MOUNTAIN AREA — A hazardous weather outlook has been noted for the foothills of Madera and Mariposa counties, including the Sierra Nevada from Yosemite to Kings Canyon, and a flash flood watch is in effect for elevations below 6,000 feet. The flash flood watch starts Saturday night, Mar. 5 and continues through Monday afternoon, Mar. 7, according to the National ...

RAYMOND — District 5 Supervisor Tom Wheeler will be hosting the next in his series of Town Hall Meetings on Thursday, Mar. 10, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Raymond-Knowles Elementary School, 31828 Road 600. On the agenda for the evening: Denise Tolmie — New District Ranger on the Bass Lake District Sierra National Forest Darin Soukup — Director, ...

Written by Mike Nolen — More than once it has struck me that what happened to me last fall probably wasn’t just dumb luck. Although with the Irish surname of Nolen, luck wouldn’t be entirely out of the realm of possibilities. I had what was classified as AMI, acute myocardial infarction, also known as a heart attack. It rapidly progressed ...

By Dave Briley — MARIPOSA — More than a hundred people crowded into the Chambers of the Mariposa County Board of Supervisors on Saturday, Feb. 27, for the multi-agency Tree Mortality Funding Fair, sponsored by the Mariposa County Office of Emergency Services. Federal, state and local organizations participating in the Fair included Cal Fire, the Mariposa County Fire Safe Council, ...

By Lluvia Moreno — O’NEALS — At a school that focuses largely on technology and media related projects, Minarets High’s Digital Photography class is one of the most popular electives on campus. The instructor is new teacher Juan Ortiz, who has a passion for media and photography and is currently taking a course in digital photography at a local college ...

By Lizz Wiles O’NEALS — On Thursday, Feb. 25, Minarets FFA hosted their second annual Donkey Basketball. This unique event consists of several Chawanakee Unified School District teachers riding donkeys while playing the classic game of basketball against students. The event raised funds for Minarets FFA. Five members play on each team with one in the middle to pass the ...

YOSEMITE — While today marked the first day of Aramark’s takeover as concessioner in Yosemite National Park, the dispute over the historic names of several iconic properties continues. But as that issue works its way through the legal process, for many long-time employees it was a sad day and the end of an era. “Badger Pass had a quiet day ...

The Clampers (E Clampus Vitus Grub Gulch Chapter #41-49) are generously donating a Monitor Hydraulic nozzle to the Raymond Museum and setting up a display to explain how they worked and why their use had to be banned due to their destructive nature. Because the monitors worked with gravity fed water lines they needed to have water lines that dropped ...

MADERA COUNTY — Anyone worried about construction delays set to begin this week along the CA-41 corridor near 22 Mile House can relax a little bit, due to a change in the blasting schedule that will accommodate the relocation of a protected amphibian. Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Resident Engineer Haidar Haddadin says blasting is now set to start anywhere from ...

YOSEMITE — Yosemite National Park will have a new primary concessioner tomorrow, Mar. 1. Yosemite Hospitality LLC begins its 15-year contract to provide lodging, retail, recreational services, and food to over four million annual visitors to Yosemite. Yosemite Hospitality LLC was selected to be the park’s new primary concessioner in June 2015, following a competitive bid process. “This is a ...