Serving the community since 1922
Serving the community since 1922
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The Richland School District celebrated a championship last week when the Richland Junior High Girls Basketball team finished their season undefeated, winning the championship. This gives them a chance to advance to a tournament held for the other undefeated teams in the county. In other Richland news, Golden Oak students and staff celebrated the birthday of Dr. Seuss by holding a Dress Up Day, with students going to school dressed as their favorite character or occupation....
The Shafter Woman's Club has a tradition of holding an art event during the Shafter Colours Festival, in which entrant set up displays of food, turning those cans into art. Each year, residents make people laugh with clever sayings that go with their canned food displays. This year, with the Shafter Colours Festival not being held once again, the local women decided to move forward with the event, inviting people, businesses and clubs to enter displays. The entries had to be...
Shafter High's baseball team is off to a great start this season, making them one of the favorites in the SSL this season. With victories already this season over West High School, Foothill High, and South High, the Generals come into a tournament at Wasco beginning on Wednesday afternoon with momentum. Shafter has used some great pitching, which has held their opponents under two runs except for a loss to powerhouse Porterville and against a tough Arvin Bear squad. The...
Richland Junior High is celebrating the selection of three Trojan students who have been recognized for their musicianship. Two of the students have been selected to the Kern County Honor Band. Emely Faith Chavez and Rodrigo Mondragon were selected to perform with the ensemble at the Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield on March 1. They were performing in the Kern County Honor Music Festival, an annual event that displays the county's musicians and singers. The best students...
Steve Wilson, 53, of Shafter, died when his helicopter crashed in orchards in the Coalinga area. At around 3 a.m. last Tuesday night, the Fresno County Sheriff's Office received a call from American West Aviation, a crop dusting company, about a missing pilot of one of their helicopters. Deputies responded to the area known as Five Points, in the Coalinga area near Harris Ranch to conduct a search. At the same time, the California Highway Patrol and the company sent out...
The city was successfully awarded a Clean California grant for almost $5 million with part of the money earmarked for repairing the Shafter Aquatic Center, Public Works Director Michael James reported to the City Council. Included in the projects earmarked for this money is the improvements needed to get the Shafter Aquatic Center open, possibly as early as the beginning of next year. In other news, the city also received over $130,000 in monies from KernCOG in their Clean Air project programs. At its recent meeting, the...
The GROW Academy of Shafter has continued to grow its student population, as well as its progress in the classroom. The GROW Academy was one of the first schools in the area to return to in-person teaching during the pandemic, with a majority of the students preferring to return to the classroom, instead of the distance learning option. According to Principal Brooke Webb, this decision was a good one for the students and staff as well. "There is really no replacement for...
The Shafter High Lady Generals basketball team ended its season with a loss to the Tehachapi Warriors. The 9th ranked Lady Generals dropped the contest 62-54. Shafter gave a great effort, but couldn't match the Warriors size in the middle, with Tehachapi getting several easy buckets during the game. Shafter closed out their SSL season with a 6-3 record and a 15-9 overall record. The Lady Generals got two league wins against rivals Wasco about a week ago, with a 55-40 win and...
The Shafter Young Adult Theater is putting on a production of the Broadway hit "Newsies", which will be held at the Shafter Ford Theater from March 3-6, and March 11 and 13. The curtain will go up on March 3-5 at 7 p.m. On Sunday March 6, the show will be starting at 4 p.m. There will also be performances on March 11 and 13, beginning at 7 p.m. on March 11 and 4 p.m. on March 13. Led by Director Chad Givens, the production is based on the original production by Disney, which...
Even as you enter the LaCarne Meat Market, grabbing the handles made from meat cleavers, you know you are in for a different experience. The meat market opened this past August. Owner Hugo Garcia said one difference in his market is the high quality of meat that they provide to customers. "Our meat is graded, and we use only Choice and Prime cuts of meat," said Garcia. Garcia also said this place is something that Shafter has needed for a long time, letting the residents...
Keep Kern Beautiful is hosting an event on April 23 for all Kern County residents to help clean up the area. The event is to recognize the Great American Clean up on April 30. The national event is the country’s largest community improvement program and takes place annually in over 15,000 communities nationwide. Lynnda Martin, from American Refuse in Wasco, said there are a couple of big events coming up in the near future that can help the county keep its environment l...
The Shafter Kiwanis Club hosted local author Barry Bongberg recently, as he told the attendees of his experience writing his book, "Letters to Mom and Dad from Vietnam." Bongberg also told of his experiences when he returned home from Vietnam after serving bravely for his country. "Dear Mom and Dad- Letters from Vietnam" is the end result of a series of letters that Bongberg wrote to his parents while he was overseas in Vietnam between 1967 and 1969. "I didn't even want to...
The Richland School District celebrated Kindness Week, with students and staff displaying their ability to show kindness to one another, as well as showing that they care for each other. At Redwood Elementary School, Kindness Week began by passing out Kindness Matters cards and a Kick Off Lunch with food and music. Staff and students danced in the playground area and also took a pledge to be kind to one another. They had Dress Up Days to promote kindness. The Kindness Squad sp...
The case against former city code enforcement officer Matthew Maldonado has been continued until April 14 for a pre-trial conference hearing. According to court records, Maldonado appeared in court Feb. 15, but did not enter a plea. He was originally scheduled to appear Feb. 9, but that was postponed to Feb. 15. He is being represented by attorney Kyle Humphrey. Humphrey has been in private practice for over 10 years after serving several years in the Prosecutor’s Office. Maldonado is accused of five counts of a...
The Shafter High Lady Generals basketball team continued their season with a chance to capture a title as they begin their playoff season. Shafter closed out their SSL season with a 6-3 record and a 15-9 overall record. The Lady Generals got two league wins against rivals Wasco about a week ago, with a 55-40 win and a 62-31 blowout of the Lady Tigers. Leading the way for the Lady Generals were senior Natalie Herrera with 14 points, Heide Lindsey with 10, and freshman Eliyah...
The Shafter Kiwanis Club held their monthly Terrific Kids luncheon recently, recognizing some outstanding students from the local Richland School District. The Terrific Kids program honors those students who best display the trait that is designated for that particular month. This last month the trait was "friendly." For Golden Oak Elementary School, the honorees were Nathaniel Villavicencio, Juan Rodriguez Mendoza, Aubrey Hernandez and Emily Hernandez. They were presented...
China Cuisine, a mainstay in Shafter for over three decades, served up a "sweetheart" of a deal on Monday, bringing a surf and turf classic to the table. Jeffrey Dang, serving as cook Monday night, created the steak and shrimp meal. "I love doing this for the community," said Dang, who was hard at work putting together over 60 of the specials in a little over three hours. "I think it is great to do something like this, giving them something special for a special night." The...
Using photos, excerpts from written material and a postcard that he owns of Gen. William Shafter's birthplace, Shafter Depot Museum curator Stan Wilson brought the city's namesake to life at the Shafter Learning Center The center began a history series last Thursday night with Wilson's lecture on the life and times on Gen. Shafter. "Shafter was a school teacher when he joined the 7th Michigan Volunteers during the Civil War. He was given the rank of lieutenant, and as an...
The City Council recognized Minter Field as they celebrated their 80th year anniversary. Minter Field marked the milestone with an event recognizing the 80 years since the site was dedicated. On Saturday, Feb.7, 2942, the Air Field at Minter Field was dedicated to Hugh Minter, with the base being focal point of the war effort in Kern County in the early 1940s. Minter Field was one of the busiest training bases in the country, with a good portion of the pilots being used in...
Toni DeRosa, the editor for the Wasco Tribune, is wrapping up her career, retiring to spend more time with her family. DeRosa started with the Wasco Tribune after the newspapers started back up in 2018 when it was purchased by the Shafter/Wasco Publishing Company. DeRosa was recently recognized at a City Council meeting, with the council members presenting her with a certificate of recognition and some kind words from all of the members. She began her newspaper career in Wasco...
A Shafter police officer was involved in an accident while working on speed control near the Target Distribution Center Tuesday. Officer Roman Nunez was traveling on Zachary Avenue and Fanucci Way when a vehicle turned left in front of his patrol cruiser at around 6:15 a.m. Although earlier reports said the officer was chasing a speeding vehicle, Assistant Police Chief Diana Burnett clarified. "He was working radar/speed control because of prior complaints," Burnett said. "He...
A young boxer from the Shafter Boxing Club took home his eighth national title recently while in Independence, Missouri. "Fast Eddie" Rodriguez came back to Shafter with his eighth championship belt, making him the winningest boxer from the club in its history. Rodriguez competed in the 15/16 year old, 101 lbs. division in the Silver Gloves National tournament. Rodriguez has won his weight division at the tournament every year except two since the Shafter Boxing Club has been...
Shafter horses, donkeys and other animals have a new safe spot to land in town after All Seated in a Barn relocated to the area. All Seated in a Barn is a horse and donkey rescue that has saved thousands of lives of the equine variety, from donkeys and horses to zebras. Founder Tahlia Fischer was watching television a few years ago with her sister and a few friends. A commercial came on with a picture of a donkey that had a number on it. It was his slaughter date and the ad...
The city recently held a workshop about the new trash collection service and how the new laws are affecting trash pickup. Due to the SB1383 law, alley service will be stopped and all pickups will be curbside. This means that it is every resident's responsibility to get containers from their yards to the curb. In response to the new laws, some residents gathered signatures on a letter that outlines the objections that the residents have. The letter states that a number of...
Elro's Barbershop has been a part of the Shafter landscape for decades, the shop becoming just as much a landmark as the barber behind the chair. Elro Cramer has been cutting hair, entertaining clients with his vast knowledge of the city and its history, and serving generations of Generals as they grew up in this community. Now he is ready to hang up his clippers. "One thing about Elro is that I got my hair cut there, my son got his hair cut there, now my grandson gets his cut...
