Contributed by Yosemite Area Audubon Society – “No one who has ever seen wild California condors circling majestically among the clouds will ever forget the riveting nature of the experience or question why we, as a society, should make every effort possible to promote the full recovery of this species,” wrote Noel and Helen Snyder, authors of Introduction to the ...

OAKHURST – It’s a dough-down throwdown. Set aside some time soon for a perfect combo of fundraising, football and pizza, as once again, the community will “vote” on which restaurant bakes the most delicious slice in town. Sierra Oakhurst Kiwanis and the Coarsegold PTO are sponsoring the annual “Best Pizza in Oakhurst” contest at the Community Center on Sunday, Jan. ...

NORTH FORK – While it’s not really their mission to purchase equipment for stations other than Madera County Fire Department Station 11, the North Fork Fire Department Auxiliary voted unanimously at their December meeting to spend nearly $2,500 to buy an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) for the Rancheria Cal Fire Station on Road 200. Many Cal Fire Stations do not ...

YOSEMITE — Yosemite National Park Rangers have sworn in 22,600 Junior Rangers so far this year, setting a record for the most number of Junior Rangers in a year. Each of these young people completed their duties, either by attending a Junior Ranger program or completing a booklet, and took an oath to continue to “Explore, Learn, and Protect” Yosemite ...

OAKHURST – Gentle voices, simple songs, and sincere kindness with calm, focused bedside attention can bring ease and comfort to the dying, say organizers of Threshold Choir, a compassionate network of primarily women’s a cappella choirs whose members lift their voices in song for people in hospice and for others at the thresholds of life. An Oakhurst chapter is now ...

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 ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY — While the weather may not put one in mind of spring and flowering fruit trees, this is the time to be thinking about preparing for a bountiful harvest next fall. Do you know how to prune your fruit trees so that they are the strongest, best shaped, and ready to provide you with the juiciest fruit possible? ...

MOUNTAIN AREA – So you’re driving along minding your own business, eyes on the road, hands at 10 and 2, not texting or eating a sandwich, and you get caught up in an accident and are whisked away to the hospital. Or you suffer some type of medical episode, and end up in the emergency room. That scenario is bad ...

T’was the night before Christmas, when all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. When down through the chimney, all covered with soot, Came the “Spirit of Fire,” an ugly galoot. His eyes glowed like embers, his features were stern, As he looked all around for something to burn. What he saw made him grumble ...

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 ...