Serving the community since 1922
Serving the community since 1922
Sorted by date Results 1051 - 1075 of 1554
The Shafter City Council voted unanimously to table a compensation study that would determine what other comparable cities pay the employees in their different departments, such as Public Works. Recommended by City Manager Gabriel Gonzales, the study would be performed by Koff & Associates, a consulting firm that specializes in such studies. It would help with classification of different positions, as well as determining what the market value of those positions are, Gonzalez...
After a hiatus due to the coronavirus, the Shafter Woman's Club met on June 10 to install new officers. President Angie Nelson's theme, "Fostering Kindness," will guide the club for two years. Social distancing and masks were a part of the event. The club received several awards in the past year for several different projects. In Cans d'Arte, the event that is held during the Colours Festival, the club received an State Art Award. They also received a State Award in Domestic...
The Shafter City Council got a sneak peek at the 2020-21 budget at a special meeting Monday night. The budget is very different than what had been projected in earlier discussions, primarily the result of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Consultant William Stadler, who was retained by the city to help them form the budget, presented the council with an overview that included a drastic reduction in capital improvement projects that the city had previously slated for...
Shafter has a new Distinguished Young Woman, and her name is Shelbee Ramos. With the competition held online, including video interviews, taping their routines, including Self Expression and the Talent competitions, this year's program navigated through unchartered territory. With the event originally scheduled for Friday, March 20, the coronavirus situation made it necessary to first postpone the program. According to Toni Franz of the Shafter DYW program, the event was...
The Shafter City Council voted last week to approve a plan to move forward on the engineering phase of the roundabout project that includes Santa Fe Way, Los Angeles Avenue, Highway 43 North and Highway 43 South. The council’s approval means that Caltrans can continue their work on configuring the intersection. Beech Avenue is presently a part of the intersection, but it will not be a part of the roundabout that is being drawn up, based on Caltrans’ recommendation. With Beech Avenue a part of the project, the cost of the pro...
The 2020 Census has been in motion for months, and the response from this area has been well below the state average, leading Census Bureau staff to take action in attempting to increase the local response numbers. Shafter is lagging behind the average percentage for Kern County, with about a 54% response rate. Wasco is further behind, with a rate of 53%. There are varying opinions on reasons for low response. At a conference held at the Larry E. Reider Institute last year,...
Breanna Jimenez, 31, of Shafter, is scheduled to appear on June 24 for a preliminary hearing on vehicular manslaughter charges related to an accident in which one of her children was killed. The incident occurred on Feb. 24 on Lerdo Highway, where Jimenez lost control of her vehicle and rolled over, ending up in an orchard. Her 6-year old son Jaden died as a result of the accident. Jimenez’s bail remains at $50,000. She also is charged with three counts of willful cruelty t...
Truth Church, which began its journey conducting local home Bible studies, celebrated its 10-year church and pastoral anniversary. "We have a rich apostolic heritage, coming from Greater Bakersfield First Pentecostal Church, where over 50 preachers have been sent throughout the world under the leadership of Elder I.H. Terry and Bishop Leon Frost," said Truth Church's founding pastor, Rev. Frank Cabrera, who has served since its inception in 2010. In 2009, Frank and Alicia...
The City of Shafter has reopened government buildings, including City Hall, with safety restrictions in place. At a recent City Council meeting, City Manager Gabriel Gonzales said, “We are opening our city buildings to the public on Monday. But, we will be observing safety guidelines to protect our staff, as well as the residents.” Upon arriving at City Hall, visitors are met with a couple of canopies that are in use in case of lines outside of the building. There is a limit o...
The Shafter Chamber of Commerce decided to postpone the annual 3rd of July Fireworks Extravaganza and rescheduled it for Saturday, Sept. 5, as part of the Labor Day holiday weekend. The decision was made at the chamber’s last regular meeting, after the group discussed several options. A decision had to be made in order to avoid paying a penalty for violating the cancellation policy put in place by Zambelli Fireworks Inc., the company that provides the fireworks display for t...
A Shafter woman was formally charged with one count of vehicular manslaughter and three counts of willful cruelty to a child in connection with a fatal rollover crash in February. Shafter Police Department was dispatched to the scene in the 30000 block of West Tulare Avenue after 4:30 p.m. on the day of the accident, finding the vehicle in the orchards and 6-year-old Jade Jimenez critically injured. The driver, Jade's mother, Breanna Jimenez, and her other two children in the...
It may have been a different type of ceremony, but the result was the same. Over 300 graduates from Richland Junior High made the transition from eighth-grade Trojans to Shafter High Generals last Friday with a special ceremony that was put on in the face of the restrictions in place because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Facing the possibility of having to graduate 346 students with no celebration or ceremony at all, Interim Superintendent Rosa Romero and her administration at...
Shafter has celebrated May as Shafter Strong month, with different themes each week, including drawing thank you's in chalk to our First Responders one week and lighting up the night last week, with houses bathed in red, white and blue lights during Light the Night Week. This week, the month was finished up with residents decorating their cars, bicycles and themselves in patriotic colors, showing off their patriotism and city pride. A large number of people hit the streets...
The Maple School Mustangs held a drive-by graduation ceremony last Friday, celebrating the students' accomplishments and their step into the high school arena. There were 31 students receiving their diplomas with a parade of vehicles making their way into the school parking lot. As each vehicle stopped in front of the makeshift podium, the student would exit the vehicle and receive their diploma. As they took the diploma, a short bio about each student was presented, listing...
On this Memorial Day, it seemed kind of surreal. In my lifetime, we have been involved in the Vietnam War, the wars in the Middle East and several events on our homefront, including government buildings in Oklahoma and a tragedy in New York City, in which we were attacked on a large scale with planes flying into the Twin Towers, resulting in the largest terrorist attack ever on American soil. With each occurrence, the patriotism and strength have shown in our military, our civ...
With the cancellations of the annual Memorial Day ceremonies that are usually held at cemeteries across the county, Shafter and Wasco still recognized their fallen heroes with American flags on the graves of the veterans who have been laid to rest there. Memorial Day honors men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. At the Shafter Memorial Cemetery all of the veterans' graves were adorned with American flags. Relatives of those veterans were at the cemetery...
JAMIE STEWART and TONI DeROSA The Shafter Press | Wasco Tribune Local restaurants are coming alive in varying degrees, with some opening fully and still others taking smaller steps. In Shafter, the entrance into Phase 2 has meant different things to different people when it comes to the restaurants in town. A few of the restaurants have opened back up, with limitations according to the guidelines set up by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Kern County Public Health Department. On one...
As of Tuesday, Wasco has had 36 cases of COVID-19, with 26 recoveries. In Shafter, there have been 34 confirmed cases with 30 of those reported as recovered. No one here has died of the virus, according to the county Department of Public Health’s website dashboard. There were 632 confirmed cases in the county, with 234 recovered and 22 are hospitalized in the county. On the Kern County Public Health dashboard, Wasco (ZIP code 93280) has had 36 test positive for the virus and 26 have recovered with no deaths reported in the c...
Gov. Gavin Newsom approved Kern County's request to enter Phase II of his masterplan to integrate the openings of local businesses with specific guidelines in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. In Phase II of his plan, Newsom said that local restaurants and nonessential shops can open while still practicing social distancing. This applies also to restaurants who have been limited to take-out only service since the Stay at Home order had been in place. The announcement...
Shafter High student Nick Garza, who was diagnosed with leukemia just a month before the start of the SSL wrestling season, received a hero's parade as he prepared to travel to Los Angeles for a bone marrow transplant. The Kern County Fire Department led the way, followed by the Shafter Police Department, and Councilmember Cathy Prout, whose car was decorated with red, white and blue. A large number of cars followed, some decorated with balloons and a lot of them with posters...
Shafter High seniors were honored last Friday when the Generals' football field was lit up with a tribute to this year's graduates, complete with Class of 2020 painted on each sideline of the field and a big block S at midfield....
As Shafter High seniors faced the end of their high school career without a proper graduation ceremony, the community of Shafter came together to honor those students for the twelve years they have worked to complete the journey. Cynthia Marquez, a local woman who has been involved in many school and community events, helped head up a special event to honor the seniors. The event, Adopt-A-Senior, invited community members to adopt a Shafter High senior and treat the student...
Gov. Gavin Newsom approved Kern County's request to enter Phase II of his masterplan to integrate the openings of local businesses with specific guidelines in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. In Phase II of his plan, Newsom said that local restaurants and nonessential shops can open while still practicing social distancing. This applies also to restaurants who have been limited to take-out only service since the Stay at Home order had been in place. The announcement...
Schools in the Richland School District closed on March 18, but they still continue to serve the children of Shafter, be it with free meals or packets of learning. New learning packets were made available online May 5, updating the learning materials to be completed for credit. Included in the packets are English and math assignments, activity sheets and exercise models. There also is assistance available for students and parents online. Links are available on the district’s homepage leading to each school’s website and lea...
It is the second week of Shafter Strong month. Last week, residents decorated their homes in a patriotic theme. This week, they are encouraged to take to their sidewalks and driveways with chalk, thanking those first responders who are working to keep Shafter safe and healthy. A number of residents have already created masterpieces and posted them online. The month-long event was dreamt up by Colleen Diltz, Diana Barnett, Debbie Haley and a host of other citizens who were...
