National Foster Care Month shines a light on these children and points us all in the direction of solutions, but let’s focus on the magic we have in our own county. For this I enlisted some help.

Calli Oxford, runs our local ILP and Foster Youth Services Programs and does a great job. She is too modest to “toot her own horn” however I found some people willing to do it for her.

However, before we begin, I think it’s important to say what FYS is. Foster Youth Services Coordinating Programs provide support services to foster children who suffer the traumatic effects of displacement from family and schools and multiple placements in foster care.

Daisy Murdock, longtime advocate for children in foster care, describes the positive impact that the program has had on youth in foster care. (One of the many services ILP offers is tutoring.)

Daisy writes, “I have a youth that I worked with who needed tutoring and we got him signed up and he loved it! Initially he was only going to attend two days a week and this only lasted the first week then he begged his Foster Parent to go every day.

“At our first wrap meeting with the youth I bought him a nerf gun for his birthday and had set up what I thought was really cool engagement activity that would include shooting the new Nerf Gun.

“Halfway through the game the youth stops and asks his foster parent what time it is when she said it was 3:45pm the youth turned to me and said, “okay wrap it up Daisy I have to get to tutoring!””

WrapAround Facilitator Krystle Hollandsworth adds, “I have several children on my caseload that are foster youth and FYS/ILP have been a wonderful part of the team. They go out of their way to assist youth with their needs. They also make getting to know the youth and making them feel comfortable a priority. I had one little girl that loved it so much she asked to go to tutoring every day!”

Social Worker Gennifer McArthur echoes this sentiment stating, “The crew at FYS has been amazing to work with. As a social worker, I have the pleasure of working with Calli and her team often. As I sat and thought about how to describe FYS and ILP, I felt the need to email Calli and ask her! It seems anytime one of my kiddos in care needs something, I’m calling Calli! Better yet, she always knows where to direct me!”

“Calli and her crew have done a phenomenal job in working with our foster youth. They have a special knack for breaking through those trauma barriers to help the youths overcome their educational gaps.

“Calli helps track the progress for attendance and grades, which enables us to intervene before a youth gets too far behind in school. And for that youth who struggles a bit more, FYS helps advocate for different educational settings to meet the youth’s learning style and needs. My older youths consistently tell me how much they enjoy attending ILP classes and all that they learn.

“If I have learned anything in the past two years of working with Calli, she is a force to be reckoned with. Her passion, and her team’s passion, for working with our kiddos in care is immeasurable.”

Yet it’s not just the children in Foster care that are supported by this wonderful program, Foster Parents like Jacey Hermann benefit from their assistance as well, “Calli is an amazing person who has the best interest of foster youth in mind. She is a voice for the voiceless. By no choice of their own, these children have had everything taken away from them.

“Calli advocates for them to obtain the one thing nobody can ever take away and that is an education. So many times, children in the foster care system have had poor attendance or once in placement have had to move and change schools. This leaves gaps in their learning and often they can fall behind. The tutoring program offers a supportive and safe environment where children can get the extra support they need to thrive. She is a difference maker.”

And not that you need the “Terra Avilla” stamp of approval, but I have worked with the ILP team, and they are doing great things for some of our most vulnerable kiddos. They most certainly do not get recognized enough and I so appreciate them! They are of course, one of the reasons I love where we live.

The Susanville Indian Rancheria honored seven graduates at a special ceremony held at the SIR Resource Center Friday evening for friends, families, and tribal leaders.

Guest speakers at the ceremony included Tribal Chairman Robert Joseph, Tribal Administrator Angie Wilson and Education Programs Director Amy Langslet.

Each graduate received a beautiful handmade stole and a special shadowbox commemorating their graduations.

Duane Sherman gave a blessing at the outset of the ceremony, and Joseph Strang, Tribal Historical Preservation Officer, blessed the food, which was catered by Diamond Mountain Casino and Hotel.

This year’s graduates are Christian Torres, Damien Crosno, Elijah Wheeler, Emberlynn Amador, Koda Merino, Makau Michel and Sumim-Po Joseph.

For more photos of the SIR Graduation Ceremony click here

“We believe sports are a valuable part of life, in which many life skills can be taught and reinforced in a fun and meaningful way. Our first priority is to provide a positive experience in which campers are taught teamwork, conflict resolution skills and individual response.”

Campers will be placed on teams of no more than ten players, with a trained camp counselor. Counselors will provide constant supervision and act as a positive role model to all campers.

Basketball players should wear appropriate athletic attire and comfortable shoes (non-marking basketball shoes) Bring a water bottle and a snack.

Camp will be held in the big gym at Lassen High School from 8:30a.m., until 12:30p.m., each day between June 20th through June 23rd.

Player drop off beings 30 minutes prior to the start of camp. Players can sign-up the day camp begins, though early sign-ups are greatly appreciated.

The cost of the camp is $75 and to participate players must be between the ages of seven (or going into second grade) and eleven.

For important information and a registration form click here.

From 40 to 50 deer a day are reported falling into the new PG&E flume which runs along the mountainside just above Hamilton branch about four miles from Walker Lake to the Hamilton branch powerhouse.

The PG&E is maintaining a 24-hour watch on shifts to have one man on duty all the time near the lower end of the flume. Deer are migrating now and fall into the flume which is cut into the mountainside. A walkway arrangement has been erected to help the deer being swept down the fast water in the flume to get out.

A two-rail fence in the flume backs up the walkway and the back man, but a few deer are being swept through and drowning. The bodies are kept out of the nearly vertical penstock pipe leading down into the powerhouse by a screen over its opening.

Many of the surviving deer, after being swept several miles down the flume with rough concrete sides are hauled out bruised and bleeding.

The Lassen County Fish and Game Conservation League has wired the situation to the state fish and game commission is San Francisco.