YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK – Great news skiers! Yosemite National Park’s Badger Pass Ski Area will open on Saturday, Dec. 12 for the 2015-16 season. Badger Pass Ski Area’s snowtubing hill will open at a later date, say park rangers, as more snow is needed. Badger Pass Ski Area, operated by park concessioner Delaware North at Yosemite, is California’s original ski ...

MADERA COUNTY — Madera County’s nationally recognized Search & Rescue Team is currently accepting new applications through the end of the year. Applications can be picked up at either the Sheriff’s main office at 2725 Falcon Drive in Madera, or the Sheriff’s substation at 48267 Liberty Drive in Oakhurst. Interested candidates are urged to complete and submit an application. They ...

Submitted by Samantha Grant O’NEALS — My twin sister Hallie and I are throwing the first-ever carnival at Minarets High School, a  Christmas Carnival for our Senior Legacy Project. We wanted to plan an event that would incorporate what we love and decided to raise money for the Eastern Madera County SPCA (EMC SPCA). We have two dogs, Ryder and ...

COARSEGOLD — A single-vehicle rollover on Highway 41 just north of Yosemite Lakes Parkway shut down both lanes this evening as officers conducted their investigation before making an arrest for DUI. Several witnesses told CHP that the driver of the Honda sedan was driving in a reckless manner and passing them at a high rate of speed just before the ...

MOUNTAIN AREA — A set of storm systems arriving this week are expected to bring more than an inch of rain to the foothills and better than a foot of snow to higher elevations. A Winter Storm Watch has already been issued for the southern Sierra Nevada from Yosemite National Park to Kings Canyon from 4 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 10 ...

By Lexey Jenkins — COARSEGOLD – This is an exciting two months for Coarsegold 4-H. Horse Expo was this month on Nov. 10. Makayla Beckstead and Abigail LaSpada medaled in level two, and Colton Beckstead, Madeline Vellandi and Emily Nowka medaled in level one. Our next 4-H meeting will be on Thursday, Dec. 10: our annual Christmas party from 6 ...

By Virginia Eaton — I do not have cable or network television at home because my peace of mind cannot handle crisis media, which seems to be all that is offered these days. During the last few months, we have been inundated with horror, terror and sadness, as our world seemingly devolves into a post-apocalyptic zombie movie. There is a ...

Submitted by Burt Stalter, Dave Smith and Anne Lombardo SIERRA NATIONAL FOREST — Forest thinnings, also known as fuel treatments, are done in our National Forests to reduce vegetation that can feed wildfires. Fuel treatments involve the thinning of trees, mastication of brush, branches and little trees or ladder fuels that can carry the fire into the crowns of the ...

BASS LAKE – Multiple agencies were out in force today clearing hazard trees from Road 274 on the north side of Bass Lake. The 3-day project is a cooperative effort between Cal Fire, the U.S. Forest Service, the Madera County Fire Department, County Roads and the Sheriff’s Office. Some 1,200 trees have been identified as posing a hazard to motorists ...

MARIPOSA — Defenders of Wildlife, a national conservation organization founded in 1947, has a singular mission: “…the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities.” Dedicated solely to wildlife and habitat conservation and to safeguarding North America’s biodiversity, Defenders holds a vision of diverse wildlife populations that are “…secure and thriving, sustained by a network of healthy ...