Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/275218
Surely the winter of 2014 will go down in the history books for breaking numer- ous records and for teaching us a new term: polar vortex. Sounds like the title of a Dis- ney movie, doesn't it? Actually — and i had to look this up to be absolutely sure to get it right — the polar vortex is a prevail - ing wind pattern that nor- mally keeps extremely cold air bottled up toward the north pole. However, once in a rare while the vortex weakens, allowing the cold air to pour down across Canada and into the U.S. And that spells another term, and the subject of this column: snow. Cold, wet, heavy snow. Although shoveling the stuff to keep driveways and walkways clear seems pretty straightforward, there's a subtle art to the task. And it helps to have the right equip - ment. But first a word of caution: shoveling snow is not a task for the weak of heart. We know this be - cause after a snowfall, hos- pitals are in- undated with heart attack victims and patients with w r e n c h e d backs. If you're out of shape or suffer health problems, hire a local teen or befriend a neighbor with a snow blower instead. 1. Use a good shovel. You want a shovel with a scoop that is wide at the bottom and has a long handle with an ergonomic bend to al - low you to work with mini- mal bending. You also want a shovel with a no-stick sur- face. The no. 1 Pick out of 25 shovels tested by the folks at the sweet home blog, the True temper mountain mover (ever yd aycheap - s k a t e .C o m /s n o w s h o v e l) fits the criteria perfectly and is affordably priced at about $25. Adding a back - saver grip attachment to the shovel will reduce the risk of injury. 2. Have a plan. Before you even take your first scoop, decide where you're going to dump the snow. Drop the first shovelful farther away from where you are stand - ing, then dump remaining snow closer and closer to where you are. That way, the last scoops that you shovel are moved the shortest dis- tance. 3. Think rectangles. Ev- erything from a driveway to a patio to a walkway is really a rectangle, and rectangles have a center point. Move the snow from the center of the rectangle to the nearest edge. 4. Don't be fussy. You want to do a thorough job, but don't become perfec - tionistic about removing every last bit. Once you ex- pose a good deal of the sur- face below, the darker color of the concrete, asphalt or dirt will more readily ab- sorb the sun's heat and melt what remains. Or it will just snow again. 5. Team up. Shoveling with a friend or neighbor is always more enjoyable than shoveling on your own. Be - sides, two or three sets of hands can get the job done a lot quicker. Mary Hunt is the founder of www.debtproofliving.com, a personal finance member website. You can email her at mary@everydaycheapskate. Com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2099, Cypress, CA 90630. EvEryday ChEapskatE How to shovel snow, without injury, in a polar vortex Mary Hunt Columnist By don thompson The Associated Press saCraMENtO » School dis- tricts and the state would be required to do a bet- ter job of tracking stu- dents who miss class un- der proposed legislation announced Monday that is designed to lower Califor- nia's dropout rate. The package of bills would write into law rec- ommendations from a re- port released by Attorney General Kamala Harris in September. The report, entitled "In School and On Track," says 30 percent of the state's el - ementary school students miss enough school each year to harm their aca- demic performance. The report says about one million students were considered truant in the 2012-2013 school year, cost - ing their school districts a combined $1.4 billion in funding the state distrib- utes based on students' at- tendance. The law defines truancy as being absent or arriv- ing more than 30 minutes late without a valid excuse three times in a school year. Students who miss 10 per - cent of the school year with- out good reason are con- sidered to be chronically truant, which experts say increases their risk of fail- ing. "It's ver y predictable that the elementary school truant will end up being a high school dropout," Har - ris said. The legislation Harris is seeking would require schools to increase their re - porting of truant students, which she said would help officials find ways to get them back in school. "If we don't know what the problem is or where the problem is, we can't solve it," said Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, who is carrying one of the bills. Of the million students considered truant during the last school year, Har - ris' report projected that 250,000 elementary school students missed 18 or more school days, or 10 percent of the school year. It found that 20,000 el - ementary school students missed at least 36 days of school. Harris previously backed a bill passed in 2010 that lets prosecutors charge parents with misdemeanors, bring - ing up to a year in jail and $2,000 fine, if their children miss too much school. That law is used spar - ingly, according to Harris' report, with district attor- neys reporting prosecuting an average of three to six cases each year. Harris and lawmakers carrying this year's bills said the earlier measure was designed not to turn parents into criminals, but to give school and law en - forcement officials a way to get parents' attention. One bill proposed this year, AB2141, would require pros - ecutors to report to school officials the outcome of such legal referrals. Among other bills: — SB1107 would require the attorney general's office to file an annual report sim - ilar to the one Harris pro- duced last year. — A B1643 would re- quire that every school district create a School At- tendance Review Board in- cluding parents, teachers, administrators and law en- forcement. — AB1672 would require the review boards to collect and report more informa - tion about truant students. — AB1866 would require the state Department of Education to collect atten - dance data. Attorney general promoting bills to cut down on truancy No damage or injuries despite 6.8 magnitude The Associated Press EUrEka » One of the largest earthquakes to hit California in decades rattled the state's northern coast, but its depth and distance from shore re - duced the impact on land, where there were no reports of injuries or damage, scien- tists and authorities said on Monday. The magnitude-6.8 quake struck at 10:18 p.m. PDT Sunday and was centered 50 miles west of Eureka and about 10 miles beneath the Pacific seabed, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was initially reported as a magnitude-6.9, but later downgraded. By late Monday morn - ing, it had already produced 20 aftershocks of magni- tude-3.5 or larger, and more were expected over the com- ing days, said Keith Knud- sen, deputy director of the USGS's Earthquake Science Center in Menlo Park Knudsen said there was also a 5 to 10 percent chance of a larger quake in the area in the next week. Sunday's quake was felt widely across the region, but both fire and sheriff's of - ficials in Humboldt County said they had no reports of any damage or injuries. Humboldt County includes most of the populated areas closest to the epicenter. "Everybody felt it region- wide to the point that there was concern for damage," said Humboldt County Sher - iff's Lt. Steve Knight. But other than triggering some home alarms, the county es- caped unharmed, he said. "We're very grateful." There was no tsunami danger for the region as well, according to the National Tsunami Warning Center. More than 3,000 people reported on the USGS web - site that they felt the quake within hours of it striking, including some across the border in Oregon. "It was a big bump and then it rolled for about 30 seconds," said Diana Harralson, 64, who lives in an apartment in Rio Dell, about 55 miles southeast of the earthquake's epicenter. "It was a real good shaker." Ha rra lson said some knickknacks fell off the wall, but there was no damage. A California native who has experienced other earth - quakes, she said she and her cat slept comfortably through the night. Amandip Heer, a manager at a 76 Gas Station and con - venience store in Eureka, de- scribed the quake as a "vi- bration," but said nothing fell off the shelves at the store, and there was no other dam- age. Earthquakes are very common in Eureka, a city of about 27,000 people about 270 miles northwest of San Francisco and 100 miles south of the Oregon state line. Nearby Arcata is home to about 17,000 people and Humboldt State University. Since 1980, there have been 10 earthquakes greater than magnitude-6 in the area, Knudsen said. Califor - nia has experienced at least seven earthquakes of mag- nitude-6.9 over the same pe- riod, according to the USGS. Sunday's quake was far enough from shore to allow much of its energy to dissi - pate, Knudsen said. "We're fortunate it didn't strike closer to a populated area," he said. An offshore earthquake of magnitude-7.2 about 30 miles southwest of Eureka in 1992 left 95 people injured and caused tens of millions of dollars in damage, accord - ing to the USGS. The earthquake was felt as far south as San Fran- cisco. It was followed by a mag- nitude-6.5 earthquake about 12 hours later and a magni- tude-6.7 earthquake a few hours after that, both of which caused additional damage. NOrthErN CalifOrNia Depth, distance reduce impact of California quake Jae C. Hong — THe assoCiaTed Press California attorney general Kamala Harris smiles as she speaks at the California democrats state Convention. saCraMENtO 2 Bud's BBQ 22825 Antelope Blvd. Red Bluff We seat 40 people inside M-F 11am-6pm Sat. 11am-3pm Closed Sunday (530) 528-0799 CATER COMPANY MEETINGS BBQ PORK ★ BEEF ★ CHICKEN 530-366-3166 www.redbluffdodge.com 545 Adobe Rd., Red Bluff, CA Smog Check (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. starting at $ 29 95 + $ 8 25 certificate SERVICES AT LOWER PRICES All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened 30K, 60K, 90K Members Welcome RUNNINGS ROOFING Sheet Metal Roofing Residential Commercial • Composition • Shingle • Single Ply Membrane Owner is on site on every job Serving Tehama County 530-527-5789 530-209-5367 No Money Down! "No Job Too Steep" " No Job Too Flat" FREE ESTIMATES CA. LIC#829089 STOVE JUNCTION The The North State's premier supplier of stoves 22825 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff 530-528-2221 • Fax 530-528-2229 www.thestovejunction.com Over 25 years of experience Tues-Sat 9am-5pm • Closed Sun & Mon Now Carrying! Green Mountain Grills & Accessories Serving Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties 530 529-2040 1355 Vista Way, Red Bluff Complete Autobody Repair INTERCITY BODY & PAINT • Painting • Fiberglass Repair • Exotic Metals • Color Matching • Frame Repair • Spray-In Bedliners • All Auto Manufacturers • Rental Cars Available Factory Trained Specialists In: We accept all Insurance Carriers Kindergarten and Transitional Kindergarten Registration Lassen View Elementary School Wednesday, March 19, 2014 8:30 am until 2:00 pm Lassen View Gymnasium For info call 527-5162 Children must be five years old on or before Sept 1, 2014. I f child's birthday falls between Sept. 2 nd & Dec. 2 nd they will be eligible for Transitional Kindergarten. Bring child's legal birth certificate and immunization records. Kindergarten teachers and the school nurse will be available to help fill out forms and answer questions. There will be a free kindergarten t-shirt and book for those that register on this day! | NEWS | redBLUFFdaiLYneWs.CoM TUesdaY, MarCH 11, 2014 8 a