Serving the community since 1970
Serving the community since 1970
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 2664
The Shafter Lions Club hosted its inaugural 'Pictures with Santa' event in downtown Shafter on Saturday, welcoming over 100 children, distributing candy and spreading joy and smiles. "It was a big hit, and next year will be even bigger and better," President and Councilmember Gilbert Alvarado said. "Thank you to our Santa, David Porter, who did a wonderful job entertaining the kids." (Photo courtesy of Councilmember Gilbert Alvarado)...
Wasco Independence High School celebrated the grand opening of The Falcon Closet recently with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Thanks to a $5,000 community grant from Kern Family Health Care, this long-awaited project became a reality. The Falcon Closet was created to address a critical need within the student community by providing free access to essential items such as clothing, personal hygiene products and household supplies. WIHS staff recognized that students' success is often hindered by a lac...
Wasco city employees will get one-time payments of $2,000 after the City Council voted the allocation from American Rescue Plan funds. Part-time employees will get $1,000 payments. City Manager Scott Hurlbert said that over the last couple of years, city employees have been operating under memorandums of understanding and a wage structure defined more than two years ago. He added that there has been some correction recently, but during that time, there was substantial inflation in the energy...
Wasco Toys for Tigers held its annual toy distribution event on Saturday at Grace Community Church, serving 220 families for a total of 650 children. The organization provided children ages up to age 12 with new balls, games, stuffed animals, blankets, stocking stuffers and toys. "The event was an incredible success. We feel very blessed by the community that helped us put this together," event chairman Donna Ward said. "We couldn't do it without our partners, which this year included the Wasco...
The Wasco Union Elementary School District Wasco Winter Classic Robotics Tournament at Palm Avenue Middle School on Saturday brought together 29 teams from 15 different schools from as far as Lancaster, Santa Paula and Torrance. The teams competed in a six-match round-robin and then chose partners to compete in a single-elimination bracket championship round. The winning teams were the Knight Hawks from Fulton and Alsbury Academy of Arts and Engineering in Lancaster, along with the Cyber...
The annual Christmas Celebration at the Depot at the Shafter Depot Museum took place on Saturday, featuring the Shafter Brass Band playing traditional holiday carols and songs. Attendees enjoyed a visit from Santa, along with stuffed animals for the children , courtesy of PetSmart. The event showcased a selection of decorated Christmas trees, with community members voting for the best design. The museum was adorned in a festive theme, and guests indulged in homemade cookies and hot cider. It...
The Shafter City Council voted unanimously to reappoint Chad Givens as mayor for another two-year term, beginning Jan. 1. The mayoral position is appointed by a vote of the council members. Givens was nominated by Councilmember Gus Olvera. At the recent regular meeting of the council, they also voted to certify the Nov. 4 election results, in which Espinoza, Givens and Councilmember Gilbert Alvarado retained their seats on the council for another four-year term. They were then sworn in. Gus...
The Shafter Mennonite Brethren Church hosted its annual "Come Celebrate Christmas" recently. It was a festive event featuring a Christmas tree lighting, food trucks, pop-up vendors, hayrides, live music, bounce houses, crafts, photo opportunities, face painting,a s'mores station and a family nativity experience. "We wanted to tie this event in with other holiday community events in Shafter and offer something similar at our church for the community," Pastor Pat Coyle explained about the Dec. 8...
"The Shafter Woman's Club is proud to announce the completion of another successful year of our annual Christmas for Shafter Seniors donation drive, spreading cheer and brightening the holiday season for them," Barbara Gladden, recording secretary and event coordinator, said last week. The campaign kicked off in October with a heartfelt call to action: to provide homebound and isolated seniors in Shafter with holiday gift bags filled with essential items. Donations were gathered for residents...
First of series spotlighting the Shafter Recreation and Parks District board of directors. Nelson Salinas was re-elected for a second term in November representing District 1, and was reappointed chairman. "It's a privilege and honor to continue serving my district and the community of Shafter," Nelson Salinas said in an interview. "I have a lot of ambition to finish the Wonderful Sports Complex in partnership with Shafter Rec. We've been working tirelessly on it, and I'm committed to going the...
The City of Shafter held a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week to celebrate the grand opening of the new soccer lights at Veterans Park. The event highlighted the park's improvements to its soccer fields. For a field that used to be completely dark, where players often relied on car headlights, construction lights and generators to practice and play at night, the addition of soccer field lights is truly remarkable and a game-changer, according to the people that use the facility. Shafter FC youth...
Saint Therese Catholic Church celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12 with a special service honoring the Virgin Mary's apparition to Juan Diego, a Mexican peasant, in 1531. The Virgin Mary appeared to him on Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City, instructing him to have a church built in her honor. This event holds great significance for its role in spreading Catholicism throughout the Americas and is especially meaningful to Mexican and Latin American communities. The feast celebrates...
The Rose Festival Group and Orange Heart Foundation, in partnership with the City of Wasco, hosted the Wasco Christmas Festival on Saturday, with this year's theme, "Kindness Shines." The event featured a parade with over 50 entries, a vendor fair, a kids corner with games, crafts and a train ride and a lighting ceremony, where Miss Wasco Rose Queen Rihanna Sanchez lit the 20-foot tree. This year, the 2024 Wasco High School Valley Champion cheer and Tiger wrestling teams and the JV and sophomore...
Líderes Campesinas is a nonprofit organization founded in 1988 by farmworker women in California's Coachella Valley. "Our mission is to strengthen the leadership of farmworker women and girls so they can serve as a bridge for economic, political, and social change and ensure their human rights," Yesenia Acosta of Líderes Campesinas Kern Norte explained. On Friday, Dec. 20, they will host CampesinXmas at the Wasco Woman's Club, featuring a traditional Mexican posada, a 2024 post-election c...
The "Intergalactic Space Invasion" recital, produced by Planet Dance Studio, conquered the stage on Saturday. The program took place in Delano at the RFK High School Auditorium. With nearly 500 in attendance, the energy was out of this world. Each class gave a phenomenal performance, and the music selection was just as entertaining to match....
The Wasco Woman's Club held its annual Christmas celebration for students on Friday at Grace Community Church. High school youth with disabilities enjoyed pizza, cookies, lots of dancing, and, of course, a highlight was a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus, with whom they took pictures and received a Christmas gift. DJ Boomer provided the music, and all the students dressed in their best holiday attire. "It was the most joyous and rewarding Christmas party ever," said Sukie Martinez, Woman's Club...
Karl F. Clemens Elementary School announced its Super Students for the week of Dec. 9. Criteria for selection were based on significant math improvement, showing kindness to all friends, respect and hard work, following class procedures, helping other students understand new concepts and improving learning English. Pictured in the front row, from left, are Principal Anabel Garrison, Agustin Landeros (5th grade), Luis M. Flores Valdez (4th grade), Consuelo Ochoa (kindergarten), Yoselin Noriega...
The City of Shafter has had a longstanding tradition of lighting their Christmas tree downtown with a celebration involving the entire community, complete with music, food, drinks and fun. This year they also had a few extra groups to celebrate as they recognized several local sports teams who have had extraordinary years in 2024. Of course, the event wouldn't be complete without a visit from the jolly man in red and white, who arrived and took pictures with the children. Mayor Chad Givens...
Demolition began Monday on the building at the corner of Highway 43 and Central Avenue, on the site of the city's first retail business. The building featured a mural depicting various scenes of Shafter. During the city's centennial celebration in 2013, the city acquired funding to hire an artist to create the mural. "On that corner, Charles Shomate established the first retail business in Shafter in 1914. He replaced his original building with the brick building now being demolished in l919....
A pinning ceremony was held on Friday to celebrate the appointment of interim Shafter Chief of Police Randy Milligan as the new chief of police. The event honored a decorated peace officer who, over his 23 years in Shafter, has held nearly every position within the department, including traffic officer, field training officer, K-9 officer, senior patrol officer, sergeant, range master, lieutenant, captain, acting chief and now chief. With 26 years in law enforcement, his dedication and service...
Santa Claus, accompanied by Mrs. Claus, flew in from the North Pole to visit the Minter Field Air Museum on Saturday. "They arrived in an airplane, taxied right up to the museum's hangar, got out and greeted all the children and adults there," Minter Field Air Museum Chairman Ronald Pierce said. Hundreds of children from across Kern County had the chance to share their Christmas wishes with Santa. Each child also got to choose a free stuffed animal, donated by the Ming Avenue PetSmart. Members...
The Shafter Christmas Parade and Festival at Mannel Park on Friday brought the community together to celebrate the season of cheer. Hosted by the Lions Club, this evening featured a parade with over 40 entries, including festive floats, decorated cars and trucks, and lively marching bands, all radiating holiday spirit. Kicking off the festivities were activities at the park, including food trucks, games, bouncy houses and lots of "snow." All of the schools in the Richland School District, as wel...
The Kiwanis Club of Shafter hosted a luncheon on Nov. 13 to celebrate local students recognized as Terrific Kids, nominated by their teachers for exemplifying respect in the classroom. The event, attended by their families and community members, showcased the pride and support for the students' achievements.Each student received a certificate, pencil, bumper sticker and t-shirt. "At Kiwanis, we love encouraging kids to develop good character traits that will help them succeed in life. In our...
In last week’s paper, new Wasco mayor Valentin Medina’s first name was wrong in a headline. We regret this editing error....
On a foggy Saturday morning, a high-speed crash between a pickup truck and a tractor on Kimberlina Road resulted in the death of the truck's driver, according to the California Highway Patrol. The collision occurred about 7:30 a.m. in dense fog that severely reduced visibility. The CHP officials reported that a GMC Sierra pickup truck was traveling eastbound on Kimberlina Road at an unsafe speed, given the conditions. A John Deere tractor pulling an implement of husbandry in tandem was crossing...