Years ago in Madera for the 2nd week of October
Madera County Historical Society
Twenty-five years ago, these five candidates for seats on the City Council were preparing to debate the issues at a town hall meeting sponsored by the Madera Tribune.
25 Years Ago Week of Oct. 8, 1992
DISTRICT ATTORNEY REJECTS HARRASSMENT CASE – District Attorney Ernie LiCalsi announced Wednesday that he is rejecting a harassment case that Indian Lakes resident Jackie Thrower said was motivated by homophobia. Thrower, who is living with her brother’s HIV-positive lover in the Eastern Madera County community, has accused two of her neighbors of harassing her and her guest over a period of several months. Thrower said one of the neighbors is a retired California Highway Patrolman and has been brandishing a gun on his porch trying to threaten her. She charges him with making several obscene phone calls and killing many of her caged pets.
WATER BILL SPELLS RUIN FOR FARMERS – San Joaquin Valley farmers are hoping for a presidential veto of an omnibus bill that funnels water from the Central Valley Project to drought-striken rivers where fish and wildlife are endangered. The bill also allows cities to purchase some of the cheap, federal water that currently irrigates 23,000 California farms. Agricultural groups said the measure, if signed by Bush, would put thousands out of work, raise food prices and drain the lifeblood from dozens of small towns from Redding to Bakersfield. “We’re not just talking farmers. We’re talking farm workers, families, and whole communities,” said Richard Geringer, president of the Fresno County Farm Bureau.
COUNTY FACES $1 MILLION SHORTFALL – County Administrative Officer Stell Manfredi is expected to tell the Board of Supervisors Tuesday not to make any “No new taxes” pledges for awhile. The fiscal cautionary note comes on the tail of the state budget fiasco, Manfredi says. “We really can’t say the sky is falling until the sky falls, and we don’t know when that will happen,” Manfredi explained. At issue are hundreds of thousands of dollars that state officials are taking from local governments in exchange for dim prospects that the money will be returned later. The largest single brunt the county will have to bear is a potential loss of $575,000 in property tax money.
BOND PROPOSAL GOES TO MUSD TRUSTEES – The bond election topped Tuesday’s meeting of the Madera Unified School Board. The Capital Facilities Committee report presented by Audrey Pool to trustees recommended, after much debate, that the school board go for a $30.7 million bond over 25 years to build an eastside junior high, Furman High, an elementary school north of the city, the first phase of Webster Junior High, and the Ag farm at Madera High. The committee also recommended the completion of Madera High South Campus, a multipurpose room at Dixieland School, and a junior high school north of Madera.
CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES FACE QUESTIONS THURSDAY – How will the city deal with future growth? What would you like to see done with the Madera Municipal Golf Course? What steps should the city take to survive the budget crisis? These are but a few of the questions which may be addressed to City Council hopefuls at the Madera Tribune Candidate’s Night on Thursday evening. City Council candidates scheduled to attend include Issa “Zak” Zacharia, Herman Perez, William “Terry” Parkhurst, Rudy Alvidrez, and Sam Armentrout. Each candidate will make a three-minute opening statement, which will be followed by questions and answers. Candidates will then make 3 minute closing statements.
50 Years Ago Week of Oct. 8, 1967
MOCHIZUKI”S RESIGNATION IS SOUGHT – The executive board of the Madera County Action Committee for the War on Poverty has asked chairman George Mochizuki for his resignation. The board asked Mochizuki to resign his position after lengthy discussion in a recent meeting when it was reported that the regional Office of Economic Opportunity feels that he should step down. Frank Rincon, local director of the war on poverty, reported that complaints that Mochizuki owns and operates “slum housing” have reached the regional office in San Francisco. Mochizuki protested against the forced resignation, asking for confirmation in writing of the wishes of the regional office.
BURGLARS HIT CERIONI’S IN $4,000 THEFT – Madera Police are looking for two men who wear suit sizes 38 and 42. Those were the two sizes taken in a burglary of Cerioni’s Men and Boys Store on D Street. Bill Cerioni said he is still conducting an inventory to determine exactly what is missing, but preliminary investigation sets the loss at over $4,000. He said a number of sweaters, shirts, trousers, sports coats, raincoats, and belts are missing along with a pair of boots and four dress suits. The burglars apparently entered the store through an unused cooler duct and left the same way with four suitcases belonging to Cerioni’s filled with clothing.
MOCHIZUKI’S OFFERS RESIGNATION; GROUP SAYS NO – George Mochizuki attempted to resign from the Madera County Action Committee, but the members would not accept it. On motion of Jack Schmitz and seconded by Benny Garibay, the committee voted to reject Mochizuki’s resignation. After the action was taken, Vice Chairman Rev. Naaman Haynes handed the gavel back to Mochizuki saying, “We’ve chased pots of gold at receding rainbows for too long.” He called upon the commission to get down to business. When the subject of Mochizuki’s rental housing came up, Garibay defended him. “We all have to do a little straightening up,” he said. At that point, members of the Mexican-American Political Association, who had distributed pictures of Mochizuki’s property, walked out.
MRS. MATTESON DIES HERE AT AGE 93 – Mrs. Edna Estelle Matteson, member of a pioneerng family and 67-year resident of Madera, died in a local hospital Saturday after a long illness. She was 93. Mrs. Matteson, widowed in 1910, reared two children of her own and a great grandchild whose mother died in childbirth. She also helped care for two grandsons, Ralph and Don Baraldi, during the long illness that preceded the death of their mother, one of her two daughters. She was noted for helping both family members and friends and was active in the Native Daughters of the Golden West, the Neighbors of Woodcraft, and her church, Jehovah’s Witnesses.
IVY BAKER PRIEST SPEAKES HERE NOV. 9 – Mrs. Ivy Baker Priest, California treasurer and former United States treasurer for eight years under the Eisenhower administration, will speak here Nov. 9 at a GOP fund-raising dinner. The event will be held in Hatfield Hall and is open to the public. Mrs. Priest is scheduled to hold a press conference Nov. 9 at 4 p.m. at Lucca’s. Master of Ceremonies will be D.W. Holmes of Madera, a member of the Little Hoover Commission. Others assisting in the event are Mrs. Rose Marchetti, Tom Chidlaw, Henry Bitter, Mrs. H.H. Buchenau, Mrs. James Hanhart, and Bud Wall.
