YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK — Yosemite National Park Ranger Jack Hoeflich is among the best and most versatile park rangers in the country  — and he’s now got the hardware to prove it. At a special ceremony held at the United States Department of the Interior last week, Hoeflich was honored as the 2018 recipient of the National Park Service’s Harry ...

MADERA — John Reed has resigned from the Madera County Planning Commission. Reed submitted his resignation following the commission’s last meeting on Aug. 6. A commercial realtor and contractor with an office in Oakhurst, Reed also operates a business called Alternative Septic Systems. He has served on the  planning commission for five years and will be recognized for his service ...

BASS LAKE — With the approach of the Labor Day weekend and the traditional wind-down of summer activities at Bass Lake, the Madera County Sheriff’s office is reporting boating under the influence (BUI) arrests are up 45 percent in 2019. Madera County Sheriff’s Corporal Amy Roussell said she attributes the increase in BUI arrests “to the training and experience of ...

NORTH FORK — A project nearly a decade in planning appears poised to begin final construction, possibly as soon as later this year. Proponents of a plan to build a two mega-watt biomass plant in North Fork are in the midst of finalizing a multi-million dollar financing package that will pave the way for full-scale construction to begin at the ...

MOUNTAIN AREA — Two massive power outages temporarily impacted more than 14,000 PG&E customers Monday night in the Oakhurst, Coarsegold, Ahwahnee, Raymond and North Fork areas. During the outage, which lasted for about an hour and a half, the company reported 7,136 customers were without power in the Oakhurst area and 7,718 customers lost power in the Coarsegold area. The ...

NORTH FORK — The 4th Annual “Frugal Friends” Fashion Show took over Bandit Town Saturday as young models in snazzy thrift shop attire strutted their stuff to benefit the North Fork Community Library. Nearly 100 people came out for the fundraiser luncheon and fashion show, which was sponsored by the Friends of the North Fork Library and the North Fork ...

NORTH FORK — Just after noon Saturday, a red Ferrari, three sleek Corvette convertibles and a vintage Mustang Fastback roared through the “exact center” of California. The rare, collectible cars were among the entrants in the annual North Fork Car Show, held in downtown North Fork Saturday afternoon. The popular event, a fundraiser for the North Fork Chamber of Commerce ...

MOUNTAIN AREA — Officials across the Golden State are warning that a summer outbreak of toxic blue-green algae in area ponds and lakes could be deadly to dogs and other animals. On its website, the California EPA (CAL EPA) is reporting that on August 14th  water samples taken from Indian Lakes in Madera County tested positive for a potential toxic ...

COARSEGOLD — A pair of giant scissors clipped a lot of ribbons Thursday at Coarsegold’s Historic Village. Amid a festive atmosphere, the Coarsegold Chamber of Commerce hosted its biggest-ever ribbon cutting this week, officially welcoming three new businesses — Thicket + Vine Nursery, Yosemite Drug and Mountain Medical Supply — to the Historic Village. The popular Wild Fig Kitchen, which ...

OAKHURST — A former Coarsegold resident who admitted to embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from an Oakhurst business has been ordered to make full restitution. Heather Marie Stieler, 48, who used to be the bookkeeper for Fullmer’s Appliance Repair, agreed to a plea deal on June 20, 2019, resulting in 10 felony convictions, including embezzlement, forgery and grand theft. ...