Earlier this month, a concerned motorist reported a big rig driving recklessly on northbound SR-99 near 4th Street in Madera. At one point, the big rig collided with an overpass and continued driving. CHP Madera officers quickly located the vehicle and made an enforcement stop. During the investigation, the driver was suspected to be under the influence of drugs and was placed under arrest.

For The Madera Tribune Hiram Rapelje is shown here, second from the left, posing with the posse that shot train robber John Sontag, who lies wounded on the haystack. Madera County has produced its share of rough and tumble, two-fisted drinking, street fighting pioneers. They pop up all through the pages of local history to spice up the pieces of our past. Very near the top of a list of such characters is Hiram Lee Rapelje, a local stage driver who was as quick with his guns a

A Madera County jury convicted Vicente Jasso of first-degree murder, and found true the special circumstance allegation that the murder was committed during the commission of a kidnapping on March 18. Honorable Ernest LiCalsi sentenced Jasso to life without the possibility of parole Thursday, plus an additional 25 years to life and four years, four months in state prison. “The Madera County District Attorney’s Office would like to recognize and thank the Madera County Sherif

A big rig recently struck a tire iron left in the roadway, rupturing its fuel tank and spilling approximately 30 gallons of fuel onto the dirt shoulder. The incident required a coordinated response from CHP, Caltrans, and the Madera County Environmental Health Department to contain and clean up the spill. “Thanks to the prompt response from our officers, most of the fuel was quickly contained — preventing a much larger spill and minimizing environmental impact,” said CHP Mad

During a night shift patrol Saturday, Corporal Jeremy Smith conducted a traffic stop near N D Street and East Central Avenue, where he found Pablo Pimentel. During the investigation, Pimentel, who is a documented gang member, was found to be in possession of approximately two and a half ounces of cocaine, along with additional items indicative of drug sales. He was taken into custody and booked into the Madera County Jail on multiple drug-related charges.

For The Madera Tribune The Madera County Sheriff’s Office Dive team works to help tow a truck out of Bass Lake over the weekend. The Madera County Sheriff’s Dive Team and Boat Patrol were conducting a training at Bass Lake over the weekend. As the training was concluding, a member of the dive team was contacted at the Wishon Boat Launch regarding a vehicle into the lake. Boat and dive deputies responded, and found that a pickup truck, along with an empty jet ski trailer, was

For The Madera Tribune Duane Furman, shown here, was MUSD superintendent during the racial unrest of 1974. In the summer of 1974, racial trouble erupted in Madera. A 16 year-old male student at the high school threw a young coed, fully clothed, into the school swimming pool. Two female high school teachers, Rose Harper and Sharon Weldon, tried unsuccessfully to question the perpetrator. Madera High Vice Principal Perry Harper and Learning Director Barry Crow intervened, and b

Do not vote for Measure T; it will not repair roads, as advertised. Where has it gone so far? Avenue 12 resurface. Who uses that road? Fresno. They work here, but live in Fresno. Some went to a road in Chowchilla towards Eastman lake. Nice road, but who uses it? Better yet, who lives on it. Now, we are paying for a widening of State Route 41 by Tesoro Viejo! We also paid for a “ByPass” through that development. All that should have been “Impact Fees” paid for by the Developer