody who is willing to stand up and really take on the issues that are confronting people’s everyday lives.”

Huerta said he feels that not enough is being done to support immigration reform, to clean up the Valley’s bad air quality, or to help those who don’t have clean water.

“It’s not a question of drought and water for jobs. It is a question of health and safety in water for their children and water to survive,” he said. “And, if nobody is talking about those issues, than something is clearly wrong. We just felt that something had to be done. We viewed my decision to run for congress as an extension of the work that I was already doing--fighting and representing people at wage-an-hour hearings, fighting against discrimination, sexual harass-

ment, pregnancy discrimination, race discrimination, fighting to help people keep their homes.”

Huerta served as board chair of Kern County Legal Aid for many years.

He was board chair of Self-Help Federal Credit Union in California up until the beginning of this year. And, he feels that the needs of those working in the Valley are not being met.

“There is not even a bank in Mendota,” he said. “So, when farm workers, who don’t have bank accounts, get paid at the end of the week, they have to go cash their checks at a liquor store.

They charge them a dollar, two dollars, maybe a percentage--so people have to pay to cash their own pay checks, and we’re talking about the poorest people in the country.

“Our Valley, the area of the 21st Congressional District, we have the largest concentration of farm workers than anywhere else in the country. So, we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of people, who are deprived of the same benefits that you and I have, in terms of having access to a financial institution to take care of their financial needs. It’s all kind of community growth – there isn’t even a bank in that town that is willing to support home loans, willing to support loans for small businesses. And towns aren’t going to grow that way.

“Mr. Valadao has been in office for four years now and asking to be elected for another term. Now, if I was in office, and I knew there was a community like Mendota that didn’t have a bank, or Huron that doesn’t have a high school, those are going to be priority items for me. Or, those without clean, safe drinking water in our communities--those are going to be priorities--let’s figure out why these people don’t have water. Maybe it’s not even in my district, but they are in the Valley,” he said.

“Take Avenal--there’s a dump as you drive into town. They can build a prison, but they can’t move the dump? That was the first thing when I went to Avenal, people said, there is a dump and in the summertime, the whole town smells bad. It’s on the entryway to town.

“Go to Arvin, and talk about the contaminated water. Go to southern Tulare County, and talk about the lack of water. And, these are conditions that have existed for 20-30 years. They’re not new.

“Now, there is someone to make it an issue, somebody to holler and scream and yell, and say, we can’t allow our neighbors, our brothers, our sisters to live in these conditions. And I have no doubt that the only reason this happens is because they’re farm workers--because people feel they’re only farm workers-they don’t vote, they’re voiceless, they’re not high tax payers and so, why do we need to be concerned about them?

“We pay farmers, farm subsidies, we subsidize their farm insurance--the federal government just bought how many millions of dollars in cheese? Isn’t that a subsidy? and, that’s fine--I understand the need to support industry and industries which provide jobs, but let’s not forget about the other issues that are confronting and affecting people’s lives

HUERTA continued on 16 »

14 • Valley Voice

15 September, 2016

Comments & Letters Measure B: “A Really Bad Deal for Taxpayers: Vote NO” Betsy Tunnell There is a northwest area of Tulare County, adjoining the southeast edge of the City of Kingsburg that is part of the Kingsburg Hospital District; recently name changed to be The Kingsburg Tri-County Healthcare District. This Special District was formed in 1959 and issued revenue bonds in 1960 to begin construction of the Kingsburg hospital. The hospital operated until 1999 when the district filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

The hospital closed all operations in 2010 and remained empty. Only a small medical clinic operated on the site from portable trailers until 2014. Records cannot be found for any remaining debts for the district.

Last year $139,000 of Tulare County taxpayer’s money was sent to this district. Fresno County sent them another $500,000 and Kings County sent them an undisclosed amount. The tax revenues from all three counties have been between $600,000 and $700,000 per year. But if you ask the board that oversees this Special District you would never know because they have refused to share what the overall income and debts have been. The treasurer’s report at their regular meeting, provided on the first Wednesday of every month, only shows what the monthly bills have been. Even with repeated requests from citizens over

the last two years to include the total of all funds held by the district and all debts that are being paid from those funds, the board has refused to include this in the monthly report.

After it closed, the hospital was not being marketed for sale or lease by any professional service. Voters approved a measure in 2010 to sell the hospital to restore acute care, but that fell through.

In 2014 another interested party emerged and negotiated a lease/purchase agreement. There was much controversy about this potential tenant and the president of the board urged concerned citizens to find alternatives if we were not pleased with who they were negotiating with.

Citizens did step up and brought to the meeting, for introduction, not only two very experienced real estate brokers for this type of property, but the University of California showed interest as well.

What was not disclosed to the citizens was a clause in the lease that the board could not negotiate with anyone else.

This was very disappointing to find out after all of the effort that was put forth at the direction of the board president.

The vote requirement remained before the property could be sold. Citizens urged the board to have that vote before any renovations were started.

This request was ignored. The property was in pretty poor shape and the new lessee said two million dollars in reno-

vations were planned. An appraisal was done in November of 2014 that stated the property as unoccupied was worth about $614,000; with a recommendation to demolish the building due to its condition.

The lessee proceeded to renovate the facility and has stated two million dollars was invested. The lessee moved in and began operating in February 2016. Now the lessee wants to purchase the property. However, the board is still not stating what the full district revenue holdings are or what debts, if any, remain to justify the need for this building to be sold.

The largest portion of the district is in Fresno County and the lessee does not provide a service most people of the district can benefit from. There is an additional small non-profit medical clinic operating out of the previous administration building, but if you don’t use that clinic you receive no benefits for any of the tax dollars being sent to the district.

Measure B will be on the November ballot for voters to decide if the property can be sold to the current tenant. The way the measure is written is very deceptive. It states “To provide mental health and/or other professional services... should the District complete the sale and transfer of facilities and related assets for fair market value, as determined by an independent appraisal with no cost liability to taxpayers, to Kingsmith LLC or other buyer?” Yes No

They do not disclose to voters what the purchase price is yet. Per the agreement, the lessee will be able to buy the property but the value of all renovations will be ignored after it is appraised. The measure doesn’t tell the voters we will be giving up not only full market value on the sale, because it will go to the lessee, but also there is no other buyer in line to pay full appraised price. Additionally we will be giving up $1 million in rent over the next ten years if sold now. Not sure why anyone would think selling with those losses is a good idea.

The lessee may want to buy, but we don’t have to sell and give up a valuable asset, producing income now.

There is a 10 year lease with two more 10 year options after that. Even if the lessee would leave we now have an upgraded facility ready to rent to the next tenant, or put up for sale at full appraised value.

It seems logical to keep the building for a sale at the fully appraised price and keep $1 million in rent over the next ten years. Property taxes will not go down if this property is sold, as some may think.

The taxes will continue to come to the district, and we want to know how much is in accounts and what it is being used for, or planned to be used for. Increased efforts are being implemented to force the board to provide this information.

Don’t be deceived - Vote NO on Measure B if it’s on your ballot.

Ruben Macareno: “I appluad Gov. Jerry Brown for doing the right thing” Ruben Macareno I applaud Gov. Jerry Brown for doing the right thing for those who work in our agricultural fields. Signing Assembly Bill 1066 “rights-a-wrong” by giving overtime to a large number of farmworkers in our state and in our country’s highest income yielding agriculture county (Tulare County).

Anyone who works overtime in any

kind of hourly employment is enti-tled to overtime pay. Particularly when climate and environmental condi-tions are taxing and not to mention the physical challenges workers ex-perience as result of this kind of work. This was a no-brainer.

My opponent, our assemblyman, Devon Mathis voted against this bill saying that farmers will cut a 60 hour

work week to 40 hours by bringing in more crews. News flash to my opponent, there is a shortage not a surplus of workers. Where will they find the workers to do this?

Furthermore, he says he has spoke with many farmworkers and they are against the bill. This couldn’t be more false. This bill is not a pro-farmworker bill nor a anti-farmer bill. This new law,

rights a wrong. It should have been done a long time ago.

This bill demonstrates the fundamental difference between my oppo-nent and me. His campaign theme “People over Politics” is fraudulent and thus far his activities locally and service in Sacramento has been “Politics over People.” Its time to “right-a-wrong” in Assembly District 26.

2016: A Milestone Year for College of the Sequoias Newell G. Bringhurst The beginning of the Fall 2016 Semester marks a major milestone for College of the Sequoias—the ninetieth anniversary of its founding.

Originally known as Visalia Junior College, the school opened its doors to sixty-three freshmen in September 1926. Those first students met in a specially constructed five-room bungalow on the east end of the present-day Redwood High School campus.

The school enjoyed immediate, widespread community support particularly from local, college-bound students looking for a convenient way to secure post-secondary school training and/or their first two years of college education; thereby avoiding the added expense of attending a distant, four-year institution.

Thus, the college grew during the late 1920s and through the 1930s. By 1939, total enrollment topped 500—an almost ten-fold increase in just thirteen

years. Supervising this growth was L. J. Williams—a progressive Visalia School District administrator. Williams as college principal expanded its services and programs.

In 1937, the school provided bus service for students living outside of Visalia and commenced its building trades program. Three years later, it offered classes in agricultural science— marking the beginning of a comprehensive program subsequently carried on at the college farm established in 1947.

Williams’ most significant achievement involved constructing a new campus in 1939-40. He chose a fifty-five acre parcel of land on Mooney Boulevard—then two miles distant from downtown Visalia.

Critics excoriated Williams for choosing such a “large site so far outside of town.” Just three structures originally occupied the site—a classroom-administration building, a gymnasium, and an industrial arts/trades facility.

In architectural design, the buildings

reflected the Art Deco style then very much in vogue.

In 1949, the college entered a new era when it completely severed its ties with Visalia Unified School District, forming its own community college district, with a separate board of trustees.

No longer known as Visalia Junior College, it called itself College of the Sequoias.

Dr. Ivan C. Crookshanks assumed the post of College Superintendent/ President.

Crookshanks through his dynamic, sagacious leadership directed the school’s rapidly growing enrollment and expanded its physical plant over the following thirty-five years. Crookshanks upon retiring in 1985 achieved the distinction of being the longest serving community president in the nation.

During the thirty years since, the college student body has continued to expand in conjunction with its growing curriculum.

The school has also extended its

boundaries, geographically, with satellite campuses established in Tulare and Hanford. The school’s main Visalia campus has also continued to expand its own physical plant. At present COS boasts a student population of over 14,000.

Personally, I served as a COS professor of history and Political Science from 1981 to 2006 enabling me to witness much of this dynamic growth. My deep interest in the school has continued down to the present.

I have assumed the role of unofficial chronicler, intending to compile a long-overdue college history. I plan to utilize information from written sources and oral interviews.

Thus, I welcome insights and information from former students, faculty, and others involved with College of the Sequoias over the course of its long, storied past.

Newell G. Bringhurst, a retired professor of history and Political Science from College of the Sequoias welcomes responses at newellgb@hotmail.com

15 September, 2016

Valley Voice • 15

Comments & Letters

Veteran’s Corner

We’re in the Future Business

Todd Oto, Ed.D., Superintendent For the past nine months, I’ve been promoting the revised mission of the District with the community: We exist to provide an education that affords our students limitless opportunity for the future. Our “bumper sticker” message related to this is, “We are Visalia Unified. We educate kids. We create futures.” It’s been fun sharing this message with the community and very rewarding hearing these words and the overall message shared by staff at school sites. It is a message of promise for kids and their families and a commitment by our entire staff to work hard to make it come true.

Many of you know that I was a shop teacher. I started my career in Visalia Unified, and taught drafting and wood at Mt. Whitney for twelve years. I believe that career technical education (CTE) has value for all kids, regardless of their educational pathway. There is

a core of knowledge found within CTE programs that is a powerful combination of technical training and career readiness skills. But times have changed, and the expectations in all areas of education and also of industry have grown. So while the CTE programs of the current day contain that same core that I taught back in the 1980’s and 1990’s, the shell that surrounds those programs has changed to meet the demands of the 21st century.

One place where this is very apparent is in our newly-established Futures Project. This project is the result of District efforts to build a stronger work-based learning program and to develop broader and deeper community partnerships with local industry. The Futures Project is a work-based learning initiative intended to engage the Visalia business community in developing meaningful work-based learning experiences for VUSD students. Work-based learning gives students the opportunity

to learn a variety of skills by expanding the walls of classroom learning into the community. By connecting classroom theory and actual industry practice, we create more meaningful experiences for students. Work-based learning experiences include a very diverse range of activities, including guest speakers, job shadowing, industry tours, mentorships, and internships.

A few weeks ago, we held a very successful kick-off event for the Futures Project hosted by the Visalia Partners in Education and co-sponsored by the Visalia Economic Development Corporation, Visalia Chamber of Commerce, City of Visalia and Visalia Unified. That we are able to assemble such a powerful coalition of partners for this project speaks volumes for the value that this brings to our local business community—and that reflects positively on how our community values education for our community’s kids.

America and We The People candidate.

The Democrat is a corrupt, vile, foul tempered, Pathological Liar who ONLY cares about herself(example: Benghazi, Libya where she, Obama, and the Secretary of Defense deserted our fellow Americans – one our Ambassador – and left them to be tortured and murdered by a terrorist mob, and then lied about the cause of the attack), and she is the Establishment candidate.

She also thinks that the laws that apply to you and me do NOT apply to her at all. In addition, she may have an advanced case of Parkinson’s disease.

We have HUGE problems in this country, and they will only get worse with a Clinton continuation and expan-

sion of Obama policies that are dividing and destroying our country.

Trump has flaws(who doesn’t?), but he is infinitely better than Clinton. Now we read(in the internet) that George Soros(EVIL INCARNATE) is a Clinton Puppet Master!

He will pull her strings and direct her in ways that will ONLY benefit the so called “global elite and Establishment”, and we will bear the brunt of their machinations.

It is a shame that the Establishment controlled main stream media is so biased in favor of Clinton that we cannot get TRUTHFUL reporting, or the Stark Contrast between the candidates would be much clearer.

“Stark Contrasts” David Johnston In November we will have to make a choice between two Presidential candidates, and this choice may be the most important FOR US in our lifetimes.

If we choose wrongly, then the consequences could be disastrous and lead to the loss of our country as a free Constitutional Republic! It really is that serious.

Therefore, PLEASE do your homework on the candidates and think deeply about which one will be the best for us and our country..

The Republican is a gruff, politically incorrect(hooray!), sometimes socially awkward, Independent, Anti Establishment(a very good thing), Stand Up for

Farm Bureau Disappointed on Overtime Bill California Farm Bureau Federation Paul Wenger, president of the California Farm Bureau Federation, said that the agricultural community is very dismayed that Gov. Jerry Brown has signed the Agricultural Overtime bill, Assembly Bill 1066 (Lorena Gonzalez – D, San Diego).

President Wenger issued the following statement: “We are extremely disappointed that this legislation was signed into law, as it will be harmful to farm employees, farm-

“

ers, consumers and the environment.

Those who work on California farms will see reduced paychecks and have their lives disrupted as these new worker overtime rules come into play.

California consumers will have fewer opportunities to buy California-grown farm products that are produced under the most stringent food safety, employment and environmental rules in the world.

“Legislation such as AB 1066 only works if California consumers buy California farm products and opt not to buy

cheaper food products from sources outside of California that do not meet the same labor and environmental stewardship standards that our farm products do.

“It is unfortunate that those who will suffer the economic consequences of this ill-conceived statute are not the ones that wrote it and passed it into law.”

The California Farm Bureau Federation works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of more than 53,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of more than 6.2 million Farm Bureau members.

I like the idea of any faculty that helps people who can not help themselves such as described for the new Sierra Care facility.

That being said however, I think it was unfair to the surrounding family communities to take away a safe recreational place that my family personally spent many years enjoying and making happy healthy memories at while raising our family, without offering abv equally valued replacement. We are terribly limited in the kind of safe happy affordable family recreation outdoors that isn’t so far from our immediate surrounding areas. To take away Costas, or George’s as many of us called it and offer no such replacement was at best a disappointment to many.

”

— Brenda on Construction Begins at Sierra Care at the Lake in Springville

Use your voice

Comment on our website, or send letters: Via mail: PO Box 44064, Lemon Cove, CA 93244 Via email: editor@ourvalleyvoice.com

Veterans Crisis Line Scott Holwell September is Suicide Prevention Month and as such I am compelled to address that topic here in Veterans Corner. Current statistics indicate the average suicide rate among veterans to be 20 per day, down from 22 per day in 2013.

During Suicide Prevention Month and year-round, the U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Defense (DoD) work together to raise awareness of the suicide prevention and mental health resources they offer and to encourage communities to support Veterans, Service members, and their families and friends.

VA collaborates with community groups, Veterans Service Organizations, health care providers, corporations, educational institutions, government agencies, and others that serve, employ, or support Veterans, to spread the word that help is available. These stakeholders help VA remind Veterans, Service members, and their loved ones that free, confidential crisis support from the Veterans Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

The responders at the Veterans Crisis Line are specially trained and experienced in helping Veterans of all ages and circumstances — from those coping with mental health issues that were never addressed, to recent Veterans dealing with relationships or the transition back to civilian life. You can show your support for Veterans and active-duty, service members who may be in crisis, by spreading the word about The Power of 1. Veterans, service-members, and their loved ones can call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1; send a text message to 838255, or chat online to receive free, confidential support - even if they are not registered with VA or enrolled in VA health care.

Our local crisis resources in Kings County can be accessed by calling (559) 5824484 or 1-800-655-2553. Let’s work together to support our veterans in need. It only takes one person, one phone-call or one conversation – to make a difference!

The Kings County Veterans Service Office can complete the DMV Veteran Status Verification Form for the new California Veteran Designation on your driver’s license and also issues Veteran I.D. cards to honorably discharged veterans. Contact Scott Holwell if you would like to receive periodic veteran’s information by email. There are many state and federal benefits and programs available to veterans and their dependents. To determine if you are eligible for any of these benefits, visit or call our office. We can and will assist you in completing all required application forms. You can get information on the Web from the Kings County Veterans Service Office webpage at www.countyofkings.com/vets.

Scott Holwell, retired Navy Master Chief Petty Officer, is the Veterans Service Officer for Kings County. Send your questions to the Veterans Service Office, 1400 W. Lacey Blvd, Hanford, CA 93230; call (559)852-2669; or e-mail scott.holwell@ co.kings.ca.us.

16 • Valley Voice

Valadao

Continued from p. 12 and immigration, just isn’t there.

“Then when you get into visas, too, that’s a different category--you get into the medical field. The communities I represent are very much underserved, and getting the doctors and nurses to work in some of these rural communities is very difficult.

When you look at the visa program as well, it’s something that is very important to make sure that we have the ability to fill those roles to help these underserved communities.”

Valadao is a graduate of Hanford High School. He attended COS, but when life got very busy with the dairy business, he had to drop out.

While being a congressman, his life and his family’s life has changed very little, he said.

“It’s just that I am gone four days a week,” he said. “Even before I ran for office, I was gone a lot. I would sleep in my bed at night, but I had a lot of very, very long days. My wife even jokes that she sees me more now than before I was a congressman.”

Valadao said he flies home every weekend, unless duty calls him elsewhere, like when he went to Iraq to spend Christmas with the troops.

His brothers, whom he is partners with in dairy operations, have really had to step up with the dairy, he said.

And they have had to hire some people to fill positions he generally takes care of there.

Once done in congress, Valadao will

15 September, 2016 go back to being a dairyman, however, “As long as I feel I can add something to the conversation, and I still believe there is stuff I can be helpful with,” he would like to continue to serve.

“I love my part of the country, I love where I live, I love the community,” he said. “I feel like I fit in well with my community. Even other members of congress who have come to visit the area, riding around with me in the district, say ‘like that’s why you went--you’re one of them’. . . Knowing that when I go back, the people who I represent are people just like me--the same type of background--a lot of immigrants, whose parents came over and speak different languages, worked hard and are business owners now. It’s a great story, but it’s also a very common story in the Valley.”

With Regard to the 21st Congressional District

“I am in one of the toughest districts in the country--I am in a district that was drawn for a Democrat and I’m a Republican. So, my focus, every time, has to be on winning my race, and not worrying about other races [including the presidential race],” he said.

Valadao stopped short of saying the district was actually gerrymandered.

“If you look at the district, you can tell especially in Bakersfield,” he said. “The bipartisan commission was run by a Democrat. The Valley is pretty Republican. The district was drawn on purpose – I just happened to win it. It’s not something you can prove. The 2012 election, when I won this [district], it was with new boundaries.”

Huerta

Continued from p. 13 on a daily basis.”

Running for Office

Huerta has closed his law practice in order to devote all of time to his campaign.

“It had to be 100% commitment or nothing,” he said.

“The Valley is going to double in population – what industries are going to be brought to the Valley?” he added.

“What kind of energy sources are going to be here--clean energy, wind energy, solar? We can’t continue to have the worst air in the country. We can’t continue to have children exposed to pesticides where they go to school. My daughter may be grown up, but that doesn’t mean I am not concerned for other families.

“We were raised on campaigns. We were raised doing the heavy lifting and hard work. We knew that we would have to be committed to winning this campaign, and so, I wanted to make sure that I would have the support that I need going forward. That’s why my mother’s here, that’s why my daughter’s here –

most of the people you saw in the other room are volunteers. Every day our campaign continues to grow and grow.”

Huerta said he is exceptionally qualified in the area or reaching across the aisle and working with others.

“First of all my training as a negotiator--you need to listen, and you need to figure out the middle areas that people would agree and then build from there,” he said. “And, I’ve also served as a mediator in many cases and so, I think that the background in terms of my labor negotiations, and as an attorney in negotiating settlements and figuring out how to get people back to work [are a good fit].”

Huerta serves as a local high school mock trial coach. In his law practice, he has represented nonprofit organizations, pro bono. He also served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate in Kern County. He encourages others to get involved in local offices and elections, including water boards and school boards.

“It’s not enough to complain,” he said. “People shouldn’t be afraid to get out of their comfort zone – with what affects their community and families.

Parents should get involved.

“People need to register. People need to vote.”

Want more people Want more people looking at your business? looking at your business?

Want more people Want more people looking at your business? looking at Voice your business?

The Valley can help!

The Valley Voice can help!

Call (559) 623-5398 Call (559) 623-5398 The Valley Voice can help!

The Valley Voice can help!

Call (559) 623-5398 Call (559) 623-5398

Valley Scene

15 September, 2016

Common Threads Quilt Guild Works on Display in Hanford The mission statement of the Guild is to create a community of Central Valley quilters for the purpose of sharing ideas, develop skills, and encouraging the tradition of quilt making. These are a group of people who have one thing in common – a love of quilts and the people who create them.

Although the Guild focuses on “traditional quilting”, there are several small groups within the guild that enjoy creating “art quilts and hanging”.

The Guild’s work will be on display at the Kings Art Center from Sept. 24 to Nov. 12 in the Marcellus Gallery.

The opening reception for the exhibit will be held from Friday, Sept. 23 from 5:30-7:30pm.

Art quilting is an original exploration of concepts or ideas rather than the use of “Patterns”. The creator experiments with textile manipulation, color, texture, and frequently a diversity of media. The work must maintain three layers and be stitched together by hand or machine. Art quilting generally has more in common with fine arts than with traditional quilting. Modern quilters, when entering shows, are frequently asked to draw inspiration from

the work of mid century painters such as Joan Miro, Piet Mondrian, Victor Vasarely, and Fran Stella.

In modern quilting the focus is on bold colors and prints, high contrasts and areas of solid color, piecing without rules, minimalism, expansive negative spaces and alternative grid work. “My Way quilts” are guided by personal vision, most starting with basic forms and then heading off “their way” with unexpected patters, colors, and unpredictable rhythms. These quilts often go back in time to the early and mid 20th Century and the work of such groups as the “Gees Bend Quilters” from a rural Black community in Alabama.

The tradition of “patchwork quilting” was born of scarcity and resourcefulness and a time when shortages of cloth called for inventive salvaging of fabric scraps and remnants. This recycling practice created a generation of quilt makers who transformed otherwise useless materials into marvels of textile art. The most famous of these groups were the Gees Bend quilters of Alabama, and their designs created from triangles, squares, diamonds, and hexagons scraps of fabric.

“Starry Hearts,” a quilt by Deolinda Rhodes, is on display at the Kings Art Center’s Marcellus gallery, located at 605 N. Douty, Hanford.

Many of the Guild members have entered exhibits held across the United States but most definitely in the annual “Best of the Valley” exhibit that is held annual at Lindsay, CA. The Kings Art Center at 605 N. Douty, Hanford, CA, and is open from

Wed-Fri, 11-4pm, and Sat-Sun, 123pm. Admission is free, but for more information, dial 559-584-1065.

The Common Threads Quilt Guild can be reached on Facebook or on their blog at, http://ctgg-threadbasket. blogspot.com/

Tulare County Library Visalia Branch Hosts “Stories of Allensworth” Go to the Visalia Branch of the Tu- There they started a colony of Afrilare County Library on Saturday, Sep- can American people, affording them tember 17 from 10am to noon for “Sto- the chance to make their own way ries of Allensworth”. Allensworth was the and to thrive without oppression. first town in California to be founded, fiAllensworth, at its height in 1914, nanced and governed by Black Americans. was home to more than 200 inhabitants, As we take a step back in time be boasted a Tulare County Library branch, inspired and entertained as Josephine a school, post office and numerous busiTriplett, a descendant of the original nesses and farms. Beginning in 1913, settlers, and others speak about this his- the town faced several crises that led to toric town. Guests will have an oppor- its decline: the rerouting of the railroad tunity to meet to nearby Alpaugh, lack and speak to of access to three “Buffalo water, poor Soldiers”, portrayed by Emsoil condimett Harden, tions, and the Cecelia Pope death of Col. Harden and Allenswor th Hazel Kenneon September dy, who will 14, 1914 being the most speak of the devastating Buffalo Soldiers’ history setback of all. to celebrate The town A painting of Col. Allensworth by artist Sam Pierro. their 150th never completely died a n n i v e r s a r y.

Colonel Allensworth State Historic and has remained home to a handful of Park, the only State Park in Tulare Coun- families. California State Parks purchased ty, is unique among the State Parks in land in the town site in 1974, creating the California in that it is named for an Afri- Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park. can American Soldier. As a former slave, With the loving restoration Civil War veteran and chaplain of a reg- and reconstruction of its buildings iment of Buffalo Soldiers, Col. Allen Al- and special events held throughlensworth became the highest ranking Af- out the year, the town shares the virican American at the time of his service. sions of these pioneers’ new life.

Years after his service, he and four The Tulare County Library is parother settlers decided to come to Tu- ticularly proud of the restoration of lare County in 1908 to create their own version of the “American Dream”. ALLENSWORTH continued on 23 »

The Odd Couple is the first play in the Lindsay Community Theater’s theatrical season.

Lindsay Community Theatrical, Concert Season Schedules Announced Six plays and six concerts will be performed in the Lindsay Community Theater during the 2016-17 season. The concerts offer a wide variety of music with both original artists and cover artists playing the music of famous singers and groups. The theater season offers a comedy, a Christmas play, a Drama, two Broadway musicals, and a high school play.

The Lindsay Concert Series was started four years ago, and has been a big hit with patrons. Tickets for each concert are $20 and can be purchased at lindsaycommunitytheater.com. Tickets will also be available at the door if the concert is not sold out. Here is a rundown of the concert season.

On October 6 at 7:30pm it is the return of Abbey Road performing a tribute to the music of the Beatles.

This group, based in Southern California, played in the Lindsay Theater in April and is making Lindsay

the first stop on their west coast tour.

On November 12, Joni Morris is performing her “Salute to the Music of Patsy Cline.” Joni sang in Lindsay two years ago, and is eager to return. Her style brings the music of legendary songster Patsy Cline to life.

On December 3, it’s the County Line Trio saluting the groundbreaking music of the Kingston Trio. From “Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley” to “The MTA” the County Line Trio lights up the house with energy and happy banter.

On January 21, Tempest makes the Lindsay stage their home. This is the sixth time Tempest has visited the Lindsay Stage, and each time their brand of Celtic Rock music raises the roof. People dance in theaisles and put their hands together to the beat of this unique musical ensemble.

On February 11, America’s

LINDSAY continued on 18 »

18 • Valley Voice

Lindsay

Continued from p. 17 sweetheart, Juni Fisher, makes a trip from her Nashville home to visit her family in Strathmore, and of course she also visits the Lindsay stage. Juni is an award-winning Western singer, whose accolades include Performer of the Year and Songs of the year. Most of the songs in her show are her own original creations.

On March 11 get ready for Lacy J Dalton and her back-up band the Dalton Gang.

Her show is country western music at its best. Lacy sings many of the songs she has recorded as well as performing some of the favorites of other artists. She will get everybody tapping their toes and singing along.

As you can see, the Juni Fisher concert season is full of outstanding artists producing great music. The theatrical season is also full of talented actors and singers from Lindsay and surrounding communities. As with the concerts, tickets for all shows can be purchased online at lindsaycommunitytheater.com.

The first play is The Odd Couple by Neil Simon. This play is directed by Bob Merzoian and Jim Kliegl.

Show dates are October 28, 29, Nov ember 5, and 5 at 7:30pm and October 30 at 2pm. Tickets are $10 adults and $5 students. The Odd Couple is the story of Oscar and Felix, who attempt to room together after their divorces, but end up driving each other crazy.

At Christmas time the travels of

15 September, 2016 Mary and Joseph are portrayed in Journey to Bethlehem. This play is directed by Jan Owens. Show dates are December 16 and 17 at 7:30pm and December 18 at 2pm. Tickets are $10 adults and $5 students. From the manger to the shepherds to the wise men and the angels, this is a sensitive retelling of the Christmas story appropriate for children of all ages.

The next offering is Of Mice and Men. This drama is directed by George Pearce.

Play dates are February17, 18, 24, and 25 at 7:30pm and February 19 at 2pm. Tickets are $10 adults and $5 students.

Of Mice and Men is the tale of Lennie and George, two farm workers in the Salinas area, who dream of some day owning their own little place.

Lindsay High School is scheduled to produce their play on March 17, 18, 19, 24, and 25.

The time has not yet been decided.

The spring musical is the All-American classic, Oklahoma!. This play is directed by Jim Kliegl. Play dates are April 21, 22, 28, and 29 at 7:30pm and April 23 and 30 at 2pm. Tickets are $15 adults and $10 students. Oklahoma! is the story of the American west in the late 1800’s. It is a festival of song and dance that will light up the stage.

The children’s theater show will be Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

This play is cast with children from 1st through 8th grade. Willie will be directed by Alli Smith. Show dates are May 25, 26, and 27 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $5.

The Vagina Monologues Comes to Visalia’s Ice House Theater Eve Ensler wrote and starred in The Vagina Monologues when it opened Off Broadway in 1996. The play, as its title indicates, is a series of soliloquies about women’s relationships with their vaginas or non-relationships as the case may be.

Knowing some would be repulsed by the word, Ensler’s original intent was to celebrate the vagina as the epicenter of feminine sexuality, but ultimately her focus changed to include the need to stop violence against women.

The staging of the show as envisioned by Director Sergio Garza is based on warmth and inclusiveness with women supporting women through the best and the worst of their experiences. “I have learned and grown from listening to the stories of these women. Other men will have the same experience.”

Although the play was originally produced with a single actress and subsequently with three monologists, the Visalia Players’ version will feature different actresses for each monologue bringing a variety of ages and experiences that add depth and authenticity to the stories.

Three of the actresses, Debra Hansen, Leiana Petlewski, and Rachel Sievers, also serve as narrators, aiding with the flow of the play from one monologue to the next. Petlewski commented, “They help the audience move between the women’s experiences and to process the emotions the stories evoke.”

The actresses have come to the show for different reasons. Comments included:

.

Staff Reports “A lot of the monologues are pertinent and need to be kept in the forefront,” Robin Hoffman.

“I help students with sexuality issues. I’m very comfortable with the subject matter,” Debra Hansen.

“A lot of women don’t accept the fact of their femininity and sexuality until later in life. It is very powerful for me to have the opportunity for early acceptance,” Leiana Petlewski.

“I like women’s performance pieces and thought The Vagina Monologues would be a good project,” Elaine Wood.

Regardless of their motives for involvement with the show, each actress is excited about her participation and believes in the importance of bringing women’s issues into the open.

The cast and director emphasize that the monologues are true to life and could have been experienced by your mother, daughter, grandmother, any female in your family. The prohibitions put on women by society need to be recognized and understood.

The Vagina Monologues runs for three weekends at the Ice House Theatre at Race and Santa Fe in Visalia. Evening performances are at 7:30pm on 9/23, 9/24, 9/30, 10/1, 10/7, and 10/8 and matinees are at 2pm on 9/25, 10/2, and 10/9. The play includes adult language and content. To purchase tickets go to the Players’ website at www.visaliaplayers.org, their Facebook page “Visalia Community Players”, or call 734-3900.

Coming to the Hanford Fox

The Glenn Miller Orchestra

Wednesday, September 21, 2016 • 7 PM • $64.25 • $52.75

Marty Stuart

Sunday, October 9, 2016 • 7 PM • $45, $35, $25

Silent Comedies

Saturday, September 17, 2016 • 7:30 PM $10 • $5 for Students & Seniors

To purchase tickets, call (559) 584-7823 or visit www.foxhanford.com BEWARE OF UNOFFICIAL WEBSITES SELLING TICKETS AT INFLATED PRICES

15 September, 2016

Valley Voice • 19

Tulare County Fair Promises Fun on a Budget Staff Reports The Tulare County Fair offers fun for all ages, free with admission, from September 4-18.

The entertainment and performers include: • Hairy, wild racing pigs from the foothills of Northern California will make their debut, racing daily during the fair.

• Panning for gold.

• The Tractor Pull on Wednesday, September 14. Gates open at 6pm; show begins at 7pm.

• Free musical entertainment will include Left of Centre, the official house band at Toby Keith’s bar and grill in Las Vegas.

• Street Drum Corps will perform daily, along with performances

by The Cutest Show on Earth, Jest in Time Circus, puppeteers, and comedy jugglers Something Ridiculous.

• “Welcome to the Jungle,” a display of exotic animals based on The Jungle Book • “Wild Science,” an exhibit consists of dozens of highly interactive exhibits and activities that allow kids to explore the amazing world of science and technology.

• Steve Bayner, hypnotist, will perform nightly and local bands will entertain fairgoers throughout the run of the fair.

• A free Christian concert will be offered from 6 to 10pm on

Thursday, featuring performances by local ensembles, including a family of 12 from Fresno.

Family Value Day is September15, offering reduced price admission and $2 food items. Admission is $4 before 4pm on Family Value Day (online offer only).

Headliner entertainers this year are Gin Blossoms on September 14; WAR on Thursday, September 15; Colt Ford on Friday, September 16; En Vogue on Saturday, September 17, and The Boxmasters, featuring Billy Bob Thornton, on Sunday, September 18. All concerts begin at 8pm and are free with paid admission.

The fair this year will offer a free shuttle service within the K Street parking lot, thanks to sponsor Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino. In addition, for the convenience of fair-goers, the parking lot that was expanded last year will again be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The lot is located off Bardsley Avenue, between O and K streets.

The Helm and Sons carnival at this year’s fair will feature several new attractions.

Young fair-goers can experience the new Pony Express, which allows children to choose to ride a horse or a carriage around train tracks. Also new is the Happy Swing, a classic swing set amplified to a new level of fun, and the Chopper Hopper, a helicopter ride that lets kids be the pilot.

More mature fair-goers can enjoy the thrills of the new Giant Wheel, standing 110-feet tall, weighing 250,000 pounds and boasting 88,000 light bulbs. Also new this year is the zombie-themed haunted

The newest attraction at the Tulare County Fair is Helm & Sons’ 110-foot tall Giant Wheel

house. Old favorites will return, including Shockwave, Big Splash, the Wave Swinger and the Olympic Bobsled roller coaster.

Helm and Sons, based in Colton, CA, is known for its commitment to safety and its reputation as a high-quality amusement company, said Pam Fyock, CEO of the Tulare County Fair.

Fairgoers this year can enjoy a fundraiser rodeo, a Gran Jaripeo Mexican-style rodeo and three nights of motor sports.

The Monster Truck shows, September 15 and 16, will include Trouble Maker, Double Trouble, Obsessed, Play’n for Keeps and Enforcer, plus freestyle Motocross. Gates open at 6pm.; show begins at 7pm. The Demolition Derby on Saturday, September 17, begins at 6pm.; gates open at 5pm. For ticket information on these

events, visit tcfair.org. Ticket prices for the Motorsports Series do not include gate admission.

The Gran Jaripeo will be held on Sunday, September 18, in the grandstands. It will feature 15 riders and rodeo clowns and will conclude with a dance featuring Ramon Ayala, Banda Machos and Cinco de Reyes. Doors open at 4pm and the rodeo begins at 4:30pm. Tickets are available at outlets throughout the South Valley, including Joyerias Marias en Dinuba, Tulare, Visalia and Porterville; Muebleria Fantastica in Visalia and Hanford; and Moda Latina in Tulare. The Gran Jaripeo ticket cost includes admission to the fair.

For details and to purchase tickets, visit tcfair.org.

Local Artist Featured at Lindsay Art Association Through October 31 Works by local artist Victor Cervantes will be featured for Lindsay Art Association’s autumn exhibit, opening with a reception on Saturday, September 17, and running through October. The reception will begin at 5pm, and the public is cordially invited.

Another reception will accompany the annual exhibit of Day of the Dead altars on the last day of Mr. Cervantes’ show, October 30.

Victor’s early interest in the arts was fulfilled through middle- and high school art courses, which gave him technical skills and provided a social framework for art. He became a prolific artist. His work received numerous awards via the California State Fair, California State Summer School for the Arts, the

More than 40 years in Downtown Visalia

California Congressional Art Competition, the Ruth Jansen Foundation and locally through Lindsay Art Association.

After high school, Victor went to the University of California at Santa Cruz, majoring in art with deep interest in political science and history. His art projects reflected a commitment to social causes, distinguishing his work, which was recognized with numerous project grants. He was named an Irwin Scholar, UCSC’s highest Art Department award.

The Academic journey that followed was similarly successful. While at Columbia University, he received academic merit awards and one of only two department Teaching Fellowships, enabling him to teach alongside Columbia faculty while earning his MFA. His continued

involvement in social causes inspired him and fellow graduate students to create Our Word, a student organization that advocates for the inclusion of artists of color at Columbia University.

As a graduate student at Harvard University, he continued to research and write about issues important to him and to promote cultural diversity through his art. There, he was commissioned to create a mural at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

More than ten years ago, Victor, along with Irma Arroyo, co-founded El Quinto Sol De America, a non-profit organization that works to bring to light and solve some of the most pressing social and environmental dilemmas of our rural area. As Quinto Sol’s Art Director, he works with

youth on projects that empower neighborhoods through artistic expression.

Over the years, Victor has partnered with dedicated community leaders who believe that the arts have an important role to play in society, to paint murals at health facilities, youth centers, schools and college environments.

As a visual and performing arts consultant, he works with school principals to strengthen the quality of arts programming at school sites. Today, as an art instructor at College of the Sequoias, He instills in his students a deep appreciation for the arts, and inspires them to take on a profession that will enrich their lives and improve the quality of life for those around them.

559-734-7079

316 W. Main St., Visalia, CA 93291 www.michaelscustomjewelry.com

Certi�ied Gemologist Appraiser

COMPLIMENTARY CLEANING AND INSPECTION OF YOUR JEWELRY 3-D DESIGNS CERTIFIED APPRAISALS RING SIZING RESTRINGING WATCH REPAIR WATCH BATTERIES WATCH BANDS STONE REPLACEMENT PRONG RETIPPING FREE GIFT WRAPPING WITH PURCHASE

● 2245 S. Mooney - Visalia ● 1826 W. Lacey Blvd. - Hanford ● 4931 N. Blackstone - Fresno ● Porterville location tbd www.spookyhalloweenstore.com

1-888-9SPOOKY Be sure to like us, follow us & tweet us @spookyhallowsto * With minimum $50 purchase per person, per visit, per day.

Cannot be combined with any other coupon or discount - other restrictions may apply.

Lunch served 12-1 pm

Calendar Sunday Nights: Barmageddon Tulareous Open Mic, 9pm-12:30am Our weekly open mic has a great selection of local comedians and musicians. Comedians will have approximately 10 mins of stage time and musicians get three songs. Sign ups start at 9 PM, Show starts at 9:30 PM, Ends around 12:30 AM. No Cover.

3rd Tuesday, Monthly: League of Women Voters Meeting, 11:45am At Sue Sa’s Club House, 699 W. Center in Visalia. Reservations are required and the public is welcome.

Contact Newellgb@hotmail.com or call 732-1251.

Wednesday Nights: Barmageddon Game Night Come blow off some steam at our Mondays: Bridge Club, 9:30amgame night. Enjoy complimentary 2pm gaming on all consoles, TCG’s, Ta210 W Center Street Visalia, ble top & board games. Happy hour CA 93291. Admission is free. For will be from 6 PM- 8 PM. additional information call: Joan 1st Thursday Monthly through Dinwiddie @ 732-0855 October: Diabetes Support Mondays: Knitters, 10am12:30pm 210 W Center Street Visalia, CA 93291. Everyone is welcome.

Group, 5:30-7pm Kaweah Delta Health Care District will offer a free diabetes support group through October from on the first Thursday of the month at Monday Nights: Monday Karathe Kaweah Delta Chronic Disease oke at Barmageddon, 9pm-1am Get on stage and sing your favorite Management Center, 325 Willis St., tunes on our one of a kind sound Visalia. Information: 624-2416. system. New Image has a vast se- 1st Thursday, Monthly: Veterans lection of songs to choose, ranging Support Group, 5:30-7pm from 70’s classic rock to modern Free support group for global war pop. Karaoke Jockey Miss Sammi on terrorism & post 9-11 (Veterans will be hosting from 9 PM - 1 AM. Only) at the Tulare Public Library, No Cover.

475 North M Street in Tulare. Facilitated by: Dr. Lance Zimmerman, Fridays: Women’s Morning Bible Ph.D of veterans Counseling ClinStudy, 9am-Noon 210 W Center Street Visalia, ic. “The transition from serving in CA 93291. For additional informa- a combat zone to civilian life can be a difficult one. Combat vetertion call: 739-9010 ans commonly experience feelings Saturdays: Cup of Jazz, 10amof depression, isolation, alienation, Noon guilt, anxiety, and anger following At Cafe 210, at 210 Center street, their service. If you’re experiencing Visalia. Free. Led by Richard Garoo- these or any other emotional probgian. Call 559.730.0910 for more lems after serving in a combat zone, information. it’s vital to seek professional help. “ -Veterans Counseling Clinic.

Tuesday Nights: Barmageddon Trivia Thunderdome, 9pm-1am 1st and 3rd Thursdays, Monthly: Challenge your friends to the ulti- Central Valley Tea Party Meetmate trivia throw down. Earn some ings, 6pm bragging rights in categories ranging 819 West Visalia Road, Farmersville. from Saturday morning cartoons, classic video games, and pop cul- 3rd Thursday Monthly through ture films. Teams of 4 or solo play- October: Diabetes Support ers compete each round for the best Group, 5:30-7pm scores. Winners of every two rounds Kaweah Delta Health Care District will square off in the Trivia Thun- will offer a free diabetes support derdome for great prizes. Free sign group through October on the third Thursday of the month at Woodlake ups at 9:30 PM. Manor Apartments, 200 E. Sierra 2nd Tuesday, Monthly: Yappy Avenue, Woodlake. Information: Hour, 5-9pm 624-2416.

Well-mannered, leashed pets are welcome on the patio at the Plan- 3rd Thursday, Monthly: Gathering Mill Artisan Pizzeria, 514 East ing At the Oval, 12:30-1pm Main Street, Suite A, in Visalia. A Lifting up the needs and concerns portion of the proceeds is donated of Visalia through individual prayer to the Valley Oak SPCA. For more and meditation at Oval Park, 808 North Court Street in Visalia. For information, call 651-1111. more information, call 967-4065.

$4.

Please call 713-4481. Reservations m

Monday

Tuesday

Daily Salad Option: Chicken Caesar Salad is available as a meal replacement.

Sweet treats or fruit will be served daily.

Items on Menu are subject to change.

5

Labor Day Closed!!

12

Monday

September 2016 Lun 7 8 Cheeseburgers Beef Enchiladas BB Lunch served 12-1 pm $4. with lettuce, with red sauce, ba

tomato and pickle, Mexican cheeses, ma Please call . Reservations condiments, chips713-4481 rice, beans, salad anm and fruit salad and fruit

Tuesday

13

bread 5

6 Cheeseburgers 20 Stuffed Bell

Day

1 Me ma an rol

6

Lasagna Pasta roll upsSalad withOption: ricotta, Daily mozzarella, Chicken CaesarItalian Salad is sausage, spinach available as a meal & parmesan, replacement.salad, fruit and garlic

19Labor

Wednesday

Sweet treats fruit Pastrami & or Swiss will be served daily. on marbled rye with chowder Itemscorn on Menu are and fresh subject to fruit change.

Wednesday

14

Lemon Peppered Chicken with vegetables, rice pilaf, salad and fresh fruit

7 Beef 21 Enchiladas

15

1 Sa Me wi ma toe an sal rol

8 BB 22

with lettuce, with red sauce, wit Peppers with Meatball & Mozza- ba tomato and pickle, Mexican cheeses, ma ground turkey and rella sub sandwich roo condiments, chips rice, beans, salad an sag mushrooms in a with marinara & and fruit salad and fruit cou tomato sauce with cream of zucchini fru 12 Lasagna Pasta rice, 13 salad, & a roll soup 14 with fruit 15 roll ups with ricotta, Pastrami & Swiss Lemon Peppered Sa 26 27 28 29 mozzarella, Italian on marbled rye Chicken with vege- wi Parmesan Chicken Meatloaf with Baked Rigatoni Tur sausage, spinach & with corn chowder tables, rice pilaf, toe breast with rice mashed potatoes with Italian saulet parmesan, salad, and fresh fruit salad and fresh sal pilaf, fresh vegand gravy, vegeta- sage, sub fruit and garlic fruit basil and gies, roll & fruit bles, fruit and a mozzarella, spinmi bread roll ach salad, roll, fruit an 19 20 Stuffed Bell 21 22 Peppers with Chicken Fettucine Meatball & Mozza- wit 3rdAlfredo Thursday, Monthly: Board hotel and museum. ground turkey and rella sub sandwich roo with Game Night, 6-7:45pm sag in a Lindsay Caesar salad, gar- mushroomsFridays: with marinara & Farmer’s Market, cou Forlicages 10+ and at the Visalia Branchsauce tomato with cream of zucchini bread fruit 5:30-9pm fru Library, 200 West Oak Street. rice,Signsalad, Located & a roll atsoup with fruit Sweetbriar Plaza, N.

Chicken Fettucine Closed!!

Alfredo with Caesar salad, garlic bread and fruit

ups26are not required. For 27 more in- Sweetbriar 28 29 Ave & Samoa St., Lindformation, call 713-2703.

Parmesan Chicken Meatloaf with Baked Rigatoni Tur say.

withMonthly: rice mashed potatoes with Italian saulet 3rdbreast Thursday, Ladies’ All September: September Chilpilaf, fresh vegand gravy, vegetasage, basil and sub Night, 6-10pm dren’s Crafts at the Tulare Library gies, roll & fruit bles, fruit and a mozzarella, spinmi At the Clay Cafe in Visalia, 1018 Branches roll ach salad, roll, fruit an E. Mineral King Ave. $10 studio fee with ceramic purchase. Includes September 12 through 17 –Patriotic complimentary margarita, dinner Pinwheel and dessert. Door prizes too! Reser- September 19 through 24 – Welvations required: 733-2022 come Fall Finger Painting Last Thursday Monthly through September 26 through October 1 – October: Diabetes Support Fall Wreath Group, 5:30-7pm Craft sessions are available at the AlKaweah Delta Health Care Dispaugh, Earlimart, Exeter, Ivanhoe, trict will offer a free diabetes supLindsay, Orosi, Springville, Strathport group through October on the more, Three Rivers, Tipton and last Thursday of the month at Sand Woodlake branch libraries. Times Creek Apartments, 41020 Rd. 124, vary with each location.

Orosi. Information: 624-2416.

For more information on craft days Lemon Cove Women’s Club Acand times at these branches or othcepting Donations for Yard Sale er Tulare County Library programs, Lemon Cove Women’s Club is preplease go to www.tularecountyliparing for their annual yard sale on brary.org.

Saturday, October 6th at the historic Pogue Hotel at 32792 Sierra Dr. across from the post office. To donate to the sale call Mona Wyatt at 359-4465 or Karen Callahan at September 24 to November 12: 564-2096. Donations of furniture Kings Art Center Exhibitions will be accepted the morning of the Common Threads Quilt Guild and sale. Please do not donate any elec- Paintings by Maria Simoes will be tronics and only gently used clothes exhibited at the Kings Art Center, will be accepted. All funds go to the 605 N. Douty, Hanford. The openmaintenance and restoration of the ing reception for both exhibits will

September

.00 Dine In

or Takeout & under 54 yrs:

$5.00

must be made one business day in advance by 12 PM.

Thursday

Friday

Weekly Salad Option:

2 eatloaf with Fully loaded meat & ashed potatoes veggie pizza with nd gravy, veggie, Caesar salad and ll and fruit fruit

Chef Salad - With diced cheeses, black olives, ham, tomato and hard boiled eggs with ranch dressing

nch Menu9 / Visalia Senior Center Spring Mix— with dried BQ Chicken with Mustard & Thyme .00 Dine In or Takeout & under 54 yrs:apples, $5.00feta cranberries, aked beans and rubbed Pork

acaroni salad Tenderloin with rice cheese, glazed walnuts, must be made one day ingrilled advance by with 12 PM . chicken balnd fruit pilaf,business veggie, fruit samic vinaigrette roll Weekly Salad Option: Thursday and aFriday

16

alisbury Steak eatloaf with ith roasted potaashed potatoes es, vegetables, nd gravy, veggie, and fruit lllad and fruit

2 Steak Quesadillas, Fully loaded meat & Mexican street corn veggie pizza with off the cob, refried Caesar salad and beans, fruit green salad and fruit

9 BQCrust Chicken with Mustard & Thyme less Quiche 23

Spring Mix— with dried

aked beansmushand th spinach, acaroni salad oms, Italian saund fruit ge & mozzarella, untry potatoes, uit, wheat muffin

rubbed Chicken Pork Enchiladas Tenderloin with rice suizas with salsa pilaf, veggie, fruit verde, rice and and a roll beans, fruit

alisbury Steak ith roasted potarkey, provolone, es, vegetables, ttuce andfruit tomato lad and b sandwich, inestrone soup nd fruit

Steak Quesadillas, 30 Mexican street corn Asian Chicken and off the cob, refried vegetable stirsalad fry beans, green with baby bok and fruit choy, rice , fruit and fortune cookie

16

JULY

Greek Salad - with romaine, - With diced Chef Saladtomatoes, cucumber, cheeses, black ham, Kalamata olives,olives, red onion, tomato andgrilled hard boiled feta cheese, chicken in eggs with ranch champagne Dijon dressing vinaigrette

cranberries, apples, — Asian Chicken Saladfeta cheese, glazed walnuts, with sesame dressing, grilled chicken with balchicken, green onions, samic vinaigrette mandarin oranges and won ton crisps Greek Salad - with romaine,

cucumber, tomatoes, - with Cobb Salad Kalamata olives, red chicken, onion, tomato, avocado, lettuce in feta cheese, grilled chicken and bacon with champagne Dijon vinaigrette vinaigrette

and blue cheese

Crust less Quiche 23 Asian Chicken Salad — th spinach, mush- Chicken Enchiladas be held Sept.

23, 5:30-7:30pm.

Regson-Tollison 559-934-2452 with sesame dressing, oms, Italian sausuizas with salsa gallery hours verde, are Wed-Fri 11geular & mozzarella, chicken, green onions, rice and September 17: Evening Under the untry potatoes, 4pm, Sat-Sun 12-3pm.

Admission is Stars, mandarin oranges and beans, fruit 7:30-11pm uit,free, wheat muffin won ton crisps tours are by appointment, and

Held in downtown Lemoore befor more information, dial 559-58430 tween Heinlen and Fox Street, Eve1065.

- withwill chicken, Salad rkey, provolone, Asian Chicken andningCobb Under the Stars feature

avocado, ttuce and tomato vegetable stir fry live tomato, September 16: Bonanza Jackpot entertainment, horslettuce d’oeuvres and bacon with vinaigrette b Raffle sandwich, with baby bok Drawing, 2pm & specialty dishes from local chefs inestrone soup choy, rice , fruit and and blue cheese $1.00 per ticket. Proceeds to bene- & organizations, wine tasting, craft nd fruit fortune cookie

fit the Alzheimer’s Association. One lucky winner will hit the jackpot winning hundreds of dollars in prizes!

beers, silent auction/drawings, and a drawing for a $2,500 piece of handcrafted jewelry designed and donated by Pereia’s Jewelry.

Refreshments. 559-735-0828. Pres- Individual tickets are $50, and a tatige Assisted Living, 3120 W. Cald- ble of 8 is $350. Proceeds benefit the well Ave., Visalia CA 93277.

Lemoore Youth Recreation Scholarship Fund. Tickets available at 559September 17: Stories of Al924-6767. lensworth, 10am-noon Hosted at the Visalia Branch of the Tulare County Library, this event will inform and enlighten visitors about the history of Allensworth, the first town in California to be founded, financed and governed by Black Americans.

September 19: An Evening with Dr. Dana Suskind, 7-9pm Tickets are on sale now for “An Evening with Dr. Dana Suskind”, presented by Read for Life at 7 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 19 at the Visalia Fox Theater, 308 W. Main St. Tickets For more information about this are $10 per person and can be purprogram and other library events, chased at the theater or at www.foxvisalia.org. call (559) 713-2703.

September 17: 20th Annual West Hills College Hall of Fame Dinner, 6pm No host social hour at 6pm. Ceremony starts at 7pm in the Harris Ranch Garden Ballroom. Tickets for the induction dinner are $75 per person. For more information, or to purchase tickets, contact Gina Ja-

The event is being presented by Read for Life, a non-profit organization which supports literacy in Tulare County beginning at birth.

Dr. Suskind is founder of the Thirty Million Words Initiative, a program dedicated to harnessing the power of language to build a child’s brain for future positive impacts.

September 20: League of Women Voters Meeting, 11:30a - 1:30p League of Women Voters will be meeting September 20th from 11:30 - 1:30 at Sue Sa’s newly named restaurant, West of Center located at 699 W. Center. Featured speaker Eric Frost, Deputy City Manager of Visalia, will be discussing the Visalia Sales Tax measure that will be on the ballot in November. Lunch is $15.

Reservations are required. Please call or email 732-1251 newellgb@hotmaill.com

September 24: Free Entrance to Your National Parks National Public Lands Day (all national parks) September 30: Oktoberfest Live, 5:30-9:30pm At Vossler Farms Pumpkin Patch, 26773 S. Mooney Blvd.

Food tasting, local vendors, live music, and more! $40 in advance, $50 day of -- 21 and over only.

Tickets available at http://tinyurl. com/2016OKT

The League of Women Voters is available to local clubs that would like a presentation on the 17 ballot measures facing voters in November.

The LWV has taken a neutral stand and is focused on educating the voting public.

October 1: Lemon Cove Women’s Club Yard Sale, 8am-5pm To donate for the sale, contact Mona Wyatt at 559-359-4465 or Karin Callahan at 559-564-2096. Please: no electronics or National Geographic magazines. Donated clothThe Speakers Bureau will take re- ing needs to be gently used only — quests to present a program begin- please, no torn/stained clothes. ning September 19 to November 4. Funds will be used to maintain the For information call 734-6501 or historic Pogue Hotel, an important rzeeb@comcast.net. site in Tulare County history.

September 23: Third Annual October 1: “Boots and Spurs,” Crush Party, 6-9pm the Sequoia Union Fall Carnival, Hosted at the COS Tulare Col- 5:30-9pm lege Center, Building B, at 4999 E. This year’s “Boots and Spurs” themed Bardsley in Tulare, this event deliv- event will deliver traditional famiers a great time for its participants ly fun, including bingo, a delicious and valuable marketing for support- deep-pit beef dinner, cake walk, caring companies; all while attracting nival games and a jailhouse photo needed community support for the booth. New this year: a mechanical College of the Sequoias and the Tu- bull ride and hamster ball roll! A lare Chamber of Commerce. vast silent auction, made possible by To purchase tickets, head to tulare- the generosity of myriad local busichamber.org. For more information, ness owners, will also be available for those who want to do some early dial 559-686-1547. holiday shopping.

September 23-25: 15th Annual Approximately 600 people attend Visalia Home Expo Friday: 11am-6pm, Saturday: 10am- this event every year to show their 6pm, Sunday: 10am-5pm. Tickets support for Sequoia Union’s stuare $5 for adults & $4 for seniors on dents.

Friday, and prices increase to $7 for October 7: Lisa Manes-James: adults and $5 for seniors on Satur- Unfolding, Reception at Arts day/Sunday.

Visalia, 6-8pm The fall show is the place to get Held in conjunction with the Arts great ideas and quotes for remodel- Consortium’s First Friday events. ing and redecorating every room of Arts Visalia is pleased to present a the house, inside and out. This year, new body of work by Lisa Manesthe public is invited to enter to win James in October 2016. Lisa Manesa complete Family Room Makeover, James: Unfolding will be on display including professional painting ser- at Arts Visalia from October 5th vices, a 50” Magnavox TV, and Di- through October 28th, 2016. recTV for one year.

Send your calendar items to: editor@ourvalleyvoice.com

22 • Valley Voice

15 September, 2016

Sports Rawhide Hope to Win First Championship Since ‘78 he said. “We just have to take advantage, and get everyone rested. The time The Visalia Rawhide are off does affect the hitters a going back to the California little more though. That’s League Playoffs. The team why we have machine work will look to win its first and scrimmages to simulate Cal League Championship game action, but having a since 1978. The Rawhide few days off in September have a first round bye, and isn’t the worst thing.” will play the winner of the There is one thing that first round series between has House feeling really the Bakersfield Blaze and good about his team as they San Jose Giants. head into the playoffs: The Rawhide Manager J.R. overall team demeanor.

House sees the four-day lay“The overall attitude off between games as an ad- Marty Herum has been great. They don’t vantage, but does hope that feel ready to end the season. the team doesn’t lose rhythm.

They still want come in and put in their “The time off can be good and bad,” work. You don’t want a team that just Stefan Barros

plays to get the season over with.”

After the all-star break, the Rawhide had to go through what almost every minor league baseball team has to go through, and that is turnover. Players coming in and out. House was pleased with the way his team held it together through that process.

“We’ve just had a lot of turnover with both position players and pitchers.

They’re starting to get acclimated now though. It’s good to see.”

With all of the turnover that the team has gone through this season, there still remain some players who have been with the Rawhide all season and have been consistent performers, as house points out.

“Marty Herum has been solid for us

all year. He is the only one of our players to be on the post-season all star team.”

House is pleased with the way that his newer players have played down the stretch, to keep the team afloat.

“They’re playing to their potential.

They’ll be going up against a good team in either Bakersfield or San Jose, so we’ll have play the best we possibly can. If we do that, we can beat any opponent.”

The Rawhide will hope to win its playoff series against Bakersfield in the North Division championship.

If they can do that, they will play in the California League championship against the winner from the South Division between either High Desert or Lancaster.

West Hills College Hall of Fame Dinner Set for Sept. 17 Staff Reports West Hills College Coalinga will induct seven of its former athletes and coaches into its Hall of Fame during the 20th annual Athletic Hall of Fame dinner on September 17 at the Harris Ranch Garden Ballroom.

This year’s Hall of Fame inductees are David Lainhart, basketball; Gordon Dolinar, baseball; Bruce Hauger, baseball and football; George Dyer, former head football coach; Robert Clement, former baseball player, assistant football coach and West Hills College athletic director; Bruce Hunt, long-time WHCC head rodeo coach; and Deanna Willard-Oliveira, rodeo.

“Our 20th Hall of Fame class represents an outstanding group of former students, coaches, and administrators – adding to the proud tradition of Falcons athletics,” said Eric Mendoza, West Hills College Coalinga’s Associate Dean of Athletics.

David Lainhart played basketball at West Hills College Coalinga from 2001 to 2002 and 2004 to 2005. He set records both seasons, including most 3-pointers in a game, most 3-pointers in a season and most 3-pointers in a career. In 2005, he was named the California Community College Commission on Athletics Pepsi Scholar Athlete of the Year. He was also named an Academic All-American in 2006. He is now a partner in Edge Pest Utah.

Gordon Dolinar started his baseball career at Coalinga College in 1956 and was shortstop on the 1958 state championship team, the only West Hills College baseball team to win a state championship. Gordon went on to attend UC Berkeley, where he served as team co-captain and then attended Cal State Chico. He then pursued a career in education, teaching in dozens of countries and devoting his time to activism.

Bruce Hauger played baseball and football at Coalinga College from 1958 to 1959. In his time here, he earned first team all-conference honors in 1958, second team all-conference honors in 1959 and was part of the 1958 state championship baseball team. He was also the MVP for that team in 1958. He went on to play baseball at Cal State L.A. He went on to a 35-year education career.

George Dyer was head football coach at Coalinga College in 1967 and led the team to a tie for league championship. After leaving West Hills, Dyer went on to coach at Portland State University, the University of Idaho, San Jose State, Michigan State, and Arizona State. In 1982, he joined the Buffalo Bills as a defensive line coach and has since been with the NFL coaching teams including the Seattle Seahawks, L.A. Rams, Denver Broncos and Detroit Lions.

Robert Clement’s history with West Hills College spans six decades. He attend-

ed West Hills College Coalinga—then Coalinga College— from 1966 to 1968, playing baseball and earning all-conference honors both years. He then attended Fresno State, where he played baseball, and went to work for Lemoore High School in 1971. He came back to West Hills College in 1999 as an assistant football coach and served as athletic director at West Hills College Coalinga for eight years. In 2007, he became the first athletic director at West Hills College Lemoore. Now retired, he is still active in the community and at West Hills College, which he supports as a scholarship donor. He was the first full-time athletic director at WHCC and the first fulltime director at WHCL. Bruce Hunt was one of the winningest coaches in college rodeo during his career at West Hills College, which spanned from 1983 to his retirement in 2014. His teams, which competed against both two year and four year colleges and universities, were consistently ranked as among the best in the country. A native of Canada, he came

to work at WHCC as part of an internship which then turned into a long career as coach.

Deanna Willard-Oliveira was a member of the West Hills College Coalinga rodeo team from 1986 to 1988. She competed in barrel racing and goat tying. She was the West Coast Intercollegiate Rodeo all around cowgirl in 1987 as well as a champion at goat tying. She placed third at the College National Finals Rodeo in goat tying in 1987. She is a family service worker with Kings Community Action Organization.

The dinner will start with a no-host social hour at 6pm and ceremony at 7pm in the Harris Ranch Garden Ballroom. Tickets for the induction dinner are $75 per person. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Gina Jason-Tollison at 559-934-2452.

Valley Voice • 23

15 September, 2016

The Source LGBT+ Center to Screen “Paragraph 175” The public is invited to gather for an evening of Solidarity with The Source LGBT+ Community in remembrance of the victims of Orlando, Florida who were targeted for murder at the Pulse nightclub.

The film, Paragraph 175, a documentary about the treatment of Gay German citizens by the Nazi regime, will be shown.

Congregation Beit Shalom, located at 115 E. Paseo Ave., Visalia, at the intersection of Paseo and Court Sts. will provide meeting space, projector use, a memorial prayer/candle lighting, and refreshments.

Cynthia Fischer, Executive Director of CHERC will provide introductory remarks relating to the 11 million innocent people who perished in the Nazi Holocaust.

Brian Poth will introduce members of his board of The Source LGBT+ Community.

The memorial prayer and candle lighting will begin at 7 pm The film will start shortly thereafter. Please arrive a few minutes early to park (preferably on Court St. in front of the building) and find a seat.

There will be two special books for sale relating to specific groups targeted by the Nazis - “The Pink Triangle” and “The Number on Her Arm”. A donation of your loose buttons for the Holocaust Memorial Project would be most welcome!

CHERC - the California Holocaust Education & Resource Center provides schools and teachers with FREE educational trunks for grades 5-12th grade. These trunks contain

books, DVD”s, maps, artifacts, posters, and exhibits as well as a Teacher’s Curriculum Notebook containing lesson plans, activities, and ideas for expanding and broadening the teaching of WWII history.

CHERC also brings education and cultural awareness and sensitivity to the Central Valley of California through art exhibits, theater performances, Holocaust Survivor Speakers, and the Free Film Series.

We are happy to visit your school, church, or organization and to provide speakers, films, special programming and/or trunks to be utilized in addition to your regular educational programming.

Allensworth Continued from p. 17

A man reads in front of the old Allensworth Tulare County Free Library in an undated photo.

Kids who do well in the Punt/Pass/Kick competition could have a chance to make it to the national finals, pictured above. Courtesy/NFL

Porterville Parks & Leisure to Host NFL Punt, Pass, Kick Competition Young pro football fans will have the opportunity to exhibit their football skills at the NFL Punt, Pass & Kick competition on September 17. The competition is free and open to boys and girls ages 6-15.

The NFL Punt, Pass and Kick program is a national skills competition for boys and girls with over 200,000 youngsters participating each year nationwide.

The local competition will take place at the Sports Complex, 2701 W. Scranton Ave. Registration begins at 9:30 am and participants can compete anytime between 10 am- 12 pm.

There is a place for everyone with five separate age divisions for girls and boys.

Participants get one punt, one pass and one kick. Scores are based on dis-

tance and accuracy.

Top finishers will advance to the Sectional Round with a chance to make it all the way to the National Finals.

All participants will receive a certificate from the NFL. Prizes for age group winners include ribbons, medals, awards, trophies and even a trip for the competitor and one adult to the National Finals. Therefore, there is no registration fee or purchase required for any participant to enter.

For more information on the Punt, Pass & Kick program visit www. nflppk.com.

For more information about the local competition contact Parks and Leisure Services at (559) 791-7695 or check out the City of Porterville website.

the Tulare County Free Library, an early branch of the county library that opened as a reading room in 1913 and operated continuously until 1943.

Mrs. Triplett will share anecdotes about her mother and grandparents who were among the first Allensworth settlers. She has been a member of the Bakersfield Educational Chapter of the Friends of Allensworth.

A retired faculty member of Bakersfield College, Mrs. Triplett is the recipient of the Frederick Douglas Leadership Award.

As members of the four black regiments created by Congress in 1866, the Buffalo Soldiers were some of the first national park rangers, and Colo-

nel Allensworth served as the chaplain of the 24th regiment. The nickname Buffalo Soldiers was bestowed on the military men by the Cheyenne and other Plains Indians. One of the most interesting Buffalo Soldiers was Cathay Williams, a woman who enlisted as a man and served for nearly two years before she was discovered. Cecelia Harden portrays Cathay at the library event.

The Friends of Allensworth will be on hand to answer questions and show keepsakes from the town. View treasures and memorabilia on loan from Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park on display during the event and for the month of September in the Visalia Library.

The Library is located at 200 W. Oak Ave, Visalia. For more information about this program and other library events, call (559) 713-2703.

24 • Valley Voice

15 September, 2016

Sequoia Union’s Fall Carnival: Oct. 1 The Sequoia Union Elementary School Parent Teacher Club (PTC) invites the community to attend its annual fall carnival, set for 5:30-9pm Saturday, October 1.

This year’s “Boots and Spurs” themed event will deliver traditional family fun, including bingo, a delicious deep-pit beef dinner, cake walk, carnival games and a jailhouse photo booth. New this year: a mechanical bull ride and hamster ball roll! A vast silent auction, made possible by the generosity of myriad local business owners, will also be available for those who want to do some early holiday shopping.

Approximately 600 people attend this event every year to show their support for Sequoia Union’s students.

Sequoia Union is a kindergarten through eighth grade single-school district in Lemoncove.

Approximately 325 students attend the school.

The carnival is hosted by a dedicated group of parents whose only goal is to raise funds for the school’s field trips, performing arts programs, National History Day competitors, and school assemblies.

Last year, PTC’s efforts raised $27,000 during the carnival. This year, the goal is $30,000.

Students travel the state on some of

the most enriching field trips possible.

Some destinations include California’s historic missions, Hospital Rock in Sequoia National Park, a local dairy, SCICON, and a tour of our state Capitol in Sacramento. These trips, along with many others, comprise our revered “Classroom on the Go” program, which for several decades has helped Sequoia Union stand apart from its peers by offering every student a chance to learn outside the traditional boundaries of a classroom.

The delicious from-scratch dinner benefits the 8th grade class, which is raising funds toward their three-day tour of San Francisco at the end of the school year. Dinner tickets are $8 adults and $5 children.

For those who would like to make a donation to the carnival, please call (559) 564-2106 or email ptc@sequoiaunion. org. The PTC is a 501 (c)3 organization and all donations are 100 percent tax deductible. Business and family sponsorship packages are also available. Please contact PTC for more information.

Entrance to the carnival is free and game tickets cost just 25 cents each. The Sequoia Union PTC welcomes the community to this family evening and looks forward to another great year on campus.

The Hanford Blues and Roots Festival is sponsored by Main Street Hanford.

16th Hanford Blues & Roots: Oct. 9 The 16th Annual Hanford Blues and Roots Festival sponsored by Main Street Hanford will be held on Saturday, September 19th from 6pm until 10pm under the stars in the beautiful Hanford Civic Park. Make sure you bring your dancing shoes as well as your blankets or lawn chairs for a spectacular evening of Blues in downtown Hanford.

There will be our traditional beer and wine garden sponsored by Budweiser and lots of great BBQ and other vendors serving up delicious goodies. Admission is free, so invite your friends to come to downtown Hanford for a fabulous evening of Blues.

This special event will start off with local blues favorite Glen Delpit & the Subterraneans specializing in Bluesy American Roots Music. They harvest bits of Blues, Folk, Rock, R & B and country into a driving and

highly danceable sound that is all original in content.

We’ll keep the party going with the Square One Band – well-known local Fresno based band. They are known for their love of many shades of the blues... from traditional to sophisticated.

Our headliner this year will be Laura Rain & the Caesars, a powerhouse Soul, Blues, and R&B quartet, fronted by the dynamic, soul fire, Laura Rain. Ms. Rain has cut her teeth in the trenches of the Motor City, and Los Angeles for well over a decade. Collaboratively formed in 2012, with producer, and guitarist George Friend; the Caesars blindside you with an electrified spin on vintage soul.

Gates open at 5:30pm and the music kicks off at 6pm. No pets, bottles, cans or ice chests allowed.

For additional information contact Main Street Hanford at (559) 582-9457.