It’s been a long time coming. The members of Forgiven by Grace have hoped to play at the Stanislaus County Fair and despite their best efforts and high hopes last year, they did not get a chance to play. This year, things have changed.

The local band will play at the fair on Saturday, August 2 on the CenCal Center Stage. Their two-hour set will begin at 3 p.m.

Rhythm guitarist Tim Bishop has played at the fair before with another band. This is a first for Forgiven By Grace. Bishop is looking forward to this opportunity. He and his bandmates share one concern: the length of time they have. A typical set for Forgiven by Grace lasts about an hour. They will have two hours to play at the fair. Despite having that concern, they are confident that the show will go well and they are looking forward to it.

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Submitted by the Merced County Fair

The countdown to the 2008 Merced County Fair is on and while the 117^th annual event doesn’t officially kick off until Tuesday, July 15, things are really rockin’ at the fairgrounds as we make final preparations for Opening Day.

“Come Rock With The Flock,” is the theme of this year’s production and it’s all about the sheep, one of Merced County’s top ag products. This is a BIG week for the 4-H, FFA and Independent livestock exhibitors. Many families make the fairgrounds their home-away-from-home and camp out here during the fair, which runs through Sunday, July 20.

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Submitted by the Merced County Fair

Donate a pint of blood at the 2008 Merced County Fair and you could end up winning gallons and gallons of gas!

BloodSource will hold a blood drive at the fairgrounds, 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, on Wednesday, July 16 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The drive is scheduled before the fair opens at 5 p.m. The bloodmobile will be parked near the Blue Devil Bench Dance Slab near Livestock.

Everyone who donates at the fairgrounds blood drive will be rewarded with a coupon for a free pint of Baskin Robbins ice cream, a BloodSource T-shirt and the first 25 donors will get a VIP carnival ticket strip good for two free carnival rides any day of the fair. Participants also will be entered in a drawing to win one of 5 gas cards worth $500 each.

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Submitted by Stanislaus County Fair Public Relations

This year guests will get a colorful welcome to the Stanislaus County Fair thanks to Mocse Credit Union.

Mocse Credit Union has partnered with the Stanislaus County Fair to renovate the north entrance gate on the fairgrounds. The renovations include painting the existing north entrance structure in Mocse Credit Union’s logo colors and adding lighted signs featuring Mocse Credit Union’s logo atop the structure. The renovation also allowed for painting and landscaping the restroom just inside the gate as well as construction of a beautiful brick wall with complementing landscape alongside the FoodMaxx Arena.

An estimated 450,000 event attendees year-round, including 220,000 fair guests during its annual 10-day run, will pass through the Mocse Credit Union entrance for admission to the fairgrounds. The north entrance serves as the main entrance year-round for many of the fair’s largest interim events.

“Mocse Credit Union’s dedication to our local community and membership has spanned nearly 50 years. It is with great pride that we have a 7-year partnership with the Stanislaus County Fair as a sponsor for the fairgrounds north entrance. We know you will enjoy the improvements that our sponsorship helped make possible.” said Tracey Kerr, president/CEO of Mocse Credit Union.

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Submitted by Merced County

In anticipation of extreme heat conditions throughout the week, Merced County, in collaboration with the cities of Atwater, Gustine, Los Banos and Merced, prepared to open cooling centers in each city, as well as in the unincorporated communities in the County. Each city will open their respective center at their discretion. The County has provided water and snacks for residents while at the cooling centers. County libraries will also serve as cooling centers throughout the unincorporated areas of the County during their normal business hours. The County’s Office of Emergency Services Information Line will have information on the opening of centers, which will be updated regularly. The phone number is (209)385-7379 or toll free at 1-800-423-5870.

The McCandless Library is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from Noon to 3 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is located at 16881 Schendel Road in the heart of the Delhi Educational Park. The library phone number is (209) 669-3169.

Merced County announced Wednesday, July 9 that the “Dial-A-Ride” program would be offering free rides to local cooling centers, which have been opened in response to the extreme heat advisories in place. The County opened cooling centers in unincorporated areas of the County today and they will remain open tomorrow and Friday. Several cities have opened their respective centers as well.

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Today we celebrate the birth of a nation. The United States of America turns 232-years-old today. As flags fly outside of homes and businesses, we remember this nation’s history.

Yesterday, Delhi residents gathered in the evening at the Delhi Educational Park for Delhi’s Independence Day celebration. People brought blankets and staked out places on grassy areas. Families talked together and met up with friends. The Delhi Unified School District band played a patriotic tribute. In the eight o’clock hour, the band wrapped up as a d.j. started, kicking things off with the National Anthem. The cooler evening temperatures made for a wonderful event.

Today, families will gather at their homes for barbecues and swim parties. Please remember that fireworks are cannot be legally used within unincorporated areas within Merced County. Delhi is an unincorporated area. Some families will travel to places outside of Delhi and enjoy fireworks displays.

On tap in the general area this weekend are events including Turlock’s Centennial Celebration in downtown Turlock today and tomorrow, fireworks at California State University Stanislaus in Turlock tonight and family fun and fireworks in Hilmar on Sunday.

Happy birthday to the United States of America!

Happy Fourth of July to the Delhi community and all of our readers!

This year’s Independence Day celebration for Delhi will take place on Thursday, July 3. The event that brings the community together has faced challenges over the past year. As many have experienced difficult economic times, giving and participation is down.

Chairman Robert Rodarte committed to co-ordinating the event for three years. This year marks the end of that three-year time period. So, in addition to a decrease in donations to the event, it is in need of a new chairperson.

By holding the fireworks event on July 3, it helped save on cost.

The event will begin at 7 p.m. with concessions and continue with the fireworks beginning at sundown. The patriotic event, celebrating the birth of the United States, will again take place at the Delhi Educational Park.

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A version of this editorial first ran in the July 2007 edition of The Delhi Express. This month we bring you an updated reminder of why and how you can Think Delhi.

As Delhi’s premiere source for local news, it is only natural for us to focus on why you should support your local businesses. After all, the hometown newspaper should support the hometown businesses.

Some of you may be reading The Delhi Express for the first time. Some may be lifelong readers. We are aware that there are people in our town who may not realize all that Delhi has to offer. There are many great shopping and other business opportunities right here at home. There is more to do than sleep and eat at your home in Delhi.

If you’re looking for a good steak, the Elegant Bull has delicious offerings. The steak is the best in the area by far.

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A recent tragedy is on the minds of many people right now. And it hits home for Delhi. Frances Casian, a teacher at El Capitan in Delhi, is going through what is probably the most tragic thing that can happen to a mother, the death of her two-year-old son, Axel. Axel was killed by his own father, Sergio Casian Aguiar of Turlock. Can there be anything worse? We will probably never know what caused Aguiar to commit this horrific act. Please pray for this family. I’m trying to keep in mind that Aguiar is also some mother’s son.

Connor Duncan’s first birthday party was a lot of fun. He loved his birthday cake. We went swimming even though the water was a little chilly. I took Connor underwater a couple of times and he didn’t bat an eye. He really loves the water. My grandsons Kevin and Cody also love to swim. They are lucky to have a pool. It was the river or the canal in my day. We preferred the river but we had to get somebody to take us and find the money for gas. Kids didn’t have cars like they do now. The lake was out of the question. Much too far. I wouldn’t think of going swimming in the canals now. In any case, I don’t think it’s permitted.

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Just a quick note about the site.

On the left sidebar under “About Us” there is now a link that allows you to download the latest print edition of the paper. It is in Adobe’s Portable Document Format (PDF) and is about 860KB in size. This file size will vary each month.

If you don’t have the ability to view PDF files, you can download Adobe Acrobat Reader or Foxit Reader for your Windows computer.

Thank you for reading the Delhi Express.