Free wood chips are now available to Sierra County residents at the transfer station in Sattley. Wood chips will also be available at the landfill in Loyalton beginning the week after Thanksgiving, weather permitting. The chips are available on a first come, first served basis and will be available until they’re gone. 
The chips are the result of a county-wide residential chipping program operated by the Sierra County Fire Safe Council and funded through a grant from Cal-Fire. The money is generated from the annual fire fee residents pay to Cal-Fire. 
The Fire Safe Council began the program earlier this year in communities throughout Sierra County. More than 25 residents participated at their residences before the chipping continued at the burn piles in Sattley and Loyalton. Residents reported more than 325 hours of labor, clearing property and bringing the material to the roadside for chipping. 
The goal of the program is to assist homeowners in making their property more fire safe and to reduce the need to burn limbs and brush at the transfer sites. The county will continue to burn pine needles and cones. 
The work is being done by High Sierra Fire, Inc., of Janesville under contract to the Fire Safe Council. 
The Fire Safe Council would like to thank Project Manager Danielle Bradfield and Project Administrator Victoria Fisher. Also, thanks to the Roen Company of Calpine for donating an excavator and operator to separate the piles in Sattley and Loyalton and to Sierra County for its assistance at the transfer station and landfill. 
The program will continue through March, 2017, as weather permits. Residents who want to participate or get more information should call Victoria Fisher at 993-4575 or (707) 337-7610. 

 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is teaming up with seven other state law enforcement agencies across the nation in the fourth annual “Interstate 40 Challenge:  The Drive toward Zero Fatalities.”  The campaign, which will be conducted during the Thanksgiving weekend, will focus special attention on the more than 2,500-mile stretch of Interstate 40 (I-40) that begins in North Carolina and ends in California.


The campaign encourages each agency to assign an officer every 20 miles along the I-40 corridor over 12-hour periods on Wednesday and Sunday – the Thanksgiving holiday’s busiest travel days.  Interstate 40 traverses California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina.


“Accepting the challenge and working with our law enforcement partners and the public has proven very successful in years past,” CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow said.  “California did not experience a single fatality on I-40 during past challenges.  With the public’s cooperation, the CHP will continue to promote a safe traveling season during the Thanksgiving holiday.”


The CHP reminds all motorists to never drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, always wear your seat belt, travel at a safe speed for conditions, and avoid distractions behind the wheel.


In addition to the I-40 Challenge, the CHP is conducting its annual Thanksgiving Maximum Enforcement Period (MEP) throughout the state.  The MEP begins at 6:01 p.m. on Wednesday, November 23, and continues through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, November 27.


The mission of the CHP is to provide the highest level of Safety, Service, and Security to the people of California.

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Shares Consumer Safety Tips for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the Holiday Shopping Season
SAN FRANCISCO – With Black Friday and Cyber Monday around the corner, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris is reminding consumers to shop smarter over the holidays.
In preparation for the holidays, consumers will soon flock to stores and websites to shop for gifts, décor, and more.  Unfortunately, during this time of year, there is also a significant increase in fraudulent scams and identity theft, both on and off-line.  Attorney General Harris offers these tips to help consumers be more vigilant and secure as the shopping season kicks off:
Tips for Safe Shopping

• Review your bank and credit card statements frequently for unusual transactions.  Call your bank or credit card company to immediately report any suspicious activity.
• In the event of a security breach involving your debit or credit card, monitor your account and contact your bank promptly if you see any suspicious transactions. If you have been breached, you are also entitled to place a free initial fraud alert with one of the three national credit reporting companies (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax); the reporting company must then notify the other credit reporting companies of the potential fraud.
• If the security breach involves your debit card, the best way to protect yourself is to immediately cancel the card and get a replacement card with a different number. Your bank will assist you in this process.
• If you receive a call from your credit card company that requests you to verify your account information for security reasons, ask to call the credit card company back and then call the telephone number listed on your credit card. 
• Shipping e-mail scams are becoming increasingly common. Be wary of e-mails that appear to be from shipping companies that contain an attached file; this is a good indication that you have received a fraudulent e-mail that contains a virus. Also, during the holiday season, theft of packages becomes more common. If you do not have a secure area for delivery companies to leave a package, consider requiring a signature for packages or having packages held for pickup at a nearby shipping center.
• Parents and grandparents should be wary of scam artists who pretend to be a child or friend of a child who has encountered a medical or legal emergency and needs money immediately. Scammers are able to get personal information from social media to make the calls sound legitimate. A good way to avoid this situation is to have a secret word the child would use in an emergency situation.
• Scammers can use handheld scanners and counterfeit credit cards to use gift cards that they do not actually have. Only buy gift cards that are kept behind the store’s customer service counter or activated upon checkout. Before buying the card ask for it to be scanned to show that it is fully valued.

Online Safety Basics for the Holidays

• Say “no” to bad websites. A secure website always has a padlock icon and “https” in the web address (aka the URL” at the top of the page). If you doubt the site’s trustworthiness, move on!

Also, do not create an online account with a merchant you don’t trust. If you have doubts, look for the online seller's physical address and phone number in case there’s a problem.

• Say “no” to strange apps. Scammers can use mobile apps and games to hide malware that steals your personal information. Do not download apps unless they are from a known source and have third-party reviews that verify their legitimacy.
• Know your Wi-Fi.  Don’t use free wireless networks, such as those in coffee shops, when you shop online. Waiting until your have a secure connection (at home, for example) is a smart and easy way to bypass identity theft and financial fraud.
• Know your device. Public computers, such as those in hotel business centers, may contain viruses and malware that steal your information. Don’t use them for online purchases or accessing your accounts.
• Update and patch computers, phones and tablets. Say “yes” and “now” to system updates on your devices. Use up-to-date anti-virus protection and make sure it is receiving updates.

• Use strong passwords. No repeaters. Weak and repeat passwords are a hacker’s holiday treat. Always use more than ten characters, with numbers, special characters, and upper and lower case letters. Always use different passwords for different sites. 

• Credit – never debit – for online shopping. Pay with a credit card rather than a debit card. In case of fraud or a data breach, debit cards do not have the same consumer protections as credit cards.  

• Protect against pop-ups. Cash! Gift Cards! Malware! Hackers can use pop-ups to infect your computer with malware – never click a pop-up window. If a window pops up promising rewards for quizzes and surveys, close it by pressing Control + F4 on a Windows computer and Command + W on a Mac.

• Give yourself a gift: adopt easy “two-step” protection. A two-step protection process for your e-mail account pairs “something you know” – like a password or PIN – with “something you have,” like your cellphone or a physical token. It adds an extra layer of security to prevent access to your account and the personal information in it. For example, after inputting your password, you will then receive a text on your cellphone, giving you a one-time-use code to log into your e-mail account.  Information on how to set up this two-step protection strategy for each of the following e-mail providers can be found here:

• Outlook – http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/two-step-verification-faq
• Gmail – http://www.google.com/landing/2step/
• Yahoo – https://help.yahoo.com/kb/account/two-step-verification-extra-account-security-sln5013.html

Additional Consumer Resources
The California Attorney General’s consumer tips on identity theft and other privacy issues can be found here: https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/info-sheets.
Consumers can file a complaint with the Department of Justice by using the following form: http://oag.ca.gov/contact/consumer-complaint-against-business-or-company.
If you have additional questions or comments, please call: 800-952-5225.



​

By George Runner



A friend of mine recently told me about a troubling experience his daughter had at a California community college. She had to endure a political rant from one of her professors, who compared Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler and claimed Trump’s election was worse than 9/11.


I wasn’t a diehard Trump supporter. For me, the election came down to the Supreme Court and the economy, and many others felt the same. But no student should be forced to endure such nonsense, and to her credit, this student courageously walked out of that classroom in protest.


Students in such situations face an unenviable challenge: they’re forced to balance their beliefs, the opinions of their peers, and the prospect of maintaining a passing grade. Within that balance, liberal educators rarely have their opinions challenged. They become blinded by their own biases, while perceiving themselves to be “enlightened” and open-minded.


Young and impressionable students emulate their professors’ intolerance, believing oppression to be an acceptable form of communication.


Those students synthesize the information they’ve received, and choose media sources that affirm, rather than challenge, their predetermined opinions and worldview, simply because they’ve been taught dissent is for rubes.


Liberal instructors and administrators provide these students with “safe spaces” on campus, to be free from any remaining conservative intellectual resistance that causes them “pain.” This cycle repeats over and over again, and our tax dollars are paying for it.


This is a sure sign that free thought is on the decline. Our academic institutions are supposed to be beacons of enlightenment, not indoctrination.


Healthy and robust discussions regarding any issues that divide us along political lines were once welcomed at our public colleges and universities.


However, since the early 90’s, liberals have doubled down on their attempts to monopolize academia and have labeled anyone in opposition to their beliefs to be dullards.


Instead of trying to understand differing worldviews, many liberals have threatened to leave our country, because their candidate wasn’t elected. Anyone who disagrees with them is deemed a racist xenophobe or worse.


On Facebook, some people assert that Trump’s election is the worst decision America has made. Professors should remind students that America once thought slavery was okay, and that interning Japanese-Americans was the right thing to do.


These misguided declarations, at best, are premature, given Trump hasn’t even assumed office. There used to be a time in our country where we’d give people a chance before judging them.


Indoctrination and close-minded political propaganda on college campuses should come to an end. Some people will ask, “What about the hyperbole used by politicians?” You’re right, it’s not good either.


It is expected of politicians to use a little emphasis to get their points across; we know not to take things too literally. The classroom, however, isn’t the same setting and should be above reproach.


We need a serious discussion about how to improve political discourse in our nation. This dialogue could be led by our academic leaders, if they weren’t so busy throwing temper tantrums like two-year-old children.


At our academic institutions, we deserve a better return for our tax dollars. More importantly, students deserve better. Let’s put an end to this modern McCarthyism while we still can.


George Runner is an elected member of the State Board of Equalization and taxpayer advocate.

RACHEL PETERMAN is flanked by her parents, Doug and Laurie, shown with Principal Tom Jones, Coaches Ben Davis and Stacey Hood and Athletic Director Katie Campbell.

A ceremony in honor of Rachel Peterman was held Monday, November 14th in the Loyalton High School gymnasium, where family, friends, and the entire school were able to witness Rachel sign her Letter of Intent to play women’s college basketball for Dominican University of California. Principal Tom Jones wanted to recognize all the hard work and dedication Rachel has put in up to this point. He called Rachel a role model and said he was super proud of her. Athletic Director Katie Campbell said Rachel was a delight to watch, and called her sportsmanship  a testimony to other students who have dreams of playing college ball. Coach Ben Davis couldn’t be more proud. He remembered her as a little girl  who came out of the bleachers to play at halftime during her older brother’s 5th grade season. He knew then, she would be a great player. Coach Stacey Hood said she and Ben have had the pleasure of coaching Rachel for four years and said she is not only this “amazing baller” that is there before practice, during practice, during the boys’ practice, and sometimes after that. Stacey said Rachel is so focused and so determined with such drive, they couldn’t ask for anybody more deserving to be here signing today. Stacey said Rachel’s life is not just about basketball, she is an amazing individual who helps everyone on the team when she can. She is kind, loving and she is going to go far in life. Stacey thanked Rachel for letting them be part of her journey. 
Rachel thanked her coaches, her parents, her AA coach and all the students and community who have supported her.
Rachel received a Coach’s Award Scholarship of $16,000 and signed her NLI with Dominican University of CA during the early signing period and will be playing women's basketball in 2017 for Coach Tim LaKose in the Division II Pac West Conference. Playing in the Pac West means a yearly trip to Hawaii to compete. She plans to major in nursing at Dominican. 
After finishing her 2015/16 historic varsity season at LHS last March, she spent spring, summer and fall playing club ball for JBS Adidas out of Sacramento for Coach Sean Chambers. It was a great experience. She had the opportunity to play in the Adidas Gauntlet series traveling to Phoenix AZ, Dallas TX and to the Adidas National Finals in Atlanta GA.

CalPERS on Wednesday declared that the Sierra County town of Loyalton has defaulted on its debt to the giant pension fund, a move that means the state is poised to scale back retirees’ pension benefits.
The CalPERS board said Loyalton has failed to make the nearly $1.7 million “termination liability” it owes to the pension fund – the result of a City Council decision in March 2013 to pull out of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System.
The default means the CalPERS board can move to reduce retirees’ benefits in Loyalton by about 60 percent, according to a formula that takes into account the dollars the city has already paid into the pension system. That would mark the first time in state history that CalPERS has reduced retirees’ benefits because of a municipality’s failure to pay its pension bills.​

The impact on the retirees could be blunted, however. CalPERS spokeswoman Amy Morgan said the pension fund was told the City Council voted this week to make up the difference in the retirees’ benefits.
Councilwoman Patricia Whitley confirmed the vote, which was taken in closed session. But she said the decision isn’t final until the council talks to the retirees and figures out how much it will cost.
Although it has only a handful of retirees from city government, Loyalton’s problems are being closely watched in the pension industry. It is one of three government agencies that have lagged in their payments to CalPERS, along with the California Fair Financing Authority and the Niland Sanitary District in Imperial County.
“This is a decision we take very seriously and one we very much regret had to be made,” said CalPERS board president Rob Feckner in a prepared statement. “As a board, we have a fiduciary responsibility to keep the CalPERS fund on secure footing, and as part of this duty we must ensure that employers adhere to the contracts they agreed to. When they don’t, the law requires us to act.
“The people who suffer for this are Loyalton’s public servants who had every right to expect that the city would pay its bill and fulfill the benefit promises it made to them,” Feckner added.
The CalPERS debt amounts to about $2,100 for each of Loyalton’s 750 residents. City officials have said Loyalton doesn’t have enough money to pay the debt.

CalPERS said it first billed the town for the termination liability in June 2014, a year after the council’s vote. The pension fund said it had “multiple discussions” with Loyalton officials about the debt, and sent a “final collections letter” last December. When no payment was made, CalPERS said it followed up with a “final demand letter” in August, giving Loyalton 30 days to pay up.
The other two agencies that owe CalPERS money are “working out solutions,” the pension fund said. CalPERS said the California Fair Financing Authority recently made a significant payment on its debt and is on schedule to be current by next June. The Niland district is working with CalPERS to figure out its termination liability.
A couple of municipal bankruptcies, in Stockton and San Bernardino, raised the possibility of a major city defaulting on its CalPERS obligations. San Bernardino skipped its CalPERS payments for several months. But both cities ended up resolving their CalPERS debts.
Dale Kasler: 916-321-1066, @dakasler
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article115237643.html#storylink=cpy