More details have been released about a Dinuba motorcyclist killed this week in a fatal crash near Grants Grove.

The California Highway Patrol said Matthew Delbert Trimble, 24, was riding a Kawasaki 250 enduro-type motorcycle on Highway 180 east of Grants Grove when the crash occurred. Trimble was on a steep downhill portion of a left-turning curve when he apparently drifted off the roadway onto a dirt shoulder and went airborne over a steeply declining hillside.

The motorcycle hit a tree and both the rider and the machine rolled down the hillside into thick brush, which screened the crash scene from the roadway.

The Fresno County sheriff's helicopter discovered the scene Wednesday. The CHP said the crash occurred sometime between Monday and Wednesday morning.

Thieves take $3,000 in Madera Co. wire

Copper wire thieves stole more than 200 feet of the material from a farmer this week in Madera County, the Sheriff's Department says.

The theft took place at Avenue 201/2 and Road 24, where 180 feet was taken from an electrical box and another 40 feet from the box to a pump.

The thieves also cut 16 cables from the electrical panel.

The value of the theft was at least $3,000.

Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives at (559) 675-7770 or Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-STOP.

Visalia police seek help finding man, 85

Visalia police are again asking for the public's help in finding an 85-year-old man who has been missing since he walked out of Kaweah Delta Medical Center in December.

George Ocaranza was last seen at 4:30 a.m. Dec. 19 at the hospital. He was visiting the emergency room for cuts and scrapes.

Ocaranza was wearing a black sweat outfit and blue baseball cap.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call 911.

Education

Madera school board fills two positions

The Madera Unified School District board filled two administrative positions Tuesday for the Madera Unified Board of Education.

Paul van Loon has been named the district's director of special services. He most recently was principal at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Madera.

Loon replaces Jennifer Gaviola, who is now a vice principal at Madera High School.

Julia Reese was hired as a chief academic officer at Madera High School. She was most recently the principal at Parlier Middle School.

Reese replaces Darren Sylvia, who accepted a position with the Merced Union High School District.

Courts

Two court systems in Fresno win awards

The Fifth District Court of Appeal and Fresno County Superior Court have been selected by the Judicial Council of California for a top award.

Both received the 2010-11 Ralph N. Kleps Award for Improvement in Administration of the Courts for the Transcript Assembly Program.

It is the first program in California that automates and transmits the compilation and preparation of civil clerk transcripts.

The Fifth District Court of Appeal received an additional Kleps Award for its Electronic Writ Processing Program.

This court-developed project is the first system in California to automate the distribution and disposition of cases in the appellate courts.

Fire

Visalia blaze starts with residents gone

Crews battled a house fire in northeast Visalia on Thursday morning, the Visalia Fire Department said.

Firefighters went to the single-story home on the 3900 block of east Fourth Creeks Court around 10:45 a.m., Visalia Fire Captain Mike Cromer said.

Crews were able to contain the blaze within 20 minutes, Cromer said.