Time for turkey



Ring’s reappearance is cause for Thanksgiving

MIRACLE CORNER


A class ring plucked from the dust by a Yosemite visitor this summer has been reunited with its owner’s family after an emotional and far-flung journey. After a two-months’ search, the Mariposa County High School Class of 1994 ring was delivered to Mariposa resident Jeanne Doyle on Nov. 7. Doyle is the mother of the late David Jereme Montoya, a […]

County funding source is being held up in D.C.




The federal land that makes up Yosemite National Park brings tourists, and money, to Mariposa County. But that land also brings expenses for the county. Although it’s federal land, the county must pay for road and bridge maintenance, law enforcement, search and rescue, emergency medical, fire protection, solid waste disposal and environmental compliance for any property in the county that’s […]

Long-awaited Bridgeport Fire Station to open




It’s been a project District 3 Supervisor Janet Bibby has held close to her heart for the past 12 years, and next Tuesday it will finally come to fruition. At 3 p.m. on Dec. 2, Bridgeport Fire Station No. 28 at 2746 Creek Ridge Road off Old Highway will be dedicated during an open house. Bibby will leave office this […]

No mulligan for Sierra Meadows

LOCAL ECONOMY


The announcement that Sierra Meadows Country Club will close on Dec. 15 has arrived like a lump of coal in local golfers’ bags. Following the 2009 closure of Lake Don Pedro Golf Resort and Country Club, the move leaves county golfers without a full-sized course in the immediate vicinity. “It’s a tough course—good and challenging,” local golfer Anthony Leard said. […]

Free meal program is vital to school funding




In Mariposa County, 55 percent of students who attend school are eligible for free or reduced meals at the school. But many of those 55 percent don’t sign up for the breakfasts and lunches, and that’s bad news for the Mariposa County Unified School District. “If students qualify for a free lunch, and don’t take it, we lose funding,” said […]

Holiday program will feature local choirs



The Mariposa High School Advanced Choir and the Mariposa Community Chorus will present their holiday program on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. at Mariposa County High School. The program, “Handel, Heaven, Hallelujahs and Happy Holidays,” is under the leadership of Community Chorus director Gail Vanderslik and Mariposa County High SchoolHoli-music director Rod Fiester. The choirs will present a program […]

Sheriff’s Daily Dispatch Log



Nov. 17 • A scam was reported from Clouds Rest Road. • A harassment report was taken on 10th Street. • Burglary was reported from Stumpfield Mountain Road. • Petty theft of gasoline was reported from Grillo Drive. Nov. 18 • Theft of a purse was reported from Highway 140. • A resident on Jones Street reported a transient problem. […]

Prop. 47 may affect Mt. Bullion prisoners




Proposition 47, which was passed on Nov. 4 by California voters, will help reduce the state’s prison population by allowing some non-violent prisoners to be released. Those changes could affect the prisoners who live at the Mt. Bullion Adult Conservation (Fire) Camp No. 39, off Highway 49 just north of town. The prisoners there help fight fires, along with a […]

Housekeeper at The Ahwahnee indicted for burglary and theft



A former housekeeper at The Ahwahnee hotel in Yosemite National Park, Jennifer Crystal Downing, 36, of Fresno, was indicted last week by a federal grand jury. Downing has been charged with 16 countes of first degree burglary and 16 countes of thefts, according to United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner. According to court documents, Downing entered rooms in The Ahwahnee […]