Serving the community since 1970
Serving the community since 1970
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It has been a busy year for the Class of 2024's Shafter Distinguished Young Woman, Emily Mcguire. In addition to representing Shafter in the state competition, Emily had the opportunity to attend events such as the Cinco de Mayo Parade and the Christmas Parade. She also had the opportunity to lead the Pledge of Allegiance at the Fourth of July Celebration, cut the ribbon for a new caboose at the Shafter Train Depot, light the town's Christmas tree and sing carols with her DYW sisters. Emily...
Retired Assistant Chief of Police Diana Burnett will lead this year's Cinco de Mayo Festival. Burnett was delighted by the festival committee's announcement and thinks that it is a huge honor. "I am so surprised and really humbled by their decision," said Burnett. She said that she has always loved the festival and is looking forward to being a part of it. "I have worked it so many years, and I just love all of the colors, the dancing, music and the wonderful time that the community has at it."...
The city will spend up to $1.5 million for a new General Plan. The City Council approved a contract with Place Works, Inc., to create the updated document.. The agreement includes making a vision for the city for the next 20 years. This will include economic, business, retail expansion and education plans. The process is expected to take about two years to complete. The council also discussed regulations regarding the use of artificial intelligence in the city. This includes sophisticated...
FRESNO – The Shafter Spartans youth wrestling team traveled to the State Tournament last weekend and came away with several medals, including a State Champion. The tournament was held at the Selland Arena in Fresno. Led by Coach Eli Espericueta, the Spartans had a champion in Jayden Gonzalez. Gonzalez, along with his brother Julian and sister Janali, all came home with medals. The Gonzalez family is no stranger to winning, with their older sister, Julissa, becoming the first female qualifier i...
Last week, Chevrolet executives from Detroit, including Zone Manager Michael Stinner, arrived at Richland Chevrolet in Shafter to present dealer Jeff Millwee with a plaque commemorating 25 years of service as a Chevrolet dealer here. This milestone was celebrated with great pride and recognition of the dealership's unwavering dedication to its customers and the Chevrolet brand. The event culminated in a special photo session, capturing a feature on Millwee in the trade publication AutoNews,...
The Shafter Chamber of Commerce Banquet and Awards event is Thursday, March 14, beginning at 5 p.m., with an hors d'oeuvre hour followed by dinner and then the awards. Before the awards presentations, the mayor of Shafter, Chad Givens will be giving the State of the City address, which highlights the accomplishments of the city the past year, as well as the future. Givens gave a speech last year that was full of hope and promise, with several of these goals coming to fruition, such as the succes...
This article features the second half of the contestants in the Shafter Distringuished Young Women program set for this month. The other eight were in last week's paper, which can be seen at TheShafterPress.com. A total of 16 young women will be vying for the title of Shafter Distinguished Young Woman at this year's competition on Friday, March 22. The event is one of the oldest scholarship programs for junior girls in the state, with the Shafter event celebrating over 40 years in existence, at...
Schools in the Richland School District celebrated the Reading Across America event last week, with classrooms filled with special guest readers of numerous Dr. Seuss books. The event encouraged reading in and out of the classroom and shows that reading is an enjoyable event, not just an educational tool. There were dozens of guests at local elementary schools that helped celebrate the joy of reading. Members of the Shafter community came to read to the students, including Mayor Chad Givens,...
Shafter High girls basketball Coach Shawn Pennell has retired after 20 seasons at the helm, completing a transformation that took the Lady Generals from the bottom of the SSL to Central Section supremacy. Pennell ended his career a few weeks ago when the Lady Generals made it to the Central Section Division III semifinals and lost a tough game to the eventual Regional Champions, the Bakersfield Christian Eagles. The team won their own basketball tournament and also finished in third place in...
The Shafter High School track and field team is off to a quick start, with a strong showing at the Kern Invitational track meet last weekend. The highlight was sophomore Jocelyn Pierucci, who won the discus event, throwing a distance of over 122 feet, outdistancing her competition by 22 feet. Pierucci is continuing her high school athletic career after having an outstanding freshman season, advancing all the way to the Central Section Masters meet, just missing qualifying for the State track mee...
David Couch appears to be headed to another term as in his race for re-election, according to the Kern County Elections office, with results as of early Wednesday morning. In the race for supervisor of the 4th District, Couch has amassed a big lead, with 52% of the vote, enough to return him to office without a runoff. Candidate Veronica Cruz Vasquez has received a little over 17% of the vote, with Wasco Mayor Alex Garcia with 16% and Salvador Solorio-Ruiz with 14%. If the percentages hold, Couc...
On a light agenda Tuesday night,, the Wasco City Council approved a couple of residents as new members of the Wasco Sales Tax Oversight Committee (Measure X). John Pallares and Rosalio Armendariz were appointed to serve for an unexpired term ending Dec. 31, 2025. The council had sent a recruitment notice that was published in the Wasco Tribune advertising for interested candidates. Pallares and Armendariz were both interviewed by Mayor Alex Garcia, City Manager Scott Hurlbert and Councilmember...
The Shafter Chamber of Commerce will hold their annual Community Awards on Thursday night, March 14, at the Ford Theater. The event honors individuals, groups and businesses that have enriched the community and helped make Shafter a great place to live. The honorees will join others, such as Fred Starrh, Jack "Woody" Colvard and Jon Johnston as recipients of the awards recognizing outstanding contributions to the community. Recipients this year are: Hitchcock Auto Parts, who was named the...
The Shafter City Council listened to the annual financial report for the fiscal year of 2023 at its meeting Tuesday night.. Christian Townes, CPA partner with LSL, Inc., gave a report on their audit of the city finances. Townes said that the company performed detailed testing of account balances and transactions. The results of the audit said that the city's financial statements were accurate and reliable for the year ending June 30, 2023. They identified no fraud, waste or abuse during the...
The first of two articles featuring this year's Distinguished Young Woman of Shafter participants. The other half will be presented in next week's paper. The annual Distinguished Young Woman of Shafter scholarship program is on tap for Friday March 22, at the Fred Starrh Performing Arts Center at Shafter High School. Each girl is in her junior year at Shafter High and will be competing for over $5,000 in scholarship money. There are 16 participants in this year's competition. with half profiled...
Helen Gaede passed away recently, leaving the city without one of its treasures. Gaede was beloved by so many in town, touching lives throughout her life. Gaede moved to Shafter in 1968, coming with her husband, Dennis, a Shafter native. Gaede was always active in her church, the Shafter Mennonite Brethren Church, eventually getting involved in the Shafter Kiddie Kollege in 1972, where she worked as a Teachers Aide. Gaede continued her education and became program director. She joined the...
The Shafter Kiwanis Club held their monthly Terrific Kids luncheon, honoring local students who display the character trait that is featured for that month. This month, the focus is onFriendliness. Those being recognized included Maple School's Noah Lopez, Viana Fuentes, Amber Gonzalez and Sophia McCuan. They were presented awards by their principal, Christy Nelson. For Sequoia Elementary, Principal Janeane Morrison gave awards to students Auctavia Espinoza and Ashton Espericueta. Redwood...
While the Shafter High girls wrestling team has had unprecedented success this year, their feeder program has also shined this season. The Shafter Youth Wrestling team, the Shafter Spartans, has a young wrestler that is on his way to the State Tournament at Selland Arena in Fresno this weekend. Nehamiah Salcido, who is in just his third year of competitive wrestling, will be competing in the 2nd/3rd division in the 77 lbs. weight class. Salcido has already captured a Valley title and a Masters...
David Couch is running for reelection as the Supervisor in the 4th District. Couch is a lifelong resident of Kern County and has served as a city councilman and county supervisor for over 20 years. He has over 25 years of private sector experience working in the financial services and energy industries. Couch has said that he has done much for the communities he represents and looks forward to the chance to serve them for another term. A big issue for Couch is making sure his constituents are...
Salvador Solorio-Ruiz has thrown his hat into the ring for the District 4 Supervisor race, looking to change the path of the county from status quo to a more involved community. “The way things are now, there seems to be a disconnect between the community and its leadership. We need to change that, and I would be the perfect candidate to bring about that change.” Solorio-Ruiz is Delano’s vice mayor, after becoming one of the youngest city council members in the county at the age of 24 when elect...
After a four-year absence, the Colours Festival made its return to Shafter last weekend, with a host of activities. The traditional Spaghetti Dinner was put on by the Shafter Community Chest, with a drive-thru event this year. On Friday, the Art Gallery opened at the Ford Theater, with the works of 13 local artists on display. There were sculptures, paintings, sketches and photographs, as well as floral arrangements created by the Shafter FFA. There was also a visit from author Jennifer...
The Shafter High girls basketball team saw their season and Head Coach Shawn Pennell's tenure end with a loss to the top-seeded Eagles of Bakersfield Christian on Wednesday night, 70-47, in the semifinals of the Central Section Division III playoffs. The Lady Generals, seeded number four in the tourney, came out firing in the first quarter, using a smothering defense to force a few Eagle turnovers and turning them into easy points. After leading after the first quarter, the teams traded baskets,...
When you think of art in Shafter, Charlotte White, Deanna Nelson and Lorena Castillo would naturally come to mind. These artists have given the community many pieces to admire, from White's depictions of local landmarks to Nelson's touching portraits of people and landscapes. There is an artist in town who presented some of her creations at the Colours Festival that you may not have heard of. Martha Maynard, whose daughter, Stephanie Benito, is Stan Wislon's right-hand person at the Shafter...
Julianna Gonzalez, who came into the State Wrestling tournament last weekend at Mechanics Bank Arena as the number three seed, fell short of making it to the medal rounds, falling in the quarterfinals, suffering her first pin of the season. Gonzalez won her first two matches by pins. Her first match she pinned her opponent just 45 seconds into the match. She had no more trouble in her second match, securing the pin to make it to day 2 of the season-ending event. After the loss, Gonzalez was...
Shafter lost a great friend recently, with the passing of Longino (Kino) Gonzalez, at the age of 92. Gonzalez is best known around town for his cheerful disposition and caring attitude, working for the U.S. Post Office for over 36 years. Gonzalez hadn't even thought about the Post Office for the first half of his life, toiling in the fields and making a living for him and his family, until one day someone asked him if he had ever thought about trying for a job there. Gonzalez had found his...
