ADULT LITERACY PROGRAM DEDICATED — Approximately 200 people packed the Blanch Galloway Room of the library Wednesday for the noontime dedication of Madera County’s Partners in Adult Literacy program. The ceremony culminated a three-hour open house. Officials said that for many illiterate people, “faking it” has become a way of life. “Illiterate people are not dumb,” California Highway Patrol Special Duty Officer Ronn Dominici told the crowd. “We have to look at literacy as something that can happen, but they have to receive a little help.” Memorization, copying, and pretending are often used by some when they can’t read. Some have put up such a false front that they have graduated from high school and college without reading.
MADERA HOSTS ANNUAL WARBIRDS GATHERING — Steve Stavrakakis will be doing what he likes best when he swoops over an expected crowd of 30,000 spectators at the 19th Gathering of the Warbirds International Airshow this weekend at the Madera Municipal Airport. The air show will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. In addition to the mass fly-bys of historic bombers, fighters, transports, and trainers, aircraft currently on the U.S. armed forces rosters will perform as well. For many of the participants, the show is not only to commemorate World War II veterans and aircraft but also to acknowledge those who fought in the Vietnam and Korean conflicts.
CHOWCHILLA YOUTH KILLED IN MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT — A young Chowchilla resident, the victim of an overnight solo motorcycle accident, lay dying for five hours Saturday on the side of a county road before being discovered by an unknown person who then summoned help. Rushed to the trauma center of a Fresno hospital, all efforts to save David F. Akins failed. The California Highway patrol was notified at 6:35 a.m. Saturday that a motorcycle accident victim was on the side of Road 16 about two miles south of Highway 152. It is estimated that he had been lying there for five hours. The CHP said Akins was traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour when his bike went into a high-speed wobble.
LONGTIME MADERAN CELEBRATES 100TH BIRTHDAY — Surrounded by relatives and close friends Maderan Irene Saunders Franchi is observing her 100th birthday today. Beginning life in Merced, after receiving her education there, she came to Madera as the bride of Edward Michael Saunders. A businessman, who served as Madera’s mayor from 1918 to 1926, Saunders died in 1931. In 1944, Irene married John A. Franchi, farmer and co-owner of A. Franchi Store. Franchi took an active role in the Madera Irrigation District. He died in 1976. Among those celebrating with Irene are a daughter, Mrs. Robert Snyder of Santa Cruz and a daughter-in-law, Dolores Brammer Saunders of Madera...