Valley Voice Issue 82 (1 December, 2016)

Volume XXXVI No. 23 • 1 December, 2016

www.ourvalleyvoice.com

Real Mooney Grove Project Files Federal Case Against Tulare County

Kaweah Delta’s Exeter Clinic on San Juan Avenue. Courtesy/Kaweah Delta Health District

Kaweah Delta Exeter Clinic to Recieve Women’s Health Center Dave Adalian After nearly 20 years, Kaweah Delta’s Exeter Health Clinic is getting a makeover.

Formerly the campus of Memorial Hospital at Exeter, which closed its doors in 1998, the Exeter clinic will get a $4.2 million overhaul that includes construction of a dedicated women’s health center.

“We’re going to build two buildings on the site, one that will be dedicated to women’s health and one that will be an administration building,” said Kaweah Delta Health Care District (KDHCD) senior vice president and CFO Gary Herbst. “It is an aging facility, and there are a lot of infrastructure improvements that need to be made to the site itself, like draining, power, asphalt, power. ...”

More Room for Treatment

The reconstruction will include re-

moving one of the four existing buildings on the San Juan Avenue campus before adding two new ones. The move, Herbst said, is being made so providers can can treat more patients in the expanded facility.

“That will free up space for us to accommodate more patients in family services,” he said. “So, while we’re building a dedicated women’s health facility, those providers will move out of the space where we provide family health.”

Specialists in women’s health are already seeing some 8,000 patients a year at the Exeter clinic, most of whom live in rural Tulare County and might not otherwise have easy access to the services they receive in Exeter.

“Last year, we saw over 79,000 visits to that clinic alone,” Herbst said. “They come from all the surrounding areas.

Some of them even come from Visalia because it’s one of the few facilities where

On November 16, the Real Mooney Grove Project and Mary Bryant sent notice to Tulare County Supervisor Phil Cox, Tulare County Parks Director Neil Pilegard and the County of Tulare that they are filing an emergency restraining order in the California Federal Court Eastern Division to stop all unlawful activities at Mooney Grove Park.

The request for the restraining order was in conjunction with the Real Mooney Grove project’s federal case filed on October 13 against the same three entities.

In response the judge Neil Pilegard could issue an immediate restraining order, assign a court date or both.

Tulare County Parks and Recreation employees working under Pilegard have reported that for the past five years or more that animals and trees have been abused and that historic features in Mooney Grove Park Phil Cox have not been maintained.

The employees have also alleged misuse of state and local funds, inadequate training, hazardous work conditions and a hostile work environment.

A former seasonal Tulare County Lake Patrol employee stated, “Immediately after employment with the County, I began requesting equipment and training to ensure my safety as well as the safety of my coworkers and the general

Catherine Doe public. My requests were repeatedly denied if not ignored completely.”

The employee requests to improve the safety of employees and the public included, among a list of 13 items, that Lake Patrol employees be given a basic boat handling course, working radios, and first aid supplies in case of an boating accident.

The Tulare County employees have asked to remain anonymous out of fear of losing their jobs. As one park employee stated, “I think Neil keeps employees in constant fear.”

Bryant and the Real Mooney Grove’s federal case against Cox, Pilegard and the County of Tulare is in response to a handful of county employees’ eyewitness reports and Bryant’s personal experience with Pilegard. The emergency restraining order was filed to prevent permanent damage from happening to the historical features and flora and fauna in Mooney Grove Park. Some of the allegations involve Balch Park, which is located 20 miles north east of Springville.

The injunction states: 1. This is an action for the equitable remedy of a temporary restraining order and preliminary prohibitory injunction.

LAWSUIT continued on 4 »

EXETER continued on 4 »

Hanford City Staff Research Marijuana Cultivation Facilities Catherine Doe The Hanford City Council held a work session November 15 to hear a presentation by community development director, Darlene Mata, and Police Chief Parker Sever about two Canadian medical marijuana facilities. Mata and Sever visited the two facilities in October. City Manager Derrel Pyle, Police Chief Sever, and Police Captain Pat Crowe visited a third facility in San Jose, California.

The research trip to Canada and the presentation was in response to a request

by Purple Heart Patient Center to open a medical marijuana processing facility in Hanford’s Industrial Park. The proposed facility, in the 900,000 square-foot former Pirelli Tire Factory, is projected to employ 1,115 workers at wages starting at $15 per hour. At full capacity, the cultivation center would be Kings County’s largest private employer and is projected to generate $14 million in tax revenue.

Purple Heart Patient Center has operated a distribution center in Oakland since 2006, providing medical marijuana for those patients who legally qualify. This would be their first processing center.

Mata and Sever took a reconnaissance mission to Tweed in Smiths Falls and Bedrocan in Toronto to gather more information before attempting to write city regulations concerning the cultivation of medical marijuana. The purpose of the trip was also to gather more information so the council members could make an informed decision on whether or not to approve similar facilities in Hanford.

During a previous city council meeting it was decided that Mata and Sever would visit facilities in Colorado and Washington, where recreational marijuana use is legal. Those plans were scrapped when trip organizers realized that the

HANFORD continued on 10 »

Anti-pesticide protesters at the Veteran’s Memorial Building in Tulare.

Tulare Protest Held Against Proposed Pesticide Regulations Upwards of 75 parents, teachers and advocates for social justice marched on November 16 in protest of draft regulations they say fall short of protecting California schoolchildren and staff from exposure to hazardous agricultural pesticides, particularly for Latino schoolchildren who are far more likely to attend the most impacted schools.

The 4pm march, led by members of Tulare County Coalition Advocating for Pesticide Safety (TCCAPS), started

Staff Reports from Live Oak Park (600 Laspina St.) ended at the sidewalk outside the Tulare Veterans Memorial Building (1771 East, Tulare Ave.) where speakers from the group were featured at a 4:45pm news conference. The Department of Pesticide Regulation’s (DPR) public hearing on its draft regulation followed at 6pm at the Veteran’s Memorial Building.

PESTICIDE continued on 5 »

2 • Valley Voice

1 December, 2016 From the Publisher’s desk

Come Home for the Holidays

Graduating From the Electoral College

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In electing our 45th president, for just the fifth time in our history a candidate who lost the popular vote secured a victory in the Electoral College.

By Thanksgiving Day, Hillary Clinton’s lead over Donald Trump surpassed two million votes. The unseemliness of this tally has prompted a call--mainly from the left--for an abolishing of the Electoral College.

This approaches making sense only so long as we remain a strong two-party electorate. Imagine Ross Perot’s candidacy, and picture it, say, in coincidence with Ralph Nader’s porpoising back into relevance. That would give us four strong candidates. And we certainly can’t have a president elected by a popular vote down near 25%. Or can we?

California’s 38.8 million residents share 55 Electoral College votes; Wyoming’s 586,187 share three. Which means, in California--and in theory, as I’m counting all residents as opposed to registered voters--that 705,454 people comprise a single electoral college vote. In Wyoming, that number is 195,395.

Neither are swing states. California is solidly Democratic while Wyoming remains a Republican stronghold. And the Electoral College, in this day and age, is something of a zariba against our understanding of democracy. But there’s the tyranny of the minority for you.

Yes, the minority.

In creating the Electoral College, the Framers of our Constitution sought to prevent a tyranny of the majority by diffusing power across the population state by state. They also instituted the Second Amendment--at a time when the government, soldier by soldier, wasn’t much better armed than the average citizen. We can do better.

And that doesn’t mean abandoning the Electoral College. What we have to abandon is the idea of swing states. That a dozen or so states should determine an election while the rest, practically speaking, are insignificant--because they are perceived as solidly either red or blue--is ridiculous. This is what you get when you have a winner-take-all electoral apportionment.

Maine and Nebraska are pointing the way forward.

In those states, an electoral vote is awarded to the winner of each congressional district, with two additional votes accorded to the overall winner of the state.

We need to nationalize this process, making every congressional district--and state--count, thereby bringing the general election a little closer to home.

The fly in the ointment here is gerrymandering.

If we could--nationally and in a bipartisan fashion--agree on congressional districts, we would be able to agree on the results of a general election. It would be unifying. There would be no “not my president.”

And the Orange Horror might not have been “elected.”

Something must be done. Something apart from “not my president” or the threat of succession. E pluribus unum might be on our money, but it’s not in our hearts--and that’s rather ironic for a free market economy such as ours.

We’re in an untenable situation with money in politics, the deep division across the electorate, and the fact that the President-elect lost the popular vote by more than two million.

As it stands now, the candidates running in a presidential election really only compete in the swing states. What if they had to compete across the entire country?

Mending our Electoral College is a good first step in suturing some of the rents in our national fabric.

— Joseph Oldenbourg

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1 December, 2016

Valley Voice • 3

Political Fix Equal Representation of the people

The summer heat, Tule fog, and flat Valley floor separates Tulare and Kings Counties from the rest of the California, along with how the region votes.

Whatever their differences, after our being fairly ignored by the Bay Area, Los Angeles and the liberal coastal areas, these two Central Valley counties finally had an election go its way.

While the rest of the state forced Tulare and Kings Counties to legalize marijuana, we forced the rest of California to swallow Donald Trump as president.

I think that is a good combination: elect Mr. Trump then get stoned.

Most rural counties in California have felt like the ugly stepmother because they have no heft in Sacramento and often lose statewide and national elections. The northern and southern urban areas have roughly 60 assembly seats to represent their needs versus only 20 for the poorer rural counties.

As a result, the Central Valley never seems to get the same consideration when introducing legislation or receiving state funding.

To add insult to injury Tulare and Kings Counties have to breathe San Francisco and Los Angeles’ bad air that gets trapped between the two mountain ranges. Then the California Air Resource Board fines us for their pollution.

Would this be what’s called a rigged system? Now that Tulare and Kings County have their man in the White House, “rigged” doesn’t sound so negative.

California’s electoral map looks similar to the country as a whole with red counties in the rural interior and the blue counties along the coast. And just like Tulare and Kings Counties do not want Los Angeles and San Francisco to tell us how to live, nor do the more sparsely populated states in the interior want to be told how to live by New York and California. And that’s where the Electoral College steps in.

Questions have been asked if we should do away with the Electoral College. Hilary Clinton won the popular vote by more than two million but

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Catherine Doe

lost the election because Mr. Trump won more Electoral votes. On closer analysis, that two million was not evenly spread out over the country but concentrated on the East and West Coasts. The numerous interior states overwhelmingly wanted Mr. Trump as president.

What pundits call the “fly-by states” would have lost this election without the Electoral College. The interior states do not feel like the nation’s liberal and upscale coastal strongholds represent their Middle American values or understood how they have suffered in our new economy.

On the other hand, the Electoral College makes one vote in Wyoming worth more than three in California.

That hasn’t worked out well for the Democrats, who have won the popular vote in the last four of five elections but only held the presidency under President Obama.

Another parallel between California and national politics is the lopsided power each political party has depending where you live. In Washington DC, Republicans control the House, Senate and White house. In California, which would be the sixth largest economy in the world if independent, Democrats control the Assembly, Senate and Governor’s Mansion by a supermajority.

Yet there is no reason to fret about the permanency of either. Republican consultant Ray McNally was quoted as saying about the Democrats in Sacramento: “One of the most important lessons I’ve learned after all these years,” he says, “is that the party out of power can always count on the party in power to put them back in power. The Democrats will overreach. Power really does corrupt.”

And Finally…..

My youngest daughter has a funny anecdote from her years attending Sequoia Union Elementary School in Lemon Cove. Her fifth grade teacher had several “Nobama” stickers on her filing cabinet and the same bumper stickers on her car. She was one of the best teachers at the school so I and the only other Democrat mom in her class never said anything. It wasn’t really un-

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usual in such a conservative area.

The day after President Obama announced that Seal Team 6 had assassinated Osama Bin Laden, a boy with whom Mercedes had gone to school since preschool asked “Why did Obama kill his brother?”

Some of the kids thought that was hilarious. Others kids, and adults included, wondered why Mr. Bin Laden’s brother could be the president of the United States.

Looking back on this story I can see how Lemon Cove is a microcosm of Mr. Trump’s voting base.

“I love the poorly educated!” declared Mr. Trump after his victory during the primary in the Nevada. Thus eliciting snickers from the national media and political pundits implying they had more raw intelligence than someone with only a high school degree.

They obviously have never lived in rural America. There is an information gap in Lemon Cove because there is no residential high speed internet and cable TV is very expensive. Ignorance is curable, but idiots come in all income and education levels.

Mr. Trump’s voter base may be the uneducated but they are not stupid.

When filling out the paperwork for a large grant for Sequoia Union’s after school program, the director had to analyze the education, crime and income level of the people who lived in the school district. She discovered that there were just as many high school drop outs living in the district as residents holding masters degrees.

It wasn’t always clear who was who.

When I ran school fundraisers or volunteered with other parents we all worked hard. I did wonder how someone my age was already a grandmother

yet also had a first grader. But even though some moms had their first children at age 16, that wasn’t always a definite indicator of being a high school dropout. Several moms got their GED and waited until all their kids were in school to get their college degree, with one mom even getting her masters at age 50.

What unites this area in the foothills is not someone’s college degree or political affiliation but a sort of rugged individualism. Living in the foothills means target shooting, coyotes, air soft wars, riding dirt bikes and horses, and teaching your own teenagers to drive.

At our home in Lemon Cove we had three neighbors scattered about a quarter mile away. On Christmas Eve Mercedes and I would walk to each neighbor’s house with a tin full of homemade holiday cookies and visit for about an hour. Throughout the years we picked out kittens from one neighbor, and another lady who lived alone gave us her daughter’s information in case of an emergency. The third neighbor would always have fudge waiting for us when we delivered our cookies.

Besides Christmas Eve and bumping into each other at the post office, we barely knew each other. Yet we were good friends, and like the parents at the school, they were people I could count on. It’s these rural voters that the mainstream media disregards, to the point that the pundits are still shocked by the results of the election.

Who is stupid now?

Mercedes is a senior at Exeter Union High School and the Lemon Cove boy with whom she grew up who made the crack about President Obama is now a liberal Democrat.

Just don’t tell his mother.

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1 December, 2016

West Hills College Lemoore Partners With First Solar for Solar Project Staff Reports As part of its ongoing commitment to economic development and job creation in the Central Valley, West Hills College Lemoore will soon be a part of one of the most ambitious solar projects in the state.

WHCL will provide 70 parking stalls for workers on First Solar’s 280

Exeter

Continued from p. 1 the specialists are available.”

Treating Rural Poor

KDHCD also operates three other federally-designated health centers in Dinuba, Woodlake and Lindsay, and all four were constructed with the intent of providing care for a population that relies mainly on MediCal. All of them are heavily used, but the Exeter clinic has reached a critical point in its growth.

“It’s a great thing for patients who can’t get that work otherwise,” Herbst said. “We were essentially at full capacity.

We really have no more room for physicians. We really have no more room for more patients.”

The clinics are also a means to reduce treatment times at KDHCD’s emergency room in Visalia. Their locations, Herbst said, were chosen to keep non-emergency patients from using the ER as a clinic.

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“We didn’t just throw a dart at a map,” he said. “We look at the zip code origin in our center (for patients) who are really coming for primary care. Many of them should be seen in a doctor’s office. We saw a high number of patients coming to our emergency department from those areas.”

Not Draining District In the recent defeat of Measure H, a request to issue bonds funding construction at Kaweah Delta Medical Center in Visalia that voters declined in August, some detractors were critical of the District operating facilities outside its physical boundaries.

The Exeter clinic holds its own financially and then some, Herbst said. So do the other three.

“All of our clinics are profitable. Last year, (the Exeter Health Clinic) generated $4 million. ... It’s done that for 18 years. This is the first expansion,” he said. “All that profit has come back to Visalia. Not only does it provide care in the communities where these patients live, it helps fund the Visalia-based medical center.”

The Exeter clinic in particular, because of its relative closeness to Visalia, also provides direct benefits to patients within KDHCD’s area. Specialists in rheumatology, renal medicine, infectious disease and other areas do much of their work there.

“There are about a dozen different specialist physicians who live and work in Visalia who go out to the Exeter clinic to provide care to patients who would otherwise not receive it,” Herbst said.

The District also receives higher government payment rates at the clinics because of their federal designation.

Funding for the Exeter clinic rebuild will not come out of taxpayers pockets.

Instead, the upgrade is one of eight projects paid for from the sale of $100 million in revenue bonds. The bonds, issued last year in December, will be repaid from the District’s future earnings.

Much of the other work funding by the bonds is centered closer to the District’s home base in Visalia.

“The Emergency Department expansion, almost doubling the size of the Emergency Department, is well underway,” Herbst said. “We’re also working on infilling the fifth and sixth floors of the Acequia Tower.”

The tower’s fifth floor will be devoted to general medical and surgical use, while the sixth floor is being used to expand the District’s neonatal intensive care unit. The bulk of the bond funds, some $30 million, will go to a single project, a new medical records system covering all the District’s facilities. Integrating all of a patient’s records from across the District will eliminate repeated work, thus saving money, as well as making a better care experience.

“Right now our electronic records talk to each other—they communicate but they don’t integrate,” Herbst said.

“This literally will create a district-wide, fully integrated record system. When a patient comes into the ER and is discharged into the home health department, it’s one record. We don’t have that today.”

6. Misrepresents to county officials and the public the true condition and costs to maintain, repair and restore Mooney Grove Park and its historic features and buildings.

7. Unlicensed and unskilled county workers and/or individuals repairing buildings on county property.

8. Does not secure building permits and/or get proper inspections.

9. Accepts personal payment from film and entertainment companies that have filmed in county parks.

10. Misappropriating both state and federal grants on projects other than intended.

11. Misappropriating donations from individuals, businesses on projects other than intended.

12. Destroys protected oak trees.

8. The threatened harm is: 1. Injury cruelty to animals.

2. Using unsafe chemicals in soil.

3. Demolishing historic features and buildings in Mooney Grove Park.

4. Destroying mature oak trees.

In the suit filed on October 13, Bryant states: “Eyewitnesses to the animal abused [in Mooney Grove Park] is malicious and intentional. The trees being destroyed is in violation of the Visalia Tree Ordinance. …. Approval of the 20-Year Plan to demolish historic features is not consistent of facts of costs to repair and restore [those historic features]. The threat

is imminent because animal cruelty by county employees instructed by Neil Pilegard. The rat poison in the soil to kill gophers is damaging to public, wildlife and may have long term effects on the underground aquifer and the protected oak trees.

A temporary Restraining Order is necessary to protect from the threatened harm where for petitioner, Mary Bryant and the Real Mooney Grove Project, move this honorable court to enter an order enjoining Respondent Tulare County, Supervisor Phil Cox and Manager Neil Pilegard from: animal abuse, county employees using county trucks to injure, scare, harass ducks and geese, or maliciously and intentionally use dogs to scare, injure or kill protected animals in county parks.

The trimming or cutting of protected oak trees must have permission and an evaluation report from the City of Visalia. Demolishing any structures of building cannot happen without consent from this court. No building or remodeling or repainting any structures cannot happen without permits, inspections and must have court approval. Soil samples need to be obtained and no rat poison or chemicals are to be used without permission from this court.

Where for petitioner moves this honorable court to enter and order and granting such other and further relief as circumstances may warrant.”

Lawsuit

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2. The petitioner resides in the City of Visalia, California.

3. The threat and harm to be enjoined is threatened to be imposed in county parks of Tulare County.

4. Respondents Tulare County, Supervisor Phil Cox and Tulare County Parks and Recreation Manager Neil Pilegard invoke the jurisdiction in Tulare County.

5. This honorable court has the jurisdiction’s factual allegations.

6. Petitioner has personal knowledge that respondent does and will act in a manner that will surely cause serious irreparable harm. The acts complained of are: 1. Neil Pilegard instructs county workers upon arriving for work to run over, injure, and kill geese and ducks inside county parks using county owned vehicles.

2. Secures dogs that injure and maim ducks and geese inside county parks.

3. Instructs county workers to blow up squirrels on county property.

4. Uses rat poison and/or to kill gophers endangering all animals in the park.

5. Traps and kills feral cats and kittens inside county parks.

February Start

The Exeter construction project will actually involve very little construction on site. The first thing residents will notice is an upheaval of the infrastructure.

“In early November, we sent out bid packages and notified the public we were going out to bid,” Herbst said. “The bid is to do all the site work, all of the grading. The city of Exeter is requiring us to put in underground storm draining.”

That portion of the project should begin in mid-February, following a bid award in January. While that’s going on, construction of the clinic’s two new buildings will be underway about 75 miles to the south.

“In the meantime, we’re actually having the two buildings manufactured in Bakersfield,” Herbst said.

The work should be wrapped up in late summer or early fall.

No New Taxes

1 December, 2016

Pesticides Continued from p. 1

Some 60 people spoke at the threeand-a-half hour hearing in three-minute increments.

DPR’s long-awaited draft rules would establish a first-ever statewide buffer zone around public schools and daycare centers in California. The regulations would prohibit any applications by aircraft, sprinklers, air-blast or fumigation on fields within a quarter mile of schools. But the restriction would only apply between the hours of 6am and 6pm, Monday to Friday, despite clear evidence that many of the most hazardous pesticides linger in the air for a week or more. The public comment period for the new rules ends on December 9.

For those in affected communities who have been advocating for better protections for children, the new rules are not enough. Even low-level agricultural pesticide exposure is linked to significant childhood health harms, including developmental, neurological and reproductive harms, as well as asthma, autism and cancer.

“Schoolchildren are being exposed to toxic pesticides that threaten their health and potential, with Latino kids most at risk,” said Angel Garcia, Community Organizer with El Quinto Sol de América, and TC CAPS member. “Our experience and study after study have shown that pesticide poisonings occur at distances well over a quarter mile, while part-time buffer zones do little to reduce long-term, chronic exposure. Schools

Valley Voice • 5 need at least a one-mile buffer for hazardous pesticides.”

A full-time, one-mile buffer for the most hazardous pesticides is the key demand of parents and teachers from California’s agricultural regions, who point to a growing body of scientific evidence in support of greater protections.

According to a study by state and federal health departments, a one-mile buffer would prevent 85% of acute exposure illnesses, while only 24% of nonwork drift illnesses occurred at distances of a quarter mile or less. A University of California - Davis MIND Institute study documented significantly increased rates of autism in children of mothers who lived up to one mile from fields.

The UC Berkeley CHAMACOS study of farmworker families in Salinas found contamination from the neurotoxic insecticide chlorpyrifos in homes even beyond a mile from treated fields.

And the California Childhood Leukemia Study reported elevated concentrations of several pesticides in the dust of homes up to three-quarters of a mile from treated fields.

“These regulations are long overdue but they don’t go far enough,” said Fidelia Morales, a Lindsay TC CAPS member and caretaker for five schoolaged children. “It’s DPR’s responsibility to protect all Californians regardless of race or place, and it’s disappointing that they have proposed rules that don’t protect the community and our schools. As always, it’s low-income people of color who are vulnerable.”

DPR’s draft regulation comes more than two years after the 2014 release of a

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report by the California Department of Public Health, which for the first time documented the extent of use of the most hazardous agricultural pesticides near public schools in 15 agricultural counties in California. The report revealed that more than half a million pounds of 144 pesticides of public health concern are used within a quarter mile of California schools each year.

The 10 most heavily used are all associated with at least one severe impact on children’s health and learning.

These schools are attended by 500,000 students, who suffer long-term chronic exposure throughout their childhood to chemicals known to cause cancer and other severe health impacts. Tulare County had the highest percentage of schools with pesticides of public health concern applied within a ¼ mile – an astonishing 63%, or 123 of Tulare County’s 194 public schools.

The report also documented a marked racial disparity at the most impacted schools. In the 15 agricultural counties studied, Latino schoolchildren were nearly twice (91%) as likely to attend a school near the heaviest pesticide use as their white peers.

The no-spray buffer zones established by the new rules do not apply fulltime, leaving advocates concerned about exposure for children and staff on campus after hours and at weekends. Moreover, eight of the ten pesticides most heavily used near schools persist in the environment for more than a week. Applications of hazardous pesticides in the early morning on school days, a common practice, would still be permitted

under the new rules.

“Pesticides hang around long after they are applied and the damage from this can be long-term, as well,” said Caty Wagner, a TC CAPS member and founder of Sequoia Mavericks. “Brain-harming organophosphates are applied in enormous quantities near Tulare County schools—amounts linked to IQ loss in children for prenatal exposure,” Ms. Wagner added, referring to a recent UC Berkeley CHAMACOS study in the Salinas Valley.

Health and justice advocates point out that school buffer zones are just a start, and that agricultural methods that cause harm to children and the environment are not sustainable in the longterm. Community leaders from California’s agricultural regions are calling on DPR to lead the way toward a transition from hazardous agricultural pesticides.

“Part-time, quarter mile buffer zones are not nearly enough,” said Margaret Reeves, PhD, senior scientist with Pesticide Action Network. “Policymakers need to provide support and training for farmers to transition to safer farming methods that don’t harm kids. We urge state officials, particularly DPR, the Department of Food and Agriculture and the Governor to make the necessary investments in the future of California agriculture.”

Legislation introduced earlier this year (SB 1247, Jackson) intended to provide financial and technical incentives for growers affected by the new rules was defeated in the Senate under pressure from industrial agriculture interest groups.

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6 • Valley Voice

1 December, 2016

Agriculture Pesticides: Farmers Testify Current Rules Protect Schools Kevin Hecteman, CFBF Unnecessary: That, in a word, was the opinion of farmers and other agricultural representatives who turned up for public hearings concerning a Department of Pesticide Regulation proposal to impose a quarter-mile buffer zone around schools and licensed child-care centers, restricting how and when farmers can protect their crops from pests.

About 200 people showed up in Tulare last week to weigh in. The night before, about 175 attended a hearing in Oxnard. In both cases, the throng was about evenly split between farmers and others who think the regulation goes too far, and anti-pesticide activists who think it doesn’t go far enough.

One of those testifying in Tulare was Blake Mauritson, a sixth-generation farmer who works as ranch manager for Kaweah Lemon Co. in Lemon Cove.

A portion of the lemon orchard borders a school.

“I think the biggest question on the regulation at this point is, why?” Mauritson said. “We haven’t seen any science-based information on why they’re wanting to impose a quarter-mile buffer zone around schools.

“We feel like what we have right now in place is working, and that’s local control,” he said. “We work well with the community; we work well with the county ag commissioner’s office. To my

knowledge, there haven’t been any incidences of pesticide-related accidents in Tulare County within the last nine to 10 years.”

Steve Wilbur, a third-generation dairy farmer and diversified grower in Tulare County, thinks along the same lines.

Wilbur pointed out that while DPR seeks to impose a quarter-mile buffer zone, many of the activists who spoke want the buffer expanded to one mile.

“What’s going to come after that?” he asked. “That’s a big fear.”

Tricia Stever Blattler, executive director of the Tulare County Farm Bureau, also questioned the need for a regulation.

“There are plenty of laws that already govern and regulate the application of all these materials,” Blattler said.

“We have a lot of schools that are adjacent to farms. ... And so there has always been a need to have a good dialogue, and a respect for one another. Most of our rural school districts, they understand that. Their faculty and administrators have the ability to reach out and talk to that grower directly.”

As presently written, the regulation would restrict farmers’ ability to apply pesticides within a quarter-mile of a public school or licensed child-care center between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays. Farmers would not be allowed to use aircraft, sprinklers or airblast spray-

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Tulare County farmer Blake Mauritson says there’s no need for a new state regulation on pesticide applications near schools and child care centers, because local programs have been successful. Courtesy/Kevin Hecteman/CFBF

ers during this time, nor could they use powder pesticides or fumigants.

Certain applications would be allowed, so long as the farmer notifies the school and the county agricultural commissioner’s office in advance. Two kinds of notification would be required. One is an annual notice, due April 30 each year, detailing the products to be used; a map of the area to be treated; contact information for the farmer and the agricultural commissioner; and the Web address of the National Pesticide Information Center. When a farmer wants to apply certain pesticides during buffer-zone hours, a 25-foot buffer zone and 48 hours’ notice are required, detailing the product to be used, the area to be treated and the earliest date and time of the application.

Only a ground-rig sprayer, flood or drip chemigation, or field injection or other equipment may be used.

Applications made with a backpack or hand-pump sprayer; a granule, flake, pellet or bait station; or as a dust or powder using field soil injection equipment do not require 48 hours’ notice.

The regulation lets schools, farms and county agricultural commissioners make their own arrangements. This cooperation already exists, many in the farming community said.

“We’ve developed a pilot in Kern County to have active communications between the ag commissioners and the schools, and hope to hold equal own-

ership and develop new innovations vs. just a blanket ‘Here’s the policy,’” said Jeff Rasmussen, president of the Kern County Farm Bureau. “Our track record shows we’re very effective around schools.”

Mauritson said growers, schools and the Tulare County agricultural commissioner’s office work together, and that growers take pesticide safety seriously—after all, he pointed out, children of farmers and farm employees are in those schools. Growers already work around school hours to the extent possible, he said.

So does Reid Potter, who thinks the new regulation just won’t fly.

“It’s overreaching, in my opinion,” said Potter, who runs Lakeland Dusters Aviation in Corcoran and chairs the California Agricultural Aviation Association.

“It’s a quarter-mile, then it’s half a mile. They’re already asking for a mile and seven days a week,” Potter said.

“That’s ridiculous. … A lot of the same materials we’re using in the field are being used on the school grounds. And a lot of the materials we’re using in the field can be bought at Home Depot or Wal-Mart to use in the house.”

In Oxnard, John Krist, Farm Bureau of Ventura County CEO, testified that his bureau and the Environmental Defense Center teamed up on a county-level regulation 14 years ago.

“In Ventura County, farmers and

FARMERS continued on 7 »

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1 December, 2016

Valley Voice • 7

Agriculture Winter Vegetable Harvest Gets an Early Start Kevin Hecteman, CFBF Winter vegetables ran hot and cold as November rolled on, as growers and packers confronted warmer weather and a cooler market.

“I need winter and fall to show up, so the stuff can kind of go to sleep,” said Todd Hirasuna of Sunnyside Packing Co. in Selma. “We do some napa cabbage; when it’s warm, it doesn’t want to wrap real well. … Depending on a couple of other factors, the head of the cabbage won’t be as tight as you’d like it.

The corn seed maggots will kind of stick around. We need that first frost to get rid of some of these bugs.”

Farther south, near Holtville, harvesting got under way early.

“We’re just starting romaine right now,” said John Hawk, whose family has been in the Imperial Valley for three generations. “It looks like there’s plenty of product. It’s been a pretty warm fall, and so the product is coming in probably eight to 12 days early.”

That horn of plenty came as vegetable harvesting migrated south. As vegetable harvest finishes in Salinas, there can be a market gap while farmers in more southern regions accelerate their production, but Hawk said there’s not likely to be a shortage during the transition this year.

“There’s lettuce, romaine; other crops are coming in on time,” Hawk said. “It’s probably not going to be a great market right now. There’s plenty of product—too much product.”

Ralph Strahm, a third-generation Imperial Valley grower, said he’s optimistic about crop yields, and said insect problems have been minimal.

“I think it’s going to be a really good harvest,” Strahm said. “We haven’t had any weather that would cause any problems with the planting, so everything’s on schedule. All the crops look excellent.”

Strahm said he’s also expecting low prices because of too many crops on the market—specifically lettuce, cauliflower and cabbage.

“That remains to be seen, because

we might have a cold winter, and then it’ll slow the growing just before harvesting,” he said.

Meanwhile, a warmer winter back east might help California growers.

“If we get a cold winter here and it slows the growing, and they have a warm winter in the rest of the country—especially the population areas on the Eastern Seaboard—then their demand will be high, because they’ll feel like eating salads for Christmas and New Year’s,” Strahm said. “But if it’s really, really cold, they won’t want salads. They’ll want soup, and they won’t buy a lot of A crew harvests winter cabbage on Jack Vessey’s Imperial County farm. Thanks in part to a warm winter vegetables from us.” fall, winter vegetable harvest began early in the desert, with one grower reporting his crop coming in Markets were slow before eight to 12 days early. Courtesy/Jack Vessey/CFBF Thanksgiving, growers said. we aren’t going to get any mechanical (See related story.)

“Prices are OK but business is pretharvesting to make us more competiIn the Imperial Valley, Strahm and ty quiet,” Hirasuna said. “You can have tive,” Strahm said. “We’ve already seen Hawk both draw on water supplies from prices be really high, but if there’s not the asparagus industry move out of this the Colorado River and have adequate a whole lot of demand and business is area. We have excellent asparagus-grow- supplies. Farther north, however, it’s a slow, it really doesn’t matter how high the ing conditions, but there’s virtually none different story. price is. The last three to four weeks, it’s left here.”

“The Central Valley used to be a lot been pretty bleak as far as demand goes.”

Broccoli has also left the valley, he bigger deal than what it is now with the Strahm identified the main chalsaid: “A lot of these crops are just being water situation on the Westside,” Hilenge facing his farm: the strength of the shifted to Mexico.” rasuna said. “It’s probably more the exdollar. In the immediate aftermath of Hawk described labor costs as “prob- ception than the norm anymore.”

President-elect Donald Trump’s election, ably the big issue,” especially in competHirasuna said a handful of vegetable for example, the Mexican peso lost value ing with Mexican farms. growers continue to use Fresno Counagainst the dollar.

“We’re paying $10 to $12 an hour, ty farmland as a transitional produc“As their peso gets cheaper, then it and they’re making $10 to $12 a day (in tion region from the coastal regions to tends to cause more of their products to Mexico),” he said. the desert. come into the United States,” Strahm Increased mechanization is a possiChallenges aside, Strahm said he said, “and since we’re competing with bility, Strahm said. sees no reason the Imperial Valley can’t Mexico on the same market, the strength “We’re already seeing a very innova- continue to supply produce. of the dollar is a big problem.” tive kind of thinning machine that’s be“We have an abundant supply of So is the cost to employ harvest help, ing used by some farmers here,” he said, water here; we have lots of sunshine as farmers have reported elsewhere. noting that the machine can replace a and lots of farmable land,” Strahm said.

“The state of California has the crew of 20.

“There’s no reason for agriculture not to highest labor (costs) in the areas that we Hawk said he’s doing mechanical stay healthy here. It’s just we’re going to compete with,” Strahm said, “so we’re at thinning with his lettuce and romaine, have to change cropping.” an automatic disadvantage right from and looking into mechanically harvest(Kevin Hecteman is an assistant edthe start.” ing onions, as he’s already doing with itor of Ag Alert. He may be contacted at Those costs will contine to rise due his carrots. khecteman@cfbf.com.) to California laws concerning minimum “It’s going to push us into mechaniThis article reprinted with the perwage and agricultural overtime pay. zation much quicker than we probably mission of the California Farm Bureau “We are probably going to phase out would have, with all the overtime and Federation. crops that have to be hand-harvested if the minimum wage and all that,” he said.

Commentary: Upcoming Event Will Celebrate FFA’s Success George Gomes During the course of my career in agriculture, I had the opportunity to be involved with many individuals and groups tackling tough issues such as air quality, water distribution, taxes and more, all of which called for strong, determined and effective leadership. As I reflect back on those experiences, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to

Farmers

Continued from p. 6 pesticide applicators communicate with their neighbors all the time, and not because the law requires them to,” Krist testified. “They do it because they care about their community and take seriously their obligations to protect human health and safety. And again, this

work with so many accomplished leaders in California who were passionate about agriculture, and who were willing to give of their time and effort to serve others. It should come as no surprise that the majority of those effective and determined leaders shared a common trait with me—a history of involvement in agricultural education and the Future Farmers of America program.

My involvement in FFA, both as a

past member and as a longtime member of the California FFA Foundation Board of Directors, has confirmed my belief that no better program exists to start young people on a positive, productive path in life. As a member of the FFA Foundation board, I see firsthand the positive difference the FFA makes in the lives of young people. The impact and accomplishments of those who have worn that blue corduroy jacket are sim-

ply undeniable, and certainly worthy of our continued support.

In celebration of the growth and success of the Future Farmers of America in California, the FFA Foundation is planning a Blue and Gold Gala celebration for the evening of Feb. 22, 2017, at the FFA Center in Galt. The specific purpose of the gala is to celebrate the ongoing success and growth of FFA in California,

approach is working, as demonstrated by the fact that, even though there are about two dozen schools within a quarter-mile of farmland here, we have had no school exposure incidents in 14 years.

We regard this as evidence of success, not proof that the existing system has failed. And we urge DPR to regard it the same way.”

Wilbur said he wants DPR to understand “that science and fact tell a sto-

ry that can be measured.

“I would invite anybody who wants to have an intimate understanding of what we do to come out and visit. I’ll show you what we do. I’ll show you how we do it. Education is incredibly important in this,” he said.

There will be one more public hearing, at 6 p.m. Dec. 1 at the Salinas Sports Complex, Exhibition Mall, 1034 N. Main St., Salinas. Written comments

can be sent by Dec. 9 to Linda Irokawa-Otani, Regulations Coordinator, Department of Pesticide Regulation, P.O. Box 4015, Sacramento, CA 95812-4015 (see here for more information).

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

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

FFA continued on 10 »

8 • Valley Voice

1 December, 2016

Local Law Enforcement Opens Up About Black Lives Matter and Violence Against Agencies, Nationwide – Part Two “Obviously our safety is important, but, we’re also here to provide a service.

And, you have to do that with as much respect and dignity as you can.

“The approach hasn’t changed – we’ve always trained and told them [the officers] that there’s the possibility [of harm] and so, you have to be vigilant and, again, strike a balance with understanding that most of the time the person being stopped – most of the time when we conduct those type of enforcement stops, things go OK. But, you always have to be prepared for the one that won’t. Again, there’s that balance of providing for your safety, but, understanding what the experience of the person inside the car has, as well. I think that’s important.”

hear about it until a little more of the in- right now.’ vestigation is done and a little bit down “We’re not saying, we’re good, we’re Sixty police officers have been fatally the line, they’d hold a press conference. not involved in this – we are very aware shot in the U.S. in 2016, 20 of those in Now, we’ve got to a better job of being of the dialogue and what’s happenambushes, according to a Fox News U.S. out in front, as soon as we can, to try to ing [around the nation] and are always report published on November 24. Most put out what information we can, while working to try and keep it from happennotably was the Dallas ambush on July still respecting the integrity of an inves- ing here. But, I think right now, we’re in 7. At the end of what had been a peacetigation – making sure the people hear a good spot with our community. ful protest, one sniper took the lives of from us, what we know, what the facts five officers, and injured nine more, as are, what we’re doing about it. Because Mental Issues, Drugs, or Just well as two citizens. Ten days later, six information travels fast, and it snowballs.

Down Right Combative?

Baton Rouge officers were shot, three “We put out a press release, or a noNo matter the reason for combative dead, again all by the hand of one man. tification on something, and sometimes behavior, law enforcement has a job to In these two incidents, the gunman was someone will make a comment on it do – to protect citizens and themselves. shot and killed. and it’s not right. And, a lot of times we “I can say, from experience, in this According to the article – won’t get engaged in a battle with it – department we receive a lot of training San Antonio Detective Benjamin but if it’s something we think is critical on lots of different topics,” Ellis said.

Marconi was the 60th officer shot to death to what the public thinks about safety, “We’re mandated to have certain types of this year, compared with 41 in all of 2015, we have to do something. training every two years, and the 20th to die in an ambush-style at“I think a good and it covers those types tack, compared with eight last year, Craig example of this is, we Cell Phones, Cameras & of issues – race relaW. Floyd, president of the National Law had a report earlier this Social Media tions, arrest skills and Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, said.

There’s little doubt in Chief Salazar’s school year. It was rethings like that. One An ambush-style attack does not necesported that at Golden mind, as well as Kings County Sheriff of the things I am insarily involve someone lying in wait for poDavid Robinson and Resource Dep- West High School we volved in, is Kings Belice officers; it’s any shooting designed to uty Darrin Ellis, that social media and got a call that somehavioral Health – they catch police off guard and put them at a instantaneous information has played one on the campus, put on trainings for disadvantage, Floyd said. they thought they saw a role in spreading news, whether fact suicide prevention and “There usually is an element of surprise someone with a gun – or fiction. mental health first aid. and concealment involved,” he said, and “I remember when we didn’t have no shots, but, they just So, I’ve been trained in it’s unprovoked. thought they saw somecomputers in the cars,” Ellis said. “Nothat. Every time there’s Police have been killed while writbody ever had a cell phone. I haven’t one with a gun. They a training that pertains ing reports, like Marconi was, or eating had it happen to me – but the camera in gave a description. We to my job as a school in restaurants. They’ve responded to 911 have five campuses in Kings County Resource Deputy your face, while you’re trying to do your resource deputy, or even calls, only to have people shoot them as job, could be difficult. If they do it law- that area and, they said, Darrin Ellis as a deputy sheriff, as far they get out of their cars. And in the Dallas fully, I don’t have a problem with it. If they saw him pretty as mental health goes, I shooting, they were targeted by someone in they’re keeping their distance and they’re much in the middle of all five. try to go and do the training. We receive a building.

“We took it se- training all of the time. not interfering, and not “In all the cases, the officers were esriously, locked the egging the person on, “People look at cops like they’re exsentially assassinated before they had any schools down, and went perts in everything – they call the cop to not do what we’re contact with the suspect or placed that out and looked for the to get the cat out of the tree – they call asking them to do – I suspect in jeopardy,” said Nick Breul, the person. And, as we did us for everything. And we’re not experts don’t have a problem Memorial Fund’s director of officer safety so, that evolved on so- in everything. We’re experts in being a with somebody filming and wellness. cial media into an ac- deputy or being a police officer, because what I do – because I This year’s targeted killings are the tive shooter, there were we do it every day. But we’re also human am doing my job.” most since 1995, Floyd said. In fact, Marshots fired at the school – we make mistakes, we get scared, we “I think social meconi’s was the fourth targeted slaying of an – it just kept growing get hurt, we have families that we want dia is both good and officer this month: On Nov. 2, two Iowa and growing, and we to go home to – we put on the uniform evil,” Salazar said. “We officers were killed in separate but related had to work on getting and come in to work, it’s hard to leave started using social meattacks. And on Nov. 10, a Pennsylvania ahead on that message everything else behind us. We all do the dia here, a little over a officer was targeted as he responded to a with the media, that best that we can, but we’re not perfect. year ago. Our goal with domestic disturbance. that was not the case. using social media is to Kings County Sheriff David “We’re all different. We all react Some of these ambush-style attacks “If you’re the par- differently to things. Something that try and use it as a mass Robinson this year have occurred within Calient of a kid there, that may cause one deputy to do something, communication tool – fornia, but not in the Central San Joato let people know what we do and what’s can cause a lot of fear, and it certainly might not cause me to do something in quin Valley. wasn’t accurate. happening here at the department. the same way – it is all a matter of ex“That situation becomes a little perience and training. You don’t dictate “I think what you also see, and it’s It Boils Down to Respect not just in law enforcement, I think more difficult to manage, because we get the situation. You’re there to help; you’re “You do hear from the officers, they we’re seeing it in the elections, social me- a lot more calls – my kid’s in there – peo- there to figure out what’s going on, and are very aware of the national dialogue – dia gives people a voice - in 140 char- ple are getting shot. And, we’re trying to how best to deal with it, and you deal five alone in the past couple of weeks in acters or less, often times, and some- tell people, ‘no, that’s not the case – the with what comes your way.

California,” said Visalia Police Chief Ja- times that’s not all completely fact. So, kids are safe. ’ “So, if you have somebody who is “So, you start dealing with things acting out of the ordinary. You try to figson Salazar. “So, they are certainly aware that message goes out. It runs very fast. of it from an officer safety perspective. People tend to grab onto it and assume outside of the scope of what you were ure out what is going on and deal with it.”

You’ve got to strike that it’s truth. And then initially dealing on, because of how that “Sometimes the public has to rethat balance, because you spend a lot of time message changes.” member,” Robinson said, “regardless While many local police depart- whether somebody has mental issues, you can respond one trying to recover from way and say, ‘hey, it is that, whether it’s right ments now have body cameras, Visa- is on something, or is just being a pain, all about officer safety,’ or wrong. In that sense, lia does not. law enforcement can be the same across “We applied for a [federal] grant the board on that. If you get a call for and it is about officer I think, social media is safety, but, you still a huge challenge to us this last year for body cameras. We were service that somebody has committed have the majority of the in making sure that we not successful,” Salazar said. “Part of the assault, or assault with a deadly weapon community that’s very have the right infor- process was you had to have community on another person and the information meetings, so you had to meet with dif- leads you to a suspect. And, you go to good, very supportive, mation out. looking for our assis“And, it’s certainly ferent stake-holders and get their feelings that suspect and they are uncooperative tance – and you have changed how we ap- on it. We have very good relations with with the orders that you are giving them, to balance your conproach communicating those community stake-holders. One it’s all most irrelevant as to whether they tacts with them, withafter certain events. If of the things they [the grant review] are on something, or their just agitated, out being aggressive or you go back about 10 cited, was really compared to our calls or whether they have a mental illness – too defensive to protect Visalia Police Chief Jason Salazar years, and you had an for service and arrests, the use of force we have a duty to protect the public and yourself, while treating incident, you wouldn’t was a very low occurrence, and so, they said, ‘you really just don’t have an issue POLICE continued on 9 » people with respect.

Nancy Vigran

1 December, 2016 make sure that that person then doesn’t move on and assault someone else.

If you are going to take someone into custody and they have a mental illness, or they’re agitated, or they’re on something – you’re going to still take them into custody regardless of which one of those might be – we have a duty to take that person into custody. And, so, that’s when we go through the process of giving the lawful orders, and then, escalation of the use of force. And sometimes, unfortunately, that escalation of use of force can go to that extreme level and result in a death – which is what you hear about.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that we’d change anything go into it – just because somebody may have a mental illness, or be agitated, or be under the influence of something, they’ve still committed a crime that we need to respond to. If somebody kills someone, we’re going to have to respond to that and our level is going to be heightened because you’ve committed a serious crime against somebody. It’s kind of almost irrelevant at that point, what their agitation level is, what their mental illness is, or what their under the influence of – we’re going to do what we need to do to protect our community.

“And, that’s where I think a lot of people jump to a conclusion, because after the fact, they find out, well, this person had a mental illness. OK, great, we can deal with the mental illness, we can deal with the under the influence, and deal with the agitation once we’ve taken the situation under control. And, that’s where a lot of people jump to a conclusion – well, you shouldn’t have taken it to that level – well, we have to get the situation under control because there’s many other factors - such as if this person flees in a vehicle, now we’ve exposed additional persons to a risk of that they might do something to somebody else.

And, so, sometimes, we understand that there might be a mental illness or under the influence, but we have to deal with the situation immediately and then address the issues.

“In our department, we spend more than $3 million a year on in-custody medical, and that includes mental health. And, we’re no different than anybody else. Those people, once they come into our custody for their mental illness, they have to go through a medical screening, and they have to be evaluated every 30 days. If they are identified as having an issue, they get evaluated more often. About half of our population in jail take some type of psychological medication, because they have some kind of mental illness.

“If society and our legislatures and governor really wanted to help us and help the job that we do, they’ve got to put more of a focus on mental illness in our community. Under the Regan era, when he was the governor of California, they scaled back and did away with many mental hospitals – well that’s had a huge impact because we’ll have people sit in our custody for months at a time while we wait for an open bed at a state hospital.

“We can’t do any type of forced treatment, it can only be voluntary because only the state mental hospital can do the forced medication. We can follow their orders once they come back, but we can’t do anything prior to that while they sit in our custody for four months, they’re just deteriorating. So, that’s where I think as a society we’ve made a mistake,

Valley Voice • 9 because we wanted to ignore that people have a mental illness. No, we need to acknowledge that there is mental illness out there, so let’s put more resources toward addressing it. Because, we would love to have a time where we come across somebody with a mental illness and we can immediately call somebody, ‘can somebody come out and address it immediately?’ But what happens is it is not an immediate address. We refer them to a local mental health treatment center – they get to go voluntarily. If they don’t want to go – too bad, unless they have committed a crime, we can’t get them the help that they need.

Further Training

“There’s more training coming based on additional legislation that was addressed last year,” Robinson added.

“The police academy cadets, we’re hiring five right now, they’ve received eight to 10 hours of mental health training. But, even though you may show up on a call and recognize this person has a mental illness, we still have to make sure that we deal with the situation at hand.

Chief Salazar concurred with Sheriff Robinson and Deputy Ellis, in that training is key to handling situations.

“We try to have as much information as we can before the officer gets there and that’s not easy sometimes, but the more info we have, helps,” Salazar said. “And then, when they get there it is about recognizing some signs – whether it’s mental illness or drugs – any of those types of things that you are looking for, to help access a situation.

“I think, to some degree, some of this dialogue that is happening nationally is that, there is a perception that we respond based on just what you see versus behavior. And behavior plays a large role into it. A person’s behavior can escalate a situation much faster than it may need to. And that can happen on both sides.

“One of the things we do, and we’ve been doing it for a number of years, is CIT training [Crisis Intervention Training] – it’s a 40-hour training course – we do it in conjunction with mental health and other service providers, to try and focus on just what exactly to look for in mental health-type cases.

“And, when you contact somebody, and see things that indicate it might be a mental health type of situation – different types of de-escalation or conflict resolution skills that you can use to work your way through that scenario. That’s been very effective training and I think, that helps us deal with those situations a little better.”

This training is an extension of what Robinson was talking about.

“We’re working on getting all of our officers through (the training) – we do it at 40 hours. I think the state is going to require either 8 or 12 hours, so newer officers are starting to get it in the academy. Our goal will be to eventually get them through more.

“One of the things we are seeing locally is a huge increase is transient or homeless types of service,” Salazar said.

“From 2008 to now, we have seen a 327% increase in calls for service for homelessness, or transient-related [issues]. Some of those may involve crimes – drinking in public, or drug abuse, or trespassing.

But a lot of those, I don’t have the percentage [right now] but I would say a very high volume of those, are mental health type calls. And so we are dealing

with it very frequently, and it’s certainly an issue. And we’re trying to find better ways to work with our partners, whether it’s mental health, the Rescue Mission or other providers to be better effective in dealing with some of those.

Firearm Training

“As far as training goes, in our training, we are never told to shoot to kill somebody – it’s a shoot-to-stop their aggression,” Ellis said. “And, we’re not trained to shoot a hand, or an arm, or a leg, or something like that – we’re trained to shoot the center mass – the biggest part of the body. That’s what we’re trained to do – when something happens that’s drastic, or an emergency, or things are happening rapidly, you revert back to your training.

“If I fear for my life, or the life of someone else, when I pull out my weapon, this is where I am going to shoot, because that is how I have been trained.

“People have asked me, ‘why can’t you just shoot him in the leg?’ That’s not how we’re trained – we’re trained to shoot right here, to stop the aggression.

“People will say, ‘all you guys want to do is to go out and shoot people.’

“NO! I don’t want to shoot anybody!

I don’t want to get shot myself, for sure – I don’t want to be stabbed, for sure! But, I don’t wake up in the morning and put on the uniform, and go around saying to myself, ‘man, I hope I get a shooting today.’

“NO – that’s the worst thing that could happen.”

“We are not expert marksmen,” Robinson said. “Some people think that we can simply pull out a handgun and shoot something small, and we’re just not expert marksmen. It’s unfortunate that somebody in the community would even think that, because that’s not our training. We’re there, and if we get to that point, we’re supposed to stop whatever action the suspect is doing – the suspect has dictated the situation.

“We don’t know what it would do to shoot an arm, or shoot a knee –we have to have a common training, and that common training is to shoot for center mass because we have to make sure we stop the action. If you think, ‘OK, I am only going to shoot the arm’ and then what happens when you miss? Because, if you’ve gotten to the point where you are at that level of use of force, and you’re only going to shoot the arm, and this person has a weapon, and now you’ve aimed for the arm and shot and missed - now that person is not only going to have the chance to harm you, but to harm someone else and, so, we can’t take that chance. We have to shoot to stop.

Public Relations & Racial Relations

When asked whether they have seen an increase in racial problems in recent years, local law enforcement says, no. Although there has always been somewhat an underlying factor.

“Yes, there are racial problems all over the country,” Ellis said.

“If you’ve had a negative experience with law enforcement,” he said, “you’re not just going to not like me, you’re not going to like any cop.”

“Some people are just biased against law enforcement, regardless of their race or your race,” Robinson added.

“I get my haircut at a local barbershop and the clientele is mainly African

American,” Ellis said. “I went to get my haircut about two or three days after the Dallas shootings. In general, the talk in the barbershop was positive for law enforcement. There were a couple of people that would say stuff like, ‘they deserved it,’ or ‘what do they expect, they can’t keep shooting people and not expect somebody to do something.’

“It’s not a big secret – everybody knows that I’m a cop. So, some of the people who were talking stuff, were probably talking stuff to see if I would react to it. There is something called freedom of speech in this country – they have a right to their opinion.”

Salazar said, he feels that racial conflict is minimal in Visalia and that he has seen no uptick in accusations of racial profiling in the community.

Filling Available Positions on the Force

“In the past two years, we have seen a reduction of at least 50% in our applicant pool,” Robinson said. “We were seeing upwards of 80-100 applicants for a deputy sheriff recruitment, now we see 40-50 applicants.

“I attribute it to a lot of what has gone on in the media [with regard to police shootings]. Also, I attribute it to the retirement changes that occurred a couple of years ago – part of coming into this type of job, was the draw of the retirement benefits. Under PEPRA [California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act] – the retirement changes that occurred in 2013, that changed a lot – retirement benefits are not as good. It’s not a drastic change – [prior to PEPRA] a full career was 30 years and could occur at 55 years old – we retire at 90% of our salary. And, the new system retire at 75% - you have to do 32 years, and can retire now at 57 years old. It’s a great retirement still – but it’s a big change, statewide.”

Salazar concurred.

“I think we’re seeing an impact on recruitment,” he said. “I think there’s a few factors that play into that.

“For one, in fact I was just looking at some unemployment numbers, unemployment is still relatively high, here in our area, but at the state level – it’s as low as it has been in years. So, I think to some degree, that affects it. More people are employed, or in different jobs.

We’re recovering to some degree, from the recession.

“But, I think too, people are seeing what’s happening and they hear what’s being said in the press about law enforcement, and to some folks, it may not be as appealing - when you talk about body cameras, or you see the assaults on officers – right now we’re at a point where the presumption is, ‘the officer is wrong.’ And, until we provide evidence that they’re innocent, then that’s the case, and I do think that is affecting our recruitment. It affects our folks that are already working.

“We struggle to find qualified applicants. Recruitment is a challenge not only here, but I know it is locally, statewide and at the national level. Recently, California hosted the National Association of Chiefs of Police, and I think one of the most well attended classes was a class on recruitment and retention. And, that was a sentiment you heard – we’re all facing those challenges right now.

And, so again, I think that is attributed

POLICE continued on 12 »

10 • Valley Voice

Hanford Continued from p. 1

laws surrounding growing medical and recreational marijuana were completely different animals. In addition, neither Colorado or Washington had a comparably sized facility as proposed by Purple Heart.

Tweed is a 380,000 square-foot facility that was formerly a Hershey factory.

Its total grow area is not as large as Purple Heart’s proposed area but is currently under expansion. Bedrocan’s grow area is 50,000 square feet. Mata and Sever also visited a second facility of Tweed in Niagara on the Lake, which is a 325,000 square-foot greenhouse. Because some strains of marijuana grow better indoors while others react very well to natural sunlight, Tweed built both the indoor and outdoor facilities.

Mata and Sever reported back to city council that the odor from the greenhouse could be smelled a block away and that Tweed’s neighbors complained.

The council decided that any proposed ordinance concerning growing medical marijuana should disallow any type of greenhouse.

At Tweed and Bedrocan the flower is harvested for direct sale and the leaves and stems are harvested for extraction into oils. Extracting the oil by use of butane or solvents is illegal in Canada and is the source of many accidental fires in the United States.

Tweed is a state-run facility because medical marijuana is legal in Canada and is considered a pharmaceutical.

Banking is not an issue. Banking will be an issue for Hanford as the substance is still illegal on the federal level in the United States.

Tweed utilizes the Canada’s postal service to deliver its product, so neither is there an issue surrounding the distribution of marijuana.

Water and electricity usage were also an issue of concern for the city council.

Water use over six months at Tweed averaged 9,023 gallons per day and 6.27 gallons per minute. The average projected water use for 750,000 square-feet of grow space proposed by Purple Heart is 125 gallons per minute.

Electricity use at Tweed was an aver-

FFA

Continued from p. 7 especially during the past 10 years since the FFA Center has been open.

First dedicated in February 2007, the FFA Center has served as the home of the Future Farmers of America, providing housing and training facilities for the FFA state officer team as well as meeting and business facilities for FFA staff and industry allies. The FFA Center also houses the history of agricultural education and FFA, dating back to the early 1920s.

The Blue and Gold Gala will highlight important milestones for FFA that have occurred during the past 10 years, including: •Increased FFA membership, from 64,274 students in 2007 to more than 83,894 students today; •Growth in leadership-development opportunities and activities, with 14,879 students attending leadership training

1 December, 2016 age of 29.45 megawatts per day. The average projected electricity use for Purple Heart would be 589 megawatts per day.

Besides water and electricity, security was a major issue for the Hanford City Council and members of the local law enforcement. Tweed had security personnel 24/7 and all interior and exterior doors were key-coded. The entire facility was under monitored surveillance and all personnel undergo background checks by Health Canada. The final product is kept in a level 9 Security vault which has reinforced concrete, floors, ceiling and walls.

Police Chief Sever said, “looking at the facilities we went to, even the district attorney was impressed. Do I think if a facility like that was in Hanford I could regulate it? Yes I do.”

Purple Heart’s business plan states that they will supply all of the needed security so there will be no expense to the city.

No state permits until 2018

After the presentation a few details about the Purple Heart facility were discussed. One challenge was that Purple Heart’s business plan indicates that it will sublet the space to five or six separate growers to comply with current state rules. California currently has a limit of cultivating up to two acres, with allowance up to four acres. Since the passing of Proposition 64, after five years there is no limitation on size of facilities medical or recreational. Until then, Purple Heart intends on subletting because the facility is equal to 20 acres, which would need to be broken down into four-acre parcels.

Questions arose over who would manage and vet all the different tenants or if Purple Heart would take on that responsibility. .

It was also revealed that California has no plans to issue permits to grow marijuana commercially for more than a year. Mata said that the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation (BMCR) will not start issuing permits until January 1, 2018. She said that only those companies that have a local permit will be considered for a BMCR or state permit. The state is encouraging strict regulations to be put in place by the cities and counties and that local ordinances would overrule anything in the state permit.

conferences in 2016, compared with about 8,000 in 2006; •More than 1,500 agricultural education courses recognized for University of California and California State University admission, compared to 781 in 2007; •The addition of 17 new agricultural education programs and FFA chapters.

The gala program will also highlight the accomplishments of chapters and individual students who have gained state and national recognition for their success, dedication and service to agriculture. During the past 10 years, the level of enthusiasm and interest in agricultural careers has soared among students in every region in California, and the gala will serve as a fitting reminder to all of us that these potential agricultural leaders of tomorrow need to be supported today.

As we finalize plans for the Blue and Gold Gala, we hope you will consider sponsoring a table or other parts of the program for this event. The FFA Foundation is looking to build increased

Bedrocan’s Canada indoor operations are pictured above, in a photo from Canopy Growth, which owns both Tweed and Bedrocan Canada.

If the city or county does not allow the growing of marijuana, BMCR will not issue the company a permit.

Another concern was over Hanford’s Industrial Park. It was discussed that when the Coalinga City Council approved the growing of medical marijuana, every parcel in their industrial park was snatched up by medical marijuana companies and the price of the land tripled.

Hanford City Council reacts

Councilmember Russ Curry reminded everyone in attendance that pot is still federally listed as a schedule one drug--along with heroine--and is illegal. He also said that we still don’t know what the state regulations surrounding pot grow sites will be.

Councilmember David Ayers was concerned about handing over Hanford’s entire industrial park to pot growers. He wanted a stipulation saying that only the Purple Heart facility would be approved and no others sites. He also said the banking issue still concerned him but was “fine with moving forward with caution.”

Councilmember Francisco Ramirez was concerned about the water use and also asked if the plant could use solar power and not be on Hanford’s grid.

Pyle said that the old tire factory needed a new roof and that using the opportunity to put on solar panels would be explored.

Mayor Justin Mendes said that he supported moving forward but with an ordinance that protects the city. He said that Purple Heart could provide a

capacity and access, to ensure that even more opportunities are available to these talented and energetic young people who aspire to careers in agriculture. Your support will go directly to building our capacity to offer more conferences and activities throughout California, as well as supporting these young people as they build their skills and leadership capabilities in new and innovative ways.

We recognize many of you already contribute to local programs and chapters—and we certainly don’t want you to stop providing that support locally—but we also would like you to recognize the importance of the statewide programs and activities that make it possible for these future leaders to further develop their skills by participating in activities above the local level. Without your support, the FFA Foundation will not have the capacity to increase access to these high-quality events and programs. Your help will make a difference in the lives of young people.

If you would like more information

potential revenue stream and that the city should always be looking for new ones. “We need to strike a balance between the social costs of growing marijuana in Hanford and the projected revenue,” he said.

After the presentation the city council directed the staff to write a draft ordinance that would allow for the cultivation of medical marijuana. It was also decided that Purple Heart would be asked to pay for staff time, consultants and legal costs and any necessary Environmental Impact Reports.

Mata said that the draft ordinance will be written not just for Purple Heart, but will address the issue of permitting for any medical marijuana processing plant.

Though the vote was unanimous to go forward with writing the ordinance, there is not agreement among the city council members on whether to approve a medical marijuana facility inside the Hanford city limits.

New city council members sworn in December 6th

Two new city council members were elected to the Hanford City Council on November 8 who may change the complexion of its views on medical marijuana. Sue Sorenson will be taking Russ Curry’s seat and Martin Devine will be taking Gary Pannett’s seat on the council.

A swearing in ceremony will take place during Hanford’s regularly scheduled city council meeting with a reception to follow. The meeting will be December 6 at 7pm at the city council chambers.

about opportunities to attend or support the Blue and Gold Gala, or ways you can invest in FFA, please contact Katie Otto at the FFA Foundation Office: kotto@californiaffa.org. Sponsorship opportunities remain for individuals and businesses.

Please do your part to ensure that strong, determined leadership will continue to be developed to help guide agriculture as it faces additional challenges in the future. Many of us involved in agriculture owe a great deal to the training and instruction we received when we wore the blue jacket. Help pay that forward to the next generation of young people who aspire to serve agriculture: Join us at the Blue and Gold Gala as we celebrate the success of FFA! (George Gomes is a retired California Farm Bureau Federation administrator and a member of the California FFA Foundation Board of Directors.)

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

1 December, 2016

Valley Voice • 11

Comments & Letters Emilio Huerta Concession Statement

Emilio Huerta

When I entered this race In January of this year, I never anticipated the passion and support for our campaign.

From the Grapevine to Fresno County, in communities throughout the 21st Congressional district, people have been extremely excited about voting for a candidate from the Central Valley. Someone who will fight for them. The support from people has been overwhelming. I will forever cherish their words of encouragement.

I met residents who told me they had never voted before, but they were voting this year because they wanted to support us. I knew I made the right decision to run when hearing such comments.

We knew this was going to be a tough race. One of my goals for this campaign was to engage Latinos throughout the Central Valley to participate in the electoral process. We

may not have come out on top this election, but we succeeded in registering people and getting them to exercise their right to vote, something they had never participated before. We made great progress, and we have more work to do over the coming years to continue to mobilize our communities and amplify our voices about the issues affecting our daily lives.

From the outset, we were told our campaign was a longshot. We were told that our opponent could not be beat because he had too much money. We were told that Latinos don’t matter, because Latinos don’t vote. We were underestimated. We had faith in our supporters and faith in the people of the Central Valley. We exceeded expectations thanks to the hard work of our friends, family, volunteers, and supporters.

The election is over, but our work will continue. It is time to come together and demand comprehensive

immigration reform, improved education, clean air and water, and new industries with well-paying jobs. It is time to build on the momentum of our campaign and turn our attention to making the Central Valley the place we know it can be. A place where our children want to attend college. A place where the hardest-working people in California won’t have to struggle to raise their families. A place where we celebrate immigrants and their contributions to our community. A place where hope thrives and aspirations are realized.

My family and I have dedicated our lives to serving the Central Valley and this dedication will never waver.

This campaign has strengthened my resolve to fight for the underrepresented.

I am committed to ensuring that our underserved communities are never left behind.

Thank you all for taking this journey with me.

Comments from ourvalleyvoice.com

“ “ “ “

Nothing gets more personal than this!!! It’s vengeance at its best. I feel sorry for you people who have nothing better to do than attack a highly qualified medical MD.

”

— ICAREFORTulare, on Tulare Hospital Board Member Facing Recall Effort

This is business as usual for Tulare county. Remember when they bought that stupid Wausau building that they now call government plaza? The only thing that makes this county sit up and take notice is legal action. Sad! Remember that really cool antique car event held at Mooney’s grove some years ago? that has been a great park.

”

— Thinker, on The Real Mooney Grove Project Files Federal Suit Against Tulare County

Sounds like nothing but threats and bullying. Can’t wait to watch this all play out. I really think the fun has just begun. Ps snapshot this and we will revisit it in a year..

Hahahahahaha

”

— myopinioncounts2, on Tulare Hospital Board Member Facing Recall Effort It’s all about POWER for you,Tate?

Our focus should be on our community and serving them in Tulare. TRMC staff give amazing care! I’ve heard stories from people of doctors telling patients not to come to our hospital. Including supporters of Northcraft and Jamiaca saying “don’t go to TRMC” until Board members you don’t want in and leadership is gone. THEY don’t provide the care, WE do! How dare all of you talk trash about our care. I’m tired of staying quiet. Enough is enough.

”

— RNwithavoice, on Tulare Hospital Board Challengers Win Races, Define Path Forward

“

Police officers you are held to a higher standard that is why you wear the uniform and the badge and given special authority no other profession have. Comunicate, de-escalate and diffuse situations. Your gov’t issued gun is the last resort. Utilize the continium of force options. Always remember your shoot don’t shoot training. Do not forget you serve and protect the citizens of the patch you are wearing. You might want to learn from state correctional peace officers working the toughest beat in the state = prisons. They police/ supervise convicted criminal inmates (not civilian citizens in your community) society have taken off our communities. C/Os are not armed with a gun in prisons but instead armed primarily with communication skills and a pen. Visit a prison as part of your inservice training so you can see how to engage and interact with a convicted criminal without your sidearm. Thats when you really need good communication skills. Or ride along with a state Parole Agent whose clientele are 100% convicted criminal parolees and not civilian citizens you encounter for most of your watch. Everyday and every minute they are on duty they are always fearful of their safety and security but they do their jobs anyways.

All lives matter- citizens, police, inmates/parolees whoever.

Be safe out there while on duty and remember our US Armed Forces serving around the world. Hooah!!!

”

— Ed, on Local Law Enforcement Opens Up About Current Climate

“ “

It’s too bad that Dr. Kumar is willing to put himself and his family through a recall. Measure I was defeated by a 2 to 1 margin, Bell was defeated by a 2 to 1 margin and pretty much the same is true for Gadke. It is obvious the voting public is unhappy. Dr. Kumar must recognize this unhappiness and he should resign. He is recognized by many as a good doctor. His greed and hunger for power has seriously compromised he ability to make good decisions for our hospital.

”

— Dave, on Tulare Hospital Board Member Facing Recall Effort

This is not about him the physician, it’s all about his 20 year reign on the hospital board. All the bad decisions on how taxpayer money was and should be spent. All the lies told, lack of Accountability and transparency. His greediness,lack of patients safety by the hospital, by allowing HCCA to mismanage the hospital. The exterior/landscape is horrible and we pay them 3 million a year.

The same management team also runs the Southern Inyo Hospital and splits their time there. So how can they be giving us 100%. If they are such a great company and know how to run their businesses they should be able to have 2 separate management teams, so no conflicts. They are also send full time employees contracted thru HCCA at TRMC to Southern Inyo and th ER y won’t disclose payroll records of these individuals so who knows which facility is paying that employee’s pay check

”

— Speakmymind, on Tulare Hospital Board Member Facing Recall Effort

Veteran’s Corner State Employment Development Department Veteran Services Scott Holwell

The Employment Development Department, located at 124 N. Irwin Street in Hanford has a Veteran Services department dedicated to assisting veterans in gaining employment.

In addition to employment services, they offer assistance applying for Unemployment Insurance, assistance with veteran benefits and referrals to veteran services.

Office hours for the Employment Development Department are from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

There are two Veteran Representatives to assist you.

Jessica Rangel, the Disabled Veteran Outreach Program Specialist, assists veterans in gaining employment, case management, referrals, and veteran benefits.

She can be reached at (559) 852-2128.

The other Veteran Representative is Adam Bode, who is a Local Veteran Employment Representative who assists veterans, by contacting employers to gain jobs for veterans.

His number is (559) 852-2151.

Jessica is the main point of contact and Adam is the alternate, but either one can give you information regarding your benefits and job referrals.

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.

12 • Valley Voice

1 December, 2016

Self-Help Enterprises, Tulare County Partner for Nutrition in Dinuba Staff Reports The Viscaya Gardens apartment rental community in Dinuba is hosting the Yo Digo Si! (I say yes!) Program, which promotes healthy eating and physical activity for individuals who are at high risk for developing Type 2 diabetes.

The program, held in partnership with Tulare Health and Human Services (HHSA), consists of a group of 14 individuals who are making lifestyle changes with guidance from Maria Flores, Health Education Specialist from Tulare HHSA to prevent or delay the onset of

Police

Continued from p. 9 to what we are seeing happen nationally, and other factors, but that definitely is a factor.”

Back to Respect

“It’s Darrin’s mentality that we want to carry throughout the department,” Robinson said. “Just treat people with respect.

“On the flip side of that, we would love for the community to have that same type of attitude. The VAST majority of the community does, by far, but you get those few community members that don’t have that same attitude, whether it is [toward] law enforcement, or a teacher, or someone else in a position of authority.

the disease.

Open to the entire Dinuba community, Yo Digo Si! is part of a state-wide initiative known as “Lifetime of Wellness: Communities in Action” to improve Californians’ health and reduce health inequalities.

The classes are facilitated by lifestyle coaches trained by Emory University’s Diabetes Training and Technical Assistance Center (DTTAC).

To join, one must be 18 years or older, have a previous diagnosis of prediabetes or history of gestational diabetes, score at least a 9 on the Center for Disease (CDC) Diabetes Risk Test, or be

referred by a medical provider.

Health Education Specialist Maria Flores is pleased with the progress of the group.

She states, “I’m amazed by the commitment all participants have made and the results are proof of their commitment to making a positive change in their lives.”

She highlighted two participants, Erasmo and Blanca.

“Mr. Erasmo has lost a total of 19 pounds; his weight loss has been due to both exercise and healthier eating habits. Ms. Blanca has lost 10 pounds; her weight loss has been a result of exercise,

and keeping track of her caloric intake.

Both are very proud of their achievement thus far and continue to attend class regularly.” As part of the program, Maria encourages participants to attend free Zumba classes held after the class at Viscaya Gardens.

Tulare Health and Human Services will begin a second cohort January 19, 2017 from 4 pm to 5pm at Viscaya Gardens in Dinuba.

All Dinuba residents are welcome to attend if they meet the criteria for the program. For more information, please contact Maria Flores (559) 624-8483 or Roberto Garcia (559) 802-1619.

“I grew up here. So, I’ve arrested a lot of people I grew up with. I use that same philosophy, and I always treat them with respect. I just have job to do, it’s not personal. I just have a job to do. And, I’d see them later on and they’d say, ‘ah, no worries.’

“I come to work and I treat people with respect and try to do the best job I can,” Ellis said. “And that’s the same for all the law enforcement, I know - inside this agency and outside of this agency, but in this area. Are there officers and deputies that do things, they’re not supposed to do? Yes. But, for the vast majority of people who do this job, we try to do the best job that we can.

“I think part of it is our area,” Salazar said. “I think Visalia is a unique community and one of the things you see is the involvement – even in our relationships that we have with different groups, and that is a foundation that has been laid

a long time ago. We have a very good relationship with the school district. We have a very good relationship with the Rescue Mission. We have a very good relationship with different service groups in the community – and when you have those in place, I think it helps. You reach a very diverse cross-section of our community, and it helps us be better poised to deal with some of those issues and communicate effectively. We’re fortunate for the people that have come before us and laid some of those foundations, and now it is our responsibility to try and keep building it.

“Whether it’s the police community and stuff that we’re seeing a lot now with the election, the answer just seems so simple, and I tell my people – its respect. You have to respect that we’re all different. We all vote different. We all see the world from a different lens, to some degree. But, whether it’s us treat-

ing folks with respect, or vice versa – if we could just do that, I think it would go a long way.

“If it takes an effort to do that, that’s what we have to work on. Ultimately, in the end, the results will be what they are going to be. Some things you can’t change. And, we just have to go out and do as good a job as we can, and remember that we are here to serve a community and to work with those groups, I think is what is helping us here. We have very good support – we are very grateful for the Visalia community. And, we’ll work hard on keeping it that way.”

This is part two of a two-part series. The Valley Voice would like to thank Visalia Police Chief Jason Salazar, Kings County Sheriff David Robinson, and Kings County Sheriff Deputy II Darrin Ellis for the time they afforded these articles.

Valley Scene

1 December, 2016

Beatles vs. Stones Tribute Show Returns to Visalia on February 23

Chris Paul Overall (“Paul”), Nate Bott (“John”), Axel Clarke (“Ringo”) and Jesse Wilder (“George”).

Staff Reports The debate between the Beatles and the Rolling Stones has been going on ever since they first crossed paths on the charts 53 years ago. The argument at the time, and one that still persists, was that the Beatles were a pop group and the Stones were a rock band: the boys next door vs. the bad boys of rock. So who’s better? These two legendary bands will engage in an on-stage, throw down - a musical ‘showdown’ if you will - on February 23 at the Cellar Door in Visalia courtesy of tribute bands Abbey Road and Satisfaction - The International Rolling Stones Show.

Taking the side of the Fab Four is Abbey Road, one of the county’s top Beatles tribute bands. With brilliant musician-

ship and authentic costumes and gear, Abbey Road plays beloved songs spanning the Beatles’ career. They face off against renowned Stones tribute band Satisfaction - The International Rolling Stones Show, who offer a faithful rendition of the music and style of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and the bad boys of the British Invasion.

Where did the idea for the show come from?

“Music fans never had a chance to see the Beatles and the Rolling Stones perform on the same marquee,” said Chris Legrand, who plays “Mick Jagger” in the show.

“Now, music aficionados can watch this debate play out on stage.”

The Visalia show is part of a 125 stop tour of the U.S., Puerto Rico, Mexico and

Chris Legrand (“Mick”), John Wade (“Billl Wyman”) and Trey Garitty (“Keith Richards”).

Canada and has been touring since 2011.

The show also performs long term residencies for a number of the Harrah’s Casino properties. The production includes some of the more popular songs from the two rock pioneers and covers the scope of their musical careers, although the set list for Satisfaction usually includes Rolling Stones songs up to the 1980s.

“They certainly have more pop songs but we’re a really great live show. The fans are in for an incredible night of music!” says LeGrand.

During the two-hour show, the bands perform three sets each, trading places in quick set changes and ending the night with an all-out encore involving both bands. The band members have their outfits custom-made, since avid fans know exactly what the Beatles and

Stones wore onstage during different time periods in their careers. There’s a lot of good-natured jabbing between the bands as well.

“Without Beatlemania, the Stones might still be a cover band in London,” said Chris Overall, who plays “Paul”.

“There’s no question that the Beatles set the standard.”

The audience naturally enjoys top shelf tributes to two legendary bands in the same evening. Like The Idaho Statesman said: “If you see only one tribute show, see this one...smart and loads of fun.”

“It’s just a fun time and a cool backand-forth nonstop show,” Overall said.

“We’re going to bring it all. It’s going to be an evening of high-energy music,” said Legrand.

The Donkeys and smAlls to Play Cellar Door

The Donkeys

Two bands will perform at Visalia’s Cellar Door this Saturday.

On December 3, smAlls, a San Luis Obispo group made up of Visalia Natives, will kick off the night with their brand of passionate art rock in the tone of noisy lo-fi 90s indie greats of the era.

The Donkeys, a San Di-

ego band, will also play catchy music ranging from expansive summertime in the ’70s-style rock to ’60s hippie pop, and a few places in between; but always keeping with a vibe that’s unmistakably Southern Californian.

The band has recently went on tours with like-minded peers Delta Spirit and Vetiver, both

of which have graced the Cellar Door stage.

This will mark The Donkeys second and highly-anticipated Cellar Door performance.

The entertainment starts at 8PM in a 21+ show at 101 W Main in Visalia. For tickets, head to ticketweb.com.

County Line Trio Salutes The Kingston Trio on December 3 James Kliegl The Lindsay Community Theater proudly presents a “Salute to the Kingston Trio” starring the County Line Trio on Sat. Dec. 3 at 7:30. This highly entertaining show provides a nostalgic trip down memory lane with the great hits of the Kingston Trio. The price is only $20. Tickets are available at lindsaycommunitytheater.com and can also be purchased at the door.

What is it about The Kingston Trio’s music that keeps the County Line Trio playing it some 40 years down the road? The Kingston Trio had an affinity for performing wonderful three part vocal arrangements and instrumentation in a wide variety of folk songs. It’s a fun trip down memory lane, including

humor, ballads, sing-a-longs and songs with gusto! Some of the “Kingston” hits they’ll be performing are — “Tom Dooley,” “Charlie on the MTA,” “Greenback Dollar,” “Worried Man,” and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone.”

Bob Shane is the only surviving member of the original The Kingston Trio but their music lives on. The Kingston Trio — Dave Guard, Bob Shane and Nick Reynolds — climbed on board the stage of San Francisco’s famed “Purple Onion,” the night that record producer Voyle Gilmore was in the audience. The Kingston Trio had revived a dormant music, oral storytelling songs, and their audiences loved them.

When Gilmore got a listen — included among Gilmore’s recording clients were Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and

Judy Garland — he heard success. He signed them on to Capitol Records.

In 1958, their debut album, “The Kingston Trio,” had a song, “Tom Dooley,” that stayed five months on the Billboard Charts. Their second album, released in 1959, Dean Hammer, Bud Olsen, and Tod Brendlen, in the foreground, “from the Hungry and Mike Sanders, background, perform as the County Line Trio.

Courtesy/County Line Trio. i,” went gold in For more information about the 1960, and by then, show, go to lindsaycommunitytheater.

The Kingston Trio had kicked off a folk revival movement that took the entire com or call 284 2223. For more about country, as well as the recording indus- the County Line Trio, please go to www. countylinetrio.com. try, by storm.

1 December, 2016

18 • Valley Voice

Great Conversations Notoriety and Fame: The Case of Synge’s “The Playboy of the Western World” Joseph R. Teller Why are people like John Dillinger, B o n nie and Clyde, and Billy the Kid so p owe r f u l in our cultural imagination? All were violent criminals, but they achieved a notoriety and popularity not in spite of, but because of their crimes. Why do we sometimes venerate those whom, under different circumstances, we would abhor?

This question was central to this week’s Great Books group’s discussion of “The Playboy of the Western World,” a play by Irish playwright John M. Synge, first performed in Dublin in 1907. As Act 1 begins, the young Margaret Flaherty (“Pegeen”), who with her father, Michael, runs an illicit pub out of her house, is being courted by her cousin, Shawn Keogh, who is pious, naïve, and frightfully boring. But one evening, a bedraggled young man named Christy Mahon shows up, and tells everyone that he has been running for 10 days from the law because he murdered his own father in the fields with a potato hoe. Christy immediately becomes the most eligible bachelor in the commu-

nity: not only does Pegeen want him, and Christy goes down to the shore to but the Widow Quin—who is rumored participate in a horse race and other to have killed her own games with the admirhusband—also has deing townsfolk. signs for him. Christy Things only get is so pleased with his worse for Christy in notoriety that he ends Act 3. Mahon tells Act 1 saying, “It’s great Widow Quin that his luck and company I’ve son has always been a won me…two fine dunce and a coward— women fighting for the he suggests that Christy likes of me...wasn’t I a couldn’t even murder foolish fellow not to him properly. Meankill my father in the while, Christy has won years gone by?” all the games, returning Christy’s fame only with most of the town grows in Act 2. Though to the stage even more John M. Synge other women throw of a hero—only to see themselves at Christhat his secret is out, ty, Christy and Pegeen that Mahon, by the are madly in love and impertinence of not plan to marry. But this being dead, has ruined fantasy is shattered him. The townspeowhen Christy’s father, ple, now knowing the old Mahon, shows up truth, turn on Christy, alive (with a bandaged and more disturbingly, head). “What’ll Pegeen so does Pegeen: “It’s all say when she hears that lies you told, letting story? What’ll she be on you had him slitsaying to me now?” ted, and you nothing frets Christy to the at all,” she says, and Widow Quin, once he later, “And to think of realizes that his social Irish actors Sara Allgood (“Pegeen the coaxing glory we Mike”) and J. M. Kerrigan (“Shawn capital will disappear Keogh”), in the J. M. Synge’s play had given him, and he once the town finds The Playboy of the Western World, after doing nothing but Plymouth Theatre, Boston out he’s not a real killhitting a soft blow and er. Quin promises to keep it a secret, chasing northward in a sweat of fear.”

In a rage, Christy picks up a potato hoe and chases his father offstage, then strikes him dead—again—in front of the whole town. But the town doesn’t want the blame for the crime, so they rope Christy to deliver him to the police. In the nick of time, Mahon crawls back in (Christy fails to kill him once again) and frees his son, and the two leave reconciled, promising to have “great times from this our telling stories of the villainy of Mayo, and the fools is here.” The play ends with Pegeen weeping, “I’ve lost the only Playboy of the Western World!”

What are we to make of such dark comedy?

The play holds up a mirror, asking us to think about why we are so easily attracted to violent stories, but repulsed if we witness the same events firsthand: “The blow of a loy [a potato hoe] [has] taught me that there’s a great gap between a gallous story and a dirty deed,” says Pegeen when she witnesses Christy’s “killing” of Mahon. Similarly, the play also dramatizes the power of storytelling and poetry more broadly: for people like Pegeen, Michael, the Widow Quin, and their whole town, the fantastic yarn and the beautifully turned phrase—the idea of a criminal on the run rather than the reality of it, for instance—can make tolerable, and even exciting, an existence that is all too often bleak and empty in its hard, mundane, and unforgiving truths.

Coming to the Hanford Fox Theater Holiday Movies!

Saturday, Dec. 3 - 2 pm $5+$2 restoration fee A Charlie Brown Christmas & The Nightmare Before Christmas Thursday, Dec. 15 - 7pm $5 National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Watch our website for more classic movies to come!

Brothers Osborne Saturday, Dec. 10 - 8 pm $25 - $35

Robert Earl Keen Friday, Jan. 27, 2017 8 pm - $30 - $35

BEWARE OF UNOFFICIAL WEBSITES SELLING TICKETS AT INFLATED PRICES

(559) 584-7823

www.foxhanford.com

1 December, 2016

Valley Voice • 19

First Congregational Church Tulare Announces Special Events First Congregational Church Tulare is housed in an historic white building with a steeple and bells.

The church, located at 220 W Tulare Ave, Tulare, makes a very warm space for holiday worship.

Please, come! Let us welcome you.

Our special events and services are as follows:

Advent Concert

This annual event features musicians and vocalists of the congregation and our extended family. This year’s concert will be held Sunday, December 4 at 5:30 pm, and will feature the choir, bell choir, pipe organ and several vocal and instrumental seasonal favorites.

Longest Night Service

despair. This is a contemplative service with candle lighting. We use the time to acknowledge our hurts and light candles of remembrance. We will begin our service at 5:30 pm and we will follow the service with a time of fellowship and refreshments.

Christmas Eve

This is a traditional service that retells the Christmas story through Scripture and song. Worship opens with the playing of the prelude on bagpipe and concludes with candle lighting and the singing of Silent Night. Communion is part of worship and is open to all. We also take an offering for Tulare Emergency Aid. Service begins at 5:30pm.

Christmas Morning

This is a service designed for those who struggle with the physical and emotional darkness of this time of year. So often our expectations do not match the reality of the season and thus there are feelings of sadness, loneliness and even

This year Christmas day falls on Sunday so we will celebrate with a child friendly service filled with carols. After worship we will share Happy Birthday, Jesus cake. Communion will be served and is open to everyone. Worship begins at 10:30 am.

Holly Trolley Returns to Visalia The magic of the holiday season transforms the nostalgic Visalia Towne Trolley into the ever-so-loved Holly Trolley. Shoppers jump aboard for a conveniently jolly ride to malls and merchants. Not only does this make shopping and parking easy, but it is also free. This year, Holly Trolley even offers a new stop at the ImagineU Museum!

The Trolley is family-friendly, wheelchair-accessible and a must-do this holiday season.

Also, don’t miss getting a picture with Santa Claus himself at the Visalia Transit Center on Friday, December 16 from 3 to 6 p.m. Each family will get one free photo, which they can pick up the next day.

Wine & Beer Tasting At

Redwood Wine Room

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

Short on time, shop on line!

Take 10% off any one item*

happy holidays!

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Divor c Bank ed! r Bad C upt!

We c redit! an He lp!

Cars, Trucks & SUV’s for every budget!

Diamond Motors Visalia

705 S. Ben Maddox Way

(559) 734-2277

Merry Christmas

Calendar Now – December 17: Arts Visalia Holiday Show & Sale Featuring handcrafted gifts and art by some of the Central Valley’s finest artists and craftsmen, just in time for the Christmas shopping season.

First Friday reception on Dec. 3 from 6-8pm. Admission is free. 214 E. Oak St. Visalia. For more information, call (559) 739-0905.

donation requested at the door. Call Pam Lutz for more information, 597-2436.

December 1: Porterville Children’s Christmas Parade 7pm - Christmas Around the World route from Morton, down Main Street to Olive. For more information, call Porterville Chamber of Commerce, (559) 784-7502.

December 3 - Dinuba Christmas Light Parade & Tree Lighting 5:30pm - Christmas in Candy Land – tree lighting to follow the parade at The Entertainment Plaza, 289 South L Street. For more information call, Dinuba Community Services, (559) 591-5900.

December 1 – 61st Annual Tulare Children’s Christmas Parade It’s a Superhero Christmas - Grand Marshall Robert Martinho-Hernandez. For more information, call Tulare Downtown Association, (559) 685-2350.

December 1 – Annual Christmas Parade in Corcoran Parade route down Whitley Ave. For more information, call Corcoran Chamber of Commerce, (559) 9924514.

December 2: Tulare Emergency Aid’s The Greatest Gift of All Friday, Dec. 2, 6pm. Tulare Emergency Aid’s Sixth Annual Christmas Event - California wine tasting paired with micro-brew tastings paired with mouth-watering appetizers and decadent desserts created by local chefs. Life and silent auction at the Tulare International Agri-Center Social Hall, 4500 S. Laspina. Tickets $40 in advance; $50 at the door. For more information, visit www. givetulare.org, or call (559) 686-3693.

December 2016 Lunch M Lunch served 12-1 pm $4.00 D

December 3 – Lemoore Christmas Parade 6pm - The Music & Magic of Christmas – route along D Street between Follett and Hill. For more information call, Lemoore Chamber of Commerce, (559) 924-6401.

December 3: Country Line Trio Salutes the Kingston Trio 7:30pm - Saluting the music of the Kingston Trio - the Country Line Trio has been performing for 45 years. The show will incorporate the original arrangements of many of the Kingston Trio’s hit songs including Tom Dooley, Charlie on the MTA, Scotch and Soda, Worried Man and Where Have All The Flowers Gone? These and many other great folk music classics are blended with delightful banter, jokes and just cutting-up and having fun. At the Lindsay Community Theatre, 190 N. Elmwood. Tickets are $20.

December 3: 25 Annual Spirit of the Holidays Christmas Tree Auction & Wine Tasting Saturday, Dec. 3 5-8pm Exeter Kiwanis presents its annual Spirit of the Holidays at the Exeter Veteran’s Memorial Building, 324 N. Kaweah Blvd.

Please call 713-4481. Reservations

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

1T

soft tom sou

DAILY SALAD Option:

Chicken Caesar Salad available as a meal replacement.

5 Chicken and cheese

6 Pastrami and Swiss on 7 Spaghetti with bacon,

8 Le

enchiladas in red sauce with rice, beans and fruit

marbled rye with split pea soup and fruit

bell peppers, tomatoes and Italian sausage in a white sauce, with Cesar

wit frui

12 Albondigas soup with

13 Cheeseburger with

14 Meatloaf with mashed 15

turkey meatballs served with cheese enchiladas in salsa verde

lettuce, tomato, condiments and pickle served with coleslaw and fruit

potatoes and gravy, vegetable, fruit and roll

chic ron frui

19 Ground beef stroga-

20 Eggplant parmesan

21 Tuna salad sandwich

22

with layers of eggplant, marinara sauce and mozzarella served with salad, fruit and garlic

on wheat bread with chicken noodle soup and fresh fruit

bea

27 Salisbury steak with

28 Grilled vegetable lasa- 29

gravy and mushrooms, mashed potatoes, vegetable and fruit

gna with layers of eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, bell pepper with marinara sauce and mozzarella served with salad, garlic bread and fruit

noff with egg noodles and garnished with sour cream, vegetables, fruit

26

CLOSED

th

ed frui

**Items on Menu are s

throughout the afternoon. Blacksmithing, weaving, woodworking, butter churning and cider pressing also throughout the afternoon.

Refreshments will include hot cider and more brought by the Back Country Cookers. Admission is free.

34902 Hwy 190 - enter through the rodeo gates.

Enjoy wine tasting, hors d’oeuvres, raffle, silent auction and a live Christmas tree auction. Tickets are December 2 – Exeter Christmas $50 each. For more information, Parade 6:30pm - Santa’s Workshop – route call the Exeter Chamber of Com- December 4: Rockin’ Rudolph down Pine Street. For more infor- merce at (559) 592-2929.

Run mation, call Exeter Community December 3: Kings Lions Club 7:45am - Kids Run; 8am - 5K Run; Services, (559) 592-5262.

9am - Costume Contest - in downMovies with Santa 8am - Doors open; 9am - Trolls town Hanford, presented by Kings December 2 & 3: Christmas in Canned Food Drive at the Lemoore Regional Health Foundation benLemon Cove: Friday, Dec. 2, 4-7pm; Saturday, Stadium Cinemas. Tickets cost four efits Adventist Health Home Care Dec. 3 10am - 1pm and 4-7pm. cans of food per person, children and Hospice Services. Register at The Lemon Cove Women’s Club- and adults. Raffle drawing with San- www.runhanford.com, for more information, call (559) 537-0760. house will be decorated upstairs and ta following the movie. down for Christmas. Baked goods December 4: Old Fashion Christ- December 4: 41st Annual Senior and holiday bazaar items will be for mas Open House Christmas Dinner & Dance sale along with a raffle, door prizes 1-4pm - At the Springville His- 1:30-4:30pm – at Burton Middle and live music Friday and Saturday torical Museum, sponsored by the School featuring Jimmy Kusserow nights. Enjoy the museum which is Tule River Historical Society. Patty and the Fabulous Studio Band. Dinonly open a few times a year. Des- Torrey and friends will make music ner, dancing and door prizes! Tickserts and drinks are provided. $5 ets are $10.00 in advance or at the

door. Space is limited. Tickets may be purchased at the Heritage Center, 256 E. Orange. For more information, call (559) 791-7695.

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: Exeter Women’s Club 6th Annual Christmas Home Tour 4-8pm - Visit four local home decked with festive holiday decorations.Exeter Women’s Clubhouse will serve as the hospitality house with hot

Menu / Visalia Senior Center Dine In or Takeout & under 54 yrs: $5.00

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

Thursday

Turkey and provolone on ft loaf with lettuce and mato, tomato bisque up, fresh fruit

Friday

Weekly Salad Option:

2 Slow cooked pork, pineapple and artichokes over basmati rice with salad in sesame dressing and Hawaiian rolls

Asian Chicken Salad — Crisp romaine, carrots, cabbage, cilantro, peanuts, wontons, grilled chicken with peanut

emon pepper chicken

9 Pork tenderloin with

th rice pilaf, vegetables, it and roll

mashed sweet potatoes, vegetables, salad and fruit

Taco Salad—in taco bowls with lettuce, ground beef, black beans, corn with Mexican cheese and salsa

Parmesan encrusted

16 Lightly breaded tilapia

Chef Salad—with diced

cken breast with macani and cheese, salad and it

with rice pilaf, vegetables and salad with roll

cheeses, black olives, ham, tomato and hard boiled eggs with ranch dressing

Chili verde with rice,

23 Christmas Lunch of

ans, tortilla and fruit

baked ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans, salad and fruit

Perfect Garden Salad — Field of greens with apples, walnuts, dried cranberries and feta with raspberry walnut dressing

BBQ chicken with roast-

30 Pork and chicken tama-

Southwest Chicken Salad with black beans, corn, grilled chicken with ranch dressing

potatoes, salad, roll and it

les (one of each) served with homemade refried beans, Mexican rice, salsa and fruit with cinnamon churros

Happy New Year!

prizes at the Tulare Chamber Trade lection of songs to choose, ranging Room, 220 E. Tulare Ave. For more from 70’s classic rock to modern information, call (559) 686-1547. pop. Karaoke Jockey Miss Sammi will be hosting from 9 PM - 1 AM. December 14: Visalia Chamber No Cover. of Commerce Travel Slideshow Presentation Noon - The Colorado Rockies Featuring National Parks and Historic Trains. Slideshow introduces the summer travel program for July. For more information, call Sue (559) 734-5876, or email sue@visaliachamber.org.

Fridays: Women’s Morning Bible Study, 9am-Noon 210 W Center Street Visalia, CA 93291. For additional information call: 739-9010

January 13: Porterville’s First Ever Bad Art Show 1-4pm - Calling all entries - accepted that the Porterville Art Association Gallery, 151 N. Main St. Categories: Reject Work, Tongue in Cheek, Commercial Junk. Student entries are free; all others are $3/each or $15/total with up to three entries in each category. For more information, call Bill (559) 782-9265; or Frances (559) 539-3243.

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.

Saturdays: Cup of Jazz, 10amNoon At Cafe 210, at 210 Center street, December 16 – Lindsay ChristVisalia. Free. Led by Richard Garoomas Parade gian. Call 559.730.0910 for more 6pm - Parade of Lights - lighted information. vehicle parade from the Save Mart Tuesdays: Barmageddon Trivia Shopping Center to Downtown. Thunderdome, 9pm-1am Open to any vehicle with lights. For Challenge your friends to the ultimore information, call (559) 333- mate trivia throw down. Earn some 1994. bragging rights in categories ranging

CONTINUOUS

subject to change.

cocoa, snacks and live music all evening, 201 Kaweah Ave. Tickets are $20 in advance; $25 the night of the tour. Tickets are available at the Exeter Chamber of Commerce or Antiques by the Water Tower. For more information, call (559) 592-6738.

December 9: White Christmas - 36th Annual Visalia Chamber 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 December 9, 10, 16 & 17: Old Fashion Christmas Tours Candlelight Tours @ Zalud House 6-8pm – Seasonal displays and vin-

tage decorations with guided tours and refreshments. 393 N. Hockett, Porterville. Admission: $2/adults; $.50/children & students. For more information, call (559) 782-7548; (559) 791-7695.

Sundays: 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 December 10: 3rd Annual Wood- musicians get three songs. Sign ups start at 9 PM, Show starts at 9:30 lake Christmas Parade 7pm in Downtown Woodlake. For PM, Ends around 12:30 AM. No more information, call The Home- Cover. grown Project (559) 804-5203, Mondays: Bridge Club, 9:30am(559) 909-2932.

2pm 210 W Center Street Visalia, December 11: Three Rivers HisCA 93291. Admission is free. For torical Society 25th Anniversary additional information call: Joan Celebration 1-4pm at 42268 Sierra Drive, Three Dinwiddie @ 732-0855 Rivers. Join the Three Rivers Histor- Mondays: Knitters, 10amical Society for a celebration, food, 12:30pm refreshments, silent auction and live 210 W Center Street Visalia, auction. Contact Tom Marshall, CA 93291. Everyone is welcome.

559-561-2707 or email history@3rMondays: Monday Karaoke at museum.org.

Barmageddon, 9pm-1am December 14: Tulare Chamber Get on stage and sing your favorite Holiday Open House tunes on our one of a kind sound 5-7pm - Refreshments, networking, system. New Image has a vast se-

2nd Tuesday, Monthly: Yappy Hour, 5-9pm Well-mannered, leashed pets are welcome on the patio at the Planing Mill Artisan Pizzeria, 514 East Main Street, Suite A, in Visalia. A portion of the proceeds is donated to the Valley Oak SPCA. For more information, call 651-1111.

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

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

Wednesdays: Barmageddon Game Night Come blow off some steam at our game night. Enjoy complimentary gaming on all consoles, TCG’s, Table top & board games. Happy hour will be from 6-8pm.

1st Thursday Monthly through October: Diabetes Support Group, 5:30-7pm Kaweah Delta Health Care District will offer a free diabetes support group through October from on the first Thursday of the month at the Kaweah Delta Chronic Disease Management Center, 325 Willis St., Visalia.

Information: 624-2416.

1 December, 2016

22 • Valley Voice

Kaweah Delta Hospice Delivers Turkeys, Thanksgiving Fixings to Families To help brighten the Thanksgiving holiday for family members who have a loved one receiving hospice care, Kaweah Delta Hospice today (Nov. 22) delivered fresh turkeys and Thanksgiving fixings to 101 families – the most families ever to receive this gift.

“These families are facing a tough time during the holiday. This is our gift so they don’t have to go face the hustle and bustle to have a nice family dinner for Thanksgiving,” said Pam Hauschel, Kaweah Delta Hospice’s office lead specialist who organized the project for the past seven years. “It’s worth it just to see them smile because someone remembered them during this difficult time.”

The Visalia Breakfast Lions Club provided the fresh turkeys and Kaweah Delta Hospice staff, along with other district staff and community organizations including the Tulare County Deputy Sheriff’s Association and the Professional Law Enforcement Managers Association provided other fixings.

Kaweah Delta Hospice families such as Margaret and Ramon Sandoval were among those thankful for the gift of a Thanksgiving dinner. Their 3-year-old

son Angel has been on Kaweah Delta Hospice since birth due to a rare congenital birth defect which involves deformities of the face and a respiratory illness.

“We’re praying that he doesn’t get sick and he won’t be in the hospital for Thanksgiving,” said Angel’s mother Margaret.

The delivery of a fresh turkey and groceries helped ensure that the Sandovals wouldn’t have to venture out and bring home any germs to Angel, who is susceptible to infection. “Every year around this time we are in and out of the hospital because he’ll get pneumonia,” Margaret said. “We’ve had some scary moments.”

Kaweah Delta Hospice, a division of Kaweah Delta Health Care District, is located at 623 W. Willow St., Visalia. The not-for-profit healthcare organization dedicated to helping patients with endof-life comfort care wherever they live in Tulare County - at home, in a residential care facility, or at a skilled nursing facility. The organization works to relieve pain and other symptoms, as well as provide emotional support and spiritual counseling. Patients and their families are

Kaweah Delta Hospice staff thank Visalia Breakfast Lions Club following their delivery of fresh turkeys for Kaweah Delta Hospice patients and families.

offered a variety of services designed to cover every aspect of their lives including a physician, a nurse, a home health aide, a chaplain, a social worker and bereavement counseling.

Established in 1963, Kaweah Delta Health Care District is the only trauma center between Fresno and Bakersfield.

Kaweah Delta Medical Center was recently awarded four out of five stars in overall hospital quality from the Centers

for Medicare & Medicaid Services and an A in hospital safety in Leapfrog’s Fall 2016 Hospital Safety Score. The district offers a comprehensive scope of services including everything from a well-respected pediatric hospitalist program to nationally recognized orthopedic and cancer programs. For more information, visit www.kaweahdelta.org or follow Kaweah Delta on Twitter and Facebook.

Tulare County Library: Food for Fines Staff Reports This is the season for giving and the Tulare County Library encourages giving to others this holiday season by offering Foods for Fines. During December the Library forgives fines when patrons donate at their local Branch to three local charities. This year, the program expanded to accept more than food.

As in previous years, non-perishable food items will be collected for FoodLink, a food bank that serves our entire county. Patrons can also donate new unopened toys to Toys for Tots and personal health care items to the Visalia Rescue Mission.

Posters in all Tulare County Library Branches list the items requested for each organization.

Patrons can take their donations to any Branch Library circulation desk to have their fines forgiven. Donations received are placed in decorated bins for display. To encourage contributions of highly desired items, including peanut butter and packaged socks, up to $10 in fines can be cleared. Patrons may donate multiple times throughout the month.

Donations of non perishable food, allows FoodLink of Tulare County, a nonprofit organization since 1978, to provide food year round to our communities. The organization also provides nutrition education to individuals and families throughout Tulare County.

Donations to the Food for Fines program will be used to restock county food banks.

The mission of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in communities where the drive is held. Toys donated after December 16 will go to the Rescue Mission.

The Visalia Rescue Mission seeks contributions of travel size new health care items, new socks, underwear and other personal necessities.

Founded in 1981, the nonprofit organization serves Tulare and Kings County homeless, formerly incarcerated, and addiction disabled persons. It is funded entirely by donations from local organizations, businesses, and individuals in our community.

Ruiz Foods Presents the Kaweah Delta Health Center’s ‘Lost Girls Mammogram Fund’ with a check for $4880 as a result of the 2nd Annual Ruiz Foods Pink Out which took place October 28th. (l-r): Lindsay Mann, CEO Kaweah Delta Health Care District; Kim Ruiz-Beck, Chairman Ruiz Foods; Dena Cochran, VP of Development Kaweah Delta Health Care District; Blanca Santana, Community Relations Coordinator; Rachel Cullen, President and CEO Ruiz Foods, Fred Ruiz Chairman Emeritus.

FHCN Opens 22nd Site, Located in Pixley On Thursday, November 17th, Family HealthCare Network (FHCN) celebrated the opening of its new Pixley Health Center with a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony of the Pixley Community Center. The community was invited to join the event, which was held at the new location at 927 Center Street. The morning included tours of the Pixley Community Center, the new health center space, refreshments, and the gathering of the Pixley community.

The Pixley Health Center marks the organization’s 22nd site, and 18th Community Health Center in Tulare and Kings Counties. Co-located with Community Services Education Training (CSET), the health center will offer family medicine while providing access to resources such as education services, employment training, health insurance enrollment assistance, and housing and energy assistance for the local community. The new health center features three exam rooms for medical services and supports the organization’s team-based, patient-centered medical home model.

The Pixley campus has been a sixyear project in the making. Spearheaded by the Pixley Foundation, the partners included CSET and the Tulare County Library. FHCN was invited as the health partner for the project. “The

Staff Reports Pixley Health Center is an exciting project that demonstrates how partners can come together in a community to address health and wellness. We are proud to be a part of the community fabric in Pixley”, stated Kerry Hydash President & CEO. The campus will also include a public library opening next year.

FHCN’s Pixley Health Center opened its doors for patients on Friday, November 18th, and will be open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:00am to 12:00pm and Tuesday and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. To schedule an appointment, or for more information about the new FHCN - Pixley Health Center, please call 1-877-960-3426, or visit the website at www.FHCN.org.

Family HealthCare Network is a private nonprofit organization that operates 22 sites, 18 of which are federally qualified health centers located throughout Tulare and Kings Counties. Our mission is to provide quality health care to everyone in the communities we serve. With more than 170 medical and dental providers in our network, we provide access to a wide range of coordinated health services. FHCN also offers pharmacy services and free transportation.

1 December, 2016

Valley Voice • 23

VRM Executive Director: “‘What’s your success rate?’ That’s a great question” Al Oliver, Visalia Rescue Mission

I am often asked, “What’s your success rate?” It’s a very reasonable question, but one that’s difficult to answer.

How should we measure success in this ministry? How many days or years of sobriety does a person need to be considered a success? How many years at a new job? Does one of our graduates need to be awarded full custody of their children to be considered a success? What if they were just granted supervised visitation after months of little to no contact?

You can see the difficulty we have in offering a rate of success, and instead of evaluating success as a statistic, we focus on stories.

Over the past two years, Douglas is one man whose story we have shared with you. After spending the majority of his life in prison, many would consider Douglas a lost cause. After all, what could he do to support himself and stand on his own two feet? He missed the boom of the computer and internet age. He had nothing to put on a resumé — not even an address. His parents had died and he had no contact with his children.

How would he ever become a success story?

In 2 Corinthians, Paul tells us God made us brand new creations. In Revelation 21:5, the resurrected, victorious and reigning Lord Jesus makes this astonishing, universal declaration: “Behold! I am making all things new!”

Douglas came to Visalia Rescue Mission and entered our Life Change Academy on October 10, 2014. Now, he’s on staff with us. As you consider your participation in this ministry, especially at the end of the year, consider the hundreds of men and women who cannot change their own life, who are desperate for God, and who need Visalia Rescue Mission. And they need you.

As we look to the new year, we are excited to share a tremendous opportunity to expand this ministry: Complete the second floor of our Community Center, which will serve as our Learning and Administrative Center. This facility opened in 2012, complete with classroom space, offices, and a 4,200

sq. ft. multi-purpose room. With your support, we can finally complete and use the second floor.

The goal of this Capital Campaign is $350,000: • $50,000.00 for electrical and lighting • $100,000.00 for HVAC, climate control and fire suppression • $100,000.00 for flooring, insulation, wallboard, ceilings, finish carpentry • $100,000.00 for a building code-required mechanical elevator per the city permit By achieving this goal, men and women like Douglas will have a much

greater chance to be successful. In Douglas’ case, he began taking classes at College of the Sequoias and is on his way to be a certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor. For the first time in his life, he will have job experience and education for a resumé. He has been made new.

In addition to this exciting Capital Campaign, every year we serve over 100,000 meals, provide shelter for men, women, and children 365 days a year, and provide hundreds of hours in counseling and classes. While these services and resources are provided free to our guests and residents, the operational cost to us as an organization is great.

• $1.92 per meal • $11 per shelter night • $18.32 per day in our Life Change Academy.

Throughout this 35th anniversary year, we have honored our pledge to be as effective and efficient as possible with your giving.

With your help, we can have a successful Capital Campaign, see our general operation needs met, and most importantly, see more men and women living restored lives as new creations.

So on behalf of Douglas and hundreds of graduates and guests you have helped, thank you.

Warmest Holiday Blessings to all our friends and partners in this NEW ministry.

To donate to the Visalia Rescue Mission’s Capital Campaign, go to http://bit.ly/made-new

Boys & Girls Clubs of Sequoias Hosts Thanksgiving Dinner in Tulare The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Sequoias hosted a Thanksgiving Outreach dinner on November 23, hosting families at its Tulare site at 948 N. H. Street.

65 turkeys were roasted by volunteers at their homes, providing the opportunity to feed almost 1,200 people.

The free dinner with all the Thanksgiving fare is November 23 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The Thanksgiving Outreach dinner was a partnership between the Boys & Girls Club and Reaching Higher, an after school program sponsored by Tulare Community Church.

Madison Peña, site director at the Tulare Boys & Girls Club, says students in Arts and Crafts classes were busy making Thanksgiving cards for the dinner.

Teen members will help with greet-

ing, seating guests at the dinner. Bounce houses and activities for the kids were also provided.

Ty Davis, director, Reaching Higher, says, “This is a community event meant not for just those in need, but an event for a warm meal and a conversation.”

The event was meant to “empower Boys & Girls Club members to serve others.” he said.

In addition to the Boys & Girls Club members, 300-400 volunteers from Tulare Community Church had a hand in preparing, serving, helping with putting on the dinner.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sequoias currently serves youth in the communities of Visalia, Tulare, Ivanhoe, Farmersville, Exeter, Porterville and Strathmore.

Explore The Colorado Rockies Featuring National Parks and Historic Trains The Visalia Chamber is offering the opportunity to explore the Colorado Rockies with an inclusive package featuring National Parks and Historic Trains. The trip is 9 days and includes 12 meals, hotel accommodations and roundtrip airfare from Fresno.

The trip will depart on July 14th and return on July 22nd 2017. Join the Chamber on December 14th at 12:00 at for a slideshow presentation at the City Administration Office located at 220 N. Santa Fe. For anyone who loves the majestic outdoors this is an amazing tour filled with breathtaking scenery and historic landmarks. Travelers will enjoy scenic tours of Colorado and Utah while traversing the Rocky Mountains and exploring four national parks. The trip

will begin in the “Mile High City” of Denver. Home to the famous 16th street Mall. This adventurous tour includes Rocky Mountain National park and the “Roof of the Rockies”, Arches National Park the world’s largest concentration of natural sandstone arches and Canyonlands National Park and the Island in the Sky mesa.

After three national parks, travelers experience Colorado National Monument and travel along the Rim Rock

while they journey to the Colorado wine country where they will learn about the region and sample the wine at a family owned winery during the winemaker’s dinner. Next on the agenda is a little bit of history as travelers will drive south to Durango and the small mining town of Silverton a National Historic Landmark where it is “all aboard” the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and the 1881 coal-fired, steam-powered locomotive.

In the evening, the group will enjoy and Old West adventure filled with traditional cowboy food and entertainment. After a restful night travelers will venture to Mesa Verde National Park known for the mysterious Spruce Tree Cliff Dwellings built between 1211 - 1278.

From history back to national treasures, the tour will ride to Colorado Springs, and visit Manitou Springs home of Pikes Peak the legendary symbol of the 1859 Gold Rush. Here travelers will journey aboard the Pikes Peak Cog Railway, the world’s highest cog railroad.

For more information on the Chamber travel program, contact Sue Summers at 559-734-5876, or visit the website at www.visaliachamber.org.

1 December, 2016

Valley Voice • 24 Land Integrated Pest Management for Home Gardeners and

It’s Time to Prevent Peach Leaf Curl Michelle Le Strange UC Master Gardener Advisor Emeritus Cold temperatures slow down many garden pest problems, but it is also a key time for gardeners to take action to prevent certain pests from becoming problems next spring. One of the most important of these preventative practices is application of dormant treatments for peach leaf curl. It is particularly important where we live because of the abundance of commercial peach and nectarine orchards in our area.

Peach leaf curl affects the blossoms, fruit, leaves, and shoots of peaches, ornamental flowering peaches, and nectarines, and is one of the most common disease problems for backyard gardeners growing these trees.

Caused by the fungus Taphrina deformans, peach leaf curl is a very serious disease. Its most distinctive symptom is distortion, thickening, and reddening of foliage as trees leaf out in the spring.

Leaf symptoms appear about 2 weeks after leaves emerge from buds. The fungus grows between leaf cells and stimulates them to divide and grow larger than normal, causing swelling and distortion of the leaf. Red plant pigments accumulate in the distorted cells. Damaged leaves often die and fall off tree but will be replaced with new, usually healthy leaves once the weather turns dry and warmer.

A leaf curl infection that continues untreated over several years will contribute to a tree’s decline and reduce fruit pro-

duction substantially. and used.

Peach leaf curl, also knownbeassold leaf To preventcurl, peachisleaf curl, peach As a result, the options a disease caused by the fungus and nectarine trees must be treated with for dormant treatments in Taphrina deformans. leaftrees curlareaf-limited preventive fungicides during the dor- Peach backyard fects leaves, mant season. The bestthe timeblossoms, is after leaves fruit, and less than and ideal. Cophave fallen, usually in late per ammonium complex shoots ofNovember peaches,orornamental flowerDecember.

(LiquiCop or Kop-R-Spray) ing peaches, and nectarines, and is one During a wet winter, a second ap- is still available but is only of the most common disease problems plication can be made just before buds 8% copper and significantfor backyard gardeners growing these swell. If the November/December treat- ly less effective than MicroFig ment wasn’t made, can distorted, be applied reddened cop, which contained trees.itThe foliage 50% cau in January or that February as buds begin copper.

It becomes more efit causes is easily seen in spring. to expand. fective if 1% dormant oil is When severe, the disease can reduce Although gardeners won’t notice added to the solution. production substantially. the symptoms fruit until spring, there is little The fungicide chlorothat they can do at that time to reduce thalonil has been available leaf curl. Treatment applied after trees and used for many years IDENTIFICATION AND leaf out or after symptoms appear won’t and is still effective. It is sold DAMAGE be effective. Removing affected leaves under several trade names or shoots will Peach not reduce problem.

(Daconil, in Fung-onil, leafthecurl first appears springOrtho Peach leaf curl There are a few peach varieties that are Garden Disease Control, life as reddish areas on developing leaves. resistant or partially resistant to leaf curl, etc.). Be sure to follow all These areasplanted become and outlined but they are not commonly in thickened safety precautions puckered, causing curl and the home orchard.

These are Frost, Indi-leaves on theto label.

Fig an Free, Muir, and Q-1-8.

Bordeaux severely distort (Figs. 1 and 2). The mixture, Figure Peach leaftypical curl ofsymptoms typiPeach leaf1.curl symptoms a serious infection. tom which gardeners can mix up cal of a serious infection. sur with hydrated lime and mixing up the thickened areas turn yellowish and themselves, is another alternative prod- solution.

Key Products Discontinued then grayish white, as velvety spores Two important fungicides tradition- uct to use, but most gardeners are not The above article comes directly arepeach produced the surface the leafextra time when from two UC Pest Notes written by JC interested by in spending ally used to treat leaf curlon were only treating one turn or two trees. curl leaves withdrawn from the fungus. market on Later Decem-affected Broome and Chuck Ingels, Plant PatholThe ingredients include powdered ogy and Fruit Tree Farm Advisors, reber 31, 2010. yellow or brown and can remain on the • Lime sulfur (calcium polysul- copper sulfate in “bluestone” form and spectively, in Sacramento County. tree or may fall off; they are replaced conidium penetrates fide) was cancelled for backyard either hydrated lime (calcium hydroxFor more information host about Peach tissue and second ide) orthat quickdevelop lime (calcium oxide). None Leaf Curl and Bordeaux mixture produces an infection uses byby theaUS EPA set of leaves downthese weather ingredients are classified as pes- load the UC IPM Pest Notes on these more normally unless • Tribasic copper sulfate (sold as of wet young leaves yetand homethe gardeners should wear topics availablein spring Microcop

by Lilly Miller) was ofticides, at: http://www.ipm. continues.

The loss leaves conidium discontinued by the manufac- goggles, gloves, and a dust/mist filter- ugerminating c d a v i s . e d u / P D F / PE S T N OT E S / production of a second set result in deturer, but existing supplies can ing respirator, when they are working index.html new infection

creased tree growth and fruit production. Defoliation in spring may expose branches to sunburn injury.

The peach leaf curl pathogen also infects young green twigs and shoots.

Affected shoots become thickened, stunted, distorted, and often die. Only rarely do reddish, wrinkled to distorted (or hypertrophied) areas develop on fruit surfaces. Later in the season these infected areas of fruit become corky and tend to crack (Fig. 3). If leaf curl infection builds up and is left uncontrolled for several years, the tree may decline and need to be removed.

conidida overwinter on buds or twigs

conidium conidium

Figure 4. Leaf curl disease cycle.

LIFE CYCLE

Leaf symptoms appear about 2 weeks after leaves emerge from buds (Fig. 4). The fungus grows between leaf cells and stimulates them to divide

PEST NOTES

University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program Agriculture and Natural Resources

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