MUSD TRUSTEES SAY ‘NO’ TO MUSIC PROGRAM — A recommendation to integrate the Education Through Music program into the curriculum for Madera Unified was shot down by trustees because of the district’s financial problems. Educational Specialist Dan Lindstrom urged the board to adopt the program, but was turned down because the district must worry about having money for basic needs. Trustee Carolyn Nolan said “the $36,000 cost of the program would be better spent for year-round schools or supplies.” Nolan said, “I see this music program as icing on the cake. We need to provide for the main course before we have dessert.”
COLLISION LEAVES 17 PEOPLE INJURED — Seventeen people were taken to area hospitals after the driver of a van carrying farm laborers ignored a stop sign, and the vehicle was struck by an oncoming pickup around 5:40 this morning. Jose Maromentes Flores, 41, was driving southbound on Road 23 when he failed to stop at a posted stop sign at Avenue 12. At least six people were ejected from the van, according to California Highway Patrol public affairs officer Ronn Dominici. “Vans of this type are built to carry eight people, including the driver, not the 15 who crowded into this vehicle,” Dominici said. The driver of the pickup and his passenger sustained minor injuries.
MURRAY LOSES LAWSUIT OVER DISMISSAL FROM COUNTY POST — A former employee of the county tax collector-treasurer’s office fighting her dismissal lost her case in a ruling by Superior Court Judge Paul Martin. In his decision, Martin said there is enough evidence that the dismissal of Mary McFarlane Murray “is an appropriate sanction under the circumstances of the case. Murray, who ran unsuccessfully for tax collector/treasurer, was fired from her position as senior tax account clerk in 1987 for insubordination. She appealed her case to the Madera County Civil Service Commission, which ruled against her. Murray then appealed the Commission’s decision to the court.
O’ROURKE PROPOSES CAP ON CRIME IN BARS — Madera Mayor Patrick O’Rourke is proposing a cap on the number of crimes that can be committed in bars in southeast Madera. Bars that exceed the cap would be closed. “People are dying in our streets,” said O’Rourke. “We can’t just sit here and accept it; we have to do something about it.” Officers who patrol the beat south of Yosemite Avenue and east of Gateway Drive concentrate mostly on C Street. The Madera Police Department receives 10 to 15 calls per weekend in the C Street area, said Police Chief Gordon Skeels. The proposed city ordinance would apply to all bars within the city...