They come from Tulare, Madera and points between with honors and distinctions a mile long. They are 12 students who excel in school, contribute to their community and are role models.
They are the future of this Valley — the next zookeeper, pediatrician and banker, aspiring authors and singers.
Several are outstanding athletes. There are top-notch Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and 4-H award winners.
And at least one can whip up a delicious cake.
They are the 17th class of The Bee’s Academic All-Stars.
- The Fresno Bee
Friday, May. 25, 2012 | 08:04 PM
Holiday travelers can rejoice as rain and wind are expected to subside across the state by Memorial Day.
A cold and damp storm will move out of the area Saturday and temperatures should be in the mid-80s in Fresno for Memorial Day, said Gary Sanger, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford.
The cold front that blew in Friday from the Gulf of Alaska dropped scattered rain in the Valley, including in Tulare and Fresno counties. Hail was reported in Clovis, Sanger said.
“This is a late-season storm and it is kind of unusual, but it is not totally out of the ballpark,” Sanger said. In 2008, Fresno experienced a storm that dropped the high temperature to 61, Sanger said.
- The Fresno Bee
Saturday, May. 19, 2012 | 11:20 PM
A Fresno woman who posted a website seeking a Christian family with an annual income of at least $40,000 to temporarily provide a home for her 3-year-old son said Saturday that she felt she had nowhere else to turn.
But after the website Good Home for Joey drew the attention of a Fresno attorney, local media and Child Protective Services, Corenna Waller, 27, decided to find help for herself and her son, Joel Keeling, through other means.
Waller, who is four months pregnant with her second child, said she will meet later this week with members of her family and CPS officials to develop a plan for her son’s care for the next six months or so.
She said she had previously asked CPS for assistance in caring for her son but was referred to parenting agencies such as First Five of Fresno County.
“I don’t want to sell him, dump him on the side of the road or anything like that,” Waller said. “I’m just not emotionally ready to raise a child.”
- The Fresno Bee
Saturday, May. 19, 2012 | 05:41 PM
Fire crews are fighting a house fire in southwest Fresno where a person had a heart attack, Fresno Fire Capt. Paul Garnier said.
Crews were dispatched to the 3500 block of West Kearney Boulevard for a fire involving a trailer, a garage and a barn. There were also reports of a person down from an episode of cardiac arrest, Garnier said.
The fire was declared under control around 4:30 p.m. The Fresno Fire Department and the North Central Fire Protection District are on scene.
No other information was immediately available.
- The Fresno Bee
Friday, May. 18, 2012 | 11:43 PM
Fresno-area residents will get a rare chance Sunday afternoon to see a partial solar eclipse that will be visible across California — but to see a full sun block-out, Valley residents will need to head north of Sacramento.
Stargazers are counting down the minutes to Sunday’s eclipse. “It is sort of a magical event, and there is nowhere else in the whole solar system where the moon blocks the sun,” said Steven White, director of the Downing Planetarium at Fresno State.
In Fresno, the moon will begin to obscure the sun at 5:20 p.m. Sunday, reach its maximum coverage at 6:34 p.m. and exit the sun’s face at 7:40 p.m.
The Fresno region’s eclipse will cover nearly 89% of the sun.
White said the last partial eclipse in the region took place 10 years ago. “This happens about every six months on earth, but to have one come through California is rare,” he said.
- The Fresno Bee
Friday, May. 18, 2012 | 11:42
Blayne Thomas will be remembered not only for his public service in Clovis but as a family man, a youth volunteer and a soloist with his church.
“He wrapped his arms around those that needed to be uplifted, encouraged and validated,” said Jan Thomas, his wife of 55 years. “I was so fortunate to meet and marry him.”
Mr. Thomas, 80, died May 12 from pulmonary fibrosis. He leaves behind his wife, three children, Brad, Brian and Becky, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Born in San Pedro in 1932, Mr. Thomas was an ardent Mormon and even served as a bishop and two years as president of the Fresno Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He enlisted for two years in the Army during the Korean War at 18 and later served four years in the Navy.
The effect of Romero’s series even reached across the country to Georgetown, Texas, where a Gruner judge’s wife, after reading Romero’s stories, was inspired to re-join Weight Watchers. “That kind of impact on a judge is a definite ‘first’ in the history of this competition,” said Sidlow.
“Contest judges praised Romero for his thorough and sensitive portrayal of a community in crisis. One judge wrote, “The Sanger Herald and reporter Ezra Romero did a top-notch job exploring various aspects of a growing national problem – obesity – while keeping the focus on their own community.”
Another judge said, “This topic could have generated another tiresome round of hand-wringing. But not when the obese person quoted is your next-door neighbor who admits he’s ‘full of illness.’ Or the school food director who fell over dead in his living room after he wouldn’t follow his advice to others: lose weight.”
An excerpt from a Sanger Herald Article explaining the impact the series “Sanger: A Catastrophe of Calories” has had on the city of Sanger.
Full Article: Herald writer finishes second for prestigious journalism award, Judges praise Ezra Romero’s series on obesity
- The Fresno Bee
Thursday, May. 17, 2012 | 06:46 PM
Two men are wanted in Madera County after shooting at a farmer during a metal theft Wednesday, Madera County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Erica Stuart said.
Officers were dispatched to Avenue 9 and Road 33 after a complaint that the men attempted to steal five metal pipes, worth about $500. One of the men shot at the farmer when he interrupted the theft.
The men fled in a silver pickup with Texas license plates. Both men are described as Caucasian and in their late 20s. One of the men has blond hair and is about 5 foot 5. The other is described as very tan with black hair.
Anyone with information can call the Madera County Sheriff’s Department at (559) 674-7770.
Friday, May. 11, 2012 | 10:57 PM
A historic city building in downtown Mariposa was partially destroyed by fire Friday evening, said Cal Fire-Madera County Battalion Chief Chris Christopherson.
The fire was reported about 8:30 p.m. in the 5000 block of Fifth Street.
When fire crews arrived, they found the Pizza Factory and adjacent businesses on fire, Christopherson said.
Five apartments across the street from the businesses were evacuated because of dense smoke, Christopherson said.
Highway 140 through town also was closed to traffic.
The fire destroyed five businesses, including the pizza parlor, a coffee shop, a wind chime store, a bookstore and an art studio. A church at the back of the complex was saved but has some damage, Christopherson said.
“It is a significant old historic building, and the fire spread through the attic of all five business that joined the building,” Christopherson said. “The fire spread quickly due to the age of the building — it was from the turn of the century.”
My first Fresno Bee front page story!
- The Fresno Bee
Thursday, May. 10, 2012 | 11:17 PM
For the second time in six months, products from a dairy near Kerman are being recalled because of concerns over bacterial contamination.
At least 10 people throughout California — including at least one in Fresno County — became ill with campylobacter bacteria that was found in raw cream produced by Organic Pastures Dairy, state health officials said Thursday. No one was hospitalized.
State Veterinarian Annette Whiteford on Thursday ordered a quarantine of the dairy’s products: raw milk, raw skim milk, raw cream and raw butter. Consumers are urged to dispose of any of the dairy’s products.
Dairy owner Mark McAfee said he believes the test results are incorrect. He asked for a hearing today with the state Department of Food and Agriculture.
McAfee said he is outraged about the recall, saying it will cost his operation in the ballpark of $100,000.
“They find a needle in a haystack and they take it up the hill — it is just outrageous,” McAfee said Thursday night.
- The Fresno Bee
Friday, May. 04, 2012 | 09:21 PM
Two 18-year-old students were arrested Thursday at Woodlake Union High School on suspicion of possession and sale of narcotics on the campus, Woodlake Police said.
The arrests come after Woodlake Superintendent Tim Hire, Woodlake Police and Porterville Police teamed up to enroll an officer as a student on the campus to combat the influence of drugs at the school. The officer was on campus for three weeks.
While undercover the officer attended classes and was given assignments. In his time at the school he was able to buy marijuana and prescription pills, police said.
The operation resulted in the arrest of the two students, both seniors. One was arrested on suspicion of possession of marijuana for sale and the other of possession of a controlled substance for sale. Both were booked into the Tulare County Main Jail.
Gruner Award Results:
I felt honored as a student to come in second for the weekly newspapers section of the The George F. Gruner Awards for Meritorious Public Service in Journalism for a series I produced for the Sanger Herald called, “Sanger: A Catastrophe of Calories.” The awards recognize outstanding community service in print journalism in the central San Joaquin Valley (they are like the Pulitzer’s of the Central Valley).
Congratulations to Rebecca Plevin for her outstanding work on the issue of teen pregnancies and to my colleague Mark Grossi for his work on water issues in the region. And last but not least congrats to Valerie Gibbons for her work in Visalia with the Visalia Times Delta.
- The Fresno Bee
Friday, Apr. 27, 2012 | 01:55 PM
7:36 p.m.: An 81-year-old man is dead after getting into a fight with his 55-year-old son Friday morning in central Fresno, Lt. Burke Farrah said.
A disturbance involving the father and son was reported about 11 a.m. in the 1800 block of West Pontiac Way. The father was taken to Community Regional Medical Center with serious injuries. He died from his injuries around 3 p.m. His identity was not released.
The son, Charles Hudiburgh, was cooperating with officers and admitted to murdering his father in an interview with detectives, Farrah said.
He was booked into the Fresno County Jail on suspicion of murder. There are no other suspects in this case, Farrah said. Officers were searching the home for evidence, he said.
This is the 17th murder in Fresno this year, compared to 14 at this time last year, Farrah said. No other information was available.
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1:51 p.m.: A Fresno man is in what police describe as “very, very serious condition” and his son is being questioned by detectives following a disturbance today in central Fresno.
Officers went to the 1800 block of West Pontiac Way about 11 a.m. this morning where they found the injured man and rushed him to Community Regional Medical Center. The son was taken downtown.
Family members are being interviewed at the scene.
No other information was immediately available.
For the sixth consecutive year a Sanger Herald writer is among the finalists in competition for the prestigious George F. Gruner Award for Meritorious Public Service in Journalism.
Sanger Herald writers won the award in 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2011.
A series by Ezra Romero about “Obesity in Sanger: A catastrophe of calories,” is in contention for this year’s award, which will be presented May 3 in Fresno.
Jaclyne Badal and Amanda Magalei-Hardy won in 2006 with stories about special needs children left unattended on Sanger school buses.
