Sierra News Online News from the communities in and around Yosemite National Park

News from the communities in and around Yosemite National Park

COARSEGOLD — The Madera County Sheriff’s Department is scheduled to conduct an ‘active shooter’ training session at the Yosemite Lakes Park clubhouse on Saturday, Jan. 18, from 9 – 11 a.m. The program, open to the public, is scheduled to last about an hour, with another hour reserved for Q&A. The training is intended to help participants protect themselves during ...

MADERA COUNTY – Following are details from the Madera County Sheriff’s Office reports taken locally from January 7-13,  2020. Coarsegold – Vandalism On Tuesday, January 7, at 7:25 a.m., a corporal was dispatched to Oonay Nation Road regarding vandalism. Some kind of substance was poured onto the porch of an apartment several days ago. No monetary damage. Documentation only at ...

OAKHURST — A powerful winter storm moved into the mountain area Thursday, with heavy rain turning to snow by mid-afternoon. Snowfall accumulations of 4 to 8 inches were forecast for areas above 4,000 feet. Caltrans had multiple snow plows operating between Coarsegold and Yosemite National Park. CHP reported a handful of accidents as cars slid into each other and off ...

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK — Yosemite National Park officials reported Thursday at least 170 cases of gastrointestinal illness among both employees and recent park visitors. Most of the affected individuals spent time in Yosemite Valley during the first week of January 2020. As of Thursday afternoon, there have been two confirmed cases of norovirus, according to a press release issued today by ...

MARIPOSA — The 32nd annual Mariposa Storytelling Festival kicks off Friday, March 13 with Mariposa Story Slam!, a local amateur storytelling competition with this year’s theme echoing its Friday the 13th date: “Stranger Than Fiction.” Story Slam! performances take place in the hall of the Mariposa United Methodist Church, with community members telling a true story from their own experience ...

OAKHURST — The Bass Lake Joint Union Elementary School District Board of Trustees is searching for a community member willing to serve on the district’s School Board. An open position on the Board has occurred due to the resignation of Curt Pollock. Pollock, who served on the Board from December 2014 to December 2019, has moved out of the area ...

O’NEALS — Quick thinking — and expert action — on the part of two Madera County Sheriff’s Office personnel resulted in an arrest rather than a trip to the morgue for a crime suspect who swallowed a bag of heroin. The incident started last week (Jan. 8) around 2:45 p.m. when MCSO Deputy Jose Villegas and Corporal Amy Roussell responded ...

AHWAHNEE — When Ahwahnee resident Rick Hamilton’s 6-year-old son, Kalel, was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) just over a year ago, the family’s world was turned upside down. “DMD is a fatal genetic muscle-wasting disease,” Hamilton said. “Currently there is not a cure, but we have been pursuing therapies over the last year that we think will preserve our ...

COARSEGOLD — A man who was struck by a vehicle and killed Monday night (Jan. 13) while walking along Highway 41 has been identified. Cory Wade, 32, a Coarsegold resident, died after he was hit by a car about a mile north of the Black Hawk Lodge, according to an update issued Tuesday by the Madera County Sheriff’s Office. The ...

MOUNTAIN AREA — The National Weather Service in Hanford has issued a Winter Storm Warning, in effect from 10 a.m. Thursday (Jan. 16) to 4 p.m. Friday for the Central and Southern Sierra. The warning includes mountain area communities above 4,000 feet in elevation. Heavy snow expected above 4,000 feet, according to NWS forecasters, with total snow accumulations of 4 ...