OAKHURST – Start the new year by resolving to learn the life-saving skill of CPR. Register now to participate when Bill and Gina Hartley of Minarets Medical Education teach a free class on Saturday, Jan. 16, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Sierra Senior Center. The gracious folks at the Senior Center have offered the use of their ...

MOUNTAIN AREA – A little bit of rain is likely in the Oakhurst area overnight, says the National Weather Service in Hanford, California, starting after 4 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 28, with a 60 percent chance of precipitation amounting to less than a tenth of an inch. Rain showers are predicted to turn to rain and snow showers, with fairly ...

MADERA COUNTY — If you got pulled over by a Sheriff’s deputy today, you may have gotten a boost of Christmas cheer, rather than a citation. That’s what happened to Melinda Kerby of North Fork, who was on her way to bible study, when she was stopped for a burned out license plate light. Instead of a ticket, she was ...

MOUNTAIN AREA – The first full day of winter was a wet one, and while a flash flood watch expired at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 22, area residents can look forward to just a little break in the rain on Wednesday, Dec. 23, before another system, colder but drier, moves in on Thursday, ending on Friday. According to the ...

OAKHURST – More than twenty years after local activists fought hard to support the passing of legislation that would guarantee the expansion of higher education in Oakhurst, a new struggle for the town’s share of a facilities bond proposed by the State Center Community College District (SCCCD) is now heating up. At stake is Oakhurst’s piece of a potential $485 ...

BASS LAKE — From magic shows to top-notch cuisine to a party in the wild west followed by fireworks, Bass Lake has you covered on New Year’s Eve. In just a little over a week the sky will be illuminated by a spectacular fireworks show thanks to generous donations made by the owners of the Pines Resort, Bass Lake Chamber ...

SIERRA FOOTHILLS — The National Weather Service in Hanford has issued a flash flood watch for Central California, including Madera, Mariposa and Fresno County foothills through Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 22. This advisory is mainly for the Rim Fire and El Portal fire burn areas, but extends from Yosemite to Kings Canyon. Heavy rain may cause areas of flooding and debris ...

BASS LAKE – Emergency personnel responded to reports of a single vehicle off the embankment along Road 274 near Fawn Point this evening. Just after 6 p.m., a Dodge Caravan was westbound along the north shore of Bass Lake approaching a sharp corner when, for unknown reasons, it went off the right shoulder and down a short embankment, coming to ...

MADERA COUNTY – Following are details from the Madera County Sheriff’s Office of reports taken locally during the week of Monday, Dec. 7 through Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015. Oakhurst person deceased On Monday, Dec. 7 at 00:28 a.m. deputies responded to the 40000 blk of CA-41 for a report of a deceased person. An investigation was conducted and found that ...

SACRAMENTO – As California’s severe drought and bark beetle epidemic has left millions of trees dead, the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection last week voted to extend a drought mortality exemption to the state’s tree removal permitting process. “With massive tree mortality across California, this exemption streamlines the process for landowners who are working to reduce their wildfire ...