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Following more than a decade long tradition, students at St. Mary School in Gilroy collected canned food items and donations this month for St. Joseph’s Family Center’s Holiday Collection.

Many of us will have a green bean casserole on our Thanksgiving table, regardless if we like it or not. I was never a fan because it always seemed too “heavy” and lacked good flavor. I have had a change of heart over the last year and began to enjoy green bean casserole. My taste had not changed, but the recipe had. This week, I share my recipe for an “improved” Homemade Green Bean Casserole.

Wow, what a difference a few months makes. Starting in early 2012 and thorough summer of this year, houses were selling as fast as they came on the market. Most homes were getting multiple offers, and nice homes were getting 10-20 offers. Selling prices were driven up well beyond what most of us expected. Buyers were waving inspections, appraisal and loan contingencies and still getting outbid. Many unsuccessful buyers got frustrated and threw in the towel.

CHS Football is playing for the second time in the CCS playoffs at Garcia Elder Sports Complex. Game starts at 7pm...Looking for turkeys, toys for tots, and canned food....CHS organizations are collecting those items for charity.  If you want to help, drop off items in the main office.

It's time to start thinking about holiday decorating. If that makes your palms sweat or gives you a headache, take a deep breath and don't worry! Decorating for the holidays doesn't need to be a huge or expensive production. Craft and grocery stores are great places to pick up inexpensive ingredients for your seasonal decorating. Here are some easy ideas that will make your autumn decorating simpler, less expensive but still seasonal and fun.

Fall is the traditional time in the northern hemisphere to celebrate God's blessings and express gratitude for successful harvests. As our nation's “chief annual ceremony of American civil religion,” Thanksgiving has had an interesting history.

In London in 1976, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice released an album of a show that would be called “Evita.” By early 1977, the album took the world by storm and when “Evita” premiered in London in June 1978, everyone was humming "Don't Cry For Me Argentina." In September 1979, “Evita” opened on Broadway to a sold out run and won seven Tonys, including Best Musical, Score, Book and Director. “Evita's” Broadway run went on for four years.

I hadn’t seen Karen – or her sister – in a while, but she was a thought that popped up a few times in my mind before getting buried by “the next” of a busy American life. Then, I got an email that directed me to a site and the news written by Liz Fortino Glass: “Karen Covington Fortino had an active, vibrant life as an aqua aerobic instructor, manager of a coffee house, barista and waitress at night. Then, during a routine doctor appointment on June 14, she was diagnosed with extreme hypertension … But that didn't get her down; she picked up the pieces … found another job at a doctor’s office and began a new journey … a few months later, Karen noticed a suspicious lump in the back of her throat … more bad news; there was a large mass and the diagnosis had progressed to stage 4 (cancer). The only good news: it was 90 percent curable.” “Barista” Karen – I use the term loosely and with affection – made my morning for years at the coffee shop downtown on Fifth and Monterey. Her personality, friendly greetings, banter on the Gilroy issues of the day and hearty laughter coupled with a “cup of Joe” were a true pick-me-up. Her insurance, of course, won’t begin to cover the treatment, so there’s a website called gofundme.com where you can help. A direct link is www.gofundme.com/4wlztk. There’s $6,500 in the help Karen kitty and every bit truly helps.