Taking a global position

Cathie Campbell - ccampbell@sierrastar.com

Cathie Campbell/Sierra Star

Sergeant Chuck Reiring of the Madera County Sheriff’s Department shows his patrol car’s GPS features to Amanda Hand and Randa Niell. The girls are fourth graders in Doug Rudholm’s class at Coarsegold Elementary School.

Cathie Campbell/Sierrra Star

Fourth-grade students line up under the direction of Steve Cummins of the Madera County Assessor’s Office, to see the GPS that was installed in Sergeant Chuck Reiring’s patrol car.

Cathie Campbell/Sierra Star

Fifth-grade students watch the second GPS presentation County of Madera employees at Coarsegold Elementary School.

Cathie Campbell/Sierra Star

Steve Cummins of the Madera County Assessor’s Office, his son, Brandon, and teacher Doug Rudholm begin the presentation of the county’s Global Positioning System (GPS) held November 22 at Coarsegold Elementary School.

COARSEGOLD - It would have been appropriate to say, “Can you see me now?” at Coarsegold Elementary School on Friday, November 22, when two presentations on GPS (Global Positioning System) were given to fourth‑ and fifth‑grade students.

The students were first greeted by the sight of a Madera County Sheriff’s Department patrol car, and Sergeant Chuck Reiring from the Madera office. Sergeant Reiring sat in the patrol car and allowed students, a few at a time, to get in and check out the GPS system.

The Global Positioning System is the only system today able to show your exact position on the earth at any time, in any weather, anywhere. There are some limitations in the Mountain Area, however, depending on the location of high ridges that can make it difficult to read satellite signals.

There are currently about 24 GPS satellites in orbit at 11,000 nautical miles high. They are continuously monitored by ground stations that can be detected by anyone with a GPS receiver. Using the receiver, you can determine your location with great precision.

New kid on the ‘Block’

The first GPS satellite was called GPS Block 1. Launched in 1978, it was a developmental satellite. Another nine Block 1 satellites were launched through 1988.

The Coarsegold School students were shown the location of not only their school site, but areas on campus that were very familiar to them, with the help of photographs.

The presentation was made through the combined efforts of Steve Cummins, Bonnie Hendrickson and Curtis Randles from the county Assessor’s Office; RuthAnne Harbison from the county Environmental Health Department; Jim Shields of county Engineering/Surveyor’s Office; Leonard Valenzuela of county Road Department; Becky Beavers from county Planning Department; Sergeant Reiring, as well as Barry Thorn from Madera County Office of Emergency Services.

Other key figures in the GPS presentation were Liz Levine from the Transportation Department; Art Griffin of Information Technology and Jeremiah McKnelly, engineering records supervisor with Ponderosa Telephone.

Last but certainly not least, was student Brandon Cummins, who thought his fellow students could benefit from a presentation by his father, Steve, and the rest of the contributors. He asked his teacher, Doug Rudholm, about the project, and from there the ball was rolling.

Other teachers who had students participating in the activity were Mrs. Stephanie O’Connors, with student teacher, Sarah Porter, and Mrs. Mary Ann Englehart and Mrs. Fruth.

About 10 maps were displayed throughout the science room, where the presentation was held. They showed some of the local maintenance districts, areas of the Sierra National Forest and even a desert tortoise survey area.

Becky Beavers, a county planner, put together a map that showed the world as it relates to California and as it relates to Madera County, in particular.

“This is a highly technical field and the world=s going to get a lot more technical,” she said to the students. “This is the type of software being used now.”

Three rules for success

Students were advised of the three rules for following their dreams: “education, education and education.”

Several students, as well as Mr. Rudholm, were given thank‑you gifts for having participated in a little science experiment that demonstrated GPS equipment in regards to the school campus.

RuthAnne Harbison gave a presentation about “what geography is and why it’s important to us,” utilizing GIS (Geographic Information Systems). Several layers were shown, including homes, school districts, streets, zip codes, cities and counties.

“All together,” said Ms. Harbison, “this gives you the world as you know it.”

She went on to talk about the components of GIS, such as the hardware, software, data, methods and people. Also discussed were uses such as maps and their modeling and analysis, geographic queries and analysis and how it is now possible to make better decisions and create better solutions.

Industries that use GIS include government, utilities and telecommunications, added Ms. Harbison.

Mr. Cummins explained to the students that “all land‑use issues begin with the county Planning Department,” emphasizing the importance of all planning stages.

Ms. Beavers explained what the term “parcel” means when referring to a piece of property. She asked the students, “what would we need in order to start a city or a town?” They didn’t take long to come up with most of the right answers.

She then talked about how the county designates parcels for commercial or residential use, explaining such terms as “MDR” (Medium Density Residential). She also described the “official” difference between livestock animals, such as horses, and domestic pets, such as dogs and cats, in regards to zoning, etc.

A mouse in the house

One student asked, “What about a mouse?” wondering if it qualified as a pet.

“A mouse would be OK,” answered Ms. Beavers, with a smile.

As a demonstration of APNs (Assessor’s Parcel Numbers), she typed in the number for Brandon Cummins’ house and property and the parcel showed up on the screen. The county even keeps track of dairies, bed and breakfast establishments and communications towers. Schools are considered “PI” (Public Institution).

Liz Levine showed several routes of Madera City buses and explained about the population census and its importance in determining where the urban areas are located.

She showed boundaries of the City of Madera, which is considered an “urban area of more than 50,000 people,” and talked about how decisions are made for those boundaries.

She also showed areas along Highway 41 and traffic analysis zones, where estimates can be made concerning the future amount of traffic, people, houses or jobs.

Ms. Harbison spoke again, this time about monitoring water systems, food facilities such as restaurants and markets and underground fuels. She showed areas where several familiar businesses were located, such as Coarsegold Market and Busse’s Ace Hardware. She also explained that the county Department of Environmental Health keeps track of septic systems and is even involved in issuing water well permits.

Mr. Cummins spoke briefly about the various industries throughout the county. “The largest industry in Madera County is agriculture,” he said. “It is a billion-dollar business. We have some of the finest farm land in the world. You should be proud of it – it’s what puts food on your table.”

What’s that, again?

Next, Bonnie Hendrickson of the Assessor’s Office, asked, “Who likes to eat fruit?” Everybody raised their hands. She mentioned a few familiar fruits before asking, “Who likes to eat figs?”

Only two or three students raised their hands, while the others murmured quietly. “I can tell that’s a real favorite,” joked Ms. Hendrickson. “Let me show you on the map the areas you can avoid, where figs are grown.”

She reminded them that figs were the main ingredient in the popular cookie, “Fig Newtons,” and a lot of kids’ faces lit up in appreciative recognition, except for one, who said innocently, “What’s a Fig Newton?”

Also shown on the screen were areas in the county where cattle graze, which were so numerous the students exclaimed in surprise. The timber industry was also mentioned, with Ms. Hendrickson asking, “What does ‘Madera’ mean in Spanish?” Brandon Cummins answered correctly, “Lumber!”

His dad, Steve, finished up by reminding the students, “This is a field for both men and women. We may see one or two or three of you working for Madera County. These are the things you’ll be learning. We work for you - we work for your parents.”