Pete Vander Poel to Run for Connie's Board Seat

Tulare - Twenty-three-year old Pete Vander Poel is throwing his hat in the ring to make a run for the Board of Supervisors seat from District 2 being vacated by Connie Conway next year. Conway has announced she is running for the State Assembly.

Young Vander Poel is prepared to follow in the steps of Devin Nunes from a south county dairy farm to an elected office, a comparison Vander Poel feels comfortable with. “I consider Devin a model.” Young Nunes ran for Congress for the first time when he was 24 and went to Congress at age 26. In Visalia, a youthful Greg Collins was first elected to city council at age 25.

Vander Poel says his age and focus will be an advantage. “I want to bring young blood to the job.”

“I feel that after people hear me, that youth will not be an issue,” says Vander Poel who graduated cum laude from UCLA in 2006 and has been working as a financial analyst at Wells Fargo recently. He graduated from Tulare Union High School in 2002 where he was ASB president.

Vander Poel lives half way between Tulare and Visalia on his family’s dairy. Young Pete is a fourth generation dairyman. The district has the largest concentration of dairies in the county and lots more cows than people. In fact, Pete’s extended family, including several uncles, owns seven dairies in Tulare County.

Vander Poel has been making the rounds lining up support after he was approached by Tulare council member David Macedo urging him to run for the open seat. No other candidate has surfaced for the seat that covers Tulare and Highway 99 south and west to the county line, although Craig Vejvoda is believed to be considering it. Official filing for the seat isn’t till January with the primary in June. The two highest vote-getters then face off in November 2008.

Vander Poel says he plans to be “a good listener” to meet the needs of the local voters, but says he plans to tackle issues like gangs, more help for the sheriff, ag land conversion and support for the Williamson Act, as some of his priorities.

Pete has had some trials in his life recovering from a major car accident some years back, deepening his understanding for a strong health care environment, he says.

Vander Poel says besides Macedo, he lists his supporters as Skip Barwick, Lori Cardoza, Victor Mendes, Danny Frietas, Bill Van Scyoc, Scot Hilman, Bud Mouw, Joe Fernandes, Carlton Jones, Tony Nunes, and Larayne and Dahl Cleek in what he says is just a preliminary list.

Vander Poel majored in environmental studies at UCLA and says that knowledge will be put to good use as a member of the board, considering all the environmental issues facing Tulare County in the next few years. His minor was in accounting.

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Galaxy Now Features Giant Ant Invasion

Tulare - Word of a giant ant invasion on the west wall of the Tulare Galaxy Theatre was really a signal Tony and Mark Taylor, owners of Res-Com Pest Control, were getting ready to introduce a fun new art project to the community and to the approximately 45,000 motorists who travel the adjacent Highway 99 daily.

“I envision this artwork will become a landmark for Tulare,” Tony Taylor said. “I also hope it will stir the imagination and creativity of our youth.”

A system of ropes and pulleys were used to install eight 200-pound, 7-1/2-foot long black ants created by Sierra Forge & Fire on the theater’s wall last week. Muralist Colleen Mitchell-Venya had already laid the groundwork for the ants by painting a crack on the side of the building.

Yet to come is a giant red ant—Res-Com’s signature ant. This will set the stage for what will appear to be a classic battle between good and evil, reminiscent of the 1950s giant insect invasion movies.

The completed project will be formally unveiled on Oct. 11.

Res-Com is picking up the bill for the artwork and the publicity campaign.

“This is a way for Res-Com to give back to the community that has supported it for so many years,” Taylor said.

The idea for the endeavor was planted about two years ago when Frank Rimkus, Galaxy Theatres president and chief executive officer, approached Taylor about advertising on a billboard on the back of the theater, Taylor said.

After a lot of brainstorming and planning, the work began.

Initially plastic ants were going to be installed, but Taylor said “it just wasn’t going to be realistic enough.”

Enter the two owners of Sierra Forge & Fire of Exeter, who worked with the Taylors, Rimkus and others, to come up with biologically correct metal sculptures.

“It’s been a good collaboration,” said Christopher Dery, co-owner of the business with Duran Randolph.

The initial idea was to create one or two black ants, but the project eventually grew to include eight in all to make it more realistic, Dery said. “Ants are always in a line.”

All involved are having fun with the ant invasion theme.

“I was shocked by what I saw,” theater manager Nathan Paul said in a mock press release. “I believe they could be responsible for the recent break-in to the supply closet where we store tons of candy and popcorn.”

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BOARD APPROVES A LIST OF ER CHANGES

Tulare Local Healthcare District Holds Another
Spirited Board Meeting

By Dave Adalian

Tulare - Controversy erupted again during the Tulare Local Healthcare District Board of Directors meeting over what eventually turned out to be a non-issue.

Causing the ruckus was a recommendation by interim vice president of operations Gerald Starr, who asked the board to approve a study to discover if any agency or healthcare provider would be interested in purchasing Tulare Home Health, TLHD’s home health unit tasked with providing care to patients who otherwise would require hospitalization for their conditions.

Starr’s request drew the ire of THH employees who spoke out against sale of the unit.

“Mr. Starr has expressed he has no home healthcare experience,” said THH physical therapist Tom Beford. “In less than 30 days, he’s come up with a proposal to sell Tulare Home Healthcare.”

That, however, is not the case, Starr said, calling the request “due diligence,” adding it is the responsibility of any public agency to find out if there is interest in selling a historically money-losing operation.

While THH already operates at a loss, that loss could increase steeply under changes to Medicare’s prospective payment system (PPS), prompting TLHD, which must amass $20 million to match building grants for its expansion, to go on a cost-cutting expedition.

“Next year, we’d receive $136,000 less for the same diagnosis [and treatments to THH patients],” said TLHD interim CEO Robert Kelley.

Supporters of THH, however, countered that while the unit operates at a loss, if it were not available, the patients it treats would remain hospitalized, causing an even larger financial bleed while increasing demand for a limited number of beds.

Also causing concern was the possibility any private agency that purchases THH would not provide service to uninsured, under-insured or MediCal patients, an industry practice known as “cherry-picking.” Kelley told the board and its audience an assurance no cherry-picking would occur could be a condition of any possible sale.

Board member Deanne Martin-Soares felt Starr’s assertion that patients dropped because of the sale of THH would be treated by either the Kaweah Delta Healthcare District’s Home Healthcare Agency or the Delano and Porterville-based Optimal HHA was not a reasonable one.

“Kaweah Delta and Optimal are not going to pick this up,” she said. “They’re not going to take our patients. The people [THH] serves, it gets them out of the hospital and saves us money.”

Board treasurer Dr. Prem Kamboj also worried about cherry-picking and expressed concern for the health of any patients who might be left out as a result of a change in ownership.

“Not everything we do is for profit,” he said. “I’m against closing this department.”

President of the board Dr. Parmod Kumar was quick to point out sale of the unit was not being proposed and the call was merely for an assessment of options.

“It’s just an exploration,” he said. “It’s a gut-check.”

All ado was for naught, however, when Starr’s recommendation received only a reluctant motion from Kamboj, which died when it failed to receive a second.

Results of a six-month study on improving conditions and treatment time in the Tulare District Hospital’s emergency room are in, and the board approved a list of changes designed to quicken treatment and improve the ER’s overall feel that will begin taking place Nov. 1.

The report, presented by chief nursing officer Patricia Mathewson, called for a series of aesthetic and cosmetic changes to the ER, as well as retooling of procedures to hasten treatment of patients and was the result of work by a task force assigned the project last spring before Mathewson’s return to the TLHD.

“We have a lot of complaints from the community and MDs about waiting times and quality of care,” said Kumar.

At present, a security station greets visitors to the ER. That, said Mathewson, will change, and in future the first thing patients encounter will be a registrar.

“We will be changing security out for a registration technician,” Mathewson said.

ER security, while less visible inside, will not be more lax. A new closed-circuit camera system was approved by the board, as were additional hours for healthcare workers tasked with treating “fast track” patients. The additional staff and security cameras carry a price tag of just under $350,000, with almost all of that money going toward personnel costs.

While patient triage will continue as it has in the past, so-called fast-track patients will now be treated to bedside registration to quicken the pace of their care.

Another move aimed at speeding up treatment time includes allowing nurses to draw blood for lab work, with the aim of lowering lab turnaround time from one hour to 35 minutes or less.

The change that may carry the greatest impact is a switch from paper record keeping to an electronic patient tracking system. A $50,000 grant is available to cover part of the cost of installing an emergency department information system or EDIS, however, the total cost of the system is estimated at between $500,000 and $700,000.

A final decision on the EDIS is expected at the board’s October meeting.

The task force’s recommendations also include sprucing up the ER entry to make it more welcoming with the addition of houseplants as well as a brightening of the décor.

In a move designed to cut costs, the board approved a plan to refinance more than $17.4 million in bonds approved by voters in a pair of past elections.

Refinancing will allow the district to freeze its interest rate at 3.75 percent. The current repayment plans carry variable interest rates that have more than tripled since the bonds were first issued.

The terms of the bond repayment as they stand now require the district to hold 70 days worth of operating capital, some $17 million, on deposit as a hedge against default. Refinancing will allow that money to be freed, an important factor in amassing the $20 million contribution required of the district for expansion of its facilities.

“There is no downside to the hospital,” Kumar said of the move. “There is no new debt.”

TLHD attorneys have filed a motion to dismiss part of a lawsuit brought against the district citing the excessive time elapsed since the alleged infringements of the California Voting Rights Act of 2001.

A group of seven litigants have filed suit against the district, claiming the at-large elections process used to select board members leaves Latino residents in outlying areas without proper representation.

The complainants, however, waited too long to file their action, said TLHD legal counselor Kris Pedersen.

“It’s public record the board has moved to strike parts of the complaint because they’ve moved beyond the three-year statute of limitations,” she said.

A hearing on the matter is scheduled for October 29 in Tulare County Superior Court. Two of the seven litigants addressed the board during the public comment period of its September meeting, urging the board to present them with a settlement.

“We want to go forward so we can have equal representation,” said plaintiff Rosalita Avitia.

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Police Keep Cars, $495,000 Seized in Drug Case

Tulare - The battle against illegal drugs in Tulare has received a $495,000 shot in the arm and two vehicles.

The federal government recently decided the Police Department could keep the vehicles and a portion of the $700,000 seized in a 2006 case involving the arrest of six people, five of whom later pled no contest to drug charges and were deported.

The department has applied for and received money and other assets, including an airplane, that were confiscated in other drug cases during the past three decades, but this is the largest dollar amount ever to land in its coffers.

“We’ve never seized more than $10,000 in cash,” Police Chief Roger Hill said.

The infusion of funds comes at a good time, because the vests and weapons the department’s high-risk entry team uses are in need of upgrading or replacement and the department also wants to get two drug-sniffing dogs, Hill said.

The federal government expects money seized by local agencies will be used for drug prevention, enforcement, investigations or related activities, he said.

The department’s 15-member high-risk entry team is called out twice a month on the average, many times in connection with drug cases, Hill said.

“We usually use the team when investigators have search warrants and there’s potential for weapons being present,” he said.

The plan is to equip the team with improved protective vests, replace certain weapons and add new weapons and tools to its arsenal, he said.

The chief would not disclose the make and model of the vehicles it seized, explaining the department plans to use them in undercover operations.

The crimes that led to the seizures occurred in October 2006, when members of the Tulare Fire Department, responding to a trash bin fire in southeast Tulare, noticed marijuana plants growing in a yard and called police.

Investigators initially found marijuana seeds and about $160,000 inside the home, Capt. Tom Munoz said. The investigation later led to a mini-storage facility, where the rest of the money and a large amount of raw hybrid marijuana seed, fertilizer and irrigation equipment were found.

“It looks like they were getting ready to start a cultivation process,” Munoz said.

Six people, including one juvenile, were arrested. The juvenile was not charged, but the adults all pled no contest to charges and were deported back to Mexico as felons, he said.

The Police Department did not get to keep all the money found, because state, federal and county agencies also get a share, Munoz said.

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Tulare Family Marks 60 Musical Years

Tulare - Keith White sits in his new office at White’s Music Center, which is filled with instruments waiting to be delivered to local schools, and pores over invoices just as his parents, the late Cyril and Irma Mae White, likely did 60 years ago when they opened the business.

But times have changed in many other ways for the family-owned business.

Instead of one small, 800 or 900-square-foot store on East Tulare Avenue, White and his wife, Janice, who joined his parents’ business in 1958, own four stores in Tulare, Porterville, Visalia and Hanford. White’s office is in the distribution center at the Tulare store’s new North J Street location.

Son Robert, involved with the business the past 26 years, is well-trained in instrument repair so the business also is the only retail-based instrument repair service between Fresno and Bakersfield.

One of the big pluses in their recent move from the Heritage Place Shopping Center on Cross Avenue to a brand new building adjacent to the Intermodal Transit Center off of J Street, was the Whites could configure a much larger repair area for the much needed service.

“We serve four counties, Tulare, Kings, Kern and Fresno,” Keith White said.

That Cyril and Irma Mae White should open a music store in 1947 probably surprised few people, given their musical backgrounds.

“Dad had taught instrumental music since the mid-30s at Tulare Union,” Keith White said. “Mom was a great classroom music teacher.”

Cyril White continued to teach band and orchestra for two years and then devoted himself to the choral program before he retired from Tulare Union in the early 1950s.

That first store was on East Tulare Avenue in the heart of downtown, across the street from Bank of the America.

“I was raised sweeping floors,” White said. “Then he [his father] taught me the counter work.”

His father taught him how to play the trumpet when he was a boy, but it wasn’t until he was in high school that Keith White knew he was heading toward college to major in music. He worked in the store throughout high school and his years at California State University, Fresno.

In addition to operating the stores, he is in his 51^st year of teaching music to elementary school children and directs the Palo Verde School band. He also served on the first board of the Tulare County Symphony and played trumpet with the orchestra for 21 years.

White’s Music Center has had five homes in Tulare. The second was also on East Tulare Avenue, this time further west in a now-demolished building across the alley from where the Rice Bowl use to be.

From there, the business moved to 125 South K Street, where it was operating when Cyril White died in 1959 at the age of 53.

When the store moved into the Heritage Place Shopping Center in 1989, his mother was still working in the business, White said. She died in 1995 at the age of 84.

The new North J Street store is almost identical in size to Heritage Place, but the business was able to reconfigure space to better suit its needs and that of its customers, White said.

“The whole thing is more conducive to what we’re doing now,” he said, noting the repair and the distribution/office spaces are both larger.

All the company’s stores still have teaching studios, where children and adults learn to play a variety of instruments.

White’s Music employs about 25 people, including three full-time and three part-time repair technicians.

“The plan now is to try to get that fourth generation [of family] in here,” White said.

Grandson Blake White, Robert’s son and a College of the Sequoias student, is working in sales and also learning the repair end of the business, he said.

While some aspects of the business have changed over time, the family’s personal commitment to the endeavor has not.

“We’re very hands-on,” said Robert White, 47, who not only heads up the instrument repair portion of the business but teaches piano as well. His wife, Michelle, also works in the business as accounting manager in Visalia and his mother, Janice, continues to work in the business, tending to various aspects from home.

While he said deadlines and other factors make his job “very, very stressful,” he readily acknowledges the positive. “There’s a great deal of satisfaction when you get something done well.”

Bill Ingram, who directed the Tulare Union High School band for 30 years and now directors the Tulare Community Band, said it is an advantage to the local music community to have a locally owned music store committed to handling its needs.

“I’ve got the old concept that you trade locally,” Ingram said. “I don’t like the big conglomerates.”

There are few family-owned operations like White’s Music Center still around today, he said.

Almost any product or service is available over the Internet these days, but it’s much better to buy instruments and have them repaired locally if the business does a good job as White’s does, he said.

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