Thumbs up, thumbs down: Jessica’s home at last. Scammer impersonates deputies.
Thumbs up to Jessica Milam, the Sanger native who was wounded in the brutal Las Vegas massacre last month, for rejoining her friends and family in the Valley after several weeks in the hospital. The community also gets applause for building up a GoFundMe donation account – Jessica Milam’s Recovery Fund – to $28,450 as of Wednesday, and a recent Sanger street fair raised more than $10,000.
Ed Milam, her father, works as a building inspector for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Her mother Maria is an elementary school librarian. Get well, Jessica!
Thumbs up to the first digital Fresno State Day of Giving, which raised $431,395 in gifts for its schools and colleges. The university received 1,316 individual donations from alumni and other supporters from 29 states. Spectacular start!
Thumbs up to Charlotte Salyer of Tulare, winner of the 11th St. Jude Dream Home in Clovis. The 2,500-square-foot, four-bedroom, three-bathroom house is located in the De Young Holland Pointe Community on De Wolf Avenue, south of Gettysburg Avenue. Celebrity designer Michael Moloney donated his time to transform the master bedroom into “Michael’s Mystery Suite.”
The contest, which benefits the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, raised $961,100 this year, for a total of $10,671,445 since the giveaway sponsored by De Young Properties began.
Thumbs up to Central Valley Community Foundation (CVCF), in partnership with the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Anthem, for awarding seven community organizations over half a million dollars to continue their youth development initiatives that focus on health services and education programs in the central San Joaquin Valley.
The organizations are the Foundation at Fresno County Office of Education, Inc.; Teen Success Inc., California State University, Fresno, Foundation; Boys & Girls Clubs of Fresno County; Latino Commission – Nuevo comienzo; Woodlake High School and UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program.
The programs support teens and with initiatives including leadership, health services, sexuality education and teen parent educational support. Excellent focus.
Thumbs down to the man impersonating a Fresno County Sheriff’s Office employee who is soliciting money over the phone. The scammer randomly calls people claiming to be from the sheriff’s office, giving a fake name and even a badge number. He tells people he works in the “warrants and citation unit,” which doesn’t exist, the sheriff’s office said.
He tells the people on the other end of the line that they’re in trouble with the law and they have an unanswered summons for a citation or failed to appear for jury duty or court, resulting in a warrant for their arrest. The man orders victims to pay for fines to avoid being arrested and jailed.
Thumbs up to Jimmy Pardini of Fresno’s Annex Kitchen for getting props from celebrity chef Tyler Florence. Last week before taking in the Bruno Mars concert at the Save Mart Center, Florence ate at Annex and then posted this message on his Instagram page: “@annexkitchenfresno killed it tonight. @jimmypardini has a hit on his hands....”
The Bee’s Robert Rodriguez reports that Florence was in the central San Joaquin Valley on behalf of Pat and Vincent Ricchiuti, the father and son founders of Enzo Olive Oil Company. The Ricchiutis and Florence have teamed up to create a special edition oil, Tyler Florence Test Kitchen Extra-Virgin Olive Oil.
Thumbs up to A.J. Fox of KSEE 24 for being named one of the nation’s coolest TV meteorologists by The Washington Post’s meteorology writer, Matthew Cappucci. He was praised not only for his skill in his profession but because he also plays guitar in two bands, Los Hooligans and Fat Penguin. They play in the Jamaican ska style.
Thumbs up to the big-hearted Madera County sheriff’s deputy and a California Highway Patrol officer for saving a baby deer who was nearly drowned in an Oakhurst pool, according to a Facebook post by the sheriff’s office. The fawn was able to walk away soon after its rescue.
Thumbs up to local Make-A-Wish particpants for kicking off Macy’s annual Believe campaign partnership. For every letter to Santa received at the store or online, Macy’s will donate $1 to Make-A-Wish, up to $1 million. The organization grants wishes to children with critical illnesses. A group of local Wish kids and their siblings were on hand to deliver Santa letters Wednesday at Macy’s River Park.
This story was originally published November 10, 2017 at 6:30 AM with the headline "Thumbs up, thumbs down: Jessica’s home at last. Scammer impersonates deputies.."