O’NEALS—Join the community for an unforgettable evening at Minarets High School’s Winter Concert! This exciting event showcases the talented students and features a delightful bake sale and a silent auction, making it a perfect outing for the mountain community. Best of all, admission is completely free! Minarets High School’s music program stands out by offering two dynamic pathways. One focuses ...

O’NEALS —  The Chukchansi Economic Development Authority (CEDA) has made a direct contribution to support youth sports in the community.  Moreover, CEDA represents the business interests of the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians.  The donation to the Minarets Foundation, Inc. will strengthen the Minarets High School football program, known as the Mustangs, as they gear up for the 2024-25 season. ...

O’Neals, CA — Minarets and Minarets Charter High School have emerged as the top-performing high schools in Madera County, according to the recently released 2024 CAASPP (California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress) results.  Notably, the schools outpaced competitors such as Yosemite, Liberty, and Madera High in key subjects, including English, Math, and Science. A Remarkable Turnaround To begin, this ...

O’NEALS–Air and ground firefighters are responding to a vegetation fire in the area of Road 200 and Circle J Ranch. The fire is reported to be 10 acres burning at a critical rate of spread with structures involved. This will be the Circle Fire. We will update this article when more information is available. Wednesday, July 24th Update 9:00 am ...

COARSEGOLD–The California Department of  Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), in cooperation with California Highway Patrol, CAL TRANS, Pacific Southwest Research Station/Fresno State University, private landowners, and San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, aim to reduce large conflagrative fires and high suppression costs, to the citizens of California, by conducting a prescribed burn along the Highway 41 corridor. Historically, this stretch of Highway 41 ...

O’Neals—Minarets High School is proud to announce the hiring of Head Varsity Baseball Coach Jesse Darrah. Coach Darrah returns to Minarets Baseball after a brief hiatus of 3 years. He took the Mustangs to the Valley Championship finals two years in a row in the 2018-2019 and the 2020-2021 seasons. His record for seasons 2017 through 2021 was 71-25 bringing ...

O’NEALS–The tiny town of O’Neals has had a post office since 1887. The town area of approximately 500 citizens is home to Spring Valley Elementary School, Minarets High School, including 2 Charter schools and Ponderosa Telephone.  Westbrook Wine Farm (a lovely boutique wine farm) and a handful of home businesses also call O’neals home. The local office for J. S. ...

SACRAMENTO—The Cal Fire Office of the State Fire Marshall is excited to announce the appointment of Frank Bigelow to Deputy Director of Community Wildfire Preparedness & Mitigation with the Office of the State Fire Marshal. 20 Years of Experience 2004 Chief Bigelow began his CAL FIRE career as a Fire Fighter I at the Ahwahnee Station in the Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit (MMU), ...

COARSEGOLD– The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), in cooperation with California Highway Patrol (CHP), California Department of Transportation (CAL TRANS), Pacific Southwest Research Station / Fresno State University, Private Landowners, and San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, aims to reduce large conflagrative fires and high suppression costs, to the citizens of California, by conducting a ...

Article written by Laurie Waskin of the Reel Cowboys. Special thanks to Kathryn Ellis, Chairperson of the North Fork History Group, for additional information. NORTH FORK — “North Fork” – the evocative name bestowed upon this idyllic 19th century town may sound familiar to western enthusiasts, along with an assumption the locale could have been coined by screenwriters similar to The ...