Serving the community since 1970
Serving the community since 1970
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amily-owned businesses are among the losers during the covid-19 pandemic. Familiar places that are part of the hometown landscape are shutting their doors and saying goodbye to longtime customers and friends. Prior to Hoyett’s Facebook announcement last Saturday that they sold the long-time Wasco restaurant, Joyful Steps at 747 F Street held what looked like a large yard sale, which turned out to be its going-out-of-business sale. Several attempts have been made to contact owners Christopher and Gabriella Carlsberg; h...
According to the Kern County Department of Public Health, Shafter showed a significant decrease in new coronavirus cases from last week, with a little over 40 new cases, compared to 200 the previous week. However, the decrease may be the result of a backlog of tests whose results have not been confirmed. There likely was a slight decrease, though, as a result of the closures of several buildings, including restaurants’ dine-in areas, city buildings, and other non-essential businesses. In a move to assist restaurants and retai...
AN APPRECIATION Shafter has a rich history, with founding families putting down roots and creating a city that has flourished into one of the most financially sound cities in the state. Shafter lost one of the true pioneers in Shafter with the passing of Art Penner. Penner was a true gentleman who loved his family, his God and a large number of friends. A local farmer who was also a cultured man, who loved the joy of the first spring and freshly plowed earth, but also loved a...
Aliyah Ramos Esquivel, a dancer who lives in Shafter, was recognized recently with a prestigious Team Scholarship award from the Hollywood Vibe Company. Hollywood Vibe is a national dance convention/competition company that tours the United States with some of the top industry choreographers and dancers in the nation. Esquivel's scholarship enabled her to audition for the company nationals in July. She was chosen to be a part of the company's 23-member cast. She will now be ma...
The Shafter Children's Summer Theater celebrated its 25th anniversary with three performances of The Lion King over the weekend. The performances were put on at Shafter's Ford Theater and streamed for the audience to watch it virtually. The production was put on by Cris Starrh and her staff of volunteers. Starrh began the SCST when her children were small and needing something to do during the summer. In partnership with the Shafter Recreation Department and Shafter High...
This year's election for the Wasco Union Elementary School District board is much different than the last election in 2018 when there were three seats available and no one filled out the paperwork to run for a seat on the school board except the incumbents. This year Danny Rueda is seeking re-election and looks forward to continuing his work on the board. "I think the most important things we accomplished in my 10-plus years are we, as a board, have built two schools, a gymnas...
The R.A.P.I.D. (Removing and Preventing Illegal Dumping) cleaned up 61 dump sites in District 4 in June. Some 250 dump sites have been cleaned up so far this year in District 4. Scofield Road from Merced Avenue to the Wasco city limit has an anticipated construction of fiscal year 2022/2023 for road rehabilitation....
The covid-19 pandemic has another local business as the popular Hoyett's Sandwich Shop, at 727 6th Street, said on its Facebook page it has been sold and will be closing on Aug. 15. "I've been struggling with the right words to say but here goes," owner Kevin Newcomb wrote in the Facebook post. "I would like to thank each and every one for the past 10 years that have supported Hoyett's, Especially with these last months with the closing and opening and closing again." Newcomb...
Ardele Mae Henning, 80, of Bakersfield, passed away Aug 6. Peters Funeral Home, Shafter. Pamela Cantele, 74, of Bakersfield, passed away Aug. 6 in Bakersfield. Peters Funeral Home, Shafter. Johnette Kay Long, 77, of Shafter, passed away Aug 6. Peters Funeral Home, Shafter. Milton Grimes, 69, of Bakersfield, passed away Aug. 7 in Bakersfield. Basham & Lara Funeral Care, Shafter. Ramon Palomino Molina, 66, of Lost Hills, passed away Aug. 7 in Bakersfield. Basham & Lara Funeral Care, Shafter. Maria Dolores Vera, 90, of Wasco,...
Our beloved husband, father, grandfather and fly fisherman, Gordy Skeels (Pops), is now fly fishing quality waters every day in heaven. Gordon Syron Skeels, of Wasco, passed away peacefully at his home with family by his side on July 8, 2020. Gordon was born in Bakersfield on May 2, 1933, to Gordon (Samuel) Wallace Skeels and Hazel Ann Steinoff Skeels. Gordon and his older sister, Sammy, grew up in Wasco. By way of their mother, they were 4th generation descendants of Chief...
Johnette Kay Long, known to all as Kay or Sis, was born on Sept. 1, 1942, in Emporia, Kansas, to Robert and Grace Alice Cottenmyre. She was one of nine children: Robert "Bobby" E. Cottenmyre, Harold "Tony" L. Cottenmyre, Michael Cottenmyre, Linda S. Shirley, Billie E. Cottenmyre, Catherine A. Flood, Deborah J. Jameson and John M. Cottenmyre. Kay began working at S&S Cafe starting at the age of 14. Just prior to marrying the love of her life, Artie Dean Long, on Nov. 19, 1966,...
Shafter's Community Bible Study class will begin its 36th year Sept. 1. The nondenominational program is an in-depth study open to all, with members from many of local churches. Valley Bible Church has hosted the study for many years. CBS members study the Bible in small core groups that are facilitated by caring leaders. Onsite core groups are offered Tuesday mornings for ladies, along with remote coed core groups. The Tuesday morning class time has a children's program for...
How many of you have ever heard somebody say, "I want to hear something deep in church. I need to get deep?" If you have never been to church and heard this statement that is OK. We are here for you. But for those of us who have heard this before, what are the people saying this really saying? I believe when people say they want something deep, what they are saying deep down is, "Please speak over my head and confuse me so I don't have to live my life any different. If I...
The schools in the Richland School District opened their doors, at least figuratively, on Aug. 6, beginning a first semester that will have the students learning from a distance, as they did at the end of the last semester. The district had planned for students to attending in person on an alternating basis, with one group going to school on Mondays and Tuesdays and another group going on Thursdays and Fridays, with the students distance learning the rest of the week. But...
Aug. 5 Jorge Alberto Flores, 28, of Wasco, was arrested in the 1800 block of Bay Meadow Drive for contempt of court and obstruction of a peace officer. He was booked into the Kern County Jail. Antonio Lopez, 22, of Wasco, was arrested in the 1800 block of Pepper Tree Close for contempt of court and violation of a court domestic violence order. He was booked into the Kern County Jail. Aug. 6 Abel Castillo, 31, of Wasco, was arrested at the intersection of J Street and 9th Street for possession of a controlled substance. He was...
A local father owns one family-run car wash in Wasco and his son owns a car wash in Shafter. Shafter Car Wash is owned by Gerardo Garza. Garza was getting ready to retire and called his son Edward Garza to come back to Wasco and help him run the Wasco Car Wash. Edward is a WHS graduate. After high school he left for Cal State Long Beach. After graduating, he continued living there for about 10 years and worked at Aspen Medical Products creating spinal orthotics via digital...
As activities restart and businesses reopen, we will try to update readers on the status of events and activities throughout the area. Please contact Erica Soriano with additions and changes at [email protected] or call 661-292-5100 by Monday at 4 p.m. for that week’s paper. ANNOUNCEMENTS NEW: Farmer’s market -- Wasco’s free Farmer’s Market will be held Thursday, Aug. 13 at 1280 Poplar Ave., 9:30-11 a.m. Utility bills -- The City of Wasco wishes to remind residents that the official city website is the only au...
As Wasco faces the consequences of ignoring recommendations in a decade-old study, City Manager Daniel Ortiz-Hernandez addressed the current water pressure problems in a report to the City Council on Aug. 4. Ortiz-Hernandez said the city did not follow through with the more crucial parts of a water management study in 2007. That study made various recommendations and while some of the less important suggestions were completed, the recommendations for adding storage capacity an...
Wasco City Manager Daneil Ortiz-Hernandez submitted this press release Wednesday afternoon: The City of Wasco has been engaged with the California High-Speed Rail Authority and its contractor regarding the high-speed rail project for most of the last decade. The high-speed rail will travel through Wasco alongside the existing BNSF railroad tracks. The city has been involved in every phase of this project as it has unfolded, mindful of the impact it would have on the city and our residents. On Nov. 7, 2013, the rail authority...
