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Community Briefs for May 12, 2011 edition

(Updated: Thursday, May 12, 2011, 3:51 PM)

Yosemite High choir, band to perform

The Yosemite High School Choir will present its year-end concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the school theater.

Featured groups will include the concert choir, the men's ensemble and the chamber singers. Tickets cost $3 each.

Selections will include choir favorites performed during the year, including at Universal Studios.

Members of the school's percussion classes, jazz band, concert band and wind ensemble will offer their year-end concert at 7:30 p.m. May 25 in the theater.

The concert will include music from "Shrek," "Harry Potter," "Phantom of the Opera" and selections from the musicians' April 15 tour to Hollywood. Percussion students performed on Hollywood Boulevard, and the choir and band performed onstage at Universal Studios.

Admission to the instrumental concern is $3 per person.

Details: Randy Hyatt, (559) 683-4667.

Veterans sponsor Memorial Day meal

A Memorial Day breakfast, sponsored by the Mountain Area American Veterans Club, will be held 10 a.m. May 28 at the Ol' Kettle Restaurant in Oakhurst.

Guest speakers will include Cmdr. Larry Westerlund, a member of the U.S. Naval Reserve and a Fresno city councilman; Tom Wheeler, Madera County Supervisor; Charles Hunnicutt, veterans service officer for Madera and Fresno counties; and Pete Molina, assistant secretary for American Indian veterans for the California Department of Veterans Affairs.

Breakfast or lunch can be ordered off the menu. Reservations are requested, as only 40 people can be accommodated.

Details: Dave Wolin, (559) 760-1143, davewolin@earthlink.net

School to offer kindergarten signups

Raymond-Knowles Union Elementary School District will hold kindergarten registration beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday for next year's kindergarten class.

Parents of children who will be ready for school in the fall should call the school for an appointment.

Children must be 5 years old on or before Dec. 2, 2011. On registration day, children will visit with their kindergarten teacher, school nurse and speech therapist.

Details: For an appointment, call (559) 689-3336.

Spring Fling May 21

The Coarsegold Resource Conservation District will hold its second annual Spring Fling fundraiser at 5 p.m. May 21 at the North Fork Town Hall.

A dinner of barbecued tri-tip and chicken will be served at 6 p.m. The event will include silent and live auctions, music by Steve Dominici and dancing.

Tickets cost $25 each.

Details: (559) 877-2973 or (559) 877-2222.

Students host show

Yosemite High School seniors Samantha Bohner and Annie Williams will host an evening of dance, theater and music for their senior project, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Yosemite High School Theatre.

Tickets cost $5 for general admission and $3 for students and seniors. Children younger than age 2 will be admitted free.

Proceeds will benefit Manna House.

Details: Teena Hagerman (559) 696-1151.

Academy calls for local heroes

Vision Academy for the Arts seeks local heroes to honor at two concerts -- at 7 p.m. June 4 and at 3 p.m. June 5 at New United Methodist Church on Road 426.

Organizers said many "quiet heroes" are all around, such as people who helped neighbors recover from storm damage or people who donate time, money or labor to make Oakhurst and the Mountain Area a better place to live.

Those who wish to suggest names of local heroes may contact Jackie Byers at (559) 683-7071 or Lori Ann Cole at loricole@transolar.com to nominate people who will be recognized at the concert.

Nominations should include the hero's name, a brief description of why the person is a hero and a photo, if available.

Tickets cost $5 at the door. Proceeds will go toward music and arts scholarships for Mountain Area students.

Dinner to benefit Mariposa Ethos

A benefit for Ethos, a program of Mountain Crisis Services, will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Savoury's Restaurant, 5034 California 140 in Mariposa.

The event will include gourmet appetizers, wine and nonalcoholic beverages with a performance by the African Drummimg Circle, as well as area youth musicians and poets.

Ethos provides violence prevention, mentoring, informal counseling, food and a safe environment for young people.

Proceeds from the event will benefit programs that serve youths in Mariposa.

Tickets cost $35 each.

Details: Savoury's Restaurant, (209) 966-7677, or Mountain Crisis Services, (559) 742-5865

Veterans to present stand-down event

The annual Veterans Stand-down will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 21 at Sierra Pines Church, 40855 Covey Court in Oakhurst, off Highway 49.

Featured will be free boots and gear, free food, music, veteran counselors, a physical therapist, a physician's assistant, benefit advisers and barber haircuts.

Minarets Mountain Fair set for June

The Minarets Mountain Fair will be held June 3-5, featuring a variety of events.

Fair rides will be from 4 to 10 p.m. June 3, noon to 10 p.m. June 4 and noon to 6 p.m. June 5. The fair opens at 10 a.m. June 3.

An All-Mustang Car Show

June 4 will include a North Fork Lions Club pancake breakfast with the drivers, beginning at 10 a.m.

All Mustangs are welcome. Register at (559) 997-6888.

Also June 4, radio stations KISS Country and Y101 will host "Central Valley Sing Off," featuring Greg Lane as the master of ceremonies and local singers.

Contestants will have been screened in an online vote by thousands of radio listeners and will perform two songs each before the crowd votes for the winner.

The fair is a fundraising event benefiting the Mustang Booster scholarship program, as well as Minarets High School programs.

Sponsorships for booths or for volunteers or donations are welcome.

Details: Mike Niehoff, (559) 287-4078.

Preschool program applications sought

The Madera-Mariposa Regional Head Start preschool program is accepting applications for the 2011-2012 school year.

Head Start is a federally funded program designed to foster healthy development for income-eligible children and families. The program focuses on increasing the social competence of young children ages 3 to 4 in Madera and Mariposa counties.

Services include early childhood education, medical and dental screening and followup, services to children with disabilities, social skills, nutrition and family services.

Details: Oakhurst Head Start, (559) 658-8171.

Head Start is at Oak Creek Intermediate School, 40094 Indian Springs Road in Oakhurst. Mountain Head Start, (559) 877-2352, is at North Fork Elementary School, 33087 Road 228, North Fork.

To be eligible for the program, parents must provide their child's birth certificate, immunization records, Medi-Cal or insurance card and family-income verification for 12 months, such as tax returns, W-2's, Passport to Services and Social Security printouts.

Free event to focus on fun of flight

Chapter 1261 of the Experimental Aircraft Association will host an International Learn-to-Fly Day event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 21 at the Mariposa-Yosemite Airport, 5020 Macready Way in Mariposa.

The free event was created to invite people interested in the world of flight to discover more by meeting local aviators and learning about personal flight.

Pilots, flight instructors and aircraft owners will be available to discuss the possibilities and enjoyment available in aviation.

Mariposa Art Hop

The Mariposa Art Hop will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. June 3 in downtown Mariposa.

Attendees can stroll around town, meeting and mingling with a variety of artists while enjoying refreshments and live music at more than 20 Art Hop venues within one mile. Gold balloons will mark the entrance of each location.

To print a map of participating Art Hop merchants, go to mariposaarthop.com.

Details: Barbara Eicker, (209) 377-8233.

Burn permits required in county

The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District requires burn permits for yard burning year-round in eastern Madera County.

Burning is allowed during the daytime only. Burn permits may be obtained at a nearby Cal Fire or Madera County fire station.

Cal Fire will restrict daytime burning as the fuel conditions become dry enough for a wildland fire to actively spread.

Burn restrictions in eastern Madera County will be regulated by elevation. Lower elevation fuels, such as grass and brush, dry out faster, so yard burning will be restricted earlier for lower elevations.

Permit holders may burn piles of brush, leaves, pine needles and other dry vegetation no larger than 4 feet by 4 feet from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Some restrictions on burn permits apply. Residents should call (877) 429-2876 to determine a permissive burn day before igniting vegetation.

Property owners are reminded that the burning of trash, tires or construction materials is illegal.

Nancy Koerperich, Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit Chief and Madera County Fire Chief, said Madera County residents should create 100-foot defensible space around their homes.

"Defensible space helps protect your property, your neighbor's property and your community," Koerperich said.

Choir to perform, accept auditions

The California Baptist University Choir, New Song, will perform at 7 p.m. May 19 at Hillside Baptist Church, 55238 Road 200, North Fork.

After the performance, the School of Music at California Baptist University will allow auditions for high school or junior college students interested in scholarship opportunities.

Educator to speak on first First Lady

Bill Atwood, principal of Jessie Benton Fremont School, on Saturday will share the story of Jessie Benton Fremont and the influence she had on the region and Yosemite.

Atwood will speak at 1 p.m. at the King Vintage Museum, 40680 Highway 41.

Fremont is featured in the museum's "Ladies of Lincoln Era" exhibit. She was the first First Lady of California and lived in Mariposa.Details: (559) 658-6999 or www.kingvintagemuseum.org.

Memorial Day service planned at church

Memorial Day will be observed with a Community Memorial Day Service at 9 a.m. May 30 at the Little Church in the Oakhill Cemetery.

The service will include patriotic hymns, a short message, prayers and readings.

The cemetery will be decorated with the Avenue of Flags, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars will hold flagpole ceremonies at 10 a.m. adjacent to the Little Church.

Bass Lake Farmers Market to open

The 2011 Certified Farmers Market, nonprofit event sponsored by the Bass Lake Chamber of Commerce, will open Wednesday at the Pines Village at Bass Lake.

The market is held from 3 to 7 p.m. every Wednesday through September, featuring certified fruit and vegetable vendors from the area.

Returning vendors include Shasky Farms, Sunny Farms and Three Springs Flower Garden.

Entertainment will again be provided by Kit N' Kaboodle. Admission is free.

Details: (559) 642-8163.

Women's choir to sing in North Fork

New Song, a 90-member women's choir from the Shelby and Ferne Collinsworth School of Music at California Baptist University, will perform at 7 p.m. May 19 at Hillside Baptist Church, 55238 Road 200, North Fork.

Details: (559) 877-7771, calbaptist.edu/music.