Leona Carol Pistoresi, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away on July 24, 2026, at the age of 84 following a brief illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Born to Lawrence (Pat) and Juanita (Nellie) Pittz in Merced and raised in Chowchilla, Leona\u2019s creative spirit was evident from an early age. As a child, she loved building forts and playhouses from scraps left over from her father\u2019s construction projects. She also delighted in asking neighbors for cuttings from their gardens, carefully nurturing them into beautiful gardens of her own. That lifelong love of gardening flourished, and as an adult, Leona became known for having one of the most amazing gardens in the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During her years at Chowchilla High School, Leona was well-liked by classmates and elected Student Body President. She was a majorette, played on the tennis team, and was crowned Homecoming Queen. It was there that she met and fell in love with Monte Pistoresi. They married when Leona was 19 and shared 65 wonderful years together, raising four children and building a life centered on church, family, and the many activities of their children. Monte was the love of her life, and she missed him deeply following his passing in April 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A lifelong learner, Leona pursued higher education after her children were grown, earning a Bachelor\u2019s degree from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Social Work from California State University, Fresno. Her intellectual curiosity never faded. She explored subjects ranging from religion and nutrition to the power of positive thinking, and at the age of 80, she began taking piano lessons simply for the joy of learning. Leona\u2019s professional career reflected her dedication to education and service. She spent more than 20 years at Chowchilla High School, serving as Registrar, teacher, and ultimately retiring as Career Center Director. She also earned her real estate license and served as an adjunct faculty member at Merced College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Above all, Leona will be remembered for her compassion. She lived with an open heart and had a remarkable gift for welcoming and caring for those who needed encouragement, often \u201cadopting\u201d people who were struggling or alone. Her generosity, kindness, gratitude, and unending desire to learn touched the lives of countless people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leona shared a special bond with each of her seven grandchildren, creating treasured memories that will be carried forward for generations. Family vacations to Pajaro Dunes and later Bass Lake became beloved traditions. Themed Thanksgivings, joyful Christmas celebrations, and attending their sporting events, school plays, recitals, performances, and tea parties were among the many moments that brought the family together and will be fondly remembered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leona was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Monte; her brother, Jack; and her sister, Laurali. She is survived by her brother, Frank; her children, Tim (Jonae), Mike (Celeste), Patti, and Ted (Patty); her seven grandchildren, Katie, Vincent, Stephen, Nick, Sami, Selena, and Thomas; and her seven great-grandchildren, Gianna, Vienna, Ellie, Enzo, Violet, Rory, and Louise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A celebration of life will be held at Jay Chapel in Madera on August 13 at 10 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to one of Leona\u2019s favorite charities, Tunnel to Towers Foundation: dogood.t2t.org.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Leona Carol Pistoresi, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away on July 24, 2026, at the age of 84 following a brief illness. Born to Lawrence (Pat) and Juanita (Nellie) Pittz in Merced and raised in Chowchilla, Leona\u2019s creative spirit was evident from an early age. As a child, she loved building forts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":49033,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_angie_page":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[33],"class_list":["post-49062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-obituary","tag-death"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49062","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=49062"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49063,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49062\/revisions\/49063"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":49060,"date":"2026-08-08T13:39:05","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:39:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maderatribustg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=49060"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:39:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:39:06","slug":"obituary-raymond-smiley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/obituary-raymond-smiley\/","title":{"rendered":"Obituary: Raymond Smiley"},"content":{"rendered":"
Raymond Smiley, was born to Grady and Lenora Smiley, on July 13, 1951. He started his schooling with Dixie Land Elementary School, and went to Madera High School, where he met the love of his life, Jeannette Smiley. Raymond graduated from Madera High and continued his education with Fresno Community College. Raymond married Jannette Smiley shortly after working at Western Chemical in Fresno, CA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raymond and Jeannette, went on to have three daughters, Shawn Anjeannette Smiley-Santiago, Eva Raye Smiley and Elizabeth Jeannette Smiley. Raymond was the protector, and provider for his young family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raymond found his way to work at Madera Glass Plant, for 25 years, before retiring. After retiring from Madera Glass Plant, he enjoyed spending time with his family and going to the gym, traveling and helping his mother, as well as spending time with his grandchildren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raymond lived up to his last name, when you seen him, he usually had a smile on his face.. He always made the most difficult this better. Raymond was a wonderful son, husband and father. He and his beautiful smile and laugher always brighten our days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raymond, you will be missed, but the memory of you will always be on our hearts.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Raymond Smiley, was born to Grady and Lenora Smiley, on July 13, 1951. He started his schooling with Dixie Land Elementary School, and went to Madera High School, where he met the love of his life, Jeannette Smiley. Raymond graduated from Madera High and continued his education with Fresno Community College. Raymond married Jannette Smiley […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":49032,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_angie_page":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[33],"class_list":["post-49060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-obituary","tag-death"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49060","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=49060"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49061,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49060\/revisions\/49061"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":49058,"date":"2026-08-08T13:37:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:37:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maderatribustg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=49058"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:37:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:37:20","slug":"madera-unified-opens-new-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/madera-unified-opens-new-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Madera Unified opens new school"},"content":{"rendered":"
The new King Husein School in the Madera Unified School District officially opened Friday to students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The school will serve from TK to eighth grade students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The school is named after King Husein, the owner of Span Construction and Engineering. He donated the 50 acres of land the school sits on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
King Husein School will have about 1,000 students in its first year in 10 buildings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the highlights of the school include an outdoor amphitheater and a covered outdoor basketball court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MUSD will host a ribbon cutting ceremony in the near future to highlight the new facility.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The new King Husein School in the Madera Unified School District officially opened Friday to students. The school will serve from TK to eighth grade students. The school is named after King Husein, the owner of Span Construction and Engineering. He donated the 50 acres of land the school sits on. King Husein School will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":49029,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_angie_page":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,19],"tags":[50],"class_list":["post-49058","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\/49058","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=49058"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49059,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49058\/revisions\/49059"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":49056,"date":"2026-08-08T13:30:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maderatribustg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=49056"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:30:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:30:59","slug":"madera-police-hosts-swearing-in-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/madera-police-hosts-swearing-in-ceremony\/","title":{"rendered":"Madera Police hosts swearing-in ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Madera Police Department hosted a Swearing In and Promotion Ceremony last week to welcome six new officers and announced the promotion of another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
City of Madera Chief of Police Giachino Chiaramonte welcomed family and friend to Remnant Church on July 30 for the ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Receiving a promotion to corporal was Kenneth Hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There were also new officers introduced \u2014 Cipriano Pineda, Jocelynn Markle, Irving Hermosillo De Anda, Faith Rocha and Diego Govea-Torres. Also getting pinned was dispatcher Kyle Matuszewicz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After each of the officers received their pins, Madera City Clerk Alicia Gonzales gave the Oath of Office.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Madera Police Department hosted a Swearing In and Promotion Ceremony last week to welcome six new officers and announced the promotion of another. City of Madera Chief of Police Giachino Chiaramonte welcomed family and friend to Remnant Church on July 30 for the ceremony. Receiving a promotion to corporal was Kenneth Hall. There were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":49030,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_angie_page":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,19],"tags":[43],"class_list":["post-49056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above-the-fold","category-news","tag-law"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49056","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=49056"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49056\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49057,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49056\/revisions\/49057"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":49054,"date":"2026-08-08T13:22:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:22:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maderatribustg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=49054"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:22:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:22:40","slug":"caltrans-to-close-state-route-99-lane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/caltrans-to-close-state-route-99-lane\/","title":{"rendered":"Caltrans to close State Route 99 lane"},"content":{"rendered":"
The southbound No. 2 lane of State Route 99 from Avenue 24 1\/2 to Avenue 24 will be closed on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The one mile closure south of Chowchilla will take place from 4 a.m.-noon. The closure is needed as crews will be doing pump house maintenance work on that stretch of highway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are no ramp closures planned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Closures may continue for longer periods of time, if necessary, due to delays caused by weather or other uncontrollable events that may occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Caltrans reminds you to drive with extra care and allow additional time while traveling near construction zones. Please be alert for construction personnel and remember to \u201cSlow for the Cone Zone.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The southbound No. 2 lane of State Route 99 from Avenue 24 1\/2 to Avenue 24 will be closed on Sunday. The one mile closure south of Chowchilla will take place from 4 a.m.-noon. The closure is needed as crews will be doing pump house maintenance work on that stretch of highway. There are no […]<\/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,"_angie_page":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[30,46,53],"class_list":["post-49054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-construction","tag-organizations","tag-travel"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49054","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=49054"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49055,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49054\/revisions\/49055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":49052,"date":"2026-08-08T13:21:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:21:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maderatribustg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=49052"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:21:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:21:02","slug":"torres-to-tackle-la-verne-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/torres-to-tackle-la-verne-university\/","title":{"rendered":"Torres to tackle La Verne University"},"content":{"rendered":"
In the Liberty Hawks football offense, throwing the ball isn\u2019t really in the game plan. Last season, the Hawks averaged just less than six attempts a game and gained less than 60 yards a game in the air. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, that didn\u2019t hinder the progress of Angel Torres, who will play football this fall at the University of La Verne lining up at receiver. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Torres played multiple positions for the Hawks last season. He was one of the team\u2019s top cornerbacks and was the team\u2019s kicker. He made 66 of 70 (94 percent) of extra points last year. He could also see a role at both at La Verne. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey said they got a junior college commit (at kicker), but if that guy doesn\u2019t do well, I might be kicking,\u201d Torres said. \u201cThey also told me I might play defensive back. I could get big looks from bigger schools around the area. It helps that I\u2019m 6-2.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It makes it even more remarkable for Torres that he only caught two passes for 20 yards last year, and was only thrown at five times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI ran an X account for my football stuff,\u201d Torres said. \u201cI communicated through there. I talked to the receiving coach, and went to one of their camps. After the camp, they gave me an offer. I was playing more receiver and less defense. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI made clear to the coaches during my recruitment, the only offensive film I have is blocking and one or two catches. I think he gave me the offer to see what I could do. At Liberty, there\u2019s a lot of receivers that don\u2019t get the ball, but do well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, in head coach Mike Nolte\u2019s offense, if you don\u2019t block, you don\u2019t get on the field. Torres heard that message and improved his downfield blocking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI love blocking,\u201d he said. \u201cI took my full pride in blocking. If you don\u2019t block and give that effort, you aren\u2019t going to get on the field and coach isn\u2019t going to run the ball to your side. I think every time coach wanted a big play, he would run the ball my way. I am glad he did because I think I was the best blocker of the group.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of Torres\u2019 unofficial jobs with the football team was hype man. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wanted to pump the team up,\u201d he said. \u201cBefore the game, it\u2019s good to be pumped up because it makes you hungry for what you want. It wasn\u2019t just me. It helped us with our game, style and confidence against other teams. I hope that transfers along to the college level. I\u2019ve always been that confidence person. I wasn\u2019t so much my freshman year, but my sophomore year when I made the move to defensive back. Just having that strong mentality built up my confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Torres is excited about the opportunity to play football, not only at the next level, but at a four-year school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo one gets that opportunity to play at a four-year. It\u2019s blessed to have that,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Torres, who graduated from Liberty with a 3.0 grade point average, plans to major in business administration. He also played for the Liberty soccer team for three years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI want to come back and support the community. I want to have a landscaping business,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Torres drew interest from San Mateo Junior College and Fresno City College, but chose La Verne because of the environment and the coaching staff, as well as being a four-year college. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another plus is former teammate Talan LaMattina is also at La Verne. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTalan helped recruit me there. Because he\u2019s there, he helped the decision,\u201d Torres said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because La Verne is in Southern California, their roster is constantly changing because of transfers to bigger schools. Torres plans to look into that, but is more than happy to stay at La Verne. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBecause they were a four year and other big schools in the area look at their roster intrigued me. Some kids transfer to USC and UCLA and other schools,\u201d he said. \u201cThey want you to graduate there. But, if you want to be better, we\u2019re not going to be upset. They are supportive. It was a dream to become a college athlete. I was so negative on myself and wasn\u2019t as athletic as I am now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Torres enjoyed his time at Liberty, even though he would have liked the ball to be thrown his way more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think my athletic career went pretty well,\u201d he said. \u201cJust being around the environment and coaching staff was great. It was a brotherhood. The whole community comes out to the game. People know your name.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Torres officially signed his National Letter of Intent at the school\u2019s signing day in may. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was a really cool. I was excited and happy,\u201d he said. \u201cNobody gets to really do that at Liberty. Not a lot of kids from the football team signs. To actually sign that letter was great to do. The feeling is good to know where I\u2019m going. I\u2019m comfortable where I\u2019m at and know what I\u2019m doing. If I do need help, I have a good support system. My support system is a big part of my career.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Torres is the first from his family to play sports at a four year college. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy parents are shocked and surprised because no one from my family has taken the opportunity to play at a four-year college,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are really proud. I felt the weight on that all the time. I felt that during the games because they are here and I need to prove to them I could play at the next level. My parents are very hard on me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although he is about three hours away, Torres said his parents are happy he stayed in California. There were schools out of state that inquired. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy parents want to see me grow and be comfortable,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before he goes back to school, Torres spent the summer spending a lot of time with family, but also getting workouts in because football season is fast approaching. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI work both offense and defense, and also kick some times. I know summer goes by fast and I\u2019m trying to get myself ready for the season,\u201d he said.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the Liberty Hawks football offense, throwing the ball isn\u2019t really in the game plan. Last season, the Hawks averaged just less than six attempts a game and gained less than 60 yards a game in the air. However, that didn\u2019t hinder the progress of Angel Torres, who will play football this fall at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":49028,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_angie_page":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,23],"tags":[50],"class_list":["post-49052","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\/49052","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=49052"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49053,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49052\/revisions\/49053"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":49050,"date":"2026-08-08T13:09:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:09:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maderatribustg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=49050"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:09:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:09:56","slug":"toros-runner-signs-to-csu-east-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/toros-runner-signs-to-csu-east-bay\/","title":{"rendered":"Toros\u2019 runner signs to CSU East Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"
Matilda Torres\u2019 Azarel Barrios-Meza earned Central Section championship rings in cross country and track, and will now head to Hayward to run for CSU East Bay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He signed to run cross country and track, mostly the longer events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy coach told me I will be competing in the 8K and 10K run,\u201d he said. \u201cI will be doing the same events in track, including the 5K.They did mention steeplechase. I love cross country more. I wasn\u2019t the best at it, but I liked it the best.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barrios-Meza earned a 4.0 grade point average at Torres. He plans to major in civil engineering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI want to try to make my way to Irvine and work for Disneyland,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barrios-Meza chose East Bay over CSU Monterey Bay, St. Mary\u2019s, Friends University, Cal Poly Humboldt and San Diego-Mesa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was the environment,\u201d Barrios-Meza said of his choice. \u201cIt was a lot colder there, which I\u2019m a big fan of. I had 13 years of this Madera weather, and it feels better over there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
East Bay reached out to Barrios-Meza, but lost contact with him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn January, they reached out me. That\u2019s when the whole conversation started, and they saw me for the first time,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although he wasn\u2019t one of the top runners for the cross country team, he did provide depth and was an important part of the team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere were definitely a lot of ups and downs in my career,\u201d he said. \u201cI had multiple injury problems. I had a heart problem my sophomore year when it was beating twice as fast, sometimes. I also had a lung problem, which was too big for my ribcage, so it was flipping inwards. I had to deal with those problems, and I couldn\u2019t run for a few months. I was able to pass by those challenges by doing a core workout or working out on my own without running to maintain some kind of fitness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Barrios-Meza closed out his career by helping the Toros to the Div. II Central Section track championship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis year was a blast,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like I improved. My times dropped a lot. It was a big time coming up this year. I am grateful for what I\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barrios-Meza is one of four Torres runners to sign to a four-year college. He says running with them set a standard that led him to this point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was making sure I could keep up,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was hard at some points, especially at practice when my coaches wanted me to stay with these top runners. We found a way. They definitely set the tone. Once I realized I was capable of running next to them, there was going to be a lot of opportunities. It helped me push through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was a part of the Torres cross country legacy that won four straight Central Section titles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a privilege I don\u2019t take for granted,\u201d Barrios-Meza said. \u201cIt shows how good the Torres cross country and track program is. They push us to be the best. I\u2019m grateful for myself and for those that push me. I\u2019m not here running for college if it wasn\u2019t for them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What started as an activity to get him in shape for soccer turned into something that will pay for college. Although he does regret not playing soccer at Torres, he says he may not be where he is if he did. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI played soccer for six years before high school. I never saw running becoming a thing,\u201d Barrios-Meza said. \u201cThere was always a thought in the back of my mind if I was good enough. I wasn\u2019t saying it until junior year. That was when the thought of being an athlete for college started. My senior year was when I wanted to lock it down and get that scholarship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barrios-Meza officially signed his National Letter of Intent at a signing day at Torres. However, he doesn\u2019t expect to finish his career at the Div. II school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI felt a relief to sign. All of the hard work over the past couple of years, and to finish it off by signing on a paper was a huge relief for me and my family,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere may be a time where I might want to move up a division. I am honored to sign. My college teammates I met remind me of my cousins, which was a big part of my life. It felt like a family out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, by signing, Barrios-Meza is done stressing about where he will be going in the fall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m definitely grateful where I\u2019m going the next four years. I am grateful for the opportunity they gave me,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s confirmation that there\u2019s no more stressing where I\u2019m going or what is going to be needed in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barrios-Meza will be a couple of hours away from home, so his family was okay with the choice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think my mom is going to miss me more, especially with me being the youngest,\u201d he said. \u201cFor my dad and brother, they care, but they are happy to see what I\u2019ve done and know I\u2019m doing something with my life. My dad asked how much money they had to pay, and my mom cried. She was very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barrios-Meza planned to keep training over the summer, but also having as much fun as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI love doing trails by walking them or spending time with my cousins and brother. All seven of us go out and have fun, either playing golf or having a good time,\u201d he said.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Matilda Torres\u2019 Azarel Barrios-Meza earned Central Section championship rings in cross country and track, and will now head to Hayward to run for CSU East Bay. He signed to run cross country and track, mostly the longer events. \u201cMy coach told me I will be competing in the 8K and 10K run,\u201d he said. \u201cI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":49031,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_angie_page":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,23],"tags":[50],"class_list":["post-49050","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\/49050","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=49050"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49050\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49051,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49050\/revisions\/49051"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":49048,"date":"2026-08-08T13:08:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maderatribustg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=49048"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:08:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:08:27","slug":"letters-a-concerned-american","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/letters-a-concerned-american\/","title":{"rendered":"Letters: A concerned American"},"content":{"rendered":"
A while back I wrote a letter warning everyone about a group of people who have infiltrated the Democrat Party here in the United States. Well, that group is growing and guess what? They now have a huge presence in the party. They are known as the Democratic Socialists of America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a recent episode of Bill Maher\u2019s show, \u201cReal Time with Bill Maher,\u201d he highlighted what they are doing. Their platform aligns a lot with that of Karl Marx, and the mayor of New York City actually tweeted Marx\u2019s words directly in a post. He also pinpointed left-winger Hasan Piker\u2019s praise of communism and his lamenting over the fall of the Soviet Union and Maoist China. Piker is one of the influential members of the DSA and has said the US deserved 9\/11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The NYC mayor\u2019s top aide has also stated a desire to affirm the government\u2019s \u201csacred right to seize property\u201d and has set a goal to impoverish white people. She has also expressed her desire to \u201celect more communists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maher also talked about an instance in Congress where two members of the Democrat party circulated a pledge among the members of the party that stated, \u201cWe are capitalists, not socialists. We want safety, not lawlessness. We are proud, not ashamed of America.\u201d The sad part is that only eight of the 212 Dem party members of congress signed the pledge. Maher also stated that, given a choice, he would vote Republican over this socialist, communist agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A few more members of the party have made their goals known in their bid to win seats in congress. Abdul El-Sayed recently won the Dem primary for Michigan\u2019s senate seat and has campaigned on healthcare for all and defunding police, among other radical things. He has the support of Bernie Sanders, AOC and many other members of congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Francesco Hong is a candidate for the Dem primary in the state of Wisconsin for the governorship. She has expressed a desire to abolish the Thanksgiving holiday and a few others. She has also campaigned on fully funding public universities, raising the minimum wage to $20 an hour, free childcare, a 12-week paid family and medical leave program, and many other radical things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A few other things they have called for are an abolishment of the senate, Supreme Court and the presidency, abolishment of ICE \u2014 which will allow for rampant illegal immigration \u2014 getting rid of the federal prison system, drafting an entirely new constitution and granting voting rights to all permanent U.S. residents, which may include people here illegally and those who are felons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They also want a 32-hour work week with full pay for a 40 hour week, free public college, student debt cancellation and universal child care. They also want aggressive taxes on corporations and billionaires and government ownership of essential industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People, we can not allow this faction to continue on the road they are on. The sad part is that the leaders of the Dem party have thrown support to the these programs and I have yet to see them criticize the DSA and it\u2019s radical platform to alter the way of life for millions of Americans. I can also use this as a way to justify my support for the Republican Party and our leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The party has its many faults and I sometimes question the actions of its leaders, but even with its faults, the agenda it has for the citizens of the U.S. is far superior to what the DSA has, which will be a disaster for the people. All I ask is that the people put a lot of thought into their votes and really ask yourself, \u201cIs this the America I want?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God bless you all and God bless the USA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014 John Wright,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n exmaderista<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A while back I wrote a letter warning everyone about a group of people who have infiltrated the Democrat Party here in the United States. Well, that group is growing and guess what? They now have a huge presence in the party. They are known as the Democratic Socialists of America. In a recent episode […]<\/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,"_angie_page":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[32,39],"class_list":["post-49048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion","tag-culture","tag-government"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49048","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=49048"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49049,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49048\/revisions\/49049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":49043,"date":"2026-08-08T12:59:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maderatribustg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=49043"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:00:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:00:27","slug":"opinion-morality-in-america-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/opinion-morality-in-america-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: Morality in America, part II"},"content":{"rendered":"