It is now truly Christmas season in Hemet. The town’s tree-decorating angels struck again.

For the fourth year, a pine on Hemet’s west side, right alongside Florida Avenue, was decorated secretly for Christmas.

During past holiday seasons, a tree was decorated in front of the Hampton Inn, to the delight of the hotel’s staff, and ornaments were anonymously hung near the Four Seasons senior development farther to the west.

This year’s tree is along the sidewalk in front of Chase Bank at Florida and Cawston avenues.

The tree has familiar garlands, big bulb ornaments and stuffed toy Christmas figures hanging from limbs. Gift boxes are on the grass at the base of the tree.

In the past, the decorations lasted through the Christmas season until they were taken down at night.

I hope no one touches the decorations until it is time for them to be secretly stored for the next Christmas. They are something to like about Hemet.

FARMERS AND BASKETBALL

An exciting basketball tourney that tips off at 1 p.m. Thursday at Mt. San Jacinto College has a curious name. It is called the Hemet Valley Kiwanis Hoops and Crops Tournament.

“Hoops” is for the Mt. San Jacinto basketball team, which is the best show in the San Jacinto Valley, though this year’s rewrite of the famous outdoor play “Ramona” threatens to knock the school’s fast-paced games to No. 2.

MSJC will be in a field of top community college teams competing Thursday through Saturday.

The “Crops” part of the tournament title can be traced to MSJC’s dean of athletics and physical education Patrick Springer’s Iowa roots. The concept germinated from the ANF (America Needs Farmers) farm bureau agriculture awareness program supported by the University of Iowa, where Springer played basketball.

“The (ANF) logo is on the Iowa football helmets,” said Springer, who is on hiatus from coaching the MSJC basketball team.

This year’s MSJC squad is ably coached by Springer’s longtime assistant, Trent Skinner.

For the tournament, MSJC joined forces with the Kiwanis Club of Hemet Valley, an impressively active group led this year by President Kelly Ferris. The club is the main sponsor of the tournament.

Teams over the years became aware they were in farm country when they traveled to San Jacinto past the Ramona Expressway dairies. They wondered what they were getting into in a little farm town and then were startled to face highly skilled MSJC basketball players drawn to the school from all over the country.

Now the visiting teams will have a chance to see what the valley’s farm operations are all about. MSJC officials and the Kiwanis arranged visits to Hollandia Dairy, Agri-Empire and Washburn Ranch.

“We want to educate the community college population about how food gets on their plates,” Springer said.

The tournament also will offer a Saturday basketball clinic for kids from elementary and middle schools. Most of the 50 clinic spots are filled. To check for available space, call 951-487-3396.

Games will go on from Thursday afternoon through Saturday evening at the MSJC gym, which is located at 1499 N State St., San Jacinto. Times will depend on how teams advance by winning or losing. MSJC’s first game is 7 p.m. Thursday against College of the Canyons.