Highland vs. East 11/2/07

Liberty vs. BHS 11/2/07

East vs. Highland 11/2/07

My last high school football.

Peace everyone.

West vs. Centennial 11/2/07

Garces vs. Golden Valley 11/2/07

Centennial vs. West 11/2/07

BHS vs. Liberty 11/2/07

Halloween Pictures/ 2007

Two Ghouls On the Prowl...

At Truxtun Radiology Medical Group, Downtown

Halloween 2007

Golden Valley vs. Foothill 10/26/07

GROUNDBREAKING TOMMOROW! SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR MENTAL HEALTH CONSUMERS AVAILABLE SOON IN RIDGECREST

Community Action Partnership and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill invite the community of Ridgecrest and Kern County to join in a ceremonial “breaking of the ground” of the Desert Willow Apartments. The event marks the completion of a seven year long journey to provide rent assisted, supportive housing, and independent living for very low income adults with mental disabilities in Ridgecrest.

The celebration, kicking off construction, will take place Friday, November 2, at 10:30 am, at the site of the future residence, at 1336 N El Prado in Ridgecrest.

Desert Willow apartments will serve adult consumers receiving mental health services from the Ridgecrest Branch of College Community Services (CCS), an outpatient clinic operating under contract with Kern County Mental Health (KCMH). Tenants will be drawn from the City of Ridgecrest, China Lake Naval Base, Inyokern Community Service District, and the unincorporated areas and communities of Indian Wells Valley and the Rand areas.

“These services are critically needed in Ridgecrest,” said Partnership Executive Director Fred A. Drew, (who is also the chairman of the board for the Desert Willow Apartments nonprofit established by the Partnership). Vacancy rates here are low and rents are rising rapidly due to planned increases in the civil service workforce at the nearby naval base. A 1999 housing assessment by KCMH showed that almost one half of the approximately 250 adult mental health consumers served by CCS were living in local motels due to a shortage of single room and one bedroom apartments. “We needed to provided a better quality of life for these folks,” Drew added.

The Code of Federal Regulations defines a mental disability as a severe and persistent mental or emotional impairment that seriously limits a person’s ability to live independently, and which could be improved by more suitable housing conditions. Examples of such impairments or disorders include, but are not limited to: schizophrenia, bi-polarity, or major depression. More specifically, the target population for this project will include persons whose psychiatric symptoms are reasonable stable, and who possess the minimal life skills necessary to succeed in an independent living situation with outside supportive services.

The complex will include five one story buildings with a combined total area of 11,300 square feet. The buildings will be wood and stucco with composition shingle roofing and will include:

· A 900 square foot, two bedroom manager’s apartment

· A 1,600 square foot community center for resident meetings, group meals, social events, and recreational and cultural activities. It will include a TV/VCR and personal computer stations

· A four-plex with 550 square foot one bedroom units

· Two 2,750 square foot one bedroom unit five-plexe

· A lighted, half basketball court

· And landscaped garden and patio areas.

One bedroom apartments will be arranged in a “U” shaped configuration around a central courtyard and covered patio. All buildings will include basic appliances including stoves, refrigerators, and even window curtains. Resident apartments will include a living room, bathroom, bedroom, and combined living area and kitchen space, covered porch, evaporative cooler, and wall furnaces. The complex will be neatly packaged with a six foot wooden fence enclosing the complex.

In November 2004, the Partnership was awarded a HUD Section 811 Program of Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities fund reservation. The grant covered the purchase of the land and building construction costs. In addition the grant will provide rental assistance making the apartments affordable to very low income persons, for a five year period.

Community Action Partnership of Kern agreed to sponsor the Desert Willow project at the request of, and in collaboration with, a Ridgecrest citizen’s group, which includes local members of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, Kern Consumer Action Network, Creating Healthy Lives, and the College Community Services. The project has received wide spread support from both government and the community, including written endorsements from the Ridgecrest City Council, Supervisor Jon McQuiston of the Kern County Board of supervisors, the United Way of Indian Wells Valley, the Ridgecrest Area Association of Realtors, the Indian Wells Valley Collaborative, the Kern County Homeless Collaborative, and the Kern County Mental Health Department.

For more information about the Desert Willow apartments, call Community Action Partnership of Kern, at 661-336-5236 or 888-445-0090; or email info@capk.org.

Community Action Partnership of Kern is a private, non-profit corporation, created in 1965 to combat poverty in Kern County. Over 1,000 Community Action Partnerships across the United States work to provide and advocate

for resources that empower people to have the skills and resources necessary

to improve their quality of life and become self-sufficient.

Community Action Partnership of Kern’s 800 employees provide an integrated network of services,

with 15 major programs, and no eligibile person is turned away.

The Partnership serves and improves the quality of life for approximately 140,000 Kern County individuals each year.

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MOTHER, WIFE, BUSINESS WOMAN, MODEL AND NOW AUTHOR!

Local author, BJ Binning, is enjoying the great reviews of her new book, "Circumstances." This mother of three, wife, business woman and model made it her long term goal to also add author to her list of titles and achieved that goal on September 1, 2007. The book is about choices, families, relationships, a mother, a child, a husband and a wife. It is 95 pages long and keeps your attention 'till the very end!

Binning who has been dubbed an “over achiever,” by most of her friends, family and colleagues, is a firm believer in the fact that “you are the master of your fate and the captain of your soul.” She believes that there is no such thing as an unattainable goal and wishes to pass that on to her readers.

The book, “Circumstances,” is a touching, life-affirming, deeply emotional book with a generous dose of romance. It asks the ultimate question: are you happy with your choices in life and the circumstances that those choices have allowed?

In the book Binning discusses the topics that most people are embarrassed to talk about thinking that they are alone. She hopes that when others read the book they might be able to see themselves more honestly and get closer to the truth about how they are living. People live their lives constantly blaming others for their mishaps but in her book, Binning challenges readers to be more open with themselves about their faults and limitations and spend less energy trying to maintain an image of them as always smart, kind and competent. The recognition of our own foolish and selfish acts adds a healthy dose of humility that may help counter our tendencies towards arrogance and self-righteousness. Of particular importance, we can develop healthier and more lasting relationships with others because we can sometimes "preflect" on how they may respond before we take a particular action. In situations where we are faced with ethical choices or dilemmas we can ask ourselves, "How would I like to be treated if I were in the other person's shoes?"

A compilation of three stories, the book starts with the story of a child named Bella who is beautiful and shy but also emotionally abused. She endured a childhood that presented many unfortunate events which she would not wish on anyone. One day Bella realized that she needed to make a choice and she did------she made the choice to embrace her circumstances and take the lessons learned with her to the next stage of life.

Because of her acceptance of her past, Bella became a force to be reckoned with. She started out losing one of the most precious people in her life----her father, and still yearned for that father-daughter relationship. Decades later, she repeated her mother’s life and then came to the realization that she made her own choices which brought the circumstances which she had. She chose to live with them, to accept them for what they were and used them as a basis for her future.

According to Binning, writing the book was a revelation for her because it came from the heart. During her studies in psychology she learned to self reflect and develop the ability to empathize. From her travel around the world, she learned different cultures which have helped her to accept people for who they are and not to hold them at the same standards which she holds herself.

She believes that many people go through their lives not knowing the joys of self reflection----not knowing that it opens up many doors for them spiritually, psychologically and in their relationships with others.

Although the words in the book were written by her, they are incredibly influential and are the primary promoter of purpose in her life. Since the book has been released, many readers have expressed the power that the book has given them. The power to change their lives or merely motivating them to understand others and then to be understood themselves.

The most significant message that Binning is trying to relay is that “we have to make the change we want to see in our lives,” No one else can do it but us, therefore we must engage in self awareness, not only at the beginning of each year, but all year. As a human being we spend so much time distorting our lives and now it is time for clarity. Sorting through the layers may take some time and concentrated effort but do remember that it takes patience and commitment, along with a good dose of compassion and self nurturing.

You can purchase the book today and answer the question for yourself. The book is available where all great books are sold so log onto www.xlibris.com/CircumstancesbyBJBinning.html, www.bn.com, www.borders.com, www.amazon.com , Russo’s bookstore or call 1-888-795-4274 ext. 7876.

You can also purchase the book and get it signed, this weekend, Saturday, November 3, 2007 at the festival of books at Bakersfield College from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Little Witch and Halloween

There was a knock at the door. Little Witch and Snowflake her cat opened the door.

There stood Batty Witch. She said, "On behalf of Witches Union, No. 13, I am here to inform you that we had a meeting. We unanimously voted that you, Little Witch and Snowflake, are not to partake in our Halloween festivities tonight. Neither of you can fly on your broomstick or come to our party and drink my famous toad and lizard soup."

"Why can't we fly on our broomsticks?" Little Witch asked, and hooked her thumbs over the belt of her blue jeans and stuck out her chin.

"Why not?" Snowflake echoed.

Batty said, "These are the reasons." She read from a list: "You do not look like a witch. Little Witch you have blond hair and Snowflake you have white hair. You and Snowflake are much too pretty. Little Witch, you do not act like a witch. You and Snowflake are too nice. You are not scary or mean enough. Snowflake, you play with the animals in the woods instead of biting or scratching them. You do not catch mice. Little Witch, you do not dress like a witch. You wear blue jeans, red plaid shirts and cowboy boots. To make matters worse, you both wear red ribbons in your hair. You do not smell like a witch. You take too many showers."

Batty Witch shook her head in despair. She jumped on her broomstick and zoomed up in the sky. She hollered, "You are just not one of us."

"Who cares?" Snowflake hissed. "Besides, I like mice. They're my friends."

Little Witch hollered, "Your Halloween lizard and toad soup make me throw up." She made a face. She said, "Snowflake, we'll fool the witches. We'll dye our hair black and act mean and scary."

They set out on a path through the woods carrying a pail. Along the path they picked blackberries and threw them into the pail.

Back in the cottage, Little Witch filled a big, black cauldron with water and tossed the blackberries into the cauldron. She stirred and stirred the blackberries until the water was black.

Little Witch said, "Snowflake, please hold my legs while I dunk my head in the black water." Holding her breath, she stood on her head in the water. Snowflake held her legs straight up. Her hair was now as black as the crows that flew overhead.

Then she held Snowflake's tail while she dunked him in the big cauldron. She pulled him upright. He was black all over except for his white tail. Little Witch pulled an old black sock over his tail.

They looked in the mirror. "Let's practice being mean," Little Witch said. She stuck out her tongue and did a karate chop in the air. Snowflake hissed and clawed the air.

"Now we're mean and nasty," he said and stuck out his tongue.

"We both need a pimple on the end of our nose," Little Witch said. "Snowflake, chew this gum and I'll stick it on the end of your nose." She gave him a stick of gum. Little Witch chewed her gum and stuck it on the end of her nose. Then she pressed a red M&M candy on the gum on their noses.

It was dark outside. Little Witch strapped helmets on their heads. "Safety first," she said. "We don't want to knock ourselves silly in case we collide with the point of a star."

They climbed aboard a battery powered Broomstick. "Fasten your seatbelt," Little Witch ordered. They fastened their seat belts. Little Witch shifted into high gear. They zoomed higher and higher in the moonlit sky.

They sang:
"I think that I shall never see
A moon as beautiful as thee
A moon who gives us light all night
And fades away in morning light."

"Wee, this is the cat's pajamas," she cried, steering Broomstick to the moon and all the while sweeping away the cobwebs that crossed their path.

"Cool," purred Snowflake.

Around them whizzed witches on broomsticks doing wheelies between the stars and around the moon. They screeched, "Look at me, no hands."

Little Witch heard a scream. She looked up. It was Batty Witch hanging upside down, her cape caught on a point of the North Star.

Snowflake hissed, "That's a good place for you to hang out Batty Witch. Mean, mean old Batty Witch. Serves you right."

Little Witch cried, "I wouldn't want to be in her place. She needs help, even though she's a mean old witch."

In high gear they whizzed up to Batty Witch. "Snowflake and I will save you. Trust us," she said. Then with a mighty kick of her cowboy boots, she loosened the cape from the point of the star. Snowflake hissed and gave her a mighty shove. She began plummeting to the earth.

Little Witch whipped out a digital cell phone from her blue jeans. She pressed 9-1-3, shouting "Emergency! Calling all witches! Listen up Union 13! Form a circle with your arms in Farmer Jones' corn field and catch Batty Witch. She's headed your way."

"She's veered right," Little Witch shouted into the cell phone. "Now the wind is blowing her back in your direction. Watch it! Here she comes. Snowflake, wipe that grin off your face."

She and Snowflake watched Batty Witch falling head first into the circle of witches' arms. her arms were waving wildly as she landed and then she bounced up and down like a bouncing ball, finally coming to rest in the circle of arms.

Back in the cottage, Little Witch washed her hair and Snowflake's hair. She washed the gum and M&Ms off their noses.

There was a knock on the door. Little Witch and Snowflake opened the door. It was Batty Witch and all the other witches. Batty Witch was holding a pumpkin pie. She said, "Witches Union No. 13 has unanimously voted you back into the Union. You can fly with us every Halloween." The witches standing behind Batty shouted, "You are now one of us."

Little Witch said, "Come in and we'll all have a bowl of my pumpkin soup."

Snowflake said, "Little Witch's soup is fabulous."

They all sat around the kitchen table smacking their lips and muttering, "Fabulous. Fabulous." Then they ate all of Batty's pumpkin pie with whipped cream on top. They held up their cups of hot cider, shouting, "Here's to Little Witch, here's the Snowflake, and here's to Little Witch and Snowflake."

Batty Witch said, "Little Witch, your blond hair is beautiful and Snowflake, all the witches with their cats had white hair and not black hair. Just stay the way you are, and please, both of you always wear a red ribbon in your hair."

Trick-or-Treat

As children in the 1950s, we never understood the true meaning of the term “Trick-or-Treat”. There was no vandalism, very little mischief and even fewer bullies. No one had store-bought costumes and most Trick-or-Treaters either had a hand-painted bag over our heads with holes cut for our eyes, nose, and mouth with colored art paper tabs glued all over the face of the bag. A classic “Trick” was to prepare a second bag, leave your own house wearing one bag, change bags and go back to your own house, so that you got one of the popcorn balls you and your mother had spent two evenings making, but Mom said you couldn’t have any, because we have to save them for the “Trick-or-Treaters”.

In one evening, between dark and 9:30 you could visit every house in Arvin and you got homemade treats from most of them. When you went to most houses, even though you were disguised with a bag and an old bath towel safety pinned around your neck, they would address you by name, as the homemade treats were placed in your bag. Usually, I would follow another group up to my own house and remain silent as they screamed “Trick-or-Treat”! But each of us was expected to say “Thank You,” as we received our Treat and my mom would say “you’re welcome David”. Darn! I thought I had really fooled her this year. I think she recognized her bath towel that was still safety pinned around my neck.

I only remember one instance where three older bullies tried to snatch a kid’s bag and they started a tug of war contest with the smaller kid screaming bloody-murder while the paper bag finally broke and candy scattered everywhere across the street. Other kids, parents and homeowners all came from one block away from every direction hollering for them to leave him alone. The hoodlums grabbed a couple of pieces of candy and disappeared into a grape vineyard where they spent the rest of the evening dodging police spotlights and parent’s flashlights. I heard later that the brats had a “Come-To-The-Lord Meeting” with some of the older brothers and we were never bothered again.

One year, I was into making the little string balloon animals, hats, flowers etc. and I was asked to man a booth at the annual Sierra Vista Elementary School Halloween Carnival, where my creations were sold or given out as prizes at one of the booths. I did not have any other way to blow the balloons up, except by mouth and breath and even though I had made up a large box of them for more than a week before the event, we ran out and I wound up blowing myself silly trying to keep up with the kids who won at the bean bag throw, at my booth.

A few people in town went all out and decorated their yards or gave special treats. The underground network of kids meeting at the end of each block usually did not take long to spread the word of something special in the community and the kids would come a-flockin. Somewhere around the age of high school, your parents would no longer let you go out, so we would be relegated to the candy bowl and we would go to the door to greet the little monsters and pass out candy, “one for you”, one for you,” ”one for you,” ”one for me”.

As we got older our minds got more and more devious. One year we had a large box that a clothes dryer had came in that I decorated and cut several eye holes. I would scare the little kids by scratching or bumping the sides of the box, rocking it back and forth, but the older kids got a ghostly Jack-in-the-Box treatment as they turned to leave. Candy would fly everywhere as they ran off in fright.

My friend Gary Smith remembers dangling a cap gun from the ceiling rafters of his porch cover in a darkened area, where wooden planters had been placed. Then with a second string running through the screen on his window of his bedroom, he would yank it back and forth to make a commotion. His Dad, at the door, would play along and ask the scared kids what was going on over there and the kids would go over and try to see what was causing the noise in the dark. Gary said one small kid looked and said, “I see it ---- It is aaaa ----aaa!” then he turned and ran away.

Rick Maltone, another good friend of mine fondly remembers Pat and Karen Huffman’s infamous Halloween Parties where they set up part of their backyard as a ghostly haunt. You were made to walk through the maze barefoot and blindfolded. In this maze, they had set up one section of the floor scattered with little Vienna sausages. As you walked through squishing the sausages between your toes, you remembered their dogs. In another section they had hung wet spaghetti from boards that hung over you. You were positive that you were walking through cobwebs and spider tendrils as they brushed past your face. He thought it was Very Frightful, but more fun to listen to your friends as they went through the same sections, after you had emerged unharmed and knew what they were experiencing.

Linda; the editor for the Arvin Tiller, pointed out that she and Dennis; her husband, were married on Halloween. Their cake was a haunted house with an attached graveyard and Linda’s wedding march was Alfred Hitchcock's theme song. I can just picture all of the “Death of a bachelor” jokes a-flyin. It is good to see that other people exist with a slightly distorted, “far side”, sense of humor.

When my son Michael was a small tyke, he was fascinated with fire trucks and firemen so my wife, Valerie, dressed him up as a fireman and his baby sister, Katie, who was only a month old was dressed in white pajamas with black spots marked all-over with a marks-a lot marker so that she was his Dalmatian fire dog for her first Halloween.

My last celebrated Halloween was with a combined Arvin De Molay’s/ North Bakersfield Jobe’s Daughters, where I and my then girlfriend Sherry dressed up as hobos, complete with things tied in a bandana on the end of a stick, slung over our shoulders.

It has been said that boys never grow up, they only get older! So, TRICK-OR-TREAT!!! Do you have any popcorn balls left? Have a Great and Safe Halloween this year.

The End

Bakersfield Resident Becomes Peace Corps Volunteer in Mozambique

Luis A Valladares, 24, the son of Elvia Valladares, has joined the Peace Corps and will soon be graduating from his training.

Valladares joined the Peace Corps because “I felt that I could really do some good into part of the world that needed help.”

Since his recent arrival in Mozambique, Valladares has begun his training, including living with a host country family, in order to acquire the language and cultural skills necessary to assist his community. Valladares will be officially sworn-in in December as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Upon reporting to his station, Valladares will become an English-teaching Volunteer, serving for two years in Mozambique, living in a similar manner to the local community citizens.

A graduate of Centennial High School, Valladares attended California State University, Bakersfield where he earned a B.A. in history, graduating earlier this year. He worked briefly as a substitute teacher for the Bakersfield City School District.

Valladares joins the 902 California residents currently serving in the Peace Corps. More than 25,467 California residents have served in the Peace Corps since 1961.

Peace Corps entered Mozambique in 1998 during a critical time in the country's history. Emerging from the devastation of 30 thirty years of war, Mozambique faces immense challenges. Perhaps most pressing is the need for re-construction and expansion of the educational system. Nearly 60 percent of the country's schools were either destroyed or closed during the war, and trained personnel departed the country, leaving behind a broken infrastructure. Less than half of school-age children actually attend primary school, while only 22 percent reach secondary school.

Peace Corps is celebrating a 46-year legacy of service at home and abroad. Since 1961, more than 187,000 Volunteers have helped promote a better understanding between Americans and the people of the 139 countries where Volunteers have served. Peace Corps Volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age. Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment.

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