OAKHURST – Fresno news anchor on KMPH Channel 26, Ashley Ritchie, will be at Branches Books & Gifts on Monday, June 16, at 10:30 a.m. to read to their young friends.
Her book, Mr. Pickles Paints the Town, is the story of Peter Pickles who went to bed one night and woke up to find things had changed. The sky was not blue. The birds were gone too. The world had been rearranged. All the colors had disappeared.
What could Mr. Pickles do? Join him on a colorful mission to bring back all the colors of the rainbow!
About the Author
Ashley Ritchie joined the KMPH news team in November 2007, and became a “Ten O’clock News” anchor in January 2013. A third-generation Visalian, Ashley graduated from Golden West High School. Go Trailblazers! She then continued her education at Santa Clara University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in European History and Communications in 2004.
In college, Ashley interned for KGET, the NBC affiliate in Bakersfield and KGO, the ABC affiliate in San Francisco.
After graduation, Ashley traded in sunny California summers for chilly Midwest winters and took a job reporting for KSPR, the ABC affiliate in Springfield, Missouri. During her 3 1/2 years there, she received the 2005 Spot News Story of the Year from the Missouri Broadcaster’s Association for her coverage of the Greg Norman murder trial.
That same year, she also won first place for her investigative story on DWI (Driving While Intoxicated, for you West Coast folks) checkpoints in Springfield.
From chasing tornadoes to waiting out ice storms, Ashley is happy to be back in a place where the weather doesn’t change every five minutes, and most importantly is much closer to her family who operates a farm in Visalia.
In her spare time, you’ll most likely find her NOT cleaning her house and instead hanging out with her husband, sons and two dogs Moey and Runway, both former strays and Missouri transplants. She enjoys reading, taking random day trips and spending time with family and friends.
Ashley wrote her first children’s book while on maternity leave after the birth of her first son in August 2011.
Mr. Pickles Paints the Town was officially released nationwide in March 2013.
A light snack will be provided at the June 16 story time event.
