I know that this will make you feel uncomfortable, but I’d like you to join me in an exercise. Pretend that your child has been kidnapped by three young men, placed in a moving van, and then buried alive in a rock quarry. The kidnappers have been captured, tried and found guilty in court, and sentenced to prison. How long should their prison sentences be? As a father, I have a hard time trying to imagine the degree of horror I would have experienced if my child had been abduc

Tyler Takeda/The Madera Tribune The Liberty Hawks baseball team gathers around Max Vestal who hit the game-winning single during Wednesday’s 8-7 win over Clovis East. The Clovis East Timberwolves seemed to be rolling after a five-run second inning, but the Liberty Hawks baseball team didn’t give in and followed with a four-run inning in a non-conference game at Liberty. The Hawks stayed within striking distance of the Div. I Timberwolves and struck for two runs in the bottom

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Liberty’s Maci Whaley hits a high pitch to deep left field for a three-run double to provide the only runs in a victory over Fowler on Tuesday. The last time the Liberty Hawks softball team saw the Fowler Redcats, the Redcats were celebrating a come-from-behind victory to win the Buchanan Preseason Tournament earlier this month. The Hawks wanted to exact a measure of revenge in Tuesday’s game against Fowler. The Hawks scored three runs in th

After a thrilling 2022 season opener on March 5, drivers and teams of the Lunkerdaddy Pro Late Models and 51FIFTY Jr. Late Models are ready for round two tonight at Madera Speedway. The MAVTV-televised Late Model divisions will be joined by the INEX Bandoleros at the fastest one-third mile in the west. Adult tickets are $20, seniors and military are $15, youth ages 6-12 are $10 and kids five and under are free. All tickets will be sold at the track ticket booth the day of the

There are many reasons why smaller cities are so special to me. I grew up in a small town in Florida, about the size of Chowchilla, and I have many fond memories of that town and its people. It seems there was always something to do, and for a child that is important. During the summer, all the schools were closed and the kids had three months of free time. Most kids I knew went to Vacation Bible School at their own churches, because at that time most people in our community

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune File Photo Chowchilla kidnapping victim Larry Park looks at a Madera Tribune story about the crime, which took place July 15, 1976. Kidnapping mastermind Frederick Newhall Woods is in the beginning stages of getting paroled. The man who is considered to be the mastermind behind the Chowchilla kidnapping of 26 children in 1976 and burying them alive may soon walk free. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation approved Frede