Page 11 - Sanger Herald 12-6-18 E-edition

Lifestyles
SANGER HERALD • 3B • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2018
Treasure chocolate chip edges win in tight cookie contest
Sanger
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Florence Molano and her mom, Maria Rodriguez, created a chocolate chip cookie that won over the local celebrity judges and staff to come in first place in the annual Sanger Herald Cookie Contest.
They dubbed their entry the Chocolate Chip Treasure Cookie.
Sharon Mendoza, Herald office manager, was a believer. “So rich,” she said, recalling the experience of tasting the cookie. “I’m done.”
This is Molano and Rodriguez’s first win. Last year, Rodriguez brought in a sugar cookie but arrived too late for the judging. Molano said she believes the secret ingredient that won over all the tasters was the graham crackers. The recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
The cookie creativity this year was impressive, and a winner was tough to pick.
crew captain Tom Flores, plate setter and pressman Phil Marquez, graphic artist Susie House, Herald ad representative Paulette Garcia, Herald editor Dick Sheppard and pressman Daniel Figaroa. And maybe some others.
Sheppard enjoyed himself immensely. He has an obsession with cookies and will often say, “And they had cookies,” when talking about an assignment.
“We have a good batch this year,” Sheppard said.
“I think people went out of their way to put in the extra jam, the extra chocolate chip,” Ontiveros said. “Their creativity speaks volumes.”
The Herald received 10 entries this year, about half last year’s selection. However, the quality level of the cookies — all of them — proved phenomenal. It’s
as if everybody had been watching the Food Channel and brought their top culinary talents to bear for Christmas.
And that high level showed during judging. While Molano and Rodriguez nabbed the top spot, it sure wasn’t by much. The top three selections proved extremely close.
Sheppard really had a tough time picking a favorite. “I’m really glad we have a paramedic here,” he said, referring to Tarascou. “That one was all sugar. I almost went into diabetic shock.”
He was kidding, of course. Sheppard reminded me a little of Snuffles, the dog in the the Quick Draw McGraw cartoon who floats along saying, “Mmmm, mmmm,” after eating something especially tasty.
Coming in second was
See Cookies, Page 2B
of graham cracker crumbs. The cookie also has coconut flakes and walnuts.
The judges this year included a who’s who in Sanger and even a senator- elect with former council woman Melissa Hurtado, who reported for work
this week in Sacramento. She beat incumbent Andy Vidak for the District 14 seat, which extends all the way from Sanger to Kern County and includes 22 cities.
Also judging were retired Sanger Unified board
member Ken Marcantonio, Sanger mayor pro-tem Eli Ontiveros, Sanger fire chief and Rotary president Greg Tarascou, Corina Tamez from the Sanger city manager’s office, Rita Macias from Sanger Unified, Herald press
Toyland parade draws huge crowd
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
An hour or so before the 71st Nation’s Christmas Tree City Toyland Parade was to begin, the hot chocolate flowed at the Sanger Woman’s Club and patrons to the club’s Christmas Boutique snapped up the cookies, cupcakes and sweet breads for sale.
Jeanne Adams, Doris Knowlton and the rest of the membership talked to patrons, answered questions about the many products available and generally kept the community spirit bright despite the clouds threatening to burst outside.
On Seventh Street, Ellis Wilson, 1, was ready. He grinned big. His grandmother Debbie Ellis said he’s a happy kid and would no doubt enjoy his first Christmas parade.
“He’s like this all the time,” she said.
Raindrops fell off and on as time approached for the first floats to head up Academy Avenue and west along Seventh. Not as many people arrived as early as usual to get their favorite spots along the route, but the crowds flooded in as the minutes ticked closer to the
Joy and the Good News
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Santa closes out the Sanger Toyland Parade. The route was bigger, there were more entries and the crowd grew from last year.
Of course.
“We come to the parade every year,” she said. “And Daniel took three steps.”
And she said he has teeth.
Just before the parade was to start, Pastor Sam Estes, Tony Castillo and Sanger police Sgt. Jason Boust lowered the flag at the corner of Seventh and N streets to half mast to honor the passing of former president George H.W. Bush. Bush died the day before.
Parade master of ceremonies Rick Bubenik asked for and got a moment of silence from the thousand or so within earshot of his sound system.
The weather cooperated to a degree. That may have been due to the determination of parade organizers Joaquin Zamora, Sanger’s parks and recreation director, and Sanger Chamber of Commerce president Tammy Wolfe and administrator Karen Pearson. The rain fell mainly on some other plain.
OK. It rained a bit, enough to bother my camera. Then about 11:25 a.m., the sun came out while it rained. About that time, a couple of the brand new big horsepower Corvettes
See Parade, Page 2B
The sickness, pain and sorrow of this life will quickly vanish away when we enter into the joy of our Lord. Jesus will say, “Well done my good and faithful servant to those whose name is written in the Book of Life.”
Compared to eternity, this life is merely a vapor. Hebrews 12 says Jesus endured the cross for the joy that was set before him, a never-ending joy that we are invited to share. That is the good news of Christmas.
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.
11 a.m. start.
Paisley Briscoe, almost 3,
and her mom Heidi Briscoe came prepared as many did with umbrellas. “She’s going to love it,” Heidi said of her daughter’s reaction to the parade. “(But) she may enjoy her umbrella more.”
Briscoe said Paisley loves umbrellas. “We have open umbrellas in the house
praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Luke 2:8-14 ESV
I went to merriam- webster.com to define joy. The first entry was “the emotion evoked by well- being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.”
No, that sounds too much like happiness. That’s not the biblical sort of joy. That’s not what the Apostle Paul is talking about. Let’s try entry two: “A state of happiness or felicity.” That is happiness.
Happiness is conditional. If the conditions change, so can the state of one’s emotions. One phone call can turn a person’s state of happiness around quick. On
all day,” she said.
Nearby, Alexandra Lovett
and her dad Heath Lovett camped out on the sidewalk like a couple of pros. They had a propane heater warming the area around their parade-viewing spot. Heath said he camped out all night waiting to buy tickets for a Pink Floyd concert back in the day, so a little weather didn’t bug
him at all.
“It’s OK if it rains a
little,” he said. “I’m just happy to be here. I usually work.”
His wife was out getting tamales and hot chocolate to further enhance the experience.
Little Daniel Rodriguez stayed close to his grandmother, Rosie Villalobos, about a block
east. It would be the first parade for the 1-year-old. But Rodriguez said she attends every year.
“I never miss it,” she said. “I grew up here. And I always sit in the same spot.”
Abigail Rodriguez, 9 and Daniel’s big sister, said she really likes the parade. And her favorite part was Santa, she said.
the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.”
Giving birth becomes an allegory for life.
I’ve been in many maternity wards not only with my own kids but also my grandkids and lots of people from my church and community. Carol Burnett explained that for a man to understand child birth, he needs to grasp his bottom lip and pull it over the top of his head.
In the first century, natural childbirth was the only kind. But Jesus says after the birth pains and labor and sorrow, holding a new born baby makes everything else worthwhile. Suddenly a mother’s expression turns to joy when handed her baby for the first time.
PASTOR’S CORNER
to definition three: “A source or cause of delight.” That’s what we’re looking for.
When we say
that our joy is
found in Christ,
we’re talking
about something permanent, something lasting. Happiness can depend on many factors. It comes and goes. But joy is lasting because our source is everlasting.
James says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
Sometimes life is tough. That’s what this life is like. We have good days, bad days, and ultimately death has all our numbers.
Jesus was born in a stable to an unwed teenage mother, and things only got worse from there.
The Scriptures say he was acquainted with grief and strickened with
sorrow. He died on the cross after being scourged, spat upon and his beard pulled out. When he told his disciples he wanted them to share in his joy, they surely must have thought, “What joy?”
Jesus explains in John 16 that he will be leaving them and how someday their sorrow will turn to joy. Then Jesus shares this thought in John 16:21: “When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered
Pastor Sam Estes