Valley Voice Issue 93 (18 May, 2017)

This issue featuring A Weekend Away.. in Valley Scene Volume XXXVII No. 10 • 18 May, 2017

www.ourvalleyvoice.com

Tulare Bio-Gas Project Gets One More Chance from New BPU Dave Adalian A stalled bio-gas project will get at least one more review from Tulare’s Board of Public Utilities (BPU)despite the Board’s denying the company behind the project a second 12-month discount on its rent.

Instead of another year of reduced payments--at a loss of some $53,000 for the city--Colony Energy Partners received a one-month reprieve on a scheduled rent increase for city-owned property on Paige Avenue, and another shot at selling its project to the Board during that body’s next meeting on May 18.

On Borrowed Time

As early as 2012, Colony Energy Partners, a group of investors with several alternative energy projects, approached City Hall with a plan to turn waste from

several sources into fuel. Later, with the idea Colony might ink an agreement with the city to harvest its waste in an extension of the original plan, company officials signed a long-term lease that allowed them to pay a reduced rent until the project was underway.

The clause covering the discounted rent payment that ran out last year. In May 2016, the former BPU, which has since been replaced, agreed to extend the period of reduced payments for a year. The extension, Colony said at the time, would allow it to complete negotiations with the city on the $20-million, two-decade deal. Then talks stopped and controversy began.

Where They Left Off

The controversy hasn’t ended, and both the old and new BPU have met

TULARE continued on 9 »

Devin Nunes. Courtesy/Devin Nunes

Nunes Mum on Town Halls, Russia, Flynn, Trump Congressman Devin Nunes may be in some seriously hot water. With an ethics probe looking into his handling of classified documents, calls for him to resign his position as Intel Committee chair from both sides of the aisle, and cries from constituents for his attention, Nunes has gone quiet. That roaring silence is leading to a lot of rumor, speculation and even a serious challenge at the polls next year.

White House Visits

Visalia Transit operates routes from Farmersville to Visalia. Courtesy/Visalia Transit

Potential Transit Problems May Not be Problems After All Nancy Vigran Farmersville has been undergoing a lot of roadwork on its main streets.

Included is a bus turnaround on South Farmersville Blvd., along with a bus stop intended for Visalia Transit Route 12 buses to accommodate seniors from a local apartment complex. Currently, Route 12 moves along Caldwell Ave. from Mooney Blvd. in Visalia, and further along Visalia Rd. into Farmersville and on to Exeter.

Travel along Route 12 outside of Visalia has recently been considered on the chopping block by Visalia Transit, according to Farmersville City Manager John Jansons.

“And the concrete is barely dry,” he said, of the South Farmersville Blvd. bus turnaround.

In a meeting between Jansons and Visalia Transit officials last week, however, he learned there is a possibility that Route 9 may take up the slack.

Ridership along Route 12 east of Mooney Blvd. has been sluggish, officials told Janson. If Route 12 to Farmersville and beyond is eliminated, Route 9 along Walnut Ave. will continue to run and may conceivably make the loop down Farmersville Blvd. to pick up passengers, on demand.

In other words, Janson explained, if an individual requires bus service, they would simply need to call in and would be told when the next route bus would be able to pick them up at their stop.

There are other on-demand, or as-needed services in Tulare County.

Exeter’s Dial-A-Ride has served its

TRANSIT continued on 10 »

In March, the career politician from Tulare found himself the center of national media attention when he announced to the press he had gone to the White House to brief President Donald Trump on what Nunes said was evidence conversations by Trump and his associates had been “incidentally collected” in classified intelligence reports during the

Dave Adalian period before Trump took office. That was on March 22.

It then became clear Nunes had actually obtained the reports during a secret visit to the White House grounds the night of March 21, from a source he refuses to name but who he termed a “whistleblower.” The New York Times, however, reported the source of Nunes’ information were two White House staffers, one of whom, Michael Ellis, a lawyer with the White House Counsel’s Office, was previously an attorney for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence which Nunes chairs.

Taking classified information to the president instead of sharing it first with his fellow committee members immediately caused a storm of criticism for

NUNES continued on 8 »

Devon Mathis’ Chief of Staff, Sean Doherty, Fired Sources close to Sean Doherty reported that he was fired as Assemblyman Mathis’ Chief of Staff on Friday, May 5.

Doherty told two sources that he was fired, not by Mathis himself, but by the Assembly Rules Committee.

Mathis was elected to California Assembly District 26 in November, 2014.

The Assembly Rules Committee allegedly rarely fires staffers, happening only about once a decade and only for serious violations.

A source familiar with the rules committee was skeptical about Doherty’s story.

“I just don’t think rules is involved in personnel matters. It doesn’t smell right.

Catherine Doe It’s not usually their job.”

Debra Gravert, Chief Administrative Officer Assembly Rules Committee, said in an email, “Personnel matters related to Assembly employees are confidential.

In addition, Assembly employees are “atwill” employees who serve at the pleasure of the Assembly, and their employment may be changed or terminated without cause at any time.”

Gravert continued, “All Assembly employees are employees of the Assembly and are under the control of the Assembly Rules Committee.”

MATHIS continued on 10 »

2 • Valley Voice

18 May, 2017 FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESK

The Resistance Begins At Home

We came home from the wars--that is to say Cabo San Lucas--in 1999, after a sojourn there of five years. But in Lemon Cove, where we landed, my battles with Nature continued. You might even say the front expanded--to 96 acres.

We moved in to an ancient, tatterdemalion farm house in a citrus grove owned by my in-laws; after a few years, in lieu of rent we agreed to maintain it. Because they did so grudgingly. When we arrived the grounds resembled the image I’ve always held of Guadalcanal, and battle--almost instantly--was joined.

First came the chilling discovery that, like Cabo, these parts are home to the fearsome tarantula wasp. At this latitude, mercifully, they aren’t much larger than the average honey bee. Now, those bees were a real problem. My in-laws had decided it was appropriate to lease space near the house to a bee keeper.

Never mind their five grandchildren, or that the bees tended to hive above the front door. We couldn’t do anything about this because, for years, they told us the poor keeper had no other place to situate them. It was only after some time that it was accidently revealed they were collecting a fee. What finally resolved the Great Bee Invasion in our favor was my in-laws’ realization that the bees might be cross-pollinating their seedless tangerines.

Still, I fought back where I could.

One night, from a tree not 10 feet from the house, came a sudden otherworldly caterwauling. When mating, mountain lions sound rather as you expect they might. But this is a family column, and I couldn’t tolerate such a thing so close to the house. Lions, that is--not the mating. I grabbed a tennis racket and charged out to urge the happy couple on their way, fully prepared to crack either across the mazzard should our disagreement escalate. But they just stared at me--two pairs of retinas reflecting back in the beam of my flashlight.

I had to turn a hose on them to cool their ardor, and when they leapt from the tree and alit on the ground I could gauge their weight from the vibration transmitted through the soles of my feet.

The Chief ’s main concern was for my sanity in confronting them with sporting goods. My in-laws’ main concern was for the safety of the mountain lions. Never mind their five grandchildren.

Perhaps the worst fight was with the plethora of rattlesnakes brought out each year by the advent of warm weather. They could not be allowed to slither their way inside the house. Neither could they be tolerated outside anywhere near our kids. One such ophidian bit a kitten of ours right on the front porch-that is to say on its forepaw--and I thought, sadly, “Cloud is a goner.”

The best way to shoo them off was with a hoe--an implement whose employment I soon became adept at. Counter-intuitively, the idea was to provoke the snake, getting it to strike at the flat metal blade. The rattler would then recoil, and, as if you were using a push broom, the trick was to advance the hoe, again provoking the snake. After enough of this frustration, most took their headache and slunk off.

All of this was my way of “draining the swamp.”

Because--let’s face it--the Resistance begins at home.

There’s no denying we’re in a hell of a fix. As they’re wont to when they’ve achieved a majority, the Republicans are overreaching themselves to the point of putting party before country. And that, my friends, is treason.

Wouldn’t it be great if the electorate would vote the Great Republican Invasion out because it’s cross-pollinated our healthcare with a tax cut for the wealthy?

Wouldn’t it be great if, simply by taking up sporting goods, we could force a very badly needed special prosecutor out of the woods?

Wouldn’t it be great if, simply by taking up garden tools, we could repulse the ridiculous snake who sits in the Oval Office?

Sound crazy? What doesn’t these days?

Joseph Oldenbourg

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

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

Reporters:

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

Sales & Special Sections Editor:

Nancy Vigran (nancy@ourvalleyvoice.com)

Contact us & share your opinion: www.ourvalleyvoice.com PO Box 44064 • Lemon Cove, CA 93244 The first five copies of this newspaper are free. Subsequent copies are 25 cents per copy.

Please contact the Voice for more information.

18 May, 2017

Valley Voice • 3

Political Fix The Paradigm Shift

Here is the Republican Party’s dilemma.

In 2010, the majority of Americans were against universal healthcare and the Republican Party gave those Americans a voice.

Then Obamacare became law and started savings lives.

Since the advent of Obamacare there has been a paradigm shift from the belief that access to health- care is reserved for those who can pay for it to the belief that healthcare is a human right. Now the Republicans who represent those Americans are left holding the bag during a very contentious election cycle.

And another paradigm shift is brewing.

Americans are starting to realize that the person in charge of reforming the insurance industry should be someone who actually uses the system.

Billionaires such as President Donald Trump don’t have health insurance.

They don’t have to fill out reams of paperwork or choose between plans that will keep them alive or cost then their homes. Billionaires just go to the doctor, see a specialist, or check into the hospital whenever they like. They don’t even have to be sick.

Before President Trump ran for office, the term “pre-existing condition” or “co-pay” was not even part of his lexicon and he most likely didn’t even know what they meant.

People were perplexed when Pres.

Trump said, “Now, I have to tell you, it’s an unbelievably complex subject,” adding, “Nobody knew health care could be so complicated.”

Then people were fairly shocked when, hours after repealing Obamacare, he turned to the Australian Prime Minister and said that Australia has better healthcare than the United States.

Seemingly unaware that he campaigned against a system such as Australia’s he said to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, “You have better health care than we do.”

The bar is lowering for what shocks Americans in terms of Pres. Trump’s comments, leaving some supporters to question the wisdom of electing an outsider who prides himself on winging it.

The lynchpin of the 2018 election is going to be the Republicans’ American Health Care Act (AHCA). It isn’t going to be Russia, town hall meetings, or Pres.

Trump’s tweets. In 1994 the Democrats lost 52 seats after Hilary Clinton tried to introduce universal healthcare. The Democrats then lost 63 seats in 2010 after Obamacare was passed.

Now that the Republicans have tried to overhaul healthcare are they going to face the same fate?

The AHCA was passed by Congress a few weeks ago and has not received glowing reviews from the Republican-lead Senate. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is not anticipated to give it high scores either.

If the CBO score shows that 24 million people will lose their health insurance moderate House Republicans are going to regret they voted yes. If the CBO score says that it will increase the deficit the Freedom Caucus is going to regret its vote.

In the final analysis, for Republi-

Catherine Doe

cans in competitive districts, it was a risky vote.

Democrats need to flip 24 seats to take control of the House. Hilary Clinton won in 23 congressional districts now controlled by Republicans. One of those districts is in our backyard and held by Congressman David Valadao.

His 21st District voted 55.2% for Sec. Clinton and 39.7% for Pres. Trump.

Democrats have a registration advantage of 28 points.

Consistently labeled as a “vulnerable” or as a “toss-up” Republican district, Rep. Valadao has always won by a comfortable margin. In 2016 he beat Emilio Huerta by 13 points, a challenger who had plenty of money and possibly more name recognition than Rep. Valadao.

Rep. Valadao is well liked, so the question really isn’t if he will retain his seat, but what sort of arm twisting it took for him to change his vote from undecided to yes on AHCA. He was not an early supporter of the Republican health bill and if per chance he does lose, the lone reason will be the repeal of Obamacare.

Congressman Devin Nunes, on the other hand, is in a very safe Republican district. The 22nd Congressional District has a 10 point Republican voter registration advantage and the district voted 43% for Pres. Trump and 33% for Sec. Clinton. Rep. Nunes consistently wins each election with a 30 point advantage.

Rep. Nunes’ critics think the district will flip. They want to “talk about Russia.” Well, that would be a pretty short conversation because Rep. Nunes is a hawk on Russia and always has been.

His critics want him to hold a town hall so they can yell at him for a few hours. Since he was elected I have never known Rep. Nunes to hold a town hall, so I don’t know why everyone is howling now. He is laying low for the time being but normally holds many public events where his constituents freely talk to him and he stays until everyone has had their fill of chit chat and pictures.

Rep. Nunes was in favor of AHCA the first time the bill was introduced in March, and the second time when it recently passed in May. Because of the paradigm shift, if he loses any votes at all, it will be because of the Republican healthcare bill. Approximately 50,000 people in Tulare County and 100,000 people in Fresno County will lose their health coverage if the AHCA becomes law.

Rep. Nunes has not faced a serious challenger since he first ran in 2002, and the Democratic bench in the Central Valley is not exactly what you would call deep. There isn’t one elected Democrat in the county except for some city council members.

The same is true in Clovis, which actually makes up a larger part of Rep. Nunes’ district than does Tulare County.

He already has a Democratic challenger, Andrew Janz, from Fresno. Even if Mr. Janz manages to win over an additional 10 points, Rep. Nunes will still win by a landslide.

But what about a Republican challenger?

A source close to Rep. Nunes said, “Republicans have repealed Obamacare and are now working on tax reform.

They have done what the voters elected

them to do. Why would another republican challenge him?”

Do You Want to Build A Snowman?

One of the reasons behind Disney’s huge success with the movie “Frozen” was because it resonated with siblings and parents watching their kids grow up.

Born only 15 months apart, my two oldest sons, Chuck and Alex, had built many a proverbial snowman and were about the same age as the grown Elsa and Anna. Alex said the first time he saw “Frozen” he cried like a baby because Elsa and Anna reminded him so much of his relationship with Chuck.

Alex moved home from Eugene in January of 2014 to recover from a mental breakdown and needed a stable place to recover. But his condition threw a wrench in my dad and stepmom’s plan to kick our family out of our home.

To get their plan back on track, my father and stepmom took Alex out a few months later for a Mother’s Day

brunch to voice their concerns. Between the champagne cocktails and eggs Benedict at the Gateway in Three Rivers they made Alex promise “not to do anything stupid.” When my dad and stepmom brought Alex back home he was clearly distressed and not in an appreciative frame of mind over their “concern.”

So I spent my Mother’s Day three years ago holding Alex’s hand and watching “Frozen.” When his favorite songs came on he put the volume way up and we sang them together and he cried. His DVD had a crack in it so a few minutes after the lead song “Let it Go” the movie jumped back to the beginning and we watched it in a loop until late that night.

Although Joseph, I, and our two youngest children, Manny, and Mercedes, tried to shield Alex from the eviction process, we couldn’t keep my sister and stepmom from badgering him. I prayed for Divine intervention, which we received, and my family landed on our feet in a new home. But Alex was

POLITICAL FIX continued on 5 »

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4 • Valley Voice

18 May, 2017

Times-Delta To Share New Editor with Redding, Salinas Catherine Doe The Visalia Times-Delta will now be managed by the Executive Editor of the Redding Record Searchlight, the newspaper announced earlier this month.

The new editor, Silas Lyons, will take a “regional editing” role for North Central California.

The new announcement means that Lyons, a Redding resident, will oversee operations at the Visalia Times-Delta, Salinas Californian and Redding Record Searchlight.

Lyons’ new role will include the duties of Executive Editor Pete Wevurski, who was laid-off from his positions at the Visalia Times-Delta and the Salinas Californian.

This announcement comes after those papers announced that their print editions would no longer be concerning themselves with breaking news. The two newspapers have been linked since 1948, when both were bought by Speidel Newspapers. Gannett then bought Speidel Newspapers in 1977.

Wevurski had previously served as executive editor of both newsrooms, starting as the interim editor in June, 2014, before his position was made final in February of 2015.

“The new North Central team, under Lyons, links newsrooms in those regions with The Desert Sun in Palm Springs and the Ventura County Star, based in Camarillo, as the USA TODAY Network in California,” the announcement states.

A source close to the Visalia

Times-Delta said that Wevurski was well liked in the newsroom; the decision to consolidate was a financial decision made by Gannett, the owner of the multiple newspapers, rather than instead of any performance issue.

Paula Goudreau, president of The Salinas Californian and Visalia Times-Delta, was recently named president of the Redding Record Searchlight, taking on a regional role along with Lyons for North Central California.

According to the Record Searchlight,

Before Lyons’ appointment, the Times-Delta shared its editor, Wevurski, and publisher, Paula Goudreau, with the Salinas Californian. Actual layout of the paper is performed remotely at a Gannett “Design Studio” in Phoenix, Arizona.

Wevurski shuttled between Salinas and Visalia; Goudreau only spends a few days a month in Visalia.

Gannett’s latest round of layoffs didn’t end in Visalia.

Jim Romenesko, a media journalist, forwarded a report that there were layoffs

“Goudreau and her two sons, Samson, 18, and Jackson, 16, live in Stockton.

She will continue to use Stockton as her home base and travel to the three communities she serves.”

The Times-Delta has been slowly losing local control over its own coverage because of its ownership by Gannett, a publishing behemoth.

The publishing company owns the Times-Delta, the Californian, and the Record Searchlight — in addition to other newspapers, such as the Des Moines Register, the Louisville Courier-Journal, the Arizona Republic, the national newspaper USA Today, and 205 publications across the United Kingdom through a UK subsidiary.

Consolidating newsrooms and cutting staff has been a trend for Gannett.

at 37 Gannett properties.

That includes the Las Cruces (N.M.) Sun-News, where three journalists were laid off and the newspaper’s top editor resigned, and the El Paso Times, where four were laid off, according to NMPolitics.net.

Journalists from NOW Media Group, owned by Gannett and operating in Wisconsin, tweeted about layoffs from the group — including their own.

Matt DeRienzo, the executive director of an association for local, online publishers, wrote that Gannett’s layoffs had an outsized impact in smaller markets — and included a screenshot of an internal company email announcing that at Gannett’s Wisconsin newspapers, lobbies will no longer be open to the public, transitioning customers to a “self-service experience.”

“Already-lean small town newsrooms were hit the hardest — papers such as the Times-Herald in Port Huron, Michigan, the Reporter-News in Abilene, Texas, the Daily Record in York, Pennsylvania, and the Sun-News in Las Cruces, New Mexico,” DeRienzo wrote.

“Gannett won’t be coming back into these towns to restore local journalism jobs. But we have all of these talented reporters, editors and photographers who care deeply about their communities. Support them in efforts at grassroots journalism entrepreneurship. They hold the best hope for replacing these continual cuts to local journalism.”

What does the future hold?

Gannett currently owns five additional newspapers in California besides the Visalia Times-Delta and Californian.

They are The Redding Record Searchlight, The Desert Sun, Tulare Advance-Register and the Ventura County Star.

The Ventura County Star, based out of Camarillo, is a small enterprise whose editor saw the writing on the wall when Gannett bought the paper last year.

He retired last April.

With a staff of over 40 employees, the mothership of the USA network in California is the Desert Sun based in Palm Desert. Goudreua and Lyons both report directly to the Desert Sun Executive Editor Greg Burton.

The next logical step for Gannett would be to consolidate newsrooms of all the California papers into one entity under the Desert Sun’s umbrella.

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18 May, 2017

Valley Voice • 5

Fresno Yosemite International Airport Welcomes Wings for Autism Staff Reports Fresno Yosemite International Airport hosted California’s inaugural Wings for Autism® program sponsored by The Arc of the United States, in partnership with The Arc Fresno/Madera Counties, SkyWest Airlines, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Delta Global Services and HP. The Wings for Autism® program provides individuals with autism or other intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families the opportunity to prepare for air travel in a real-life environment.

Air travel can prove particularly challenging with all of the activity at a busy airport including the crowds, unfamiliar sounds and noises.

The Wings for Autism® program will not only help to alleviate the stress individuals and their families may experience when traveling, but will also enlighten airport and airline professionals about how best to serve individuals with autism or other intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Fifty families from California’s Central Valley region signed up to benefit from Wings for Autism® hosted at Fresno Yosemite International Airport. The received such tremendous interest that registration reached full capacity within three days of its introduction.

Families arrived Saturday, May 13 at 9:00 a.m. for airline check-in with Delta Global Services. After receiving their boarding passes, the group proceeded to TSA security screening and then to the gate area, where SkyWest Airlines personnel announced a simulated flight de-

Political Fix Continued from 3

never the same after that brunch and he got progressively worse with every box he saw me pack.

I would not have wanted to spend that Mother’s Day in 2014 anywhere else than holding Alex’ hand, because this Mother’s Day was spent without him. I don’t know how many stages of grief there are, or their names, but I’m fairly certain I’m currently in the one referred to as “anger.”

I’m angry because if my siblings, mom, dad, and stepmom had been there for Alex, he might still be alive.

I’m angry that my mom, dad, and stepmom have 20 doctors and specialists between them, but Alex couldn’t see the one doctor he needed until it was too late.

I’m angry that Alex’ girlfriend slept in a metal chair next to his hospital bed every night but my dad and stepmom didn’t visit him once.

I’m angry that Chuck drove over several mountain passes and through a snow storm to get to Alex when he was fighting for his life, but my dad and step mom wouldn’t return from their vacation home three hours away.

They did send him a get well card, though.

parture and began boarding families on the airline’s regional jet.

At the conclusion, participants received a gift bag filled with travel keepsakes donated by the airport and partners as well as a social story book to personalize their Wings for Autism® experience.

A giant backdrop featuring a SkyWest aircraft designed and donated by HP gave the opportunity for families to capture memories of their day at the airport.

A second airport rehearsal will be repeated at 1:30 p.m.

“As the first airport in California to host The Arc’s Wings for Autism® program, Fresno Yosemite International Airport is pleased to fill a need in our community and region by helping families navigate air travel in an encouraging and learning environment,” said Director of Aviation Kevin Meikle. “Planning for the event has been a unique opportunity for all of the partners and volunteers genuinely eager to support a program created to prepare families and enhance their travel experience.”

“We are excited to host the Wings for Autism® in Fresno and delighted that this will be the first event hosted in California in the program’s history. For individuals with autism spectrum disorders, everyday tasks can sometimes prove to be far more difficult for them,” said Peter Berns, CEO of The Arc. “We are grateful to our partners Fresno Yosemite International Airport, SkyWest Airlines, TSA, Delta Global Services, HP and The Arc of Fresno/Madera Counties – who are committed to making air travel possible for families with individuals with autism and other intellectual and developmental But most of all, I’m angry that Chuck and Alex will never build another snowman.

My anger reached a crescendo on my way to Exeter High School one afternoon picking up Mercedes. I asked the Universe what to do with all of this anger and a radio announcer, out of the blue, started saying over and over, “Let it go.”

And that is exactly what Alex would tell me to do.

Alex has only come to me once since his passing and that was in a dream. He walked over to me and gave me a kiss on the forehead. It was obvious that he was still sick but on the mend which made me happy. He loved his grandparents and I could see that Alex wasn’t angry and he didn’t die mad at them.

I believe that nothing happens to you that is not your destiny. But I’m still angry that my extended family knew Alex was sick and dealt with it by sitting on their hands.

Who is to say that my single and childless brother or sister’s destinies weren’t meant to cross with Alex’s, and this was to be their one opportunity to help someone other than themselves?

I’m mad about so much more than is written here. So unlike Elsa, I’m not going to “Let it Go” for a good long while.

Let the storm rage on. The cold never bothered me anyway.

disabilities.”

“SkyWest is honored to take part in the inaugural California Wings for Autism® event,” said Lori Hunt, Vice President of People at SkyWest Airlines.

“There’s no better way to share our love for aviation than by introducing the miracle of flight to these most special passengers.”

“The Transportation Security Administration is honored to support the Fresno Airports Wings for Autism® event designed to alleviate some of the stress that families experience by creating an environment of help and assistance to

our entire community,” said Robert Benson, Director of Operations for TSA Fresno. “We are excited to work with all our Airport partners and The Arc, assuring everyone has a chance to experience the benefit of air travel.”

“HP is proud to be a sponsor of the inaugural Wings for Autism® event. We are honored that HP’s printing technologies help families and participants learn about air travel, share emotions and record memories of their fun day at the Fresno Yosemite International Airport,” said Enrique Lores, President of HP Imaging, Printing & Solutions.

6 • Valley Voice

18 May, 2017

Agriculture Critical Deadline in Groundwater Law Approaches Christine Souza, CFBF Just weeks away from the deadline, counties, irrigation districts, farmers and other entities are finalizing agreements to form locally controlled groundwater sustainability agencies in affected basins across the state.

As required under the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, the groundwater sustainability agencies—or GSAs—will guide groundwater management in basins and sub-basins classified by the state as medium or high priority.

Under SGMA, local agencies must work together and with groundwater users to develop local groundwater sustainability plans that will guide decisions affecting groundwater use and fees.

GSA notifications from local agencies must be submitted to the California Department of Water Resources

by June 30.

Jack Rice, an associate counsel for the California Farm Bureau Federation, said the two-and-a-half-year process of forming the local agencies proved very challenging.

“In forming the GSAs, local communities are establishing the entity that will be writing the future of groundwater pumping in that basin. This is an extremely important part of the process, and county Farm Bureaus in many areas have done an amazing job representing agriculture to ensure the voice of agriculture is part of the GSA,” Rice said.

He noted that once the local agencies form, they will begin writing groundwater sustainability plans, which he said will require “even greater involvement” by farmers and ranchers.

“Farmers and ranchers must focus on showing up and staying unified,” Rice said. “If agriculture isn’t engaged or becomes fractured, we jeopardize our own future.”

As DWR receives notifications of GSA formation, it will review them for the required information and to assure there is no overlap of basin boundaries.

The agency hopes to have applications processed in July.

DWR senior engineering geologist Mark Nordberg, who is the SGMA project manager, said the agency has conducted a roll call of counties to ensure the deadline will be met.

“The way GSA notifications have been filed is it’s been across the board, whether it is a small, local agency; a joint powers authority; a group of agencies that have coordinated through an MOU (memorandum of understanding); or a county that has claimed all of the portions within the boundaries of the county,” Nordberg said.

About 197 local agencies have coordinated and have formed GSAs in 119 different basins, according to DWR. The sub-basins must be managed by a GSA, or else the State Water Resources Control Board will step in, oversee those areas and impose fees. The board is expected to approve a schedule of fees at its meeting this week.

For many, maintaining local control has been an effective motivator.

Elizabeth Nielsen, Siskiyou County natural resources policy specialist, who handles SGMA for the county, said local farmers and ranchers were concerned about how the law would impact groundwater rights, but said she was

very aware that “having local control was crucial.”

“Our water users understand that it is really important to handle this locally,” Nielsen said, noting that Siskiyou County contains four medium-priority basins that will be overseen by two GSAs. Areas not covered by a GSA are considered unmanaged, DWR’s Nordberg said, “but there are very few of those areas, because most every county has agreed to manage areas not within a district.” In areas that could have contentious issues, DWR provided professional mediators.

Tulare County Farm Bureau Executive Director Tricia Stever Blattler said after participating in months of meetings with a professional facilitator, 10 GSAs are being formed within the county’s boundaries, with the county participating as necessary to fill in any unmanaged areas.

“People disagreed, didn’t like what was happening and didn’t think SGMA should be happening,” Blattler said. “It wasn’t an easy two years, but people have come out the other side of it being pretty responsible with one another and trying to make sure it is an open and transparent process.”

Kern County contains several groundwater basins, the largest of which, the Kern sub-basin of the Tulare Lake basin, covers the San Joaquin Valley portion of the county. Kern County Farm Bureau Executive Director Beatris Espericueta Sanders said that makes the sub-basin home to nearly 1 million acres of irrigated agriculture and numerous metropolitan centers, including Bakersfield. Sanders estimated there will be 10

GSAs in Kern County, although there are a few smaller areas that are considering filing.

“The biggest stumbling block was addressing and accommodating the diversity of interests,” she said. “SGMA requires extensive coordination, and this has been and will continue to be the biggest challenge of the process.”

Breanne Ramos, Merced County Farm Bureau executive director, said local agencies have formed about 17 GSAs covering four sub-basins in Merced County.

“I think the biggest challenge that we are going to see is coming together to do the groundwater sustainability plans,” Ramos said.

DWR is promoting the SGMA process to be adaptive over time, Nordberg said, including how a GSA is governed.

“If some local agency simply decides, ‘We want out,’ they can opt out.

And I know there are efforts by landowners statewide to form new water districts,” Nordberg said. “Once those new districts are formed, then they have the status of being a local agency and can become a GSA.” GSAs will guide plans for groundwater basins identified as “critically overdrafted,” which must be in place by 2020; all others must be in effect by 2022.

For more information, see the DWR online SGMA portal at sgma.water.ca.gov/portal/.

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

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

Agricultural Teachers’ Association Comments on Budget Staff Reports

In his 2017-18 State Budget released earlier in the year, Governor Brown proposed the complete elimination of funding for the Future Farmers of America program and other programs in Career Technical Education serving students throughout California.

Also included in these cuts were the elimination of Partnership Academy Programs, the University of California

Curriculum Institute for recognizing CTE courses for admission purposes, and Professional Development Activities for CTE instructors.

These programs have been funded by $15 million in CTE Pathway monies that were provided to the California Department of Education for supporting statewide Career Technical Education activities and programs.

The Governor’s proposal for this year would eliminate this source of

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funds, directly them instead to the Community College Chancellor’s Office to supplement other workforce development funds already in existence.

“We are extremely disappointed that Governor Brown has proposed eliminating Career Technical Student Organizations like the Future Farmers of America and other CTE funding in California” said Jim Aschwanden, Executive Director of the California Agricultural Teachers’ Association.

“The loss of these components of Career Technical Education will have a devastating effect on programs and teachers statewide. CTE programs remain vitally important to the economic well-being of our state, and this proposal eliminates highly effective programs that have proven their worth over time. We think this is a terrible SALES, SERVICE, RENTAL AG EQUIPMENT & TRUCK REPAIR

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18 May, 2017

Valley Voice • 7

Agriculture AFBF Leader Visits Land at Center of Dispute Kevin Hecteman, CFBF A patch of land in Tehama County stands at the center of a federal case with implications for every farmer and rancher in the United States, and as example for farm organizations of the need for federal regulatory reform.

John Duarte’s struggle against the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Department of Justice is nearly five years old. American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall made a point of visiting Duarte’s land south of Red Bluff during a visit to California last week.

Regulatory reform is one of Duvall’s top priorities.

“When I heard about Mr. Duarte’s situation here, and he came by and visited me last year, it became part of my everyday speeches that I made all across America,” Duvall said. “We’ve talked about the federal government taking advantage of our farmers in situations where they really had no right of invading our private property rights. We’re standing in this field that he’s been sued over for plowing, and it’s no different than any other field that we would plow and plant wheat on anywhere in America. And if it comes true that the legal system wins on this one, this could be used against any farmer anywhere in America.”

Duarte, whose family runs a nursery

in Stanislaus County, bought the land in 2012 and decided to plant wheat. Then came the phone call from the Army Corps office in Redding: A field representative had seen the field being tilled.

“He looked at our operations and presumed that we were deep-ripping,” Duarte said. “He, in his field report that day, wrote that we were ripping 3 feet deep and destroying vernal pools in the process. He subsequently sent us a cease-and-desist notice and told us we couldn’t farm our ground because we were violating the Clean Water Act.” Tony Francois of the Pacific Legal Foundation, which is representing Duarte, said the government’s own experts ultimately agreed the plowing went only 5 to 7 inches deep, on average.

“All the vernal pools on the property are still there. No wetlands have been destroyed,” Francois said.

Even so, Duarte was forced to quit farming the land. He sued over the lack of due process, only to be countersued by the Department of Justice for penalties relating to Clean Water Act violations. Francois said a judge ruled against Duarte’s due-process claims and in favor of the government on Clean Water Act liability.

“What remains is a trial on the amount of money that the government wants from John and his company,” Francois said. “The government has

Landowner John Duarte, right, describes to American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall his struggle with federal agencies over management of a plot of land in Tehama County. Duvall and other Farm Bureau leaders visited the land last week. Kevin Hecteman/ CFBF

asked for a $2.8 million civil penalty and purchase of as many as 132 acres of wetland mitigation credits.”

The trial is set for Aug. 14.

Duarte said the land he owns, which was pasture when he bought it, has been identified by Tehama County as being ideal for “increased agricultural activity,” meaning crops such as grapes, orchards and nursery crops.

“This community needs this land farmed to create rural jobs,” Duarte said, adding he was pleased that Duvall, California Farm Bureau Federation

President Paul Wenger, other Farm Bureau leaders and Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, offered their support during the visit.

At the heart of the issue is the way regulators and agencies carry out their duties, the farm representatives said.

The Clean Water Act contains a provision, Section 404, under which it is illegal to discharge dredged or fill material into a U.S. waterway without a permit from the Army Corps. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

DISPUTE continued on 12 »

Commentary: Partnership Offers Produce Safety Training for Farmers Bryan Little, CFBF Food safety has always been the No. 1 concern of California farmers and ranchers. In addition to developing practices that successfully protect food safety, farmers must now comply with a new Produce Safety Rule being implemented under federal law. A cooperative effort called the Food Safety Training Partnership will help California farmers comply.

Created by the Farm Employers Labor Service, California Farm Bureau Federation and Safe Food Alliance, the training effort will work specifically on produce safety training designed to assist growers in complying with the Produce Safety Rule under the federal Food Safety Modernization Act. Congress passed FSMA in 2010 in response to public concern about foodborne illnesses. CFBF believes the law has many flaws, and we are working diligently with the new administration and Congress to make the law more science-based and attuned to farming realities. As a matter of Farm Bureau policy, we support voluntary food-safety practices instead of government mandates.

But farmers also abide by the law— even rules and regulations that often don’t make practical sense. FSMA gives the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate the food system to prevent food safety problems. The FSMA Produce Safety Rule is final now, and compliance will be required as of January 2018.

The standard generally establishes minimum requirements for the safe growing, harvesting, packing and storage of produce on farms, intended to

minimize the possibility of food-borne illnesses. The standard deals with various aspects including water quality; biological soil amendments; managing wild and domestic animals in and near production areas; training, health and hygiene for employees handling food; and use and maintenance of equipment, tools and buildings.

Beginning this month and next, the Food Safety Training Partnership will offer training designed by the Produce Safety Alliance, as described and approved by the FDA. The one-day sessions, created to help meet FDA requirements, will provide a foundational understanding of the contents of the Produce Safety Rule, including required programs and records and recommended best practices, which are based on existing “good agricultural practices” or GAP programs.

The Produce Safety Rule requires that for each farm, “At least one supervisor or responsible party for your farm must have successfully completed food safety training at least equivalent to that received under standardized curriculum recognized as adequate by the Food and Drug Administration.” The Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training Course that our training partnership will mirror is one way to satisfy this requirement; it is the only course currently recognized by the FDA. The experts offering the Food Safety Training Partnership Produce Safety Rule training have all received Produce Safety Alliance Lead Trainer training and are qualified to deliver the curriculum to produce growers. The train-the-trainer course includes principles of adult

learning, discusses how to form training partnerships and provides information to guide trainers on teaching concepts related to GAP and the FSMA produce safety standards.

The training will be offered over approximately seven hours of instruction time, covering content in seven modules: • Introduction to produce safety; • Worker health, hygiene and training; • Soil amendments; • Wildlife, domesticated animals and land use; • Agricultural water, focused on both production and postharvest uses; • Postharvest handling and sanitation; • How to develop a farm food safety plan.

Key parts of the Produce Safety Rule requirements are outlined in each module, in addition to learning about best practices in produce safety.

The course will provide a foundation of good agricultural practices, FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirements, and details on how to develop a farm food safety plan.

After attending the entire course, participants will be eligible to receive a certificate from the Association of Food and Drug Officials that verifies they have completed the training course.

To receive an AFDO certificate, a participant must be present for the entire training and submit the appropriate paperwork to his or her trainer at the end of the course.

In addition to the standard curriculum, trainees will be provided additional

resources including: • A decision tree and other materials to help determine how or if the regulation applies to a particular farm; • Templates for creating records required by the training; • A calculation tool to aid a small farm in determining if it receives a “qualified exemption”; • A list of allowable water treatment compounds provided by the Produce Safety Alliance; • Tools to assist in conducting water analysis calculations.

The partnership has scheduled five trainings this spring, and will offer additional sessions as grower interest in the training requires. Trainings are scheduled: May 25 at the Yolo County Farm Bureau in Woodland; June 8 at the Hyatt Regency Monterey; June 15 at the Farm Credit Center in Imperial; June 20 at Durham Memorial Hall in Durham; and June 21 at Spike N Rail in Selma.

All trainings are scheduled from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and will include lunch and extensive compliance assistance materials. The cost of the training is $285.

Participants can register for all trainings, and learn more about the partnership and the trainings, at foodsafetytrainingpartnership.com or by calling 916-561-5672.

(Bryan Little is CEO of the Farm Employers Labor Service and director of employment policy for the California Farm Bureau Federation.)

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

8 • Valley Voice

Nunes

Continued from 1 Nunes. That storm grew more intense on March 27, when Nunes canceled an open hearing before the Intel Committee that would have featured testimony from former acting Attorney General Sally Yates, former CIA Director John Brennen and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

Nunes’ behavior led to wide-ranging calls for him to resign his chairmanship, or at minimum to recuse himself while the Intel Committee completes its investigation into the president’s possible ties to Russian interference with the US presidential election. On April 6, Nunes removed himself from his role in the Trump probe.

When asked about Nunes’ behavior, the president equivocated.

“I think maybe he did that for his own reason,” Trump said.

Ethics Violations

All of the controversy has led to an investigation of Nunes by the House Ethics Committee, with the central question becoming whether Nunes violated the Espionage Act when he revealed the source of the information he discussed at the White House to members of the press. The information, Nunes claims, came from intercepts authorized under a warrant from the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA making disclosure of the contents and source a crime. A handful of days earlier, during Intel Committee questioning of former FBI Director James Comey, Nunes specifically asked if such a disclosure to the press was illegal.

“I remain extremely concerned about the widespread illegal leaks that you just referenced in your... in your testimony,” Nunes said. “Just for the record, though, I want to get this on the record.

Does the unauthorized disclosure of classified information to the press violate 18 USC 793, a section of the Espionage Act that criminalizes improperly accessing, handling or transmitting national defense information?”

“Yes,” Comey said.

“Would an unauthorized disclosure of FISA-derived information to the press violate 18 USC 798,” Nunes asked, “a section of the Espionage Act that criminalizes the disclosure of information concerning the communication and intelligence activities of the United States?”

“Yes,” Comey said again.

Such violations carry prison sentences of up to 10 years. Nunes’ office denies he did anything illegal.

Communication Breakdown

Whatever Nunes’ reason for his behavior is, no one outside his camp knows it. They’ve stopped talking about it. Mentions of Nunes in the national press now have headlines like Whatever Happened to Devin Nunes? His blog linked to a series of opinion pieces written to cast his behavior in the best light in late March while things were still hot for the congressman, but now it’s returned to articles praising Trump for defying those concerned with global warming and cheering the GOP’s dismantling of Obamacare. The only recent press release on Nunes’ website is his reaction to the House’s passage of the American Health Care Act on May 4. It follows the announcement on Novem-

18 May, 2017 ber 11 that Nunes was named to Trump’s transition team.

In the local media, his constituents clamor for Nunes’ attention and an explanation. The Congressman has not held a public forum to talk with voters in District 22 since August of 2016, when he appeared at a discussion on water issues in Tulare. He took calls during a radio talk show in late February and March, but Nunes skipped an independently organized town hall meeting in Visalia on April 19. He also refused to send a member of his staff.

The Congressman and Jack Langer, who serves as both Nunes’ and the House Intel Committee’s director of communications, have repeatedly said the Congressman will not attend open forums organized by his constituents because of the presence of “left-wing activist groups.”

Nunes has made a single public appearance since stepping down from the Trump-Russia investigation. He was the keynote speaker at the Lincoln Day Dinner in Martinsville, Indiana. The event was a fundraising dinner for the Morgan County Republican Party.

No Comment

The Nunes camp is also limiting press access to the representative, and the tone of their messages has become increasingly hostile and paranoid.

Last month, Nunes cut off contact with a reporter from the Fresno Bee after the reporter visited Nunes’ neighborhood in Tulare for a story about the local reaction to his sudden presence in the media, the Bee reported.

In response to questions from a reporter for the Foothills Sun-Gazette, Langer called a litany of local groups, including Paint Poplar and Democratic Women of Kern, “left-wing activist groups,” that paper reported.

Most recently, Langer refused to pass along questions from a Valley Voice reporter who has worked with Nunes directly in the past. His office also did not respond to a request for an interview for this article.

In an email exchange between Langer and Valley Voice, Langer derided the reporter for parroting what he said were talking points from various “far-left groups.” The Voice reporter had submitted a list of 12 questions for Nunes to answer after Langer refused to facilitate a phone interview with the Congressman.

In turn, the Voice reporter agreed the paper would print the entirety of Nunes’ responses to the questions, a demand made by Langer. Langer then said the questions, many of which were asked at local forums, including the one Nunes refused to attend in Visalia on April 19, were the work of several unconnected national political groups and news outlets.

“No, of course I will not forward these to my boss,” Langer wrote.

Langer called the town hall in Visalia “a political protest against Rep. Nunes organized by Indivisible and other activist groups.” Asking the questions, Langer said, “shows the bad faith in your reporting.”

‘Let’s Talk About Russia’

A political uprising is also fomenting at home for Nunes. On Highway 198 in Visalia, a billboard featuring Nunes’ head-shot calls on him to hold a town hall meeting. “Let’s talk about Russia,” the message says in letters two feet high.

The eight-term congressman is facing a serious challenge at the polls from Democrat Andrew Janz, a Visalia native who works as a prosecuting district attorney in Fresno County.

Janz presents as a qualified candidate on paper. The 33-year-old son of immigrant parents holds a bachelor’s degree in economics, a master’s in public administration, as well a law degree. He’s taking Nunes’ silence head on, using it to his advantage as the media and the public seek answers.

The nascent Janz campaign has focused on the current Congressman’s apparent desire to avoid any more of the limelight. Janz manned the megaphone last week to stump for supporters outside Nunes’ office in Clovis. The candidate, who told the crowd he was there to “repeal and replace” Nunes, organized the noontime event in opposition to Nunes’ support of the AHCA. Statewide news agencies picked up the story, and several national political news outlets have given Janz attention.

Janz also challenged Nunes directly.

Last week, his campaign issued a statement calling Trump’s firing of former FBI Director Comey “very disturbing.”

It singled out Nunes for his role in the increasingly troubling scandal.

“This firing also comes one day after former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates gave her testimony on Russian interference,” Janz wrote, “the same testimony my opponent, Rep. Devin Nunes sought to suppress prior to his recusal...”

He appealed to Nunes to join in him in condemning the firing. Nunes has stayed quiet.

Louis Campos, who ran against Nunes in 2016, likes what he’s seen so far of Janz.

“He’s very well spoken,” Campos said. “He has an air of humbleness to him, and he seems like someone who’s into learning the ropes of how to do something like this. It’s a big job.”

Talking Turkey

Nunes’ silence has allowed the rumor mill to churn freely. In what looks to be much ado about nothing, bloggers have reported Nunes is invested to the tune of $50,000 in a winery that does business in Russia with a partner who has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

While the investment exists, the Russian ties really don’t.

The Alpha Omega Winery sold just a handful of cases of wine using a distributor whose website claims support for Putin.

The link to the Russian wine seller has been removed from the winery’s website.

What isn’t a rumor, according to Turkish news sources, is that Nunes attended a meeting with disgraced former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

At the time, Flynn was a security consultant to the Trump transition, and Nunes was a member of the transition team.

The meeting, which was reported on January 18 by the Daily Sabah, a Turkish newspaper, was held at a Trump hotel in Washington, DC. Cavusoglu was the only foreign official attending, and the topic was US-Turkish relations, the paper reported. White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus was also scheduled to attend,

they said.

Foreign Agent

Since that meeting, Flynn has fallen from grace with a resounding thud.

It turns out Flynn was taking payments, more than $500,000 worth, to represent Turkey while he was working on Trump’s campaign. After just 24 days on the job, the former US Army lieutenant general was forced to resign when it was revealed he’d lied to Vice President Michael Pence and other White House officials about communications with the Russian ambassador. Flynn also registered retroactively as a foreign agent because of his work for Turkey, and he made an offer to cooperate with the FBI’s investigation in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

Langer, in an email to the debunking website Snopes.com, confirmed Nunes was at the meeting and that he spoke to attendees. But he contradicted the idea Cavusoglu was the only foreign dignitary on hand. Thirty to 40 foreign officials were there for what he termed a breakfast meeting. Nunes, he said, did not meet privately with Flynn and the Turkish foreign minister.

Because Nunes and his office are no longer talking freely with the press, there’s no way to know for sure what really went on at the meeting, and that’s left plenty of room for pundits to speculate.

Room to Speculate

Former CIA Director James Woolsey, who also met with Flynn and Turkish officials, said that Flynn discussed kidnapping from US soil a Turkish religious figure critical of that country’s president, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal. The Journal also reported Flynn offered Woolsey a paid position, but that Woolsey declined.

That information has led bloggers, particularly the Palmer Report political blog, to speculate that Nunes may have also been offered a position. But, with Nunes not talking much to the press these days, there’s no way to get an official denial.

Bill Palmer, the man behind the Palmer Report, has also wondered in print about a scenario that is much more alarming. Did Nunes, Palmer asks, see his own name in the intelligence reports he viewed during his late-night visit to the White House grounds? The notion, he says, would explain Nunes’ erratic behavior.

In another revelation that might lead to ugly speculation, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testified last week before the Senate Judiciary Committee names he has unmasked include both associates of Trump and members of Congress. Nunes is both.

“When it comes to [inaudible] collection on 2016 campaigns, I’m a little confused, but I think we found at least one occasion where that did happen,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said in his questioning of Clapper. “You made a request for unmasking on a Trump associate and maybe a member of Congress? Is that right, Mr. Clapper?”

“Yes,” Clapper answered.

If the name unmasked wasn’t Devin Nunes, it’s very likely to be a political ally. At his March 22 news conference, Nunes told reporters the information he shared with Trump included communications by the president’s transition team members and possibly Trump himself.

18 May, 2017

Tulare

Continued from 1 repeatedly in closed session with its lawyer to discuss the potential of a lawsuit resulting from the Colony deal, but now company reps say they’d just like to pick up as if the negotiations never stalled.

Unfortunately, the situation isn’t that simple anymore.

After City Hall and Colony stopped negotiating, the BPU assumed the deal was dead, and they had a letter from Colony they thought said so. City staff asked for and got permission to start negotiating with another company--Fuel Cell Energy--that answered the original request for a proposal. Fuel Cell has since signed a separate agreement to operate a 2.8-megawatt plant at the Tulare Waste Water Treatment Facility, and the company is deep in negotiations for the waste supply Colony needs to make a go of its project.

The city and Fuel Cell have a power purchase agreement (PPA) ready for the BPU’s approval scheduled for consideration at an upcoming BPU meeting, and no serious talks with Colony have taken place since July of last year.

“The PPA for that system is done,” interim City Manager Joe Carlini told the BPU at its May 4 meeting. The only thing that could stop the contract with Fuel Cell, he said, would be rejection by the BPU. “Unless you deny that, we’re here.”

New Board, Old Deal

Still, Colony is being given more time to plead its case. The latest look at Colony’s offer comes after an appearance

by Mayor Carlton Jones at a BPU meeting back on February 16. At that meeting, which followed a presentation by Colony Energy reps to the City Council in January, Jones expressed his concerns about the BPU deciding not to have its lawyer review the appropriateness of staff’s communications with Colony during negotiations.

At the same meeting, the BPU heard another presentation from Colony reps hoping to get new life for their project.

The Board then voted to OK the start of negotiations for a PPA with Fuel Cell for the same gas Colony called “imperative” to getting its project off the ground.

The following month, the City Council removed two of the BPU members. The remaining three resigned. Only one, James Pennington, returned after being reappointed. He now serves as BPU president, governing a group that was not overly welcoming to Colony’s executives, who again appeared before them on May 4.

Nunes

Continued from 8 Local Support Still There

Despite all the controversy now surrounding Nunes, he still garners high praise from local Republican supporters. Dennis Smith, a former member of the Tulare County Republican Central Committee who ran an unsuccessful bid for a county supervisor seat, thinks Nunes has done a good job during recent events.

“I think Devin has handled himself very well in all the public attention,”

Valley Voice • 9

Lukewarm Reception

Despite being there only to plead for reduced rent while his company tries to get negotiations with the city restarted, Colony’s managing partner, Kent Hawkins, couldn’t avoid pitching the deal he’s hoping the BPU will go for instead of the partnership with Fuel Cell.

“We haven’t left. We’re still here,” Hawkins told the BPU. “We’ve spent almost $2 million on this project, working through this process with the state.

We have a lot invested, so we have a really personal interest in getting this done with you. It’s important. We have never gone away.”

That’s not the way Carlini tells it.

According to the interim city manager, the city received an email on August 3 from Colony ending negotiations.

The email, he said, came before a letter from the city to Colony pausing negotiations while it assessed a costly piece of equipment Colony said it needed for its project. Ed Henry, one of the two former BPU members dismissed in March, said the email was in response to a request for proof of Colony’s funding.

BPU member Gregory Blevins summed up Carlini’s explanation of events: “So, basically, what we have here is a failure of Colony to negotiate successfully with the city,” he said.

“They pulled out of negotiation,” Carlini reiterated. “They’re saying they didn’t, but they did.”

Cutting to the Chase

BPU member Erica Cubas put the question bluntly to Colony’s VP for project development, Matt Schmidt, who was also on hand at the May 4 meeting.

“You pulled out, did you not?” she asked.

Schmidt denied it.

“We did not,” he said. “We gave you folks an offer. We put a two-week sunset on it, because they (city staff) said, ‘Hey, we want to go look at another piece of equipment, which was not part of the RFP.’ So, they basically changed the scope on us.”

Schmidt said Colony had a “deal points” memo with the city that was intended to lead to a successful conclusion of the contract. It got the memo just five days before the letter from city suspending talks while it looked at the gas skid.

“We were almost done,” he said.

“Since then, we’ve had some interaction emails. (We) never heard from staff again, ever.”

It was then Carlini gave staff’s version of events.

Cart Before the Horse

All pleas for reconsideration aside, the May 4 meeting was about why the Smith, who is also the local Tea Party coordinator, said. “Let’s be honest, that really wasn’t the issue. The issue is just Democrats trying to create discord or chaos. I think it’s a tempest in a teapot, with the other side of the aisle always looking at things to throw at the Republicans.”

In fact, Smith sees Nunes as being better off now than he was.

“I think he’s in a great position for us, his constituents. I’m happy. I’m not totally satisfied. I’ll vote for him. It’ll be a simple decision for me,” he said. “I’m glad he was able to impress now-President Trump with his ability to represent him. Hopefully, we’ll see some benefit for

BPU should agree to give Colony another $53,000 break on its 20-year lease with the city. The lease was signed in May 2015, meaning the city has already granted Colony $106,000 in rent reduction.

In the lease, Colony expressed its intent to use 10 acres of the 18-acre property for a “digester project” and another eight acres for waste transfer, trammeling, and used fats, oils and grease (FOG) conversion. The company has yet to begin construction. Original plans began as early as 2012.

“When you entered into this lease, did you have a clear understanding of what project you were going to do under the lease?” Blevins asked Colony’s reps.

The company, Schmidt said, “had an idea,” but that the project has changed “depending on what the market you’re working on.” Colony, he said, was pursuing an agreement to buy the city’s waste methane for conversion to natural gas with retired City Manager Don Dorman when, to avoid the possibility of a conflict of interest, the city decided it had to allow any interested company a chance to offer their own proposals.

Despite not having the contract, Colony signed the lease.

“Then why would you enter into it, because you didn’t have it (an agreement with the city) at the time?” Blevins asked.

Shovel-Ready

Hawkins told the BPU Colony signed the 20-year lease because company officials were excited by the possibility of expanding their original proposal to include processing the city’s waste methane.

“We had discussions about it, and we were excited about doing it,” he said.

“We didn’t know how we were going to go about doing that.”

While it negotiated with the city, Colony was not idle on other fronts.

“We’ve already received a conditional-use permit (CUP). That’s done. We’ve extended that CUP. That’s done,” Hawkins said. “So, all of the CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act reporting) is done. All the air permits are done.

All of our state documents are done. We have an interconnect with SoCalGas ... done. So, basically, we have all our permits in place.”

The project, he said, is “shovel-ready,” and the only things lacking are site plan approval and a building permit.

And, of course, a contract with the city approved by the BPU. So why hasn’t construction started?

“Because it’s changed. Over time, the project changed,” Hawkins said. “It requires working with the city to complete the project. So again, real simple: the water situation here in California.”

Understanding the Isolation

Former State Assembly Minority Leader Connie Conway of Tulare, who is currently seeking the Republican nomination for state senator in the 16th district, also continues to support Nunes.

“I like Devin, appreciate Devin and trust him,” she said.

And she understands his reluctance to make public appearances.

“Folks say, ‘We just want to talk to you,’ then it just turns into a screaming match,” she said. “They’re all under fire.

It’s hostile, so why would you put yourself through it?”

Without working with the city on their bio-gas, there’s no need for a ground lease, because there won’t be a project.”

That doesn’t, however, mean the lease ends. So far, Colony’s monthly rent has been $833. When the entitlement period ends, their rent goes to $5,250 a month, providing the city with $1.2 million in revenue during the 18 years remaining on the lease.

Colony Blames City

Hawkins and Schmidt say Colony’s project could break ground within 90 days, if the BPU will reconsider awarding it a contract. In fact, they say construction would have been complete by the fall, had the city not allegedly cut off communication.

“It’s a shame that got put on hold by staff. That was not our doing. They decided to do that,” Hawkins said. “We think that was done inappropriately, but they decided to do it anyway. We were not given any more discussion after that.

We’ve been trying to work with staff during that interim period with no communication at all, zero.”

Hawkins offered no reasoning why the city would have ended talks. Neither he nor the BPU addressed former BPU member Henry’s assertion Colony had withdrawn after being asked information about its grants and financing.

“We were in good faith working together. We were doing great,” he said.

“We would have been successful. I’m confident of that, but we were put on suspension by staff.”

30-Day Notice

In the end, despite Colony’s confidence, the BPU granted just a onemonth extension of the rent reduction.

It doesn’t seem likely they’ll get it this week, when they appear before the BPU again.

“As far as I’m concerned, I haven’t seen anything yet to prove the last 12-month extension has done anything for the city,” said BPU President Pennington. “Why should I approve 12 more months for something I don’t see anything going to be done going forward.”

The BPU will take up the Colony Energy deal again on at a 7pm meeting on May 18 in the City Council Chambers, 491 N. M Street.

It may be the last time the BPU takes the issue up.

“I hasten to say our next decision will be a last and final decision in this matter,” said BPU member Howard Stroman. “We are comprised of a new board, and we kind of inherited this, and it’s just not something I feel we have the necessary tools to deal with this at this time.”

That doesn’t mean she agrees with Nunes’ apparent withdrawal from a constituents who want to ask hard questions.

She hasn’t run her own political career that way and promises to continue an open-door policy.

“I want to listen. I want to hear. It doesn’t mean we have to agree,” Conway said. “If you completely shut off the conversation, you’re never going to get anyplace.”

Conway said she may reach out to Nunes.

“I’m going to try,” she said. “Honestly, I’m wrapped up in my own little world here. It’s easy to get frustrated by everything that’s happening.”

10 • Valley Voice

18 May, 2017

Transit

Continued from 1 community for years. Individuals, mostly seniors, simply have needed to call in and were told when the driver could pick them up and deliver them to their location. The ride has cost $2 for general ridership; $1 for seniors.

However, in a recent city council vote, Dial-A-Ride will no longer be a function of the Exeter City Government, but rather turned over to Visalia Transit come July.

“We’ve been struggling with this for quite a while,” said Exeter City Manager Randy Groom. “It’s just become clear, it’s just not sustainable.”

Mostly utilized by seniors and those with disabilities, in the fiscal year of 2012-2013, the system saw total ridership of 11,839. It has steadily declined

Mathis

Continued from 1 A second source who has worked with the rules committee explained that the committee is the final step in getting fired from or hired to the assembly or senate.

The process though starts with Human Resources (HR.) To be fired by the rules committee, an assembly or senate member needs to submit a request to HR. HR then makes a determination and passes its findings to the rules committee, which makes a final determination.

Some speculated that Mathis was unaware that Doherty was under investigation by the rules committee until after he was fired, and that when the assemblyman learned his chief of staff was being fired, the assemblyman came to Doherty’s defense too late.

But according to an anonymous source familiar with the process, Mathis would have had to be the person to initiate the investigation.

“The member always knows,” she said.

Background

Doherty was hired as Mathis’ Chief of Staff on April 16, 2015, four months after Mathis took office.

Mathis never answered questions concerning why he fired his first Chief of Staff, Cole Azare.

Azare was not only Mathis’ campaign manager, but his best friend, the best man at his wedding and a fellow veteran.

Before taking on the position of

since with 5,847 riders for the fiscal year from July 2015-June 2016.

Despite the fact that the city sees every rider deserves the service, it just can no longer be implemented through the city, Groom said.

“We have and are doing everything to keep Dial-A-Ride,” he said. “Consolidation with Visalia, made all the sense in the world.”

Visalia Transit already handles inner-town transportation for Farmersville. There is a possibility that the two could connect, allowing ridership not only within each city, but between the two as well.

But, riders for Exeter will pay the price. The $1 ticket, one-way for seniors, will increase to $2.25, according to Groom. So, a roundtrip shopping trip to the market will soon cost $4.50, rather than $2.

“We are looking for ways to subsidize chief of staff, Doherty was a lobbyist and had owned Wildhorse Consulting since 2010.

Mathis, an underfunded candidate who won a surprise victory in November of 2014, was a Wildhorse client.

The Man Behind the Office

During his two-year tenure Doherty was described as running Mathis’ office with an iron grip.

It was seen as the work of Doherty when Mathis threw his hat in the ring in a failed bid for the Republican leadership in the summer of 2015.

His having perhaps run too soon for the Republican leadership was cited as the reason Mathis’ signature water bill was relegated to the graveyard of the “suspense file by the Speaker of the Assembly.”

Doherty also created an email account and alias in order to leave false statements on Valley Voice articles he didn’t like concerning Assemblyman Mathis.

He deliberately tried to mask who he was through misspellings and bad grammar so the comments could not be traced back to him.

Our webmaster discovered that “Steve” was actually Doherty.

Doherty’s family and family businesses additionally profited from Doherty’s employment in Mathis’ office.

His wife and daughter worked for Mathis, and Mathis’ campaign fund paid $61,759.29 to Willow Grace Productions in 2015, a company owned by Doherty’s wife.

A new, proposed route map created by Visalia Transit. Courtesy/Visalia Transit

that,” Groom said, “at least for a while.”

Visalia Transit had a work session 17 regarding these issues and more potential changes in the works. Attended by Jansons, Farmersville Mayor Paul Boyer, and Councilman Greg Gomez, this al-

lowed for further understanding of the proposed changes, Jansons said.

A staff member of Visalia Transit is also planning for a presentation at the next Farmersville City Council meeting, May 22.

Reasons Why the Rules Committee Would Fire a Staffer

2016 election.

The consulting company also loaned the Mathis campaign $8400.

In another example of potentially questionable ethics, Doherty sent out an email in May of 2015 to family and staffers suggesting that they focus on donors rather than Mathis’ constituents.

The email stated, “I just wanted to reiterate that until July 1 fundraising must take priority over ALL schedule requests and/or needs. We have multiple events in June and they are all important in order for us to hit our goals.

When considering and/or submitting requests please ask yourself, ‘does this forward our goal for the June 30th report.’ If it does not then please understand it will take second place to a fundraising opportunity.”

Joel Rosales, one of the recipients of the email and former Mathis legislative aide, said it was made very clear that staff was not to schedule any meetings or events with constituents unless those constituents intended on donating to Mathis’ campaign.

The Voice approached Rosales when, after acquiring Doherty’s email, Rosales was listed as a recipient.

Azare said that the email was “borderline, if not outright, illegal” — because it could be construed as directing state staff to do campaign work on state time.

Rosales said, “At the time I knew it was a violation of the ethics rules and the email was a major contributing factor as to why I resigned.”

He wasn’t alone in leaving — since taking office in 2015, Mathis has lost or fired 10 staffers.

The Assembly Rules Committee, or the Human Resources Department, can base its decision to fire a staffer for several reasons including sexual misconduct, campaign finance violations, and lobbying.

While there is no evidence of sexual misconduct, there are allegations of Doherty’s lobbying while in office and questionable campaign tactics.

Doherty de-registered as a lobbyist and gave up his ownership interest in Wildhorse Consulting to his wife, Thanne Doherty. But a former staffer said that he never fully stopped lobbying for his firm.

According to the company’s website, “Wildhorse Consulting is a boutique-consulting with offices in Sacramento California and Washington, D.C. Our team brings a combine experience in the legislative, political, and permitting arenas of over 75 years. Wildhorse gets results by developing and executing creative and when needed, unconventional approaches, to solving your regulatory and permitting needs. Our creative and tactically aggressive approach, complemented with out of the box thinkers and strategist that take advocacy to a new level. The correct path is often not the foreseeable path, however with strategic relationships and tactical experience, Wildhorse makes even the most impossible visions a reality.”

The timing of Thanne Doherty’s being named as owner of Wildhorse Consulting coincided with her being named Mathis’ campaign manager for the

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18 May, 2017

Valley Voice • 11

Comments & Letters “Now we have hope once again”

Lois Mullins Regarding May 4th “Do you agree with how Devin Nunes represents you?”

Obviously Kathy Falconer picked and chose those issues she is biased about.

Nunes.house.gov ....will give you all

you need to know. Obviously during the Obama admin not only did Nunes object but MANY of us did. Our other liberal representatives, give no credence to protecting the family, faith, unborn, integrity, self-sufficiency, and accountability. Now we have hope once again.

THE PEANUT GALLERY

Amanda Dudley

Nunes: Here’s An Offer You Can’t Refuse Steve Pendleton When it comes to politicians, and Congressman Devin Nunes and his henchmen, there’s one thing that has enraged me. They have been using as an excuse for not meeting their constituents in open town halls, their claim that his opponents are violent left wing crazies and environmental terrorists.(If politics today weren’t so serious I’d almost have to laugh about their claim that ‘paid agitators’ are causing the problems. I guarantee that money is not something progressive activists have. In fact that claim is word for word the same language was was used by the racist Senators from Mississippi when defending the actions of the KKK).

So, I assume that means Nunes is concerned about his personal safety in any such meeting.

Ok, I, my wife and friends, have been either at progressive meeetings, demonstrations, picketings, or at meetings of different government agencies in the Tulare-Fresno area for years. Let me assure the Congressman, no such group of violent left wing crazies exists in this area. I’ve met lots of people with low opinions of the Congressman, but never-I repeat never-have heard anyone utter a suggestion to use violence in any situation. In dozens of pickets, vigils, or walks over the years there has never been any confrontation with police, defiance of any laws, arrests or even acts of sabotage at any progressive event. Even when Occupy came to town, at least in Visalia, there was never any unlawful activity.

I should mention there was a recent Town Hall meeting in Visalia, at which Nunes was invited, but chose not to attend or even send a representative. There were plenty of chances at that meeting for people to demonstrate just how violent they could be. Strange, I didn’t see a noose or even threatening sign-Ok there was mine (It’ll Be Great-Tooth Fairy, referring to Trump’s health ‘plan’), and there was another lady’s (Where’s Devin?). In fact, the tone was decidedly genteel. There was scarcely a red flag to be seen.

I did grow up in Northern California in the 1960s, and I do remember some pretty far left groups not opposed to violence at San Francisco peace marches and during the long hot summer of 1968. Sometimes I think that

right wingers never moved out of that time frame. Those people-Progressive Labor, Spartacists, Socialist Workers Party, etc. either do not exist today or if they do, hang on only as isolated sects. In our years of networking in this area I have met only one person who claimed to be a member of the Communist Party, and he had no influence.

So, in short I think we can guarantee the safety of Rep. Nunes were he to agree to make a town hall visit. So I suggest the following scenario: Mr. Nunes shows up-not an avatar.

He agrees to the following: 1. Sponsorship to be by a neutral party. The League of Women Voters would be one group. Perhaps the ACLU or the Green Party could be persuaded to do so. A moderator to be provided.

2. If personal safety is still a concern, he will have an escort of crowd control people who will make sure no one shoots him, throws things or otherwise misbehaves. Armed? I hope not, but I dont think it would be a problem recruiting bullyboys from local Republicans or Democrats to keep our audience controlled.

3. Crowd control. No signs, bags to conceal rotten tomatos, or long overcoats to be allowed inside. During the talk, no interruptions for demonstrations, loud whistles or other means will be allowed. Any people violating said restrictionns will be ejected by said bullyboys-or maybe we could prevail on the local gendarmes to provide a bit of additional security. Surely Mr. Nunes could not object to that.

4. At the entrance are two urns. One is for Republicans, the other is for opponents. Anyone with a question places them in one of the urns. The moderator withdraws questions one at a time from each urn in turn. That way there is not question as to favoritism. Its the Democratic way.

Mr. Nunes is a politician. Surely he should realize the advantages of a solo free presentation in front of a large audience. What a chance to convince or persuade!! He should be salivating at the chance.

If he still refuses to conduct a town hall even with these assurances, there’s only one conclusion I and other voters can reach. A word must be applied. It starts with a ‘c’ and has seven letters.

Use your voice

Comment online at ourvalleyvoice.com Send letters to: editor@ourvalleyvoice.com

Daffy learns of Donald’s healthcare plan.

Comments from ourvalleyvoice.com

“

Noise is noise people. This ain’t the first concert there and wont be the last but it WAS the loudest ever and it was out of control and kept kids from sleeping. There is no excuse for not protecting our children. Anyone who doesn’t sympathize with these folks needs their head examined. David mentions county, vs city. Loud is still loud fool and common courtesy should trump all and if ya don’t like THAT you must be gifted in ways I’ll never understand.

”

— Sean on March’s Pueblofest, Not Enjoyed by All

“

Devin Nunes is a privileged middle age self absorbed fat cat who has shown time and time again that he care nothing for the people who pays his salary……he does not care about our needs, our safety, our well-being …..he simply wants us to shut up and stay out of his way. He wants to continue to keep the Republicans in power so he can keep his part-time job in the House of Representatives. Devin Nunes is a detriment to his constituent base because he puts his political career ahead of all else. He works for the Republican Party aka the Russian Neo Nazi White Supremacist Party. Vote this bum out!

”

— Barbara on Andrew Janz to Challenge Nunes in ‘18

“

The trouble with this city counsel is the same as past city counsels…….no big thinkers, no risk takers, no growth! Reach out to your community……take a leap in faith….. do not ask them what their city can do for them….ask them what they can do for their city. There are a lot of “retired” women and men out there with a massive amount of experience and maybe ….just maybe….one or two of them would “volunteer” their expertise, time, and labor to get this study done.

”

— Barbara on City of Tulare May Seek New Development Money Stream

“

As a resident here in Hanford, I feel we should expand Hidden valley park.We don’t have enough nice parks for families to enjoy! I live near the park off of Leland and 9 1/2 ave. and that park is busy all the time, especially during holidays.I know Hidden valley is very busy during holidays as well ! What we don’t need is more strip malls or housing development.

”

— Beverly Rieckenberg on Residents/Hidden Valley Park

“

we voted in 2005…..tower didn’t start being built until 2009…..DMS was already off the board by that time. Why does Benzeevi keep bringing her up in meetings?

HCCA has now been in charge for 3 years…..why aren’t our ratings better? That has nothing to do with CFHA now does it…..

You can’t even put the blame where blame is due.

”

— Concerned on Lies are just that..... lies

“

Measure N (sales tax bump) is pd too by all those who shop & consume in Visalia, who live outside the geographic property tax zone. whats so wrong w/ that? and the transit system — i’ve only used a couple of times, but for those in need? it ties the city together or work, or travel. what we’re missing — and we’ll eventually get there like other cities are — some more bike paths along major streets including thru downtown.

”

— David M on Visalia City Council Votes to Maintain Water Restrictions

12 • Valley Voice

18 May, 2017

Self-Help Enterprises Awards $6.5k in Scholarships Staff Reports Self-Help Enterprises has awarded $6,500 in scholarship awards to nine local students in recognition of outstanding scholastic achievement.

The Doris “Do” Dooley Scholarship, named after Self-Help Enterprises’ former Board member and dedicated friend of the organization, was established to help the children of families who have participated in one of SelfHelp Enterprises’ programs to further their education.

Dispute Continued from 7

normal farming operations do not require Section 404 permits.

Wenger said the Duarte case gives farmers good reason for alarm.

“This is a strong-arm tactic by the federal government to try to take property rights away from property owners who are asked to pay property taxes on their property, but they can’t do anything with it,” Wenger said. “This is nothing more than a taking, a blatant misuse of federal power.”

LaMalfa, a fourth-generation farmer, said he is watching the case closely.

“The constituents I represent up in this county and this area have been fighting this for some time, here on this

In Tulare County, the scholarship recipients include: • Lupe Lira-Ibarra – Lindsay (Self-Help Housing) – $750 Lupe has become a role model and leader among her peers. In addition to being ranked 5th among her class of 221 students, Lupe is actively involved in College of the Sequoias TRIO/Upward Bound Math & Science Program, which helps first generation students excel in college. Lupe will attend California State University, Fresno where she will major in mathematics to become a math teacher who guides students towards their

own bright futures.

• Mayra Lira-Ibarra – Lindsay (Self-Help Housing) – $750 Mayra holds a 4.02 GPA and participates in the Future Business Leaders of America club where she has placed among the top five in business competitions at the club’s Central Section Conference. Mayra plans to attend California State University, Fresno and pursue a degree in Liberal Arts or Liberal Studies as well as completing her multiple subject teaching credential to become an elementary school teacher.

• Karen Ruiz – Tulare (Self-Help

Housing) – $750 Throughout high school, Karen has received school awards and has been a color guard member since her freshman year. As a senior, she was selected as a captain due to her leadership and organizational skills. Karen plans to attend College of the Sequoias for two years to work on her general education requirements and then transfer to a 4-year university to complete her bachelor’s degree and teaching credential.

Since 1997, Self-Help Enterprises has awarded 117 scholarships totaling $93,750 to deserving students.

particular piece and other ones, with an out-of-control Army Corps of Engineers and out-of-control interpretations of the Clean Water Act and waters of the United States,” LaMalfa said, adding that legislation is being drafted to clarify what normal farming activities are and what should be exempt from federal oversight.

Wenger said he sees hope in the statements of new EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who Wenger said wants to bring interpretations of the law back to what Congress intended.

“That’s all we ask: Let’s have good laws and let’s make sure those good laws are interpreted and put into action the way that common sense would dictate—not by somebody that’s a zealot sitting in Washington, D.C., and making up their own mind of what Congress

intended,” Wenger said.

Duvall said he wants the new administration to pay attention.

“President Trump talks about regulatory reform,” Duvall said. “He just signed an executive order in my presence to create a task force to study ag and rural prosperity, saying that we’re going to look and see what regulations are out there that are getting in the way of our rural farmers and ranchers and rural communities from prospering, and tear them down so that we can go back to work and create jobs and create wealth in rural America. If we can get his attention on a situation like this, I know that this president will be against this.”

Duvall added that farmers around the country should realize the risk Duarte is taking on their behalf, calling his actions “a step of faith that could help

every farmer in America.”

“We should step up to the plate and try to help him, too, because he’s put his family’s business and his family’s farm into jeopardy by fighting for what’s right,” Duvall said.

Duarte said he has spent $1.8 million in legal bills so far, and noted that CFBF and AFBF have rallied to his cause. CFBF, more than a dozen other state Farm Bureaus, several county Farm Bureaus and other agricultural groups have donated, Duarte said. He also has a GoFundMe page at www.gofundme. com/Duartestandsup.

(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.

A Weekend Away 18 May, 2017

Columbia, in the Heart of the Mother Lode There’s a lot of history to be found along Highway 49 from the Central Valley to Northern California, and Columbia is one point of interest well worth spending a couple of days.

Located in Tuolumne County, just a few miles from Sonora, and about 150 miles north of Visalia, Columbia was founded during the Gold Rush in the 1850’s and designated as a California State Park in 1945. Once called the “Gem of the Southern Mines,” Columbia escaped the vandalism and fires that plagued many former Gold Rush sites, and the town has always remained inhabited.

California’s legislature voted it into

Nancy Vigran

State Park status to “preserve a typical Gold Rush town, an example of one of the most colorful eras in American history.” The town is also a National Historic Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places Located at an elevation of 2,100 feet, it generally remains a bit cooler than temperatures here in the Valley, averaging 89-90F. The town boasts a population of 2,300 people.

Where to Stay

The historic district is closed to auto

COLUMBIA continued on C3 »

The Western Snowy Plover is just one of an abundance of shorebirds that can be found at Ocean Beach Park. Courtesy/NPS/Michael L.Baird

Santa Barbara’s Hidden Coast Dave Adalian For most weekenders and day-trippers, the allure of California’s Central Coast tapers off somewhere south of Pismo Beach.

Those folks are missing out.

Down the road, past the point where Highway 101 starts its climb into Santa Barbara County, endless rows of strawberries fill the air with the scent of fruit, rocket ships stand poised to leap at the stars, vineyards spread through hidden valleys, and fields of flowers march down to meet pristine beaches.

No motor vehicles are allowed on the streets of Columbia. Walking, cycling, horses and horse-drawn carriages are the mode of transportation within the town. Courtesy/CA Parks

Treasures of the Sierra Madre

On the other side of the hills, nestled between spurs of the Sierra Madre Range to the north and the San Rafael Mountains to the south, spreads the fertile plain of the Santa Maria Valley. At its heart is Santa Maria--a thriving city of around 100,000-and surrounding it millions upon millions of berry plants grow neatly side-by-side.

The harvest tops one billion pounds-two-thirds of the strawberries produced in the state each year. The berries aren’t just endless, they’re nearly eternal. Santa Maria Valley’s gentle climate keeps them fruiting from early spring until late in the autumn

COAST continued on C4 »

Antiquing the Foothills Leading to Yosemite Nancy Vigran The South Valley is well-known for an abundance of antique stores. But, for a change of pace, and an enjoyable out-ofthe-area trip, the Oakhurst-Coarsegold area has a whole different array of shops.

Located along Highway 41, Coarsegold Historic Village is home to a unique community of shops and vendors including antiques and collectibles. The Village originated as a resort, said Robyn Hill, owner of Jewelry by Robyn and spokeswoman for the village.

“There was a hotel, swimming pool and people stayed in the little cabins,” Hill said. “Years ago there was a fire - the hotel and restaurant burnt down. The pool was taken out and the village you see today was born.”

Antique and collectible stores here include Cranberries & Lace, Mountain Delights, Gold Connection, Delightful Treasure’s and Rocks, Gems & Junk.

But there are also many other shops to browse with one-of-a-kind artisan-created treasures. There are a couple of restaurants, but you will also want to save for some dessert from Auntie Jenn’s Country Creations or The Fudge Shop.

Most shops are open from 10am4pm Thursday – Sunday. Although restaurants and service-oriented shops are open more days per week.

Southgate Station, located in Oakhurst along the route to the southern entrance to Yosemite, features several antique and collectible shops, open seven days a week. Courtesy/Southgate Station

Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends, bring a four-day Peddler Fair to the Village. In June, a Hummingbird Festival is held in honor of the busy little birds that frequent the area, with music and added vendors. And, in October, they host their Tarantula Festival with pumpkin recipe contests, tarantula races and a hairy-leg contest.

For more information on the Coarsegold Historic Village, call (559) 978-4910.

Just down the road in Oakhurst, also along Highway 41, is Southgate Station, named for being along the Southern route into Yosemite. Here there are some 12 shops with more than 20 vendors, most specializing in antiques and collectibles. Gold Ol Things is one of the largest with a large assortment of, well,

almost anything, said owner Ed Moore.

The shop has been in the family for a dozen years, but most recently has been owned and managed by Moore and his wife, Bora, for close to five years. Moore said his business comes from about 50% local regulars, and 50% out-of-the area visitors. They draw a lot of international travelers, because of the location on the way to Yosemite National Park, he said.

“But, we have locals who come in once a week,” he added.

With an inventory that is always changing, including furniture pieces and an abundance of smaller collectibles, the Moores occasionally take a road-trip to do some shopping. However, most of the items come from local individuals and estates, Moore said. They have anything from bed warmers to glassware and

rusty old stuff from the farm.

Other vendors in Southgate with antiques and collectibles include Aunt Osa’s, Grandpa’s Barn, Butterfly Kisszz, Oh Dear Buddha!, Elaine’s Eclectic Closet, The Back of the Closet, Stuff and Nonsense, T&T, Vintage Treasures, and Bit O’ Britain, which specializes in British antiques. Here, too, there is a restaurant. Most shops are open seven days per week.

There are just two antique-oriented shopping areas – there are many other independent antique, collectible and thrift shops, as well as artist studios and craft stores in and around Oakhurst and Coarsegold. It’s worth taking a weekend away to visit them all, along with a trip into the park, to visit Yosemite.

18 May, 2017

C2 • Valley Voice

A Day Hike in Los Osos Oaks Nature Preserve Staff Reports Tucked off the coast in San Luis Obispo County are old sand dunes dotted with coastal oaks. The 90 acres of the Los Osos Oaks State Nature Preserve is a haven for wildlife including five major plant communities and an abundance of birds.

Plant communities include coastal sage scrub, central coastal scrub, dune oak scrub, coast live oak forest and riparian, and live side by side entering into one another’s habitat. The 800-year-old coastal oaks are gnarled and dwarfed in the area, some only rising from 6-8 feet in height.

The area was once home to the Chumash Indians. “Osos” translates to bears from Spanish, and grizzly bears were in abundance in the Valley in the mid 1700’s. However, in the 1770’s, the bears were killed off by a groups sent by Monterey Mission settlers, who were facing starvation.

One of the trails leads through a Chumash “midden,” or trash site, where pieces of history can still be found today through fragments of shells and other archaeological bits. Remember, however, that none of the history or wildlife should be removed from the preserve.

The preserve became protected through efforts in the early 1970’s, when the Small Wilderness Area Preservation Foundation along with grants from Dart Industries, Inc. and the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund purchased the 90-acre area and turned it over to California State Parks.

There is a flat, unpaved trail system along approximately 1 ½ miles of trail, which is a bird watchers delight with an abundance of species that alters throughout the seasons. Los Osos Creek Trail, Chumash Trail, and Oak View Trail loop through the park offering easy hikes between ¾ and 1 1/2 miles in length.

From woodpeckers and flickers, to

PLEASE REmEmBER • Except for service animals, pets are not permitted.

• The park is open only during daylight hours.

• Fires and smoking are not allowed.

• Bicycles and equestrians are not permitted.

• The reserve has no restrooms, telephones or facilities for camping or picnicking.

• Poison oak is a natural part of the area. Learn to recognize and avoid it.

hummingbirds and towhees, and California valley quail – the diversity is as great as the plant communities. Here great horned owls, American kestrels and red-tail hawks will also be found, hunting for their prey among resident mammals including the dusky-footed wood rat, California pocket mouse, striped skunk and opossum. Gray fox¸ bobcat and coyote also inhabit the preserve. For those interested in plant life, the preserve is home to several species of lichen that can be found nowhere else.

Hikers beware – there is also an abundance of poison oak growing in the area – signage helps visitors recognize the plants.

TO FRESNO

This park is supported in part through a nonprofit group. For more information, contact: Central Coast Natural History Association 20 State Park Road Morro Bay, CA 93442

ACCESSIBLE FEATuRES Some visitors with limited mobility can negotiate the gentle terrain, but wheelchair access may be impeded by soft, sandy soil.

(805) 772-2694 • www.ccnha.org

Hikespeak.com recommends, “No matter how far you hike in Los Osos Oaks State Natural Reserve, make a point to include a stroll on the section of Chumash Loop Trail that passes through the center of the park. Here long gangly oak branches spread across the trail to creating interesting obstacles that enrapture you in an enchanting world.”

The preserve is open daily for nature walks and hikes, with access only allowed on foot. Some of the trails are wheelchair accessible. No pets are allowed in the park except for service animals. No smoking or fires are allowed. Docent-led hikes are offered through the Central Coast State Parks Association (CCSPA), generally

once per month. This non-profit group’s purpose is, “Supporting and funding interpretive and educational programs that promote understanding and conservation of the natural and cultural resources of our local State Parks.”

Other areas supported by CCSPA include Estero Bluffs, Harmony Headlands, Montana de Oro, Morro Bay State Park, Morro Strand Beach and Pismo State Beach.

For more information on Los Osos Oaks State Nature Preserve, visit www. parks.ca.gov/?page_id=597 For more information regarding CCSPA and the events it offers, visit www.centralcoastparks.org/

Next time you are in the Bay Area you may just want to pop into the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) for a modern cultural experience.

In its expanded building on Third St., SFMOMA is located in the SoMA District.

Upcoming exhibitions include Good 70s by Mike Mandel, from May 20 – August 20. “Good 70s explores the tongue-in-cheek, socially conscious work of conceptual artist and photographer Mike Mandel (American, b.

1950), focusing on projects he made during what was, for him, an incredibly productive decade,” according to the SFMOMA website.

A collection of Paul Klee and Rex Ray will be on exhibit from May 20 – September 10.

This intimate exhibition places artworks by Swiss-born modernist Paul Klee (1879–1940) alongside dazzling paintings by San Francisco artist and designer Rex Ray (1956–2015).

“Although separated by both time and place, their works share stunning formal similarities, including an ex-

Staff Reports

A Little Modern Culture

ploration of geometric forms, the use of vibrant color, and playful, organic designs. Among other works, the exhibition features a rarely exhibited, intimate pastel watercolor by Klee from 1917 and an eye-popping collage by Ray from 1999.”

And, from June 3 – January 1, 2018, In Character by Nam June Paik will also be exhibited.

“This exhibition explores the pioneering career of Nam June Paik (1932–2006) through the prism of his close friendships with artists, including Joseph Beuys, John Cage, and Charlotte Moorman. Negotiating his identity between East and West, Paik developed an exuberant artistic language, incorporating Asian characters and symbols of his own devising that recur throughout his multi-faceted creations,” according to the museum website.

SFMOMA is open Fridays – Tuesdays from 10am – 5pm, Thursdays from 10am – 9pm and closed Wednesdays. For more information, visit www. sfmoma.org/.

18 May, 2017

Valley Voice • C3

Columbia Continued from C1

traffic, but open to pedestrians, bicycles, horses and horse-drawn carriages. If you are driving the RV or pulling a trailer, there are plenty of RV parks, with or without hookups, in the area.

There are also quaint, historic cottages for rent, such as the Hanson House, built around 1870 in the historic French and Chinese part of Columbia. A one-bedroom cottage which accommodates two, it is located across the street from the Claverie-Old Chinese Store Ruins on north Main St., next door to the Ghiorso Bungalow. The Ghiorso Bungalow was built in the 1920’s by an Italian-American grocery-store on the site of an 1850’s French Drug Store. This all-the-amenities bungalow is just up the street from the Bixel Brewery. These cottages generally have

The City Hotel is one of two located within Columbia State Park and the town. It offers 10 historic rooms – reservations should be made early. Courtesy/CA State Parks

a small kitchen area, and some have screened porches.

There are two downtown hotels – the City Hotel and Fallon Hotel, each

with nine-10 rooms – some rooms may have shared bathrooms and/or shower facilities. They’re rustic, to be sure – no phones, or television, but clean and decorated in the period of time from which the town was booming.

What to Do

Docents conduct daily morning walking tours through town. Tours last one hour and can be arranged for at the Columbia Museum. Courtesy/CA State Parks

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Besides strolling down Main St., visiting with residents in yesteryear garb and dining in some of the fine eateries, you can take stagecoach rides, pan for gold and explore a variety of shops. The museum is open daily from 10am – 4pm.

There are free town tours offered daily from mid-June – Labor Day, based on docent availability, and on Saturdays and Sundays year-round. Check with the museum for availability. Tours last approximately one hour.

Many events take place with the help of the Friends of Columbia, a non-profit group. They hold Gold Rush days on the second Saturday of the month, and Ghost Tours on Saturdays, June 10, July 8, September 9 and October 21 led by author Carol Biederman,”to expose tales of the paranormal on our state park grounds. You’ll wander among the buildings and homes of our restored 1850s mining town and hear stories that have been shared over the years about unexplainable sightings, unusual sounds and supernatural happenings.” Pre-registration for these tours is highly recommended.

Histories Mysteries are scheduled for July 22, August 5, 19, September 2, for those who enjoy a good who-dunit. “The setting is the 1850s and you are called upon to solve an actual crime that occurred in our mining town. Not only

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Nature, Hiking and a View From Above

A variety of picnicking areas are available in and around town. There is a one-mile nature trail, and also an abundance of hiking in the area.

One trail, the Columbia College Par Trail, is a 3.6-mile loop around the local community college. It is rated good for all skill levels, easy and kid friendly.

Views include the local reservoir. There is a modest 560-foot elevation gain during the hike.

For a unique perspective, you can tour the Mother Lode area via a Cessna 172 or 1943 biplane through Springfield Flying Service. For information visit, http://www.letsgofly.com/ or call 209 532-4103.

Most businesses in the area are open from 10am – 5pm. Since no motor vehicle are allowed in town, free parking available in lower lot, Columbia and Jackson Streets, Fulton off Broadway, three lots along Broadway Street, at the schoolhouse, and across from the ranger district office.

For more information regarding the Columbia State Historical Park, visit https://www.parks.ca.gov /?page_id=552.

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For other interesting tours and events, visit the Friends of Columbia website, www.friendsofcolumbiashp.com/

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18 May, 2017

C4 • Valley Voice

Coast

Continued from C1 alongside fields fat with beans and squashes, celery plants and sweet peas, broccolis, spinaches and cauliflower.

While berries fresh from the vine fill roadside stands year ‘round, and the weather by the sea is nearly always nice, some highlights on the local calendar should not be missed.

Where the Flowers Meet the Sea

The temperate and constant weather that makes the soil of Santa Maria Valley so rich and the harvest so plentiful is a gift of the nearby Pacific Ocean. Long and nearly deserted beaches lie a short drive from Santa Maria.

Tides rise and fall even closer to the historic town of Lompoc, and nearby Vandenberg Air Force Base--the West Coast’s spaceport--marches right down to the shore. A handful of the fields surrounding Lompoc (pronounced lom-poke) are filled with flowers that bear no fruit. They bloom to please the eye and to remind the strawberry it wasn’t always king.

Once a center of the flower seed industry, Lompoc’s brightly colored past is today central to a five-day, carnival-like celebration of a bygone heyday.

The city’s enterprising past blossoms to life during the June Flower Festival. Weeklong festivities—live concerts, artisans, thrill rides and a down-home parade—fill the days leading up to the Independence Day weekend. See www.lompocvalleyfestivals.com for more.

Plovers by the Stagnant Waters

The term Lum Poc, from the language

spoken by the Chumash who lived there by the sea before the Spanish came, translates as stagnant water. Today that stagnant water--a pristine lagoon at the heart of Ocean Beach Park--draws birdwatchers and nature photographers to its isolated shores during the few months between October and February, when the protected snowy plovers have left their nests.

Nearby Surf Beach, part of the Vandenberg State Marine Reserve, draws another kind of wildlife seeker. Surfers flock to the area once the plovers have flown. They come cautiously, however: great white sharks have killed twice there in recent years. It also hosts an automated, zero-frills Amtrak station that serves as a whistle stop for the Pacific Surfliner between San Luis Obispo and San Diego.

The Catholics who followed the Spanish explorers called the area La Misión la Purísima Concepción de María Santísima, and the complex they built still stands just outside Lompoc as La Purísima State Park.

The former Franciscan Mission opens to visitors daily, except when it serves as backdrop to weddings and other private affairs.

Details are at www.parks.ca.gov and www.cosb.countyofsb.org/parks.

West Coast Space Center

Vandenberg Air Force Base surrounds those well-kept beaches, offering them some of the leftover Cold War-era protection it provided as the West Coast center for US military spaceflight operations.

Overlooking the Pacific Missile Testing Range, rockets still roar to life there, soaring across the ocean for missile testing, hurtling their way into orbit, and one day soon crossing to Mars and other nearby planets.

Space enthusiasts come from around the globe to witness the spectacle of man-

California Hot Springs Resort & RV Park

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Lompoc shows off colorful fields of blossoms during the spring and celebrates with its Flower Festival in June. Courtesy/Explore Lompoc

kind’s most powerful machines, to feel a rumble like undertones in the voice of God, and watch the arcs of fire trace into the sky. The also come for a pilgrimage to the Vandenberg Space and Missile Heritage Center, inside the base at Space Launch Complex-10, where America’s first ICBM’s first flew.

Tours of the base can be arranged at www.vandenberg.af.mil. Launch dates and times are listed at www.spaceflight. now/launch-schedule.

King Strawberry

Hardworking Santa Maria, like Salinas to the north, is a center for vegetable farming, packing and processing of all sorts. But it’s the strawberry the city celebrates foremost. For three days each April, live music fills the air, carnival rides whirl and clang, and those sweet, sweet strawberries are eaten by the ton during the Santa Maria Valley Strawberry Festival.

More information is available at www. santamariafairpark.com.

Potent Potables

Santa Maria Valley also loves to in-

dulge its romantic side.

Nearly 7,500 acres in the foothills surrounding those miles of strawberry vines produce some of the finest wine California offers.

Dozens of area vintners farm grapes as common as Chardonnay and as exotic as Tocai Fruilano, and twice a year they come together to celebrate the heady fruits of their labor.

The Santa Barbara Vintners Association Spring Weekend assembles its vintners and wine merchants for an extended Bacchanalian of food and drink, music, auctions and seminars, followed by more food and more drink.

Between dining at the Big Bottle Bash, meeting winemakers during the Grand Tasting and learning their secrets at an evening of wine seminars, wine-lovers sample their fare at tasting rooms, historic wineries and vineyards throughout the county.

They do it all again in October at the Celebration of Harvest. Spring Weekend is held each April, and the Celebration of Harvest is held during the Columbus Day weekend. Details are on the events page at www. www.sbcountywines.com.

Valley Scene Senior Citizens Enjoy a Special Day in the Park With a shake, a rattle, and a little rock and roll, over 1,000 Tulare County senior citizens were celebrated today at the 48th Annual Senior Day in the Park.

The yearly event, held from 9:00am – 2:00pm. at Mooney Grove Park in Visalia, provides local seniors with an opportunity to enjoy a day filled with games, live entertainment and informational booths while socializing with hundreds of their peers.

“Our goal was to host an event that would bring joy to this valuable population of Tulare County residents- senior citizens,” said Albert Cendejas, Assistant Director – Senior Services for Community Services Employment Training (CSET). “Senior Day in the Park allows us to show our support, admiration and appreciation for the contributions seniors have made to our families and communities.”

Fifties music, décor and costumes worn by volunteers brought this year’s

“Sock Hop” theme to life and dialed into feelings of nostalgia for many seniors in attendance. Activities included a cake walk (nearly 200 cakes were donated by local agencies), bingo games with raffle prizes donated by exhibitors, and a classic car show.

Live musical entertainment performed by local singer Chloe Gowin, Mariachi Juvenal Nueva Generación, and perennial fan-favorite, Jeremy “Elvis” Pearce, helped make the event a resounding success.

The annual event is provided by a partnership between CSET, Kings/ Tulare Area Agency on Aging and the Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency.

Sponsors include Culligan, Vapor Trailers, Humana, A&W Restaurants, Family HealthCare Network, Tulare County Area Transit, Kaweah Delta Health Care District, Salser & Dillard Funeral Chapel and many others.

18 May, 2017

The Visalia Fox Theatre exterior in 1930. Courtesy/Theatre Historical Society of America

Fox Theatre to be Preserved in Theatre Architecture Archives Theatre Historical Society of America (THS) proudly announces that the Visalia Fox Theatre has been selected as an Affiliate of Theatre Historical Society of America.

For nearly 50 years, THS has been the guardian of the architectural, cultural, and social relevance of historic theatres in the United States. In that time THS has documented nearly 18,000 theatres in the American Theatre Archives; many of which have been lost to the wrecking ball. As an affiliate of THS, the Visalia Fox Theatre will be forever preserved in the THS Archives.

The Fox Theatre broke ground on April 6, 1929 on Main Street in downtown Visalia, and opened to the public on February 27, 1930 as a part of the Fox West Coast theatre chain. The original pipe organ, film projector, and air conditioning system were all state-ofthe-art and helped draw large crowds to the venue over the years. In the mid 1970’s the Fox was converted to a triplex multi-screen movie theatre in an attempt to compete with newer complexes. The Fox officially closed its doors in 1996. Through petitions and fund-

raising, the local community banded together to save the Fox from demolition and eventually worked to restore the performing arts center. Since its reopening in 1999, the Fox has hosted many wellknown touring artists, local entertainers, film screenings, and community events.

Today, the Visalia Fox Theatre is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization providing a focal point of cultural activity to benefit diverse local audiences.

“We are thrilled to add the Visalia Fox as a theatre affiliate and to permanently document this amazing theater in our archives,” said Executive Director Richard L. Fosbrink.

Erin Olm-Shipman, Executive Director of the Visalia Fox Theatre said, “Since first opening its doors, the Fox has played an integral role in shaping our local cultural identity. Being nationally recognized as a part of the Theatre Historical Society of America truly spotlights our entire community. The iconic image of our clock tower is commonly used in local business logos, commercials, and in the background of many family photoshoots. We are proud to represent Visalia on a national scale.”

Tulare County Breastfeeding Coalition Hosts Superheroes Playdate Diana Hallare, MPH, CLEC The Tulare County Breastfeeding Coalition (TCBC), a collaborative of breastfeeding professionals and community supporters, is hosting a family Playdate at Riverway Sports Park in Visalia, on June 27th from 9-11am.

Children can play while mothers have the opportunity to speak to lactation consultants, nurses, dietitians, and other coalition members. The theme for the day is “Superheroes.” So participants are invited to dress up in costumes and have fun at the photo booth.

Activities include Zumba, hula hoop dancing, opportunity drawings, fun with bubbles, and other games. Exhibitor booths and superfood snacks will also be available.

Last year’s Playdate at ImagineU Museum was a success with more than 100 attendees.

The TCBC has been active in promoting healthy infant feeding practices in the community. The coalition meets

every 4th Tuesday of the month. Community members are welcome to join the coalition and participate in making a positive social impact.

The TCBC has been involved in empowering more women to breastfeed.

For example, the coalition ran a city bus ad depicting three local mothers nursing their babies. Each year they sponsor a lactation tent at the Tulare County Fair and the Springville Apple Festival. The coalition puts on an annual professional lactation education conference each spring. Coalition members have also delivered presentations to medical assistant trainees and to teen parents.

In 2015, the TCBC received the California Breastfeeding Coalition’s Golden Nugget Award for “Excellence in Reducing a Key Barrier to Breastfeeding.”

The TCBC is looking forward to this summer Superheroes Playdate event. Families can register for the TCBC Playdate through http://tinyurl.com/TCBCsuperplaydate

18 May, 2017

B2 • Valley Voice

Sign of the Times J. Parrish Lewis You do not always notice us, but we are here. Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Late-Deafened, and Deaf-Blind: these are the terms we use to define ourselves, each of us choosing own own labels.

You may have seen us, walked by us, and not even realized that we belong to what we call the Deaf Community.

We are sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers. We are set apart for our differences in hearing. Our experiences, past and present, are far too varied for us to be narrowed down to just one type of person, or even a few. Our opinions vary, too, on all the subjects that matter to us, for which you might never have given thought to before: how are the deaf to be educated effectively? What’s the best path for a deaf child in life? How is it best to accommodate someone with different levels of hearing?

There cannot be one solution, for we are all individuals. We live alongside you, part of your world and part of our own. It seems these two worlds should be one and the same, but they often do not feel that way.

We are underestimated far too of-

ten, and we are sometimes forgotten.

Yet in the midst of our lives, there is also joy and laughter and reveling in language expressed through our hands.

Some of us use American Sign Language, some of us do not, but each of us has shared experiences that overlap in such ways that we can look at each other and know: You, you understand where I am coming from.

We want you to know us, because to know us is to take steps toward welcoming us. We do not want to be left out, forgotten, underestimated, because we see our own worth and we want you to see it as well.

Our lives may not always be what you think they are. Sometimes, if we are nurtured with positivity, we go beyond acceptance of who we are and come to appreciate our difference instead. To be Deaf, to be Hard of Hearing: this is not a curse. When those who surround us understand that it is not a curse, we are reinforced by this positivity. We adapt, finding new ways to engage in the world. When we are welcomed, we are able to adapt much more quickly.

We are the people who you think may be ignoring you, but simply do not hear you. We are the ones who come

to you for services and merely ask for accommodations such as ASL interpreters or FM systems — which allow for an FM signal to be sent from a speaker with a microphone to a person with a hearing aid that has an FM receiver — or notetakers or whatever it is that will allow us access to information. We are the ones who crave participation, who want you to see us. Not with pity, but with appreciation.

When we call ourselves Deaf, with a capital ‘D’, this often means that we identify with Deaf Culture and consider ourselves as a part of the Deaf Community that primarily uses American Sign Language.

When we use the term deaf, with a lower case ‘d’, this usually means that we do not identify with Deaf Culture, although we may still sign.

When we say we are Hard of Hearing, this tends to mean that we have some hearing ability and may or may not sign.

If we became deaf later on in life, we might call ourselves Late-Deafened, and we are usually Seniors.

If we are not only deaf, but also blind, we will call ourselves Deaf-Blind.

And finally, a common term that is

thought to be politically correct, Hearing-Impaired, often — but not always — in fact offends those of us who do not consider ourselves impaired.

When in doubt, simply ask us how we identify ourselves.

We do not define our world by silence, by the absence of sound, but by what is actually present.

Can you begin get a sense for who we are now?

J. Parrish Lewis is Deaf. He is currently the Project Director for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Service Center, a local non-profit Community Benefits Organization that serves the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community and their families.

When not working or parenting his three fantastic children, J. Parrish writes in his free time, usually fiction. You can find him on his website at www.munkymind.com.

Editors’ note: Sign of the Times is a new feature exclusive to the Valley Voice. Mr. Lewis will endeavor to be an ambassador for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, and our guide as he introduces us to the various aspects of their daily life.

WHCC to Honor Supporters at Commencement Staff Reports

At this year’s West Hills College Coalinga commencement on May 26, the college will honor two of its supporters: one with the annual Alumnus of the Year recognition and one with an honorary degree.

West Hills Community College District Foundation Board of Directors member Ernest Drewry will receive an honorary degree during the commencement ceremony and Daniel Tamayo, current director of the International Students Program

at WHCC, will be honored as the 2017 Alumnus of the Year.

Tamayo has served as the Director of the WHCC International Students Program since 2001 and graduated from WHCC with an Associate degree in Liberal Arts in 1991.

Since he became the program director, he has recruited over 800 international students to the campus.

“He is always on top of what his students need and he makes sure that his students are successful in achieving their goals,” said Emma Santos, Academic/EOPS/CARE advising

specialist at WHCC. “He is very passionate about his work, his students and the college. I have learned that he accomplishes everything that he sets his mind on.”

He has been recognized for his work reaching out to international students by the United States Department of Commerce, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the International Education Exchange Community College Consortium.

“I am deeply grateful and humbled by this important honor,” Tamayo said of the Alumnus of the

Year award.

Ernest Drewry will also be honored at the ceremony. He has served on the West Hills Community College Foundation Board of Directors for many years and was the Board President from 1997 to 2010.

He attended West Hills College Coalinga—then Coalinga College— starting in 1963 and served as a student bus driver but did not graduate from the school, instead choosing to join the United States Army.

He returned after three-year Army career and went into finance, retiring in 2008 as vice-president and manager of Hanford’s Union Bank.

“He is one of West Hills College’s strongest supporters and gives generously of his time, talent and treasures in support of West Hills and our students,” said Frances Squire, Executive Director of the Foundation. “We are most appreciative of his efforts and this seems a very fitting way to honor all that he has accomplished in his career and his personal life.

His ties with the college run deep: several of his grandchildren have attend West Hills College Coalinga and his son is an adjunct instructor at WHCC. Drewry said he’s honored and shocked by the recognition.

“I’ve always wanted to graduate from West Hills so this is an honor and a privilege,” he said.

Drewry and Tamayo will be honored during the WHCC commencement ceremony on May 26 at 6:30pm. in the WHCC gymnasium.

18 May, 2017

Valley Voice • B3

Education Tomorrow’s Leaders Give a Glimpse of the Future Staff Reports What do 3D printers, organic lipstick, auto shop, construction blue prints, and gluten-free baked goods all have in common? They are part of the many displays and student-run companies highlighted at the first annual Leaders of Tomorrow Student Expo.

Students from the Visalia Unified School District (VUSD) Career Pathways and Linked Learning Academies, and the students from the Visalia Chamber of Commerce’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) are hosting an expo to showcase the work they’ve completed in the 2016-2017 school year.

The Leaders of Tomorrow Student Expo is scheduled for May 11, 2017 from 5 – 8pm. at Ridgeview Middle School, located at 3315 N. Akers St., Visalia CA 93291.

VUSD offers two approaches to Career Technical Education, Pathways and Academies. Currently, students can choose from over 15 Career Pathways across the district. Pathways are a fouryear sequence of career-themed courses aimed at providing technical skill development in students. VUSD also offers 10 career-themed Linked Learning Academies. Academies are structured around a four-year sequence of courses, but with the addition of two or more academic courses that combine students

to create a cohort of classes and a school within a school model for students.

These programs are focused on college and career readiness, depending on the needs and next steps of our students.

The students from the Visalia Chamber of Commerce YEA! program will sell products from their newly-launched companies during the expo.

Be the first to purchase products from one of the five YEA! start-up companies.

The YEA! companies featured at the expo will be: • Aeryal’s - all natural organic and gluten free baked goods • Kalifornia Kisses - organic lipsticks • VESPR Goods - athletic backpacks • Unknown Apparel - branded street wear • SlingShot - online hiring resource for teens The Young Entrepreneurs Academy is a yearlong academic academy hosted by the Visalia Chamber of Commerce, which teaches core entrepreneurial skills to middle and high school students.

Visalia Partners in Education, Visalia Unified School District and the Visalia Chamber of Commerce work in concert to prepare students to meet needs of the 21st Century and to ensure that there is a qualified workforce to support Visalia and Tulare County in the future.

COS to Hold Graduation, Year-End Awards Events Staff Reports College of the Sequoias will celebrate Fall 2016/Spring 2017 graduates at the Commencement Ceremony, Thursday, May 25, 7:00pm. to 8:30pm. at Mineral King Bowl in Visalia. Family and friends are invited to attend this free event, they are however asked to leave balloons, signs and noisemakers at home or in their cars during the ceremony. Follow the fun and share your own photos of the event with #cosgraduation Other graduation and year-end awards ceremonies include: • Scholarship Awards Night: Thursday, May 4, 7:00pm. in the Porter Field House, Visalia campus • COS Symphony with Tulare County Youth Orchestra: Thursday, May 4, 7:30pm. at the Visalia Fox Theatre, tickets at the door • Spring Band Concert: Sunday, May 7, 2:00pm. in the Visalia campus Theater, tickets at the door • EOPS/CARE and CalWORKs Academic Achievement Awards: Tuesday, May 9, 7:00pm. in the Visalia campus Theater • COS Regatta: Thursday, May

11, 6:00pm. at the Visalia campus pool, tickets at cos.edu/ foundation • Spring Choral Concert: Friday, May 12, 7:30pm. in the Visalia campus Theater, tickets at the door • Physical Therapist Pinning Ceremony: Tuesday, May 16, 6:00pm. in the Visalia campus Theater • TRiO Programs Awards: Wednesday, May 17, 5:30pm. in the Ponderosa Lecture Hall, Visalia campus • Ag Program Recognition Banquet: Thursday, May 18, 5:30pm. at the Tulare campus Pavilion, for tickets contact Jill Mosley in Building A or call 559.688.3010 • Evening of Dance: Friday, May 19 and Saturday, May 20, 7:00pm. in the Visalia campus Theater, tickets at the door • Sequoia Chamber Chorale Concert: Sunday, May 21, 3:00pm. in the Visalia campus Theater, tickets at the door For other COS events, check back periodically at cos.edu/activecalendar or on COS’ Facebook (@collegeofthesequoias), or Instagram and Twitter (@ cosgiant).

Read for Life Scholarship Awarded to Redwood Senior Redwood High School senior Claire Stetson is the recipient of the Read for Life Pass the Word Scholarship.

Claire was awarded the $500 scholarship, given annually to Read for Life by the Visalia County Center Rotary Club, for performing 360 hours of literacy work over the last six years as part of the Tulare County Library’s Teen Advisory group.

Her work included a summer reading program with over 100 students participating in a Clue-like Mystery, complete with videos, which received local and national recognition. In addition, her work with the Children’s Summer Reading program, which attracts about 300 children, included putting together reading logs, registering participants, overseeing volunteers, and presenting program prizes. She has a 4.3 grade point average and plans to attend UCLA in the Fall.

Staff Reports Read for Life annually awards the “Pass the Word” scholarship to an outstanding Tulare County high school senior who has performed a minimum of 50 hours of volunteer service outside of school which focuses on improving literacy in Tulare County.

Since its start in 1989, Read for Life has donated a quarter million books to Tulare County children. The non-profit organization supports all Teen Age Parenting programs in Tulare County, Head Start Pre-Schools, and provides books and information to the pre-school migrant programs and home-based preschools. Read for Life reaches out to children in crisis by placing books in shelters and health centers throughout Tulare County.

For more information on Read for Life, go to www.readforlife.org.

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Calendar Now - May 26: California’s Giant Sequoias: Found Nowhere Else on Earth May 5 - 6-8pm - Show opening - A local artist from Porterville, Joy Collier paints in a post-impressionistic style and works from her own original photography and research in her studio. Her large canvasses of our local Sierra’s giant sequoias will fill the gallery space. Arts Visalia Visual Art Center is located at 214 E. Oak Ave. in Visalia. The gallery is open 12-5:30pm, Wednesday through Saturday.

from 7:00 am to 9:30 am at the show.

May 18, 19, 20: Pippin’ With an infectiously unforgettable score from the four-time Grammywinner, and musical theatre giant Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell, Children of Eden), Pippin has been successfully produced on stages ranging from high school to Broadway. Sweeping the New York Awards circuit (TONY, Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle) in 2013, Pippin continues to captivate and appeal to the young at heart throughout the world. At the Encore Theatre, 324 South N Street,Tulare. Call Encore Theatre for tickets and showtimes (559) 686-1300.

May 20: ‘The Golden Era of Hollywood Gala’ Fundraiser 7pm-Midnight - The Stroke Warrior Foundation is on a mission to help stroke survivors surpass the odds.

The Golden Era of Hollywood Gala will be held at the Heritage Complex in Tulare. It is a wine & food tasting of our local wineries and restaurants supporting the cause.

There will be silent auctions, raffle tickets, live auction and dancing to end the night. Individual tickets are $50. This is a formal attire event.

For more information contact the Fundraising Coordinator Cara Hix, (559) 972-2167.

May 19: Tulare State of the City 11:30am - 1pm - Edison Energy Education Center, 4175 S. Laspina Ave. in Tulare. For more information, call the Chamber, (559) 6861547.

May 20: Kings County Homecoming 10am - 4pm - Hanford Chamber presents fun for the whole family - parade, kids zone, health fair.

Downtown Hanford - Civic Park.

May 20: 49th Annual Vintage Hanford Motorcycle Rally 8am – 4pm – antique & classic motorcycle show, vintage parts exchange & sales corral, hourly raffle, more than 150 vendors, food & fun for the whole family. At the Kings County Fairgrounds. Admission $10/per person, children 12 and under, free – must be accompanied by an adult at all times. For more information, visit classiccycleevents.com.

May 20: Downtown Visalia Car Show 8am – 5pm - presented by Visalia Breakfast Lions & Groppetti Automotive - Online pre-registration will end May 15th. Please note that day of show registration will be open

May 20: Lindsay Beer Fest & Wine Tasting 6-10pm - Bring a group of friends for a delicious and entertaining night out! Entertainment by “Thee Originals”. Proceeds will benefit our Angel Tree for Senior Citizens and other community projects. Tickets available now $30 in advance; $35 at the door through the Lindsay Chamber of Commerce, 133 W. Honolulu Street, Suite E, or call, (559) 562-4929.

Office Hours: Monday—Friday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m Office Phone: (559) 713-4381 Lunch Reservation Line: (559) 713-4481 Wednesday Thursday Tuesday

May 2017 Monday

1

2 HICAP 10am—2pm Darts 11am Penny Bingo 1- 4pm

8 Corn hole 11am Pinochle 1 - 3pm Table Tennis 1 - 3pm Boot Scootin’ 1:15 - 3:15pm

9 Darts 11am Penny Bingo 1- 4pm

Volunteer Bureau Meeting @ 10:30am Corn hole 11am Pinochle 1 - 3pm Table Tennis 1 - 3pm Boot Scootin’ 1:15 - 3:15pm

3 Poker 12 - 3:30pm Contract Bridge 1 - 3pm

4 Chess Club Darts Penny Bingo

10am 11am 1 - 4pm

5 Friday Movie Table Tennis NEW Scrabble

11Senior Center 12 City 10Poker of Visalia — 12 -:30pm Chess Club 10am Friday Movie

OfficeContract Hours: 10:00 11am a.m. toTable4:00 Bridge Monday—Friday 1 - 3pm Darts Tennisp.

Penny Bingo 1 - 4pm NEW Scrabble Office Phone: (559) 713-4381 Lunch Reservation Line: (559) 713-4481 16 Tuesday 17 Wednesday 18 19 Thursday HICAP 10am - 2pm Poker 12 - 3:30pm Chess Club 10am Friday Movie

May 2017

15 Monday Corn hole 11am 1 Pinochle 1 - 3pm Volunteer Bureau Table Tennis 1 - 3pm Meeting @ 10:30am Boot Scootin’ 1:15 - 3:15pm Corn hole 11am Pinochle 1 - 3pm Table Tennis 1 - 3pm 22Boot Scootin’ 1:15 - 3:15pm Corn hole 11am 8 Pinochle 1 - 3pm CornTennis hole 11am Table 1 - 3pm Pinochle 1 - 3pm Boot Scootin’ 1:15 - 3:15pm Table Tennis 1 - 3pm Boot Scootin’ 1:15 - 3:15pm

2 3 4 Darts 11am Contract Bridge 1 - 3pm Darts HICAP 10am—2pm Poker 12 3:30pm ChessBingo Club Penny Bingo 1- 4pm Penny Darts 11am Contract Bridge 1 - 3pm Darts Penny Bingo 1- 4pm Penny Bingo 23 24 Darts 11am Poker 12 - 3:30pm 9 Bingo 1- 4pm Contract 10 Bridge 1 - 3pm Penny Darts 11am Poker 12 -:30pm Penny Bingo 1- 4pm Contract Bridge 1 - 3pm

30 31 Closed 29 Darts 11am Poker 12 - 3:30pm 15 16 17 1- 4pm 3pm Corn hole 11am Penny HICAPBingo10am - 2pm Contract Poker Bridge121--3:30pm Pinochle 1 - 3pm Darts 11am Contract Bridge 1 - 3pm Table Tennis 1 - 3pm Penny Bingo 1- 4pm Boot Scootin’ 1:15 - 3:15pm

22 Corn hole 11am Pinochle 1 - 3pm Table Tennis 1 - 3pm Boot Scootin’ 1:15 - 3:15pm

23 Darts 11am Penny Bingo 1- 4pm

24 Poker 12 - 3:30pm Contract Bridge 1 - 3pm

Closed

30 Darts 11am Penny Bingo 1- 4pm

31 Poker 12 - 3:30pm Contract Bridge 1 - 3pm

29

5 Tennis 11am Table 10am FridayScrabb Movie 1 - 4pm NEW! 11am Table Tennis 1 - 4pm NEW Scrabb

25 Chess Club 10am 11 Darts 11am ChessBingo Club 10am Penny 1 - 4pm Darts 11am Brain Teasers for Seniors Pennypresentation Bingo 1 - 4pm 3PM

18 Chess Club Darts Penny Bingo

10am 11am 1 - 4pm

25 Chess Club 10am Darts 11am Penny Bingo 1 - 4pm Brain Teasers for Seniors presentation 3PM

26 Fun Fitness 12 Movie Friday FridayTennis Movie Table TableScrabb Tennis NEW! NEW Scrabb

19 Friday Movie Table Tennis NEW! Scrab

26 Fun Fitness Friday Movie Table Tennis NEW! Scrab

May 23: Free Shoulder Pain Seminar 6-7:30pm - Lecture/discussion and refreshments at Vance Physical Therapy and Wellness in Exeter, presented by Josh Vance. Event is free. For more information and reservations, visit www.VancePT.com/ events, or call 592-7117.

May 23, 30 & June 6: Tuesday Nunes Watch 11:30am - 12:30pm - Meet up with other Congressional District 22 residents to voice concerns regarding the Congressman’s voting on issues pertaining to Health Care, Immigration, Tax Reform, Russia Investigation, etc. For one hour, walk a two block circle along Main St. from Nunes office, 113 N. Church St.

life through a wide variety of materials, to include rope and tin. Exhibit is at the Tulare Historical Museum Heritage Art Gallery. “California History” will run from May 25-July 15. The reception is open to the public and free of charge. Admission to Heritage Art Gallery exhibitions is free.

May 24: “Best in Show” Movie showing at the Tulare City Library 10:30am - Part of the continuous movie series offered through the li- May 29: Southern Gospel Music brary, offered in the Council Cham- Concert 6pm - The First Baptist Church of bers, adjoining the library.

Dinuba is pleased to be hosting a May 25: Opening Reception Southern Gospel music concert fea“California History” Campesino turing “Keepers Of The Faith MinSeries Art Exhibition istry”. KOTF is a nationally known 5-7pm - Visalia artist Richard Are- quartet from the state of Washingnas’ mixed media sculptures come to

ton who has become a “Fan Favorite” wherever they go. This will be the fourth year in a row blessing us with a Spirit filled concert. Free admission! A free-will offering will be taken for the ministry of KOTF. For more information, please call Dennis at (559) 643-0676.

june June 2: Public Meeting on 2018 Commercial Use Permitting Season - Sequoia & Kings National Parks 2-4pm - The Parks will hold a pub-

— Activity Schedule

m.

310 N. Locust Visalia, CA 93291

Friday

e Club

1 pm 1 pm 1 pm

Saturday

Sunday

Senior Pride Bingo 12 - 4:15pm

7 Contract Bridge 1-4 pm

6

14 13Schedule — Activity 1 pm Senior Pride Bin- Contract

.m.

e Club

Friday

1 pm 1 pm

Bridge

go 310 Locust 1-4 pm 12 - N. 4:15pm Visalia, CA 93291

e Club ble s ble Club

20 Saturday 21 Sunday 1 pm Senior Pride Bin- Contract 7 Bridge 1 pm go6 Contract 1 pm Senior Pride Bin1-4 pm 1 pm 1 pm go 12 - 4:15pm Bridge 1-4 pm 1 pm 12 - 4:15pm

e s Club ble ble Club

28 27 11am Senior Pride Bin- Contract 14 Bridge 1 pm go13 1 pm 1-4 pm Senior Pride Bin- Contract 1 pm 12 - 4:15pm Bridge 1 pm go 1 pm 1-4 pm 1 pm 12 - 4:15pm

e s bble Club

1 pm 1 pm 1 pm

e s bble Club

11am 1 pm 1 pm 1 pm

21 20 Senior Pride Bin- Contract Bridge go 1-4 pm 12 - 4:15pm

28 27 Senior Pride Bin- Contract Bridge go 1-4 pm 12 - 4:15pm

with an opportunity for the public to provide comments directly to the project team members. Following the presentation, project staff will be on hand to answer questions.

Meeting held at Sequoia National Park, Ash Mountain Recreation Hall, 46725 Sycamore Drive, Three Rivers. For more information, call (559) 565-3103.

June 3: Annual Dinuba Cars in the Park Show Held at Rose Ann Vuich Park, 855 E El Monte Way. Car Show registration: 7-10am; Car Show: 10am 2pm, Lions Club Pancake Breakfast served 7-10am; awards 6:30pm, free concert begins at 8pm.

June 9: Salute the Dairy Industry 6-9pm - The Tulare Country Dairywomen and the Tulare Chamber of Commerce will host the 33rd Annual Tulare County Dairy Princess Coronation. The evening will start at 6 pm with a social hour, followed by dinner at 7 pm. The new dairy princess will serve as a dairy ambassador for next year. Included in the program, the Tulare County Dairywomen and the Tulare Chamber of Commerce will also be presenting scholarship awards to local high school students, as well as presenting the 2017-18 Dairy Family of the Year. Tickets are available for $35 through the Tulare Chamber, (559) 686-1547.

June 9: Metalachi at the Hanford Fox 8pm - The World’s First And Only Heavy Metal Mariachi Band with Masters Of Rock LIVE! Tickets: Pre-sale: $20 Day Of: $25. Box office open Monday-Saturday, 10am6pm, 326 N. Irwin St. For more information, call (559) 584-7423.

lic information meetings to discuss the implementation of Commercial Service Day (CSD) allocations for commercial operations in wilderness under the direction of the Wilderness Stewardship Plan / Final Environmental Impact Statement (WSP/ FEIS) signed May 27, 2015. The WSP/FEIS and Appendix B: Extent Necessary Determination established the extent to which commercial services are necessary and allowable in the parks’ wilderness areas.

The purpose of this meeting is to discuss how the established CSD allocations will be implemented in the 2018 CUA permitting season. The meeting format will be open house,

June 10: Veteran’s Resource Workshop 9-11am - Hosted by Rep. David Valadao and held at the Kings County Library located at 401 N. Douty Street in Hanford. At the event, Congressman Valadao will deliver an update on important legislation impacting veterans and provide information about how his office can help when dealing with the Department of Veterans Affairs. In addition, local experts will be on site to provide information about available services. The event is free and open to the public. For more information about the event or to RSVP, please email RSVP.Valadao@mail.house.

gov or call (559) 582-5526.

Tickets are on-sale now and start at only $35 for general admission.

June 10: Summer Reading KickTickets can be purchased online at off at Tulare Library 10am - 2pm - The Tulare Public www.eaglemtncasino.com or in the Library will be having the annual Mountain Memories gift shop.

Summer Reading Kick-off. There June 26-30; July 24-28: Kids will be four showings of E&M Rep- Camp tile Family, Carnival Games and 12:30-5:30pm - Kids ages 5-12 Face Painting. The Summer Read- years old will enjoy a full week of ing Program will run from June 10 fun games, outdoor water play, - July 15.

Rockwall climbing (child must be at least 30 pounds), swimming and June 10: Silent Comedies at the more. Snacks will be provided. LifeHanford Fox 8pm - Featuring late great comedic styles Center, Visalia. $80/members; geniuses from the silent film era , $95/guests - per camp. Space limitaccompanied by Dean Mora on the ed to 25 participants - registration Mighty Wurlizer theatre pipe or- is underway. For more information, gan! $10 for adults and online ticket call (559) 624-3416. purchases or $5 for students, senior citizens and military. Children 12 and under are free! Box office open Monday-Saturday, 10am-6pm, 326 July 29: Cars and Coffee N. Irwin St. For more information, 8-11am – Car show offered by call (559) 584-7423.

Buckman-Mitchell Financial and June 11: “For The Love of Color” Insurance Services, 500 N. Santa Fe, Visalia. No entry fee. Bring an unArtist Reception at Cafe 225 2-4pm - Opening reception for the wrapped toy or Toys for Tots and be artist Betty Berk whose paintings are entered into a raffle. For more inforfilled with a cacophony of brilliantly mation, call (559) 635-3520.

JULY

painted flowers. Berk uses plants for the garden bought at a local nursery because they are living plants, waiting to be planted in a pot or a garden to make a home more beautiful.

The Visalia exhibition runs through Aug. 5.

June 13-15: Beginners Youth Volleyball Camp 9am - Noon - Ages 7-14 - Designed for players with little or no experience playing volleyball. Players will learn basic court skills and techniques. $55/members; $75/guests.

Held at the Lifestyle Center in Visalia. For more information, call (559) 624-3416. Space is limited!

June 20-22: Advanced Youth Volleyball Camp 9am - Noon - Ages 7-14 - Designed for players with experience school or league play. Must have basic knowledge of fundamental skills and understand the rules of the game. $55/ members; $75/guests. Held at the Lifestyle Center in Visalia. For more information, call (559) 624-3416.

Space is limited!

June 23: Comedian Jo Koy Coming to Eagle Mountain Casino 8pm - Jo Koy, a popular comedian who has been on several televised shows and has his own weekly podcast, will perform live at Eagle Mountain Casinos Event Center.

CONTINUOUS Mondays: Bridge Club, 9:30am2pm 210 W Center Street Visalia, CA 93291. Admission is free. For additional information call: Joan Dinwiddie @ 732-0855 Mondays: Knitters, 10am12:30pm 210 W Center Street Visalia, CA 93291. Everyone is welcome.

Mondays: Monday Karaoke at Barmageddon, 9pm-1am Karaoke Jockey Miss Sammi will be hosting from 9pm - 1am. No Cover.

Tuesdays: Barmageddon Trivia Thunderdome, 9pm-1am Challenge your friends to the ultimate trivia throw down. Earn some bragging rights in categories ranging from Saturday morning cartoons, classic video games, and pop culture films. Free sign ups at 9:30pm.

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.

18 May, 2017

B6 • Valley Voice

Health

Kaweah Delta Hospital Guild Installs New Officers

Tulare Hospital Foundation to Hold Summer Jubilee in the Park Staff Reports Tulare Hospital Foundation is pleased to announce the celebration of 25 years of Summer Jubilee on August 26, 2017. We will celebrate the Silver Anniversary at Zumwalt Park located at 400 E. Tulare Avenue – Tulare, Ca. Themes from previous years will be highlighted. Guests are invited to dress up in attire from their favorite Summer Jubilee themed year. We hope to see costumes from the 2010 Cruise Ship, 2011 Vintage Vegas, 2012 Roaring 20s, 2013 Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2014 Hollywood Glam, 2015 Kentucky Derby or last year’s Arabian Nights themed years.

Best costume will receive a prize so come prepared to win and have some summer fun at Zumwalt Park.

Vendors from our area will feature beer, wine, food, and desserts. Casino style gambling will also provide enter-

tainment for the evening, along with music to dance into the night and celebrate the end of summer. Tickets remain at $50.00 per person. The event is open to the public 21 years and older and I.D. will be required to enter.

Tulare Hospital Foundation depends on fundraisers such as Summer Jubilee to support its mission to provide funding for various health care needs throughout the community. The Foundation also continues to raise funds to help purchase equipment used at Tulare Regional Medical Center. Our goal is to help promote a happy and healthy community by providing and supplementing efforts of wellness programs and services of our area.

For information on how to become an event sponsor, donate silent auction items or purchase tickets, please call (559) 685-3438.

On May 2, the Kaweah Delta Hospital Guild installed its officers for fiscal year 2017-2018.

• Tommy Sullivan, President • Peggy Story, Vice President • Sandy Saulque, Treasurer • Mary Reeves, Recording Secretary • Susan Collins, Corresponding Secretary • Donna Archer, Director • Beverly Cheek, Director Along with installing new officers at its May meeting, the Guild presented a check in the amount of $130,145.58 to Tom Rayner, Kaweah Delta interim CEO, which was raised for patient care equipment at Kaweah Delta Health Care District.

Additionally, in fiscal year 2016-

Staff Reports 2017, Guild members have served 19,930 hours volunteering for the district.

The Guild is an important part of Kaweah Delta Health Care District’s team. Guild volunteers serve in the following areas: the information desk, surgery waiting room, discharge service, book cart, gift shop, hemodialysis center, intensive care unit, providing baby blankets, and fundraising. To be a guild volunteer, applicants must be at least 30 years of age. Applicants can volunteer mornings, afternoons or on weekends.

For more information on how to become a guild volunteer, call (559) 734-7523.

GET SOLAR The Kaweah Delta Hospital Guild presented the hospital’s CEO with $130,145.58 at its May meeting. Courtesy/KDHCD

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Cindy Underwood, Supervising Deputy District Attorney, speaks at the Soroptimist International of Tulare Summit Against Human Trafficking in April. Courtesy/Linda Martin

“Soroptimist International of Tulare wishes to thank all who participated in our Summit Against Human Trafficking on April 25, 2017. Held at the First Baptist Church, partnered with Tulare Outlets,” Linda Martin, of Soroptimist International of Tulare, wrote.

“Special thanks to all our presenters: District Attorney Tim Ward, City of Tulare Police Dept, California Highway Patrol, Tulare County Sherriffs Dept. Family Services, and Valley Childrens Hospital whom both received a $1,000.00 Donation from Soroptimist/Tulare Outlet. Special Thanks to our Vendors: Santa Teresita Youth Center,Three Rivers,Kaweah Delta Hospital,Tulare Hospital Foundation,and First Baptist Church,Tulare Youth Service. To the community for joining us and the Great Job of all,for educating us on this Important Issue of Human Trafficking.

Much Appreciation, Tulare Soroptimist Club”

18 May, 2017

Valley Voice • B7

Sports Shelley Duncan Plans Success for Rawhide Adrian Luevano Visalia Rawhide manager Shelley Duncan knew he wanted to do something in baseball since he was in the third grade.

“When I was eight to 10 years old, that’s when I knew I wanted to do something in baseball,” Duncan said. “I had an interest in the management, front office, coaching, and just everything you can think of.”

The Rawhide’s first-year skipper is no stranger to baseball. Duncan played seven seasons in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and Tampa Bay Rays.

Duncan’s father, Dave Duncan, was Tony La Russa’s pitching coach from 1986 to 1995 for the Oakland Athletics. It was listening to the duo on team planes, meetings, and on the field that helped shaped Duncan’s managing style.

The Tuscon, Arizona native credits his dad for always encouraging him to have an open mind for learning.

“There is so much advice my dad has given me,” Duncan said. “He told me ‘You always learn from your mistakes and to never be afraid to fail,’ and those are the things that stick with me the most.”

When Duncan was 15-years-old, he got his first taste of managing. Duncan’s little league coach let him hone his craft due to his inability to be at games for first pitch.

“Our little league coach was always late, because of work,” Duncan said. “We would have 4pm games and he would

show up at 5pm. He would leave me the duties of setting the lineup, hitting infield/outfield, and just getting the team going. I always had managing in me.”

After Duncan’s first assistant coaching job with the Arizona Wildcats -his alma mater- during fall ball, he wrote a letter to every single MLB organization.

The letter expressed his interest in pursuing a managerial role.

The team that responded back: The Arizona Diamondbacks.

“I wanted everyone to know, that managing is what I wanted to do,” Duncan said. “The reasoning was, one day a team would have a spot open up, and they already knew I was available.”

It goes full circle for La Russa, Shelley, and Dave Duncan.

In November of 2013, Dave joined the Diamondbacks as a pitching consultant. In May of 2014, La Russa accepted the position of Chief Baseball Officer for the Diamondbacks.

Duncan’s first year of managing came in 2015 with Arizona’s short-season Class-A affiliate, Hillsboro Hops, in Oregon.

In his two seasons with the Hops, Duncan led the club to a combined record of 87-64. He also managed the team to a Northwest League championship in 2015.

After the two years in Hillsboro, Duncan felt he was ready to take the next step in his managerial career. He got a phone call earlier this year, saying he was being promoted to Visalia, and he could not be happier.

“I was always itching to get to a full

Shelley Duncan, left. Courtesy/Ken Weisenberger/Strike 3 Photography

season,” Duncan said. “I’ve always heard great things about this level and organization. I let out a Woo! Alright! When I knew I was coming to Visalia.”

So far for Duncan, the Rawhide have gotten off to a 18-16 start and are currently in second place in the California League North Division.

“We’ve been playing hard,” Duncan said. “We have great pieces in place, and with that, we feel like we can compete with anyone. We never feel like the game is over. That’s a special team character to have.”

Duncan is quick to shoot down

guaranteeing a California League championship. He wants the players to play with attitude every single game, and believes good things will happen if they do.

“I want us to play smart, aggressive, and to never be afraid of failure,” Duncan said of his team philosophy. “I truly believe if we have that attitude, wins and success will come of it.

“Our job in this organization is to develop championship-caliber players for the Arizona Diamondbacks. I love seeing a player be better tomorrow than he was yesterday. That gives me more of a thrill than anything else.”

West Hills Rodeo Qualifies for College National Finals Staff Reports

For the first time in several years, the West Hills College Coalinga Men’s Rodeo team has qualified as a team for the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association’s College National Finals Rodeo and are now the reigning West Coast Region Reserve Champion Team.

The team finished the regular rodeo season ranked second in the West Coast Region following a second place win at the regional finals in Nevada. They will compete as a team and in their individual events at the 2017 College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) June 11 to June 13 in Casper, Wyoming.

“The CNFR is the pinnacle of the rodeo season and we are one of the favorites for the competition,” said Justin Hampton, WHCC Head Rodeo Coach. “I think this group has a real shot at the national championship and I’m excited to see where it goes.”

The students will compete in a range of individual events and as a team and face off against over 400 competitors from 11 other regions and over 100 universities and colleges at the finals.

To earn their second place regional

spot, the team outperformed teams from across California and Nevada, including Cal Poly, Cuesta College, and the University of NevadaLas Vegas.

The six team members—Jacob Lees; Brushton Minten; Edgar Machado; Cash Robinson; Finn Costa; and Kolby Bravos— will participate in a variety of events at the CNFR in June including team roping, bareback riding, saddle bronc Jacob Lees, pictured, took West Hills College Coalinga Rodeo to the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association riding, bull riding National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo. in 2015. Courtesy/WHCC and steer wrestling.

Brushton Minten is ranked 2nd in 8th in team roping.

All of the individual team mem- team roping.

To view a full list of the current rebers are heading to the CNFR highly Machado is currently ranked 1st in gional standings visit, http://www.colranked regionally in their individu- the region in steer wrestling while Cash legerodeo.com/standings/2014-2015al events.

Robinson is 3rd regionally in saddle west-coast-region-standings/ Lees is advancing to the national bronc riding, and third in bull riding.

For more information about the finals ranked number one in the West Finn Costa is ranked 3rd regionally in WHCC rodeo program, contact Justin Coast Region in Bareback Riding while bareback riding and Bravos is ranked Hampton at (559) 934-2702.

18 May, 2017

Valley Voice • B8

Betty Berk to Present Latest Exhibit Starting June 5 at Cafe 225 in Visalia

Montecito Apartment Homes offers a gated community near the Visalia Country Club.

Courtesy/Montecito Apartment Homes

Visalia’s First Solar-Powered Apartment Homes Now Leasing Montecito Apartment Homes, a gated neighborhood near the Visalia Country Club, boasts numerous firsts in the city of Visalia.

The community is solar powered, an investment that will reduce utility costs for residents and help reduce energy usage, particularly during the Valley’s warm summers.

Each apartment home has a washer, dryer and refrigerator, which meet today’s energy-efficiency requirements.

The luxury apartments include granite countertops, ceiling fans, hardwood floors, a private balcony and a single-car garage for each home. The Montecito community features a pool, poolside barbeque areas, a club with a fitness center and a large community room with a full kitchen, among other amenities.

“Phase one is already half rented,” noted Harvey May, of Paloma Devel-

opment. “Visalia has had a shortage of multi-family housing for several years, so available apartments are older, not as energy efficient, and don’t offer the luxury amenities that people want today. Montecito is helping to fill that need.”

Paloma Development developed the community in collaboration with Ginder Development. The builder is BJ Perch Construction and Manco Abbott is handling property management.

Montecito offers three floor plans, ranging from 823 square feet to 1,356 square feet, with one to three bedrooms and one or two bathrooms.

The Montecito Leasing Center is now open Monday through Friday, 10am to 6pm, and weekends by appointment, at 1137 N. Woodland.

For more information, visit www. montecitoapthomes.com or call Jessica Palmer at 739-7082.

Betty Berk’s art exhibit, “For The Love of Color” will be on display at Cafe 225, 225 Main St., Visalia, CA from June 5 to August 5, 2017.

Color is the subject of Berk’s latest art exhibit -- and Berk invites the public to join her art reception on Sunday, June 11 from 2 to 4pm.

These paintings are filled with a cacophony of brilliantly painted flowers.

Berk uses plants for the garden

bought at a local nursery because they are living plants, waiting to be planted in a pot or a garden to make a home more beautiful.

This joyful act of gardening is a symbol of this artist’s love of life, home, family, creativity, and beauty.

Each painting is a unique expression.

“All are for sale, so you might find one that will bring color and joy to your home,” Berk says.