OAKHURST – Oakhurst resident and community liaison Rima Runtzel has launched a new company which combines her affinity for social media and love of networking to benefit independent business owners in the local area. Local Social, a social media marketing agency, launched in December 2014 and announced its first partnership with Oakhurst Feed & Pet Supply this month.

COARSEGOLD – The Coarsegold Chamber of Commerce has selected Dave Wolin as its 2015 president and named its new Board of Directors for 2015. The board consists of Wolin as President; Laura Young, vice president and president elect for 2016; Janet Stanovich, Secretary; and Deniece Busse, Treasurer. Additional directors are Diane Boland, Chrissy Buckles and Marty Owen.

COARSEGOLD – Since his family purchased the once-popular Broken Bit earlier this month, Tanner Tweed has been on the move, making plans for the immediate future of the property, while making discoveries about its past. The public has been instrumental, helping to fill in the blanks on local lore.

COARSEGOLD – Gabby the Miner is a silent wooden sentry kneeling at the entrance to the Broken Bit, holding his precious nugget to the sky and keeping an eye on Highway 41 traffic. He’s seen the once-promising business nestled on the property flourish under the guidance of previous owners, and Gabby has seen it fail with seemingly insurmountable building requirements ...

Submitted by Rhett Samper O’NEALS – Spring Valley 4-H Club proudly introduces Matthew Shellar as our January member of the month. Matthew is 11 years old and in 6th grade at Spring Valley Elementary School. This is Matthew’s 3rd year in 4-H. In 2015 he plans on doing rocketry, community service and rabbit projects. He joined 4-H to get experience ...

OAKHURST – Community Medical Providers announced recently that longtime Nurse Practioner Sandy Peck is retiring from practice. Sandy Peck has been working at the local office for 11 years, and has been a Registered Nurse (RN) for 43 years altogether; 26 of those years, Sandy was a RN. For 17 years she’s been a Nurse Practitioner (NP).

MARIPOSA – Dave Lawson, Owner of Lawson Construction, has graciously donated more than five days of labor, valued at over $7,500, to the framing and construction of the latest Habitat for Humanity home in Mariposa County. Over the course of 5 1/2 days, the Lawson Construction crew took the Habitat home from a flat slab foundation to a complete weathered-in ...

ANYTOWN, USA – This is the time of year we gather in America to express our gratitude and bond over turkey and football. Glossy magazines decorate the aisles of overflowing supermarkets, resplendent with cornucopia, while malls stock up on stocking stuffers as Black Friday looms and the season of consumption begins. The juggernaut is on us. All we really want ...

OAKHURST – Picture yourself in a splendid book store on a Sunday afternoon, enjoying a delicious treat and drinking tea as you admire the penmanship of your new favorite author on the book she’s signed for you. If any of that sounds good, be sure to stop by Branches Books & Gifts on Sunday, Dec. 7, when our local bookseller ...

AHWAHNEE – Local favorite Sierra Meadows may be the latest golf course to close amidst a growing trend in America. It seems a potentially fatal combination of economic hardship, historic drought, and declining interest has turned the nation’s love affair with a small white ball into a passing fancy for a severely endangered sport.