The City of Madera hosted its second Citizens Academy, a nine-session program intended to give residents an exclusive look at how local government operates through guided tours that showcase the different parts of Madera that help the city run but are often overlooked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToday you\u2019re going to go to the Wastewater Treatment Plant,\u201d Arnoldo Rodriguez, city manager, said. \u201cIt\u2019s the city\u2019s most expensive asset. It\u2019s not very exciting, but it\u2019s a critical piece of infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This week\u2019s class was taken to see the Wastewater Treatment Plant, as well as the Cook Water Tower, which holds one million gallons of water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe did a big rehab on it [the water tower] for a little over three million dollars,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cThat thing should be good for another forty years. That\u2019s the city\u2019s only water tower.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the class, Rodriguez mentioned the construction of a new water tower planned for the north side of Madera that is expected to cost a total of $30 million to construct. It will be located near Lake Street and Ellis Street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The class then boarded city buses to head to the Wastewater Treatment Plant, where the tour was guided by Public Works Director Harpiar Gandhi and Deputy City Engineer for Capital Projects, Ellen Bitter, as Rodriguez and other city council members had to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOnce you flush the water, it goes somewhere. With all the environmental regulation coming up, there\u2019s no more, \u2018it goes to the river, it goes to the trail, it goes to the field,\u2019\u201d Gandhi said. \u201cThere are now strict regulations, where cities are responsible for treating their waste.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the facility, Drew Martinez took the class through the plant to show what kind of work is done at the Wastewater Treatment Plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wastewater treatment starts when dirty water, called influent, enters the treatment plant. The first step is removing larger materials that should not be in the system, such as trash, rags, and other materials known as grit. The water then moves to a primary clarifier, where heavier solids settle and more grit is removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next, the water is treated with microorganisms, which are tiny living organisms that help clean the wastewater. The microorganisms then consume the organic material in the water, doing much of the heavy lifting needed to make the water cleaner. The plant provides the microorganisms with oxygen and food to keep them healthy and active.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey\u2019re eating, they\u2019re having fun, and we want to keep them happy,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cThat\u2019s what we are, we\u2019re bug farmers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the microorganisms finish their work, the water moves into a secondary clarifier. Here, the microorganisms settle to the bottom while the clearer water floats to the top. That water is then collected and sent to ponds for additional treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the water is treated and becomes much clearer than when it starts, the water at the end of the treatment process is not drinking water. The water will receive another level of natural filtration as it moves through the soil in a process called percolation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The treatment process also produces solid material called cake, which is removed from the wastewater and hauled away in trailers. The plant currently produces enough cake to fill about two trailers every couple of days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is Class B biosolids. We turn it in and haul it off,\u201d Martinez explained. \u201cIt gets turned into Class A biosolids, and they use it as fertilizer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The plant is also undergoing a $10- to $11 million construction project to install new bar screens. The screens will help remove more trash, rags and other materials during the treatment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After visiting the Wastewater Treatment Plant, the class was taken to see the Cook Water Tower. There, Gandhi and Bitter explained that the city\u2019s water system relies on 18 wells to supply groundwater to the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before the water is delivered to homes and businesses, it goes through a chlorination process for disinfection. The treated water is then stored and distributed throughout the city, with residential water pressure maintained between 45 and 50 PSI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A majority of the city\u2019s water supply comes from groundwater, which is naturally filtered as it moves through layers of soil and rock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe use 100 percent groundwater, so if you\u2019re using surface water, you have to waste treat through a water treatment plan,\u201d Bitter explained. \u201cOur master plan has us relying on groundwater for the next 40 years, based on population.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The City of Madera hosted its second Citizens Academy, a nine-session program intended to give residents an exclusive look at how local government operates through guided tours that showcase the different parts of Madera that help the city run but are often overlooked. \u201cToday you\u2019re going to go to the Wastewater Treatment Plant,\u201d Arnoldo Rodriguez, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49728,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,19],"tags":[36,40,46],"class_list":["post-49753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above-the-fold","category-news","tag-environment","tag-health","tag-organizations"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49753"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49754,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49753\/revisions\/49754"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":49751,"date":"2026-09-25T15:44:38","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T22:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maderatribustg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=49751"},"modified":"2026-09-25T15:44:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T22:44:43","slug":"mpd-to-hold-dui-checkpoint-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/mpd-to-hold-dui-checkpoint-2\/","title":{"rendered":"MPD to hold DUI checkpoint"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Madera Police Department will conduct a driving under the influence (DUI\/DL) Checkpoint from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. at an undisclosed location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DUI\/DL checkpoint locations are determined based on data showing incidents of impaired driving-related crashes. The primary purpose of DUI\/DL checkpoints are to promote public safety by taking suspected impaired drivers off the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Impaired drivers put others on the road at significant risk. Any prevention measures that reduce the number of impaired drivers on our roads significantly improve traffic safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Madera PD reminds the public that impaired driving is not just from alcohol. Some prescription medications and over-the-counter drugs may interfere with driving. While medicinal and recreational marijuana are legal, driving under the influence of marijuana is illegal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Los conductores acusados de conducir bajo los efectos del alcohol por primera vez se enfrentan a un promedio de $13,500 en multas y sanciones, adem\u00e1s de la suspensi\u00f3n de su licencia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Los fondos para este programa fueron proporcionados por una subvenci\u00f3n de la Oficina de Seguridad Vial de California, a trav\u00e9s de la Administraci\u00f3n Nacional de Seguridad del Tr\u00e1fico en Carreteras.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Madera Police Department will conduct a driving under the influence (DUI\/DL) Checkpoint from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. at an undisclosed location. DUI\/DL checkpoint locations are determined based on data showing incidents of impaired driving-related crashes. The primary purpose of DUI\/DL checkpoints are to promote public safety by taking suspected impaired drivers off the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[43],"class_list":["post-49751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-law"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49751"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49751\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49752,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49751\/revisions\/49752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":49747,"date":"2026-09-25T15:41:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T22:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maderatribustg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=49747"},"modified":"2026-09-25T15:41:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T22:41:20","slug":"police-respond-to-death-at-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/police-respond-to-death-at-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"Police respond to death at fair"},"content":{"rendered":"
Madera Police Officers responded to the Madera Fairgrounds, regarding a report of a deceased person on September 13 at about 9 a.m. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officers responded and confirmed the individual was deceased. The area was secured, and an investigation was initiated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Detectives responded and conducted interviews with individuals at the scene, examined the available evidence, and reviewed the circumstances surrounding the death. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based on the investigation, there was no evidence indicating foul play, and there was no known threat to the community. Additionally, it should be noted, this death was not related to any Madera Fair activities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Madera County Sheriff-Coroner\u2019s Office responded, and is conducting its portion of the investigation. The identity of the deceased is being withheld pending positive identification. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The investigation remains ongoing, and additional information will be released if appropriate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues, please do not wait to seek help. Support is available 24\/7 by calling or texting 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. A single call or conversation can be the first step toward getting the help and support you need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If anyone has any information related to the incident described, they are asked to call the Madera Police Department at (559) 675-4220.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Madera Police Officers responded to the Madera Fairgrounds, regarding a report of a deceased person on September 13 at about 9 a.m. Officers responded and confirmed the individual was deceased. The area was secured, and an investigation was initiated. Detectives responded and conducted interviews with individuals at the scene, examined the available evidence, and reviewed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[33,43],"class_list":["post-49747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-death","tag-law"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49747"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49748,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49747\/revisions\/49748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":49743,"date":"2026-09-25T15:15:55","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T22:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maderatribustg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=49743"},"modified":"2026-09-25T15:16:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T22:16:03","slug":"toros-score-often-in-home-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/toros-score-often-in-home-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Toros score often in home win"},"content":{"rendered":"
After turning the ball over on downs on its first possession, the Matilda Torres Toros flag football team scored seven touchdowns over its next 10 possessions for a 47-0 victory over the Golden West Trailblazers out of Visalia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Torres\u2019 victory set program records for most points in a game and biggest margin of victory Wednesday night against the first-year program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Six different players scored touchdowns with Amerie Lujan scoring touchdowns on both of her pass receptions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Quarterback Adalynn Chavez threw for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Crystal Galicia threw for 81 yards and three more touchdowns. Galicia and Mylah Avila scored rushing touchdowns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Center Victoria Macugay led the Toros with eight receptions for 101 yards. The Toros gained 284 yards of total offense. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The defense was just as effective. Avila picked off three Golden West passes. The Golden West run game went for negative yards. Golden West threw 18 incomplete passes, and just gained 77 yards in the air, and had just 50 yards of total offense. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Toros finally got the offense started after gaining three yards on their opening possession. Chavez found Macugay for 13 yards, and a first down. After an unnecessary roughness penalty, Chavez hit Lujan on a slant for a touchdown from six yards out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three plays later, Avila picked off her first pass, and returned it to the Golden West seven. Two plays later, Chavez found Isabella Perez in the back of the end zone for a touchdown with no time left in the first. Chavez completed a pass to Cadence Mortier for the conversion, and a 14-0 lead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two plays later, Avila picked off another pass to set the Toros up. However, the Toros gave the ball right back with an interception near the goal line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Toros\u2019 defense forced a punt, and the Toros drove down the field. Galicia found Perez for six yards, and then hit Lujan in the end zone, but a penalty nullified the score. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Galicia scrambled for eight, and then found Mortier in the end zone for the touchdown, and a 21-0 lead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the next play, Avila was at the right place at the right time to catch a tipped pass for her third interception of the game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Four plays later, on fourth-and-goal from the 19, Galicia threw a 50-50 ball into the end zone, and Macugay caught it between two defenders for the touchdown, and a 27-0 halftime lead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Toros went on their longest sustained drive of the game, going 66 yards on nine plays for another score. Chavez found Macugay for 19 yards, and a first down to midfield. On third-and-17, Chavez hit Mortier for eight yards, and completed a fourth down pass to Macugay for the conversion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Toros tried to give senior captain Avila a chance to score. She took a hand-off to the left side for 12 yards to the two. She got the call again, and scored for a 33-0 lead with 6:27 left in the third quarter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Torres\u2019 defense forced a punt, and the Toros drove 42 yards for another score. Two completions to Macugay gained 14 yards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On fourth down, Chavez found Macugay for 15 yards, and a first down. Galicia came in, and hit Lujan in the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown, and a 40-0 lead after Chavez found Karina Contreras on a conversion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a trade in possessions, the Toros scored their final points. Galicia scrambled for 14 yards to the Golden West 25. An offsides penalty gave the Toros a first down. Two plays later, Galicia scrambled to her left, and then went up the middle for an 18-yard touchdown. She found Chavez in the end zone for the conversion, and the 47-0 final.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After turning the ball over on downs on its first possession, the Matilda Torres Toros flag football team scored seven touchdowns over its next 10 possessions for a 47-0 victory over the Golden West Trailblazers out of Visalia. Torres\u2019 victory set program records for most points in a game and biggest margin of victory Wednesday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":49726,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,23],"tags":[50],"class_list":["post-49743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above-the-fold","category-sports","tag-schools"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49743"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49744,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49743\/revisions\/49744"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":49732,"date":"2026-09-25T14:42:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T21:42:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maderatribustg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=49732"},"modified":"2026-09-25T14:42:31","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T21:42:31","slug":"what-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/what-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"What matters?"},"content":{"rendered":"
An old saying, really a clich\u00e9, most of us know is, \u201cYou can\u2019t take it with you.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It means when you have breathed your last breath, and you approach the \u201cPearly Gates,\u201d (assuming that is the direction you are headed), you will not be carrying with you what you owned before that final breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No matter how much you have acquired while living on this earth, you will be leaving it at the border. That includes not only material possessions, but fame, fortune, your popularity, and even some friendships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, why do we behave as if what we do on this side of eternity matters so much? It\u2019s because it is all we know on this earth. We have not yet seen what lies beyond this life, so we hold onto what we know. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We accumulate possessions. We try to earn as much money as we can. We aim for pleasing ourselves and others, and we act like our future depends on what is tangible. We strive for what is right in our society. We fight for earthly goals, often without regard for what is really God\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I believe we should be kind to others, and obey the golden rule. I believe we need to conduct ourselves in ways that are respectful and courteous. But, that said, what matters more than anything is how we are toward our creator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What matters is the finish line, the time when we will meet our maker, our creator, who will know whether we had enough faith and trust to depend on what lies beyond what we know on this earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) It is faith that tells us there is a God, and we can depend on his goodness and mercy to handle whatever we need. It is God who matters, more than riches, more than fame, and more than whatever we acquire during our lives on this earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My paternal grandmother raised eight children. Each of her children also had children, so she had a total of 21 grandchildren. We all called her Ma. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each of my cousins had close relationships with Ma. She treated each of us as if we were the only grandchild she had. She loved her family dearly, but her one greatest love was her Lord. No one who ever met her would miss recognizing her devotion. She was the same with everyone she encountered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My grandparents were not wealthy, but Ma would gather around her family and say, \u201cI\u2019m so rich!\u201d She treasured what the Lord had given her. Her richness came directly from her God, and she gave him all the credit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, what matters? The kingdom of God is what matters. It\u2019s not riches, fame or anything else we know here, but we can realize his kingdom by acknowledging him in all we say and do, by trusting him, serving others, living righteously, sharing our faith, praying, and using our time and talents to do good things on this earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Think about what really matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Have a good weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014 Mi amor para todos,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDo not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 Matthew 6:20<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" An old saying, really a clich\u00e9, most of us know is, \u201cYou can\u2019t take it with you.\u201d It means when you have breathed your last breath, and you approach the \u201cPearly Gates,\u201d (assuming that is the direction you are headed), you will not be carrying with you what you owned before that final breath. No […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[32],"class_list":["post-49732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-culture"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49732"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49733,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49732\/revisions\/49733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":49719,"date":"2026-09-23T07:13:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T14:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maderatribustg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=49719"},"modified":"2026-09-22T20:26:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T03:26:53","slug":"smith-is-grand-marshal-of-old-timers-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/smith-is-grand-marshal-of-old-timers-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Smith is Grand Marshal of Old Timers\u2019 Day"},"content":{"rendered":" Long-time General Builder\u2019s Supply owner Dennis Smith has been selected to be the 2026 Grand Marshal of the Old Timers\u2019 Parade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Smith was born in Los Banos. His mother was born in Madera, and his father had moved to Madera, where they met and got married eight years before Smith was born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His dad had accepted a job in Los Banos, so the couple moved there for four years, during which time Dennis was born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Smith was three, his dad accepted a job back in Madera, and went to work for Emilio Pistoresi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smith has no memory of living in Los Banos, but remembers his first six months of living in Madera. They lived just around the corner from his school, John Adams Elementary. He graduated from Madera High School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After high school, Smith attended Fresno City College for a little while, but did not get a degree at that time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was independent. I wanted to do my own thing. When I turned 18, I couldn\u2019t wait to move out. I did not like being told what to do and how to do it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He worked in Fresno for the Ford truck dealer for 20 years, in the parts department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Afterwards, he began working at General Builders Supply (GBS), where his dad was part owner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy dad and I talked about me buying that other partner out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1995, Smith purchased one-third of GBS. At the time, there were three partners \u2014 his dad, Carl Wisener, and Jamie Leson. Smith bought Leson\u2019s share. Several years later, Carl wanted to sell. So, then Smith owned it with his dad and it became a family business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Smith\u2019s mother passed away last year, and his dad died in 2022. After the passing of his parents, Smith\u2019s brother sold out his share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smith said it has been a good business over the years, but when Home Depot came to Madera, in 2004, it began to change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe best year we had was in 2003, and then Home Depot opened in 2004. I can\u2019t remember the numbers, but it was big. Today we\u2019re doing about 60 percent of the business we were doing before Home Depot,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then Lowe\u2019s came a couple years later, and that didn\u2019t affect us at all. I always say, competition makes you stronger, but it\u2019s really not the same.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He explained that GBS is still good for those who are doing small jobs at home, like repairing a faucet, but if you\u2019re going to remodel your kitchen, and you\u2019re doing most of the work yourself, you\u2019re going to end up at Home Depot or Lowe\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you need to get small stuff, a hose bib, an electrical outlet, come to GBS. You\u2019re going to spend less money for the product, and you\u2019re going to get in and out a lot faster and a lot easier,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He is very thankful for Ariel Rivera, the general manager at GBS, who was also honored at the Lifetime Achievement Awards dinner this year with a 4 Around 40 Award. Rivera has been managing the store, and has become quite an asset to the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smith is the father of one son and one daughter, neither living in Madera. Chad lives in Modesto, and daughter Erin lives in San Diego. He has five grandchildren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked why he thinks he was selected to be the 2026 Grand Marshal, Smith replied, \u201cI don\u2019t know. Nobody told me we picked you because\u2026 But it\u2019s been my philosophy that you\u2019re not a customer, you\u2019re a neighbor. So, the way I feel about it is if you\u2019re brought into this community, be invested. You shop locally. You do things locally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smith has been involved in the community through Kiwanis, Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, ADA Advisory Council, and other outreach. He was a Boy Scout as a youth, and he has a solid philosophy about investing in the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo I say, and then I think about it, if you\u2019re not an asset to the community, then you\u2019re likely a burden on the community,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you complain about trash on the sidewalk, do you do anything about it? Because there\u2019s somebody that dropped that. And when I go to the post office, if I see a candy wrapper laying on the sidewalk outside the door, I\u2019ll pick it up. And when I get inside, I\u2019ll put it in the trash can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat\u2019s broken, needs to be fixed, and it\u2019s not up to somebody else. Why can\u2019t I help? You\u2019re at the gas station, and you\u2019re putting gas in your car, and while you\u2019re standing there, there\u2019s a cigarette butt laying on the ground. Yeah. That person that dropped that cigarette wasn\u2019t thinking about it, and I think they\u2019re nasty to touch, but I\u2019m holding a gas pump that…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n His one regret is that he wishes he had gone back to college, but he has made an impact in this community, and he cares for it so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLike I said, if you\u2019re not an asset to the community, then… What\u2019s the old saying?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pay your bills, wear deodorant. And do unto others, right? \u201cI care about the community. One of the biggest parts of our lives right now is the church where we go. It\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smith is a Christian man of strong faith, and has found a church home in Fresno.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Long-time General Builder\u2019s Supply owner Dennis Smith has been selected to be the 2026 Grand Marshal of the Old Timers\u2019 Parade. Smith was born in Los Banos. His mother was born in Madera, and his father had moved to Madera, where they met and got married eight years before Smith was born. His dad had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":49677,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,19],"tags":[29,32],"class_list":["post-49719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above-the-fold","category-news","tag-community","tag-culture"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49719"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49720,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49719\/revisions\/49720"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":49717,"date":"2026-09-23T07:12:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T14:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maderatribustg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=49717"},"modified":"2026-09-22T20:25:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T03:25:32","slug":"schoettler-to-reign-over-otd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/schoettler-to-reign-over-otd\/","title":{"rendered":"Schoettler to reign over OTD"},"content":{"rendered":" Ila Schoettler has been chosen to reign as Queen of 2026 Old Timers Day on Saturday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Her coronation ceremony will be at the Madera Old Timers\u2019 Dinner and Silent Auction at the Elks Lodge, 112 W. 6th Street, Friday evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most people think of Ila as a native Maderan, but she was born in Jasper, Alabama, in 1934. Both her parents came from large families. Her father was one of 11 children. Her mother was one of 10 children. Ila had only one brother, James.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Cordes family of four moved to Madera in 1949 when Ila was nine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It was after the war, and her parents had worked in the cotton mill together in Alabama, but there was not much work available. Her dad was promised a job in California at El Peco Ranch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy brother went back after he retired from the service. He took his family with six children. He took them all back to Alabama,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every year, she goes back to Alabama for reunions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s like we have the whole town at our reunions.\u201d she said as she showed a picture of a huge crowd of people related to her in Alabama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After moving to California, Ila attended La Vina, but she changed schools many times. The first one in town was Pershing, and then Lincoln. The last grammar school she attended was Howard School before going in as a freshman at Madera High, which was called Madera Union High School at that time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI graduated in 1952, and I got married in June of 1953, a year after I graduated,\u201d she said. \u201cRight out of high school, I went to work at McCumber Drugstore, waiting on customers. I was already engaged. I got engaged in high school when I was a senior,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She married Tom Schoettler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked if she went to college, she said, \u201cWe had no money for college. I wanted to be an attorney so bad because I loved Perry Mason.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tom was from Fresno, attending San Joaquin Memorial. He moved to Madera when he was a junior. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut I didn\u2019t know him at all in school. I didn\u2019t meet him until after he graduated,\u201d Ila said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tom\u2019s dad had a gas station on the corner of the old freeway, what is now called Gateway and Yosemite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tom joined the Navy, and was stationed in South Laguna, so eventually Ila moved down there to be with him. It was there that their first child was conceived, Terry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI went there, and Tom and one of his buddies had already gone around and found a house. Tom was just as anxious for me to come as I was to go,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By the time Terry was born, they were back in Madera. All together, Tom and Ila had five sons, Terry, Tim, Keith, Kenny, and Ron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All five sons live in Madera, and have raised children in the community. Ila boasts a total of 50 grandchildren and great grandchildren. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ila has had a variety of jobs over the years. She worked at McMahan\u2019s Furniture Store for 12 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s where I was so shy,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She explained that she was too shy to talk with customers, and so her coworkers would tease her about her shyness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI had four of my children while I was working. When they opened their store in Fresno, they sent me down there, but I had five kids at home. I was a nervous wreck, wondering if I would get home,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd Tom would come home and complain about the babysitter. He said, \u2018The kids were on the roof.\u2019 And he said that one of the boys was running around with a snotty nose. He said, \u2018So I fired her.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While she was working at McMahan\u2019s, her mother and her husband became the babysitters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ila really wanted to stay home with the children, but she had to go to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201dI wanted to be a mother. I wanted to play with them, and grow up with them, but I had to work,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She went to work in 1960 at Dearborn Hospital in the billing department, and worked there for five years before the new hospital (Madera Community Hospital) was built. She decided to retire, but then got called back to work. She answered the phone and gave directions, and did other tasks as needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey turned the job into a full-time job, and then I\u2019m stuck. I retired again at the other hospital. And guess what? \u2018Can you just stay and work a few days a week and do this job?\u2019 I worked every department except the kitchen,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She was at Dearborn Hospital for just five years, and the rest of the time was at MCH. She enjoyed her work there because of the variety of work she did. She thought it was interesting and fun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She said she didn\u2019t fully retire until she was 87. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, she enjoys spending time visiting people. She has several friends who live at Cedar Creek, and others living in retirement places in Fresno. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She also enjoys visiting her family, wherever they may be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Three of her sons work at Schoettler Tire, the business started by their grandfather. She explained how it all got started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTom\u2019s dad had a tire place in Fresno, and Mr. Harrington and my father-in-law got together and became partners. Harrington and Schoettler is what it was called. So, it became the tire and gas station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Mr. Harrington died, his widow sold Harrington\u2019s part to Tom\u2019s father, and it became Schoettler Tire,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThree of my sons work there, Tim, Terry, and Kenny,\u201d she said. \u201cRonnie drives the school bus, and he has for 20-something years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tom and Ila had been married 61 years when he passed away in 2014. She still misses him, but has a fulfilling life with all her many friends and family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ila is a woman of strong faith. She was raised in the Baptist Church, but became Catholic after she was married.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ila Schoettler has been chosen to reign as Queen of 2026 Old Timers Day on Saturday. Her coronation ceremony will be at the Madera Old Timers\u2019 Dinner and Silent Auction at the Elks Lodge, 112 W. 6th Street, Friday evening. Most people think of Ila as a native Maderan, but she was born in Jasper, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":49680,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,19],"tags":[29,32],"class_list":["post-49717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above-the-fold","category-news","tag-community","tag-culture"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49717"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49717\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49718,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49717\/revisions\/49718"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":49715,"date":"2026-09-23T07:11:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T14:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maderatribustg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=49715"},"modified":"2026-09-22T20:23:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T03:23:25","slug":"madera-county-museum-to-host-open-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/madera-county-museum-to-host-open-house\/","title":{"rendered":"Madera County Museum to host open house"},"content":{"rendered":" The Madera County Museum will hold a free open house starting around noon on Saturday at the Old County Courthouse, 210 W. Yosemite Avenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The open house will be held as part of the annual Old Timers Day celebration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The museum houses about 21,000 historical artifacts and photos on three floors. The Old Madera County Courthouse began construction in 1900, was burned on Christmas Eve 1906 and rebuilt shortly afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The museum will open Sept. 26 immediately following the conclusion of the annual Old Timers\u2019 Day Parade in Madera. It will remain open until 2 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After Old Timers Day, the museum will be open Sundays from 1-4 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Museum won \u201cgold\u201d (first place) in the annual Best of Central California contest in 2025 in the categories of \u201cBest Museum\u201d and \u201cBest Place to Volunteer.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Madera County Museum will hold a free open house starting around noon on Saturday at the Old County Courthouse, 210 W. Yosemite Avenue. The open house will be held as part of the annual Old Timers Day celebration. The museum houses about 21,000 historical artifacts and photos on three floors. The Old Madera County […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[29,32],"class_list":["post-49715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-community","tag-culture"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49715"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49716,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49715\/revisions\/49716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":49713,"date":"2026-09-23T07:10:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T14:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maderatribustg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=49713"},"modified":"2026-09-22T20:20:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T03:20:14","slug":"95th-old-timers-day-parade-is-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/95th-old-timers-day-parade-is-saturday\/","title":{"rendered":"95th Old Timers\u2019 Day Parade is Saturday"},"content":{"rendered":" Saturday will mark the 95th year of the Old Timers\u2019 Day Parade, beginning at 10 a.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leading this year\u2019s parade as Grand Marshal will be a long-time business owner, Dennis Smith. Accompanying him as the Honorable Queen of the Parade will be lifelong Madera resident and business owner Ila Schoettler. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This year\u2019s memorial honoree will be in memory of longtime Downtown Madera Business owner Jeff Cerioni, of Cerioni\u2019s Men\u2019s and Ladies wear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This year will also feature a new honoree category, the \u201cMadera Young Trailblazer.\u201d This year\u2019s honoree will be R.C. Chahal, who has played an integral role in the success of Madtown Robotics Team 1323, helping lead the team to an impressive four World Championship titles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Due to ongoing State Route 145 improvements in Downtown Madera, this year\u2019s parade will feature a new route, traveling west to east along Yosemite Avenue, beginning at P Street and Yosemite Avenue and concluding at Courthouse Park. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Old Timers\u2019 Day Parade is distinguished as the hallmark of parades within Madera County and typically features 50-70 various entries from stagecoach\u2019s, firetrucks, bands, and several youth groups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Attendance is in the neighborhood of 5,000, and concludes with the Booths in the Park Event, (in Courthouse Park) hosted by Elevate Madera Inc.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Saturday will mark the 95th year of the Old Timers\u2019 Day Parade, beginning at 10 a.m. Leading this year\u2019s parade as Grand Marshal will be a long-time business owner, Dennis Smith. Accompanying him as the Honorable Queen of the Parade will be lifelong Madera resident and business owner Ila Schoettler. This year\u2019s memorial honoree will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":49679,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,16,19],"tags":[29,32],"class_list":["post-49713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above-the-fold","category-entertainment","category-news","tag-community","tag-culture"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49713"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49714,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49713\/revisions\/49714"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":49711,"date":"2026-09-23T07:09:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T14:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maderatribustg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=49711"},"modified":"2026-09-22T20:18:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T03:18:22","slug":"madison-celebrates-expansion-with-ribbon-cutting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/madison-celebrates-expansion-with-ribbon-cutting\/","title":{"rendered":"Madison celebrates expansion with ribbon cutting"},"content":{"rendered":" Madison Elementary School celebrated the official ribbon cutting of its new two-story academic building on Friday, marking the expansion of its Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program into the middle school grades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ribbon cutting took place before Madison\u2019s annual Resource Fair honoring Hispanic Heritage Month. The event celebrated cultural pride and connected families with community resources organized by the Madison DLI Parent Teacher Association (PTA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new facility includes 11 classrooms, additional office space, and dedicated Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Art spaces. The expansion provides additional classroom space and opportunities for hands-on learning and collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The building also allows Madison to serve more than 250 DLI students in grades 6 through 8. Overall, approximately 800 Madison students participate in DLI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ribbon cutting brought students, families, staff and community members together to celebrate the DLI expansion, the new learning spaces and the Madison community.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Madison Elementary School celebrated the official ribbon cutting of its new two-story academic building on Friday, marking the expansion of its Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program into the middle school grades. The ribbon cutting took place before Madison\u2019s annual Resource Fair honoring Hispanic Heritage Month. The event celebrated cultural pride and connected families with community […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":49685,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,19],"tags":[50],"class_list":["post-49711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above-the-fold","category-news","tag-schools"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49711"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49711\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49712,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49711\/revisions\/49712"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]