Page 10 - Sanger Herald 10-18-18 E-edition

Lifestyles
SANGER HERALD • 2B • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2018
Congressional candidate discusses issues in Sanger
Sanger
Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
T.J. Cox, candidate for California’s 21st congressional district, talked about immigration, his opponent Republican U.S. Rep. David Valadeo and about how he would apply his engineering credentials to help fix the central San Joaquin Valley’s pressing water problems in a visit to Sanger this week.
Cox spoke at a forum held by Radio Bilingue and moderated by KQED’s California Report. The event drew about 60 people Oct. 15 to the Sanger Woman’s Club. Valadao had been invited but declined to attend, said Samuel Orozco with Radio Bilingue.
Cox said water projects that make use of excess runoff in heavy rain years should be implemented to
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
T.J. Cox takes a question from the audience Monday.
audience. He also talked about providing safe and affordable drinking water to constituents of a sprawling district that extends along the Interstate 5 corridor from north of Mendota to south of Bakersfield, including much of the region south of Fresno with Sanger and Reedley on the eastern outskirts. And that district has been hard hit by drought and declining aquifers and signs along roadways that say things like “water equals food.”
The path to unseating the incumbent, Valadao, is likely to be tough for Cox, a self described newcomer to politics. Valadeo garnered 62.8 percent of the vote in the primary to 31.2 percent for Cox. Ads for both dominate the TV airwaves.
Cox helped provide the financing through
the Central Valley Fund to construct the United Health Centers building next door to the Woman’s Club on Seventh Street. And he said it was at the facility’s groundbreaking in February when he decided to consider a run for Valadao’s seat.
Cox also spoke of creating living wage jobs, like those he’s already created in Sanger and elsewhere in the district in health care, and providing health care for residents. When a member of the audience asked about his stand on helping those suffering from Alzheimer’s, he said his mother suffers from dementia, and that he “will be focused on (the issue) with laser-like vision.”
He said there should be a “clean” Dream Act. “They’re every bit as American as my kids,” he
said. He has four. “They shouldn’t be used as a bargaining chip for a border wall.” He said his brother is a building contractor who was inspired to enter the construction trades after his stint in high school wood shop. “We need to bring those back to high schools,” he said.
On the mounting federal deficit, he said, “We have choices to make, invest in our communities or provide tax breaks to the wealthy.” Cox said recent tax cuts are likely to increase pressure on Medicare and Social Security benefits.
Investments should be in people and “not a hand out but a hand up,” he said.
The reporter can be contacted by email at nemethfeatures@gmail.com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
Community Calendar
RB Entertainment presents Championship Wrestling Halloween Bash at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Sanger Community Center, 730 Recreation Ave. Details, 559-567-9116.
Sanger United Methodist Church Harvest Festival is planned from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 20 at the church, 1612 Ninth St. The event is billed as fun for the whole family and is free to attend and participate in “fun, games and prizes.” Details, 559-875-3015.
Meet the Candidates forum is planned from 1 to 3 p.m. Oct. 20 at the Sanger Woman’s Club, 1602 Seventh St. Bring questions for Sanger Unified school board and city council candidates.
50th Annual Downtown Trick or Treat is planned from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31 at Seventh and N streets. Details, 559-875-4575.
Bethel Church Harvest Festival is planned from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 31 at 946 Bethel Ave. Carnival games, inflatables, food, candy and prizes. Details, 559-875-2378.
Dia de los Muertos Celebration is planned from 5 to 9 p.m. Oct. 27 in downtown Sanger with food, a parade, memorials and a beer garden. Live music and dancing is expected to enliven the city and bring out the color. Details, 559-875-4575.
Valley Disposal and the City of Sanger plan Sanger Community Clean-Up from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 27.
No, you don’t have to remind me about the imperfections that exist in the church. But all the criticism will never undo the positive role the local church plays in building the kingdom of God. Daniel excelled because he chose discipline over disorder.
Next Week: Daniel excelled because he chose love over life.
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.
help recharge aquifers. He said he supports creating more infrastructure to provide water to families and farms. His approach actually dovetailed with those of Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig and others, including Consolidated Irrigation District leadership looking to increase stakeholder
rates to pay for additional recharge areas to make the water service self- sustaining.
“Those are investments we could be making today,” Cox said. And he said they would be cheaper and likely easier to garner federal help than big ticket storage projects.
Cox drew a favorable
First-responders open their doors
Chiefs say
event keeps
growing
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Harrison Wall, 3, had to get into his fireman’s outfit before visiting the Sanger Police and Fire Departments’ Open House on Oct. 13.
The 80 degree temperatures didn’t matter. Some things just required a certain look.
And once dressed in his yellow slicker and matching trousers, Harrison was ready. For exactly what, however, he looked a little uncertain. And as excitement shifted slightly to concern, his grandmother, former Sanger Adult School principal Nancy Penny, encouraged him by pointing out the big fire trucks just about a half block distant.
That eased his anxiousness. This, after all, was a big deal. Firefighters, paramedics, trucks, police officers. All sorts of cool stuff.
“It seems like every year it (the audience) increases for us,” fire chief Greg Tarascou said about a half hour after Harrison’s arrival with little brother Conrad, 18 months. They went straight for a seat in
Daniel’s Important Decisions — Part 2
Over the next few weeks, we will observe a young man named Daniel.
The text for this is found in Daniel 6:1-23. Daniel grew to be a man of integrity striving to follow the Lord in everything he did. When examining Daniel’s life, we will quickly discover that his fame did not happen by chance.
Instead, we will find that his rise to power can be traced to some important decisions. Last week, we discovered that Daniel’s first decision was to choose character over comfort. Daniel excelled because he chose discipline over
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Carissa Elenes, 5, carries a teddy bear like a firefighter over the weekend at the police and fire departments' open house. Harrisoon Wall, 3, gets geared up to visit the firehouse, right.
one of the big trucks. “A lot of folks we met are new to Sanger and interested in the small town atmosphere.”
The event served as a little public relations, a way for neighbors to mingle
disorder.
Among other things,
Daniel had a disciplined prayer life. In Daniel 6:10 we read that three times adayhegotdownonhis knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God.
The reason why some people succeed while others fail has little to do with abilities. Most of our failures can be traced to an absence of discipline. I don’t believe that any team would win a championship if the individual players were not disciplined in their practice sessions. It takes discipline in order to excel.
We can’t sow wild oats and then pray that our crop will bring a big harvest. Here are some areas where
while watching the Life Flight rescue helicopter take off and shower everybody with dust and dried grass and have a good bit of fun. Kids were encouraged to visit the jail cell and learn about where people go after getting picked up by officers. They got to see what guns officers use.
And they got to see dogs up for adoption. All were extremely friendly and asked the question, “Can I come home with you?”
Not a single dog asked for a cheese burger. But likely each wouldn’t have turned one down.
Harrison had a couple more years yet, but older kids interested in becoming firefighters got a chance to listen to pitchman Jose Calderon, a junior at Sanger High, talk about the benefits of the school’s pathways program. The program trains students for a career in the profession.
“You’ve got seven more years to go and you’ve got five more,” Calderon said to a couple of very intrigued younger boys. “So take this.”
He handed them a flier.
“And hang it on the fridge. When you’re ready, you can take this class. We do a lot of training. If you want to be a firefighter, it’s a really good class to take.”
The boys’ mother also appeared to think the idea had merit. And the possibility existed that that
PASTOR’S CORNER
flier would indeed go up on a fridge or cork board for later reference.
Police chief Silver Rodriguez talked to many who visited. “Great event,” he said. “Great to interact with members of the community. Good opportunity for them to meet with their first responders — police and fire.”
Officer Kim Jones captivated one group after another talking about the jail cell and what police officers do on a day-to-day basis. Her tours proved one of the most popular stops in the event. Plus the food.
For the showstopper, Tarascou and his crew staged controlled fires to show just how quickly flames can torch a room and spread throughout a house. He offered two scenarios, or burn rooms. One had a sprinkler. The other did not.
The one without a fire suppression system flashed a big ball of flame before firefighters doused it with the hose. All who watched reacted with that unmistakable “that sure is cool” look.
And the firefighters had to clean it all up. But they left that for the next day.
The reporter can be contacted by email at nemethfeatures@gmail.com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
church far more than the church needs me.
Ineedtobeinan atmosphere where my perceptions of life can be challenged. I need to be in an environment that offers me an opportunity to learn and utilize my spiritual gifts. I need to be involved in a church where I am held accountable for my actions, a place where I can receive godly wisdom.
Ialsoneedtobein fellowship with people who hold to the same values that I embrace. I need to be involved in a church where I can be encouraged when I feel like giving up, a place where others will pray for me when I’m too discouraged to pray for myself.
most of us need greater discipline. First, we need to control our tongue. More people are run down by gossip than automobiles.
absence of prayer in our school when there is an absence of prayer in our home? Should we defend the Bible in public, yet deny it in the privacy of our own lives?
Although many
would consider
gossip a lesser sin
than murder, gossip can kill friendships, disrupt a family, divide a church and assassinate a person’s character. Someone once said, “Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.”
We must all learn to discipline our tongue. Second, we need more discipline in our devotional life. Do we really have the right to complain about the
Pastor Sam Estes
Do we have a right to complain about the moral decay of America if we fail to pray for our nation? Three times every day Daniel got down on his knees and interceded
before God.
Third, we need a more
disciplined church life. In over 40 years of serving the Lord, I have learned how important the church is to my spiritual growth and stability. In fact, I have learned that I need the