Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/559706
SomedaysIsitdown to write this column and the words pour out of my mind, through my fingers and onto the keyboard. Other times, like right now, all systems go blank — one big expansive, frus- trating void. Just as I was about to run outside and bang my head on my new stone wall, I got that little ding letting me know I had mail — this time from Nancy. DEARMARY I'm inter- ested in signing up for LifeLock, which I saw fea- tured on the Everyday Cheapskate site. Do you feel it would be better to take the LifeLock Ulti- mate Plus plan (the most expensive) or the Life- Lock Advantage plan, and why? Thank you for your help.—Nancy That's when I remem- bered that I wanted to tell you what happened to me a few weeks ago. (Oh, this is so good!) Due to the fact that we have just recently relo- cated from the big-city life in Southern California to laid-back country life in Northern Colorado (we do have a stone wall), my hus- band and I needed to open a bank account in our new village (not a city or a town — we live in a village). The bank employee handed us a keypad and asked us to input our So- cial Security numbers into the bank's system. That's it. Nothing else. In about two seconds flat, she had on her screen all of our personal infor- mation including bank- ing history and all previ- ous addresses and phone numbers for the past 40 years. That was a sad confirmation for me that personal privacy has be- come a thing of the past. To tell you the truth, it was creepy. Well, just as I was try- ing to make sense of how on earth my informa- tion was so accessible to this bank, my phone went off, with a red-hot alert from...LifeLock! As a longtime LifeLock member, I have my profile set to receive a text mes- sage if my Social Secu- rity number is ever used to open a credit card or bank account, to secure medical services or in any other way. Within seconds of opening that account, I got an alert on my phone with a voicemail message and a text message, too, telling me that a bank ac- count was being opened using my identity. I was so excited, I blurted out something like, "Life- Lock rocks. I just got an alert that someone is us- ing my identity to open an account and I need to let them know it's me and it's OK." Apparently I said it rather loudly, because everyone in that small bank branch was duly im- pressed, especially the bank manager. This had never happened in this particular bank, which should tell you just how sparsely populated our new area is. In all the years I've been a member of Life- Lock, I had never be- fore received that kind of alert, which I consider a good thing. The only alerts I'd received up to that moment were when a registered sex offender moved into the neighbor- hood, which happened more often than my com- fort level could handle. It was gratifying to ex- perience LifeLock in ac- tion. I did feel rather smug in light of all the at- tention. Thank you, Life- Lock. As for Nancy's ques- tion, let me start by say- ing that if cyber thieves can steal U.S. Federal em- ployees' identifying infor- mation and hack into the IRS website and breach 100,000 accounts, what makes me think that I can keep my informa- tion any safer than those agencies? I can't, so here's my new credo: I can't fully protect my iden- tity, but I CAN take steps to stop thieves from us- ing it against me. That's what my LifeLock Ulti- mate Plus membership does for me. (I want you to know that I receive a small commission from Life- Lock if you sign up using the coupon code EC30, but you also get 10 per- cent off. Regardless, you can be sure that I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers' lives.) The reason I have the Ultimate Plus option is that it monitors for ev- ery possible way that my identity could be used by thieves, including at- tempts to take over my ex- isting bank accounts, to open new bank accounts (getting that alert was so cool), activity on invest- ments accounts, even file- sharing network searches, monthly credit-score tracking and those sex of- fender registry reports. The reason I have identity theft protec- tion at all is for peace of mind. I want to know that no matter how criminals might try to use my Social Security number or other infor- mation, LifeLock is go- ing to be my eyes and ears to let me know about it in time to stop them dead in their tracks. I want the most protection I can possibly afford. Would you like to send a tip to Mary? 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 A startling red-hot alert made my day RED BLUFF At last week's meeting of the Board of Directors of Tehama To- gether, the 2015-2106 fund drive was launched. As a local nonprofit, volunteer agency, Tehama Together sponsors and serves as the fiscal agents for several well- known Tehama County pro- grams. This year's fund drive co- incides with the annual An- nie B's Community Drive of the North Valley Commu- nity Foundation which pro- vides matching funds for do- nations made during August and September. Therefore, Tehama Together is ask- ing the community to step forward and assist with the funding of its programs dur- ing this time so it can ben- efit from this matching pro- gram. Tehama Together is the sponsoring agency of the an- nual Food From The Heart Fund Drive through which collected funds will be di- vided equally among the fifteen local nonprofit and faith groups which provide emergency food and meals for those in need in Tehama County. Last year $8,000 was collected and depos- ited as credits for participat- ing programs at the North State Food Bank and Nu- Way Market where dollars are stretched for the max- imum purchase of food. It is hoped that through the community's generosity ad- ditional funds will be raised this year 211 Tehama is a pro- gram provided for Tehama County residents in collab- oration with the United Way of Northern California. Through this 24/7 live phone and online service, a person can receive up-to-date refer- rals to local health and so- cial programs. Each month almost 100 local residents place calls and are steered to appropriate resources. Being partially funded by Tehama County and First 5, approx- imately $10,000 needs to be raised to fund the program through June 30th. Last year Tehama To- gether became the sponsor- ing agency of the Annual Children's Christmas Fes- tival which provided an af- ternoon of merriment, re- freshments, music and gifts for approximately 600 local youngsters. With the help of the local Highway Patrol, Gold Exchange, Walmart, GreenWaste, Community Center Auxiliary and some generous individuals, each child received a wrapped gift valued at more than $5. To make this December's event one to remember by lo- cal kids in need, the group again needs to raise about $5,000. In early 2014, Tehama Together, working with Tehama County Demo- crats, spearheaded efforts to bring together local vet- eran related service groups to sponsor the first Tehama County Veterans Expo with the goal being to better serve the County's 6,000 veterans. Participating groups have now coalesced to become the Tehama County Veterans Collabor- ative and, with the support of both the county's Repub- licans and Democrats, re- cently held a successful sec- ond Tehama County Veter- ans Collaborative. Working under the sponsorship of Tehama Together, the group is now working to become a free-standing 501(c)(3) and needs approximately $1,000 for incorporation. About three years ago, Tehama Together convened public and private agen- cies interested in improv- ing the health of Tehama County residents through nutrition education and access to local fresh pro- duce. From this effort the Tehama County Commu- nity Food Alliance (CFA) was formed and through the collaboration of ap- proximately twenty dif- ferent programs, efforts have been undertaken to increase gleaning in the County, to create a commu- nity garden, to promote the five local farmers markets and to create a FARM Club program for kids. During the next month, the CFA will be joining the Califor- nia Food Policy Council for networking with similar re- gional programs. Approxi- mately $2,000 are needed to continue the work of this Alliance. During the fall of 2012, several local nonprofit agen- cies decided that it would be beneficial for them to come together with other local programs to share resources, coordinate ser- vices, assess community needs, collaborate on fund raising and share training programs. Out of this in- terest, the Tehama County Nonprofit Roundtable was established and has met monthly under the leader- ship of Tehama Together. The Roundtable is hoping to raise about $500 to as- sist with volunteer recruit- ment efforts. During the spring of 2014, Candy Carlson, Tehama To- gether board member, Air Force veteran, Tehama County Supervisor and pro- fessional dog trainer, orga- nized a group of dog lovers who came together to form the Home Again-K9s for Vet- erans program which helps match dogs with veterans who need the emotional sup- port and assistance from a dog. Through this program, ongoing training is provided for the veteran in working with his/her new compan- ion. This program has been of great assistance for vet- erans suffering from PTSD. Home Again always needs financial support to provide small grants to potential program participants. In addition to these pro- gram specific needs, Te- hama Together needs to raise about $10,000 for its operating costs since all sponsored programs are supported without paying administrative costs. Last year the following generous contributors came forward as community sponsors to support Tehama Together: Mark Garstang with Pre- ferred Agents; McGlynn & Clark Attorneys at Law; Ka- trina Perdue, DDS; Bill and Mary McMahon; Todd Doll- ing Insurance and Jim Bur- gess Insurance. The Annie B's program, named after Annie Bidwell, a community leader and wife of Chico's founder John Bidwell, has approxi- mately $100,000 to provide matching funds with do- nations being made to the participating nonprofits in Tehama, Butte, Colusa and Glenn Counties. Now is the time to take advantage of this matching program by making a tax-deductible contribution to Tehama Together and its sponsored programs. To learn more about Te- hama Together, contact one of its board members: Den- nis Albright, Noel Book- out, James Bryant, Candy Carlson, Andrew Christ, Anthony Gilbert, Rich- ard Hammond, Orle Jack- son, Irene Miller, Leticia Sanches, Holly Wilson or Sharon Young; go to the website tehamatogether. org, call 527-2223 or send email to tehamatogether@ gmail.com To make online donations go to anniebs.org or mail your contribution to NVCF, 240 Main St., Ste. 260, Chico, CA 95928. Checks should be made payable to Annie B's/Tehama Together with General Fund or a spe- cific program named in the memo space. FUNDRAISER Te ha ma T og et he r ki ck s off f un d dr iv e By Jennifer Cooper Social Security manager in Redding Keeping your Social Se- curity number card in a safe place is vital to protecting you against identity theft. Never keep it in your purse or wallet — this is the most common way people lose their card. No matter how hard you try to keep track of your important docu- ments, sometimes they get lost or even stolen. Getting a replacement Social Security number card is free, but you will have to provide the proper docu- ments to get a new one. Be- ing prepared will save you time at the Social Security office or card center. If you are replacing your card, you will need original or certi- fied copies of the required documents, which include: 1. Proof of citizenship: If you have not already es- tablished your U.S. citizen- ship with us, we need to see proof of U.S. citizenship. We can accept only certain doc- uments as proof of U.S. citi- zenship, like your U.S. birth certificate or U.S. passport. 2. Identity: We can accept only cer- tain documents as proof of identity. An acceptable document must be current (not expired) and show your name, identifying informa- tion (date of birth or age), and preferably, a recent photograph. For example, as proof of identity, we must see your: U.S. driver's license; State-issued non-driver identification card; or U.S. passport. If you do not have one of these specific documents, or you cannot get a replace- ment for one of them within ten days, we will ask to see other documents, includ- ing a(n): Employee identification card; School identification card; Health insurance card (not Medicare card); or U.S. military identification card. Remember, you are lim- ited to three replacement cards in a year or ten in your lifetime. Legal name changes and other excep- tions do not count toward these limits. For example, changes in immigration status that require card up- dates may not count toward these limits. Also, you may not be affected by these lim- its if you can prove you need the card to prevent a signif- icant hardship. Legal name changes and other excep- tions do not count toward these limits. For example, changes in immigration status that require card updates may not count toward these limits. Also, you may not be affected by these limits if you can prove you need the card to prevent a signif- icant hardship. Legal name changes and other excep- tions do not count toward these limits. For example, changes in immigration status that require card up- dates may not count toward these limits. Also, you may not be af- fected by these limits if you can prove you need the card to prevent a signifi- cant hardship. Legal name changes and other excep- tions do not count toward these limits. Also, you may not be affected by these lim- its if you can prove you need the card to prevent a signif- icant hardship. What's more important than having your card is knowing your Social Secu- rity number. This is how we identify you, tally your wages correctly, and how we eventually issue you ac- curate retirement benefits. You might not even need your card for identification purposes if you know and consistently use your cor- rect number. For more information about replacing a lost or sto- len Social Security number card, go to www.socialsecu- rity.gov/ssnumber. SOCIAL SECURITY Replacing your card? Know before you go COURTESYPHOTO From le , Orle Jackson, Jessie Woods, Candy Carlson and Noel Bookout meet to discuss the 2015-2016fundraising drive for Tehama Together. Mary Hunt PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. ALL OCCASION GIFTS ~ GLASS ART, LITTLE DISHES ~ TRINKET BOX WITH CRYSTALS ~ SHAWLS/BEADED BAGS ~ WOMEN'S CLOTHING, JEWELRY ~ BATH & BODY, ESSENTIAL OIL ~ ROCKS AND MINERALS 744 Main St., Red Bluff FACTORYMATTRESS OUTLET 3650MainSt.inCottonwood 347-3646 Open7Days(since1920) • FREE Delivery • FREE Take-Out SAVEFROM $ 100 $ 250 OFF With This Coupon TO QUALITY 2-SIDED FLIPPABLE MATTRESSES DENTAL HYGIENIST NEEDED PLEASE FAX RESUME TO 530-527-6551 Smog Check (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) 527-9841 • 195 S. 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