For The Madera Tribune Vern Edwin Cochran. Vern Edwin Cochran, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, passed away on April 22, 2026, in Fresno, California, surrounded by his family. Born on Oct. 17, 1954, in Madera, California, Vern was a lifelong resident of Madera County. He was known for his love of fishing, gold panning, cultivating cannabis, and for being a masterful storyteller whose presence brought warmth and laughter to those around him. He is

Tyler Takeda/The Madera Tribune Local dignitaries shovel dirt for the official groundbreaking for the SR 41 expansion ceremony on Friday. The biggest public works road project in Madera County history finally broke ground during a ceremony last week. Dignitaries from Madera County and beyond converged to the corner of State Route 41 and Avenue 12 to celebrate the SR 41 expansion project that will improve traffic flow on SR 41. The project has been on the books since 2001, a

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Then-Madera Mayor Santos Garcia, right, presents VFW Post 1981 Commander Tom Zonsius with a certificate of recognition for the VFW Post 1981 following the 2022 Memorial Day Service. Garcia passed away over the weekend. Flags around the government offices of the City of Madera are flying at half mast this week to honor former Mayor Santos Garcia, who passed away over the weekend. Garcia was found unresponsive at his home. His death was a med

Tyler Takeda/The Madera Tribune The MadTown Robotics team arrives at Fresno Yosemite International Airport to a huge welcome from family and friends after winning a fourth World Championship over the weekend. FRESNO — The MadTown Robotics team arrived home Sunday night at Fresno Yosemite International Airport to a heroes’ welcome after claiming its fourth FRC World Championship earlier in the weekend. “It feels very heartwarming,” said team captain Miguel Angel Vargas. “Seei

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Madera South’s Douglas Fuentes rises above the net for a block on a Matilda Torres attack during Thursday’s sweep over the Toros. Fuentes led the Toros with 13 kills. The Madera South Stallions boys volleyball team completed a season sweep over the Matilda Torres Toros to close out the regular season at Madera South. The Stallions swept the Toros (25-16, 26-24, 25-15) to send out its seniors with a win Thursday evening. Douglas Fuentes led

Tyler Takeda/The Madera Tribune Matilda Torres’ Austin Meza slides under the Central third baseman’s tag on a third inning stolen base in Friday’s win. The lead-off batter was on base all three times with a hit, walk and hit by pitch. He also scored a run with two stolen bases. The Matilda Torres Toros baseball team scored all five of its runs in the final two innings for a 5-1 victory over the Central Grizzlies at Torres. The Toros scored three runs in the fifth and two ru

After falling into an early hole, the Madera Coyotes softball team scored a pair of runs late for a 6-4 victory over the Sanger Apaches. The Apaches led 3-0 after the first inning, but the Coyotes scored four in the third to take the lead, but Sanger tied it in the bottom. Isabella Aguirre held the Apaches scoreless in relief the rest of the way to pick up the win. Aguirre struck out three and allowed two hits in five innings of relief.

Every time I go biking or walking around my area in Bass Lake, I have to live through the decay of each street, of what used to be a place much like Oakhurst; a hub for people to live at. My hands itch from vibrations, not from allergies; the roads are in almost complete ruin. The original 1940s infrastructure is slowly wasting away into oblivion. These old houses that people remember are either becoming a “Jenga” style of rebuilding, or just wasting away. So many people left