Category: Community

By Sara Beth Williams–
Citrus Heights Arts has announced plans for a new community mural project that will soon bring color and creativity to a long stretch of retaining wall along Auburn Boulevard.

The mural, which will be located on the south wall along Auburn Boulevard between Sylvan Road and Dewey Drive in Citrus Heights, aims to unite residents through art by inviting community members to paint the mural one letter at a time. Each participant will have the opportunity to contribute their own artistic touch to a larger piece that organizers say celebrates “who we are and where we’re headed.”

The wall currently has 40 traced out letters, along with two pieces of artwork already painted in between letters.

“This mural isn’t just paint on a wall—it’s a reflection of Citrus Heights: bold, diverse, and full of heart,” the organization said in a recent announcement.

Details on the mural design, painting days, and volunteer sign-ups are expected to be released soon. Organizers encourage residents to stay tuned for updates and sneak peeks as the project comes together.

Citrus Heights Arts has been involved in multiple mural projects throughout Citrus Heights since the summer, and has established the CH40 Arts District along Auburn Boulevard from Sylvan Corners to the northern city limits. The nonprofit has also partnered with Sunrise Recreation and Park District to bring artwork to parks, and is in the beginning process of planning a mural for Rusch Park.

For more information on upcoming projects visit CitrusHeightsArts.org

by Sara Beth Williams–
Dozens gathered at Friends Church in Citrus Heights on Saturday, Nov. 1, to celebrate the life of the church’s longtime pastor of 28 years, Edward Tweed Moore. The service included worship songs, tributes from friends and ministry partners, and fellowship with friends, family and longtime church attendees.

Moore, who was known as Pastor Tweed, passed away on Oct. 7 after fighting a second battle with terminal cancer, the church announced in a message to congregants. Moore was 61.

Moore began pastoring Friends Church in Citrus Heights in 1997 and pushed for many advancements and innovations during his pastoral service, longtime friend and church treasurer Mike Axford said during the memorial service. Axford, who has attended Friends Church for 38 years, said Moore pushed the church toward the use of more technology and less paper, and was involved in much of the church’s administrational and organizational responsibilities.

Though in contrast, Moore often utilized numerous notebooks while researching for sermons, Axford said.

About ten years into his pastoral service, Moore said the church needed a website, which Axford said he helped establish. Moore also pushed for the use of e-bulletins instead of the standard paper bulletins that are handed out during Sunday morning service.

While he pastored Friends Church, Moore’s two sons became part of the church’s worship team, with his oldest playing and leading for over a decade, Axford said.

Prior to pastoring Friends Church, Moore had also been involved with church planting in Southern California before he moved to the Sacramento area.

“He was a regular kind of guy in most cases; he brewed beer, and he started a competitive fantasy football league, purely for bragging rights.” Axford said, adding that he also loved movies and Pokémon Go.

Moore was also missions-oriented and helped fund and support missionaries, both homegrown and missionaries who were part of the Friends Southwest denomination.

Moore was heavily involved within the church’s denomination, frequently attending conferences and meeting with other regional pastors of other Friends Southwest churches in Northern California. Hans Bletterman, pastor of Pico Rivera Friends Church, Andy Shoemaker, discipleship pastor of Grace Community Church, and Heidi Matson, executive director of Friends Southwest Denomination, shared memories of friendship and of Moore’s deep commitment to ministering to, loving, and caring for others, even while he was in the midst of battling cancer. All those who spoke of Moore said he cared greatly about his family and his church congregants, but that he was at peace while battling cancer.

Friends Church is continuing to hold services on Sunday mornings and services for youth on Wednesday evenings. While the church’s elders begin the process of searching for a new pastor, retired pastor Matt Kuffel plans to take on pastoral leadership as an interim pastor beginning in December. Kuffel and his family previously attended Friends Church during Moore’s early years of pastoring before Kuffel’s family became missionaries. Kuffel also pastored another church in Denair, California before retiring.

Moore leaves behind a wife, three adult children, and one grandchild.

Friends Church is located at 7070 Woodmoore Oaks Drive.

By Sara Beth Williams–
Single Mom Strong, a local nonprofit that supports families with single mothers with various resources, is responding to the anticipated increase in need by launching a grocery gift card drive to provide relief for households affected by the benefit disruption.

In a letter to its community members, Single Mom Strong founder Tara Taylor issued a request to the community to help provide food for families in need during the continuation of the U.S. government shutdown.

“With SNAP benefits soon to be disrupted, single parents are left scrambling to keep food on the table,” the organization said in its letter. “These are caregivers already stretching every dollar… Now they are asked to do the impossible.”

The federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which helps low-income families afford food by providing monthly benefits on an alerting benefits transfer card, has reported that necessary funding to continue the program has been depleted due to the shutdown of the federal government. On Monday, Nov. 3, the current administration announced that the program would be partially funded through the month of November with a $4 million contingency fund. It’s unclear when funding for SNAP recipients will be provided.

Due to the disruption and uncertainty in food assistance benefits, Single Mom Strong urged the community to step up and help by asking for community members to purchase and donate grocery gift cards. All donations will be distributed to single-mother families in need and provide “immediate” help.

Friday, Sunrise Christian Food Ministry director April Jacek said the food pantry is also partnering with Single Mom Strong to help single moms during the Thanksgiving season by providing moms who receive gift cards the ability to sign up for a thanksgiving meal. Thanksgiving meals are distributed by the food bank the week prior to Thanksgiving.

“Every contribution becomes meals, snacks for school days, and a little breathing room for parents who are carrying the load alone,” Single Mom Strong said.

Community members can donate grocery store gift cards of any amount to Single Mom Strong’s address, or by making a monetary donation by Nov. 13 through the organization’s online link.

All funds raised will be used to purchase grocery store gift cards for local families.

“Food security is a fundamental dignity,” Taylor said. “When we help parents feed their kids, we send a clear message that they are not forgotten.”

Single Mom Strong also noted that single parents in the Sacramento region whose SNAP benefits have been disrupted can reach out directly for assistance, which will be distributed while supplies last on a first-come, first-served basis.

Anyone with more information can contact Single Mom Strong or visit their website.

By Sara Beth Williams–
Citrus Heights residents will have a chance to step back in time at the upcoming quarterly meeting of the Citrus Heights Historical Society on Thursday, Nov. 6, when the group will premiere a new 30-minute documentary about Mitchell Farms.

The film, featuring longtime local resident Ted Mitchell, traces the 160-year history of the farm and, in turn, offers a glimpse into the broader story of Citrus Heights. Through interviews with Ted, viewers learn about life on the farm across generations and how the Mitchell family helped shape the area.

The event will take place at the Citrus Heights Event Center on Thursday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. and is free to attend.

Ted’s great-grandparents, Edward and Zenobia Crabb, immigrated from England and purchased the 160-acre farm at the northeast corner of Greenback Lane and Sunrise Boulevard in 1866. At the time, wheat and hay were the only commercially viable crops due to a lack of irrigation. By 1920, Ted’s grandfather, Edward Clay, expanded the farm with grapes and olives after water became available.

Ted’s mother, Bernice, continued managing the farm while his father, Washington Mitchell, opened a service station at the corner of Greenback Lane and Fair Oaks Boulevard. In the documentary, Ted recalls his childhood chores during the 1930s, which ranged from butchering hogs to changing engine oil, with children being an essential part of running a family farm.

The documentary also includes archival photos, including a 1930s black-and-white image showing Ted as a young boy standing next to a 100 year-old farm scale, connecting the past to the present.

For more information about the quarterly meeting, visit the Citrus Heights Historical Society’s website. The Citrus Heights Event Center is located at 6300 Fountain Square Drive.