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Show ' L, f U i F ..in h'mCh! i i 0 i nl t Ld! ,. iri U.'u T j CjCjT . 1 LIl. City U1 II 1 i . " 3 C P v 0 yI a - $ r . i t ' ?T A 7 , .ju t &toV' 'rXt ' ;,' , .t'-- P ' - r A w.,7 r ,? ' AV.ii, V iCSLCrJX lie CO-- . .7 , jt rp '! V "fx r- - - ;! ' - I r ,4. t I , - ,4 y b&firt H'-'t-'l S' I -- - ?n) h , . St . visit by Santa Saturday Pre-Christm- as Pv DEBBI OLSON Eoiior The annual Mam Street Christmas Parade is nearly as old as Magna itself with a history that dates back more than 70 years. - With Kennecott Copper always playing a large role in the community and community events, the company started invited the children of Magna to the old Copper Chib in flic 1930s where they could visit with Santa and receive candy. In the 1940s Santa maved to the Gem parade will march west on Magna's Historic Mam Street and end at the old Webster Elementary School. Featured in the parade will be marching bands, fire engines, local officials, horses and Santa. Following the parade, Santa will greet Magnas children. Downtown is expected to be a flurry of activity as local businesses will be open for residents to get a taste of what Magna Main Street has to offer. Seniors at the Magna Senior Center will be Theater where Christmas movies became part of the Magna Christmas Tradition. With the Gem Theater closed, the tradition lives on today as the Chamber of Commerce brings Christmas movies to each of the elementary schools during the last week before flic holiday vacation, and Santa arrives for a short visit The Main Street Parade started when Americas GIs returned home from World War II. The tradition continues this Saturday as the annual Christmas Parade is set to begin at noon starting at 8400 West and 2700 South. The holding its holiday Boutique Dec. 6 from 10 a.m.-- 3 p.m., which will include a variety of handmade crafts, ceramics, leatherwork, woodwork and other unique holiday decorations and gifts. The Boutique is a fundraiser for the senior center. The Christmas events are being sponsored by the Magna Chamber of Commerce and local businesses and industries. Any group interested in participating in the parade should meet at the Flangas Chevron Service Station before the parade at 11:45. s Bv PEBBI OLSON Editor Scrooge, Tiny Tim and other characters from Hate Centre Theatres A Christmas Carol, delivered more than 7,600 pounds of food to the Utah Food Bank Monday . The food drive, called Talents for Hunger, was conducted throughout - .' . Npvejnhff during the theaters productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Forever Plaid. We have been pleasantly surprised by the response, said Sally Dietlein, Executive Producer, Hate Centre Theatre. "Giving is so much better than getting. It feels so good to give and know that we have made a difference." . Hale Theater will also give the Utah Food Bank more than 2,500 tickets to upcoming productions. The tickets are to be given to recipients of food from the food bank. This will give those in the community an opportunity to come to one of our shows who wouldnt otherwise have the chance, Dietlein said. HTC offered a free soft who drink to theater-goer- s donated a can of food or 4f 4. 1 ' t Catherin Dennis, 5, and little sister Chris tin, 2, help gather blankets for the familys Operation keep Warm project Below, the Dennis children gather around the donation box at the Magna Library, one of the drop off spots in the community. Family helps to warm others What started as a family activity to teach a lesson about giving has now turned into a community - activity. . Operation Keep Warm , I , was started last December by the Dennis family, who wanted to show their chfi- -' dren how to give back to the community since they had been on the receiving end before. Were a low income family and know what its . like, said Denise Dennis. The family gathered together to come up with a way they could help others and the result was Operation Keep Warm. We wanted to do this so that we could give something to a place that could use the help, said Justin Dennis, 13. If we have a little extra, it isnt hard to give it to others so they can keep warm too. The other Dennis children involved in making the decision on what project to work on inducted Prestin (Yoda), 11, Austin, 9, Coltin, 7, Catherin, 5, and Christin, 2. Operation Keep Warm collects slightly used and new blankets and coats that will be donated to the Travelers Aid Homeless Shelter. Last year the family collected about 200 items cf to donate to the shelter and decided that this year T there was still just as much OLSON of a need as there was last C year. The goal for this year is to collect another 200 , items to donate. I like being able to help other people who are in the same situation as us, said Prestin, who also known by family and friends as Yoda. It feels good knowing we are helping other people. , Justin happened to mention the project to his scout troop, 982 and they came in force to ask if they could join in the project, which would help count toward their service hours. Shortly afterward, the ' Young Womens organization of the Magna 14th Ward of the Church of Jesus Saints Christ of Latter-da- y famthe Dennis approached as offers with to help, ily did the youth group of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Magna. Im so thrilled with the amount of response we have received, Denise said. This will have an impact on so many people, not only die people who will receive the coats and blankets, but the kids who are helping and getting involved in the community. Through Dec. 20, Opeiaiion Keep Warm will be collecting blankets, coats and other warm clothing articles at the Magna library, 8339 est 3500 South; Our Lady of Lourdes CuuiuiiC Church, 2840 South 9000 West: and at the POOR COPY 5-- Hale Theatre overflowing with talents JT Bv Pgggt Editor v7,j 1 Utir ft a 250-811- 9. Last year someone , anonymously donated two boxes of brand infant coats and snow suits, Denise said. They didnt leave a note saying who they were. It was just a good feeling to know there are people in the community who are so giving. Other service projects the Dennis family has been involved in incLdes collecting slightly used stuffed ani each talent (a Biblical measurement of weight equal to 75.5 pounds) of food collected, HCT committed to donate 25 tickets to the Utah Food Bank to distribute to those in need. In Biblical terms, the theater collected 101 talents to give to the food bank. .pur patrons were so generous, Dietlein said. They need to be commended for the great amount of giving they did. We have really made a difference in helping meet the needs of the food FOr bank this year. Dietlein said the theater gave away about 150 soft drinks per performance, which is much more than it typically sells during a performance. "It was worth it," Dietlein said. It was so much fun and it was such a magnificent thing to see there was so much coming in." Because of the success of the food drive, and the enthusiasm it generated from theater-goerDietlein said HTC will do a repeat performance next year during its fall production of "Annie "Its a perfect fit, Dietlein said, Its the right musical for it s, Helping victims of violent crime - itn A portion of all revenues from sates Saturday at the West Valley City Super Wal Mart will be donated to the Citys Victim Services division. The revenue earned by Wal Mart between 7 a.m. and noon, will be used to aid residents who have been victims -- Magna Times office, 8980 West 2700 South. There will also be opportunities for the community to have items picked up at their homes by the youth involved in the project by calling other non perishable item. j mals to donate to needy children. We plan on keeping this service to the community going, Denise said. We are hoping to put together a food drive in the summer when the food banks supplies are low but the needs are still as great as they are at this time of the year. The family, and the youth groups will also take a tour of the Travelers Aid Homeless Shelter when they donate the blankets so fliat they can see how their scrv ice directly benefits others. of domestic violence, sexual assault and other types of . violent crime. "Helping the victims of violent crime in West Valley is a great way for us to give something back to the community," said Sue Johnson, Wal Mart Community Involvement Associate. "More than 2,800 Wal Mart stores throughout the country will participate in the Wal Mart Good Works Holiday Chanty Event on Saturday. Each store will donate a portion of its sales to a local charity. The West Valley City Victim Services division provides victims of domestic violence with immediate onsite crisis intervention by responding with the police department to domestic violence calls. Last year. West Valley City victim advocates provided assistance for 2,138 new victims of domestic violence. The Victim Services division provides victims of violent crimes with information about their rights, and gives them information on programs that are available to assist them (such as protective orders, counseling agencies, financial assistance, employment, and childcare issues.) |