Page 11 - Sanger Herald 4-19-18 E-edition

Lifestyles
SANGER HERALD • 3B • THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018
3-year-old Melody gets a big show and a trip to Disneyland
Sanger
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
The students of Sanger High presented 3-year-old Melody with a $5,000 check that will help take the kidney transplant recipient to her dream of going to Disneyland.
The fundraising campaign headed up by Talie Cloud, Grace Ochs and Alexa Martinez, who make up the core of the Make-A-Wish Sanger High team, started in January. The effort represents about $30,000 raised for Make- A-Wish Central California over the course of the school’s association with the nonprofit.
“I’m really happy with (the campaign) and really thankful for everybody who donated,” Cloud said.
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Sanger High principal Dan Chacon takes a picture of Melody and family and the organizers of the Make-A-Wish rally. The check was for $5,000 raised by students.
Cloud voiced support for sponsors Sanger Tire, Sanger Nursery and Catholic Daughters. She said the students really stepped up.
The occasion was marked with an April 13 rally involving most of the student body and included black lights, performances by dance groups and games that delighted all involved. The students wore clothing that reacted with the lighting, and the effects fired up the crowd.
“We’re so thankful and blessed,” said Nikole Gallardo, Melody’s mom. She wore a shirt that said “Mommy” on the back. “We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
Cortney Snapp, community director for Make-A-Wish Central
California, said she really appreciated Sanger High’s involvement. “We can’t grant wishes to children like Melody without support from people like yourselves,” she said over the loudspeakers.
And Ronnie Scott, Sanger High activities director, gave the production his blessing. “Really special,” he said.
The entire production was a lot of work for the organizers. But the students loved it.
And it was all about Melody, if just for that one day.
The reporter can be contacted by email at nemethfeatures@gmail.com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
Don't say no to the good ole USO
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Matthew Nicacio plays Kilroy in the Sanger Academy Charter School production of “Don’t Say No to the USO.”
Kilroy is a cryptographer and soldier, and he’s faced with unraveling a plot by the enemy to influence the direction of the war.
“He also likes to draw,” Nicacio said, taking a break from dress rehearsal last week to talk about his musical.
In fact, Kilroy’s drawings became one of the most iconic images in World War II. The cartoon was scrawled on enemy bunkers, or pillboxes, on shattered buildings that appeared in movies like “To Hell and Back” and “Kelly’s Heroes” and in every nook and cranny where a U.S. soldier could gain access.
Nicacio’s Kilroy drawings get seen and others spread them. The images, which included a character with a big nose peering over a wall, stood for freedom. A certain little hidden Jewish kid in Hungary spotted one and long afterward told me he knew then the war was over and he was safe.
Nicacio said the role and the musical taught him something important — “That America under any circumstances won’t be defeated.”
Lilian Yang, who plays USO volunteer Ruth Taylor in the production, said she appreciated how participating in the musical
The Law of Gravity verses the Law of Aerodynamics
I had my 67th birthday this week and took my 88-year-old mom for a birthday flight over the Valley.
We so enjoyed the patchwork quilt of greens, browns and whites looking at the orchards and vineyards 2,000 feet below. The magnificence of both the snowcapped Sierra and now green coastal mountain ranges is wonder to behold.
Having been a private pilot for 37 years and
Miike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
The cast of "Don't Say No to the USO" wraps up the first performance at Sanger Academy Charter.
grader, played Kitty, a tap dancer with a secret. “She’s a spy,” Avalos said. “A bad spy. She sends information to the enemy.”
The best part of being in the show for Avalos was the camaraderie. “Not only on the set but off, we’re all like a family,” she said. “We all hang out. That’s the part I like.”
And her favorite number was a tune called “America What’s Cookin’?”
Gonzalez served as choreographer and chief costume designer. Roger Nevarez, art teacher, was the musical’s art director and was part of the set making team. He painted a juke box that’s worth a closer look.
Gonzalez said her equipment is the best. Prior to this particular show, the drama department had just one remote microphone. She said principal Mark Coleman found a way to procure four more. She also said she had the sound company come out last week to label everything and make sure it was set up correctly.
“Everything is so state- of-the-art,” she said.
And the talent fundamentals appear sound, enough so technology should just enhance the performance. “It’s pretty good,” Nicacio said. “The cast is pretty good at singing and dancing.”
The reporter can be contacted by email at nemethfeatures@gmail. com.
power of the Spirit working in you transcends the law of sin and death.”
Romans 8:2 declares, “Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”
Tower: I am ready for take-off!
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.
taught her about the era — and liberty. “I like how everyone was able to come together,” she said of the cast, which numbers about 25. “We were able to establish a strong bond together.”
The actors began rehearsing in January. The musical was performed as dinner theater April 13 and as a regular show the next night in the school’s new multipurpose room. The production is the second performance of the school year helmed by English
lots of hangar flying, one picks up a number of pilot sayings. Here are a few old pilot sayings for your enjoyment: Every takeoff is optional. Every landing is mandatory. If you push the stick forward, the houses get bigger. If you pull the stick back, they get smaller. That is, unless you keep pulling the stick back, then they get bigger again.
Flying isn’t dangerous, crashing is. A good landing is one you can walk away from. A great landing is one after which they can use the plane again. The propeller is just a big fan in front of the plane used to keep the pilot cool. When it stops, you can actually
language arts teacher Bonnie Gonzalez. The first production was “The Snow White Variety Show.”
The show marks the increasingly sophisticated drama department at the Sanger school. Student actors have gone on to appear in Sanger High’s plays and musicals, and Gonzalez said she expects that to continue as her talent pool expands.
“The program is growing and we’re expecting more kids,” Gonzalez said. “And everyone contributes. It
really brings all our arts together.”
Sanger Academy choir teacher Mary Reyes serves as music director and said her program is likewise growing. “We started with eight kids in the glee club four years ago,” she said.
“Now we have three choirs, beginning, intermediate and advanced.”
And many of her kids are in the production. The young actors belted their lines in the musical numbers, on pitch and key.
Alyssa Avalos, a seventh-
that overcomes the Law of Sin and Death. Tony Evans in his book “Returning To Your First Love” states it like this: “The law of gravity is universal until you get on an airplane. The Wright brothers didn’t eradicate the law of gravity. They rendered it inoperative by the operation of a higher law called aerodynamics.
“If that higher law stops working, if an engine goes out, the plane will head to the ground because the first law isn’t dead. When you combine the combustion of the Holy Spirit with the speed of obedience and the air flow of holiness, you’re lifted to a new plane of spiritual life because the
PASTOR’S CORNER
watch the pilot start sweating. When in doubt, hold on to your altitude.
No one has ever collided with the
sky. Learn from
the mistakes of
others. You won’t
live long enough to
of them yourself.
try to keep the number of landings you make equal to the number of take offs you’ve made. Keep looking around. There’s always something you’ve missed. Remember, gravity is not just a good idea, it’s the law. And it’s not subject to repeal.
The Law of Gravity is a
very formidable force, but there is a law that is greater than gravity. That is the Law of Aerodynamics. On most airplanes there is an instrument known as the artificial
Pastor Sam Estes
make all Always
horizon, or attitude indicator. This shows the relationship between the nose of the plane and the horizon. Your attitude will always determine your altitude.
There are spiritual laws, too. For instance, the Law of Sin and Death is inescapable. But there is a higher law, the Law of Grace and Resurrection