A man has been found dead inside an apartment. 

Police were called to the Ashtree Apartment complex around six o’clock Friday night to check on the welfare of a person.

The complex is located on Willow near Ashlan. 

Clovis Police cordoned off the area around the apartment where a man was found dead.

Jesus Rodriguez lives a few doors down. He returned home to find police walking through the complex.  

“Nothing like this has ever happened. I’ve never seen police here,” Rodriguez said.

Officers stood at the door to the apartment where the body was discovered. And two men sat outside on the walkway.  

Police won’t say how the person died but they’re treating this as a crime.

“It has not yet been determined that we have a murder.  They're treating it as that until we can rule that out,” said Janet Stoll-Lee with the Clovis Police Department.

Rodriguez says the complex is usually quiet. But he now plans to be more cautious. 

“It's weird right. I'm a little scared with my two kids,” Rodriguez said.

The event honors Yosemite High graduate Chance Gaal.  The 24-year old Marine lost both his legs in a roadside bomb explosion in Afghanistan last summer.

Wayne Klinger helped organize this fundraiser.

“Our motto is as long as they are our veterans, Elks will never forget them,” said Klinger.

Money gathered will go to the Semper Fi Delis Fund which helps Chance and his family pay for medical and personal expenses.  Jim Winney is supporting the cause.

“This is marines.  Once a marine, always a marine.  We take care of our marines and that's what this is all about,” said veteran Jim Winney.

“He’s the apple of my eye.  I care an awful lot about him,” said James Gaal, Chance’s grandfather.

Gaal makes regular visits to San Diego’s Naval Medical Center where Chance is being fitted with two prosthetic legs.

“It’s awful hard for him to accept what's happened,” said Gaal.

But fortunately, Chance's mind is sharp.

“Mentally he's very alert and he knows what he's talking about,” said Gaal.

In one or two years, doctors believe the Purple Heart recipient will be able to walk out of the hospital.  But the former high school basketball star will not be satisfied to only do that.

“He wants to be able to run.  He'll be one of the first guys who's lost as much as he's lost and be able to run, but that's what his goal is," said Gaal.

The fundraiser will take place Feb. 4th from noon to 4:00 p.m. at the Oakhurst Elks Lodge, 42484 Hwy. 41 at Bass Lake Road in Oakhurst.

Price: $10 ($8 for children under 10)
Phone: (559) 683-2717

If you are unable to attend, you may send check payable to:

Oakhurst Elks Lodge
P.O. Box 2569
Oakhurst, CA. 93644

(Write Chance in the reference line)

Donation are tax deductible. Non-Profit tax number is #431798.

 

Construction on the new veterans home, which is located near California and Marks in Southwest Fresno, is scheduled to wrap up later this year. But there's no money allocated in the state's current budget to get it running or in Governor Jerry Brown's current budget proposal, leaders said.

"Of course this budget year is not over. The May revise is coming up and there may be some changes there. And of course the budget does not take effect until July, so a lot can happen between now and then," said Secretary Peter Gravett, California Department of Veterans Affairs.

Gravett says he'll take the concerns brought up during Friday's town hall back to Sacramento and present them to Brown.

A skeleton crew of about ten people will help maintain the home until it opens, Gravett said. Right now there's no set open date, he said.

In the mean time, state lawmakers like Assemblywoman Linda Halderman and Assemblyman Henry T. Perea are asking veterans and their families to call and write letters to Brown to urge him to allocate the money needed to run the facility. They believe the state has the money, but Brown hasn't made the two veterans homes in Fresno or Redding a priority.

"I don't think any of us should give up without a fight. The veterans deserve better than that, and those of us who can stand with the fight have an obligation to do so," said Halderman, a Republican who represents the 29th Assembly District.

Veterans say they're ready to organize a rally in Sacramento if they have to. But after years of waiting, some wonder if even that would make any difference.

"It may be 3-4 years. Even if we go up there and march. All they'll be yelling at us is we don't got the money," said veteran Ben Young.  

Gravett says it'll take about six months to hire employees and license the facility once the money is allocated to run the facility.

About $26 million dollars is needed to operate the two facilites in Fresno and Redding for at least the first six months, leaders said.

Her blog is called "happy hour mom."

“The whole point of the blog is to encourage moms to take care of themselves and just to really find that ‘me’ time,” said Hughes.

The idea came to the mother-of-two three years ago.  She travels the world with her husband, who plays basketball internationally.

“So I'm sitting in a small 500 square foot apartment in Japan and it was really my connection to my friends and family here,” said Hughes.

She started blogging with another basketball wife, focusing on internationally inspired ideas for moms and kids.  She takes time to practice what she preaches.  During our interview she wore handmade jewelry she found while shopping in Estonia, which is near the Baltic Sea.

Now she and several other bloggers are going to Fashion Week in New York City, courtesy of Diet Pepsi.  It wants their opinion of the shows.

“I've always dreamed of being there during Fashion Week, and just seeing what's going on, let alone this opportunity to be behind the scenes,” said Hughes.

As for why she was picked to pound out her thoughts on the shows, she’s not sure.  All she knows is real people matter.

“We give honest opinions and I think large companies tap into the blogging community because it's an opportunity to reach real people and get real feedback,” said Hughes.

When she returns, Hughes hopes to find practical alternatives to the runway trends for people in the Central Valley.

Gadams delivered a letter to Fresno Unified’s office on Friday morning.  It details alleged conflict of interest involving two school board members, Mills and Ryan.  Gadams, president of the F.T.A., says they also serve on the Dailey Academy Board.

“They've already committed the violation, so they should step down from Fresno Unified School Board.  And we wish them well in representing the Dailey Charter,” said Gadams.

The request is the first step in a process that could ultimately be decided by the state attorney's office.  Gadams says Dailey, a K-5 elementary school which specializes in International Baccalaureate education, has been given preferential treatment.

“You look at the funding for Dailey, [it’s] a drain on Fresno Unified's resources the way it is done.  They are not charged the same amount for services as other charters are,” said Gadams.

He also says decisions with the I.B. program for all middle school students have been made without board knowledge.

Mills responded with this statement, quote:

"I have at all times acted in accordance with the legal opinions provided to the Board on this subject by Susan Hatmaker and Mary Beth deGoede and based upon that legal advice, I do not believe any conflict of interest exists."

CBS47 also reached out to Ryan, but she had no comment.