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BY RHONDA FRANKHOUSER Community contributor hursday, Nov. 11, marked a his- toric day for all American Veter- ans — but this day also gave Optimal Hospice Care a chance to thank over 40 patients and care- givers who have served their country in different branches of the military. “This year each patient who is a Veteran received a beautiful Certificate of Appre- ciation signed by their hospice care team, along with a patriotic, hand-painted door hanger created by the Youth Volunteer Group,” shares Jana Maragoni, Adminis- trator. “It is just a small gift, but it is heart- felt. We want them to know that we appreciate what they have done for our country and that we will always remem- ber the sacrifices they made.” The staff and volunteers at Optimal Hospice Care would like to extend their appreciation to all Veterans and military personnel, past and present. To contact Optimal Hospice Care, please call 1-888- 597-6115. Rhonda Frankhouser is the Volunteer Coordinator for Optimal Hospice Care. BY ALICIA HAMMONS Community contributor ruitvale Jr. High’s Advanced Drama Class is pleased to announce the Third annual production of Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol.” The performance will take place on Fri- day, Dec. 3 at 6:30 p.m. Prices are $4 for adults, $3 for children or FJH students. Dickens wrote the novel primarily to address the poverty of England’s poor. At the time, many were trying to make the bakers close their shops on Sundays. This infuriated Dickens because many poor families took their Sunday meals to the bakers to be roasted. Closing the shops would deprive many of them their only hot meal of the week. Most funerals at this time were for chil- dren under the age of 10. Those that did survive, grew up poor, without an educa- tion, and forced to continue the cycle of poverty. Many of Dickens’s characters were based on his real-life family members, including his sister, Fan, and her crippled son. “A Christmas Carol” tells the story of a mean and bitter miser, Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge is not sensitive to the plight of the poor and doesn’t care about anyone but himself. In the course of one night, he is visited by his former business partner and three other spirits who try to urge Scrooge to become a better man — and to care for others. In the spirit of this great tale, and to ensure that no one in our community goes hungry this holiday season, we are asking everyone who attends to try to bring one can of soup for our soup drive. There will be a $1 discount to each person who brings in a can of soup the night of the per- formance (limit one discount per person). Please come and enjoy this terrific pro- duction — we look forward to seeing you. Have a blessed holiday season! 2 The Bakersfield Voice Sunday, November 21, 2010 Share stories, photos, blogs www. bakersfieldvoice .com ■ Submitting your sto- ries for The Bakersfield Voice is simple and FREE! Just go to: www.bakers- fieldvoice.com and create a profile. ■ Choose what you’d like to contribute (an article, letter, picture or community event listing) and post it yourself. ■ For delivery issues, please e-mail: voicedelivery@bakersfield.com ■ Still need help getting your contributions onto our website? E-mail Sandra Molen at smolen@bakersfield.com YOUR SCHOOLS evelations — I am about to reveal some very privy information about some people around town. You may want to seriously think about terminating your ingestion of this column right now and go mow the lawn (if you have planted winter rye) or get up and go wash those dirty dishes in the sink. Most of you are not going to be fond of the reason that I am outing these particular individuals due to the fact that you reside in Bakersfield. You still have the opportunity to abort. Read on at your own risk. Okay, the names come first. Please note that this is a select list, but there are others out there: Local softball junkie, Mark Tolliver; BPD employee, Craig Checklenis; fellow BC Light Brigade member, Larry Campbell; local construction icon, Joe Colombo; for- mer farm-labor contracting resident, Mike Kreger; KHSD employee, Kenny Cotton; and this scribe as well. The revelation: WE ARE SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS FANS! Here in the land of the artful Dodgers we exist as underground amoeba and are basically treated as second-class citizens. We tend to wear our Giants gear only at night so as not to be noticed. But not anymore Bako! We are the WORLD CHAMPS baby and proud of it. Now, for posterity’s sake, please do not think that we are rubbing it in Dodgers fan. I know that some of you, like KHSD employee Kent Kauffman, really do revel in our triumph (yeah, sure!) It’s been a long time coming for our “Boys By The Bay,” and we are gulping it down like a sour- dough bread bowl of hot clam chowder fresh off the pier at Fisherman’s Wharf — slowly and tastefully! Because you never know when — or if — it will happen again. Now, that wasn’t so painful was it? Or was it? This, That and The Other (local) — Congratulations to neighbor and Frontier High School volleyballer, Kelsey Fien, for her verbal commitment to the University of Nebraska. People from the Midwest have strong familial values and Kelsey will fit right in as she comes from a wonderful family. Garces High varsity football coach, John Roberts, admittedly ran up the score on East High, yet had the guts to apologize to everyone regarding his misdeed. A life lesson learned! Here’s hoping that a mention of the Bak- ersfield Condors will bring positive karma to the team, coach Marty Raymond and GM Matthew Riley. That class organization deserves some lovin’ and luck during their trying times. The D-I high school football playoffs are going to be thrilling! No disrespect here Liberty Patriots, but a Centennial-BHS rematch in the playoffs sounds delicious. This, That and The Other (national) — The NBA’s Boston Celtics have already punked the much-heralded Miami Heat twice in the first 10 games of the season. One could make a case for quantity over quality as the Celts are a much deeper team. Business as usual: World Series MVP Edgar Renteria was released by the San Francisco Giants within days after the clinching game. If Floyd Mayweather Jr. ever agrees to the fight, the guess here is that his personal travails and inactivity will lead to a Manny Pacquiao victory. May- weather will not be able to pile up enough points with his defensive style of boxing as the “Pac-Man” will aggressively be in “Pret- ty-Boy’s” face all night long. Wouldn’t it be something if two BCS-busting college foot- ball teams ended up as the only unbeatens at years end? Would love to see Texas Chris- tian University and Boise State vie for the national championship! Parity is the word which comes to mind while following pro football this year. Eight games in and every- body has at least two losses. And that is exactly why America’s sports fans embrace it as the number-one sport in our country. And In Passing — Was very saddened to learn belatedly of the passing of one of Bak- ersfield’s baseball men. Chuck Pierce passed away while on a trip to Idaho. Chuck was at one time a scout for several professional baseball teams. He was a jolly sort who always had a smile for you. He was a fixture at BC and Blaze baseball games. Back in the late-70s I wandered out to Sam Lynn Ballpark and saw a team practicing. Not knowing a single soul I walked up to this short, heavy-set gentleman who appeared to be the manager and asked if I could throw the ball around with them. Soon after, Chuck asked me if I would like to join their team, the County League’s Bak- ersfield Batting Range. I said that I would love to and that began a lifelong friendship between Chuck and I. In the last few years about the only time I saw Chuck was at the Hot Stove dinners and we would always chat each other up for a few minutes. Each time before saying goodbye, Chuck would always say that he was very proud of all of his ballplayers. We were all his boys. And before he would walk away he would shake my hand with both of his hands and flash his infectious smile. Thanks for the memories, Chuck. YOUR SPORTS R CALIFORNIAN FILE Kelsey Fien Fruitvale Jr. High advanced drama class to present ‘A Christmas Carol’ Thanks for the memories, Chuck Pierce MICHAEL ELLIOTT Sports columnist Optimal Hospice honors local veterans F EXTRA! EXTRA! FROM THE PHOTO GALLERY Fruitvale’s Ad- vanced Drama students: Katie Barksdale, Kennedi Sulli- van, Audrey Weir, Sara Wedemeyer and Taylor Ca- marillo practice for the school’s Third annual production of Charles Dick- ens’s “A Christ- mas Carol.” COURTESY PHOTOS Alicia Hammons (top left) and her eighth-grade Advanced Drama class. Hanna Molen and Amy Williams rehearse a scene from “A Christmas Carol.” Evan Amason and Brooke Crosswhite during a dramatic scene in “A Christ- mas Carol.” T COURTESY PHOTO Youth volunteer pre- senting a Veterans Day gift. FALL into photography! Do YOU have a favorite “Fall” photo you’d like to share with Voice readers? Submitting your stories, blogs, events or photos for The Bakersfield Voice is simple and FREE! Just go to: www.bakersfieldvoice.com, create a free profile, and get started today! PHOTOS BY BARBARA BUTLER FIRECREEK PHOTOGRAPHY
