Page 6 - Dinuba Sentinel 12-13-18 E-edition

A place to go
Now celebrating its second anniversary, the library in London is more than place to read and learn
today.
“I remember a lot of the
struggle,” he added. “A lot of my friends were from broken homes, and there was a lot of drug use at the time.”
Part of Isquierdo’s reason for giving back to his community is the feeling of having an unfair advantage over other kids in London. He had an aunt and uncle he would stay with during the summer and weekends in Reedley.
“During that time I had access to a library,” recalled the teacher who now lives in Hanford. “So I’d be in there. I’d have the summer reading program. All the things you would have at a library I was utilizing there.”
Looking back, Isquierdo said the library in Reedley was instrumental in keeping him out of trouble. And the books there introduced him to a world outside of London and allowed him think of, and invest in his future.
Now he hopes that the library in London offers the kids in his hometown that same advantage.
“I want the kids today to say ‘I was there when London turned it around’,” said Isquierdo. “That they got to be part of a transition, a generational shift.”
Connie Huerta, who is the supervisor of Hodges Community Center in London, also sees the advantage of having another place for kids to go. She was also in attendance at Saturday’s celebration.
“We close at 6,” said Huerta of Hodges Community Center. “Sometime I ask them to leave when I’m closing and they’ll go and sit at the bleachers. They’ll ask me to turn on the lights to
See Place, Page A7
By Rick Curiel
Editor@thedinubasentinel.com
Saturday, Dec. 8, was another big day for the small town of London. After celebrating its Fourth Annual London Christmas Parade, the community continued its celebration at one of two places.
The town’s LCAPs building on Kate Road hosted an after- parade community gathering, complete with bounce houses, refreshments, free medical information and free pictures with Santa Claus.
For the tiny community of under 2,000 people, the parade offered them a traditional place to go.
Around the corner and down the street was another group of community members, gathered at the London Library. The Tulare County Branch Library was celebrating its 2nd year anniversary.
For Robert Isquierdo, who grew up in London, the library, too, offers the people of London a place to go.
As a child, Isquierdo remembers walking the streets of London with his friends during foggy day schedules.
“I remember on foggy day schedules the buses couldn’t get out to us,” recalled Isquierdo. “So school for us would be cancelled. And I remember walking through the streets of London through the thick of fog with my group of friends, just thinking about where we could go.”
Unfortunately for Isquierdo and his friends, those choices were very limited. And many of the choices available were those that still plague the small town
Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
Dinuba Sentinel
17th Annual Christmas Cookie
Contest*
*Has to be considered a cookie, excludes any type of bars.
Mid-Valley Publishing’s annual cookie contest is near! Interested contestants should bring a dozen of their home- made Christmas cookies and the recipe
to Dinuba Sentinel of ce (145 S. L Street) THE
by 3 p.m. on Thursday, December 13, 2018.
So...get out those measuring cups and let’s get started!
The newspaper staff will judge the entries and select the three winning entries.
1st Place ................................ $75 2nd Place............................... $50 3rd Place................................ $25
DEADLINE IS 3 P.M. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2018
The winning recipes will be published in Dinuba Sentinel December 2018
Gift certi cate will be awarded
Robert Isquierdo stands in front of the London Branch of the Tulare County Library. His role in bringing the library to his hometown has provided a safe place for kids to gather and learn.
Members of the community who helped make the library in Lodon possible and who will play a role in its future success are pictured above. Shown for left to right are Tulare County Librarian Darla Wegener, Tina and Cary Joslin, who own the property where the library is located, Matt Naler, Robert Isquierdo and Tulare County Supervisor Eddie Valero.
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Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
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