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Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009

Citizen gets assists in stolen truck recovery

One area resident is in jail and another has his truck back.

It's all because of a vigilant witness who followed the truck after it was stolen at the 3200 block of Meadows Avenue on Friday night.

The do-gooder continued to tail the thief until Merced police arrived to make an arrest, according to a department press release.

After a short drive, the thief abandoned the Chevy truck near Sarasota Avenue and Buena Vista Drive.

Officers searched for the thief on foot and found him in a nearby yard.

They arrested 29-year-old Ricky Joe Finney II, of Fresno.

Finney was identified by the witness that night.

He is on parole in Fresno and has prior arrests for auto theft, according to the release.

On Friday night, Finney was arrested for theft of the truck, possession of burglary tools, possession of methamphetamine and a parole violation.

-- Danielle E. Gaines

MERCED

Junior Fair Board needs members

The Merced County Fair Board is seeking teens to serve a one-year term on its 12-member Junior Fair Board. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m., Nov. 23. Application forms may be picked up at the Merced County Fairgrounds office at 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way and can also be downloaded from the fair's Web site at http://www.mercedcountyfair.com.

Candidates must live in Merced County and be between the ages of 14 and 19. A grade point average of 2.0 or above is required.

Junior fair board duties include providing input on what teens want to see at the fair, participating in fair planning, setup and helping at the fair. No fair experience is required.

Serving on the board will help fulfill high school community service requirements. Meetings are the second Tuesday of each month and as needed as the fair approaches. The 2010 fair is June 15-20.

Each junior fair board member receives free parking privileges and admission for one person.

The fair is also seeking a new community adviser to work with the junior fair board.

For more information, call the fair office at (209) 722-1507.

FRESNO

A lot to discuss regarding raisins

The Viticulture Technical Group will host a meeting about raisins Nov. 18 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Fresno Farm Bureau, 1274 W. Hedges, Fresno.

Topics at the meeting will include 2009 weather and its impact on vine growth stages and vineyard decisions, an overview of the industry for 2009, growers' perspectives on the season and bunch-rot problems in 2009.

Registration is $10 and includes lunch. The public is invited.

For more information or registration, call (559) 661-5539.

MODESTO

Spay, neuter services at new animal shelter

Suffering one of California's highest pet-kill rates is reason enough to become the state's first government agency to share a shelter with a private sterilization clinic, Stanislaus County supervisors decided Tuesday. On a split vote, they agreed to lease space in the county's future animal shelter to a nonprofit that provides spay and neuter services to low-income pet owners.