OAKHURST – A single vehicle accident in Oakhurst on Sunday night ended in an arrest for DUI. Debra Wilcox, 50, of Oakhurst, was driving a 1999 Chevy Silverado northbound on Highway 41 at about 10 p.m., just north of Golden Oak Loop, at an unknown rate of speed.

COARSEGOLD – Two employees of Community Regional Medical Center (CRMC) in Fresno were involved in a head-on collision near Yosemite Springs Parkway early Easter Sunday morning. At 6:25 a.m. on Mar. 31, Kimberly Moore, 46, of Coarsegold, was southbound on Highway 41 in a 2011 Chevy Equinox, headed to her job as an ER nurse at CRMC.

OAKHURST – Firefighters made quick work of a fire that started in a fryer at McDonalds on Thursday morning. At about 6:50 a.m. on Mar. 28, hot cooking oil was the fuel for a fire that was contained to the fryer itself. McDonalds employees used fire extinguishers on the blaze, and called 911.

MADERA COUNTY – Sheriff John Anderson is honored to announce that Lieutenant Darin McMechan has graduated from the FBI National Academy Program at Quantico, Virginia. Lt. McMechan is a 26-year veteran of the Madera County Sheriff’s Office. For nearly three decades he has served the department in a number of highly skilled fields, among them, narcotics, SWAT, Search & Rescue, ...

SIERRA NATIONAL FOREST – Firewood cutting and gathering season on the Sierra National Forest is open from Apr. 1 to Nov. 30. To cut and gather firewood in the Sierra National Forest, you must obtain a woodcutting permit authorizing the permit holder to gather a specified amount of dead and downed wood for personal use from any portion of the ...

MADERA COUNTY – Sheriff John Anderson announced the arrest of a Madera man wanted in connection with a vehicle theft case – the same vehicle caught on tape ramming into the front of the 22-Mile House earlier this month. Deputy Luis Padgett captured Abel Andrew Ramos, 23, who was armed with a loaded gun when the deputy took him into ...

CHOWCHILLA – Sheriff John Anderson today announced the passing of a respected citizen volunteer and valued friend. Citizens On Patrol (COP) member Gerald Kusa, known to his colleagues and friends as Jerry, died suddenly this past Sunday. Kusa joined the Madera County Sheriff’s nationally recognized COPs unit in October 2011.

OAKHURST – A two vehicle accident on Deadwood this morning stopped traffic briefly as the wreck was cleared. Just before 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Mar. 26, Peggy Badgwell, 71, of Oakhurst was southbound on Highway 41 in a 2011 Chevy Silverado, and had slowed to turn left onto Road 425B.

OAKHURST – A Fresno man was arrested for DUI this afternoon after a single vehicle accident on Road 426. Aram Atikian, 65, was westbound on 426 in a 1988 Cadillac El Dorado at about 3:42 p.m., when he failed to negotiate a curve just west of Oakridge Drive, crossed over the eastbound lane and up onto the bank where he ...

MARIPOSA – A San Juan Capistrano man has been arrested for cultivating marijuana near Mariposa, according to the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office. Salvador Gonzalez, 33, was taken into custody on Friday, Mar. 22, at a residence on Sullivan Road in Mariposa, after deputies served a warrant and found 6,993 live marijuana plants being grown inside the house and outside on ...