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Wednesday, September 29, 2004 - Published on Wednesday & Friday

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-Pat Althizer

Members of the Yosemite High School junior varsity (shown above at right) and varsity football teams set foot on the new YHS football field Friday night for the Badgers' home opener Friday against Roosevelt.

Published every Wednesday!

Mother wants missing
grave items returned

    The artificial flowers are still there, the purple ones and the light blue ones. The mini balloon that says "I Love You stays afloat and the single photograph is still nestled along side the colorful pinwheel. But several other items have gone missing from this grave site at the Oakhill Cemetery.
     The grave belongs to Kristopher Turner, the local Oakhurst Elementary School student who was murdered in May, his body found 50 feet inside a cement culvert that runs beneath Highway 41.
     The lead suspect in the boy's death, Oakhurst resident Derek Smith, is scheduled to next appear in court Oct. 5. Turner would have celebrated his 10th birthday July 18.
     Susan Mackey, Turner's mother, who was making her usual every other day visit to the cemetery last Wednesday, said several objects placed earlier on the grave are now gone.
     Included in the items was a garden fixture of a boy fishing, a ceramic frog, small bean bag-type fish, a little metal turtle and a ceramic angel. Mackey said while the novelties may not have cost a lot of money, they hold sentimental value and reminded her of the type of person Kristopher was. The fishing boy, for instance, held an extra special place in Mackey's heart, she said, because of Kristopher's passion for fishing. It was a hobby he learned from Kenneth Woodmansee, who Mackey called Kristopher's stepfather.
     The fishing boy was purchased by Mackey at Rite Aid. The employees of the store have since told her such fixtures were summer items and are no longer available. The ceramic angel, Mackey said, was a gift from her sister. Mackey bought the frog, said the fish was a gift and added the little metal turtle was simply there one day.
     "I was in shock and my heart sunk, Mackey said, when discovering the items were missing.
     The incident has been reported to the Madera County Sheriff Department, where an on-going investigation of the crime is taking place.

FULL STORY

Local dog fills one void in K-9 unit

    After learning about the tragic and sudden loss of two Sheriff's K9s, Oakhurst resident Dwayne Hurd came forward to donate his 7-year old Belgium Malinois, named Cora.
     During their years together, Hurd and K9 "Cora conducted random drug checks - mostly through schools. Hurd's retired now, but his faithful partner still has a few good years left, and according to the K9 Team, appears to love her job.
     "She's definitely got a nose for dope, says Deputy Scott Jackson.
     Jackson, who was recently appointed to lead the department's K9 Team, suffered a severe set-back recently, when he lost his trusted K9 partner and companion "Rudy. The 11-year-old Belgium Malinois died of cancer in August.
     But "Rudy wasn't the only loss to the department.
     "This summer, notes Sheriff John Anderson, "we also lost a tried and true gentle giant named K9 "Bo. A Rottweiller assigned to the Mountain division, "Bo died suddenly while on duty in July. Doctors believe he succumbed to heart failure.
     "Bo's partner, Sergeant Jim Bernardi led the pack of 5 K9 Deputies for more than 10 years.

FULL STORY

Local church to have
new home next year

Yosemite New Life Church of the Nazarene, formerly Oakpark Church of the Nazarene, is getting a new home in addition to a new name.
Pastor Bill Rushing, said the church has been renting space at a Seventh-day Adventist church for about the last four years.

FULL STORY

Fine art show sets up for Saturday

NORTH FORK - Dust off your frames, mountain artists. The twelfth annual Scenic Byway Fine Art Show and sale is this Saturday, Oct. 2, at Town Hall in North Fork. The Art Show is sponsored by the North Fork Arts Council and is part of the full day of displays, craft fairs, flea markets and community meals that comprise the North Fork Fall Festival.

FULL STORY