WARDEN AIMS AT MAKING NEW PRISON “FRIENDLY” TO WOMEN — “Historically, prisons have been designed for men, with the female population being treated as an afterthought,” says Teena Farmon, Warden of the new Central California Women’s Facility north of Madera. Farmon says the new prison has been designed based on security concerns and the needs of women. The dormitory arrangement is one example, according to Farmon. Most prisons have “gang” toilet and shower facilities, but the dorm rooms in the new facility have one shower and one bath per room. In the past, prisons have offered women jobs like sewing, laundry, cooking, and cleaning. Farmon says that such male oriented job opportunities as auto body repair, upholstery, painting and welding will be offered in the new prison.
YOSEMITE CELEBRATES 100 YEARS AS A PARK — Two thousand people gathered in Yosemite Park Monday to remember its 100-year history. Undersecretary of the Interior Frank Bracken was among the speakers, who reflected on the park. A highlight of the hour-long ceremony in Sentinel Meadow was a moment of silence broken only by shrieks from a Blue Jay. “Yosemite is not just for today; it is for the children and their children of tomorrow,” said Jay Johnson, a descendant of the Miwok tribe. “Nature’s sources will never fail you,” said John Muir, depicted by Lee Stetson. “If enough of us go among the spirits of this wilderness, we need not despair,” said Stetson.
NEW VOTING MACHINES READY SAYS MARTINEZ — Voters casting ballots in the Nov. 6 election will say goodbye to the automatic voting machines and hello to Mark-A-Vote. County Clerk Rebecca Martinez said the county elections department is making a move equivalent to going from a horse and buggy to the space shuttle. Unlike the old system where voters flicked switches and pulled handles, the most high tech item voters will use now is a pen. Voters will be handed a packet of seven cards containing candidates and propositions at the polling places. “There is no equipment,” said Martinez, “you just mark your vote, slip the ballot into an envelope and put it into the ballot box.” Those ballots will then be fed through a computerized reader, which will read 1,000 ballots a minute.
MADERA WOMAN WINS $40,000 IN BIG SPIN — A Madera woman didn’t expect to find a solution to paying her bills by visiting a local drug store, but it turned out that way when she purchased a lottery ticket which brought her $40,000. Evelyn Mercer says she plays the 7-11-21 Scratcher game regularly but only buys one ticket at a time. “I hate to throw money away,” she said. But the money she spent on a ticket from Long’s Drug Store in Madera recently won her a trip to the Big Spin in Sacramento last Saturday. “It is quite a bit of money to us,” she said. “We’ll use it for transportation, a new roof, and other bills.” Mercer is calling this her “15 minutes of fame.” ...