County Probation van crash area's top story of 2011

In a split second three lives were lost when a man driving a utility truck ran a stop sign and was struck by a Tulare County Juvenile Probation van carrying eight young people on a warm August morning. That story of that tragic Aug. 2 crash is The Recorder’s top story of 2011.

The driver of the utility truck and two teens — a boy and girl both 16 — died in the crash at Highway 190 and Road 152. Seven others in the van, including six more youths and the van’s driver, were injured and some are still recovering from their injuries today.

Voted by the staff of the Porterville Recorder as the number 2 story of the year was the death of Army Spec. Douglas Jeffries who died while serving in Afghanistan.

Both the city of Lindsay and the city of Porterville city councils made our top 10 list. Lindsay’s turmoil was voted the No. 3 story as that city is reeling from several years of mismanagement. Upset citizens have launched a recall effort, our No. 8 story of the year.The lack of civility and respect among the Porterville City Council members was voted the No. 5 story of the year.

Voted the No. 4 story of the year was the fatal shooting of a man’s ex-wife and then the ex-husband standing off police from his home on West Henderson. Ironcially, that tragic series of events occurred at almost the same time of the van crash on Aug. 2.

Our No. 6 story was the SCICON intern from Wales who was arrested on possession of child pornography charges in February. At No. 7, was the year-long observance of the city’s Sesquicentennial. A local committee of volunteers put on five events during the year to mark and celebrate the city’s founding in 1861. At No. 9 was the tragic death of a worker at the Setton Pistachio plant in Terra Bella on Feb. 11. Rounding out the list at No. 10 was the opening of the new Porterville Fairgrounds in May.

No. 1: Van crash At about 11 a.m. on Aug. 2, Juan Reyes, 37 of Porterville for some unknown reason ran the stop sign at Road 152 and Highway 190. Eastbound on the highway was a Tulare County Probation van with eight juveniles returning from a work detail in Earlimart. The two vehicles collided violently. Dead were two of the juveniles and Reyes. Two other juveniles were airlifted to a hospital in Fresno, and four additional juveniles and the driver of the van were transported by ambulance to a hospital in Visalia. Still being investigated, reports were that at least some of the juveniles were not wearing seatbelts. Five of the eight occupants in the van were ejected. Adding to the tragedy, one of the juveniles who survived the crash with moderate injuries, was founded shot to death in the Lindsay cemetery less than two months later.

No. 2: Soldier killed Army Spec. Douglas J. Jeffries, 20 of Springville, became the fourth man with local ties to be killed in fighting in Afghanistan. The son of Doug Jeffries and mom Andrea of Springville, he was killed Sept. 8 in an improvised explosive device attack in southern Afghanistan. The young man was well-known and very well-liked, especially in Springville where worked for a time at The Hamburger Stand. A graduate of Porterville High School, the young man was engaged to be married. As a child, DJ, as the family called Doug Jeffries, loved to play his guitar, and ride his bicycles and motorcycles, said his father, Doug Jeffries. “He loved life. He lived his life,” Jeffries said.

No. 3: Lindsay turmoil The news was not good for the city of Lindsay — at almost any time of the year. The small town that some dissenters say is a parallel to Bell, that has been rocked by scandal and overpaid officials, suffered similarly, but not nearly to the degree. First, came the auditor’s report in September that was very critical of former City Manager Scott Townsend and his management team. The audit found many abuses and that the city was in deep financial trouble. That audit came a month after the Tulare County Association of Governments filed a claim for $3.75 million for money TCAG claimed the city misspent on projects funded by Measure R revenues. On top of that were reports of misuse of city first-time homebuyer funds — loans that were given city employees — and poor loans handed out to former McDermont Field House employees to start up businesses, most of which was never spent for that purpose and much which will never be repaid. The upheavel in Lindsay has many residents unhappy and led to a recall effort. See story Number 8.

No. 4: Woman murdered At almost the same hour of the horrific van crash on Aug. 2, a man distraught over his failed marriage allegedly shot and killed his ex-wife in the front yard of her home. He then fled a short block away to his home where law enforcement surrounded him until he finally gave himself up after more than a two-hour standoff. Police said Emigdio Guzman Ojeda shot Flor Sanchez, 48, of Porterville, shortly after noon at her house on the corner of Mulberry Avenue and Woods Street. He then barricaded himself in his house on the corner of Henderson Avenue and Woods Street. Ojeda is awaiting trial on a murder charge.

No. 5: Porterville Council While the Porterville City Council was able to accomplish a lot during the course of the year, 2011 will be remembered for outbursts, confrontations, raised voices and even shenanigans on the dais. To put it simply, the council was not very council-like many times and the discourse on the dais even generated talk of a recall effort in Porterville. All council members played a part in what many residents felt were embarrassing actions by council members. Maybe, the worst demonstration of how not to get along came in April when a request for some funding for a city-sponsored committee turned into a 20 minute argument amongst the council, complete with a roll of toilet paper put around one councilman’s neck. There were several other outbursts, including some very confrontational, but by the end of the year the council members appeared to be acting more like grown ups.

No. 6: Intern arrested In June, a 19-year-old intern at SCICON was sentenced to five years in prison and 15 years of supervised release for the receipt of child pornography. In February, child pornography was discovered on the man’s computer and he was arrested. However, no images of local children were ever found on the man’s computer and no children ever accused the man of improper conduct. Matthew Lee Jones of Wales admitted he used a computer and Internet connection to receive images of child pornography.

No. 7: Sesquicentennial In 1861 a man named Royal Porter Putnam established a small town that today is called Porterville. It was that founding 150 years ago that the city celebrated with several events, including Pioneer Days Celebration in June, Krazy Daze in August and Royal Porter Putnam Day in October. The year-long observance highlighted the city’s colorful past, its heritage, its many different cultures and its fun-loving nature.

No. 8: Lindsay recall Residents of Lindsay unhappy with how their city has been run in recent years turned out by the dozens at several city council meetings over the course of the year to protest high salaries, reported favors to city staff and misuse of public money. That anger led to a recall effort that had difficulty getting off the ground, but is now poised to move forward with gathering signatures to recall all five members of the council. Those who support the council say it is a waste of time, especially coming during a year in which three seats will be up for election on the council, but opponents pressed forward despite several procedural setbacks.

No. 9: Industrial accident A tragedy occurred Feb. 11 when a 30-year-old employee at Setton Pistachio plant in Terra Bella died after getting caught in piece of equipment. The plant, which employs approximately 500 people, was shut down following the accident at just after 8 a.m. Fernando Santiesteban was a father of three and had been working full-time at the plant since late 2010. He was reportedly working on a below ground auger when somehow the machine began running, pulling the man in by his legs. The accident is being investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA).

No. 10: New Fairgrounds With the coming of a $93 million courthouse, it was time for the Porterville Fair to say goodbye to its home for 65 years and move into a brand new, larger and much-improved facility on West Teapot Dome Avenue. In a very short time frame, the piece of land on the southern edge of the Porterville Airport was turned from piece of dirt to a state of the art facility that is designed to serve the community for decades to come. The big moment came in May when the 2011 fair opened at the new site and fairgoers were generally pleased with the new venue. Fair officials were very pleased as both attendance and revenue were up for the 2011 fair. More improvements are planned for the 2012 fair in May.