Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/632406
Asyouknow—andonly because I write about it so much — I may as well be president of the Arti- san-In-Five fan club for how the book and its method of mak- ing bread at home changed my life. Back when I was first learning to do this (the book really does make it so easy), I decided I needed good quality bread bags, not only to store par- tial loaves, but also for presentation. Let's just say that when you bake bread, you have a lot of friends. Turns out bread bags are quite inexpensive when purchased in bulk. And when I say bulk, I mean a case of 1,000 bread bags. I did. I bought a case. As I look back, I'm not sure what I was think- ing. Apparently, the idea of 1,000 loaves of bread ever coming out of my kitchen was overshadowed by a bargain-basement price on large bread and bakery poly bags. While I continue to bake bread as needed by my household of two peo- ple, only occasionally do I use a bread bag for bread. But for dozens of other uses around the house? These bags are the best thing since, well, sliced bread! STORE DECOR. I filled two bread bags with the pinecones I use during the fall and winter holi- days in preparation for our big move. I can see exactly what's in each bag. PACK SHOES. I don't like the idea of shoes touching clean clothes in a suitcase. Bread bags are the perfect size for one or two shoes of just about any size. DIAPER DISPOSAL. Now that we have a new baby grandson, I'm chang- ing diapers again. I keep a stash of bread bags handy to take care of soiled dia- pers before tossing them in the trash. FRIDGE ORGANIZA- TION. I use bread bags in the fridge to hold every- thing from cut vegetables to cheese, meats and fruit. It's so easy to just throw stuff in a bag, tie the bag loosely and pop it in the fridge. Visually it's very appealing as well because I an easily see what's in each bag. CRAFTY BITS. If you're crafty, you know the tyr- anny of little things. Thrown into a box, it's hard to find anything, which can lead to re-buy- ing just because you can't find what you need! Keep- ing supplies in a cloth bag is even worse because you can't see what's at the bot- tom. I love bread bags for keeping balls of yarn seg- regated and organized. I have quilt pieces sepa- rated, stacked and seques- tered in bread bags. It's so beautiful, I hesitate actu- ally making the quilt be- cause I'll have to spoil my artful organization! I use bread bags to organize all of the things I need in my knitting bag. Works like a charm. KID STUFF. My grand- sons and I use bread bags for everything you can imagine, from markers to puzzle pieces, socks, bibs and toy parts. We keep precious things like rocks, leaves and twigs safe and secure in them. LUNCHES. Now and then I still pack lunches and I find bread bags to be so much handier than zip- type bags (cheaper, too!). They just work. GLOVES. I slip a cou- ple of bread bags on my hands when mixing a big batch of meatloaf or cooky dough and yes, even to form loaves of bread dough. PAINT EQUIPMENT. A bread bag is the perfect shape and size to slip over a paint roller when I need to take a break but the job is not yet done. I wrap roll- ers and brushes tightly in individual bread bags to hold until the next day — no need to wash them out. The next day I just un- wrap unwrap the roller and brushes, throw the bags away and we're good to go. Since making this du- bious purchase, I've come to the conclusion just about everything around my house is better thanks to my little case of bread bags. EVERYDAYCHEAPSKATE The unintended consequences of 1,000 bread bags Girl Scouts of Northern California will kick off the annual cookie sale season on Feb. 1, as troops across the region will conduct door-to-door, booth and on- line sales for the duration of the 2016 season through March 13. The earlier date will give football fans a chance to serve Girl Scout Cookies at Superbowl parties. The Girl Scouts have ex- panded purchasing options for this year's cookie sell- ing season. In addition to using an updated version of the online sales plat- form Digital Cookie 2.0, some booths will now ac- cept credit and debit card payments. Launched this year, Dig- ital Cookie 2.0 gives each Girl Scout an online sys- tem to manage her cookie sales as an independent business. It allows Girl Scouts to accept orders in real time and activate ship- ments directly to their cus- tomers from anywhere in the country. The platform was updated this year to include interactive features that improve customer ser- vice, track goals and ana- lyze sales data. "Cookie season is the largest fundraising activ- ity of the year so it's impor- tant that we're providing Girl Scouts the tools they need to capitalize on every opportunity available," said NorCal CEO Marina Park. "With the new technology offerings of Digital Cookie 2.0 and the advanced date coinciding with the Big Game, 2016 will be a great year for our troops and they'll be well-positioned to reach their fundraising goals." All cookies sell for $5 each, with the exception of gluten-free Toffee-tastic, which sells for $6 per box. With each box sold, $3.95 goes to fund Girl Scouts initiatives throughout the year, including service proj- ects, STEM education pro- grams and outdoor excur- sions. Cookie booths can be lo- cated by visiting ilovecook- ies.org. GIRL SCOUTS Cookies to go on sale Feb. 1 Mary Hunt A free agricultural tire collection event will be held the entire month of February. Extending this event throughout the month aims to better serve Tehama County farmers and ranchers. Agricultural tires will be accepted free at the Te- hama County Red Bluff Landfill, at 19995 Plymire Road, and Linnet's Tire Shop, at 1090 State Route 99W in Corning, during normal business hours the entire month of February. Tire vouchers are required with a maximum of six ag- ricultural tires accepted for disposal per address. Vouchers are limited and have been available since Friday, Jan. 1 at Tehama County Red Bluff Landfill, Tehama County Farm Bu- reau at 275 Sale Lane, Ag- riculture Commissioner's Office at 1834 Walnut St., Bull & Gelding Sale Office at 670 Antelope Blvd. Ste. 3 and Corning City Hall at 794 3rd St. Accepted tire sizes in- clude tractor, grader and backhoe tires with num- bers ranging from 9.5- 24 to 19.5-24. Other farm tires with numbers end- ing in 38, 40 and 42 also will be accepted, for exam- ple size 18.4-42. No scraper or loader tires will be ac- cepted for free during ag- ricultural tire month. Agricultural plastics are accepted at the landfill free of charge year round dur- ing normal landfill busi- ness hours. Triple-rinsed pesticide containers up to 55 gallons in size are accepted. All 35-55 gal- lon plastic drums must be quartered. There is no limit to the number of properly rinsed, quartered, lid and label free containers that are accepted. Save vehicle trips and bring your spent agri- cultural plastics and waste tires at the same time, if possible. For more information about the agricultural tire collection event, call 528- 1103. TEHAMA COUNTY February is free ag tire collection month SACRAMENTO California is actively seeking 5,000 volunteers to take part in a free study that could shape the way drivers are charged for road usage. Called for by the Leg- islature in 2014, the Road Charge Pilot Program will produce information for further study on the con- cept of a "road charge" pro- gram. State officials aim to recruit a large number of volunteers reflective of the vast geographic and socio- economic diversity of the state. The California Road Charge Technical Advi- sory Committee released its final recommendations for the statewide road charge pilot study—a sys- tem where drivers could pay for road maintenance and repairs based on the number of miles they drive, rather than how much gas they consume. Senate Bill (SB) 1077, signed by the Governor in September 2014, called for the pilot program. The free pilot program will inform the Legislature's decision on whether moving for- ward with a full-scale per- manent road charge pro- gram, potentially replacing the gas tax, is worthwhile. The state's current transportation funding system relies on revenue from fuel taxes, which continue to decline with fluctuating gas prices, in- creased use of hybrid and electric vehicles and over- all improvements in new vehicles' fuel economy. Volunteer participation and feedback will be vi- tal in fine-tuning the pro- posed program that could eventually tie highway funding with road usage rather than gas tax pro- ceeds. Volunteer drivers will be able to choose from one of several mileage re- porting methods that Cal- ifornia will be testing. Volunteering is free and no actual money will be ex- changed. Participants will have the choice of submit- ting mock payments via mail or a secure website for testing purposes. Vol- unteers can enroll at www. CaliforniaRoadChargePi- lot.com. "Our recommendations reflect the input we re- ceived from hundreds of stakeholders and individ- uals that represent every region of the state," said Jim Madaffer, chairman of the Technical Advisory Committee. "While this en- deavor has been rigorous, it resulted in the unique opportunity to examine a per-mile road charge mechanism as a potential long term solution to the issue of declining trans- portation revenue facing California." Caltrans maintains 50,000 lane-miles of high- way and nearly 13,000 state-owned bridges. How- ever, the state's current fuel excise tax is sufficient to fund only $2.3 billion of work, leaving $5.7 billion in unfunded repairs each year. If this trend contin- ues, the transportation funding gap will continue to grow and road main- tenance and repair needs will continue to escalate. "The gas tax is outdated and no longer capable of meeting all of our future transportation revenue needs," said Will Kemp- ton, executive director of the California Transporta- tion Commission. "The pi- lot is an excellent opportu- nity to study road charg- ing and should provide the Legislature the data it needs to better determine whether and how this idea might work in California." At the conclusion of the pilot, the California State Transportation Agency will issue a report with its findings to the Legislature, the Road Charge Technical Advisory Committee, and the California Transporta- tion Commission. Follow- ing receipt of that report, the Commission will make its recommendations re- garding the pilot program to the Legislature, which will consider whether to proceed with implement- ing a road charge system in California. More information about the California Road Charge Pilot Program and participant volunteer information is available at www.CaliforniaRoad- ChargePilot.com. CALTRANS Volunteers sought for Road Charge Pilot Program The Gateway Science Museum at California State University, Chico is inviting those interested in science, education, nat- ural history and museums to volunteer their time in service. Volunteer orientations, which are required for new participants, will be offered 12:15-1 p.m. Thurs- day, Jan. 28 and 11-11:45 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 31. Museum volunteers gain valuable work experience, classroom teaching prac- tice and often, meaningful service to their community, said Jennifer Jewell, Volun- teer Program manager at the museum. "Volunteers help in a wide variety of tasks at Gateway—as docents on the gallery floor helping visitors of all ages engage with and interpret the exhibits; helping to de- velop and lead hands-on, science-based activities, demonstrations and work- shops; and working with school-aged field trips to the museum," Jewell said. "Behind-the-scenes work with exhibit installation and take-down and in the gardens is also available. As a volunteer at Gateway, you really do learn some- thing new every day." The museum opened in 2010 to educate and inspire North State resi- dents young and old. Lo- cated at 625 Esplanade in Chico, the museum is open noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. For additional informa- tion about volunteering, or to register for an orienta- tion, call 898-3273 or write to jjewell@csuchico.edu. Space is limited, and early registration is encouraged. Learn more about the museum at www.gateway- science.org. CHICO STATE Gateway Science Museum seeks volunteers COURTESYPHOTO Chico State student Erin Bridges, a volunteer docent, works with children at the Gateway Science Museum. Thankyou! PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. For booking during this event! 1860 Hilltop Drive, Redding 3PM-7PM • THURSDAY, FEB. 4 TH DOOR PRIZES • GIVEAWAYS Over 40 Cruise Lines and Tour Companies represented. FREE EVENT www.avantitravel.com Presented by: Book Your Dream Vacation Now! It's Easy and Affordable! HoneymoonRegistryandWeddingDestinationSpecialistsAvailable 2025 Hilltop Drive, Redding CST#200749540 Ask about our FREE vacation layaway plan 244-1400 PineStreetPlaza 332 Pine Street, Suite G Red Bluff, CA (800) 843-4271 Every Wednesday February 3, 10, 17 & 24 Stacy Garcia, Hearing Aid Dispenser Lic. 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