Valley VoiceCentral

A Unifying Factor In The Valley’s Community APRIL 2014

a m o n t h l y m i n o r i t y p u b l i c a t i o n

Boys & Girls Club of Merced County ANNUAL GALA “ PAGE 7

St. Patrick’s Day TeaZephyr D. Clark Memorial

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Mt. Pisgah’s Annual Women’s Program PAGE 12

Jean Tyler (left) and Darlene Martinez (right)

2 APRIL 2014

“With your courage and with your compassion and your desire, we will build a Great Society. It’s a Society where no child will go unfed, and no youngster will go un-schooled.”

Do those lofty promises sound familiar? Lyndon Johnson assured us of that 50 years ago.

Similar words are often echoed today.

LBJ’s promise of a Great So-ciety in 64’ was to be an end to poverty and society’s woes. He claimed: “Government isn’t an enemy of the people,” but many today aren’t con-vinced.

The “Great Society” was a set of American domestic programs first announced by President Johnson May 22, 1964. The main goals of the reforms were the elimination of poverty and racial injustice. The Great Society in scope and sweep resembled Frank-lin Roosevelt’s New Deal.

The terms “Social Injustice” and “Income Inequality” are still often used vernacular by many politicians all these years later.

The most ambitious and controversial part of the Great Society was its initia-tive to end poverty. Johnson launched an “unconditional war on poverty” in the first months of his presidency with the goal of eliminating hunger and deprivation from American life.

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1964 - 2014: What Have We Learned? Yet, the programs of The

Great Society contributed to the destruction of African American families which had survived centuries of slavery and discrimination. They be-gan to rapidly disintegrate in the liberal welfare state that subsidized unwed pregnancy and changed welfare from an emergency rescue to a way of life.

The War on Poverty began with a $1 billion appropria-tion in 1964 and spent anoth-er $2 billion in the following two years, which spawned into dozens of other pro-grams.

Trillions have been spent over the last 50 years to van-quish poverty, yet it endures.

Unlike the New Deal, which was a response to a severe fi-nancial and economic calam-ity, the Great Society initia-tives came just as the United States’ post-World War II pros-perity was starting to fade.

Lyndon Johnson’s oppo-nent, Barry Goldwater, a Re-publican, said: “I’ve heard all those promises that govern-ment can provide you every-thing … for years … it’s noth-ing more than a pipe dream.” Although Goldwater lost the election in 1964, 27 million people believed in his conser-vative philosophy of smaller government, lower taxes and individual freedom. Many be-lieve Barry Goldwater’s cam-paign was the beginning of the conservative movement. Many believe 2008 was the

birth of the tea party, another conservative movement.

Johnson won the election with 61% of the vote and he carried all but six states. Democrats gained enough seats to control more than two-thirds of each chamber of Congress and the House became known as the most liberal since 1938.

The Democratic Party and Republican Party both offered freedom to the segregated. However, it came in various forms. The Democratic ap-proach was government will provide. On the other hand, the Republican approach was one that it’s not the govern-ment’s moral obligation to do such things.

The Food Stamp program

was made permanent in 1964. Medicaid was created a year later and welfare recipients, of all ages, received medical care through that program. The legislation overcame bit-ter resistance from the Ameri-can Medical Association - Doctors thought the idea was Socialized Medicine.

Ironically, fifty years later nationalized medicine, in the form of ObamaCare, is here.

Have we learned anything from these attempts at so-cial engineering? Evidently not, because 33% of high school graduates never read another book after leaving school. 42% of college gradu-ates never read another book after college. 57% of new books aren’t read to comple-tion. 70% of adults in the US haven’t been to a bookstore

The Black Arts Movement Celebration

Yvonne and Denard Davis with Belva Davis at The Black Arts Movement and its Influences held at the Multicul-tural Center in Merced, CA.Television Journalist Belva Davis hosted the opening night of Black Arts Movement and Influence event.

On the front page of the March edition of the Central Valley Voice, We misspelled the name of YvonneDavis. I sincerely apologize for this mishap. When you misspell someone’s name, it is something that’s taken personally and again I do apologize.

Corrections

SincerelyFelicia D. RobertsPublisher

in the last five years and 80% of families didn’t buy or read a book last year.

If one read an hour per day in a chosen field you would be an expert in seven years.

There is no historical record of any successful socialistic system that garnished indi-vidual liberty or freedom and boasted of prosperity among the masses; on the contrary, such forms of rule are always plagued by malpractice, in-fringement and violation of rights, abuse, corruption and injustice.

I’m convinced conserva-tism has been around since the dawn of time, in one form or other, but there’s always been an opposing force in opposition to it.

CENTRAL VALLEY VOICE.COM 3

PublisherFelicia D.Robertsis published monthlyCentral Valley Voice

Views expressed by writers, columnists and stories printed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of Central Valley Voice newspapers. Only when indicated as Central Valley Voice's or editorial views can it be interpreted as the views of this publication. The editorial team of Central Valley Voice reserves the right to edit, cut or piece any article, letter, statement, poem, report, ads, quotes and all other materials submitted before printing.

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Serving Merced, Stanislaus, Madera and San Joaquin Counties

Editorial TeamCharlotte Marcelli

Hermione L WilliamsI’ve had my share of toxic

relationships, or at least what I thought was toxic. Is it fair to say you have too? My guess is that we’ve all endured the company of people who were not shooting for our highest good. As for me, the relation-ships that were the most de-bilitating and unhealthy gave me the feeling that I wasn’t taking care of myself spiritual-ly, mentally, or physically like I

should. I was feeling less than myself, like I was compromis-ing my life goals with each second I stayed around those people. Mind you, these were both friendships and roman-tic relationships. These were toxic relationships.

The label “toxic” means something that drains life and energy. Before I knew it, I was weak and delicate, subject to the whim of the person to whom I’d given my power.

I was guilty as charged, hanging around those people too long in an effort to do what was supposedly right by societal standards—fight-ing to stay in a relationship instead of giving up or “be-ing a quitter”. Little did I know that my desire to be agreeable and accepted was suffocating what was right for me.

While some difficult rela-tionships can open our eyes to new perspectives and ex-pand our awareness, some obviously shut us in and hin-der our development. Our in-

tuition will alert us one way or the other. It tells us, change and growth should feel good!

It’s important to know when you’re in a toxic relationship so you can choose something better for yourself.

1. Hostility. Is your signifi-cant other hostile toward you? Is he/she angry a lot of the time? If you feel you are living with a lot of tension, feeling stressed and not able to express yourself the way you want your relationship is not healthy for you. You want to feel the safety and security to express your authentic self. —Dr. Marian Stansbury

2. Criticism and contempt. Does your significant other criticize or demean you? Are you on edge much of the time because you feel that you can't please your partner or do anything right? Does he/she make fun of you or criti-cize you in public, in front of friends or family? Does he/she act superior towards you or mock you? These are all warn-

ing signs of an unhappy, dys-functional relationship. —Dr. Marian Stansbury

3. Avoidance. Does he/she avoid you? Maybe he/she gives double messages that make you feel confused (e.g. saying "Of course I love you" while not behaving in a lov-ing manner). When he doesn't want to be physically affec-tionate, you end up feeling rejected. Meanwhile, he com-plains that you are too needy. —Dr. Marian Stansbury

4. Rigidity. Is your partner open to being influenced by you? Is he/she self-reflective? When you express how you feel and ask for what you want, does he/she listen and make an effort to meet your needs? If he/she refuses to ac-knowledge that your feelings and needs are important, and refuses to go to counseling, you may be stuck in a toxic re-lationship. Then you need to ask yourself, "What do I need to do for myself to be happy and satisfied with my life?" —Dr. Marian Stansbury

5. Name calling. Also known as "dirty fighting," name call-

ing is a definite sign of toxicity in a relationship. Attempting to hurt someone with words is not the way to resolve conflict or communicate hurt feelings. Problems usually escalate quickly when name-calling is present and it makes it espe-cially difficult to create inti-macy and connection in the relationship. —Keri Nola

6. You aren't yourself. Do you change your likes, dislikes or opinions when you're with your partner? Feeling like you can't be yourself and adjust-ing to please for fear of retali-ation can be a sign of a toxic relationship. It's important to be able to express yourself honestly in your relationship for authentic love to grow.

If you’re experiencing even just one of these signs, check in with yourself to see if the relationship is doing more damage than good. Evaluate the relationship and what it’s worth to you. If you need sup-port in your relationship, don’t hesitate to call a Hotline ad-vocate today at 1−800−799−SAFE (7233).

The High Cost of Loving

As I’ve been making the rounds discussing the find-ings of our 2014 State of Black America - One Nation Un-deremployed: Jobs Rebuild America report, many people have asked me about solu-tions to the challenge that we have identified as the “Great Divide.”

In the areas of income in-equality, living wages and job creation, I consistently point to immediate actions that can be taken including an in-crease in the minimum wage with an index to inflation, as well as the need for Congress to pass a transportation in-frastructure bill. In 2010, the National Urban League es-tablished as one of our four strategic goals that we would work to ensure that "Every American has access to jobs

with a living wage and good benefits." We believed then, as we do now, that earning a living wage should not be a luxury in America. Congress can act, and so can you.

During our State of Black America release event at the National Press Club last week, U.S. Secretary of Transporta-tion Anthony Foxx delivered remarks and spoke about the importance of rebuild-ing America’s infrastructure as one of the fastest and best ways to create good jobs. It’s what keeps our nation mov-ing - our roads and rails, ports and airports, our bridges and power grids. We must do what we can to remain attractive to business, and we have com-petition. For example, as a percentage of GDP, China and Germany are spending about

twice what we're spending in order to build infrastructure. Repairing bridges and high-ways, building new transit systems and creating smarter transportation systems would support millions of jobs na-tionwide, keep us competitive and is something we can act on now.

Lastly, I continue to em-phasize the critical need for partnership to make any sig-nificant impact on the prob-lems our nation faces. That means partnerships across the public-private-nonprof-it sectors, such as our Jobs Rebuild America initiative; across federal, state and local government to address the lo-cal dynamics beneath the na-tional trends; and between or-ganizations and leaders who share the common goals of equity, equality and empow-erment in America, such as our 21st Century Agenda for

Jobs and Freedom developed and signed by a coalition of al-most 60 civil rights, social jus-tice, business and community leaders.

We know the magnitude of the issues that threaten our nation’s future, growth and sustained economic recovery. We also know what needs to be done. Let’s get down to business.

Opening ReMARCs

Marc H. MorialPresident and CEO, National

Urban League

4 APRIL 2014

Community Colleges, CSU Show Progress in Developing Transfer Pathway, But Obstacles Remain Recommendations Include Ways To Expand Number Of Degrees, Increase Student Awareness

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—A Cali-fornia community college de-gree designed to streamline students’ admission to the Cal-ifornia State University (CSU) is leading to clearer pathways for transfer. But efforts to fully implement this reform face a number of challenges, ac-cording to a progress report released today by the Public Policy Institute of California.

The report finds that the California Community Col-leges (CCC) have made signifi-cant progress in developing associate degrees for transfer, first offered in 2011–2012. These degrees are designed to streamline a complex, inef-ficient process that has led to low rates of transfer to four-year universities.

Nearly half of the state’s community colleges—54 of 112—now offer 10 or more transfer degrees out of the 25 possible degrees approved by the CCC and CSU systems. However, some community colleges offer only a few trans-fer degrees, raising questions about equal access. Those that offer just a few of the degrees include both large colleges in urban or suburban areas and small colleges in rural areas.

Associate degrees for trans-fer consist of 60 units that include general education re-quirements and a minimum of 18 units in a major. CSU must admit a student with a trans-fer degree to one of its cam-puses as a junior and grant the student priority in admission to an academic major that is “similar” to the program com-pleted at community college. CSU campuses determine which programs are similar to CCC areas of study. The CSU campus must also guar-antee that these transfer stu-dents will need to complete no more than 60 additional units of coursework to earn a bachelor’s degree and will not be required to repeat a course

successfully completed at community college.

The PPIC report finds that CSU campuses have made sig-nificant progress in increasing the share of majors that they accept as “similar.” But some campuses accommodate transfer degrees in only some of their bachelor’s degree pro-grams, or to only limited op-tions or concentrations within a particular major.

“The new degrees were cre-ated with the laudable goal of establishing consistent trans-fer requirements throughout the state to increase transfer rates and better serve stu-dents,” said study co-author Colleen Moore, research spe-cialist at the Institute for High-er Education Leadership & Policy (IHELP) at Sacramento State University. “Progress on this goal has been steady and remains promising, but im-plementation faces multiple challenges.”

The report identifies several issues that may be limiting the number of students pursuing this degree:

•The guarantee of admis-sion to a CSU somewhere in the system may not be com-pelling for students who want to transfer to a campus close to home, and capacity con-straints at the CSU may limit the value of the promise of admission.

•The lack of participation by the University of California means that the new trans-fer degrees are not really the “statewide” pathway envi-sioned by the legislation, pos-ing a challenge for students who want to keep open the option of transfer to either a CSU or UC campus.

•A survey of CCC student leaders suggests that aware-ness of the new degree is lim-ited and efforts to inform stu-dents have been insufficient.

•A one-size-fits-all approach may not be appropriate for

all majors. In science or tech-nical fields, for example, 120 units may not be enough for a student to acquire necessary knowledge.

The study’s authors empha-size the need for realistic ex-pectations about the extent to which the new degrees would become the preferred transfer pathway for all California stu-dents. A student who follows this pathway and graduates with no more than 120 units must quickly choose a major, decide early on CSU as a desti-nation, get admitted to a cam-pus with a similar major, and avoid changing majors once at CSU. Many CCC students enter college without the knowledge and experience for such expeditious comple-tion of their goals.

“The goal should be to in-crease the number of stu-dents who can benefit from this pathway, and then see whether additional approach-es can be devised to better serve those who may not be able to take advantage of it,” said co-author Nancy Shulock, executive director of IHELP and an adjunct fellow at PPIC.

The authors offer recom-mendations for legislators and leaders in the CCC and CSU system to improve the imple-mentation effort. Among them: that CSU review majors deemed “not similar” to deter-mine whether the designation is warranted, that CCC share resources so that smaller col-leges can offer more transfer degrees, and that the legisla-ture fund efforts to increase awareness of the transfer de-gree and try to involve the University of California to expand the pool of students who can be served by this re-form.

The report is From Commu-nity College to University: Ex-pectations for California’s New Transfer Degrees.

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STATE NEWS The Transformed Supervisor: Clinical Supervision in California Public Mental Health

May 9, 20148:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.Sequoia Room, CiMHCiMH is pleased to present

this training, developed by the American Association for Mar-riage and Family Therapy - Cal-ifornia Division(AAMFT-CA). This course was created to re-spond to the training needs of supervisors who are evolving with the times as our health-care system advances. Begin-ning in 2012, MFT schools were mandated to provide training in recovery oriented care, systems of care and other topics of importance to public mental health.

Whether or not you work in a public setting, you will be su-pervising interns and trainees who have been educated and prepared for the future. New models for client care mean new challenges for supervi-sors:

How will health care reform change service delivery sys-tems?

How does recovery-orient-ed care change your supervi-sion process?

How do you honor and in-corporate your knowledge, training and orientation as a Marriage and Family Therapist

within new models of supervi-sion?

Date: Friday, May 9, 2014Time: 8:30 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.Location: California Institute

for Mental Health, 2125 19th Street, Sacramento, CA 95818, Sequoia Room

Cost: $150/person. Addi-tional $20/person for Continu-ing Education Units.

Note: This course meets the qualifications for 6 continuing education credits for MFTs, LPCCs and/or LCSWs and ful-fills the BBS supervision course requirements for licensure re-newal as required by the Cali-fornia Board of Behavioral Sci-ences. BBS Provider # 91.

CEUs are also available for psychologists. See details above.

CEUs for MFTs, LPCCs and/or LCSWs provided by AAMFT-CA; CEUs for psychologists provided by Psychwest

If you have any questions or problems registering, please contact Shoshana Zatz at szatz@cimh.orgVenue: CiMHSequoia Room2125 19th St. 2nd FloorSacramento, California 95818(916) 556-3480

CENTRAL VALLEY VOICE.COM 5

CITY-BY-CITYNews From across the Central Valley

MERCED

ATWATER

MODESTO

The City of Modesto now offers customers the ability to pay their water bills using their smartphones with a mo-bile app called Check.

Modesto has partnered with Check, a mobile bill pay-ment company, to provide their customers with a more convenient way to pay for water service. With Check, customers can pay their water bill anytime, anywhere and using a wide variety of pay-ment methods, including all major credit cards.

Unlike bank bill payment services, Check’s free mobile app can be used to pay any bill anytime, anywhere and with

any payment method. Giving customers a complete view into their personal finances across multiple providers, the top-rated app makes it simple to see balances, view transac-tions, and make payments on the fly from a mobile device.

"We are very pleased to of-fer more convenience to our valued customers," said Les-lie Curtin, Customer Services Manager. "Mobile apps are an increasingly popular method to complete tasks, and we are always looking for new ways to innovate and benefit from improved technology. Check is an easy, convenient way for customers to take care of

their bills."As an incentive, Check is of-

fering $5 off a customer's first City water bill when they pay using Check. To get started, customers can visit Modesto’s website check.me/Modesto or visit Google Play or the iTunes App Store to down-load the Check app for free.

Traditional payment op-tions, such as paper checks and bank "auto pay," are still available, along with phone and internet pay.

For more information, please contact the Customer Services Division at 209-577-5395.

The Merced County His-panic Chamber of Commerce proudly invites you to it’s 5th annual interactive Busi-ness Expo. Field Experts will be covering topics including Labor law Compliance, Tax Law, social media for busi-ness, marketing success, cre-

ating a business website, and other topics like how to start a sucessful business, and how to reach and profit from the huge local Hispanic market. Whether you already own a business or are just thinking about starting one, come and learn about the basics for success in today’s economy. This is a free event, brought to you by the Merced County

Hispanic Chamber of Com-merce…bringing the resourc-es to you. Be there April 24th from five to eight p.m., at the Merced College Business Resource Center at 630 West Nineteenth Street in Merced. For more information contact the Merced County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce office at (209) 384.9537 or check on Facebook.

Merced, CA – On Sunday, April 27, 2014 members of the community will have the op-portunity to taste a variety of foods at the Thirteenth Annual “Concerned Men Cook” for Ed-ucation event held at the Mer-ced Civic Center, sponsored by the Multicultural Connections, Inc. organization. Profession-als from different agencies, organizations and businesses cooked their favorite dish in support of raising funds for the organization’s Scholarship and Student Activity Fund. Competitors are judged in dif-ferent categories under the criteria of degree of difficulty, originality, taste and palatabil-ity and eye appeal. Several local youth, some being from Tenaya Middle School, may

also participate in the compe-tition.

The energy level at the civic center will be at an all time high with good food, mixing and mingling amongst friends and community members, a drawing for great prizes, and great entertainment by Master of Ceremonies Lamar Henderson of All Dads Mat-ter. The purpose of the Mul-ticultural Connections, Inc. is to assist minority youth and low income or disadvantaged individuals of the community in achieving their educational goals with a primary focus of “working toward the elimina-tion of prejudice and discrimi-nation through multicultural activities and education.”

Sponsored by Multicultural Connections, Inc.

Fourteenth Annual Culinary Extravaganza “Concerned Men Cook” for Education

Left to Right: Organizers, Sylvia Fuller, Eugene Drummond and Yvonne Davis.

5th Annual Business Expo

City of Modesto Customers Can Now Pay Their Water Bills Using Smartphones With Check’s Mobile App

SEE PAGE>6

MERCED

6 APRIL 2014

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“Specializing in leather products”Merced Boot Shoe Repair

461 W. Main Street - Merced, CA 95340

Ask forIrfan Ertan

(209) 726-5002

(Downtown Merced (canal & main street)

Join Dr. Slaton Live™at the Save Our Youth Merced Build-ing Human Assets Talent Showcase.

Dr. Slaton will be leading a group of parents, children, youths, and young adults in an effort to improve parent participation, child perfor-mance, and community ac-tion; through the applied use of Language and Performing Arts.Parent Participation

This is a call to all parents: Come hear parents discuss Behaviors, Learning, Thinking, Conduct, and Mental Health

and the things they are doing to move their youth or young adult through high school.

Child PerformancesThis is a call to all children

and youths: Come see how children and youths are using their performing arts skills to learn ways to respond to Teas-ing, Bullying, Peer Pressure, Gang Assimilation, and Drug Use.Young Adults Performances

This is a call to young adults: Come see how young adults are using their performing arts skills to learn ways to respond to Family Decline, School Failure, Delinquency, Lack of Employable Skill Sets, and Poverty.Community Action

This is a Family-Centered Learning event to improve the delivery of learning and support services to the par-ents, children, youths, and young adults in the home,

school, neighborhood, and workplaces they share.

Wisdom WordsCome to hear why Merced

Union High School District has partnered with Save Our Youth, the Next Generations to improve community and school relations through a fo-cus on Participant Parent Edu-cation. Registration

This is a FREE Family-Cen-tered Learning Event. To reg-ister, please call 209-489-7516 or email us at saveouryouth@aol.com. These are child, youth, and young adult facili-tated events.

Thursday, May 29, 2014El Capitan High School100 Farmland AvenueMerced CA 95348

Parent RecognitionCeremony 3:30-5:30 p.m.,

Performing Art Finals 6:00-9:00 p.m.

Improving Social and Academic Learning

CONCERNED MEN COOK FOR EDUCATION

April 27, 2014 - 2:00 p.m - 4:00 p.m.

This will be a super gala - exotic dishes, local style and from around the world - a taster’s orgy against a back-ground of continuous tast-ing entertainment includ-ing music. We expect up to 50 cooks and 300 samplers.

This gala promises to be a fun and mouth-watering event with gastronomic im-pact.

Ticket cost: $25.00 admits two (2) Dressy Attire Doors open at 2:00 pm

For Tickets or information:

Sylvia F. Fuller 209-358-3636To request tickets by mail

send check to:Yvonne Davis3144 North “G” StreetSuite #125Merced, CA 95340

...CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

Merced County Depart-ment of Mental Health will be having a safeTALK Train-ing next month. This training prepares anyone over the age of 15 to identify persons with thoughts of suicide and how to connect them with first aid resources. For more informa-tion please see the attached flyer.

This training is taking place on:

Monday, May 12, 2014Time: 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

(doors open at 1:00 p.m.)Location: Merced County

Department of Mental Health-Training Room 1137 B Street Merced, CA.

If you would like to register for this training, please con-tact Crystal Guerrero at cguer-rero@co.merced.ca.usor (209) 381-6833.

Please note: if you do not register and fill out the regis-tration form from Crystal, you will not be on the list of atten-dance.

SafeTALK Training

CENTRAL VALLEY VOICE.COM 7

You Are Invited! to the Boys & Girls Club of Merced County ANNUAL GALA "Celebrating 20 Years of Success" on Friday, April 25, 2014 at the Boys & Girls Club located at 615 West 15th Street in Merced.

This is a great event that has been attended by an average of 300 + individuals every year and the money raised goes directly to serving our

local youth. Your attendance and participation does make a huge difference for our local youth and the overall com-munity.

Please contact Mr. Tony Sla-ton at (209) 722-9922 or (209) 509-6901.

Tickets for this event are $45 dollars each and a table is only $350 dollars.

Boys & Girls Club of Merced County ANNUAL GALA "

1400 N 9th St (Ste. 18), Modesto, CA 95350(209) 575-4570

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Merced, California - As of January 1, 2014, Valley Crisis Center in Merced County in collaboration with the Central California Legal Services has been assisting with SB612, a new law strengthening pro-tections for victims of human trafficking, domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and elder/dependent abuse. This law adds victims of human trafficking to those allowed to terminate residential leases early with no financial conse-quence. Previously, Califor-nia law did permit early lease termination for victims (other than human trafficking), how-ever victims had to provide the landlord with a court-issued protective order or a police report as proof of vic-timization. The new law mod-ifies this requirement, making it easier for victims to leave a lease whenever necessary.

It is not always feasible or safe for a survivor of domestic violence or human trafficking to obtain a restraining order or police report. Survivors of domestic violence are often reluctant to involve the court system or law enforcement out of difficulty navigating the court system, fear of retal-iation, or increased violence by the abuser. Immigrant victims may also fear being reported to immigration offi-cials for deportation by their abuser. Even when survivors do not want to involve the criminal justice system, they are often working with other service providers to address the abuse and increase their safety. Expanding the accept-ed documentation to include these service providers will allow additional victims to obtain this safety protection. Under this law health care providers, domestic violence

counselors, sexual assault counselors, and human traf-ficking caseworkers can pro-vide documentation of abuse to assist in releasing a victim from their current unsafe liv-ing situation.

"Valley Crisis Center see's a tremendous value in working together in a collaborative manner with Central Califor-nia Legal Services in assisting victims through this process. It is our hope that the victims will be able to find safety for themselves and their families" states Ms. Alison Tudor, the Program Director for Moun-

tain Crisis Services (sister agency to Valley Crisis Center) and Co-Chair of the Public Policy Research Committee for the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, the state domestic violence coali-tion.

Valley Crisis Center and the Central California Legal Ser-vices will be helping victims through this process so that they will be able to find safety for themselves and their fami-lies. For additional informa-tion, please contact Alison Tudor at (209)742-5865.

New Law Adds Protection for Victims of Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Stalking & Elder Dependent Abuse

8 APRIL 2014

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Dining Table

YouthTalent Showcase

Save Our Youth Merced Building Human Assets Project presents Merced Building Hu-man Assets Talent Showcase.

April 25-26, 2014: Must regis-ter to receive time and location to practice and demonstrate act.

Merced Building Human As-sets Talent Showcase May 3, 2014 and May 17, 2014

Merced Building Human As-sets Talent Showcase Finals is May 30, 2014.

For more information con-tact: (209) 489-7516 or email: saveouryouth@aol.com

The 10th Annual Celebrating Women in Politics Luncheon was held on Thursday March 27, 2014. The event was Co-sponsored by League of Women Voters of Merced County, Soropti-mist Internatioinal of Merced, National Council of Negro Women, Atwater-Merced Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

Celebrating Women in Politics Luncheon

Photo Credit: Jonathan Whitaker

CENTRAL VALLEY VOICE.COM 9

Jim Soria is the type of man who can demand attention simply by walking into a room full of people. His sizable frame and imposing stance must have been an advantage all those years when he was on the beat as a police officer in the valley.

But when you see an hon-est smile, feel a friendly hand-shake and hear a voice that’s calm and reassuring, you sud-denly realize Soria is more gentle than he is giant.

He’s also the kind of likable guy who can start up a con-versation with a table full of complete strangers and leave a lasting impression.

And these traits will surely help the 45-year-old member of the Livingston City Council in his pursuit of a new posi-tion as the sheriff of Merced County.

After all, a sheriff has to be more than tough on crime and diligent with crime fight-ing techniques. A sheriff has to be a uniter. A people person, if you will. A patient negotiator. And someone who can earn the public’s trust.

“I’m a hometown kid,” Soria says proudly. “But I don’t feel like I’m leaving Livingston. The way I look at it, I’m now

extending and embracing the whole county because this is a great opportunity to improve much-needed services for residents. Public safety is my main concern. Families want to feel safe in their communi-ties.”

Soria is facing a highly com-petitive field of sheriff candi-dates, including Pat Lunney, 66, a top investigator for the District Attorney and a for-mer Merced police chief; Sgt. Frank Swiggart, 47, who leads the the Merced College Police Department; Senior Sgt. Rich Howard, 43, a supervisor with the Merced County Multi-Agency Narcotics Task Force; and Vern Warnke, a retired, 29-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department and a part-time deputy.

Soria is a first generation Mexican-American who grew up in Livingston as his immi-grant parents worked hard to provide a better life for their three sons. They all would have successful careers, it turned out.

Jimmy, as his friends called him, played football and base-ball while attending local schools. As a young man he was no stranger to farm la-bor and he helped out in the

peach, almond, grape, fig and cotton fields of the surround-ing areas.

But after high school, he actually got a job delivering flowers for Tioga Florist in Merced. It was his way of earn-ing and saving money for the Police Academy in Modesto. It was also about this time when he met his future wife, Carmen, on a blind date that almost didn’t happened if it weren’t for a lot of encourage-ment from friends.

From the academy, Soria became a security supervisor at Doctors Medical Center, and then he took on a second job as a reserve police officer for the Newman Police De-partment. He was the only bilingual office in the small force, and he was called to translate a lot while on duty. Soon he became a full-time officer and very respected in the community. One time, he and his partner were respon-sible for a crime bust involv-ing 100 pounds of ephedrine to be used for manufacturing methamphetamine – and it happened after a routine ser-vice call.

Soria went on to work at po-lice departments in Ceres, Dos Palos and Mendota, covering everything from shootings and stabbings, to mutual aid operations and appearing in court as an expert witness.

He would eventually obtain 25 years of law enforcement service, but the one job he credits for really helping him hone his skills came when he was hired to be a code en-forcement officer in Mendota.

Soria said he was instrumen-tal in reorganizing a neglected department in the small town of about 11,000 residents, and applied his people skills to the ultimate test.

“As a police officer people

Soria Talks Openly About Run For SheriffELECTION 2014

By Jonathan WhitakerMid-Valley Publications

NAACP Merced BranchSheriff Candidates Forum

NAACP Executive Committee member Darryl Davis question the Sheriff Candidates at the NAACP’s March 24, 2014 meet-ing.

Sheriff Candidates, Frank Swiggart, left, Pat Lunney, center, and Jim Soria.

Sheriff Candidate Vern Warnke, center, spoke to a local group April 3, as Denard Davis, left, and Rev Flix Jenkins listened.SEE PAGE>19

10 APRIL 2014

RELIGIOUS NEWS

Jesus endured a very ter-rible ordeal on our behalf. Be-fore going to the cross, He was scourged. Roman scourgings involved a short whip (a fla-grum or flagellum) with sev-eral leather thongs in which small iron balls or sharp piec-es of sheep bones were tied. Christ would have received repeated blows to His chest, back, and legs---tearing mus-cle, shredding skin, and turn-ing His back into a bleeding mass of bruised tissue. Jesus also had a crown of thorns shoved down upon His head---thorns that were probably about an inch long. When the

soldiers struck Him on the head, these thorns would have gone deeper into His scalp and forehead---causing terrible pain.

Pilate ordered Roman sol-diers to make Jesus carry His own cross to the crucifixion site. Because He had gone without sleep, and had been beaten and scourged, He car-ried the heavy weight of the cross only some of the way before He likely collapsed. The guards forced a by-stand-er, Simon of Cyrene (North Africa), to carry the cross the rest of the way. When He ar-rived at Golgotha, outside the city of Jerusalem, Jesus most likely was thrown down backwards upon the cross. His back immediately felt the rough wood. (In those days, wood was not smooth like the wood we buy at lumberyards today. It had to be hacked and chiseled with tools. So wood beams were rugged and splintery.) His arms were then extended apart, and each of His two wrists were nailed to the cross beam with large, jagged spikes---not like the smooth, sharp nails of today. Then soldiers placed Jesus' feet together where a single nail could be driven through them both, leaving His knees slightly flexed.

JESUS' CRUCIFIXION AND DEATH

SEE PAGE >11

Sister Ruby Hewitt Mistress of Ceremony.Church of the Living God in Merced held their D.I.V.A. (De-

livered, Inspired, Victorious, Anointed Women of God) Ser-vice on March 23, 2014. Pastor Gwen Amey was the speaker. The theme was “Praise the Lord everybody!”

Also on Sunday April 27, 2014 @ 3 p.m. the church will have an Appreciation Service for their own Missionary Rosie Hewitt. Pastor Allen Hewitt is Pastor.

The church is located on 334 E. Childs Ave • Merced, CA 95340. For more information call: (209) 233-9241.

D.I.V.A. Mission Ministries5th Annual Service

True Light Worship CenterMother-Daughter Luncheon

True Light Worship Center Mother-Daughter Luncheon will be held May 10, 2014 12:00-3:00 p.m.

Location is Uj’s Family Res-taurant 7628 Pacific Avenue Stockton, CA 95207.

Theme: “Mothers And Daughters: Blessed Genera-tion To Generation”

Psalm 71:17-18Tickets: Adults—$18.00 and

Children (to 12 yrs.) - $7.50Dress Alike Contest

Exhortations/InspirationalsDoor Prizes ...and moreJoin us for THIS “Mom and

Daughter” break and atime of fellowship and enjoy-ment!

Women’s Ministry is spon-soring the event.

For tickets and information Contact: Marilyn Mason—(209) 594-7518 or Minnie Fridy—(209) 993-2265.

Dist. Eld. Charles E. Graham, Sr. Pastor.

By Dave Miller

Antioch Missionary Baptist Church

Dr. Sterling Kyle Jr.

Pastor Study: (209) 722-9806Church: (209) 383-9758

Pastor

404 W. 6th St.Merced CA 95340

Sunday School: 9:30 a.m.Worship Service: Sunday 11:00 a.m.Bible Study: Wed. 6:00-7:00 p.m.

Behold, I stand at the door.Rev. 3:20

Rev. Dr.Sterling Kyle, Jr.and Sister Sandra Kyle

The cross was then hoisted into place and likely dropped with a thud into

the hole dug to hold the vertical post of the cross. In this extremely uncomfortable position, Jesus would have suffered agonizing pain in His wrists and feet, on His back as it rubbed up and down against the sharp splinters of wood, and inside His body as He struggled to get His breath and avoid suffocation.

The pain would have been searing in His feet when He

pushed on them to lift Himself up to breathe and

to get some relief from the pain to His wrists. When He stopped pushing upwards with His feet, the full weight of His body would have hung on His wrists---again causing terrible pain and difficulty breathing.

When He moved, the splin-tery wood against His back would have scraped against the scabbed wounds from the scourging He had previ-

CENTRAL VALLEY VOICE.COM 11

Second Baptist Church of Modesto hosted Zephyr D. Clark Memorial ans St. Pat-rick’s Day Tea on Sunday, March 16, 2014. The: “Plan Your work & Work Your Plan” -Z. Clarke.

The program included a welcome from Barbara Hall-mon, a solo by Tera Roberts, history of St. Patrick’s Day Tea, recognition of Pionerres in-volved with the Tea by Odes-sa Johnson and remarks by Jean Tyler and Rev Dr. Charles R. Evins, Sr.

Pioneer Ladies are: Moth-er Artie Armstrong, Mother Maylene Forrest, Roisie Bry-ant, Inell Sheppard and Mary-ann Bolden.

(Proverbs 31:30) Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a women who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her work bring her praise at the city gate. The program ad-journ to Tea.

St. Patrick’s Day TeaZephyr D. Clark Memorial Theme “Plan Your Work & Work Your Plan”

CRUCIFIXION AND DEATH...CONTINUED PAGE 10

Dr. Charles R. Evins Sr. Pastor of Second Baptist give closing remarks at the St. Patrick’s Day Tea held March 16, 2014.

Twenty years ago the nation of Rwanda, East Africa, suffered great loss. In 100 days of civil war and genocide, more than 800,000 people died and the country was left in ruins.

During the war, the Rwanda Assemblies of God was nearly wiped out.

One of the survivors was Em-manuel Ngabonziza.

When the war ended, Ng-abonziza was devastated by what he had witnessed. It took months to bury all the dead. But during this time the Lord spoke to Emmanuel and called him to leave the army and become a soul winner.

Ngabonziza listened to God's calling, left the military and went to Bible school. In a few short years, he graduated and planted a church in a place called Rwaru-tabura.

His church experienced strong growth. Later the church found-ed an elementary school in a Muslim neighborhood. Now the church has more than 300 mem-bers, and the school has several hundred children enrolled.

Today, the Rwanda Assemblies of God, which was nearly totally destroyed, has more than 40,000 believers and 150 established churches.

On the 2014 "Celebrate the Light" video, viewers will see

how Light for the Lost is partner-ing with missionaries in Rwan-da to help supply resources to equip evangelists like Emmanuel Ngabonziza to grow the Church all over Africa.

One of those resources is the "Discovery Series," a 26-title cur-riculum used in dozens of Bible schools, written especially for Africa. An African evangelist-in-training can be given a "Discov-ery Series" textbook for only $5.

"As an evangelist and teacher, Emmanuel is using the 'Discov-ery Series' to encourage and train young evangelists to plant churches in unreached villages," says Rick Allen, Light for the Lost director. "With resources like these, Light for the Lost is help-ing uel many revivals taking place all over the world — espe-cially in places like Rwanda. We are thankful for all of our sup-porters that are making this pos-sible."

For more information on Light for the Lost, which exists to as-sist missionaries and missions projects around the world with evangelistic resources, and to view the 2013 edition of "Cel-ebrate the Light," go to http://www.lftl.ag.org and click on the "Celebrate the Light" box on the right of the screen. The full ver-sion of Ngabonziza's testimony is featured as part the 2014 "Cel-ebrate the Light" presentation, available in August at http://lftl.ag.org/celebratethelight.

Light For The Lost Brings Hope To Rwanda And Beyond By Dan KerstenAg-News

ously endured---causing the wounds to start bleeding all over again. This horrible ago-ny lasted for several hours. Yet He said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (Luke 23:34).

What is the meaning of the cross for you and me? If Jesus had not died, God could not forgive us of our sins. Atone-ment had to be made. No other sacrifice would have done the job. The blood of animals could not accom-plish remission of sins (He-brews 10:4). The death and sacrifice of any other human being would not have made it possible for God to forgive sin (Jeremiah 7:31; Micah 6:7). It took the shed blood of God Himself--in the person of His Son. Only that one, unique sacrifice could make it pos-

sible for God to cleanse and forgive human sin.

Since Jesus made the sac-rifice for sin, we can be for-given. Here is the grace of God! The cross shows God's love for us (John 3:16). "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Jesus died for everybody (Hebrews 2:9; 1 John 2:2). But not ev-erybody will be saved (Mat-thew 7:14). What makes the difference? We must access the atoning blood of Jesus by believing in Him, repent-ing of our sins, confessing His deity, and being immersed in water for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Romans 10:10). In fact, just as Jesus died on the cross,

was buried, and was then resurrected, even so, when we are baptized in water, we are "buried with Him hrough baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Fa-ther, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Ro-mans 6:4). "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15).

Merced church of Christ-Discovery Magazine, Vol.

15:9, pp. 68-69, Apologetics Press, Inc., Montgomery

www.Discovery Magazine.com * www.apologeticspress.org *

www.apologeticspress.org/espanol * www.gbntv.org

Editor: Kyle Butt * Associate Editor: Eric Lyons

12 APRIL 2014

(209) 358-6441(888) 358-6441

1199 Atwater BlvdAtwater, CA 95301

Auto • Property • Life • CommercialEric Lee

AGENT/BROKER

LEE INSURANCE AGENCY

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Atwater-Merced Alumnae Chapter Presented A Women’s History Luncheon & Viewing

Wanda Howard, (left), and Lisa M. Maples (right) a Delta Sigma member .

Kilolo Brodie, PhD with honoree of Political Awareness & Involvement-League of Women Voters.

Pray The Devil Back To Hell

Members of the Atwater-Merced Alumnae Chapter are: Josephine Berry, Kilolo Brodie, PhD, Nikko DaPaz, Mary F. Ellis, Sylvia F. Fuller, President, Mary Grissom, Iris M. Jackson, Odessa John-son, Mary C. Jones, EdD, Dolores M. Maples, Inga Maples, PhD, Lisa M. Ma-ples, Kay McKenzie Parker, Myisha Reed and Annette White.Proceeds support scholar-ships for students going to college and other services to the community.

Myisha Reed opened the discussion, after the viewing of Pray The Devil Back To Hell.

Odesssa Johnson member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

Please join Mt. Pisgah A.M.E. Zion Church for our Annual Women’s Day!

Sunday, April 27at Mt Pis-gah A M E Zion Church 742 N St, Merced, California 95341

Our theme is “Women of the Most High Leading to God’s Glory” from Judges 4:4-10.

We have planned a wor-shipful day in The Lord. We would love to have you join us!

Schedule for the day 9:30 a.m. Sunday Study11:00 a.m. MorningWorship Service 3:30 p.m.

Song Fest You are invited to join us

the entire day or any portion that works best for you.

Mt. Pisgah'sAnnual Women's DayProgram

Pray the Devil Back to Hell is the astonishing story of the Liberian women who took on the warlords and regime of Dictator Charles Taylor in the midst of a brutal civil war, and won a once unimagina-ble peace for their shattered country in 2013. Featuring Nobel Peace Prize Winner Leymah Gbowee.

Modesto Women’s Auxiliary recognized for their Educational Development.

CENTRAL VALLEY VOICE.COM 13

St. Patrick’s Day Tea

Zephyr D. ClarkMemorialTheme “Plan Your Work & Work Your Plan”

Rochelle Prescott attended the St. Patrick Day Tea.

Sister Loretta Tyler with daughter Tera Roberts.

Sterling Fountain, (left), and Jean Tyler, (right).

Committe members of the Zephyr D. Clark Memorial St. Patrick Day Tea held March 16, 2014.

14 APRIL 2014

Black Health Expert Views NewCA Program From the Pew

SAN DIEGO—Paul Simms re-flected on California’s new ex-periment in improving health care for a half million of the state’s poorest, most vulner-able seniors and people with disabilities—and posed ques-tions he is uniquely qualified to raise.

Simms, a board member of the nonprofit San Diego Black Health Associates (SDBHA) and former deputy director of San Diego’s health depart-ment, said that the state’s new Cal MediConnect program is a promising effort to coordinate the “disjointed” and unneces-sarily costly treatment of Cali-fornia’s neediest patients by improving their continuity of care.

Yet Simms, recently a stroke patient, also shared concerns during a New America Media briefing late last month for ethnic media and community stakeholders in San Diego. The new state program, he said, could go much further, in ways that get to the heart of how to-day’s broken health system can better serve the nation’s aging and increasingly multicultural population.

A Patient’s Eye View of Health Care

First and foremost, he said, those who develop and run to-day’s health care systems need to ask, “What difference did we make?” To design successful programs, Simms said, health

care organizations “have to put [themselves] on the patient’s end.”

He added, “At the end of the day, that was not a liver who came in; this was a patient--someone you would address with respect.”

That realization became starkly personal to the 65-year-old Simms last year, when he spent seven months in a hos-pital. “I had a stroke—an aneu-rism and bladder-system fail-ure—and I’m just lucky to still be here,” he said.

Even though Simms was well insured, unlike many of the low-income patients SDB-HA serves, he experienced dif-ficulties with his care at times. “When somebody says ‘conti-nuity [of care]’ to me, and I’m being discharged [from the hospital] and I don’t have the medication list, and somebody scribbles it by hand--and I can’t read it--I’m saying to myself, ‘Boy, is this the 21st century?’”

For low-income seniors and those with disabilities, the new Cal MediConnect program is structured to assign to each them, for the first time, a care coordinator.

The three-year pilot program starts in San Diego on April 1, and will begin in seven other counties at different times dur-ing this year and early 2015. It aims to change the frag-mented care system for people who are dually eligible for both

the federal Medicare program covering seniors and those with disabilities, and Medicaid (called Medi-Cal in California), the federal-state program for the poor.

The new California pro-gram is designed to stop pa-tients from having to bounce among health care providers, who often don’t communicate with each other about things like a patient’s medications. That poor coordination com-monly leaves so-called “dual eligible” patients with prevent-able medical conditions to fall through the cracks—and frequently, into emergency rooms.

More Than ‘Teaching Mate-rial’

Although hopeful about the new program, Simms asserted that health care systems have frequently seen poor people as “teaching material.”

During his 16 years as deputy director of San Diego’s health department, Simms some-times went undercover to monitor how county hospitals treated low-income patients.

“I would put on my gym clothes to look like a regu-lar guy and go into different emergency rooms,” he recalled. Complaining of chest pains or shortness of breath, Simms put the medical staff’s values to the test, observing how he and other presumably poor patients were treated.

The next day he’d go back to the facility “in a Brooks Broth-ers suit at the CEO’s office and say, ‘You know, what happened last night was fascinating.’” In an understated but authorita-tive manner, he would discuss needed changes in staff proce-dures or attitudes.

Simms counseled, “A down-ward-looking perspective re-flects a downward-thinking perspective—and a down-ward-judgmental perspec-tive. If you’re going to build a patient-centered system, you’d have to abandon that.”

New America Media, News Analysis, Paul Kleyman

He worries, for example, that the state’s current materials ex-plaining Cal MediConnect may not be reaching low-income patients, especially seniors who most need to understand the complicated changes.

“I have read the documents [Cal MediConnect] has distrib-uted and they’re wonderful. But you wouldn’t get me to take it as is,” he said. “The Insti-tute of Medicaid,” Simms not-ed, “says that 90 million people can’t manage medical literacy.”

Also, while the program’s Cal Duals website is helpful, many low-income senior pa-tients may not have Internet access. More creative outreach, he said, might include short videos in different languages, foto novelas (picture books) for Spanish speakers and other popular media forms. (Enroll-ment materials are available in English and 11 other languag-es.)

‘Is My Doctor in the Plan?’The first thing people being

moved into Cal MediConnect want to find out, Simms said, is whether “my doctor is part of the plan?”

In San Diego, the Medicare/Medi-Cal patients must choose to join one of four managed-care health insurance plans: Community Health Group, Health Net, Molina Duals Op-tions and Care First. Those not selecting a plan will be as-signed to one, although they can switch to one of the others later.

An important complication is that people need to find out whether their current doctor is in one of those plans. A physi-cian being paid under the fed-eral Medicare program may not also be in a person’s new Medi-Cal plan. People can opt-out of the Medicare part of Cal MediConnect to remain with that physician. But dual eligi-ble patients cannot opt out of the state’s Medi-Cal part of the new program.

So, duals who opt out of the

Medicare part of Cal MediCon-nect will then have two doctors and lose the care coordination between the two government health programs.

Actually, though, Simms learned that the state will al-low a Medicare doctor not on one of the approved health plans to continue caring for a patient through Cal MediCon-nect temporarily and possibly be able to join one of the plans permanently. But, he said, that is the kind of information the program needs to make more widely understandable.

An important way to build trust in the new system, Simms recommended, would be for the state to include a group of program beneficiaries in the official process for review-ing health care plans. The re-view board would determine whether plans are complying with the state’s rules and stan-dards partly by surveying dual eligibles in each health care plan to assure their quality of care.

“All of a sudden, account-ability gets pumped into the system in a way that it hasn’t been. And, most importantly, it balances the equation for empowering patients,” Simms said.

High Tech vs. High Touch Systems like Cal MediCon-

nect, Simms continued, can succeed if they go beyond pro-fessional expertise and high technology. “This business of high tech is wonderful, but it doesn’t replace high touch,” he said.

In general, Simms said, the key to success for any new health care program seek-ing cooperation from African American elders and their families is “relationship build-ing.” Historically, he explained, “People who said, ‘I’m here to help you,’ were really trying to get close to you to take some-thing from you.”

Today, he said, health pro-

Health expert and recent stroke patient Paul Simms is shown speaking at an ethnic media briefing on California's new man-aged care program for low-income patients. (Jonah Most/New America Media.)

SEE PAGE>20

Health News

CENTRAL VALLEY VOICE.COM 15

Fri 5/2/14 7:30 p.m.Mary Stuart RogersTheaterSun 5/4/14 2:00 p.m.Mary Stuart Rogers Theater

Casting Auditions Produc-tion Information

Townsend Opera is present-ing the world premiere of the opera Tawawa House by African- ‐American compos-er Zenobia Powell- ‐Perry in May 2014 in partnership with Sankofa Theater Company.

Rehearsals begin in April 2014. p.m.)

Location:Gallo Center for the Arts

Sung in English with English supertitles.

The WORLD PREMIERE of

Keb' Mo' is one of the fore-most blues musicians of this or any era. A brilliant singer, guitarist, and songwriter, he has been described as "a liv-ing link to the seminal Delta blues that travelled up the Mississippi River and across the expanse of America." Keb' Mo’ has won three Grammy awards for best blues album: “Just Like You” (1997), “Show Down” (1999) and “Keep it Simple” (2005). His post-mod-ern blues style is influenced by many genres, including folk, rock, jazz and pop. The moniker "Keb Mo" was coined by his original drummer, Quentin Dennard, and picked up by his record label as a "street talk" abbreviation of his given name, Kevin Moore.

KEB' MO' Tue 5/6/14 7:30 p.m. Mary Stuart Rogers TheaterKEB' MO'

TAWAWA HOUSE

the captivating tale of a stop on the Underground Railroad at the onset of the Civil War. Infused with melodies from old spirituals and hymns, this lyric American opera gives us a glimpse into life at the onset of the Civil War.

Tawawa HouseBy Zenobia Powell Perry

Tawawa House, an opera with dialogue written by Afri-can-American composer Zeno-bia Powell Perry in 1984, tells the story of a real hotel and resort in Xenia Springs, Ohio that served as a stop on the Underground Railroad in the decade before the Civil War before becoming one of the first African-American colleges in the country. The opera of-fers a glimpse into the lives of people who lived and worked at Tawawa House after gaining their freedom, and the people who helped them protect their freedom as the country braced for Civil War.

In collaboration with Sankofa Theater Company, Townsend Opera is presenting the world premiere of this uniquely American opera to engage the community regarding an important time in American history. While history largely remembers that time for its confl ict and disregard for ba-sic human rights, there were people of all races who worked together and risked their lives

to secure the freedom of their fellow man. This is the story of these American heroes.

The opera highlights the chal-lenges facing Tawawa House as political unrest throughout the nation turns attention and funding away from the enter-prise of freeing slaves through the Underground Railroad, the impact that has on the future of the runaway and freed slaves working at Tawawa House, and the courageous decision by religious leaders in the region to turn Tawawa House into the first African-American colleges in the country, where it still re-mains as Wilberforce College.

The opera features a unique fusion of traditional Negro Spirituals and western classical music. The composer wrote the spirituals as her grandfather, a slave during the time depicted in the opera, sang them to her as a child . After completing an undergraduate degree in music, the composer received personal support and fund-ing from Eleanor Roosevelt to study with the accomplishedcomposer Darius Milhaud in the 1940s and '50s.

Ghostbusters"hit-maker, per-former, songwriter & producer

Saturday, May 24,2014•8 p.m. GA $39, Premier Seat-

ing + M&G $60 •10 p.m. GA $29PREMIER SEATING + MEET

and GREET tickets (8 p.m. only): Yoshi's will provide premier seating for the performance.The Meet and Greet (approx. 20 mins) will take place in the Sake Lounge (upstairs bar) at 7 p.m .before the show.

RAY PARKER JR.

16 APRIL 2014

WAR is Coming to Merced FairWar the band that has pro-

duced mega-hits including “Low Rider,” “The World Is A Ghetto,” “Cisco Kid,” and “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” is com-ing to the 2014 Merced Coun-ty Fair.

The band will headline Friday, June 13 in the fair-grounds’ Outdoor Theatre. The fair recently announced Christian music artist Lincoln Brewster, a guitarist/song-writer who played lead gui-tar for Steve Perry of Journey fame, will perform Opening Day, Wednesday, June 11; The Marshall Tucker Band will play their Southern rock sound, Thursday, June 12 and True 2 Crue, the Motley Crue tribute band, will headline Saturday, June 14. The entertainment act for Sunday, June 15 will be announced soon.

Each night a headline en-tertainment act will appear at 8:30 p.m. in the Outdoor The-atre, where all concerts are free with admission. The Out-door Theatre Concert Series is presented by Table Mountain Casino.

WAR’s winning combination of funk, jazz, R&B and Rock & Roll has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide. Lonnie Jordan, the original lead singer, keyboardist and musical director, continues to be the voice of WAR. Wheth-er you are listening to “Low Rider” on “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” or on classic vi-nyl, WAR’s music is a timeless thread in the quilt of Ameri-can pop culture.

WAR has 17 gold, platinum and multi-platinum records including the triple platinum, “The World Is A Ghetto,” multi-platinum, “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” “All Day Music” and “Deliver the World.” Gold sin-gles include “Summer,” from their “War’s Greatest Hits Live” album, which set a new record as the first single from any greatest hits package to be-

come a hit.In 1969, Eric Burdon and

WAR released their first album, “Eric Burdon Declares WAR,” featuring the number one sin-gle, “Spill The Wine.” The band toured extensively in Europe and the United Kingdom. On Sept. 16, 1970, Jimi Hendrix joined Burdon and WAR for a jam session in London. Hen-drix died later that evening. Burdon was so devastated by the death of his friend that he decided to leave WAR and returned to Los Angeles. War continued their European tour without their former front man before returning to the states.

Following Burdon’s depar-ture, WAR’s success soared. In the early 1970s, the release of “Slippin’ into Darkness” and “Me and Baby Brother” rep-resented their unmistakable sound and spoke to millions of Americans about the trou-bled times of Vietnam, Water-gate and the ethnic tensions of the inner cities.

In 1972 WAR released “The World is a Ghetto.” The album’s second single, “The Cisco Kid,” struck gold, and the album hit the number one spot on Bill-board magazine’s Album of the Year.

But WAR’s musical accom-plishments are not limited to the 60s and 70s – they’re a permanent part of America’s pop cultural landscape. They performed at the Latino Inau-gural Ball in Washington D.C. with George Lopez; reunited with Eric Burdon for a spe-cial performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall; entertained fans at professional and col-lege pre-game and halftime shows; were featured on Jimmy Kimmel’s Facebook Un-friend week, “Why Can’t we Un-friend”; and every year they sell 100,000 CDS and their fans download more than 300,000 ringtones and 1 million songs.

WAR’s music has been used on Television shows in-cluding: The Simpsons, King of the Hill, America’s Most Wanted, Bernie Mac, Beverly Hills 90210, The George Lopez Show, Entourage, Suddenly Susan, My Name is Earl and MTV’s Rock the Vote. Movies that included WAR’s songs on the soundtracks are: Boogie Nights, Remember the Titans, Lethal Weapon 4, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Dazed and Con-fused, Gone in 60 Seconds and Beverly Hills Ninja.

XBOX and Playstation 3 games that have WAR’s mu-sic on the soundtracks in-clude: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Rockband 3, MLB 08, The Show, Driver: Parallel Lines and Skate 2.

Admission to the 2014 Mer-ced County Fair will be the same bargain as the 2013 Fair – everybody gets in for $5. That’s half off the 2011 gener-al admission. Kids 5 years and under will continue to get in free. Seniors, 65 years and better, will get free admission on Opening Day, Mercy Medi-cal Center Seniors Day, and Kids’ Day will be Thursday, June 12, when all children 12 years and younger get in free on that day only. And a new way to save this year is “Free ’Til 3” Sunday. On Sunday, June 15, general admission is free for everyone from noon until 3 p.m.

The fair will also offer a “5-pack” general admission dis-count ticket package for $16, that’s only $3.20 per ticket. The special ticket package valued at $25 will be sold only in April. In May, the “5-pack” price will be $18 and in June the “5-pack” will be available for $20 through June 10, the day before the fair starts. Tick-ets will be available at the fair office.

The theme of the 2014 Mer-ced County Fair, June 11-15, is “Saluting Our Farmers & Ranchers.” For more informa-tion call (209) 722-1507, fax (209) 722-3773, or email to Info@MercedCountyFair.com. Visit the Fair’s website, www.MercedCountyFair.com and connect with us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Special Offers and Special Days:

Wednesday, June 11: Mercy Medical Center Seniors Day

FREE admission Seniors 65 and better on opening day!Thursday, June 12: Kids' DayFREE admission for all chil-

dren 12 years and younger! Sunday, June 15: FREE 'til 3General Admission is free

for everyone from noon until 3 p.m.

Enter the special "Day of" Cooking Contests and you get FREE admission to the Fair...

No advance entry forms, simply enter that day and get free admission to the Fair with your entry!

Allen Brooks/ Marketing Manager(209)947-5244

scf@smallcityfilms.com

Smallcityfilms.comCasting call:Have you ever wanted to be in a movie? Do you want to be in commercials? Well everyone has to start somewhere and now is your chance. Small City Films will be holding auditions for a new comedy series called "Rules." We are also looking for people for commercial work. So if you think your a star or know someone who is, please feel free to follow your dream courtesy of Small City Films. All the information is on the website smallcityfilms.com. Thank You and good luck!

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CENTRAL VALLEY VOICE.COM 17

GREAT GRILLING

Try this Ultimate Backyard Classic from “Weber’s Big Book of Burgers.”

Fire Up The Fun WithExtremeBurgers

(NAPSI)—Nothing says sum-mer like hamburgers and hot dogs sizzling on the grill. In fact, according to the 25th annual Weber GrillWatch Survey, more than 80 percent of grill owners say that burgers are their favor-ite thing to grill, followed by hot dogs (75 percent).

To celebrate America’s love af-fair with hamburgers, brats and other classic grilled fare, We-ber Grills has released “Weber’s Big Book of Burgers”-their first cookbook dedicated to fueling America’s passion for backyard classics.

“This book is truly a start-to-finish guide to throwing the ul-timate backyard bash,” says New York Times best-selling cook-book author Jamie Purviance. “Each of the 160 recipes features a photo and goes beyond the burger, with fun twists on hot dogs, side dishes and even cock-tails.”

“Weber’s Big Book of Burgers” also explores famous regional fa-vorites in its America the Burger-ful section, including Santa Fe, where the green chili cheese-burger rules, to Columbia, South Carolina’s own pimento cheese-burger.

An in-depth Sausage and Hot Dog Geography section salutes regional favorites like Classic Chicago-Style Hot Dogs topped with pickled “sport” peppers and neon-green relish, and New York Hot Dogs with Sweet Red On-ions.Extreme Burgers Serves: 4 Prep Time: 25 minutes Grilling Time: 6−8 minutes4 slices thick-cut bacon1/3cup mayonnaise1 teaspoon minced garlicKosher saltFreshly ground black pepper2 ripe Hass avocados 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice2 teaspoons minced garlic 2 pounds ground chuck (80 per-cent lean)1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce½ teaspoon smoked paprika½ teaspoon onion powder

8 thin slices cheddar cheese 4 hamburger buns, split4 leaves Boston lettuce 1 ripe beefsteak tomato, cut crosswise into 4 slices about 1/3 inch thickIn a skillet over medium heat, fry the bacon until crisp, 10 to 12 minutes, turning occasionally. Drain on paper towels.

Whisk the mayo ingredients, including ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Mash the gua-camole ingredients, including ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

Mix the ground chuck with the Worcestershire sauce, 1 tea-spoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, the smoked paprika and onion powder, and then gently form eight patties of equal size, each about ½ inch thick and a little wider than the buns.

Refrigerate the patties until

ready to grill. Prepare the grill for direct cooking over medium-high heat (400° to 500° F). Grill the patties over direct medium-high heat, with the lid closed, until cooked to medium done-ness (160° F), 6 to 8 minutes, turning once.

During the last 30 seconds to 1 minute of grilling time, place a slice of cheese on each patty to melt, and toast the buns, cut side down, over direct heat.

Build each burger on a bun with garlic mayo, a lettuce leaf, a tomato slice, two patties, as much guacamole as you like, a slice of bacon (torn in half ) and more garlic mayo.

Serve immediately.Learn MoreFor more information or to get

a copy of “Weber’s Big Book of Burgers,” visit www.weber.com or www.amazon.com.

18 APRIL 2014

Sports News

Lap Swim~Swimming is one of the best forms of exercise

Date (or dates) of Event: May 1 – June 30

Start Time: 5:30 a.m. Merced College

3600 M StreetMerced, CA 95348For more information call:

209-384-6224For more information see

our website at: www.merced-

communityservices.comSwimming is one of the

best forms of exercise. Enjoy open lap swim at the Merced College Pool throughout the spring term at any of the three time slots.

Times slots: Monday – Fri-day, 5:30 – 6:30 a.m, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. , 5:00 – 6:00 p.m (no noon swim on Fridays)

Golf For All Ages~ Bogie, par, fore!

Golf For All AgesDate (or dates) of Event:

April 26 – May 17, 2014.Start Time: 9:00 a.m.Address/City of event: Ran-

cho del Rey Golf Course5250 Green Sands AveAtwaterFor more information call:

(209) 384-6224For more information see

our website at: www.merced-

communityservices.com Bogie, par, fore! Whether

you are a beginner or ad-vanced player, your game will improve. This course will cover full swing, short game, basic rules, and general golf course etiquette. Gary Olson played on the PGA tour champion-ships and has been teaching golf for over 48 years.

(Modesto, CA) – The Modesto Junior College foot-ball staff will offer the annual Football Coaches Clinic on Saturday, April 26 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The clinic will cover both defensive and offensive tactics and strategies. The clinic will be held in the MJC Gymnasium on East Campus, located across from the in the Agricultural complex on Coldwell Avenue.

A school or organization can send their football staff for $100 or an individual coach can attend for $30. Registra-tion is available using a VISA, MasterCard or Discover credit or debit card either online at www.mjc4life.org or by phon-ing 575-6063. Registration can also be processed with cash, check or credit card by visiting MJC Community Edu-cation in Morris Building 204 on East Campus, 435 College Avenue, Modesto.

For more information con-tact MJC Head Football Coach Sam Young at youngs@mjc.edu or 575-6712.

MJC hosts Football Coaches Clinic

Whether you are a beginner or advanced player, your game will improve

Support Your Local Sports

Lap Swim

CENTRAL VALLEY VOICE.COM 19

BOBCAT ART SHOW

will listen to you because of your badge and uniform,” he says. “But as a code enforce-ment officer, I found myself talking to people more and trying to convince them to take action on whatever pub-lic nuisance was at issue.”

Soria ended up returning home to Livingston, and the last three years, he has en-joyed coaching Livingston Youth Football.

“It’s a good way to be a posi-tive role model for the kids,” he says. “I stress the impor-tance of family and working as a team. And I try to provide a safe environment so they can concentrate on playing and competing. … One of my players told me once that his brother was a gang member. I told him, ‘You have a choice not to be one too. You have that decision.’ And I think I was a positive influence on him because the next year he really improved and made the All-Star Team. That makes it all worthwhile.”

Soria also enjoys watching his three daughters – ages 12, 13 and 17 – grow up in the city. They all like cheerlead-ing, and two of them are avid wrestlers in youth leagues.

In recent years, Livingston has faced critical issues con-

cerning public safety, water management and budget pri-orities, and this inspired to So-ria to run for City Council and make a difference. He won a seat in 2012.

“I think we are on the right track,” he says. “We are con-centrating on the water is-sues, our police chief has a great handle on the depart-ment, and we are getting our finances in order.”

Even though he’s entering his mid-term on the council, Soria sees opportunity to en-hance the services of the Mer-ced County Sheriff’s Depart-ment.

“I have the qualifications, the experience and I’m ready and prepared to lead,” he says.

If county voters elect Soria, he will be Merced County’s first Latino sheriff, but that’s not what the candidate wants to highlight.

“I want people to vote for the person who will be the best person for the job,” he says. “Hopefully I can appeal to a lot of people, and they will like what I have to say and what I stand for.”

Soria’s platform includes promoting a proactive law enforcement agency that provides excellent service and emergency response to

residents. He wants to review the current 911 alert systems. He wants to create a Felony Task Force that will go after serious and repeat offenders. And he wants to enhance ef-forts to combat gangs across the county.

“I will be aggressive in seek-ing funding so that we can get new jail facilities, ease overcrowding, and get more deputies on the roads,” he says. “And another thing I want to make sure we have is good morale among mem-bers of the department. I be-lieve in positive recognition for good work.”

Soria says he’s not intimi-dated by his contenders, and he sees himself as not only qualified, but a top contender for the sheriff’s job.

“I’m a problem solver,” he says. “Many people can bring problems to the table. But I’m the type of person who brings solutions … I also love Mer-ced County. It’s a great place to live. I’ve raised my fam-ily here and I have extended family members and friends all over the county. It’s a beau-tiful place that rich in culture. And I want to preserve that, and keep our families safe.”

JIM SORIA... CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

UC Merced artists will show-case their talent during the campus’s annual Bobcat Art Show, which starts its month-long run Monday in the UC Merced Art Gallery and Kolli-gian Library.

The show, now in its ninth year, features works submit-ted by UC Merced students

and faculty and staff mem-bers. This year, the show re-ceived 52 entries that cover a variety of media including painting, drawing, photogra-phy, digital media, sculpture and mixed media.

The exhibit is being held simultaneously in the UC Merced Art Gallery, located

in Room 106 of the Social Sciences and Management Building, and on the second floor of Kolligian Library. A reception is scheduled from 4–5:30 p.m. April 24 in the UC Merced Art Gallery.

Gail Benedict, the exhibit’s organizer, said the show is a great opportunity for all art-ists, from novices to those who are more seasoned, to show their work publicly.

“The feedback regarding the show has always been very positive,” Benedict said. “I think what people like about it is that it includes everyone. I’m always pleasantly sur-prised by the quality of the work we receive. It’s amazing to see the talent we have at

our campus.”Students are a driving force

behind the Bobcat Art Show as they contribute the most submissions. Student exhibi-tors have a chance to com-pete for a best student artist award in five categories.

“We leave it up to the pub-lic to decide what good art is,” Benedict said.

Students play a significant role behind the scenes, too. Students enrolled in Profes-sor ShiPu Wang’s curatorial studies course are assisting in the show’s installation, judg-ing and marketing.

Show Connects Artists, En-courages Community

Harkey added that the show also offers a chance to connect with other artists in the community.

“The show is a chance for us to invite the greater com-munity to our campus and to see the pride in our students,” Benedict said.

For most participants, the Bobcat Art Show is the first time they have shown their art in public - an initially daunting prospect for many.

“Sharing your art is like re-vealing your soul,” Benedict said. “But it’s good experi-ence.”

The Annual Bobcat Art Show is presented by the UC Merced Art Gallery, Arts UC Merced Presents and the UC Merced Library. Arts UC Mer-ced Presents is now in its fifth year as an arts-presenting program. Its mission em-phasizes art that educates, enriches and entertains, and the Bobcat Art Show strives to uphold that belief by ex-panding the understanding of contemporary art and mul-timedia.

To view the exhibits in the Bobcat Art Show, visit the UC Merced Gallery from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and in the library during operating hours.

More information regard-ing the UC Merced Art Gallery and Arts UC Merced Presents is available on each unit’s website and both have Face-book pages at facebook.com/UCMArtGallery and facebook.com/ArtsUCMerced.

20 APRIL 2014

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JOBS IN AMERICA

NAPSI)—Perhaps one of the best-kept secrets for stay-ing happy and efficient at your job may be what you do outside office walls.

Why To Vacation

According to new research by the Society for Human Resource Management, em-ployees who take regular vacations enjoy greater pro-ductivity, increased job satis-faction and higher organiza-

tional morale than those who don’t.

Despite such studies, not all working Americans have a positive attitude about taking a vacation. In fact, 61 percent of organizations report that their employees leave behind three or more unused vaca-tion days a year. Taking full ad-vantage of earned time off-as well as completely “unplug-ging” while away—may seem an odd way to get ahead but it can be a great gift to your employer and yourself.

What You Should KnowOne thing that may help

you get yourself that gift is a vacation ownership. Here are three reasons:

1. Your vacation is paid for in advance. Because of the prepaid nature of a time-share, you never have to think about finding or funding ac-commodations throughout the length of your trip. You can cost effectively enjoy va-cation lodging every year for the rest of your life without the burden of paying increas-ingly more for your stay, as you would for hotel rates, which continue to rise.

2. You’re guaranteed con-sistent time away. Owning a timeshare can instill in you the discipline of taking time away, at least once a year, from hectic work schedules to relax and recharge in high-quality accommodations. Plus, if you partner with a timeshare exchange com-pany, you can swap out your stay at your “home” resort for one in a new destination.

3. Time away and together is healthy for the entire fam-ily. Beyond the individual benefits of coming back to the office more motivated, creative and innovative, fam-ily and friends can share in the excitement, closeness and health benefits of regu-lar rest and reprieve. Many timeshare companies let you

To Work Better, Take A Vacation

pass timeshare investments through generations, so your children can inherit and en-joy your timeshare for many more years.

Travelers who value variety often choose vacation ex-change companies such as

Owning a timeshare in a vacation home can encour-age workers to get away enough to revive their ef-fectiveness on the job.

RCI, which has been deliver-ing dream vacations for 40 years, because of its expan-sive portfolio of more than 4,000 affiliated resorts.

Where To Sample A StayThose considering vaca-

tion ownership can try the timeshare experience first-hand before they purchase by booking a stay through End-less Vacation Rentals at www.evrentals.com.

grams would do well to reach out to black families through trusted community groups. Traditionally, he said, African American families have strong-ly relied on information in local organizations, often developed around churches.

Even though care coordina-tors are charged with evaluat-ing each Cal MediConnect patient, such as for adequate nutrition and perhaps con-necting them with services like local meals programs, he suggested that health plans engage target communities creatively, for example, by promoting healthier lifestyle choices.

Plans could, for instance, bring local doctors to speak at senior or community cen-ters, and even “find a pew.” They might, Simms suggest-ed, sponsor cooking demon-

strations at African American churches interested in pro-moting healthier eating to reduce such conditions as dia-betes and heart disease.

In the wake of his stroke, Simms said, “I myself have gone from fried to steamed fish.” Other black seniors weaned on a lifetime of fried and fatty foods might discov-er, as Simms did, “Gee, this is catfish, and it’s steamed—this is wonderful.”

This article is part of New America Media partnership with Harbage Consulting on this California-wide Cal Medi-Connect media campaign to support the Department of Health Care Services’ stake-holder engagement efforts. Additional support for this ini-tiative comes from The SCAN Foundation.

HEALTH EXPERT... CONTINUED FROM PAGE14

Business News

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CENTRAL VALLEY VOICE.COM 21

VACAVILLE, CA¾Travis Credit Union announced it has been awarded 2014 grant funds from the Federal Home Loan Bank to be disbursed to low-and moderate-income homebuyers within its twelve county service area.

Eligible first-time home-buyers may apply for up to $15,000 in matching grant funds to be used for the down payment and closing costs involved with purchasing their home. Under the WISH Program, FHLB will provide matching grants through Travis Credit Union up to $3 for every dollar contributed by the homebuyer toward a home purchase. The program is designed to help working households in high-cost ar-eas purchase homes.

Additionally, Travis Credit union works with the Fed-eral Home Loan Bank (FHLB) of San Francisco to offer the Individual Development and Empowerment Account (IDEA) program to low and moderate-income house-holds. FHLB sets aside a por-tion of its annual Affordable Housing Program contribu-tion to provide matching grants through Travis Credit Union for down payment and closing cost assistance to eli-gible first-time homebuyers who have saved under Indi-vidual Development Account (IDA) or Family Self-Sufficien-cy (FSS) programs. This pro-gram provides up to $15,000 for each household, match-ing up to $3 for each $1 saved by the homebuyer.

“I’m sure that every busi-ness in the community is glad to see programs like this so effectively help our neigh-bors, and we’re proud to be a small part of

it,” said Patsy Van Ou-werkerk, president and CEO of Travis Credit Union. “Be-cause we are a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank, we can provide the community with access to funds that can take their standard of living to the next level. This part-nership allows us to build an even stronger community and we are committed to do-ing just that.”

Travis Credit Union is one of only two credit unions in Cali-fornia to receive grant funds for the WISH and IDEA pro-grams this year.

Headquartered in Vacaville, California, Travis Credit Union is a not-for-profit, coopera-tive financial institution serv-ing those who live or work in Solano, Yolo, Sacramento, Placer, San Joaquin, Stan-islaus, Napa, Contra Costa, Al-ameda, Sonoma, Colusa, and Merced Counties. Currently, Travis Credit Union is the 12th largest credit union in Califor-nia, with more than 161,000 members and more than $2.1 billion in assets. As one of the leading financial institutions in Solano, Contra Costa, Yolo, Napa, and Merced Counties, Travis Credit Union’s strength lies in its faithful commit-ment to its members; its solid, secure history; and its long-standing track record of dedi-cated service.

Travis Credit Union ReceivesFederal WISH and IDEA Grant Funds to Assist First-Time Homeowners

22 APRIL 2014

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SAFETY ON THE ROAD

NAPSI)—The next time you’re thinking of buying a used car, remember, what you don’t see can hurt you.

We’re talking about air bags. Be sure they’re present and working properly.

As many as 250,000 coun-terfeit air bags may have been used to replace de-ployed ones, according to the federal government. But that’s not all.

Air bag fraud also can in-volve:

• Stuffing things in the air bag compartment (newspa-per, packing peanuts)

• Air bags found in junk-yards

• Stolen air bags

• No air bags at all.What To DoStart by simply turning the

ignition. If the air bag indica-tor doesn’t come on at all or stays on, there may be a prob-lem.

Also, check Carfax for re-ported accidents and air bag deployments, and get a me-chanic’s inspection.

Learn MoreFor further facts and re-

ports, visit www.carfax.com.

Avoiding Air Bag Fraud

It’s a good idea to check any used car for properly func-tioning air bags.

CENTRAL VALLEY VOICE.COM 23

Automotive Services Corner

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