Serving the community since 1922
Serving the community since 1922
Sorted by date Results 1326 - 1350 of 1616
The Kern County Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad Unit was deployed to Shafter Friday when a suspicious device was found in a dumpster between the Shafter Courthouse and the Omni Health Medical Clinic on James Street. At approximately 9:30 a.m. Friday morning, the Bomb Squad arrived to investigate. Once the robot had inspected the device, the device was detonated. Asked if the device was armed, Chief Kevin Zimmermann said, "The device was detonated by the Bomb Squad. We will not know if the device...
The Shafter Generals celebrated their Pink-Out Night with a whitewashing of the Arvin Bears by a 43-22 score Friday night. Shafter continued their newfound success this season with a total team effort that saw the locals contribute in every phase of the game. The win brings their record to 4-4, and 3-1 in the South Sequoia League. Shafter spotted the Bears 7-0 when Arvin scored on their first possession, using a series of misdirection and trick plays that ended with a 12-yard touchdown. The...
In a closed session, the City Council voted unanimously to protect the Shafter Farm Labor Camp on Highway 43 in the county's plan to use it as a seasonal homeless housing facility. In a closed session Tuesday night, the council voted unanimously to have the city manager and city attorney use "all legal remedies, including litigation, to require the Kern County Housing Authority to comply with applicable zoning and environmental laws for conversion of the Shafter Farm Labor Camp north of the...
A move that has been years in the making came to fruition last week when Governor Newsom signed a bill that will ban educators from suspending Grade K-8 students for willful defiance. Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill twice, calling it too broad in scope. There has been a ban on the suspension of students in kindergarten through third grade for over two years, but this bill will expand the scope to include the fourth-eighth grade. Willful defiance can be anything from sleeping in class to...
The Shafter Police Department is inviting the community to spend a night with some of Shafter's finest as they hold the Shafter Police Department Night Out event at Veterans Park on Tuesday, Oct. 8 The event is a community-police awareness-raising event in which the community will have a chance to meet officers who work to protect them and talk with them, with an opportunity to ask ask questions and socialize. There are no agendas or speeches. The department will be giving out child ID kits to...
The Shafter Learning Center partnered with GAF Materials to hold a community celebration that drew a crowd last Thursday. The event also served as a quasiworkshop as the community was invited to give their input on what features that would like to see with a Shafter Learning Center expansion. Dr. David Franz, director of the Educational Partnership Project, as well as director of the center, said that there are many possibilities for an expansion. One plan that was on display would have a new...
The Shafter Generals evened their SSL record at 1-1 with a dominant victory over Taft High School 48-15 on Friday night. The Generals played their most complete game of the season as they excelled on both sides of the ball and also shined on special teams. It was an entirely different team that has took the field the past few weeks, on a dimly lit field that even Coach Jerald Pierucci said was like "playing by candlelight." Sophomore quarterback Tyson Dozhier was injured in the third quarter of...
The City of Shafter continues to grow as it keeps strengthening one of the most financially stable cities in Kern County, if not the state of California. Shafter has a valuable weapon in its arsenal when it comes to attracting new businesses, as well as growing its core city. The Shafter Chamber of Commerce is an integral part of the makeup of the city, helping local businesses in many ways. If you ask the average resident what the Shafter Chamber of Commerce is, they will probably tell you...
The Shafter Generals celebrated their Homecoming night with a rout of the McFarland Cougars by a score of 47-7, upping their SSL record to 2-1. Shafter kept the momentum that they created with a win on the road at Taft as they came out scoring on Friday night. Coach Jerald Pierucci decided to start Jackson Sanchez at quarterback against McFarland after the Generals' breakout game against the Wildcats. On their first possession of the game, the Generals wasted no time and gained 45 yards on...
The names are familiar: Banducci, Antogiavani. Tracy. Selvidge. Houchin. Ghilarducci. These are all names forever entwined with the town of Buttonwillow. Shafter's sister to the west has not changed much in the last 50 years, either in population or economically. They have a rich tradition of farming, which is the town's mainstay and offers employment to most. When visiting Buttonwillow, you must check out the tree that the town of Buttonwillow was named after. Now a historical landmark, this...
Effects on Amtrak passengers and its Wasco station, and the still-to-be-determined location of a maintenance yard, highlighted the California High-Speed Rail Authority's update meeting last week at the Wasco Veterans Hall. California voters approved the HSR in the 2008 election, which at that time was budgeted for $40 billion. However, Gov. Gavin Newsom stated in a February address that it could cost anywhere from $77 billion to $100 billion, and until the state budgets more money for the...
In a closed session, the City Council voted unanimously to protect the Shafter Farm Labor Camp on Highway 43 in the county's plan to use it as a seasonal homeless housing facility. In a closed session Tuesday night, the council voted unanimously to have the city manager and city attorney use "all legal remedies, including litigation, to require the Kern County Housing Authority to comply with applicable zoning and environmental laws for conversion of the Shafter Farm Labor Camp north of the...
There is a new threat to Kern County residents, and it's aggressive and potentially dangerous. According to Gene Abbott, director of Kern Vector and Mosquito Control, there is a different species of mosquito that has exploded on the scene this year. "The last few years, we might find a couple per year, but this year it has been crazy. There are not too many areas of Kern County that have not seen at least some activity of the pest." It is called Aedes Albopictus, a species of mosquito that...
The Shafter Generals dropped their league opener to Cesar Chavez 24-13 on Friday night. Shafter got behind early when the Titans scored on a 13-yard touchdown pass, making the score 6-0. The Generals ran for a first down in their opening series of the game, but that would be only one of two first downs that the Generals would get in the first half. Immediately following the first down, Shafter had a run for a loss of two yards, followed by two mishandled snaps from center. Throw in a penalty,...
The Shafter Generals evened their SSL record at 1-1 with a dominant victory over Taft High School 48-15 on Friday night. The Generals played their most complete game of the season as they excelled on both sides of the ball and also shined on special teams. It was an entirely different team that has took the field the past few weeks, on a dimly lit field that even coach said "was playing by candlelight." Sophomore quarterback Tyson Dozhier was injured in the third quarter of last week's game...
The City Council approved a sewer project that will connect the city's sewer system to the housing development at Gossamer Grove. They authorized the city engineer to award a construction contract to Floyd Johnston Construction Co., with a price of up to $2.9 million for the city's share of the project cost. The Southeast Shafter Sewer Extension has been broken up into two phases. Phase I will be funded by the city. This phase covers the system section that goes from Santa Fe Hwy to Zerker...
The Shafter Police Department is seeing some of long-term goals come to fruition. Chief Kevin Zimmermann said he has had some goals ever since he walked in the door to take over his position. "I had ideas and goals when I first arrived. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a little time to have those ideas become reality." The Shafter City Council recently approved four new hires, including a community development officer and a dedicated traffic officer. The first year, one-time expense was about...
The City Council approved a sewer project that will connect the city's sewer system to the housing development at Gossamer Grove. They authorized the city engineer to award a construction contract to Floyd Johnston Construction Co., with a price of up to $2.9 million for the city's share of the project cost. The Southeast Shafter Sewer Extension has been broken up into two phases. Phase I will be funded by the city. This phase covers the system section that goes from Santa Fe Hwy to Zerker...
Many people and organizations serving the city got words of encouragement from residents in the first "Walk and Chalk" on sidewalks Monday. Listen to Shafter, a new community benefit organization in Shafter, hosted the event, where neighbors were invited to meet at City Hall, where they could write encouraging messages to City Hall staff along the sidewalk in front. From there, a one-mile walk began with stops along the way to write more encouraging messages at two more "chalk stations." The...
New laws that were passed recently are meant to raise the accountability in California's charter schools, giving the local public school districts more control on decisions to allow a charter school in their district, as well as requiring charter schools to become more transparent in its operations. Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this year signed into law Senate Bill126, which requires charter schools to adhere to the same public records and open meeting laws as traditional district schools -- a...
The Shafter Generals dropped their league opener to Cesar Chavez 24-13 on Friday night. Shafter got behind early when the Titans scored on a 13-yard touchdown pass, making the score 6-0. The Generals ran for a first down in their opening series of the game, but that would be only one of two first downs that the Generals would get in the first half. Immediately following the first down, Shafter had a run for a loss of two yards, followed by two mishandled snaps from center. Throw in a penalty,...
The Shafter Generals lost to the Atascadero Greyhounds in a game that displayed the youth and immaturity of this year's squad, dropping their record to 1-3 for the season. The 28-8 loss ended a tripleheader, with all three Shafter teams in action. The freshman team played a tough game, with the teams taking turns scoring, before the Greyhounds took the lead for good late in the game, coming out on top. In the junior varsity game, it was a wild one, with both teams trading the lead several...
There is a local business in Shafter that is helping golfers in their quest for that elusive improvement in their scores. Ken Hurlbert is a custom golf club fitter who has been assisting people in finding that perfect set of clubs. Hurlbert said has been playing golf since 1961 and was a decent golfer, getting to where he would shoot in the 90s on a regular basis, sometimes hitting the 80 mark, but after a time, didn't see any additional improvement in his game. He tried a variety of different...
Shafter's Mennonite Brethren Church was the site of a concert performed by the Synergy Chamber Players Saturday night. The concert was entitled "Evolution of Harmony," with compositions by a variety of composers in the baroque style. The pieces engaged the listener with many changes of chords and tempos. The audience was treated to numbers by Vivaldi, Bach, Purcell and Biber....
A workshop was held at the Shafter Learning Center that was geared for the small business owner wanting to maximize their visibility in the community. Gabriela Gonzales of Kern Citizens for Energy said that the workshop was for those owners who need assistance in growing their business on social media. "Everything is so technical now that you really need to use social media to attract new customers," Gonzales said. A large crowd was at the SLC to take advantage of the free workshop. Phillip...
