Montecino & Associates has developed Hope For Owners division out of a very strong need to help homeowners who may be experiencing hardships and may be facing foreclosure.

The Hope For Homeowners division is here to help people in our communities by giving them the information they need to either modify their loan and stay in their home or if that is not an option, to help them understand and proceed with a short sale of their home in order to avoid foreclosure.

The Hope For Homeowners team are CDPE (Certified Distressed Property Expert) trained and have invested time and money to learn and develop the systems to work with the banks and lenders with the goal of achieving a short sale approval.

Homeowners do have options and we strongly feel it is our responsibility as real estate professionals to help people explore their options and avoid foreclosure.

If you know of anyone who is experiencing hardships and are struggling making their payments please have them call the Hope For Homeowners team at (559) 683-3556.

The largest cycling event in America, the 2009 Amgen Tour of California is a Tour de France-style cycling road race presented by AEG that challenges the world’s top professional cycling teams to compete along a demanding, recently expanded, 750-mile course from Sacramento to Escondido from February 14-22, 2009.

Lance Armstrong will be leading this year’s race which will come through Oakhurst on February 18th between 1 and 4 p.m

Founded in 2005, Breakaway from Cancer continues to raise awareness and funds to support valuable services and programs, provided free of charge, that help people living with cancer. The initiative was created by Amgen as a complementary component to the company’s sponsorship of the Amgen Tour of California. This year, the initiative continues to support the important programs and tools offered by the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship and The Wellness Community.

Last month we at Go Platinum Lending were handing out free pumpkins to past and future clients in a celebration of our anniversary. This month we’re teaming up with Montecino & Associates in an effort to help the Marine Corps Reserve collect “Toys for Tots”. Toys for Tots has been around for 61 years and all the toys and money that we collect here in Eastern Madera County will be given back to the children in Eastern Madera County. We understand that many people are struggling financially this year – but if you are able to spare a few dollars for a new toy, think about the difference you can make for a child when they too have a present to open on Christmas day.

Christmas should be a happy family time – and by no means should it be measured in materialistic wealth. But Christmas should also be the time for joy and smiles. The way “Toys for Tots” works is that the Marine Corps Reserve will distribute the toys to the parents of the needing children. By donating a toy, you will make Christmas a joy for a child or two and also support our Marine Corps reserves.

The new and unwrapped toys can be dropped off in our Coarsegold office at

35285 Highway 41 # C. The gifts can range from $1 to $20 – the children receiving them are all ages from newborn to teens.

The last day for donations is December 12th so don’t wait.

We thank you for your support.

Sierra Ambulance provides paramedic ambulance service to the communities in eastern Madera County, California. They are located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains 18 miles south of Yosemite National Park, and 50 miles north of Fresno on State Route 41. They serve the communities of Oakhurst, Ahwahnee, Bass Lake, North Fork, Coarsegold, Yosemite Lakes, Raymond, Fish Camp, O Neals, and portions of Yosemite National Park and the Sierra National Forest; over 1,000 square miles in all. Sierra Ambulance is a non-profit corporation founded in 1964.  Sierra Ambulance offers community Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation, (CPR), classes monthly. You may register at: outreach@SierraAmbulance.org or during daytime hours phone 559-658-1052 and after hours phone 559-642-0650, ext. 23, for information. Be sure to leave your name and a daytime phone. Certain classes are free, others have a charge commensurate with expenses. Classes are usually held at our offices at 40755 Winding Way, Oakhurst, CA 93644. Special classes may be schedule for groups. Call for details.  As a non-profit corporation, all of the revenue raised is used 100% to support the operation of the Service.

Key to the financial success of Sierra is the Family Membership Program. For $55 dollars a year per household, a family can purchase an Ambulance Membership. It covers the cost of ambulance transport from within Sierra’s service area to any area hospital in Madera, Fresno or Mariposa County. It is immediately renewable. Why should you join if you have insurance? Simply, many insurance plans have a deductible, a co-pay, or a maximum benefit well below the actual cost of service. Likewise, many insurers look backward after the fact and determine whether or not the ambulance was justified. Your claim could be denied. Your membership would cover you in this case. The membership program provides a benefit to those who may need its coverage; it also helps Sierra raise money to purchase new ambulances and equipment. Those interested in purchasing a family membership may phone the office at 559-642-0650 or log onto their web site at www.sierraambulance.org.

If we don’t keep our area clean, who will? First and foremost it is important not to litter, but of course we know that everyone does not do this. It is not fair, but in order to keep our area looking good, sometimes we do have to clean up the messes that someone else has made.

With that in mind, the Community Roadside Litter Clean-up will take place this Saturday, May 17 from 8 am until Noon. You will be able to pick up trash bags at the following locations: the Oakhurst Branch Library, the Coarsegold Tepee, the North Fork Post Office and the Bass Fork Mini Mart. There are some areas in North Fork, Coarsegold and Ahwahnee that are in need to attention, so keep that is mind as you decide where you want to help. Call Mountain Area Information at 559-877-3424 for more information.

When you have filled your bag(s), you should place them so that they are not in the road. There will be trucks that will come to pick up the trash. Then pat yourself and your companions on the back for a job well done. Take yourselves out for ice cream or plan some other treat as a reward for your selflessly volunteering your time to make our community look a little better.

The place to be on May 17, 2008, is Wasuma Elementary School where you can celerbrate life and join the fight against cancer. Each year the American Cancer Society, with the help of many local  volunteers put on the event national known as Relay For Life^®. It’s a time and place where people come to celebrate those who have survived cancer, remember those we’ve lost, and fight back against a disease that touches all our lives.

Join this year and be a part of the celebration and fight for life.

Your involvement will help the American Cancer Society work towards a mission of eliminating cancer and will support much needed services in our community. If you want to be a part of the fight against cancer or your interested in learning more or receiving an invitation, please email Rebecca Morris at rebecca.morris@oakhurstmed.net

Do you have an old cell phone taking up space around your house?   Most of us do. Another great collection is being taken in Madera County.

Susan Galley is adding yet other item that she is collecting to help out our soldiers who are in Iraq….cell phones.  Susan is the owner of the Coarsegold Book Peddler.  She is working in conjunction with the non-profit group Cell Phones for Soldiers (www.cellphoneforsoldiers.com) in collecting unused cell phones.  Each phone collected will be recycled and the cash paid for them will be used to provide phone cards to the soldiers overseas.   Collected cell phones are sent to ReCellular who then in turns pays Cell Phones for Soldiers for each phone they receive.  These used cell phones are collected each month from over 3,000 collection sites nationwide.  All types of cell phones are accepted for recycling.

All of the phone cards will be sent to the soldiers via another great organization that Susan Galley has teamed up with, Any Soldier Inc.  In 2003, Sergeant Brian Horn, from La Plata, Maryland formed this family company to help out soldiers in one army unit, with essential items given from home.  The organization has since expanded to sending care packages to any soldier around the world that is serving in harms way.

Items being collected include:  stationary, disposable cameras, games, books and hygiene products to name a few.  For a complete list of acceptable donations, visit www.anysoldier.com.

For more information on this great recycling/donation project, contact Susan Galley at (559) 683-8024 or drop off cell phones or other items for donation at the Coarsegold Book Peddler 35430 Highway 41 in Coarsegold.

The secret will be out on Saturday, January 26th !  The 29th Annual Citizen of the Year in North Fork will be announced.  The dinner will be hosted by the 2006 winners, Gretchen and Bill Choate.

The doors will open at 5:30 p.m. at the Town Hall.  Dinner will consist of pineapple chicken, rice and coleslaw.  Tickets can be purchased in advance for $10 or they can be purchased at the door for $12.  Tickets are available at Hair Care Plus, The Buckhorn Saloon or North Fork ACE Hardware.  The North Fork Women’s Club will be selling delicious desserts as a fundraiser and the North Fork Boosters will be handling the bar.

When the Choate’s received their award in 2006, they were only the fourth couple to be recognized for such a high honor.  This year there three more couples on the list of nominees.
 
Winners are chosen by past Citizen of the Year winners.   Nominees have spent their free time making baby blankets, booties and hats, having craft booths,  making jewelry, planting gardens, donating vegetables, organizing parades and bazaar’s, baking tons of cookies, making Christmas baskets for the needy, and coordinating great programs like the Senior Brown Bag Program, to name a few.  The key to the success of these programs and the North Fork area is the volunteers.

Each of the nominees has dedicated countless hours to helping the North Fork area and all deserve to win.  Come and help celebrate this wonderful night of acknowledgements.  For more information on this community event, call (559) 877-7700.

The Sierra Oakhurst Kiwanis Club will have a Pancake Breakfast, tomorrow, January 11. Although pancakes are the star of the show, they will joined by a supporting cast of eggs, ham and sausage. The fun starts at 7:30 am and ends at 10:30 am at the Oakhurst Community Center. Adults pay $5, while it costs $2 children who are 12 and under (you can’t beat that). OK, well you can beat that: children under the age of 5 eat for free.

If you’re like me, you support civic organizations because you know people in these groups and you’ve seen the good work they do. You don’t mind giving a few dollars to get some pancakes, talk to neighbors, and have a good time. But you should know that clubs like the Sierra Oakhurst Kiwanis Club are really about the business of improving life in our area. In fact, the groups started as a gathering of businessmen, called the Benevolent Order of Brothers. At the start, some wanted to increase business opportunities for members, while others really wanted to reach out toe community. Truth is, groups like the Kiwanis really do both of these things, and sometimes they manage to do them at the same time.

If this doesn’t touch you!

http://www.youtube.com/v/ervaMPt4Ha0&autoplay=1
The above is the hottest thing on the internet and on Fox News today. Lizzie Palmer who put this YouTube program together is 15 years old. There have been over 3,000,000 hits as of this morning. In case you missed it, here it is. (if you can’t open it right away, try later – the site may be busy)

If you go to this web site, www.letssaythanks.com, you can pick out a
thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier
that is currently serving in Iraq. You can’t pick out who gets it, but
it will go to some member of the armed services.
How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!!
This is a great site.
Please send a card. It is FREE and it only takes a second.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these?
Whether you are for or against the war, our guys and gals over there
need to know we are behind them…