Testosterone Replacement Therapy in Delano, CA

DELANO, California — Nueva Vista Language Academy was chosen this year to represent California at the annual Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony in Washington D.C.

Each student was asked to decorate one ornament with something they thought represented California. These ornaments are now on the California state tree in D.C.

This year, Nueva Vista staff had the opportunity to take one lucky student to see President Joe Biden light up the Christmas trees.

They chose sixth grader Emma Vazquez and they were also able to take her mother Concepcion Lopez in this once in a lifetime trip.

Vazquez was chosen by staff due to her artwork, she drew a grapevine on her ornament.

She said she drew a grapevine because she wanted to show a different side not many people see or think of California.

I choose grapes because a lot of my family has or does work there," said Vazquez. "It felt good to put something else other than the Hollywood sign."

Lopez says she is proud of her daughter's artwork.

Children are busy doing other things and us as parents think they are not seeing what we are doing," said Lopez. "She is actually noticing everything her mommy and papi do."

Principal Joshua Herrera said California schools are usually not able to make this trip but this year the costs were fully covered.

"Our superintendent and board were able to send us to Washington this year," said Herrera. "It is not a common experience for schools from California to be able to make the trip to D.C."

This trip has been an amazing experience for Lopez and her daughter. She said this was their first time getting on an airplane and traveling out of state.

"It has been an amazing opportunity to go to D.C. and it has been a blessing to be able to have this experience," said Lopez.

Vazquez said her favorite part was being able to see President Biden light up all of the Christmas trees.

"It was nice to see Joe Biden push the button and seeing all of the Christmas trees light up," said Vazquez.

They have not only brought a Kern County Christmas to D.C., they have also made memories that will last a lifetime.

DELANO — Alfred Yanez as Exalted Ruler and other officers of Delano Elks Lodge No. 1761 were sworn in at installation ceremonies and dinner March 17 at the lodge.

Other new leaders are Steve Marmolejo, leading knight; Terry Kanter, loyal knight; Matt Ince, lecturing knight; Ernesto Marcial, esquire; Suzanne Mendoza, chaplain; Brian Franks, inner guard; Benny Camit, tyler; Brenda Perry-Reed, secretary; Louis Pandol, treasurer; Lori Howard, 5th year trustee; Monte Harrelson, 4th year trustee; Aaron Medina, 3rd year trustee; John Henry Medina, 2nd year trustee; and Jonathan Musto, 1st year trustee.

•••

Brothers George and James Gorospe were honored as Persons of the Year at the 57th Delano Sports Dinner sponsored by the Greater Delano Area Youth Foundation.

Both graduated from Delano High School, George in 1995 and James in 1998. They are sons of George Gorospe Sr. and Terri Gorospe. Both have been great mentors for youth programs in Delano.

George has coached 16 years with the Delano Stallions youth football team and is still active. He and his wife have three children, Brian, Emily and Adam Gorospe, and a grandchild, Brian Vincent Gorospe.

James has coached 24 years, starting with the Stallions and moving to Delano High coaching for three years and Cesar Chavez High for five years. He and his wife of 20 years, Brenda, have sons Matthew and Adrian.

Declared the brothers, “We have coached because of the kids and the passion we have for sports. There is no other feeling quite like helping young athletes further develop their natural persistence, determination, discipline, dedication, resilience, work ethic, heart, leadership skills, connection with and respect for others, not only in competition but in life!”

•••

More than 100 youth of the Delano Union School District took part in the district’s oral language festival for region 10 on March 10 at Harvest Elementary and La Vina Middle school campuses. Organizer was Lea Cantu.

In the seventh- and eighth-grade category, in the serious solo competition, first was Caleb Prieto of La Vina with Jasmine Gill of La Vina in second and Savannah Ramos of Cecil Avenue School Math and Science Academy placing third.

For serious duo, first place were Ezekiel Basconcillo and Andrea Justine Veloya of La Vina.

For humorous solo, first was Kendra Sandoval, second was Ashley Heredia and third was Emma Andrade Smith. All attend Cecil.

For fourth through sixth grades, in the serious solo division, Adalene Flores of Fremont School placed first with two Nueva Vista Language Academy students taking second and third, Yantza Guillen Ceja and Emma Alvarez, respectively.

In the serious duo category, Alexa Robles and Sophia Robles of Nueva Vista were first, Zulema Martinez and Britney Farias of Albany Park were second, and Katherine Camero and Sanna Garcia of Nueva Vista were third.

For humorous solo, Koumba Diallo of La Vina was first, Aleksia Rodriguez Solorio of Morningside was second, and Kayleen Hernandez of Harvest was third.

In the humorous duo category, first went to Ariana Castellanos and Lexie Acosta of Harvest and second to Isabelle Aranda and Jazzlyn Ramirez of Terrace.

In the verse choir category, first were Samantha Lira, Mayra Ortiz Lopez, Martha Guadalupe Alvira, and Victoria Ayala of Princeton Street School. Placing second were Marely Cristel Valdez, Lupita Valdez Sanchez, Gennessis Andrade, Jazlyn Flores, Jesus Gastelum and Sergio Adame of Fremont School. Third were Raylee DeFitch, Sofia Vera and Yarely Martinez of Morningside School.

•••

Each Sunday through May 7 there will be Delano Babe Ruth League Baseball sign-ups from 2 to 4 p.m. at Tony’s Firehouse Grill on County Line Road just west of the railroad.

Youth must be at least 12 years old but not 18 as of May 1. Parents should accompany candidates and at registration present a birth certificate and a $100 fee. Candidates should reside in the Delano Joint Union High School District or the McFarland district.

Questions may be directed to league President Jesus Cardenas at 661-205-7793 or Vice President Art Armendariz at 661-586-2001.

Bonnie Armendariz is league treasurer and Rita Gonzales the secretary. Babe Ruth baseball in Delano has taken place for more than 50 years.

•••

Another reminder of Delano Kiwanis Club’s return to an Easter egg hunt in Delano High’s stadium on April 8. Preschool youth will start at 10 a.m., kindergarteners at 10:30, first- and second-graders at 11 a.m., and third- and fourth-graders at 11:30 a.m.

The number of eggs purchased by Kiwanis for the 44th annual event will depend upon current egg prices.

•••

Delano High’s Academic Awards will be presented to ninth- and 10th-graders on April 11, and 11th- and 12th-graders on April 13, both nights starting at 5:30 p.m. in the school auditorium.

•••

Two high school groups are seeking donations to help with school athletic projects.

At Cesar Chavez High School, Dugout Club President Linda Hernandez says funds are needed to purchase a pitching machine to replace a used one purchased in 2006 but no longer functioning. She may be reached at 661-586-6335 or emailed at titanstrongmom@gmail.com

The Dugout Club is sponsoring a cornhole tournament April 15 at 11 a.m. at the Hyatt Regency, 1200 Garzoli Ave. Charge is $80 for a two-member team.

Other officers are Ernie Popoy, vice president; Cherry Popoy, secretary; Maria Barron, treasurer; and board members Juan Manuel Carrillo, Maria Garcia and Maria Trujillo.

Donations for central section championship rings for Delano High’s boys soccer team may be mailed to Delano High Boys Soccer, 1331 Cecil Ave., Delano, CA 93215.

There is a need for $8,000 to fund 28 squad member rings. The last soccer title for DHS was in 2013.

•••

A second-place finish in the VEX state championships at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has earned McFarland High School’s VEX Robotics team a trip to the world championships in Dallas.

School district Superintendent Aaron Resendez says even though the team was second, it posted a 6-0 record and was first in overall points.

•••

A community Good Friday service is set for Friday at 6 p.m., reports pastor David Vivas. The site for this event had not been determined as this column was written.

National Day of Prayer observance locally will be May 4 at 6 p.m. with members of the clergy wishing to participate asked to call Pastor Vivas at 661-721-0111 or email him at pastordavidvivas@gmail.com

•••

Yasmen Valenzuela, eighth-grader at Almond Tree Middle School, has been chosen for the Kern County Honor Band.

•••

Delano, Chavez and Robert F. Kennedy high schools of Delano, McFarland High, Matilde Torres High of Madera, and Bakersfield high schools Independence, Ridgeview and Mira Monte made up the field for the Delano Relays track and field meet.

Ridgeview won the varsity boys team title with Independence next. Ridgeview was first and Kennedy second in frosh-soph boys. McFarland girls won varsity girls with Ridgeview second.

Delano High coach Jerry Angkahan was meet director for an event that included seldom run events such as distance medley and sprint medley relay events plus the 4x800-meter relay.

DELANO — The City Council was to hold a public hearing March 20 in regard to a tentative tract map to subdivide a 28.38-acre parcel into 94 single-family residential lots.

The parcel is located at the northeast corner of Browning Road and Garces Highway, a site that is to the south of the Cesar E. Chavez High School stadium.

Applicant was Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group of Bakersfield.

The council at its March 6 meeting gave several recognitions to outstanding community groups.

Chavez High wrestling was honored as Central Section Division IV champions.

Robert F. Kennedy High cheer was honored for the USA Spirit and Junior Nationals/Collegiate championships at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Both Kennedy and Delano high schools were recognized for their designation by the state Department of Education as Exemplary Dual Enrollment Schools.

The council was expected to pass a resolution to add on-demand (DART N’Go) service during the week to areas currently not served by fixed routes for Delano Transit programs.

Up for approval was payment of $167,423.95 to SoCal Edison for undergrounding overhead power lines on Garces Highway west of the intersection with Albany Street.

Expected to be approved was an agreement for purchase and sale to Double Eagle Dover Investments LLC for 8.23 acres of vacant land for future High Street flyover right of way for $2.51 million.

City staff recommended to the council an agreement for airport farmland between the city and Joe Paesano Farms.

In closed session, the council and Kern Community College District met regarding property located at 1942 Randolph St. The property was once the site of the Delano campus of Bakersfield College and then was used by Wonderful Academy until Wonderful moved its school site.

•••

During the pandemic, the Delano Kiwanis Club moved its annual Easter egg hunt from Delano High’s stadium to a drive-thru goodies bag handout at Memorial Park.

After the switch for the past three years, the Kiwanis Club plans to return to the high school stadium for the April 8 Easter egg hunt.

Preschool youngsters will take part starting at 10 a.m., kindergarten youth starting at 10:30 a.m., first- and second-graders at 11 a.m., and third- and fourth-graders at 11:30 a.m.

The Kiwanis Club will be assisted by about two dozen high school students from Key clubs at Wonderful Academy, Delano High and Kennedy High.

The number of eggs ordered for the event will depend upon donations. The last time the hunt took place at Delano High, there were 450 dozen eggs set out for the hunt, but egg prices have vaulted recently.

This is the 44th annual event held by Kiwanis, which started the hunt in 1981.

•••

Joan Smith was honored by the Greater Delano Area Youth Foundation as Person of the Year for 2022 at the foundation’s 57th Sports Dinner.

She was an educator in the Delano Union School District for 40 years. She taught students but also mentored other teachers on how to be better at their jobs, not just in the local district but also through her professorship at the Kern County Office of Education, said presenter Brenda Perry-Reed.

Besides being active in many organizations, she is the proud mother of Marvette, Amy, Larry, Erica and Nathan, and grandmother to Darrion, Emma, Andrew and Kingston.

Perry-Reed also told the audience that they probably were unaware of her being a lover of sports. “All sports at all levels. I met her in 1991 at a McFarland High School football game when she was helping the cheerleaders, and I have admired her ever since. If someone or something needs assistance, she is there.”

Smith is described as an outstanding musician and has passed that on to her children and grandchildren. She is a quilter and loves beautiful material.

“I believe,” said Perry-Reed, “that Joan has the first and possibly only front-yard lending library in town. Her belief in literacy allowed her to make and continue making an impact on the children of Delano as everyone’s favorite kindergarten teacher, reader of books and storyteller at the Delano historical park. She tries to visit every school as a reader during ‘Read Across America.’”

Chief speaker at the Sports Dinner was Mark Grace, who served in the military for 20 years and after that coached basketball at the collegiate level, most recently at Vanderbilt University and before that at several West Coast schools, including UCLA.

Grace stressed that in his work with collegiate basketball players that he found a common thread for those who were very successful. The common denominator was a strong work ethic.

Perry-Reed, the master of ceremonies, urged those in the audience to mail in $30 memberships for the year to Delano Youth Foundation, P.O. Box 135, Delano, CA 93216. She noted that the Youth Foundation’s usual budget of $9,000 to assist local youth projects has been doubled for 2023. Income is derived from the sports dinner, annual memberships and the 22 dinner sponsors.

The 2023 Person of the Year recipients will be chronicled in the next Ramblings.

•••

Delano High School’s Chamber Choir, directed by Lily Nguyen, received the highest possible score of a Unanimous Superior at the Central Section Music Festival.

•••

Daniela Gonzalez, a Delano High graduate who will graduate from Visalia’s College of the Sequoias in 2024, has already earned an honor for next fall’s COS volleyball team.

The daughter of Elvia Martinez of Delano has been named volleyball captain for the COS team for the coming school year.

•••

Delano Babe Ruth League baseball sign-ups are Sundays through May 7 at Tony’s Firehouse Grill on County Line Road between 2 and 4 p.m.

Candidates must be at least age 12 by May 1 and not over 18 by May 1 and reside in the Delano Joint Union High School District or the McFarland Unified School District. At registration, a $100 fee is required, as well as a birth certificate and parents being present.

•••

Trustees of Delano Joint Union High School District were to view the agreements on salary of certificated and classified employees at its March 14 meeting.

The board approved receipt of donations from Wonderful Giving of $500 each to the band account in the name of Alejandra Sanchez, for Alyssa Fragosa for the freshman basketball boys, and for Alfonso Herrera for football. An additional $1,000 from Wonderful went to the school’s donation account.

Carniceria Janitzio and Triple A Construction Inc. both contributed $500 to Chavez High to fund championship rings for wrestlers.

The board approved head coach Jacob Fragoso and the Kennedy varsity baseball team to play in an April 2-6 baseball tournament in San Diego.

For the 2022-23 season, Arlin Hill was approved as head varsity softball coach and Angel Villalobos as assistant.

At Delano High, Andrea Popoy as assistant varsity softball coach and Brian Franks as head JV softball coach were OK’d by the district board.

For the 2023-24 school year, the board approved Frank Gonzales, Jr., head varsity football coach; Jonathon Carrillo, volunteer assistant varsity football; Juan Orozco, varsity football volunteer; Ramon Ayon, assistant freshman football; Jason Gonzales, assistant varsity football; Ramon Marquez volunteer assistant for varsity football; and Ozzie Orozco, assistant varsity football.

Alejandra Ramirez was approved for a move from nutrition specialist to library/audiovisual technician/textbook clerk position.

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DELANO, Calif. (KERO) — In Delano, a little over 50 percent of the people own their homes, and the remaining half of the residents are renters. With rising rent prices, the idea of a city ordinance regulating rent costs has gained traction in Delano as it has in other cities across the United States.

California already puts a cap of 10 percent on rent increases, but the ordinance being discussed in Delano would go further, putting a limit of 70 percent of the Consumer Price Index, or a three percent cap per year on rent increases. The proposal has brought mixed reactions.

Oscar Sandoval has lived in Delano for the last 20 years. He says paying the rent is very complicated because half of his income is going to rent alone. Sandoval says that expense, along with utility bills, groceries, and gas, takes up three quarters of his total monthly income.

Like a majority of people in Delano, Sandoval is a farmworker. He says that due to his job, his income fluctuates with the weather. Rainy or extreme heat days mean no pay, and since a new law gave them overtime pay for the first time, their hours have been cut to less than the regular 40 per week. Sandoval says this uncertainty makes it impossible to have any savings or room for health emergencies.

Sandoval's monthly expenses will go up again to $1,150 per month for rent with the water bill, because this month, his landlord stopped paying the water and garbage bills. Sandoval and the other tenants are now responsible for this expense.

Andy Veiss, a landlord with property in Delano, says the increased costs to tenants are a reflection of everything else increasing in price.

"Prices just keep going up and up on me," said Veiss.

Veiss works in Delano and is the landlord of several properties across Kern County. He says he pays for the utilities in some of them, but those rates have been increasing. According to Veiss, trash services used to be part of the property taxes. Those taxes are going up despite no longer covering expenses like garbage disposal and recycling pickup.

Veiss says he looks at the average going rates in the area to determine what to charge for rent, and that rents on his properties fall around $900 dollars a month, but points out that his expenses also include repairing or replacing anything that breaks. He says sometimes those maintenance expenses means just breaking even on the mortgage.

"For me to fix things up, Home Depot, those prices have gone up. Air conditioning, for example. I am trying to put in new air conditioners and it is crazy," said Veiss.

Veiss says he invests in making the apartments somewhere people want to live, adding that a rent control ordinance sounds good in theory, but does not seem viable.

"For rent control, then there should be a control on how much a business can charge for me to go out and eat dinner, or how much they charge for groceries or property taxes, and that will never happen, because if you limit property taxes, then the road outside will be full of holes," said Veiss.

Both Veiss and Sandoval agree there is a huge demand for housing, which is proven out by the low availability of housing. This is why advocates of the proposed rent control ordinance like Arturo Rodriguez, lead organizer with the Central Valley Empowerment Alliance, say rent control is important.

"Right now we don't need any rent increases. We know that in California, there are laws that protect landlords for a fair return in their investments," said Rodriguez.

The law Rodriguez mentions does not have a set formula, but the courts have described it as a reasonable return that takes into account investor interest in the property.

Rodriguez points out that this rent control ordinance is tied to the current cost of living and homelessness.

"Unfortunately for us we are going to continue to see a rise in homelessness if we don't ensure we keep our families housed," said Rodriguez.

The motion to further explore a rent control ordinance in Delano passed two to one at the last Delano City Council meeting. 23ABC reached out to Councilmember Liz Morris who voted against it, but did not hear back.

The next steps in the process will be for the city attorneys to write up a draft of the ordinance and present it to the new city council board sometime in early 2023.

Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

DELANO — The city’s main east-west artery of Cecil Avenue is booming today with booths filling the parking lot of Delano High School on Cecil Avenue for the community’s annual Relay for Life.

This year’s goal, reports chair Octavio Nunez, is $100,000, double the amount that was set as last year’s goal.

The public is encouraged to view the booths, many of them serving a variety of food and others for information services, during the day and evening.

It may not be too late for people wishing to purchase luminarias for tonight’s recognition of those lost to cancer or fighting the disease.

•••

Musical groups from all three high schools of the Delano Joint Union High School District gained honors at the SVWAA championships at West Hills College in Lemoore.

The highest score regardless of division was achieved by Delano’s Cesar E. Chavez High School with a first place in the open division.

Delano High School placed second in the open division.

Robert F. Kennedy High was first in the Scholastic Gold division.

William Rivera of Chavez was the winner of the snare drum, solo and ensemble, placing first among more than a dozen participants.

•••

With bids due this past April 12 on four transitional kindergarten modular classrooms at Nueva Vista Language Academy, the project is expected to begin soon.

Nueva Vista is located on Garces Highway in west Delano. Need for the added classrooms is probably due to the recent affordable housing complex almost adjacent to the school and new homes and apartments built to the south of Garces.

•••

Contact has been made with all but two nominees for Delano High’s Athletic Hall of Fame who will be inducted on June 15 at Tony’s Pizza Firehouse Grill on County Line Road.

Committee members believe they have reached all except families of Lisa Yoon Michie, a swimmer, and Carl Comer, a golfer.

All nominees are in men’s and women’s sports in the 1970s.

•••

Sunday and May 7 are the final dates for candidates for Delano’s Babe Ruth baseball program to sign up for the nearing season.

Sign-ups are at Tony’s Firehouse Grill, 502 County Line Road, from 2 to 4 p.m. both Sundays. People may also contact Jesus Cardenas, 661-205-7793, or Art Armendariz, 661-586-2001.

Candidates must be 12 years old after May 1, cannot be 18 years old on or before May 1, and must bring a birth certificate and $100 registration fee.

Cardenas, who serves the league as president, said the group always is looking for coaches and volunteers. The league is also hiring umpires and scorekeepers.

•••

Delano Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a mixer and vendor fair May 5 from 4 to 9 p.m. at Legacy Auto Center on High Street.

The event will feature musical entertainment, food and beverages and is open to the public.

•••

When I copied a legal notice from The Californian regarding the demolition of the towers at the old Voice of America site along Garces Highway west of Delano, I was not expecting much interest from the public.

One reader from Shafter said she was “saddened” by the demolition of what she thought could be considered a historical site while another person from Oroville called to ask if the site is that of the old Delano radio station, KCHJ.

The Shafter woman and I agreed that it would be a good “cause” for the Delano Historical Society, though it would certainly need the support of the Delano City Council.

Housing is expected to be in the area vacated by Voice of America, but it might be possible to make the actual building site a hub of a park that could be required as part of the housing area.

Voice of America was built originally by CBS as a commercial station and later used by the government when operated as Voice of America from 1943 until 2007, according to information that I Googled.

The 801-acre Voice of America site housed one of the last powerful HF international broadcast stations. It was reported that March 10, 2014, the facility closed down due to budget cuts.

•••

Annika Fernandez of McFarland, who since the first grade has honed her basketball skills at the McFarland Recreation center and later at school sites, has been selected by the Occidental College women’s basketball coach to play with the university’s team this summer in Barcelona, Spain, in the Euro Basketball Cup 2023

•••

The school board of the Delano Joint Union High School District was expected to approve the resignation for retirement of Mrs. Lorna B. Gango, longtime mathematics instructor at Delano High.

The board also was to approve posting of a mental health therapist for the district.

The board was also to act on the voluntary transfer of Shantelle Andrade, a special education teacher, from Delano High to Valley High for the 2023-24 school year, and the involuntary transfer of Ron Coronado, a Kennedy High teacher, to Valley High.

English teachers Liane Duran and Samuel Pearson were up for approval as Chavez High teachers for the 2023-24 school year.

The board was to OK Michelle Tomboc as band director and color guard director at Delano High for the rest of the current school year.

The board was to accept the resignation of Valeria Rodarte, assistant principal, student support, at Kennedy High and approve her as a girls PE teacher. The board also was to accept the resignation of Melisa Perez as a special education teacher at Kennedy and to approve as teachers for the 2023-24 school year Alice Alvarado Garcia for science and Anthony Alvarez for math. The resignation due to retirement of Sandra Parrish as an adult education teacher was also expected to be OK’d effective April 28.

The board was also to give its OK to numerous donations to the district and its schools.

The Varanasi family is providing $5,000 to fund scholarships. The Delano Chevy Buick GMC has donated $1,000 to the boys golf team at Chavez.

Also donated to Chavez were $500 from The Print Shop, $500 from Triple R Transportation, $500 from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and an anonymous donation of $5,000 to Chavez High and several donations to the Chavez baseball account. Lifehouse of Bakersfield donated $500 to Kennedy High.