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A local black powder club, the Yolla Bolly Fron- tiersmen, conducted its sec- ond annual Veterans Bene- fit Shoot in February. The group hosted an invitational shoot where other local black powder clubs were invited to send teams and compete in var- ious feats of marksman- ship using replica antique weaponry. The winning team then chose a veterans group to support with the proceeds. This year's shoot pro- duced 58 shooters and raised $1,642. The Louder- back club out of Redding claimed the rights to ap- propriate the endowment. A check was presented to Ron Saiki at a cere- mony on April 12 for Proj- ect Healing Waters in Red- ding, which provides fly fishing outings to disabled veterans and those suffer- ing from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Part of the money was raised by prizes and gift baskets through a silent auction. Prizes were do- nated by members, and businesses out of Corning and Orland. The Tehama County Jr. Clay Busters were pres- ent at the event providing lunches. The money they raised they got to keep. The Frontiersmen group wants to go bigger for next year. Any individual shoot- ers will be grouped together to form teams. Information about this and other activi- ties can be obtained on the group's Facebook page. Yolla Bolly Frontiersmen is a nonprofit organization and 100 percent of the pro- ceeds raised from this event went to the chosen veterans group. FUNDRAISER I really don't know where I got the thing. It might have been a wed- ding gift. What I know is that I tried to use that cast iron skillet with- out success and I mean not even a little bit. Food would become hopelessly stuck to it and burned beyond recogni- tion. If it wasn't turning out charred fare, it was growing a fine coat of rust. I couldn't throw it away, so I banished it to the back of a closet. Years later I pulled that skillet out of detention, de- termined to take on the challenge of cast iron. I am proud to say that I won that battle. I restored my skillet to better-than-new condition and learned how to care for it, use it and thoroughly enjoy it. Ev- ery time I use it — which means every day — it just keeps getting better and better. Can you feel the love? SEASON IT Seasoning a cast iron pan is easy. Rub it down with a thin coat of vegetable oil (in- side and out if it's the first seasoning) and bake it for an hour in an oven heated to 350 F. This pro- duces the first "non-stick" layer. Seasoning can be done as many times as necessary throughout the skillet's life, which is pretty much forever. A cast iron skillet can never have too many layers of seasoning. Mine must have 1,000 layers of sea- soning by now. More will never be enough. NO SOAP While you should wash a brand new cast iron skillet with soap, that's the only time it should ever come in contact with soap or de- tergent for the rest of its life. I know there are those who will disagree with me on this point, but I stand firm: Never use soap on cast iron af- ter that first wash. In- stead, use a hard-bristle brush or stainless steel scrubber to clean it with water. For really tough spots, I use coarse salt and the cut end of a po- tato to scrub it clean. NO SOAKING Never allow a cast iron skillet to soak in water. That will only pro- duce rust — the archen- emy of cast iron cooking. Should you ever develop rust, don't freak. Just get out the salt, scrub it away and then re-season. DRY IMMEDIATELY I dry my skillet over heat on the stove. Once dry (it takes only a couple of minutes), I give the inside a light coat of vegetable oil and it's ready for its next cooking assignment. NO METAL UTENSILS The way to preserve the sea- soning is to use only wood or other nonmetal uten- sils. RE-SEASON You'll soon learn to detect if your pan needs to be re-seasoned. You can never have too much seasoning on a cast iron pan. USE OFTEN Use your cast iron skillet to fry, sear, cook and bake as often as you can. Yes, I'm talking about cooking at home to eat better and save money, too. Get a great cookbook ("The New Cast Iron Skil- let Cookbook" is my favor- ite) with recipes that are ideal for cast iron. You can get a fabulous Lodge 10-inch cast iron skillet for about $15. Bump that up to a 12-inch Lodge skillet for about $30. Or scout out the local thrift store or junk collector. It would not be unusual to find a horribly abused, rusty pile of cast iron pots and skillets just waiting to be rescued. Take care of your cast iron and it will repay the favor in turning out fab- ulously delicious food at your hands. As a bonus, your skillet just may be- come the envy of your friends and family. MaryHuntisthefounder of www.DebtProofLiving. com, a personal finance member website. You can email her at mary@ everydaycheapskate. com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Ste. B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. EVERYDAY CHEAPSKATE My hate-love relationship with a skillet Mary Hunt COURTESYPHOTO A check is presented to Ron Saiki at a ceremony on April 12for Project Healing Waters in Redding. Blackpowdershoot be ne fit s ve te ra ns BBB Booking a summer va- cation? Steer clear of fake offers promising you gift cards in exchange for tak- ing a quick customer sur- vey. This scam keeps crop- ping up, and it's back with a seasonal travel twist. Howthescamworks You receive an email or see a social media post urging you to claim a free voucher or gift card. "You have earned yourself a $100-Gift Card: Take Our- Survey," reads the sub- ject line of one version. This time of year, fake air- line offers are particularly popular, but the "gift card" could be from any well- known brand. The email urges you to click a link and complete a short cus- tomer survey. It sounds easy, but don't do it. These survey scams have a variety of tricks. The link may lead to a real sur- vey, but when you complete it, the $100 gift card hap- pens to be "out of stock." Not coincidentally, all that remains are free samples of spammy products like diet pills and wrinkle cream. In other versions, the form is actually a phish- ing scam that requests banking and credit card information. Or the link may download malware to your computer to steal your passwords and other critical information. Tips to spot a fake voucher scam With many businesses offering discounts in ex- change for customer feed- back, it can be hard to tell a real offer from a fake one. Here are some pointers. Look up the website on WhoIs. Right click on the link and select "Copy Link Address." Then, paste this destination URL into the WhoIs.net directory. This directory will tell you when and to whom a domain is registered. If the URL is brand new, or if the own- ership is masked by a proxy service, consider it a big warning sign of a scam. Watch out for look-alike URLs. Scammers pick URLs that look similar to those of legitimate sites. Be wary of sites that have the brand name as a subdo- main of another URL (i.e. brandname.scamwebsite. com), part of a longer URL (i.e. companynamebook- ing.com) or use an uncon- ventional top level domain (the TLD is the part of the name after the dot). Legitimate businesses do not ask for credit card numbers or banking infor- mation on customer sur- veys. If they do ask for per- sonal information, like an address or email, be sure there's a link to their pri- vacy policy. Watch out for a reward that's too good to be true. If the survey is real, you may be entered in a drawing to win a gift card or receive a small discount off your next purchase. Few busi- nesses give away $100 gift cards just for answering a few questions. To find out more about other scams, check out BBB Scam Stopper at bbb.org/ scam. BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU Simple tips to spot phony survey scams Passages Health Insur- ance Counseling & Advo- cacy Program is presenting free Welcome to Medicare workshops for those turn- ing 65 this year or younger adults who will be entitled to Medicare due to a dis- ability. As people get closer to Medicare eligibility, there are several things to con- sider. In light of the fact that Medicare's coverage is much like employer group coverage it's important to know what questions to ask: How will my retiree plan work with my Medi- care, can I delay enroll- ing into Medicare and not be penalized, do I need a drug plan and are there programs available to lower my Medicare health and prescription costs? Workshops will be of- fered 2-4 p.m. Thursday, July 9, at Lakeside Pavil- ion, 2565 Lakeside Vil- lage, Chico and 1-3 p.m. Tuesday, July 21, at Red Bluff Community Center, 1500 S. Jackson St., Red Bluff. Registration is required by calling 898-6716. This free workshop is designed for boomers and others who will be new to Medi- care this year who want to understand how their Medicare benefits work. Family members or care- givers are also welcome to attend. People who are new to Medicare will be deluged with information from different insurance com- panies marketing their products. Ronda Kramer, program manager for Pas- sages HICAP warns sign- ing up with the wrong plan, or not doing any- thing may cost new Medi- care recipients thou- sands of dollars, and they may not be able to make changes if enrollment deadlines are missed. For more information, call HICAP at Passages at 1-800-434-0222. If your group or agency would like a workshop, contact Kath- erine Tilman at 898-5927. HICAP does not sell or endorse any insurance products. Passages helps older adults and family care- givers with important ser- vices to empower them to remain confident in their ability to sustain and en- joy independent lives. For more information about Passages services go to www.passagescenter.org. PASSAGES Medicare workshop offered for baby boomers Call 877-4DAD411 or visit www.fatherhood.gov be a dad today. Take time to 570 South Main St., Red Bluff 530-737-5136 Mon.-Fri. 9:00am to 7:00pm, Sat. 9:00am to 6:00pm Sun. 11:00am to 4:00pm Kitchen Tune-Up & Sears Hometown Store are locally owned & operated. NOW AVAILABLE! 1-5 D AY KITCHEN UPDATES kitchentune•up ® kitchentuneup.com 1 Day Tune-Up Refacing Redooring New Cabinets The Job Training Center is an equal opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. 7-1-1 CRS for TTY Users. A proud partner of Americaís Job Center of CaliforniaSM network. Attention Tehama County Businesses LOWER YOUR ENERGY BILL Thursday, July 9 Time: 1pm to 3pm Job Training CenteróLarge Conference Room 718 Main Street, Red Bluff Nocosttoattend. Call 529-7000 to reserve a seat or email kgarcia@jobtrainingcenter.org Habits of an Energy Smart Business Owner Attend a Free Energy Workshop July 9 th Now is the perfect time to lower your energy costs. As temperatures reach 100 and above, many businesses have no choice but to keep the doors open and the cool air blowing. Learn what you can do to reduce your energy usage now. Many ideas are low and no cost. All industries welcome. Meet the Presenter: Alex Blease of RHA Alex Blease is an Energy Advisor for RHA, an Energy Design and Management Program based in Chico. North Valley Energy Watch The Job Training Center works closely with Richard Heath and Associates (RHA) and PG&E as part of the North Valley Energy Watch program. RHA is a local company, based out of Chico, that specialize in energy efficient retrofits and installs for small to medium sized commer-cial businesses. RHA's Energy Advisors are available to perform a free on site audit of energy usage and suggest options for your particular needs. What will be Covered • What Does an Inefficient Lighting Fixture Look Like? • LED vs Florescent Fixtures: Pros & Cons • Habits of an Energy Smart Business Owner Smog Check (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. starting at $ 29 95 + $ 8 25 certificate All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened 30K 60K 90K Service At Lower Prices. LIFESTYLES » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, July 7, 2015 MORE ATFACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4