Clearly one of the biggest events of the year in Oakhurst is the Installation Dinner and Dance.  The Chamber of Commerce invites you to join them on Friday, December 7, 2007 at 5:30 p.m..  The festivities will be held at the Pines Resort, Lakeview Room.  Attendees will help welcome into office the new Board of Directors.

The evening will include appetizers, served during the reception with a No Host Bar.  Dinner choices are Prime Rib or Salmon, and will include a salad, wine, and dessert with coffee or tea.

Honoree for the Life Time Achievement Award will be Tommie Underwood.  Winners will also be announced for the “Volunteer of the Year”, “Woman of the Year”, “Man of the Year”, and “Business of the Year”.

After the Installation of Officers, participants will enjoy a night of dancing with Sierra DJ.

Reservations are currently being taken for this event.  The cost is $45 per person, or you may reserve a table for 8 for $360.  You may also sponsor the Installation Dinner for $500.  This price will include a table for 8, an announcement recognizing your contribution with special recognition in the program that is provided to participants.   For an extra $50, you may want to enter the table top decoration contest.  If you are entering the contest, plan on arriving between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. to decorate your table.  The winner will be announced at the dinner and will receive $100. 

Sponsoring an award recipient’s table is available for an additional $500 donation.  Be sure to notate which recipient you would like to sponsor.  Donations are also being accepted from those who are not able to attend this event.

If you would like to make a reservation or receive more information, call the Oakhurst Chamber of Commerce at (559-683-7766) or visit their website.

Experts advise that your family should have an emergency evacuation and action plan in case there is a family, environmental, or terrorism emergency. This means an emergency kit with food, water, flashlights, masks, protective garb, extra clothing, extra gasoline, radio, candles, batteries, cell phone, blankets, medicines and bandages, and more. You will also want to instruct your family members who to contact and set a family rendezvous point. It is also good for a nearby friend or neighbor to be in on the plan in case you cannot get home quickly enough. You will also want to have extra cash on hand and arrange to have valuable documents and computer equipment safeguarded and archived offsite.

You should also devise a plan for your company for evacuation and safety, and set up a phone tree for keeping in touch. You will also want to arrange to have valuable documents and computer equipment safeguarded and archived in secure offsite premise.

You can get advice on emergency preparednes from Madera County. You can also check federal resources such as FEMA www.fema.gov and Dept. of Homeland Security. DHS has a special site for helping you with preparedness: www.ready.gov.

The Madera County Government has a task force in place planning an emergency response. You are invited to become a citizen volunteer to coordinate activities in your area. Simply indicate your interest or expertise in medical, site coordination, or non-medical issues. Register here: http://www.madera-county.com/publichealth/form.html

For more preparedness information on bioterroism issues, outreach, and activities, see the county’s website http://www.madera-county.com/publichealth . You can also contact Bernie Smith at at 675-7893 or bernie.smith@madera-county.com.

These days when you look at a map, area divisions can seem rather permanent, but this is not the case at all. New towns and cities are created or some areas combine to form larger municipalities.

Oakhurst is entering the process to become a town, so this is your opportunity to learn about what it means for an area to incorporate. LAFCo, the Local Agency Formation Commission, is the entity in charge of forming or making changes to districts in California, and is overseeing Oakhurst’s bid for incorporation.

There is more than one notion of how Oakhurst would look as a town. It is possible that the proposed town would be 9.2 square miles, with an estimated population of 3,697. There is also a chance that after LAFCo finishes its review, it may decide to include other areas and then the town would be 17.6 square miles with an estimated population of 5,469.

At the website for the ACTION Committee in Support of Measure to Incorporate Oakhurst , you can view maps of what may be the future Oakhurst and check to see whether your home is in the proposed incorporated area. The site also gives a general e-mail address for questions (incorporate@sti.net), as well as information so you can contact the Board of Directors.

If you prefer paper maps, you can visit the Oakhurst library and look at the consultant’s report.

The good news is that this smoking ban could spur home sales over the next 14 months, as people try to reclaim their privacy and autonomy. But for others, especially those who cannot move, buy or sell a home easily, it could be a hardship and a financial nightmare. They may not be able to get the right price on their condo, or they may have to by a detached home, typically more expensive than a condo. They have to absorb moving costs and other relocation costs, which could be a financial hardship at this time.

It will be interesting to see if other communities around California and the country follow suit, enacting and enforcing stricter smoking bans. We’d like to know what you think about the smoking ban. Is it good or bad? Fair? Needed? Is government over-stepping? What will the economic impact be, on shops and restaurants? How will this impact your family and your lifestyle?

A number of cities around the country have instituted smoking ban in bars and restaurants. Most restaurants in Washington DC, for instance, have experience a 10% to 50% drop in customer volume and receipts. It varies by establishment, season, and day of the week and time of day. in nice weather, the smokers can still manage. Understandably, smoking customers may now drink and dine elsewhere. Or they may not linger as long over a meal or dessert as they used to. Either way, many establishments are feeling the pinch in their pocketbooks.

Please feel free to share your comments here on how you think the smoking ban could affect you if it were adopted in Madera County.

Madera County’s position on smoking in public spaces and places can be found here.

The county sponsors “Smoke Free Work Place” training and outreach, and efforts to keep youth from smoking.

On October 9, 2007, Belmont, CA adopted the strictest smoking ban in the country. The regulations ban smoking on streets, and in public and private spaces, including your home, if you reside in an apartment or condo complex. The new law takes affect in 30 days, governing public spaces and establishments. The housing ban will take effect in 14 months, which gives people the chance to relocate to a private home, or an apartment outside the city limits.

The only place you can smoke is the privacy of your own home or vehicle. Smoking is now banned from streets, restaurants, stores, malls, public buildings, public transportation, office buildings, apartment buildings, and the like. Smokers can choose to smoke elsewhere, usually in a designated outside area. The bill’s language also allows some smoking leniency in apartment buildings, as long as smoke or smell does not permeate other apartments, and the neighbors do not complain.

This ruling has sparked heated debate. This ‘smoking gun’ is indeed a love – hate debate surrounding government regulations encroaching on personal freedom, under the guise of public health and safety. Some think that the government has gone to far. Others welcome it, especially non-smokers, who need such sanctions in order to exercise their freedom to not be harmed by second hand smoke.

To view real comments from diverse people, visit this website. Please feel free to share your comments here. Stay tuned for a discussion of other implications of the new smoking ban.

Madera County’s position on smoking in public spaces and places can be found here.

The county sponsors “Smoke Free Work Place” training and outreach, and efforts to keep youth from smoking.

Adopting a pet not only saves the pet’s life, but it can enrich yours, too. Madera County reports that pet shelters here and in the neighboring counties are overflowing with wonderful animals seeking new homes. There is a severe overabundance of dogs, who will be put to sleep if homes cannot be found for them.

Some people adopt pets without thinking through what pet ownership means. Or their family or living situation changes, making it harder for them to keep their pets.
Visit county website for a list of the pets of the week. You will also find links to neighboring animal rescue groups throughout the region.

For more information, please contact Madera County Department of Animal Control
14269 Road 28 or call (559) 675-7891. You can also view pets available at www.petfinder.org. Or, visit the shelter from 10 am to 5 pm weekdays and until 2 pm on Saturday.

For only $95 you can adopt a neutered animal, save a life, and control the pet population. More importantly, you can enrich the lives of your family and teach your kids wonderful lessons about love and responsibility. Single people also love the companionship of a pet.

Dogs are wonderful pets, noted for their unconditional love and loyalty. These wonderful family members can help protect your home, your valuables and your kids. Animals can sense that something is awry before we humans do. Amazingly, researchers confirm that animals can even predict impending earthquakes, an important consideration for us Californians.

Don’t underestimate cats. They too can be loving, and not as aloof as you might think. They have their own distinct personalities, and do enjoy human affection.

Mutual love makes people happier and healthier, and research shows they are quicker to recover from illness. There is no time like the present to adopt a pet. Your children will thank you, too.

As a nation we have just marked the passing of the sixth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Patriot Day ceremonies on Tuesday remembered citizens and rescue workers who died at the World Trade Towers, the Pentagon and on a lonely farm field in Pennsylvania. Since that fateful day, America has worked to build a strong system of homeland security. If a 9/11 disaster struck Madera County, would we be ready? Yes.

Madera County agencies have been proactive in developing coordinated disaster plans. Emergency response drills that mimic natural and terrorist disasters are conducted periodically. These mock disasters to allow personnel and volunteers from multiple services to come together to practice emergency skills, assess facilities and fine tune response systems.

For example, should Madera County be threatened by an act of bioterrorism or a pandemic influenza, the Madera County Public Health Department is prepared to initiate emergency drive-through flu clinics in addition to point of dispensing clinics to provide medications to the entire population of the county. Not long ago, the county health department, area hospitals, local schools, EMS, fire and police worked together to successfully control a mock chemical contamination of students at John Adams Elementary School.

If you would like to volunteer to serve as a Public Health Disaster Responder, click here to access a volunteer form. To learn more about Madera County’s bioterrorism preparedness program, click here to visit the county website. The Madera County Public Health Department also offers an Emergency Preparedness Pocket Guide in both English and Spanish. Contact the health department at 559-675-7893 or email bernie.smith@madera-county.com for your free copy.

This weekend Madera County residents can roll up their sleeves and dig into a number of area clean-up activities. In Madera County we’ve always prided ourselves on working to maintain the natural beauty that surrounds us. With the arrival of autumn next Sunday, this weekend is a perfect time to get started on fall clean-up projects. So drag out the shovels, rakes and trash bags and do your part to keep Madera County beautiful.

• Sierra Vista National Scenic Byway Work Day: Saturday, September 22, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Clean up at Jackass Meadow. For details and carpool information, call 559-877-3952 or 559-683-6658.
• Chowchilla Community Curbside Cleanup: Saturday, September 22. Chowchilla’s free community clean up for single-family residences is this Saturday. This once a year, one day only event is the perfect time to clean out your garage and basement and get rid of all that trash and clutter. Green waste, recyclables and household junk will be collected. Click here for a list of acceptable and unacceptable items or call 559-665-8615, ext. 305. Waste must be placed curbside BEFORE 6 a.m. on September 22 to guarantee FREE pick up. Click here for details.