Page 9 - Reedley Exponent 2-8-18 E-edition

The Reedley Exponent BPanorama
Rotary Club of Reedley inducts two new members
See B8
Section | Thursday, February 8, 2018 www.reedleyexponent.com Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654 'Guys and Dolls'
The View From Here
The lull of the winter break is over, and the pace of events is picking up, including what’s coming from the local theater scene.
At Immanu-
el Schools, they
will be stag-
ing the classic
American musical “Guys and Dolls” for its next production, opening Saturday, Feb. 10, at the campus’ Performing Arts Chapel. I have an article on that show in this week’s Panorama section.
Reedley High School’s upcom- ing spring musical will be “The Little Mermaid Jr.,” based on the popular Disney animated film. That production will open on Fri- day, April 13, in the RHS Perform- ing Arts Theatre.
Meanwhile, Reedley’s River City Theatre Company is in re- hearsals for its next production – “Swing!” It debuts Friday, Feb. 23, and is a first-time show for RCTC. It’s a review filled with songs by the likes of Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington.
I have to confess the show I’m really looking forward to is RCTC’s rendition of the farce “Noises Off,” opening on Friday, April 27. This is another first-time production for the local group.
In all my years as a theater- goer, I’ve never seen this popular, hilarious 1982 play-within-a-play that’s become a staple of theaters across the country. I’m especially intrigued because it depends on a two-story set. RCTC, of course, is known for its ability to present large-scale shows in the intimate setting of the historic Reedley Op- era House. I can’t wait to see how they do this.
Also coming up is the Reedley College Speaker Series.
I always look forward to writ- ers talking about writing. This year’s programs begin on Feb. 22 with Mark Salzman, a fiction and creative nonfiction writer. On April 19, poet Sasha Pimentel, who studied at Fresno State, will be the guest.
In a departure, the March 15 speakers will be David Lacks Jr. and Victoria Baptiste. They are not writers but descendants of Hen- rietta Lacks, the subject of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot. The nonfiction work details how Hicks’ case of terminal cervical cancer led to an immortal cell line involved in vital advances in medicine and science. But it’s also a story of how those cells were obtained and how the family for years didn’t know what happened. (I’ll have more on the series in next week’s edition.)
See COLUMN page B8
Staff Report
With unforgettable characters such as Sky Masterson and Nathan Detroit, “Guys and Dolls” is a clas- sic American musical comedy, a New York City tale of fast-talking gamblers, snazzy showgirls and well-intentioned missionaries.
Immanuel Schools’ Music De- partment brings that world to its stage, opening Saturday, Feb. 10, and playing selected dates through Sunday, Feb. 18.
“This is one of the most beloved shows in musical theater history,” said Rick Robbins, Immanuel’s performing arts teacher who is di- recting the show. The school last presented “Guys and Dolls” in Feb- ruary 2013.
Opening on Broadway in 1950, “Guys and Dolls” was a hit based on the NYC Prohibition era stories of Damon Runyon, a newspaper- man and short story writer. Using Runyon’s unique dialect, play- wrights Jo Swerling and Abe Bur- rows create that era with composer Frank Loesser.
The famous songs include “Luck Be a Lady,” “Sit Down, You’re Rock- in’ the Boat,” and the title song. The show in 1951 won five Tony Awards,
including Best Musical.
Now, decades later, young per-
formers such as IHS senior Austin Bratton say they’re enjoying the show.
“I love the time era, the lan- guage the characters use as well as the humor in how they commu- nicate,” said Bratton. He plays the lead role of Sky Masterson, a brash gambler who falls for his total op- posite in missionary Sarah Brown.
“My favorite part is definitely ‘Luck Be a Lady’ because it’s a great song, and it’s where Sky puts every- thing on the line,” Bratton said.
“This is one of the most beloved shows in musical theater history.”
– Rick Robbins, Immanuel's performing arts teacher
Gambling is the catalyst for the fast-paced plot. Smooth-talking Nathan Detroit, who runs a floating dice game and is desperate to keep it going, gets Masterson to bite on
See IMMANUEL page B7
The Immanuel Schools' Music Department presents "Guys and Dolls," one
of America's classic musi- cals, opening Saturday, Feb. 10, at the cam- pus.
LEFT: Senior Austin Bratton plays gambler Sky Masterson, who meets his match in mis- sionary Sarah Brown, played by senior Britni Copley.
Immanuel Schools / Photo Contributed
Felicia Cousart Matlosz
Immanuel Schools opens the classic American musical Feb. 10
Remick is 2018 KCUSD board president
By Felicia Cousart Matlosz
felicia@midvalleypublishing.com
For the fourth time, Noel Remick is serving as president of the Kings Canyon Unified School District governing board.
The trustees in late December unanimously elected him president for 2018. Trustee Sarah Rola was unanimously elected board clerk.
Remick, who represents Trustee Area 1 in southwest Reedley, was first elected to the board in 1998 and served until 2010.
In April 2012, he was appointed after Trustee Ray Enns resigned and has been on the board since then.
At 65, Remick is self-employed in the crop insurance business. He originally farmed tree fruit for 30 years on the family farm and then started a financial brokerage busi- ness before going into crop insur- ance.
Remick and his wife, Patti, have two adult children. Patti is a former KCUSD teacher and cur- rently teaches in the Kings River Union Elementary School District in Kingsburg. She also is a former director of the student teaching pro- gram at Fresno Pacific University.
In addition to serving on the KCUSD board, Remick has served on the Fresno County Trustees As- sociation and on the Fresno County Airport Land Use Commission.
AsKCUSDtrustees,Remickand
his colleagues are responsible for a nearly 10,000-student district that is geographically – at 600 square miles – one of the largest school districts in California.
The trustees adopt an annual
budget, develop and set policies, and hire and evaluate superintendents.
Besides Remick and Rola, the other trustees are Connie Brooks, Craig Cooper, Manuel Ferreira, Clo- tildaMoraandRobinTyler,whowas-
Noel Remick, a veteran member of the Kings Canyon Unified School govern- ing board, is serving as board president for the fourth time.
He represents Trustee Area 1 in southwest Reedley.
Remick and the other six trustees oversee a nearly 10,000-student district.
Felicia Cousart Matlosz / The Exponent
president in 2017.
Remick is president as KCUSD
has made the transition in superin- tendents – from Juan Garza, who
SeeREMICKpageB7
The bell and clocks at old St. Anthony need repair
A fundraising effort is underway to repair the bell-ringing mechanism and
the clocks at old St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in downtown Reedley.
The goal is $20,000, and the church hopes the repairs can be finished this spring.
The bell stopped ringing last month, and the clocks haven't worked for some time.
Felicia Cousart Matlosz / The Exponent
By Felicia Cousart Matlosz
felicia@midvalleypublishing.com
Anyone who lives or works near the old St. Anthony of Padua Catho- lic Church in downtown Reedley has noticed something’s amiss – audibly amiss.
The bell that rings from the stone-laid tower is silent. It stopped working in mid-January, and now parish leaders have launched a $20,000 fundraising campaign to repair the bell-ringing mechanism.
In addition, the parish wants to repair the four clocks on the tower. Church leaders hope all the repairs can be completed sometime this spring.
The old St. Anthony – at the corner of F and 11th streets – still is a working church, with Masses as well as weddings, baptisms and funeral services. (The new St. An- thony is at 1018 N. Frankwood Ave.)
The cornerstone for the original St. Anthony was laid in November 1907, according to the church’s web- site. The church was dedicated on a Sunday morning – May 21, 1911.
Bryan Awbrey, who’s 40 and a member of the parish’s Finance Council, is among those whose per- sonal history is intertwined with the old St. Anthony. He was born in Reedley and baptized at the church. He married his wife, Crystal, there in 1999.
Awbrey said the council discov- ered that very few companies can repair church bells, and they are located in the Midwest. Typically, modern churches use electronic systems that simulate the sound of ringing bells.
But, Awbrey said of old St. An- thony, “we want to keep it as original and traditional as we can.”
Monsignor John Esquivel said the bell was installed “fairly soon” after the church was built.
He said each day it would ring every hour on the hour from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
When it stopped ringing, “our parishioners noticed it right away,” Esquivel said.
He also said people appreciate the sound of a real bell because they “ring so beautifully.” For many in a
parish, he said, the sound “is more like a call from God. They associate the bell with happiness.”
So, while, an electronic system would do, Esquivel said that the sound of a real bell is part of the character of old St. Anthony: “Ev- erything can’t be modern.”
The church will have The Verdin Company of Cincinnati, Ohio repair the bell and clocks, which stopped functioning some time ago. The com- pany was established in 1842.
The company’s work can be seen in more than 50,000 installa- tions around the world, including the Smithsonian Institution, Walt Dis- ney World, the University of Notre Dame, and the Basilica of the Na- tional Shrine of the Immaculate Con- ception, according to its website that also says the Verdin Company “has created, preserved, and restored distinct bell sounds for more than 20,000 churches across the country.”
The work at old St. Anthony will include installation of a mechanized system that will program when the
See BELL page B8