Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Madera South’s Jimy Figueroa (right) congratulates Manuel Martinez after Martinez scored the Stallions’ lone goal in Tuesday’s loss to the Sanger Apaches. Figueroa initially started the scoring chance, and fed to Daniel Rocha, who got the assist. Two little mistakes may have cost the Madera South Stallions one of the top two seeds in the Central Section playoffs and a County/Metro Athletic Conference title. The Stallions scored a goal in the

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Matilda Torres’ Kaylin Perez drives the lane to score two of her 12 points in Monday’s victory over the Sanger West Hornets. In the first of four games this week, the Matilda Torres Toros girls basketball team took care of business from the start with a 55-30 victory over the Sanger West Hornets.  The Toros defeated the Hornets in a rare Monday game. They closed out the week with home games against San Joaquin Memorial on Thursday and Roosev

As an American, I often pledge my allegiance to the good old United States of America, as every American should. I firmly believe we are a nation of morals, a nation of laws and a Christian nation. However there is a number of far left radicals that are trying to make some very big changes to our country that will alter our lives. I know there are many members of the Democrat party that are very loyal to the U.S. and the Constitution and don’t like the direction that this gro

This has been the coldest winter that I can remember since I moved to Madera more than a quarter of a century ago. Locally, I’ve watched friends come down with flu and serious colds that they’ve escaped during previous winters. Nationwide, I’ve heard from other friends who have been similarly affected. Now, I’m battling flu. Of course, I realize that being cold doesn’t cause either colds or influenza. However, cold weather does encourage people to form into tighter groups tha

Since last fall when we had the carpet replaced at our house, I have been trying like the dickens to get things organized and to pitch what I no longer need or want. Our church is having a rummage sale at the beginning of next month, so it is a perfect time for me to get my act together and pass on some items that are still usable.  My closet has always been a real challenge for me when it comes to disposing of items. Now, I don’t have a lot of high-quality clothes, but my cl

For The Madera Tribune General Waldo Sims, Madera’s first black police officer. The first recorded African-American resident of Madera was Dexter Hunt, a 31 year-old porter who worked for Captain Russel Perry Mace in his hotel. He arrived here in 1880. For the next 20 years, Madera continued to grow, from 217 residents in 1880 to 2,500 in 1900. By comparison, the African-American population of Madera grew from that single individual in 1880 to 42 in 1900. For the next two dec

Katrina Soliz/The Madera Tribune Mark IV Metal Products President Andrew Segal, left, cuts the ceremonial ribbon with Chowchilla facility General Manager Pedro Orozco as confetti flies to mark the official grand opening of the facility on Friday. Mark IV Metal Products officially opened its doors Friday at 4 Kings Avenue in Chowchilla. The facility is a distribution facility that stocks dozens of sizes of galvanized steel grates and frames and municipal castings, such as manh

Cat Campbell/For The Madera Tribune This cookbook has been used a lot during the last 36 years, as evidenced by all the smudges and creases. We were a 4-H family and enjoyed it very much. There is a cookbook, one of those spiral bound fundraiser types, that I use quite often. It is called, California Cooking: Favorite Recipes of 4-H Families. I bought it March 10, 1990, during Madera County Demonstration Day held at the Madera Fairgrounds. My oldest son, Matt, was in the hors