User Posts : The Southwest Voice

Voice on Vacation

We just got home from a week in New Hampshire to see all the fall foliage. We took our SW Voice with us and gave them to the kind lady who took our picture holding the magazines.

Youth Athletes of the Month

Taja Pickett and Zaire Pickett are brother and sister who attend Buena Vista Elementary School. Taja is in the sixth grade and Zaire is in the third. They both attend Hans Tae Kwon Do Academy, here in Bakersfield. Taja and Zaire both started Tae Kwon Do in 2008 and have advanced beyond anything I could have ever dreamed for. Earlier this year Zaire won Gold at the Junior Olympic National Qualifier making him the U.S. Western Regional Champion and just last weekend at the California Junior Championships in Fullerton California, he took Gold in sparring. His older sister Taja, won the National Championship at the Junior Olympics held in Detroit Michigan in July, additionally, she also won Gold in sparring at the California Junior Championships this last weekend. They both plan on training very hard and competing at future tournaments in hopes of having another great performance at the 2009 Junior Olympics. As their Father I couldnt be prouder of their how hard they work. The wins are great but just them trying their best makes me so happy and I love them very much.

Newsletter & Deadline

It's that time again! The latest Southwest Voice has arrived in mailboxes and newsstands all over Southwest Bakersfield and we're already preparing for the next issue! Of course, we need the help of all our talented writers out there, so please send me your article submissions by:

THE USUAL DEADLINE of MONDAY at MIDNIGHT!!!!

And be sure to check out our most recent issue featuring:

- U.S. Army Field Band, The Volunteers, who will be playing a FREE community concert at the Harvey Auditorium on Oct. 25. Get your FREE tickets now by calling The Southwest Voice at 716-8640...Hurry, with over 1,000 tickets already given out, seats are flying!!!!!!

- Hey, Dad columnist Dwayne Ardis returns with tips on how to help your kids get bullies off their back.

- Voice on Vacation results! Okay, I know summer is long gone, but we are FINALLY announcing who won The Voice on Vacation contest....and you'll also get a sneak peek at our upcoming contest....get those pumpkins prepped!

Editor’s note

Summer is long gone, but in this issue we want to take a brief moment and reflect back on the fond memories that many of you made while taking The Voice on vacation.

As promised, we are also announcing the winner of The Voice on Vacation photo contest, but I can’t tell you who it is!

And now that fall is in full swing, it’s time for the next photo contest! Whoever shows off the most creatively carved Halloween pumpkin will get dinner at a favorite Southwest haunt, on us! To submit photos of your creations, register at: www.swvoice.com and add a spotlight gallery featuring your family and the prized pumpkin by Nov. 3.

Also on the horizon: U.S. Army Field Band, The Volunteers, is coming to Bakersfield for a special community concert on Oct. 25 at the Harvey Auditorium. As sponsors of the event, The Southwest Voice wants you to come out and enjoy one of the top military bands around.

Tickets are FREE — all you have to do is fill out the coupon on page 9 of our print edition and we’ll get them out to you on the double! Or to request tickets by phone, call our offices at 716-8640.

Can’t wait to see you all there!

Breast Cancer Awareness

Cancers are a group of diseases that cause cells in the body to change and grow out of control. Most types of cancer cells eventually form a lump or mass called a tumor and are named after the part of the body where the tumor originates.
Breast cancer begins in breast tissue, which is made up of glands for milk production, called lobules, and the ducts that connect lobules to the nipple. The remainder of the breast is made up of fatty, connective, and lymphatic tissue.
Although breast cancer in men is a rare disease (accounting for approximately 1% of breast cancer cases
in the US).
Breast Cancer death rates were virtually unchanged between 1930 and 1990, but decreased about 27% between 1990 to 2004. 1 in 8 women are expected to get Breast Cancer in their lifetime.
Recommendations:
•    Yearly mammograms are recommended starting at age 40.
•    A clinical breast exam should be part of a periodic health exam, about every 3 years for women in their 20s and 30s, and every year for women 40 and older.
•    Women should know how their breasts normally feel and report any breast changes promptly to their health care providers. Breast self-exam is an option for women starting in their 20s.
•    Screening MRI is recommended for women with an approximately 20%-25% or greater lifetime risk of breast cancer, including women with a strong family history of breast or ovarian cancer and women who were treated for Hodgkin disease.
Locally, in Kern County 345 people are expected to be diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2008.

For more information about Breast Cancer nationwide go to www.cancer.org for the American Cancer Society. For Kern County residents, Links for Life is a local non-profit organization that helps people affected by Breast Cancer (www.linksforlife.org).

Youth Athlete of the Month

Olivia Bryant is an 11 year old black belt, in the art and sport of taekwondo. She finished first winning the gold medal in the 11-12 lightweight division at the annual Jimmy Kim Invitational Taekwondo Championship (www.thejki.com) held on Saturday, September 27, 2008 at the Walter Pyramid on the campus of Cal State Long Beach.

Olivia had three fights on her way to the gold winning the first two by point gap (7 point gap ends the contest). Her first match was against Evangeline Tsai of California which ended 11-4 her second match of the day was against Rebeca Acuna of Mexico 7-0, with the final victory over Justine Junio of California which ended in a much closer 8-6 win for Olivia.

The clear high point of the day was the fight with Rebeca Acuna which left those in attendance in shock. In a match that was scheduled for two 90 second rounds, Olivia reached the point gap ending the match in an unprecedented 15 seconds. The entire match can be seen here.

This marks the beginning of her 2008-2009 tournament season and she's off to a great start! More information on her upcoming competitions & training, will be posted on her website at www.teamlibbytkd.com.

Team Libby Taekwondo - Because Champions Don't Start Training At 35!

October Events

Oct. 16 — McTeacher’s Night
Actis Junior High School teachers and administration will be at your service when you go to the McDonald’s on the corner of Stockdale Highway and California Avenue from 5 to 8 p.m. The school will receive 20 percent of sales, so be sure to super size!

Oct. 17 — Fall Fiesta & Tequila Tasting
Come out to M.A.R.E. Riding Center, 18200 Johnson Road, to enjoy this fiesta complete with food, entertainment and tasty tequila! Admission is $50 and proceeds will help fund therapeutic equine assisted activities for special needs individuals in Kern County. For more information, call Deborah Durkan at 589-1877.

Oct. 17 — “Obscene in the Extreme” book discussion
Author Rick Wartzman will speak about his new book “Obscene in the Extreme: The story of the Burning and Banning of ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ in Kern County” at the Southwest Branch Library, 8301 Ming Ave. Presentation will be from 7 to 9:30 p.m. and admission is free.

Oct. 18 — Xtreme Elite Cheer grand opening
Come celebrate the grand opening of Xtreme Elite Cheer, 5207 Young St. There will be games, a cartwheel-a-thon, raffle tickets, entertainment, performances and more! Food and drinks will be served. Event begins at 1 p.m. and admission is free. For more information, call Lisa at 663-8500.

Oct. 21 — Tim Sterling presents: “Bhutan, Cloud Kingdom”
As part of the Bakersfield Adult School’s Open Forum Travel Series, producer Tim Sterling presents his film on Bhutan, the last independent Buddhist kingdom. See the show at the Harvey Auditorium, 1316 G St. Show will be at 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. For more information, call 871-0146.

Oct. 24 — “Son of Rambow”
Fox FLICS presents “Son of Rambow” at 7:30 p.m. at the Fox Theater, 2001 H St. Tickets are $5. For more information, call 325-4815.

Oct. 25 — Kilt and Celt Golf Tournament
Open to everyone — men and women, novice and experienced, starting at 7:30 a.m. Scramble format with four-person teams. Entry fee is $65 per person and includes green fees, cart, small bucket of range balls, tri-tip lunch and drawing ticket. For more information, call 323-8662.

Oct. 25 — East Bakersfield High School dinner & dance
The community is invited to attend the second Annual EBHS AAA Dinner/Dance at the East Bakersfield Veteran's Hall, 2101 Ridge Road just off Mt. Vernon. Doors open at 6 with a no-host bar and a buffet dinner at 7, and dancing from 8 to 11:30 p.m. Costumes are optional, but there will be a costume contest along with a raffle and door prizes. Tickets are $20 per person in advance and $25 at the door. For more information, call Linda at 477-6076, Chrissy at 872-5731 or Karen at 565-6037.

Keep it positive!

I think it is safe to say that most people believe they learn from their mistakes. I know I have learned more than a few lessons from mistakes. I think it is also safe to say that positive feedback feels pretty empowering. According to a recent article in The Journal of Neuroscience, areas of the brains of adults and children strongly respond — specifically in the basal ganglia, just outside the cerebral cortex — when we get positive remarks like, “Great job!” or, “You got it!”

As it turns out, not everyone learns from their mistakes. Developmental psychologist Dr. Eveline Crone and her colleagues from the Leiden Brain and Cognition Lab suggest that children under 12 are not processing negative input to the degree they process positive input. So when parents or teachers tell youngsters about the deficiencies in a project or paper the brain does not respond. Comments like, “Got that wrong” or, “You’re not doing this right” essentially falls on deaf ears. Tell them what they did right, however, and the brain lights up!

According to a ScienceDaily.com article on the study, the brain control centers of children 12 and 13 years old (as well as adult brain control centers) are more strongly activated by negative feedback and much less by positive feedback.

What that means to me as a junior high English teacher is that I will continue to closely edit my students’ papers and continue to require them to rewrite with corrections while also giving them plenty of daily comments on what they do right in class. It also means my colleagues teaching younger grades, and loads of parents, are doing a great job focusing on the positive with their little ones.

— Peggy Dewane-Pope is an eighth grade teacher at Stonecreek Junior High School in the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District.

Beat bullies to the punch!

Hey Dad,
My son came home from school today and told me he is being picked on and was punched by another boy in his class. I have always taught my kids that violence is not the answer, but I am loosing my patience with this bully. I have talked with the teacher, but she says she can’t watch them every second of the day. I don’t want my son hurt anymore, but what else can I do?
Protective Mom

Dear Protective,
You are correct that violence is not the answer, but sometimes it is the only option left. You need to teach your son to stand up for himself. This is what I suggest you do: contact the parents of the boy that is bothering your son, and ask them to talk to their son and try to get him to stop bothering your son. If that fails to bring peace, go to the principal and tell him or her about the problem. Advise the principal of your talk with the parents and that if the violence against your son doesn’t stop, you will give your son the right to defend himself. When I was a boy there were two neighbor boys who wanted to beat me up for no reason. My mom stepped in and said, “All right, if you want to fight, then you will do it right here in my front yard so I can make sure it is a fair fight.” I had just gotten over being sick with rheumatic fever and was not strong enough to fight, so my little brother stepped up and cleaned their clocks! We all became friends after that and I never had a problem with them again. In fact, when I confronted other bullies in my lifetime, the result was always the same. They all ended up respecting me and we became friends. I hope you get the same results.

Dear readers, have a question or a comment? Click on the “Hey, Dad” link in the columnists box at: www.swvoice.com and become a part of The Southwest Voice family. You can remain anonymous if you would like.
I hope to hear from you soon.

— “Hey, Dad” is written by contributing columnist Dwayne Ardis.

Striking a patriotic chord

The Volunteers, an ensemble of the U.S. Army Field Band, is coming to play the Harvey Auditorium on Saturday, Oct. 25, but don’t expect your typical army band. When you see them play you won’t hear brass horns, but bluesy bass lines. Orchestrated overtures will be replaced with electric guitar rifts and even traditional compositions by the likes of John Philip Sousa will just plain rock!

Formed in 1981, the Volunteers is a six-piece musical show band that seamlessly blends jazz, rock, country, pop and patriotism into a foot-stomping, hand clapping show for all ages. Home to the band is Fort Mead, Md., but come tour season the group travels across the country, usually performing over 30 shows in a stretch of 30 days.

The Southwest Voice spoke over the phone with Volunteers keyboardist Master Sergeant Kirk Kadish just as he was packing his bags to head out with the band to begin their western states tour. Sgt. Kadish entered the Army in 1990, after years of studying music and working as a freelance composer and arranger. He served as part of the Armed Forces School of Music faculty and later, in 1994, joined the Field Band. We asked Sgt. Kadish to share a bit about the Volunteers and their upcoming performance in Bakersfield, and here is what he had to say:

Q. Do U.S. Army Field Band members have to go through the same type of training as everyone else?
A. Every soldier no matter what their job — computer programmer, musician, what have you — has to meet the same requirements. We still have to pass the PT [physical training] test.

Q. What’s life like on tour?
A. This is the smallest of our components. There’s six of us, if you think about it we’re performing 100 or more days a year. We travel together, stay in the same hotels, eat together, rehearse together. And most of the guys stay in the band for a number of years, so we’re pretty much like family.

Q. Why does the Army have bands like the Volunteers?
A. It’s about instilling patriotism. We want people to continue to support the soldiers regardless of what their politics are. We want people to honor the soldiers who are giving their lives day in and day out.

Q. What can the audience expect when they go to see the Volunteers on Oct. 25?
A. They can expect an amazingly wide variety of popular music. There’ll be country, rock, jazz, swing — a little bit of everything. This is the most versatile group of musicians I have ever played with ... The final part of the show is patriotic number which includes an armed forces medley that will include theme songs from each of the services. If anyone has served we like to ask them to stand and be honored during the number. We even want family members of those who are serving or have served to stand, because they give a lot, too.

Q. If someone is not familiar with the armed forces, should they still come out and see the band?
A. That’s all the more reason to go. Even my perspective of what the Army was like was very limited before I joined ... We love to hang to hang out after the show and meet everyone, so come and learn about the broad range of jobs we do. The picture of the soldier running on the ground through Baghdad is only one type of soldier.

See the Volunteers!
When: Saturday, Oct. 25
Where: The Harvey Auditorium, 1316 G St.
Time: 7 p.m.
Cost: FREE!

To request your free tickets, call The Southwest Voice at 716-8640. Give us your name, address and the number of tickets you want and we’ll mail them out to you directly!

Evening with Firoozeh Dumas

Firoozeh Dumas, bestselling author of Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America, will be speaking at 7 p.m., November 10th, 2008 at CSUB’s Icardo Center.

Funny in Farsi was chosen as the 2008-2009 Runner Reader selection, in support of CSUB’s Roadrunner Resources for Undergraduate Success and High-Achievement (RUSH-A) First-Year Experience Program. The goal of the program is to “build, nurture, and sustain a vibrant educational community at CSUB committed to academic and personal success of undergraduate students ‘in transition’,” including first-time freshmen, transfer students, and re-entry students. All students in CSUB 101/301 (introduction to the university courses) and English composition courses will read and discuss the book in an effort to create a shared learning experience, promote a sense of community, and help ease the transition into college.

This fall, the Runner Reader program is also expanding to local high schools, in an effort to foster a stronger connection between high school and college. High school students will read Funny in Farsi and will complete the same assignments as their collegiate counterparts. Roughly 500 students at Arvin High School read last year’s selection, When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otuska. This year, approximately 2000 students from six additional high schools, including Frontier, Liberty, North, Shafter, Stockdale, and West High Schools, have been invited to participate in the program.

Funny in Farsi was a finalist for the PEN/USA award in 2004 and a finalist in 2005 for an Audie Award for best audio book. Dumas was also a finalist for the prestigious Thurber Prize for American Humor, the first Middle Eastern woman ever to be so honored. Dumas’ second book, Laughing Without an Accent, was published by Random House in May.

“An Evening with Firoozeh Dumas” will feature a talk by the author, a Question-and-Answer session, and book signing. Writing awards, for both CSUB students and high school students, will also be presented. The event is free and open to the public and everyone is highly encouraged to attend. Copies of both of Dumas’ books will also be available for sale.

If you would like to help purchase copies of Funny in Farsi for local high school students or if you would like to know more about the Runner Reader Program, the RUSH-A Program, or “An Evening with Firoozeh Dumas,” please contact Dr. Emerson Case at 661-654-6281 or at ecase@csub.edu.

Tales from Paw Print City

I noticed in a recent news story that the city of Bakersfield has begun its canvassing program to check for unlicensed dogs living in Bakersfield. The six-week program has a team of officers going to various neighborhoods throughout Bakersfield to educate people about license laws, leave information beneficial to local dog owners and, in some cases, give owners of unlicensed dogs notices to comply with licensing laws.

Not that this should surprise anyone, but I love the fact that this program is taking place. Finally something is actually being done to help create a positive change in the lives of homeless animals in Bakersfield (alas, not the county, as this is a city program). Plus, there’s nothing like a visit from the friendly folks at Bakersfield Animal Control to give people a gentle reminder that along with all the perks of pet ownership, there are some responsibilities.

Maybe as people realize that animal control officers may actually come to their door and look at their pets, they will finally get serious about making sure their dogs are licensed. Licensing fees can be used to assist in paying for many of the programs pet owners have said are desperately needed in Bakersfield: low-cost spay/neuter, better staffing at the Mt. Vernon facility and longer operating hours for adoption and surrender.

Will a simple license fee be the cure-all for what ails Bakersfield in the pet-overpopulation department? Hardly. But if we can manage to get 10,000 more dogs a year licensed, even at the “cheapie” altered rate of $15, it will add $150,000 per year to the budget of a department that gets less love than a wool sweater on an August afternoon.

Want to get ahead of the curve and show those officers that you’re someone who doesn’t have to wait to be told what to do? Get your dog licensed before the officers come to your door.

Dog licensing requires that your pet be vaccinated against rabies. If your dog is current on their rabies vaccination, call your veterinarian and ask for a copy of your dog’s rabies certificate. Enclose that certificate with your license application form (visit: www.co.kern.ca.us/ac and search “animal license application form”) and the appropriate payment and mail it to Animal Control. It’s that easy. Should you find your pup in need of a rabies booster, Kern County Animal Control holds monthly low-cost rabies vaccination clinics. Visit: www.co.kern.ca.us/acd/rabies.asp for a complete schedule of rabies vaccination clinics.

Let’s hear it for jingling tags on licensed dogs!

— E-mail Vicky at: pawprintcitytimes@sbcglobal.net or visit www.pawprintcitytimes.com.

Southwest's St. John Lutheran named Blue Ribbon School

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings named Bakersfield’s St. John’s Lutheran School as a 2008 No Child Left Behind -- Blue Ribbon School. “These Blue Ribbon Schools are an example of what teachers and students can achieve," Spellings said. "Now our challenge is to help other schools follow their lead by continuing to measure progress through No Child Left Behind, and by using the knowledge we've gained to replicate effective strategies and help every student improve."

The No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools that are either academically superior or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement to high levels. St. John’s was selected because its test scores placed it in the top ten percent of schools in the nation.

“Receiving this award is an acknowledgement of how richly God has blessed our school.” said Mr. Stephen Dinger, St. John’s Superintendent. “Those blessings come in the form of students striving to do their best; families who realize the importance of providing a solid educational foundation on which all future learning is based; and teachers who are dedicated to encouraging children and bringing out their gifts. It is an award that the school receives but is more accurately given to all those who make it possible for quality education to happen: hard working students, committed parents and dedicated, competent teachers.”

The USDE Blue Ribbon program -- started in 1982 and currently part of President George W. Bush's "No Child Left Behind" initiative -- has honored more than 5,800 of America’s most successful schools. This year 320 schools nationwide were named as Blue Ribbon Schools, thirty-two of which are in California. Stockdale Elementary School was the last Bakersfield school to receive the award in 2000. St. John’s is the first private school in Bakersfield to receive this designation.

The winners will be honored at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on October 20-21 where each school will receive a plaque and a flag signifying its status.

St. John’s is located at 4500 Buena Vista Road, just south of Stockdale High School. It was founded 47 years ago. Its current enrollment is 500 children from infant through Eighth Grade. www.sjlschool.org

Sports Shorts

Hey everybody, do you know how the Major League Baseball team from Tampa Bay was able to rid themselves of the devil? They simply dropped “devil” from Devil Rays and became the Rays! And a special ray of light has shone on these “boys of summer” as they have advanced to the American League Championship Series versus Boston. This special baseball team is being mentioned in this column due to the fact that the team has on it a sprinkling of former Bakersfield Blaze players, most prominently Rocco Baldelli, who has played on a limited basis due to illness. The Rays are perhaps the most anonymous team in all of baseball as they play before very sparse crowds at home and possess one of the lowest payrolls in the majors. They finished last in all of baseball last year! Manager Joe Maddon booms out The Rolling Stones to get his vibe on prior to crucial games. As well as they have played to date you can be sure that Joe hasn’t been playing “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”!

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more intense high school rivalry, in any sport, than that of Stockdale High School versus Centennial High School! And it continued as the Mustangs from Stockdale nipped the Golden Hawks 45-44 in prep football. SHS ran their overall record to 4-0 and garnered their first SWYL victory as Malik Henderson pounded out 130 rushing yards and found pay dirt for two touchdowns. Simply another classic between two proud programs.

Bakersfield High scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to stun Liberty High 17-10 in their SEYL opener.

Liberty’s varsity volleyball team swept Golden Valley, East and Highland high schools, all in three sets, to advance their SEYL record to 4-0.

In girls tennis Stockdale edged Liberty by a 7-5 score in a match-up of top tennis teams in town.

The Ridgeview boys cross country team ran their SWYL record to an unblemished 4-0 via a 16-45 victory against Frontier. The score sounds strange, eh? But then again, less is more when it comes to cross country!

Quote of the day: “I shall stand at the corner of Truxtun and Chester avenues from 8 a.m. ‘till noon on Nov. 4 passing out issues of The Voice with The Stones playing from my boom box if the Tampa Bay Rays win the ‘08 World Series!”

Want a perfect exercise? Squatting’s for you

Exercise comes in many forms. When done correctly, exercise is not only beneficial but crucial to a long and healthy life. When performed incorrectly, many exercises can lose their benefits and actually cause harm. Learning how to perform basic exercises may take a little time and effort, but is well worth it in the long run.

The squat is truly a great exercise. When performed properly it works muscles in the legs, buttocks, and core, as well as providing some cardiovascular benefits. When performed improperly it can be completely ineffective or, worse yet, cause knee damage or back pain.

In order to prepare the body for strength training of any type, a five to 10 minute warm-up should be performed. During normal daily activities the body directs its blood flow primarily to the gut to aid in digestion and normal bodily functions. As you begin to exercise and raise the heart rate, blood is redirected to the muscles to supply oxygen. It is important for muscles to have a good supply of blood to prevent injury. Taking a quick walk or dancing around to some music will do the trick.

Now, about the squat — it is just what it sounds like, a squat. All too often I see people attempting to squat, but they are really doing knee bends. Heels should stay on the floor at all times and your weight should be on them. It should be possible to slightly lift the toes at the bottom of the squat. If the heels come up then the knees are going in front of the toes and can lead to pain in the knees.

The work for a squat should come from the lower body — the upper body should only come as far forward as necessary for balance. Sitting slightly backwards and bending and straightening from the waist up is not a squat, that’s more like a standing abdominal crunch!

To practice a perfect squat stand about 1 foot in front of a chair. Then sit back to the point that the buttocks just barely touch the chair then stand back up. Repeat this movement until you are comfortable with the exercise. Then remove the chair and do the same thing.

Another inexpensive alternative to learning how to do a perfect squat is to purchase a big Resist-A-Ball. Place the ball between a wall and your lower back. With your weight pressing into the ball, lower into a squat, stop when your knees reach a 90 degree angle, then stand back up.

Learning to do a squat is worth your time and effort. It will lift the derrière and tighten the abs, it is cheap and quick and can be done anywhere. Squat you way to a better bod!