Serving the community since 1922
Serving the community since 1922
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The Richland School District Food Services department has been hard at work since the pandemic forced the school buildings to close its doors. Though the students are not able to attend school in-person, they are still in need of a nutritious breakfast and lunch, which have been provided by the staff. This week, The Shafter Press is featuring the staff at Golden Oak Elementary. Led by Team Leader Jennifer Ashmore, the staff at Golden Oak serve between 650 and 715 students...
With a large part of the nation attempting to redirect some funding for police departments, a Police Reform Bill, AB1299, has successfully passed the California Legislature with bipartisan support. The bill was authored by local Assemblyman Rudy Salas. It is designed to help prevent local departments from hiring officers who have a history of serious misconduct. Salas, who represents the 32nd District, which includes Shafter and Wasco, said the bill will help hold departments...
The California Highway Patrol is investigating an accident that left three people dead on Monday afternoon at the intersection of Poplar Avenue and Orange Avenue in Shafter. According to Public Information Officer Robert Rodriguez, at approximately 4 p.m., a Chevrolet Impala, driven by a 19 year old Shafter woman, was traveling westbound on Orange Avenue at a high rate of speed when it failed to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of Orange and Poplar Avenues, broadsiding...
With three seats open for the Shafter City Council, there are six residents looking to fill those vacancies come November. Chad Givens is currently serving on the City Council and is looking to retain his seat. He was elected to the council four years ago and has seen the city grow economically and become one of the most credit-worthy cities in the state. Givens works as a project manager for a local agricultural company building homes and infrastructure for local residents...
With the coronavirus pandemic requiring all of Shafter's schools to begin the school year with distance learning, the Shafter Learning Center has played a vital role in the education of students, aiding the wonderful job that local schools have been doing to provide a quality education. There are challenges that parents and students face as they navigate virtual learning. Some parents have said the course material is a lot different than that which was taught when they were in...
Each year, the National FFA organization honors FFA members who show the utmost dedication to the organization through their desire to develop their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. The American FFA Degree is bestowed upon a select group of students in recognition of their years of academic and professional excellence. This year 4,136 American degrees were awarded. Victoria Darling, Juan Espinoza, Dustin...
The Shafter City Council approved a new pilot program that would assist new businesses interested in coming to Shafter, while also retaining those businesses already in place. The new program will reduce building permit fees, as well as other fees to modify existing businesses, by 75 percent. During the pandemic, a number of businesses in Shafter have struggled to remain open while adhering to the governor's public safety guidelines. In particular, restaurants in Shafter have...
In the only contested race this November involving Richland School Board candidates, newcomer Julian Armando Calvillo is vying for the seat in Area 3. He will be running against current president Deanna Rodriguez-Root. Calvillo is a college-prep tutor and college peer-mentor for the Wonderful College Prep Academy/Delano HS/McFarland HS. He has a long history of educating high school students. Calvillo said that he enjoys helping students achieve their educational goals. In...
One of Shafter’s most popular events, Minter Field’s annual Wings 'N' Wheels, which was scheduled for November, has been canceled. Organizers cited the health risks associated with the pandemic when they announced the news. The event typically brought attendees from as far away as Texas and Arizona and featured hundreds of planes on display. Ronald Pierce of the Minter Field made the announcement that the event would be canceled until 2021. The virus outbreak is still seeing new cases in Shafter, but the number is significant...
The Minter Field Air Museum was faced with the challenge of holding a fundraiser that would be interesting for participants, as well as adhering to the county's safety and health guidelines pertaining to the current pandemic. The group decided to hold a drive-thru event with hot rods that cruised from Chevy's in Bakersfield out to Minter Field for an aviation and hot rod event. Ronald Pierce, of the museum, said that Minter Field was looking for ways to raise funds after the...
Shafter Animal Control has opened their doors back up to the public while still adhering to the safety guidelines put forth by the County Health Department. Nick Riddick, Shafter Animal Control officer, said that the building is open to the public, with everyone required to wear a mask when entering. They also are limiting the amount of people in the lobby at one time, so there may be a wait outside of the building if necessary. Riddick said that since they began operations...
There are three seats on the Richland School Board up for grabs in November, with only one of the areas having two candidates in the race. Current Board of Trustees members Cain Maldonado and Tammy Criswell-Rubio are running unopposed in their Trustee areas, with current Board President Deanna Rodriguez-Root running against newcomer Julian Armando Calvillo in Area 3. Rodriguez-Root said that she decided to run again because she wants to follow through on the district's vision...
With the covid-19 virus still in the forefront of residents’ minds, flu season is arriving, threatening to make this season one of the worst in recent memory. Kern County Public Health Department officials are urging residents to get their flu shots now and not wait until the customary start of flu season, which is usually in late October. In fact, the County Health Department, which holds low-cost vaccination clinics annually, will not be receiving its vaccine supply until October. However, the vaccine is available at v...
Bryce Atkins has been hired by the city as the new administrative services director. Atkins began working for Shafter in July and was previously with the City of Gilroy. He has been working in city government for 14 years. Atkins has experience as an analyst, finance manager, interim finance director and city manager working in the fields of budgeting, anaylsis, financial management, policy development and grant and contract management. “The city is extremely impressed with Mr. Atkins’ credentials, financial experience and...
A blank space on a building will become a Wall of Dreams after a few students in Shafter wanted to help beautify it. Advisors Melissa Bergen and Katie Wiebe, from the nonprofit organization Listen To Shafter, encouraged the girls to write their dream for the wall down on paper, making them real and attainable. "We have helped the kids realize their dream, but the real credit for the project goes to those students who voiced that desire and helped make it happen," said Bergen....
There are three seats on the City Council open this November and the race to fill them involves the three current members whose terms are expiring and three new candidates. Last week, we met candidate Kris Lawrence. In this issue, we will be introducing Pete Espinoza. Espinoza has been a Shafter resident for 54 years and he said that he has always enjoyed being a part of such a caring community. Espinoza said that he feels that after being a part of this community, he feels...
Residents struggling to pay their rent or mortgage now can apply for assistance. The program, sponsored by the Bakersfield Homeless Collaborative, Community Action Partnership, and the Housing Authority of Kern, is geared toward Kern County residents who have been impacted by the pandemic. Residents can receive a one-time payment up to $5,000 paid directly to the mortgage company or landlord. To be eligible, the resident must pay at least 30% of their income toward housing...
A Shafter man was killed after a crash on Burbank Avenue Monday morning. The Shafter Police Department responded to a call involving an accident at approximately 7 a.m. on Monday. A driver of a gray Nissan, later identified as Maribel Pimentel Lopez, 30, was stopped at the intersection of Burbank and Scaroni avenues. Lopez didn't notice the driver of a Chevrolet SUV approaching the intersection and pulled into the path of the Chevy, resulting in the Nissan being hit on the...
In a series that begins this week, we will be featuring the candidates running for the three open City Council seats this year. The candidates who are running are current council members Gilbert Alvarado, Chad Givens and Manuel Garcia, along with newcomers Rafael Zamudio, Kris Lawrence and Pete Espinoza.This week, we will be featuring Lawrence. Lawrence is a regulatory coordinator for the Westside Water Authority. He is a mechanical engineer and handles regulatory compliance f...
At its recent meeting, the City Council voted unanimously to send a Letter of Intent to Bakersfield College to begin talks to form a partnership operating the Shafter Library. In a recent announcement, the Kern High School District recommended the reopening of 12 of its 24 branch libraries, in which Shafter was not included. This decision would result in the Shafter Library remaining closed indefinitely. With the budgetary restraints experienced by the district, and the...
The City of Shafter teamed up with Shafter High School and Houchin Blood Bank to hold a Blood Drive at Mannel Park on Sept. 10. The drive was geared toward students, but was open to adults as well. The turnout was great and lives were helped with the generosity of the Shafter community. During this time of the covid-19 crisis, blood is needed to replenish supplies for patients in need, as well as needing plasma for covid-19 patients to help in their healing process. Students who donated blood at the drive received a limited e...
The number of new cases of the coronavirus are still on the rise, despite an effort to have residents wear face masks when downtown or shopping. The City of Shafter and a group of community members have been working on the face mask campaign. Digital signs can be seen throughout town encouraging residents to wear a mask to stop the spread of the virus. City buildings remain closed to the public, with service being conducted in the back of the building, with a window serving...
The Richland School Board was given a presentation for a Return to School plan that will see the return of small groups of students to each school, called cohorts. The plan, which is still in the draft phase, would have groups of no more than 16 people, including staff, that will be in one classroom. At the beginning of the school year, the district was prepared to open school with in-person learning, with a multitude of safety precautions in place to meet health and safety...
Shafter saw 47 new cases of covid-19 in the last week, which is an increase of about 10 percent over the week before. With most of the businesses in town following the safety precautions set by the Kern County Public Health Department and the city launching a campaign urging residents to wear masks when shopping or going downtown, Shafter had seen its fight against the virus take a turn for the better until last week. Shafter has now had 1,147 confirmed cases since the pandemi...
As many businesses, clubs and organizations face challenges due to the pandemic, a local non-profit is thriving due to a tremendous show of support from its friends in the community. Shafter Healthy Start, which is operated by the Richland School District, has seen its coffers filled with the generosity of Shafter's business community and a multitude of residents who have stepped up in the midst of their own challenges to show support for the youth of Shafter. The most recent...
