Big Valley News
Central Valley's Independent News Source
MADERA - As the city of Madera prepares for the third annual Madera Pomegranate Festival on November 2, current mayor Robert Poythress and former mayor Brett Frazier have teamed up to create a video promoting the upcoming event. The video, a parody of the popular song Thrift Shop, is a follow up to last year’s video which was a parody of Party Rock. Frazier appeared in last year’s video as well.
MADERA - A Madera County Superior Court jury has found Valentino Torres, 44, of Madera, guilty of felony animal cruelty, according to Michael R. Keitz, District Attorney for Madera County.
FRESNO - After an eleven-year legal battle that involved four different law firms, the city of Madera has settled the lawsuit that resulted from the 2002 shooting of 24 year-old boxer Everado Torres.
The settlement was reached Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Fresno as lawyers prepared for jury selection. The city has agreed to pay the Torres family $775,000 which is just $20,000 more than was offered to them when the city attempted to settle this case in 2004.
MUSD Superintendent Refuses to Answer Attendance Policy Failure Questions
MADERA - The preliminary autopsy results for Graciela Martinez, fourteen year old freshman that died at Madera South High School Wednesday, indicate that the minor most likely died from environmental hyperthermia known commonly as heat stroke. Final determination can not be made until lab results are received and examined.
MADERA - A fourteen year-old Madera South High student was found dead in the back of her brother's car Wednesday around 3:00 pm. Officers of the Madera Police Department were dispatched to the Madera Community Hospital regarding the death after the victim had been transported to the hospital by her brother.
Detective Robert Salas of the Madera Police Department said, "Preliminary investigation reveals that the female had accompanied her brother to school as they both attend Madera South. He had an early class and she stayed behind inside their vehicle as her class started an hour later. After school he went to his vehicle and discovered his sister in the back seat."
EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS ONLY SEEN ON BVN
MADERA - Traffic on Freeway 99 thru Madera came to a standstill Saturday night when a man was found on the dangerous side of the fence on the Yosemite Avenue overpass.
Around 6:30 PM Madera Police received calls from freeway motorists that a man was seen on the south side on the ledge of the overpass threatening to jump onto traffic in the southbound lane.
Madera Police and California Highway Patrol quickly closed off traffic at Cleveland Avenue heading south and Gateway Avenue heading north. The result was traffic at a standstill all the way past Avenue 12 heading north.
MADERA - A former Madera High School football player was killed Thursday afternoon while riding his bicycle on Road 25 at Avenue 12. Hanford truck driver Robert Banuelos (49) was traveling westbound on Avenue 12 at approximately 50 miles per hour when he struck Jacob T. Leasure (19).
According to California Highway Patrol reports, Leasure entered Avenue 12 southbound from the north side of the roadway just west of Road 25 directly in the path of the Freightliner driven by Banuelos. The truck driver attempted to avoid the collision but with oncoming traffic was forced to swerve back into the southbound lane. The read of Banuelos's trailer struck Leasure who suffered fatal injuries as a result of the collision.
