Serving the community since 1922
Serving the community since 1922
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Negotiations about pesticide notifications between the Kern Ag commissioner and the state Department of Pesticide Regulation have broken down. Kern Ag Commissioner Glen Fankhauser recently wrote a letter to the state that he would not comply with Director Val Docini's request to give the community advanced notification of when and where farmers plan to spray pesticides deemed particularly dangerous. When AB617 passed in 2017, a steering committee was formed in Shafter to develop a plan to...
There will be two bulky waste events held in March for the residents of Shafter and Wasco who need to dispose of items that don't normally fit in regular trash containers. The event in Wasco will be held on Saturday, March 6, at Barker Park on Poso Avenue. It will be from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. The Shafter event will be on Saturday, March 20 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Richland School District. During the pandemic, bulky waste drop-off events were not held and more items were dumped illegally, said...
The Recreation and Parks District has voted to allow the state to open the veteran’s hall as a vaccination center. The board voted to approve the center at a special meeting on Feb. 19. Juan Bernal also provided a report at the regular meeting on Thursday, Feb. 18 on the district’s research into the costs of construction of a new salt water swimming pool. The district is close to finalizing the grant application for the pool. “The final reviews can be submitted over the next week or two,” said Vice Chair Kayla Castillo. “The authorizi...
In a time when families are facing challenges when it comes to keeping active, the Shafter Recreation Department has been helping keep residents fit and healthy. With the department having to shelve the majority of their sports programs due to the pandemic, District Manager Philip Jimenez and his staff have come up with a variety of programs. In addition to having virtual exercise classes for seniors, the department is now holding three different clinics throughout the month, inviting residents...
Amazon announced recently that they will open a distribution center in Shafter, making it the second facility to open in Kern County. Amazon opened a facility iu Bakersfield last year. The new facility is expected to launch later this year. The facility will be over one million square feet and will have associates packing and shipping items to customers throughout the region. Items will include everything from apparel to accessories and footwear. It will mean around 1,000 jobs, both full-time...
For two weeks, the city saw its rate of new cases of the coronavirus decrease. Shafter had 130 new cases last week, bringing the total cases for Shafter to 3,305. Of those, there have been 1,223 cases confirmed as recovered. Churches in town have returned to indoor worship services after a ruling by the courts said the restrictions put on churches in California are unconstitutional, giving the places of worship the right to conduct indoor services for those parishioners wanting to attend...
Grimmway Academy of Shafter has been conducting classes for over 100 days now, with a mix of in-person instruction in cohorts, and distance learning. According to Grimmway Academies’ CEO Casey Yeazel, it is important for the students to be able to be together at school, with safety precautions in place, a plan that was approved by the board and implemented by their staff. Grimmway Academy of Shafter has had its doors open to students since last fall, with complete grade levels attending i...
The City Council presented the Key to the City to reigning Distinguished Young Woman of Shafter Shelbee Ramos. Ramos recently competed in the state level competition and won a special award at the event. Ramos won a $2,000 scholarship for her title of Shafter's DYW, along with an additional scholarship for winning a phase during the event. Also recognized by the council were First Runner-up Alicia Pompa, Second Runner-up Santana DelaRosa, Lilian Jaime, who won the Talent portion of the event,...
When residents are hungry for a couple of donuts, many flock to Shafter Donut, which has been in the city for over two decades. Owner Kim Ten is proud to call Shafter home. Manager Yinhkann Yen said that they love the people of Shafter and have so many regulars that make the trip to Shafter Donuts a "daily ritual." With their wide selection of donuts, from glazed and cake donuts to jelly filled donuts, maple bars and twists, the shop is not just a place for a donut. Their breakfast sandwiches...
The Minter Field Air Museum has been putting the history of Shafter aviation on display for decades and the facility continues to expand. The museum houses a collection of artifacts and photographs of the men and women who were stationed at the base, in addition to the history of other conflicts including the United States military. The museum is one of the few facilities in the nation that has a working Link Trainer. This machine recreates the experience of flying a plane and was used on the...
It has been almost a year since there has been any sort of high school sports competition. According to Shafter High Principal Russell Shipley, the sports dilemma is a frustrating one. According to the California Interscholastic Federation, since Kern County is in the purple tier, cross country is the only sport that can begin competition. If Kern County gets into the red or orange tier, there would be more sports added to the list. After Gov. Gavin Newsom lessened the restrictions on schools, a...
The plans for a proposed park in northern Shafter are now online after the community got a chance to help design the park. The park will be the first in the northern Shafter neighborhood near the intersection of Fresno Avenue and Highway 43, adding to the improvements and enhancements that are being done in that area. There is a shoulder improvement project underway, and there is a study being conducted for the possible need for a stop light on Highway 43. The new park design is the result of...
City Hall office buildings reopened to the public on Monday, Feb. 8, with social distancing and the requirement of facial coverings to be worn by all who enter the buildings. For the safety of the customers and the staff, these requirements will be in place until further notice. Those customers who need to speak to city staff other than to make utility payments can make appointments for in-person transactions. All other city offices are open as well, including planning department buildings,...
Many items cannot go in the usual garbage and the hazardous household waste collection event is a way to get rid of those items. On Saturday, Feb. 13, Kern Public Works will be holding an event for anyone needing to dispose of hazardous materials. Due to the pandemic, the last event was canceled. This event will be held rain or shine. The containers of waste meant for this event are those that are too toxic for the regular trash. Among the accepted materials are batteries, motor oil, paints, light bulbs, sharps (needles), pool chemicals,...
With restaurants facing the challenge of drawing diners during the pandemic, a lot of businesses are altering their service options, menus, and hours. In Shafter, there is a restaurant that has been drawing diners from all over Kern County and the pandemic has not slowed the appeal. In 2016, El Michoacano Restaurant, on Central Avenue next to Bank of America, was visited by Pete Tittl, the food critic for the Bakersfield Californian. Tittl was celebrating his anniversary and raved about the...
Although the pandemic has dampened their season, the Shafter Generals will have a newly renovated stadium to look forward to once they can play again. Renovations have begun on a brand new stadium for Shafter High School, with the demolition of the homestands and portions of the track last Monday. The project, which will cost between $7-8 million, is expected to take approximately 305 days to complete. According to Principal Russell Shipley, they are hoping to be finished by October or...
The Richland School District has returned to distance learning after implementing a return to campus in late November. With a number of teachers and parents unhappy with the decision, a petition had begun circulating that would return the district back to distance learning. This past week, the decision was made to have the district suspend the return to school plan. According to Superintendent Rosa Romero, the decision to return to distance learning was not the result of the petition. "One...
If you have ever attended a Distinguished Young Woman program, formerly known as the Junior Miss program, you undoubtedly have heard of one of Shafter's beloved icons, Karolyn Kay Millwee. Millwee passed away recently, leaving behind a legacy in the community. Born in 1938, Millwee served the community for over five decades. Millwee moved to Shafter when she was a young child and she graduated from Shafter High in 1956. She married Robert Millwee in 1960 and were married for 38 years before the...
The City Council approved a proclamation for the month of February as Safely Surrender Babies Month, which is a program started a few years ago to give mothers an option to safely surrender their baby within 72 hours of birth at any Kern County hospital emergency room or fire station. Jana Sagle, of the Kern County Human Services, told the council a little about the program, which has been responsible for eight babies to be surrendered safely in Kern County. The program allows mothers to...
Shelbee Ramos, Shafter's Distinguished Young Woman for 2020, competed in the state competition over the weekend and received a special award. The event was done virtually this year because of the covid-19 limitations, just as the local competition was held, with the performances sent online and the interviews being done via Zoom. Ramos said that the competition was a great learning experience and she had such a good time competing in all of the phases, even though it wasn't the same experience...
Over the weekend on Atlantic Avenue, a dozen vendors gathered to sell their wares from their home-based businesses. The items included jewelry, soaps, sweets, baked goods, and beauty accessories. One of those vendors was Paola Castro, who began making custom door mats during the pandemic to sell to bring in some extra cash. Castro purchases the mats at a major retailer and paints them with different logos, sayings and pictures. She produces a variety of them to bring to events, but she also can...
New businesses are popping up in the city as the pandemic lingers in the nation. The newest addition is going to be the Countryside Car Wash, which will be located at 406 Central Ave. The city sold the property to Rick Jara, whose family owns and operates Taco Bell in town. The property used to house Brookside Deli and the Shafter Press office. Jara will be building the first drive-thru car wash in Shafter. It will add approximately 30 jobs and will also offer a deli-market as well. This will be the family’s second car wash, with the o...
The city had 200 new cases of covid-19 in the last week, according to reports. That brings total number of cases since the pandemic began to 3,085 with about 1,135 presumed as recovered. The campaign to get residents to wear masks has seen higher participation, enabling residents to go shopping or get gas with their masks on. The school district has begun opening classrooms again for in-person learning, ordering Richland School District employees back to work. A petition has been circulated stating that a number of teachers do not want to...
There has been a rise in property crimes, including theft, in the last year, Shafter Police Chief Kevin Zimmermann said. He said one factor that has played a "more significant role" than the pandemic in drug and property crimes has been the release of thousands of state inmates ordered by Gov. Gavin Newsom in July. "We have found a different type of criminal now," Zimmermann said. "Instead of a low-level criminal who we do not consider as very dangerous necessarily, we are seeing a more...
Residents can now pay their utility bills online again after the payment system was restored. Customers may pay online or via telephone. The recent bills were sent the week of Jan. 11 through Jan. 15. These bills did not include payments made on or after Dec. 1, 2020. Autopay will resume Feb. 2. In other business, the City Council unanimously approved the administrative budget for fiscal year 2021-22 last Friday during a special meeting. It also unanimously approved the proposed payment...
