Serving the community since 1970
Serving the community since 1970
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In 2018, Melissa Hurtado, against all odds, became the youngest woman ever elected to the California State Senate. She is known as a thoughtful policymaker who works across party lines to improve residents' quality of life and ensure rural voices are heard at all levels of government. Hurtado is the daughter of hard-working immigrants, born and raised in the Central Valley. "This Valley is what I am. The struggles, my upbringing, all have played a role and continue to play a role in who I am and...
Since being elected in November last year, Mayor Vincent R. Martinez has brought passion and commitment to the Wasco community for its residents' betterment. Despite not having a political background, he has brought into the role leadership and knowledge gained through other experiences. "I went to the California State University of Bakersfield and majored in political science, intending to go into politics. Instead, I went into law enforcement for over a decade," Martinez said. Before being...
After 9 1/2 years as the Wasco Union Elementary School District superintendent, Kelly Richers is retiring. A celebration was held in his honor last Friday, where many fellow educational professionals, friends and family attended. Richers started his career in education as a substitute teacher in 1975. He was a physical education and 8th grade science teacher. After that, he came to Wasco and served as an administrator here for 30 years. Although he had different intentions, life brought him to e...
The Orange Heart Foundation, in partnership with Wasco Families Wrestling is hosting their first Small Town Summer Night Festival on Saturday, June 17. The event will feature music by DJ BoomDog with lots of dancing. There will be food, drinks, a 50/50 raffle and a cornhole tournament. "We are doing our first joint event to fundraise for our organizations." Wasco Families Wrestling President Juan Gallardo said. All proceeds will benefit the two organizations equally. WFW encourages and supports...
For June and July, the Wasco Branch Library, along with other libraries in Kern County, is kicking off its annual summer reading challenge. The goal of the challenge is to encourage children, tweens, teens and adults to read over the summer to instill a love of recreational reading and curb summer learning loss. The challenge involves reading 10 books or 10 hours by July 31. A free book and other prizes, while supplies last, will be awarded to those who complete the challenge. The Shafter...
Father’s Day, like many holidays, gives rise to a lot of mixed emotions. For many, the lack of a loving and involved father or father figure brings a deep sense of loss and insecurity. I stand on the precipice of being fatherless – my precious dad just received a terminal diagnosis, yet I count myself blessed because of his love, support and wise advice over many years. My heart breaks, not for my coming loss, but for the orphaned generations, who hunger for the security of a caring father. Frequently, even those who have a father phy...
After a long career as an educator, Palm Avenue Middle School Principal Dr. Zachary Ellis will move on to serve Teresa Burke Elementary School as its new principal. Dr. Ellis began his career in education 19 years ago, first as a teacher at various schools and then as a principal. He left education for a period of time because of the severe budget crisis in 2011-12, when thousands of educators were laid off. After that, he entered the private workforce, which he said allowed him to financially s...
At the regular meeting, the Wasco City Council moved forward with several resolutions related to the start-up of the Police Department, including salaries for positions and a CalPERS safety plan, with permission to begin recruitment and training activities. "CalPERS will review those job descriptions to ensure they are actual safety employees [full law enforcement officers]," Wasco Police Department Chief Charlie Fivecoat said. "We do salary comparisons with other agencies throughout the region...
A Wasco State Prison inmate, Jose Carrasco, was convicted by a Kern County jury on Tuesday for battery causing great bodily injury to a correctional officer. Carrasco, 27, was convicted of four separate counts, including assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury and three counts of battery on a correctional officer. The jury also made special findings that one of the correctional officers suffered great bodily injury by the defendant during the commission of the crime. According to...
It was an emotion-filled ceremony celebrating the graduation of Maple School's 8th-grade students who will be moving on to begin the next chapter of their education. Maple School is a small, tight-knit community with some students attending from transitional kindergarten to 8th grade. Arianna Bernal said, "I am excited but also sad to leave my friends because they are going to different schools. I will miss all the memories and the friendships I had with everyone." She added, "I am a little...
A shooting in Wasco on Sunday left one man with traumatic injuries. Two suspects have been identified as father and son, Alberto Padilla, Sr., 62 and Alberto Padilla, Jr., 40, of Wasco. Both fled the scene in a GMC Yukon. They are considered to be armed and dangerous. The incident occurred in the 2400 block of Jo Ellen Court, where deputies from the Wasco Substation were dispatched for a report of a shooting. According to the Kern County Sheriff's Office, before deputies arrived, they were...
A fire broke out on June 3 at the former farm labor housing complex in Wasco, causing an estimated $100,000 in damages. There were 18 firefighters on the scene to contain the fire. According to the Kern County Fire Department, firefighters responding to the fire from the Wasco fire station could see significant smoke from a distance. The response was increased to include additional resources from surrounding communities based on the smoke seen from a distance. Firefighters were delayed by a trai...
The City Council held a special workshop to review and discuss the 2023-24 budget before its final approval on June 20. The total budget is $88 million, including $29 million in capital projects the city does not anticipate completing in the fiscal year 2023-2024. The purpose of the budget workshop last week was to plan and allocate financial resources effectively, providing a framework for setting financial goals, managing revenues and controlling expenses. "A budget helps individuals,...
It was an inspiring and uplifting occasion at Sunday's Wasco High School baccalaureate ceremony. Pastors gave encouraging words of advice for the graduating seniors, and there was gospel music by students. Pastor Dave Bocker shared a spiritual message. "God said you are his child, and that is who you are. Be clear about that. Be compassionate. The world needs more of that." Pastor Fernando Segura echoed that sentiment and stressed the value of hard work. "Learn to work and be faithful at it....
Blue Sushi prides itself on serving up authentic Japanese cuisine. Under new ownership, the restaurant has thrived. Daniel Vargas is the owner of the family business, with his sister, mother and aunt on the team. He has lived his whole life in Wasco, attending local schools and graduating from Wasco High School in 2018. Daniel decided to build his business in Wasco because he likes the small community. "I know a lot of people here. It feels like home, being around my family." He worked for the...
College Community Services hosted a mental health awareness event on Thursday to bring resources and information to the residents of Wasco. Noemi Ojeda is the program director and a licensed marriage and family therapist. "We are here today celebrating mental health awareness month," she told the attendees, She said the goal was to bring awareness and resources to the community. "Everybody is affected by mental health in some way, and events like this are important to help link people to the hel...
Wasco is moving to make its new Police Department a Peace Officer Standards and Training recognized agency. At the city council meeting on Tuesday, the council took the first action needed to authorized the department to become a POST-recognized agency, adding police dispatchers to an earlier authorization. "We are modifying the 1961 ordinance to include police dispatchers," Chief Charlie Fivecoat said. "What we are doing is we are correcting the original POST authorization." "The way they are...
The launch of the Wasco Police Department is well underway and making substantial progress, led by Chief Charlie Fivecoat. Working in conjunction with City Manager Scott Hurlbert and other key staff, Fivecoat says he has nearly completed all of the logistics needed for the startup. He will soon be entering into the recruitment phase of the project. The tasks completed include the purchase of patrol vehicles, radios, computer-aided dispatch technology and weapons acquisitions. "We have been...
Palm Avenue Middle School welcomed a new teacher this year, which turns out to be the youngest teacher in the school and the district. Melanie Ramirez is 21 years old and was part of the first graduating class of the Wasco high school wonderful program back in 2019 consisting of about 40 to 50 graduating students. "I became the youngest teacher because I enrolled in dual enrollment at the age of 13 and when I was 17 I graduated with both my associate degree and highschool diploma," Ramirez...
Flood Ministries and Free Will Baptist Church will hold their first Wasco Community Outreach event on Saturday, May 27, intending to raise awareness and help end the stigma around mental health. There will be mental health resources, homeless services, food, vendor booths and activities for the kids. The event is in collaboration with American Refuse, the Independent Living Center of Kern County and Kern County Superintendent of Schools. "Kern County Sheriff's Office and City of Wasco...
A new national retailer is in town, and the owners are excited to launch Grocery Outlet on June 15, with the owners hoping to bring the community great prices and a vast selection of quality products. It is a family-owned business, with Amor Regis and James Sauco at the helm. They bring experience they say will help them operate Grocery Outlet efficiently while providing value to the residents of Wasco. Amor's background is in accounting, where she specialized for 26 years and has owned a...
The Wasco Elks Lodge has an exciting lineup of events, including a golf tournament and a car show for the community to enjoy. The golf tournament will occur on Saturday, July 8, at the North Kern County Golf Course in Shafter. Registration starts at 6 a.m., with a shotgun start at 7 a.m. Prizes will be given for the closest to the hole and the longest drive. The price is $500 per team of four and comes with a cart, lunch, greens fee and awards for first and second place. The tournament is for...
Planet Dance Studio will host an energetic Wild Wild West-themed recital to showcase the hard work of their over 75 students. They will perform 17 routines in jazz, ballet, hip hop and tap genres. It will be their summer show and midyear gala. The theme is country western, and the students will perform to some of the biggest and favorite country music songs, young and old. There will be elaborate and detailed costumes to align with the theme. Dancers range from age 4 and up. There are four...
At the regular Wasco City Council meeting on Tuesday, members approved the purchase of weapons and computer-based training software for the start up of the Wasco Police Department. The purchase will include Glock Gen5 handguns, shotguns, nonlethal shotguns and tactical rifle at a cost of $33,587.54. The vendor, ProForce Law Enforcement, is a locally based law enforcement weapons dealer that provides weapons equipment to Kern County police agencies. "The weapons are the first of two acquisitions...
It was a festive celebration of Cinco de Mayo organized by St. John the Evangelist Parish Catholic Church on Sunday. Over 500 people attended the event. The afternoon was one of traditional Mexican foods like tamales, tacos, pozole and menudo. There was a variety of live music and a presentation of Aztec dancing. Enevy Lopez is the second runner-up princess for the church. She said it was an excellent opportunity for the community to get together and enjoy the celebration of Cinco de Mayo. "The...