FRESNO — Four Madera County Sheriff’s deputies are among those to be honored during the American Red Cross Central Valley Real Heroes Event next Friday, for their efforts during the Courtney Fire last summer. The annual event recognizes local heroes in the Central Valley who are seemingly ordinary people but have touched the lives of community members through their selfless ...

FRESNO – The woman responsible for the death of Yosemite High School graduate Matthew Harkenrider in a deadly DUI crash on Aug. 14, 2014, was sentenced this morning to 13 years in prison, reports KSEE24 in Fresno. Roberta Lynn Soto, 45, of Kingsburg, originally pleaded not guilty to the charges on Aug. 22, as a judge, officers and attorneys gathered ...

MADERA – The Madera County Sheriff’s Office in Madera will be open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. and will no longer close for lunch, effective Monday, Mar. 16th, according to the department. This change applies to the Madera office only at this time. Sheriff Varney says that many people try to handle personal business during their lunch break and ...

BASS LAKE – The Southern Yosemite Region was hit close to home and heart with the wildfires of 2013/2014. Surrounded by national parks, forests and wildlands, we depend on the over 300 wildland firefighters who live and work in our mountain communities. The Wildland Firefighter Foundation was created “To honor, recognize, and support wildland firefighters, past, present and future, and ...

MADERA COUNTY – Sheriff Jay Varney is warning residents about several reports of attempted telephone scams where the caller claims to be with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or an IRS Investigative Service. The caller attempts to convince the potential victim that money is owed or a lawsuit has been filed. The Madera County Sheriff’s Office has received reports from ...

MADERA COUNTY – With so much fuel outside to burn and so little time to burn it, some may be wondering precisely how burn days are determined. Madera County 5th District Supervisor Tom Wheeler is the 2015 Chairman for the San Joaquin Valley Air Quality Control District (Valley Air District), said to be the strictest agency of its kind in ...

CHOWCHILLA – On Friday, Mar. 13, at 10 a.m., herds of cattle take over Robertson Boulevard in a historical cattle drive. Cowboys and cowgirls drive the cattle down the city’s main street to kick off three days of rodeo action where some of the best cowboys in the country vie for the coveted belt buckle as well as cash rewards.

With estimates of a 40 percent die-off of Ponderosa Pine this year, and dead and dying trees dotting the landscape in the mountain area, Cal Fire is offering some important assistance for homeowners. The oncoming fire season, which is forecast to be even more volatile than 2014, makes it critical that diseased, dead and dying trees be removed as soon ...

MADERA COUNTY – Madera County’s middle school students will be putting their minds to the test at this year’s 2015 Math Tournament. Students will take three tests: Individual Endurance, Circuit Training and Relay Race this Friday at the Madera Center. During the Circuit Training teams will be given 20 questions and 2 ½ minutes per question moving through a circuit.

MADERA COUNTY – We were drawn to North Fork by many things; one of those is the beautiful forest that surrounds us. Every morning we wake up in a park-like setting that is absolutely gorgeous. It makes me shudder inside when I see all the dead trees almost everywhere around town. Not being a forester, I know very little about ...