The State - News from Nov. 10, 1986

The Madera County Board of Supervisors has told 40 striking deputy sheriffs that if they do not return to work by Wednesday, efforts will be started to find replacements. The deputies walked off their jobs Nov. 5, claiming that they were the lowest paid deputies in California. The supervisors granted a 4% pay hike to the officers and said the county could not afford any more raises. The strike left only Sheriff Ovonual Berkley, Undersheriff James Hickman, one captain and three lieutenants to staff the department. “There aren’t any patrols and the only calls we can respond to are ones of an emergency nature,” Hickman said. He said police and sheriff departments in neighboring cities and counties were standing by to help if they were needed.