2013 US Profiles Archive Stories

Age: 17. Family: Dad, Steve; mom, Suzy; older brother, Nate; younger sister, Rachel. Residence: Yuba City. Occupation: I am currently working as a high school student, but I'm considering a career change, as it doesn't pay very well. Hobbies, interests: Reading and writing and ba

Name: Julian Ramirez. Age: 21. Family: My family includes my uncle and aunt, Andy and Karen Ramirez, and grandma, Rose Ramirez. Residence: Sutter. Occupation: Student at Yuba College working toward a culinary arts degree and an associate's degree. How did you choose this career to study? From watching all

Name: Merissa Silva. Age: 20. Family: Family of 10. Me and my two sisters were adopted. Residence: Yuba City. Occupation: Full-time student at Yuba College. Hobbies, interests: Listening to music and reading. What brought you to the Yuba-Sutter? My cousins adopted me, so that's what brought me here

Name: Misty Nichols. Age: 34. Family: Husband, Kenny Nichols; together we have seven children. Residence: Marysville. Occupation: Merchandiser at O'Reilly Auto Parts in Yuba City. Hobbies, interests: I like to scrapbook and I am interested in going to softball games and watching the girls play — my g

Name: Hunter Valencia. Age: 9. Family: Mom, Elizabeth Beaty, and grandma, Cathy Jordan. Residence: Yuba City. Occupation: Third-grader at Twin Rivers Charter School. What's your favorite part of school? Reading. Hobbies, interests: Cub Scouts, movies

Name: Michael Hartloff. Age: 25. Family: Wife, Olivia. Residence: Sutter. Occupation: Retail service specialist at O'Reilly Auto Parts in Yuba City. Hobbies, interests: Motorcycles, working on cars, target shooting. What brought you to the Yuba-Sutter area? Born here. Future plans: I enlist

Name: Andrea Birdsong. Age: 30. Family: Four children. Residence: Live Oak. Occupation: Executive assistant manager at Walgreens in Yuba City. Hobbies, interests: Scrapbooking, but haven't had time lately; I love vacationing — don't get to do that a lot either; spending time with the kids. Wh

Name: Tara Brannon. Age: 28. Family: Husband, Todd Brannon. Residence: Marysville. Occupation: Store manager at O'Reilly Auto Parts in Yuba City. I've been with the company almost 10 years. Hobbies, interests: Shooting guns, target practice, riding motorcycles. Where do you get your news? In the mo

Name: Merlin "Magic the Clown" Mitchell. Age: 76. Family: Wife, Vivian. Residence: Yuba City. Occupation: Retired biomedical engineer. Hobbies, interests: We've had a motor home since 2005. We have 77,000 miles on it. Club memberships: The Ben Ali Shriners, Central Sacramento Valley Shrine Club, Be

Name: Kathy Dickinson. Age: 57. Family: Husband, Bruce; two daughters; four grandchildren. Residence: Gridley. Occupation: Co-owner of Printworx in Yuba City. I formerly worked for the State of California; my husband has been in the printing industry for 35 years. Hobbies, interests: Golfing, reading, craf

Age: 63. Family: Wife, Elizabeth; combined we have six children and 13 grandchildren. Residence: Yuba City. Occupation: Manager of Loco BBQ in Yuba City. My son started the original one in Georgetown and, after working with him for a year and commuting, I decided to start one here. H

Name: Jim Davis. Age: 46. Family: Wife, Nicky; stepson, Ryan. Residence: Yuba City. Occupation: Owner of Sew So Shop in Yuba City. My wife wanted to buy a quilt store. What were you doing before this business? I was fishing professionally for six years after retiring from 15 years in outside sales. We've h

Name: Bert Hepster Age: 59 Family: Daughters Kelly and Marta. Residence: District 10. Occupation: Owner/operator of Sound Attitude in Yuba City. I started the store in 1996. Hobbies, interests: Music, collecting and videography; restoring old cars — I'm worki

Name: Patrick Baird. Age: 52. Family: Daughter, Samantha. Residence: Chico. Occupation: Tax preparer/office manager for Liberty Tax Service in Yuba City. This is my fifth year as a tax preparer. How is your commute to Yuba-Sutter? This is my second year in Yuba City — the commute gives me time to thi

Name: Gretchen Hill. Age: 29. Family: Husband, Mike Hill; two daughters, Bradleigh and Connor. Residence: Marysville. Occupation: Chocolatier at the Candy Box. Is chocolate your favorite treat? I wasn't a big chocolate person before; I preferred cookies. Hobbies, interests: I'm really artsy-craftsy

Age: 14. Family: Mom and dad. Residence: Yuba City. Occupation: Homeschool student. Hobbies, interests: Dance — I'm with the Jacque's Dance Expression dance team. What's your latest dance project? We're doing Dancers Mosaic in April. How di

Age: 73. Family: Husband, Skip Paquette. Together we have four children, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Residence: Marysville. Occupation: Retired cosmetologist and instructor. Hobbies, interests: Riding motorcycles and I like to crochet. As a member of the Gold W

Age: 32. Family: Wife, Guadalupe; four kids, Alex, Fatima, Francisco and Mariana. Residence: Yuba City. Occupation: Assistant manager at Bearing Belt Chain Co. in Marysville. Hobbies, interests: Mechanics — I work on my own vehicles. I do have a 1971 Chevy pickup I

Name: Waldo Cortes. Age: 13. Family: Parents, Waldo and Karla; brother, Ivan; sister, Hanna. Residence: Yuba City. Occupation: Seventh-grade student at Andros Karperos Middle School. Favorite part of school: Math — I love it when everything makes sense. It's like solving a case. Hobbies, inte

Age: 39. Family: Wife, Michelle; son, Devin, 9; parents, Ron and Barbara. Residence: Meridian. Occupation: In shipping and receiving at Bearing Belt Chain Co. in Marysville. Hobbies, interests: I like to play computer games, go fishing and camping. My favorite place to camp is Le

Name: Jake Pearson Age: 56. Family: Wife, Cindy; daughters, Lindsey, Hillary and Charley; son Jakey; one granddaughter. Residence: Maxwell. Occupation: Insurance agent since 1995, with Farmers Insurance offices in Colusa and Yuba City, and a financial adviser. I also farm rice.

Age: 42. Family: Wife, Tammy; grandparents, Willis and Elaine Chase. Residence: Yuba City. Occupation: Manager of Bearing Belt Chain Co. in Marysville. My grandfather is the owner. Hobbies, interests: I like to fly — I've been flying for 15 years and have a Cessna 182.

Name: Ian Gowdy. Age: 29. Family: Son, mother, grandma, great-grandma, girlfriend. Residence: Marysville. Occupation: Student at Yuba College. Hobbies, interests: Caring for my son, cooking, listening to music and spending time with family and friends. Where do you get your news? Appeal-Democrat an

Name: Stephani Fuhrer. Age: 39. Family: Husband, Seth; and three children. Residence: Olivehurst. Occupation: I do taxes, notary and bookkeeping. And we just bought a book store and are in the process of moving it to a new location. Hobbies, interests: I love art, cross stitching. Where do you get

Name: Matt Michaelis. Age: 32. Family: Wife, Autumn, and five sons, age 8 and under. Residence: Yuba City. Occupation: Administrative services manager for the city of Marysville. Hobbies, interests: I am a musician — have been playing the piano for the past 15 years and the guitar for three — a