Serving the community since 1922
Serving the community since 1922
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The City Council will be discussing the proposed budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year at its next regular meeting next month. The budget was prepared following guidelines set by the council on issues that they prioritized for the operating budget. The guidelines were public safety, health and well-being, and financial stability. The proposed budget reveals a small decrease in sales tax revenue. With the sales tax revenue expected, the city is showing a drop in the amount in the General Fund, going from a balance of a little over $6.5 million in...
Former Shafter City Manager Scott Hurlbert will be taking on a new set of challenges when he becomes Wasco's chief operating executive next month. The Wasco City Council voted Tuesday night to hire Hurlbert as the new city manager, replacing City Manager Daniel Ortiz-Hernandez, who resigned last month. Hrlbert was immediately named assistant city manager, to work with Ortiz-Hernandez in the transition. Hurlbert was the city manager for the City of Shafter from March 2014 to August 2019, when he...
The annual Fireworks Show will light up the sky in Shafter once again after being canceled last year due to the pandemic. The show is scheduled for Saturday, July 3. The Shafter Chamber of Commerce announced recently that the show would be held this year, thanks to the more lenient restrictions by the Public Health Department and Gov. Gavin Newsom's plans to open up the state. The City Council approved a Special Event Permit for the event. Since the Shafter High School football stadium is being...
Mother of an autistic son, Brianda Gonzalez was looking for a way to help her son with his cognitive skills as he lagged behind at 2 years old. Gonzalez, who works at the Golden Oak Elementary School library, came up with Kidd Doh, a product that stimulates a child's senses, encouraging imaginative play and helping motor skills. When Gonzalez' son, Justin, was 2 years old, she noticed he was lagging behind in cognitive skills and in speech. He was later diagnosed with autism and she began...
The city cut the ribbon at Mannel Park on Saturday, opening up a new outdoor fitness court that will allow residents to work out on a variety of equipment. The court features over 10 stations that people can do cardio and strengthening exercises and can keep track of their progress on their phones. The court is a product of Fitness America, who specializes in exercise programs that can be used with a minimal amount of equipment. Several local dignitaries were on hand including Mayor Cathy...
The city will take over the Modified Correctional Facility after it came to an agreement with the state Department of Corrections. Shafter made an agreement with the state in 1996 that gave the state 99 one-year leases. In October 2020, the state cased operations at the facility, resulting in a number of layoffs and a loss in revenue for the city. "We received around $1 million a year in revenue from the CCF, which hit the city hard with the announcement of the closure," said Mayor Cathy Prout....
Click on the PDF to see this year's complete listing of area veterans buried in Shafter and Wasco cemetaries....
Cooling centers will be open throughout the county when temperatures are forecast to exceed certain highs, the Kern County Parks Department announced. The Kern County Parks Department, in cooperation with the Department of Aging and Adult Services, other Kern County agencies and/or districts, and PG&E, will open the centers. Cooling centers open in the San Joaquin and Kern River Valleys when the temperatures are forecast to be 105 degrees or higher, in the desert areas when temperatures are forecast to be 108 degrees or higher, and in Frazier...
Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday in the month of May. It was formerly known as Decoration Day and remembers all men and women who have died in military service for the United States. Memorial Day is also celebrated at cemeteries throughout the country with flag raising and the reading of names of military personnel who have died in the line of duty. The Wasco Cemetery will be holding a drive-thru Memorial Day event on Monday, May 28. Everyone is invited to join military personnel at...
As activities restart and businesses reopen, we will try to update readers on the status of events and activities throughout the area. Please contact Erica Soriano with additions and changes at [email protected] or call 661-292-5100 by Monday at 4 p.m. for that week’s paper. ONGOING Summer food service program — Lost Hills Wonderful Park is sponsoring a Summer Food Service Program. Free meals will be provided to all children who are 18 years of age and younger at 14688 Lost Hills Road, Lost Hills, starting July 19 through July 30. Br...
May 17 Angel Ramiro, 38, of Shafter, was arrested on Ryan Ave. and Tulare Ave. for battery with serious bodily injury. May 18 Miguel Angel Rivera, 40, of Shafter, was arrested on S. Shafter Ave. and Riverside Ave. for DUI and on an outside agency warrant. May 20 Luis Angel Garza Jasso, 37, of Shafter, was arrested on Kattenhorn Road for controlled substance paraphernalia. John William Langley, 36, of Shafter, was arrested on the N. Shafter Ave and Fresno Ave. for possession of narcotic and on an outside felony warrant. Kevin Mena, 18, of...
Here's this week's challenge, courtesy of the Shafter Historical Society. If you know the location, circumstances, exact or rough date and/or people in the photo, send your educated (or semieducated) guess to The Press, 406 Central Ave., Shafter 93263, or e-mail it to mysteryphoto@The ShafterPress. com. Winners will be revealed here next week. LAST WEEK: Richland School in 1942....
Mary Ann Nored was born in Sapulpa, Okla., to parents Oscar King and Callie (Beasley) King. Mary was the second child of five. The family moved from Oklahoma to California. Mary met Horace, affectionately known as "Buck." They married in June 1952 and started their family in 1953, settling in Wasco. Mary Ann enjoyed square dancing, camping and gardening. Mary Ann taught square dancing at WADD in Wasco. She passed away on May 21 in Shafter. Mary Ann is survived by her daughter, Sharolette...
Adel M. Durando, 94, of Wasco, passed away May 22, in Menlo Park. Peters Funeral Home, Wasco. Michele Nadine Graves, 59, of Bakersfield, passed away May 19, in Bakersfield. Peters Funeral Home, Shafter. Lula J. Quary, 64, of Tehachapi, passed away May 24, in Bakersfield. Peters Funeral Home, Shafter. Tony Sanchez, 64, of Wasco, passed away May 13, in Shafter. Basham & Lara Funeral Care, Shafter. Maria Elene Reyes, 63, of Wasco, passed away May 11, in Wasco. Basham & Lara Funeral Care, Shafter. Bonnie Belinda Narayan, 49, of Bakersfield, passed...
Click on the PDF to view this week's Classified Ads....
Francisco Trujillo Ramirez was born on Oct. 28, 1954 in Cosalá, Sinaloa, Mexico. He passed away on May 22, 2021 at home surrounded by his family in Wasco. Francisco grew up in Cosalá and came to the United States as a young man. Soon after, he met and married his wife, Maria, and formed a beautiful family. He worked for four decades in agriculture, primarily for rose companies, to support his family. He was very loving and always cheerful. He enjoyed having family get-togethers and spending t...
Distance learning will not be an option for students this fall in the Wasco Union High School District. Superintendent Rob Cobb outlined a number of changes for the 2021-22 school year in a letter to parents and students last week. Cobb said all students will return to campus for full, five school days a week. Independent study will be offered on a limited basis when necessary. He explained schools are considered to be safe places because it has shown to be a low rate of positive cases or...
Rose Queen and 2019 Wasco High graduate Victoria Bernal utilized the Wonderful Ag College Program while in high school, shaving off two years of undergraduate work. Now Bernal is attending Azusa Pacific University and will graduate this fall. Bernal is majoring in cinematic arts and said her experience entering a four-year university as a junior was no different than entering as a freshman. "I had the same opportunities to mingle, attend first-year student events and make lots of friends inside...
Wasco FFA held its Friends and Family Awards program recently, honoring its students and welcoming in a new officer board. Due to Covid, the event took place on the Wasco High football field. Mr. Farao, Mrs. Morales and Ms. Shew were dressed in their red carpet best. FFA members dressed in the official FFA uniform could be seen on stage and in the crowd. This year's celebration marked 90 years of the Wasco FFA members' success and was memorable to the over 400 guests that attended the Friends...
The 12 candidates vying for 2021 Rose Queen have been named. As the pageant committee begins the long process of preparing the young ladies for the Sept. 9 Miss Wasco/Rose Queen pageant, talent tryouts have been taking place. Sponsors for each candidate have not been announced yet. “The girls have been working hard to prepare their individual talent performance for the talent portion of the pageant,” Pageant Committee members stated. The committee expects a live, in-person pageant this yea...
