Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/277609
The public is invited to attend the Tehama County CattleWomen's Beef Ambas- sador contest, which will be 5 p.m. Sunday at the Tehama County Farm Bureau office, 275 Sale Lane, Red Bluff. Both a Junior and a Senior Beef Ambassador will be se - lected for 2014. Competing for the Junior Beef Ambas- sador title are Kevin Dean, Danielle Mueller, Kayla Mc- Giffin, Mahlon Owens, Emyli Palmer and Kegan Richards. Katie Palmer is seeking the Senior Beef Ambassador ti - tle. This year because of the outstanding group running for Junior Beef Ambassador, there will be a junior ambas - sador runner up selected. Among the six junior beef ambassador contestants is 13-year-old McGiffin who at - tends Reeds Creek School and comes from a family of ranchers. Palmer is also 13 years old, a student at Ber - rendos Middle School and has been involved in 4-H and raises steers. Owens, 15, is a 5th generation cattle rancher and attends Mercy High School. Dean, who is 16 , has been showing cat - tle since he was 7, and is a student at Los Molinos High School. Richards is 15, raises cattle for the Tehama County Fair and attends Red Bluff High School. Also attending Red Bluff High is 16-year-old Danielle Muel - ler, who is active in Future Farmers of America. Palmer is seeking the senior ambas- sador title. She is a senior at Los Molinos High School and is also a member of Future Farmers of America. Each contestant will an - swer consumer questions about beef products and the cattle industry. Prior to the public meeting, the contes - tants will meet with judges for a personal interview and to write a response to a cur- rent beef industry issue. Serving on the Beef Am- bassador Contest commit- tee are Carrie Rohr, chair- man, Kari Dodd and Kelly Mouton. The winning ambassa- dors will receive training to represent the beef industry. During their term as am- bassador, they will address issues about the cattle busi- ness in schools, workplaces, and in the community. The Beef Ambassadors will also represent the cattle indus - try at numerous events, in- cluding Farm Day, Educa- tion Day, the CattleWomen's annual luncheon and fash- ion show and the Cattlemen's winter dinner. The senior, junior and ju- nior runner up Beef Ambas- sadors will receive scholar- ships at the end of the term. The winners of the contest will travel to San Jose on April 26, where they will compete for the California Beef Ambassador titles. The beef ambassadors for 2014 will join a long list of ambassadors who have done an outstanding job of repre - senting the Tehama County beef industry. To do Beef ambassadors to be selected If you are hop- ing that one day soon I, your hum- ble columnist, will find the error of my ways and fall in love with debit cards, you can probably stop hop - ing. I doubt if that will ever happen. In fact, I've just discovered why I also am not a fan of the prepaid debit card. First, a quick definition: A prepaid debit card, un - like a debit card that takes money directly from a bank account, draws from funds stored right on the card it - self. Also called a reload- able debit card, a prepaid debit card appeals to a va- riety of users. The primary market for prepaid cards are unbanked people -- those who do not use banks or credit unions for their fi - nancial transactions, for any number of reasons. Prepaid debit cards ap- pear to be all the rage these days. MasterCard and Visa market theirs as gift cards. Government assistance is distributed in many areas via a prepaid debit card. A growing number of American companies are replacing paychecks and even direct deposits with prepaid debit cards issued by their employers. Employees can use these ca rd s, w hi ch w or k l ik e debit cards, at an ATM to withdraw their pay. And what's so wrong about that? I'll tell you with one little word: Fees! In the overwhelm - ing majority of cases, using a prepaid debit card involves a fee. If you purchase one for a birthday gift, you pay a hefty fee up - front. Then your recip- ient is going to pay fees to use it, if it becomes inactive and even a fee to check on the available bal - ance. Those fees can add up quickly. For example, one pro- vider charges $1.75 of the available balance on the card when an employee uses it to make a with - drawal from an ATM, $2.95 for a paper statement and $6 to replace the card. Some users even have to pay a $7 inactivity fee for not using their cards. One employee who is paid via debit card earning minimum wage, reportedly spends $40 to $50 a month on fees associated with his payroll card. Outrageous! Recently, Consumer Re - ports sampled 16 prepaid cards, rating them from best to worst. The final conclusion was that all pre - paid cards are loaded with fees and weak on protec- tion. Fees vary widely from one card to the next and include: initiation or acti- vation fees, monthly fees, point of sale transaction fees, cash withdrawal fees, balance inquiry fees, transaction statements, including paper and other, customer service fees, bill payment fees, fees to add or "load" funds, dor - mancy fees, fees to get re- maining funds when clos- ing the account and over- draft or "shortage" fees. Whew! That's a lot of fees. In the case of credit cards, the issuers expect to earn a profit by charg - ing interest. And with debit cards, fees are what keep the issuers in the black. And that makes me see red. If your employer has gone the payroll debit-card route, contact your human resources department or fi - nance/payroll department; you can often opt out of get- ting paid with cards. Sign up for direct deposit in- stead, and bank with a low- fee or no-fee checking ac- count. If you're in the habit of purchasing prepaid debit cards to give as gifts, what are you thinking? Switch to giving a check or cash. I know of no good reason you should be willing to pay a fee of any amount to have access to your own hard- earned income. 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 The trouble with prepaid debit cards The inaugural Tehama County Veterans Expo is scheduled 5-8 p.m. Wednes- day, March 26 at the Veter- ans Memorial Hall, 735 Oak St., in Red Bluff. Pizza and beverages will be served and door prizes will be awarded. Veterans and their fami - lies, families of active duty military, veterans' service providers and the general public are invited. Admis - sion is free. "The purpose of this expo is to create an awareness of veterans' issues," said Orle Jackson, one of the organiz - ers, "and to help publicize veterans' services. We also want to promote actions that will improve services for our veterans." During the first part of the program 5-6:30 p.m., there will be representa - tives available from many veteran service organiza- tions. From 6:30 to 8 p.m., several presentations will be made along with a panel presentation on medical and mental health, home - less and housing, women, family and employment is- sues. This program is being planned by the newly orga- nized Tehama County Vet- erans Collaborative com- posed of representatives of the Tehama County Veter- ans Services, Redding Vet- erans Resource Center, Ma- rine Corps League, PTSD Support Group, American Legion, VFW, California EDD, Social Security Ad - ministration, Tehama To- gether and Project Healing Waters. The expo is being spon- sored by Tehama County Employers Advisory Coun- cil and Tehama County Democrats. For additional informa- tion, call Tehama Together at 530-527-2223. To do Veterans expo set March 26 Mary Hunt Today Red Bluff Celebrate Recovery: 7 p.m., Bethel Assembly of God, 625 Luther Road, 527-0445 or 366-6298 Nutrition Classes: 12:30- 2 p.m, Northern Valley Catholic Social Service, 220 Sycamore #101, 528- 7947 Red Bluff Rotary Club Sunrise: 7 a.m., M&M Ranch CoRNiNg Car Show: 5-9 p.m., Bar- tels Giant Burger, 22355 Corning,Road, local car clubs welcome, 824-2788 Saturday Red Bluff frontier Village farmers Market: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., 645 Antelope Blvd. EBT accepted Red Bluff Relays fun runs: 7:30 a.m. registra- tion, 9 a.m. start, Red Bluff Diversion Dam, 5K, 5K relay, 1-mile The Secret garden: 3 and 7 p.m., State Theatre, Missoula Children's Theater Production TehaMa Tehama County Museum: 1-4 p.m., 275 C St., groups by appointment, 384-2595 Sunday Red Bluff aa live and let live: noon and 8 p.m., 785 Mu- sick St., meets seven days a week al-anon New Comers at heart: 7-8 p.m., North Valley Baptist Church, 345 David Ave., 690-2034 Kelly-griggs house Mu- seum: 1-3 p.m., 311 Wash- ington St., group tours by appointment, 527-1129 or 527-5895 TehaMa Tehama County Museum: 1-4 p.m., 275 C St., groups by appointment, 384-2595 Monday Red Bluff Community Band re- hearsal: 7-9 p.m., Presby- terian Church on Jefferson Street, 527-3486 english as a Second lan- guage class: 5:30-8:30 p.m., Red Bluff High School Adult Ed building, 1295 Red Bud, 736-3308, same time Tuesday and Wednesday and 9 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. Thursdays, free childcare from 9 a..m. to 12:20 p.m. classes in Richlieu Hall, 900 Johnson St. gastric Bypass Support group: 6 p.m., St. Elizabeth Community Hospital, Co- lumba room, 529-3066 head injury Recreational entity: 10 a.m., St. Eliza- beth Community Hospital, Coyne Center, Rusty, 529- 2059 Key to life: 6 p.m., Fam- ily Resource Center, 220 Sycamore St. Ste. 101, 528-8066 Pal Martial arts: 3-5 p.m., ages 5-18, 1005 Vista Way, Ste. C, free, 529- 7950 Retired and active feder- al employees: 11:45 a.m., Cozy Diner 259 S Main St., call Karen at 585-2494 Red Bluff Senior Writ- ing Class: 10: a.m.- noon,,Executive Room at Sycamore Center, 220 Sycamore St., 527-5762 Salvation army Writing Class: 9:30-11:30 a.m., 940 Walnut St., 527-8530 Sun Country Quilters Community Service group: 9 a.m. to noon, Family Resource Center, 220 Sycamore St. Ste. 101, 528-1126 TeenScreen Mental health appointments: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., free, by appointment only, 1900 Walnut St., 527-8491, Ext. 3012 Tehama County Military family Support group: 6 p.m., Countryside Cafe, 638 Washington St. ToPS Club (take off pounds Sensibly): 8:30 a.m., First Christian Church, 926 Madison Ave., 527-7541 or 347-6120, visit www.tops.org uS citizenship prepara- tion class: 5:30-8:30 p.m., Red Bluff High School Adult Ed building, 1295 Red Bud, 736-3308, same time Tuesday and Wednesday Venture Crew 1914 meet- ing: 6:30-8 p.m., Moose Lodge on 99W, co-ed ages 14-20 welcome CoRNiNg alcoholics anonymous, noon Monday through friday: 5 p.m. Thursday, 7 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Saturday and 1 p.m. Sun- day, 783 Solano St., behind the Church Bingo: 5:15 p.m. early bird, 6:30 p.m. regular games, Maywood Grange, High- way 99W just past Liberal Avenue, 833-5343 exchange Club member- ship meeting: 7 p.m., Iron Skillet Kirkwood School Board: 5 p.m., 2049 Kirkwood Road Narcotics anonymous: 7 p.m., 820 Marin St., 824- 1114 or 586-0245, daily through Saturday: noon Mondays, no meeting the third Wednesday Sewing group: 9 a.m., Family Resource Center, West and South streets, 824-7670 Spanish adult education: 5 p.m., Family Resource Center, West and South streets, 824-7670 Strategies for Success, life Skill classes: 1:30 p.m., Family Resource Center, West and South streets, 824-7670 Weight Watchers: weigh in 5:30 p.m., meeting 6 p.m., Senior Center, Kayla Deihl leader loS MoliNoS Senior dance: 7 p.m., Senior Center, Josephine Street, 384-2100 CoTToNWood Cottonwood garden Club: 10 a.m., 20595 Gas Point Road, potluck lunch to follow, 347-1281. flournoy elementary School Board: 6 p.m., 16850 Paskenta Road Tuesday Red Bluff american legion Mt. lassen Post 167: 7 p.m., Veterans Memorial Hall, 735 Oak St. antelope School Board: 5:30 p.m., Antelope District Board Room, 22600 Ante- lope Blvd. Bend School Board: 4:30 p.m., 22270 Bend Ferry Road Book Club, 6 p.m.: Tehama County Library Childbirth Class: 6:30- 8:30 p.m., St. Elizabeth Community Hospital, Co- lumba Room, 529-8026 City Council: 7 p.m. City Hall, 555 Washington St. CalEndar Regular Haircut $ 2 00 off KWIK KUTS Family Hair Salon 1064 South Main St., Red Bluff • 529-3540 ANY RETAIL PRODUCT 20 % off with any chemical service of $50 or more Not good with other offers Expires 3/31/14 With coupon Reg. $13.95 I-5 at Liberal Avenue in Corning | 530 528-3500 | www.rollinghillscasino.com New Member Throughout the month of march All new members will receive $15 free slot play Saigon Bistro NEW BUFFET Lunch Express American & International Food Lunch Buffet Wed-Sat 11 - 2:30 DINNER BUFFET Fri-Sat 5pm-8pm Biscuits & Gravy, Meatloaf, Salad Bar, Sushi, Gumbo, Cajun Shrimp, Sandwiches, Fruit Salad and more Wine & Beer - Catering available 723 Walnut St. Red Bluff • 528-9670 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 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 FARM BUILDINGS • ARENAS BULK STORAGE WAREHOUSES • OFFICES SELF STORAGE RV STORAGE AIRCRAFT HANGARS PROCESSING FACILITIES COMPLETE CONCRETE AND BUILDING SERVICE License #812173 #30 Seville Ct. Chico, CA 95928 (530) 345-7296 www.northvalleybuilding.com BUILDINGS LIFESTYLES » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, March 14, 2014 » MORE AT faCeBooK.CoM/RBdailYNeWS AND TWiTTeR.CoM/RedBluffNeWS a5