Serving the community since 1922
Serving the community since 1922
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Private First Class Daniel Rodriguez, 19, of Shafter, will be laid to rest on Friday after passing away on Dec. 15 in Texhoma, Texas, while on his way home for the holidays. Rodriguez graduated from Shafter High School in 2018 and then joined the U.S. Army. Rodriguez was in the news last December when he surprised his nieces and nephews at their schools after being away for six months. Rodriguez went to Redwood Elementary School and the reunion with his nephews, Ruben Leon, Angel Leon and...
With the majority of California schools and resource centers dealing with challenging budget cuts and uncertainty, the Shafter Healthy Start program received a much-needed boost from First 5 Kern, with a financial award of $800,000 to continue to serve the Shafter community from 2020 to 2025. With the help of Program Director Dr. Mayra Helo-Trvino, the resource center applied for a very competitive grant to continue to serve communities. Helo-Trevino said, "This grant is so competitive that a...
The Shafter Depot Museum held their annual Christmas celebration this past Saturday with refreshments, music, Christmas trees and fun. The Shafter Brass Band performed for the crowd, playing a variety of holiday favorites. Among the band was former Judge Gary Ingle, who is celebrating his 40th year playing Christmas music for the community of Shafter. The event featured 16 trees decorated in the theme for this year, "Lights, Camera, Christmas!" Several clubs, organizations and individuals...
Sequoia Elementary School held their annual Christmas Program last Thursday morning with the students performing a variety of holiday songs. In years past, it was hard to get a seat for the event, with the venue filling up quickly, well before start time of the program. This year, there was a performance for the kindergarten to third graders at 8:30 a.m., with a separate performance for the fourth through sixth graders at 9:30 a.m. This alleviated the crowds and gave everyone a chance to enjoy...
Sequoia Elementary School held their annual Christmas Program last Thursday morning with the students performing a variety of holiday songs. In years past, it was hard to get a seat for the event, with the venue filling up quickly, well before start time of the program. This year, there was a performance for the kindergarten to third graders at 8:30 a.m., with a separate performance for the fourth through sixth graders at 9:30 a.m. This alleviated the crowds and gave everyone a chance to enjoy...
The Young Adult Theater of Shafter finished its debut production this past weekend with crowds on hand to see their performances of the classic "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown." Led by the YATS Director Cris Starrh, the play entertained audiences with three shows, finishing up Saturday night. The production used a cast of six actors, each showing their prowess on the stage, be it covering the stage during a dance number or belting out a song. Charlie Brown was played by local theater veteran...
Everyone knows what you are doing if you say "I'm going to the King." The King is Frosty King, the fast food restaurant that focuses on great food and service. For over 20 years, Sammy Ayash and company had been serving Shafter with burgers, chicken, fries, onion rings and also a good variety of dessert items such as sundaes, shakes, freezes and floats. What some people don't know is that the building also houses the New York Deli. Ayash said that he got the idea of the deli when they were...
Sequoia Elementary School held their annual Christmas Program last Thursday morning with the students performing a variety of holiday songs. In years past, it was hard to get a seat for the event, with the venue filling up quickly, well before start time of the program. This year, there was a performance for the kindergarten to third graders at 8:30 a.m., with a separate performance for the fourth through sixth graders at 9:30 a.m. This alleviated the crowds and gave everyone a chance to enjoy...
The Shafter City Council voted to move forward on a project that will see the existing Shafter Learning Center and Library expand to include more classrooms and several areas that will make the center a complex suited for a variety of uses. Just a few months ago, GAF Materials, a roofing materials manufacturer based in Cawelo, decided to reach out to the community and find out a need that the residents of Shafter had and try to fill that need. CCO Andy Hilton met with Councilmember Cathy Prout,...
If you are wondering why you have not received a water bill this month, it is not a mistake, but a change the city is making in their billing procedures for utility customers. Currently, the city has been billing customers for their water in advance. Payments made at the beginning of November were for services provided in the month of November. For customers on a water meter, more is involved. These customers receive a bill for the trash and sewer services for the upcoming month, but the water bill for the previous month. With the new billing...
The Golden Oak Tigers had a packed cafeteria on Tuesday morning as they held their annual Christmas program. Santa arrived and played emcee for the event as all of the classes had their turn on the stage. Parents, friends and family filled the space up as the kids performed a variety of holiday songs, including Mrs. Lopez's class, who kicked things off with "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." Santa told the kids after the song that he really could see if they were naughty or nice, and that he...
To the delight of over 150 people awaiting his arrival, Minter Field played host to the jolly old fellow from the North Pole on Saturday. The Minter Field Air Museum sponsored their annual Santa Fly-In, giving everyone a chance to meet St. Nick. Museum Director Ronald Pierce said he was glad the weather held out, allowing Santa to make a safe touchdown next to the main hangar. Santa was accompanied by Mrs. Claus and a host of helpful elves. California Pinups for Patriots assisted Santa with the...
The Christmas holidays were kicked off on Monday night with the 3rd Annual Tree Lighting and Sing held at the downtown square in Shafter. To begin the season of cheer, a large tree, full of bright ornaments and decorations, was lit up for the first time in front of a crowd downtown. Most came wrapped up in warm clothing, prepared to celebrate in the cool weather. The event had plenty of music, as the crowd was entertained by the Grimmway School choir and sang with the Distinguished Young Woman o...
Editor's note: Due to a production error, the story on Shafter Christmas Store than ran in last week's paper was a repeat of last year's report. The correct story follows, along with the appropriately captioned pictures. For a lot of people, Christmas time is full of excitement, but for some the time is very stressful and is full of doubt, wondering if they will be able to give their children a nice Christmas this year. On Saturday Dec. 7, the Shafter Veterans Hall was turned into a store that...
The Shafter Depot Museum is playing host to a variety of decorated trees in their annual Christmas Tree Contest, with all of the trees on display for the month of December. Cookies and refreshments are given out free of charge while you peruse the museum. The theme for this year's contest is "Lights, Camera, Christmas," with entrants encouraged to decorate their tree in a Christmas movie theme. There are a variety of movies represented this year, from a couple of trees depicting the Christmas...
Minter Field Airport will play host this Saturday to one of the busiest people around this time of year, as Santa is expected to touch down at around 11 a.m. near the main hangar at Minter Field. Organized by the Minter Field Air Museum and sponsored by Petsmart, the event will give the local children a chance to meet St. Nick and tell him their Christmas wishes. Opting to rest his mighty team of reindeer, with their international whirlwind looming later this month, Santa will be flown to the...
For over two decades, the children of Shafter have been the beneficiaries of the Shafter Children's Summer Theater, led by creator Cris Starrh and a large staff of volunteers. The community of Shafter has also been a beneficiary, having been treated to a variety of entertaining performances over the years. For quite a while now, Starrh has been toying with the idea of forming a theater group for the young adults of Shafter and the surrounding areas. With the return of her daughter, Dana Starrh,...
On Nov. 20, 48 Shafter FFA students traveled to Independence High School to compete in the FFA Opening and Closing Speech Contest. One of the largest speech contests in the South Valley Section, over 400 members on teams from 10 schools were present to compete. FFA members participate by reciting the FFA opening and closing ceremonies. The purpose of the speech teams is not only to teach students valuable public speaking skills, but also to encourage them to increase their involvement and take...
There are many in our county who think that too many people in Kern County are being forgotten about, especially when it comes census time. This year’s Point in Time Count that will take place is one opportunity to correct this and make sure everyone in Kern County is recognized. The Kern County Board of Supervisors, including 4th District Supervisor David Couch, are calling for as many as 500 volunteers to help with the count this year. There was an increase in the number of volunteers last y...
The Shafter City Council voted to extend the services of The Pun Group, which performed this year's audit on the City of Shafter, for one more year. Ken Pun and his staff completed the audit of the city and presented its findings to the council during the Nov. 19 meeting. Their findings stated that the City of Shafter is financially sound and did not find any inconsistencies in its records or budgets. Acting City Manager Jim Zervis said that he recommended retaining the services of the Pun...
The 72nd Annual Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet will be held on Thursday, Jan. 23, at Shafter's Ford Theater. This dinner honors individuals, businesses and groups that have made a difference in the city of Shafter. Past winners include last year's recipients, Generals football coach Jerald Pierucci, who was recognized with the Youth Development Award, and one of his students, Marco Martinez, who received the Young Person Award. Several of this year's recipients also are involved at Shafter...
The Shafter High School fall sports season came to an end with an awards ceremony that honored outstanding performances in all of the sports except for the Shafter Varsity Football team, which will hold their awards ceremony at a later date. For the junior varsity Colonels football team, those recognized were the Most Scholarly, who was Gus Waterhouse; Team MVP Jacob Saldana; and the Offensive and Defensive MVPs. Joey Sanchez, who stepped in to quarterback the team midway through the season,...
A joint funeral service was held at First Presbyterian Church in Bakersfield on Monday for local pioneers Donald and Izetta Camp, who passed away just days of each other last week in Bakersfield, after sharing over 70 years together. Donald Camp Sr., who with his family, operated one of the most well-known farming institutions in the area. He was born in Shafter, while his parents, Wofford Benjamin (W.B.) Camp Sr., and his wife, Georgia Anna Camp, were living at the U.S. Cotton Research...
Donald and Izetta Camp were remembered by family, friends and community members as a standing-room only crowd attended the farewell and celebration of their lives. The two local pioneers – who died within days of each other after 67 years of marriage -- were laid to rest on Monday following a joint service at the First Presbyterian Church in Bakersfield. Donald Camp, Jr. spoke about how he always saw the two as a team, so it was fitting that they would go to eternity together as well. Don and I...
A group of local dignitaries hit the road recently to fight for completing the widening of Highway 46. They made an appearance in Fresno at a California Transportation Commission hearing to discuss plans that Caltrans has of cancelling funding for a project that was previously given the go-ahead that involves widening Highway 46. The first phase of the project has been completed, but the second phase is ready to go but the funds are in danger of being pulled off the project for an unidentified...
