Serving the community since 1922
Serving the community since 1922
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In a meeting before the district’s board meeting, Wasco Union Elementary School District Superintendent Kelly Richers said that the district doesn’t know what type of funding will be available for the 2021 school year. “If the state goes with the previous budget cut of $54 billion, the district was told in May that it could lose as many as 30 teachers,” Richers said. “On the other hand, the state was able to find $28 billion in new funding so the state will only be $26 billion in default....
Last week Gov. Gavin Newsom issued another lockdown in the state, citing the numbers of hospital beds being utilized are increasing in numbers too large for facilities to keep up. Newsom said that by the end of December, hospitals will be filled with those who have tested positive at the beginning of the month. “We are implementing a stay-at-home order for three weeks,” Newsom said. “Regions where the ICU capacity is falling below 15%.” Newsome stated that once again churches, hair salons,...
Christopher Carey's life after graduating Wasco High School in 1964 took him across the world, living in multiple countries and having the adventure of a lifetime. However he remembers fondly his time in Wasco. Carey was busy in school by playing in the band and orchestra, competitively swimming and also ran for student body president; however, that wasn't a win for him. After high school he immediately enrolled at Bakersfield Junior College (as it was called then), later obtaining his...
State officials sent out an alert via text message through the Wireless Emergency Alerts system to all cell phone users across Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley on Dec. 2. The virus is spreading at a dangerous rate in multiple regions of the state and the state is now under a mandatory stay-at-home order. Officials are asking that residents stay home except for essential business activities. The data on intensive care unit capacity shows that the San Joaquin Valley and Southern...
Planet Dance may be closed due to the pandemic, but some students are taking virtual classes. Located at 641 F St., owner Corine Matera also owns Planet Dance boutique in Bakersfield at 4909 Stockdale Highway. Her son, Jacob Hernandez, is managing the Wasco studio as well as teaching classes, which he has been doing since 2018. Hernandez said when the first lockdown occurred last March he panicked and was concerned about the studio. In addition, he is a hair stylist, so both of his means of...
The Christmas spirit arrived early in Wasco on Saturday, Dec.5. Westside Family Fellowship held a Christmas boutique, bringing together a variety of vendors to sell holiday gifts. Many attendees commented they were happy to be able to get some shopping done. They also said how thrilled they were to be open before the county closed down again. The boutique was filled with several booths offering a pre-holiday outdoor shopping experience for those who needed to get out of the house. A food booth...
A Wasco High School girl's voice will be heard around the world Dec. 20 when her original music is released. Natalia Crane, 14, is a freshman and has been a force in whatever she attempts. Her latest endeavor includes writing and recording her first five songs to be released digitally via Spotify, iTunes and Pandora. "Nati took singing lessons from Christopher Pucket, lead singer from the band Stereo Citizen, from Bakersfield," her mother Dora said. Nati's dad, Ed Crane, sixth-grade teacher at...
Incumbent Mayor Tilo Cortez won by one vote over City Council candidate Eddie Saldana in the District 4 race. For most of the race, Cortez has led. As of Nov. 25, both were tied at 434 votes until Cortez took a one point lead on Nov. 29, when the county declared the voting complete. In District 2, Vince Martinez will be the newest City Council member with 414 votes against the next candidate, William David Ward, who received 376 votes. The votes will be certified on Thursday, Dec. 3 according to...
Beginning on Jan. 1, Assistant Superintendent Rob Cobb will officially become superintendent. Current Wasco Union High School District Superintendent Laurie Albrecht is retiring at the end of this year. Cobb was born in Paradise, a small town in northern California. He was raised near a mountain community close to Paradise called Magalia. It wasn't until the sixth grade that his family moved to Fresno. "The premature passing of my mother caused us to move multiple times," Cobb said. He attended...
Distance learning has been bad for some students, teacher Eddie Crane said. Distance learning has allowed teachers to observe which students are lazy by not turning in their work, Crane said. “Distance learning has just confirmed to teachers the students or parents who don’t care.” The school district has been working to adapt itself to the restrictions, but it has not been easy, Superintendent Kelly Richers said. The students that were allowed to return to campus under the red tier conti...
There has been an increase in crime in 2020 over 2019, said Sgt. Pete Martinez to the Wasco City Council. Citing statistics from Wasco, Bakersfield and Kern County overall, Martinez said that violent crimes such as aggravated assault and homicides have increased since 2019. He said that in 2019, there were 36 aggravated assaults and through Oct. 31 of this year, there have been 45 incidents with two months left to report. “During 2019 in Kern County there were 95 homicides and in 2020, there hav...
Everyone in Sunni Dobbs' family bleeds "orange and black" and now Dobbs is the school's principal. Both Dobbs and her husband and their two daughters are graduates of Wasco High School. Dobbs graduated in 1994, her father in 1969 and her mother in 1972 and daughter, Allie, graduated in 2017 and youngest daughter, Raegan, in 2019. "My dad instilled in me from a very young age that we bleed 'orange and black,'" Dobbs said. Dobbs was raised in Wasco and loves the small-town pride that comes along...
The number of covid-19 cases continues to rise in Wasco and Shafter, much like those of the state. Gov. Gavin Newsom said that the numbers have surged to their highest level since the pandemic began in the spring. Prior to the Thanksgiving weekend holiday, Newsom said that he was considering leveling a curfew on California residents due to the pandemic. As of Monday, Nov. 30, no curfew has been instilled. Also on Monday, Newsom mentioned that he might issue stay-at-home orders once again...
After Kern County dropped back to the purple tier, businesses have become more stringent about the wearing of masks and social distancing. Residents were warned a week in advance that the numbers were on the rise and the county was destined to drop from the red to the purple tier immediately. That is seven months to the day that the county went on its original quarantine, lockdown and school closure. During the few weeks where it was raised to the red, people took full advantage to take care of...
Principal Kevin Tallon led the students and staff at Wasco High School by example when he displayed kindness and compassion. He has always had an open-door policy and visitors are welcome. A 1995 Wasco High graduate, Tallon has been principal since 2014 and will culminate 18 years at the high school by being promoted into district administration Jan.1, when he is promoted to the position of assistant superintendent, director of programs. Tallon said that some of the biggest changes he has seen...
Gov. Gavin Newsome has put the brakes on with regard to reopening, citing that because of double the number of covid-19 cases since last week, the state is back down to the most-restrictive tier. The state was warned last week by Newsom that the numbers were increasing and the time has come to move back instead of forward. A map displayed during the governor’s speech showed over half of the northern, western and southern parts of California were purple. Newsom stated that Kern County was officially back in the purple tier effective Tuesday, N...
Veterans Day is the one day of the year when America recognizes its veterans in all branches of the United States military and honors each of them by thanking them for their service to our country. This year Teresa Burke's Veterans Day ceremony was a lot different than previous years. For the first time due to the pandemic, the sixth annual ceremony was digital and viewers could see it online all day Tuesday, Nov. 10 on the school website. Student Body President Sebastian Espitia welcomed...
The Recreation and Parks Department of Wasco put on its second movie night at Barker Square. The movie “Angry Birds” was enjoyed by many residents who knew this was probably going to be the last of public events until the covid-19 numbers go down again. The shopping center was roped off by yellow tape where cars were safely parked so no one could come careening through and possibly hit an attendee. Saturday was a busy day for residents if they chose to partake in the day’s activities offer...
It's been a long time since a physical event has taken place in town, and Canyon Hills started off the Thanksgiving season with a free outdoor clothing and lunch giveaway. Attendees were all grateful that the weather was warm and balmy with a slight breeze so they could wander around the church grounds without stress seeking what they might need in the way of clothing and shoes for their family members. Several made comments that they were fortunate to have the event scheduled this Saturday...
The city will be putting in two new charging stations in the lot near Highway 43 and 8th Street, said City Manager Daniel Ortiz-Hernandez during the recent City Council meeting. “The city currently has six electric plugin vehicles,” Mayor Tilo Cortez said. Ortiz-Hernandez mentioned that the city will be seeking applications to fi ll three board positions for the planning commission and the vector control board. Assistant to the City Manager Mariana Sobolewski told the council that Latino Tas...
The news is currently grim for Kern County due to the increase in covid-19 cases. The state is threatening to move Kern County back to the purple tier; however, the county has been given another week to change its numbers. If it can’t, then it will be back to the most-restrictive tier. The tiers go by yellow as the least restrictive, then orange, red and purple. On Tuesday, Nov. 10, Kern County Public Health Director Matt Constantine said that the county has an adjusted case rate of 8.9 per 1...
John Sutton, warden at the Wasco State Prison, is retiring Nov. 20. Last week on Nov. 4, the prison held a luncheon in Sutton's honor, recognizing his many years of service for the Department of Corrections. Sutton and his twin brother, Nick, were both educated through Wasco schools and graduated from Wasco High School. They both worked in the cotton, potato and alfalfa fields as young boys. "We started out playing T Ball, youth football with the Packers, ran track, played baseball and Little...
Two people died after a crash Monday, Nov. 9. The Kern County Sheriff’s Office reported Alexi Jovani Murillo, 31, of Wasco, was driving a BMW that collided with a Honda drive by Celeste Christine Turner, 20, of Delano, around 5 a.m. on Highway 46. Turner died on impact and Murillo was transported to the Kern Medical Center where he later died, the Sheriff’s Office said. The California Highway Patrol is currently investigating the accident to determine if drugs or alcohol were involved. All lan...
The county could lose its red tier status due to a change in metrics by the governor. “The governor has created a new metric – positivity rate — and Wasco is currently at 7.5%,” Assistant to the City Manager Mariana Sobolewski said. Sobolewski explained to the City Council that the state was using 2010 census data and the area with the most positivity in Wasco is where the old farm labor camp was located. “Kern County cannot go above 8%,” she said. “If we go above 8%, we will end up dropping d...
Families experienced a different kind of Halloween event as the Wasco Library parking lot was turned into a social distanced Trunk or Treat event. Cars filed through one at a time as kids accepted craft bags and candy from waiting volunteers. Hosted by the city, the library and Assemblyman Rudy Salas, groups gathered at decorated trucks to delight the children. Library staff members Tina Garcia, Shellie Ornelaz, Laura Medina and Ethen Picman were busy handing out craft bags and candy. The...
