Author Archives: DenairPulse Editor

Saul and Eleanore Casteneda to be this Year’s Beneficiary of Denair Lions Pancake Breakfast

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Submitted by Denair Lions Club

Every year, for over 40 years, the Denair Lions Club has held a pancake breakfast on the first Sunday in November.  The breakfast has become not only a great fundraiser, but annual social event for 400 to 600 supporters.  Every year, the club looks for a person or cause to donate the breakfast proceeds to.  In past years, it has paid for such things as new uniforms and equipment for the Denair Lions Youth Football league, updates and fixes to the Denair High School sport facilities and programs, and usually to local residents in need of financial aid for medical bills after or during a tragedy.  This year is no different.  On Sunday November 5, 2017, the Denair Community Center will open its doors at 7:00 am, for the Lions Annual Pancake Breakfast.  This year proceeds will be donated to Saul and Eleanore Casteneda.  Eleanore was diagnosed with acute lyphobalastic leukemia on March 8th. She began chemotherapy treatment the following day, due to the severity of the cancer.

Eleanore, who is 66 years old, is a caring and selfless caregiver to many.  She has devoted her life to taking care of those who needed support, when others couldn’t.  She worked for over 25 years as a non-emergency medical transport driver up until her mother began suffering from the effects of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, 8 years ago.  In addition to taking care of her 90 year old mother, Aurelia Garcia, who is bedridden, Eleanore has been taking care of her brother-in-law for 25 years, who is battling mental issues.  According to her youngest daughter, Serena Mendoza, Eleanore would also take care of other family members such as her nieces and nephews during the summer, who were in need of a “boot camp”.  She lives with her husband Saul on a small ranchette, in Modesto, where they have various small animals, which makes it ideal to teach responsibility.  Eleanore had one of her nieces stay with her for 8 years during her troubled youth, helping her to get back on the right path. Continue reading “Saul and Eleanore Casteneda to be this Year’s Beneficiary of Denair Lions Pancake Breakfast” »

The Red Pony Band Concert To Benefit the Denair Gaslight Theater

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Submitted by Denair Gaslight Community Conservatory

The Red Pony Band is an acoustic instrumental and vocal group, whose music revisits the original Louisiana Hayride Radio tradition, but with a creative tendency to wander far and wide stylistically; from their original compositions, to any song genre that suits their interpretive fancy. All this in a joyous celebration of life that’s sure to keep audiences dancing, entertained, and engaged. This versatile group of creative musicians are joined at the hip, fronted by master storyteller Dr. Blue (Michael Rojas Jr.) – vocals, mandolin, and guitar; Joni Valponi – vocals, ukulele, guitar and accordion; Phil Rojas – vocals, guitar, mandolin, and ukulele; Paul Danielson – bass guitar; and Dave Takvorian – drums and percussion.

The Red Pony Band is slated to perform a benefit concert at the Denair Gaslight Theater, 3908 Gratton Road, Denair, CA., on Friday, November 3, 2017. Tickets are $20.00 and can be purchased at showtix4u.com. Social hour starts at 7:00 pm, concert begins at 8:00 pm. Tickets will include one drink and hors d’oeuvres. Proceeds support the Gaslight Theater.

A very special giveaway! Buy a Red Pony CD for $5.00, and be entered into a drawing to win a free Red Pony Home Concert!

If you have any questions, please contact the Denair Gaslight Theater, at 209-664-9514, or visit www.denairgaslight.com.

Denair Still Learning, Despite Fourth Loss in a Row

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Submitted by Denair High School

There is nothing like the stark reality of a scoreboard on a Friday night to underscore the importance of the lessons taught at practice the previous four days.

“Mariposa 26, Denair 0” stared at the Coyotes as they walked off the field at halftime last week at Jack Lytton Stadium.

Coach Anthony Armas’ young squad has had a difficult year. One of his mantras week after week is that Denair must learn to play with more “physicality.” Often, the Coyotes have been unable to consistently stand up to the strength and dominance of the opposition.

It happened again Friday. Mariposa was the stronger team – and it showed in the first half. The Grizzlies’ bigger linemen mauled the Coyotes on both sides of the ball, controlling the line of scrimmage and the tempo of the game.

Denair had little margin for error, such as a fumble inside the 10-yard line in the first quarter when the Coyotes had a chance to score.

“They’re pretty physical,” Armas said of Mariposa. “I think some of our kids were a little surprised; I’m not sure why. It’s been like this almost every week. … It’s like it took us a half to wake up.”

To their credit, the Coyotes played much better in the second half.

Steffin Winston returned the opening kickoff for Denair’s first touchdown. Later, he ripped off a 42-yard TD run, followed by a 29-yard scoring dash by Hunter Musgrave in the fourth quarter.

That narrowed the gap to 33-23 Mariposa, but it was as close as Denair got. Mariposa returned an interception for a touchdown late in the game to seal its 40-23 Southern League victory.

The loss was the fourth in a row for Denair (2-7 overall, 1-5 in the SL). There is one game left and nothing approaching the excitement of last year’s improbable playoff run that Coyotes fans won’t soon forget.

And even as the five senior football players – plus the seniors in the band and on the cheerleading squad – were honored before their final home game Friday, Armas has tried to keep the season in perspective. Continue reading “Denair Still Learning, Despite Fourth Loss in a Row” »

Alex Flores Runs Personal Best as Denair Finishes 4th at SL Meet

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Submitted by Denair High School

The Denair High School cross country team finished fourth at the Southern League championship meet Thursday at Tuolumne River Regional Park in Modesto.

Senior Alex Flores ran his best time of the season – 20 minutes, 57 seconds over 5,000 meters – to lead the Coyotes. He finished 15th in the individual standings.

The other Denair runners in the race were freshman Pablo Flores (21:55), junior Uriel Gonzalez (22:24); sophomore Johnny Ibarra (22:28), freshman Julian Zavala (22:53) and sophomore Brigg Westrand (23:45). Ibarra and Zavala also recorded their fastest times of the season.

Delhi and Waterford tied for the team title with 31 points each (the total of the placement of each team’s top five runners). Delhi was awarded the championship based on the tiebreaker (finish of the sixth runner). Orestimba was next at 71 points, followed by Denair at 104.

Next up for the Coyotes is the Sac-Joaquin Sub-Section Meet on Nov. 4 on the Frogtown course at the Calaveras County Fairground in Angels Camp. Denair will compete in Division V against schools with similar enrollments (less than 600 students).

Coach Matthew Groom is proud of his team and said two things have stood out about the 2017 season.

“First is the willingness of our underclassmen to step up and run varsity during the league meets,” he said. “The second is the performance of our freshmen. They did really well this year. In addition, Pablo Flores became a leader of the team when our captain was not available.”