The Golden Eagle Arena will host two days of intense competition, during which athletes will compete for individual and team titles in weight classes ranging from 125 to 285 pounds. The event will culminate with the championship finals and awards ceremony on Saturday evening, December 14.

“Hosting the state championships is an incredible honor for Lemoore College and a testament to the strength of our wrestling program,” said James Preston, president of Lemoore College. “We are thrilled to welcome athletes, coaches, and fans from across California to our campus for what promises to be an unforgettable event.”

Athletic Director Walter Parham echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the commitment of Lemoore College to fostering athletic excellence. “This is a great opportunity to showcase not only the talent of our student-athletes but also the outstanding facilities and community support that make Lemoore College a leader in collegiate athletics,” said Parham.

The championships will kick off with weigh-ins at 9 a.m. on Friday, December 13, followed by the first matches starting at 10 a.m. Saturday’s schedule includes finals beginning at 7 p.m., with an awards ceremony at 8:30 p.m. Individual awards will be presented to wrestlers placing first through eighth, and team awards will be given to the top three programs.

Ticket Information

Tickets for the event are available at the Golden Eagle Arena:

• $25.00 for a two-day pass (includes finals)
• $15.00 for a one-day pass
• $10.00 per day for students, faculty, senior citizens (60+), and children (12 and under)

Event Contact Information

For more information about the event, tickets, or general inquiries, contact the Event Managers:

• Cameron White at (559) 925-3414 or via email at cameronwhite@whccd.edu
• Fidela Becerra at (559) 925-3312 or via email at fidelabecerra@whccd.edu

The post Lemoore College Hosts California Community College State Wrestling Championships appeared first on Valley Voice.

The event will be held in the heart of Lemoore College’s campus within the creative confines of Art Lab Room 831, located at 555 College Ave, Lemoore, CA 93245, from 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM. “Collision of Vision 2024” promises to be more than just a gallery show; it is an interactive journey that invites public participation to learn and engage.

**Details of the “Art Matters” Event:**

**Location:** Art Lab Room 831, 555 College Ave, Lemoore, CA 93245

**Date & Time:** Thursday, April 4, 2024 | 4:30 PM – 7:30 PM

Faculty and alum, alongside the brilliant students of Lemoore College, invite you to experience a variety of avant-garde works that encapsulate not just artistry but also the synthesis of lifestyle, health, and culinary arts. This instructive showcase will include thought-provoking discussions and interactive activities that reveal art’s positive influences on our overall well-being.

“This is a rare opportunity to experience firsthand the symbiotic relationship between artistic creativity, wellness, and the culinary arts,” said Lemoore College Art Instructor David Brooks. “Attendees will not only relish in the sight of groundbreaking art but will leave with enriched knowledge of how art can be intricately woven into a more holistic approach to daily living.”

The event promises an assortment of sensory delights, catered by the college’s own Epicurean Club, to satisfy your palate and insightful discourse from the Nursing Department on the interplay between art and health.

Lemoore College is eager to offer this unforgettable evening of cultivation and connection. Admission is free, and attendees will have ongoing access to sumptuous food and refreshments, ensuring a pleasurable experience from start to finish.

To learn more about Collision of Vision 2024: Art Matters, visit https://lemoorecollege.edu or visit us at 555 College Ave, Lemoore, CA 93245.

The post Collision of Vision 2024: Art Matters at Lemoore College appeared first on Valley Voice.

“In the spirit of Thanksgiving, WHCL is dedicated to helping local families enjoy a festive meal,” said James Preston, West Hills College Lemoore President. “We recognize the significance of spreading holiday cheer, and this initiative aims to relieve the financial burden many families face during this time of year.”

Key Event Details:

Date: Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Time: 7:30 a.m. until supplies are depleted

Location: Parking Lot A, adjacent to the Golden Eagle Arena at West Hills College Lemoore

“As part of the college’s commitment to the community, WHCL is offering a free Thanksgiving turkey, limited to one per household. Appointments are not required, and distribution will be done on a first-come, first-served basis. Individuals must be present at the event to collect a turkey and holiday sides.

For inquiries or additional information about the event, please contact Amber Avitia, Coordinator of the WHCL Golden Eagle Pantry, at amberavitia@whccd.edu or by phone at 559-925-3704.

“We are delighted to present the Thanksgiving Edition of our Drive-Thru Food Distribution Day in collaboration with KCAO, CAlViva, Central California Food Bank, and Best Buy Markets/SaveCo,” said Preston. “These partnerships underscore our collective commitment to supporting the community, especially during the holiday season.”

For more information regarding West Hills College Lemoore and this event, please visit www.westhillscollege.com/lemoore.

The post West Hills College Lemoore’s Thanksgiving Edition Drive-Thru Food Distribution Day appeared first on Valley Voice.

Join us on Friday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. for an unforgettable experience!

The best part is, the event and musical entertainment are completely FREE for the public to enjoy! If you want to go on the amusement rides, it’s just $35 for an all-day wristband. And don’t forget about the amusement blow-ups and pony rides for an additional cost.

Our musical entertainment line-up is something you don’t want to miss! On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. respectively, some of the best musicians in the area will be performing live. It’s the perfect way to dance, sing and have fun with your friends and family!

The event also features a fantastic variety of food and shopping. Treat yourself to mouth-watering bites and refreshments from our food vendors, or browse the stalls of our carefully curated vendors, offering unique and one-of-a-kind products.

For those 21 and over, make sure to stop by the Chamber Beer Garden, where you can enjoy cold brews on tap while taking in the festivities.

Don’t miss out on this amazing weekend of fun, food, and music at Lemoore Days! For more information on food and shopping, check out our list below. We can’t wait to see you there!

The post Join The Fun At Lemoore Days appeared first on Valley Voice.

“We are so excited Gotti’s Kitchen has found a home on our campus,” said West Hills College Lemoore President James Preston. “We welcome our students, staff, and the surrounding communities to join us and enjoy a fun-filled afternoon and great food.”

DJ Danny Boy will be playing music throughout the event. Local vendors will be present, and face painting will also be available for the younger guests.

Additionally, guests have an opportunity to enter a raffle and win prizes. All guests will be given a raffle ticket upon entry.

“We are so pleased Gotti’s Kitchen has joined the Golden Eagle family,” said Preston. “The first month that we have had them on campus, they have shown us what Gotti’s Kitchen is all about: great food, great price, and great service,” said Preston

Gotti’s Kitchen is open Monday – Saturday from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm and serves students and the community.

For more information about Gotti’s Kitchen, Visit: https://www.westhillscollege.com/lemoore/student-life/food-and-basic-needs/food-resources.php

The post Gotti’s Kitchen Grand Opening Friday at West Hills College Lemoore – Fun, Food, and Prizes appeared first on Valley Voice.

In Hanford people opposed to the possible sale of 18 acres west of the existing Hidden Valley Park at 11^th and Cortner want the acreage expanded to the west so the park can be enlarged.

In 2019 the city council rezoned the expansion property for housing development and declared the property surplus. Signature gathering for a voter-sponsored ballot initiative to stop any sale is underway. On Tuesday (5/4/21) a majority of the council said it would consider an agenda item May 18 to rezone the property back to parkland.

But in Lemoore the issues are different on the property at 19 ½ and Cedar Lane and approvals by the planning commission and the council have occurred to convert the property from parkland to professional office. Additional approvals would be required before a marijuana facility could be approved within the professional office zone, said City Manager Nathan Olson.

When the rezoning was first proposed at the March 8 planning commission meeting, Mark Gleaton, a neighbor to the site, said in an email to the commission meeting, that he and other neighbors didn’t want a marijuana facility at the site.

A majority of the commission approved the rezoning which involves a general plan amendment.

The general plan is the city’s blueprint for development and controls city building and planning decisions. Since amendments are considered major actions, only a limited number are allowed each year.

Then, when the council held its first hearing on the rezone on April 20 no one spoke or gave any written opposition to the change, said Olson. The rezone was also approved unanimously at a second reading at the May 4 council meeting, he said.

Lemoore currently has revenues from retail marijuana stores and revenue is expected from growing operations already approved by city authorities. The retail stores are owned by Natural Healing Center is at 338 W D St. and Valley Pure is at 398 E St.

Lemoore has a marijuana growing facility under construction at Venture Place near Highways 41 and 198. Another 83-acre grow site by Farm Lemoore is approved. It is located North of Jackson and East of Highway 41. Farm Lemoore has an ownership connection with Natural Healing, the retail operation, Olson said.

“Without cannabis revenue and budget revenues (we’re) facing more layoffs. (Marijuana operations) bought us more time to get other businesses in,” said Olson.

Among those businesses are Helena Chemical which is a large fertilizer operation. Helena is moving from Hanford—the defendant in a lawsuit filed by Helena—to Lemoore.

Lemoore had a $2.9 million deficit last summer and after the defeat of a 1 percent sales tax increase last November the situation was not looking good.

However, multi-millions in federal stimulus money is potentially available if the city applies and is awarded the funds, Olson said.

The city is still trying to determine what the money can be used for, he said.

Mark Pratter is a founding member of “saveourparkland93230,” a group formed to save the undeveloped 18 acres of Hidden Valley Park.

The post Lemoore takes a page from Hanford’s handbook appeared first on Valley Voice.

Lemoore City Manager Nathan Olson said the move could result in about $340,000 in additional annual sale tax revenue to the city plus an unspecified number of jobs.

Olson said he wouldn’t disclose the company’s location in Lemoore until the land deal is final. The deal is subject to the approval of the new city council and needed environmental reviews, he said.

The company, which batches and sells fertilizer products, plans on building a new facility in Lemoore, Olson said. The move, first announced by the city in early December 2020, will result in Lemoore gaining one of its largest retail companies.

Olson wouldn’t comment on what Hanford’s problems with Helena had to do with the relocation. Helena returned one phone call seeking comment but did not return later ones. Also Helena’s attorney Mark Everett McKeen did not respond to a request for comment.

On April 14, 2017 Helena filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Hanford seeking $12 million in damages. The company claimed the City of Hanford reneged on a land deal that would have resulted in Helena relocating from East Lacey Boulevard by Costco to Hanford’s industrial park, according to court records. The city responded in a court filing denying Helena’s allegations and said no money is owed.

Earl in 2015 Helena and Hanford reached a definitive agreement on the relocation, but in July 2015 the city council told Helena it would not execute their agreement.

In late 2014, Costco Center developer John Kashian ordered all work stopped on the project until the city denied Helena’s request to expand agricultural operations at the East Lacey site which was across the street from the Costco Center. Helena has occupied the East Lacey site since 1972.

According to the suit, Helena has steadily grown from $15 million annually in 2004 to $30 million and employs hundreds in the Central Valley,

Before the city worked out an agreement to move Helena, the city had approved a conditional
use permit allowing Helena to expand at East Lacey. It also changed the zoning rules to allow Helena to continue operations at the site despite the company’s operations being considered incompatible with surrounding uses.

A jury trial in Kings Superior Court on Helena’s breach of contract lawsuit will be held in Hanford starting June 7, 2021, according to court documents.

Helena’s move represents a financial boon to Lemoore and a blow to Hanford. Lemoore has a multi-million budget deficit and recently saw a ballot measure to raise the sales tax defeated. Hanford had a $1.1 million budget deficit last year but eliminated the deficit by not making a payment to its equipment reserve fund.

Lemoore has switched its economic strategy from being a bedroom community to pursuing growth, said Olson. Hanford has long pursued a pro-growth strategy involving retail, industrial and housing elements.

The post Helena move will help Lemoore — and hurt Hanford appeared first on Valley Voice.

Exeter resident, Vicki Riddle, was part of the Vice Presidential pool of reporters at his Kings County event on July 10.

Vice President Mike Pence stopped by the farm of Doug and Julie Freitas on Highway 41 north of Lemoore to advocate for the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA). It was estimated 800 were in attendance mostly in the agriculture industry.

Pence said that the USMCA will add 176,000 jobs and that American exports to Canada will increase by 19 billion and by 14 billion to Mexico.

Riddle said, “I told VP Pence that he was doing a great job. He then shook my hand and I told him I wanted to be on his volunteer advance team. He told me what to do.”

“State Senator Shannon Grove also spoke and was warmly introduced by VP Pence,” said Riddle.

Former Congressman David Valadao introduced Pence and spoke with reporters at length afterwards. It is speculated that Valadao will challenge freshman lawmaker TJ Cox for his old 21^st District seat. If Valadao decides to run he will be making his announcement before the end of July.

Pence arrived around 11:30 a.m. at Lemoore Naval Air Station on Air Force 2 and started his visit to the Valley at Harris Ranch for a fundraiser. The Freitas farm was the last local stop on a whirlwind tour.

According to a VP Pool report in the same gaggle as Riddle, “The vice president answered questions in front of a large tractor for about 15 minutes outside his USMCA speech.  He started the impromptu gaggle by calling for Speaker Nancy Pelosi to pass the USMCA trade bill by the end of 2019 and said he was ‘encouraged’ by discussions on Capitol Hill.”

The reporter then added that  the Vice President was on his third outfit of the day as it was 94 degrees.

From Lemoore, he stopped at  Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc then onto another fundraiser for President’s Trump reelection in San Diego.

The post Exeter Local Gets up Close and Personal with Pence appeared first on Valley Voice.

Blair informed the Judge that that she cannot afford a lawyer and, according to the Kings County Superior Court website, Blair received court appointed attorney James Baron Oliver.

Also according to the website her hearing today was vacated. The pretrial conference and preliminary hearing is set for August 6.

According to the complaint filed by Kings County District Attorney’s office Blair’s new bail is set at $160,000. Blair’s husband, Paul Blair, apparently is not going to bail her out and Holly Blair remains in the Kings County jail.

Count 1 of the complaint, a felony, stated that Blair threatened to kill her husband and that Paul Blair feared for his safety and that of their children. Count 2, a felony, stated that Blair “attempted to dissuade a witness” when she called her husband from jail. “There was no real conversation. I just told h not to call me because it would violate the protection order and I hung up,” said Paul Blair.

Count 3, a misdemeanor, was domestic violence when Blair hit the back of her husband’s head when he tried to call the police during the incident on July 6. Count 4, a misdemeanor, was a violation of the Emergency Protective Order, that was automatically ordered by a judge because of the death threat, when Holly Blair allegedly called him from jail.

Special Allegation 1 of the complaint, a felony, says she committed the alleged two felonies while already on bail for previous felonies committed on June 5

According to KSEE 24 Holly Blair’s husband released the following statement.

“My wife, Holly Andrade Blair, has been suffering from serious mental illness and needs help. I feel helpless right now to help her and have little faith that the Kings County Court System will do anything but try and lock her away for as long as possible.

Regarding Holly’s most recent arrest, Holly’s actions were completely out of character. Given my general distrust of the police and criminal justice system, under normal circumstances I would not have called the police on her, but because of my experience with her since she was released on bail on June 6th, I came to the conclusion that the safest place for her right now is in jail.

Holly is my best friend and for what she has sacrificed to try and help her community, she is my hero. Unfortunately, the stress of being on the Lemoore City Council, her conflict with the Lemoore Police and the accompanying bullying our entire family received over the last year seems to have been too much for her to bear.

I miss Holly and want nothing more in this world than to have my best friend back. At this point I can only hope that she is afforded the help she needs through the court system. “

Paul Blair

The post Holly Blair July 10 Hearing Vacated appeared first on Valley Voice.

Lemoore City Council Woman Holly Blair was arrested by the Lemoore Police Department at 1:22 this afternoon. She has been charged with two felonies and one misdemeanor.

The first felony, 422 (a), is threatening a crime with intent to terrorize. The second felony, 12022.1 (b), is committing a felony while on bail for a previous felony. She was also charged with a misdemeanor of battering a spouse.

Blair’s bail for “threatening a crime with intent to terrorize” has been set for $85,000.

According to a Lemoore Police Department statement as reported by the Lemoore Leader “officers responded to a possible domestic violence incident that had just occurred at about 1:07 p.m. When officers arrived the victim contacted them in front of the residence. He told officers that his wife, Blair,  had threatened to kill him. When the victim attempted to walk away and use his phone, Blair punched the victim once in the back of the head. Blair’s spouse explained to police that with the recent domestic violence, he felt the threat against him was credible, and he feared for his safety as well as his children’s safety. The victim did not have any visible injuries, but he did complain of minor pain and refused medical attention. Blair was contacted inside the house and taken into custody without incident.”

Blair’s case is considered “crime enhancement.” When an alleged felon is out on bail for a previous felony, the court normally revokes the possibility of bail. That revocation could happen later this evening.

If bail is revoked Blair could be sitting in jail for a while. Blair needs to be brought in front of a judge within three days to be formally charged, but it is unclear if those three days start today or Monday.

This is only one day after Blair was in court for her appearance for four felonies and three misdemeanors from a June 5 incident.

Three of her original felonies are assault with a deadly weapon. Blair allegedly almost hit police officer Kevin Cosper, civilian Crystal Giles, and Giles’ nine-year-old daughter. The fourth felony charge was evading an officer, which is a lesser offense.

Phil Esbenshade, Public Information Officer and Assistant District Attorney, said these were grave felonies and that “this was a very serious case.” Esbenshade added that if convicted of just one count of assault with a deadly weapon using her car, she will automatically lose her driver’s license for the rest of her life.

The three previous misdemeanor charges are child endangerment, resisting arrest and reckless driving.

Arriving late to her Friday July 5 hearing, Blair’s arraignment was delayed until July 25 at 8:15 a.m. in Kings County Superior Court, Department 9. The arraignment was delayed because she is no longer represented by the Law Firm of Melo and Sarsfield and has not found new council. Blair declined a court ordered attorney and the judge allowed her three weeks to find her own representation.

Also during Blair’s hearing, Kings County Judge Michael Reinhart issued two criminal restraining orders stating that Blair must stay at least 100 yards away from the Lemoore Police Department and Giles and her daughter.

Nate Olson, Lemoore City Manager, Giles, and several city council members attended Friday’s hearing. Olson said that Blair did not attend the July 2 city council meeting and that if she misses the July 16 meeting her seat will then become vacant.

The Lemoore City Council decided at its July 2 meeting to fill Chad Billingsley’s seat by appointment. Billingsley is moving to Colorado for work.

Melo and Sarsfield did not comment on why they no longer represented Blair. Daniel Prado of Daniel Prado Law said that in a criminal case the most common reason to lose council is for lack of payment.

Alexandra Feller contributed to this article

The post Holly Blair Arrested – Back in Jail appeared first on Valley Voice.