MARIPOSA COUNTY – With a break in the weather, brief as it may be, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is seizing the opportunity to make ongoing emergency repairs and engage in rehabilitation work on State Route 140 in the Ferguson Fire burn scar. The work is taking place from Briceburg to the Yosemite National Park boundary. The Ferguson Fire ...

COARSEGOLD – A Coarsegold man was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol after he crashed into the back of a motorhome on Highway 41 yesterday afternoon. At about 5:10 p.m., Justin Henry, 28, was southbound in a 1995 Ford F-150 approaching Serpa Canyon Road, according to CHP. Bobby Dowell, 79, also of Coarsegold, was southbound ahead ...

MADERA COUNTY – Following are details from the Madera County Sheriff’s Office of reports taken locally from Monday, Nov. 26, to Sunday, Dec. 2, 2018. Oakhurst failure to yield, stolen loaded handgun, felon in possession of a firearm On Monday, Nov. 26 at 4:27 a.m. a vehicle stop near the intersection of Pierce Drive and Elliot Drive led to a ...

Written by Sarah Bolton – MADERA COUNTY – Hello Madera County Residents! Welcome to the Tree Mortality Community Column. Our company, Blue Ridge Services (BRS), is partnering with Madera County to oversee and implement their tree mortality mitigation project. Recent storms and heavy rainfall are impacting dead trees throughout the county. Dead trees, which remained dry during the summer, are ...

YOSEMITE – The public meeting for the Replace the Big Oak Flat Welcome Center Complex Project and Environmental Assessment (EA) scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 5, at the Rush Creek Lodge has been cancelled due to the National Day of Mourning for President George H. W. Bush and the Federal Government Closure. Although the meeting will not be rescheduled due to ...

MADERA COUNTY – The Madera County Sheriff’s Office is currently recruiting for Citizens on Patrol. Applications will be accepted until Wednesday, Dec. 12. Citizens on Patrol (COP) is a cooperative effort of the Sheriff’s Office and community participants and is designed to enhance the quality of life in Madera County. COP members are a uniformed volunteer unit of the Sheriff’s ...

NORTH FORK – Both drivers walked away without injury this evening after one of them failed to stop for the posted stop sign at the intersection of Roads 225 and 274 in North Fork. Jason Mayer, 43, of North Fork, was coming south on Road 274 in a 1988 Toyota pickup just before 5:30 p.m. and had just pulled up ...

UPDATE Dec. 4, 2018: Skyler Riggins-Willey has been located. No further information is available at this time. MOUNTAIN AREA — A young man reported missing from Stanislaus County is the subject of a missing person search, and information has led authorities to believe he may be in the Madera County foothills. Skyler Riggins-Willey, 16, is missing from Turlock and was ...

BASS LAKE – Nearly two years after North Fork resident Bonnie Hale was found dead at her home on Road 225, the woman charged with her murder has changed her plea. Mary O’Keefe, now 65 years old, appeared in Bass Lake Superior Court on Nov. 19 and changed her plea from not guilty, to not guilty by reason of insanity. ...

MARIPOSA — After tireless work by Caltrans maintenance crews and partners, District 10 and the California Highway Patrol have reopened State Route 140 in the area of the Ferguson Fire burn scar as of noon on Friday, Nov. 30. The roadway closure began overnight at 2 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 29, and is still in place for now, say authorities. ...