Serving the community since 1922
Serving the community since 1922
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Local teacher Candie Springer may be going to trial after a plea deal could not be reached at a status hearing earlier this month. Springer faces a felony charge and a misdemeanor of allowing an unlicensed person to drive. She refused to accept a deal that would have her plead guilty to the felony charge, her attorney, David Torres, said outside Bakersfield Municipal Court on Friday. Judge Michael G. Bush confirmed a preliminary hearing will take place July 16. Last year,...
Residents with older cars can trade them in for free electric models under a state program to reduce air emissions. AB617 was passed a few years ago, requiring the state of California to reduce emissions in the air. The city of Shafter was selected as two of the state's disadvantaged areas, because of studies finding citizens' overall health below the norm and the quality of the air. A steering committee was formed and through meetings and discussions, a plan was created to...
A Shafter man was arrested on Friday for stealing mail from mail boxes in the Gossamer Grove community. A police officer on patrol arrested 31-year-old William Nigro when he stopped him at approximately 3 a.m. during patrol checks in the area of Community Drive and Flowertree Drive. The officer made the stop on the Honda Accord for a vehicle code violation. Nigro was found to be driving on a suspended license and had an expired registration. According to Acting Police Chief...
The Shafter Ford Theater was host to a jungle full of fun last week, as the Shafter Community Vacation Bible School took place on the site, bringing together kids from churches from all over town to have a big event. With attendance dwindling in separate programs in Shafter, and with the different churches sometimes competing at the same time for the same kids, it was decided by a few of the churches to pool resources and create one big Vacation Bible School. This idea took...
The Shafter High Generals football team has been making history, from the first Valley Championship in over 70 years to playing in Shafter's first State Championship game. For a change of pace, Coach Jerald Pierucci, some staff and 22 players set out on a cross-country trip to see some of the country's earliest history. The group have been saving and fundraising for the past two years, with each player responsible for their own bill for the trip. The group started in Boston...
I have been working for The Shafter Press since 2011, and it has been the best time I have had on a job. I love the people you meet, taking pictures, writing. The community of Shafter has been great to me and the paper through the years. When the Reed family decided to close the paper down, the City of Shafter, represented by then Mayor Cathy Prout, went to Stan Wilson and asked what could be done about resurrecting the paper. It was the City of Shafter that was one of the...
The Shafter Recreation Department executed a "Park Takeover" last week, invading Shafter's Community Park at Gossamer Grove and turning it into a place of fun and games. According to Shafter Recreation District Manager Phillip Jimenez, the Park Takeovers will take place all summer long, bringing a lot of activities to a different park in Shafter each week. The event takes place on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week. At Community Park, there were a lot of activities to...
The Shafter City Council approved a feasibility study to consider options for the use of the Modified Medium Correctional Facility that has been closed down for years. City Manager Gabriel Gonzalez said that discussions with a sporting company resulted in an idea of turning the facility into a building for recreational use. Pickleball was mentioned as an alternative. Mayor Chad Givens said that pickleball has grown in popularity by 600 percent the past three years. Gonzalez...
Hundreds gathered for Wasco's third annual Juneteenth celebration at Barket Park on Saturday, enjoying food, music and fellowship. Whitney Ballard, a member of the Juneteenth Celebration committee, said that this year was bigger and better, with a full music program and activities for the whole family.. "We have speakers, performers, some great food, a bunch of vendors with a good variety of products. We have it all this year," Ballard said. Congressman David Valadao made an...
Shafter held its first First Friday event of the year on June 14, filling downtown with plenty for the entire family to do. Started last year, the First Friday events are put on to draw people to the downtown area of Shafter, as well as giving families in town a place to go on a Friday night, without having to go out of town to spend their dollars. The event had numerous food vendors, including Semper Fries, barbecue and homemade baked goods, as well as agua fresca and other...
On the heels of Shafter's first First Friday event of the year, the city held its first Farmer's Market of the year last Saturday. The event drew more than double the crowd from last, estimated at 200, with options from fresh vegetables to honey and snacks and seasonings. There also was prepared food available, giving the crowd a variety of snacks and drinks. One of the vendors was local celebrity Jenny Holtermann, also known as Almond Girl Jenny. Also for sale was a variety...
If the Wonderful Company has its way, over the next few years Shafter will become a major hub of industry between northern and southern California – even the east and west coasts – and will provide 40,000 new jobs in a vast inland railway terminal center, expanding its current industrial park at the southern edge of town. In an interview this week, John Guinn, manager of the project for the agriculture and industrial giant Wonderful and a former city manager who spe...
A Shafter High golfer made history this year, becoming the first SHS golfer to qualify for the Southern California Regional tournament. Zale Mantas, a sophomore at SHS, placed seventh at the Regional, the first General to medal in the tournament, just missing the cut for the State tournament. As a team, the Shafter Generals won the SSL, but missed out on advancing to the Regional team playoffs by a few strokes. The Regional has all of the divisions in it, from the large...
When my grandparents were in school, prayer was a regular part of the school day. But little by little, God has seemed to be squeezed out of the school system. I do agree with people who say that they shouldn’t be required to pray if it is not part of their lives. There are many different religions, belief systems and cultures in the United States, and I think that all of them have a right to practice their religion, as long as it doesn’t impede on someone else’s rights or be...
Shafter's First Fridays return to downtown on June 14, from 5 to 9 p.m. The event will include live music, a variety of food vendors, games, activities and shopping. The First Friday events were started last year, the brainchild of Mayor Chad Givens and a committee charged with improving and attracting business downtown. Despite a lukewarm reception from some in the city, Givens told the members of the cCity Council and the committee that the events would attract entire...
The Shafter City Council heard a couple of different options for their Shafter Railway at their meeting last week. The first option was to be purchased by BNSF, which is used to connect to their main line. The second option was to be used by third party transporters for their products, including connecting the two coasts. [Wonderful Company also has an interest in the railway. See separate story on Page 1.] There will be further discussion on the topic, with both options...
The Shafter Aquatic Center looks like it will re-open by the end of the year after a series of delays. The project was supposed to be completed by July 2024, giving the residents a summer of swimming. But the project needed more time for planning and design, according to city Public Works Director Michael James. The project is being funded through a $6-million grant to the city to resurface the pool, repair the heater and tile work. There also will be improvements to the...
The GROW Academy of Shafter held its Promotion Ceremony at the Fred Starrh Performing Arts Center at Shafter High School on Thursday, bidding farewell to its eighth grade class. This was the third such ceremony in GROW's history. opening its doors in 2017. Principal Lacie Harris welcomed a standing room only crowd to the event, celebrating the promotion of their children to the high school level in their educational careers. With the majority of the class moving on to attend...
Shafter Mayor Chad Givens was disinvited as GROW Academy's keynote graduation speaker last week, after he said he refused to remove a Bible reference from his remarks. Despite being listed in the program for Thursday night's graduation, school officials announced at the event that Givens was "unable to attend."School officials had asked to see Givens' speech before the ceremony took place, the mayor said. The speech, according to Givens, contained a scripture from the Bible....
Shafter Mayor Chad Givens was disinvited as GROW Academy's keynote graduation speaker last week, after he said he refused to remove a Bible reference from his remarks. Despite being listed in the program for Thursday night's graduation, school officials announced at the event that Givens was "unable to attend."School officials had asked to see Givens' speech before the ceremony took place, the mayor said. The speech, according to Givens, contained a scripture from the Bible....
The Shafter High football stadium was the site for a celebration as students walked across the stage as seniors and stepped down as graduates. There were 410 graduates this year, one of the largest classes in Shafter High history. It also was memorable because they were freshmen that began their high school careers by studying online, the first class that was hampered by required distance learning, due to the covid-19 pandemic. The class didn't even get to gather in person...
The Shafter Learning Center and Library will be undergoing some renovations during June, so attention will move to the annual Reading Challenge that will be held from Monday, June 3, to Thursday, July 18. There will be work being done inside the building on a couple of new classrooms, giving the programs more room for the growing numbers that the Library and Learning Center have been attracting. The Reading Challenge will reward those readers who complete 20 books and a book...
The Shafter City Council heard a couple of different options for the city's railway at their meeting last week. The first option was to be purchased by BNSF, which is used to connect to their main line. The second option was to be used by third party transporters for their products, including connecting the two coasts. There will be further discussion on the topic, with both options having merit, Mayor Chad Givens said at the Tuesday night meeting. Because Shafter's facility...
The Shafter High Generals baseball team saw their season come to an end on Thursday afternoon as they dropped a heartbreaking game to SSL rival Chavez High School 4-2 in eight innings. Shafter had used a powerful offense in the second half of the season, pounding out hits and playing stellar defense, conquering all who were in their way. But the Generals didn't get that offensive performance in the State tournament games, relying on one big inning in each game to eke out...
Over 250 Richland Junior High students celebrated their last night as Trojans last Thursday night, preparing themselves for four years as Shafter High Generals. This achievement is no small feat, and the rewards for the hard work were a diploma and a big welcome by Shafter High Principal Russell Shipley, who congratulated all of the graduates and said that he looked forward to meeting every one of them. There were two student speakers at the event, the valedictorian and the...
