First Annual Carrot Festival Coloring Contest

WORDS BY LUKE PHILLIPS

   When I was a kid growing up in Holtville I always loved the coloring contests put on by Pine Market. The store would sponsor a different contest for almost every holiday and the winners would be featured in the Tribune. I don't think I ever won, but I always had fun trying. 

   Pine Market has been closed for several years now and they stopped running the contests several years before they closed, so it's been quite a long time since Holtville had a coloring contest and we think it's time to bring the tradition back. 

   So here it is, the first of what we hope will be many more Holtville and holiday-themed coloring contests for kids, featuring artwork by my amazing wife Elizabeth. I hope the children of Holtville enjoy this as much as I did when I was a kid!

   Here's how it works: Download this printable JPEG (right-click the link and select 'save link as') of the coloring sheet, print it out, have your child color the bunny and mail it back to us. It's just that easy! Good luck!

Restaurant Review: Same Name, Different Flavors at New Hop Sheng

My plate from the newly-reopened Hop Sheng Chinese Restaurant with Sweet & Sour Pork, General Tao's Chicken,
 Beef with Broccoli and Fried Rice. 

WORDS & PHOTOS BY LUKE PHILLIPS

Sweet and Sour Pork

   After hearing from a handful of people that the food at the newly-reopened Hop Sheng restaurant was “no good”, and hearing a rumor that the new owners where snowbirds from Nebraska who didn’t know how to cook Chinese food, I was a little bit weary of giving it a try, but I’m happy to report that neither of those rumors are true and the food is quite good.

   The new owners are actually from Los Angeles as we learned from the friendly young man behind the counter and they seemed perfectly qualified to be cooking Chinese food. The menu featured a good variety of different dishes and the pricing has been simplified over the previous menu. Most of the entrees available cost $5.50 for a lunch-sized portion (before 3 p.m.) or $7.50 for a dinner-sized portion with the exception of a few seafood dishes that are about a dollar more. All in all, the prices are very affordable and the portions are fairly generous.

Beef with Broccoli

   We ordered the Beef with Broccoli, the General Tao’s Chicken and the Sweet and Sour Pork and they were all quite delicious. There were many dishes I enjoyed at the old Hop Sheng, but for some reason I never did like their Sweet and Sour Pork which just happens to be one of my favorite Chinese dishes. The sauce was never quite right, leaning heavy on the ‘sour’ side of things, and it never failed to give me heartburn. So I was very happy to find the new Sweet and Sour Pork to be very agreeable. Not too much sour, not too much sweet. It had the perfect balance and none of the acid bite. So, thank you New Hop Sheng for bringing one of my favorite dishes back into my diet.

General Tao's Chicken

   The Beef with Broccoli was likewise very good, with a nice, rich sauce, tender meat and fresh, crisp broccoli, but the stand-out was definitely the General Tao’s Chicken. For those unfamiliar with it, the dish consists of coated, fried pieces of chicken with a sweet and tangy glaze and covered with red pepper flakes that gave it a spicy kick. The flavors were almost delicate and complimented one another well.

   The only disappointment in the whole meal was the fried rice that came with our entrees. It looked like a batch of regular steamed rice with some soy sauce in it, along with one piece of scrambled egg. There were no vegetables or anything else. It was very plain and a little dry, but the steamed rice was good.

   Overall though, I would definitely recommend giving the new Hop Sheng a try. It’s not the same as the old Hop Sheng, no doubt, but it’s very good in a different way. I can understand how some people might not like it, after all Chinese food is a very subjective thing, but I liked it and you might too. 

FFA Sheep Killed by Loose Dogs at HHS

WORDS BY LUKE PHILLIPS

   A family friend contacted me last night with a bit of disturbing news. Apparently several sheep owned by the Holtville High School FFA program were slaughtered by a loose dog or dogs yesterday afternoon. One of the sheep was already dead when the massacre was discovered and another three were injured so badly that they had to be euthanized, including one that was pregnant.

   And if that isn't bad enough, the incident took place during school hours when students were present on campus and could have been harmed themselves. Luckily, the dogs were gone before students arrived in the area, but the kids are also being advised not to walk their sheep around town because of the danger of being attacked.

   The incident also means a big financial blow to the FFA program which made money from selling the sheep to students. One of the sheep was also being rented which means the school will have to pay back the owner too.

   It's a senseless, stupid thing that happened and it could have been prevented. My wife and I have been on a bit of a crusade for the past couple of years to get the City of Holtville to take the problem of loose dogs seriously, but to little avail. City officials listened to us, smiling and nodding, they held many meetings on animal control, they formed a committee and appointed a part-time animal control officer, all with few results. There are still loose dogs everywhere terrorizing citizens and killing innocent animals.

   As I've said, many, many times before, I believe the solution to this problem is education and enforcement. The city already has laws on the books that are supposed to prevent this kind of thing, but they need to be more aggressively enforced. I see people walking dogs without a leash every day. I see people purposely letting their dogs run loose every day. It's quite obvious that it's same people committing these inconsiderate crimes over and over again and it's about time they were cited. Give them a few high-priced tickets and I bet the problem would end very quickly.

   I've been attacked by dogs at least four or five times since I moved back to Holtville about three years ago, and I know tons of other people who have had problems too. Just last year a loose pit-bull somehow made its way into a Holtville girl scout meeting and growled at the children. The way things are going, it's only a matter of time before somebody ends up getting seriously injured or killed, and next time it might not just be sheep.

   If you are one of the many Holtville residents that has had problems with loose dogs, I urge you to attend the next meeting of the Holtville City Council and demand that stronger actions be taken to address the problem. Maybe if enough of us are loud enough, the council will get the message.

Community Bulletin Board 12-7-2012

- Se Renta un Cuarto, Para Persona Sola o con un nino, dentro de mi casa, bano y concina, somas; compartidos, familia decente, 760-540-9912, Corta Temporada - o como guste. Con Cuarto Amueblado, cable, internet, SRA. MORA. $350. por mes.

- BRAND NEW FOR SALE. EverFlex Cardio Strike Bag, Call 356-2267.

- YARD SALE: Saturday the 8th, 7-11 a.m. @ 490 Palo Verde Ave. Christmas Stuff, Toys, Clothes, Mary Kay and More.

 - YARD SALE: Friday 12-7-12, 745 Brentwood, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

 - YARD SALE: Friday and Saturday, Dec. 7&8, 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., 741 Wooldridge

- BIG YARD SALE, Thursday and Friday, 2308 Olive Ave. Lots of everything.

- Se Renta Studio Con Estufa. Refigerador, TV, Utilidades Incluidas. Informes (760) 540-6804, (760) 540-6812, (760) 356-9910. 1 & 2 personas $425, Persona Extra $100. Deposito $150.

- YARD SALE: Sat. Dec. 8 7 a.m., 813 Brentwood Ave.

- YARD SALE: 1632 E. Alamo Rd., Friday 7, Saturday 8, from 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

- SALE: 1976 Motor Home. For $3,850 or Best Offer or trade for car. Value $7,000. Can see picture on craigslist and information x Sept. 30, or can see at 515 W. 9th St. in Holtville. Call 760-235-2195. Good Condition. 760-356-5835. (49,000 Miles. Runs good.)

Community Bulletin Board 11-30-2012

- YARD SALE!!! 705 Fern. Saturday, December 1st.

- IMPERIAL VALLEY TAXI 24 hrs., (760) 540-8585, 710 W. Main St. El Centro, CA 92243.
Promocion: $4 Trip El Centro Only. 

- YARD SALE, 754 Holt Ave. Fri. 11/30, Sat. 12/1, Sun 12/2

- YARD SALE, Saturday, December 1, 6 a.m., 1630 Zenos Rd.

- YARD SALE, 625 E. 3rd St., Fri., Sat. & Sun., 11/30, 12/1, 12/2, 7 a.m.

- SALE: 1976 Motor Home. For $3,850 or Best Offer or trade for car. Value $7,000. Can see picture on craigslist and information x Sept. 30, or can see at 515 W. 9th St. in Holtville. Call 760-235-2195. Good Condition. 760-356-5835. (49,000 Miles. Runs good.)

- YARD SALE 2315 Olive Rd. Friday Only. Nov. 30. 6 a.m. - 12 p.m.

- YARD SALE: 1313 E. 7th Street, Space #95. 11-30-12. 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

- FOR RENT: 877 1/2 Pine Ave. 1 Bd. $550 Deposit/$550 Rent

- Se Renta Studio Con Estufa. Refigerador, TV, Utilidades Incluidas. Informes (760) 540-6804, (760) 540-6812, (760) 356-9910. 1 & 2 personas $425, Persona Extra $100. Deposito $150. 

- YARD SALE: Fri. Nov. 30, Sat. Dec. 1st, 7 a.m., 528 Wooldridge. 

Holtville's Halls Thoroughly Decked

PHOTO BY LUKE PHILLIPS

It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Holtville today as crews from the Public Works Department began hanging colorful holiday wreaths and garlands over several intersections in town. 

Portion of Ninth Street to be Closed for More Than a Month

WORDS BY LUKE PHILLIPS

   The City of Holtville issued a press release this week warning residents that a section of Ninth Street will be closed for more than a month while construction crews work on improvements in the area.

   Ninth Street between Beale Avenue and Slayton Road road will be closed beginning today, November 9, and will remain closed until the project is finished on January 11 of next year. In that time, crews will widen that section of Ninth Street and will also install new curbs, gutters and sidewalks.

    Garbage and recycling pick-ups will take place at the edge of the road closure for residents in the affected area and construction workers will be on-hand to help move the bins during pick-up days.

   An engineer from The Holt Group will also be on-hand to answer any questions residents might have, or they can also call the Resident Engineer at (760) 337-3883.

   This section of the street has been dangerously narrow for as long as I can remember and I'm very happy to see this project get started, but it's a shame that it's going to take so long. I'm sure it's going to be a big pain in the neck for parents who drop kids off at the Middle School and probably for a lot of other residents in the area too. Does it really take that long to lay down some new asphalt and cement?