OAKHURST – Cutter James Randrup, 26, of Coarsegold was taken into custody after deputies caught him with a stack of phony Green Dot MoneyPak cards at a motel in Oakhurst. Green Dot MoneyPak cards are reloadable debit cards, available everywhere, and are generally used by people who don’t have, or want, a bank account.

MADERA COUNTY – Sheriff John Anderson is warning residents about a cold caller phoning citizens, and claiming to be their grandson. The most recent scam occurred Friday, when an 82-year-old Coarsegold woman received a call from 559-640-7072. The person on the other end told her he had been in an accident and needed her to wire him $1,000.

MADERA COUNTY – Sheriff John Anderson is crediting a tip phoned in to Crime Stoppers as leading to the arrest of a Madera man, accused of smashing the front windows of Madera County’s Courthouse in early hours of Feb. 7. Early Friday morning, Feb. 21, Madera County Detective Adam McEwen arrested 29-year-old Andrew Biscay at the suspect’s home on O ...

Park also Honors Galen Clark, the First Guardian of Yosemite YOSEMITE – Yosemite National Park has restored the Yosemite Cemetery through a grant from Yosemite Conservancy. To commemorate the restoration, Yosemite National Park and California State Parks will conduct a dedication ceremony. The ceremony will also celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Galen Clark, the first Guardian of ...

YOSEMITE – NatureBridge, the largest residential environmental education partner of the National Park Service, opened registration for the Summer Field Research Course at its Yosemite campus. This two-week immersive backcountry expedition will give participants the opportunity to conduct rigorous field science investigations in one of the most iconic national parks in the country.

MADERA COUNTY – The Madera County Board of Supervisors will host an informational workshop on Tuesday, Mar. 4, at 10 a.m. to discuss the development of a strategic response to drought conditions as well as future countywide water policies. “We have faced three consecutive years of drought and the impacts are devastating,” said Tom Wheeler, Board Chairman and District 5 ...

MADERA COUNTY – Fresno fugitive Brandunn Wilson, who was considered by the Sheriff’s Office to be armed and dangerous, is now behind bars. Brandunn Wilson, 19, wanted in both Fresno and Madera Counties, managed to elude authorities last month during a pursuit in North Fork. Wilson, who was wanted on a felony drug warrant out of Fresno County, and felony ...

YOSEMITE – Golfing and horseback riding in Wawona and skating in Curry Village will remain a part of the Yosemite experience, according to the latest news release from Yosemite National Park. On Friday, Feb. 14, the Park announced the release of the Merced Wild and Scenic River Final Comprehensive Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS): “This plan will protect ...

MAPIROSA COUNTY – The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office is alerting mountain communities that telephone fraud/scams are continuing to occur and numerous local residents have received fraudulent telephone calls attempting to scam money. These fraud calls encompass many scams but a few of the more prevalent ones include:

MADERA COUNTY – The Madera County Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol are conducting a joint investigation of what deputies says was attempted murder. The alleged murder attempt was followed by a pursuit, during which a CHP officer’s car was rammed by the fleeing suspect.