Excitement on Center Street

There was a run on a Visalia bank last week with between 350 and 450 people eager to get inside.

The doors stayed open well after closing as bank officials worked overtime to keep the pholks happy. It appeared to work.

Of course, the crowd was not trying to retrieve funds as has happen in recent weeks but rather an opportunity to see what Visalia's newest bank is all about.

Suncrest Bank, which has been open for about two months at 400 W. Center St., the longtime site of Hadley Funeral Home, hosted a top notch open house Thursday evening, complete with the Vintage Press catering a huge, scrumptious and plentiful array of hors d'oeuvres and drinks.

Bank President and CEO Mike Wilson, along with Robert Moore, executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Mike Wiley, executive vice president and chief credit officer, and other top bank officials and employees from both the Visalia main bank office and the soon-to-be-open Porterville branch mingled in the main office as well as a huge fan-cooled tent set up in the parking lot.

Among those attending were Tulare County Supervisors Steve Worthley, Board Chairwoman Connie Conway, Visalia Mayor Jesus Gamboa, Visalia City Council members Don Landers and Amy Shuklian, and Wanda Ishida, wife of Supervisor Allen Ishida, who had a prior commitment.

It was an impressive turnout for a hot summer afternoon and the gifts of insulated drink cups proved to be a popular attraction.

Suncrest is a state-chartered bank and FDIC insured. It opened with $19 million in initial capital and currently is capitalized at $22 million, bank officials say.

THERE WAS MORE EXCITEMENT ON CENTER STREET that afternoon and evening without the hors d'oeuvres and drinks when a Tulare County Sheriff's officer was stabbed serving an eviction notice.

Dozens of lawmen, including the SWAT squad converged on the scene at Center and Dudley, just south of Recreation Park. Shoots were fired before the suspect surrendered after a two-hour standoff. Several hundred people watched from behind police lines, including Christine Rowan, owner of Christine's Travel, a little more than a block away across Center Street who returned to the office just after the incident erupted. Christine arrived shortly after the shooting ended and she and her employees who had heard the shots heard an assortment of rumors, including one that several hostages were being held or that a drug deal was involved.

It was not until the suspect was in cuffs and custody that the onlookers got the real facts, Christine said. Referring to herself and fellow “looky-lous,” Christine said, “We were doing just the opposite of what parents tell their children, “get back off the sidewalk and go back inside.”

The incident forced the cancellation of the Oaks game that night.

A CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT is among the tales Valley Voice Editor Steve Pastis returned with after a weekend trek to San Diego to attend ComicCon, the big time comic book doings, before heading to the Phoenix area to see friends. After moving eastward through Yuma, Ariz., not far from the Mexican border, he encountered a Homeland Security checkpoint on Hwy. 8.

Pastis was ordered out of his rental car after a four-legged agent detected what two-legged agents termed a positive response to illegal drugs in the car. Steve was back on the road after about a 15-minute delay. Authorities, who found nothing of substance (the illegal kind) speculated a previous rental car customer might have either been on another kind of trip or possibly smuggling something.

Pastis said it was a good thing he didn't leave the ComicCon gathering dressed up like some of those he encountered.

Miles can be reached at mshuper@valleyvoicenewspaper.com