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Bond Comittee Meets to Map out Strategy

April 16 - The Kerman Unified School Bond Committee met April 9 to map out a strategy to persuade voters to extend "Measure K," an $11 million tax increase passed in 2004.

Committee Chairman Dan Safreno met with eight or 10 local residents and said the new effort will be aimed at extending the number of years the Measure K taxes are collected, not increasing the amount paid.

Solid information about how many years the bond would be extended, and how much money would be raised, were not available at last weeks meeting.

The additional funds are needed to build a third elementary school; to complete Liberty Intermediate School; and to provide a vocational education program at Kerman High, Safreno said. The measure will be on the June ballot, and requires a 55% approval to pass.

School professionals say the best size for elementary schools is between 250 to 450 students. Kerman’s Sun Empire Elementary is at 800, and Kerman-Floyd is at 1000. These figures are the basis of the committee’s call for a third elementary school. A ballpark figure of $8 million for this facility has been used.

At Liberty Intermediate the additional funds would be used to build a multi-purpose room, which was not included when the school was built a few years ago. At Kerman High the vocational education equipment dates back to the 1960s, and needs to be upgraded to meet modern standards..

The school district did well with the Measure K bonds. They went on sale during a strong bond market and sold out years faster than was allowed. At the same time property values were increasing due to the housing boom.

But now, with a weak housing market and falling property values, it may not be the best time to hit up the voters for more money, Safreno admitted. But he said the students are here and need to be taken care of. "Education is the best investment," he said.

The committee will he helping out with the usual campaign chores - working the phones to get out the vote and soliciting supporters. An especially large absentee vote is expected this year.

The committee is also scheduled to ask the Kerman City Council this evening to support the measure. The council supported the original Measure K.

Kerman's Top Cop Promoted in State Military Reserve

April 16 - Kerman Police Chief William Newton was promoted last month by the California State Military Reserve (CSMR), where he serves as a volunteer soldier.

He was made a Command Chief Warrant Officer, working directly with commanding general Jack Hagen. Newton is an advisor for the warrant officer corps, and deals with experts in technical fields. He joined the CSMR in 2006.

The Reserve assists the California National Guard in homeland security duties, and responds to natural or man-made emergencies in California.

Most recently the Reserve responded with the National Guard to fight wildfires in southern california last year.

Enjoy Pre-Season Success

Once again the Kerman Lady Lions varsity softball team did some damage to the competition in the Buchanan pre-season softball tournament held March 3-8 at the Buchanan High School softball complex.

The Lions went 5-1-1 in the tournament, defeating Parlier, Memorial, and Riverdale in pool play. Their only loss was a 1-2 decision against McLane. This gave them the number one seed in their pool. Four of their games were won or lost by one run.

Their first bracket play game was against number two seed Fowler. This was a hard fought extra innings game that the Lady Lions took 5-4. This win took them to the championship game against Dos Palos where they brought out the bats and broke it open; defeating the Broncos 13-2.

In what tournament officials considered to be a first, both Varsity and JV teams from the same school took first place in their divisions. The JV Lady Lions went 4-0 in the tournament taking first place in their championship game against Kingsburg.

Dedication Held for Multi-Purpose Facility

Fresno County Supervisor Phil Larson speaks during dedication ceremonies for Kerman High’s new Multi-Purpose Building in January. Looking on (from the left) are KUSD Supt. Roger Halberg, KUSD Board President Glen Foth and Kerman High Principal Jim Volkoff. The new building is one of several projects underway or being completed in the district, the result of an $11 million bond passed in Kerman about three years ago.

Kerman Girl In Rose Parade Float

Angela Porto, Daughter of Danny and Linda Porto of Kerman, road atop an award winning float in the 2008 Tournament of Roses Parade. The float, entitled simply, "The Portuguese American Community", is a testament to the long and positive history of the Portuguese in America. Located primarily in Massachusetts and California, Portuguese American communities are knows for prosperous agriculture and business as well as public service. One hallmark of the Portuguese community are the festivals, or "festas", held as religious and cultural celebrations yearly, each one crowing its own Queen.

The current Queen of the annual Kerman Portuguese Festival, Angela was part of a nationwide competition resulting in four queens upon the float. Riding uppermost on the float’s right hand side, Angela was the feature Queen in the Home and Garden Network telecast of the Portuguese float in the Tournament of Roses Parade, showing her waving happily at the crowd. Angela enjoyed the day tremendously, which began in the wee dark hours of the morning when the New Year’s Day ritual parade is staged and prepared. As is tradition, all non-human parts of the float must be covered in flowers or other natural material. It is a one of a kind event and watched internationally.

Assemblyman Juan Arambula speaks in Kerman recently about his new legislation, which would give rural communities more ability to keep track of registered sex offenders living in the area. Looking on is Kerman Mayor Trinidad Rodriguez.