Appliance Repair in Lemoore, CA

Dear readers, after 19 years of volunteering to put this column together, first as “Our World” in the Lemoore Advance and then as “Looking Back” in the Hanford Sentinel, my family and I have decided that it is time for me to step aside and relinquish this column, hopefully, to someone else.

If you like learning about the history of not only Lemoore and the other Kings County towns, but of California, the United States, and beyond, you’ll enjoy doing the research through the old newspapers and finding much more than this weekly column has room to provide, some of which are not socially correct in today’s world and thus are left out of the column.

If you are interested in putting this column together, beginning next year, please contact Parker Bowman, pbowman@hanfordsentinel.com. We will be able to give you more information on starting the column.

25 Years Ago

The Downtown Merchants Advisory Committee’s free Movies in the Park program has been put on hold because of legal questions about the licensing of the association to show films to the public. David Weightman, a spokesman for the Moton Picture Licensing Board, informed the Downtown Merchants that they were out of compliance with the law.

30 Years Ago

Only 2 of 13 propositions win support from voters – No, apparently was the “buzz word” in Kings County on Tuesday as voters, turning out in near-record number, rejected 11 of the 13 statewide propositions that appeared on the expansive ballot. The only two propositions to win the favor of Kings County voters were Prop. 163, which adds sales tax on such items as candy, snack foods, and bottled water, and Prop. 164, which would limit the term of U.S. Senators.

The Lemoore Women’s Golf Club conducted its annual Halloween “Crazy Days” tournament on Oct. 27. Low net golfer was Bernice Cackler. Melba Meeks was second. Low gross winner was Sharon Beecham. Eleanor Swearingen was runner-up. Swearingen also carded the only birdie of the day, and earned the pot-of-gold. Dinner was provided by Lillian Billingsley and Swearingen at the home of Billingsley.

35 Years Ago

No planes or aviators were flying at Naval Air Station Lemoore on Monday and early Tuesday as the entire complement of pilots and maintenance personnel performed safety checks and attended classes on safety procedures following the loss of three A-7E Corsairs last week. Two jets from Attack Squadron 122 collided last Thursday afternoon, Oct. 29, while on a routine training flight over a practice bombing range in the Chocolate Mountains of Imperial County. Both pilots were uninjured. Less than 24 hours later, another A-7E from NASL-based Attack Squadron 146 crashed in Tulare County, about 10 miles north of Woodlake. The pilot escaped unhurt. The A-7E is worth $6 million per airplane.

On Nov. 11, 1918, at 11 a.m. to be exact, the Allies and Central Powers agreed to end years of bloodshed that had left more than 10 million dead and huge areas of Europe in ruins. The end of World War I, believed at the time to be “The War to End All Wars,” brought rejoicing to the streets of Europe and America as never seen before. But there was also a somber side to the gratitude and relief they felt. Many nations began commemorating the end of the war on the first anniversary of the armistice. Two years after the armistice, England and France began the tradition of providing a special ceremonial interment to an unidentified countryman who had fallen in battle. The United States followed that example in 1921. Now unidentified soldiers from WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War lie in the Tomb of the Unknown. As Nov. 11 nears, it is time to remember how our freedom continues to exist thanks to the sacrifices of the men and women of the armed forces. We should be grateful every day.

80 Years Ago

All local industrial plants engaged in essential war work and employing more than 100 workers must set up organized transportation plans and establish Share-the-Ride Clubs in order that the employees may qualify for supplementary gasoline rationing, J.R. Newton, chairman of the Lemoore War Price and Rationing Board announced today. This may apply principally to oil workers engaged in work at Kettleman Hills.

Lieutenant Governor Buron R. Fitts is scheduled to arrive in Lemoore at 9:30 a.m. on Armistice Day by airplane.

100 Years Ago

Lemoore stores will close for one hour next Tuesday during the ceremonies of the laying of the American Legion corner stone in their new building.

M.C. Braga’s house northwest of Lemoore, burned to the ground Thursday morning just as they were moving in.

120 Years Ago

Ernest Docker has purchased the bicycle business of James Orton, and has moved the stock of said shop into the old Leader building on D street.

It is reported that the supervisors of Kings County will soon advertise for bids for the construction of two bridges, one across the Kings River and the other across Cole Slough.

Miss Iffie Foley has charge of the public telephone office, which is now located in Dr. Foley’s Drug Store.

The total registration of Kings County for the recent election was 2,599. At the election in 1900 the total vote cast was 2,082.

The frost of the fore part of the week was reported to have done considerable damage to second crop grapes on the vines and also to the corn crop.

NAS LEMOORE, California – Naval Air Station Lemoore is proud to announce that it is turning 60 years old.

The base was commissioned on Saturday, July 8, 1961, in front of a crowd of thousands of thrilled personnel, residents and distinguished guests. When it was first built, the base was the U.S. Navy’s largest and most modern Master Jet Base in the nation and cost $100 million – with inflation, that’s nearly $1 billion today. It was the first base designed solely for light attack fighter jets – in 1961 that meant the A4D Skyhawk. Nowadays, you’ll see F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and the Navy’s most advanced aircraft, the F-35C Lightning II, soaring in the skies above. The base’s main function – to train fighter jet pilots and crew – remains the same today as it did in 1961. And it is still the U.S. Navy’s premier Master Jet Base.

When the site was chosen in the mid-1950s, the remote location in the San Joaquin Valley served several strategic purposes. The location was close enough to the Navy’s seaport facilities for logistical support, but far enough from major population centers to allow for unencumbered operations and possible future expansion. The remote location also provided flexibility in use and infrastructure to accommodate rapidly advancing jet technology. The adjacent lands were sparsely populated and were primarily used for agricultural production, thus minimizing potential land-use incompatibilities.

When commissioned in 1961, the base covered 28 square miles and employed more than 5,000 people with salaries that totaled more than $30 million annually ($280 million in 2022). Today, the base hasn’t grown much in land size, but it has more than doubled its workforce, with roughly 11,800 jobs boasting an annual payroll of $478 million.

The base’s economic impact on the San Joaquin Valley cannot be understated. In fiscal year 2019, the base generated $947 million in total economic benefit to its local region of influence, which includes Kings, Tulare and Fresno counties. The base is truly a partner with its neighbors.

Currently, NAS Lemoore is just as busy as ever. On average, more than 210,000 flight operations are flown annually. And more than 3,700 students are trained each year.

The base will mark the occasion with a celebration on July 1 at 1 p.m. on base. Technically, 2022 marks the base’s 61st birthday, but Covid restrictions forced a year’s delay.

This week the Kings County Board of Supervisors wrote a strong letter of support to add a new F-35 squadron to the base at NAS Lemoore with a nationwide four-location competition underway.

In their letter of support, the supervisors said: “With an excess of 11,800 jobs attributed to the base, and a payroll exceeding $475 million, NAS Lemoore represents the single largest employer in Kings County. The continued success of NAS Lemoore is critical to our local economy.

“We stand firm in our commitment to the support of NAS Lemoore – the nation’s premier Naval master jet base. Please know that the County of Kings and the Kings County Board of Supervisors highly support the Department of the Air Force and National Guard Bureau’s decision to consider locating the F-35A Lightning II at NAS Lemoore.”

The local competition includes Fresno Yosemite International Airport. Supervisor Doug Verboon said they support the plan to base the squadron, with some 80 new personnel, at Lemoore, and noted the noisy aircraft would impact more city residents in Fresno compared to the Kings County base, which is surrounded by farmland.

The National Guard Bureau and Department of the Air Force are inviting the public to learn about the proposal to locate the F-35A Lightning II at NAS Lemoore. An informational meeting to learn more about the proposal, ask questions and to submit comments will be held in person on Wednesday, Aug. 10, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the L.T.A. Portuguese Hall located at 470 Champion St. in Lemoore.

There will be another virtual meeting on Thursday, Aug. 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Written comments maybe submitted by Sept. 2 via email to

Lemoore is one of the four preferred locations that are being considered for the beddown of F-35A aircraft that would replace the legacy F-15C/D aircraft. In addition to Fresno, the competing locations for the F-35A beddowns are:

• NAS Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, Belle Chasse, Louisiana.

Faraday Future and an investor have indicated a possible deal to invest $100,000 to $600,000 with the start-up car maker, enough to get production going in Hanford if the agreement is done. A filing with the SEC indicates a deal could be consummated Aug. 8.

Kings County gasoline prices are lower again this week dropping 60 cents in the past month, says AAA. Diesel is down 50 cents. The average in the county today is $5.51 a gallon but you can buy gas here for $4.64, $4.65 or $4.66 at local stations.

As for oil, it is down to the $91 a barrel range from a high of $121 in mid-June. Oil prices fell more than 3% Wednesday after data showed U.S. inventories rose more than expected and as investors digested the latest OPEC+ decision to raise crude output by 100,000 barrels per day for next month.

Last month, President Biden visited Saudi Arabia and called on OPEC to increase production, but capacity constraints and the inability of some member states to meet output targets made the prospect of any significant supply boost unlikely. Meanwhile, EIA data showed stocks of crude unexpectedly rose by 4.467 million barrels last week, the most in a month, and compared to forecasts of a 0.629 million fall.

So far this year, Visalia-based San Joaquin Homes is the busiest home builder in Kings County, permitting 115 new single family residences compared to second place Lennar Homes with 40 home starts, according to figures from Construction Monitor.

A decline in the interest rate on a 30-year mortgage has had a positive effect on several areas of the real estate market in the past week.

"The 30-year fixed rate saw the largest weekly decline since 2020, falling 31 basis points to 5.43%," said Joel Kan, Mortgage Bankers associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting. "The drop in rates led to increases in both refinance and purchase applications, but compared to a year ago, activity is still depressed."

Western Fresno County already has had the big 100-silo Wonderful Pistachio plant and a big Assemi family plant (Touchstone) on the drawing board since 2018, a 49-silo project that has been challenged by Wonderful and delayed for four years in this highly competitive industry.

Now the Stamoules family wants to join the party to build a large pistachio hulling, processing, and packing facility on 98 acres on the northwest corner of S. Newcomb and W. Muscat avenues approximately 9.7 mile south of Firebaugh. Once all phases are complete the plant would sport an impressive 60 silos.

Stamoules Produce Co., Inc., based in Mendota, was launched in the 1920s as a cantaloupe grower when the Greek founder Spero Stamoules immigrated to the U.S. According to their application to the County, the proposed project would be implemented in four phases.

In a July 21 ruling Tulare County Superior Court Judge David Mathias ruled against the City of Visalia over their revised program to not require ag land mitigation from developers who want to bring farmland into the city for urban development.

The previous policy, part of the General Plan, would have required developers - typically home builders - to pay into a fund that would set aside ag land elsewhere. The mitigation policy would apply to ag land in Tiers 11 and 111 - generally at the city’s urban edge. The city’s general plan, adopted in 2014, featured a three-tier system to encourage development first in Tier 1 before future subdivisions in Tier 11 and 111 were added.

The mitigation policy has been championed by those who want to discourage sprawl on the outskirts of the city and promote infill within the city. The fee developers would pay would help buy the mitigation land on a one-to-one basis.

The judge did not rule on the merits of the ag mitigation policy but ruled against the city for not fully assessing the change in policy under CEQA that ended the Ag Mitigation Program (AMP). The ruling means that the ag mitigation program will stay for now.

Visalia Mayor Steve Nelsen said he was “surprised - thinking the plan we made was ironclad.” Now he says he understands “this is not a minor fix and we need to know if this will delay us.”

Sierra Club attorney Babak Naficy commented “that the City of Visalia will be mandated to rescind their amended policy,” adding that the city consultant study on the plan was faulty.

Court documents show that the Sierra Club and Central Valley Partnership challenged Visalia's adopted amendment last August by filing a petition for writ of mandate, contending Visalia lacked substantial evidence to support removal of the AMP requirement; and that Visalia abused its discretion by preparing an “addendum” to a previously certified environmental impact report (EIR) for the policy change rather than a subsequent or supplemental EIR.

Judge Mathias agreed, saying ”The court finds use of an addendum in the circumstances of this case is not supported by substantial evidence in the record, and, therefore, grants the petition. The court’s ruling is confined to this limited issue, and specifically does not extend to the ultimate issue of whether the AMP requirement may or should be removed from the general plan.”

For home builders wanting to build in Tier 11, the effect is the same until the city goes through a full EIR to remove the AMP from the general plan - a lengthy process that could put off new approvals for months or even years and with an uncertain outcome.

Who will be impacted? Mayor Nelsen says he understands there are seven Visalia housing projects ready to move into Tier 11 in the pipeline after several years of a boom in permit activity.

“For those seven projects to move forward, we need to iron this out,” he said.

Now the Tulare County judge has ruled the city action needs to be rescinded - putting in limbo new applications for subdivisions in Tier 11, some 1,500 acres inside the urban boundary. The need for Tier 11 land to build is clear because most of the Tier 1 land in the city has been subdivided.

The newest location for the popular West Coast pizza franchise opened in Lemoore on Aug. 10.

“They needed another pizza place around here and we showed up for them,” said general manager Israel Perez.

Perez serves as the general manager of both the Hanford and Lemoore locations. He has worked for franchisee Paul Gill and his partner, Bezhad Cohan, for about eight years.

Gill owns around 20 Round Table Pizza locations throughout the Valley and in the Los Angeles area, including the Visalia, Tulare, Clovis and Hanford locations.

“Hanford at the moment is the No. 1 store out of all of them. Sales are great over there, but Lemoore is beating them this week,” Perez said. “We’re doing pretty good over here.”

In fact, Perez said that the location has been so busy that he already imagines they’ll have to expand the dining area. The Hanford store underwent an expansion about two years ago.

The idea for the Lemoore store evolved quickly, Perez said. At first, it was planned to be exclusively carry-out and delivery only. A couple of weeks later, the owner was eyeing a small location with just a few tables.

“And before I knew it, he sent me blueprints for an entire Round Table,” Perez said.

Perez, a Lemoore resident, said that his love of Round Table, the pizza, is what lead to him working with Round Table, the company.

“It was just a good fit for me. I liked the pizza, I liked the service and the quality, so it was a great fit for me,” he said.

For newbies who have never tried Round Table, Perez suggests his personal favorite.

“I like the chicken jalapeno with white sauce,” he said. “In fact, I just ate one.”

Despite his own preference, he said that the most popular pizza in Hanford — and now Lemoore — is the King Arthur Supreme, a combination pizza with just about everything on it.

The Lemoore location has nearly 30 employees, Perez said.

The location offers dine in, carry-out and delivery.

The new Round Table Pizza restaurant is located at 155 W. Hanford Armona Road, suite H in Lemoore. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. For more information or to call in an order, dial (559) 423-5448.

HANFORD, Calif. (FOX26) — A Lemoore family is speaking out, warning people about what Valley Fever is really like.

California’s Department of Public Health says that illness is becoming more common.

FOX26 News spoke with Jose Leon, a Valley Fever Patient at Adventist Health Hospital in Hanford. He says his family is struggling – financially, mentally, emotionally, and physically.

“I kept thinking, ‘Whatever it is, I’m going to get better in a week or two.’ But I didn’t,” said Leon.

Valley Fever is an infection caused by a fungus that lives in soil.

The CDC says most people who breathe in those spores don’t get sick, but Jose Leon wasn’t so lucky.

“I felt the worst I’ve ever felt. It was a scary feeling, I couldn’t shake it off,” Leon recounted.

At first, Valley Fever has symptoms similar to the flu. But if it progresses, it can cause severe problems in the lungs, and in some people it can even affect the central nervous system.

Leon thought he might have COVID, but repeatedly tested negative. Eventually, he had to be hospitalized.

“To see him become so weak and tired, so sick – it was pretty scary,” said Leon’s wife, Carmen.

That was back in March. The family says their insurance won’t approve coverage for him to take the medication he needs from home, so he has to stay in the hospital.

“At this point, it’s not safe to take him home if he cannot get that medication, because he will get worse,” said Leon’s wife.

His wife had to reduce her hours at work so she could be home to care for their five children. As a result, though, the family is struggling to make ends meet. They have a GoFundMe set up to try to help with the bills.

One of their kids is just a baby.

“I know this is really hard for him,” said Carmen Leon. “He’s missing a lot of her first everything – her first words, the faces she makes when she’s running around.”

The Leon family has two pieces of advice for anyone suffering from a mystery illness that matches the symptoms of Valley Fever.

The first is to ask your doctor to test for it. The Leon family thinks things may have been different for them if doctors had caught the illness earlier.

“Because the whole time that I wasn’t diagnosed with it, it’s a fungus, so it keeps growing,” said Leon.

The next thing Leon wants the public to know, if they encounter this illness:

“Keep fighting and try to stay strong.”