MARIPOSA COUNTY – A group of partying teens are now behind bars after breaking into two homes and destroying the contents during a night of destruction that ended in four arrests. Mariposa County deputies arrested one adult and three juveniles in connection with two residential and one commercial burglary, along with the theft of an Off Highway Vehicle (OHV).

MADERA COUNTY – The 2015 Madera County Academic Pentathlon culminated with an awards ceremony on Saturday, Mar. 21, naming Mountain Home School Charter’s 7th grade team and Ranchos Middle School’s 8th grade team winners of the competition. More than 400 students participated in this year’s five-event, two-day academic competition. Math and essay tests were held on Friday, Mar. 13 at ...

NORTH FORK – A North Fork man escaped serious injury this morning when he apparently fell asleep at the wheel and crashed off Road 200 into the thick brush. David Welfield, 38, was eastbound about 1/2 mile east of Road 221 (Bass Fork Mini Mart) at about 8:15 a.m. on Saturday, Mar. 21, when his Isuzu Rodeo drifted off the ...

MARIPOSA – Mariposa County Sheriff’s deputies used Netflix and IP addresses to apprehend a suspect in a recent home burglary case. On the afternoon of Mar. 4, a victim reported her home had been broken into via a second story balcony. Among the items taken was a 65 inch smart TV, a Wi-Fi Blu-ray, lap top computer, miscellaneous cables and ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY – There have been many tales of travelers becoming hopelessly lost after following the instructions on their GPS. This story had a happy ending, after several agencies responded to locate a family who definitely took a wrong turn. The Safir family, who were enroute to Yosemite National Park from the Stockton area, contacted the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Emergency ...

YOSEMITE – With the backdrop of spectacular Yosemite Falls, a special ceremony in Yosemite National Park will kick off its 125th anniversary celebration. Ranger Gabriel Lavan-Ying, who became an Honorary Park Ranger last summer through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, will make his first visit back to the park and will be appointed the Honorary Chairman for the park’s 125th anniversary.

WAWONA – Travelers through the south entrance of Yosemite National Park should be prepared for some short delays this weekend as crews continue the second phase of a prescribed fire in the Wawona area, beginning on Thursday, Mar. 19. The prescribed fire will include 111 acres of the 533-acre project. The first 60 acres were burned at the end of ...

MARIPOSA – The small town of Mariposa is in mourning as another young woman succumbs to her injuries following a tragic head-on collision on Highway 41 on Saturday, Mar. 14. The CHP continues their investigation into the crash in which a 70-year-old Los Banos man crossed over the center line in a Toyota Tundra pickup and collided head-on with a ...

SIERRA FOOTHILLS – With the massive loss of ponderosa pines across the mountain area, this is the perfect time to “adopt” a few seedlings for planting. Foothill residents from North Fork to Mariposa can become participants in the spring planting program by planting a few seedlings on their property. The Forest Service now has bare root one-year-old ponderosa pine seedlings ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY – What initially appeared to be an accidentally self-inflected stab wound turned out to be self defense by a victim, says the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office. On the afternoon of Mar. 11, sheriff’s deputies responded to a possible stabbing at a campground in the Merced River area. Upon arrival deputies contacted Bryan Absher of Modesto, Calif. Absher presented ...