Beyer band finishes strong in Merced event

The Beyer High School Marching Band and Color Guard won at last month’s Western Band Association Championship at Merced College. And the band’s percussion section completed the year by winning the best percussion award in each of its competitions. Beyer, despite only having 56 members, competed against larger bands of up to 80 musicians.

Local artist donating Wallace portrait to family

As he has done for 30 fallen local members of the U.S. military, longtime Modesto artist Bob Davidson has completed a portrait of Dennis Wallace, the Stanislaus County sheriff’s deputy killed in the line of duty last month, and will donate it to the Wallace family. He is working through the Sheriff’s Department to make arrangements to deliver it to the family. It’s the first such portrait Davidson has created of a fallen law enforcement officer.

Author! Author!

Murphys author Arline M. Taborek’s new children’s book, titled “Lumpy Bumpy,” will be available this week in hardcover at bookstores, from the publisher at www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore, or by visiting barnesandnoble.com or amazon.com.

Also, aforementioned artist Davidson has completed a book titled “Animals in Art,” a collection of 25 paintings of animals he did for people who added their testimony about the critters. It’s available through Bob Davidson Productions or call 209-495-0282.

This story was originally published December 24, 2016 at 1:47 PM with the headline "Beyer band finishes strong in Merced event."