Today continues the conversation with Jim Taubert, executive director of the successor agency to the former Madera Redevelopment Agency.

“We’ve got to have a strategy to build on the casino and on high-speed rail.”

“What I would say is that you should sell Madera County as a destination, and not just for gambling. In addition to gambling you can go wine-tasting, you can taste a variety of olive oils, you can go to Yosemite. But gambling is just one of many things there are to do in Madera.

“I think that goes along with Rick Farinelli’s idea on Madera County becoming a sports destination. All three of my kids were active in travel ball ... The ones that were held in Vegas attracted everybody. If we got serious about sports as a development strategy, we would be known as a destination for more than just one activity.”

“If we hang our hat on just the casino or just high-speed rail construction, I don’t think it’s going to create long-term wealth.”

He said education can be a form of economic development. “Many young people who have grown up in Madera have left the city due to lack of opportunity. Their parents are still here, but their kids aren’t.

“In the valley, the most successful model for reversing that is the Clovis model. They decided long ago that regardless of anything else, they were going to build their future on having the best education system in the area. They decided their education system would be their economic engine. That’s why they don’t build business parks, they do technology parks. But it’s all based on using Clovis Unified School District as the engine that drives the long-range economy.

“The problem with Madera is our self-esteem isn’t real good right now. With the schools, it’s been the idea that we’re too poor to be too good, or that we’re too brown to be good. That’s not true. Economics, social status and ethnicity don’t have anything to do with your ability to learn. But if you set your bar too low, and you meet it, you get what you go for. Clovis, on the other hand, shoots for the stars. I just think it has to do with community self-esteem.

“There have been periods of time, driven by a variety of factors, when we raised our goals. We said we no longer were going to accept mediocrity. But the periods weren’t sustained. We had our self-confidence going, and then, boom, someone gives us a dirty look, and we go, ‘Oh, that’s right, we’re Madera’.

“There’s some good ideas out there. Now let’s try to package them. Let’s put a program together where people start talking to one another. Our graffiti collaborative is a model where people are talking to each other, and it’s working. I think economic development is the same way. We’ve got a piece here and a piece there, but nobody’s working together. Nobody’s pulling on the rope. In times like this, though, to compete, we’ve all got to be working together. But we don’t have a plan in place. That has to change.

Our next interview, after a Monday break, will be with Madera District Chamber of Commerce President Debi Bray.

Ashely Nicole Aguilar, Mario Daniel Aguilar, Joshua Vincent Alanis, Sergio Jr. Alanis, Melissa Jassmin Alejandre, Mohammed Alhomedi, Wesley Tristan Jacob Allen, Miriam Elizabeth Alvarado, Usvaldo David Alvarez, Amanda Amaro, Graciela Amezcua-Caracheo, Miguel Angel Amezola Jr., Uriel Anaya, Evelyn Andrade, Liza Marie Angeles, Michael James Angell, Alma Jacquelyn Anzaldo, Veronica Anzaldua, Sara Jane Arias, Vanessa Arredondo Pimentel, Nathan Arellano, Adaline Nathalie Arteaga, Perla Vianey Arzate, Dalia Arzola, Alexander Gregory Asencio, Anthony Avila, Destiny Renee Avila, Maritza Barajas Resendez, Matthew William Barnes, Jacob Adam Barraza, Jose Alberto Barriga, Kaytln Joann Barrios, Jaspreet Singh Basra, Sandeep Kaur Basra, Andrea Christine Landin Belluomini, Kayleigh Grace Bergdahl, Maria Alicia Betancourt, Daniel Luis Blancas, Laura Celeste Brager, Bailey Mckenna Britton, Lauren Elizabeth Brown, Miranda Kristine Brunner, Kyle Dorian Brunolli, Alexandra Dominique Burriel, Stephanie Cabello, Andrea Calderon, Gabriel Alejandro Caliz Ortuño, Briana Marie Camacho, Yeico Scott Canseco, Felipe Cardenas, Ismael Cardenas, Lucero Cardenas Hernandez, Amber Sophia Cardiel, Thunderiel Cardoza, Ryan D. Carpenter, Carlie Marie Carrillo, Jesus Castellanos, Amaris Angelique Castillo, Brianna Castillo, Diego Castillo, Anthony Daniel Castro, Arlene Cazarez, Ignacio Ceja, Ivan Ceja, Michael Felipe Ceja, Raymond Cerda , Priscilla Cervantes, Yerli Cervantes, Gurtinder Singh Chahal, Desmond Chambers, Kelsey Lynn Champ, Kristen Champ, Irania Chavez, Llair Didier Chavez, Miranda Kristeena Chavez, Marlen J. Chavez Camarillo, Ryan Anthony Chavira, Seleste Giovannah Chavira, Katey Michele Christiansen, Crystal Cisneros, Marcos Cisneros, Rolando Alejandro Collazo, Saramae Jean Conklin, Hannah Antoinette Contreras, Jaclyn Stephanie Cordero, Jesus Corona, Felipe Tomas Cortez, Stephanie Marie Cortez, Stephanie Cortez, Yasmin Rivas Cortez, Jenna Rae Adelina Criado, Tracie Shae Criado, Alexis Cruz-Mendoza, Dani Micah Cuellar, Erika Cuevas, Kaitlyn Rebekka Davie, Deion Geffory Davis, Angel De Jesus De Leon, Michelle Del Rio, Romario Jose DeLeon, Andrew Daniel Delgado, Jose Guadalupe Delgado, Joseph Anthony Dias, Fabian Diaz, Maribel Diaz, Sergio Diaz, Levi Dougherty, Jessica Duran, Bertha de Jesus Duran-Medina, Tony Michael Dusan, Bryan David Edmonston, Mathew Steven Elisalde, Mikayla Noel Ervin, Maisoon Jassim Escheik, Enrique C. Espinoza, Selena Espinoza, Edward Salvador Espinoza III, Robert Jose Estrada, Blanca Estela Estrada Bañuelos, Gregory Brian Ewing, Mansoor Shahzada Farooq, Antonio Favela, David James Fernandez, Francisca Anahi Fernandez, Nicholas Matthew Fernandez, Daniel Robert Flagg, Valeria Fletes, Jenifer Michele Flores, Raquel Flores, Sabrina Marie Flores, Sammuel John Flores, Alexander B. Flores-Carrington, Nelson Uriel Fuentes, Maribel Galan, Alejandra Galindo, Allison Gallegos, Edwin Gaona, Alan Javier Garcia, Bobby Garcia, Briana Carissa Garcia, Cecilia Garcia, Eric Garcia, Estevan Damian Garcia, Giovanny Robert Garcia, Isaac Manuel Garcia, Jorge Eduardo Garcia, Yesenia Garcia, Mariana Garcia Beltran, Jose Enrique Lepiz Garcia Jr., Jessica Anne Gartrell, Maylene Gaytan, Amber Lynn Gentry, Alyssa Vanessa Gil, Isaac Giron Posadas, Sarah Marie Glantz, Andrea Gomez, Breanna A. Gomez, Naomi Evette Gomez, Christian E. Gonzales, Christian Paul Gonzales, Joseph Israel Gonzales, Melissa Michelle Gonzales, Veronica Michelle Gonzales, Jesus Enrique Gonzalez, Julissa Gonzalez, Maribel Gonzalez, Samuel Zuniga Gonzalez, Stacy Gonzalez, Tania Corina Gonzalez, Miguel Gonzalez, Jr., Brando Gonzalez-Hernandez, Isaac Granado, Jesus Villagómez Granados, Alexis Ann-Marie Gray, Torrin Arden Greathouse, Isaac Daniel Griego, Adewale Amadi Grimes, Robert Grizzell, Danny Onil Guandique, Joseph Richard Guillen, Maria Del Rosario Gutierrez, Jose Rafael Guzman, Rocio Gabriela Guzman, Meris Obed Guzman Jr., Kayla Renee Halford, Autiana Deeja Hall, DeAnthony Trevon Texador Hall, Cody Lee Hansen, Evan Lee Harren, Kaylee Nicole Hatfield, Kirsten Mary Haupt, Morgan Elizabeth Herman, Alexis Jeanette Hernandez, Caleb Andrew Hernandez, Cazandra Jasmin Hernandez, Isaac Jacob Hernandez, Justin Joseph Hernandez, Ruben Hernandez, Cecilia Isabel Hernandez-Cortés, Rafael Jr. Herrera, Juan Manuel Herrera Jr, Ryan Steven Hill, Cambria Madison Hix, Juliet N. Ho, Davina Mariah Huerta, Ashley Danielle Hurdlow, Nancy Iniquez, Steven Bryce Jackson, Ricardo Cortez Jasso Palma, Jayme Jimenez, Reyna Jimenez Camacho, Jaspreet Kaur, Joshua Grewal Keathley, Alexus Labria Kelsey, Kailey Alexandra Kerby, Ana Maria Lagunes, Sven H. Lamaack, Robert LaMattina, Elizabeth Lara, Yaninne Aidee Ledezma-Hernandez, Lizzbeth Leon, Pedro Jr Leon, Maxwell Cidney Levake, Milly Licona-Tamariz, Bailey Dakota Lindblom, Tyler Callaway Lindblom, Skylar Logan, Karina Elizabeth Lomeli, Adrianna Monique Lopez, Anthony Cruz Lopez, Felipe Santos Lopez, Gladys Olivia Lopez, Angel Arturo Low, Daniela Luevano, Marisol Lugo, April Nicole Luna, Luis Miguel Luna, Michael Jacob Luna, Cristian Luna Mendoza, Kaylah Marie Macias, Savannah Ranae Macias, Stephanie Jazmine Maciel, Jael Natali Madrigal, Cynthia Madrigal-Bojorquez, Julia Amber Madril, Aricel Malagón, Jesus Alberto Maravilla, Gerardo Marin, Anthony Miguel Martinez, Faviola Martinez, George A. Martinez, Kayla Denyse Martinez, Lizbeth Martinez, Ruby Mejia Martinez, Jovany Martinez Aparicio, Edgar Jose Mascorro, Sydnee Kaemari McBride, Robert E. McCaughern, Canyon B. Mckinnon, Carissa Carol McMillon, Andrew Victor Medellin, Brigitte Medina, Moises Medina, Victor A. Mejia, Omar Meliton Martinez, Crystal Lorriane Mendez, Tiffany Anita Mendoza, Sandor Carroll Menyhay, Angelica Merino, Daisy Paola Miguel, Matthew James Milam, Nada M. Mohamed, Jordan Christian Montalvo, Andrew Jareth Montemayor, Kimberly Montiel-Viana, Eloy Morales, Alejandro Jesus Moreno, Miguel Jaramillo Moreno, Rene Omar Moreno, Inessa Marie Mosqueda, Ramona Mosqueda, Silverio Elijah Mosqueda, Juan O. Muñiz, Emma Nicole Muñoz, Hovsep Joseph Nagapetian, Nathan Eugene Nash, Angela Navarro, Mark Severiano Nevarez, Jr., Andrea Ninche, Chasity Sean Nolen, Miguel Ocampo, Elisa Vianey Olea, Salome Pascual Ornelas, Raquel Marie Orona, Audrionna Sophia Ortega, Roberto Ortega, Andrea Ortiz, Martina Isabel Osuna, Morgyn Taylor Padilla, Leanna Janean Page, Genesis Neftaly Palacios, Brittany Amanda Palacioz, Taylor Marie Patterson, Jamie Alene Payne, Briana Lisette Paz, Lucero Gonzalez Paz, Hector Perez, Sergio Perez, Mathew Dean Peters, Jessica Marie Petroff, Faustina A. Pickens, Maegan Irene Pierce, Jose Pineda, Anali Prado, Renee Tatiana Prado, Jose Jesus Preciado, Joshua Dean Pruett, Andrea Pulido, Aisha Qaiser, Rida Qaiser, Jose Armando Quezada Gomez, Luis Enrique Ramirez, Marcos Ramirez, Seaoni Deanna Ramirez, Yuridian Ramirez, Eleazar Ramirez, Griselda Ramirez Reynoso, Eder Ramirez-Hernandez, Rogelio Ramos, Kirandeep Kaur Randhawa, Nicolas Christopher Rangel, Juan Junior Raygoza, Ryann Elizabeth Reder, Santiago Rendon-Perez, Jessica Patricia Reyes, Victoria Danelle Reyes, Emily Lauren Rieping, Elias Benito Rios, Evelin Arianeli Serrano Rios, Isiah C. Rios, Luis Miguel Rios, Marcos Antonio Rivera, Marissa-Lela Nichol Robbins, Scott William Roberts, Maria Robles, Felicia Faith Rocha, Iesha Angelic Rocha, Adrian Dallas Rodriguez, Aimee Rodriguez, Kaycee Leigh Roelling, Kayla Marie Roelling, Kassandra Aliyah Romero, Deisy Romero-Soto, Paul Steven Rosel, Isabel Rueda, Edgar Ruelas, Alberto Ruiz, Micaela Urbano Ruiz, Miguel Angel Ruiz Jr., Brandyn Reinhard Ryan, Gregory James Saba, Jacob Jude Salas, Manuel Andres Salas, Nayely Salas, Rodney Salas, Adam Athony Salazar, Erika Salazar, Karina Salazar, Jaime Salazar Venegas, Alejandro Salinas, Karun Singh Samran, Cecilia Sanchez, Hector Sanchez, Hugo Sanchez, Javier Sanchez, Naomi Cassandra Sanchez, Elvira Sanchez, Enedina Sanchez Hernandez, Alma Daisy Sandoval, Nasaria Santos, Samantha S. Savage, Michael Christopher Say, Genesis Méchelle Schmick, Jason Ray Schoettler, Marlen Yacziry Sebastian Alvarado, David Steven Sepulveda, Timothy Shaun Sherman, Lovepreet Kaur Sidhu, Jessica Sierra, Chayane Sierra-Lopez, Leivy Jennifer Silva, Michelle Silva, Kaycie Lynn Simpson, Harkirat Singh, Ashly Breanne Smith, Susie Solorzano, Ashley Mirella Sosa, David Soto, Taylor Michelle Stiles, Ethan Wyatt Stutsman, Fernando Suarez, Morgan Elizabeth Sumner, Stephen D. Talkington, Matthew Michael Tamberi, Carina Tapia, Sydnee Ellaura Tate, Mariela Crystal Tavarez, Arianna Chee Thomas, Samantha Guadalupe Tiscareño, Silvia Tista, Cynthia Topete, Breanna Torres, Elpidio Magdaleno Torres, Maria Lucina Torres, Michelle Darlene Torres, Michelle Garcia Torres, Shelby Blake Torres, Taylor B. Torres, Danah Toschi, Jennifer Toschi, Samantha Christine Treckeme, Kyle Underwood, Maria Fernanda Urena-Perez, Eduardo Urrutia, Eliel Urrutia Jimenez, Jazmin Vaca, Daniel Patrick Valdez, James Michael Valenzuela, Daniel Sanchez Vargas, Roberto Vargas, Erica Maria Vasquez, Miguel Vasquez, Valeria Sareth Vazquez, Alejandra Vega, Soledad Vega, Manuel Vega Sanchez, Aaron Velarde, Stephanie Venancio, Jorge Ignacio Venegas, Jennifer Diana Vergara, Alma Janeth Villa, Elizabeth Villa Maya, Alfonso Villafan, Audrey Bonita Villanueva, Gabriel Elias Villanueva, Aaron Walls, Keith Richard Webb, Lora Lynne Whitaker, Evan James Whitlock, John C. Williams II, Brandon Wilson, Alyssa Michelle Winning, Ashly Nichole Yrigollen, Marissa Carmen Yrigollen, Jordan Reneé Zavala and Elizabeth Zuniga.

From the brink of possible bankruptcy just two years ago, the Chowchilla City Council passed a balanced budget earlier this week.

It marks the third year since 2011 that the city has passed a balanced budget.

In 2011, the city — like many others throughout the nation — faced financial insolvency due to ongoing effects from the Great Recession.

At that time, the city council had “all options on the table” for combating its economic troubles, including bankruptcy or disincorporation of the city...

More than 12,000 marijuana plants — valued at nearly $15 million and believed to be tied to a Mexican drug trafficking organization — were seized and disposed of by Madera County narcotics agents earlier this week.

Authorities said the 12-hour-long operation in Bailey Flats — a former settlement 10 miles north of Raymond now used for cattle grazing — was a successful blow to a rise of illegal marijuana farms in the Madera County foothills.

“We’re seeing a resurgence of these huge drug trafficking operations in the foothills east of Madera County,” said Erica Stuart, spokesperson for the Madera County Sheriff’s Department. “They’re trespassing on private land... they are armed and should be considered dangerous.”

No arrests were made in Thursday’s raid, but Stuart said authorities found evidence that appeared to tie the marijuana to “particular Mexican organizations” such as cartels, though she couldn’t say which as the investigation continues...

Board trustee under fire

A Golden Valley Unified School District trustee’s actions, alleged to be in violation of several California educational and penal codes, have been taken to the Madera County Grand Jury for possible investigation.

Detractors of trustee Kathleen Crumpton — one of whom filed the complaint — say that her constant visits to school sites is a disruptive presence and that an alleged longtime grudge against GVUSD Superintendent Andrew Alvarado causes discord in the district.

Supporters say instead that Alvarado is an intimidating presence who controls the board, and claim the questioning of Crumpton’s practices — who they praise for her work with all levels of school staff — is playing dirty politics.

On the record

At a meeting of the GVUSD board held earlier this week, President Mike Kelly said on public record that Crumpton had made the district financially culpable for the incident earlier this year from which any current controversy has sprung.

“Your actions on April 17 have put this district at financial risk,” Kelly said to Crumpton before the board went into closed session. “At the very least we will be required to pay thousands of dollars in legal fees, and possibly additional thousands in compensation to a teacher you refer to as a friend.”

According to official school board documents, Crumpton visited Webster Elementary School on the day in question to “observe the Webster principal and others conduct an informal, scheduled classroom observation of a special education teacher.”

After she signed in and displayed her board member badge — required by GVUSD board policy — Crumpton went into the classroom where, according to the same board documents, Webster principal Felipe Piedra asked her to leave “since her presence would disrupt the planned observation.”

Crumpton refused the request to leave school grounds but went to another classroom. She later said she was invited by the same teacher under informal observation and has performed similar visits for two-and-a-half years without conflict.

Warren Parr of the Madera Ranchos mailed the Grand Jury complaint early last week and has been a vocal critic of Crumpton. In it, he cited her refusal as violations of California Penal Codes 626.7 and 627.4, as well as California Education Codes 32210-32212 and 44800-44824.

“Her agenda escapes me,” Parr said. “This isn’t an issue against her personally but I felt it necessary to make sure she gets her due process.”

What becomes murky is whether or not Crumpton actually violated the codes and accounts of the day’s events. Public supporters of Crumpton at Tuesday’s board meeting claimed she did not.

The penal codes cited in Parr’s Grand Jury filing are clear in the establishment of misdemeanor fines up to $500 or jail time when any citizen, trustee or otherwise, refuses to leave school grounds at the behest of a principal or chief administrative officer of the site. The order can be appealed to the superintendent of the school district, though the person asked to leave must do so at the time they are ordered to even if a parent of a student.

Crumpton has eight children, including at least one at Webster and other schools in the district.

The education codes contain similar language and penalties, but also provide exceptions for “an officer or employee of the school district maintaining the public school.”

Edward Moseley, a 2010 school board candidate, said that Crumpton — as an elected official — did not violate the education codes.

“I think this is petty and beneath our district,” Moseley said. “If you’re an elected official, are you not an officer? I’ve read the codes and she didn’t violate anything — she was performing her duties as a board member.”

After Crumpton refused Piedra’s request and outside of any legality questions therein, Piedra phoned Alvarado, who drove to the school and told Crumpton — now in the classroom of fifth-grade teacher M.J. Gilio — to leave.

Gilio said that Alvarado “whisked” Crumpton from her classroom, and described Alvarado as a threatening figure who had yelled at her in years past.

“I was shocked, stunned, and intimidated by his abusive treatment,” Gilio said of an alleged incident during her time teaching science at Liberty High School in years past. “I asked Mr. Alvarado to stop yelling at me. He only got louder and meaner.”

Alvarado said those claims were “completely without merit.”

“I understand in a country like ours, the First Amendment is protected and people are entitled to level accusations against public figures,” Alvarado said. “But those claims are completely, entirely, 100 percent untrue.”

Gilio vehemently defended Crumpton in the same statement.

“This woman has gone the extra mile,” Gilio said. “She is the only school board member I have ever known to shadow custodians, bus drivers, teachers, cooks, and so on.”

Alvarado said he asked Crumpton to leave Gilio’s classroom so the two could talk without disrupting the class.

Accounts vary about the nature and intensity of the following talk between the two.

Alvarado described the talk with Crumpton as a “civil discussion.”

“I told her, basically, that her practice of coming to schools unannounced had to stop,” Alvarado said. “We wouldn’t let any parent or anyone just walk in without notification.”

In a Facebook post on a page set up for parents and others to discuss the school district, Crumpton instead described the conversation as hostile, and said that Alvarado “rudely and aggressively approached” her, “yelled at me, got in my face and repeated time and again that I was not his boss, and ordered me to get off the school campus immediately.”

A witness at the school that day — an online university teacher who asked not to have her name printed because of her husband’s employment within GVUSD — confirmed Crumpton’s account of events.

“I really thought he was going to hit her,” the woman said of Alvarado’s conduct. “He had his finger in her face, he was screaming at her... I have never in my life seen someone act that unprofessionally.”

Alvarado said those claims were also untrue.

“I have been with this school district for 12 years,” Alvarado said. “Out of the 200 employees that I represent, if you actually talk to them their opinion of me is contrary to all these allegations... to say that I’m some sort of loose cannon just doesn’t make sense.”

After the talk, Crumpton again refused to leave school grounds, and Alvarado said she continued to tour the school.

The board weighs in

Later on, Crumpton filed an official complaint against Alvarado because of his alleged conduct.

The board of trustees was then convened to discuss the matter, with Crumpton and Alvarado excluded from participation.

A report filed by the board on April 26 investigated the event and found that Crumpton’s complaint, including the Facebook post, had no evidence to support them though it did say the two “spoke to one another directly, forcefully, and assertively.”

The four voting trustees voted unanimously 4-0 in the same document to dismiss the complaint.

The document also directed Crumpton “not to be at Webster School when the planned classroom observation of the teacher is rescheduled,” “to follow all laws and all district policies with respect to visiting school sites,” and “to immediately leave campus when directed to do so by a principal, the superintendent, or any other administrator in charge of a district campus.”

But supporters of Crumpton allege that Alvarado controls the board and the report was an extension of that.

The same witness to the events said that she was never approached by anyone about her account of events, and alleged that Piedra never asked her or Crumpton to leave Webster in the first place.

“They never talked to me,” the witness said. “How could they conduct an investigation without a direct witness?”

Kelly admitted that the investigation “wasn’t some great, in-depth thing” but pointed out that other witnesses did not confirm Crumpton’s account of events, which included that Alvarado was “physically threatening” in the conversation. “It basically was: we talked to a few teachers that did observe the incident and got statements from them and the principal of course,” Kelly said. “The intensity, the location, the physical threatening, none of that was born out by any other witnesses. You can’t judge how a person feels in a situation and her reporting of it was I’m sure based on how she felt, but it was not substantiated by other witnesses there that observed it.”

Kelly also pointed out that Crumpton’s Facebook post was inappropriate.

“Facebook is a double-edged sword,” Kelly said. “It’s a way of communicating that isn’t necessarily wrong, but it is wrong if you’re using it as a complaint forum to enlist other members of the community to get riled up and support your view.”

A self-study by Liberty High School to the accreditation agency Western Association of Schools and Colleges before the April incident agreed with that position, and said that “there have been a number of instances where individual board members have used personal social networking sites to discuss school business. This practice has resulted in inaccurate information relayed to the community, creating discord among parents, administration, and staff.”

The report also decried “unannounced visits and inappropriate interactions between some board members and professional staff” and said that “some board members have personal agendas that supersede the LHS vision, purpose, and [expected schoolwide learning results].”

Kelly, as president of the board, made note that trustees had limited authority, and that the superintendent and other administrative officers’ decisions on school grounds were final.

“Individual board members have no authority,” Kelly said. “None. Together we have the authority to give direction to the superintendent and that’s the extent of our power... It doesn’t matter who thinks they own the Navy, the superintendent is the captain of the ship. If he asked me to leave it’s not my place to say no at that time.”

Kelly also said that Crumpton’s regular visits to schools were “under best of circumstances a disruptive practice.”

“At the beginning, when a new board member comes in unfamiliar with the educational process or what goes on in the classroom, it’s appropriate to see what goes on and how teachers deal with kids,” said Kelly, a former teacher. “Two years later you’ve been in there enough that you don’t need to see the process all the time... it’s okay to do it once in a while but to do it regularly is disruptive.”

Ongoing problem

Any legal questions, potential criminal charges, and accusations are now up for review by the Grand Jury, should it determine there is necessary evidence to conduct an investigation.

The Grand Jury office did not answer phone calls by Friday evening to comment on the potential review.

Parr said that — besides the grand jury complaint, his attempts to seek criminal charges against Crumpton, and a district complaint he filed against her — he would also seek a recall election should she not resign.

“I believe when you’re elected whether you’re a board member, the president, or anyone else you aren’t given a crown,” Parr said. “I believe there’s a process for the private citizen and hopefully the community will see that process brought to light.”

Crumpton declined to comment on the situation to The Tribune, but gave a written statement.

It reads, “When I ran for the school board in 2010, I made a commitment to my community. I knocked on many doors and promised the families of the Madera Ranchos that I would visit school sites, give back my board stipend, not take the medical benefits, and be their public servant.

“I have kept my word. I have maintained communication with my constituents on a regular basis and in the last two and a half years, I have visited many teachers/students in their classes and worked with many employees of Golden Valley Unified. I have enjoyed meeting the parents, the students, the staff members, the teachers and getting to know them by name. They have taught me many things and I appreciate everything I have learned from them and being allowed to see through their eyes so I could make informed decisions as a board member.

“I love my job! My loyalty will always be to the students, parents, teachers, and staff members of Golden Valley Unified.”

Perhaps the only clear conclusion through all of the accusations and legal questions was summed up by Moseley, who said he spoke out as a concerned citizen of the Madera Ranchos and the dirty he-said, she-said laundry being aired by the district.

“Neither side is entirely 100 percent correct on this,” Moseley said. “I have the utmost respect for the tight ship that’s being run at Golden Valley Unified right now. The district is being run well. But this dirty laundry petty politics are being publicized when they shouldn’t be.

“It’s not good for our district, it’s not good for our community, and it never should have gone as far as it has.”

Corazon Aguayo, Adolfo Aguilera, Patricia Alonzo, Jacqueline Avila, Edward Betancourt, Karen Caballero, Cindy Capistran-Gonzalez, Juana Cardenas-Alvarez, Noemy Ceja, Alondra Cerda, Vanessa Cervantes, Macey Colunga, Kheloud Daelam, Alejandra Dominguez, Ashlee Doran Arena, Jaqueline Espinoza Orozco, Jazmin Florez-Medina, Jesus Franco, Edith Games-Guzman, Joseph Garcia, Monica Garcia Vital, Kenya Gomez, Jocelin Loza, Lizet Maciel-Ceja, Kevin Martinez, Heidy Mendez, Silvia Moreno, Marbella Nunez, Edith Ramos, Maria Romero, Liliana Rosales, Oscar Salazar, Alexis Salcido, Julia Sanchez, Lizbeth Talavera, Diana Tarabay and John Valencia.

Estevan Alvarado, Viridiana Alvarez, Angel Alvarez, Jesse Ambrosio, Antonio Amial, Justine Anaya, Manuel Aquino, Yazmin Arambula Espino, Adrian Arevalo, Usbaldo Arias, Jared Arvizo, Fredy Astudillo, Marcos Avila, Luis Avina, Darlyn Avina, Maria Ayala, Alfredo Ayala. Nayeli Baez Gomez, Simone Baker, Esteban Barajas, Jesus Barajas, Jasmine Barragan Abarca, Alberto Barragan Jr., Anahely Barrera, Lucia Barrientoz, Mayra Barriga, Javier Barriga, Destinee Basques, Alexander Bass, Gabriela Bautista, Jaylene Bautista, Juan Bazante, Edwar Becerra, Elizabeth Becerra, Jeremy Begin, Angel Bernabe, Arely Betancourt, Jose Bojorquez, Hassan Bolden, Maria Bravo, Lanaye Brewer, Nicholas Burns. Abra Caballero, Jesus Cabrera, Angelique Cabrera, Melina Calvario, Eric Calvillo, Joanna Camacho, Angel Camacho, Claudia Camarena, Daniel Camarillo, Kevin Campos, Nery Campos, Cecilia Cantu, Sergio Cardenas, Maritza Carino, Eva Carmona, Samantha Carrasquillo, Lorane Carroll, Samuel Castaneda, Yaneli Castillo, Jolan Caulfield, Jose Cedillo, Miguel Cedillo, Daisy Cervantes, Marylou Cervantes, Janitzin Chavez, Bryant Chavez, Kristyna Chavez, Alondra Chavez-Dias, Jessica Chavez-Lopez, Abel Chia, Jason Cisneros, Angelique Cisneros, Logan Cochran, Phillip Cole, Joshua Conigliaro, Alize Conroy, Benjamin Contreras, Roberto Coronado, Rosa Cortes, Osbaldo Cortes Giron, Damaris Cortez, Anabel Cortez, Lyzvette Cortez, George Cortez, Johan Cortez-Duran, Annie Cota, Kaelan Craig. Yaroslavi Daza, Laura Daza, Karla Daza-Jimenez, Valentin De Horta, Ashley De Jesus-Rueda, Stephanie De La Rosa, Ivan Deleon, Gysel Delgado, Kedreion Dickson, Mathew Dill, Katelynn Donaldson, Jazmin Duarte, Jose Duran, Elijah Duran. Kaylee Edmonds, Bryce Edwards, Emil Emanuel, Nathaniel Encinas, Judith Enriquez, Faith Ervin, Luis Escalante Nieves, Karina Escalera, Andrew Escalera, Jose Espinoza, Mirissa Estrada. Anthony Falcon, Angelo Feliu, Alexis Fernandez, Alyssa Fernandez, Michael Fernandez, Gabriela Fernandez, Jose Figueroa Martinez, Sergio Flores, Jonathan Flores, Louie Flores, Daniel Flores, Jose Flores, Jacqueline Flores, Michael Foster, Deward Franklin. Melissa Gallardo, Daniel Gallegos Mendoza, Brandon Gamiz, Emily Garcia, Celso Garcia, Jesus Garcia, Jenner Garcia, Domingo Garcia, Jaslyn Garcia, Juan Garcia, Paula Garibay, Robert Garza, Ricardo Garza, Angelica Garza, Ashley Giron-Cortez, Christian Giron-Garcia, Andrea Giron-Hernandez, Leonardo Gomez, Dario Gomez, Sebastian Gonzalez, Ixchel Gonzalez, Jaime Gordillo, Javier Guillen, Maribel Gutierrez, Jerardo Gutierrez, Angelica Gutierrez, Eva Gutierrez, Guadalupe Gutierrez, Amado Guzman-Vasques. Antonio Hernandez, Efraen Hernandez, Brandon Hernandez, Estella Hernandez, Isaiah Hernandez, Carmen Hernandez, Ignacio Hernandez, Rosalva Hernandez, Belen Herrera, Juan Herrera, Jesus Herrera, Beatriz Herrera, Crystal Herrera, Kimberly Hidalgo, Lexis Hinds, Madisen Hines, Albert Huerta, Kevin Huerta, Katelynn Hurtado. Giselle Ibanez-Santos, Sabrina Ibrahim, Paulina Isguerra, Ricardo Jauregui, Jonathon Jaurique, Seth Jessing, Sandra Jimenez, Nelson Jimenez, Dahlia Jimenez, Alanis Jones, Alexandro Juarez, Donovan Kloster Alicia Landeros, Gabrielle Lane, Esteban Ledesma, Alexis Ledesma, Trey Leyman, Francisco Leyva, Anahi Lopez, Alexander Lopez, Eriberto Lopez, Lizbeth Lopez, Yasmine Lorance, Javier Lorenzo, Felipe Lozano, Adriana Luna-Garcia. Alberto Maciel, Jacqueline Maciel, Jesus Maciel, Lorenzo Magallon, Karen Magana, Daniel Magdaleno, Jessica Magdaleno, Rafael Magdaleno, Denia Manzano, Demetria Marical, Sergio Marin, Brianna Marquez, Alondra Martinez, Enoc Martinez, Anthony Martinez, Angel Martinez, Luis Martinez, Josue Emanuel Martinez, Alexander Martinez, Marco Martinez, Heaven Mayberry, Emilio Medina, Kyrstin Medina, Gabriel Mejia, Andrea Melendez, Claribel Melgoza Nunez, Karina Mendez, Adal Mendez, Thelma Mendez, Marissa Mendez, Gisselle Mendez, Antonio Mendez-Gomez, Norma Mendoza, Jennifer Mendoza, Kassandra Mendoza, Leslie Mendoza, Esteban Merino, Collin Molina, Maria Molina, Andres Montano, Carmen Montes, Stephanie Moore, Gabriela Morales, Sarah Morales, Esmeralda Moreno, Esteban Moreno, Stephanie Mota, Noemi Murillo. Guadalupe Nambo, Stephanie Nambo, Raymond Nash, Audrey Navarro, Chantal Navia-Guevarra, Stephanie Nicolas, Luis Nunez. Ramon Ochoa, Wendy Olea, Dante Olivarria-Alvarado, Jordan Oliveira, Angela Ortiz, Carlos Ortiz, Dominic Osley, Mike Ovedo. Pravejit Pabla-Kaur, Daisy Parras Garcia, Mario Pavia-Bautista, Jose Pelayo, Gloria Perez, Jesus Perez, Brenda Perez, Jesus Perez, LillyAna Perez, Vivian Perez, Tiffaney Perez-Blakely, Isaac Peterson, Terrance Peterson, Odalis Pimentel, Francisco Pimentel, Rigoberto Pineda, Lizette Pineda-Moreno, Johnny Pinedo, Jacob Pisano, Carlos Posas. Diana Ramirez, Juan Ramirez, Alijah Ramirez, Jesica Ramirez, Ashley Ramirez, Juan Ramirez, Josue Ramirez, Edwin Ramirez, Breana Ramirez, Noemi Ramos, Kahlid Ramsey, William Remner, Brenda Reyes, Arthur Reyes, Diana Reyes-Aparicio, Alondra Rico, Sky Rincon, Brianna Rivas, Leticia Julia Rodriguez, Christian Rodriguez, Brynesha Rodriguez, Esteban Rodriguez, Luis Rodriguez, Ananda Rolon, Daisy Rosales, Alberto Rueda-Sanchez, Esmalio Ruelas, Vincent Ruiz, Alexis Ruiz, Daniel Ruiz, Adriana Ruiz, Ramon Ruiz, Jose Ruiz, Marcos Ruiz. Jiovanni Saavedra, Adrianna Sanchez, Jonathan Sanchez, Adrian Sanchez, Jesse Sanchez, Richard Sandoval, Andres Sandoval, Alejandra Sandoval, Saul Sandoval, Alexis Santacruz, Anibal Santana, Eriberto Santos, Jonathan Santos, Roberto Santos, Sergio Serafin Dominguez, Jennifer Serna, Ryan Sienze, Jacqueline Sierra, Michael Smith, Jackie Snell, Elizabeth Solano, Miguel Solorio, Antonio Solorio Jr, Karla Sotelo, Gabriel Soto, Joseph Swengel. Gerardo Tapia, Ramiro Tapia, Angel Tapia, Mary Tavares, Vanessa Tellez, Hector Tenorio, Robert Terrill, Ana Tirado, Cesar Torres, Moses Torres, Raymond Torrez, Laquetin Townsel, Moises Trigueros, Michael Trujillo, Taron Turner, Kyleigh Tutt, Precious Tyler, Cymone Tyson, Josette Ugarte. Love Valdez, Jorge Valencia, Juan Valencia, Yesenia Valenzuela, Natalie Valero, Jose Valero-Romo, Jose Vargas, Daisy Vargas-Ortiz, Minerva Vasquez, Victor Vasquez, Kimberly Vasquez, Feliciano Vasquez, Oscar Vasquez, Naicy Vasquez-Castillo, Josuel Vasquez-Guzman, Cameron Vaughn, Rosa Vazquez, Humberto Vazquez, Socorro Vazquez, Angel Vazquez, Jasmin Vazquez, Brandon Vega, Jennifer Velasco, Juan Velazquez, David Venegas, Raul Venegas, Guadalupe Vidales, Alexandra Villagomez, Miguel Villar. Paige Watrous, Katrina Wells, Summer White, Caitlyn Willden, Isaiah Williams, Kiara Williams, Waylon Woodall. Isabel Zarate, Jannel Zuniga, Celeste Zuniga, Mitchell Zurita.

Samantha Crenshaw, Karina Granados, Shehryar Iqbal, Amisha John, Manpreet Kaur, Juliana Leon, Carolynne Lockling, Jovonie Martinez, Addyson Smith, Samantha Valencia, Jessica Zepeda, Sheldon Acres, Eric Aguirre, Kenneth Alvarado, Michelle Alvarez, Priscilla Alvarez, Maria Ambriz, Leslie Ambrosio, Melissa Amezola, Matthew Angeles, Fesain Aparicio, Nuri Arenas, Brianna Arteaga, Samuel Arvizu, Arturo Arzola, Destiny Aston, Mia Avila, Alexandra Ayala, Nicole Ayala, Oscar Barajas, Nadine Barajas-Hernandez, Daniella Barreras, Joseph Barros, Jeevanpret Basra, Rajkanwar Batth, Melquiades Bazan, Jaqueline Beas, Adrian Becerra, Arthur Becerra, Brian Becerra, Christopher Becerra, Ashley Bell, Felix Beltran, Sydney Betts, Madisyn Beyer, Megan Bhanot, Kimberly Binwag, Alexis Boatwright, Paola Bonilla, Dillen Brady, Erica Briceno, Matthew Brunner, Joshua Buentello, Thuy An Bui, Alyssa Burton, Paul Bustos, Gerardo Cabrera, Maliyah Callahan, Sandra Camacho, Tania Camacho, Manuel Campos, Richard Campos, Marcos Carlos, Maricela Carlos-Abarca, Lucero Carmona, Juan Carreon, Camryn Carter, Alexis Castillo, Andres Castro, Luis Castro Vargas, Edith Catano, Luis Cedillo, Kristen Cerda, Kevin Chamblin, Ashley Chavez, Derick Chavez, Nathan Chavez, Sayra Chavez, Zara Childers, Jessica Cisneros, Mia Coddington, Collin Cody, Jesus Conde, Moses Contreras, Garrett Crouch, Heriberto Cruz, Elvis Cruz-Valverde, Aaliyah Cuevas, Mariano Davila, Abraham Del Toro, Emeli Delacruz, Jose Delgadillo-Vaca, Brent Densmore, Demetrio Di Blasi, Tyler Dias, Victor Diaz, Michael Doyle, Elia Duarte-David, David Duque, Monique Duran, Jacob Elisalde, Roman Elisarraraz, Eric Escobar, Sergio Escobar, Ximena Escobar, Angela Espinoza, Daniel Espinoza, Leticia Espinoza, Ziale Evans, Jay Everett, Rene Fernandez, Valeria Fierro, Luis Fierros, Briana Flores, David Flores, Kassandra Flores, Leticia Flores, Manuel Flores, Enrique Flores Lepe, Jennifer Fonseca, Melisa Francisco, Tyler Gails, Nancy Galindo, Sarah-Marie Gallardo, Kyle Gallegos, Robert Gamino, Joshua Garces, Alejandro Garcia, Alexis Garcia, Ana Marie Garcia, Joe Garcia, Joseph Garcia, Leilani Garcia, Mia Garcia, Juan Garcia-Garibay, Arturo Giron, Valeria Giron, Janet Gomez, Marissa Gomez, Graciela Gomez Garcia, Branden Gong, Jennifer Gonzalez, Jorge Gonzalez, Yesmani Gonzalez-Paz, Kyle Granados, Marquez Grays, Michael Green, Vanessa Guerra, Victoria Guerrero, Vicente Guerrero-Lopez, Nicholas Guillermo-Martinez, Ashley Hansen, Jonathan Harding, Nickolas Henson, Andres Hernandez, Angelica Hernandez, Elijah Hernandez, Eloy Hernandez, Flora Hernandez, Gamaliel Hernandez, Jessica Hernandez, Lizbeth Hernandez, Maria Hernandez, Mariah Hernandez, Omar Hernandez, Reina Hernandez, Yadi Hernandez, Brianna Hernandez-Montes, Irvin Herrera, Champane Hightower, Nick Horn, Liseth Huerta, Lizbeth Ibanez, Nancy Ibarra, Dulce Ibarra-Sauceda, Pablo Infante, Alejandro Jimenez, George Jones, Griselda Juarez, Javier Juarez, Miguel Juarez, Elijah King, Justin Landero, Ivan Lara, Moses Lawson, Paula Lawson, Tea Layne, Miguel Leon, Sylas Leon-Valenzuela, Ryan Llanes, Aaliyah Lopez, Alexander Lopez, Brandy Lopez, Denise Lopez, Diego Lopez, Eduardo Lopez, Elijah Lopez, Elizabeth Lopez, Jonathan Lopez, Maria Lopez, Maria Lopez, Rhett Lopez, Brayan Lorenzo, Ashley Lugo-Sulca, Bijal Luhar, Fermin Lujano, Abraham Macias, Celeste Macias, Lisette Maciel-Hernandez, Jose Luis Maclovio, Lecadia Maclovio, Tyler Mallonee, Miguel Manzo, Luis Maravilla, Daniela Mariscal, Andrew Martinez, Jacob Marsh, Ivan Martinez, Jordan Martinez, Mike Martinez, Nickolas Martinez, Jose Martinez-Chavarin, Heriberto Martinez-Lopez, Erika Martinez-Valverde, Alyssa Martinez-Yahn, Juan Mateos, Jada Mckesson, Joshua Mcmillon, Adam Medellin, Isai Medina, Itzel Medina, Jonathan Medina, Jose Medina, Matthew Medina, Kassandra Medrano, Leticia Mendez, Alexis Mendoza, Imelda Mendoza, Regina Mendoza-Luna, Charlie Merino-Flores, Ryann Miller, Jesse Miranda, Kyle Mirelez, Zainab Mohamed, Robert Mohler, Adrian Morales, Reynaldo Morales, Rosaura Morales, Cassandra Munoz, Karla Munoz, Francine Murillo, Jaylan Neal, Makenna Nevarez, Karen Newman, Trent Ni, Vanessa Obregon, Kirsten Ochoa, Michael Ochoa, Devonte Orlando, Jonathan Ornelas, Phillip Ornelas, Julia Orozco, Sebastian Orozco, Jennifer Orozco-Nunez, Victoria Ortega, Ricardo Ortiz, Crystal Oskovich, Viviana Osorio-Chavez, Micaela Parkinson, Justin Patterson, Jaime Peralta, Claudia Perez, Esperanza Perez, Gonzalo Perez, Isabel Perez, Jonathan Perez, Rafael Perez, Carmen Perez-Fernandez, Daniel Perez-Garnica, Raul Perez-Sanchez, Aylin Pimentel, Maria Pimentel, Mariah Pimentel, Kayla Pinedo, Monica Pompa, Bryce Poore, Eric Porras, Jesse Posos-Gomez, Usbaldo Pozos, Cerissa Prado, Veronica Preciado, Amy Quinonez, Alex Ramirez, Chrisarthur Ramirez, Jose Luis Ramirez, Ramon Ramirez, Tania Ramon, Jennifer Ramos, Juan Ramos, Travon Ray, Erendira Reyes, George Reyes, Lionel Reyes, Viviann Reyes, Daisha Ricks, Jazmin Rivera, Raul Rivera, Silvia Rivera, Andrew Robles, Camilo Rodriguez, Hannah Rodriguez, Juan Rodriguez, Juan Rodriguez, Ralph Rodriguez, Reyna Rodriguez, Richard Rodriguez, Paulina Rodriguez Moreno, Gerardo Rojas, Jesus Roman, Patricia Romero, Brianna Rubalcaba, Maria Rubio, Adileni Rueda, Alicia Rueda, Aniley Rueda, Gabriel Ruiz, Isabel Ruiz, Stephanie Ruiz-Ruvalcaba, Anita Saesee, Nathan Salas, Cedric Saldanas, Cristal Salgado, Said Salgado, Antonio Samora, Azucena Sanchez, Gabby Sanchez, Issac Sanchez, Lacey Sanchez, Pepe Sanchez, Haylee Sandoval, Ruben Sandoval, Richard Santiago, Yilka Santos, Daniel Santos-Mendoza, Dayton Saucedo, Jacob Schroeder, Shelby Seybold, Mariah Sibley, Manpreet Sidhu, Pawanpreet Singh, Patrick Smith, Zahira Soliz, Jose Solorsano, Katharyn Soltero, Angel Soriano, Margarita Soto, Michael Stanford, Alexis Staton, Pedro Suastegui, Scott Talkington, Tanner Tiller, Luke Tolmachoff, Alec Torres, Dakota Torres, Eva Torres, Isabel Torres, Juan Torres, Moses Torres, Priscilla Torres, Sabrina Torres, Ramon Torres-Martinez, Charles Van Horn, Julian Vargas, Angel Vasquez, German Vasquez, Jason Vasquez, Mario Vasquez, Christophe Vazquez, Alize Vega, Maria Vega, Rachel Vega, Anthony Velasquez, Leonardo Ventura, Arianna Vera, Patrick Viana-Pipes, Azucena Villasenor Sanchez, Esmeralda Villasenor Sanchez, Austin Wade, Christopher Wilcox, Tyler Williams, Daisy Witrago, Jelani Yepez, Alec Zamora, Tali Chavez, Alexiz Moreno, Lizette Garcia-Posadas, Ariana Zamora, Nicholas Zermeno, Eduardo Zuniga, Elva Martinez, Alvin Cortez, and Eloy Mendoza.

Jorge David Alcaraz, Nathan Alvarado, Joseph Arias, Aryanna Monique Arredondo, Ean Audler, Madi Alisa Baker, Vanesa Cardenas, Isaac Joe Castaneda, Kyle Estevan Chamblin, Aubry Leanne Choate, Cynthia Lee Contreras, Adrian Coria, Taylor Jo-Anne Davis, Te’a Anne Farfan, Ryan Martin Fernandez, Brandon Neil Fincher, Timothy Ryan Fitch, Alexis Julia Garcia, Keyla Alyssa Garcia, Zachary Robert Gonzalez, Michael Joseph Hartley, Abigail Raquel Hernandez, Kenneth Josue Johnson, Deziare Kinchlow, Sierra Michele Lancaster, Elizabeth “Punky” Lomeli, Alexis Lopez, Miriam Maciel, Morgan Elizabeth Magdic, Lexi McKinney, Michael Peter Metchikoff, Dulce Delia Montano, Bethany Arabella Munoz, Stetson James Nelson, Eli Parker, Ramses Negrette Pimentel, Andrew Qualls, Juan Javier Ramos, Vicki Rodriguez, Landon Serrano, Lorenzo Soto, Jr., Austin James Tepfer, Christopher Ross Warlick and Rochelle Wimberly.

Rachel Akan, Lizbeth Arciga, Eduardo Avalos, Christian Baker, Anthony Cervantes, Luis V. Cervantes, Valeria Contreras, Eulices Cortes-Lita, Brenda De Jesus, Jessica Diaz, Esmeralda Duran-Medina, Alyssa Maria Espinoza, Carla Gil, Emilio Hernandez, Blake Litton, Mia Mendoza, Johnathan Mitts, Esmerelda Moreno, Christian Muneton, Leslie Murillo, Makayla Nevarez, Efrain Alize Palos, Yvette Sic, Wilbur Urrutia, Viviana Vasquez, Diego Vega-Lopez and Sarah Diana Kay Williams.

During the month of June, cats are only $30 at the Madera County animal shelter. Director Kirsten Gross said the annual special is due to the spring kitten season and the resultant flood of unwanted felines.

“We are just inundated with adorable kittens this time of year. Healthy, cute fluffy kittens of every color and type. We have about 50 to choose from in the adoption center, 100 more in foster homes, at least 30 in the stray building right now, and (are) getting more surrendered or found every day,” Gross said.

Very small, nursing kittens should be left with their mothers until eating well on their own, even if semi wild, Gross said, as there are not enough volunteers able to bottle feed them all.

Gross said shelter volunteers foster most of the kittens in their homes, and handle and socialize them...

In the majors title game against Creamer Tile, it was a clutch two-run triple and dominant pitching performance that helped McDonald’s repeat as kings of the Madera National Little League (MNLL).

In a rematch of last season’s MNLL Majors championship game, it was McDonald’s (22-1) that advanced to the City Championship for the second straight season as it edged out Creamer Tile, 2-1, on Saturday at Lions Town and Country Park.

“They’re just an extremely talented bunch of kids,” longtime McDonald’s manager Ray Hix said of his team. “We fully expected to be back here in the (MNLL) championship game and win it.”

For the second consecutive year, McDonald’s will face defending Madera American Little League Majors and City Champion Papa Murphy’s (23-0) on Saturday on Field 1 at Lions Town and Country Park at 7:30 p.m. following the Minors City Championship game against MALL representative Perko’s Cafe and MNLL champion David’s Equipment Repair...

SACRAMENTO (AP) — The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta could become saltier if the state builds the two massive diversion tunnels Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed to supply water to the Central Valley and Southern California.

The Sacramento Bee reports the proposed tunnels would divert fresh water from the Sacramento River and prevent it from reaching the delta, which supplies water to nearby farms and cities.

The delta’s increased saltiness is among the possible environmental impacts of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, the proposal to re-engineer California’s main water delivery system with the two tunnels.

Those potential impacts are described in planning documents released by the California Department of Water Resources. A draft environmental impact study is expected to be released by Oct. 1, and a decision is planned by April 2014.

FRESNO (AP) — Fresno authorities say a baby boy died of heat exposure after he was unintentionally left in a car for an hour as the temperature reached 101 degrees.

The Fresno Fire Department said Saturday the 15-month-old was left inside the vehicle outside his family’s home in southwest Fresno on Friday evening. The rest of the family had taken groceries out of the car and went into the house, believing the boy was with his father.

A female bystander performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the baby before paramedics arrived. The boy was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Police say no wrongdoing was found in the incident, calling it a tragic accident.

Golfers, including a world record holder, endured temperatures approaching 110 degrees to compete in the 7th annual Mary Kascht Memorial Golf Tournament, which benefitted the Holy Family Table of Madera. The winning team of Eddie Espinoza, Leonard Lara, Willie Duarte and Joe Menith shot a score of 59.

According to organizers, the seventh year of the tournament may have raised up to $11,000 for the Holy Family Table.

Appearing and exhibiting at Saturday’s tournament on the Madera Municipal Golf Course was Ryan Winther, the Guinness Book of World Records holder for the longest drive below 1,000 meter elevation. Winther signed autographs and spoke with fans. For a donation to the Holy Family Table, he also drove players’ balls off the tee. Last year Winther hit the five longest balls in championship history with longest being a drive of 485 yards.

“I enjoy doing these charity events and bringing an added experience for the golfers, plus help raise money for a good cause,” said Winther...

By Gosia Wozniacka of the Associated Press

FRESNO — On a warm spring day, farmworker Cristina Melendez was bedridden and unable to make her way back into the asparagus fields of central California for the kind of backbreaking work she’s done since childhood.

The 36-year-old mother of seven was desperate. Her bank account had been at zero for months, the refrigerator was nearly empty, and she didn’t have enough to cover the rent. Lacking health insurance, Melendez couldn’t see a doctor or afford medication, so her illness dragged on — and another day came and went without work or pay.

A native of Mexico who was smuggled into the United States as a child, Melendez had once dreamed big: to be a bilingual secretary, to own a house and a car, to become a U.S. citizen. Agriculture, she hoped, would be the springboard to a better life — for her and her U.S.-born children, the next generation of a family whose past and future are deeply rooted in the fertile earth of America’s breadbasket.

California’s San Joaquin Valley is one of the richest agricultural regions in the world, with Fresno County farmers receiving a record $6.8 billion in revenues last year. But the region also consistently ranks among the nation’s most impoverished. Sometimes called “Appalachia of the West,” it’s where families, especially Hispanic immigrants and their children, live year after year in destitution.

This divide causes concern because of what it may foretell as the nation’s Hispanic population explodes and the U.S. moves toward becoming a majority minority nation. Census data show that non-Hispanic whites will cease to be a majority somewhere about the year 2043. The shift is largely driven by high birth rates among Hispanics as well as by declines in the aging white population.

Already there are a record number of Hispanics living below the poverty line nationwide, and the number of Hispanic children in poverty exceeds that of any other racial or ethnic group. Largely less educated, Hispanic workers are concentrated in relatively low-skill occupations, earning less than the average for all U.S. workers.

“America’s communities have become divided between economic winners and losers,” said Daniel Lichter, a Cornell University sociologist and past president of the Population Association of America. “Increasingly, Hispanics begin life’s race at a decided disadvantage, raising the specter of new Hispanic ghettos and increasing isolation.”

As poor working Latinos settle across the country, fueling local economies in industries such as manufacturing, construction and agriculture, some are left with little room to climb the job ladder.

That holding pattern leads to a cycle of poverty that shows up in the next generation of U.S. citizens. With poverty stunting childhood development and stymieing educational attainment, experts say many Latino children are on track to remain stuck in low-skilled, underpaid jobs.

Harvard economist George Borjas projects that the children of today’s immigrants will earn on average 10 percent to 15 percent less than nonimmigrant Americans, with Latinos in particular struggling. The trend could have broad repercussions.

“Much of the nation’s labor force growth, its future growth, will come from the Hispanic community,” said Mark Hugo Lopez, associate director of the Pew Hispanic Center, pointing to research showing that childhood poverty affects education and jobs. “This not only has implications for Latino families, but for the nation as a whole.”

The cycle is especially evident in the fields, vineyards, orchards and groves of the San Joaquin Valley, which stretches about 250 miles between the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. Thousand-acre farms dominate, thriving on a system of dammed rivers, drained lakes, advanced fertilizers and pesticides. Despite agriculture’s modernization and its steadily growing revenues, surprisingly little has changed for the workers themselves.

Farmers have always relied on hiring racial or ethnic minorities ranked at the bottom of society. Valley crops once were harvested by Chinese, Japanese, Punjabis, Filipinos, Mexican braceros, southern Europeans, African-Americans and the white American Dust Bowl arrivals that were an exception to the immigrant mold. Today’s crops are picked primarily by Hispanic immigrants like Melendez or their American-born children.

Hispanics account for half the population in Fresno County, and one-third of them live in poverty. Nationally, 1 in 4 Latinos lives below the poverty line, the second-highest percentage of all ethnic and racial groups, after blacks. That compares with an overall national rate of 15 percent and a rate for whites of about 10 percent.

Nowhere are these differences more apparent than in Fresno, California’s fifth-largest city and the state’s unofficial agricultural capital.

Fresno’s north side — home to bankers, doctors and teachers — is dotted with gated communities and McMansions with manicured lawns. It boasts newly paved streets, bike lanes, generous sidewalks, a popular mall and parks.

Melendez’s neighborhood in southeast Fresno is a world away. Children on bikes crisscross cracked streets, their gutters strewn with trash. Shabby apartment complexes stretch for blocks. Melendez’s three-bedroom home sits on the bottom floor of one such complex, shared by Latino immigrants and Hmong refugees.

Melendez’s journey here began with her father, who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally in the late 1970s to pick oranges. He returned to Mexico within a year, but Melendez’s mother, Maria Rosales, then came to pick grapes, almonds and peaches.

“People told me I would be sweeping dollars with a broom in California, but what I swept were only pennies,” said Rosales, 60, who is now a U.S. citizen and still lives in Fresno.

At 13, Melendez, along with two of her sisters, joined her mother in California, having trekked with a smuggler across the border. The family settled in a small farmworker town in Fresno County. After school and on weekends, Melendez and her sisters picked the grapes that surrounded them.

“It was loneliness. It was sadness,” Melendez said. “I hated grapes.”

Melendez dropped out of high school to get married and to get away from working the vineyards, but she and her husband soon separated. Though she spoke good English, she still lived in the country illegally and lacked a high school diploma, barring most employment. She again turned to the fields. When Melendez can work, she picks every type of crop, from asparagus and grapes to chili peppers. In the offseason, she ties vines and trims branches.

Paid by the hour, Melendez generally receives California’s minimum wage of $8. But whenever possible she works “piece rate,” getting paid a set amount per box or bucket picked. Running through the fields to pick as much as she can, she once grossed about $3,000 for a few weeks of work.

But lean months with no work inevitably follow such windfalls. Without legal status, Melendez can’t file for unemployment. She obtains food stamps for her U.S.-citizen children, but otherwise receives little government help. To make ends meet, she sometimes peddles barbecued beef, tamales and beauty products door to door and rents a room to a friend.

“That’s what I have, and that’s what I make do with,” she said, “because the process of doing something else is difficult.”

Her children know this, too. Her eldest sons, age 18 and 21, have high school diplomas but no jobs. The oldest, Cristian, started attending Fresno City College’s automotive technician program with the help of a loan but then dropped out. Last winter, with help from a local employment program, he got a two-month job at a bakery. He’s also filled temporary positions in maintenance and at a vacuum cleaner company.

Now a parent himself, with a 3-year-old son to support, Cristian said he’s desperate to find something permanent. He worked as a farmworker in high school and last year picked peaches, nectarines and grapes. He eventually hopes to get a business degree and open a tattoo parlor and smoke shop, but still fears following in his mother’s footsteps — never finding a way out of the fields.

“I don’t want to work in the fields, busting my ass for low pay. That doesn’t make sense,” he said. “But if I don’t find work soon, we’re low on income, so I’m going to have to go to the fields.”

In Fresno, advocates and experts for years have noticed the inextricable relationship between agriculture, the Hispanic community and poverty, and sounded the alarm. But little has been done to tackle the root of the problem.

“The number of working people in poverty is increasing, and we’re falling further behind in education and health. We need to reverse that trend. Otherwise we’ll continue to be seen as a poor area with bad statistics,” said Caroline Farrell, executive director of the Valley-based Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment. “And it will get worse. ... We won’t have a sustainable community.”

Fresno’s mayor, Ashley Swearengin, hopes to reverse the trend and last year led a citywide program called Learn2Earn, which helps residents earn their high school diplomas and encourages them to pursue higher education and job training.

“We’re talking about changing the mindset of people who think this is their lot in life, this is all they are ever going to do,” said Linda Gleason, who leads Learn2Earn. “It’s about tapping into people’s internal motivation — and showing them education and a better job are not impossible dreams.”

A local auctioneer has qualified as one of the top 30 auctioneers in the country and will head to the World Championships in his profession, but today it is all business. It’s Tuesday morning at the Madera stockyards on south Pine Street at the Farm Bureau office.

Garret Jones, 29, is greeting and talking with buyers and packing house purchasers about the upcoming sale. A short while later he climbs up to his stand above the arena. He checks his microphone and peruses the list of livestock for sale. Everything is ready to go, including clerks to record the weights and official sales. The buyers fill the bleachers adjacent to the arena.

Beginning with the first head of cattle, Jones’ machine-gun like delivery acknowledges each higher bid as fast as it is given. Cow after cow, both beef and dairy, enter the arena. Jones’ ratta-tat yet melodic delivery keeps the sales going at a brisk pace until the final animal has been sold.

Every auctioneer has a different style...

Despite many parts of the Valley experiencing above normal temperatures above 90 degrees — including temperatures in the 100s in Madera — nowhere in the Valley did air quality exceed the critical 1-hour federal standard for ozone, the Valley Air District announced Monday.

Sunny days with high temperatures are the ideal climate conditions for trapping and creating ozone, and exceeding federally mandated ozone standards would slap Valley businesses and residents with monetary penalties, Valley Air District officials said.

But officials credit investment by businesses and the public for reducing emission during the recent record heat wave and avoiding an exceedance of this health-based standard.

Since 1980, smog-causing air pollution from Valley businesses has been reduced by eighty percent. This has resulted in significant improvement in air quality and a reduction in the number of exceedances of the increasingly stringent federal standards. The improvement has been dramatic; last year the Valley experienced only two exceedances of the 1-hour ozone standard compared to 56 exceedances in 1996...

Two murders and 14 shootings occur at wild ‘fusion’ gatherings in county; teens take drugs and drink alcohol; three suspects in custody, says sheriff

Madera County Sheriff John Anderson announced on Monday the capture of a man suspected of killing two attendees at illegal parties.

Twenty-year-old Esteven David Rodriguez, also known as “Nene,” was arrested on Sunday and charged with the murder of Drakkar Lewis, 18.

Lewis was gunned down nearly two months ago as he was leaving a fusion party, a term youth coined to identify large, non-permitted gatherings where alcohol and narcotics are served to minors. Males pay a cover charge to enter while females are admitted free to the private gatherings, usually held in rural, unincorporated areas of the county.

Fusion parties are publicized via social media and locations only made available to would-be guests through text messaging, Anderson said. Since January, two deaths and several injuries resulted from at least 14 shootings at these large gatherings, (consisting of at least 100 girls and boys generally between the ages of 16 and 22), where alcohol and drugs are consumed by revelers...

If Liberty girls soccer coach Eli Liuba had his way, he would coach the Hawks until he died.

However, Liuba isn’t getting his way. He is finding himself in a Catch-22. His business, Pacific Metal Fab and L&L Machining, is booming, therefore he is required to do a lot of work and the orders are coming in. On the other hand, because of the extra workload, Liuba isn’t able to put the time he needs to dedicate himself to the Liberty girls soccer team — therefore he is retiring after 15 years of coaching.

“I love coaching,” he said. “If I wasn’t as busy as I am now, I would still continue coaching. I cannot afford taking time off work the way I’ve done in the past. We’re so busy that we’re working seven days a week, 12 to 16 hours a day. It’s just impossible to take time off.”

Liuba led the Hawks to the Div. III Valley Championship match, losing to Ridgeview-Bakersfield. His Hawks also won the North Sequoia League championship after his four years as the head coach of the Madera Coyote girls soccer program. He also coached for three years with the boys program...