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Pink pig smoker gets plenty of attention
Shopping local helps pay for police, fire services
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Senior officer of the Chula Vista Police DUI team, Agent Tim Kahl, formerly of Ripon, has a passion for taking drunk drivers off the road having lost multiple friends while in high school to other drivers who had been drinking. Kahl attended Central Catholic and Ripon high schools. - photo by Photo Contributed
It’s definitely an attention getter at Schemper’s ACE Hardware store in Ripon – a pink pig smoker – that sells for $1,799.99.  But it’s more fun to soak up the courtesy of the staff members who have never met a stranger walking through their door – at least not for long.
Nicole Newhard and Bailee Nolan joined the staff during the last year.  Both college students, Nicole attends Stanislaus State University where she is majoring in Business.  Bailee is a student at Modesto Junior College.  They both joked that the pig – a wood pellet grill and smoker – really goes for bacon.  It was in 1985 that Joe Traeger developed a wood pellet technology and fashioned the first wood pellet barbecue – the grill that he promised would revolutionize the barbecue industry.  “You have to taste the difference,” the staff suggests.
The best kept secret about Schemper’s is their unique gift area located on the north side of the store, to the left of the registers.  Interior designer Cheryl Bunch continually demonstrates her artistic talents in the layout of the unusually large household gift section that does its job in drawing women in the community to the hardware store.

IT’S IMPORTANT FOR LOCAL CONSUMERS TO SHOP IN THEIR HOME COMMUNTIES

The shopping public can make a difference with their buying habits.  Shopping locally is now a possibility – little to no excuse not to – with Best Buy, Costco, J.C. Penny, Kohl’s, Bass Pro, and other large stores along with the many “mom and pop” shops  we have in the community.
Our emergency responders – police and fire department personnel  – draw from those spending habits of the general public.  The sales tax monies  tied into our purchases play a big part in keeping firefighters,  and police officers on the streets in the current economic turndown.   Every little bit definitely helps. 
A drive to Modesto or to Stockton adds to the cost of  shopping outside the community,  not only with gas usage,  but with wear and tear on our vehicles.  So, remember, when you choose to patronize businesses located where you live, that tax money is coming back to help support those emergency responders who you want to  be there when you dial 911.  We bought our first television in years recently,  from the Manteca Costco, knowing who and what that sales tax would support.

HANGING MY HEAD LOW OVER MISSPELLING ‘MENDOSA’
Well, I did it twice this year – spelling John Mendosa’s last name with a “z” instead of an “s.”  I am sure that it doesn’t carry much weight that both times it was done in the midst of deadline stress.  John and his wife Eileen know half of  the community,  because of the lengthy tenure of Mendosa’s Men’s Wear that was located in the 100 block of West Yosemite Avenue.  Eileen also had a women’s section located in the store.
It shouldn’t have happened and I can only say, once again, that I’m sorry about that John.  He and many others  have a measurable appreciation for their family names,  as do I.  In my case, Glenn is my middle name, not my first, which is the same as my dad’s,  Arthur.  Many people want to clip an “n” out of my name as well, which can be seen as a synonym to a meadow. 
Of course when I went into the Army, they chose to use my first name.  I will never forget a gruff sergeant yelling at me, “Hey Art!” and it went right over my head several times until he raised his tone,  and his demeanor several notches to get my attention.  “Who me, Sergeant?”
To make matters worse growing up as an only child, my parents realized there would be some confusion in calling me home for dinner if they used Art or Arthur – so it was “Butch” until I turned 12 when they decided I needed a more adult sounding name – why not my middle name of Glenn?”
There was a special ring to that long-ago shout from my parents out the front door, “Butch, dinner’s ready!”
It took a long time to get used to being called Glenn, since it was not a name I could immediately recognize from my formative years.
Speaking of names,   we have the good fortune to have a retired educator at the Bulletin a day or two during the week – doing his history column – using information he digs out of the archives.  Former Lincoln Elementary School principal Marion Elliott keeps a close eye on name misspellings – especially any that I might author – and makes a point to let me know.  He reminds me that it only takes a minute to double check the phone book or some other directory to make sure they are right – deadline or not.   Spelling a name correctly is just as important to me as keeping my credibility with Marion, a very outstanding human being in every respect.

GOOD TO SEE DR. AL TONN BACK IN A DENTAL OFFICE
It was a shock for me to have seen Dr. Al Tonn retire from his long-established practice with Valley Dental .  It was equally pleasant to see him hang out a shingle last week at Dr. Ricardo Cuevas’ dental office in the 100 block of North Sycamore.
Al Tonn is without a doubt a “people person” who can make you feel good about yourself in the blink of an eye.  This man has so much to give – and has given so much in his practice – that he needs to be around people.
His service to the nation during the national disasters in the southern hurricanes as well as in New York when the Twin Towers were leveled by terrorists speaks of his devotion to his fellow man.  I know I can speak for many people other than just myself, “Welcome back Al!”

TIM KAHL APPEAR TWICE ON TRU-TV’S ‘SPEEDER’  SHOWS
 San Diego area police officer Tim Kahl,  who hails from Ripon,  was featured in two separate segments of the TRU-TV “Speeders” show during the past week – a show that follows officers  on the street,  and records their  challenges with speeding motorists.
It was all happening at the same time that Carol and David Bragan’s niece Julie Courtney appeared on Regis and Kelly show in a contest, “ Dating the Stars.  She was having a ball with American Idol winner Taylor Hicks on their date in New York.   Carol Bragan said she had to go in late to their real estate office as she couldn’t miss seeing  the show.
The “Speeders” TV crew was in Kahl’s Chula Vista patrol car back in October when they first filmed him making an arrest for drugs,  and brass knuckles after a driver was caught with a laser breaking the speed limit coming down a hill.  Drugs and other items were found in the vehicle that sent the man to jail,  and had his car towed away.  The man in his mid-20s even had a blue, plastic handicapped card to make his daily parking a little easier.  Unlike our county jail, San Diego has room to keep its offenders.
The second segment which aired Thursday night at 9:30 saw the officer  stopping an older woman motorist – making her day when he let her off with a warning and some counseling.