YOSEMITE – A series of fires are being prescribed in the park, according to Yosemite National Park Fire Managers. The prescribed burns would start in mid-October depending on weather and fuel conditions. Shorter days and cooler temperatures provide fire managers optimal prescribed burning conditions. The Taft Toe project is the first of the scheduled prescribed fires, located along Southside Drive between El ...

MADERA COUNTY – A preliminary hearing was held today at Bass Lake Superior Court for Michael Lee Lapschies, 40, who was previously charged with eight felony counts of arson and one felony count of terrorist threats, according to the District Attorney’s office. Lapschies was arraigned Thursday, Oct. 8 on an additional complaint filed for a violation of Penal Code section ...

OAKHURST – A single vehicle accident in the early morning hours on Thursday, Oct. 8, sent two young men to the hospital, one with major injuries, while a third was reported to be uninjured. According to the CHP, at about 3:35 a.m. Coarsegold resident Dylan Anderson, 18, was driving a Toyota Tacoma westbound on Road 632 near Country Club Drive ...

YOSEMITE – The National Park Service signed a concession contract with Yosemite Hospitality, LLC, a subsidiary of Aramark, to provide concession services within Yosemite National Park. The 15-year contract, the largest single contract in the National Park Service, will begin on March 1, 2016. The current concessioner, DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, Inc., a subsidiary of Delaware North Co., ...

OAKHURST – An accident last night between a truck and an SUV at the intersection of Highway 41 and Highway 49 had bystanders horrified from the apparent severity of the crash, yet the parties involved were seemingly uninjured according to reports. About 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 6, a 2002 Chevy Silverado truck driven by a Coarsegold woman, 51, was ...

MADERA COUNTY – Following are details from the Madera County Sheriff’s Office of reports taken locally during the week of Monday, Sept. 28 through Sunday, Oct. 4, 2015. Coarsegold family disturbance On Monday, Sept. 28 at 2:21 a.m. deputies responded to the 4700 block of Veater Ranch Road for a report of a family disturbance. One of the subjects involved ...

OAKHURST – CHP has confirmed that a local man was arrested on charges of driving under the influence following a solo-vehicle crash that resulted in a small vegetation fire on Sunday, Oct. 4. At about 9:23 p.m., according to CHP, Eric Michael Ogden, 23, and two passengers, both 24, were traveling in V1-Jetta northbound on Highway 41 south of Road ...

FRESNO, Calif. — Jonathan Cornelius Bourne, 59, of Mammoth Lakes, was arraigned today before United States Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe after a federal grand jury returned a 21-count indictment against him, charging him with violations of the Archeological Resources Protection Act, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. According to counts one through eight of the indictment, in 2010 ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY – The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed the identity of the deputy shot in the line of duty on Thursday, Oct. 1, as 10-year veteran Rudy Mirelez. Deputy Mirelez is still listed in critical condition in a Modesto hospital where he will undergo many more surgeries on his road to recovery. According to the Sheriff’s Office, the ...

OAKHURST – After much excitement and activity last year surrounding the building of three new hotels on Highway 41 in Oakhurst, things ground to a halt. On Friday, Sept. 26, developer Paul Patel pulled permits at the County and will able to proceed with the project, according to Madera County Building Official Harry Hinton. “Mr. Patel has the permits he ...