Readers talk district fair, politics

For The Madera Tribune
Sep 9, 2017
3 min read

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune

Brooklyn Hadjas, left, and Rheanna Garcia of Dixieland 4-H wash their sheep.

The Madera Tribune gathered the following comments online about articles and local happenings.

District fair

The Madera District Fair asked those on Facebook to complete the sentence “Madera District Fair is” for a chance at winning four VIP concert tickets.

“Taylor Lynn” wrote, “Community. With all the bad going on in the world it is nice to have a time every year for people to get together, see old friends, see all the talent Madera has to offer, and focus on being a community. Madera fair has always been a staple for me, my family and friends. I can’t want to see what this year brings.”
“ChickenShowmom Heather” wrote, “Madera Fair is where best friends are made, old friends are reunited, laughs are shared and good time are had. Memories. Family. Traditions. I showed at Madera fair all my years of 4-H and FFA. Now my daughter has been showing. Watching her is probably better than winning myself. Madera fair is our favorite fair.”
“Jeff Dunigan” wrote, “Me and my cousin walking a girl home then back to Chowchilla, because my aunt wouldn’t give (the) girl a ride and he was so honorable … That was after hours of rides, etc, and (I) have not been (to the fair) since then – almost 30 years.”
“Tori Michelle Isaak” wrote, “4-H and FFA were the best memories I had growing up at the fair. I can’t wait till my twin boys are old enough to be able to be apart of it! It is seriously the most amazing experience a kid could have! And I wish I could go back in time and do it all over! I will never forget those memories, especially those with two of my friends who have passed away.”

Tree die-off

An executive order recently issued by Gov. Brown streamlines rules on safe removal of dead and dying trees, among other things. Readers weren’t impressed.

“Larry Jorn” wrote, “Proving once again that the sun will eventually shine on an ugly dog's … (rear) once in a while! He finally got one right!”
“Tami Jo Nix” wrote, “Not a fan of this man! Environmental groups have been hindering the forest service from doing its job. Those groups should be sent an invoice for fighting all these wild fires! Put them on defense for once!”
“Charlotte Brewer” wrote, “Day late and a dollar short!”
“Kristi Diebert Lakeman” wrote, “And to think we have had him for 16 years.”

Misconduct?

Readers responded to criticism of a Tribune article on a Madera Unified School District employee’s alleged improper conduct towards a student. The article had summarized public statements by the student’s self-identified mother without quoting her directly.

“April Molina” wrote, “She posted everything on her Facebook page. I don’t think it was necessary for the Tribune to get an actual statement from her. Duh.”
“Melanie Sesma Butler” wrote, “These are all comments from her Facebook page. There was nothing wrong with the article.”
“Tawna Lynn Mejia” replied to a friend who told her to read about the alleged misconduct, “Yeah, I saw when she went live on Facebook (video).”

Rants and raves

Rant — The Madera City Council held the second of a series of cannabis workshops Wednesday. “Steve Salter” wrote, “City of Madera and Madera County voted no on Prop 64. That tells me that the citizens don’t want it. There are other ways to increase the budget in the city without breaking the federal law.”
Rant — “Kevin Stansbury” wrote, “Can you find out why St. Joachim (School) cancelled its school lunch program and now the kids can only bring lunch from home? What is that about?”
Rant — Madera police recently arrested David Salazar on charges of felony vandalism. A surveillance camera allegedly revealed the suspect throwing large rocks at vehicles on two occasions. “Ray W. Wright” wrote, “The Madera I came back to is not the Madera I left 27 years earlier.”
Rave — A video of a Blackhawk helicopter dipping water from Manzanita Lake to drop on the Mission Fire drew some attention Wednesday. “Eva DE LA Rosa” wrote, “That is so awesome. Thank you to all the firefighters, and may God bless you all.”

To chime in online, visit our website (www.maderatribune.com) or find us on Twitter (@MadTrib) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/maderatribune).