Serving the community since 1922
Serving the community since 1922
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The Wasco High School varsity football team is gearing up for another great season. Practice is underway, with their first game in early August. Chad Martinez has been the head coach since 2017. He is also a teacher at WHS. He said he hopes the boys have a good experience. "We're going to be a young team, but they are extremely talented, with a ton of building blocks, and it is the perfect recipe to create great memories." There are 38 members on the team, made up mostly of...
Cultural Homestay International is looking for host families for foreign exchange students. The program is an opportunity to positively impact a youth's life while making memories and friendships that will last a lifetime. CHI Academic Program Administrator Dorothy Whitefield said the organization has been placing students from all over the world for over 40 years. They have placed students in Wasco for the last 30 years. Foreign exchange students come from Belgium, Brazil, Ch...
The Wasco Recreation and Parks District Kids Summer Camp is back with a two-week session beginning July 24 to Aug. 3, Monday through Thursday, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., for ages 5 to 12. Kids will learn, play, create and imagine. Activities include art, music, theater and sports; each week, there are two themes. The themes for the first week will be debate and goal-getters. The second week's themes will be world festivals and astronauts and space. WRPD Manager Chris Serna said...
Out of 100,000 chiropractors in the world, Dr. Dennis Campbell of Campbell Chiropractic is one of only about 3,000 physicians that practice the unique specialty of upper cervical chiropractic. Within that specialty, he practices the Blair technique, where he is one of 20 in the world at the highest skill level. More than half of his practice is from people that come from Visalia, Fresno, Paso Robles and Bakersfield. "And a lot further because of the particular specialty I do....
Wasco Sno-Shack has served the community for the last 33 years. It is a family-owned business founded by Elvia Garza in 1990 and passed down in 2010 to her daughter, Stella Guerra. Sno-Shack is known for its delicious shaved ice cones. There are over 40 flavors and mixtures. Some of their most popular are vanilla with cream, coco con leche, mango-chamoy, cherry and the all-infamous Tiger's blood. "The ice is exquisitely soft, allowing each bite to melt effortlessly on your...
Chuck Wright, 86, a long-time resident of Wasco, passed away peacefully at home on June 28. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather and friend. Chuck was born on Oct. 11, 1936, in Bakersfield. He attended elementary school in Shafter and graduated from high school in McFarland, where he excelled in football. He also attended Fresno State and Bakersfield College. Around this time, he was married to Linda Kirkpatrick for a few years. Chuck had four children, nine...
Three men from Wasco were arrested on Tuesday morning for allegedly brandishing a firearm and other charges. Deputies from the Wasco substation responded to the 1800 block of F Street regarding a bran-dishing firearm call. They learned the suspects were occupying a white four-door Dodge Charger that had driven through the area multiple times. After the subjects showed the firearm, they fled the area in the vehicle. Deputies circulated the area and located a vehicle matching...
Pizza Factory has a new owner, Frank Almanza, who hopes to continue delivering the best dining experience fn the community. Almanza took over the restaurant last November and said he has been warmly welcomed. He is originally from Los Angeles, but moved to Kern County in 2006 when he got hired by the California Department of Corrections. He has lived in Kern County ever since. Almanza has had a fruitful career in law enforcement, first as a correctional officer and then as a...
Barbara Lucas, a cherished friend to many, was a beloved mother, grandmother and aunt, playing an integral part in the community. After a lifetime of joy and happiness, she passed away peace-fully on June 10. She was born in Turlock, on Oct. 24, 1933, to Jeptha Ivan Stone and Rowena Matthews Stone. After living in Marysville for a short time, the family found their way to Shafter. In 1954 she married Edwin Lucas of Wasco and moved with him there, where she lived for the rest o...
Preparations for the annual Wasco Rose Festival are underway, with the selection of this year's "You've Got a Friend in Wasco" theme. A long-standing tradition, the event promises to be an-other exciting lineup of activities for the community to enjoy the weekend after Labor Day, Sept. 7-9, 2023. The Rose Festival begins with the Miss Wasco Rose Queen Pageant at the Wasco High School auditorium Thursday, Sept. 7. The Wasco Elk Ladies will bring an Evening of Wine and Roses on...
Early Monday at 12:01 am, deputies responded to a deadly shooting and found a person pronounced deceased at the scene due to a violent assault. The incident occurred in the 1800 block of Bay Meadow Drive in Wasco. KCSO homicide detectives are investigating the crime. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Kern County Sheriff’s Office at 661-861-3110 or the Secret Witness Hotline at 661-322-4040....
In 2018, Melissa Hurtado, against all odds, became the youngest woman ever elected to the California State Senate. She is known as a thoughtful policymaker who works across party lines to improve residents' quality of life and ensure rural voices are heard at all levels of government. Hurtado is the daughter of hard-working immigrants, born and raised in the Central Valley. "This Valley is what I am. The struggles, my upbringing, all have played a role and continue to play a r...
A grand celebration to honor the great nation's independence is set for Saturday, July 1, at Barker Park from 4 to 9:30 pm. Organized by the Wasco Recreation and Parks District, the Red, White & Boom Fireworks Festival will kick off with a flag ceremony, followed by a bicycle parade, music, food, vendors, a watermelon contest, Red, White & Pool Party and a finale fireworks show. All of the activities are free and open to all ages. "The fireworks show has been a long-standing...
Since being elected in November last year, Mayor Vincent R. Martinez has brought passion and commitment to the Wasco community for its residents' betterment. Despite not having a political background, he has brought into the role leadership and knowledge gained through other experiences. "I went to the California State University of Bakersfield and majored in political science, intending to go into politics. Instead, I went into law enforcement for over a decade," Martinez...
For June and July, the Wasco Branch Library, along with other libraries in Kern County, is kicking off its annual summer reading challenge. The goal of the challenge is to encourage children, tweens, teens and adults to read over the summer to instill a love of recreational reading and curb summer learning loss. The challenge involves reading 10 books or 10 hours by July 31. A free book and other prizes, while supplies last, will be awarded to those who complete the...
The Orange Heart Foundation, in partnership with Wasco Families Wrestling is hosting their first Small Town Summer Night Festival on Saturday, June 17. The event will feature music by DJ BoomDog with lots of dancing. There will be food, drinks, a 50/50 raffle and a cornhole tournament. "We are doing our first joint event to fundraise for our organizations." Wasco Families Wrestling President Juan Gallardo said. All proceeds will benefit the two organizations equally. WFW...
After 9 1/2 years as the Wasco Union Elementary School District superintendent, Kelly Richers is retiring. A celebration was held in his honor last Friday, where many fellow educational professionals, friends and family attended. Richers started his career in education as a substitute teacher in 1975. He was a physical education and 8th grade science teacher. After that, he came to Wasco and served as an administrator here for 30 years. Although he had different intentions, li...
The City Council held a special workshop to review and discuss the 2023-24 budget before its final approval on June 20. The total budget is $88 million, including $29 million in capital projects the city does not anticipate completing in the fiscal year 2023-2024. The purpose of the budget workshop last week was to plan and allocate financial resources effectively, providing a framework for setting financial goals, managing revenues and controlling expenses. "A budget helps...
At the regular meeting, the Wasco City Council moved forward with several resolutions related to the start-up of the Police Department, including salaries for positions and a CalPERS safety plan, with permission to begin recruitment and training activities. "CalPERS will review those job descriptions to ensure they are actual safety employees [full law enforcement officers]," Wasco Police Department Chief Charlie Fivecoat said. "We do salary comparisons with other agencies...
It was an emotion-filled ceremony celebrating the graduation of Maple School's 8th-grade students who will be moving on to begin the next chapter of their education. Maple School is a small, tight-knit community with some students attending from transitional kindergarten to 8th grade. Arianna Bernal said, "I am excited but also sad to leave my friends because they are going to different schools. I will miss all the memories and the friendships I had with everyone." She added,...
A Wasco State Prison inmate, Jose Carrasco, was convicted by a Kern County jury on Tuesday for battery causing great bodily injury to a correctional officer. Carrasco, 27, was convicted of four separate counts, including assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury and three counts of battery on a correctional officer. The jury also made special findings that one of the correctional officers suffered great bodily injury by the defendant during the commission of the...
A shooting in Wasco on Sunday left one man with traumatic injuries. Two suspects have been identified as father and son, Alberto Padilla, Sr., 62 and Alberto Padilla, Jr., 40, of Wasco. Both fled the scene in a GMC Yukon. They are considered to be armed and dangerous. The incident occurred in the 2400 block of Jo Ellen Court, where deputies from the Wasco Substation were dispatched for a report of a shooting. According to the Kern County Sheriff's Office, before deputies...
A fire broke out on June 3 at the former farm labor housing complex in Wasco, causing an estimated $100,000 in damages. There were 18 firefighters on the scene to contain the fire. According to the Kern County Fire Department, firefighters responding to the fire from the Wasco fire station could see significant smoke from a distance. The response was increased to include additional resources from surrounding communities based on the smoke seen from a distance. Firefighters wer...
After a long career as an educator, Palm Avenue Middle School Principal Dr. Zachary Ellis will move on to serve Teresa Burke Elementary School as its new principal. Dr. Ellis began his career in education 19 years ago, first as a teacher at various schools and then as a principal. He left education for a period of time because of the severe budget crisis in 2011-12, when thousands of educators were laid off. After that, he entered the private workforce, which he said allowed h...
It was an inspiring and uplifting occasion at Sunday's Wasco High School baccalaureate ceremony. Pastors gave encouraging words of advice for the graduating seniors, and there was gospel music by students. Pastor Dave Bocker shared a spiritual message. "God said you are his child, and that is who you are. Be clear about that. Be compassionate. The world needs more of that." Pastor Fernando Segura echoed that sentiment and stressed the value of hard work. "Learn to work and be...
