Local

Christmas is the Season for Giving

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- Christmas is a season of giving; however, no Christmas holiday would be complete without…you guessed it, the jolly old Christmas tree.  On Thursday, December 15, the PAL Charter Academy High School held their 6th Annual Christmas Tree contest.  Students were invited to write essays on “If I Only Had One Wish for Christmas.”

PAL Center CEO, Dwaine Radden Sr. said, “The students’ essays were incredible and heartfelt, you could hear a pin drop.”

He continues, “Their words penetrated to the depths of my core and stirred my spirit.”  

Judged by PAL Staff and Board members, the top three essays received a Christmas tree and gift card.  Thanks to the generous donation of Christmas trees by Northwestern Christmas Trees, who have partnered with the PAL Center for this contest for the past 6 years, the winner Jasmine Moreno, and the runner ups, Kenyatta Deshazior, and Louie Gonzalez went home with a special gift to share with the whole family. Congratulations to all the winners!

Northwestern Christmas Trees is located at 1955 S. Waterman Avenue in San Bernardino.

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Phat Inc. Magazine and Subaru of San Bernardino Support Santa with 4th Annual Red Carpet Toy Drive

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- Local celebrity Vincent Ayon aka Invinceable, the publisher of Phat Inc. Magazine, is once again donning his Santa hat. With the support of Subaru of San Bernardino, the former hip-hop artist proudly presents his 4th Annual Red Carpet Toy Drive. Hosted by Albert Ricks of Subaru San Bernardino and Phat Inc. Magazine, the 4th Annual Red Carpet Toy Drive takes place on Sunday, December 18 at 2 p.m. at the San Bernardino Auto Center, located at 645 Auto Center Drive in San Bernardino. The Red Carpet Toy Drive has become a staple in the Inland Empire community and is recognized as one of the area’s most entertaining and charitable events. Over 200 toys were collected and distributed last year.

“We are thrilled to once again partner with Subaru of San Bernardino for our annual Red Carpet Toy Drive,” says Invinceable, founder and publisher of Phat Inc. Magazine. “It’s an honor for Phat Inc. Magazine to be able to continue to bring cheer during the holiday season to so many wonderful kids. This is a great opportunity for the community to come together in the Christmas spirit while making a difference in the life of a child.”

The Red Carpet Toy Drive is free to the public and promises to be a day filled with music, courtesy of the Inland Empire’s own Chris Loos of Old School 104.7 FM, live music performances, special guest celebrities, raffles, giveaways, and free goodie bags to the first 100 guests. Attendees who bring an unwrapped toy will receive a complimentary taco plate and a free beverage.

As with previous Christmas events, proceeds from this year’s event will be donated to the Boys & Girls Club of the San Bernardino Mountain Communities. According to a report by the U.S. Census Bureau over 28.5% of children in the Inland Empire are living far below the poverty level. For over 20 years the Boys & Girls Club of the Mountain Communities has been helping these young people to reach their dreams and realize their full potential.

Invinceable has always strived to make his community proud. The rap music artist first made national headlines with the release of his single, “A Soldier Never Dies.” The touching anthem was dedicated to the memory of Invinceable’s cousin, Anthony Hector Vargas, a Marine who lost his life in a San Bernadino neighborhood home after returning from battle in Iraq.

For additional information regarding supporting or attending the Red Carpet Toy Drive, contact Invinceable at hello@phatincmag.com.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. Hosts Kwanzaa Celebration in High Desert

VICTORVILLE, CA- The High Desert Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. will host a Kwanzaa Celebration on Saturday December 17.  The celebration will be at Victor Valley College downstairs in the Student Activities Center from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.  This event is for all ages and free to the public.  Come learn about Kwanza and participate in this event.
The Alumnae Chapter will also sponsor the 11th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Peace March Monday January 16, 2017.  The location is the corner of Seneca Rd. and Civic Drive in Victorville (Victorville Courthouse).  The March begins at 10 a.m.  This event is free and open to the public.
For more information on both events, call 760-951-0680 or 760-240-7147.

Redlands Wins 35th County Mock Trial Championship

SAN BERNARDINO – Redlands High School continued its winning ways as it wrapped up its record 14th San Bernardino County title in the 35th annual Mock Trial competition that was decided on December 10.
Cajon High School, which was looking for its first county title, gave a spirited and competitive performance, but Redlands’ experienced team pulled out another victory. It was the school’s third title in the past four years.
“This truly was a team effort in every sense,” said Redlands coach Donna St. George, who has been with the team for each and every one of the school’s county titles.
Superior Court Judge Charles Bradley congratulated both Cajon and Redlands for the expertise and poise each showed in the finals at the San Bernardino Justice Center.
“I have no doubt both of these teams could go onto the state competition and win. You are very, very good,” he said.
With the victory, Redlands advances to the state mock trial competition in Riverside in March.
Team members for Cajon are: Lily Bolanos; Valerie Covarrubias; Lauren Helt; Siduri Ho; Eva Henery; Natalie McGlockin; Angela Monroy; Tyler Peyton; Melody Satele; Steven Schwartz; Anna Smith; Jalen Stevenson; and Madison Thomas.
Redlands team members were: Courtney Cappelli; Emma Dixon; Vibhi Ganapathy; Tiffani Le; Bailey McKernan; Michael Moralez; Hazel Naftzger; Tiffany Rekem; Christian Valdez; Tyler Vallecorsa; and Katelyn Zabaleta.
Approximately 400 students representing 32 high school teams have participated in the Mock Trial competition this year. This event is co-sponsored by the San Bernardino County
Superintendent of Schools and the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office.

50th Anniversary Kwanzaa Celebration Was Well Atttended

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- On Saturday, December 10, community members and elected officials came out to celebrate the 50th Anniversary Kwanzaa Celebration. The annual celebration was held at San Bernardino Valley College. This year there was a special skit presented by the PAL Charter Academy.

Men of Tomorrow Rites of Passage Ceremony

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- The Mu Xi Lambda chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc will be hosting its Men of Tomorrow Rites of Passage ceremony on Saturday, December 17 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at California State University, San Bernardino in the Student Union, Event Room A.
The program will be in collaboration with our fraternity’s national initiative, to inspire young men to complete high school, and college.  Over the past eleven months, members of the fraternity have been mentoring a group of young men (ages 8-18) on various skills that are vital to their future success.  They have attended workshops on goal setting, self-respect, and peaceful conflict resolution, to name a few.
These young men will be honored during Saturday’s luncheon to celebrate their commitment to complete this intensive learning program they began at the beginning of the year.  To RSVP to this event, please contact Kevin Hall at khall1949@yahoo.com by Thursday, December 15. The event is free but parking is $6 for vehicles that do not have a CSUSB parking permit. The street address of the student union is 5500 University Pkwy, San Bernardino, CA 92407.

Everything’s Coming Up Kwanzaa

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- On Saturday, December 10, PAL Charter Academy students Jesse Hamilton, Brent Matthews, Rica Taylor, Jacqueline German, Edward Orrego and Devyn Graves attended the 50th Anniversary Kwanzaa Celebration at San Bernardino Valley College.  These students actively participated in the event by presenting a skit that highlighted The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa: unity, self-determination, working together, supporting one another, purpose, creativity and faith.

Reading Heroes Recognized For Their Contributions To Literacy

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- Thirty-five Reading Heroes who raise the bar for literacy throughout San Bernardino County were recognized by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday as part of the Countywide Vision project’s Vision2Read initiative.

In February, the Vision2Read campaign asked the public to identify people in the community who go above and beyond the call of duty to motivate others to read and improve literacy skills and nominate them as Reading Heroes.

“I’m pleased to learn that so many sectors in our community are collaborating to improve literacy in this county,” said James Ramos, chairman of the Board of Supervisors. “These Reading Heroes come from private business, public schools, libraries, and community organizations. Several of these Reading Heroes are spending their own personal time to make sure our children and adults are learning what they need to succeed in life.”

The Reading Heroes are:

Laurey Aydelotte volunteers in classrooms at Wrightwood and Phelan Elementary and Pinion Mesa Middle schools helping children read.

Carol Baker of Baker’s Drive Thru sponsors the Baker’s Book Club and donated the land for the Baker Family Learning Center in Muscoy.

Amber Claflin gets the children of Etiwanda schools excited about reading by implementing a Battle of the Books competition and keeping school libraries open during the summer.

Dawn Coberly created an accelerated reading program at her school in the Snowline School District and works during the evenings to teach literacy to adult learners.

Stacy Diemert is a High Desert Juvenile Court school librarian who works with struggling readers to bring them up to speed and orders books in advance so they don’t have to wait for new material.

Karen Duns volunteers and works overtime to encourage children in Highland to read by helping select books that will pique their interest and connect them to lifelong reading.

Michelle Dusick works with local schools to encourage literacy for people of all ages on their journey to recovery and wellness in San Bernardino County.

Cindy Easterly helps children and adults build valuable literacy skills as a volunteer for the City of Rancho Cucamonga’s public library.

Skylynn Ellison is an 11-year-old from Fontana who is already a published author of the book “Sky’s the Limit: The Drama Queen,” about a girl who stands up to bullies.

Melany Espinoza is a student at Phelan Elementary School who does household chores to fund the purchase of new books to read to her own goats, cows and horses.

Alyssa Gammell is an Oak Hills High School student who encourages friends and classmates to read by writing stories so interesting they want to read more. Her ultimate goal is to become an author.

Dr. Jane Guttman is a teacher librarian for Juvenile Court Schools in San Bernardino County and encourages literacy for incarcerated youth at risk.

Lydia Harjehausen is a library technician at an elementary school in Yucaipa who motives children and young adults to reach each day.

Lisa Hazen dresses up as the Cat in the Hat for children at the Adelanto Branch Library and brings stories to life for children with her enthusiasm.

Linda Holden holds reading competitions and other literacy events for students and parents to motivate even the most unlikely readers to become successful at the Mission Crest Elementary School library in Hesperia.

Niki Jack is an avid reader who completed about six and a half years of adult reading in three months while a student at Mary Putnam Henck Intermediate School in Lake Arrowhead.

Martha Kennedy is a retired teacher who works with adult literacy learners that meets at Lugonia Elementary School in Redlands.

Cindy Kimble-Pirner inspires her preschoolers in San Bernardino County schools to learn to read in unconventional ways and through reading games such as “popcorn words” and “bubble gum” words.

Brad Letner is a Rotarian who established a literacy program aimed at pre-kindergarten children in the Victor Valley area which pairs community members with a child for an hour, three days a week to improve their literacy skills.

Pamela Martinez leads the successful Young Readers program at the AK Smiley Public Library in Redlands that serves thousands of youth each year.

Kristen Mungcal works with peer advocates and program managers in the county to help develop writing and reading comprehension skills for adults improving their quality of life.

Suzanne Oliver, a retired Victorville librarian, takes her trained therapy dogs to schools and libraries so children can read with them and to them to improve their literacy skills.

Jerry Patterson spends one day every week at Warm Springs Elementary School in San Bernardino reading to classrooms of children. At Christmas time, he provides a book to each student.

Frank Perez founded the Colton nonprofit Rewritten where he works with at-risk youth to empower them through education and literacy.

Denise Perry, a first-grade teacher at Lugonia Elementary School in Redlands, stresses the importance of reading to her students and their parents by encouraging them to read at least 15 minutes a day together.

Lynette Ramirez launched the Ready4Reading Book Club in the High Desert to collect books so underprivileged children, often transients, could have access to literacy.

Sharon Regalado, a retired teacher, works with adult literacy learners that meets at Lugonia Elementary School in Redlands

Ashenden Salazar tutors and reads at the STEM Charter School in Barstow helping other students achieve their goals.

Courtney Saldana implemented KinderGo which puts a library card in the hands of every Ontario kindergartner and holds the Ontario Teen Book fest where teens can meet their favorite authors in person.

Kenneth Thomas, an elementary school student who reads at a 12th grade level, constantly has a book in his hand and encourages his sister, his friends and classmates to read.

Jim and Judy Watson funded the Watson and Associates Literacy Center at Cal State San Bernardino, a tutoring facility designed to help students struggling to reach grade-level proficiency.

Diane and Paul Williams helped create the Rancho Cucamonga Public Library and they raise funds for Friends of the Library which pays for books and literacy programs.

Chris Wilson, a second grade teacher at Fairfax Elementary in San Bernardino, built a Reading Room in his classroom and filled it with donated books.

Vision2Read, an initiative of the Countywide Vision project, aims to raise the bar on literacy in our county by focusing on the importance of reading, connecting people who need help or who can help to literacy resources. Sixty-three percent of San Bernardino County third graders did not meet 2016 California English language arts and literacy standards and 32 million adults nationwide can’t read.

Literacy has an impact on a number of elements in our community such as jobs and the economy, education, public safety and wellness. When literacy skills are nurtured and encouraged, children and adults can reach their potential, the local economy can continue to prosper and the county will have a more educated workforce to attract employers to the region.

Visit Vision2Read.com for additional information about the campaign and literacy resources.

Lighting of The Arrowhead Landmark

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- For the first time, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians lit up The Arrowhead in memory and tribute to the 14 lives lost in the December 2 terrorist attack in San Bernardino one year ago. The iconic Arrowhead is a natural formation on the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains that can be seen for miles throughout the valley. The brilliant lighting of the Arrowhead formation will stand as a memorial to each life lost on December 2 and a symbol of solidarity and hope for this proud and strong community. 

“Even as we struggle to make sense of those events from a year ago, we remain strong in our commitment to the values that make us a strong community,” said Lynn Valbuena, Chairwoman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. “We are proud to join with the San Bernardino and our community partners to shine a new light in memory of those we lost.” 

The Arrowhead was lit on Thursday, December 1 and will remain lit until December 15 from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The Arrowhead formation is located in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains, just north of San Bernardino’s Wildwood Park (40th Street and Waterman Avenue). Lit up with over a dozen 120,000-lumen arc lights, it can be seen from nearly anywhere in the cities of San Bernardino or Highland. 

“2017 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration”

FONTANA, CA- The Ephesians New Testament Church and the City Of Fontana cordially invites you to participate in the 29th Annual Birthday Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Nobel Peace Prize Winner) and slain Civil-Rights leader. The celebration will encompass two (2) days, January 13th and 14th, 2017

On January 13, 2017 the Annual Worship Service will be hosted by the Mountain View Community Church, 8833 Palmetto Avenue, Fontana, California at 7:30pm. This year’s annual speaker will be the Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes Jr., Sr. Pastor Emeritus of Riverside Church of New York.  A renowned speaker and much sought after lecturer ranked and noted by Newsweek Magazine as one of the top “10’” preachers the country. He has written several books his most recent books “Who’s Gospel”, “The Holy Spirit and Preaching” to name a couple of his works.

Special music guest that evening The Grammy Nominated Los Angeles Gospel Messengers under the direction of Rev. Quincy Fielding Jr. and also the renowned Psalmist, Ms. Betty Griffin Keller. This worship service is free to the community and open to all faiths.

In a tribute to culture, a Jazz Concert will be hosted January 14, 2017 at the Fontana Steelworkers Auditorium 8427 Sierra Avenue, Fontana, California at 7:30pm; featuring the following artist:  

Kirk Whalum, Smooth Jazz Artist and Grammy Award Winner, he  has worked with artists such as Whitney Houston, Willie Norwood, Babyface, Nancy Wilson, Yolanda Adams, BeBe & CeCe Winans, Barbara Streisand, Kirk Franklin, Quincy Jones, Kevin Mahogany, Al Green and Luther Vandross just to name a few. He has also worked on film scores including those for The Prince of Tides, The Bodyguard and Grand Canyon. Kirk Whalum is known for his gospel hit, Falling In Love With Jesus.

Ms. Jeanette Harris and the Jeanette Harris Band, Whom have served as the  opening act for artist such as the late BB King, Kirk Whalum, Grammy Award winner Denise Williams, Eric Marienthal, and Paul Jackson to name a few.

Ticket prices are: You & Me tickets $100, VIP tickets $95, and General Admission tickets $60. Show will begin at 7:30pm. Doors will open at 6:30pm. For ticket information: www.ephesianschurch.com or call the church office (909)823-2310; there are also hotel packages available through the Fontana Hilton Garden Inn.