State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Reports Climb in Graduation Rates for California Students SACRAMENTO—Graduation rates among California’s public school students are climbing and dropout rates are falling, with the biggest gains being made among English learners and the state’s largest minority groups, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today.

Twenty guitarists and ten bass players from across the United States will be performing in a jazz guitar concert on Thursday, June 28, from 7:00-9:30pm. The event will be held at the Queens Inn Wine & Beer Garden, located at 41193 Highway 41 in Oakhurst, Ca. Tickets are $10.00 each and can be purchased at the door. Beverages are available ...

The Loggers Jamboree Queen and Court contest is designed as a fundraiser for the Summer Youth Program at the Recreation Center each summer. This provides the children of our community a fun and safe place to gather during those long hot summer days. It also provides free lunch and a lifeguard in the swimming area. Whichever contestant in their category ...

Yosemite’s Tenaya Lake, once called “Lake of the Shining Rocks,” will sparkle even more brightly following major restoration efforts this summer to its east beach and surrounding wetlands and trails with funding provided by Yosemite Conservancy.

Yosemite National Park Superintendent Don Neubacher announced last week that Tolley Gorham, Telecommunications Specialist, and Karen Glenn, Budget Analyst, are the recipients of the 2011 Barry Hance Memorial Award. Although the award is presented to one Yosemite employee annually, the Awards Committee felt that two nominees were deserving of the award. Therefore, for the first time since the award was ...

Yosemite National Park Fire Managers are planning a prescribed fire in the north western portion of the park near the Big Oak Flat Entrance Station on Highway 120 (Big Oak Flat Road) on Tuesday, June 19, 2012. The ignition of the fire is dependent on weather conditions. The total prescribed burn area will include 220 acres and be split into ...

California Officially Files Waiver Seeking Relief From ‘No Child Left Behind’ Mandates SACRAMENTO—Supported by many of California’s leading educators and school advocates, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and State Board of Education (SBE) President Michael Kirst today officially submitted California’s request to set aside specified requirements of Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as ‘No Child ...

June 15, 2012MADERA — Madera County District Attorney Michael Keitz announced today that Bryan Burgdorf, age 42, of Oakhurst, was convicted on June 14, of misdemeanor charges of indecent exposure and battery. Deputy District Attorney Dina Petrushenko presented evidence to a jury that on July 29 2011, the intoxicated Burgdorf accosted a 14-year-old boy on the shore at Bass Lake.

Almost on a daily basis, through the media or our own awareness, we are all reminded about the impact, the carbon footprint, we make on our planet. Over the last several decades our neighbors and community businesses have begun to look at ways to reduce their energy use and utility costs. Solar energy has always played a major role in ...