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2A – Daily News – Monday, June 14, 2010 Community people&events Gerber SERRF Rumors about the aging brain John Mellencamp, whom I con- sider to be Norman Rockwell with a rock and roll beat, is one of my favorite musicians. On his album "Lonesome Jubilee" is the song "The Real Life," dealing with life’s changes and adjusting to what comes. The last verse contains these lyrics: Courtesy photo Following a six week Girl’s Circle Club, the Gerber SERRF girls, grade fourth through seventh, were treated to a wonderful filed trip to Plum Crazy Boutique.They enjoyed a mini presentation on what is involved in running a retail business in a small town. Later they went to the Tremont for ice cream and took pictures in the Cone-Kimball plaza. SECRET WITNESS 529-1268 A program of Tehama County Neighborhood Watch Program, Inc. Setting it straight A May 27 story titled “Ex-Tehama County work- er gets 90 days in gun altercation” contained an error. The victim in the case, Barry Clausen, main- tains the defendant was struck by him with a gun. The defendant, Melissa Jones, maintains Clausen struck her with a rock. The court made no determi- nation as to which was the case. The Daily News regrets the error. –––––––– It is the policy of the Daily News to correct as quickly as possible all errors in fact that have been published in the newspaper. If you feel a factual error has been made in a news story, call the news department at 527-2153. "But something happens/When you reach a certain age/Particularly to those ones that are young at heart/It's a lonely proposition when you realize/That's there's less days in front of the horse/Than riding in the back of this cart" (I so appreci- ate the song that I won’t even point out the glaring screw-up in gram- mar. Am I magnanimous or what?) With that as set up, I lately am more and more focused on what it’s like to continue down the path on which we each find ourselves. I don’t mean in some "Oh-my-God- we’re-all-going-to-die!" end-of-the- world manner. Rather, I would compare it more to studying an owner’s manual. I’ve got this body, this machine; I want to know how it works so I can experience it to its fullest. And I better learn about it before it’s too late. One of the less pleasant percep- tions many of us share is that we become more forgetful once we hit middle age; we don’t remember our glasses are on top of our heads; or we climb stairs and forget why we wanted to go upstairs in the first place. It’s puzzling, frustrating, and, at times, a bit frightening. To the rescue comes a new book, "The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain" by Barbara Strauch, whereby she points out that there's little reason to accept the conventional wisdom that we suffer a decline in brain- power as we age. "We're wasting the best brains of our lives. We should appreciate them," says she. ("Here! Here!" says I.) Contrary to popu- lar belief, our brain powers up and grows in cognitive ability as we age, reorga- nizing itself and using more of its parts to solve problems. Studies are proving that peak brain performance is actually between 40 and 68 years of age, what most people call "middle age." However, even in our early 70s, the average age when cognitive decline is seen, many of us just keep cruising along without such symptoms. Even while the brain slows down, the growth in cognitive depth and rea- soning power causes a "net gain" during this period of our lives, Strauch said. We're brought up to think it's going to be doom and gloom once we hit empty-nest. Yet, says Strauch, the proverbial "midlife cri- sis" only affects about five percent of us. Beyond that, we denizens of the land of middle age actually feel we have a greater sense of control over our lives. That’s a blessing all by itself, but scientists have linked that emotional well-being with mental alertness and a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease. And it doesn’t stop there. The aging brain appears to selectively focus on positive memories rather than on stress or negativity, according to Stanford psychologist Laura Carstensen. As it turns out, research has found out that the due to the brain’s ability to better regular emotion, we experience increased feelings of well-being between the ages of 40 and 60. Scott Q. Marcus Of course, there are things we can do to help keep our brains healthy longer including exer- cising, trying new men- tal activities, eating in a healthy fashion, and minding our moods. It seems keeping a positive attitude is sur- prisingly important to our gray matter. After reading about what happens during these years, that’s not as difficult to do as it was pre- viously. Scott "Q" Marcus is a THINspirational speaker and author. Since losing 70 pounds over 15 years ago, he works with overloaded people and organizations who are looking to improve communication, change bad habits, and reduce stress. He can be reached for consulting, workshops, or presentations at 707.442.6243 or scottq@scottqmarcus.com. He will sometimes work in exchange for chocolate. LMHS Alumni award scholarships Los Molinos — The Los Molinos High School Alumni Association hon- ored 11 deserving and tal- ented graduating high school seniors during a recent awards night held on June 8. The following students were awarded a $500 Los Molinos High School Alumni Association schol- arship; Michael Boland, Brooke Hencratt, William Mathues and Carolyna Salazar. D NEWSAILY HOW TO REACH US RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY THE VOICE OF TEHAMA COUNTY SINCE 1885 VOLUME 125, NUMBER 175 On the Web: www.redbluffdailynews.com MAIN OFFICE: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Main Phone (530) 527-2151 Outside area 800-479-6397 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080 ______________________ Fax: (530) 527-5774 ______________________ Mail: Red Bluff Daily News P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 CUSTOMER SERVICE: Subscription & delivery Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. (530) 527-2151 Ext. 125 subscription rates (All prices include all applicable taxes) Monday through Saturday $9.59 four weeks Rural Rate $10.69 four weeks Business & professional rate $2.21 four weeks, Monday-Friday By mail: In Tehama County $12.29 four weeks All others $16.23 four weeks (USPS 458-200) Published Monday through Saturday except Sunday, by California Newspaper Partnership. Home delivery NEWS News Tip Hotline: 527-2153 FAX: (530) 527-9251 E-mail: clerk@redbluffdailynews.com Daytime: Sports: Obituaries: Tours: (530) 527-2151 Ext. 111 Ext. 103 Ext. 112 After hours:(530) 527-2153 ______________________ ADVERTISING Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Display: 527-2151 Ext. 122 Classified: 527-2151 Ext. 103 Online (530) 527-2151 Ext. 133 FAX: (530) 527-5774 E-mail: advertise@redbluffdailynews.com SPECIAL PAGES ON THE FOLLOWING DAYS Mondays: Kids Corner Tuesdays: Employment Wednesdays: Business Thursdays: Entertainment Fridays: Select TV Saturdays: Farm, Religion Publisher & Advertising Director: Greg Stevens gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Editor: Chip Thompson editor@redbluffdailynews.com Sports Editor: Rich Greene sports@redbluffdailynews.com Circulation Manager: Kathy Hogan khogan@redbluffdailynews.com Production Manager: Sandy Valdivia sandy@redbluffdailynews.com newspaper of general circulation, County of Tehama, Superior Court Decree 9670, May 25, 1955 © 2010 Daily News The Red Bluff Daily News is an adjudicated daily 90 years ago... Tehama County Teacher Makes Good Sacramento Tests The friends of Miss Maurice Dyer have received good news that she passed the examinations conduct- ed for eligibility to teach in the Sacramento schools with high honors. Miss Dyer stood eighth among a large number of aspirants for positions on the teach- ing staff in the capital city. She is a 1914 graduate of the local high school. — Daily News, June 14, 1920 The Association admin- isters two other scholar- ships that are funded by the families of past alumni. The following students were awarded a $500 Warren Conklin Scholarship; John Conrad, Michael Griffith, Patricia Ocampo and Hort- encia Vargas. The follow- ing students were awarded a $500 Reed-Talcott Schol- arship; Emily Anderson and Kendric Brewer. The Los Molinos High School Alumni Associa- tion is an organization that is composed of former graduates, spouses and other community members who give their time, talents and financial contributions to help the school years Courtesy photo Back row, from left, are Emily Anderson, Kendric Brewer, Michael Boland, Brooke Hencratt, William Mathues and Carolyna Salazar. Front row, from left, are John Conrad, Michael Griffith, Monica Maxwell, Patricia Ocampo and Hortencia Vargas. after they have graduated and in some cases left the area. Along with awarding annual scholarships to graduating seniors, the Association allocates close to $1,000 a year to the school in donations for var- ious programs, including; Free computer classes for adults at high school Red Bluff High School Adult Education will be sober graduation, athletics, library fund and other stu- dent related activities/ser- vices. Since 1993, the Association has given over $80,000 to the Los Molinos High School. Information about join- ing or supporting the Los Molinos Alumni Associa- tion is available from LMHSAA at P.O. Box 1031. Los Molinos, CA 96055. The next LMH- SAA Board Meeting will be held; Saturday, June 26 at 1 p.m. inside the LMHS library. COMMUNITY CLIPS offering three weeks of free computer classes Mon- days and Wednesdays 4-5:25 p.m. and 5:30-7 p.m. beginning today and June 16. Class is limited to 15. The class, at 1295 Red Bud, includes More Win- dows XP: back up files to removable storage devices, burn CDs and maintain your computer. For more information, call 200-2661. We all scream for ice cream at Wednesday blood drive Donors at the Red Bluff Community blood drive Wednesday, June 16, will receive ice cream coupons in the "Pint for a Pint" program. Sponsored by Red Bluff Emblem club, the drive will be at the Red Bluff Veterans Memorial building, Oak and Jackson streets. Registration is 2-6 p.m. BloodSource and Baskin-Robbins are cooperating to provide the one-pint coupons. No appointment is necessary and it is open to the community. The proce- dure takes about one hour, including the 10-minute rest period when juice, homemade cookies and snacks are served by Emblem volunteers. People in general good health are usually able to donate. Basic requirements are at least 17 years of age, or 16 with parental permission, weight of at least 110 pounds. BloodSource staff check blood pressure, pulse, hemocrit and other basics. A donor card or photo identification is required.