Serving the community since 1970
Serving the community since 1970
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On Sunday morning, Shafter Mayor Chad Givens, along with his wife, Vanessa, were installed as the new pastors of the Canyon Hills Shafter Church. Formerly the First Assembly of God Church of Shafter, the church was taken over by Canyon Hills a couple of years ago. Canyon Hills has campuses throughout Kern County and elsewhere. Givens said that he has been certified by both the Pentecostal Church of God and Assembly of God Church for a few years. Givens was part of the Jesus Saves International...
Father Jose Padron has become the first known ordained priest from the St. Therese Church in Shafter. The celebration of Padron's ordination took place July 13 and was witnessed by over 100 parishioners from Shafter who had made the trip to see Padron become ordained. He is now the priest for St. Anthony's Church in Fresno. Padron said that he is excited in fulfilling his lifetime dream to one day have a parish and allow God to work through him. The Mass of Ordination took place at St. Charles B...
The First Southern Baptist Church of Shafter held their Vacation Bible School this week, taking the kids on a Jungle Journey that took them all over the world, in search of the 7 Cs of History. Those Cs include creation, corruption, catastrophe, confusion, Christ, cross and consummation. The 7 Cs of History are intended to be a memorable way of showing that the Bible is a history book, and its events connect with real history. This framework helps to understand fossils, rock layers, people group...
The Shafter Mennonite Brethren Church is holding its annual Wrestling Camp this week, teaching kids on and off the mat. There were over 30 kids on hand, from novice wrestlers to competitive wrestlers looking to get back into form. Led by Pastor Pat Coyle, the camp has been helping children for over 15 years with basic workouts to intricate moves on the mat. Coyle had the assistance of wrestlers from the Shafter Spartans youth wrestling team, as well as members of the Shafter High Generals. The...
"James Garner's Tribute to Johnny Cash" will be returning to Shafter's Ford Theater on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 17 and 18. Garner appeared at the Shafter Ford Theater last year in a sold-out show that entertained the crowd with nostalgic songs and storytelling by Garner. "We're excited to bring our show back to Shafter," Garner said. "We played to a sold-out crowd, so we are glad to be playing three shows over two days to give more folks a chance to see the show." The showtimes are Saturday at...
The Shafter Rotary Club hosted the history-making Shafter Generals Baseball team at their meeting on Wednesday. The club held a luncheon in their honor and listened to Head Coach John Hill and a couple of players as they celebrated a historic season for the team. The Shafter High Generals baseball team did what no other Generals baseball team had done when they captured the Central Section Valley title, beating Madera Matilda Torres in the championship game. This was especially sweet for the...
The Shafter Recreation Department is having a very busy season, with the summer programs all in full swing. Baseball and softball just ended, with champions crowned and All Star games played. The baseball All-Star game pitted the Shafter players against the Wasco All Stars, with the Shafter squad coming out on top. In softball, the team named Texas was the winner SRPD now has their Summer Day Camp continuing, along with their summer tennis program. The tennis camp starting times had to be...
The city celebrated its new skate park with an opening on Friday evening, welcoming a large group of skaters who couldn't wait to try out the new complex. There had been a skate park at the location, on East Euclid Avenue, that was created in 2015. The facility closed in 2020 when the equipment was vandalized. Thanks to several concerned residents, including Councilmember Gilbert Alvarado and former Councilman Cesar Lopez, the new park is now a reality. The facility has brand new equipment, ligh...
It's summertime again, and that means the Shafter Children's Summer Theater program is putting on another production at the Shafter Ford Theater. For this year's musical, love is certainly in the air, as they have been working on Roger and Hammerstein's "Cinderella." The "Cinderella" cast is sure to both tug on your heart strings and have you folding over with laughter. They have been working tirelessly since April, and they are finally ready to present it. Although "Cinderella" is a story that...
The Shafter 99 Cent store, right across the street from La Fonda restaurant, will be closing its doors for good in less than a month. According to owner Ali Mahamad, the move has been on their minds for some time. "It has been very hard, with so much competition and slow business that we knew that it was time to move on," he said last week. The store sells a large variety of items, from canned food and toiletries, to house décor and office supplies. The location was previously operated as a hard...
Shafter celebrated the reopening of Stringham Park with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday evening. The event marked the completion of a major renovation on the park. Stringham Park now has all-new playground equipment, as well as new grass and restrooms. The park is now at the Regional Transit bus stop. The stop was formerly located at the intersection of Pacific and Central Valley Highway, where the Shafter City Hall building is located. There is also a new parking lot at the park site,...
The Shafter City Council Tuesday night approved a service agreement with Diversified Product Services International to complete the North Shafter Improvement Project, at a cost of no more than $400,000. The entire project has a budget of $1.2 million, a grant from the state. This leaves $800,000 for the remainder of the project, which includes putting in a bike lane on Highway 43 on the southbound side of the road. It also includes shoulder improvements and a sidewalk. Councilmember Pete...
The Shafter Little League All-Star team saw their tournament life end this past weekend when they fell in the finals of the Section 7 tournament, losing to Chowchilla in a best of three series. The locals, according to Coach Daniel Burciega, had a long ride up there and it showed in the first game. "They were a little tired, and then we had to sit through a 30-minute delay when their lights overheated and went out." Chowchilla will move on to the State tournament held next month. But, he said...
Gossamer Grove is not the only development bringing homes, parks and future retail development to the city. The Marcona Preserve Development, also to be built by Lennar Homes, is beginning a construction phase that will bring about 400 new residences to the city, right down Seventh Standard Road from Gossamer between the Friant-Kern Canal and the Calloway Canal. The area will include single-family residential development, a middle school, recreation amenities that include four parks, meandering...
The Shafter Chamber of Commerce held its annual July 3 Fireworks Celebration last Wedensday, lighting up the night sky with a spectacular show. The event was much more than a fireworks show, with a lot of fun things for the kids to do while waiting for the sun to go down. There was plenty of food at the event, with tacos and burritos, as well as fair food such as funnel cakes and corn dogs. There was also the mainstay kettle corn, and a variety of flavors of shaved ices, cooling the crowd off...
Though it places most of its dogs with rescue organizations, the Shafter Animal Shelter is looking for good homes for their feline residents needing a loving home. Animal Control Officer Nick Riddick said that the shelter has some loveable cats who would make a great additions to welcoming homes. "Cats are great family members and can be as loyal and loving as a dog." Riddick also wanted to let the public know that the shelter does have dogs for adoption as well. If they know someone is cooking...
There has been plenty of news of the Tigers Taekwondo teaching and supporting the community for over a decade. Begun by Rigo Solorio, the first studio was opened in Wasco, teaching self-defense in the martial arts. The Tigers have a studio in Shafter, too. The award-winning Tigers, headed up by Rigo Solorio and his family, have been teaching students throughout the community for over a decade, and the fruits of their labor are seen on scorecards as well as in the success of their students off...
In their inaugural season in the Little League system, the Shafter Little League Girls Softball team fell just a couple wins shy of the State Tournament. The local team, which is made up of girls 10-12 years old, qualified for a trip to the Sectional tournament, where they ended up taking third place in the Section 7. The Shafter team played a full season and selected an All-Star team to represent the Shafter Little League in the post season tournament. Shafter beat out several teams in the Dist...
The Shafter Boxing Club traveled to Wichita, Kansas, last weekend to compete in the National Junior Olympics. Mike Ayon, the director of the club, took 10 boxers for the competition and they came home with five medals, two silver and three bronze, making it the most successful Olympics for the local boxers in its history. "We have had a boxer or two medal at the Olympics, but we have never had this much success at the event," commented Ayon. In the past, the club has had national champions at...
Shafter lost another icon this week when Frank Russell, Inc. closed its doors on Tuesday. Opened in 1939, the shop has been serving the community, meeting fabricating and steel needs for almost 85 years. Owner and operator Andy Russell said that it was time to do it, and said that he will miss his loyal customers. "It was a family decision. I just decided that it was the right time. I am 73 years old and am ready to spend more time with family." Andy's father, Frank Russell, moved to Shafter in...
Shafter has a new economic development director, and he is ready to take Shafter into a bright future. Fernando Guerra comes to the city after more than two decades working in the economic development field in some of the largest markets in the world. Guerra has worked for the Los Angeles Economic Development Agency, as well as a city agency in New York City and a stint in Chicago. Guerra is a graduate of USC and received his masters in economics and international business from Johns Hopkins...
The Shafter Animal Shelter has a unique situation when it comes to city animal shelters – they have a shortage of adoptable dogs at the site. In the past six months, the shelter has not put any pets available for adoption on their website. This is due to the rescue partners that the city deals with, accounting for all of their available dogs. There are some cats available, however, as they are not rescued. Recently, the shelter had a dozen dogs in the shelter, but all but one of them were d...
The Shafter Theater put on its production of "Matilda" last weekend and drew large crowds for every performance. The play was directed by Lauren Givens and Chad Givens, director of the Shafter Theater. This is the first production for the company, which is a nonprofit that, according to Givens, is faith-based and is working to entertain the city in a positive way. The cast was headed by 8-year-old Esttella Marie Loaiza, a veteran of three shows so far in her career. Loaiza played Matilda with a...
The Shafter Little League All-Stars won the District 61 championship in their first year in existence. According to Little League Director Daniel Burciega, Shafter has not had a Little League team before this year. Little League has been a mainstay in Wasco, Buttonwillow, Delano and other surrounding cities in Kern County, but this is Shafter's first year. Burciega has had plenty of experience with helping run the Buttonwillow Little League and has wanted to bring one to Shafter. "I was so...
Fourth of July is upon us once again, and my blood starts to boil. No, not because of the 100-plus degree heat wave we are in, but it is the reemergence of my nemesis, the fireworks stands. I hate to see those contraptions scattered throughout the city, selling those balls of fire in a can. I really enjoy the fireworks show that the city puts on, with the awesome displays of color, done by professionals. It is the cardboard boxes filled with explosives that injure and maim hundreds every year...
