Developers Say ‘No’
Tulare - The proposed racetrack project for Tulare appears dead in light of an International Agri-Center board unanimous vote to nix further talks with the developers, but the Tulare Motor Sports Complex limited partnership is insisting otherwise.
“This project is not dead; you'll learn more in the next few days,” TMSC partner James Bancroft said late Tuesday afternoon following the Agri-Center's public announcement of their board vote earlier in the day.
Agri-Center CEO Jerry Sinift announced his board's decision, which was made exactly a week earlier, shortly before noon Tuesday in a prepared news release which stated no further information was available.
“The International Agri-Center and the Tulare Motor Sports Complex L.P. have not been able to agree to terms on a third contract for the purchase and sale of IAC's land for the proposed motor sports complex,” Sinift said.
“Furthermore, the IAC board of directors has unanimously voted that the organization is not interested in further negotiations with TMSC regarding the purchase and sale of the land,” he said.
Sinift went on to note TMSC has failed to perform under both of the previous contracts it had with the IAC.
“Given the long history of delays and failed promises, the IAC does not have confidence that TMSC would be able to perform on the proposed third contract or complete the proposed project,” Sinift said.
Bancroft, reached by telephone late Tuesday afternoon, said the partners had not seen the announcement but had read Internet news reports.
“We are baffled by their position, particularly given they are the ones who invited us to Tulare in the first place,” he said.
Told the announcement made reference to two previous agreements, he said: “It's clear they don't fully understand the development process and the time it takes for a project of this type, particularly given the current economic climate, to get going.”
The Agri-Center's announcement came five weeks to the day after TMSC partners announced they had secured financing for the project.
The news also comes on the heels of a Tulare County Superior Court judge's order that the city void its decision and agreements related to the motor sports complex. (See page one story in this issue of the Tulare Voice.)
Reaction to Tuesday's announcement from the Agri-Center was mixed among city officials.
“I think it's highly unfortunate,” Councilman Richard Ortega said, calling the action “a missed opportunity for the city of Tulare for job creation, which we need so badly at this time.”
Racetrack supporters have said the project, which was to have included two racetracks, hotels, a recreational vehicle park, retail stores, industrial offices and other features, would have employed 17,000 people.
Despite his keen disappointment, Ortega said he was sure the Agri-Center board members “have their reasons” and added he was hopeful TMSC “can come up with a firm proposal they can accept.”
Vejvoda, also a strong supporter of the controversial proposal, said he was encouraged by the last line of Sinift's announcement, which read: “The IAC will continue to pursue ideas for growth and expansion of its facilities for the benefit of Tulare and the surrounding communities.”
“I think the International Agri-Center will find the city of Tulare very interested in working with them to grow our economy and create jobs,” Vejvoda said.
The mayor declined to comment on the Agri-Center vote, saying, “It's a private transaction between the ag center and the developers. They're landowners and they get to make their own decisions and I respect that.”
Councilman Wayne Ross, who vigorously opposed the project, said the Agri-Center had twice tried to make the project work “and I guess based upon their due diligence, they decided not to go forward.”
Ross said the Agri-Center's concern about the developers' ability to make the project happen was the same that he and Councilman David Macedo had expressed.
Macedo could not be reached for comment.
Also unavailable for comment was Lynn Dredge, president of the Tulare Industrial Site Development Foundation, which was facilitating purchase contracts with other landowners in the area, and real estate broker Craig Smith, who represented many of those land owners.
Mike Lampe, the Visalia attorney who represented Tulare residents who opposed the project in three separate lawsuits, said the racetrack was “a non-starter” from the beginning and the Agri-Center did the right thing.
“This corpse is finally going to get the burial it so richly deserves,” Lampe said.
No Thanksgiving Freeze Damage
Tulare County - Valley citrus producers are breathing a collective sigh of relief this week after an anticipated Thanksgiving freeze failed to reach forecasted lows.
While growers monitoring their groves last week reported isolated pockets as cold as 27 degrees for short durations, the vast majority of the Valley's 200,000-plus acres of citrus remained at 30 degrees or higher.
The pre-Thanksgiving forecast had growers on edge as this year's crop has been late maturing, and therefore more susceptible to damage from cold temperatures.
And because of the season's relatively late start, almost 95 percent of the $1 billion citrus crop is still on the trees.
Popular seedless mandarins, which have increased in acreage in recent years, created additional worries for growers because the thin-skinned fruit is even more susceptible to freeze damage.
In anticipation of colder temperatures, most growers were running water the day before Thanksgiving in order to warm the ground. Irrigation radiates heat as temperatures fall and wind machines keep the rising warm air in a grove, elevating temperatures as much as four degrees.
In Tulare County last week, there were just a few reports of wind machine use, with most producers choosing to run water for six to eight hours in anticipation of a sudden temperature drop.
Growers trigger wind machine use at 32 degrees for lemons and mandarins, and oranges at 29 degrees.
As temperatures in the citrus belt dipped again Thanksgiving night, more growers ran wind machines and mandarin producers once again operated frost-protection devices all night.
Growers reported that average temperatures without protection Thanksgiving nightand Friday morning were 28 to 30 degrees but with protection temperatures were at least three to four degrees warmer.
"At this point in time it appears the November freeze event is past us," said Joel Nelsen, president of Exeter-based California Citrus Mutual. "Now we start looking at the silver lining. Fruit will develop a deeper orange color because of the cold snap and Mother Nature has a way of using this cold weather to make fruit skin a bit thicker and the trees stronger for future events."
Nelson also noted that as citrus matures, more sugar forms within and this too acts as added protection against future cold-weather damage.
According to Citrus Mutual estimates, an hour of frost protection creates approximately $600,000 of expense for the industry statewide. Therefore, Nelsen estimated, mandarin producers need to offset almost $12 million in expenses while orange growers spent about $3.6 million last week to protect their crop.
The reliance on wind machines and water is a time-tested method to elevate grove temperatures, said Nelson, who added that growers also reduce weeds and other plant material within a grove because that growth impedes frost-protection efforts.
Moist ground and running water is always warmer than cold air descending into a grove, Nelson said, and wind machines, which cost approximately $25,000 each and cover 10 to 14 acres depending on size, create a pattern to keep rising warm air in a grove longer.
The citrus industry has been a pioneer in the use of low-volume irrigation techniques, including micro sprinklers and other forms of watering strategically placed to maximize efficiencies. A by-product of this efficiency is that the sprinkler location saturates the ground to create more warmth around a tree and in a grove during cold spells.
Historically, the Valley citrus industry considers the period between November 15 to the end of February as the "freeze period” – so for another 90 days, growers will pay close attention to weather forecasts.
"This has been one of the earliest cold snaps in recent history," said Nelsen. "We can expect another episode or two before the winter passes.”
Water Authority Directors Lash Out at Feds
Tulare County - In response to what it labeled “political interference” from the Department of the Interior, the Westlands Water District – the nation's largest water district -- is pulling its support for the increasingly beleaguered Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP).
"As a public agency, Westlands cannot continue to spend millions of our ratepayers' dollars on a project that is likely to deliver no more and potentially less water to the public than they are receiving today," the district's President, Jean P. Sagouspe, wrote last week in a letter to David Hayes, Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior.
Formed in 1952, Westlands encompasses more than 600,000 acres of farmland in western Fresno and Kings counties, serving some 600 family-owned farms that average 900 acres in size.
Westlands and the other public water agencies that rely upon water supplies pumped through the Delta have invested nearly $150 million the past four years to develop the BDCP program -- an increasingly contentious effort to restore California's freshwater delta while wrestling with the state's ongoing drought.
BDCP was created in the hopes of resolving regulatory water shortages through a balanced plan to repair the Delta environment and restore reliable, adequate water supplies for California.
"Through this action we are trying to get BDCP back on track," said Thomas W. Birmingham, general manager of Westlands, who noted that over the last three years, federal regulations have reduced California's public water supplies by more than one-third.
Westlands officials said last week that instead of working to solve the problems caused by these regulatory shortages, the Department of the Interior is now proposing to add even more regulatory restrictions, reducing even more drastically the deliveries that California's farms and cities and two-thirds of the state's residents depend on.
Sagouspe's letter states that there are many dedicated employees within the Bureau of Reclamation, the Fish & Wildlife Service, and the National Marine Fisheries Service who could achieve a successful outcome of the BDCP process if they were not being subjected to "misinformed political interference."
According to Sagouspe's letter, the Department of the Interior, under the leadership of Deputy Secretary Hayes, is trying to impose additional restrictions on California's public water supplies. But Hayes is unable to detail any scientific basis for the added restrictions or explain what benefits they will provide to Delta fisheries.
"Instead of working with the BDCP participants, Hayes is relying on the same special interests that have refused to join the BDCP process and have opposed its development from the beginning," Birmingham said. "He apparently agrees with the idea that 'success' in the Delta can be measured on the basis of how much water is taken away from the people of California."
"Such a destructive approach directly undermines the objective of fixing the water supply problem," Sagouspe's letter to Interior points out. "And without a project to fix the water supply problem, California won't have the means to restore the Delta either. In short, it is our view that your myopic and unscientific obstructionism will bring this entire effort at water reform and ecosystem restoration to a halt."
Interior officials responded almost immediately, arguing Westlands' claims in Sagouspe's letter are baseless. No additional restrictions have been proposed, they said, noting that the planning process is expected to last until 2013.
In a follow up letter, Deputy Secretary Hayes wrote that the conservation plan is “too important” for Westlands to abandon now.
"It will be a disservice to all involved if Westlands prematurely walks away from the process based on unfounded conclusions or the mere fact that a range of operational criteria are being reviewed," Hayes wrote.
In a related development: During a special board meeting held Nov. 24, the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority also voted to suspend continued funding for BDCP.
The action removes nearly half of the funding for the completion of the plan, which is estimated to cost an additional $100 million.
“We cannot rationalize continuing to pay these costs if we cannot trust the federal government to act in good faith," said Dan Nelson, executive director of the SLDM Water Authority.
Nelson expressed surprise that officials in the Department of the Interior had denied that they were proposing additional restrictions on California's water supplies. "The new regulations they are trying to impose on BDCP would not only reduce our water supplies but they would also deny California water users any assurance that these supplies would not be cut even further in the future…”
Visalia - Staying on top of home repairs can be a tough job for senior citizens. But for Lillian Gill, 75, of Visalia, the Senior Home Repair Program makes the challenge a whole lot easier.
Last week, a maintenance technician for the city-sponsored program serviced Gill's swamp cooler. “They have made my home as safe as possible,” she said.
Gill, who lives in a single-wide, one bedroom mobile home in South Visalia, has been taking advantage of the program for more than a year. She said it helps her with most of her home repairs.
The program, which is funded by the City of Visalia and administered by CSET, offers low-income, qualified seniors and the disabled free labor to help fix minor home repairs.
The program has an annual operating budget of $45,500 and does not provide materials, but the free labor is much appreciated by people like Gill and hundreds of others around the city.
Among the minor repairs included in the program services: fixing broken windows; cooler and heater maintenance; installing deadbolts; repairing doors, fallen fences, floors, plumbing, screens; even some roof repair.
Last year, the program served 323 clients and made over 600 repairs -- numbers expected to rise this year as more people struggle financially in such a tough economy, said Lily Rivera, director of Energy and Housing for CSET.
“We are seeing a steady increase” in demand for the program's services, she added.
While the summer and winter months are consistently busy, especially with heating and cooling maintenance, Gill uses the service all year long to maintain and improve the home she shares with her dog, Molly.
Repairs that she's needed over the past year have included replacing her old roof with a snow roof – a job that would have been costly had she been forced to use a private contractor.
“I'm just as happy as I can be,” Gill said about the program. “I don't know what us seniors would do without it.”
During his most recent visit, John Koelewyn, maintenance technician for the program, also repaired leaks to Gill's faucets, replaced a shower head and even created a doggy door for Molly.
“Every time I call, he's right here,” Gill said. “I can always depend on him.”
Koelewyn takes calls from the hotline number from residents in need of repairs and also schedules home visits.
The Senior Home Repair Program requires participants to live within city limits and Koelewyn often makes five to six home visits per day.
“It's a very good program,” Rivera said. “If we didn't have it, it would be a disservice to the community.”
To qualify for the program, residents must be homeowners, at least 55 years old or disabled, and have low monthly incomes.
For more information or to apply, call 741-4650.
SECOND FRONT PAGE
What's New
*High-speed rail update: A 54-mile route running from Madera south to Corcoran has been selected as the first segment to be built for the $45 billion dollar high-speed rail project. Construction on the initial phase of building, pegged at $4.5 billion, could begin by early 2012 and testing of bullet trains by 2015. California's high-speed rail board still needs to give the plan the final green light, a move expected to happen at this week's board meeting. In order for the project to be built out and ultimately link the Bay Area to Southern California, Congress must continue to approve funding, which could be challenging now with a Republican-controlled House of Representatives. Last week, Jeff Barker, deputy executive director of the California High Speed Rail Authority, said during a teleconference that there are presently not enough funds to continue the initial route construction to Bakersfield as was originally planned. That change in plans, some analysts said this week, could be a blow for Kern County's effort to land a coveted heavy-maintenance facility, a project “plum” that Fresno officials have also been lobbying heavily to secure. In addition to a rail station in downtown Fresno, as part of the initial phase of construction, high-speed rail planners recommended construction of a “regional” station near Hanford where highways 198 and 43 converge. Rail authorities say 80,000 jobs will be created during the first phase of construction. But if funding for the ambitious project is later derailed, federal officials are hedging their bets and requiring that high-speed rail infrastructure be designed so that it can be integrated, if necessary, into existing Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks currently used by Amtrak.
*Total recall: Bravo Farms is recalling all of its cheese products after state inspectors found evidence of Listeria and E. coli contamination at its Traver plant last week. Jonathan Van Ryn, a Bravo partner, said the company continues to work with officials from the FDA and California Department of Food and Agriculture. Bravo's woes began in early November when the artisanal cheesemaker's raw-milk gouda cheese sold at Costco was linked to an E. coli outbreak in five states, including California. That outbreak sent nearly three dozen people to the hospital and has spurred at least one law suit by an Arizona woman who became sick after sampling the company's product at a Phoenix Costco. It remains unclear how badly the recall will hurt Bravo's bottom line but the company's outlet store in Traver and restaurant in Tulare both remain open.
*District Four Supervisor Steve Worthley was reappointed last week by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to serve another four-year term on the Commission on State Mandates, a group that determines if local agencies, including counties, cities and school districts, are entitled to reimbursement for increased costs mandated by the state. Worthley said he appreciates the opportunity to be just one of two members statewide representing local governments on the commission. Laguna Niguel City Councilman Paul Glaab is the other. Worthley, who won re-election last month to his fourth term on the Tulare County Board of Supervisors, was first appointed to the mandate board in 2005. The commission meets six times a year in Sacramento; members are paid a stipend of $300 per meeting and are reimbursed for travel expenses. Worthley said: “I appreciate the opportunity to serve local government on this commission which deals with critical issues of finance and fairness.” With local governments, especially counties and cities, facing severe funding cuts from state and federal sources while struggling to meet local needs, reimbursements have become even more critical, Worthley added.
*Vidak concedes, then declares: Hanford cherry farmer Andy Vidak finally conceded late last week. In his effort to unseat Jim Costa in 20th Congressional District, the first-time candidate gave Costa a serious scare. “As the votes have been counted over the past three weeks, it has become clear that a little over three thousand more voters out of almost ninety thousand chose Jim Costa over [me],” Vidak stated. “I don't see this is as loss. All it has done is delay my victory celebration by two years. There is too much at stake for the people of the 20th District and the Valley as a whole for me not to continue my campaign to unseat Jim Costa…I don't think Jim Costa is a bad person, just the wrong representative for the 20th District. He has misrepresented our needs in order to curry political favor with the Democrat leadership. That's the only logical reason for him to vote against turning on the pumps three times last year…Unless redistricting creates completely untenable districts or pits me against an effective incumbent, I am announcing my plans to run for Congress in 2012.”
*California's Department of Health Services has given its OK for Hanford's Adventist Medical Center to accept patients on its targeted move-in date of Dec. 5. An estimated 90 to 95 patients will be transferred at three-to-five minute intervals by 10 ambulances from Central Valley General Hospital and Hanford Community Medical Center to the new hospital. Each patient will have a nurse riding with him or her. An incident command center will be set up at Adventist Medical Center to track patient departures and arrivals and make sure the move is executed according to plan. Employees, staff and six subcommittees have worked though a task list of over 400 items, participated in multiple cross-training sessions, wrote countless pages of new policies and installed thousands of pieces of new equipment to prepare for the move.“We have worked many hours over the course of months for one day, and it is finally here,” said Richard L. Rawson, president and CEO of Adventist Health/Central Valley Network. Once the hospital becomes fully operational, 780 full-time employees will work at Adventist Medical Center.
Visalia - Professional football is coming to the Valley next spring: The Valley Vipers, a new, minor league, semi-pro football club, announced this week that the team will play its home games in Visalia starting in 2011.
The team is owned by Valley residents Clint Miller and Jeremy Gill. Miller, a Porterville native and former semi-pro football player, is a correctional officer. Gill, who moved to the Valley four years ago, is also a former football player and owned a Florida semi-pro team called the Jacksonville Wolfpack before coming to Visalia.
“We've had a lot of interest, both from players and potential sponsors,” said Gill this week. “We think we can get anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 people in the stands every game. Football is big in this area. This will be done right. There will be a lot of entertainment value for the fans so we're hoping to get a lot of support from the community.”
The Vipers' head coach is George Watson, a former Exeter High football standout and well known, longtime area coach. Watson is still in the process of building his roster, which will be limited to 40 players, and is holding open tryouts for prospective players.
Team uniforms will be black, white, and blue. Helmets will feature the team's viper logo.
The team currently is practicing three days a week at Church of Nazarene on Caldwell.
The Vipers will be part of the CVFL (Central Valley Football League) and will play a 10-game season (plus playoffs) against other teams around Central California.
The pre-season opener is scheduled for February 19, with kickoff at 1:05pm. The location has yet to be announced but the Vipers are in negations with Visalia Unified School District officials to play their home games at Groppetti stadium.
So far, the owners report, the team has attracted a number of former high school and college football players from around the area ranging in age from 18 to 25.
The Vipers are a so-called 'developmental team.' Standout players on the squad ultimately will move on to play college football or be picked up by one of many different levels of professional football leagues that now include the United Football league, Canadian Football League, Arena Football League and Indoor Football League. Those seeking more information on the Vipers, including how to try out, can call Jeremy Gill at 559-805-8682 or email info@thevalleyvipers.com.
By Miles Shuper
Visalia - A season-long celebration is planned in 2011 to mark 65 years of professional baseball in Visalia.
Visalia's professional baseball club, the Rawhide, along with a number of local baseball enthusiasts and historians, are planning a variety of events to honor baseball's local legacy.
A Jan. 19th fund-raising banquet featuring Major League Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda will raise the curtain for the celebration. The banquet will be hosted by the Rawhide, a farm club affiliated with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The event also will include the first inductions into the Visalia Baseball Hall of Fame.
Tom Seidler, owner and president of the Visalia Rawhide, said researching Visalia's baseball history has been exciting. Donny Barnes, Rawhide publicist and broadcaster, is finishing up a book about Visalia's baseball history that is scheduled to be released in conjunction with the 65th anniversary celebration.
About the book, Seidler said, “the more that is uncovered, the more interesting it becomes.”
Seidler added that the 2011 season “is a great time to bring Visalia baseball history back to life for the fans and all members of the community.”
The lore of rabid and faithful fans, institutions, companies and groups which have kept Visalia and baseball together is woven deep into the fabric of the community.
Visalia businessman Stanley Simpson Jr., of Buckman Mitchell Insurance, whose family has been a sports and especially baseball backer for decades, and Brent Swanson, current president of Buckman Mitchell, are among a number of persons helping Barnes, Seidler and other staff Rawhide staff and longtime fans arrange for a multifaceted 65th anniversary celebration.
A number of special promotions and events will be held throughout the year and a 65th anniversary logo will be unveiled, Seidler said.
Visalia baseball teams, which over the years have had a number of owners and affiliations with different Major League teams, has been a gateway for more than its share of future Big League stars.
Recreation Park, still one of the smallest but most fan-friendly professional ball parks in the nation, is the home of Visalia's California League entry. In addition to future Major Leaguers, local fans have seen dozens of visiting Cal League players working their way to the big time or Major Leagues sent to the minors for injury rehabilitation. Among the illustrious players to hone their skills in Visalia: Vada Pinson, Kirby Plunkett, Ken Singleton, Kent Hrbeck, Jason Upton, Ulbaldo Jimenez and Evan Longoria. Some Big League managers, including Tom Kelley, and a number of coaches, have also earned their stripes on Visalia's diamond.
The first local Hall of Fame inductees, expected to number five or six, will be announced at the Jan. 19 banquet, which will be held at the Marriott in downtown Visalia.
Seidler said portraits of Visalia's Hall of Fame members will be placed on the Recreation Park outfield fence similar to those at Dodger Stadium and other Big League ball parks.
For a number of years, Visalia was in danger of having its Major League Baseball ties cut for failing to have a stadium on par with minimum standards but in 2006, Seidler signed a 10-year lease with the City of Visalia for the use of Recreation Park -- with an additional five-year option -- in exchange for the city's commitment to major upgrades of the city-owned facility.
Since the newly refurbished Recreation Park opened in 2009, the Rawhide has set attendance records in each of the last two seasons and Seidler and others expect the 2011 season to be even better as the 65th anniversary celebration plays out.
In terms of seating capacity, Recreation Park is the smallest park in the Cal League and among the 10 or so smallest in the nation. But the refurbished park, which cost about $16 million, has drawn national acclaim and is featured in the 2011 Great Parks calendar published by “baseballamerica.” The May 2011 photo features a nighttime view of Rec Park taken from the left field foul line.
The appearance of Lasorda, labeled by many as baseball's greatest ambassador and a popular keynote speaker, will raise funds for the Rawhide Foundation for Kids, a nonprofit charity that benefits local youth organizations. Tickets are $65 per person. Sponsors and group tickets also are being offered.
Tickets information is available at (559) 732-4433, ex. 26.
Benefits Determined Students
(Editor's note: This is part three of an ongoing series spotlighting noteworthy Valley residents whose lives and legacies have been memorialized through endowed scholarships at area colleges.)
By Marina Gaytan
Visalia - Area students pursuing a business or nursing degree at College of the Sequoias have been receiving scholarships since the 1990s thanks to a fund set up in honor of Margaret Line Balch.
Balch and her brother, Robert N. Line, grew up on a ranch in Ivanhoe.
Although Line said he was just a “little guy” when his sister married Bob Balch in the 1930s, he has many fond memories of his sibling.
Margaret Balch attended COS as a student in the institution's early days when it was still part of the Visalia school district.
“She was a very determined young lady who was supportive of her family and devoted to her husband,” said Line, who served as Visalia Unified School District superintendent from 1979 to 1992 and also as a COS trustee for nine years.
During her college years, Balch often traveled with her husband and their three children, James, George and Barbara. Bob Balch was an executive with British Petroleum.
When Margaret Balch died in July of 1994, Bob Balch told Robert Line, who at the time was chairman of the COS Foundation, that he wanted to give $50,000 to endow a scholarship in honor of his wife's life—and he wanted the scholarship to go to a deserving COS student because Margaret Balch always had such a keen interest in education.
“I was very pleased when I heard that this was the way he chose to recognize my sister and her life,” Line said.
After the death of their two sons, George and James, Bob Balch made an additional donation to COS in order to endow scholarships in their honor. Today, there are three endowed Balch scholarship funds set up at the college, and six students per year receive $500 towards their education.
Vanessa Miller, 24, of Exeter, is one of those lucky recipients. When she graduated from high school in 2004, Miller was not only pregnant with her first child but had just been diagnosed with leukemia.
After battling the disease for five years, Miller's doctors have told her she's now cancer-free. “I feel fine,” she said. “It doesn't bother me. It's just something I have to deal with.”
Miller is studying animal sciences at COS and planning to transfer to California State University, Fresno in 2011. Her son is now six and Miller currently works three part-time jobs while attending COS full time. She is wants to become a veterinarian and hopes to ultimately work with large animals.
One of her jobs is assisting at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory—a University of California, Davis extension campus located in Tulare. She also works with livestock at the COS farm. She even finds time to help clean offices for local businesses.
Working as much as she does, attending school is still costly for Miller. However, the Balch scholarship has helped take some of the pressure off, she said. “I'm a single mom, so every little bit helps,” she added.
“Vanessa is a good representation of students who benefit from the scholarship,” Line said. “My sister would be very pleased that students like her have been helped through her husband's generous donation.”
The above stories are the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.
December 2, 2010
