Serving the community since 1922
Serving the community since 1922
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The Richland School District and its students had a busy week, with a visit from an acclaimed author, as well as an opportunity for some of their students to take a trip to the Shafter Learning Center. Author Greg Trine visited Redwood Elementary last week. He shared with students his inspiration for writing children's books. Trine shared tips for editing and revising with the students, who participated throughout a school assembly. Trine emphasized to students that being a good reader helps you...
Helen Gaede, the long-time director of the Shafter Kiddie Kollege, will be retiring at the end of the month, closing out a 49-year career. Gaede began at the school when the Shafter Mennonite Brethren Church decided to open a preschool at the church. Gaede started helping out a couple of days a week with the kids. This grew into an every day commitment, then was taken up a notch when she went back to school to get her early education degree. She began teaching at the school and did so for the...
The Shafter High Drama Department put on their production of the Broadway hit, "The Drowsy Chaperone," on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at the Fred Starrh Performing Arts Center on the campus of Shafter High. Directed by advisor Hal Friedman, the ensemble presented the parody of 1920s American musicals to crowds of over 100 each night. The play tells the story of a couple getting ready to get married, accompanied by his best man, the maid of honor, who is the title character of the...
Shafter has an artist in town that has been creating works of art and history for years, creating works that capture the rich history of the city. Charlotte White, who has been painting for over 50 years, is preparing a new exhibit for Shafter's Tin Cup, with paintings of local life, including a painting of the Green Hotel, Shafter's historic landmark. White has had a display of three paintings at Tin Cup with a picture of local almond groves, as well as a landscape. White said that it was time...
The committee appointed by the City Council to review the city's charter and make recommendations on changes has begun its work. The City of Shafter became a charter city in 1995, with the charter adopted soon after. Charter cities are now required to form committees to review their charters. There are currently about 125 charter cities in California, with the only two in Kern County being Shafter and Bakersfield. Some of those cities are Irvine, San Bernadino, Santa Rosa, Fresno, Palmdale and...
Basham & Lara Funeral Care recognized the Cinco de Mayo holiday on Thursday when they gave away tacos to the community, offering them to those visiting their facility. The Basham & Lara family have been involved in the community since they came to Shafter just a few years ago. They celebrated with the city of Shafter Saturday when they entered a beautiful Harley-drawn hearse with a clear glass case in the Cinco de Mayo parade. On Thursday, they had Leonor's Tacos on site to prepare three kinds...
A sunny day for Shafter Cinco de Mayo parade Captions #1- The Perez family with one of Stanley's cars that were entered in the parade. #2- The Tea Cups were a big hit with the kids. #3- This rider shows off his rope skills. #4- American Refuse had a mariachi band on their float. #5- The Richland Trojans Marching Band. #6- The Young Marines of Bakersfield marched in the parade. #7- The Ballet Folklorico performed. #8- Basham & Lara Funeral Care had a beautiful clear hearse pulled by a Harley...
Marlene Ayon, a seventh grade Richland Trojan, was recognized recently for placing in a countywide competition, Battle of the Books, which sets students against each other in testing knowledge of books that were placed on a reading list of 28 books. Ayon, in four rounds of competition, placed in two of the four rounds. In Round 2, Ayon placed second in her division, behind only a student from Warren Junior High. In the fourth and final round, Marlene took first place, beating a student from...
The Shafter High Drama Department, with the accompaniment of the SHS Band, performs the Broadway hit "The Drowsy Chaperone" this weekend. The parody of American musical comedy of the 1920s concerns a middle-aged asocial musical theater fan, played by Matthew Penner. As he plays the record of his favorite musical, the show comes to life onstage, as he wryly comments on the music, story and actors.Shafter drama teacher and Bakersfield Ovation Theater artistic director Hal Friedman will direct the...
The final Shafter Learning Center history lecture of the spring will be presented Thursday, May 14, at 6:30 p.m. at the center. Stan Wilson of the Shafter Historical Society will be speaking on “Shafter – Potato Capital of the World. “ Included will be an RV Scott photo essay and the Disney film, “The Great Potato Race....
Helen Gaede, the long-time director of the Shafter Kiddie Kollege, will be retiring at the end of the month, closing out a 49-year career. Gaede began at the school when the Shafter Mennonite Brethren Church decided to open a preschool at the church. Gaede started helping out a couple of days a week with the kids. This grew into an every day commitment, then was taken up a notch when she went back to school to get her early education degree. She began teaching at the school and did so for the...
A potato warehouse on Lerdo Highway was burned to the ground last week, the fifth substantial fire in the city in recent months. A former Shafter fire dispatcher voiced concern that this seemed like a pattern of arson – a suggestion rejected by the Police Department. The latest fire burned down a warehouse used to store potatoes right across the roadway from Pacific Tire. The fire was reported a little before 8 a.m. on Thursday with the Shafter Police Department and Engine 32 of the Kern C...
The Shafter City Council approved the purchase of a new Bus Shelter that will be placed at the new bus stop located at Stringham Park. This bus stop is being relocated from the City Hall area to the park. There will also be a new parking lot located at the park as well. Previously, the Council approved a project that would build a new transit bus bay turnout on James Street, adjacent to Stringham Park. Upon completion of the project, the county of Kern has agreed to relocate its Regional...
Continuing a trend that has been gaining steam throughout the pandemic, a large pop-up event was held at Tin Cup in Shafter, attracting over 50 vendors selling products from homemade baked goods, jewelry, plants, clothing and much more. The event is just one of many pop-up events that have been held in Shafter and throughout Kern County, giving vendors a venue to display their wares. At the beginning of the pandemic, with businesses being shut down, people being laid off or put out of work, a nu...
Members of the Minter Field Air Museum recently got the chance to tour one of the most advanced space and air facilities in the nation when they visited the Mojave Air & Space Port, which is housing the Virgin Galactic, which is preparing spacecraft that will allow civilians to go into space. They have built a launcher that has gone up in space and has orbited the earth, and also tested craft that have carried people into space and right back down again, preparing for the time when passengers...
Mannel Park was the place to be on Saturday, with over 1,000 gathering for the return of the Cinco de Mayo celebration after the cancellation of the event for the past two years due to the pandemic. Deanna Rodriguez-Root and her Cinco de Mayo Committee put together a festival that rivaled any that have taken place in the recent past. There were over 70 vendors on hand with a variety of food, clothing, jewelry and many other products and information. There was the traditional Mexican fare, with...
If you have driven by Lerdo Highway and Central Valley Highway lately, you may have noticed that the Del Taco has closed its doors. The national chain eatery shut down operation recently, giving way to an up-and-coming eatery. The city's director of business development, Bob Meadows, confirmed that the business will be reopened as a Tacos La Villas in the near future. There are already four Tacos La Villas locations in Bakersfield that have taken over former Del Taco drive-ins. Since 1993,...
The Cinco de Mayo Festival made its return to the streets of Shafter on Saturday, packing downtown with over 1,000 viewers. The celebration kicked off with a parade that came down Central Avenue, with local news anchor Jose Gaspar as its master of ceremonies. Gaspar welcomed the crowd to "the triumphant return of the Cinco de Mayo celebration, after a two-year hiatus due to the covid-19 pandemic. It is great to see all of the people here to celebrate this event, which is a statement of unity...
The Shafter High Lady Generals softball team took a shutout win last week as they blanked the McFarland Cougars in two games by a combined score of 34-0. On April 29, Shafter shutout the Cougars, 16-0, following that performance on May 2 with an 18-0 victory. In Friday's win, freshmen Miranda Asencio and Cassidy Torres combined to pitch a one-hit shutout of the Cougars. On the offensive side, , the Lady Generals had eight players with at least two hits in the game. Leading the way was Serenity...
The Cinco de Mayo Festival is making its return to the streets of Shafter this Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m. with a downtown parade. The celebration has grown every year, with festivities happening all over the country, with parades, reenactments and food and music. The origins of the special day goes back to the year 1862. In an clear example of an underdog, the outnumbered forces under Ignacio Zaragoz took on and defeated the mighty French forces on May 5 of that year. The French Army was...
The City of Shafter will celebrate this Cinco de Mayo holiday with its traditional festival, which returns after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic virus. Deanna Rodriguez-Root and her committee has put together a festival that promises to be bigger and better than anything they have put together before. This year, the Grand Marshal for the festivities is Shafter native Manuel Garcia. The day will begin with a colorful and entertaining parade through downtown Shafter. The parade will...
Johnny Sisneros has been on State Street for a few years now, serving the residents of Shafter, as well as a big customer base scattered over Kern County. Sisneros opened his shop a few years after making his start at the Phat Boys Barber Shop in Wasco. Johnny was toiling at a 9-5 job in the sun, working hard and not really liking what he was doing. He then decided to take his talent of cutting people's hair and see if he could make a living doing it. Sisneros said that he grew up as the oldest...
Lynnda Martin, of American Refuse in Wasco, said that that the firm decided to try a giveaway event for Earth Day, not knowing what kind of response they would receive. Well, she got her answer with a steady flow of vehicles loading up buckets, barrels and trailers with free compost. "We decided to try it to celebrate Earth Day, and the response was great," Martin said. The compost came from the Mount Vernon recycling plant. Martin said that the majority of the organic waste collected at the...
The Shafter Animal Shelter is open for adoptions and is encouraging residents to come out and meet their possible future members of the family. Meet their very boisterous boy Jeff, a black and brown Belgian malinois guessed to be just under a year old. Since coming to the shelter with his brother, Jeff has been observed to do well around other dogs of the same size. Jeff knows how to sit and loves stuffed toys. He loves to play and can be mouthy, tending to put his teeth on your body, but not...
It was a sad day recently when the city of Shafter, especially the community at Shafter High, saw the passing of Charles Rekosh. Rekosh was an invaluable part of the history of Shafter High, contributing to the rich tradition of the school. Rekosh began his career at SHS in 1974. Charlie and his wife decided that they would like to raise their kids in a small-town environment, so he transferred to Shafter High. Rekosh taught, coached, counseled. He eventually would serve as dean of students,...
