Madera County is home to waterfalls, giant trees and culinary royalty. In honor of California Restaurant Month, happening throughout January, SNO presents a special series spotlighting each participating restaurant. MADERA — If you are like many mountain residents, you like to explore the region, but often don’t like to leave your animals overnight. Many locals yearn for a change of ...

MADERA COUNTY – Following are details from the Madera County Sheriff’s Office reports taken locally from January 14-20, 2020. Coarsegold – Narcotics On Jan. 14 at 07:07 a.m., deputy responded to the 46000 block of Lucky Lane for a report of narcotics found. The narcotics were collected and booked at the Madera Sheriffs Office for destruction. Case closed. Oakhurst – ...

MADERA — The 38th annual Madera County Academic Decathlon competition will be held on Saturday, Feb. 1 — with the interview and essay competitions held later this week prior to competition day. Eight of the 10 Decathlon events, including the speech competition and Super Quiz, will be held on Saturday, Feb. 1 at Madera South High School. This year’s topic ...

MOUNTAIN AREA — 2019 proved to be a solid year for home sales in eastern Madera County, according Realtor Ed Bailey of Ed Bailey Realty. Bailey compiled year-end data from California Regional MLS reports released in 2019. Here’s his rundown of mountain area home sale activity and median sales prices: Ahwahnee — 27 homes sold, median price $343,000, average time ...

BASS LAKE — The Madera County Sheriff’s Office “snow patrol” stayed active as the long, Martin Luther King Day weekend — and abundant recent snowfall — drew throngs of visitors to the high country. MCSO Corporal Ian Roth and Deputy Jose Iniguez spent their holiday weekend teaming with U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer Melissa Wise conducting OHV (off highway ...

By Ryan Abner, student journalist for Minarets Press O’NEALS — It’s film season at Minarets High School. Known for its outstanding film making, tech and media programs, which have garnered praise at Slickrock and other California media festivals, it’s no surprise that the high school now has a film festival of its own. The Southgate Film Festival has been a ...

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 ...