This cute little kitten is looking for someone to play with!

Vivi is a three month old Torbi kitten. She is a very affectionate and loving little girl that constantly wants and NEEDS attention. Vivi does not like to be ignored and she will get your attention one way or the other. She can be a bit of a drama queen and does not prefer to share anything with other cats. Vivi would fit best in a home where all eyes are on her and she can hog all the attention. She is scared of dogs and likes to play with toys and nap by the window. Vivi likes to crawl into your lap or on your shoulder and purr while you give her a massage. She is just waiting for a new family and very eager to meet you. Please come and visit her.

Shafter Animal Control

661-746-2140

www.shaftercritters.petfinder.com

Hours:

Wednesday from 1 p.m. – 7p.m.,

Monday,Tuesday,Thursday,

Friday, Saturday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Closed Sundays and holidays.

Come visit Shafter shelter animals at

Petsmart on Ming Ave. on Saturdays from 11 a.m. -4 p.m.

Missy is looking for a loving home!

Missy is an adult (8-10 year old) Siamese kitty. She was found in the neighborhood and had no where else to go. Poor Missy was very spoiled wherever she came from and needs a new home that is willing to give her whatever she needs. Missy is a very classy lady and does not have time to “play with cat toys” or “cry for treats.” This little girl already expects the five star treatments. Missy enjoys spending most of her days looking out the window in a very comfortable bed and being pet or massaged. If she is not getting enough attention she has no problem making her way into your lap and taking a short nap there. Missy does not like to be around other cats or dogs and needs all eyes on her at all times. She is just dying to meet you and is waiting as patiently as she can. Come and visit her and check out her video. http://youtu.be/4ZYxXi5FqU8

Shafter Animal Control

661-746-2140

www.shaftercritters.petfinder.com

Hours:

Wednesday from 1 p.m. – 7p.m.,

Monday,Tuesday,Thursday,

Friday, Saturday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Closed Sundays and holidays.

Come visit Shafter shelter animals at

Petsmart on Ming Ave. on Saturdays from 11 a.m. -4 p.m.

CSU Bakersfield appoints new Vice President for Student Affairs

After an extensive national search that generated a diverse, competitive pool of fourteen candidates, CSU Bakersfield today announced that Dr. Thomas Wallace has been named the university’s new Vice President for Student Affairs. Wallace will replace Dr. John Hultsman who has served as Interim Vice President for Student Affairs since 2009. Wallace’s appointment will begin on February 15, 2012.

A diverse search committee of faculty, staff, students, and administrators selected four finalists to bring to campus for day-long interviews. The committee recommended two finalists.

“When I met with the search committee to get their recommendation, it was clear that Dr. Wallace was their top choice. I agreed. He will bring a wealth of experience in student affairs and university leadership, and he will be a major contributor to the campus and community,” said President Horace Mitchell. “I am extremely pleased to have someone with his talents and experience joining our leadership team.”

In his new role, Wallace will serve as a member of the President’s Cabinet and will be responsible for campus programs, services, and activities that support the university’s educational mission by promoting student development, enhancing the quality of the student experience, and campus life.

Specifically, Wallace will oversee a variety of units on campus including Athletics, the Center for Community Engagement and Career Education, Children’s Center, Housing and Residential Life, Services for Students with Disabilities, Student Health Center, Student Rights and Responsibilities, Student Recreation Center, Student Involvement and Leadership, Student Union, Associated Students, Inc., Campus Dining, and the Runner Bookstore.

“I was very impressed by the university’s commitment to student development, its insistence on high-quality instruction and the desire to strengthen its presence as a student-centered campus,” Wallace said of his interest in the position. “This is a tremendous opportunity and I look forward to becoming an integral part of the overall strategic mission of CSUB.”

Wallace is a career educator, amassing 32 years of experience. Prior to becoming a professor of educational leadership and a student affairs administrator at the University of Mississippi where he served from 1990 to 2010, Wallace was a K-12 teacher and principal.

Wallace comes to CSUB from the University of Nebraska-Omaha where he has served as associate vice chancellor for student affairs, the campus' chief student affairs position, since June 2010. In this role, he oversees 14 departments and 210 employees responsible for enhancing the learning environment through student services, educational support programs, and experiences gained through co-curricular programs and activities.

Wallace earned a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education, a Master of Arts in Education Administration and a Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education Administration/Educational Leadership, all from the University of Mississippi. He is married and has two daughters and one son (ages 13, 18 and 19). He enjoys jogging, tennis, basketball, board games, reading, and traveling.

“We are very pleased and fortunate to have recruited such a worthy candidate,” said Mike Neal, search committee chair and CSUB’s vice president for business & administrative services. “Dr. Wallace will add a new and exciting dynamic to the division and to the campus. We look forward to welcoming his family and him to Bakersfield.”

###

Editor’s Note: Dr. Thomas Wallace will be on campus on Thursday, Dec. 8. Media interviews can be arranged by calling Rob Meszaros at 661-654-2456.

St. Olaf Christmas Festival, Sunday, December 4

The world renowned St. Olaf Choir and its other performing choral and instrumental ensembles will present the 100^th annual St. Olaf Christmas Festival in Bakersfield at the Edwards Theater in the Marketplace on December 4, 12:30 p.m. Cost is $20.00. The Edwards joins some 360 movie theaters across the country in making this concert available via simulcast. Widely known for its world-class programs in mathematics and music, St. Olaf is also recognized for its innovative approaches to undergraduate science education. The college is located in Northfield, Minnesota.

The Christmas Festival consists of the famed St. Olaf Choir, the St. Olaf Chapel Choir, Manitou Singers (women’s choir) and the Viking Chorus (men’s choir). St. Olaf Orchestra accompaniment is provided. The entire performance consists of student musicians.

For many alumni, parents, and friends, this is a chance to see and hear the festival closer to home. The simulcast will start with a half hour preview, including a welcome from the conductors and President David R. Anderson '74.

For further information regarding the concert and the school go to www.stolaf.com. For ticket information, call The Edwards Theater or check their schedule online.

Retail Therapy

Sunday, November 30 (would it be black Sunday?) I was out finishing up a few errands. One last stop at Best Buy on Rosedale Highway restored my faith in retail stores. I needed a battery for my Bose radio/cd player but couldn't get the battery compartment open on the remote. I took it to a guy at the back of the store. He immediately said he would help me. He opened the compartment, walked over to the battery display, found the battery and sent me on my way. It was very crowded in the store and people were showing signs of hysteria but he took the time to help a customer who only needed a $5.69 battery. I thanked him profusely and he said "Thank you for shopping at Best Buy." You can be sure I have shopped there before and I will be a return customer.

KERN AUTISM NETWORK AT THE BAKERSFIELD CHRISTMAS PARADE

The Autism Society Chapter-Kern Autism Network invites all families with individuals affected by autism to join us on Thursday, December 1, at the Bakersfield Christmas parade.

The Kern Autism Network will have reserved seating in Areas 1 and 2 on the north and south side of 21^st Street, west of Eye Street, along the parade route. Bring chairs and blankets. Dress in colorful Christmas colors as the viewing area is next to the media cameras and we will be on camera live!

Park in designated areas. Spectators should be seated in viewing areas by 5 pm. The parade starts at 5:45 p.m. Christmas Parade Vendors will be selling hot chocolate along the route.

Let’s fill the seating areas and show our spirit for the season.

The Kern Autism Network provides support, awareness, information and education to families, professionals and the public throughout Kern County. We are a chapter of the Autism Society of America. For more information, visit our website at www.kernautism.org.

Autism Society Chapter-Kern Autism Network
www.kernautism.org
kernautism@gmail.com
FACEBOOK link-Kern Autism Network
661-588-4235

KERN AUTISM NETWORK HOLIDAY DINNERS DONATION

The Autism Society Chapter-Kern Autism Network (KAN) is pleased to announce that in collaboration with Albertson's and Kern Regional Center we are once again distributing holiday meals to families affected by autism spectrum disorders in our community this year.

KAN purchased 33 ham and turkey dinners from the Panama Albertson’s Store with funds received through Memorial Donations. Joseph Biever, General Store Manager, worked with KAN in order to allow recipients to pick up a complete meal, heated the day they needed it, directly from their store.

Kern Regional Center provided a list of deserving families in our community to receive vouchers to insure they enjoyed a holiday meal for Thanksgiving.

Autism is characterized by impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 150 children is affected by autism.

Autism Society Chapter-Kern Autism Network
www.kernautism.org
kernautism@gmail.com
FACEBOOK link-Kern Autism Network
661-588-4235

Aera Energy employees support local communities with food drives

Aera Energy LLC and its employees in Kern County and Ventura are reaching out to support local families in need. Multiple Aera food drives will provide nearly 250 families with meals in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.

On Monday Aera culminated its 14^th annual Thanksgiving food drive when the Golden Empire Gleaners picked up nearly 200 brightly decorated boxes brimming with fixings for Thanksgiving meals for local families. The boxes were festively decorated by students at South High School and stuffed with enough stuffing, pie fixings and turkeys or hams to feed a family of six. Nonperishable items were donated by headquarters and Belridge field employees; a company donation topped off each box with a ham or turkey and fresh vegetables.

Meanwhile at Aera’s Midway Sunset location in Taft assembled another batch of holiday meal boxes for local families through their Adopt-a-Family program. Employees stuffed boxes with Thanksgiving feast fixings for 12 families and personally delivered them last week to Taft area families.

“For Aera and its employees this annual food drive has become an important holiday tradition,” explains Rochelle Howard, engineering technical associate with Aera. “All these boxes provide evidence to those capable of giving, that individually and collectively we can make a huge difference. These boxes alone will feed almost 200 families. It is our way of sharing the true meaning of Thanksgiving with those who are less fortunate and provide our neighbors in need the most basic necessity – food.”

“The Gleaners are so fortunate to have business partners like Aera Energy LLC who have a big heart for the hungry in our community,” says Pam Fiorini, executive director of the Golden Empire Gleaners. “For 14 years their employees have ensured an abundant Thanksgiving holiday for our families in crisis. Last year they helped nearly 700 people through this event alone. Their generosity puts our motto, ‘It Starts With Food’ into action.”

In Ventura, Aera employees donated nearly $1,000 to supply 25 families with complete Thanksgiving meals. Holiday meal certificates will be distributed to families at the Boys and Girls Club of Ventura through local non-profit Project Understanding.

Aera Energy LLC is one of California’s largest oil and gas producers. Company headquarters are in Bakersfield and most of its production is centered in the San Joaquin Valley. Aera also has oilfield operations in Ventura and Monterey counties.

Adult, Child CPR/AED, Infant CPR and Standard First Aid

The American Red Cross Adult, Child CPR/AED, Infant CPR and Standard First Aid helps participants recognize and respond appropriately to cardiac, breathing and first aid emergencies. The courses in the program teach skills that participants need to know to give immediate care to a suddenly injured or ill person until advanced medical personnel arrive and take over. Students who successfully complete this course will receive certificates for Standard First Aid with CPR/AED for Adult, Infant and Child; which are valid for two years. The classes are held at the Kern Chapter of the American Red Cross. For more information and to register please call 661-324-6427 or visit www.kernredcross.org

American Red Cross - Kern Chapter

5035 Gilmore Ave.

Bakersfield, CA 93308

661-324-6427

CPR/AED Adult, Child and Infant CPR

The American Red Cross CPR/AED Adult, Child and Infant CPR course teaches participants how to recognize and care for breathing and cardiac emergencies in infants, children and adults. The course teaches the skills that participants need to know to give immediate care to a suddenly injured or ill person until advanced medical personnel arrive and take over. The classes are held at the Kern Chapter of the American Red Cross. For more information and to register please call 661-324-6427 or visit www.kernredcross.org

American Red Cross - Kern Chapter

5035 Gilmore Ave.

Bakersfield, CA 93308

661-324-6427

First Aid

The American Red Cross First Aid Class gives individuals in the workplace the knowledge and skills necessary to recognize and provide basic first aid care for injuries and sudden illnesses until advanced medical personnel arrrive and take over. The classes are held at the Kern Chapter of the American Red Cross. For more information and to register please call 661-324-6427 or visit www.kernredcross.org

American Red Cross - Kern Chapter

5035 Gilmore Ave.

Bakersfield, CA 93308

661-324-6427

Help spread holiday cheer to people living with MS

Bakersfield – Are you looking for a rewarding way to give back to the community this holiday season? The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Southern California & Nevada Chapter is looking for volunteers and/or donations to make gift baskets for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) involved in the Caring Connection program.

Every week, through the Caring Connection program, volunteers visit people with MS who are living in a licensed care facility, or are homebound and unable to go out into the community. This friendly visitor program helps provide a connection to the outside world, emotional support, companionship and social interaction.

During the holiday season, the National MS Society tries to do even more, by delivering gift baskets to this group. One 30-year-old living in a skilled nursing facility is asking for gifts or trinkets she can give to her two young daughters. Another man has asked for a radio. Other items on wish lists: DVDs, books, holiday decorations and personal hygiene products. “I think the baskets are very important because so many people living with MS are isolated. Many do not have any Christmas at all,” explains Board of Trustee Lisa Karpe. “No gift is too small.”

If you or someone you know would like to sponsor a person with MS by creating or assembling a gift basket, or if you would like to donate any products, please contact the Kern County office of the National MS Society at 661.321.9512, or email christine.grontkowski@nmss.org.

About Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis interrupts the flow of information between the brain and the body and it stops people from moving. Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with MS, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with more than twice as many women as men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S., and 2.1 million worldwide.

About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society

MS stops people from moving. The National MS Society exists to make sure it doesn’t. We help each person address the challenges of living with MS. In 2010 alone, through our national office and 50-state network of chapters, we devoted $159 million to programs and services that improved the lives of more than one million people. To move us closer to a world free of MS, the Society also invested $37 million to support 325 new and ongoing research projects around the world. We are people who want to do something about MS NOW. Join the movement at nationalMSsociety.org.

New program in Bakersfield aims to keep people with MS "free from falls"

Bakersfield – Walking, balance and coordination problems are among the common symptoms in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Those limitations in mobility can lead to injuries and can have a negative impact on quality of life. To help out, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Southern California & Nevada Chapter designed “Free from Falls: A Comprehensive Fall Prevention Program for People with MS” which will be launched in Bakersfield for the first time ever at HealthSouth Bakersfield Rehabilitation Hospital Thursday, January 19, 2012.

Free from Falls, which will be held Thursdays through March 8, is designed to help improve confidence, safety and mobility and reduce the risk of falls by providing a supportive group atmosphere and expert instruction. Dawn Thompson, physical therapist at HealthSouth, will lead each week’s two hour program. Each session will have two parts: a discussion component focused on awareness of issues related to falls and an exercise component directed to improving postural alignment, balance, endurance and mobility.

People in Bakersfield will be among the first to complete Free from Falls; the program will be offered nationwide later in the fall of 2012. The curriculum is designed for people living with MS who are able to walk (alone or with one cane, walking stick or crutch), but who may be at risk for falling. For more information or to receive an application, please call the Kern County office of the National MS Society at 661.321.9512 or email kim.kotrla@nmss.org.

About Multiple Sclerosis

About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society

Brooklyn needs a family

Hi, my name is Brooklyn. I am a female Border Collie/Pit cross about 4 months old. I am super friendly with dogs and people. I love to play and have lots of energy.I would really like to find a family to love me and play with me and make me a part of their home...A shelter is no place for a pup (or any animal) to be. Please come visit me and my friends in the shelter. We are well worth the short drive.

Wasco Animal Shelter, 5409 7th St., 758-7240 . Open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday

PETSMART ADOPTIONS EVERY SATURDAY 11 A.M. TO 3:30 P.M. at 4100 MING AVE. Bakersfield Ca

Cats and Kittens available in the PetSmart cattery daily.

Join us on Facebook: Wasco Animal Shelter

CSUB Chemistry Department receives grant for youth education

Young people of Kern County, get ready for Chemical Circus, a traveling interactive program brought to you by the Chemistry Department at California State University, Bakersfield. In its first year of existence, and already a hit at the Boys & Girls Club and with local school science clubs, the program will now reach out to more youth thanks to a $10,000 grant announced Wednesday.

CSUB’s program is one of nine winners nationwide receiving funding from “Partnering for Excellence: Innovations in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Education,” a national competition hosted by Ashoka Changemakers, Carnegie Corporation of New York and The Opportunity Equation. For the U.S. to remain competitive in STEM fields, youth must be attracted early and retained until they complete college. The grant winners have come up with creative ways to bring STEM professionals into K-12 schools to use their talent, knowledge and real-world skills to engage students, particularly in high-need communities.

CSUB’s Chemistry Department received the Innovations in Life Sciences Prize, sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The prize will allow the department to purchase materials, develop demonstrations, and pay senior undergraduate students to train and work as program leaders.

The Chemical Circus is a series of engaging, entertaining, and educational chemistry activities developed by the CSUB Chemistry Department to promote interest in chemistry among local youth. A Chemical Circus session consists of demonstrations performed by trained faculty and students, followed by a safe, hands-on activity. So far, demonstrations have been held at the Boys and Girls Club and at some science club meetings at local schools. With the grant, the program will expand into high school classrooms and elsewhere in the community.

Not only does the program inspire participating youth, but the experience also offers an opportunity for service learning for CSUB students which, in turn, increases retention and learning within the chemistry major.

“Students get the chance to teach and mentor K-12 youth about chemistry, reinforcing concepts they have learned in class and strengthening leadership skills and the importance of community-based work,” said Dr. Danielle Solano, assistant professor of chemistry at CSUB.

For more information about Chemical Circus, contact Dr. Danielle Solano at 661-654-2785 or dsolano@csub.edu. For more information about the Partnering for Excellence grant, visit www.changemakers.com/stemeducation.

Recent Posts : Bakersfield.com

This cute little kitten is looking for someone to play with!

Missy is looking for a loving home!

CSU Bakersfield appoints new Vice President for Student Affairs

St. Olaf Christmas Festival, Sunday, December 4

Retail Therapy

KERN AUTISM NETWORK AT THE BAKERSFIELD CHRISTMAS PARADE

KERN AUTISM NETWORK HOLIDAY DINNERS DONATION

Aera Energy employees support local communities with food drives

Adult, Child CPR/AED, Infant CPR and Standard First Aid

CPR/AED Adult, Child and Infant CPR

First Aid

Help spread holiday cheer to people living with MS

New program in Bakersfield aims to keep people with MS "free from falls"

Brooklyn needs a family

CSUB Chemistry Department receives grant for youth education