Visalia Times-Delta from Visalia, California • 26

2C Visalia Times Delta LocalState Saturday November 30 2002 VALLEY BRIES Preserve for wildlife to be expanded LAKE ISABELLA A wildlife preserve near Lake Isabella will be expanded by nearly half thanks to state funds The California Wildlife Con servation Board has agreed to spend $795000 to add 680 acres to the Canebrake Ecological Reserve a 1400 acre wildlife preserve managed by the Cali fornia Department of ish and Game The purchase of the land from unnamed property owners is expected to be completed in January The land is key for wildlife moving between the US orest Service Dome Land Wilderness north of Highway 178 and prop erty owned by the Bureau of Land Management The purchase will also protect an important part of the Kern River watershed including habitat for the rare southwest ern willow flycatcher yellow billed cuckoo and western pond turtle said Bob Barnes of Audubon Kern Riv er Preserve our held after narcotics found MERCED deputies have arrested three Merced County men and one woman on suspicion of making and selling narcotics and pos sessing weapons Monique Bettencourt and rancisco Nieta both of Hollis ter were booked Wednesday in Merced County Jail on suspi cion of possession of an illegal weapon and possession of methamphetamine The pair allegedly used vehi cles to transport chemicals scales packing material and ille gal double edge knives from Turlock to Merced County Deputy Paul Barile said A second related bust turned up 33 one gallon cans of dena tured alcohol and less than an ounce of meth deputy Vern Warnke said Antonio Couto 31 of Santa Nella was arrested on suspicion of posses sion of methamphetamine police said A third bust resulted in the arrest of Rafael Rojas Jr 32 of Los Banos who was booked on suspicion of violation of proba tion and for being under the influence of a controlled sub stance police said Castle Air Museum struggling to stay open MERCED Officials at the Castle Air Museum say a decline in tourism and lack of community support have made staying open a struggle The museum which contains restored planes including a 17 lying ortress and a 24 Lib erator lost federal funding when Castle Air orce Base closed in 1995 The now private museum started charging a $5 admission fee to stay afloat said Jack Gotcher chief executive officer of the Castle Air Museum oun dation The museum also receives money from gift shop sales and donations which have also dropped In the past about 31000 visi tors went each year to the muse um but this year the museum only saw about 4000 visitors The museum expects about a $40000 shortfall from its annu al budget which was $650000 in 2002 looking for a lot more help and support from our busi ness said Joe Pruz zo of the executive board of directors Still despite a projected bud get shortfall museum officials plan to construct a new $5 mil lion building to house thou sands of artifacts nowpreserved in a wooden building Wire reports PREVIEW Join us as we preview the upcoming high school basketball season Monday in Sports Visalia Times Delta wwwVisaliaTimesDeltacom Your Neighbor In Print Online ire fighting bill sparks controversy Man may have to pay $12000 to one acre blaze he started The Associated Press CEDARVILLE Many resi dents are upset over the potential $12000 penalty a man faces after he was convicted of starting a one acre blaze following an ill advised attempt to warm his frozen car bat tery with a small fire Josh case has sparked newspaper editorials petition drives and angry letters from Cedarville residents who plan to raise money to help the woodcutter Oilar 27 was convicted last month of accidentally starting a small blaze when he tried to warm up his frozen car battery in the cold mountain area Now the US orest Service wants him to repay the $12000 it cost to put out the fire Oilar says he afford to pay that amount He is married and has four children is the worst situation that known in our time there and been there for 12 said Jerry Blanchard a longtime friend of the Oilar family Word of the plight spread quickly through the small town located just 30 miles south of the Oregon border in rural Modoc County Residents got together to start a petition calling for the judge to be lenient on Oilar About half of the 500 residents have signed the petition so far The signatures helped to spare Oilar jail time which could have been up to six months But US Dis trict Court Judge Craig Kellison still sided with the US orest Ser vice which remains firm about repayment sentencing is scheduled for Jan 7 when the Kellison will decide the exact amount due and how Oilar will pay it based on an assessment of his financial situa tion Shop Continued from 1C seeing is that a lot of retailers are big into Kyser said referring to free give aways and early discounts Some of the hottest selling items this year include long cashmere and knitted wool scarves leather jackets and Playstation video game devices said Erica Boatman Dixon marketing director at West side Pavilion Not everyone had shopping fever however In Beverly Hills the annual free rally got off to a slow start with only 20 people picketing outside Neiman Marcus issue is fur and killing ani mals be said Bill Dyer regional director for In Defense of Animals an interna tional animal protection group Retail sales were expected to rise 3 percent to 4 percent in Southern California this year up slightly from anemic sales last year he said Californians benefited from an I HI Start! The Associated Press Consumer Sandra Portillo 35 uses her baby stroller to carry her holiday purchases riday at the Glendale Galleria mall in Glendale Bargain hunters woke before dawn to head to stores and malls riday the official opening of the holiday shopping season hoping to take advantage of early bird specials improved economy thanks to a rebound in the film industry increased defense spending the settlement of labor disputes at the ports of Long Beach and Los Ange les and a strong housing market think people are feeling a lot better about their job security and they been spending all year said Brent Schoenbaum a partner at Deloitte Touche in Los Angeles a giant accounting firm with offices in Los Angeles Dinuba Continued from page 1C available to the said Andrews who has served on the nonprofit foundation since it began 12 years ago peo ple have an emergency the ambu ances take them to Visalia or Reed ey and sometimes time is a great Terms for two of the open board seats expire in 2006 The third seat expires in 2004 Dinuba voters the only ones in Tulare County with much to consider for the election in March Voters in Porterville may have to choose between more than 17 can didates for four open seats on the City Council as well as deciding nine ballot measures all of which are aimed at amending the charter Only two incumbents Cameron Hamilton and Keith Joyner both appointed have taken out paper work to run for office Incumbents Gordon Woods and Virginia Gurrola have not taken out applications to run for reelec tion Among the ballot measures to be decided voters will consider char ter amendments that would: Raise the per meeting stipend for council members from $50 to $60 Change the date of the city council election to the same as the state primary Set when how long and how to remove council members from serving as mayor and vice mayor by four fifths vote Another ballot measure would make it a majority vote Allow more public works pro ject contracts to be awarded with out a competitive bidding process Add a section to the charter encourage public participation in city matters and DEATHS Gardner concedes in 30th Nicole Parra holds onto265 vote advantage The Associated Press BAKERSIELD Republi can Dean Gardner conceded defeat riday in closest legislative race of the year but he said the GOP would continue to investigate of election impropri eties are not waiving any rights later if we discover a need for a Gardner said in an interview just wanted to be removed so peo ple understand I am not part of the postelection process I am the candidate and my job fin ished on Nov Gardner a general contractor and custom gun stock maker lost to Democrat Nicole Parra by 265 votes out of the more than 52000 that were cast according to election officials in the four counties that make up parts of the 30th Assembly District Gardner released a statement wishing Pana a former con gressional aide and the daugh ter of a Kern County supervi sor best of luck in the But he said the Republican Party was investigating of election impropri eties Gardner challenged the validity of 158 ballots last week after a judge ordered election officials in resno County to release the names and address es of provisional voters in their portion of the 30th District Tim Mills an attorney repre senting Gardner saidlOO of the challenges were upheld by elections officials 1 Pana said there was no valid ity to any rumors cited by the GOP only comment is that been a long campaign a long she said looking forward to the swearing in cer emony celebrating with family and friends and doing the work the voters expected me to do in Howard Owen Retired TULARE Howard Owen 95 of Tulare died Wednesday Nov 27 2002 He was a retired owner of the HL Owen Masonry Co Graveside services will be 2 pm Wednesday at Tulare District Cemetery Arrangements are by Goble Miller uneral Chapel Tulare Remembrances may be made to the United Methodist Church Cel ebration of Life und 228 Kern St Tulare CA 93274 Theresa Pineau Theresa Pineau 80 of Visalia died Thursday Nov 28 2002 She worked for Lockheed Aircraft There are no services planned at this time Arrangements are by Miller Memorial Chapel Visalia Mary Rusk Packer PORTERVILLE Mary Eliza beth Rusk 88 of Porterville died Wednesday Nov 27 2002 She was a packer for Baird Neece Visitation will be 2 7 pm Tues day at Myers Chapel Porterville Services will be 1 pm Wednesday at Hillcrest Memorial Park Porter ville Services Sunday Eugene Doke 78 died Nov 26 Graveside memorial service 11 am at North Tulare Cemetery Peers Lorentzen uneral Service Tulare Monday Mercedes Cabatic 76 died Nov 23 Mass 10 am at St Mary's Catholic Church Visalia Hadley uneral Chapel Visalia Guadalupe De La Rosa 84 died Nov 25 Mass 10 am at St rances Cabrini Catholic Church Woodlake Miller Memorial Chapel Woodlake Opal Drane 75 died Nov 24 Graveside services 10 am at Woodville Cemetery Webb Sanders uneral Home Lindsay William Mosqueda 70 died Nov 24 Mass 9 am at Holy amily Catholic Church Visalia Heritage uneral Services Visalia Leo Probst 80 died Nov 25 Graveside services 10 am at Visalia Cemetery Smith amily Chapel Exeter Betty Smith 61 died Nov 17 Graveside services 2 pm at Oroville Cemetery Miller Memo rial Chapel Visalia Herman Williams 67 died Nov 22 Services 11 am at irst Baptist Church Pixley Peers Lorentzen uneral Service Tulare Tuesday Inez Eastman died Nov 22 Memorial services 11 am at United Methodist Church of Visalia Roy Evans 98 died Nov 27 Graveside services 2 pm at Sanger Cemetery Dopkins uneral Chapel Dinuba Earnest Hadley died Nov 27 Graveside service 10 am at Exeter Cemetery Smith amily Chapel Jesus Velasquez 20 died Nov 24 Mass 10 am at Sacred Heart Catholic Church Lindsay Webb Sanders uneral Home Lindsay Wednesday Howard Owen 95 died Nov 27 Graveside services 2 pm at Tulare District Cemetery Goble Miller uneral Chapel Tulare Mary Rusk 88 died Nov 27 Services 1 pm at Hillcrest Memorial Park Porterville Myers Chapel Porterville Sybil Thomas 85 died Nov 25 Graveside services 2 pm at Visalia District Cemetery Miller Memorial Chapel Visalia Saturday Dec 7 Trudy Hubbs 88 died Nov 19 Memorial service 2 pm at Tulare irst United Methodist Church Pending Smith amily Chapel Exeter Paul Lopez Cortez 85 of Visalia Jennifer Meadows 16 of Kaweah Obituary policy The Visalia Times Delta reports deaths and funeral information at no charge as a public service in the newspaper's print and online editions or a fee obituaries can include additional information in print and online at www Visalia INDEPENDENTLY OWNED Wk 410 WCenter St Visalia (559)734 6769 UNERAL A Conveniently Located Downtown fd 169 Se nabla espanol a A rT ADVANCE PLANNING lOll is the caring choice if Because you have always been there to take care of your family they have always been able to depend on you When you preplan your funeral you can ease your family from difficult decisions during a difficult time TimesDeltacom Complete infor mation is available from Visalia area funeral homes or from the Times Delta 735 3270 The district includes Kings County and parts of resno Tulare and Kern counties Parra is scheduled to take office on Monday Twenty four hours a day We are a phone call away 505 Pine St Exeter I 559 592 9119 wwwnTithanTnyChapHxon Leamon Sandi Smith I D434 IP" City of Visalia's ree Annual Yard Waste Clean Up Event ALL RECYCLING PROGRAM A riday November 29 through Monday December 23rd Closed Sundays riday November 29th thru Monday December 23 Open daily: 8:00 am 4:00 pm except holidays Sundays WHO: All Visalia residents Please provide proof of residency a utility bill or jb driver's license is acceptable Hours of Operation: Daily: 8:00 am 4:00 pm 4 WHAT: Recycle yard trimmings grass clippings leaves branches wood and lumber scraps for no cost during our annual fall recycling program WHERE: Tulare County Compost Biomass 24478 Road 140 (Lovers Lane 4 miles south ot Caldwell Avenue Call 686 1 622 or 713 4500 for information or directions Recyclable Yard Trimmings Grass Clippings Prunings Leaves Branches Wood Lumber NO yucca trees OR INORMATION CALL: 686 1 622 or 71 3 4500 REE truckload of compost for each load 1 of material recycled up to a $2000 value! 1 4 Ilk fill I wl I lluxXw''' ALL RECYCLING PROGRAM PREVIEW Visalia Times Delta WwwVisaliaTimesDeltacom.