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The Red Bluff Commu- nity Band is inviting com- munity musicians to come and join in making music. The band is now focused on working up the music for its old fashioned band con- certs held every year down at the Red Bluff River Park 8-9 p.m. every Monday, June through August. Now is the time to get in on the ground floor to be- gin to learn the new mu- sic. Rehearsals are held 7-9 p.m. Mondays at the Pres- byterian Church on Jeffer- son Street. No audition to join. Just show up with your instru- ment and have a desire to have fun making music. Students from junior high on up with at least two years of music instruction are welcome. It is a win- win situation for the stu- dent and the band. The student will get more experience and expo- sure to more music at the same time the band will be enhanced by the participa- tion. This is a great oppor- tunity for the parent who is looking for ways to support and extend their student's exposure to a lot of differ- ent kinds of music. This is how musicians get better, by playing a large variety of different kinds of music and a lot of it. This past year the band had two adults join the band who played 40 plus years ago in high school and thought they would give it try. Blowing the dust off the keys and some relearning of note fingerings may be in order, but it all comes back. These two folks are having a ball playing again, and anyone else can too. New members will be welcome and assisted any way neces- sary to help them get back into the game. Music is something one can do as long as they can breath and hold their head up. The band has members from 12 to 94 years of age playing in it. The band at the end of December had a swing band rehearsal. Every- one had a great time and wanted to continue but be- cause of the spring semester there is a shortage of trum- pet players and a need for a drummer on a set. This band would meet 5:30-6:40 p.m. Monday evenings pre- ceding the concert band re- hearsal. For more information, call 527-3486. MUSICIANS Re d Bl uff C om mu ni ty Band invitation The IRS has been alerted to a new email phishing scam. The emails appear to be from the IRS and in- clude a link to a bogus web- site intended to mirror the official IRS web site. These emails contain the direction "you are to up- date your IRS e-file imme- diately." The emails men- tion USA.gov and IRSgov, though notably not IRS.gov. Don't get scammed. These emails are not from the IRS. Taxpayers who get these messages should not re- spond to the email or click on the links. Instead, they should forward the scam emails to the IRS at phish- ing@irs.gov. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information. SCAM ALERT Em ai l ph is hi ng s cam — update your IRS e-file By Elise Wilson Marybel Torres' desire to teach and help the children in Tehama County took her on a journey to earn her B.A. in liberal studies through Simpson Universi- ty's School of Adult Studies ASPIRE degree-completion program. In addition to be- ing a full-time student, she works multiple jobs and is busy raising her children, Deanna, 6, and Jesus Jr., 5. "Teaching has become my passion, and Simpson is that big step which will allow me to achieve my dream," the Gerber resi- dent said. Torres, along with 146 other students, received degrees during Simpson's winter commencement cer- emony on Saturday. Stu- dents from the traditional undergraduate degree pro- gram, ASPIRE, the School of Education, the School of Graduate Professional Studies, and A.W. Tozer Theological Seminary par- ticipated in the graduation proceedings. Torres was part of a 16-month-long liberal stud- ies degree program that met one night a week, a typ- ical format for the ASPIRE program, which is designed to provide affordable and convenient schooling op- tions for working adults to complete their bachelor's degrees. "The ASPIRE program allowed me and fellow stu- dents to focus on one sub- ject at a time, allowing us to retain information so much better than with traditional schooling," she said. "The hours were reasonable and allowed us to be employ- ees, parents, or even volun- teers." Torres also enjoyed the cohort set-up of the ASIPRE program. "The relationships made in the cohorts are relation- ships for a lifetime," she said. "We found many sim- ilarities in our lives; our co- horts are like an extended family. Support for one an- other was always there." One of the biggest obsta- cles Torres overcame in ob- taining her bachelor's de- gree was finances. "As a single mother, the cost of a higher education is expen- sive," she said. "I was lucky enough to receive several scholarships which allowed me to focus on my school- work and not the financial strain of college." Before the 31-year-old started college, Torres worked as a waitress to help support her family after her father suffered a serious back injury. When she was 21, she was hired to work in the SERRF — Safe Educa- tion and Recreation For Ru- ral Families — Afterschool Program at Los Molinos Elementary School. Even though she had no teach- ing experience, Torres' bi- lingual skills as a Mexican- American made her an as- set in the classroom. In order to advance in her career, Marybel started taking classes at Shasta College in Redding in 2003, and over the course of 10 years, she earned associate degrees in human develop- ment and language arts. She was the first person in her family to go to college. Torres planned to trans- fer to Chico State to finish her bachelor's degree, but ever-changing transfer re- quirements kept putting that goal out of reach. "I felt disappointed," she said. "Being a single mother of two children and working two jobs, I felt defeated." Torres first visited Simp- son in April 2013 when one of her classes at nearby Shasta had been cancelled and she had time before her next class. "I was introduced to a calm and loving campus with welcoming staff," she said. "I was given the best information and introduced to the ASPIRE program. I left the coffee shop with my heart telling me, 'this is where you need to be.'" That same day, Torres de- cided to transfer to Simp- son. She started ASPIRE classes at Simpson in May 2013. She began credential- ing classes through Simp- son's School of Education in fall 2014 and hopes to do her student teaching at Los Molinos Elementary School or Gerber School in Tehama County. Her ultimate goal is to teach in Tehama County with an emphasis on Eng- lish language development. "I want to be a positive role model for Hispanic stu- dents in Tehama County," she said. "I want to change the lives of students and en- courage them to attend col- lege and be an active par- ticipant in their local com- munity." EDUCATION Lo ca l gr ad ua te p ur su es d re am o f te ac hi ng c hi ld re n MarybelTorres Influenza has claimed the life of an adult in Cali- fornia, a somber reminder that the flu can be a seri- ous and deadly disease, ac- cording to a press release from the Tehama County Health and Human Ser- vices Agency. Already this flu season, influenza is widespread in 44 states and has caused 21 pediatric deaths nation- wide. "Flu activity is begin- ning to increase statewide, including reports of hospi- talizations and severe dis- ease," said Dr. Ron Chap- man, director of the Cal- ifornia Department of Public Health (CDPH) and state Health Officer. "We are early on in what could be a severe flu season, and I encourage everyone who has not yet gotten a flu vac- cination to do so. The influ- enza vaccine remains the most effective way to pro- tect yourself from the flu." The agency would like to remind residents that it is not too late to get a flu shot. Flu shots are available at the Tehama County Public Health offices in Red Bluff, 1860 Walnut St., and Corn- ing, 275 Solano St. In Red Bluff, walk-in hours are 8:30 to 12:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and appoint- ment hours are 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2-4:30 p.m. Tuesday. Call for an appointment at (530) 527- 6824. Corning hours are 8:15 a.m. to noon and 1-4:30 p.m. Monday, 1-4:30 p.m. Wednesday and 8:15-11:45 a.m. Friday. Call for an ap- pointment at (530) 824- 4890. Remember that it takes your body two weeks to build up resistance to the flu after receiving the vac- cine, so get in to get your flu shot today to be pro- tected as soon as possible. Chapman notes that in addition to getting vac- cinated, it's important to practice good hand wash- ing and other good health habits. People who are ill should take actions to stop the spread of germs such as while sick, stay home and limit contact with others; cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneez- ing; wash hands thor- oughly with soap and wa- ter, or use an alcohol-based rub and avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Those at highest risk of severe influenza — the el- derly, pregnant women, infants or people with chronic health conditions — who show flu symptoms, should contact their physi- cian immediately in order to get the most effective treatment for influenza. Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches and fatigue. If you have any ques- tions, call the Tehama County Health Services Agency Public Health Divi- sion at 527-6824, 824-4890 or 1-800-655-6854. PUBLIC NOTICE First influenza death in California this season By Mary Nugent mnugent@chicoer.com @ER_MaryNugent on Twitter CHICO Barbara Schrader can't sit around. At 75, she knits hats for people, just to be nice. She makes bead bracelets for older elemen- tary children. She volun- teers for the American Cancer Society three days a week, and she has made a veterans' project her per- sonal mission. Schrader is most happy, she says, when she is doing something for other peo- ple. One of her projects is knitting hats for children at McManus School. Each hat is attached to a stuffed teddy bear. "I gave more than 200 bears with hats to the kids at McManus — kindergar- ten through sixth-graders. I get a lot of the bears at thrift stores, they're nearly new, and people give them to me. The kids are so sweet about it. One year I got a book from some of the second-graders, and they all wrote why they liked getting the bears. It's a keepsake." Schrader makes hats for bears for Chapman School and Loma Vista School. She has made them for newborn babies at Enloe Medical Center, and for 400 homeless children. While she no longer does, she used to make them for youth with disabilities at- tending Pleasant Valley High School. For years, she made gift baskets for children liv- ing at Esplanade House, a transitional housing pro- gram for homeless fami- lies in Chico. She sent 900 of her hats and bears to the military stationed in Afghanistan. "They wanted dark green, blue, black and camo hats. Then they wanted tan. This was all new for us," she said, referring to the help she gets in knitting and bear donation from her friend Lou Boulins. "I can knit a hat in about an hour and a half. But with those dark colors for the military, it takes me about two days. I can't see those dark colors at night," she said. In the past six years, Schrader says she has knit- ted about 5,000 hats. "I live on fixed income so I rely on donations and thrift shops, or I pay for it myself. I just have to keep busy and I love to help," she said. Schrader, who has worked as a florist and managed a rehabilitation facility, also spends her retirement volunteering at The Shop, a fundrais- ing arm of the American Cancer Society. "I redid their wreaths for Christ- mas, and now I'm helping them get ready for a gar- den show they'll have in the spring." She's busy and she likes it that way. But Schrader has also experienced her share of upsets. In the past six years, she has broken a knee and a hip, and had open heart surgery. She also had a broken foot in a car accident. "I learned to knit after I broke my hip. 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