Serving the community since 1922
Serving the community since 1922
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The Shafter Cinco de Mayo Festival was held on Saturday, complete with a parade downtown and a slew of activities at Mannel Park following the parade. The parade was led by this year's Grand Marshal, Diana Burnett, who retired this past year as the highest-ranking female officer in the department's history, retiring as the assistant chief of police. Burnett was followed by the Minter Field Air Museum's entry, which included their Follow-Me Yellow Jeep and their Vietnam-era LOACH helicopter. The...
The Shafter Library and Learning Center hosted Viva El Arte, a fine arts show on Friday afternoon, featuring artists displaying their works, including paintings, sketches, sculpture and photographs. One of the featured artists was Nora Pineda. Pineda grew up in the area of Shafter known by many as the Mexican Colony, now La Colonia. Pineda said that she is proud of her heritage and she puts her culture and passion into her work. Pineda had several sculptures on display, each with its own story....
In connection with the annual Shafter Cinco de Mayo Festival, the Shafter Learning Center and Library hosted Dia del Ninos last week, giving youths a chance to celebrate in a unique way. The event was a celebration of children in the community, giving families a place to have some safe fun in town. The traditional event is a celebration of children held with a variety of games, activities, food and music to celebrate the youth of the community. There was face painting, music, food and...
The Shafter City Council decided not to help pay for the Chamber of Commerce 3rd of July Fireworks Show. City Manager Gabriel Gonzales said that the city had discussed the proposal and deemed it okay for the city to be a Patriot Sponsor for the annual event. Gonzales said that the show is attended by the public, allowing it to help fund the event. At the first-ever meeting at Gossamer Grover's Community Park Tuesday night, Councilmember Gilbert Alvarado asked Gonzales if the chamber had trouble...
A Lady General athlete became the first ever to qualify from Shafter High for the State Swimming Championships – male or female. With a first place in the 100 yard butterfly at the Valley Championships, Sara Jane Osborne punched her ticket for the State meet this weekend – by over a full second. According to Head Coach Larissa Davis, Osbourne has been dominant this year and she is proud of all of the girls. "We have worked so hard, especially with not having a home pool to swim in, that thi...
If you have wondered what those black poles going up around Shafter are, they are the newest aid in keeping the city of Shafter safe. The city has purchased 25 Flock Cameras to put up around town, placed in strategic locations throughout the city. The cameras are license plate readers, catching on record every vehicle that passes. The readers use technology that will aid the Shafter Police Department in responding to crimes committed in the city by reading the plate and notifying the officers...
The San Joaquin Valley Air District Board has approved a couple of plans that propose improvements in Shafter. As a result of the work of the AB617 Committee, which has been working for five years to improve the city's air quality, there will be sidewalks in North Shafter, beginning at Apple Market and will go north past Fresno Avenue. This addition are intended to improve the safety of the roads in the area, protecting pedestrians and children as they walk along the stretch of Central Valley...
The Minter Field Air Museum will be offering free tours of the Gossamer Condor, which flew the first human-powered control flight. The flight took place in Shafter at the Minter Field Airport. An anniversary celebration will be held on Saturday, Aug. 24, with a banquet at Hodel's Country Dining in Bakersfield. The dinner will honor those involved in the project, as well as give attendees a chance to relive a part of aviation history. Gossamer Condor Pilot Bryan Allen; Sam Duran, flight manager o...
The Shafter High Drama Department put on their production of the Broadway hit Guys and Dolls at the Fred Starrh Performing Arts Center last weekend, giving the crowd a taste of Broadway, with a musical that tested the actors singing, dancing and acting skills in one production. Led by advisor Hal Friedman, the actors told the story of 1920s New York, with a glimpse of the underbelly of the city, with gambling, drinking and the fight that leads to redemption. It tells of Nathan Detroit, a...
The Shafter Kiwanis Club held their final Terrific Kids luncheon of the year in Wednesday, honoring the student leaders of each of the area schools. The Terrific Kids program recognizes students who display one of the character traits that are highlighted in their program. Those traits are Thoughtful, Enthusiastic, Responsibility, Respectful, Inclusive, Friendly, Inquisitive and Capable. Each student honored received a lunch, t-shirt, bumper sticker, and pencil. For the final luncheon of the...
The Shafter High girls swimming team had an outstanding showing at the SSL championship meet last week, qualifying in several events for the upcoming Valley meet held in Hanford. The relay teams, both the 200 freestyle and the 400 freestyle teams medaled. In the 200 relay, the team, consisting of AnneMarie Piuser, Sarah Jane Osborne, Josephine Martin and Sydnee Macias won the league championship with a Valley-qualifying time of 1:45. Shafter placed second in the 400 relay. In individual events,...
It has been over five months since Acting Chief Randy Milligan stepped up to run the Shafter Police Department, with Chief Kevin Zimmerman away from the department.. The force has been operating "business as usual," according to Milligan, with everyone stepping in and doing their part. When asked three months ago about the change and some public concerns over the loss of employees with the launching of Wasco's new Police Department, Milligan said that the city had hired new officers, as well as...
The Shafter Cinco de Mayo Festival kicks off on Saturday, May 4, at 10 a.m. with a parade downtown, presided over by Grand Marshal Diana Burnett. Burnett retired last year from the Shafter Police Department, ending her career with the rank of assistant police chief. Burnett said that she has always loved this festival and is honored and humbled. “I am so thankful for the committee and the community of Shafter for this honor,” Burnett said . Filled with colorful dancers, classic cars, floats and...
Resondo Tellez, 27, of Wasco, appeared in court last Thursday morning on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia. Tellez was arrested on March 22, when he was found by Kern County sheriff’s deputies with a severed limb that was taken from the scene of a fatal train accident. Deputies had been dispatched to the scene of a fatal pedestrian train collision. The victim was killed at the scene and had her leg severed at the accident. Allegedly, Tellez took the leg from the scene. In video f...
The students at Sequoia Elementary School learned up close and personal information about solar eclipses when they had a chance to don special glasses and learn the workings of the event. Sequoia staff, including Janae Morris, Angela Hernandez and Assistant Principal Tonia Aguilera, were on hand to answer students questions as they watched the eclipse together. Also last week, students were busy working on STEM-related projects as they move forward in their advanced learning. Students used Verti...
The Ventura Circus was in town over the weekend, giving the young, and the young at hear,t a few hours of family entertainment. The circus is a dying breed, with the number of circuses in the nation dwindling. The Ventura Circus had a variety of acrobats, clowns, jugglers and illusionists, as well as a motorcycle "ride of doom." The company was in Shafter at Mannel Park beginning on Friday, setting up their big-top tent, and performing three shows on Saturday and Sunday. Over 100 people attended...
The Shafter High girls swimming team has had an outstanding season so far, thriving in the pool despite having a small team this year in numbers. The squad competed earlier this month in an SSL Powermeet at Taft High School and also competed in the Sierra Pacific Invitational in Hanford. At the Power Meet, the 200-yard freestyle relay team won the race with a Valley-qualifying time in the process. The relay team is made up of Sydnee Macias, Josephine Martin, Sarah-Jane Osborne and Annemarie...
The Shafter High School baseball and softball teams swept their series last week, both teams dominating Kennedy High School. The baseball team beat the Thunderbirds 8-0 on Tuesday and 9-3 on Thursday in a home-at-home series. In the first game, the Generals racked up seven hits, with Andy Gomez grabbing two of them, with an RBI. Matteo Martinez had a strong performance on the mound, giving up only two hits and striking out seven in the game. In the second game of the week, Jesus Paez pitched a...
The City of Shafter has been working on improving its parks and streets, having several improvement projects in process. One of these is the Stringham Park Improvement Project, which is in full swing. A new bus stop has been installed, replacing the stop that was located at the corner of Central Avenue and James Street. The new site is intended to alleviate the traffic at that intersection, and also will be easier for riders to navigate the area. Included in the project are new trees at the...
A string of vehicle break-ins has prompted the Shafter Police Department to advise residents to be extra vigilant in protecting their cars and property. According to Lt. Joshua Stephens, several residents in the Gossamer Grove area had their vehicles broken into, with the actual vehicle thefts thwarted. It wasn’t just random vehicles, either, with Kias and Hyundais being the targets of choice. It is not known why these were targeted, especially since the make of choice in recent years has been H...
The Shafter City Council denied a resolution on Tuesday to hire a crimes analyst that would be stationed in the Shafter Police Department. According to Acting Chief Randy Milligan, the analyst would identify crime patterns, trends and hot spots using data analysis techniques. This person would also research and evaluate data related to criminal activity and calls for service. Crime prevention and problem-solving would also be a part of the position. "The function of the position would include...
The Kern County Coroner’s Office has identified the victim of a fatal accident on Lerdo Highway on Friday, April 12. At around 2:05 a.m., 51-year-old Tabass Zebadee Grandison-Mendoza, of Shafter, reportedly was driving in a sedan that struck a tree on East Lerdo Highway. Grandison-Mendoza was traveling westbound on East Lerdo Highway, just north of Cherry Avenue, when the accident occurred. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Lerdo Highway was closed for several hours as the road was cleaned u...
Julissa Gonzalez became the first female wrestler at Shafter High to qualify for the State Championships last year. She repeated that feat this year, as well as becoming the first female wrestler to win a Valley title. Julissa added to her accomplishments last weekend when she traveled to the Reno World Wrestling Championships, placing second in her weight class. This is impressive enough, but the Gonzalez family boasts a quintet of talented wrestlers, with all five of their children excelling...
Shafter High students put on formal best and had a night to remember on Saturday night, as they celebrated their prom, dancing to some of their favorite music. A DJ provided the tunes, a mixture of dance, Tejano and contemporary music, something for everyone. Students danced with their dates, by themselves, and in big groups, keeping the dance floor busy the entire night. One group who were having a blast were friends Riley Griffin, Marcus Rivas, Adrian Lomeli, Briley Clendeman and Arilia...
