June 15, 2025

Hanford Insider: City Council News, Children's Storybook Garden & Museum

Hanford Insider: City Council News, Children's Storybook Garden & Museum

Send me a text and give me feedback on this episode! The Hanford Insider peels back the curtain on local governance while celebrating one of our community's most cherished spaces in this engaging episode. A significant shake-up is coming to City Hall as Mayor Lou Martinez steps down while continuing to represent Area D, necessitating new leadership as the council tackles important financial decisions. With nearly a million dollars in Measure H funds potentially allocated for new vehicles and ...

Send me a text and give me feedback on this episode!

The Hanford Insider peels back the curtain on local governance while celebrating one of our community's most cherished spaces in this engaging episode. A significant shake-up is coming to City Hall as Mayor Lou Martinez steps down while continuing to represent Area D, necessitating new leadership as the council tackles important financial decisions. With nearly a million dollars in Measure H funds potentially allocated for new vehicles and street repairs, plus a proposed $25,000 patriotic drone show for July 3rd, citizens have plenty to consider regarding municipal priorities.

Beyond city business, listeners are treated to a delightful conversation with Kaitlin Sheets from the Children's Storybook Garden and Museum. This downtown gem offers families a centrally-located haven for connection and creativity, with summer programming that includes the Pete the Cat-inspired cooking club and water play days. At just $5 per person for daily admission or $100 for an annual family membership, the garden provides tremendous community value while remaining accessible to all—including free admission for individuals with special needs and their caregivers.

What makes the garden truly special is its role as a relationship builder. As Sheets explains, "Sometimes we have military families and they may not know each other when they arrive here... but now they come to Little Sprouts every week and they get to enjoy and see each other and watch each other's children grow." This sentiment captures the heart of Hanford—a place where community spaces foster meaningful connections. Whether you're interested in civic developments or seeking summer activities for your family, this episode highlights the people and places making our town special. Visit hanfordinsider.com to join our newsletter and never miss an update about our vibrant community.

You can find the Hanford Insider at www.hanfordinsider.com and on social media at @hanfordinsider
Thank you for supporting the show!

01:09 - Community News and Community Calendar

01:09 - Kaitlin Sheets - Storybook Garden and Museum

WEBVTT

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On this episode of the Hanford Insider.

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Caitlin Sheets joins us to give some insight on the Children's Storybook and Garden Museum, and Rob will give us an update of the Hanford City Council agenda for Tuesday night, plus a quick look at the community calendar.

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This is the Hanford Insider for Monday, June 16th.

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This is the Hanford Insider, the podcast where we dive into what makes our community tick, from local stories and hidden gems to conversations with people shaping our neighborhood.

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We're here to celebrate, explore and connect.

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I'm your host, rob Bentley.

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Whether you're new to Hanford or a longtime local, this is your source for everything happening in our town, from events and news to conversations with people who make Hanford such a great community.

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I hope you enjoy the format.

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Now let's take a look at this week's community news.

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On Tuesday, june 17th, in the morning at 10 am, officials from the Hanford Joint Union High School District and the City of Hanford will hold a ribbon cutting for a joint use medical clinic at the Amtrak station.

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The clinic is for employees of both organizations.

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Later that day, the Hanford City Council will hold their regular meetings.

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In the afternoon study session at 4, they'll be reviewing the background and services of the city attorney.

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At the regular session beginning at 7 pm, they'll begin by reorganizing the city council.

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Mayor Lou Martinez has decided to step down as mayor but will continue to represent Area D for the remainder of his term.

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The council will need to elect a new mayor and vice mayor if needed.

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On the consent agenda, the Public Works Department is seeking approval for the purchase of five utility vehicles and five police vehicles using nearly a million dollars of Measure H money that has been coming in since April 1st.

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All of these expenditures are reviewed by the Measure H Oversight Committee.

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Also on the consent agenda is the contracts to several paving companies to get started on improving our streets that are in such bad condition.

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One of the more interesting items on the agenda is the proposal by the Parks and Community Services Department to put on a patriotic drone show on July 3rd at the end of the Thursday night marketplace.

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The show would cost $25,000.

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Any funding appropriated for the event would come from the city's general fund reserve balance.

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So here's my take.

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Bear with me.

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After the Civic Centennial celebration last week, I can't tell you the number of people who told me that the community needs more events like this.

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So I'm in favor of the show during the Thursday night marketplace.

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It makes perfect sense.

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However, someone needs to be thinking about the Hanford Christmas Parade and how that's going to be organized and funded, as the Chamber of Commerce has disbanded.

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That parade is the single largest event in Hanford each year and people will be sorely disappointed if it disappears, like so many other events over the years.

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Contact your city leaders and let them know how you feel.

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Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.

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The last item on the agenda is to approve the interim city manager.

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Mario Cifuentes is leaving for Arizona in August and his last day will be August 15th.

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Chris Tavares, the current finance director, has been selected as the interim city manager.

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The council will be approving the terms of his contract and he'll serve in this position until a nationwide search concludes and a new permanent city manager is hired.

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I said it last week and I'll say it again People that are interested in being a Hanford's next city manager already have their eyes on our city government and council meetings.

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We need to show the kind of positive community spirit that we know we are capable of to make a positive impression.

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The Hanford Fire Department would like to remind you that firework season will soon be here and that anyone caught with illegal fireworks will receive a $1,000 citation.

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At the very least, I'll have Chief Perkins and Police Chief Huddleston on the show next week to explain the problems that illegal fireworks cause for our first responders.

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One final update the city thinks that they can get the new signal light up at 10th and Lacey this week after months of delays.

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Cross your fingers.

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Now let's take a look at this week's community calendar.

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At this week's Thursday Night Marketplace they'll be celebrating the official beginning of summer with the music by the Box.

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The Hanford Parks and Community Services Department is continuing the free summer movies in our local parks.

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The next event will be this Friday, june 20th, at Centennial Park.

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The movie is Elemental Part one of the History of Kings County Agriculture.

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Display at the Carnegie Museum runs through the end of July.

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The museum is located at 109 East 8th Street and is open Fridays, saturdays and Sundays from 1pm to 5pm.

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Visit carnegiemuseumofkingscountyorg for more information.

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Yosemite Renaissance 40 is now on display at the King's Arts Center.

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Visit kingsartscenterorg for more details.

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The King's Fair is coming up this Thursday through Sunday, june 19th through the 22nd.

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Parking is $10 and admission is free.

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Visit thekingsfaircom for more information about this year's fair.

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The Hanford High School District Performing Arts Summer Camp is presenting Willie Walkit Jr at the Presentation Center Friday, june 20th at 6 and Saturday, june 21st at 1 pm and 6 pm.

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Tickets at the door are $5.

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Children under 5 are admitted free.

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The Kings County Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run will be held on Saturday, june 21st.

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This fundraising run will be held at the Kings County Government Center beginning at 9 am.

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If you have an event coming up and you'd like some help getting the word out, let's work together.

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Send your information to hanfordinsider at gmailcom.

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Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a complete calendar of events.

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It's the most comprehensive community calendar available.

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Well, it's great to be here once again at the Children's.

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Storybook Garden and Museum with Caitlin Sheets.

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How are you doing, caitlin?

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Very good, thank you for coming and thanks for taking a walk through of the garden to see everything that we have going on and growing here this summer.

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It's a beautiful place, for sure, and I'm glad so many are taking advantage of it this summer.

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And speaking of summer, I know you have a lot of activities coming up, but before we actually get to the calendar, I'd like to kind of catch up with you a little bit about some of the projects.

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The last time we visited was back in April of 24.

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And I know that you've had a lot of projects that have been completed since then.

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So what are some of the things that are in progress construction-wise?

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I know you're always adding things, and one thing that I noticed when I walk around the gardens this morning was that there's a lot of new donations.

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People have kept the museum and gardens in their memories and honoring loved ones and such, and what are some of the new additions to the garden?

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Yes, so we do have a lot of people who donate in memory of someone who may have passed, or even for recognition for people who are still with us, and we have the brick campaign, which we have in the front, very front of the garden.

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We have bricks that people can purchase.

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You can put whatever you want, if it be for someone, in memory of someone, or, if you want it, just your family name, because you're a donor to the garden In any way.

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Those are things that we can have out there in the garden.

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And then we completed the tea room about 18 months ago and that is our big green building.

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Most people don't know the name of it until they start coming.

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That's the big green building over in our celebration garden and that is a rental space and we use it for our special events.

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We have other nonprofits who come and utilize that space for their monthly meetings, and so those are some of the new things that we have here at the garden.

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And you have public hours.

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I noticed as I was walking around there were several families visiting, no particular activity going on.

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But what are the hours for your public that come to downtown Hanford to maybe looking for something to do?

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Yeah, our current hours for this summer are 9 to 12 Monday through Friday and 9 to 1 on Saturdays.

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You can come in for $5 a person for everyone, two and up, or you can purchase a membership.

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A family membership membership is $100 for the whole family.

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We let seven people come in on that membership per visit, and so if you have grandma and grandpa visiting from out of town and you have four people in your family, that'll work.

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They can come on in with you.

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During the summer the creek is always open, the Huckleberry Creek, right there in the front, so make sure you bring a towel, because the kids love to enjoy that.

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And then we have the playhouses open and on Mondays, every Monday, we have little sprouts at 1030.

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That's with Miss Chris.

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It's a story, a craft and then a snack.

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Perfect for little ones, usually about six and under.

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So the summer's here.

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It's the middle of June and parents are looking for something for their kids to do.

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What kind of activities do you have lined up?

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So we are currently starting the Pizza Cat Cooking Club.

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That is on Thursdays, June 19 and June 26.

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We have sessions you do need to pre-register for that by the Wednesday prior and it starts at 10 and it goes until 1130.

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And each activity is going to be based on a Pete the Cat story.

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So last week we did Pete the Cat and the Big Lunch and the kids worked on building sandwiches and doing different things.

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So in June we have the two more sessions on the 19th and 26th and that's for kids, kindergarten to fifth grade.

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And then we're going to be doing it again in July on the Thursdays 10th, 17th and 24th, and that is for the little ones.

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That is going to be for anyone five and under, and again you do have to sign up for that.

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We also have Red, White and Blue Day.

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That is a fun one for families.

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It's a water day.

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We have a big, giant water slide that we bring out and kids just get to enjoy a day here at the garden.

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That one is $10 for kids, $5 for adults, and we do ask that you pre-register because it really helps us plan, and then there's an increase in price if you register at the gate.

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And all this information is on your website and social media.

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I know they have a very active Facebook page and website.

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They keep updated as far as what's happening, so you can always go to the website.

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I wanted to talk to you for just a minute about the facilities.

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I know that part of the facility, part of this, is that you rent it out for weddings and other special events and that kind of helps fund all these activities.

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yeah, yes, that is correct.

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We do have four different areas in the garden that we rent out, the two outdoor spaces.

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We have the pavilions, which is located right behind the farmhouse.

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That is our smaller outdoor space.

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It's covered, it's by the playhouses, and so the children can play and the parents can be right there nearby watching them.

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And then we also have the Michaela Celebration Garden and that is our large outdoor space.

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That is including the gazebo, the white gazebo that's out there.

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And then we have two indoor spaces the stone cottage, which actually rents, with the small secret garden space connected to it.

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It's just that small corner piece out there on the corner of 10th and Harris.

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And then we have our tea room, which I was saying was our newest space, and that one.

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It accommodates about 50.

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When you have 50, if you're going to be doing a lot of extra things, it's a little snug, but if you aren't doing that, then that can fit comfortably in there.

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Yeah, it's nice to have some options in Hanford for rental.

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We see these.

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You know that it's needed when you see places pop up like the studio or Charm House Carnegie Museum, but the Children's Storybook Gardening Museum has been a big, important part of the rentals availability for these types of events.

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Let's talk for just a moment about the reason why people should come down.

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You know we drive by downtown and we see school buses or we see lots of cars out in front of the Children's Storybook Garden and Museum.

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But, as the director, why do you feel it's important for the city of Hanford to know about this place and to utilize it for their children?

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So I think it's really important.

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When Judy wanted this place, one of the things that she was really looking for was a place that was centrally located so that it wasn't just on one side of town.

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It was in the middle of town, where everyone can come and anyone is welcome, and it's important because we want a community.

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A lot of people build relationships here at the garden and that's really special to see the children growing and them learning and the different things that they can do.

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One of the fun things is watching these families.

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Sometimes we have military families and they may not know each other when they arrive here and they may not know anyone.

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but now they come and they come to Little Sprouts every week and they get to enjoy and see each other and watch each other's children grow, and I think that's really special.

00:14:11.595 --> 00:14:15.549
So I know that the museum is pretty accessible to all abilities.

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Can you fill us in on maybe some of the things that are especially adapted for children with special needs?

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Yeah, so every area of the garden is accessible for a wheelchair.

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If you want to come into the main house, we have a ramp and there's pathways all throughout the garden that are accessible.

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We have a free admission for anyone with special needs, with one caregiver.

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So that is for our open hours.

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They can come through.

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We've had different groups from the rehab and other places throughout town where they just come on a field trip here and they just do a walkthrough of the garden and it's nice because everybody can make their way around the entire space.

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And I know we could probably take up a whole show thanking people for supporting this, but let's point to maybe a few people that have really made this place run.

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And then, of course, you can thank as many as you'd like, but I know there's plenty, but I know that you've got a great volunteer staff here, so let's give them a shout out.

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We do.

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We have a wonderful staff, and I first just need to thank Judy for thinking of this idea, and she was amazing to come up with this here for downtown Hanford.

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We have some amazing volunteers and we're always looking for more.

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One of the big things that we use volunteers for is our field trips, and Sharon, she is our field trip coordinator.

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She helps us with the curriculum.

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We have a great team.

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We have Bill and Angel, we have Amy, we have Connie, we have Susie.

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I know I'm going to miss people, that's a danger.

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We have so many different people on our field trip teams and they help when the students come visit for their field trips.

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Another big shout out to Miss Chris she is our little sprouts field trips.

00:16:09.895 --> 00:16:11.623
Another big shout out to Miss Chris she is our Little Sprouts.

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She teaches that class every Monday.

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As long as she can be here she teaches that and the kids just love her.

00:16:14.674 --> 00:16:18.890
She even has a Mother Goose costume and that's how you can kind of think of her.

00:16:18.890 --> 00:16:24.765
She wears her Mother Goose costume sometimes and the kids just love going to Little Sprouts.

00:16:24.765 --> 00:16:26.335
They love coming to see Miss Chris.

00:16:26.335 --> 00:16:39.326
And we have some really great people on the board like Carmen Betancourt, susie Chavez and there's a few others who are on our board who are just awesome programs who come and they help volunteer.

00:16:39.326 --> 00:16:51.224
But we are always looking to build that and we train you.

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We don't just put you out there and have you figure it out, but we will train you and would love to have you help join our team.

00:16:57.934 --> 00:17:01.725
That's great that you've surrounded yourself with so many people that are jumping in to help.

00:17:01.725 --> 00:17:06.161
I think I counted as many volunteers this morning here as there were people visiting.

00:17:06.161 --> 00:17:16.575
So for people who don't know where the Children's Museum is located, can you let us know your hours again and where you're located, and maybe some of your social media sites?

00:17:16.915 --> 00:17:19.305
Yes, we are located in downtown Hanford.

00:17:19.305 --> 00:17:23.547
We're across from the Civic, just behind Chase and the library.

00:17:23.547 --> 00:17:27.895
I know people going down Dowdy might miss us Chase and the library.

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I know people going down Dowdy might miss us, but if you just turn right there, we're located on 10th Street, 175 East 10th Street, and you can come on in.

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We are open from 9 to noon Monday through Friday and 9 to 1 on Saturdays for open play.

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Our website is childrenstorybookgardenorg and we're also on Facebook and Instagram and you can find us at Garden Hanford.

00:17:51.763 --> 00:17:52.787
Well, that's so great, caitlin.

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Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to fill us in on what's happening here at the Children's Storybook Garden and Museum in downtown Hanford, and we hope you have a great summer.

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Thank you so much for having us and we hope to see you again soon.

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Well, that's all the time we have for this week's show.

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If you have a show idea, be sure to email me at Hanford insider gmailcom and I'll look into it.

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Thanks for listening.

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Have a great week.