O’NEALS — As the community comes together to celebrate seniors graduating from high school, Minarets senior Synovia Wold decided to organize “Adopt an Eighth Grader” as a way to celebrate the eighth graders graduating from Chawanakee Unified elementary schools. The system is similar to the one taking place for graduating seniors in the mountain community; families post a bio about ...

BASS LAKE — People from all over the area are traveling to Bass Lake this Memorial Day weekend to enjoy the beautiful outdoors and take part in all the festivities. As locals know, The Pines Resort and Bass Lake tend to get inundated with trash during long holiday weekends. Because this area is home to so many of us, The ...

FRESNO — James M. Ford, president and CEO of Central Valley Community Bank, announced its fifth Business Food Fund Challenge campaign to benefit food banks from the San Joaquin Valley to the Greater Sacramento region. Along with its own donation of $8,000 to ten food banks in its territory, the bank is challenging other businesses to join the effort to ...

MOUNTAIN AREA — All Madera County Library locations, including the branches in Oakhurst and North Fork, are now offering curbside services for the community as the next phase of the system’s reopening plan. Library announced this week that patrons can place holds on books, DVDs and other materials via the Library’s mobile app, online catalog, or by phone. Staff will prepare ...

NORTH FORK — The North Fork School’s Class of 2020 unknowingly had their last day of school in March. Although each graduating class from year to year has a different personality, they seem to all go through the same process in the spring of their 8th grade year. They begin to see one another in a different light, realizing that ...

By Bob Labozetta, UC Master Gardener, Mariposa MARIPOSA — Remember the Mariposa Farmers’ Market? Now that the county is opening up, the Farmers’ Market will begin its annual schedule (every Wednesday, May though Oct.) starting — hopefully — May 20, from 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., at the bottom of 6th St. and Stroming Rd., adjacent to the Mariposa Creek Parkway ...

OAKHURST — Sierra Art Trails announced this week that the 18th annual Sierra Art Trails Open Studio Tour has been postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The application for Sierra Art Trails 2021 will go live on SmarterEntry.com on Feb. 1, 2021. If you are an artist who has already applied for 2020, your application fee will be ...

By Johanna Ziegler, student journalist for Minarets Press O’NEALS — Minarets may still be a young school, but it has already established itself as a champion for its Media Program. This reputation is reaffirmed following the recent announcement of the SlickRock Student Film Festival’s annual “Final Fives.” Slickrock is a student-oriented film festival with over 14 categories available for high ...

By Janine Alven, student journalist for Minarets Press O’NEALS — Despite our current circumstances regarding the pandemic, four students from the 2020 graduating class have persevered and been named valedictorians. With their exemplary work and determination, seniors Mackenzie Camacho, Joseph Langley, Autumn Pecarovich and Synovia Wold have earned the honor of being valedictorians. Mackenzie Camacho Camacho explained, “I set becoming ...

Article reprinted with permission from census.gov. This story is part of an occasional series on the important community benefits that come from responding to the 2020 Census. Whether you live in a metropolis or a tiny crossroads, in the suburbs or on a boat sailing from port to port, responding to the 2020 Census is critical for your community. But ...