MADERA COUNTY — As the holiday season begins to draw near, our local Marine Corps League Detachment 1121 members gear up for the annual campaign that has been making Christmas wishes come true for needy children since 1947. Now, the 2018 Marine Corps Toys for Tots campaign in Eastern Madera County has begun with the placement of toy donation boxes ...

By Francine Soliz — O’NEALS — Originally a musical but taken into the hands of directors, “Mamma Mia” has been entertaining romantics around the world. Being the media-driven school we are, of course we invested time in producing “Mamma Mia” in all its glory. Kayla West, the director for our high school drama club, is jumping with joy. “It is a fun ...

OAKHURST — This week we are focusing on one of our 6th grade teachers, Ms. Amy Smith. She has been teaching for thirteen years in total, but has only taught for five years in Oakhurst, and loves it! When Ms. Smith graduated from high school she went to college to become a biologist. After completing two years toward her biology ...

By Barbara Irion — AHWAHNEE — Wasuma Elementary School’s PTA held its first Color Run to raise money for the activities it provides for students throughout the year. This includes assemblies, field trips, music instruction, family movie nights, academic pentathlon, spelling bee, and book fair — to name a few. Students collected pledges per lap, or flat donations, from family ...

COUNTY — Yosemite High, Chawanakee Academy, and Glacier High Charter School decathletes will join students from throughout California for the Madera County Academic Decathlon Lecture Day on Thursday, Oct. 25. Valley experts will lecture on six subject areas to more than 600 students from throughout the state. “We are excited to offer this event to all decathletes for the 12th ...

O’NEALS — Minarets High School’s local climbing and outdoor activities club is on the move, having recently returned from Twin Lakes, where students and their faculty advisers hiked Kaiser Peak in the Kaiser Wilderness. With a handful of hiking, climbing and backpacking trips under their belts, the Glissaders Club, as it’s known, is getting ready to plan another big trip ...

By Jeannie Harsha — OAKHURST — On a cool, misty day in early October the second graders from Oakhurst Elementary School embarked on a field trip to Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. Intrepid chaperones and students headed up the fog-enshrouded trail gathering information on Sequoias, forest ecology and factors that make a healthy forest. The mist was short lived and ...

OAKHURST — Yosemite High School seniors Chris Ward and Sage Crosswhite are organizing this year’s Badger Baseball Alumni Game for their senior project. It’s on Sunday,Oct. 14 starting at 3 p.m. at Yosemite High School. They’ve pulled together a terrific roster of players, ordered t-shirts, and even held a bake sale to help offset expenses for the cause. “I think ...

O’NEALS — The 2018 Minarets Veterans’ Dinner is quickly approaching. This year, Jaycee Roberts and Lauren Childers are working to organize and put on the dinner for their Senior Legacy Experience. “We are going to make sure that the dinner will be a supportive environment for our veterans and our community,” says Jaycee Roberts, with high hopes for the success of ...

By Greta Ziegler —  O’NEALS — Minarets High School is home to one of the very few school-sponsored equestrian teams in the Central Valley. Though competition with other schools is limited, the Minarets Equestrian Team dominates. In fact, they have such a prestigious competitive record that schools who do have equestrian teams do not want to compete with them. The ...