There’s an adage that goes something like, “The older I get, the more I find out I don’t know.”
I believe it, and it makes me a proponent of education at every age. So today’s column is all about education. Here goes …
• College students studying medicine or medical training are eligible for low-cost loans of up to $10,000 from the Ivy B. Horr Medical Education Loan Fund administered by Shasta Regional Community Foundation. Students who attended high school in Shasta, Lassen, Tehama, Modoc, Trinity or Siskiyou county are eligible for the loans. To learn about the loan conditions and to apply for money, visit the community foundation website. The deadline is March 30.
• This week (February 13 through 19) is “preteen vaccine week,” which is essentially a reminder that students entering grades 7 through 12 will need proof of immunization against whooping cough (AKA pertussis) before starting school in August. Yes, this is a new requirement, and it seems like a reasonable one, considering the whooping cough epidemic that hit California last year. Public health experts also recommend 11- and 12-year olds receive vaccinations for meningococcal disease, influenza, chicken pox and HPV. Read up on all the vaccines your kids need at www.shotsforschool.org.
• I love the title of the next Shasta College Community Teaching Garden workshop, “The Early Spring Garden: Gardening in the Mud.” The ongoing storms should ensure that your garden soil is waterlogged and unworkable at about the time your inner gardener is telling you to till, sow and transplant. Organic nurseryman Wayne Kessler will lead the workshop and provide some how and when techniques. The session is scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m. on February 27, at Shasta College. The cost is $15 and you may register through the college’s online catalog.
• Turkey hunting is the subject of a Department of Fish and Game advanced hunter education program, scheduled for March 5 at Gray Lodge, near Gridley. Biologist Joe Johnson will talk about decoy placement, blind design, ballistics, game care and cleaning, and more. The cost is $45 for adults. Kids 16 and younger who are accompanied by an adult get in for free. Register for the course and learn about all of DFG’s advanced hunting clinics on the DFG website.
• Responding to an invitation for bid will be the subject of a class provided by Shasta College’s Small Business Development Center and the Federal Technology Center on March 1 at the Small Business Developer Center’s classroom in Redding. Register for the free class on the FTC website.
Paul Shigley is senior editor of California Planning & Development Report, a frequent contributor to Planning magazine and was a straight-A student in PE. He lives in Centerville. Paul Shigley may be reached at pauls.anewscafe@gmail.com.
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