Serving the community since 1922
Serving the community since 1922
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It was an Evening with the Mustangs at Teresa Burke Elementary School for families to hear about the things happening in the Wasco Union Elementary School District. Assistant Superintendent Oscar Luna presented the Local Control Accountability Plan for them to provide feedback and input. The Local Control Accountability Plan is the district's three-year guide for how it will use state Local Control Funding Formula funding to service all students. The LCFF is California's...
Wasco High School has an incentive program designed to inspire student achievement called STRIPES. Focused on positive reinforcement, students are taking away the message of showing respect, doing the right thing, focusing in class and being involved on campus, among other things. In its second year of the program, over 89% of the student body received at least one stripe of recognition from school leadership. In September 2022, WHS rolled out the program to highlight...
North Kern Christian School will have two fundraising events in the next month and a half. A Vendor Faire is planned for Saturday, April 27, and a BBQ and Auction is set for Saturday, May 4. Both events promise family fun, delicious food and an opportunity to support the school's mission of providing exceptional education rooted in faith. Sandy Armstrong is the director of the Home Study Program. In an interview, she said, "Our Vendor Faire will have homemade goods, sweet...
Barry Braun, chairman of the Kern County Cemetery District 1, which includes Shafter and Wasco, has received the Trustee of the Year award from the California Association of Public Cemeteries. The award is given to a trustee who was nominated by their district for exceptional performance, including for their commitment of time and energy to working with others to improve and enhance their district, and to develop new approaches, methods and systems to improve organizational...
A ceremony was held at Bakersfield High School in which 32 trainees received their badges in a pinning ceremony after the trainees completed an extensive training program. Of the 32 graduates, two of those were to become new members of the Shafter Police Department. Officer Herrera was pinned by Acting Chief Randy Milligan, as was Officer Escutia. They were among 47 trainees that started the program over six months ago that were sworn in by Judge David Zulfa. The officers also...
The Shafter City Council Tuesday night approved a revised development agreement with Lennar Homes for the Marcona Preserve development off of Seventh Standard Road. This property would be the site of 395 residential lots, ranging in size from 5,508 square feet to to 23,345 square feet (a large corner lot). The minimum size of a residential unit is 1,400 square feet. The agreement includes environmental impact fees of up to $15,000. This agreement will eliminate any...
At Tuesday night's Wasco City Council meeting, more progress was made toward developing the Wasco Police Department, including approval to execute all documents necessary to create a no-profit Police Activity League organization and authorization to finalize the purchase of additional police start-up vehicles. Currently, the Kern County Sheriff's Department has a nonprofit Sheriff's Activity League located in a city-owned building at 1445 12th St. However, with their...
The Shafter Kiwanis Club held their annual Easter Sunrise Service at Mannel Park on Sunday, giving residents a chance to celebrate Resurrection Sunday together as a community. Over 100 attendees were met with hot coffee and donuts, taking the bite out of the very cold morning. They were welcomed with music by David Bleomhof, as well as an opening prayer by Kiwanis President Ben Wilson. Randy Toews sang a "He Arose" to open the service, then a scripture was read by Kiwanis...
St. John the Evangelist Parish presented a moving reenactment of the Passion of Christ, a dramatic performance depicting the trial, suffering, crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. There were elaborate costumes, music and set designs with dozens of actors that realistically portrayed the last hours of Jesus's life before his resurrection. In an interview right before the play on Friday, Eulogio Arreola, sound technician and set designer, said, "We have been preparing since...
The Wasco Woman's Club held its 2024 Wasco High School Fine Arts Awards recently, giving Wasco High School young talent a platform to shine and exhibit their exemplary artistic skills. Under the guidance of art teacher Julie Pineo, eight students received accolades for their one-of-a-kind art pieces created in various mediums. Mahalia Bradshaw won the Graduating Senior Art Award for her torn-paper mosaic, "Thoughts." "With my self-portrait piece, I wanted it to really be a...
The historic Wasco High School auditorium was filled with the rhythmic beats of steel drum music of the WHS Groove Steelers at their Pan Rocks concert last week. Known for the band's infectious and soulful melodies, the performance featured a special guest appearance by Tracy Thornton, whose presence added an extra layer of excitement to the evening's festivities. In an interview after the show, Eduardo Jimenez Corona said performing in front of a live crowd is stressful,...
At the Shafter Chamber of Commerce Banquet last week, the awards committee recognized Maria Martinez with the Health Award. Martinez has spent the last couple of decades dedicated to the health and happiness of Shafter's seniors. Martinez is the senior adult coordinator for the Shafter Recreation Department, heading up a variety of programs and activities that are geared to keeping Shafter's seniors moving. "I think that our seniors can be an active, productive members of the...
The annual Spring it On Easter Egg Hunt hosted by the Wasco Recreation and Parks District brought families together for a day filled with excitement, laughter and plenty of Easter eggs. At Barker Park, parent Cristal Landeros appreciated the activity. "I came to bring my little one. He's been wanting to do activities for Easter, and I love that the city put this together for the kids and families." Gayle Coleman brought her three grandchildren. "It's an excellent time for...
The students in the Richland School District have had a busy month of March, with several events and activities in each of the Shafter public elementary schools. At Golden Oak Elementary, they held their annual Open House event. Students had a chance to show their parents examples of their work and art, as well as the classroom environment that they spend so much of their days in. The parents also had a chance to meet with their children's teachers, getting to know them, as...
A Wasco man was arrested for allegedly removing human remains from the scene of an accident. The accident occurred on March 22 at approximately 8:05 a.m., when a train fatally struck an individual at the Amtrak station in the city, according to the BNSF Railway and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. Rosendo Tellez, 28, of Wasco, was taken into custody for taking evidence from the scene and for multiple outstanding warrants. He was booked into the Kern County Jail. The county Co...
A front-page headline in last week's paper said the Distinguished Young Woman's event would be held on Saturday. It was on Friday. A picture of candidate Celeste Perez was misidentified as Kaitlyn Arismendez. A sports picture of Navian Jimenez was miscaptioned as his brother, Jayden Jimenez. The Shafter Press regrets the errors....
Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed Shafter’s Timothy Sheldon to the California Corrections Peace Officers Commission. This position is a part of a commission that optimizes the well-being and performance of correctional peace officers. The commission’s mission is to prioritize the correctional peace officers’ well-being, resilience, and performance by elevating training through standards development, apprenticeship improvement, and training evaluation. Sheldon has worked in co...
Richard Keith Reding, Sr., born on September 10, 1935, in Montgomery County, Tenn., lived an exemplary life of service above all. He was a man of faith and family, going over and beyond to serve his beloved community of Wasco, where he lived for 59 years. He passed away on March 17 at age 88. Reding taught physical education, health and typing at Thomas Jefferson Middle School for 35 years. The Richard K. Reding Gymnasium at Palm Ave Middle School was named after him. Reding...
The Shafter Recreation Department will be installing a solar array with part of a federal grant for just over $230,000 for improvements at the Walker Senior Center. The grant also will fund an upgrade to the parking lot. According to District Manager Phillip Jimenez, the grant was a pleasant surprise. "We didn't know what to expect when we applied for the grant. We are pretty small compared to other organizations that got a similar grant from the same program. We are very...
The Shafter City Council Tuesday afternoon discussed the status of the city's budget for the fiscal year 2023-24, and also talked about the future numbers dealing with the fiscal year 2024/2025. The city saw an increase in the net position financially, with an increase of $8.1 million, giving the city a net position of $235 million in assets. This increase, according to Financial Director Roger Sanchez, is a result of an increase of sales tax and property tax revenue. Sanchez...
Camryn Eubanks was named the Distinguished Young Woman of Shafter for the Class of 2025 on Friday night. Camryn won $2,300 in scholarships, in addition to a medal and the opportunity to represent the city at the State DYW program to be held in July in Bakersfield. She was sponsored by Mashburn Transportation and is the daughter of Nick and Roya Eubanks. Winning the First Alternate title was Celeste Perez, and the Second Alternate was Adriana Moreno Bravo. The Shafter program...
The Richland School District broke ground recently on a new building that will house a portion of its Expanded Learning Opportunity Program, servicing local elementary school students. The ELOP, explained Richland's Jaime Cherry, is an after-school program that gives students an opportunity to learn, as well as have fun after school. "The program allows parents to have a sense of peace while they are at work, knowing that their children are being provided extra opportunities...
Shafter has been and is a city "where everything grows," Mayor Chad Givens emphasized in his State of the City address at the Chamber of Commerce Awards Saturday night. "Over 100 years ago, people found this land, and realized that this was land where everything would grow," Givens started his address to nearly 200 in the Ford Theater. "Today, the city is still that. Shafter is the city where everything grows." Givens was not just talking about crops, or the population, but...
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...
The Shafter Chamber of Commerce held its annual Awards Banquet on Thursday night, celebrating select individuals and groups who have helped make Shafter the city it is. The evening at the Ford Theater began with a State of the City address by Shafter Mayor Chad Givens (see separate story) Before the regular awards, a special award was given to the late Helen Gaede, which was accepted for the family by Shafter Depot Museum Curator Stan Wilson. Gaede had worked tirelessly for...
