Submitted by Lynnette Balsamo Jordan As the one year anniversary of the Courtney Fire approaches, let’s take a walk back in history to the beginning of Bass Lake Heights. It all started at the end of WWII when Chief Warrant Officer Louis Balsamo Sr. visited an old Navy buddy at Hidden Valley Meadows. Dan Johnson had built a cabin retreat ...

OAKHURST –  An accident involving three vehicles and a trailer blocked Highway 41 over Deadwood for over 30 minutes today. Just before 1:30 p.m., Maxine Crossley, 83, of Ahwahnee, was northbound in an Acura MDX when she crossed several feet over the double yellow line, clipping off the mirror of a rental car, according to CHP. The rented Nissan Pathfinder ...

OAKHURST – A two-vehicle crash on Highway 41 at Bay Leaf Lane caused some short-term congestion on the north end of Oakhurst this afternoon. Just before 3 p.m., Lyndsie Carroll, 22, of Oakhurst, had approached the stop sign on Bay Leaf, and was turning right onto Highway 41 in a 2005 Volkswagen Jetta. According to CHP, she failed to see ...

OAKHURST – A crash that happened near North Fork today led officers to a suspect some 13 miles away in Oakhurst, where he was subsequently arrested. Just before 2 p.m., reports came in to CHP of a vehicle overturned down an embankment on Road 223 just south of Pinchot Drive. A witness reported seeing a man walking away from the ...

MADERA COUNTY – The man accused of starting the Courtney Fire, that destroyed 30 homes in the Bass Lake Heights along Road 426 nearly a year ago, was back in Madera County Superior Court this morning. Oscar Bustillos, of Apple Valley, Calif., will return to court on Nov. 3 for a jury trial. Bustillos remains free on bond pending the ...

MADERA COUNTY – Following are details from the Madera County Sheriff’s Office of reports taken locally during the week of Monday, Aug. 24 through Sunday, Aug 30, 2015. Oakhurst burglary On Monday, Aug. 24 at 8:59 a.m., a deputy was dispatched to the 40000 block of Greenwood Way in regards to a burglary to a storage shed. A criminal investigation ...

OAKHURST – The much-anticipated Cedar Valley Fire Department Deep-Pit BBQ and Raffle is set for Saturday, Sept. 5, from 4:30-7:30 p.m.. This is an important fundraiser for Cedar Valley’s Station 18. While their local area covers north to Yosemite, and south to Oakhurst, these firefighters and their equipment can be seen on incidents all over the mountains, wherever they are ...

OAKHURST – An informal public meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3 at the Yosemite High School cafeteria, to discuss the proposed water rate increase by Hillview Water Company (HWC). The meeting will be moderated by Moises Chavez , a California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) analyst who will be gathering public input and explaining the CPUC’s ...

Submitted by Ralph Capone OAKHURST – The community is invited to a special mini-melodrama at Golden Chain Theater to support scholarships for high school seniors on Friday, Sept. 11. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m. It’s sponsored by the Marine Corps League Mt. Detachment #1121 in Oakhurst. The mini-melodrama is “Awful Awakenings at Asphalto,” ...

AHWAHNEE – On Friday, Sept. 25, women from all over the community will swing clubs in a 9-hole tournament at Sierra Meadows to raise money for the Boys & Girls Club in Oakhurst. Organizers look forward to an exciting day as women in teams of four compete for fun and charity. “It’s a great opportunity for women in business to ...