News Briefs
Meckler’s Citizens for Self-Governance helps file suit against IRS
May 20, 2013 —Citizens for Self-Governance, an organization founded by Nevada County resident Mark Meckler — who co-founded the Tea Party Patriots — will be assisting local groups in filing class action litigation that includes requests for damages against the IRS for illegal and harassing behavior in the handling and processing of their applications for non-profit status.
“We stand shoulder to shoulder with all those known and unknown who have been abused by a federal government run amok,” Meckler said in a prepared statement. “Instead of just playing defense, it is time for the citizens to go on offense. We are, after all, ‘We the People.’ And when the federal government runs amok, it is up to us rein it in. Neither party in Congress can be relied upon to satisfactorily resolve this issue. They created the IRS, fund the IRS, and oversee the IRS. All of this abuse happened on their watch.”
Learn more »Welcome Home Vets to host open house, guest author
May 20, 2013 —Welcome Home Vets will host a Memorial Day open house and book signing by author Kurt Chismark, author of “An Honorable Illusion: A Memoir.” Beginning at 1 p.m. May 27, the Welcome Home Vets office will offer free refreshments for those joining the Local Heroes’ Memorial Day Bridge Walk.
An open house will follow, and presentations by Chismark on his experiences in the Vietnam War and his return home will be given at 3 and again at 6 p.m. Light refreshments will be served until 7 p.m. Chismark’s book is the account of his own service in the 6th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Vietnam. During his command of troops with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, he earned the Bronze Star Medal and the Air Medal. Chismark describes his wartime experiences and the effects that service has since had on him and his family. He is currently employed as executive director of two mental health clinicsand serves as chair of the Welcome Home Vets Board of Directors.
Learn more »Registration now open for foreign car show
May 20, 2013 —The Sierra Sports Car Group, United Way of Nevada County and the Nevada City Chamber of Commerce are proud to announce the third annual Nevada City Foreign Car Show. This car show is a collaborative effort among the three groups. The event will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 8 in downtown Nevada City. Foreign car and motorcycle enthusiasts may enter their vehicles now. The entry will be limited to cars manufactured in 1982 and older, including vintage motorcycles. There will be a special category for cars of special interest, such as race cars and exotics. This is a great opportunity to display your special collectible car, such as a 2000 Lamborghini or 1997 Maserati.
In addition, there will be a wine stroll, a pub crawl, music and kids’ activities in downtown Nevada City. The car show is free. Cars will be parked for public viewing along Broad Street in Nevada City. The proceeds will go to the United Way of Nevada County and the Chamber of Commerce to help support community efforts in our area.
Learn more »Grass Valley declares May ‘Hepatitis Awareness Month’
May 20, 2013 —Grass Valley Mayor Dan Miller and the city council have declared the month of May as Hepatitis Awareness Month and May 19 as Hepatitis Testing Day, urging the citizens of Grass Valley who are at risk to be tested for viral hepatitis.
Hepatitis C is the most common blood borne virus in the U.S., and more people die from it than from HIV. The majority of people who have hepatitis C are Baby Boomers born between 1945 and 1965. Hepatitis C can go undetected for decades, and as Boomers age, the damage progresses more rapidly.
Learn more »Art of the cinema
Art by Union Hill School students in grades 1 through 5 is now on display at Sierra Cinemas. Through their after school art program coordinated by Community Canvas, students painted canvases of the Del Oro Theatre. For more information on the art program, visit http:// www.yourcommunitycanvas.com.
Learn more »Program features birds of the Sierra
May 19, 2013 —At the June 6 meeting of the Sierra Foothills Audubon Society, Ted Beedy and Ed Pandolfino will take the audience on a virtual transect of the Sierra Nevada range from the oak savanna in the west through serene conifer forests of the west side, up into the majestic alpine regions and down the steep eastern escarpment to the pinyon/juniper woodlands and open steppes of the Great Basin.
Along the way, the group will see and hear the stunning diversity of birds that make the Sierra their home. We’ll learn about which birds are in decline and which are expanding and increasing. We’ll address some mysteries surrounding some of those species and discuss how birders can help to solve them.
Learn more »Program features birds of the Sierra Nevada with Ted Beedy and Ed Pandolfino
May 19, 2013 —At the June 6 meeting of the Sierra Foothills Audubon Society the Ted Beedy and Ed Pandolfino will take the audience on a virtual transect of the Sierra Nevada range from the oak savanna in the west, through serene conifer forests of the west side, up into the majestic alpine regions, and down the steep eastern escarpment to the pinyon/juniper woodlands and open steppes of the Great Basin. Along the way the group will see and hear the stunning diversity of birds that make the Sierra their home. We’ll learn about which birds are in decline and which are expanding and increasing. We’ll address some mysteries surrounding some of those species and discuss how birders can help to solve them.
Ted Beedy co-authored Discovering Sierra Birds and has written numerous technical publications and articles on Sierra birds. Ed Pandolfino is President of Western Field Ornithologists, a Regional Editor for Northern California for the North American Birds, and has published more than two dozen articles on status and distribution of western birds. The guest duo co-authored a new book, “Birds of the Sierra Nevada: Their Natural History, Status, and Distribution,” illustrated by Keith Hansen and published by U.C. Press.
Learn more »“Climate Change Reality” presentation set for May 28
May 19, 2013 —The Rev. Sharon Delgado will share her presentation, “Climate Change Reality,” with community members from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on May 28 at the Nevada City United Methodist Church, 433 Broad St., in Nevada City. Delgado’s presentation, a call to action, will focus on “the massive impacts of human-caused climate change on the earth’s natural systems.”
A trained presenter with the Climate Reality Project, Delgado is executive director of local nonprofit Earth Justice Ministries. She will incorporate many of that group’s slides into her presentation. The program is being sponsored by the Nevada City United Methodist Church and Society Committee. For more information, visit www.earth-justice.org or “like” Earth Justice Ministries on Facebook. To schedule Rev. Delgado for a presentation on climate change or another topic, go to http://sharondelgado.org/presentations/. Find her blog postings on climate change at http://sharondelgado.org/category/climate-change-2/.
Learn more »The Nevada County Newcomer’s Club host author, illustrator Maryjo Koch
May 19, 2013 —Talented author, illustrator, and artist, Maryjo Koch, will be the featured speaker at the Nevada County Newcomers Club luncheon on Wednesday, May, 22, at the Alta Sierra Country Club. Working from her studio in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Koch is an artist whose enchanting nature paintings and private commissions are featured in galleries and museums from North American to Asia. She has illustrated 18 books that are treasured and collected by people all around the world. Maryjo will be speaking about how she became a writer and business owner. This talented, fun, humorous speaker will have her books available for sale.
Cost of the luncheon and meeting is $18. Lunch choices include Bay Shrimp and Crab Enchiladas, Cumin Crusted Chicken Breast, and Herbed Cheese Polenta Stackers. All choices include soup du jour, bread and butter, coffee and tea, and tuxedo cake dessert. To make your reservation, send an $18 check made payable to Newcomers Club to Patricia Graves, 10065 Robinson King Road, Nevada City, CA 95959. Please write on the check your luncheon choice. The luncheon begins at 11:45 a.m.; doors open at 11 a.m. Reservation deadline is Tuesday, May 14.
Learn more »North San Juan Fire to discuss parcel tax, truck lease
May 17, 2013 —The board of directors for the North San Juan Fire Protection District will meet Tuesday to discuss a district parcel tax, as well as the lease and possible purchase of a Ford F350 truck.
Other items on the agenda include a proposed preliminary 2013-14 budget.
Learn more »Blaze guts Penn Valley house
May 17, 2013 —A residence in Penn Valley was fully involved when firefighters arrived and was completely destroyed Thursday night.
Firefighters from the Penn Valley Fire District responded to the fire on Castaway Court, off Pioneer Way, just after 9:15 p.m. Rough and Ready firefighters assisted, as did Grass Valley firefighters.
Learn more »Western Sierra Medical Clinic to provide new morning appointments
May 17, 2013 —Western Sierra Medical Clinic is now offering early morning appointments on Thursdays and Fridays through Miners Family Health Center. The new schedule offers appointments starting at 7 a.m. with certified Physician Assistant Flene Folsom. Additional expanded appointments are also available during the lunch hour, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Appointments are available Monday through Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursdays and Fridays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. They can be made by calling Miners Family Health Center during business hours at 530-274-WSMC (9762).
Learn more »Child Advocates of Nevada County to host online auction fundraiser
May 17, 2013 —Child Advocates of Nevada County will be hosting an online auction to benefit their child abuse prevention and advocacy programs. The auction will start Monday. The auction will be managed through Ebay Giving Works Charitable Giving. Accommodations in Cabo San Lucas, Sonoma, Lake Almanor, San Francisco and Reno, as well as many local choices for dinners, health and beauty product and services, and items for the home will be featured. Links to and details about the auction can be found on the Child Advocates of Nevada County website at http://caofnc.org.
Learn more »Third annual Nevada City Foreign Car Show set for June
May 17, 2013 —The Sierra Sports Car Group, United Way of Nevada County and The Nevada City Chamber of Commerce are proud to announce the third annual Nevada City Foreign Car Show. This car show is a collaborative effort between the three groups. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 8 in downtown Nevada City. Foreign Car and motorcycle enthusiasts may enter their vehicles now. Entries will be limited to vehicles made in 1982 and before, including vintage motorcycles. There will be a special class to allow cars of special interest to enter, such as race cars and exotics. This is a great opportunity to display your special collectible car, such as a 2000 Lamborghini or 1997 Maserati.
During the day there will also be a wine stroll, a pub crawl, music and kid’s activities in downtown Nevada City. The car show is free, and the cars will be parked on Broad Street in Nevada City for the public to view. The proceeds will go to the United Way of Nevada County and the Chamber of Commerce to help support community efforts in our area.
Learn more »Auto club hosts Champion Rescuer Event today
May 17, 2013 —AAA Grass Valley will be hosting its Champion Rescuer Event from 10 a.m. to noon today to celebrate local rescuers from the Rough and Ready and Grass Valley fire departments. Activities planned at the AAA office, 113 Dorsey Drive in Grass Valley, include a raffle for a chance to win an autographed San Francisco Giants baseball and a world championship ring replica. Score a free Giants’ collectable cap with an auto, home or life quote and enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win a field day at AT&T Park with the SF Giants. Plus, get tips from the Rough and Ready and Grass Valley Fire Departments on how we can all work together to make our communities stronger, safer and more prepared.
AAA is committed to actively aiding first responder organizations as well as organizations supporting first responders, and will be presenting Rough and Ready and Grass Valley Fire Departments each with a $2,500 donation to purchase equipment and supplies. For more information, call 530-271-2600.
Learn more »County fire agency to meet
May 16, 2013 —The board of directors for the Nevada County Fire Agency will meet to discuss its 2013-14 budget at 7 p.m. May 23.
Other items on the agenda include Fire Safe Council fuel expenses and the Cal Fire dispatching service contract. The board meets at Nevada County Consolidated Fire Station 84, 10135 Coyote St., Nevada City.
Learn more »Fruit & Veggie Fest today at Grocery Outlet
May 16, 2013 —The Network for a Healthy California, the Nevada County Department of Health and Human Services and Grocery Outlet are collaborating to host the Fruit & Veggie Fest from 1 to 4 p.m. today. Part of a statewide effort to empower families to be Champions for Change by making healthy, active living a priority, the event is designed to give shoppers the tools and tips they need to bring more fruits and vegetables into their meals and snacks.
Thanks to Grocery Outlet and General Produce, the event will include fruit and vegetable tastings and smoothies (made in a human-powered bicycle blender). There will also be tastings to show how to add fruits and veggies to water for a delicious alternative to sugary beverages. We’ll be giving out recipe cards and cookbooks, as well as educational materials. A CalFresh representative will be there, as well, to answer questions about the food stamp program.
Learn more »Fencing Club open to new students
May 16, 2013 —The Nevada County Fencing Club began its summer session of Olympic-style fencing instruction May 13 at the Grass Valley Veteran’s Building, 255 S. Auburn St., in Grass Valley. The eight-week session meets Mondays from 6:45 to 8:15 p.m. for beginning, intermediate and advanced levels. Open fence time is from 8:15 to 8:45 p.m. New students can begin up to the third week of this session. All equipment is provided. Cost is $60 per session, and visitors are welcome. If you have questions, call instructor Rob Woodhall at 530-432-1750 or visit the club website at http://www.wix.com/ncfencing/ncfc.
Learn more »Habitat for Humanity and JCPenney invite shoppers to donate at checkout
May 16, 2013 —Habitat for Humanity is partnering with JCPenney in the retailer’s charitable giving program, jcp cares. JCPenney customers can round up their May purchases to the nearest whole dollar and donate the difference to support Nevada County Habitat’s affordable housing work, which is in partnership with low-income local families.
World-renowned architect and designer Michael Graves will be joining JCPenney in its support of Habitat for Humanity. Graves, a long-standing advocate for the disabled, and his architecture practice, Michael Graves & Associates, have designed a Habitat for Humanity house that focuses on accessibility and universal design. Habitat for Humanity may use the new design to build homes in partnership with low-income families who require an accessible house.
Learn more »Bear Yuba Land Trust trek to Bear Valley with Grayson Coney
May 16, 2013 —Grayson Coney, cultural director of the Tsi-Akim Maidu, will lead a trek through the meadows of Bear Valley from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday while sharing stories of the early inhabitants of the area. The outing, sponsored by Bear Yuba Land Trust, is rated “easy to moderate.”
The meadows of Bear Valley were once grazed for cattle and utilized as an important source of fodder for emigrant parties after crossing the Sierra Nevada. Additionally, the 1844 Emigrant Trail ran through Bear Valley and a narrow gauge rail line traversed the valley in the 1880s and 1890s.
Learn more »Author recounts 1800s trip from Michigan to Nevada City
May 15, 2013 —Join the Nevada County Historical Society tonight for a presentation by author Robert Davis, who will speak about his great-great-grandmother’s trip across the country from Michigan to Nevada City in 1849-1850.
Sarah Davis, along with other family members, traveled in covered wagons across rivers, mountain ranges and deserts; ate snow in July; saw her sister-in-law die from cholera; crossed the Great Salt Desert in today’s western Utah; and saw death and destruction along the Forty-Mile Desert in today’s Nevada.
Learn more »Vietnam Veterans of America
May 15, 2013 —The local chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America seeks to provide a spirit of camaraderie among veterans who share a common heritage. All veterans of the Vietnam era and their families are welcome to attend chapter meetings.
The chapter meets at 6 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month in the Remembrance Room, Grass Valley Veterans Memorial Building, 255 South Auburn St., Grass Valley.
Learn more »Sierra Nevada Canoe and Kayak Club open to new members
May 15, 2013 —The Sierra Nevada Canoe and Kayak Club is a recreational paddle club that enjoys flat water and slow-moving rivers. SNCKC includes people of all age groups and skill levels. Most members are residents of the Nevada County foothills and surrounding areas although there is no residency requirement.
Monthly Club meetings take place the fourth Thursday of each month at the Seamans Lodge, 425-A Nimrod St., Pioneer Park in Nevada City. They provide social, informational and recreational gatherings associated with the sport of paddling.
Learn more »Blue Star Mothers of America
May 15, 2013 —California Chapter 12 of the Blue Star Mothers of America meets at 10 a.m. on the fourth Saturday of the month at Paulette’s Country Kitchen in Grass Valley. If you are a mother, adoptive mother, stepmother, foster-mother, grandmother or legal guardian who now have, or have had, children honorably serving in the military, we invite you to join us.
For more information, visit www.sierranevadabsma.org.
Learn more »Veterans’ e-waste event set for June 8
May 14, 2013 —The Nevada County Consolidated Veterans Council, in conjunction with CEAR, is planning a free e-waste drop-off event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 8 in the parking lot at the Grass Valley Veterans Memorial Hall, located at 255 S. Auburn St.
The NCCVC’s primary focus is to continue cost-saving renovations to the building, combined with the preservation and use of this 1930’s Art Deco building for community events, such as parties, conferences, weddings, sports leagues, shows, dances and other social functions. This includes use of the auditorium, kitchen, dining room, remembrance room and parking Lot as needed.
Donations of your unusable and unwanted electrical, electronic and related items keep those items out of the landfill and keeps Nevada County green. Just drive up and let us do the unloading.
Electronic equipment, monitors, laptops, printers, computers, televisions, cables, phones, cameras, etc. ,and small household appliances, even vacuum cleaners without the bag.\, are acceptable. We’re also accepting DVDs, CDs, video and audio cassettes.
If unable to drop off your items or if you have questions about acceptable items, call one of the contacts below. We cannot accept large household appliances, furniture, hazardous waste of any type; no tires, batteries, pesticides, water heaters, fluorescent lights, etc.
CEAR is a state approved electronic waste collector and recycler; visit www.cearinc.com) or call 916-388-1777 for recycle information. All hard drives are shredded at the secured facility which is monitored 24/7. Local contacts for the e-waste event are Gary at 530-477-1533 and Margie at 530-265-4878.
Speaker against Agenda 21 coming to Vets Hall
May 14, 2013 —Rosa Koire, author of “Behind the Green Mask: U.N. Agenda 21,” will speak at 5:30 p.m. May 21 at the Grass Valley Veterans Hall, 225 S. Auburn St. Koire is a forensic commercial real estate appraiser who specialized in eminent domain evaluation during her 28-year career. She blogs regularly on her website www.DemocratsAgainstUNAgenda21.com.
Koire asserts that Agenda 21 is part of a global plan to inventory and control all aspects of citizens’ lives and says it as an assault on private property rights and individual liberty.
The presentation will be followed by a questions-and-answer session, as well as a book signing. Admission is $20 at the door or $15 in advance. Tickets can be purchased at the BriarPatch Co-op,
The event is sponsored by the California Association of Property, Business and Resource Owners (CABPRO). For more information, call 530-478-1331.
Friends of libraries book sale set for June 1
May 14, 2013 —The Friends of the Nevada County Libraries next monthly book sale will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 1 at the Doris Foley Historical Library, 211 N. Pine St., Nevada City.
Most books cost between 25¢ and $3. Thousands of paperback and hardback books include fiction, nonfiction, children’s, collectible and more. This month’s sale features books of local interest and sports.
For additional information, call 530-265-1407 or visit friends@ncfol.org.
These book sales raise money for new equipment, books and programs at Nevada County’s libraries. Your gently used books can be donated at any county library branch or outside Raley’s in Grass Valley.
Spring concert at Sierra College Rocklin campus
May 13, 2013 —Spring concert at Sierra College Rocklin campus
The Sierra College Music Department is presenting a Spring Band Concert 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Dietrich Theatre on the Sierra College Rocklin campus.
Join Greg McLaughlin and the Sierra College Wind Ensemble and Wind Symphony as they present an evening of standard and contemporary symphonic music that celebrates the rich history of the American band idiom. Works to be performed include “Suite of Old American Dances,” by Robert Russell Bennett, “King Cotton,” by John Philip Sousa, Frank Ticheli’s arrangement of “Shenandoah” and Daniel Kallman’s “A Visit With Old Joe.”
Sierra College is located at 5000 Rocklin Road. Admission is $6 student/senior and $10 general. Tickets are available at the door. All proceeds benefit the Sierra College Music Department. There is a $3 parking fee on campus. Parking permits can be purchased at machines located within the campus parking lot.
For directions to the music building or information about this concert and other events at Sierra College, call the Sierra College Music Department at 916-660-8054 or visit http://sierracollege.edu.
Click on the “Events” tab at the top of the home page, then choose “Music/Drama” from the right side event categories.
— Submitted to The Union
Baha’i Faith of Nevada County hosts devotions, film
May 13, 2013 —Nevada County Baha’is and their friends will mark the fifth anniversary of the imprisonment of the seven former Bahá’í leaders in Iran with a special meeting at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Sierra Center for Spiritual Living, 119 Florence Ave., Grass Valley.
The public is invited to attend this free event. Please park at the back of the veterans hall parking lot on 255 S. Auburn St. in Grass Valley and walk through the garden gates to Florence Avenue.
The program will include prayers for a swift end to the incarceration of all Bahá’ís in Iran and for their spiritual and physical protection, together with that of all prisoners of conscience in that country, and be followed by a screening of the 30-minute documentary “Education Under Fire.”
The seven former Bahá’í leaders, known as the Yárán i-Iran — the “Friends of Iran” — were cast into prison, later to be falsely tried, convicted and sentenced to long jail terms in a travesty of justice. Over the last two years, as the Yárán and other prisoners of conscience have continued to endure incarceration under the harshest, most abominable conditions imaginable, the incessantly harassed Bahá’ís of Iran have seen their already-constricted freedoms further deteriorate. Since January 2011, the number of Bahá’ís behind bars has more than doubled from 56 to 115.
Devotions will be followed by a screening of “Education Under Fire,” which tells the story of the Bahá’í Institute For Higher Education, a community-run initiative in Iran that serves young Baha’is who are barred from university because of their religious beliefs. Government raids in 2011 on homes and halls where the students studied resulted in the arrest of dozens of faculty.
The film, co-sponsored by Amnesty International, addresses this continued government-sanctioned persecution and the blatant disregard of Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees education as an inalienable right of every human being.
For information, call 530-477-7017 or visit http://iran.bahai.us and http://educationunderfire.com.
