MADERA COUNTY – Following are details from the Madera County Sheriff’s Office of reports taken locally from Dec. 20 through Dec. 27, 2015. North Fork burglary On Sunday, Dec. 20 at 8:47 a.m., a deputy was dispatched to the 60000 block of Happy Oak Lane regarding a burglary. Report written, evidence obtained, no arrests made, and case closed due to ...

OAKHURST – Gentle voices, simple songs, and sincere kindness with calm, focused bedside attention can bring ease and comfort to the dying, say organizers of Threshold Choir, a compassionate network of primarily women’s a cappella choirs whose members lift their voices in song for people in hospice and for others at the thresholds of life. An Oakhurst chapter is now ...

AHWAHNEE — Master guitarist Tommy Emmanuel says of Tony McManus, “The music is beyond beautiful, it’s perfect.” On Saturday, Jan. 16, you will have the chance to experience it for yourself as Robin Ralston and the Coolwater Ranch present an evening with Tony McManus. “Through Tony’s hands, the emotions of Celtic music are transferred to the guitar and the listener ...

By Virginia Eaton — When my children were young, I saved my resolutions for September when they went back to school, when I could organize myself enough to begin thinking about making positive changes. Over the years I resolved all the usual things: to be more organized, lose weight, gain weight, cut coupons, learn French, learn Spanish, clean out the ...

OAKHURST – Start the new year by resolving to learn the life-saving skill of CPR. Register now to participate when Bill and Gina Hartley of Minarets Medical Education teach a free class on Saturday, Jan. 16, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Sierra Senior Center. The gracious folks at the Senior Center have offered the use of their ...

MOUNTAIN AREA – A little bit of rain is likely in the Oakhurst area overnight, says the National Weather Service in Hanford, California, starting after 4 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 28, with a 60 percent chance of precipitation amounting to less than a tenth of an inch. Rain showers are predicted to turn to rain and snow showers, with fairly ...

OAKHURST – If you were one of the estimated eight-or-nine hundred people who came out on the first Saturday of December for the annual Oakhurst Community Christmas Tree lighting, then you already know it was a joyful night. It’s been nearly twenty days since then, and the 55-foot tall tree is still shining on the Talking Bear corner, now being ...

MADERA COUNTY — If you got pulled over by a Sheriff’s deputy today, you may have gotten a boost of Christmas cheer, rather than a citation. That’s what happened to Melinda Kerby of North Fork, who was on her way to bible study, when she was stopped for a burned out license plate light. Instead of a ticket, she was ...

MOUNTAIN AREA – The first full day of winter was a wet one, and while a flash flood watch expired at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 22, area residents can look forward to just a little break in the rain on Wednesday, Dec. 23, before another system, colder but drier, moves in on Thursday, ending on Friday. According to the ...

OAKHURST – More than twenty years after local activists fought hard to support the passing of legislation that would guarantee the expansion of higher education in Oakhurst, a new struggle for the town’s share of a facilities bond proposed by the State Center Community College District (SCCCD) is now heating up. At stake is Oakhurst’s piece of a potential $485 ...