In these days when gas prices are soaring, many people are looking for alternate modes of transportation. Some people adapted the bike-riding habit years ago; others are just catching on. Either way, it cannot hurt to consider new ways to get where you need to go. Biking is not only better for the environment; it can also create a healthier you.

May is Bike Month, May 12-16, 2008 is Bike-to-Work Week, with May 15 being highlighted Bike-to-Work Day.

Here are some ways you can take part in Bike Month in May and beyond-

-Follow the example of Sacramento, CA and track community biking miles.
-Have a progressive dinner with bikers traveling and eating along a pre-determined trail.
-Have a bike parade on your block.
-Ride your bike to the library and get a book about cycling.
-Teach a child how to ride a bike.
-Go to a cycling race.
-Make a bicycle-themed dessert.
-Set up a scavenger hunt for cyclers.
-Help to clean up litter on a bike trail.
-Donate a bike helmet to someone who needs one.

For more ideas visit the Bike League website.

The place to be on May 17, 2008, is Wasuma Elementary School where you can celerbrate life and join the fight against cancer. Each year the American Cancer Society, with the help of many local  volunteers put on the event national known as Relay For Life^®. It’s a time and place where people come to celebrate those who have survived cancer, remember those we’ve lost, and fight back against a disease that touches all our lives.

Join this year and be a part of the celebration and fight for life.

Your involvement will help the American Cancer Society work towards a mission of eliminating cancer and will support much needed services in our community. If you want to be a part of the fight against cancer or your interested in learning more or receiving an invitation, please email Rebecca Morris at rebecca.morris@oakhurstmed.net

This past April, The State Center Community College District decided that it is time to start the formal college naming process that will give the Willow International Center a moniker of its own. They are now looking for names and the names they select will be presented to the Board of Trustees in October.

Anyone, be they staff, students or a member of the community at large can submit a name for consideration. The college’s websites will allow you to suggest a name via the internet. And there are also suggestion boxes at the Willow International Center, so you can drop off your name suggestion in person.

This is your chance to go down in history as the person who chose the name of a great public institution. Names can make all the difference when it comes to community acceptance, so the school is making sure that the community feels like it is a part of this college. We all have a vested interest in local centers for higher education and this time the community will be there from the start, christening this school with its new name.

The Mountain Area Literacy Council (MALCO) meets on second Thursdays at 2 pm at the Oakhurst Branch Library, located at 49044 Civic Circle. So they will not meet today, but they will gather in one week and if you are interested in literacy, consider joining them.

What do you think of when you think of literacy? Often, thoughts of literacy are tied to illiteracy, but do we know what illiteracy really is? By definition, to be illiterate is to be unable to read or write. Another problem, one that may be more common in a country like the U.S., is functional illiteracy. What we don’t realize is that there are many more people out there who are functionally illiterate that we imagine.

If someone is functionally illiterate, that means that cannot make efficient use of their reading, writing and computational skills. People who are functionally illiterate do have some grasp of literacy, but their skill level is so low that it becomes a stumbling block. Tasks that are necessary for survival such as reading a bus schedule, reading and completing a job application or understanding traffic signs are too difficult for people who are functionally illiterate.

For more information on MALCO call 559-683-1456.

The Mariposa Master Gardeners’ walk-in hotline is slated to open in May.

What is a walk-in hotline, you ask? Aren’t hotlines connected to telephones?

Well, yes, normally, a person wouldn’t visit a hotline because they would be taking to a hotline volunteer or employee on the telephone. However, the Mariposa Master Gardeners’ walk-in hotline is special. Because it is difficult to diagnose and solve questions about plant life over the phone, the University of California Cooperative Extension started a “walk-in” hotline. That way, gardeners can show volunteers the plant samples or bring pictures in and get help with their gardening questions.

Since it is never too early to plan for next year, experienced gardeners who want to help will be able to take a class from January-April 2009 so that they can be ready to assist with next year’s walk-in hotline.

Starting next month, a master gardener hotline operator will (literally) be standing by the take your “call” every Saturday from 1-3pm in the back of the Village Realty Office at 6340 Greeley Hill Road.

You can also call (209) 966-2417 or (209) 966-7078 to learn more.

Today is Earth Day, a day on which we take time to celebrate our great planet and consider ways that we can keep it clean and make sure that is remains a great place to live for generations to come.

You can make everyday Earth Day, by doing small thing to maintain our natureal resources and make the Earth a safer, cleaner home for humans and animals alike. Here area few tips:

-Turn off the water as you brush your teeth.
-As the bulbs in your home go out, replace them with compact fluorescent bulbs. These bulbs use less energy than regular light bulbs.
-Rather than leaving the car idling as you wait to pick someone up, turn off the enging and restart it when you are ready to leave.
-Turn your heat down when you go away on vacation. Just leave yourself a reminder to turn it up after you return.
When you write that reminder use the back of an envelope or some other piece of paper that has already been used, rather then using a fresh sheet of paper.
-Switch to rechargeable batteries.
-Take the time to recycle aluminum, paper and other products.
-Make your own compost.

Certain dates, like the Ides of March, go down in infamy. And today is no exception. People all over the U.S. have been dreading this day and right now some people are scrambling to get their taxes done.

In centuries past, April 15 meant nothing; it was an ordinary day. How is it that what was once just another spring day has now come to be a day that so many dread? There are many answers to that question (and more than a few conspiracy theories).

Before the mid 1950s, taxes were actually due on March 15. So at that time people were not even thinking about taxes on April 15. Before that, they were due on March 1, as a result of the 16th amendment, the amendment that gave the government permission to collect personal income tax. In the years that followed, the date was changed to March 15 and then April 5.

You may appreciate a March rather than April date because it gives you more time, and in that sense the government is no different. A later date gives the government more time to prepare for the avalanche of work and more time to hang onto some of the money in its coffers before they need to return in to taxpayers in the form of refunds.

Did you ever wonder why anyone acknowledges April 1st as anything special?  Although it is not an “official holiday”; people seem to enjoy celebrating it by playing tricks on friends and family members alike.

The origin of April Fools Day (otherwise known as All Fools Day) is a bit uncertain though.  Some believe that is was a celebration of a new calendar year while others believe that it was a celebration of the turn of a season.  Most people believe that it was the first scenario though.

In ancient times, the beginning of the New Year was on or around April 1st.   Like any other “New Year” celebration, there was drinking and other fun to be had by all.  People were knows as “fools” for their hyjinx and crazy behavior at the town celebrations.

The calendar was changed in 1582 and then January 1st became the official New Year.  The interesting fact is that initially people did not like the new calendar.  They decided to keep on celebrating their old New Year on April 1st.

Today, all western cultures celebrate April Fools Day.  People try to play pranks on others and try to make them believe silly stories.  I have vowed that next year, I too am going to join in the fun.  My mind is already racing with the tricks I can play!

We all like to think that we are self-sufficient, but really, we cannot do it all alone. Sometimes we need a little help. That is where the Community Action Partnership of Madera County comes in.  Sadly, you can’t measure a community by what people do when everything is going well. You have to look at community response to less than joyous events and circumstances to get a true idea of just how tightly knit a group they are.

The Community Action Partnership is there to serve you. Even if you do not find that you are in need of their services, you may know someone who is. If you are fortunate enough to never need this type of assistance, you can rest assured knowing that your neighbors can get the help they need. And when you neighbor is back on his or her feet, they will be able to do more to strengthen the community as a whole.

The Community Action Partnership’s outreach efforts include:

Emergency Shelter and Food
Home Energy Assistance Program
Eastern Madera Escort Program
Eastern Madera County Senior Transportation.

To contact this agency call 673-9173

The ways in which people recycle things these days is amazing. Some items, like paper, are re-purposed into something much like what they once were, while other items take on a whole new life in recycled form

At Nature’s Leaf Jewelry, beautiful and decorative products are made from nature’s own decorations—leaves, acorns, seashells and pinecones. The pieces remain as ornamental as they are in nature, but they take on new functions as jewelry, bookmarks, napkin rings, barrettes, wine glass charms and magnets.

After looking for pieces that will make the most exquisite works of art, keepsakes are made using electroplating. You can choose pieces crafted with 18-karat gold, Rhodium Silver and multicolored copper. These pieces will not tarnish and they are also hypoallergenic.

These original creations are available in the store or you can have them shipped to you in about 10 days. If you are looking for a unique gift for yourself or someone else, consider going au naturel.

Nature’s Leaf Jewelry
1066 Saratoga Avenue
Suite 200
San Jose, CA 95129
888-838-7544
408-244-5326