The hottest ticket in Manteca this March is guaranteed to be to a dinner event designed to help the American Legion Post 249 tackle a $400,000 modernization and expansion project for their 89-year-old post home in the 200 block of East Yosemite Avenue.
It’s a pig roast — both literally and figuratively (in a joshing away).
It will involve roasting four former Manteca police chiefs — Willie Weatherford, Dave Bricker, Charlie Halford, and Nick Obligacion — with the main course being a roasted pig.
The event is planned for Thursday, March 7, at the Manteca Senior Center. And while the prices of tickets haven’t been set nor tickets printed, there are plenty of people already saying they’ll jump at the chance to attend.
Part of it has to do with the fact it’s a great cause. But to be honest, it’s the roast targets that make this appealing.
All four ex-police chiefs have distinctive senses of humor. They also were — and still are — extensively involved in the community. It is actually a rarity that a city can still say that it has four of its retired police chiefs who actually stayed in the community after retiring.
Several roasters have already been lined up including Mayor Steve DeBrum and retired community service officer/public information officer/Neighborhood Watch coordinator Rex Osborn who is also known for his quick draw when it comes to his wit.
The Legion has already pumped $17,000 into the post building to put in an ADA compliant handicap ramp and door from the side parking lot. Now they’re trying to tackle the remodeling and expansion of the post building some by some 30 feet. It’s an endeavor that is expected to cost nearly $400,000.
The expansion is designed to expand programs as well as correct deficiencies.
Narrow stairways lead to bathrooms — one for men and the other for women — on either side of the stage at the Legion Hall in downtown Manteca at.
The bathrooms cannot accommodate wheelchairs
In addition the kitchen is beneath the stage making it equally difficult to access.
The hall built in 1929 as a gathering spot for veterans who have served America has the capacity to seat 110 — 1/20th of Manteca’s population at the time. The expansion will significantly increase capacity.
Stay tuned for tickets when they become available. Judging by the buzz so far they could easily fill the MRPS Hall meaning the roast could end up being a quick sell-out in the smaller confines of the Manteca Senior Center.
BIA embraces
Sunday as ‘Family
Night in Manteca’
The Building Industry Association of the Delta has joined the effort to pledge it will do whatever they can toward making sure that Sunday night in Manteca will reign as family night in a bid to strengthen family ties to reduce a wide repertoire of ills that plague communities.
The BIA adopted a resolution backing the city effort. City Manager Tim Ogden noted that the BIA’s chief executive officer John Beckman serves on the Manteca Leadership Roundtable that advanced the initiative encouraging people to embrace Sunday night as family night in Manteca.
The goal is to get community organizations to join the effort by minimizing scheduling impacts on families by preserving at least one night a week of quality time together if families so chose. Sunday was picked as the best night for Manteca Family Night as it is already the least impacted with scheduled meetings and practices.
The council adopted resolution reads, “Families face unprecedented challenges that can negatively impact them: insufficient quality time, unresolved conflicts, poor mental/physical health, death, unemployment, debt, physical/sexual/emotional abuse, drug and alcohol addiction, media/technology saturation, and even wholesome but demanding athletic, academic, or social commitments. . . . The Manteca Leadership Roundtable has proposed that the City of Manteca and other organizations can assist families is by minimizing schedule impacts on the family and preserving at least one night a week of quality time together if they so choose. Manteca Family Night aims to be free of meetings, practices, and activities sponsored by governments and other organizations, except where subject to commitments outside of Manteca.”
The idea came out of ongoing monthly meetings since late 2017 to discuss the biggest challenges facing Manteca that includes at-risk youth and homelessness. The roundtable consists of representatives from Manteca Unified School District, the City of Manteca, Manteca Rotary, Sunrise Kiwanis, the faith community, the Manteca Chamber of Commerce, the business community, and the City of Manteca.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
