MADERA — The county’s newest fire station had its formal grand opening celebration Thursday, July 11. But Madera County Station #7 — already nicknamed “Lucky 7” — officially went online last fall. Located at 4150 Town Center Blvd., just off Highway 41 and Tesoro Viejo Blvd. via the development’s roundabout, it’s the first new fire station to be built in ...

MADERA — A 46-year-old North Fork man was formally arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Madera County Superior Court, charged with the Saturday night murder of Gaylen D. Lee, a widely respected Elder in the Mono Indian tribe. Lee, 70, died July 6 after being shot at his home just off Cascadel Drive (Road 233) in North Fork. Robert Eugene Moye, Jr., ...

MADERA — A formal trial date has finally been scheduled for Mary O’Keefe, accused of murder in the 2016 death of North Fork resident Bonnie Hale. On Tuesday, Madera County Superior Court Judge Dale Blea set O’Keefe’s trial for August 12. At this morning’s proceedings in Department 22, Judge Blea also received a brief update on the long-running case from ...

NORTH FORK — The 60th annual Mid-Sierra Loggers Jamboree turned the ‘Exact Center of California’ into a timber sports mecca over the post-July 4 holiday weekend as about 100 participants and more than 3,000 spectators converged on the North Fork Recreation Center Saturday and Sunday. During the two-day competition, a total of $10,000 in prize money was awarded as both ...

NORTH FORK — Gaylen D. Lee, one of North Fork’s most prominent and well-respected residents and an Elder in the Mono Indian Tribe, died Saturday night after being shot at his home just off Cascadel Drive (Road 233). The Madera County Sheriff’s Communications Center received a call Saturday night, July 6, at around 9:23 p.m. regarding a family disturbance in ...

YOSEMITE VALLEY — One of the area’s most spectacular waterways is among the stars of a new series of “forever” stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service. The Merced River is one of 12 U.S. rivers featured in the new “National Wild and Scenic River System” stamp series, which was unveiled and went on sale earlier this summer. The colorful ...

NORTH FORK — Nate Hodges has wanted to be a lumberjack since he was four or five years old. “I was a little mountain boy. When I was a kid, you couldn’t get me inside,” says the North Fork native. “My grandpa bought me my first axe when I was four and I was always out in the woods chopping ...

OAKHURST — While officials from Madera County and Cal Trans continue to work out the details of a formal plan to connect the town’s three new hotels to the main sewer line beneath Highway 41, negotiations are currently taking place that could allow one of the hotels to open later this year using the existing sewer system infrastructure. “We’re doing ...

OAKHURST — As of this week, Oakhurst is no longer home of the Whopper. Fans of Burger King’s signature sandwich now have to travel out of town to get their favorite burger after the store’s franchisee suddenly closed the doors and ceased operations Sunday evening. At a little after 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 30, Burger King employees posted a ...

MADERA COUNTY — The Madera County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, July 2 voted 4-to-1 to direct the County’s agricultural commissioner to begin crafting an ordinance to regulate the cultivation of industrial hemp in Madera County. “This is a cash crop that Madera County can really make some money on,” said Supervisor Tom Wheeler. “People have been using [hemp] since ...