Cheers

There are many reasons to offer up a cheer this week. Below are a few.
Cheers go out to:

New York Giants tight end Bear Pascoe, the pride of Granite Hills High School and Porterville and the first person from Porterville to earn a Super Bowl ring.

— Rebecca Ybarra and Imagine Community Arts Center that has partnered with the PUSD Pathways program to spruce up utility boxes around town.

—  All of those who were successful in their auditions to participate in the 50th version of the City of Hope Spectacular on Feb.25.

— Marie Ishida who is stepping down as California Interscholastic Federation executive director. She has served 11 years in that position.

— The 10 citizens selected to the 2012 Leadership Class. They are Cameron Anderson, Jessica Buchanan, Richard Carrillo, Krystle Contreras, Rene Espino, Rhoda Hunter, Alexander Reed-Krase, Pierre Mena, David Shimer and Melissa Stewart.

— Totally Tina’s Fabrics that provided sewing machines and material for volunteers to make blankets for dogs at the animal shelter.

— Porterville Animal Control Director Augie Gonzalez and his staff that help set up a dog rescue by sending 69 dogs to Idaho for adoption.

— Porterville High School’s yearbook staff that has been named No. 1 by Jostens.

— Harmony Magnet Academy’s Victoria Rutherford who has been selected to attend a prestigious two-week program at the University of Toronto to enhance her education.

— Josh Turner, a senior in Ogden High, Iowa, whose grandmother lives in Porterville and father was raised here, signed a letter of intent to play baseball at Northwestern College.

— Harmony Magnet Academy that not only won the small schools title, but the overall title at the Tulare County Academic Decathlon. Also to Granite Hills High School that came in second, but had won the title the previous nine years.

— Brian Duboski, a graduate of Monache who played quarterback at Bakersfield College this past season and who signed to play at Western State of Colorado.

— Granite Hills basketball player Dante Cuningham who was inducted into that school’s Wall of Fame.

The Recorder wants to be sure good news and good deeds are recognized. If you know of some good news or a good deed that needs to be recognized in this column, call Editor Rick Elkins at 784-5000, ext. 1040, or e-mail it to him at relkins@portervillerecorder.com. You can also message him on Twitter.