Rutherford Weekly

Page 14 - Rutherford Weekly 828-248-1408 www.rutherfordweekly.com Thursday, April 14-April 20, 2022 FOREST CITY 74 Junction Convenience A-1 Vacuum B&D Pawn Banfield Gallery Big Dave's Seafood Big Al's Grill Bill's Auto Glass Broadway Kwik Store Carolina Chiropractic Chase Mini Mart CPA Main St. Davis Donut Dollar General Don Ramons Drop-Inn Fastway Oil Fat Tracy's BBQ Family Dollar Forest City Mowers Forest City Post Office Forest City Pet Adoption Center Friendship Chevrolet Gadget Connection Greene's Cafe Greene Real Estate Habitat Restore Harmony Hills Apts. Hardin's Drug Hardin's Rentals Hampton Inn Hamrick CPA Henson Building Material Home Trust Bank Horn's Home & Garden Ingles Impact Wellness Louie's Café Manis Convenience Store Mane Attraction Salon Mellnik Real Estate Mighty Dollar Mi Pueblito's Mt. Vernon Cupboard Mooneyham Library Moore's Auto Mike's Auto Sales Medicine Box Drug McDonalds OHM Food Mart PSU Plaza Barber Shop Porter's Real Estate Putt N Go Video Ray's Mini Mart Ray Rice Martial Arts Rutherford Weekly Office Scrappy's Food Scott's on Broadway Sammy's Barber & Style Shoe Show Sisk Ford Smith's Drug Tri-City Tire Whitey's Barber Shop BOSTIC Dollar General East Kwik Stop Fair Haven Home Forest City Fish Camp The Corner Store GOLDEN VALLEY Becky's Store & Grill Bostic Post Office Drop Inn Mkt Freeman's Café Golden Valley Store Washburn Store ELLENBORO Dollar General Frank's Station Kwik Stop Roco Wash Tub Laundry SPINDALE Alan's Repair Asian Wok Restaurant Carolina Cafe Circle B BBQ Chicken Coop Debs Mini Mart Denny's Dollar Tree Dollar General Frank's BP Gas Granny's Bakery Harbor Freight McDonalds Oakland Quick Stop Rutherford County Library Steve's Cleaners Shake Shop Grill The Senior Center Top Dog Junction Grill Universal Auto Credit COLUMBUS Calvert's Kitchen Cane Creek Grocery Columbus Laundrette Family Dollar McDonalds VGO – GAS RUTHERFORDTON Arts & Crafts Bon Bon Kwik Mart Century 21 Clearwater Creek Dollar General East Mt. Kwik Mart Express Conv. Store Falcon Corner Stop Farmers Friend Freds Discount Food Lion Great Wall Green Hill Store Gregory's Original Rutherford Regional Hospital Legal Grounds Main St. Coffee/Ice Cream Matheny Real Estate R-S Service Center SAI Mart Scoggins Steak House East Kwik Mart CHESNEE, SC Bantam Chef Rest. Cash & Henderson Drug Chesnee Cycle Chesnee Washerette Debs Mini Mart Dollar General Free Time Conv. Hot Spot Chesnee Gas O'Reilly Auto Parts Pizza House Space Stateline Grocery CLIFFSIDE Dollar General Wease Convenience Store MOORESBORO Haynes Library Key Largo Food Mart #2 CAROLEEN Caroleen Post Office Hardin's Drug ALEXANDER MILLS Drop Inn #7 Convenience Dollar General OHM Food Mart Spake's Grill The Parts Place Wells Jenkins Wells LAKE LURE Debs Mini Mart #1 Debs Mini Mart #4 Dollar General El Lago Restaurant Ingles Japan House Lake Lure Post Office Rotten Creek BBQ & Grill Welcome Center ISSUE NO. 14 • April 8, ISSUE NO. 14 • April 8, 2021 • 2021 • RutherfordWeekly.com • 828-248-1408 RutherfordWeekly.com • 828-248-1408 Our 29 th Year • Over 25,000 Weekly Readers C h e c k o u t o u r S p r i n g E d i t i o n ! C h e c k o u t o u r S p r i n g E d i t i o n ! NO CREDIT, POOR CREDIT LET US DECIDE! LET US DECIDE! WE FINANCE www.mooresautos.com www.mooresautos.com 345 South Broadway, Forest City 828-245-8067 M O O RE ' S AUTO S ALES ©Community First Media Community First Media IT'S IT'S FREE! FREE! Dreams come true on Hardin Road near the intersection with Oak Street in Forest City. "I've done many jobs, cleaned stores and banks and cooked, but here waiting on the tables and cooking, this is my life," Alba Hernandez said after the lunch crowd cleared at Mario's Italian Restaurant. "This is my dream come true." And having three daughters who are academic superstars doesn't hurt either. Alba said, "I'm happy and give God thanks." Mario is a little more subdued, but he is clearly both the proud papa and a guy who loves his daughters. "They've worked hard all their lives," he said of the three young women. He's almost always smiling. Carina, the oldest, graduates medical school in May and already has a job working at the hospital where she studied, SUNY Upstate Medical University. SUNY is the State University of New York. "I go to visit them every year at Christmas and no matter that I now have two doctor's degrees, I still bus tables. If you're gonna be here, you're gonna work," Carina said. Sure, but have their parents been an encouragement to their oldest daughter? "They never forced us to do anything," she said. "You know how some parents say their kids have to do one thing or another. They said we could do whatever makes us happy," Carina said. Her other doctorate is in chemistry. Her new job is in internal medicine. She looks to work in either gastroenterology or oncology. In 2000 she received a certifi cate for academic excellence from President Clinton and Secretary of Education Dick Riley. Mario said they have always worked hard even when they were little kids. And sometimes the help from their daughters would come in handy when things get "crazy." The popular restaurant, which the couple opened in 2005, sometimes packs out. "It's hard when things get crazy," Mario said. "Some people don't understand that we make everything fresh. You can't rush good food, so some people get frustrated." He smiled and tipped his head to one side and said, "It's okay. We deal with it." Alba is a little more animated. As she described "crazy times," she waved her hands and gestured in all directions. "Sometimes it's so crazy I can't answer the phone, so I say to Mario, 'You answer the phone. I've got customers to take care of.' " Next in birth order is daughter, Jessica. She has two nursing degrees, one from UNC-Charlotte and one from Duke. In case you're counting, we're now up to fi ve college degrees among the three daughters. She works in orthopedic neuro-surgery. Jessica said, "My dad is more the visionary. My mom is the force that moves things forward. He's the introvert and she's the extravert who loves to be around people. Both of them modeled hard work." Sixteen years serving hungry folks from Rutherford County has seen some money go to pay student loans. "We've had fi ve loans, but that was all for the four- year college. After that the girls did everything, worked hard and paid their own way," Mario said. Jessica's daughter, 12-year-old Ashley, is the couple's only grandchild. "Tell everybody that restaurant is my home. I grew up there," Ashley said. When she heard she was going to be in the newspaper, she wore a big smile. Daughter number three, and soon-to-be college degree number seven, is Giovanna. When she graduated NC State eight years ago, she went to work for the Human Vaccine Institute at Duke. As of this year, she is working on her PhD from Wake Forest. She is studying in a program that deals with molecular and cellular bioscience, but is not sure which topic will be her fi nal fi eld of study and validation. Of the three, she is the only one to fi nish high school locally. She spent her senior year at Thomas Jefferson Academy. She said of Mario and Alba, "They instilled a work ethic in all three of us. We were always working. In a way, a restaurant is confi ning because you always have to be there, but in another way it is a blessing, because you get to watch the evolution of families. We got to cater the wedding for a girl we fi rst knew when she was eight years old. We got to watch her grow up through her taste buds." She said of her dad, "He never minds fi xing special meals for customers. If someone is allergic to this or that, he changes the dish to suit the customer. That can be hard when things get crazy, but he doesn't mind." She also said, "When we hear of long-time customers passing, we cry." So much of life is about the spirit that comes into play. Grouchy and mean can ruin a day at the beach. Sweetness and kindness can soften the pain of a broken leg. Alba's love for her dream come true and her work with the public may best be summed up by her irrepressible smile and something she believes deeply. She said, "I don't cook. I wake up every morning and God cooks through me." The restaurant will be closed the last week in May for Carina's wedding. Dreams Come True Article Provided By: Pat Jobe Italian Restaurant Serves At End Of Alba's Rainbow Alba and Mario Hernandez beam with pride behind photos of their three daughters, Carina, Jessica, and Giovanna, who among them will soon have seven college degrees, all in the healthcare fi eld. Mario's Italian Restaurant near the corner of Hardin Road and Oak Street will be closed one week in late May for Carina's wedding in upstate New York. Mario's Italian Restaurant has been a frequent meeting and eating spot for 16 years near the corner of Hardin Road and Oak Street in Forest City. It is full of the spirit and faith of a couple who are very proud of their three successful daughters. Where to fi nd your Where to fi nd your FREE FREE Rutherford Rutherford Weekly Weekly Pick up your Pick up your FREE FREE copy copy every week! every week! Delivering positive news & information for over 29 years! When the course of history changed that fi rst Easter morning more than 2,000 years ago, even those closest to the Lord could not imagine the signifi cance of an empty, lonely grave. You know the story. Very early in the morning, three women— friends of Jesus Christ — went to the borrowed tomb where the body of the Lord had been placed two days before - during history's darkest hour. The world had collapsed around these friends as they witnessed Jesus' death on the cross. Everything they had ever dreamed of and hoped for was gone. The women— like the 12 disciples — had spent a lot of time with Jesus in the short three years that Chris ministered on earth. He brought love and compassion in places and to people where it had never been before. The friends witnessed his miracles. They saw Him change the lives of people everywhere He went. He had even changed their lives and as far as they knew, it was all over. Hope vanished when darkness covered the earth that Friday when the Lord was crucifi ed on a cross. Can you imagine how they must have felt the Easter morning when they were told at the tomb, the Lord was not there. The sun had come up. Darkness was gone and shortly after their encounter at the tomb with angels, they met the Lord again face to face. What He had told them had come true. He had done what no other religious leader had ever done or would do — he arose from the dead. Thus was born Christianity — the light and hope of the world. Following his encounter with the women he walked to an old barn where his disciples had taken refuge — frightened that what had happened to their Lord would surely happen to them also. Destitute, they weren't sure they could go on living. Hope was gone. So when He entered their lives again that day, it was diffi cult to believe. Hope was alive and restored for them and the world. Forever. I can't help but wonder if the resurrection happened today, where the Lord would go fi rst after leaving the grave to remind people that no matter how destitute, there is hope. I believe he'd enter the homes of little children, those who suffer abuse at the hands of people who are supposed to take care of them. For these children he'd lift them up and remind them they are cared for and loved. He'd go into the homes of those whose young family members passed away in the past two years due to the pandemic — and are living with great grief. Couples, children, parents, grandparents, siblings all gone due to Covid-19. I believe He'd go to schools where students are afraid of what's going to happen next, wondering if their school might be the next to experience a shooting. I believe Jesus would go into mental institutions and hospitals; jails and prisons and also tell the homeless population there is a new world coming and there is hope although it may not seem that way. He'd tell them not to give up or give in, but to look up. He'd tap the shoulders of those who just recently lost jobs, would enter the lives of people whose dreams for their own children vanished before their eyes because death robbed them of their own child, a spouse or a parent. He'd visit those who had seen everything they had given their lives for - destroyed. And because He turned the darkness into light the fi rst Easter morning at the tomb, He reminds all of us we can experience hope beyond our own problems and grief. He'd visit Ukraine and offer comfort in the face of the senseless war. From that fi rst Easter morning— when three women were the fi rst to receive the gospel and the fi rst to share the hope of the world — nothing could ever take their hope again. Joy came in the morning. It still does. An empty tomb with a dynamic message, the light of the world is alive. Happy Easter and may God touch you today in the place you need Him the most and remember, our Lord lives. Hope remains. Contact Jean at: gordonjean211@ gmail.com HOPE REMAINS BECAUSE OF THAT FIRST EASTER MORNING By: Jean Gordon ROSS ROSS WINDOWS WINDOWS THE BEST FOR LESS! CALL FOR ESTIMATE 828-437-4848 • DOUBLE PANE • FULLY WELDED • FREE LOW E GLASS ARGON GAS LIFETIME WARRANTY ©Community First Media Community First Media "up to 101 u.i." CALL FOR $$$BEST PRICE$$$

• Cover