Easter was colder than usual, earlier in spring than most times, but a warm outpouring was seen at St. Vincent de Paul's drop-in centre. Meals for several hundred of the city's hungriest people were served with love and goodwill. The 800 clients was more than usual for an Easter sitting at the downtown meal service (between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Sunday), but it had nothing to do with the placement of Easter earlier on the calendar, just which week upon which it landed. "Because it was a five-week welfare cycle people really were without their resources and it taxes our service a lot more," said St. Vincent spokeswoman Bernie Goold. "Their last cheque was Feb. 23 and they won't get another one until this Wednesday so it was busy mainly because of that."Nonetheless, St. Vincent was prepared. That, said Goold, is because the community was prepared."It really is incredible the generosity of those who donated towards the dinner and all those who came out to help prepare and serve the dinner.

15th Annual Career Tech Expo is held

The 15th Annual Career Ed Expo, an event recognizing the achievements of career tech students from the region, was conducted Thursday at Canton High School.Students and faculty involved in Career and Technical Education programs at schools including Astoria, Canton, Cuba, Havana, Lewistown, and Spoon River Valley observed Career and Technical Education Week in the Western Area Career System region from March 10-14. This year's theme is "Career Tech: Discovering Skills for a Competitive Workforce."The Career Expo included an exhibit of projects and displays featuring the work of students in career and technical classes in fields from business and agriculture to industrial technology and family and consumer science.

Perks await Giants fans at AT&T

SAN FRANCISCO — Baseball fans will be able to indulge in far more than peanuts and popcorn this year at AT&T Park.

Catfish po' boy sandwiches and Irish quesadillas with corned beef are among the new culinary items available at the ballpark, as the San Francisco Giants enter the post-Barry Bonds era with an array of new features, including two group suites aimed at corporate clients.

Groups of 40 can get a unique view of the action in the McCovey Cove Loft, located just above right field, while sipping pomegranate margaritas. The Legends Club, located in left field at club level, boasts enough room for 120 people.

"With Barry Bonds gone, this is a new era for the Giants," said Larry Baer, the club's executive vice president and chief operating officer. "We're dedicating this year to all of the wonderful fans who have been with us over the years."

The Giants are marking their 50th year in San Francisco with a range of promotions and festivities.

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Besides cookware and ingredients, students brought careful planning and teamwork with them as they set out to make a restaurant-worthy meal.

Their kitchen space was two tables put together to form an L-shape, covered with white cloths and holding two single-burner gas stoves.

On March 5, high school culinary students demonstrated the skills they learned in class for a panel of judges at the Maryland State Invitational High School Culinary Competition, referred to as ‘‘the state championship of cooking" by Marshall Weston, president and CEO of the Maryland Hospitality Education Foundation. The foundation has sponsored the event for four years.

The competition included 22 teams from across the state. Gaithersburg, Quince Orchard, Sherwood, Springbrook and Watkins Mill high schools represented Montgomery County, with students from Sherwood in Sandy Spring cooking their way to third place.

ProStart offers students opportunity to cook, cater

When Jun Chen, 17, needed to find Chinese lychee berries, she called her cousin in Los Angeles.It's the kind of initiative any professional chef missing a key ingredient would take.The lychee berries, combined with mango puree, are a critical component in the filling of the Mango Cream Cake that Chen and Shelby Hible created in the commercial kitchen at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming main branch.The most important ingredient in the cake recipe, which took first place out of 22 entries in the State ProStart Culinary Arts baking competition recently, was motivation. And a little luck.The cake, the recipe for which Chen holds as a closely guarded secret, was baked in Casper and transported by car to Jackson for judging."We had our eyes on it the whole time," Chen said. .