Serving the community since 1922
Serving the community since 1922
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The Shafter City Council approved fronting $150,000 for the Kern High School District's share of work on Well No. 9 in Shafter, located on the grounds of Shafter High School, along with nearly the same amount of its own money for the project. The well, which is between the Shafter High School and Recreation Department baseball fields, has been inactive since the late 1980s due to nitrate levels exceeding public health standards. The city has decided to get the well operating...
The City of Shafter has kept its offices closed to the public, extending the restrictions past April 15 until further notice. Each department in the city has modified its hours and services provided. City Hall office buildings will stay closed to the public, with people needing to contact City Hall able to call 661-746-5000 for further information. The Shafter Police Department has their lobby closed for public access. If someone needs to make an inquiry, a speaker box outside...
The building that houses The Shafter Press and Wasco Tribune, and the former location of Brookside Deli suffered extensive smoke damage and a small fire on Monday morning. But due to the quick response of the Shafter Police Department and the Kern County Fire Department, the damage did not go any further than a portion of the former deli. Shafter police were dispatched to Central Avenue and Central Valley Highway a little after 8 a.m., when smoke was reported coming from the b...
Under Gov. Gavin Newsom's Stay at Home order, the community has been urged to refrain from going out unless it is necessary to pick up essentials and other tasks that make it necessary to leave your home. This order does not deter those individuals who are out to break the law. There is no self-quarantining for them. This makes it even more important to have law enforcement and other first responders at the ready for individuals and businesses who are victimized during this...
In this time of crisis, some of residents can easily be overlooked – those of the four-legged variety. Nick Riddick and his staff at Animal Control still are keeping their focus on the safety and well-being of those residents who don't have voices of their own. The offices and shelter of the Shafter Animal Control are closed to the public because of the local state of emergency that was declared by city leaders. However, the department is still in operation and remains d...
The city has seen an influx of sightings of its mascot in recent days, with striped felines spotted all over the city. They can be seen mostly in neighborhood windows, thanks to the industrious mind of Sharon Sharp and other community members. Sharp was inspired by events recently held in other communities, in which residents put teddy bears in the windows of their homes for passersby to take pictures of when spotted. Sharp thought this would be a great way to keep kids and...
The building that houses The Shafter Press and the former location of Brookside Deli suffered extensive smoke damage and a small fire on Monday morning. But due to the quick response of the Shafter Police Department and the Kern County Fire Department, the damage did not go any further than a portion of the former deli. Shafter police were dispatched to the location a little after 8 a.m. when smoke was reported coming from the building. Upon arrival, officers found a large...
The building that houses The Shafter Press and the former location of Brookside Deli suffered extensive smoke damage and a small fire on Monday morning. But due to the quick response of the Shafter Police Department and the Kern County Fire Department, the damage did not go any further than a portion of the former deli. Shafter police were dispatched to Central Avenue and Central Valley Highway a little after 8 a.m., when smoke was reported coming from the building. Upon...
The coronavirus pandemic had taken its toll on the cities of Shafter and Wasco, along with other cities in Kern County, with closed schools, businesses and churches. Easter Sunday was a good example of the level of disruption the virus has caused. Mannel Park, usually filled with worshipers watching the sun rise as they celebrate the rising of the Son, was empty as residents were heeding the warnings of local officials about gathering in large groups for the holiday. This is...
It was confirmed last week that five officers at Lerdo Jail have tested positive for the coronavirus. Kern County Detentions Officers Union Representative Dustin Alkire said in a statement on April 7 that the officers had tested positive for COVID-19 and are resting at home. He went on to say that they are doing well. Earlier, Sheriff Donny Youngblood announced that there were 10 sheriff's office employees with the virus. Youngblood said, "All of the employees are being isolat...
The City of Shafter put out a promotional video message Monday, urging the residents to abide by the state and local mandates to stay at home except to go out for essentials and observing social distancing recommendations. “We cannot underestimate the destruction that this virus can cause and the need to do whatever we can to stop this disease in its tracks,” Mayor Gilbert Alvarado says in the video. Councilmember Cathy Prout went on to say that the most important thing we...
Don Pepe's Restaurant and owner Jose Martinez not only cooked up good food this past week, but also cooked up some good old community spirit. Martinez had decided to close its doors amid the coronavirus situation to redo the floors of the restaurant. Looking at what they had, Martinez decided that they would cook the food and give it away to the community. Residents started lining up at 10 a.m., and they served plates of food, including chile verde and enchiladas until 3 p.m....
The line of cars zig-zagged through the streets surrounding The Truth Church parking lot on last Thursday for the Community Action Partnership of Kern food giveaway to help the residents of Shafter cope during this COVID-19 crisis. Families drove into the parking lot and gave their information, then a box of food and produce was placed in the trunk of their vehicles. The boxes contained potatoes, milk, break, fruit and vegetables, along with other staples. The CAPK runs a...
The Shafter Recreation Department gave the families of Shafter a chance to celebrate the holiday even from the safety of their own homes last Friday with a Quarantine Egg Quest. On Friday, families drove by the Recreation Office on East Tulare Avenue, and District Manager Phillip Jimenez and his staff handed out 6,000 eggs filled with toys and candy. The participants then took the eggs home to hold their own egg hunts. The only rules were to hold the egg hunt at their homes,...
The City Council is preparing to deal with a dramatic reduction in revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic. City Manager Gabriel Gonzalez will go over a budget stabilization plan at a workshop on Thursday, April 16, that will reflect the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gonzalez said at a previous meeting that they were looking into the different services the city provides and determining what will happen with those services moving forward. He categorized the services...
Don Pepe's Restaurant and owner Jose Martinez not only cooked up good food this past week, but also cooked up some good old community spirit. Martinez had decided to close its doors amid the coronavirus situation to redo the floors of the restaurant. Looking at what they had, Martinez decided that they would cook the food and give it away to the community. Residents started lining up at 10 a.m., and they served plates of food, including chile verde and enchiladas until 3 p.m....
Mason Hollingsworth and his staff have been busy helping keep the children of Shafter equipped with a nutritious lunch and breakfast during the mandated school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of the children in Shafter depend on the schools for lunch during the normal school year, so one of the first questions asked when the closures were announced was "What about the students who need our lunch and breakfast service to survive?" This question was answered in s...
The coronavirus pandemic has hit close to home with the information this week a teenager living Shafter had tested positive for COVID-19. Joel Herrera, 19, confirmed that he has tested positive for the virus last Thursday, making it necessary to be quarantined for 14 days. He is quarantined in his room, not able to make any contact with the rest of his family. According to Herrera, the rest of his family "are in perfect health." They have not been tested because they have no...
The Wasco Veterinary Clinic is continuing to see patients and fill medications in the midst of a quarantine that has affected the majority of the clinic's staff. On March 19, a woman came in with her animal and had a cough. A day or two later, the customer contacted the vet clinic informing them that she had tested positive for COVID-19. All staff that had come into contact with the woman has been quarantined for 14 days. The animal clinic is not allowing people into the...
The coronavirus pandemic has hit close to home with the information this week a teenager living Shafter had tested positive for COVID-19. Joel Herrera, 19, confirmed that he has tested positive for the virus last Thursday, making it necessary to be quarantined for 14 days. He is quarantined in his room, not able to make any contact with the rest of his family. According to Herrera, the rest of his family "are in perfect health." They have not been tested because they have no...
Wasco residents, like those throughout the state, are under orders to stay home and "shelter in place" as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Gavin Newsom told residents of California last Thursday that he was issuing a mandate that residents of California stay home, although the order does not include essential services. Essential services include grocery stores, health care facilities, law enforcement, gas stations, car repair shops and financial institutions. The order allows people to go to the grocery store if...
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, the Distinguished Young Woman of Shafter scholarship program, originally scheduled for March 20 was postponed. The program is now tentatively scheduled for Friday, June 4, at Shafter's Ford Theater. Shafter's Distinguished Young Woman program, one of the oldest in the state, has been providing local high school girls with college scholarships and valuable life skills for over 45 years. Toni Frantz of the DYW organizing committee said...
Adding to the collateral damage of the coronavirus was the recent closure of the Shafter Learning Center. This facility has been instrumental in the ongoing education of our youth as well as the adults of Shafter who are interested in expanding their horizons by taking a class of interest. David Franz, director of the Shafter Learning Center, said that the facility is working hard to continue to help the parents and students of Shafter reach their dreams. In this trying time,...
If you have been shopping in Bakersfield recently, you've most likely waited in a line just to get in the store only to be met with empty shelves. If you do happen to find a loaf of bread, you are limited to just one, no matter the size of your family. Staples like milk, eggs, toilet paper, bread, diapers and water have been in high demand, forcing residents of Kern County to go on treasure hunts for groceries. As residents of Shafter have found, there is a store in town worki...
With schools in the area closed temporarily, there was a void to fill if students were still to be served breakfast and lunch despite not having class. Details were ironed out and a plan was put into operation when the announcement came that all Kern County schools would close March 18 through at least the end of the regularly scheduled spring break, ending on April 13. With many kids in the area depending on school breakfast and lunch programs, the district knew it was essent...
