Page 11 - Sanger Herald 11-29-18 E-edition

Lifestyles
SANGER HERALD • 3B • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2018
Crowning of Sanger royalty done in Bank of the Sierra
Sanger
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Ronnie Scott described the pair as “his bosses.”
The rest of those in attendance at the Bank of the Sierra considered them Mister Sanger and Miss Sanger. Before last year, there would just be one. But the Sanger Chamber of Commerce and those who make such decisions determined to make the annual crowning more inclusive and add a mister.
Those who received the honor at the Chamber Business Mixer on Nov. 20 included Rachel Pimentel and Adrian Mercado. Their titles are somewhat automatic as both served as homecoming king and queen at the football game in which the Apaches beat the Madera Coyotes in a thriller 36-33 on Sept. 28 in Tom Flores Stadium.
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Adrian Mercado and Rachel Pimentel are crowned Mister and Miss Sanger.
Gonzalez, who said he was a little under the weather that evening, crowned Pimentel with a tiara, while Karen Pearson, chamber administrator, placed a gold crown atop Mercado’s head.
They laughed. The audience of about 30 clapped. Pearson got all those at the mixer to talk about their personal connections with the newly crowned royalty. And in true Sanger fashion, everybody had a connection.
Pimentel is a soccer player. Mercado plays volleyball. Both take their sports seriously. But like many Sanger athletes, they also have multiple other responsibilities. Pimentel is associated student body president. Mercado is vice president.
“We’re looking good,” Pimentel said of her soccer team. The season has
begun, so expect coverage in upcoming editions.
Mercado plays a defense specialist but is known like his older Abel to spike the ball on the opposing team’s side of the court. Volleyball starts later in the school year.
If all goes as planned, Mercado and Pimentel will appear in the 71st Annual Nation’s Christmas Tree City Toyland Parade, which is planned to start at 11 a.m. Dec. 1 in downtown Sanger. About 7,000 attended last year, and this year has more floats, said Tammy Wolfe, chamber president.
Mercado and Pimentel thanked those who voted for them.
The reporter can be contacted by email at nemethfeatures@gmail.com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
And Tom Flores, who is reportedly a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2019, was there that night.
“There’s nobody as deserving as these two,” said Scott, Sanger High activities director.
He was echoed by Kalia
Moua, operations manager of Bank of the Sierra. “You both have such a bright future,” she said.
Sanger mayor Frank
Church begins tree lot's second year
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Bryan Church returned like he promised to launch his second year as a seasonal Christmas tree vendor in the city where his father works.
But this time, Church secured a more visible location for his tree lot — near the corner of Jensen and Bethel avenues. Last year, he set up at the corner of Eighth and L streets.
“Going pretty good,” Church said of his opening day. “Just opened a couple hours ago.”
It was the height of Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving on Nov. 23, when retailers run out their best deals to get shoppers into stores and launch the Christmas shopping season. Cars and trucks flowed steadily through the nearby intersection, and shoppers filled the Walmart lot and nearly every parking space was taken in the retail centers at all four corners.
Lunch traffic began to ease off at Frank Valles Jr.’s Me-n-Ed’s pizzeria and at the Panda Express across the street about 1:30 p.m. At Church’s Christmas Tree Lot, activity continued unabated. Bobbi-Ann Phillips brought her Boy Scouts and high school mentors from the SAM Academy in downtown Sanger to help Church set
Saying Thanks
Last night even through the smoky skies, I could make out the Big Dipper.
The Big Dipper is part of the constellation Ursa Major (The Great Bear), and it is technically not a constellation. It’s what is called an asterism, which is the name given to interesting star patterns that are easily recognizable, but not one of the “official” constellations.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said that if the stars came out only once a year, everyone would stay up all night to look at them. He observed that we have seen the stars so often that we don’t bother to look at them anymore.
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Boy Scouts help Bryan Church set up his lot at the corner of Bethel and Jensen avenues in Sanger. Church, above, hauls a tree to a customer's car. His trees are fresh cut from Oregon.
the American Legion Hall, 1502 O St. Cost is $6. The parade bumped the event this month.
“It’s very beautiful,” Kyle said. And the best thing about it? “That they smell really good.”
Scout Gabriel Perez- Gomez, 11, said he loves Christmas for the presents. “And I like trees,” he said, and decorating them. Santa is a favorite, too. He confided that he’s always had a thing for red ornaments on Christmas trees because it’s the same color as the man in red.
“I like it,” said Ayden Gonzalez, 11, another of the scouts. “It’s a great way to fundraise. The lot is giving us $5 of every sale from opening weekend so the Boy Scouts can go to camp.”
The scouts fundraise nearly all year.
Gonzalez said he’s enchanted by the forest smell of the trees. “And that they give you fresh air to breathe,” he said.
Marina Sanchez, one of the high school mentors, addressed the impact of the addition of a Christmas tree lot to the city that considers itself the Nation’s Christmas Tree City. Ask chamber of commerce president Tammy Wolfe for more detail on that distinction.
See Trees, Page 2B
candidates for the greatest blessing anyone can obtain. Forgiveness of sin and eternal salvation are God’s gifts to those who are willing to fall at Jesus feet and say, “Thank you.”
We have been blessed. A right attitude about what we have already received can produce unimaginable benefits in the future. Let’s come back to Jesus’ feet and say, “Thank you.” It will be worth the time it takes.
Pastor Sam Estes is city advance director and facilitates the Sanger Community Task Force that meets the first and third Tuesdays every month. He can be reached at pastorsam51@gmail.com.
up the trees and configure the temporary operation just so.
“I love that the Boy Scouts are here,” Church said. “They passed out fliers.”
“About 100,” Phillips said.
And the scouts, who had mostly finished their work, tried to look busy while darting around the temporary forest of Noble and Douglas firs, all set up with individual green pans of water. The mentors set up the covered booth under which Church completed
Similarly, we can become so accustomed to our blessings that we can lose our sense of gratitude. One of our problems is that we are blessed in so many ways that we can begin to take these blessings for granted.
The story in Luke 17:11- 19 (NLT) shows how very important it is to take time to give thanks. “As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, crying out, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ He looked at them and said, ‘Go show yourselves to the priests.’
“And as they went, their leprosy disappeared. One
transactions. They adorned it with multiple Christmas wreaths, available separate of the trees.
The trees themselves came in multiple sizes, even table-top. And if those who stopped by and either purchased or simply priced the inventory were to be believed, the prices appeared quite reasonable. Some took the early-season incentive and strapped them to the roofs of their vehicles.
Church said he’s no huge vendor who can negotiate
bulk rates, but he worked to keep the prices down. His prices were $10 less for a mid-size tree than from a lot in Clovis last year.
Church again picked up his trees from MacKenzie Farms, a wholesaler in Estacada, Ore. outside Portland. He said the company is family-owned and has proved great to work with. “They sell 800,000 trees a year, and they’re calling me to see how everything is going,” he said. “They’re incredible.”
Church ordered 658 trees and vowed to get more should Sanger residents buy him out. MacKenzie farms 8 million trees on its property, so that shouldn’t be a problem.
Boy Scout Kyle Phillips- Ricci, 11, took a break to share his thoughts about the latest community service endeavor his troop has undertaken. Pack 322 also helps out at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Community Breakfast, which is normally the first Saturday of the month at
is in charge. They call him “Master,” which means “one who stands over.” They sensed his authority. They were laying hold of the one who could save them because they believed he is in charge and has unconditional love for those who are struggling with leprosy.
Their confidence in Jesus was justified. “And as they went, their leprosy disappeared.” The story doesn’t end, however, with the healing of the ten lepers. Luke continued his description of the miracle by pointing out that only one of the 10 came back to Jesus to say, “Thank you.”
When we are thankful for the many blessings we have received, we become
PASTOR’S CORNER
of them, when he
saw that he was
healed, came back
to Jesus, shouting,
‘Praise God, I’m healed!’ He fell
face down on the
ground at Jesus’
feet, thanking
him for what he
had done. This man was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, ‘Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Does only this foreigner return to give glory to God?’ And Jesus said to the man, ‘Stand up and go. Your faith has made you well’ ”
This story from Luke’s Gospel teaches us that we can be thankful for Jesus’ compassion. These men were outcasts. Their society treated them as if they
were already dead. They “stood at a distance” because the law prohibited them from coming in close contact with people.
The entire population was afraid of being
Pastor Sam Estes
infected by them. These 10 leprous men didn’t know a lot of theology. But they knew of Jesus. The angel was specific about Jesus’ name when he was born.
Matthew 1:21 states, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
The very name “Jesus” means Yahweh saves. They also understood that Jesus