Written by Bill Ritchey —  “Structure Day” — It had been an intense 200 hours, spread over the last three months for twelve recruits of Madera County Fire Department’s (MCFD) Basic Skills Academy for Paid Call Firefighters (PCFs). On April 10, the recruits gathered at Madera City Fire Station 6, where they would undergo their last training drill, simply called ...

Written by Mary Schmidt Odell — I am NOT your mother and I shouldn’t have to clean up after you. Take your trash home. Members of the Sierra Freepackers Unit of BCHC (Backcountry Horsemen of California) spent Friday, June 3 to Sunday, June 5 at the Snow Play Area just north of Fish Camp, working and playing.  Backcountry Horsemen are a ...

MADERA COUNTY – Following are details from the Madera County Sheriff’s Office of reports taken locally from Sunday, May 29 to Sunday June 5, 2016: Oakhurst vandalism On Sunday, May 29 at 6:16 a.m. a deputy was dispatched to the 50000 block of School Road regarding a report of a fire on the baseball field. Report taken, evidence obtained, no ...

MADERA COUNTY — Voters across the State Center Community College District (SCCCD) have thrown their support behind Measure C, which will address District needs at Oakhurst Community College Center, Fresno City College, Reedley College, Clovis Community College, and Madera Community College Center, and improve its aging school facilities. The measure was approved by voters in Tuesday’s primary election, garnering about ...

NORTH FORK — Madera County District 5 Supervisor Tom Wheeler will be hosting the next in his series of Town Hall meetings on Thursday, June 9, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Rancheria Community Center in North Fork. Presenters for the evening will include District Ranger Denise Tolmie of the Bass Lake Ranger District, Sierra National Forest; and Fuels ...

OAKHURST — There’s nothing quite like the sense of a good job done well, and that was the predominant feeling in the room recently when 146 smiling students from Yosemite High School displayed their senior projects for their families, friends and community. Senior project are not easy: the process starts at the end of junior year when students are asked ...

MADERA COUNTY — The Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has released the most recent blasting schedule for the passing lanes construction project on CA-41. For Wednesday, Jun. 8, Caltrans spokesperson Cory Burkarth says three blasts will take place. The first blast is scheduled to take place shortly after 9 a.m. Motorists should be prepared for delays that may last up to ...

BASS LAKE — After posting our story on an elderly man who fell some 150 feet down to the rocky banks of Willow Creek on Sunday, we were contacted by one of the amazing young men who rendered aid and stayed by his side until help arrived. “My name is Davis Young and I was the young man in the ...

BASS LAKE — A resident who has lived at Bass Lake for nearly 25 years lost a house in a fire today. If ever there were an upside to such an event, it is that the house that burned was a rental property; and the home he shares with his wife next door was spared as firefighters kept the flames ...

BASS LAKE — Multiple crews, engines, and water tenders are responding to a fully involved house fire in a two-story home on Chickadee. CHP is closing down Road 432 between the Pines Resort and Road 331. UPDATE at 12:50 p.m. — Road closure moved to between Idyllwild and Deer Lane. UPDATE at 3:45 p.m. — Roads remain closed.   For ...