2 The Bakersfield Voice Sunday, June 27, 2010 Share stories, photos, blogs www. bakersfieldvoice .com ■ Submitting your sto- ries for The Bakersfield Voice is simple and FREE! Just go to: www.bakers- fieldvoice.com and create a profile. ■ Choose what you’d like to contribute (an article, letter, picture or community event listing) and post it yourself. ■ For delivery issues, please email: voicedelivery@bakersfield.com ■ Still need help getting your contributions onto our Web site? E-mail Sandra Molen at smolen@bakersfield.com YOUR CELEBRATIONS here are a number of things that I can look to as reminders of the cur- rent state of our economy; the numerous yard signs showing homes for sale; the unemployment figures for our area; the increasing number of anecdotal tales about young adults mov- ing home after college because they can’t afford to live on wages they didn’t expect to be making after receiving their diploma. While some things didn’t surprise me all that much, one did — the rise in pet food pantries across the nation, as rescue groups and concerned individuals try to find ways to keep pets with their families during these tough times. I find folks who take on these sorts of tasks to be some of the very best, most thoughtful people on the planet. They use their time (and nearly always their own resources) to help others in need. To that end, there’s a new group afoot, and you can help. M.J. Rogers recently created the Yahoo Group Pet Coupons Central (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pet- CouponsCentral). The premise is as simple as it sounds. They collect coupons for pet products and send them out to others who might need a little help making ends meet with the furkids. Currently they are collecting coupons for cat and dog food and treats, cat litter and pet odds and ends, as well as coupons for bird and small animal food, though those don’t come in nearly as often. Pet Coupons Central is willing to provide coupons to just about anyone who asks, including caretakers of feral colonies, shel- ters and rescues any- where in the U.S. If you can take a few moments out of a Sunday (or Thursday night, we’re not picky) and clip coupons from your local news- paper, magazines or Web sites and forward them on for use, con- sider joining the Pet Coupons Central Yahoo Group. You can make a difference from the com- fort of your dining room table. If you’re interested in clipping coupons but aren’t much of a “joiner,” you can clip, snip and send coupons to the following address: (Coupons for cat food are espe- cially needed: M.J. Rogers 2001 East Cross Ave. # 104 Tulare, CA 93274 If you know of anyone who might be in need of coupons, have them send an email to [email protected] with the subject line “Coupons Needed” and someone from Pet Coupons Central will get back to them. If everyone does a little, we can all do a lot. Have a pet-related question or comment? E-mail Vicky at: [email protected] or visit: www.pawprintcitytimes.com. YOUR PETS YOUR FAITH YOUR VOICE T Pet food coupon bank needs you! BY BETH PANDOL Community contributor erhaps your grandmother rode to Wyoming on a cov- ered wagon in the 1800s, or maybe your parents moved to Arizona from Vir- ginia in 1975; or maybe you just arrived in Bakersfield after growing up in Viet Nam. However your fam- ily got to the Western U.S., it is like- ly there is an interesting story behind it. This story collection is in con- junction with the museum’s new exhibition, Best of the West, open- ing June 10 and running through August 22. These stories will be exhibited at the museum on July 31 at Go West Day, a fun-filled day of music, storytelling, cowboy games, and more family fun. The stories will also be available on the museum’s Web site at: www.bmoa.org beginning in July. The Bakersfield Museum of Art, in conjunction with The Bakers- field Californian and KERO ABC 23, is looking for stories from local resi- dents about how their family came to live in the West. It does not mat- ter if it was 100 years ago or last week, we’d like to hear why your family came to the West, how they came, who came and why they chose to live in the Western U.S. Submission guidelines: • Stories may be mailed to the Bakersfield Museum of Art, 1930 R St., Bakersfield, Calif. 93301 or preferably, submitted online to [email protected] with the sub- ject line: Going West. • Stories must be no more than 500 words. • Photographs may be attached but photos will not be returned. (Do not send original photos — send only copies.) • Some stories may be selected for publication, either on television or in the newspaper. You will be contacted prior to publication. • Please include your name, address and phone number in the submission. • Try to include names and dates as much as possible and the per- son’s relation to you — was it your grandfather, mother, etc.? Provide interesting details and depictions. • Stories will become the proper- ty of the Bakersfield Museum of Art. • Deadline for submission is June 30. NOTE: For purposes of this activ- ity, “West” is loosely defined as the states west of the Rocky Moun- tains. For more information, or to download a Going West submis- sion form, visit: www.bmoa.org. Questions? Contact Beth Pandol at 323-7219 or [email protected]. P COURTESY PHOTO Han’s Taekwondo Academy won more than 50 medals at the U.S. Elite Open Championship in Oceanside, Calif. COURTESY PHOTO Kimberly Schnell, who is raising money for MS, enjoys a past tandem skydive. Schnell hopes to raise $500 for MS research AND win a free tandem skydive. The above coupons are examples and not valid. VICKY THRASHER Pet columnist Do you have an interesting story about how you or a family member migrated West? BY CHRISTINE GRONTKOWSKI Community contributor ultiple sclerosis (MS) stops people from moving, but it has one Bakersfield woman moving faster to do her part to find a cure. On World MS Day, which was May 26, Kimberly Schnell began raising money — money to be used for research, and local programs and services provided by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Her reward if she meets her $500 goal: a free jump out of a plane! Schnell was diagnosed with mul- tiple sclerosis seven years ago. Before her diagnosis, she was active, especially with her clog and tap dancing that she started when she was a child. After her diagnosis, the 35-year- old says her activity level has defi- nitely decreased, and she went through bouts of depression. But she has been able to overcome the effects of MS with treatment. She says she can still stay active, danc- ing (not as often) and skydiving. “[Skydiving] is great,” she said. “It makes me feel … like a bird, makes you feel free, like you have no prob- lems in the world.” Schnell has gone skydiving sever- al times in the past; the first time was 10 years ago. But this is the first time she has tried to do it with Sky- dive4free. Once she raises $500 for the National MS Society, she gets to make a free tandem skydive through the program. She’s already half-way there. If you’d like to help her meet her goal, go to www.skydive4free.com, search for “Kimberly Schnell” as the participant, and you can make a donation directly online. There are also other ways to help make MS part of the past. You can register at www.worldmsday.org and you can also make a $5 dona- tion directly to the National MS Society through your cell phone by texting “MSAWARE” to 20222. M Bakersfield woman moving on despite debilitating disease COURTESY OF HAN’S TAEKWONDO ACADEMY an’s Taekwondo Academy participated at the U.S. Elite Open Champi- onship in Oceanside, Calif., on June 5. In attendance were over 800 competitors from Southern Cali- fornia. Han’s Taekwondo won the Largest Team Trophy and the Best Team Performance Award. Jonathan Gallegos, Michelle Meza, Camryn White, Taylor Rus- sell, Hailieigh Russell, Kristian Phounsavath, Grant Austin, Julian Esposo, Christopher Crisostomo, Amanda Alvarez, Kayla Alvarez, Sarah Tieu, Isaac Tieu, Justin Rodriguez, and Charles Bonoan won Gold medals in both their forms and sparring divisions. Gordon Hagerman, Shasta Phounsavath, Ethan Gallegos, Kitisha Phounsavath, Albert Urias, Kylie Garcia, Alexandria Carino, Rhoda Hernando, John Estacio, Garrett Pedersen, Bernard Guinto, RaShall Holguin, Cristian Morillo, Makayla Mazo, Peter O'Rear, and Valerie House won Gold in their sparring divisions. Christine Bonoan and Leslie Sil- va won Silver in Sparring Divisions. Joe Stieger, Matthew Estioko, Isa- iah Ahumada, and Jillian Jo Medi- na won Bronze in their Sparring Divisions. In summary, we won 47 Gold medals, three Silver and six Bronze. More details can be found at our Web site: http://www.HansTaek- wondo.com. H Congratulations Han’s Taekwondo Academy BY AURORA JOHNSON Community contributor obin Mangarin, KGET-TV17 award-winning anchor and reporter, will be the keynote speaker for the third annual Women at the Well Conference presented by Summit Bible College, Sun- day, July 11 from 1 to 8:30 p.m. at the Petroleum Club, 5060 California Ave., 2nd floor. The conference will be highlighted by music performed by Vowed to One, breakout sessions presented by local speakers and a time of pampering (mas- sage, haircuts, makeup, etc.). The conference is open to women ages 16 years and older. Pre-registration is required. Cost is $50 per person or $75 for two people registering together. Dinner is included. Registration is available online at: www.summitbiblecollege.com. For information, call Summit Bible College, 328-1151; or, email Angel Cantrell at [email protected]. R Award-winning anchor, reporter to speak at bible conference Axle’s favorite thing to do — train watching! Happy 4th birthday, Axle! COURTESY PHOTOS