For The Madera Tribune Sue First and Bert Roper on their Valentine’s Day wedding in 2009. Bert Roper and Sue First were married on Valentine’s Day in 2009. For the past 17 years, they have remained blissfully happy, and they continue to enjoy the blessings of life. Bert is a United Methodist pastor, who was appointed to the Madera church in 2016, and retired in Madera. He is temporarily serving as an interim pastor in the Mariposa church. Sue is a school teacher, also retired

Nancy Simpson/The Madera Tribune File Photo His Little Feet’s Performance will be held at Valley West Christian Center, 101 W. Adell Street, on Wednesday, beginning at 6 p.m. Valley West Christian Center welcomes His Little Feet International Children’s Choir, again. The 21 children that make up this current choir come from Kenya, Uganda and India. This choir is directed by Mike and Christa Hahn, who have visited Valley West Christian Center before, and after an almost decade

It’s Valentine’s Day, and love is in the air. On this special day of the year, we celebrate something called Love, and during this season we see hearts and flowers, cuddly teddy bears, balloons, candy, and lots of things that make us smile. These are our symbols of love. There are many kinds of love to celebrate on this day. On Valentines Day, we usually think of the romantic love, a feeling you may have toward your spouse or lover. Romance is a great part of a relationship,

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Madera Unified School District students participate in a peaceful protest at Lion’s Town and Country Park on Friday. Madera Unified students participated in a peaceful protest, not affiliated with the district, resulting in some students missing school or arriving late Friday morning. Prior to that morning, the district proactively shared protocols with staff and families to promote transparency, prioritize student safety, and maintain instr

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Madera County hosts an Inaugural Puppy Bowl on Friday at the Government Center where spectators looked on as the puppies played. The puppies are from the Madera Animal Shelter, and available for adoption. Lights! Cameras! Puppies! Madera County’s inaugural Puppy Bowl turns into a blowout!  Team ‘Bits’ was pawsitively ready for the big game, running up the score, 35-0, over Team ‘Kibbles’ in what became the most cuddly and cutest matchup of a

Tyler Takeda/The Madera Tribune Madera City Councilwoman Anita Evans welcomes guests at the City of Madera Black History Month Celebration last year at the Pan Am Center. Black Saints United will host its annual Black History Month Celebration at the Pan Am Center, 703 Sherwood Way. The fifth annual celebration will be co-hosted by Madera City Councilwoman Anita Evans and the City of Madera. The event begins at 3 p.m., February 15. “I am guesstimating about 175 people,” Evans

Since last fall when we had the carpet replaced at our house, I have been trying like the dickens to get things organized and to pitch what I no longer need or want. Our church is having a rummage sale at the beginning of next month, so it is a perfect time for me to get my act together and pass on some items that are still usable.  My closet has always been a real challenge for me when it comes to disposing of items. Now, I don’t have a lot of high-quality clothes, but my cl