Valley Voice Issue 80 (3 November, 2016)

Volume XXXIV No. 21 • 6 November, 2014 Volume XXXVI No. 21 • 3 November, 2016

CEMEXand Fights Life Lindsay Its ForbyIts September 30, and the hearing to Catherine Doe take place no later than November, but New Mayor Are CEMEX is fighting on two fronts it was delayed due to a request from to continue mining in Tulare County. CEMEX to collect more data. Public Moving Forward The first front is defending itself against comment on all issues related to the

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Voters to Decide Political Fix Kingsburg Catherine Doe

Hospital’s Fate

Dave Adalian allegations that it violated its condi- Stillwell Mine and the Lemon Cove FaDave Adalian tional use permit. If found guilty, the Left cility,to both operated by CEMEX, were right: Mark Cole, Martin Devine, Kalish Morrow, Parm Johal The revolving door at Lindsay City When voters in the Kingsburg company could lose its permit to mine accepted until October 31 and included Hall continues to spin. area go to the polls next week, the fate gravel at Stillwell Mine in Lemon Cove. in the peer review currently being put The beleaguered Citrus Belt city has of the city’s former hospital will be in On the second front, it is in danger together by RMA Director Mike Spata. a of new after the abrupt their hands. themayor—needed Tulare County Board of SuperviCEMEX requested more time to and medical marijuana revitalization departure of the declaring old one—but the Mine City Downtown More than a decade ago, the Kingssors (TCBOS) Stillwell collect the information being recorded Council is still short one member and cultivation center dominate topics of interest burg Tri-County Health Care District abandoned. CEMEX’ Stillwell Mine has on the dataloggers placed in domestic applications being taken for a than finance been out of are production for more the wells that line the east side of the Stillmoved to Henderson, Nevada for his went broke and eventually closed the Catherine Doe director theallowed second time year. and well allottedfor time by itsthis permit, city’s only hospital. Now, the new tenMine. The dataloggers track the wife’s health. its consultants submitted a deficient In- depth and quality of the Hanford residents havegroundwater a wide selecThe open seat attracted three neo- ants want to buy the building they’ve terimKimball Management Plan (IMP) that was Takes Charge in domestic wells around the mine. Restion of candidates phytes and one already spent more than $2 million reninitially rejected by after the Resource idential wells began Just two weeks former Manmay- this election.

Three going dry late last former city council ovating. At least one resident, however, Jason Cosgrove, Junrel Sumagang, Devon Mathis,says Coleselling Azare, Nick Miller Agency (RMA). CEMEX hasthe 30 candidates year, when, are in violation of their mining oragement Ramona Villarreal-Padilla ended it off would be a bad deal runmember, Sue Sodays from rejection letter with to respond. permit,for CEMEX stopped pumping waOctober 11 the Council meeting a sur- ning for citizens of Tulare, Kings and Area C. Kalish MorMathis Over rensen.

Mendoza in Assembly District 26Fresno ter from Cole their ponds prise resignation, the remaining council Mark counties who still pay to keep the Disand into the recharge or row,Tulare Parm Johal Election Day brought Coun-andto the Huffington Post—33.3%.

V-trench.Devine Farmersare who live near the LemPublic PermitPam Martin members haveHearing regroupedon to appoint trict running.

District voters will GlendaasDwyer have Here is a look at some ofmake ty something of a surprise, Devon on Cove Facility, about a mile away, are Kimball to takeViolations control of the gavel as challenging decision when they consider incumnever run for polit- the finalresults at press time. having similar problems with their wells Mathis soundly defeated Rudy Men- Tuesday’s A heads publicinto hearing will be beheld by bent the city what should better Measure K on up November 8.

Gary Pannett, ical office.

Dwyer We can sum the statewide racdoza in the race for State Assembly and struggle to irrigate their citrus groves. the Kimball, Tulare County Planning Commisdays. a longtime member of the who was first elect- Incumbent Gary Glenda Dwyer istime, partall of incumthe Kingses succinctly--the Democrats made a District 26.

At press numberPannett 49 of CEMEX’ sion in took early the December address pos- ed inCondition Council, positiontowith a unani2012.

Operating In thehas Red No Republican won way to Republican victory. clean sweep. mining permit states that, “The project bents were on their County sibledecision violations of peers.

CEMEX’ permit. mous of her Area B is an After a change in payouts Central Committee, but was appointed.

Record low voter turnout for the a statewide office in California sincefrom Public response was fashion, to be submitted In typical Lindsay however, open CEMEXseat continued 9 » candidates. In- midterms was predicted for several rea- Steve Poisner, in 2006, for insurance that hasonfour cumbent Russ Curry and his wife have sons, The only twoonraces but four major factors HANFORD continued on 10 »affected commissioner.

LINDSAY continued on 4 » KINGSBURG continued 8 » that turnout and thus the outcomes: the garnered any interest during the curfact that this is not a presidential elec- rent cycle were for state controller and tion; the governor’s race is a blowout; no secretary of state. Although Republicans senators are up for reelection; and none Pete Peterson and Ashley Swearengin of the propositions are wedge issues. won the endorsement of every maSo who voted? According to a sea- jor California newspaper except one, “Regretfully, I must resign due to soned campaign consultant, voter turn- both were losing close races at press Nancy Vigran personal reasons,” he wrote. “To leave out models are out the window. John Ellis time to their Democratic competitors.

Three candidates are running for the my wonderful governance team at this of the Fresno Bee said, “While every elecIn a recent article profiling Mr. Visalia Unified School District Area 5 time is painful. I have never served with tion is different, this one could be a true Peterson in the Visalia seat – two have never held, nor run for such a wonderful group outlier.” He went on to say that it is un- Times-Delta he said, “Nobody like me certain who will vote, how many will vote has ever run for this office, a non-polany public office; one has of people.” served on the school board The letter was dated or why they will be motivated to vote.” itician whose background is in finding Voter turnout in the last mid- ways to engage the public…Somebody before. Donna Martin, who June 20, 2002, giving an has held the seat since electofficial resignation date of term general election in Califor- like Alex has always run for this office.” nia, in 2010, was—according POLITICAL FIX continued on 3 » ed in 2003, decided not to June 28, 2002. run for re-election.

This move could have Members of the Tulare Local Healthcare District Board of Directors listen to Visalia lawyer Panasonic-Coronal Solar PV Plant in Farmersville County Health Officials Ready forto Ebola Michael Lampe speak about recently-discovered documents relating the district’s The first time candicaused the district up to Tulare $800,000 loan.

Tony Maldonado/Valley Voice Panasonic Coronal Group Complete Solar Projects dates are Patriciaand Griswold $34,000, having to be a Ebola is a rare and deadly disease Steve Pastis and Michael Washam. first reported in 1976 in the Demquickly-made an addition Panasonic and Coronal acquired Staff TheReports third candidate, to Renewable the November, 2002 ocratic Republic of the Congo. Its pitals to be able to handle these cases unthe California Energy Small Michael Washam Niessen Foster, was electballot, or to hold a special Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Tariff projects from Macquarie Capital symptoms, which include fever, severe til outside assistance arrives. The KDMC edCompany to the board servingand Coronal election themillion seat. Board members, (Panasonic) in 2013.toAfill $50 funding com- headache, muscle pain, weakness, di- Infection Prevention Team has been from 2000 until mid-yearannounced 2002, when make arrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and working with various hospital disciplines Group LLC (Coronal) the mitment by however, Ullico Inc.,decided a labor to unionThe recent $800,000 loan to the is Maldonado in place. bleeding or bruising, mayTu-to assure a readiness plan hecompletion resigned. last month of their ninth owned insurance an appointment to fill the unexplained Tony and investment comlare Local Healthcare District (TLHCD) “The team has provided updates In project a recent interview solar in Tulare and Kings Coun- pany, also contributed vacancy. to During a special appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days afthe acquisition timeline to staff sincethat July,they andreveal. will continue to was used to settle a past due balance with ter exposure to the virus.

The disease ties. The provide Foster said,projects he resigned to 16.2 mega- and completion boardof meeting on August the projects.

The At the same meeting, Benny send updates as needed based on Dr. official Cardinal Health, a pharmaceutical supis often fatal, especially if untreated. wattsa (MW) of what energyheto Southern projects were19, make point for built

by Panasonic ImLaura Pace wasand appointcommunications from federal, state and Benzeevi, CEO of Healthcare ConglomSo far, Ebola cases have been extremeplier, public documents reveal.

California Edison’s felt was right.

The grid pointto power ap- MODO Energy ed theServices interimCorporation. position. health officials,”(HCCA) he continued.

“Reerate Associates and TLHCD in thewhile U.S., with nonewith reported officials the indis-local proximately 14,500 homes annually.

“The completion of these nine proj- ly rareAnd was, he said, was that he cently, the team prepared education Even so, Tulare trict — which owns theCounty Tulare health Regional Board Chairman Sherrie Bellformade The thesolar projectsand to be California. felt that thenprojects superin-include two ects, the first commercial More Letters demonstrating correctof procedures care (TRMC) providers — have defenses their stewardMedicaland Center werebeen nego-stafffull-throated in Tulare, three in Farmersville, two finished under the Panasonic-Coronal officials tendent, administration and Newspaper Accounts for putting on and taking off protective working to be prepared… just in case. ship over the hospital’s operations as tiating that loan, they were also attemptin Hanford and two in Porterville. platform, marks an important mileboard were breaking Caligear.

Additionally, an executive Public records reveal “We’ve prepared as if it’s a certainare beneGriswold ing to settle their past due balance with election day draws closer. approval stone and there are more in the pipefornia“Significant laws with solar regardprojects to Patricia obtainedofficials so that state in thethat eventsome a disturbance in the board ty,” said Lindsay CEO of the has been Hospital ficial to the contracts. economy and how we pro- line,” said Jonathan Jaffrey, CEO of another supplier,Mann, Novia Solutions. teacher labor that there is an Ebola patient in our Care District. and with VUSD staff in the days, per- Kaweah Delta Health duce energy,webut trying to the district’s control- members of the community are care, “Weand takeconsume an oath when signtheir up Coronal. “Our total joint project de- “If weAdditionally, additional staff will monitor those enterhave a case here, we’re ready.” weeks or longer, leading up to Fosfinancial and structural complexities haps ler knew that funds from the $800,000 viciously, falsely discredit HCCA’s sucto run and when elected, to defend the velopment with Panasonic, now more ing or exiting an isolation room to asresignation with discussion behind are a big challenge for companies in- ter’s than 100 MWs, is an indicator of loan“Kaweah would beDelta sent, Medical at least inCenter part, to cess at TRMC, adding that two audits laws, which include labor contracts,” he sure that safe practices are performed.” has been updating staff regularly on the the doors of closed board meetings. terested in adopting clean, sustainable Cardinal Health as early as mid-August, have proven the hospital’s profits and said. “And, that was not taken care of – both the success of our platform and outbreak “We are prepared to handle patients and recently re-evaluated read“They [the board] were going to even as members of the district’s Board success energy,” said Panasonic Eco Solutions — with a third on the way. that violated and abused [the laws] and the rising interest in solar projects.” iness who have Ebola,” echoed Melissa Janes, for handling patients with Ebola,” Managing Director Jamie Evans. “The fire three who, with they said, were of Directors claimed the loan had no “We teachers, are delighted the sucThe information came on the heels I resigned.”

Daniel Boken, M.D., medical infection prevention manager at Kaweah Panasonic-Coronal platform is a prov- guilty desertion,” of Foster during reported cessful ofcompletion thesesaidCentral of what should normally have been a specific purpose when it was approvedDelta Health Care District. “If we should of infectious diseases at Kaweah en integrated business model that re- the recent projects interview. people had California and“These look forward to director good news week for TRMC and Healthon September 1. receive a patient today, we have rooms Delta Medical Center, in a release issued A Previous Resignation moves those obstacles, and helps to de- the intent of coming back. I protested – I care Conglomerate Associates, the comSome of“The these revelations bubbled by the center.

CDC expects all hosSOLAR continued on 6 » EBOLA continued on 11 » Previously, in a hand-written letter, liver affordable, reliable, clean energy.” am not a potted plant, I am in an indeto the surface at the most recent district pany to whom the district has contracted addressed “To the Wonderful Citizens of pendent person. They [the board] were board meeting, held on October 26, as out operations of the hospital: Benzeevi Visalia,” Foster cited personal reasons for union busting, which is also illegal.”

Visalia attorney Michael Lampe exhibit- announced that the hospital’s stalled his resignation. ed internal emails and spoke about the TULARE continued on 12 » VUSD continued on 11 »

Hanford Council Election Heats Up

Past Resignation a Factor in VUSD District 5 Election

Tulare Hospital’s $800K Loan Went to Past Due Payments

2 • Valley Voice

3 November, 2016 From the Publisher’s desk

The Times They Are a-Cringin’

I wasn’t surprised by the news that Bob Dylan won 2016’s Nobel Prize for Literature, so I won’t write about it--except, that is, to say his having been awarded it validates the culture I grew up in.

Apart from the benefits of evolving technology--writing on this computer, for instance, and not upon my old manual typewriter--at this point in time I find myself, culturally speaking, at sea.

A few vignettes: * I’m driving the baby of the family, now a senior, to school one morning. The Kid leans forward to switch on the radio--something I’ve learned never to do myself with teenaged passengers in the car. Of course, to her ears, no station is broadcasting satisfactory music, and she proceeds to scan through the channels. Suddenly, The Ramones’ 1976 “Blitzkrieg Bop” invades the car. Okay, I think, this ought to put a stop to her “Name That Tune” dial turning. What self-respecting, red-blooded American high school senior would scoff at The Ramones? Briefly arrested, eyebrows arched, she listens for about five seconds before saying, simply, “Lame.” Then it’s, “I can name that tune in two notes” again. Only I can’t, because, culturally speaking, I’m at sea. Finally, wagging an extended forefinger, the Kid stops on a song, saying, “That’s my jam.” It sounds like the crash of a van carrying musical instruments. “What the hell is this?” I ask the Kid. “Justin Timberlake,” she says. I say, “Lame.” * For some reason, BBC America is airing episodes of the original Star Trek series.

I’m not much of a sci-fi fan, but I do like Captain Kirk et al. more than Captain Picard and his crew. And I prefer them both over anything Star Wars. That said, I know I have not seen all of the 79 episodes aired between 1966 and 1969--and I know it because I can recall conversations I had in the 1970s and 1980s wherein these episodes were described to me. So it is with a combination of archaeology and memory lane that I sit down to watch. It’s about 11 o’clock in the evening, I am blissfully sipping chardonnay and having an experience more akin to nostalgia than entertainment when--there goes the neighborhood--the Kid walks in. She looms over me, just within peripheral vision.

She waits about five seconds--apparently the average attention span of today’s teenager--before barking at me like a dyspeptic seal. “What’s with the elf guy?” she demands.

“Elf guy?!” I repeat, leaping out of my chair. “That’s Spock!” I say, turning toward her.

“Lame,” she says. I pause the show. “You know that’s Spock,” I say--and I can see, then, she’s having a laugh at my expense. Time for a generation that has been taught history to have its revenge on one that scoffs at the very idea of it. At this point in the program the Logical One is piloting a shuttle, shown speeding through space. “What’s that say on the side of the ship?” I ask the Kid. “Galileo,” she answers. I already know the answer to my next question. “Any idea who that was?” “Don’t care,” says the Kid. And here’s where I have to be careful if I want to leave her baffled. “He was an astronomer,” I say. “A long time ago. Fell afoul of the Church, which forced the Diet of Worms on him.” The Kid blanches and walks away. * More than anything this fall, the Kid is excited by the prospect of a free Doritos Locos taco, secured for a hungry nation by Cleveland shortstop Francisco Lindor when he stole second base in the bottom of the first inning in Game 1 of this year’s World Series. Taco Bell’s “Steal a Base, Steal a Taco” promotion is the only thing she cares about during the Fall Classic--not any history, as we’ve established, or the fact that the last time the Chicago Cubs won it all, in 1908, the Ottoman Empire still existed. She’s too old to trick-or-treat now, and this windfall makes for a great surrogate.

“So when do I get my taco?” she asks, sitting down on the couch and pretending to watch the game. It’s a good thing I grew up listening to baseball on the radio--when it comes to interruptions, television is all gravy. And who made me the great Taco God? “Don’t care,” I say, and then--Bam!--it comes on the screen, but I misread it. “Looks like November 22,” I say. “That’s far away A.F.,” she says. “Wait--” I say, “November 2.”

“Cool,” she says, not a care in the world. And here’s another opportunity for inter-generational revenge. “Know anything important that happened on November 22?” I ask.

“Nope,” she says. I tell her it’s the day, in 1963, that Doritos were invented.

There were unacceptable aspects to the culture I grew up in, but at least I understood it.

What I like about the original Star Trek is that even with all the advances in technology, whatever the random star date is we humans remain the same: curious, striving, loyal, intelligent, defiant, gentle.

I wanna be sedated.

— Joseph Oldenbourg

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

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3 November, 2016

Valley Voice • 3

Political Fix Election Predictions

Political pundits are past the point of predicting who will win or lose the election and have moved to discussing how badly. Hilary Clinton’s emails are back in the news but so is the fact that Russian Premier Vladamir Putin is chomping at the bit to get Donald Trump elected. The Upshot, a New York Times election forecasting site, says that Ms. Clinton has a 90% chance of winning. As of press date, Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight website predicts that Ms. Clinton will win 68 more electoral votes than Donald Trump.

The fallout for a huge presidential defeat will land on the shoulders of the down-ballot Republicans. As recently as July, Republicans had a firm grip on the Senate majority, but that grip has slipped away with every 3am Trump tweet. FiveThirtyEight now puts the Democrat’s chances of gaining control of the Senate at 71%. The Upshot puts their chances at 61%.

To regain control, the Democrats have to net four seats in the Senate and win the presidency.

In California, Mr. Trump has the support of only 28% of likely voters.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, “Twenty-eight percent is uncharted territory,” he said,(a Republican operative) noting that the worst showing by a Republican presidential nominee in California was Alfred Landon, who won 31% of the vote in 1936. John McCain and Mitt Romney each won 37%.”

Mr. Trump’s low numbers are drag-

Catherine Doe

ging down several Republican state assembly races because unenthusiastic GOP voters will decide not to vote.

Democrats are now poised to regain a supermajority in the state assembly and need to win just two out of seven competitive Assembly seats.

With a supermajority, Democrats would be able to raise taxes, override vetoes and put constitutional measures on the ballot without a single Republican vote. Not that any of this will happen, because the Democrats will probably bicker too much amongst themselves.

But a supermajority does earn bragging rights.

As of last week, 2.5 million Californians have returned their ballot – 47% Democrat and 32% Republican.

Converse to the rest of California, Tulare County candidates can’t win unless they are Republican, and Mr. Trump has had little or no effect on that fact. No Democrat holds an elected office higher than city council, and those are few and far between. In fact, because of the top-two primary, occasionally we have two Republican candidates running for the same office, as is happening in the race for Tulare County Supervisor.

Congressional District 21

Congressman David Valadao is being challenged by Civil Rights Lawyer Emilio Huerta, son of United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta.

District 21 comprises Kings County and parts of Fresno, Tulare and Kern

The Road to Hospital Accountability Elect Mike Jamaica to Tulare Hospital Board District 2!

Elect Kevin Northcraft to Tulare Hospital Board District 4!

We need a new board that will serve the public interest and be good stewards of OUR public Hospital. The current Board supported the ill-conceived Measure I bond issue, and we opposed it. Let’s finish our tower by eliminating excessive salaries and other waste, while greatly improving our quality.

The current Board has given its authority, and $3 million per year, to an inexperienced company to manage the Hospital, fired doctors resulting in a huge loss of patients, and bound and gagged itself, abdicating their responsibility to be public stewards of OUR Hospital.

Our hospital is rated in the bottom 3% of all hospitals for quality.

Let’s restore it to the quality it once had, so we can use it when we and our family needs it, and can be proud of all the time.

Let’s take back our PUBLIC hospital!

PAID POLITICAL ADVERTISMENT

counties.

Mr. Valadao appreciates the fact that the congressional district is 46.7% registered Democrat to 30.5% Republican. It is also 71% Hispanic. Mr. Valadao’s victories are impressive because both of his past opponents were Hispanic and Democrat and so is Mr. Huerta.

So, how does Mr. Valadao do it?

You could say that the 21st District thinks outside the box.

First, we aren’t talking about your typical California Democrat. We are talking about Central Valley Democrats, and they tend to be more conservative. Second, older Hispanics tend to be conservative and have no problem voting Republican when the Republican Party isn’t lead by Mr. Trump or the California governor isn’t trying to pass an anti-immigrant proposition like Prop 187. Lastly, Mr. Valadao grew up in Hanford and is a favorite son, so no Democrat is going to beat him in Kings County.

My prediction is that Mr. Valadao will win by his normally large margin.

Congressional District 22

Congressman Devin Nunes is being challenged by college student, activist, and chef Louis Campos. This district encompasses most of Tulare County and a corner of Fresno County around Clovis.

There is no Trump factor happening in District 22, as happening in other Congressional districts. Three Republican incumbents are facing competitive

House races, Jeff Denham, Steve Knight and Darrell Issa. Some analysts put Mr. Valadao on that list too. In the last few weeks Cooks Political Report reclassified the above mentioned three districts from “leans Republican” to “toss up.”

Democrats need to win 30 seats to retake the House, which is not going to happen, but they are trying to make a dent in California.

Congressional District 22 will most likely be one of the few districts in California to happily vote for Mr. Trump, and Rep. Nunes has endorsed him for president. I can imagine the congressman crossing his fingers, though, behind his back, while making his endorsement. I’d bet that Rep. Nunes is already focused on 2020 and strategizing how the Republican Party can avoid another Donald Trump fiasco and make sure Ms. Clinton a one-term president.

I predict Rep. Nunes will win by his normally large margin.

State Assembly District 26

Incumbent Devon Mathis is being challenged by Democrat Publisher Ruben Macareno. The district encompasses almost all of Tulare County, Inyo County and a part of Kern County.

Mr. Macareno might get a bump in votes because Democrats and Hispanics show up for presidential elections, but it won’t be enough for a win. In addition, Mr. Macareno ruffled some feathers as Chair of the Tulare County Democrat Central Committee, and is not

POLITICAL FIX continued on 9 »

4 • Valley Voice

3 November, 2016

Lindsay

Continued from p. 1 a little rearranging was in order before the Council could move on.

“Do I have to move my seat?” a somewhat bemused Kimball asked before settling in the center chair.

Brian Watson, the Council’s newest member, appointed last month, also changed seats.

“I’d feel a little more comfortable on the end,” he joked. “In the middle is a little more dangerous.”

A weary but businesslike Kimball then got on with the next task at hand, the Council’s selection of her mayor pro-tem.

“Well, I’m honored if a little nervous. I’ll do my best,” she said. “And, I’ll do my best by moving right along.”

Back to Business

Until the recent resignation of Steve Mecum, the Lindsay City Council often found itself splitting its decisions after contentious debate. That wasn’t the case as the Council swiftly voted 4-0 to make Danny Salinas the new mayor pro-tem.

He replaces Sanchez, who will not seek reelection in the November 8 voting.

There was a bit of hesitation, however, as the Council considered waiting until after the election to select the mayor pro-tem.

“So we’ve never really had this situation before where we’ve changed out the mayor before the term is out,” Kimball said. “It’ll be up to this council to decide what to do tonight.”

The decision was to move forward now.

Past Problems

Sanchez, Mecum and Villarreal-Padilla were all implicated in a scheme to remove the city’s former manager.

A onetime Lindsay police officer who recently settled a wrongful termination suit with the city out of court claimed the three asked him to file the suit to discredit the former city manager.

That issue, however, has not been cited in any of the trio’s departures.

Mecum has already been replaced

by Wilson, who was appointed to the Council in September by the remaining members, and only a single candidate filed for the open seat left vacant by San-

chez’s decision not to run. Laura Soria Cortes will replace Sanchez following the November 8 vote.

When Cortes takes her seat after the election results are certified, she may make the Council whole again.

A replacement for the city’s former mayor could be appointed as early as the next council meeting, also scheduled for November 8.

Would-be city leaders had 15 working days to submit their letters of interest in replacing Villarreal-Padilla.

That period closed November 1. If no qualified applicants came forward, the Council will have to find a willing participant.

Discussing the appointment is on the November 8 agenda.

Moving Right Along

No matter where they find their candidate, the Council must make its decision on a replacement member no later than 30 calendar days after officially accepting those applications. Yet, there was a moment’s hesitation as they considered their next move. It was spent wondering if Cortes should be included in the decision-making.

“The interesting thing in here is we have an election in the meantime,” Kimball said, “and when will that election be certified?”

After learning certification could take as long as a month, the Council opted not to wait.

“Let’s get this city going again,” Salinas said.

Lindsay Mayor Pam Kimball

Minding the Money

Earlier in the year, Lindsay hired a new finance director to replace Tamera Larkin, who retired in May. Things seemed to be going well until last month, when City Hall and the new money manager parted ways. Now, Lindsay is taking applications again.

A job description is available at the city’s website, lindsay.ca.us, and the position pays between $68,000 and $91,000 a year, depending on experience. The city manager is hoping to find someone local to fill the role.

“It’s a good salary for Tulare County,” said Lindsay City Manager Bill Zigler. “We know there are people here who can do this. We just need help getting the word out to move the city and the Council and the organization to the next level.”

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3 November, 2016

Valley Voice • 5

Wendy Reed Offers a Choice to Voters in the 23rd Congressional District Catherine Doe Wendy Reed offers a choice for voters in the 23rd Congressional District Wendy Reed has many reasons why she decided to run for the 23rd Congressional District, but her first was that “I didn’t like opening my ballot and seeing Kevin McCarthy was the only name on there.”

McCarthy was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2006 and has risen to the position of House Majority Leader, one position down from Speaker of the House. Congress members are up for election every two years and Reed said last election no one bothered to run against him.

Reed decided to step up to the plate to give Democrats and disaffected Republicans a choice in 2016.

The 23rd Congressional District comprises Kern County and a piece of northeast Los Angeles County, around Antelope Valley, where Reed is from. The eastern part of Tulare County, including Porterville, Lemon Cove, and Three Rivers is also in the district.

With a very small amount of money, Reed came in second out of four candidates in the primary.

She beat out Ken Mettler, who was supported by the Tea Party Express SuperPAC that gave him over a quarter million dollars.

McCarthy, who is known for his fundraising abilities, has raised $6,727,189, some of which came from the Koch Brothers and Walton family of Wal-mart stores.

This is compared to Reed’s strictly grassroots campaign’s collecting $30,000 as of the primary. The Democratic California Central Committee (DCCC) is not helping Reed financially as her district is reliably Republican.

According to Reed, the DCCC should be paying attention. She said that the Cook Political Report taken a month ago showed her only 11.3 percentage points back.

“Having started at 50 points back, and at 46 points back in the primary, being only 11 points back now is quite an achievement --- AND it proves that one doesn’t need to sell influence to get millions of campaign money to run to represent one’s district for two years,” said Reed.“This is a David and Goliath story of a local girl who has never competed before in an election. My candidacy has definitely resonated with the district.”

Reed wants to represent the people who normally have no voice. She said people are suffering in her district.

They don’t know if they will be able to afford to get married, buy a house, or have healthcare. “That should be a priority of our representative.”

Reed said that McCarthy is more interested in raising a lot of money so his fellow Republicans are elected in congress than he is in his own constituents.

She said that Congressman like McCarthy represent their donors and not the average voter.

“Once we get our priorities straight we can serve the public instead of politics.”

“I understand the challenges we have ahead of us as a country and I have experience forming consensus.” She said that Social Security and public health are under attack but that the country can handle these challenges through the budgeting process.

She said that McCarthy always wants to make cuts in the budget, but the budget is for the people not to appease his donors.

Reed has a Masters degree in Public Administration and says she can talk about the difficult issues such as equality and separation of church and state.

She manages a nonprofit corporation that preserves habitat for wildlife and rare plants.

In this role she has worked with local, county, state, and federal agencies and has lived in the district for 30 years.

“I give out my phone number because the name of the job is Representative.”

The Kohn team developed a broad alcohol awareness presentation that included statistics on under-age drinking and the effects of alcohol advertising on young people. Courtesy/TCOE

Kohn Students Win Alcohol Prevention Event On October 12, students from seven south-county CHOICES After School Program sites competed at the annual Alcohol Awareness (A²) Challenge. The students represented Cypress Elementary (Tulare), Heritage Elementary (Tulare), Kohn Elementary (Tulare), Los Tules Middle School (Tulare), Mulcahy Middle School (Tulare), Pleasant View School (Porterville), and Ducor Union School.

Founded in 2013, the A² Challenge is a competition facilitated through a partnership between the CHOICES After School and Prevention Programs and the Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency. The event is designed to raise awareness and decrease the use and abuse of alcohol among the youth of Tulare County.

Students participating in the A² Challenge competed in two ways. Prior to the event, participants prepared an alcohol awareness presentation, which they presented to a panel of judges. During the event, students also competed in a quiz bowl competition. This year, the A² Challenge winners were students from Frank Kohn Elementary. The Kohn team, which was coached by CHOICES After School teacher Kristen Taylor, won both of the challenge components – the alcohol awareness presentation and the quiz bowl competition. Team members included Jacklyn Hernandez, Daisy Mungia Moreno, Breanne Romero, Alyandra Gamez, Samantha Reyes and Preston Rocha.

For the alcohol awareness presentation, teams research a specific alcohol-related topic which affects the local community. Students can research a topic of their own choosing, such as examining the social, legal and economic implications of a drunk driver who fatally injures another person or exploring the potential impact a DUI conviction could have on

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a young person’s academics and career. At the event, participating teams must make a four-minute presentation on the topic utilizing a performance-style, video or multimedia format.

Over the course of two months, the students on the Kohn team developed a broad presentation on underage drinking and the effects of alcohol advertising. According to teacher Kristen Taylor, the presentation included statistics on the health, social and legal risks of underage drinking. At the end of the project, students told Ms. Taylor that they felt empowered to talk to their friends about alcohol. “It was amazing to hear them say that they could share better ways to cope with life’s challenges than drinking.”

For additional information on the A² Challenge, contact Alvaro Rodriguez of Tulare County Office of Education’s CHOICES Prevention Program at (559) 651-0155.

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6 • Valley Voice

3 November, 2016

Agriculture Lab System Aims to Protect State’s Livestock Ching Lee, CFBF Poultry veterinarian Gregg Cutler recalled the day in early 2015 when one of his clients reported an unexpected increase in bird mortality at a turkey farm in Stanislaus County. The birds were immediately taken to a diagnostic lab in Turlock and within hours, the lab identified the presence of an avian influenza virus in the flock.

“Because of that very quick diagnosis, we were able to work with federal and state authorities and within a day put an end to that flock and an end to the potential spread of that disease throughout our entire poultry population, which could have decimated our economy,” Cutler said.

Other states were not so lucky. That same year, the nation experienced the worst—and most expensive—outbreak of avian influenza, with millions of birds depopulated.

Cutler said California poultry farms avoided a catastrophe thanks in large part to the work of the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System, a program within the University of California School of Veterinary Medicine that serves as the front line for surveillance of emerging animal diseases that could wreak havoc on the state’s animal agriculture. He said the system also plays an important role in maintaining food security and food safety, safeguarding public health and protecting the state’s agricultural economy.

There are four labs within that system. The main diagnostic lab and headquarters is in Davis. The other three branches are in Turlock, Tulare and San Bernardino. The Tulare lab will soon be moving to a new building, unveiled last week at a dedication ceremony.

When fully equipped, the 29,000-square-foot Alex A. Ardans Tulare Branch Laboratory—named after the lab system’s founding director—will be able to provide rapid detection and response to both routine illnesses and severe animal diseases such as avian influenza and foot-and-mouth disease.

Testing will be available for livestock, poultry and horses.

Pam Hullinger, the incoming director of CAHFS, assumes her position Nov. 15, replacing Richard Breitmeyer,

who retired earlier this year. She said with increased globalization and travel, there’s growing concern about what foreign diseases may “hop on a plane and come over here.” To keep such dangers at bay, it’s critical that the state keeps up with modern technology and new and novel approaches to finding the next emerging disease threat, she added.

“That’s why it’s so exciting to have this new lab, because that really strengthens our capabilities to do that in California,” Hullinger said.

The new lab replaces a lab that since the 1980s has been housed at the UC Veterinary Medical Teaching and Research Center in Tulare. That small facility was designed more for research than as a diagnostic lab, explained John Adaska, the branch chief in Tulare.

Not only will the new lab be much larger, he said, but it will have expanded testing capabilities that are not currently available. This will improve turnaround time for producers and take pressure off the other branches.

The roomier facility was designed so that animals could come in on one side of the building and exit the other side, allowing greater efficiency in the way the lab handles animals when doing necropsies.

Pens and chutes also have been added for safe handling of live animals that come in for testing. In addition, the new building will be more secure, Adaska said, which helps to ensure the integrity of test results.

He pointed out that even though the main focus of CAHFS has always been in surveillance of foreign animal disease threats, the four labs perform many tests on a daily basis to help producers diagnose more-common illnesses that affect their herds and flocks. Last year, CAHFS—which operates in partnership with the California Department of Food and Agriculture—conducted more than half a million diagnostic tests.

“It’s a broad sweep of diagnostic capabilities that they do, beyond that critical underlying function that mobilizes the state if there were an emerging animal disease of a major scale,” said David Daley, a cattle rancher and associate dean of the College of Agriculture at California State University, Chico.

The four labs are strategically locat-

Brian Colegrove, left, and Bill Garlick, both livestock inspectors for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, test livestock handling equipment at the newly dedicated Alex A. Ardans California Animal Health and Food Safety laboratory in Tulare. Pens and chutes for safe animal handling are some of the added features of the new lab, one of four in the state devoted to surveillance and diagnosis of animal diseases.

Photo/Cecilia Parsons/CFBF

ed, based on the livestock demographics closest to each. The Davis lab deals with all livestock species, including race horses, and performs toxicology testing, expensive procedures that are offered only in that lab. The Turlock lab works exclusively with avian species, serving the large number of poultry farms in the Central Valley. The Tulare branch, located in the state’s top milk-producing region, handles a lot of cattle but also birds. The San Bernardino branch offers expertise in aquatic species, backyard birds, plus exotic animals and wildlife. That lab also tests milk and dairy products for quality, chemistry and food safety.

Lassen County cattle rancher Jack Hanson, who chairs the CAHFS advisory board, said his biggest concern is reappearance in the state of foot-and-mouth disease, which could have a “devastating effect on animal agriculture if we do not have a system in place to detect it quickly and respond to it quickly.”

“I think the most important aspect of the laboratory is that it’s on the ground, ready to go,” he said. “It gives us all a certain peace of mind just knowing that it’s there.”

Tulare County dairy farmer Jeff Wilbur has been using the Tulare lab for more than 20 years, often working with his veterinarian to diagnose or confirm any health issues in his herd.

“I think dairy producers and veterinarians should be encouraged to use (the labs’) services more,” he said. “I think they’re reasonably priced with good turnaround.”

With so many ongoing issues confronting agriculture, Daley acknowledged that farmers may not regularly think about emerging animal diseases.

“That doesn’t mean it’s not a very important issue,” he said. “The ability to detect an emerging disease or to deal with a disease issue quickly is so critical to our ability to market and our ability to stay in productive business mode.”

As an egg producer, Tom Silva, vice president of J.S. West Milling Co. in Stanislaus County, said he routinely sends samples to the Turlock lab at least every couple of weeks. He said even though the lab does a great job, the facility itself is in need of an upgrade, a process already started under former CAHFS director Breitmeyer.

“That’s the big push now,” he said.

An upgrade would make it a full-service lab that could handle not just birds but other livestock, Silva said. Such a lab would benefit the region’s dairies, which currently have to make trips to Davis or to Tulare, he noted.

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

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West Hills College Coalinga’s Farm of the Future will host a Future Farmers of America (FFA) field day on Nov. 5, featuring several different competitions and over 100 students from high schools across the state.

FFA members will compete at the field day in welding, Best Informed Greenhand, farm power and land judging career development events.

“These field days provide formative assessments (students learn as they compete in the competitions) that teach high school students agricultural fundamentals,” said Dr. Timothy Ellsworth, a Farm of the Future instructor and the contest organizer. “They also showcase our facilities, faculty and staff to high

school Ag students, and perhaps more importantly, their Ag Instructors who can become some of our best advocates and play an important role in directing graduating seniors to local colleges.”

The action will start at 8 a.m. and culminate with the awarding of trophies and ribbons to the winning teams and individuals in each event.

For more information about the contest, contact Ellsworth at 559-934-2711 or timothyellsworth@whccd.edu. Registration for teams interested in attending is open until Oct. 26 and is available online at http://tinyurl.com/ffareg.

The event will be held at the WHCC Farm of the Future at 518 W. Gale Ave. in Coalinga.

3 November, 2016

Valley Voice • 7

Agriculture Commentary: Tell DPR Its Proposed Regulation is Unnecessary Cynthia Cory, CFBF On Sept. 30, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation released a proposed regulation that would impose extensive restrictions on farming within a quarter-mile of K-12 public schools and licensed child care centers, from Monday through Friday between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Farmers have until Dec. 9 to tell DPR that existing rules already assure safety and there is no evidence the new rules would enhance safety.

Existing rules already provide many layers of protection, have been carefully developed by DPR to provide safety and have been used without incident for many years. On the other hand, the DPR proposal is extremely restrictive and would delay or prohibit pesticide applications without improving safety.

The proposal contains three different sets of restrictions, grouped by application equipment and type of pesticide. All three groups require annual notification of schools and child care facilities.

In the first group, DPR proposes no fumigation or aerial, sprinkler, air-blast, dust or powder applications, including sulfur, during the Monday-Friday, 6 a.m.-6 p.m. period within the quarter-mile buffer zone.

In the second group, with a 25-foot buffer and a 48-hour prior notification to the school, a ground rig sprayer, flood or drip chemigation, field injection and other equipment could be used.

In the third group, bait stations, field injection of dust or powder, granule, flakes

or pellets, backpack or hand-pump sprayers or non-fumigant applications in greenhouses would be allowed without a 48-hour notification or any distance requirement.

The problem with this entire proposal is that it is not based on anything resembling the scientific principles DPR or the federal government have used for decades to develop our current, protective application protocols.

DPR bases the supposed need for these new regulations on a 2010 California Department of Public Health study that “provided data on pesticide use practices,” but also states that “study results cannot be used to predict possible health impact.”

DPR was unable to quantify any benefit of this far-ranging regulation, stating, “Any health benefits of the prohibitions are unknown.”

We cannot stand by while DPR throws decades of research and science out the window, or watch while food production is pushed out of California to countries with far less oversight and environmental protections than our current laws provide.

Farmers must urge DPR to provide leadership and respect the integrity of the laws and regulations it has already put in place, which provide a safe and sustainable urban-rural interface. The state cannot continue to allow schools to leapfrog out onto agriculturally zoned land and then tell farmers to stop using sound agricultural practices that have long been approved by all levels of government. This regulation equates to a property grab with no compensation.

Farm groups say a proposed state regulation on pesticide use near schools is not based on the scientific principles the California Department of Pesticide Regulation has used in the past. Courtesy/CFBF

But there’s more. An unjustified, quarter-mile buffer zone is bad enough, but paid advocates are instilling unfounded fear in parents and teachers and asking for a one-mile pesticide buffer zone to be put in place around schools and child care centers, 24/7.

This is serious, folks. Everyone needs to take a moment and voice their concerns on this proposed regulation. A large agricultural coalition is working on this effort, so reach out to your various organizations that stand ready to help you.

Here are several things you can do before Dec. 9, which is the comment deadline: Attend one of these three hearings: • Nov. 15, 6 p.m., Oxnard Performing Arts & Convention Center, 800 Hobson Way, Oxnard; • Nov. 16, 6 p.m., Tulare Veterans Memorial Building, 1771 E. Tulare Ave, Tulare;

•

Dec. 1, 6 p.m., Salinas Sports Complex, Exhibition Mall, 1034 N. Main St., Salinas.

• Sign the opposition petition at www.cfbf.com/farmteam, and share with others.

• Print the note and mail it to DPR, addressed to: Linda Irokawa-Otani, Regulations Coordinator, Department of Pesticide Regulation, P.O. Box 4015, Sacramento, CA 95812-4015.

Look for more notes to follow in Ag Alert® and continue to send them to DPR until Dec. 9.

(Cynthia Cory is director of environmental affairs for the California Farm Bureau Federation. She may be contacted at 916-446-4647.)

These articles reprinted with the permission of the California Farm Bureau Federation.

8 • Valley Voice

3 November, 2016

Kingsburg Continued from p. 1

Medicare and MediCal in the 1990s, the District found revenues at the hospital, Kingsburg Medical Center, were no longer sufficient to keep the doors open.

With the help of Adventist Health— which the District still owed nearly $500,000 as late as 2013—and the Tulare Local Health Care District, the Center stayed open until 2010, when it was losing nearly $55,000 a month.

For five years, the hospital stood empty. Then in 2015, Crestwood Behavioral Health leased the facility to open a 44-bed in-patient mental health hospital, making more than $2 million in renovations before opening their doors. The move, which came despite objections that another provider might be interested in reopening an acute care facility at the site, included a lease-option contract.

Allowing that sale, says Kingsburg resident Betsy Tunnel, will cost taxpayers money and ensure the people of Kingsburg will continue to seek medical care outside the city limits.

A ‘Rip-Off’

“What happens on this vote, the public is saying, ‘Yes, (Crestwood) can buy (the hospital) per the lease-option terms,’ and those terms state that tenant can buy at the pre-renovation value, basically the land value,” said Tunnel. “They put in $2 million in improvements. It would probably appraise for $2.5 million. That’s where the rip-off comes.”

District officials say their hands are tied. When Crestwood agreed to move in, it would only do so if it was given the option to purchase the property at some future date. The agreement also stipulates that Crestwood may buy the property at its assessed value before upgrades were made. That figure, which the District says is fair market value, is $800,000.

Currently, the District receives $108,000 a year in rent from its tenants.

Should the hospital be sold, its income from the property tax Crestwood would

Crestwood Behavioral Health bills its Kingsburg facility as a Mental Health Rehabilitation Center. Courtesy/Crestwood Behavioral Health

pay would be just $8,000 a year.

“I understand where she’s coming from,” said Arlie Rogers Jr., who chairs the District’s board of directors. “We’d be giving up future rent.”

But that isn’t the entire picture, he says.

Other Costs, Concerns

“I own two rental properties. I think they’re great because you get rent income, but it’s not free,” said Rogers.

“There’s a lot of maintenance. When you’ve got a 44-bed facility with lots of people going in and out, there’s a lot of wear and tear. There’s no guarantee that that rent revenue will cover that.”

While the hospital sat idle, the District paid to maintain the empty building. If it retains ownership, it will have to continue pouring money into the property that could be paying off the District’s debt. At the time Crestwood’s offer came along, Rogers says, no one else was interested in the empty hospital. Those in charge felt it wasn’t in the District’s best interest to throw good money after bad in the hope of finding someone to reopen Kingsburg Medical.

“Given our financial position at the time, it made sense,” Rogers said. “We didn’t want to make $2 million of improvements and hope we got someone in there.”

‘All Bull’

Tunnel isn’t buying this explanation.

“It’s all bull,” she said. “It’s about

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a real-estate deal. Citizens went to the Board and said let us sell it now before they renovate it. Now, we’re supposed to give it up. Crestwood wants to capture this property, and we don’t have to sell it. They’re not providing service to us, and in the future they won’t. They can sell this property, do anything they want with it.”

Tunnel described going to the District before Crestwood took over in February of 2015 with a plan to find someone else to reopen Kingsburg Medical.

She says she and others found potential operators, but the District inked the Crestwood deal anyway.

“Two weeks later when we had the UC system interested, some skilled nursing facilities, (the District) rushed to get the lease done that day,” she said. “It was disgusting.”

Too Little, Too Late

By the time the Crestwood deal was underway, it was too late for anyone to reopen Kingsburg Medical no matter how sweet a deal they could offer.

“At some point, we actually lost our license to even have a hospital on that property,” Rogers said. “Even if a billionaire wanted to come along and open a hospital, we couldn’t do that.”

The District had other offers on the property before the license was lost. A group of Southern California physicians were willing to spend several million dollars upgrading and reopening the hospital. Then, the lead investor died.

“That kind of torpedoed that whole deal,” said Rogers.

Back in the Black

To Rogers, selling the hospital seems like the right thing to do, given the District’s financial position. The income from the sale will be used to pay off the District’s debts dating from before its bankruptcy in 1997.

“I think it is a good thing,” he said.

“The other side of the coin here is the district has $2.25 million of debt. Roughly $1.4 million is state debt, and that debt is accruing interest at 7%. $800,000 will go a long way to knocking that off.”

Tunnel doesn’t believe that either.

Affirmed Debt

meetings they’ve been in negotiations to get (the District’s debts) settled,” she said. “It may not have to be all that money. Again, we can’t get that information.

They throw numbers out, but it’s not verified.”

Moses Diaz, the District’s attorney, agrees no one is exactly sure how much the District owes. In fact, some of the claims against the District may no longer be due because they’ve gone uncollected for so long, he said.

“I haven’t looked into the debt to see if it’s collectible,” Diaz said. “In my opinion, those other (non-state) debts would be beyond any kind of limitations period. I wouldn’t even refer to them as ‘debts.’ The District is going to address them soon.”

And, the District isn’t sure how much it owes the state, if anything.

“The state of California has affirmed a debt that is associated with MediCal. In terms of the renegotiation, my understanding is the District’s financial consultant has been looking into it,” Diaz said. “There’s a couple issues on that. We don’t want to reacknowledge a debt that might be uncollectable.”

Improving Health Care

Tunnel’s final objection to selling the hospital is a belief property owners don’t realize they will still have to pay a 1% tax to support the District even if the building is sold. The District currently has some $1.7 million in trust and it continues to collect about $700,000 a year in revenue.

That income, says Rogers, will bring improvements in health care to Kingsburg and the surrounding area, and it will continue to do so whether the property is sold or not. If it is sold, the amount the District has to spend on other projects would actually increase.

“An ambulance has been something the city has approached us about,” Rogers said. “We’ve been approached about putting in more parks for kids to help fight childhood diabetes. We’d like to poll the citizens to see what they want.”

Moving Crestwood into the empty hospital has already had unexpected benefits for the area. Because the company renovated the building, the District was able to lease part of the property to Valley Health Team to house its Federally Qualified Health Center.

Rogers says Valley Health Team plans to build its “flagship facility” in Kingsburg, creating a clinic that will provide medical services that include vision and dental care. The development would not have been possible if the former Kingsburg Medical had not been an option.

“They had to have a place-holder so they could open up and receive their grant,” Rogers said. “I think that story has kind of gotten lost in this whole thing.”

“Board members indicated at the

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3 November, 2016

Political Fix Continued from p. 3

universally liked by local Democrats.

The bottom line is that Mr. Mathis attracted the Democrat vote in the 2014 election when running against fellow Republican Rudy Mendoza. Some of those Democrats might vote for him again. Mr. Mathis has also become a Tea Party darling by cozying up to prominent members of the Central Valley Tea Party and fighting against SB277, the mandatory childhood vaccination bill.

Anyone who can successfully court the Democrat vote and the Tea Party vote at the same time might have questionable integrity, but he will win the election – at least this one.

Tulare County Supervisor District 1

Dennis Smith and Kuyler Crocker are running for Tulare County Board of Supervisors District 1, left open by Supervisor Allen Ishida. The district encompasses East Visalia, Exeter, Lindsay/ Strathmore and Three Rivers.

Two Republicans running for the same seat makes predicting an outcome complicated.

To help my prediction I conducted an informal survey by email and one in front of local Savemarts. That actually made things worse because it ended up in a tie. But the comments netted some pretty interesting insights.

While standing in front of the Savemarts in Lindsay and Exeter, fully expecting to be escorted off the property any minute, those who supported Mr. Smith did so because they had done business with him or because of his experience. Those voting for Mr. Crocker were doing so because they knew his family.

One lady said she couldn’t decide for whom to vote because she knew Mr. Crocker’s family but had received a hand signed letter from Mr. Smith.

Another interesting detail is my email contacts who live in District 1 leaned heavily for Mr. Smith while the Savemart shoppers leaned heavily towards Mr. Crocker.

There is no denying that when Mr. Smith speaks it resonates with Tulare County voters.

Mr. Crocker’s words may not have the same impact, but his name sure does. Given his name recognition, the

Valley Voice • 9 fact he raised tons of money, and that he grew up in the same town as the current sitting supervisor, I’m going to go with my first instinct I had a year ago and predict a win for Mr. Crocker.

As the cashier at Savemart said, “He is a fellow Spartan.” I guess that goes a lot further in District 1 than being a former Redwood Ranger.

Visalia City Council District 1

Supervisor Phil Cox and Executive Director of the Workforce Investment Board Adam Peck are running for the city council seat left open by Amy Shuklian. Ms. Shuklian beat Mr. Cox in the race for Tulare County Supervisor District 3, and if Mr. Cox wins, they will have traded seats. City Council District 1 sits in the heart of Visalia.

Mr. Cox has plenty of name recognition because he has held public office since 2001, when first elected to the Visalia City Council. But his name is also synonymous with the state of Mooney Grove Park. Many people blame his leadership, or lack thereof, for the deterioration of the park that sits in Mr. Cox’ district.

He blamed the drought. But the drought didn’t leave dead animals and trash in the pond, break the picnic tables, crack the sidewalks, ruin the barbeque pits and decorative rock wall, rust the bridge, or create a one inch thick layer of goose poop on the walkways. Mismanagement did.

And the citizens of Tulare County are still wondering why Mooney Grove was left in such a state of neglect while all of Visalia’s and Tulare’s parks have remained beautiful.

Mr. Cox was also head cheerleader for getting rid of the Mooney Grove cats. Tulare County Park policy for the last 20 years was to pay Tulare County Animal Control to round up and put down the feral and abandoned cats.

This costs the county hundreds of thousands of dollars.

After three years of Soviet-style hoop jumping, the Visalia Feral Cat Coalition (VFCC) was finally allowed in the park to deal with Mooney Grove’s cats for free. Why, you ask, did the VFCC have to fight to provide the county a professional service for free?

That is a very good question.

Mr. Cox and Tulare County Parks Director Neil Pilegard’s behavior in regards to the park has caused a lot of head scratching and raised some serious red flags. His actions probably cost him

Tickets for the Tulare Hospital Foundation Festival of Trees on Sale!

The Tulare Hospital Foundation is busy preparing for its annual Festival of Trees. “A Starry Night – Oh Holy Night” is the theme which will highlight the evening’s splendor.

A total of eleven trees will be auctioned off by professional auctioneer and Tularean, David Macedo, with Pete Vander Poel, III serving as Master of Ceremonies. Various individuals, families, and local businesses from the community are sponsoring and decorating trees that make up the splendid collection that will be auctioned off at the event.

Festival of Trees is the foundation’s annual fundraiser and kicks off the holiday season. Soothing music will fill the air, a delicious meal prepared by executive chefs, a silent auction to help start the season shopping, as well as the fabulous live auction of amazing decorated trees will finish off the evening.

Tickets are $100 and available at the Tulare Hospital Foundation located at 906 N. Cherry St., at the hospital Gift Shop at 869 N. Cherry St. and at Evolutions Fitness and Wellness Center located at 1425 E. Prosperity.

his seat on the Board of Supervisors. It may cost Mr. Cox the city council election also.

I predict Adam Peck will walk away with the election.

Visalia City Council District 2

Incumbent Bob Link is being challenged by retired manager Susanne Gundy and retired fire fighter Adam Arakelian. This district comprises the south east portion of Visalia.

Ms. Gundy would be a good replacement for Ms. Shuklian as an animal advocate, but neither she nor Mr. Arakelian have the name recognition that Mr. Link does. It is also believed, even by his challengers, that Mr. Link has done a good job serving the city.

This will be an easy win for Mr. Link.

Tulare Regional Medical Center Board

I didn’t want to spill anymore ink on the Tulare Regional Medical Center (TRMC) but wanted to write something for the Tulare voters.

It seems that all those people who were against the $55 million hospital bond, and who had “hate in their hearts” according to Dr. Parmod Kumar, might have been on to something. Dr. Benny Benzeevi, CEO of Healthcare Conglomerate Associates, just announced that, actually, the hospital doesn’t need the $55 million dollar bond to finish the tower. There are other forms of financing that just magically surfaced.

During the October Tulare candidates’ forum, TRMC Board member Sherrie Bell proclaimed “we need change.”

I couldn’t agree more. Kevin Northcraft and Michael Jamaica are the two challengers and I am placing my bets on them.

A Health Care Rant

Republicans love bad news. They wait for news that the economy is tanking or unemployment is going up, neither of which has happened in years. But now they get the bad news they have been waiting for: health care premiums are going up by 116% in some states.

Skyrocketing premiums should be a campaign issue, but it is the fault of the Democrats and Republicans. Republicans have been in control of the House and Senate since 2010, and could have made it a priority to put

e

Th

together and pass their own affordable healthcare plan.

And who is to say that healthcare premiums would not have gone up 116% anyway? Our healthcare system did not work before Obamacare, and it does not work now.

For those parts of Obamacare that do work, get ready for a crash landing after federal subsidies run out. When there are no more subsidies, small business owners, the self employed, and middle income families will be faced with $2000 a month premiums and $6000 deductibles and everyone will drop their health insurance.

On a side bar to my rant – I never understood health care insurance through your job. What if you get too sick to work and lose your job? What happens if you get fired because you are sick? If you think that doesn’t happen then you have lived a privileged and sheltered life.

Let me take the rant a little further and talk about something Right-to-Lifers never will tell you. The last person who is ever going to see a doctor in this country is a sick uninsured pregnant woman who does not qualify for medi-care. She is like medical malpractice napalm and will not get past the receptionist on the phone.

The mother will have to figure out quickly, all while being sick and pregnant, if the cost of a trip to the emergency room will ruin her family’s finances.

The emergency room is not free, like many people with access to health care delude themselves into thinking.

And if you cannot pay your bills you will either have to declare bankruptcy, lose your home, or both, all with a new baby in tow.

The reality in my family is that my mom’s cat has a doctor but my daughter does not. Mercedes, who is a high school senior, has never had a doctor and I have not had or seen a general practitioner since I was 17.

I’m glad my parents and siblings have unlimited access to healthcare because they have had medical issues. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just a little bit bitter. If we lived in any other developed country my son and daughter would have a doctor and I would not have to worry.

What I have learned in my 54 years on this earth is - if you get sick you will recover with or without a doctor – or you will die and the system, and maybe even a few family members, won’t care.

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10 • Valley Voice

Hanford Continued from p. 1

Area C Race Tries to Keep it Positive

Negative campaigning started October 3, when yard signs popped up and mailers were delivered declaring Pannett “just another SEIU tax and spend liberal puppet.” The yard sign superimposed Pannett’s face on a marionette puppet.

“I spent yesterday pretty angry,” said Pannett after seeing one of the yard signs.

By the next day Pannett was laughing about the signs. He said that Hanford Issues facebook page, lead by Skip Athey and supported by former mayor Dan Chin, put up the signs and they are campaigning for Martin Devine.

Pannett took over Chin’s Area C seat in 2012 and he thinks that Chin and Athey might still harbor some resentment.

Pannett also said that he doesn’t always vote the way Chin and Hanford Issues followers think he should.

Chin had to step down as mayor in 2011, and did not seek reelection in 2012, amid a host of problems including a recall threat, old charges of sexual harassment, new charges of corruption, and possible serious FPPC violations.

Pannett prefers to focus on the positive and build on what Hanford has already started.

He was proud of the fact that the city lured in a new Costco. The council has also allowed for the remodeling of Hanford’s movie theaters and has relaxed restrictions on downtown hotels.

Because of the changes in the ordinances two new hotels are coming to Hanford, with a third possibly in the works.

“Good things are happening in Hanford,” said Pannett. He said that downtown has seen several new businesses; a coffee shop, clothing store and a bicycle shop that relocated from Fresno. He also said that a new business center has located across from the bank building.

“This type of growth is only possible when the city cuts red tape and lets businesses thrive,” said Pannett. “After cutting fees and getting rid of restrictions we are finally making headway.”

His next goal is to get downtown property owners to clean up their properties. He said that the out-of-town owners do not maintain their properties, and that has lead to too many vacancies.

Concerning the Medical Marijuana Distribution Center, Pannett voted in favor of having the city manager and police chief travel to similar centers in Colorado and Washington state to gather information. He wants to hear what they learned before making up his mind.

Pannett plans to retire in November so he can devote his full attention to the city council. His civic experience reaches farther than sitting on the city council.

He has been on the planning commission for six years, the high school board of trustees, and is the present chair of the Kings County Action Organization.

All three candidates running in Area C and B are voting for Measure K.

“Idiots Are Running Hanford”

For Martin Devine and Mark Cole this will be their first foray into the political arena. Their main reason for running is that they do not like the direction Hanford is going and believe the city needs better leadership.

Cole said he is running because he

3 November, 2016 is tired of “watching the idiots in city council right now making mistakes.”

He then conceded that “not all of them are idiots.”

Some examples of incompetency Cole believes are that it took the city council too long to get Costco built and that they should have handled the issues concerning Hanna Chemicals better. If they had, “Costco would have been up and running a year ago,” Cole said.

Devine pointed out that the city is growing east and west with new businesses such as Walmart and Costco, thus leaving the downtown area neglected.

He said, “The new businesses are great but that the city council needs to focus the same energy on downtown.” That focus, he said, needs to be on making the absentee landlords responsible for the maintenance of their properties and getting them tenanted.

Cole agreed, saying, “The city council needs to do more to get the out-oftown owners to take care of their properties.” He wants the downtown revitalized even if it means taking over buildings by eminent domain.

Cole was endorsed by the Kings County Libertarian Party.

Besides the downtown, Devine said his first concern is public safety. He remembers the time when Hanford’s goal was to be the safest city in the Valley.

Now he says the population has grown but the number of public safety workers has stayed the same. If elected, he would like to re-establish Hanford’s public safety goal. He said he normally doesn’t support increasing taxes but sees Measure K as a necessity.

Devine has received the Kings County Republican Central Committee endorsement.

Another of Cole’s main goals is getting Hidden Valley Park developed, or at least keeping it from becoming a housing development. He said that the money was already given to develop the park and that Hanford should follow the wishes of its residents.

Both Cole and Devine are against the Medical Marijuana Cultivation Center. Devine said that as long as it is federally illegal, his vote is no.

Cole is against the center because the facility will be on city land and doesn’t think the city should be a landlord to pot cultivation.

“I don’t think the city should be a pot dealer,” Cole said, adding that “if the center were on private land [I] would be all behind it.”

Four Candidates Vie for Area B

Four candidates are running for Hanford City Council District B vying to fill the seat left open by the incumbent Russ Curry. Those candidates are Sue Sorensen, Glenda Dwyer, Parm Johal and Kalish Morrow.

Sorensen was on the city council from 2008 to 2012, the last year of which she was mayor. She declined to defend her seat in 2012 because of the dysfunction that had taken over Hanford’s government. During her time on the dais, the city council went through eight members and four city managers.

Darrel Pyle took over as city manager in 2012, and has been the manager ever since.

In 2014, Sorensen was one of five people running for Kings County Supervisor District 4, but lost in the June primary.

Sorenson did not respond to the Valley Voice’s request for an interview, but, according to a Hanford Sentinel profile, she is getting back in the saddle because she is passionate about community service and wants to make Hanford a better place for businesses and families.

Her goals, according to the article, are “completing the general plan, developing direction for the Courthouse/ Bastille and addressing zoning and establishing incentives to give businesses the support they need will give our city a desired vision for the future.”

Kalish Morrow is a fresh Hanford face and new to politics. She and her husband moved to town in 2011, and they have two small boys. They met when he was skydiving and she was the parachute rigger.

Morrow thinks Hanford residents should vote for her because, “I have a track record of getting things done.” She helped get the Art Hop started and has been successful in increasing foot traffic in Hanford’s downtown Saturday by convincing businesses to extend their hours and hold popular workshops on the weekends.

“I have respect for the other candidates but I get things done and not just promise.”

As a small downtown business owner, Morrow’s first concern is the difficulty in competing with big box stores and chains in areas like 12th Street and Lacy Avenue. Shoppers gravitate to that area and Morrow and many of her associates believe that a couple of chain stores in downtown would increase foot traffic.

Morrow said that Hanford tried to get The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf on a visible corner but it did not happen.

Another goal of Morrow’s is to make sure that Hidden Valley stays a park and does not become one more subdivision.

Her fear is that the city will sell the land to a developer with the first good offer.

She has voiced her opinion against the city staff’s trying to change the zoning to residential, and wants Hanford to increase its park acres per resident to acceptable levels.

Her final goal is to have the city do a better job of meeting the needs of active military and veterans.

In terms of the Medical Marijuana Distribution Center, she appreciates all the due diligence the city is doing. Morrow said as long as they do it right, she is for the center.

Glenda Dwyer, current member of the Kings County Republican Central Committee, is also concerned about downtown. She has been going to city council and Kings County Supervisor meetings since 2010 and is well versed on the problems facing the city.

While pounding the pavement during her campaign, she has heard many responses from residents as to what is keeping them from downtown. Some of their answers include the homeless, vacancies and absentee landlords not

maintaining their properties. Business owners are discouraged from locating downtown because of onerous ordinances, high rents and overpriced buildings, all of which add to the high vacancy rate.

Dwyer supports the ideas coming out of the group Main Street Hanford and has many ideas herself. Between the two they came up with piping music out to the people strolling along the sidewalk, providing wifi and benches for the youth, and adding more public art and murals. Dwyer also said the area could use a good steak house without a bar for families and mixed-use housing where apartments sit on top of the businesses.

Dwyer was also enthusiastic about putting a convention center in the heart of the city.

In Hanford’s updated General Plan, Hidden Valley Park is zoned residential and that concerns Dwyer. She said that everyone wants to compare Hanford’s downtown to Visalia’s “but not when it comes to open space. Hanford is way below the national average when it comes to acres of park space per resident.”

Even if California votes in favor of Proposition 64, Dwyer is voting against the Medical Marijuana Distribution Center. “It doesn’t mean we have to have it in our county just because California votes for it,” she said. “I see possible issues with the law and the supervisors, district attorney and sheriff are all against it.”

Parm Johal was raised in Hanford and came back home a few years ago to help his parents run their family business. He said that he is already sick of the politics and he hasn’t even been elected yet. “I see a lot of bickering and fighting and nothing getting done for the community,” he said.

If he is elected he wants to make the best decisions for the people and will put politics aside when representing his district.

One example of this is Johal is personally against the use of recreational marijuana. He is willing to put his beliefs aside and weigh the positives and the negatives of the Medical Marijuana Distribution Center, especially when it comes to creating jobs.

Johal decided to run when he saw that politics were affecting his family’s business. He said the city council gives big businesses perks and waives fees while cracking down on the little guy.

He said in 2013 his business was fined $100 because they advertised on a sign that they were now selling burritos.

‘You need to be a lawyer to understand the sign ordinance. It’s not written for lay people.” He said that the city council needs to give the same opportunities and flexibility to the little guy as the big box stores.

“Let’s make it fair and have everyone play by the same rules,” he said.

As far as Hidden Valley Park, he said, “Let’s just be transparent about it.

Are we selling the park or not?”

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Valley Voice • 11

Visalia Chamber Welcomes Disney Institute to Visalia Disney Institute is bringing its renowned professional development course, Disney’s Approach to Quality Service, to Visalia on November 9, 2016. Sponsored by the Visalia Chamber of Commerce and Fresno Pacific University Visalia Campus, the one-day event will help area professionals begin to examine how they can differentiate their service to become a provider of choice and understand the processes necessary to develop a culture that consistently delivers that exceptional service. This day of Disney Institute training uses business insights and time-tested examples from Disney parks and resorts

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Disney’s Approach to Quality Service gives participants the chance to explore how customer experience insights and time-tested examples from Disney parks and resorts worldwide can provide relevant illustrations and engaging stories to help organizations deliver the type of long-term results they are capable of delivering.

The event will take place at the Visalia Convention Center. Registration is $425

for Chamber members (including members of other local Chambers) and $450 for non-members and includes all course materials as well as continental breakfast and lunch. Bulk ticket rates are also available for five or more tickets at $325 per person for Chamber members and $425 for non-members. For more information or to register, go to visaliachamber.org or call 559-734-5876. Seating for this event is limited.

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VUSD

employees,” the Times-Delta reported.

“They like squashing little people,” he said.

“That Foster said, is why he told one of the union leaders what Van Andel had said and why, he said, Carrizosa and school district board members drove him out. Continuing as a board member, he said, would have been ‘untenable.’”

a candidate once again for a district seat, Foster should answer the question, “Give me a good reason – why did you resign?”

Foster has now answered the question raised by Qualls, and said he resigned because he felt the board and administration were acting unlawfully. He was making a point, he said, and couldn’t support what the board was doing.

In a letter to the Visalia Times-Delta, dated July 2, 2002, Qualls wrote, in part: “. . . I would like to comment on several issues and comments made by Niessen Foster in the VTD and Fresno Bee during the past several days regarding his resignation.

“I was present at the meetings that have been referenced. The discussions referenced in Foster’s comments were always conducted in a professional, sensitive and supportive way. I was actually very impressed with the way Stan Carrizosa and the other Board Members handled themselves over Foster’s indiscretion and his breech of confidentiality issues. Foster has never spoken to the Board about feeling pressure or stress and was complimentary to all involved when he voluntarily stated he chose to resign.”

Qualls further went on to say, “The decision to resign was made entirely

by Foster himself who, at the time he choose to resign, admitted to his indiscretion and accepted the responsibility for his actions.”

Again, just what were the “indiscretion” and the “actions” Foster performed are not fully known to the public.

The Voice reached out to Mr. Carrizosa, now Superintendent of College of the Sequoias, without any response to date.

candidates.

“We had a great meeting,” he said.

“They all seemed very committed. They are sincere candidates, who want to move the district forward.”

Continued from p. 1 The three teachers Foster refers to were not fired, he said.

“I actually saved their jobs,” he said.

“They [the board] retracted it [the firings]. They [the board] didn’t want the publicity. The superintendent didn’t tell the whole story – these people were smarter than the superintendent – he wanted to get rid of them.”

In a letter addressed to Kay Van Andel, then assistant superintendent of human resources development, and dated May 30, 2002, Foster had written an apology, prior to his resignation.

“I am writing this letter to apologize to you personally, for my unprofessional and shameful conduct,” he wrote. “It is truly unbecoming of a Board Member and an elected official.

“My conduct was very wrong and inexcusable. It was not kind nor Christlike.

I write this letter with deep remorse.”

Just what conduct is unclear to those outside of its occurrence, and outside the doors of closed board meetings. Speculation still runs amuck, but the exact facts are not part of the public record.

In yet another letter, also dated May 30, 2002, Foster wrote to Board Clerk Larry Jones, “I am writing to apologize for doing one of the stupidest acts of my life. My conduct was unprofessional and shameful.”

Foster went on to say, “My conduct toward Kay was wrong and inexcusable.

Needless to say, it was not kind. It was bad and totally inappropriate.”

In an article published in the Visalia Times-Delta following Foster’s resignation, it was reported “However, in a telephone interview with the Times-Delta, Foster said that his resignation was caused by disputes over labor issues and said that he had been threatened with legal action for revealing information discussed at closed board meetings.”

In a subsequent article, the Times-Delta reported Foster said, “What he called an illegal closed-door discussion by the school board of an employee personnel matter led ultimately to his resignation.”

The article went on to say, Foster felt the board was discussing a disciplinary matters regarding two officers of the district’s teachers union, and that, according to the state’s opening meeting act, the officers should have been notified of the issues prior to board discussions on the matter.

“Foster said he believed it was an example of the school district administration and board, ‘playing hardball’ with

Public Statements from Superintendent and Board Members

Foster was not the only one to issue statements at the time.

In a public statement issued on July 2, 2002, by then VUSD Superintendent Stan Carrizosa stated, in part, “First, I want to say that this is difficult for me because Niessen and I have been very close. The situation that has prompted Niessen’s resignation was never about the union or union issues. It is a matter of Boardsmanship between he and his fellow elected officials and upholding the public trust. The issue has been one of confidence among board members, abiding by their Board Bylaws and board adopted Professional Governance Standards and preserving confidential information.”

And, in a public statement to VUSD and the Community of Visalia, then Board President Rob Stephenson, and Board Clerk Larry Jones stated, “Niessen Foster’s resignation from the board was his own decision. His sudden hostility toward his fellow board members is contrary to all of public words, actions and behaviors as a board member over the past twelve months. Mr. Foster was apparently feeling some pressure in his role as a board member, but it was not imposed on him by other members of the board or governance team.”

Opinions Voiced Now

Two current board members were on the board during this time.

Current Board Trustee Juan Guerrero declined to comment on the 2002 events, stating that discussions made in closed session are confidential. He did, however, say, “While Mr. Foster served as a school board [member], he was involved and very effective. I believe that he should have served his full term, but he decided not to finish his term. I believe that all current school board candidates have much to offer and wish them well in this election. Any of the three, I believe, would do a good job.”

“My question is why did you quit?”

Jim Qualls, a board trustee, then and now, said.

Qualls, too, was reluctant to discuss the situation, but did say he felt that as

Support and Endorsement

Retired Assistant Superintendent Mark Fulmer is supportive of Foster’s current candidacy and endorses him.

Fulmer was an assistant superintendent in 2002 and privy to the incidents leading up to Foster’s resignation.

“I know Niessen – he’s an honest guy,” Fulmer said. “It was his first time serving. He was struggling to do the right thing [at the time of his resignation].

“He has a sincere interest in the community and is very straight forward.

He has no personal agenda.”

Fulmer added, “He has grown in his understanding of how things work and I appreciate that.”

VUSD Superintendent Todd Oto was vice principal of Redwood High School in 2002. As such, while he knew the members of the board, he was not apprised with much of the board agenda and has no personal knowledge of the incident. Today, as superintendent, he recently met with all three of the

The Candidates’ Reasons for Running

“I wasn’t planning to run,” Foster said. “Because the incumbent decided not to run, many people encouraged me to run.”

Foster said, truancy, an increase in vocational education, and a reduction in classroom sizes are issues he’d like to work on.

“Kids are missing two to three periods, and it’s costing $21 million in the county, $1 million in Visalia,” he said.

“If we could just round up these little ankle biters [students missing class], we’d have more money to spend things such as music classes, etc.”

Mike Washam

“What led me to run is my desire to ensure sure that every child in every neighborhood of Visalia has equal access to the high-quality education they deserve,” Michael Washam said. “Specifically, as growth continues and new schools are built, I want to make certain our existing “legacy” schools are not neglected.”

Washam is employed as the Tulare County’s Resource Management Agency’s planning director.

“I reject a one-size-fits-all approach to education and support options for learning, including charter schools, career and technical education, linked learning academies, home-schooling, online learning and early college high schools,” he added.

Patricia Griswold

“I had been tossing it around for a while,” Patricia Griswold said. “When Donna [Martin] decided not to run, I thought it was time.”

Griswold is a special education teacher with the Tulare County Office of Education. She does teach in Visalia, but is not employed by VUSD. She spoke with a lot of people as to whether there might be any conflict of interest seen in her serving on the VUSD board, and no one thought it would be an issue, she said. She is endorsed by Donna Martin, the current trustee for Area 5.

“I decided to run for school board because education is my passion and I believe that all students deserve an education that prepares them for life in the 21st century,” she added.

The three candidate’s fate will be decided in the November 8 election.

12 • Valley Voice

Tulare

Continued from p. 1 construction project could now be funded without a bond measure or tax hikes.

Alongside that news, it was also announced that the district’s bond rating received an upgraded outlook from Moody’s, a major credit ratings agency, and the hospital received awards for its work in radiology imaging and having zero hospital-acquired MRSA infections.

The Cardinal Emails

An email conversation provided to the Voice shows Alan Germany, CFO for Healthcare Conglomerate Associates/TRMC, and Delbert Bryant, Controller for TRMC, knew that the $800,000 would go to Cardinal as early as August 15.

In the conversation, a Cardinal representative asks for an “estimated funding date,” sending the email to both Germany and Bryant.

Bryant then forwarded the email to John Thomas, a loan officer with Bank of the Sierra.

“Assuming you get the board resolution on the 25th,” Bryant writes, with the Cardinal email below the main text, “what do you expect the timing of the funding will be?”

Another conversation shows that officials with the hospital district were negotiating the loan as early as May. At the October 26 meeting, Michael Lampe — currently an attorney in two lawsuits against the District — discussed other emails that showed the inner workings of the $800,000 loan.

One, from Bryant, is dated July 18.

He asks Thomas for any “good news” on the loan application, stating that the district has been “on this journey” since May 12. The last invoice from Cardinal was due on May 8, 2016.

The other, dated September 7, also from Bryant to Thomas, asks Thomas to immediately wire the funds to Cardinal Pharmaceuticals, and includes details for Cardinal’s bank account at Wells Fargo in San Francisco..

“Please make the wire today.

THANKS,” Bryant requests.

Lampe used the emails to fortify his argument that the board either was in the dark, or deceived the public, in stating that the $800,000 loan was simply a line of credit with no preconceived purpose.

“The question I have for the board is, was the board aware that Delbert Bryant was attempting to negotiate an $800,000 loan for the district as early as May 12 of 2016? There’s another email from him dated September 7, which again is addressed to John Thomas, the subject matter is ‘Cardinal wire instructions’ — that’s the wire to Cardinal Pharmaceuticals that we’ve talked about and has been the subject of some press,” Lampe said.

Lampe continued by asking whether the purpose of the loan was known to the board. “[...] was the board aware of the falsity of those statements when Dr. Kumar falsely represented at the September 1 Board Meeting that, ‘if that check is cut it will be approved by the board, it will come here’ — was the falsity of that statement known to the board at the time,” Lampe asked, “or the alternative, did the board actually meet at a later point in time in a non-agendized

3 November, 2016 meeting to approve that loan to Cardinal Pharmaceuticals?

These are questions that I would invite the board either collectively or individually to answer to the public.”

Board Members in the Dark?

No board member or district official attempted to specifically rebut or address Lampe’s statements.

And, though certain officials already had plans for the loan in August, the loan’s purpose appeared to evade members of the board at the September 1 special board meeting in which the board, with Laura Gadke absent, approved the loan.

Dr. Parmod Kumar, a TLHCD board member, stated at the meeting that the board Healthcare Conglomerate Associates CEO Benny Benzeevi gives a presentation to the board and public at the October 26 Tulare Local Healthcare District meeting. Tony Maldonado/Valley Voice would approve any use of the past due payments. already confirmed this and a third one loan, and that it did not have “As you know, on or about June is on the way. Four total credit rating an intended use.

10, 2015, Mr. Germany executed the agency upgrades (FITCH Ratings and “If we do spend this money, we will bring that item to the board to be voted Agreement on behalf and Novia fully Moody’s) specifically mention HCCA by the board to be spent on a particular performed the contracted services from as being the cause of the dramatic turnitem,” Kumar said. “This particular reso- June 2015 through February 2016. around and further confirmed it.”

“As for Michael Lampe and his politlution, it is just a line of credit, we have TRMC, however, failed to timely and fully pay Novia for services rendered, nor ical stunt, all that did was cost taxpayers done it numerous times, so on those did TRMC reimburse Novia for expensmore money for lawsuits without merit, documents, there are no details, we are es advanced to TRMC per the terms of as evidenced by individuals being named not cutting a check tomorrow to somethe Agreement,” the letter reads in part. and then removed from the lawsuits. body for this amount.”

“Despite assertions in Mr. Bryant’s This is exactly the kind of baloney that Board member Linda Wilbourn email concerning inability to pay No- these people have done before and have concurred.

“This isn’t saying that we’re going to via, TRMC’s website currently touts the obviously not learned their lesson. They pull out $800,000; we may only need hospital’s financial turn-around, includ- are repeating the old ways, which in the a certain small amount of that to pay a ing returning TRMC to profitability, past have brought the hospital nothing significantly increasing days of cash on but failure, disgrace and shame.” vendor,” she said.

“

The real question that should be asked is why are some members of the community trying to viciously and falsely discredit the greatest success Tulare Regional Medical Center has had in its history?

”

Statement from Tulare Regional Medical Center Dr. Benny Benzeevi, CEO of Healthcare Conglomerate Associates, stated earlier in the meeting that the money could be used to get a discount with a vendor.

“Sometimes being able to to pay a larger amount at one time allows us to get a better overall return, in this case a larger discount, and so this specifically would affect our ability to get a larger discount with the vendor by making a payment in one lump sum,” Benzeevi said. “So this would be a loan from the bank to be able to do that so we can get that discount from the vendor.”

The Raw Numbers

A spreadsheet, mentioned by Lampe and later provided to the Voice through a Public Records Act request, details the invoices that were repaid by the $800,000 loan.

In total, those invoices add up to $827,922.34, and have due dates spanning from November 2015 to May 2016.

The spreadsheet, and data visualizations, are available on the Valley Voice website at ourvalleyvoice.com.

The Novia Emails

Other documents recently received by the Voice detail a settlement between Novia Strategies — a healthcare consulting firm — and the district regarding

hand, and providing significant raises to TRMC workers. In light of the foregoing, Novia believes that TRMC has no legally cognizable defense to continue to withhold or otherwise delay the significantly overdue amounts payable to Novia.”

The email from Novia’s Corporate Counsel, Dan Stein, stated it rejected an offer proposed by the district to settle the debt for 50% — approximately $22,250.45 — and instead counter-offered to settle for $35,000.00.

Bryant accepted the settlement, stating in a reply: “We will accept the offer of $35,000, conditioned upon execution of a settlement agreement which includes a full release of claims.”

Hospital’s Response

“The real question that should be asked is why are some members of the community trying to viciously and falsely discredit the greatest success Tulare Regional Medical Center has had in its history,” a statement from the hospital to the Voice read.

“Anybody who’s anybody knows that cash flow and profit are two different things. Any smart business will do what it can to maximize cash flow. The profits of the hospital for the last three years are indisputable. Two audits have

Surprising Fliers

The October 26 meeting also produced another surprise: fliers that were placed on seats at the meeting charging TLHCD Board Chairman/President Sherrie Bell’s opponent, Kevin Northcraft, with falsely representing himself as a “neurophysiologist” and “neurologist.”

In red handwriting at the top, the flier states “This is not transparency!”

Northcraft’s supporters claimed that the fliers were placed on every seat before the meeting began.

“When we got here early today, these were on every seat, Sherrie. To conduct a campaign like this — it’s not right.

This was on every seat, regarding Kevin Northcraft, of a locked room. How did they get in here? It had to have been someone with access — not the public,” Jennifer Burcham, a Tulare resident, said of the fliers during the public comment section of the meeting.

“And this is unacceptable tactics on behalf of whoever did this; and, since it’s your opposition, I’m assuming someone that knows you. I’m not necessarily blaming you, but this is disrespectful, and this is Moreno Valley tactics, and we don’t want that here in Tulare.”

Research by the Voice reveals that the flier was based on Northcraft’s Trustoria. com webpage.

Trustoria bills itself as “the largest open collection of professional US profiles in the world,” but unlike LinkedIn, a similar service, Trustoria’s profiles are not created by their subjects, but instead, they appear to be created by automated processes. Trustoria then charges users to view these computer-generated profiles.

TULARE continued on 13 »

3 November, 2016

Valley Voice • 13

Kaweah Delta, Porterville Hospital Directors Face Election Challengers marily on social media and in letters apAdmitting Error While Hipskind says the Board pearing in the local press. Yet, there may In the wake of the defeat of Measure knows it erred, it has a plan to move for- be no substance to the insinuation.

H—a bond issue that would have funded “The issue was raised because I am a ward and find funding. seismic safety updates at Tulare County’s “Win or loss, what’s happened, physician at the hospital,” said Hipskind. largest medical facility—at least two inwhich is really disappointing, is we made “It’s an issue I’ve been well aware of since cumbents on the Kaweah Delta Health a mistake. Measure H is a mistake,” he I started (on the Board) eight years ago Care District’s Board of Directors are said. “We thought we came up with when I was director of the emergency Another Contender? facing a challenge at the polls. room. To avoid any conflict, I resigned the best solution.

Elbia Luz FerOr, it might be three. my position.”

We’re going back nandez, a licensed The District’s lawyers to the drawing translator, is also look over all business that board. We’re goMeasure H Failure seeking a seat in comes before the Board for ing to get your Up for reelection are curZone 1, that curconsideration to avoid any input. We’re going rent directors Herbert Hawrently held by possible conflict, and Hipsto figure this out.” kins, Dr. John Hipskind and Hawkins. Or at kind said he removes himself Those who Teresa Ramos, and their challeast she was, and from the decision-making want to replace lengers want them gone. she might be again. process when those isthe current memThe main issue for canFernandez resues arise.

John Hipskind Teresa Ramos bers think it’s too didates Robert Gilson, who Herbert Hawkins portedly dropped “It gets reviewed. If late for that. They is seeking to unseat Hipsout of the race kind in Zone 3, and Nevin House, who some time in September or early October. also say there are other areas where the there’s an issue, I recuse myself,” he said.

“That’s been the standard of behavior for wants to replace Ramos in Zone 5, is She also did not appear at a forum current Board is deficient. every board member.”

“I feel like the handling of the Measure attended by the Gilson says the relationthey’ve lost focus H campaign and a failure to other five seeking ship “seems improper,” but on the hospital itseek other ways to pay for positions. admits he does not know. self, especially the state-mandated seismic upHer name, “I can’t say it’s in violaemergency room,” grades that must be complethowever, will aption of any code or not,” he said Gilson, who ed by 2030 to ensure Kaweah pear on the Nosaid. “The only one who can cited a study that Delta Medical Center convember 8 ballot no interpret that is a judge.” ranked patient tinues to operate. matter what her satisfaction at just “I feel that the board current intent.

44.9%. “I don’t Robert Gilson has gone in a few directions Nevin House “It’s absolute- Elbia Fernandez Sierra View Election believe we have a that haven’t best represented ly too late. It is A four-way race is also the community,” said Gilson, a Visa- on the ballot,” said Ann Turner of the lack in qualified physicians and nurses underway in Porterville for three seats on lia police officer and farmer who also Tulare County Elections Office. “She there. I think our focus and attention the Sierra View District Hospital Board serves on the board of the single-school could conceivably get votes, and if she has been taken off the ER and providing of Directors.

Liberty School District. “During the were to get the majority of the votes she what we need to accommodate the flow Of the three incumbents, only whole Measure H campaign they missed could refuse the seat, but there’s no way of people into that ER.” Porterville physician Gaurang Pandya He also said the District’s operation is seeking reelection to the Board. Not a lot of steps in being connected to the to take her off.” community, trying to push a tax bond Fernandez is now apparently back in of clinics outside its normal coverage area seeking a return are Richard Hatfield through in Visalia, especially with a spe- the race; but, despite its best efforts, the is distracting from its primary mission. and Dr. Jasvir Sidhu. cial election.”

Valley Voice was unable to contact her to Also seeking the three seats are atHis opponent actually agrees, but confirm this. torney Vonn Christenson, health care Conflict of Interest Hipskind thinks the current board She presents as a virtual unknown.

The specter of a conflict of interest financial manager Daniel Smith and Dr. members should get another chance to has been raised in the Zone 3 race, pri- Rakesh Jindal. make it right.

Dave Adalian

“We did not do a good job at all,” he said. “We did not present our case well.

We heard pretty loudly that what we had to offer was not in their best interest. We have to go back to the drawing board and come up with a better plan.”

Tulare

ing to Moreno Valley, dirty politics style.

They are trying to bring machine politics, underhanded approaches to Tulare.

Our citizens are too smart to be tricked by those approaches.”

Continued from p. 12 Reviews of Trustoria’s parent company, Radaris, reveal that information gathered by the company can be inaccurate. A January review on SiteJabber. com reads: “You would do well to choose a different company to perform background checks. Mostly inaccurate info belonging to different people, mixed with some accurate info, but that makes it completely untrustable.”

Northcraft charges the information is inaccurate.

“The info apparently comes from an old listing when I was a part time massage practitioner in San Diego, part of several fun jobs I’ve tried in retirement.

It lists a category, not that I was all those occupations; a huge misrepresentation of the truth,” Northcraft said in a statement to the Voice. “It has nothing to do with my candidacy and smacks of desperation by the other side, that is stoop-

In Defense of The Status Quo

At the end of the Wednesday meeting, Bell took part of the meeting to defend her time and work on the board.

“The ten years from 2003 to HCCA coming on board, we lost over $5m in operations. It was never going to happen.

Not only that, they hired an architect that was unqualified, it went through the bid process, but we didn’t narrow our bid properly, and so the construction company had never built a public hospital, so we had a tower that was destined to failure,” Bell said.

“So when I walked in, it was delaminated cement and pretty much construction had stalled. And over $69m had been spent of the bond. So let’s also talk about the past. In 2008 we had the OIG, which is the Office of the Inspec-

tor General, and the FBI show up at our hospital in early 2008. We had signed the board had signed illegal contracts with physicians, the estimated fine was going to be over $24m. Because it would close the hospital, they agreed to fine us $2.4m instead.

“We had no money, and so we were not investing into our hospital. That is the past. Personally — let’s not go back to that.”

Sharing a common theme, Benzeevi also used his speaking time to defend HCCA’s work at TRMC. “What’s astounding to me in all of this commotion is that with elections going on, I’ve yet to meet with any of the candidates. I would think that it would be a great interest to try and sit down and talk and see what’s actually going on in the hospital, especially somebody who’s running for office to sit on this board,” Benzeevi said, extending an invitation for the candidates to meet with him. “This is not a game. This is serious business.”

Benzeevi walked the audience through TRMC’s past as an independently managed organization, stating that the HCCA stepped up to the plate when few would — through the previously-mentioned OIG investigation, the tower construction failure, profit losses, and staff turnover. He also announced that the stalled tower project could now be restarted — without a bond measure or tax increases.

“How many of you would have walked into a situation like this?” Benzeevi asked the crowd.

“It’s easy to call people corrupt, it’s easy to call people names, it’s easy to undermine any progress that’s being made,” Benzeevi said. “It’s much harder to come from this and get to a place where we can even be in a position where we have enough position to be calling people names and to throw insults at people.”

Bell and Gadke, both incumbent board members, are up for election on November 8, facing challenger candidates.

Don’t forget to cast your ballot on November 8!

On Facebook at facebook.com/ourvalleyvoice

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14 • Valley Voice

3 November, 2016

Comments & Letters Black Tie

Comments from ourvalleyvoice.com

“

Alex Oldenbourg

“

Why would anybody want non-caring non-compassionate , rude people to be back in charge of the hospital. If your pal Mr Northcraft gets on I’ll make it my life duty to make every board meet miserable like he did. I have nothing better to do with my time.

”

— myopinioncounts2, on UPDATED: Surprises Continue at October Tulare Hospital Board Meeting

Thank you for the easy to understand report.

Why so much dishonesty? What is really being hidden? Why did the purchase of drugs begin to triple in December when it doesn’t appear the number of patients grew? Was this gearing up for Southern Inyo to come on board with their nursing home?

How many other vendors are not being and for what amounts? It is time for the board to come clean.

”

— Truth16, on Documents Show Tulare Hospital Loan Went to Past Due Payments

“ TLHCD Board Lacks Integrity: Vote Northcraft, Jamaica Alberto Aguilar The actions of the current board members of the Tulare Local Health Care District, Sherrie Bell, Doctor Parmod Kumar, Richard Torres, Laura Gadke and Linda Wilbourn have clearly demonstrated their lack of integrity due to the misuse of public funds, failure to follow the established policies of Tulare Local Health Care District (TLHCD) and failure to comply with the laws of this state.

The standards of conduct outlined within TLHCD Policy/Guideline Manual states in part, “One of the District’s strongest assets is a reputation for integrity and honesty. A fundamental principle on which the District will operate its business is full compliance with all applicable laws. The District will also conduct its business in conformance with its core values and sound ethical standards.

Achieving business results by illegal acts or unethical conduct is not acceptable”.

In 2004, the California voters approved Proposition 59, which amended the California Constitution to provide its citizens “the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business”. On September 28, 2016, a third lawsuit was filed against TLHCD due to their blatant violation of the California Public Records Act. The cost of these lawsuits is a waste and misuse of tax payer dollars due to the illegal and unethical practice being used by these board members who we trusted to govern our hospital. The first lawsuit cost the district $138,861.15. It was filed on July 3, 2015 , while Sherrie Bell was president of the board of directors.

What makes the two most recent lawsuits blatant is the fact that the current board members have ignored the recommendation offered by the Tulare

County Grand Jury’s report dated March 24, 2016, titled, “Tower of Shame”, that states in part, “That the TLHCD Board of Directors without delay, undergo training in aspects of governmental transparency and disclosure requirements pertaining to the expenditures of public funds.”

The response to the grand jury report signed by the same board members noted above states in part, “The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted and/or reasonable”...”The Current Board is well aware of its responsibilities on matters of government transparency and disclosure requirements pertaining to the expenditures of public funds.”

Bruce R. Greene is the attorney that provides legal counsel for the board of directors and also Healthcare Conglomerate Associaties, (a private company hired by the board to manage TLHCD). All public records requests have to be submitted to Mr. Greene, who is paid $730.00 per hour for his work, no matter whether or not the information requested by the public is provided. The same work that Mr. Greene is being paid $730.00 an hour, used to be done by an Administration Assistant for less than $30.00 per hour and the information was provided without delay. Tax payers dollars are being wasted and mis-used due to the on-going lawsuits filed against the district for failure to comply with the law and the recommendations of the Grand Jury.

The current board members have demonstated they are inept as a governing body and must be held accountable for their actions. Vote for Michael Jamacia to replace Laura Gadke in Area #2 and vote for Kevin Northcraft to replace Sherrie Bell in Area #4.

Use your voice

Comment on our website, or email editor@ourvalleyvoice.com

What a soap opera this has become. Six months ago Benzeevi wanted $55M to complete a $30M construction project. We were told that the hospital would close if we didn’t give him what he wanted. Of course, the hospital was never going to close, just another lie. Now, he has a better idea and we don’t need a bond at all. He has done such an outstanding job he can now get a loan. Another lie. If Benzeevi is truly interested in doing what is right for our community he will get to hell out of town and take Bell, Gadke and Kumar with him. However, don’t expect that to happen as long as he can continue to milk our hospital for $3M per year.

”

— Dave, on UPDATED: Surprises Continue at October Tulare Hospital Board Meeting

Vote Northcraft for Hospital Board I would like to express my support for Kevin Northcraft for Hospital Board, District 4.

I have known Kevin since he came to Tulare in 1995 to serve as the Tulare City Manager. I served on the city council when he was hired from Southern California. We interviewed Kevin at least three times, did extensive background checks and reviewed references. We voted unanimously to bring Kevin to Tulare.

We knew he was the one to move Tulare forward.

During his years in Tulare he accomplished many projects…the expansion of the Outlet Shopping Center, completion

Linda Crase of the Rails to Trails project and creation of Prosperity Park. He lead the way for industrial expansion and under his leadership the city experienced growth and financial stability.

With Kevin’s background I know he can lead the hospital board toward the accountability we need so we can once again have a Tulare community-owned hospital.

If you are in District 4 I encourage you to vote for KEVIN NORTHCRAFT. His invaluable experience in public service, commitment and dedication to our community will move us forward.

Comments on Agenda 21 I heard my first reference to Agenda 21 a week ago and then read it again in your publication. I looked into it and saw it was a non-binding UN resolution having to do with sustainable development.

While non-binding it is apparently seen by some as the non-threatening entry point for a gradual loss of US sovereignty to a higher non-accountable layer of bureaucracy not accessible to the votes of US citizens. Stuff like this has happened in the European Union where areas of national life once regulated and determined by a nation’s government has been removed to a supranational bureaucracy. Brexit was a response to this. Of course many liberal and progressive types believe that the gate to earthly paradise can be opened by a wise and beneficent cadre of regulatory experts who can freely tax, spend, and regulate not hampered by the ignorance and nar-

Jeff Alexander row mindedness of the ordinary citizen.

First the federal government in Washington and then to the United Nations where Plato’s Philosopher Kings can finally manifest for the good of all. Hillary sees herself a potential Queen in this group and wants to wield power for the good of all, and any unethical acts, lies, prevarications, deceptions are justified because of the goodness of her intents.

This was the concept of government in Ottoman Turkey, Ancient Egypt, Babylon and in China until the fall of the emperors. The rulers of Communist China are consciously reviving this model of a ruler assisted by a efficient, wise and good bureaucracy with power and direction flowing from the above, harkening back to the traditions of a former China. Is this the American model and tradition?

Yes on Measure N I write this letter in support of “Measure N” on the November ballot. Although I am not in favor of raising taxes, I do support funding our essential services, especially for Police and Fire. These services are crucial to the well-being of our community. We are in a time where Law and Order are perhaps our most needed services. I stand in full support of our law

Mark Avedian enforcement personnel and the excellent job they perform 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They need the support of our community and city.

Please join me in voting YES on MEASURE N.

3 November, 2016

Valley Voice • 15

Comments & Letters Latino PAC of Tulare County Official Positions

Latino PAC of Tulare County • Prop 51: K-12 School Bond $17.6 billion: YES • Prop 52: Medical Hospital Fee Program: YES • Prop 53: Voter Approval for Revenue Bonds: NO • Prop 54: Legislative Transparency: YES • Prop 55: Prop 30 Tax Extension: YES • Prop 56: Cigarette Tax: NO • Prop 57: Civil and Criminal Proceedings: YES • Prop 58: Bilingual Education Requirement: YES

• Prop 59: Citizens United Statement: YES • Prop 60: Industry Condom Requirement: No Official Position • Prop 61: State Prescription Drug Purchases: NO • Prop 62: Death Penalty Repeal: No Official Position • Prop 63: Gun Control Omnibus: NO • Prop 64: Legalizes Marijuana: No Official Position • Prop 65: Plastic Bag Revenue to Wildlife Fund: YES • Prop 66: Death Penalty Reform and Streamline: No Official Position • Prop 67: Plastic Bag Ban Referendum: NO

2016 Official Endorsement of State and Local Candidates

• California State Senator: Loretta Sanchez • California State Assembly 26th District: Ruben Macareno • City of Tulare city council candidate for District # 1: Jose Sigala • City of Farmersville city council candidate: Greg Gomez • 2016 Official endorsement of Local Ballot Measures; • City of Visalia Ballot Measure N: a YES vote • City of Porterville Ballot Measure J: a YES vote

Vote Yes on Measure N: Low Cost for High Benefits Matt Seals Generally speaking, I am not one to support a tax. Simply put, taxes are an imposition on one’s freedom; however, Sacramento has robbed our local government of funding. During the last five years, the State of California has taken more than $40 million of Visalia taxpayer funds without the consent of the Visalia City Council. This money could have been used for essential city services such as police and fire, as well as maintenance of our parks and roads. These are necessary services essential for a good “quality of life” in Visalia.

When Measure N was introduced to the community in its early stages, I had my reservations. I thought, “oh no, another tax!” It seems as though every element of government (State, County, Special Districts) cannot go through an election without their hand out.

But something sparked my intrigue regarding Measure N – the fact that it’s a sales tax and there is an accountability mechanism.

What is often forgotten in all the noise regarding taxes is there are different types of taxes. Unlike your property or income tax, there is a choice when it comes to paying sales tax. People may

choose where to make taxable purchases when they shop and dine. For instance, I am able to purchase the same item in both Visalia and Fresno. The item, regardless of where I purchased it, would incur a sales tax. If I purchase the item in Visalia, however, I am paying only a half-cent increase from our current sales tax rate while at the same time helping to support my local community and “quality of life.”

Another intriguing fact regarding sales tax is that more than $1 out of every $3 raised by Measure N will not come from Visalia residents. Approximately 40 percent of Measure N funds will come from those visiting Visalia to shop, dine, and stay. Think of this as a coupon. The residents of Visalia will benefit up to a 40 percent discount on the funds raised by the Measure.

Who would not want to accept a discount on: maintaining 911 emergency police and fire response times, maintaining gang prevention efforts, addressing homelessness, maintaining local streets and infrastructure, maintaining Parks & Recreation facilities, and growing youth programs. Measure N allows for better public safety, which in-turn attracts new businesses and jobs for our community.

The accountability, however, is really

what sold me on Measure N. A general sales tax measure that only requires 51 percent of the vote allows the council discretion to modify the stated expenditures. As we have learned from other governmental agencies, this can often be abused; however, the Council has enacted an ordinance to protect the Measure from any sort of abuse.

The accountability procedures include: submission of annual Measure N spending plans to the Citizen Oversight Board and City Council; annual review of Measure N expenditures and independent financial audits submitted to Oversight Board and City Council; eight-year Council Continuation Reviews with opportunity to suspend; Measure N spending plan can only be changed by City Council following two public meetings.

While our city has continued to grow, our essential services, parks, and road maintenance has remained at the same operating levels.

Our local community needs local control over our revenue of the general fund. We can no longer count on Sacramento. Consider this as an investment in our community and an investment in our “quality of life.” Vote Yes on Measure N.

Vote Hipskind for Kaweah Delta District Zone 3 Lori Winston, MD I’m writing this letter of support for Dr. John Hipskind’s re-election as Zone 3’s representative to Kaweah Delta Health Care District’s (KDHCD) board of directors.

Dr. Hipskind is the reason my husband and I moved to the area from Chicago. He helped recruit me to begin residency programs at KDHCD and I’m proud to report that so far, KDHCD’s graduate medical education initiative to address our worsening physician shortage and to train our next generation of physicians is a grand success and is due, in no small part, to Dr. Hipskind’s vision and drive. Our residency programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education, and as such, they meet the rigorous requirements for faculty and resources. The kind of steadfast support that Dr. Hipskind and the current hospital board have shown to

make this happen is exactly what makes our training programs strong and top rate. As expected, 50% of our recent graduating class has decided to stay in our area, a testament to our achievements. At full complement we will potentially have 117 resident physicians, working and living in the community at any given time.

Through their dedication to education, KDHCD’s current board of directors, especially Dr. Hipskind, has improved access to higher quality care for patients in our community.

But Dr. Hipskind’s vision is not only instrumental from the boardroom. He works tirelessly in our Emergency Department, treating patients with the utmost respect, inspiring nurses who are happy to see his name on the schedule and enthusiastically educating our resident doctors and medical students in training. He has embraced his role as a faculty member and he practices the latest in evidenced based medicine and insists on the highest

level of service for patients in all instances. When there is an issue in the hospital that needs to be addressed, Dr. Hipskind charges after progress and does not rest on his laurels to remain merely responsive.

He is a proactive agent of change for the better. His years of experience as a practicing physician within our ranks, coupled with his years of experience on the board, make him perfectly suited for this role.

Most of all, I want everyone to vote for re-electing Dr. Hipskind to the board because of his character. Talk about reliable? You could set your watch to this man. Honesty and integrity are a few other words that easily come to mind. Those are not qualities that exude from leaders these days and yet we have that in Dr. Hipskind.

In summary, I believe in Dr. Hipskind as a knowledgeable leader and advocate like I believe the sun will come up tomorrow. And like the sun, I always know it’s going to be good when I see him.

Veteran’s Corner Veterans Day Events Scott Holwell

Veterans Day, November 11th, is set aside to thank and honor all men and women who served honorably in the military. In fact, Veterans Day is largely intended to thank living Veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to our national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served – not only those who died – have sacrificed and done their duty. As we salute America’s heroes on Veterans Day, there are many activities the community is encouraged to participate in.

On Veterans Day, November 11th, the Hanford Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5869 will host the Fourth Annual Veterans Festival at the Kings County Fairgrounds. The Festival starts at 10:00 and runs until 4:00 pm. There will be music, food, raffles throughout the day, motorcycle and car clubs, bounce houses, drill team competition, and numerous other family oriented activities. There will be no Veteran “Stand Down” this year. Admission and parking is free.

Also on Veterans Day, November 11th, American Legion Post 3 is also conducting a Veterans Day Commemoration themed, “No One Left Behind”, at the Hanford Cemetery “Tank” at 10:00 am, featuring Navy Cross recipient, Captain Harry Zinser, USN (Ret). For more information call 583-1169.

To finish up the day, the City of Lemoore and American Legion Post 100 are hosting the 4th Annual Veterans Day Parade in downtown Lemoore at 6:00 pm. The parade is free to participate as long as the entrant maintains a patriotic theme. For more information contact Lemoore Parks and Recreation at (559) 924-6767.

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, call or visit 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

3 November, 2016

Valley Scene

3 November, 2016

Symphony Plays Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky Donna Orozco Haik Kazazyan, one of the top violinists of his generation, returns for his fourth appearance with the Tulare County Symphony for their Saturday, Nov. 12 concert at the Visalia Fox Theatre.

Kazazyan will perform one of Tchaikovsky’s most brilliant and cheerful works, the “Violin Concerto in D Major,” considered one of the most technically difficult works for the violin.

Born in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, Kazazyan has won numerous prizes, including the Amadeus Violin Competition in Belgium. He first played with the Tulare County Symphony in 2004. The audience was so impressed with his talent that he has been invited back three times.

Also on the program is “The Firebird Suite” by Stravinsky. The young composer was commissioned to compose music for The Firebird Ballet in 1909. It premiered

to instant success, bringing Stravinsky worldwide fame.

Stravinsky also created a concert suite of the music, which tells the story from Russian folklore of an evil magician who holds 13 princesses captive. The hero, Prince Ivan, sends the firebird after the magician’s monsters, bewitching them and making them dance an elaborate, energetic dance. They are then lulled to sleep, allowing the princesses to escape.

Tickets are $30 to $39.50 at the symphony office, 208 W. Main Street, Suite D, Visalia, downstairs in Montgomery Square. Student prices are $10. Tickets are also available at 732-8600 or go to www.tularecountysymphony.com. Go online to check out the special season offering: three concerts for $99.

The concert begins at 7:30pm, but the audience is invited to attend the entertaining pre-concert preview by music director Bruce Kiesling at 6:45pm.

Haley Nelson and Cameron Forgey play Madam and Monsieur Thenardier in the fall production of Les Misérables, set to perform this month. Courtesy/TCOE

TCOE Theater Company to Reprise Les Misérables with Five Performances Madam and Monsieur Thenardier provide much needed comic relief in the musical version of Victor Hugo’s “Les Misérables” – a demanding, but muchloved musical the Theatre Company is set to perform November 16-19. The musical is an epic tale of struggle and redemption set in a revolutionary period of early 19th-century France.

Les Misérables was first performed by the Theatre Company in 2008. What makes this production special for director Nicole Zweifel and the Theatre Company staff is that many of the students in leading roles are seniors. Among the seniors is Ms. Zweifel’s son, Tristan Beck, who plays Javert, the police inspector. “It’s been a real privilege to work with these amazing young people as we have watched them grow into talented young performers,” she said.

Haley Nelson, who plays the greedy and crooked Madam Thenardier with humorous effect, has been involved in Theatre Company productions since she

Haik Kazazyan

Tulare County Office of Education was in first grade. “For 12 years, I’ve been participating in Theatre Company productions – usually two or three each year,” she said proudly. Haley is a senior at Redwood High School.

The story of Les Misérables spans several decades as it follows Jean Valjean, a parolee who seeks to redeem himself from past crimes, and Javert, who relentlessly tracks him. The Theatre Company will offer four evening shows November 1619 at 7pm in the L.J. Williams Theater at 1001 W. Main St. in Visalia. A 2pm matinee show on Saturday, November 19 will also be offered. Tickets, which will be available at TCOE’s 6200 S. Mooney Blvd. and 7000 Doe Ave., Suite A locations beginning October 31, are $12 per person for general admission seating and $20 per person for reserved seating.

For more information, call the Theatre Company at (559) 651-1482.

Visalia Players to Present “The Last Five Years” Nancy Holley “The Last Five Years,” presented by the Visalia Players at the Ice House Theatre, is a premiere performance for Visalia. The stunning musical by Jason Robert Brown had its opening performance in Chicago in 2001 and in the years since has been performed worldwide. The show’s Off-Broadway revival in 2013 starred Visalia’s Betsy Wolfe.

Unique in a number of ways, “The Last Five Years” explores the highs and lows of loving relationships through the eyes and emotions of two young lovers, Jamie and Cathy. The ebb and flow of their five years together is depicted through chronology for Jamie and reverse chronology for Cathy. The story of their lives converges with their wedding and then diverges again.

The unusual use of chronology may seem confusing at first, but many clues

are provided to help the audience sort out the time and place. Multimedia provide visual hints; actors’ physical appearances show time changes; and most importantly Brown’s wonderful lyrics identify the emotional phase of the relationship for the singer.

Michael Seitz, who portrays Jamie, noted, “In most musicals, the dialogue turns to music when emotions can no longer be expressed in words. With this show, it is basically all music so the emotions are always there.” Seitz was most recently seen in the Visalia Players’ production of “Arsenic and Old Lace.”

Seitz and Natalie Anders (Cathy) have loved the show since they first experienced its music. Anders commented, “It’s such a realistic story. I’ve always done fluff musicals and I wanted to do something real.” Both actors described a two-person musical as vocally challenging, but also emphasized the great

Michael Seitz (Jamie) and Natalie Anders (Cathy). Courtesy/Nancy Holley

connection that develops when only two people are telling the story.

Musical director Adam Long is ex-

cited about bringing “The Last Five Years” to the Ice House Theatre. “It’s a

PLAYERS continued on 19 »

3 November, 2016

18 • Valley Voice

Great Conversations Science and Certainty: The Case of Max Planck Joseph R. Teller It is common today to resolve disputes with an appeal to “science.”

On a given day, you can’t read or listen to the news without coming across the headline, “New study shows….” Even in the most controversial policy issues, an appeal to “settled science” is often invoked to dismiss disagreement or to win the debate. “Science,” it seems, is often shorthand for something like “absolute certainty,” no matter who wields the term.

But what, exactly, does “certainty” mean in science? On what foundations does science rest? And while scientific method has catapulted medicine and technology forward over the last centuries, are there aspects of the physical universe that no one—not the most brilliant physicists—can measure or know for sure?

These are the questions raised by the German physicist Max Planck, whose “Physics and World Philosophy” were the subject of discussion at COS’s Great Books group this week. Planck (along with Einstein) is a key figure in the development of quantum theory in the ear-

ly twentieth century. In this text, Planck that measurement itself is falsified by explains how physics is part of a “general the very act of measuring: “the process philosophy of the world.” To do this, he of measuring can inform us about [a shows the messy relation between sci- real physical event] only if there is some entific truth and subjective experience. kind of causal connection between [the First, he points out that event and the observhow a scientist classifies er], and if there is such and organizes data is a connection, then the fundamentally a judgprocess of measuring ment call: “there is no will, in some degree, one definite principle influence and disturb available a priori…enthe event, with the conabling a classification sequence that the result suitable for every purof the measurement is pose [in science] to be falsified.” In sum, “we made…hence, it is imare forced to adopt the possible…to assert that obvious but radical asany science possesses a sumption that the elstructure evolving from ementary concepts of its own nature ineviclassical physics cease Max Planck tably and apart from to be applicable in any arbitrary presupposition.” This ar- atomic physics,” because atomic physics bitrariness, Planck argues, is the cause takes us beyond our ability to measure of many scientific controversies and dis- and observe with certainty. agreements—a scientist must choose a Planck accepts that humans “will starting point, and this starting point is never…grasp the real world in its totalalways colored by our preferences, expe- ity,” but believes science’s “self-correcriences, and biases. tion” and “self-improvement” provide Second, Planck points out ways that a “hopeful direction” for its pursuit of modern physics has drawn into question truth. But why does Planck believe in the verities of “classical physics.” To il- such a hopeful direction despite unlustrate, he cites the “uncertainty prin- certainty in physics? This question is as ciple” that arises when measuring sub- pertinent today as it was a century ago. atomic particles, showing that we can Planck believes this because he brings know either the location or velocity of specific metaphysical assumptions to an electron, but we cannot know both the table—assumptions which undersimultaneously. Planck goes on to argue pin much modern scientific enquiry,

too. First, Planck assumes that “there exist real events not depending on our senses”: that is, science assumes that events in the universe actually happen “out there,” regardless of whether we perceive them. Second, he believes in “strict causality,” the idea that a given physical event causes other (theoretically predictable) events to happen. Third, he believes that the mind itself is capable of abstracting from the real world in a way that teaches us truth about the universe—much in the same way that geometry corresponds to truths in the universe even though it is itself purely theoretical. Planck ultimately concludes that all fields of knowledge, from physics to philosophy, from politics to art, from religion to quantum theory, are connected, since they all participate in a deeper natural reality open to all who search for truth with a “pure mind and good will.”

Heady stuff to be sure. But Planck’s text calls us to reflect carefully on what we mean when we invoke “science,” and teaches us to hold two paradoxical truths in mind simultaneously: on the one hand, the certainty that the universe is governed by knowable laws, and on the other, the certainty that human beings will never be able to apprehend the universe and its laws fully.

Dr. Joseph R. Teller is a Professor of English at COS. Email him at josepht@cos.edu.

3 November, 2016

Valley Voice • 19

Showcase Opening in Three Rivers Yanninia Marie will be showcasing her handcrafted one of a kind portraits exploring the beauty & intimacy of motherhood.

The exhibition presents a beautiful blend of 19th century vintage photographic techniques that include cyanotypes, gum-bichromate and kallitype because in revisiting these vintage processes, the blend of past and present engages all the senses as well as the intellect.

This is the beginning of much larger project inspired by the intimacy of the mother-child experience.

For this exhibition, the focus is the emotional journey of becoming a mother for the first time.

From the awe and wonder of the

miracle of life to capturing the sense of longing and waiting to hold that innocence that is a new baby in her arms.

The exhibition is designed to stir feelings of unconditional love, joy, wonder, elation, and faith in the magic of a new life.

Attendees will leave having experienced for the first time or revisiting the emotional journey of bringing something new and exciting into the world and the exhilaration of knowing something of self has been perpetuated.

These portraits represent the soul of Yanninia Marie and a study to find what it is to become a mother and experience all the emotions, the agony and the ecstasy of bringing a new life into

Kaweah Delta Gets Fourth ‘A’ in Safety Kaweah Delta Medical Center has earned its fourth consecutive “A,” the top grade for patient safety in the latest Hospital Safety Score. The score provides a complete picture of how well hospitals protect patients from accidents, errors, injuries and infections.

“This ‘A’ recognizes the dramatic improvements we’ve made in quality of care and patient safety. We’re proud of this honor, but our goal will always be to improve our performance in the future for our patients,” said Lindsay Mann, Chief Executive Officer of Kaweah Delta Health Care District.

Kaweah Delta is one of 844 hospitals out of more than 2,600 hospitals across the country that received A ratings in Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Score.

The Hospital Safety Score is the gold standard rating for patient safety, compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading patient safety experts and administered by The Leapfrog Group (Leapfrog), an independent industry watchdog. The only hospital safety rating to be peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety, the score is free to the public and designed to give consumers information they can use to protect themselves.

“John,” by Yanninia Marie

the world.

The artist looks forward to sharing this journey with you on November

12th, 2016 at the Cort Gallery located at 41881 Sierra Dr, Three Rivers, Ca from 6-8pm.

Players

Vocal Director for the Tulare County Office of Education, which is presenting “Les Miserables” just as “The Last Five Years” closes. Lotenerto, a theatre graduate from Sacramento State, recently directed for The Fourth Wall.

“The Last Five Years” runs for three weekends at the Ice House Theatre at Race and Santa Fe in Visalia. Evening performances are at 7:30pm on 11/4, 11/5, 11/11, 11/12, 11/18, and 11/19, and matinees are at 2:00pm on 11/6, 11/13, and 11/20. Note: The play includes adult language and content. To purchase tickets go to the Visalia Players’ website at www.visaliaplayers.org, their Facebook page “Visalia Community Players”, or call 734-3900.

Continued from p. 17 perfect venue for this musical. The show doesn’t need a huge budget or lots of sets so it’s great for this theatre.” To support the two singers, Long has assembled a string ensemble of cello, violin, guitar and bass with keyboard. When describing the instrumentation, Long noted, “In this intimate setting, every instrument is important.”

Co-Directors Charlotte Garcia Da Rosa and Antony Lotenero bring talent, energy, and theatrical history to their directorial debut for the Visalia Players at the Ice House Theatre. Da Rosa is the

TheSOURCE Celebrates Ribbon Cutting Ceremony TheSOURCE LGBT+ Center recently celebrated a ribbon cutting ceremony marking the center’s continuing growth in Tulare and Kings Counties.

Now a member of the Visalia Chamber of Commerce, the ceremony was held at its offices in the Montgom-

Wine & Beer Tasting At

Redwood Wine Room

ery Square building, at 208 W. Main Street, Suite B, Visalia on November 2.

TheSOURCE’s mission is to provide places for Tulare & Kings County’s LGBT+ population to Learn, Grow, Belong, Transform, Question + Support.

You don’t have to be OUT to come IN!

Totem Market & Gifts Enjoy our Deli!

(Evening meals coming soon) J&J Cellars - Kelsey See Canyon Vineyards

(559) 561-4463

45186 Sierra Drive, Three Rivers

Saturday

November 12th 10:00 am - 5:00pm

7 Great South Valley locations to serve you!

EXETER

Sunday

420 N. Kaweah Ave.

November 13th 10:00 am - 4:00pm

HANFORD

1675 W. Lacey Blvd.

(In the Hanford Mall Food Court) 1113 10th Ave.

at The Visalia Convention Center

TULARE

133 North J St.

VISALIA

301 N. Willis St. 2611 S Mooney Blvd.

2124 W. Riggins Ave * Available only for a limited time!

Admission............ $5.00

Current Military & Immediate Family FREE

Holiday Marketplace Boutique 2016

Bring this ad for a FREE admission For More Information Call:

www.cvwn.org

Calendar November 3-5: West Hills College Coalinga Rodeo From Nov. 3 to Nov. 5, West Hills College Coalinga’s rodeo arena will host competitors from 11 teams from across California and Nevada for a fall rodeo. Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for students 17 and under, and free for WHCC students with ASB cards and children under 10.

The concession stand will be open.

The rodeo arena is at 518 W. Gale Ave. in Coalinga. For more information, visit westhillscollege.com or contact Coach Justin Hampton at (559) 934-2702.

November 4: CHAP Program: Dr. Marco Meniketti 7-8 pm - The Archaeology of Sugar Cane, Slavery and Environmental Change in the Caribbean - Porterville College Theatre - Free and open to the public.

need.

November 6: 5th Annual Arabian Horse Association Open Breed Horse Show, 8am The Arabian Horse Association of the San Joaquin Valley is holding its 5th Annual Open Breed Horse Show. It will be held at Circle N Stable, 12742 E. Prosperity in Tulare on November 6 Classes will include Showmanship, English, Western, Reining and Gymkana for junior and adult riders. There will be food available on site. The cost is $25 for pre-registered horses and $30 for those who enter at the event. Signups start at 8am with classes beginning at 9am sharp. The judge will be Jan Dunlap of Exeter.

Contact Jan Dunlap for an entry form or class schedule. 559-7866668 or by email at ddreambabies@ earthlink.com.

November 5: First Saturday Friends of the Library Book Sale 10am - 2pm - Tulare Public Library, 475 North M Street.

November 9: Vietnam Veteran’s Panel, 11:30am-12:30pm & 7am8pm Vietnam Veteran’s Panel PresentaNovember 5: 23rd Annual Casino tion at the Porterville College theater. Admission is free and all are inNight Fundraiser, 6-9pm This event helps raise funds used to vited. Sponsored by the Porterville promote the local agricultural com- College Student Veterans Organizamunity, to engage young profession- tion. als in leadership roles and network- November 9: Disney’s Approach ing opportunities, and to provide to Quality Service greater opportunities for involve- The event will take place at the ment in the agriculture industry. Visalia Convention Center. RegisHeld at the Tulare International Ag tration is $425 for Visalia ChamCenter. Tickets $35 pre-sale, $40 at ber members (including members the door; for more information, call of other local Chambers) and $450 the Tulare County Farm Bureau at for non-members and includes all 559-732-8301 course materials as well as continental breakfast and lunch. Bulk November 5: Trails for Tails, ticket rates are also available for five 9am-1pm Benefitting Friends of Tulare An- or more tickets at $325 per person imal Services. Held at Live Oak for Chamber members and $425 Park/Santa Fe Trail. Registration be- for non-members. For more inforgins 9am, walk at 10am, vendors & mation or to register, go to visaliaother activities until 1pm. Includes chamber.org or call 559-734-5876. costume contest for most patriotic Seating for this event is limited. dog! $15/person, $20 for two people -- includes free bandana for your dog!

November 5-6: Assistance League Shopping Fundraisers Assistance League® of Visalia is having a shopping fundraiser at Chelsea’s Boutique and 1422 Downtown Visalia: November 5, 10:30am5:30 pm and November 6, 12:005:00pm. 20% of all proceeds for the two days will go to Assistance League to help with the Operation School Bell® program which provides new clothes for children in

ans and those in active military duty. Register online at www. ci.porterville.ca.us or in person at the Heritage Center, 256 E. Orange Ave., and Porterville City Hall, 291 N. Main St. Last day to pre-register is November 9. The price increases $5 on the day of the race. For more information, call (559) 782-7521.

November 12: Kings Community Action Organization Food Drive, 9am-noon Assemblyman David Valadao along with members of KCAO will be accepting food bank donations at Cost Less Food Company, 102 South 11th Ave. Hanford. To volunteer, call (559) 582-5526.

November 12 & 13: Central Valley Women’s Network Holiday Marketplace Saturday 10am - 5 pm; Sunday 10am - 4pm - Holiday Boutique 16 at the Visalia Convention Center. Admission $5; current military & families free. Benefits CVWN scholarship program & Relay for Life.

For more information, call (559) 731-4863, or visit www. cvwn.org

Y’All are invited Visalia Mighty O First Western

WHERE: Rit 1638 Ave 308 E. Houston Rt. On Rd. 160, le WHEN: Saturday, TIME: 5 pm TICKETS:

Dinner, M Plus a silent

November 16-19: Tulare County Office of Education FOR TICKETS CALL Theatre Company presents Les Miserables, 7pm 559-280-5715 Wednesday - Saturday and one Or 559-901-4615 2pm matinee on Saturday at the LJ Williams Theatre, the TCOE Theatre Company presNation and the Chorus. Tickets ents Les Miserables. The cast is played by students of many schools $15. Tickets and more information, throughout the county, as well as Dee Baughman at 280-5715 or Bud homeschooled students. Tickets are Case at 901-4615, or visit visalia$12 for general admission, $20 for mightyoakchorus.org. reserved seating. For more informa- November 19: Tulare Kings tion and tickets, visit TCOE offices Hispanic Chamber of Commerce at 6200 So. Mooney Blvd, or 7000 21st Annual Installation and November 10: Valley Oak Quilt Doe Ave., Visalia. Or call, (559) Awards Dinner Dance, 6pmGuild, 10am 11pm Valley Oak Quilt Guild www. 651-1482.

At the Visalia Convention Center. valleyoakqg.org will meet Thurs- November 18: Computer Class, Catered by the Marriott. For more day, Nov.10, at Tulare Communi- 9:15am ty Church, 1820 N Gem, in Tu- Intro to Microsoft Powerpoint - information, head to www.mytkhlare at 10:00 AM The mystery and Tulare Public Library, 475 N. M cc.org challenge quilts for the year will be Street. For more information, call November 30: An Irish Christrevealed. For information call: Na- (559) 685-4508. mas, 7pm nette at 559-625-2541.

World Champion Irish Dancers November 19: Mighty Oak ChoNovember 11: Porterville Veterans Day Run, 7:30am The low cost entry fee is only $20 for runners and walkers. Plus, there is a discounted rate of $10 for veter-

rus - Western Round-Up, 5-8pm First annual fundraising event for the non-profit Mighty Oak Chorus at Ritchie’s Barn. Barbecue tritip steak dinner with music by One

Scott Doherty (Riverdance & Lord of the Dance) and Tyler Schwartz (Magic of the Dance, Gaelforce Dance, & Celtic Fyre) star in AN IRISH CHRISTMAS! This extraor-

Christmas Tree Auction 5:30-11:30pm - Live Christmas tree auction with formal dinner, dancing, and wine tasting. Volunteers are planning decorations for 20 Christmas trees to be auctioned off live the night of the event. Additionally, that evening silent auction items, including small Christmas trees will benefit local charities. Tickets $70; VIP tickets $130. For more information (559) 734-5876 or at www.visaliachamber.org

CONTINUOUS

d to attend The Oak Chorus’s n Roundup

tchie Barn Ave. toward Ivanhoe, eft on Ave 308 November 19th m to 8 pm : $15.00

Music auction….

L

dinary coming together of two of the greatest dancers in the modern world of Irish dance happens at Visalia Fox Theatre this November 30.

December 6 & 8: Vision Care Clinic, 9am-5pm Tues., Dec. 6 @ 337 E. King Street, Hanford; Thurs., Dec. 8 @ 444 W. El Monte Way, Dinuba - Senator Andy Vidak, Adventist Health, Tulare County Office of Education, Kings Community Action Organization and VSP Vision Center offer VSP Mobile Eyes: A Free Vision Care Clinic. Free eyes exams and free eyeglasses with pre-qualifications and appointments. Contact: Victoria Priggett, (559) 584-5723 for more information.

December 9: White Christmas - 36th Annual Visalia Chamber

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.

will be hosting from 9 PM - 1 AM. their service. If you’re experiencing these or any other emotional probNo Cover.

Fridays: Women’s Morning Bible lems after serving in a combat zone, it’s vital to seek professional help.“ Study, 9am-Noon 210 W Center Street Visalia, -Veterans Counseling Clinic.

CA 93291. For additional informa- 1st and 3rd Thursdays, Monthly: Central Valley Tea Party Meettion call: 739-9010 ings, 6pm Saturdays: Cup of Jazz, 10am819 West Visalia Road, FarmersNoon At Cafe 210, at 210 Center street, ville.

Visalia. Free. Led by Richard Ga- 3rd Thursday, Monthly: Gatherroogian. Call 559.730.0910 for ing At the Oval, 12:30-1pm Lifting up the needs and concerns more information. of Visalia through individual prayer Tuesday Nights: Barmageddon and meditation at Oval Park, 808 Trivia Thunderdome, 9pm-1am Challenge your friends to the ulti- North Court Street in Visalia. For mate trivia throw down. Earn some more information, call 967-4065. bragging rights in categories ranging from Saturday morning cartoons, classic video games, and pop culture films. Teams of 4 or solo players compete each round for the best scores. Winners of every two rounds will square off in the Trivia Thunderdome for great prizes. Free sign ups at 9:30 PM.

3rd Thursday, Monthly: Board Game Night, 6-7:45pm For ages 10+ at the Visalia Branch Library, 200 West Oak Street. Signups are not required. For more information, call 713-2703.

3rd Thursday, Monthly: Ladies’ Night, 6-10pm At the Clay Cafe in Visalia, 1018 E. Mineral King Ave. $10 studio 2nd Tuesday, Monthly: Yappy fee with ceramic purchase. Includes Hour, 5-9pm Well-mannered, leashed pets are complimentary margarita, dinner welcome on the patio at the Plan- and dessert. Door prizes too! Resering Mill Artisan Pizzeria, 514 East vations required: 733-2022 Through November 12: Main Street, Suite A, in Visalia. A Fridays: Lindsay Farmer’s MarKings Art Center Exhibiportion of the proceeds is donated ket, 5:30-9pm tions Common Threads Quilt Guild to the Valley Oak SPCA. For more Located at Sweetbriar Plaza, N. and Paintings by Maria Simoes information, call 651-1111.

Sweetbriar Ave & Samoa St., Lindwill be exhibited at the Kings 3rd Tuesday, Monthly: League of say.

Art Center, 605 N. Douty, Women Voters Meeting, 11:45am TULARE COUNTY LIBRARY Hanford. The opening recep- At Sue Sa’s Club House, 699 W. BRANCH NOVEMBER CRAFTS tion for both exhibits will be Center in Visalia. Reservations are FEATURE FALL FUN! held Sept. 23, 5:30-7:30pm. required and the public is welcome.

Kids make their own the Day of the Regular gallery hours are Wed- Contact Newellgb@hotmail.com or Dead masks, Thanksgiving turkeys, Fri 11-4pm, Sat-Sun 12-3pm. call 732-1251. and more autumn favorites at the Admission is free, tours are by apWednesday Nights: Barmageddon weekly library crafts for November: pointment, and for more informaGame Night • October 31 through November tion, dial 559-584-1065.

Come blow off some steam at our 4 – Día de Los Muertos Mask Mondays: Bridge Club, 9:30amgame night. Enjoy complimentary 2pm gaming on all consoles, TCG’s, Ta- • November 7 through 11 – Thanksgiving Turkey 210 W Center Street Visalia, ble top & board games. Happy hour CA 93291. Admission is free. For will be from 6 PM- 8 PM. • November 14 through 18 – Acadditional information call: Joan cordion Tail Turkey Craft 1st Thursday, Monthly: Veterans Dinwiddie @ 732-0855 Support Group, 5:30-7pm • November 21 through 25 – Mondays: Knitters, 10amFree support group for global war Scarecrow 12:30pm on terrorism & post 9-11 (Veterans 210 W Center Street Visalia, Only) at the Tulare Public Library, • November 28 through December 2 – Feather Topped Pencil CA 93291. Everyone is welcome.

475 North M Street in Tulare. Facilitated by: Dr. Lance Zimmerman, Craft sessions are available at the AlMonday Nights: Monday KaraPh.D of veterans Counseling Clin- paugh, Dinuba, Earlimart, Exeter, oke at Barmageddon, 9pm-1am Get on stage and sing your favorite ic. “The transition from serving in Ivanhoe, Lindsay, London, Orotunes on our one of a kind sound a combat zone to civilian life can si, Pixley, Springville, Strathmore, system. New Image has a vast se- be a difficult one. Combat veter- Three Rivers, Tipton and Woodlake lection of songs to choose, ranging ans commonly experience feelings branch libraries. Times vary with from 70’s classic rock to modern of depression, isolation, alienation, each location. pop. Karaoke Jockey Miss Sammi guilt, anxiety, and anger following

3 November, 2016

22 • Valley Voice

Sports Area High School Rivalry Games Provide Excitement Stefan Barros Now that we’re coming up to the last week of the high school football season, this means that rivalry games will be taking place all over the Valley. There are some that go a long way back, and a few that are just getting started. No matter how long they’ve been around, these rivalry games are always hotly contested.

Here are a few that exist here in Tulare and Kings Counties: The Bell Game: Between the two oldest Tulare high schools, Tulare Union Tribe and Tulare Western Mustangs. The rivalry dates back to 1965, and Tulare Union owns a 35-16 record in the 51 matchups. The Tribe and Mustangs will meet for the 52nd time at Bob Mathias stadium on the campus of Tulare Union High School, on Thursday, November 3,

at 6:30pm, and one of them will walk away with the Victory Bell. Tulare Union has won 8 of the past 12 meetings.

The Battle of the Cowhide: In this matchup between two of Visalia’s neighboring high schools, Redwood and Mt. Whitney, Redwood has taken the Cowhide more times, with a 35-251 record in the 61 meetings. The 62nd meeting will take place at the Mineral King Bowl, on the campus of Redwood High School, on Friday, November 4, at 7pm. Redwood as won 8 of the past 11 meetings.

The Battle of the Saddle: This is the relatively newer rivalry over a symbolic saddle in Visalia, between the Trail Blazers of Golden West, and the Miners of El Diamante. This rivalry only goes back 10 years, and the Miners own a 7-3 record in their matchups. The eleventh install-

ment will take place on Friday, November 4, at 7:30pm, at Gropetti Automotive Visalia Community Stadium, on the campus of Golden West High School.

The Milk Can Game: This is the oldest rivalry in Kings County, between the Tigers of Lemoore High and the Bullpups of Hanford High, over the Milk Can Trophy. In the past 11 matchups dating back to 2004, Lemoore owns a 6-5 record in this rivalry. The 2016 edition of Milk Can Game will take place on Friday, November 4. Game time will be at 7pm at Lemoore High School.

The Granite Bowl: This is the rivalry game between two Porterville high schools, Monache, and Porterville High, over claim for the Granite Bowl Trophy.

Over the past 12 meetings between the schools, there has been an series split.

Their next matchup will be Friday, No-

vember 4, at 6:30pm. The game will take place at Rankin Stadium, located at Granite Hills High School.

Exeter vs. Woodlake: In this matchup, between the Monarchs of Exeter, and the Tigers of Woodlake, it has been owned by Exeter. Over the past 13 meetings, the Monarchs have won every game. In their 2016 matchup, back in September, the Monarchs took the victory with by a score of 32-7.

Battle of the Bell: Just like the rivalry in Tulare, Strathmore and Lindsay High Schools play for a victory bell as well. Over their past 12 meetings, dating back to 2004, the Strathmore Spartans have the edge 7-5. The next matchup will be on Friday, November 4 at 7:15pm at Strathmore High School

Women’s Tackle Football Completes Historic Season The Central Cal War Angels, based out of Fresno, California, ended their 2016 season as Pacific Regional Champions falling 4 points short of making it to the WFA National Championship. They finished with a #3 National Ranking behind the DC Divas and Dallas Elite.

“Out of 50 teams in the country in every almost every major metropolitan city, the War Angels proved that despite being from a smaller city, with a smaller team roster, they can play and beat the best teams in the county”, stated Lisa King, War Angel’s President “If Fresno State received a #3 NCAA ranking and made it to the College Football Playoffs, everyone would be ecstatic. The War Angels have done essentially the same thing on the women’s side,” added King.

The War Angels are returning all

WHCC to Host Fitness Challenge West Hills College Coalinga’s Athletic Training has a challenge for the community: lose weight and decrease body fat while fundraising to help provide student athletes with the best medical care and health education.

The Falcon Fitness Challenge will be held through January 9, with all proceeds from the event going towards purchasing new modalities for the Student Athletes to provide them with the most up-to-date medical care and educational seminars/conventions.

“Challenge participants are free to choose how they want to start a healthier way of life,” said Cory Minter, Athletic Trainer. “The Falcon Fitness Challenge provides the participants with a Fall Fitness pass to the West Hills College fitness

center, an athletic training fitness assessment, nutritional and health related email blasts throughout the three month competition, and optional personal training sessions.”

The entry fee for the contest is $100.

There are three different challenge categories and three different ways to compete for prizes: through the percentage of weight loss, the decrease in body fat percentage and the increase in the fitness assessment.

A grand prize of a Spring Fitness Pass and a Nutribullet will go to the person who has the best overall percentage in all three categories at the end of the challenge.

To sign up for the challenge or for questions, call or email Cory Minter at (559) 934-2454 or coryminter@ whccd.edu.

starters for the 2017 season and have their goals set on winning the 2017 National Championship. Included on this roster are quarterback sensation Chantel Wiggins, WFA 2-time Player of the Year and Former Fresno State Tennis Star. They are also return Head Coach Jeff King, who is a current member of Clovis High’s All Millennium Team and member of the Fresno City College Hall of Fame. King also currently coaches Defensive Line for the Edison Tigers. The War Angels are holding their next tryout this Saturday November 5 at 10am at Melody Park in Fresno. They are looking for female athletes from all sports backgrounds and no football experience is necessary. For more information about the team please visit: warangelsfootball.com or wfafootball.com

Rodeo Coming to West Hills Coalinga It’s rodeo time in Coalinga.

From November 3 to 5, West Hills College Coalinga’s rodeo arena will host competitors from 11 teams from across California and Nevada for a fall rodeo.

The WHCC men and women’s rodeo teams will face off against some of the best teams in the West Coast Region of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association in nine different events ranging from bronc riding to barrel racing.

Rodeo performances will be held on November 3 4 at 6:30pm and feature rodeo clown Charlie Too Tall and CCPRA Announcer of the year Ted Dwyer and the sounds of Ryan HawkEye Odishoo.

Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for students 17 and under, and free for WHCC students with ASB cards and

children under 10. The concession stand will be open.

Slack competitions will also be held on Friday, November 4 at 7am and Saturday, November 5 at 8am.

WHCC is competing against a wide variety of college competitors from schools including Cal Poly SLO, Fresno State, Cuesta College, Feather River College, Lassen College, UNLV, UNR, Western Nevada College, UC Davis, Clovis Community College and College of the Sequoias.

The rodeo arena is at 518 W. Gale Ave. in Coalinga. For more information, visit westhillscollege.com or contact Coach Justin Hampton at (559) 934-2702.

CHOICES After School Program Launches Making Healthy Choices Visitors to the Dinuba Sportsplex, who observed the launch of the CHOICES After School Program’s new health and academics initiative called Making Healthy Choices, saw a fullscale demonstration of how an entire city of after school programs would look if all participating students came together under one roof. That’s exactly what the CHOICES staff did on October 20 for the benefit of Dinuba Unified

administrators and City of Dinuba leadership, including Mayor Emilio Morales and police officials.

Students from the CHOICES After School Program at Dinuba Unified’s Grandview, Wilson, Roosevelt, Kennedy, Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington Intermediate campuses combined with students from the City of Dinuba’s own after school program to fill the Sportsplex in downtown Dinuba. Approxi-

mately 600 students attended the launch of CHOICES’ Making Healthy Choices campaign. Throughout the Sportsplex, students rotated through dance, food tasting and sports agility stations where they ran obstacle courses, passed soccer balls, sprinted, crawled and jumped.

The Making Healthy Choices campaign features a new 23-lesson curriculum called Sports Nutrition Academic Program! (SNAP!). The curriculum is

designed especially for students in the CHOICES After School Program and includes age-appropriate physical activity, nutrition and academic vocabulary building. SNAP! lessons and activities will be offered as an additional enrichment under the CHOICES After School Program.

Nutrition and academic compo-

CHOICES continued on 23 »

3 November, 2016

Valley Voice • 23

Political Remix Video: A Talk by Diran Lyons

“American Dipper,” by John Greening.

Brandon-Mitchell Gallery Hosts Member & Friends Art Show Donna Orozco The Brandon-Mitchell Art Gallery will kick off its annual Member & Friends Show with a reception for the artists on November 4 from 5-8pm. (Although there is no official First Friday art walk in November, both the Brandon-Mitchell Gallery and Arts Visalia will have receptions.)

It’s always a treat to see what will show up for the annual Member & Friends Show on display in November and December. Last year Mason Shirk brought in a few pieces at the last minute. One was quickly one of the highlights of the show: four panels—some vertical, some horizontal—that all fit together in a fascinating abstract.

This year Mason has submitted two beautiful pieces he created out of wood. One is a woodburning of colibris, French for hummingbirds. Most of his family has hummingbird feeders, and he grew up watching the birds. To create the piece, he first burned the wood black with a blow torch, drew the pictures with a white pencil, burned them in and sanded off the black within the picture with a dremmel sander.

You can see a video of the process at Mason’s website: www.highspeedartbymason.com.

A regular contributor to the annual show is Marie Logan. Last year she submitted the second in a series she calls “Watercolor Series for Seven Siblings.”

After creating a special memory in art for each brother and sister, she decided she would finish the series with a painting for herself entitled “Sunset at the Beach.”

Another regular contributor is photographer John Greening. “For me photography is a great excuse to get out of doors and to look for a way of sharing a small bit of the natural world with others. With the American Dipper picture, I was looking for reflections of some quaking aspen trees but was surprised when the dipper (which feeds underwater) popped up onto the rock. Pure serendipity!”

The show will honor the late Sherley Tucker by displaying a frog salt cellar she made and gave to Ann Helgerman with a spoon and lavender and rosemary salt. Salt cellars are open dish shapes with a tiny spoon. Sherley was in charge of the Brandon-Mitchell Gallery for many years.

Chuck Berry manipulates everyday photos on his phone into works of art using such programs as Photo Editor Pro, Photo Warm, Pics Art and Photo.

Another unique piece of art took 12 years to finish. Actually it was a project of six friends.

Chuck started it and then gave it to the next artist with no direction of what to do next.

The show includes many other contributions. The public is invited to come to the reception and meet all the artists. There will be music by cellist Carole Greening.

The Brandon-Mitchell Gallery is located in the Center for Spiritual Living, 117 S. Locust in Visalia (one block south of Main). It is open Monday-Thursday from 9:30-3:30 by ringing the bell. For information, 559 627-8422 or www.cslvisalia.org.

The public is invited to see the exhibition “Political Remix Video: A Talk by Diran Lyons” at the Porterville College Art Gallery. The show will feature prints, artifacts, and a screening of remixes, accompanied by a lecture and Q and A discussion with the artist at the time of the reception to which the public is invited. The artist reception and talk is for Wednesday evening, November 2, from 5-7pm. The exhibition runs from October 31 – November 23. Diran Lyons is the newest adjunct faculty member in the Art Department at Porterville College.

In Lyons’ words; “Political remix video (PRV) appropriates media with which the general public is already familiar: film, TV, news broadcasts, sometimes even still photography. The video editor exploits this familiarity to critical effect, utilizing strategies of détournement to respond critically to culture. When one sees, for example, George W. Bush or Barack Obama in a political remix, they no longer espouse the platitudes and clichés of US foreign policy, the state of the US economy, or other official governmental positions. The PRV recalibrates its sources in order to repudiate the ideologies embedded within them, positing what the artist holds to be a corrective lens to the postures initially propagated by mainstream media, Hollywood,

In support of the fight against breast cancer during October’s Breast Cancer Awareness month, Ruiz Foods Team Members were encouraged to wear pink on Ruiz Foods’ Pink Out Day. For every Team Member that did, Ruiz Foods committed to donating $5 to the Kaweah Foundation.

Ruiz Foods Dinuba Tulare raised upwards of $3635, and over 727 Team Members, including corporate team members, wore pink.

CHOICES

Continued from p. 22

Mr. Henderson gathers with students at the October 20 demonstration held at the Dinuba Sportsplex. Courtesy/Tulare County Office of Education

and other powerful institutions.”

As Lyons says, “In my PRV work, I concentrate on social, political, and philosophical issues. By repurposing popular music and lyrics, it is possible to complicate or even subvert conventional understandings of a particular series of images.

Music and lyrics can significantly change the emotional register of otherwise familiar visages, and lyrics in particular can provide counter-narratives to ordinary visuals.”

Lyons’ political remix videos have been featured by Atlantic Wire, Billboard, BoingBoing, Entertainment Weekly, Huffington Post, Mashable, MSN, NY Magazine, OC Weekly, SF Weekly, Slate, TIME, VIBE, Wired, Yahoo News, and the IMDb most popular short film ratings, where he was the first remix artist ever to reach #1.

The show will run through November 23rd, 2016. Gallery hours are Monday-Thursday from 12 to 2pm and 4 to 6 pm. The reception is Wednesday evening, November 2, from 5-7pm.

Parking is unrestricted during the time of the reception. For other times, contact the front desk when you arrive to visit the show for a free temporary parking permit.

nents are taught in the classroom with students rotating between the subjects on a daily or weekly basis. To support the nutrition education component of SNAP!, CHOICES has partnered with the Tulare County Office of Education’s Nutrition Education Obesity Prevention (NEOP) program and Dinuba Unified’s Nutrition Services Program.

CHOICES has also partnered with Horizon Marketing, a Tulare County produce shipping and packaging services company that will provide “Sweet Bunches” – packages of fresh fruit cuts that utilize dry bag technology for improved shelf life without added sugar or gluten. Horizon Marketing President Robert De La Torre was enthusiastic about supporting Making Healthy Choices saying, “We are excited to support the mission of the Making Healthy Choices program by providing snacks

with a variety of fruits that don’t include preservatives.”

Following the nutrition and academic portions, students will engage in athletic training, rotating through different stations that include games, basketball and soccer skills, and sports agility training. The athletic component of SNAP! was designed by seasoned Tulare teachers Todd Henderson, Eric Espinola and Juan De Santigo, who coaching experience and training through the CHARACTER COUNTS! Pursuing Victory with Honor program.

“Every year, we see increases of students at-risk for health issues,” said Adam Valencia, extended learning program director for CHOICES. “SNAP! is an effort to promote healthy lifestyles and prevent the onset of health issues originating from poor nutrition and lack of physical activity.”

For more information on Making Healthy Choices and the SNAP! Curriculum, contact Adam Valencia at (559) 651-0155.

3 November, 2016

Valley Voice • 24

Mighty Oak Chorus to Host “Western Round Up” Fundraising Event The Mighty Oak Chorus is hosting its first “Western Round Up” fundraising event on Saturday, November 19, from 5 to 8pm.

The event will be held at the Ritchie Barn near Ivanhoe, located at 16338 Ave 308, Visalia.

The evening will get underway with a barbeque tri-tip steak dinner, featuring country music duo “One Nation” as entertainment.

Before, during and after the dinner, guests are welcome to wander around and bid on their favorite ‘silent auction’ items.

During the evening the award-win-

LA Bands to Play at Cellar Door Nov. 17 Seattle-bred, Los Angeles based Night Beats have been performing their riffy, bluesy, psyched-out R&B jams for about seven years now. With each album release the band gathers more and more fans. This year’s wildly successful full-length “Who Sold My Generation?” has boosted the band to higher notoriety, along with the strength of their often sold out live shows.

Also from Los Angeles, Mystery Lights will kick off the night, setting the retro 60’s era garage rock tone for the eve.

Think mid-60’s Kinks and Easybeats-inspired sounds w/ spacy psych elements thrown in.

Heavily adding to the night’s vibe will be visual projector extraordinaire Mad Alchemy. His analog liquid light shows utilize five projectors that layer up a variety of colored liquids to create a visual art show like no other!

All three will play the Cellar Door on Thursday, Nov. 17. Admission is $10, 21+, doors open at 8pm and the show starts at 9pm.

Night Beats

ning Mighty Oak Chorus and two outstanding quartets will perform Broadway show tunes, country favorites, and patriotic songs.

Attendees are encouraged to dress up for fun in their favorite country western outfit and participate in the excitement of the evening.

Tickets are only $15 per person, and advance tickets may be ordered by calling Dee Baughman at 280-5715 or Bud Case at 901-4615, or heading to the group’s website at visaliamightyoakchorus.org and using PayPal.