TUESDAY - October 23, 2007

Wannatouchama Regional

By Donnie Gordon

Another great job by the Rotary Club of Apple Valley. Tony and Donna Inglese have once again done their thing amazingly well. Tony announced that this cookoff has raised over $100,000 for the children in the area over the last five years. We all sincerely hope that this years funds will match those of previous years and continues to do so for many years to come.

The fun began on Friday night when cooks were invited to a delicious and free meal (and beer). Saturday morning they prepare a pancake breakfast, so the cooks and staff do not have to go hungry as we frequently do. We had 30 Red cooks, 13 Green and 14 Salsas competing and battling the wind. The judging tent again looked like World of recent years: Fred Wieland as Chief Judge and Leah Wieland as Chief Scorekeeper; Jim Maehl assisting Fred; with Donnie Gordon, Nicole Caimi and Edi Gumfudgin assisting Leah; Claude Covington as Emcee and Dirty Ole Phil, dubbed "Sleazy" by Fred as Chief Wrangler.

As Bob Plager called in the winners, I'll not repeat them. But there were a couple of announcements beside the money raised that may be of interest to all. Fred began the announcements by stating that he and Leah were not at World because they did not want to intimidate or interfere with David and Kathy in their efforts. If you consider that they have been a primary guidance and force at World for 20 years, you can understand the effort it must have taken for them to stay away and pass the baton freely. They will most likely fuss (an overly mild term) at me when they read this, but I personally think it was a very noble gesture on their part. The other announcement also concerns the Wielands. They are now formally retired as Chief Judge and Chief Scorekeeper. Notice the word Chief! They are not retired from helping out at cookoffs... just as Chiefs!Y ou can find them in Beatty next weekend and Laughlin in January. Jim Maehl and Donnie Gordon were announced as the Chiefs for this event next year.

It was a wonderful time had by all. Congratulations to the winners... and thanks to all the support staff for an amazing job.

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Mississippi State

It is not too late to make plans for the Mississippi State ICS sanctioned Chili Cookoff.

The cookoff is held at Eastside Park in Richland, MS.

Richland is on the Southeast side of Jackson.

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Linda Goff (Chairperson) has selected the Richland Historical Society as there Charity for the event. This is a family type cookoff in a beautiful park next to the Richland Community High School. There will be crafts, food games as well as lots of other entertainment.

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Linda has secured rooms at the Super 8 Motel (2 blocks from the park) for $48 per night for a king bed. This is a special rate for chili cooks. Please let them know.

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Jean Simmons and Cathy Schmedeke will be there again to defend their respective titles in Red and Salsa. We will be doing Red and Salsa. Hopefully, we will add Verde next year.

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You can sign up by calling Linda at (601) 939-1656 or you can email her at LindaGoff@bellsouth.net

Or, you can go to the ICS web site and sign up there http://www.chilicookoff.com/

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Click on the link below for a flier with times and info.

Cookoff Flyer

The cookoff is early, so you do not want to be late!

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San Diego Wildfires

At 3:30 a.m. on Monday morning October 22 Red and Sachiko Brecke were evacuated from their home in San Diego due to the Santa Anna winds and fire condition. They were able to go to their daughters home in a safe area. I talked to Red last night on his cell phone they had no idea the condition of their home. He said they were woke up by sirens and police alerting them to evacuate immediately. He said he grabbed his fire insurance policy and hit the door. I received an e-mail from him this morning stating that the winds were starting to relax but he had no idea what the status of his house is or when they will be able to return. We can only hope for the best. Please keep him in your thoughts and be prepared to assist if necessary.

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Capt. Jim Maehl

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PS: We have many other ICS Chili Cooks and Families living in the San Diego and Los Angles area that we are checking on.

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Jim and Karen Watson

We have changed my email to jkcoyote@att.net.

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