Rudolph arrives

By PHIL FAUVER Staff writer

Orangeville parties with the elves
The Orangeville City Christmas party titled A Polar Express Christmas was held Dec. 10. The party began with Santa’s helpers Haley Cloward, Brittany Payne, and Jessica Furner handing out cups of hot chocolate followed by Santa arriving, at the Orangeville City Park to the excitement of a large crowd, in his sleigh, on a trailer, pulled by a pickup truck as there was no snow. After greeting everyone and letting children sit in the sleigh or hold the reins of the deer, Santa moved into the Orangeville Community Center where many pictures were taken of children seated on Santa’s lap.
In the Community Center there were exciting children’s activities going on at locations around the room. Some of those activities were, Jingle Bell Bingo, Santa’s Work Shop for making small gifts, The Sweet Shop for decorating sugar cookies, the Polar Bear Den for coloring, coloring book pictures of Christmas and Jan Hansen was seen telling wonderful Christmas stories in the Story Time Square.
The Santa Claus train, carried many happy children from the Orangeville City Park to the Cottonwood Elementary School. The train was driven by Dennis Lavinsky from Price. In addition to the train there was also a hayride. The hayride trailer was loaded with big square bales of hay for people to sit upon. The hayride carried many Orangeville residents from the park to the Cottonwood Elementary School for the chili/soup dinner.
This dinner was held at the Cottonwood Elementary School cafeteria which was gaily decorated for Christmas with large white paper snowflakes hanging from the ceiling and in one corner there was an imitation mountain with a train trying to climb up and around the mountain. The tables were all decorated for Christmas. Tables were set up in the cafeteria, the gymnasium and in a class room in anticipation of a large number of people at the chili/soup cook off sponsored by the Orangeville City Fire Department.
In the teachers lounge Cindy Nielson was seen giving out final instructions to the Chili/Soup Cook Off judges. Those judges were Jennifer Shorthill, Kirk McQuivey, Cindy Draper, Craig Jewkes and Nick Manning.
In preparation for the Tom Hanks movie “The Polar Express” to be shown in the gymnasium, crowds were seen arriving in the gymnasium with bags of blankets, pillows and pajamas. While this was happening many of Santa’s helpers were making popcorn and bringing in large bottles of soda pop for the event. One of those helpers was Gayla Luke.
Two of the many attendees prepared for the movie with their pillows and blankets were Ashley Morris and Destiny Faucett. Prizes for the chili/soup cook off are as follows: second place soup went to Julie Huntington, first place soup went to Natalie Olsen, second place soup/chili went to Carole Larsen, first place soup/chili went to Jeanette Tharp. The prize for the hottest chili went to Kevin Reynolds and the second hottest chili was that of Barbara Lemons. In the chili/soup cook off contest the first place winners received $50, second place winners $25. In the hottest chili the first place winner won a fire extinguisher and the second place winner received a smoke detector.