VOLUNTEERS ARE PREPARING FOR THE 61ST ANNUAL ENCHILADA DINNER IN HORNITOS. THE MEAL HELPS GENERATE FUNDS FOR THE HORNTIOS PATRONS CLUB TO USE FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE. GAZETTE PHOTO BY JILL BALLINGER The Hornitos Patrons Club, a non-profit, is gearing up to once again provide great food and entertainment to raise funds to support their charitable efforts. This, the 61st Annual Hornitos dnchilada dinner, will once again offer the Gateway A’s antique cars, equestrians Rancho Valencia, musicians, and local craftsmen. Dinner tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children. The festivities will begin at 3:30 p.m., and dinner will be served at 4 p.m.

The group has begun work planning and invites anyone interested in helping to come to the Golden Stag Hall on March 5 when the main preparation takes place. This event draws people from a far-flung area with visitors from points south, the Bay Area, Sacramento and Sonora. For more information call 376-2320.

The Hornitos Patrons Club is a non-profit club which raises funds to benefit the local communities. The monies raised go to a variety of community activities, as well as new equipment for the county-owned hall in town. All bills are presented and voted on for approval, minutes are kept, and meetings are regularly scheduled. Current officers are Shaun Quinn, president; Keri Ortiz, Vice-President; Delores Cabezut- Ortiz, secretary; Mary Ann Visher, treasurer. The main fund raising involves the Hornitos Flea Market the first Sunday in October and the Enchilada Dinner the first Saturday in March, as well as sales of tee shirts, hats, and visors.

The following is a list of how the monies raised have been expended: supply backpacks and school supplies for area children (18-24 students per year), a new stove for the Countyowned Golden Stag Hall’s kitchen, air coolers for the hall, termite spraying of the hall, field trips paid for Cathey’s Valley Elementary School, donations to Mariposa’s Manna House, Sober Graduation, scholarships, Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina Victims, money to flood victims in Hornitos and toward purchase of emergency kit for town of Hornitos, weed abatement in town of Hornitos, donations towards foster care children when they turn 18, . preservation of Hornitos town history with maps, plaques, donations toward student trips for Mariposa County High School FFA members, and the rock-work barbecue in Hornitos Park.