Page 7 - Reedley Exponent 3-14-19

The Reedley Exponent PB anorama
The latest news and events in the senior community
See B2
Section | Thursday, March 14, 2019 www.reedleyexponent.com
Successful 'Fun Fitness' day for students
Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654
The View From Here
It was in-
teresting to
watch Wash-
ington El-
ementary's
fourth grade
students' reac-
tions when Mi-
chael Flores,
the health spe-
cialist with the
Fresno County
Department of Health Services held up a vial full of sugar to tell them that the energy drinks they have consumed contained too much sugar and too much caf- feine.
Many were shocked, a few however, looked pleasantly sur- prised about the amount of sugar in those types of drinks. I believe kids at that age do enjoy sugar, and Mike's effort to show them other- wise might have had the adverse effect on the morning of March 8.
Along with the vial to dem- onstrate the amount of sugar in caffeine drinks, Mike, there to promote "Fun Fitness Friday," al- so showed them how much sugar comes in sodas. As he continued talking about soda, I was remind of my personal experience with soda and why I stopped drinking it. I remember the exact moment when I stopped drinking soda. I also remember the reason behind my decision. And to this day, I still feel a bit sick to my stomach when I think about it.
It was the summer of 2000. At the time I was pregnant with my daughter. Pregnant women are re- quired to have a glucose screening test between their 24 - 28 week of pregnancy. I don't remember how far along I was but it was time for me to make an appointment to take the "sugar test."
I showed up to the lab and had been specifically instruct not to eat prior to the test.
Now, the pregnancy with my daughter, who is now 18 years old, was by no means easy. I had morn- ing sickness all the time. No food sounded good; however at times I needed to eat in order to settle my stomach. Could be why I only had one child.
This particular morning, I didn't eat breakfast because of the test. When I arrived at the doc- tor's office, I was told I would have to drink a "soda-like" beverage and wait one hour so they could test my sugar levels.
I remember the lab tech tak- ing a glass bottle from a fridge. It looked like your classic Pepsi or Coke, minus the fancy label. How hard could this be, right? Wrong.
When I opened it, I immediate- ly noticed it was really flat. She told me to begin drinking, so I did. After the first drink, I realized it was not as pleasant as a Coke or Pepsi but tasted very similar.
It was a bit lukewarm and flat. I knew I had to continue drink- ing for the sake of the test and was only able to make it halfway through the bottle. Next step was to wait. So as I waited I felt that I was going to be sick. I remember my body fighting me. It was beg- ging me to get rid of the syrupy soda mix I'd just ingested.
Not even five minutes after I drank the mix, I became violently ill. And, 18 years later, I can't look at a can of soda the same way.
As Mike was talking about so- da that morning, I remember my mind having a flashback to that glucose test incident. I snapped back to reality when he moved on to talk about healthy food.
Later on, I read a report that indicates dark soda, like Coke, is reported to have 39 grams of sugar. Energy drinks not only con- tain sugar but stimulants as well. These were facts also pointed out to students on March 8. The other county rep who was there along- side Michael was Jason Wara. The guys did an excellent job of teaching the kids about healthy eating habits and exercise, and of reminding me of my experience almost 20 years prior.
The fitness event was a suc- cess, the guys told me they like to come out and teach students how to live healthier lifestyles.
I enjoyed their healthy food talks and exercise demonstrations. Plus, they don't have to worry about me drinking soda nowadays I only stick to water.
Juanita Adame
Photos by Juanita Adame / The Exponent
ABOVE: StudentsparticipatedinaphysicalexcerciseroutineduringFunFitness Friday on March. 8.
ABOVE: Michael Flores (in blue) went over nutrition information with props for students to see.
By Juanita Adame
Juanita@midvalleypublishing.com
Michael Flores, a health edu- cation specialist with Fresno County's Department of Health, held up a vial full of sugar on the morning of March 8.
Flores was showing the class of fourth graders from Washington El- ementary School how much sugar is in energy drinks.
"Who here drinks energy drinks?" Flores asked the students.
"Me, me, I do!" replied the group.
"You really shouldn't be," he add- ed. "Look at how much caffeine and sugar is in these you guys.
And this, [holding up another other vial filled to the brim with sugar] this is the amount of sugar
in just a regular soda.
The students then gazed at the
vial in amazement and disbelief. "We want to make sure we're drinking some water, alright?" he said. "We want to make sure we're staying healthy, that we're staying
hydrated."
Flores was visiting the Reedley
Jefferson Adventist Health Clinic along with Jason Wara.
Wara is a Project Specialist with Fresno County Superintendent of Schools and the Champions for Change program.
The two county representatives are part of an event called Fun Fit- ness Friday, it is geared at encour-
See FITNESS page B8
Photos by Juanita Adame / The Exponent
ABOVE: Students from Washington Elementary in Reedley listened as Jason Wara (left) and Michael Flores (right) talked about health and fitness on the morning of March 8.
Reedley locals cast in popular musical 'Evita'
By Juanita Adame
Juanita@midvalleypublishing.com
Erik Valencia is a familiar face within the Reedley Community.
As the executive director for the Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce, Valencia can often be found emceeing an event, doing work in the chamber office, and even organizing local parades.
However, in the past seven weeks, Valencia said he's been preparing for something else. "I've had shows that I've always wanted to do," Valencia said on the after- noon of March 8. 'Evita' has been one of those, it has a Hispanic role to it, and there are very few roles for Hispanic actors."
Valencia was recently cast as Juan Peron in the popular Andrew Lloyd Weber musical, Evita. The musical will open on March 15 at the College of the Sequoias' The- atre in Visalia.
Valencia landed the part along- side his close friends, Alina Gonza- lez and RL Preheim.
Gonzalez will play Evita, and Preheim will play Migaldi.
"My friend [Alina Gonzalez], when I saw her I thought, you
See EVITA page B8
ABOVE: From left, Alina Gonzalez will play Evita alongside Erik Valencia, who will play Juan Peron.
Contributed / The Reedley Exponent
ABOVE: RL Preheim performing in the opera "Iphegenia in Taurus" as Orestes. Preheim will play Migaldi in the upcoming production of "Evita."
Photo Contributed / The Exponent
Immanuel Schools host first ever 'Donkey Basketball'
Contributed / The Reedley Exponent
ABOVE: Students gathered in the gym at Immanuel to participate in the first an- nual "Donkey Basketball" game against Kingsburg on March 11.