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Show ommunity ews A2 • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2010 Sentinel 36 East 300 North Spanish Fork, UT 84660 Lane Henderson Publisher Namon Bills Editor Dana Robinson . Assoc. Editor The Sentinel is published each Wednesday for 534 per year in area and $38 our of area by J-Mart, 280 North Main St., Spanish Fork Utah 84660. E-mail stories to editor@sfsentinel.com E-mail ads to ads@sfsentinel.com Call us at 801-7944964 The entire content of this newspaper is Copyright © 2010 The Sentinel. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the editor or publisher. THE SENTINEL (USPS 024716) is published weekly for $34.00 per year by J-Mart Publishing, 280 North Main St., Spanish Fork, UT 84660. Periodicals Postage Paid at Spanish Fork, UT. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to J-Mart Publishing, 280 N. Main St., Spanish Fork, UT 84660. DEADLINES Weddings, anniversaries, missionaries, 1st birthdays, articles, photos, letters to the editor, display advertisements, classified ads, Business Index: Friday, 12 p.m. Guardian of Your Community News Baking the perfect holiday dessert Happiness is Homemade Marilyn M. Atwood It seems everyone wants to celebrate Valentine's Day at their favorite restaurant, but not me. Going out to eat on a holiday is not only expensive but it takes too much time. First you wait for a table and then you wait for your food. Sometimes you have chips or peanuts or popcorn to snack on while you wait. By the time you are served, you may be too full to enjoy your meal. I would much rather celebrate Valentine's Day by fixing my sweetheart an extra special dinner. If you believe the saying "actions speak louder than words" then making his favorite meal is the best way to say "I love you". I usually ask Mike what menu he wants and through the years it has varied. At first it was steak, baked potatoes and steamed veggies. Now it is more likely to be heart healthy foods like chicken or grilled salmon. One thing has remained constant: he al- ways chooses cheesecake for dessert. After trying many recipes, we both decided the very best is the rich and creamy "Cheesecake Supreme" topped with a cherry glaze. It is the ultimate dessert for our Valentine dinner. Making cheesecake is truly is a labor of love. First, you must have a good quality spring-form pan. For the best results you should use only the best ingredients: five packages of cream cheese, six eggs, heavy cream and a cube of real butter for the crust. It takes about an hour to bake and another two hours to cool it slowly to room temperature. The longer you chill it, the better it is. I try to make it the day before so it chills 12 hours or more. Because it is laden with calories and saturated fats, Mike and I decided it would be a splurge only on special occasions. In a family with eight children, special occasions came often as we celebrated their birthdays. Our birthday tradition was similar to our Valentine's tradition. My children got to choose the menu for a special family dinner and I baked them their fa- Help us build it! The Veterans Memorial was made to honor all veterans buried in the Spanish Fork Cemetery. It's running out of room for names and we need to build two more walls to be able to honor our local heroes. T he community came together to build the original monument 10 years ago. Now the Spanish Fork Veterans Council is asking for your renewed support. The total cost for this project is estimated at $20,000. Our veterans did not let our country down in its time of need — let's not let them down now! * Donations can be turned in to Thad Jensen, Glen Bradford or Steve Wilson of the Veterans Council. Every dollar counts! Thank you for your support! CONTRIBUTIONS T O DATE $20,000 cheese 3/4 cup sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 2 eggs 12 vanilla wafers 3/4 cup sour cream 1 l/2Tbsp. sugar 1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice Allow cream cheese to come to room temperature or soften in the microwave for about 15 second each. Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Put a vanilla wafer in the botMarilyn M. Atwood / Tfie Sentinel tom of 12 baking cups in a BIRTHDAY: Happiness is turning 60 years old and havstandard muffin tin. (I like ing "Cheesecake Supreme" on your birthday. Pictured to use the foil variety.) Fill with Mike Atwood (holding cake) are family members each with the cheese mixMadilyn, Robert, Elisabeth, Isaac, Melinda and Emma Oldture until almost full. Bake ham. at 350 degrees for 25 minvorite cake for dessert. I ners and other special utes. Combine sour cream, convinced them that pie events. They are easy to sugar and lemon juice. and cheesecake were not make and bake in half the Remove the cheesecakes in the cake category, but time as regular cheesecake. from the oven and put the when my boys became Making them a day ahead tablespoon of the sour teenagers, all three of makes your meal time cream mixture on each. them wanted Cheesecake preparation so much easier. Return them to the oven to Supreme. Being a loving I make mini cheesecakes bake for five more minutes. mother and wanting to quite often for my family, Cool for about 30 minutes please them, I did as they but Mike is my "yobo" — at room temperature and requested. Some years we that means "honey" in Ko- then chill at least 3 hours had as many as five din- rean. He still gets the very or longer. Top with your ners where cheesecake best Cheesecake Supreme favorite fruit topping such was the dessert. so he knows just how much as cherry or blueberry pie filling. Strawberry or raspIt was a great day when I love him. berry topping is also good I found a mini cheesecake when fresh fruit is availrecipe. It helped simplify Mini Cheesecakes my life for birthday din2 (8 oz) pkgs. cream able. Accelerated vs. rec. leagues Matt Marziale SALEM REC You may not be able to smell it, but it is coming. The melting snow is the sign that it is time to get outside and put the leather to the dirt. Many boys and girls have been a month or so into winter tune-ups, finding whatever gym they can to hit, throw and pitch. Soon we will be outside with new energy, new hope and desire. This time of year also causes me to reflect on issues involved with this time of year, the spring awakening — a time when parents will decide where their children will play, why they will play or why not. Some coaches will try and make this decision for your child. In some cases, a coach will turn a boy or girl off from the sport while they are still young. They have such big dreams and desires, and an over-the-top coach can ruin the dream. So I will offer a few thoughts that I have. Does your child need to play super leagues or accelerated leagues? This is the question of the 2010s. Those of you that know me know that I am a recreation guy. I am also thick into the accelerated sports programs. At times I wish I was not part of the super league sports. But I am in them and I keep coming back. So here is my answer to the first question: no, your son or daughter does not have to play accelerated ball. There are teams offered in every community in this valley that offer good and in some cases a great baseball, softball and even soccer experience. City leagues are generally run at an affordable price, have volunteer coaches that have been instructed as to the focus of the league, and have passed a background check. These leagues are fun and played on weekdays, a perfect environment for what the game should be. Does accelerated ball make a difference? I can tell you that the hours of accelerated ball require about five times as much as city league. There are sacrifices of free weekends and family trips. The plusses are that many of the players improve to a level that is not possible to achieve in just 14 games. Many family memories are also made as a result of the many hours, trips and tournaments. I believe it is a clear answer — the more ball you play, the better ball player you will become. So yes, accelerated ball, whatever sport it is, makes you a polished ballplayer. Should a youngster play both? To this I answer a resounding yes! City league is a great place for kids to play and learn the game. Many of the accelerated teams have become city league teams looking for more games. In many cases the super league teams are not much better than a wellcoached city team. I also believe that the pressure that some of these youngsters play under with their travel teams is out of control. Rec. ball offers them a place to play and have fun while being the big fish on the team. Many of these travel players get stuck in a position, second base and only second. They never get to play pitcher, shortstop or elsewhere. I sign my sons up for city and encourage my travel team players to play as well. If your travel coach discourages it, I suggest you find out why. If rec. ball is making your child a bad player then it is your child's fault. If it is your travel coach telling you not to play, he may be taking himself a little too serious. The more experiences had and friends made the better your child will be down the road of life. Crazy super league coaches need checks and balances. There are some great travel coaches out there. Many of them at one time coached city league. Some of them have lost the vision of the game, and it being about the kids. It has become about winning — winning at all cost. Here are a few signs to consider. First, rec. ball coaches all have to pass a background check. Could your travel ball coach pass the background check? If you even have a doubt, you should run now! If your coach has taken the fun out of it for your child, it is time to run. When was the last time you asked your child if they are having fun, and like their situation? If you have a coach that is adding and dropping players each season, winning might be the most important thing to him. Winning is more fun than losing, but cannot ever come before your child's growth as a person. If you have to try out every year to be on your team, I suggest trying out a new coach that cares for the kid's life in the long term. Another aspect I like about rec. ball is that the crazy coaches do See BASEBALL • A3 i |