Appliance Repair in Hughson, CA

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While Chatham-Kent residents, businesses, churches and schools were opening their doors to motorists stranded in a brutal winter storm just before Christmas, another group of volunteers were battling the elements to make holidays merry for local seniors.

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FreeHelpCK decided to take their annual adopt a senior program up a notch this Christmas by preparing 425 gift bags with everything from puzzle books and candies to towels and slippers to go with nearly 130 meals that were delivered.

Geri Ann Hughson, head of the volunteer organization, said eight drivers managed to get through the winter storm without getting stuck.

“Every meal and gift was delivered, even if they had to walk up to the door because they couldn’t get into the driveway,” Hughson said. “It was a Christmas miracle to us.”

Hughson said the majority of meals and gifts were delivered to seniors living independently in the community with the exception of 12 seniors living at Maple City Residence in Chatham.

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A senior, who did not want to be named, said, “It was very nice, we got a lovely meal and then we got the gifts which were really appreciated.”

Hughson said FreeHelpCK the organization had a couple of “huge Christmas helpers” to make sure the program happened, including Enbridge and Preferred Truck, which donated $3,500 and $2,700 respectively.

She noted FreeHelpCK also delivers meals twice a week to seniors throughout the year.

Living on fixed income, “the weekly lunches really help,” said the senior, adding the impact of rising interest rates is really being felt.

She said the meals “mean an awful lot and they’re so good. You can tell that they’ve been prepared with love.”

Since becoming a registered charity last year, Hughson said FreeHelpCK has many different outreach programs to help those feeling the impact of the cost of living increases.

“Many people are struggling to make things work and their pensions are not cutting it anymore, and the money is not going as far,” Hughson said. “We need to work together more than ever now to help those in need.”

More information about the charitable organization is available online at FreeHelpCK.ca.

Editorials and other Opinion content offer perspectives on issues important to our community and are independent from the work of our newsroom reporters.

The last time sports teams from area high schools won four state championships in the same season was ... never, if memory and CIF Sac-Joaquin Section records can be trusted.

This unprecedented accomplishment is worthy of accolades.

Escalon football, Hughson football, Ripon Christian girls volleyball and Oakdale boys cross country — the entire region is awfully proud of you.

Reaching the pinnacle of performance in any endeavor takes dedication, hard work and perseverance on the part of participants, in this case gifted young athletes. It signifies unusual support and sacrifice from parents and families. In team sports, it demands top-notch coaching, with wisdom to put the right young people in the right places and knowing how to get the most out of them — often more than they know they have.

Individual athletes and coaches from our area have exceeded expectations and captured state championships over the years, proving that we consistently contend with the best that California has to offer. Teams across the 209 have achieved many state titles as well, including Escalon, Ripon, Hilmar, Central Catholic and Ripon Christian in recent years in football alone.

But four of our teams crowned as state champs in the same season? That’s unheard of.

Until now.

No one could have predicted that Quinton Hamilton, when he came to The Modesto Bee in August 2021, would become the newspaper’s luckiest (and maybe busiest) prep sports reporter in Bee history, with so much glory to cover in a single season.

Just a few years ago, such an achievement was all but impossible because CIF state tournaments were offered in only five football divisions, and Escalon (now Division 4-AA) and Hughson (Division 5-AA) were in the same one. Now there are 15 divisions, making the impossible only extremely difficult.

We don’t mind extremely difficult. If there is an opening, our young people will take it. Our small-school Trans-Valley League (Oakdale is in the Valley Oak League, and Ripon Christian, the Southern Athletic League) will go up against anybody.

Four state titles is not likely to happen with winter or spring seasons either, because those seasons feature sports with fewer state championship tournaments.

If you have a strong memory, you might recall Ripon Christian bringing home the state title in volleyball — way back in 1999. To see these girls reclaim Division IV top honors — with adult coaches Kayla Kootstra and Melissa Blanco, who also tasted sweet victory as players on that 1999 team — is phenomenal.

Escalon’s success is impressive because its football team also did it in 2019, giving them two state championships in three seasons. Very well done, Cougars.

Hughson placed second in the TVL behind Hilmar, another local school with a stellar pedigree that could have won it all if Escalon hadn’t beaten Hilmar on its way to the Division V section title.

Oakdale’s story might be the most heartwarming because it represents our area’s first in cross-country.

High school sports fans, if they’re honest, will acknowledge that it’s not surprising to read Bee reports of state titles in football or volleyball, or in wrestling if you expand parameters to include individual sports. Success breeds success and can turn into dynasties, the kind that build reputations and drive teams to recapture excellence in subsequent years.

Do you recall hearing that one of our cross-country teams left all others throughout California in their dust? Not with just one standout runner or even two, but the entire team? No, you don’t, because none ever has, until Oakdale (Division 3) surprised everyone with an over-achieving team last year, dared to dream the impossible, set a new goal this year and went out and got it.

Simply inspiring.

Leave it to our youth to remind often-cynical adults what’s possible when you set your mind to something.

Thank you, young athletes in all sports and in all schools, for giving us multiple reasons to cheer, applaud and take pride in fall 2022.

Name of business: Ranch Hand by Slick Fork

Type of business: Restaurant

Location: 6901 Hughson Ave., Hughson

Hours: Wednesdays to Saturdays from 11 a.m.to 9 p.m., Sundays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Contact information: (209) 542-7033 or [email protected]

History of business:

Adam and Kevin Bradley have become well-known in Hughson and the surrounding areas for their success with the barbecue restaurant Slick Fork. The brothers founded the popular restaurant in 2018, and in 2021, brainstormed ways they could grow their business ventures.

“Slick Fork is a great location for us, but we were looking at other spaces to operate the catering side of things,” said Kevin.

In July of 2021, the brothers officially acquired the space at 6901 Hughson Ave. in Hughson, but their plans quickly changed.

“The place needed a lot of work, especially the kitchen area since we wanted to cook out of here,” Adam explained.

The history of the building goes back over six decades. It started out as an auto parts store before transitioning into a bar back in the 1970s.

“It gone through a bunch of different stages in its life and it got really ran down,” Adam said. “Soon enough, I just realized that if we’re going to be putting in all of this work, we should just make it into another restaurant.”

Exactly one year after the date they received the keys to the space, the new location, named Ranch Hand, had their grand opening on July 1 of this year.

“Ranch Hand is literally the little brother of Slick Fork. Without Slick Fork, Ranch Hand would not be here today,” Adam said. “It’s why we chose the name. On ranches, you need a helping hand, and this location is exactly that.”

Though Ranch Hand is an extension of the Slick Fork brand, the menus are very different. As Slick Fork continues to serve their iconic barbecued meats, Ranch Hand is taking aim at dishes like burgers, sandwiches, pasta, salads, tacos and appetizers.

“In this town, there hasn’t been a true burger place for some time, wo we decided to go for it along with the wings, fries and things like that,” Adam said.

There are a number of menu items that will stay consistent throughout the year, but the Bradleys want to make it a point of emphasis to experiment with new flavors.

“We just come up with different ideas. We like to play around with the menu a bit,” Adam explained. “Keeping everything the same is not what we do here. Our vision is to keep things fresh all the time and keep people coming with new stuff. It keeps people excited about the place, because if you have the same beers and food all the time, it can get old and stagnant. We want to liven it up.”

As they have only been open for about a month, Bradley’s are the team is looking forward to experimenting with more seasonal meals as well.

“We’re preparing to do more seasonal dishes,” Adam said. “We want to incorporate the vegetables of the given season and make dishes depending on the time of year. As the weather gets colder, we’re going to focus more on the warm, wholesome dinners.”

Aside from the food and drinks, Kevin and Adam also want to make the dining atmosphere one that customers remember. Inside of the restaurant, there are antiques such as lunchboxes, country music vinyl, license plates, auto parts and other vintage relics hanging from the walls, many of which the Bradley family and their friends have found at yard sales and flea markets over the years.

“We were really going for the American, blue-collar, country look in here,” Adam said. “People always ask about some of the antiques and it really builds that bonding experience we want people to have here.”

Those experiences can also be had during sporting events and other weekend events. Along the walls are five large televisions, which are always showing the tops sports channels, and come this fall, will feature NFL Sunday Ticket. Additionally on many Fridays and Saturdays, their outdoor patio space plays host to live music from local bands and artists.

“The atmosphere we’ve built is amazing and we’re really starting to see it grow,” Adam said. “Ranch Hand has been really great for us so far.”

To keep up with the latest menu specials and upcoming events, the Bradley’s encouraged the public to follow @ranch_hand_by_slickfork on Instagram.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) — The California Interscholastic Federation State championships in high school football will be decided this weekend and a trio of Sacramento-area teams are looking to finish their seasons on top.

Grant, Escalon, and Hughson high schools will play for a State championship and host their games on Saturday night.

The Grant Pacers and Escalon Cougars are two of 10 teams who have won a State championship before. Grant is playing for their second state title while Escalon is playing for their third State championship.

The Hughson Huskies are looking for their first State title, as they’re one of 16 teams making their first appearance in a CIF State Championship Bowl Game.

Grant vs. San Jacinto

The Pacers are hosting the San Jacinto Tigers in the CIF State Division 3-AA Bowl Game. The Pacers are in the State title game after defeating the El Cerrito Gauchos 36-7 in a NorCal Regional Bowl Game on Dec. 2.

Grant (11-2) looks to add a state title to their Regional and Sac-Joaquin section titles from their turnaround season after going 1-8 in 2021. The Pacers defeated the Christian Brothers Falcons 20-12 in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 3 game at Sacramento City College on Nov. 25.

It was the program’s first section title since 2014. Grant is 1-0 in state title games.

As for San Jacinto (13-2), the Tigers are making their way to Sacramento from Riverside County. The Tigers are making their first appearance in the state finals and made it to the game after a 49-45 victory over University City-San Diego in the SoCal Regional championship.

The Tigers made it to the Division 3-AA state bracket after winning the CIF Southern Section Divison 6 championship.

Grant takes on San Jacinto at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Escalon vs. Northwood

The Cougars are welcoming the Northwood Timberwolves, which is making the trip to San Joaquin County from Irvine.

Escalon (12-3) made it to the State title game after defeating Pleasant Valley-Chico 42-20 at home in the Division 4-AA NorCal Regional Bowl game on Dec. 2.

The Cougars are looking to finish their season, which also includes a Sac-Joaquin Section Division 5 championship. Escalon defeated Sonora 35-34 in the Section title game.

Escalon is 2-0 all-time in state title games.

Northwood (14-1) is making its first State championship appearance after defeating Kennedy-Delano 10-7 in the SoCal Regional Bowl Game on Dec. 2.

The Timberwolves entered the state playoffs as the Southern Section Division 8 champions.

Escalon plays Northwood at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Hughson vs. Muir

The Huskies are hosting the Muir Mustangs, who are making their way to Stanislaus County from Pasadena.

The Division 5-AA game is a matchup between two programs looking to win their first state title and are appearing in a championship bowl game for the first time.

Hughson (12-2) is in the state title game after defeating fellow Sac-Joaquin Section program Ripon Christian 31-28 in the NorCal Regional finals on Dec. 2. The Huskies entered the state playoffs as the Section’s Divison 6 champion after defeating Summerville 41-13 on Nov. 26.

Muir (9-6) is in the State title game after defeating Palo Verde Valley-Blythe in the SoCal Regional finals on Dec. 2. The Mustangs entered the Regional Bowl game as the Southern Section Division 10 champion.

Hughson takes on Muir at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Written by: Mike Woicicki

Stockton, CA — The outstanding season for the Summerville Bears came to a halt one play short of a storybook ending when the Hughson Huskies topped the Bears 14 to 13 to win the Sac-Joaquin Section D-6 championship.

As the score indicates, this was a real battle in the trenches. On their first drive the Bears could gain no traction and had to punt. The Huskies then drove the ball 90 yards for their first touchdown of the game and used eight minutes in the process. The Bears began their second drive from their own 38 following the subsequent kick off. They seemed to be in the zone as they moved the ball down to the one-yard line, but were stopped short of the goal line by the strong push of the Hughson defense and two miscues. After a few more plays, the first half ended with the Huskies up 7 to 0.

The second half was a hang-on-to-the-ball back-and-forth affair, until the Huskies ran one in at the beginning of the fourth quarter to go up 14 to 0. With just minutes left in the game it looked bleak for the Bears, but they were not about to give up. The Huskies ran a jet sweep that was blown apart by three Bears, causing a fumble on the 25 that was picked up by Kai Elkins on the 16 and run in for the touchdown. The Trimalone extra point made it a one-score game.

After a touchback on the kickoff, Hughson started what looked like the final drive with only four minutes left in the game. They worked it down to the Bears’ 42 and quick-kicked a punt, leaving Summerville deep in their own territory, but that is when the Bear offense came alive. With a combination of runs and passes, including a 33-yarder from Braylon Leveroos to Trimaloni, the Bears scored their second touchdown of the game on a 3-yard pass from Leveroos to his brother Bryce with 10 seconds left on the clock. Coach Leveroos made the choice to go for the win with a 2-point conversion, but a short pass went wide and left the Bears one point down, 14 to 13.

With one last gasp the Bears tried an onside kick. Trimaloni’s beautiful bouncer was snagged by Logan Slater on the 42 and the Bears had one last chance to score from their own 42-yard line. So, with 5 seconds left, Leveroos dropped back and threw a Hail Mary into the end zone. The ball appeared to bounce off a few hands but fell incomplete and ended the Bears’ season.

Logan Slater was the Bears’ player of the game for his outstanding defensive play, leadership, and recovering the final onside kick.