MADERA COUNTY – Three Madera County academic teams will be traveling this weekend to compete in state competitions. Yosemite High School’s Academic Decathlon team, who won the Madera County Academic Decathlon in February, will travel to Sacramento to compete against 66 County Champion teams, comprised of 570 students from throughout the state.

MADERA COUNTY – District 5 Supervisor Tom Wheeler will hold a Town Hall meeting on Thursday, Mar. 19, at the Raymond-Knowles Elementary School from 6 to 8 p.m. Topics for discussion will include the upcoming fire season, with a presentation from Cal Fire and from Roger Maybee, Coordinator for Firewise Madera County.

NORTH FORK – The North Fork Community Development Council (CDC) invites the public to their annual meeting on Monday, Mar. 23, at the Rancheria Community Center. Refreshments will be served at 5 p.m, and the meeting starts at 5:30, with updates on the Biomass Energy Project, downtown North Fork, District 5 and North Fork Rancheria Projects, and the Chawanakee School ...

NORTH FORK – The community of North Fork will be celebrating Earth Day on Saturday, Apr. 18, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Old Mill Site. Eco products, solar power, food and baked goods, live music and Sanctuary BMX bike demonstration will be part of a fun-packed day.

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) has awarded over $9.5 million in grants throughout the state for a variety of projects aimed at reducing the elevated threat of wildfires due to the ongoing drought. A total of 83 grant applicants will receive funding for projects that contribute to fire prevention efforts around homes. The ...

YOSEMITE – Yosemite National Park is initiating one transportation project and concluding two others that are intended to improve parking, road conditions, and traffic flow in the park. The projects will provide additional parking in Yosemite Valley, improve restrooms and reorganize the Tuolumne Grove parking area, and repair and maintain portions of the Tioga Road, say Park officials, and are ...

BASS LAKE – Preparations are underway and registrations are currently being accepted for the 5th annual Bass Lake Classic Triathlon. The Bass Lake venue creates a picturesque triathlon rivaled by few. Triathletes are treated to a swim in clear mountain waters, followed by a challenging and beautiful ride around the lake and through the Sierra National Forest to finish with ...

OAKHURST – Oakhurst Sierra Sunrise Rotary and Branches Books & Gifts have partnered to bring books to schools, promoting learning, literacy and community between the service organization, local business and Wasuma Elementary School. Tim Madden, Oakhurst Sierra Sunrise Rotary President contacted Anne Driscoll of Branches Books & Gifts at the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year to propose a partnership.

BASS LAKE – In order to protect the restoration process ongoing near the Wishon Quarry site at Bass Lake, certain roads in the area will be closed for the next year. With the completion of the Crane Valley Dam Retrofit Project in 2013, the Forest Service has been working to protect the environmentally sensitive Wishon Quarry Reclamation Area on the ...

NORTH FORK – As the community of North Fork welcomes a biomass energy plant at the old mill site, residents are being asked to voice their opinions on the project. Henry Swisher, a master of arts student at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, is conducting a research thesis on community-scale renewable energy projects as part of his M.A. ...