BASS LAKE – A Coarsegold man has been arrested in connection with a bomb scare that closed down Road 274 on Monday near Bass Lake. The Madera County Sheriff’s Office received a call just before noon on Dec. 1, that a suspicious device was found in a trash can outside the Bass Lake Courthouse.

SIERRA NEVADA – The National Weather Service in Hanford has issued an urgent winter weather message for the Sierra Nevada from Yosemite to Kings Canyon and Tulare County Mountains. Travel in the higher elevations is said to be dangerous at this time.

BOOTJACK – Highway 49 has now been reopened to through traffic after closing down due to a suspicious item in the roadway just after 11 a.m. this morning. The item was found to be a one-foot section of PVC pipe that was capped on either end to store welding rods. The roadway was closed to ensure public safety as the ...

BASS LAKE – Road 274 is closed near the Courthouse at Bass Lake due to a suspicious package left near the building, according to CHP. Eastbound traffic is being diverted at Road 222. It is not clear where westbound traffic is being detoured, but taking Road 432 from the Pines will take motorists around the closure. There is no estimated ...

BOOTJACK – Highway 49 in the Bootjack area is currently closed due to what is suspected may be a pipe bomb in the roadway, according the the Mariposa CHP Office. The road is currently closed between Ashworth Road and Indian Peak Road, as law enforcement awaits the arrival of the Bomb Disposal Unit from Merced Police Department. Motorists are advised ...

SIERRA NATIONAL FOREST – University scientists studying the effects of forest thinning on a species of small mammal did not expect to find evidence of toxic chemicals in the organs of their subject, the Pacific fisher. When post-mortem tests showed that fisher after fisher had the same significant amount of rodenticide in the liver, researchers looked not far afield and ...

FRESNO – Attorneys for the Lewis/Ayala faction of the Chukchansi Tribe have asked U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence O’Neill to excuse them from participating in any further mandatory settlement conferences, stating that the discussions have reached an impasse “due solely to the Reid Tribal Council’s intransigent focus on a political agenda that has nothing to do with reopening the casino.” ...

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 ...

FRESNO – Police and Sheriff’s deputies are searching for a man in the area of Farris and Herndon in northeast Fresno, after a high speed chase that began in North Fork. Brandunn Wilson, 20, is no stranger to law enforcement, having been the target of several chases in the mountain area, and numerous arrests. This afternoon, mountain deputies received a ...

MADERA COUNTY – The Sheriff’s Office is now collecting Toys For Tots in Oakhurst and Madera. Donations bins are stationed at the Sheriff’s main office in Madera and also at the Sheriff’s Substation in Oakhurst just behind True Value Hardware.