Couch's Corner

This week for Couch’s Corner, I would like to spotlight a very special group of young Shafter/Buttonwillow residents and football players at Shafter High School. Every year before Buttonwillow’s harvest festival and parade, the community led by a local farmer, organizes a clean-up event. This year was no different. A large majority of our local volunteers are the Shafter High School football team (Go Generals!).

Community clean-up events are a great way to make a difference in our neighborhoods. This year the community cleanup took place on Oct. 15. We had about 40 or so young volunteers. Additionally, the Shafter football coaches were also in attendance, as well as some of the students’ parents who helped with transportation.

This year’s event was a success. The volunteer group removed tires, couches and other miscellaneous items from the local canal. The group picked up trash off our streets and filled many bags. The entire Shafter football team including the coaches did a fantastic job in serving the Buttonwillow community, so it is fitting that we share in their recent accomplishment of their most recent playoff win (42-41 against the Matilda Torres Toros, 42-41).

One thing that stood out to us this year during the clean-up event was the immense size of some of the volunteers. One student athlete/volunteer was over 300 pounds and standing tall at 6- feet-2. Additionally, another student is taller than me (6’4”), as he is 6-feet-7. These two students are both on the offensive line protecting their team’s starting quarterback.

Recently, Ezekial Osborn, a freshman high school student athlete that is playing varsity football at quarterback, was announced as KGET’s FFX player of the week after helping to win the Generals’ first playoff game. His stats are as follows: 50% of his passes were completed (8/16 passes), 230 yards passing, four touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 109.4. Their next game will be against the Caruthers Blue Raiders Friday at 7 p.m.

Stay safe this week as we are expecting some rain on our roads. If you have any questions regarding county services or comments, please email me at [email protected] or call us at 661-868-3680.