An Eye in the Sky
Law Enforcement Aided by Blue Sky Aviation

By Rick Elkins

Tulare - Within 10 minutes, police in Tulare, Porterville, Farmersville and Exeter can now have an eye in the sky, a helicopter from Blue Sky Aviation in Tulare.

Ron Overacker, owner of Blue Sky, has made his services and his helicopters available to local law enforcement and so far, the reviews have been very good.
“We never had the luxury of using it as a practical law enforcement tool,” said Chuck McMillan, chief of police in Porterville.

Several months ago, Blue Sky made a presentation to the Tulare County Chief's Association on how the helicopters can be used as a crime-fighting tool.

“I thought it would be a good idea,” said Overacker, who has worked with law enforcement and firefighters in the past. “I approached them and told them how this will work,” he said. He is still hoping to get the Visalia Police Department and the Sheriff's Department to utilize the service as well.

The Tulare Police Department was first to enter into a pilot program and in July, the Porterville Police Department did as well.

Blue Sky Aviation, headquartered at the Tulare Municipal Airport, offers flight training and sightseeing flights. Overacker has four helicopters, but has designated only one for law enforcement work. The school is currently instructing 20 students. The company has three flight instructors.

“It's definitely interesting work. I'm excited to help the community – happy to see positive results,” he added.

A helicopter has 30 times more observation capability than a ground-based vehicle, according to a report by the Schweizer Aircraft Corporation that was quoted in a 1996 report by Robert A. Gardner. “It is not handicapped by traffic and can cover the same area, without loss of effectiveness, 15 times faster. Patrol car surveillance on a city street is limited to a small area approximately 100 feet wide and 400 feet ahead. The Los Angeles Police Department estimates that one helicopter provides a patrol and response capability equivalent to eight to ten patrol cars,” stated the report.

Long Time Coming

McMillan said the program “is something we've been trying to put together for some time.”

Tulare County does not have a police helicopter at its disposal. At best, agencies may get assistance from the California Highway Patrol's helicopter, but that is rare and often the CHP helicopter is called away for a more pressing assignment. Because it does medivacs, Overacker said it is called upon often and those outweigh calls for police assistance.

Tulare Police Capt. Wes Hensley, head of the patrol division, said in his 17 years in the county he can only recall assistance by helicopter a couple of times. “Very, very few and far in-between,” he said of air support from the CHP. “This gives us a little more support locally.”

Blue Sky not only promises to be in the air and over a scene within 10 minutes – a promise it meets – but Overacker has installed communication equipment so he can monitor local police frequencies. Both McMillan and Hensley said the pilot has picked up something on his radio and responded without even being called.
Blue Sky also has the capability to speak directly with officers on the ground so information does not have to be relayed.

Blue Sky uses Robinson helicopters and the one designated for police work – Henry 1 – can reach speeds up to 150 mph. “I'm constantly in Porterville within 12-15 minutes,” Overacker said of his flight from Tulare.

The agencies are billed by the hour, and only if they are needed or called. When the helicopter responds on its own, there is no charge unless it is utilized.
“Our only billing is for the amount of time he uses. It's a win-win,” said Hensley.

“What makes this so attractive is it's a pay-for-use program,” added Overacker. “We try to do it pretty inexpensively.”

Another Tool

While Tulare uses the helicopter only for incidents, Porterville has utilized it to patrol areas of the city, especially areas difficult for officers to search, such as the Tule River or inside locked school grounds.

In a report to the city council, McMillan noted they used the helicopter to patrol the city for more than an hour on Sept. 4. On Sept. 6, the helicopter responded to an alarm call at Porterville High School and spotted several juveniles on the roof of the pool area. Officers were able to catch the youths.

Blue Sky has also assisted in a search for a parolee who ran from officers, assisted in the search for a missing 3-year-old and, using an infrared imager, located a person exiting an apartment window as officers searched the area for an assault suspect.
Overacker said the helicopter is especially useful in tracking down dirt bikers in the river bottom, often following them to where they stop and then directing officers to them.

A key asset to the program is officer safety. McMillan, noting the many areas of his city that are difficult to operate in, said the helicopter is a great tool to search and also to back up officers.

“Absolutely,” answered Hensley to the question of the helicopter enhancing officer safety. He said it also makes pursuits much safer, both for officers and the public. Using air support, officers can back off a chase while the air support can track the suspect and direct officers to where it can be stopped safely.

For now, the night light and infrared imager are handheld devices. Hensley and McMillan said their departments are looking into assisting with the purchase of a mounted light and infrared imager to assist the pilot.

Overacker said they are looking at mounting a 12 million candlepower light (focus beam) on the helicopter, a light similar to what other police helicopters use. The infrared imager would also be mounted. Right now, they only have hand-held lights available and that requires a second person in the helicopter. Overacker hopes to have the light mounted within a month.

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Summer Attendance Down
at Sequoia National Park

By Steve Pastis

Sequoia National Park - Despite a strong finish, the number of visitors to both Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks was down for the summer vacation season. Both parks showed decreased attendance during the months of June and July, when compared to the same months in 2007, but both exceeded last year's numbers for the month of August.

Sequoia National Park had 111,480 visitors in June this year (10,309 less than June 2007), 166,122 in July (down 1,854) and 175,872 in August (up 8,451). Kings Canyon had 73,861 visitors in June this year (1,070 less than June 2007), 97,919 in July (down 8,407) and 95,908 in August (up 4,182).

Attendance at Sequoia National Park is down by 15,838 for the first eight months of 2008, when compared to the same months in 2007. Kings Canyon reported an increase of 10,382 for the first eight months of 2008.

Different factors can influence park attendance, such as the weather, the economy or the calendar.

“Sometimes it has to do with when school starts and stops,” said Alexandra Picavet, public affairs specialist for Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. She said that having an early Labor Day this year affected park attendance.

She explained that attendance is calculated by counting the total number of passenger vehicles entering the park and multiplying by three. Buses are estimated to bring in an average of 30 people.

“This year was a record-breaking year for seeing buses go through the park,” said Picavet, adding that there was a 31 percent increase in buses this summer over last year.

Buses tend to enter the park through Kings Canyon because vehicles that are over 40 feet long are prohibited from entering Sequoia National Park along Highway 198.

“There is no way they can make the corners without going into the other lane,” said Picavet.

Many vehicles enter Sequoia National Park through Kings Canyon and don't get counted when they enter Sequoia National Park.

“They are only counted once, regardless of which end they enter from,” said Picavet.

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Lions Club Takes Over Reins
of Miss Tulare County Pageant

Tulare - After 57 years, the Miss Tulare County pageant will be under new leadership.

The Visalia Charter Oak Lions Club has taken over sponsorship of the annual pageant that is affiliated with the Miss America Pageant and will be putting on the 2009 pageant Feb. 21.

The Charter Oak Lions Club, which consists mostly of women, is continuing the tradition of a service club running the pageant which began with the Visalia Downtown Kiwanis Club. In 1952, three members of the Visalia Downtown Kiwanis Club – Dick Parker, Ed Ellis and Al Blain – each contributed $500 to launch the Miss Tulare County Pageant. The local Kiwanis club has been sponsoring the pageant every year since and for many years it was done under the direction of Lloyd Trout, who was instrumental in getting a new club to take the reins.

Trout said when the club and pageant were in their heyday, they had more than 65 active members. Today, the club has about 20 active members and that is not enough to put on the pageant.

The executive director of the 2009 pageant will be Junann Amaral, immediate past president of the Visalia Charter Oak Lions Club.

“We are thrilled that the Downtown Visalia Kiwanis came to the Visalia Charter Oak Lions, another strong service organization. Many thanks to Kiwanis and the Miss Tulare County pageant family for making us feel so welcome. We feel confident that with everyone's help, this transition will proceed smoothly. We look forward to continuing the outstanding tradition of the Miss Tulare County Pageant, mentoring young women in our communities,” said Amaral in a press release.

She explained the club had been looking at sponsoring a scholarship pageant similar to Miss Tulare County and the timing was right.

“It was kind of a natural. It was kind of being in the right place at the right time,” she said.

“I think they're going to be fine,” said Trout, adding if the club is successful in getting all five Visalia Lions clubs involved, that would give them a strong volunteer base on which to draw. He said the club has been putting on the Visalia Band Review for years (held last weekend) so it knows what it takes to put on a large event.

The Visalia Charter Oak Lions Club has been around as a Lions Club for about 25 years, but for many years prior to that as a Lioness Club, the women's auxiliary of the Lions Club when only men were allowed.

Amaral is a firm believer in pageants. Her daughter competed and Amaral says it was the poise and confidence she gained in competing that has contributed to her success today. Her daughter, Mandi Erwin, 25, is a genetic forensic scientist and recently accepted a position with the FBI.

Robert W. Arnhym of San Diego, president of the Miss California organization, was pleased to hear the county pageant will continue.

“We look forward to working closely with another outstanding Visalia community service organization. We also wish to express our sincere appreciation to the downtown Visalia Kiwanis for their 57 years of sponsorship and welcome their generous offer to assist in the transition.”

The pageant is the largest source of scholarship dollars for young women in Tulare County. In 2008, scholarships totaled $11,100, from which Miss Tulare County received $4,000. Every contestant receives a scholarship.

Amaral said the group will kind of feel its way this year, but eventually hopes to revitalize the pageant and take it to a new level. She said Trout will assist with the transition.

“Lloyd is staying for this year and a couple of people in Kiwanis will help walk us through the steps,” said Amaral.

She also told of the club's Cinderella Closet campaign where it collects prom dresses and makes them available to girls so those who otherwise might not afford going to the prom, can attend.

“We'll now have gowns for the pageant,” said Amaral.

Signups area already being taken for the 58th Miss Tulare County Scholarship Pageant Feb. 21 at the Visalia Fox Theatre. An informational meeting will be held at 2 p.m. on Nov. 1 at the Lamp Liter Inn. Auditions to select the 10 finalists will be held on Saturday, Nov. 29 at the Lamp Liter. Complete information including eligibility requirements and application forms are available at www.misstularecounty.com.

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30th Assembly Race
Highlights Local Ballots

California - One of the more interesting and most watched races in the state this election is occurring in our backyard.

Democrat Fran Florez, mother of state Senator Dean Florez, is locked in a huge battle with Republican Danny Gilmore, for the 30th District Assembly seat. Gilmore was defeated for the seat by Democrat Nicole Parra in 2006, but this time, with Parra not running because of term limits, she has endorsed her former Republican rival. Both parties have dumped thousands of dollars into the race many consider a tossup.

In the 34th District, Republican Connie Conway appears to be a shoe-in against her Democrat opponent, Desmond Farrelly. The 34th District is heavily Republican – roughly 60 percent – and Conway, who has served on the Tulare County Board of Supervisors for more than eight years, is well known. Farrelly has spent nearly nothing on his campaign, including the June primary, while Conway faced three others for the Republican nomination and spent thousands of dollars in that spring race.

In local congressional races, Republican Devin Nunes is facing Democrat Larry Johnson in District 21, and in District 20, Democrat Jim Costa is opposed by Republican Jim Lopez. Both Nunes and Costa are heavily favored for re-election.
34th District Race

Some say Parra's endorsement is more a move against Florez, rather than a vote of confidence in Gilmore, but Parra stresses her past battles with Dean Florez had nothing to do with her endorsement.

“It's less about her and more about Danny Gilmore,” Parra said when she announced the endorsement.

Florez and Gilmore seem to agree that a balance is needed when regulating agriculture, especially in coming up with safety measures to ensure farmworkers avoid health complications from heat stress.

“I would invite everyone to come to the table and give everybody a chance to voice an opinion,” said Florez.

Gilmore said Cal OSHA (Office of Occupational Safety and Health) needs to take the lead in coming up with standards.

“You do have to strike a balance. Government has a tendency to over-regulate and we are over-regulating our businesses out of the state,” he said.
Both candidates said they are not in favor of raising taxes, especially in these demanding economic times.

“We have a huge spending problem in California,” said Gilmore, explaining the state has been spending more than it takes in revenue for several years now. “You can't run a family like that, can't run a business like that and can't run a state that way.”
Florez called for a review of the state's tax codes “to make sure that they are fair.” She said that could bring in additional revenue without hitting the lower wage earners. She also stressed the most logical solution is to create jobs.
Both candidates support a greater emphasis on career technical education, especially in the high schools.

“Not everyone wants to go to college. They're looking for a good paying job,” said Florez.

Gilmore pointed to the need for nurses as one example of how technical education (Vocational Ed) can be used to educate more nurses.

“We need nurses and when housing comes back we're going to need plumbers, electricians and welders,” he said.

Both agreed that technical education needs to be expanded as part of adult education programs as well.

Following is a brief look at each candidate:

Fran Florez

She is currently vice chair of the California High Speed Rail Authority. She was elected to the Shafter City Council in 1996, has served two terms as mayor and currently serves as Mayor Pro Tem.

She has been active in the Shafter community, serving as past president of the Chamber of Commerce and the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She retired from the banking industry after 35 years and now serves on various boards including the Bakersfield College Foundation Board, the Kern County Association of Cities, the Kern Council of Governments and the San Joaquin Valley Regional Policy Council.

Florez, 64, and her husband, Ray, have two grown children and three grandchildren. They live in Shafter.

She is endorsed by the California Nurses Association, California Teachers Association (CTA) California Professional Firefighters, California State Employees Association (CSEA), SEIU, California Labor Federation (Central Labor Council-Fresno, Madera, Tulare & Kings Counties) Central Labor Council (Kern, Inyo & Mono Counties) California Teamsters Public Affairs Council #35 and numerous politicians.

Danny Gilmore

Gilmore retired from the California Highway Patrol after a 31-year career. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps. After graduation from the CHP Academy in 1972, his first assignments were to the South Los Angeles and Oceanside CHP offices. His subsequent promotion to lieutenant saw him assigned as the Hanford Area Commander. He was named commander of the Visalia Area in 1995. His final promotion, before retiring in 2003, was as assistant chief to the Central Division Headquarters, Fresno.

Active with his fellow law enforcement colleagues, Gilmore is a member of California Peace Officers Association, the Tulare County Chiefs Association and is a lifetime member of the California Highway Patrolman's Association.
He and his wife have two grown children and six grandchildren. The Gilmores have lived in Hanford since 1985.

He has been endorsed by former California Secretary of State Bill Jones, Rep. Devin Nunes and numerous other politicians, California Farm Bureau Federation, California Police Chiefs Association, California Small Business Association, California State Sheriffs Association, California Taxpayer Protection Committee and many others.

34th District Race

Conway has been in the political spotlight since she took her supervisorial office in 2001. She has served on numerous statewide offices and twice has served as board chairman. Farrelly ran unsuccessfully against Bill Maze, Republican, in 2006 in a similar low-profile campaign. Maze has been termed out.
A look at each candidate:

Connie Conway

She received 42.5 percent of the votes in the four-way primary election on June 3.
She presently chairs the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, an appointment she received from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. In 2006, she served as president of the California State Association of Counties and is now a director of the National Association of Counties, chairs its membership committee and works on its economic development committee.

She also is a past state president of the Cities, Counties and Schools Partnership.

Desmond Farrelly

A resident of Visalia, Farrelly has a Bachelor's degree in Information Technology and a Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA) and Technology Management. He lists his occupation as a teacher, farmer and businessman.
He served two stints on the Tulare County Democratic Central Committee and ran unopposed as the Democratic Party nominee, both in 2006 and again this year, for the 34th Assembly seat.

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Record Number of Voters for Nov. 4

Tulare & Kings County - Increased interest in the presidential election, coupled with several key local races, has pushed voter registration to new heights in Tulare and Kings counties.

“People are lined out the door right now,” said Paul Sampietro, Tulare County Election Division manager on Monday, the last day to register for the Nov. 4 presidential election. The office stayed open until midnight Monday registering voters. “It's unprecedented,” he said of the registration.

As of Monday, the number of people registered to vote in Tulare County totaled 143,238, about 2,000 more than the record. And the elections office has hundreds of registration forms still to process, so that number will grow.

In Kings County, the number of registered voters has increased from 44,515 in June to 48,413 as of last Thursday. Democrats and Republicans had about the same gains – roughly 1,300 for the GOP and 1,600 for Dems.

Unlike some areas of the nation that have been plagued by companies that are paid to register people to vote, Sampietro said 90 percent of those who have registered over the past several weeks are individuals who want their voice heard Nov. 4.

“A lot of them are first-time registers, or haven't voted in a while. There is a lot of interest in this election,” he said.

While it appears that there are more Democrats registering than Republicans, it is those who are not stating a party preference that is growing the most. Since May 5, before the June primary, Democrats have gained approximately 2,225 voters, while the Republican Party gained 1,620 voters.

However, the number of those declining to state a party grew by 1,235. “That seems like it's the most common thing to do these days,” said Sampietro.

Absentee Ballots

The county election chief has not seen a great increase in the request for absentee ballots, but that may be because so many of the county's voters are already ballot-by-mail voters.

Sampietro said about one-third of the county's voters vote by mail. He expects about 50 percent of the turnout next month to be absentee voters. It has been as high as two-thirds of the turnout.

Tuesday is the last day to request an absentee ballot by mail. Tuesday is the last day to request a vote-by-mail ballot by mail, but absentee ballots can be picked up at the elections office, 5951 South Mooney Blvd. in Visalia, until election day, but they must be received on that day as well. For information, call 733-6275.

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In response to some developers who abandoned their subdivisions in town, the City of Visalia has formed the Subdivision Monitoring Committee that, according to City Manager Steve Salomon, has already been successful in getting subdivisions that have basically been abandoned to be cleaned up and maintained.

The California Redevelopment Association Board of Directors voted last week to authorize staff and the association's lawyers to proceed with a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state taking redevelopment funds that were authorized when the state finally settled on a budget. The total take is to be $350 million – $450,000 from the City of Visalia, $490,000 from the City of Lemoore and $371,000 from the City of Tulare.

Circuit City, with a store in Visalia, is reportedly considering closing 20 percent of its stores – 150 in all – to avoid filing for bankruptcy, the Los Angeles Times reported this week. The electronics retailer reportedly will not make a final decision until after the holidays.

Craig S. MacGlashan, Sacramento attorney and chair of the Sacramento County Republican Party in Northern California, was the center of attention last week for posting anti-Obama materials on the county GOP website including a call to “Waterboard Barack Obama” and a statement equating Obama with terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. MacGlashan was an assistant district attorney in the Tulare County District Attorney's office 1976-79 and his wife, Roberta MacGlashan, was a planner with the county of Tulare.

Global Food Technologies, a biotech company specializing in food safety in Hanford, announced last week its first shrimp contract in Vietnam. GFT will install is equipment in FIMEX Vietnam processing facilities in Soc Trang in January 2009.

Sierra Bancorp, parent of Bank of the Sierra, reported a 21.96 percent return on average equity and a 1.77 percent return on average assets for the third quarter. Net income for the third quarter of 2008 was $5.8 million, compared to $5.3 million in the same quarter a year ago. Total deposits increased $111 million, or 13 percent, with most of the increase coming in time deposits.

Unemployment in Tulare County remained the same in September as it was in August, 10.6 percent, and up from 8.1 percent in August 2007. In Kings County, the September jobless rate of 9.3 is down slightly from 9.4 in August, but higher than the 7.1 in August of 2007.

The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District approved regulations that will increase the number of no-burn days in the winter in the Valley. The rule, which takes effect Nov. 1, affects fireplaces and wood stoves. The new rule also lifts the exemption to the no-burn rule for residences at higher elevations. It is expected to greatly increase the number of no-burn days in the winter.

Visalia Mayor Jesus Gamboa is seeking a joint effort with the City of Tulare and Tulare County to identify a rail alignment and station location for the High Speed Rail, should voters approve the $9.95 billion bond measure (1A) on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Tulare County Registrar of Voters Rita A. Woodard informed voters in the Exeter area last week that they may receive two absentee ballots. The error happened during the rush to replace the ballots damaged in the accident that occurred earlier this month. This error affects 271 voters in the Exeter area. The election's offices asked people who did get two ballots, to destroy one. If inadvertently both ballots are returned, only the first one received will be counted. The system will not allow two ballots to be counted for the same voter. For more information, call 733-6275.

Sierra Bancorp, parent of Bank of the Sierra, announced that its board of directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of 17 cents per share, subsequent to the board's review of the company's preliminary third quarter financial results. The per share dividend is the same as last quarter, but represents a 6 percent increase relative to the quarterly dividend paid a year ago. The dividend will be paid on Nov. 12 to shareholders of record as of Oct. 29.

Gov. Schwarzenegger appointed three new members to the Kings Fair Board of Directors (24a District Agricultural Association). Appointed were David Lafferty, 53, of Hanford, Charles Meyer, 68, of Stratford and William Parry, 36, of Hanford. The appointments do not require Senate confirmation and there is no salary.

The Air Resources Board fined a Fresno-based farm service company $114,000 for failing to inspect its truck fleet for diesel emission violations throughout the Valley in 2006 and 2007. The company distributes farm products, including seeds and fungicides.

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Acequia Conversion Delayed
Until after Holidays

Converting Acequia Avenue from one way (east bound) to two-way traffic will not be done until after the holiday season, reported Adam Ennis, senior civil engineer with the city.

Preliminary work on the project has begun, but the actual process of converting the city street through downtown from one-way to two-way will be put off to avoid any disruption for holiday shoppers.

Last summer, the city council decided to switch the street to two-way traffic to make it more useful for Kaweah Delta Hospital.

Ennis said work on installing new traffic signals will begin in November. He said much of the work will be scheduled to minimize the impact on drivers.

The major part of the conversion will be a new slurry seal for the roadway, then actually switching over to two-lane traffic. That conversion, which will take two days, will be done after the first of the year, said Ennis.

City Going to Bid
on Santa Fe Bridge

Bids will be advertised this week for the long-awaited Santa Fe bridge project. The city will tear down the old railroad crossing over Highway 198 and replace it with a vehicular traffic bridge. The $7 million project should begin sometime after the first of the year. The project contract is expected to be awarded at the first meeting of the city council in December.

The project will only construct a crossing of the highway. There will be no onramps or offramps off of Highway 198.

Plaza Park Softball Fields
Getting New Backstops

Nick Champi Enterprises of Hanford was awarded Monday night a $216,875 contract to install new backstops and make other improvements at the Plaza Park softball complex.

The complex, built in the mid-1970s, is in need of upgrading, a city staff report said.

The project will include the removal of the old backstops from Fields 2, 3 and 4, install new backstops on those fields and add some paving. The new backstops will be 20-feet high, compared to the 12-foot backstops currently in place.

Much of the funding for the project is coming from the adult softball account – $126,000.

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