Counting down the top five news stories of 2016 in Merced County
Concluding our look at the top news stories in Merced County from the past year, we examine the factors contributing to poor health in the community, bitter fights on the Los Banos school board including public corruption charges, a nasty recall campaign, finger pointing and an election that swept out incumbents.
We also remember the victims killed in a devastating bus crash on the outskirts of Livingston, recount a deadly gun battle in which a Merced County sheriff’s deputy has been credited with saving the life of another deputy, and highlight a disturbing trend of public officials charged with sex crimes against children.
On Friday, we re-examined stories 10 to 6, a day after we took a look at stories 15 to 11.
5. County’s poor health
The struggles of finding a regular physician or even making a doctor’s appointment are problems that have been plaguing countless Merced County residents in recent years. The county officially is considered a health professional shortage area, according to the Merced County 2016 Community Health Assessment from the Merced County Department of Public Health.
Compared to other counties in California, Merced County continuously ranks low in many health-related data and statistical reports.
Regarding rates of women receiving prenatal care, Merced County has the worst numbers in the Valley, according to a study from the California Budget Policy Center, the Women’s Well-Being Index. The study also reported that out of the 58 California counties, Merced County ranks 55th in overall women’s health issues.
Bringing doctors to the area has been an ongoing effort by health organizations in the Central Valley, who say the geographical location of the Valley is one of the barriers commonly cited by physicians opting to work in other communities. Nearby cities in the Bay Area and Los Angeles offer better compensation to doctors, health officials have said. The Valley also has a higher average population of individuals on Medi-Cal, which doesn’t compensate doctors as generously.
Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, also has made efforts to bring more doctors to the Valley, authoring a bill, AB-2048, that was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in September. The bill allows all federally qualified health clinics to apply to the National Health Service Corps State Loan Repayment Program, which helps medical professionals pay off their school loans in exchange for working for a period of time in areas with a shortage of medical options.
4. Four killed in bus crash outside Livingston
A bus traveling through Merced County was ripped open in the dark, early-morning hours of Aug. 2 when it crashed into a highway sign pole south of Livingston, killing four people and injuring many more.
The driver, 57-year-old Mario David Vasquez of the Los Angeles area, suffered major injuries in the crash, but survived.
Public records show the bus, registered to Autobuses Coordinados USA Inc. of Los Angeles, had been cited three times in April, including for a maintenance violation, but it remains unclear whether those issues played any role in the crash.
The early-morning catastrophe stunned even veteran emergency responders, who described a disturbing and bloody scene with some passengers trapped in the bus for more than a hour, many of them in pain, as authorities scrambled to help. That chaos led authorities to initially report that five people had been killed and later revise the number.
The victims were later identified as Fernando Ramirez, 57, and his wife, Petra Carrillo Ruiz, 64; Jose Morales Bravo, a 68-year-old man from Avalon whose wife also was injured in the crash; and 38-year-old Jaime De Los Santos of Tijuana, Mexico.
A total of 27 people were traveling between Nayarit, Mexico, and Washington state, authorities said.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and the probe is expected to take months to complete.
3. Four public officials charged with sex crimes in Merced County
In 2016, four public officials, including three with ties to Los Banos, faced sex crimes allegations involving children, and two – a priest and a high school teacher – were convicted and had to register as sex offenders.
Robert E. Gamel, 66, pleaded guilty March 11 to possession of child pornography, a felony. The disgraced priest, commonly known as “Father Bob,” led St. Joseph Catholic Church in Los Banos for about five years before authorities learned he’d deliberately acquired from the internet a nude photograph of a teenage parishioner. Gamel avoided prison time, served about six months in the Merced County jail, and was required to register as a sex offender for life. He also must serve at least four years on probation.
Gary A. Bettencourt, 41, a former drama and English teacher at Pacheco High School, pleaded no contest in August to more than a dozen felony sex crimes involving three female students from Los Banos. Bettencourt, at a sentencing hearing in September, said he “failed” to be “the adult” when he had engaged in sex acts off and on over several years beginning in 2003 with three underage girls, including a 15-year-old. The former teacher now is behind bars at North Kern State Prison in Delano, where he is serving a sentence of more than eight years.
He too was required to register as a sex offender.
During the Bettencourt investigation, Los Banos police uncovered a second suspected child sex scandal, this one involving one of their own officers.
Dusty Norris, a former high school instructor-turned-police officer was fired in June from the Los Banos Police Department, shortly after sex crimes allegations emerged involving Norris and two high school girls dating back more than 10 years ago. The criminal allegations center around Norris’ time as a teacher with the Merced County Office of Education in Los Banos, before he became a police officer.
Norris, 37, was arrested May 18 following an investigation by the Merced County District Attorney’s Office.
The former teacher and police officer has pleaded not guilty to three counts of sexual penetration with a foreign object and one count of oral copulation with a minor. He remains free on bail and is expected to return to court Jan. 9. A preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 24.
Gilbert Gutierrez, 39, an officer with the Merced-area office of the California Highway Patrol, has pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child. He is accused of sexually touching a 10-year-old girl twice on July 21, 2015, during a slumber party at his Merced County home. Gutierrez, a seven-year veteran with the CHP, was arrested Jan. 7 by the Merced County Sheriff’s Office.
Gutierrez, who remains free on bail, is due back in court Jan. 10. A jury trial is scheduled for late January.
2. Power shifts to new faces in Merced County politics
Merced County saw a major political shift in 2016 after the June and November elections reshaped the Merced County Board of Supervisors, Merced City Council and more.
Perhaps the biggest factor in the turnover of local officials was the addition of districts for the Merced City Council in an effort to bring more diversity to the council and fairly represent all parts of the city. Three new council members were elected: Anthony Martinez in District 1, which includes south Merced; Jill McLeod in District 3, which is considered the downtown district; and Matt Serratto in north Merced’s District 5.
Merced voters chose former Councilman Mike Murphy as mayor over fellow Councilmen Josh Pedrozo and Noah Lor and challenger Necola Adams.
Atwater, Livingston and Los Banos also had major changes to their city councils, with each town electing at least two new council members.
Merced voters also chose three fairly new political players to take seats on the Board of Supervisors, the first time in 30 years the board has seen three new members at once. Former Livingston Mayor Rodrigo Espinoza unseated incumbent John Pedrozo for the District 1 seat, which stretches from Le Grand to Livingston. In a November runoff, Lee Lor unseated incumbent Hub Walsh and became the nation’s first Hmong woman to hold a county supervisor seat. She’s also the third Hmong woman elected to a public office in California. Also in November, Lloyd Pareira won the most votes for the Distrct 4 seat, held for the last 20 years by Deidre Kelsey, who did not seek re-election.
Students at UC Merced were particularly surprised by the presidential election results and protested Donald Trump’s win. Many of the student protesters noted their immigration status or that of family members and the uncertainty they will face under the new administration.
Like most of California, the majority of Merced County voters cast ballots for Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton.
1. Los Banos school board turmoil, corruption charges
The Los Banos Unified School District board of trustees this year was at the center of a frequently bitter power struggle that was colored by a public corruption criminal probe, the emergence of a controversial citizens group with surprising sudden influence, and an angry backlash that saw four incumbents swept out of office during two elections.
Trustees Tommy Jones, Carole Duffy, Marlene Smith and Dominic Falasco voted as a board majority in March to investigate the finances of the newly constructed Creekside Junior High School.
They were backed by representatives of the Community Advocacy Coalition, an area citizens group that claims to advocate for underrepresented populations.
In May, the majority also voted to award a contract to the company of controversial local builder Gregory Opinski to serve as construction manager of the expansion of Mercey Springs Elementary School.
Opponents were concerned about Opinski’s history of business-related lawsuits and possible financial transactions between Opinski and Jones. Opinski rejected that criticism.
The investigations into Creekside produced inconclusive results, prompting opposing trustees Dennis Areias, John Mueller and Anthony Parreira to criticize the majority and CAC support.
Members of the public started speaking against the board majority and its support by the CAC.
Residents at board meetings also criticized the largely Latino CAC, accusing it of demanding the district administration hire Latino teachers, a claim CAC members denied.
The CAC also shined a spotlight on low student test scores in the district. Opponents countered that criticism.
The differences between both sides turned into heated arguments at board meetings, boiling over at a July 26 meeting.
Critics also slammed the CAC after it spearheaded the Aug. 23 recall election of Mueller. Mueller lost the election by 13 votes, allowing Ray Martinez, a co-founder of the CAC, to replace him on the board.
Adding to the fire, Opinski and Jones were arrested at the end of August and charged with bribing a public official in connection with the heavily criticized Mercey Springs contract.
Merced County District’s Attorney Office case reports state that Falasco recorded conversations between him, Jones and Opinski and that Jones paid Falasco $12,000 on behalf of Opinski as a bribe for Falasco’s Mercey Springs votes.
Opinski’s and Jones’ attorneys have unsuccessfully tried to move the criminal case out of Merced County. The pair are scheduled to be arraigned Friday.
The charges appeared to feed into the unsuccessful Nov. 8 re-election bid by Jones, who lost in a landslide to Megan Goin-Soares. The election also saw Duffy lose to Marg Benton, and Falasco lose to challenger Gary Munoz by three votes, according to certified election results.
Falasco called for a recount. But the result was the same, with Munoz picking up two extra votes.
The Los Banos Teachers Association endorsed Goin-Soares, Benton and Falasco, while elements of the CAC supported or favored Munoz, Jones and Duffy. The latter candidates refused to show at a candidate forum Oct. 27, citing fears of racism and accusations of an unfair debate that forum organizers denied.
After the new trustees were sworn in, however, people from both sides called for unity on the board and a new era for the school district.
This story was originally published December 30, 2016 at 6:52 PM with the headline "Counting down the top five news stories of 2016 in Merced County."