BASS LAKE – The local chapter of nonprofit organization Helping One Woman (HOW) will meet at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21, upstairs at Ducey’s on the Lake in support of Megan O’Cana. Tera Greathouse and Jodi Mikesell are the sponsors for Megan’s HOW dinner. “Megan is a mother of four children ages two to ten,” say organizers. “Megan’s daughter ...

MARIPOSA – “Come out and show your support for a local deputy who put his life on the line to help serve and protect this community,” say organizers of a BBQ Benefit Dinner in support of Mariposa County Sheriff’s Deputy Rudy Mirelez and his family. Deputy Mirelez, a 10-year veteran, was shot during a traffic stop in the early morning ...

By Virginia Eaton — I have always been daunted by trips to the grocery store: too much noise combined with endless choices make my head spin. When my children were young, I would strive to be an organized domestic engineer with grocery lists, packs of coupons and good intentions for healthy home cooked meals. Good intentions took a wicked beating ...

MADERA COUNTY – It was just a regular Wednesday for Codee Cardoza and her young kids. They were driving back home from a doctor’s appointment, headed south on a little stretch of Highway 99 that’s under construction, around 3:15 in the afternoon. Baby Ethan, 2, was safely secured in his car seat, and Codee’s daughter Paiden, 9, was buckled up ...

YOSEMITE – A series of fires are being prescribed in the park, according to Yosemite National Park Fire Managers. The prescribed burns would start in mid-October depending on weather and fuel conditions. Shorter days and cooler temperatures provide fire managers optimal prescribed burning conditions. The Taft Toe project is the first of the scheduled prescribed fires, located along Southside Drive between El ...

OAKHURST – Members of the service group Soroptimist International of the Sierras invite women to attend their Fall Soup & Salad Luncheon on Thursday, Oct. 15 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Oakhurst Community Center. Tickets are available for $15 per person at Oakhurst Area Chamber of Commerce, Oakhurst Giftworks, and from Soroptimist members. The philanthropic organization invites ...

MADERA COUNTY – A preliminary hearing was held today at Bass Lake Superior Court for Michael Lee Lapschies, 40, who was previously charged with eight felony counts of arson and one felony count of terrorist threats, according to the District Attorney’s office. Lapschies was arraigned Thursday, Oct. 8 on an additional complaint filed for a violation of Penal Code section ...

OAKHURST – A single vehicle accident in the early morning hours on Thursday, Oct. 8, sent two young men to the hospital, one with major injuries, while a third was reported to be uninjured. According to the CHP, at about 3:35 a.m. Coarsegold resident Dylan Anderson, 18, was driving a Toyota Tacoma westbound on Road 632 near Country Club Drive ...

OAKHURST – It was a perfect day for an outing of this sort, agreed the dog, the cat, the lizard, the snake, the bunny and the chicken. Nothing like an all-inclusive animal event to benefit the Eastern Madera County SPCA (EMC SPCA) and its ongoing efforts to build a shelter in Oakhurst. About 175 people came out to the Oakhurst ...

YOSEMITE – The National Park Service signed a concession contract with Yosemite Hospitality, LLC, a subsidiary of Aramark, to provide concession services within Yosemite National Park. The 15-year contract, the largest single contract in the National Park Service, will begin on March 1, 2016. The current concessioner, DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, Inc., a subsidiary of Delaware North Co., ...