Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/344045
Idon'treally have a mailbag, but it would be fun if I did. What I do have is a file named EC- Mailbag. That's where I save all of the questions and letters that you, my dear readers, send to me. I just don't have the time to respond person- ally, so I love it when once each week I get to respond to your ques- tions here. Dear Mary: I just read your past column on keeping produce fresh longer. You said to not re- frigerate potatoes. Why not? I have been doing this for several years. — Dee H. Dear Dee: When po- tatoes are stored below 40F, the starch in them turns to sugar. This af- fects the taste, and you will also notice that re- frigerated potatoes turn an ugly brownish color when cooked. The ideal storage con- ditions for potatoes are a dark, cool, well-venti- lated place like the low- est shelf in a pantry. Too much light makes pota- toes turn green. If that happens or if they spout, you can still use them. Just cut off the green spots and the sprouts be- fore you cook them. Next time you cruise the produce section at the supermarket notice how the potatoes are handled: never refriger- ated and kept perfectly dry. Dear Mary: Is it bet- ter to turn off fluorescent lights when you leave the room? I was always told that it took more electric- ity to turn them on than to let them burn all day. — Shirley, H. Dear Shirley: When it comes to residential use, the Department of En- ergy suggests: If you leave a room for more than 15 min- utes, it is most cost effec- tive to turn all lights off whether fluorescent, in- candescent, LED or hal- ogen. You can install smart timers that will do this for you. Check with your local home improvement cen- ter. Dear Mary: I have two daughters in their twen- ties, both are married. One has a terrible credit rating and is getting fur- ther and further into debt. The other daughter and her husband have recently graduated from college and are very good money managers. They are bud- geting, saving a down payment for a house and paying off their col- lege loans very quickly. I am afraid that my one daughter will become very jealous of her sister's financial successes. Do I just stand back and let it happen? I see this as a di- saster waiting to happen. — Cheryl S. Dear Cheryl: You've got a sympathetic ear in me. I have two adult sons and I know how my motherly heart wants to fix every little thing in their lives. But we both know that's about the worst thing we can do for our adult chil- dren. Our "brilliant help" is not always appreci- ated the way we think it should be. So I'm going tell you what I would tell myself if I were in your situation: Back off. It is not your business. Your children are adults with lives of their own. Both of them are learning to live with the consequences of the choices they make, both good and bad. As tempting as it might be for you give (or lend) money to your spendthrift daughter in an effort to level the playing field (I'm as- suming that's what you have in mind here), that would be a terrible mis- take. It will only put a Band-Aid on the real problem and it could alienate your other daughter. I suggest that you focus your energy on coming up with a list of resources she'll need, such as credit counsel- ing, books and other re- sources, so that when she does come to you for help, you'll be ready to give her what she really needs — and wants — to turn around her finan- cial situation. MaryHuntisthefounder of www.DebtProofLiving. com, a personal finance member website. You can email her at mary@eve- rydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheap- skate, P.O. Box 2099, Cy- press, CA 90630. EVERYDAYCHEAPSKATE Best location for potato storage Mary Hunt RED BLUFF Twenty-nine students from Tehama County participated in a week-long camp at the Shasta College Tehama Campus, June 23-27, to get a hands-on education in wa- ter science and drought. The students were split into working groups and throughout the week had to create a public aware- ness campaign related to a water issue. The week culminated in each group presenting their campaign to their friends, family and com- munity members on Friday evening. Public awareness cam- paign topics included: State-Wide Water Conser- vation, Irrigation, Prevent- ing Oil Spills to Help Keep Marine Life Clean, Drought Awareness, Water Con- servation for Home Own- ers, and Water Conserva- tion for Schools. The post- ers for these campaigns will be displayed throughout Te- hama County for the rest of the summer. "I am so glad that we were able to provide this experience for these stu- dents," said Lauren Tingley, an advisor for the UC Davis' Gear Up program. "As a high school stu- dent I remember being in- terested in science, but having limited opportuni- ties to learn about differ- ent careers in STEM. My 10th grade biology teacher at West Valley was the per- son who encouraged me to get my bachelor's degree in microbiology, a field that at the time I didn't even know was an option. During this week students were able to learn about careers and de- grees related to geology, hydrology, recreation man- agement, watershed man- agement and chemistry; opening up an entire world of opportunities." Along with developing the public awareness cam- paign, the week included a field trip to Whiskeytown Lake and Shasta Dam, daily science experiments, water Olympic games and guest speakers that included a wastewater treatment ex- pert, an environmental ed- ucation and watershed ex- pert and irrigation systems specialists. A team from Washing- ton State University, Van- couver, also came to assist the students in creating an augmented reality display of the information gained throughout the week, which was shared with families and community members at the Friday night celebra- tion. When asked whether the camp influenced their col- lege and career goals, Ca- leb Delong, a student par- ticipant, said it had. "This week has encour- aged me to go pursue a ca- reer in science," Delong said. Another student, Ari- ana Serrano, said that her favorite part of the exper- iments was "Working with my teammates." The day camp was coor- dinated by the College Op- tions UC Davis Gear Up program, which helps stu- dents prepare to enter and succeed in college, and the program was developed in partnership with the Shasta College Tehama Campus, Tehama County Depart- ment of Education, Tehama County Resource Conserva- tion District, Expect More Tehama, and the Job Train- ing Center. College Options was es- tablished December 2003 in Redding. The primary func- tion is to impact prepara- tion for, knowledge about and access to postsecond- ary education in Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, Trinity and Modoc counties. College Options pro- vides free programs and services to strengthen the college and career readi- ness culture in the North State, and helps students of all ages and their families make informed decisions about post-high school ed- ucational opportunities. Its goal is to assist students with making a plan for their future and help them take the right steps to make it happen. http://www.colleg- eoptions.org. EDUCATION 29 t ee ns c om pl et e sc ie nc e of w at er c am p COURTESYPHOTO A week-long camp at the Shasta College Tehama Campus gave students a hands-on education in water science and drought. Today REDBLUFF California HEAT Chorus - Sweet Adelines: 7p.m., Meteer School multipurpose room, 695Kimball Road, 895-0139 Childbirth Class: 6:30- 8:30p.m., St. Elizabeth Community Hospital, Columba Room, 888-628- 1948 Fun Senior Aerobics: 8-9 a.m., $1, Community Center, 1500S. Jackson St. 527- 8177 Grief Support Group: 3-5 p.m., Coyne Center, Kristin Hoskins 528-4207 Imagination Train story hour: 4p.m., Tehama County Library Kelly-Griggs House Museum: 1-3p.m., 311 Washington St., group tours by appointment, 527-1129or 527-5895 La Leche League: 11a.m., Sunrise Bible Fellowship, 956Jackson St., 347-0562 or 527-6818 Live country music, with dinner: 5-7p.m., Veterans Hall Painting session, Red Bluff Art Association: 10 a.m., Tehama District Fair- ground, 529-1603 PAL Martial Arts: 3-5p.m., ages 5-18, 1005Vista Way, Ste. C, free, 529-7950 Penny Bingo: 9:30a.m., Community Center, 1500S. Jackson St. Phoenix Community Sup- port Group: 11:30a.m., Presbyterian Church, 838 Jefferson St., 945-2349 Pinochle for Seniors: 12:30-3:30p.m., 1500S. Jackson St., free, 527-8177 Red Bluff Exchange Club: noon, M&M Ranch House, 645Antelope Blvd. #1 Red Bluff Lions Club: 6 p.m., Veterans Memorial, 527-8452 Rock Choir: 4p.m., 601 Monroe St., free, all wel- come Senior Chair Volleyball: 1p.m. Community Center, 1500S. Jackson St. Sunrise Speakers Toast- masters: noon, 220Syca- more St. Swinging Squares Square Dance Club: 7p.m., Com- munity Center, 1500S. Jackson St., beginner or review classes, 529-1615 Tehama County Planning Commission Workshop: 9 a.m., 727Oak St., 527-2200 Widowed Persons Dinner: 5p.m., call 384-2471for location Women's Domestic Violence Information and Support Group: call for group time and location, 528-0226 CORNING Cal-Fresh and Healthy Family appointments: 1-3p.m., Family Resource Center, 1488South St., 824-7670 Corning Friends of the Li- brary: 2p.m., 740Third St. Dance with Juana: noon, Family Resource Center, 1488South St., 824-7670 Degree of Pocahontas Silver Cloud Council #168: 7p.m. Independent Grange 470, 20945Corning Road, 824-1114or 586-1065 Domestic Violence In- formation and Support Group: call for group time and location, 528-0226 Dual Diagnosis Group: 1:30-3p.m., 1600Solano St., 527-8491, Ext. 3309 ESL/Citizenship classes: 9a.m. - 11a.m., Family Resource Center, West and South streets, 824-7670 Sewing group: 9a.m., Family Resource Center, West and South streets, 824-7670 Soccer training: 4-6p.m., Woodson School soccer field, 150N Toomes Ave. 824-7680 COTTONWOOD Cottonwood Creek Water- shed Board of Directors: 5:30p.m., 3645Main St. Friday RED BLUFF Bingo: doors at 5p.m., early birds at 6p.m. Community and Senior Center, food available Celebrate Recovery: 7 p.m., Bethel Assembly of God, 625Luther Road, 527- 0445or 366-6298 Red Bluff Rotary Club Sunrise: 7a.m., M&M Ranch CORNING Car Show: 5-9p.m., Bar- tels Giant Burger, 22355 Corning,Road, local car clubs welcome, 824-2788 Nutrition Classes: 11:30 a.m. to 1p.m., 175Solano St., 824-7670 Saturday RED BLUFF Airplane Display Days: 8 a.m. to 1p.m., Red Bluff Airport, 1760Airport Blvd., 527-6547 Chamber Certified Farm- ers Market: 7:30a.m. to noon, River Park, 527-6220 Frontier Village Farmers Market: 8a.m. to 1p.m., 645Antelope Blvd. Tehama County Young Marine Drills: 9a.m. to 3 p.m., 1005Vista Way, Ste. C. 366-0813 TEHAMA Tehama County Museum: 1-4p.m., 275C St., groups by appointment, 384-2595 Sunday RED BLUFF AA Live and Let Live: noon and 5:30p.m., 785Musick St., seven days a week except Thursday meets at 8p.m. Airplane Display Days: 8 a.m. to 1p.m., Red Bluff Airport, 1760Airport Blvd. Al-Anon New Comers At Heart: 6:30-7:30p.m., Presbyterian Church of Red Bluff, 838Jefferson Road, Room 2, 690-2034 Kelly-Griggs House Museum: 1-3p.m., 311 Washington St., group tours by appointment, 527-1129or 527-5895 TEHAMA Tehama County Museum: 1-4p.m., 275C St., groups by appointment, 384-2595. Monday RED BLUFF Antelope 4-H: 6:30p.m., Antelope School, 527-3101 Community Band Concert: 8p.m., River Park, free English as a Second Lan- guage class: 5:30-8:30 p.m., 1295Red Bud, 736- 3308, same time Tuesday and Wednesday and 9a.m. to 12:20p.m. Thursdays, free childcare, classes in Richlieu Hall, 900Johnson St. CALENDAR | LIFESTYLES | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2014 4 A
