Page 7 - Mid Valley Times 4-14-22 E-Edition

Thursday, April 14, 2022
The View From Here
I have a tendency to pack my dai- ly schedule, sometimes a little too much.
I will
commit
myself to
cover vari-
ous events and that can be overwhelming if I have a lot going that day.
On Friday, April 8, I did just that. We had a wedding to attend in Del Rey, at the Grace Barn venue at 4:30 p.m. But a few days prior to the wedding, a friend of mine named Andrea An- drade reached out and told me she’d be handing out Easter baskets to children in the Central Valley who are currently fighting can- cer.
This was an opportunity I would not miss. Andrea has an amazing story, and what she is doing for local children now is even more amazing. In her young life, Andrea has already beat colon cancer, twice.
“These children’s ability to smile and persevere is inspiring, for some of these kids treatment is all they know,” she said. “They are so strong and an inspiration for us all, I love them!”
We took the drive to Sanger to meet up with An- drea and Fuego the Fox, as well as Chris Wilson. Our first stop was to deliver an Easter basket to 8-year-old Maximus Cantu.
Max is battling Stage 3 Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. According to leukemia.org it's an aggressive form of cancer that attacks the im- mune system and primarily affects children.
I spoke with Max’s mother and she told us he was diagnosed back in De- cember 2021 and has since started treatments.
Max was happy to see Fuego the Fox and played a few games with him be- fore we left.
We then moved to our second location in Sanger. It was a student battling the same kind of cancer as Max, his name is Alexander Garcia.
From talking to his mom, Marissa, we learned that Alex is a student at Reagan Elementary School in Sanger. Alex told us he is not at school during treatment but can’t wait to return to school and play soccer.
He also came out and posed for photos with Fuego the Fox and said he can't wait to attend a Griz- zly Game or a Fuego soccer game.
In all these children had smiles on their faces and that was thanks to Andrea Andrade.
Juanita Adame
Early Easter for cancer patients in Sanger
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Publishing
Two children in Sanger who are currently fighting cancer were given some early Easter baskets on April 8.
The visit was started by Andrea Andrade, a local beau- ty queen from Reedley and cancer fighter.
Andrade teamed up with Northern California Ford Dealers, Fuego FC and the Fresno Grizzlies for a second year to deliver Easter Baskets
to children battling cancer. The first child Andrade and her team visited was Maximus
Cantu, 8.
“Maximus has stage 3 lym-
phoblastic lymphoma and he was diagnosed in December 2021, and he started chemo right away,” said Yolva Cantu, Max’s mother.
“He’s just started round four on April 4, and he’ll be admitted to the hospital three times in the next month for the rest of his treatment plan.”
eryone enough.”
Andrea and her team made
several more stops in Fresno to deliver Easter baskets to children there.
Reedley held 'Spring Clean' event on April 9
Trading places at T.L. Reed
Photo Contributed / KCUSD
StudentsandteachersatT.L.Reedexchangedrollson April1 duringtheschool's "Fool’sDay/FreakyFridayDressUp." Levi Franco dressed up as principal Rick McCollum. Levi completed the look with a goatee just like McCollum's.
Photo of the Week
Contributed
Thisphoto RHSdistancetrackboysaftertheyranthePrimaWa- wona5konSaturday,April2wassentinby theircoachBethTad- emy."Iamveryproudofthem!"Bethwrote. Haveaphotoyou'd like featured? Email juanita@midvalleypublishing.com
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
From left, "Fuego the Fox," Maximus Cantu, 8, and Reedley local and former beauty queen Andrea Andrade posed for a photo in Sanger following a delivery of an Easter basket to Max.
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
From left, Alexander Garcia posed for a photo with Fuego the Fox on Friday, April 8.
“He’s doing good,” Yolva continued. “He has his days, he’s feeling a little bit nau-
seous today but really happy to see Fuego the Fox.”
The second child visited by Andrade was Alexander Gar- cia. Alexander is in fourth grade at Reagan Elementary and also has Lymphoblastic Lymphoma.
“I was shocked and excit- ed,” Alexander of the visit.
Alexander’s mother, Ma- rissa said he was diagnosed in October. “This is special just to know people are support- ing us,” said Marissa. “He is a huge soccer fan so just to know that people are behind him so cheering him on, it’s something we can thank ev-
"This is special just to know people are supporting us.”
Marissa Garcia
Photo Courtesy / Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce
Employees at Mid Valley Disposal handed out compost bins for residents as well as Kerman's Best Compost during the city's an- nual Spring Clean Up on April 9.
Contributed
The city of Reedley and Mid Valley Disposal host- ed the city's annual Spring Clean Up on April 9.
"In addition to collecting everyone’s waste, we dis- tributed kitchen counter or- ganic pails, and had a pile of our Kerman’s Best compost available for residents to
take from," Mid Valley Dis- posal wrote on their Facec- book page.
"Thank you to all of our team members that assisted with this event and thank you again to the Reedley community for attending."
For more information on the next city wide cleanup contact the Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce at (559) 638-3548.