Courtesy of Madera Police Department A construction vehicle sits across both northbound lanes of State Route 99 after crashing into a temporary construction wall. Madera-area California Highway Patrol and other authorities responded to a major traffic collision on northbound State Route 99 just south of the Fresno River on Monday afternoon. Northbound traffic on SR 99 was stopped for several hours, with street traffic being diverted through Madera at Gateway Drive in the city, according to Madera police. The driver of a construction vehicle sustained minor injuries, including a laceration to his right arm. He was transported to Madera Community Hospital. Witnesses reported the truck travelin

For The Madera Tribune Angie Lien, a performer with Disney on Ice, will perform as the character Elsa from “Frozen” during Disney on Ice’s presentation of “Mickey’s Search Party.” Disney on Ice will makes its annual trip to Fresno this week and will feature Mickey’s Search Party. The show begins Thursday and will last through Monday. Tickets can be purchased at DisneyonIce.com or at the Fresno Convention Center box office. Show times are at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Monday. Show times on Saturday are 1, 3 and 7 p.m. while Sunday has an 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. show. More than 50 skaters will take the ice for the four-night show. Many popular Disney characters will also be on hand, including c

Not long after Madera High School won the first ever robotics championship in Houston last April, Ignacio Negrete thought to himself that he should work on forming one. Negrete, who works as a desktop technician in the IT department at the Madera County Library, decided he would create one that kids could join and get in on the robotics craze. “I used the wind from their sails,” Negrete said. “While the hype was up is when I presented it to our friends at the library group and that way they were still in the awe of, ‘okay, the high school just won the world championships’ and I wanted to keep that around and the way we can help support that team is by trying to influence and inspire the youn

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez kicked off 2020 by kneecapping her colleagues. The bartender-turned-congresswoman announced in early January that she would not be paying her share of party dues (dues which amount to roughly $250,000) to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The Democrats’ main campaign arm, the DCCC recruits and raises funds for candidates as well as incumbents. Each House Democrat is customarily expected to contribute to the committee at a level commensurate with his or her tenure and leadership role. Whacky Ocasio-Cortez, whose online operation has effortlessly put her in the top tier of Democratic fundraisers — she outraised both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and impeach

Diamond lanes for the rich. Lexus lanes. A classic bait-and-switch. Social engineering on a massive scale. Taking the free out of freeways. Republican officials working for then-President George W. Bush in 2008 didn’t apply any of those epithets to their plan to charge tolls and allow solo drivers into carpool lanes on freeways in some of the most crowded parts of California. Rather, they dangled hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives before state and local officials to get them to adopt this benighted idea — and the locals bit, big time. It started with a grant of more than $200 million about 10 years ago from Bush’s Department of Transportation, which turned existing carpool lanes i

Get out of the “Bernie Bubble,” and you’ll see that only “Bernie Bros” believe Sen. Sanders has a snowball’s chance in hell of winning anything(other then maybe New Hampshire.) Jeremy Corbyn, George McGovern, and Walter Mondale — don’t add Bernie Sanders to that list of epic fails! Michael Dukakis, Adlai Stevenson and Hubert Humphrey. Why do you think Russian government internet bots supported Bernie? Because Trump’s boss Putin was terrified of Hillary. Even drunk Russians know America won’t elect a Stalinist Senator who is 78 years old. — Sincerely, Jake Pickering, Arcata, Calif.

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Madera’s Alek Trukki brings the ball up the court during Friday’s victory over Madera South. He scored a game-high 20 points, with 18 coming on six 3-pointers. The Madera Coyotes boys basketball team got a hot-shooting performance from Alek Trukki and forced 33 turnovers for a 51-34 victory over Madera South. Trukki hit six 3-pointers in the first three quarters to score a game-high 20 points to lead the Coyotes. Madera jumped out to a 30-14 lead and stretched the lead to 20 before a 16-point victory Friday in Joe Flores Gym. “We changed it up a little bit,” said coach Wesley Lee, filling in for Jason Lozano, who was awaiting the birth of his child. “We str

Courtesy of Christopher Cross Madera’s Cathy Figueroa drives to the rim for a layup to score two of her team-high 14 points in Friday’s victory over Madera South with Lexi Cota defending. Keyed by another well-played first half, the Madera Coyotes girls basketball team held off the Madera South Stallions long enough for a 53-48 victory. Cathy Figueroa led the Coyotes with 14 points while going 8-of-17 from the free throw line Friday. Five other players scored six or more points for the Coyotes. Camile Nunez scored eight while Sofia Perez and Stephenie Jordan scored seven each. BriAnn Houghton added six points. “We played an excellent first half,” head coach Jason Smith said. “We told them wh

Wendy Alexander/the Madera Tribune Madera’s Penelopi Leach is surrounded by Stallions’ Aliah Avila (4) and Lesli Mendoza during Friday’s battle. Leach scored one of three goals for the Coyotes while Avila scored twice, including the game-winner in overtime. The Madera Stallions girls soccer team came back from a 2-0 deficit to win 4-3 against the Madera Coyotes at Memorial Stadium in overtime. The Coyotes took a 1-0 lead in the first minute on a goal by Jazmin Pinon on Friday. Maria Zapata added a second goal in the 13th minute to make it 2-0. The Stallions responded with an unusual goal in the 26th minute. That’s when Aliah Avila kicked a ball from the right corner which slipped through the

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Liberty midfielder Aaliyah Montemayor controls possession in front of a Chowchilla defender during Thursday’s North Sequoia League victory. The Hawks received goals from six different players in an 8-0 win over the Tribe. The Liberty Hawks girls soccer team started fast and never looked back in an 8-0 rout against Chowchilla. It was the second straight dominant win for the Hawks, who were coming off a 6-0 win against Washington Union. Before getting consecutive wins, the Hawks had lost two of three in league. “We definitely had a challenging season. With a nice, easy game like this, we can work on what we need to work on in more challenging games,” senior J

Madera County Historical Society More than a billion feet of lumber floated out of the mountains to Madera in this flume from 1876 to 1933. During the 33-year existence of the flume which gave birth to Madera, more than one billion feet of lumber floated down the big trough from the mountains toward the mill near where Millview School now stands. Built in 1876, by the California Lumber Company, the V-flume followed along mountainsides, through steep canyons, and often had to utilize trestles that were more than 60 feet in height. Falling into disrepair, the flume was rebuilt in 1899, after being acquired by the Madera Sugar Pine Lumber Company. The new structure ran from Sugar Pine south to

At the Jan. 15 Madera City Council meeting, the Council voted unanimously to approve employment agreements for two new department directors — over the city’s Parks and Community Services and Finance departments. John Scarborough has served as the City’s Parks Planning Manager for more than 10 years. He assisted the City’s Public Works Department by serving as interim director of that department for nearly two years and has been filling the Director spot at Parks and Community Services on an interim basis for several months. Scarborough will promote to the permanent Parks and Community Services Director effective immediately. “Through his willingness to take on additional duties and responsib

The 38th Annual Madera County Academic Decathlon will be held Feb. 1, with the interview and essay competitions held prior to competition day. Eight of the 10 Decathlon events, including the speech competition and Super Quiz, will be held Feb. 1, at Madera South High School. This year’s topic is “In Sickness and In Health: A History of Illness and Wellness.” The first day of this two-day high school event was held at the Madera County Superintendent of Schools Conference Center on Jan. 24. Chawanakee Academy, Chowchilla High, Glacier High Charter, Liberty High, Madera High, Madera South High, and Yosemite High schools will compete to be named county champion. The winner of Madera County’s A

for the madera tribune The Madera Police Department has been awarded an $18,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and will be administered by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) to battle alcohol-related harm. “This is important to Madera in order to increase protection for youth and to take enforcement action against locations that have contributed to an increase in crime,” Sgt. Thomas Burns said. The goal of the grant is to reduce the availability of alcohol to minors and reduce alcohol-related crime through multiple enforcement, educational, and prevention programs conducte

Professional football season is coming to a close once again. The Kansas City Chiefs will square off against the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 2 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, according to Google. It is being broadcast by the Fox television network. What I appreciate most about football season is how it entertains my husband so I have Sundays to myself. Leisurely reading the weekend editions of the newspaper with a cup of coffee in my pajamas is great. Next up, the National Hot Rod Association and drag racing will fill his weekends. It would seem during the Super Bowl, the country takes a break as everyone enjoys the game. When I worked for the Massetti family answering servic

Today I was proud to see the six charging stations at our Madera Walmart. I actually snapped a photo and sent it to my son, who works for a renewable energy company in New York City (Lend Lease — who built the 9/11 Memorial museum and building). I saw someone pull up to one of the charging stations after placing my groceries in my trunk, and was about to ask him about the technique, when he actually walked away from his BMW which was NOT an electric, nor hybrid vehicle. I was shocked and considered saying something about his lack of accountability. I wondered if Walmart has security cameras at the charging stations — if they could issue a citation or even have the vehicle towed. Since I am a

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Madera Souths’ Damion Sheriff gets his hand raised after recording a pinfall victory over Madera’s Victor Calderon. The win gave the Stallions a 24-20 team lead over the Coyotes during Wednesday’s dual meet win. The Madera South Stallions wrestling team held off the Madera Coyotes’ comeback effort to win 30-23 at home to almost secure itself a County/Metro Athletic Conference championship. The Coyotes, who were down 18-6 at one point, took a 20-18 lead after Nate Galicia defeated Christian Perez 14-2 at 106 pounds. The Stallions, however, regained a 24-20 lead when Damion Sheriff defeated Victor Calderon by fall in the 113-pound match. The gap continued

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Madera South senior Emily Zamudio works her Kerman opponent into a pin during Tuesay’s dual match. Zamudio’s pin gave the Stallions the dual meet victory on Senior Night. After six matches, the Madera South Stallions girls wrestling team and the Kerman Lions were tied with two matches left. Senior Emily Zamudio didn’t know for sure, but had a feeling her 103 pound match would be the difference because the Stallions were giving the Lions a forfeit at 106 pounds. “I did not know it was down to me at the last match,” she said. “It was nerve-racking. I heard my coach say it was up to Emily now. I thought the pressure was on.” Zamudio made rather quick work of

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Madera’s Camile Nunez fires a long-range 3-pointer to close out the first quarter with an 18-7 lead during Wednesday’s victory over the Sanger Apaches. The Madera Coyotes girls basketball team jumped out to a nine-point halftime lead and held on by its fingernails to pull out a 47-46 victory over the Sanger Apaches in Joe Flores Gym. The Apaches, who never led in the game, outscored Madera 13-5 in the third quarter to get the game close, but the Coyotes made enough free throws at the end to pull out the win. The key to the game was free throws and fouls. Sanger was called for 32 fouls Wednesday night, which led to 42 Coyote free throws. Although Madera mad

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Madera’s Adela Alvarez sends a cross to the middle of the field during Wednesday’s overtime loss to Sanger. She scored Madera’s lone goal in the match. The Madera Coyotes girls soccer team gave up an early lead and lost 2-1 in overtime against the Sanger Apaches in Memorial Stadium. “It wasn’t our best day, overall,” Madera head coach Cameron Hill said. “We didn’t play as well as we have been playing. It was a battle, but we just didn’t play as well for sure.” Sanger had the first shot on target when Freankie Lee took a shot which was saved by the fingertips of goalkeeper Yesenia Montoya. The Coyotes took the lead in the 20th minute when Adela Alvarez took