Eleanor Roosevelt Community Learning Center Provides Resources For Home-Schoolers

Visalia - The Eleanor Roosevelt Community Learning Center, a private charter school loosely affiliated with the Tulare County Office of Education, is now going into its third year of service to home-schooled parents in the Central Valley.

The Learning Center currently enrolls students grades K-8, though they hope to add grades 9-12 in the future.

Among other things, the Learning Center hosts field trips, holds enrichment classes 4 days per week, and gives parents access to educational resources from the Tulare County Office of Education.

The goal of the Learning Center is to give parents as much aid as possible, while not taking over responsibility for the education of their students.

According to the school’s director, Klara East, many home-school parents are wary of involving government services in the education of their children. But with the Eleanor Roosevelt Community Learning Center, parents need not fear strict government regulations.

“The thing that’s unique about our school is that we’re here to help, not dictate,” East said.

East was a teacher for 17 years in addition to home-schooling her own children. She, along with five other home-school mothers, founded the Learning Center in order to provide a service to others that they would have benefitted from in their experiences with their own children.

One of these mothers now serves as the school’s business manager; another a teacher; and a third sits on the school board.

In total, the Eleanor Roosevelt Community Learning Center employs 11 instructors, including 5 full-time credentialed teachers.

The Learning Center is a private charter school, operating under its own school board and implementing its own policies and goals. The Tulare County Office of Education works alongside the Learning Center, overseeing their actions and providing additional aid as needed.

East strongly praises the relationship between the Learning Center and the Office of Education, saying that they communicate with and compliment one another very effectively.

ERCLC Takes Over Venice Hills

During its first year in operation, the Learning Center operated out of an office in downtown Exeter. The quickly decided to relocate to a more picturesque and student-friendly location.

The Learning Center occupies the Venice Hills School, a small, white wooden building with as much history as the hills themselves.

The site rests on the outskirts of Visalia, near the Kaweah Oaks Preserve. It includes a small playground, plenty of room for a soon-to-be native plant garden, and a firsthand lesson in the history of Tulare County. A plaque resting in front of the schoolhouse tells the story of John Wood, the formation of Tulare County, and the area’s first school district.

The Venice Hills School, one of the first built in Tulare County, operated as a public school from the early 1880s through 1957. Some of its former students live here in the Valley even today.

The building was then unoccupied, owned and protected by the Bente family, until 1995, when a group of parents and educators formed the Venice Community School, Inc. The school operated privately for several years before the building was turned over to East and the Learning Center. The property is currently owned by the Venice Community School, Inc., but East says they hope to purchase the land and the building within the next year.

The Eleanor Roosevelt Community Learning Center is closed for the summer, and currently enrolling students for next fall. East says they plan to kick off the fall semester with a trip to “Gold Rush Days” in Sacramento.

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Disabled Workers Fill Need at International Paper Plant

Visalia - It's a repetitive job-eight hours of loading cup blanks into a machine that will automatically turn them into paper cups. The International Paper plant in the Visalia industrial park was having a hard time finding part-time employees that would stick to the monotonous job.

Then the plant partnered with ABLE Industries and found a crew that loves the job.

ABLE, which provides training, employment and life skill education for adults with developmental and physical disabilities, is continually looking for jobs its clients can achieve. Most jobs are located in the ABLE Work Center on Goshen Avenue, but the agency is contracting with more outside businesses.

"There was a lot of excitement when our clients came to International Paper," said Staci Keller, ABLE marketing coordinator. "They thrive on repetition. That's how they learn. They have a hard time focusing on a lot of different jobs."

The timing was perfect for IP. The company had recently changed the job description for its cup room technicians (CRTs).

"The CRT operator had several machines to oversee, including a lot of repetitive work," said Lynn Bretz, plant manager. "Back in October, we looked at having the technicians oversee more machines while bringing in CRT assistants to do the repetitive jobs. But we had a high turnover with the CRT assistants. The ABLE team is working out real well.

"In March, the four-person ABLE crew, accompanied by an ABLE instructor, began at the plant. It took a relatively short time to find the right personnel and to make some minor accommodations for the disabled employees.

Keller's husband made a step and a handle for each ABLE employee, making it easier for them to reach the machinery and load the cup blanks.

"Safety was one of the areas we closely monitored," said Bretz. "This is not a high risk area, and the equipment is all guarded, but we wanted to make sure there were no problems."

The other obstacle to overcome was making sure the ABLE crew would be on the job five days a week. After solving some transportation problems and changing some personnel, a dependable team was assembled. And if any of the team is ever absent, the ABLE supervisor jumps in to keep the machines running.

"This was a real learning experience for ABLE," said Keller. "It's taking us to the next level of where we need to be. It's called a Step-Up Program. At IP, the clients are not in a sheltered environment any more. It shows them what a real work environment is like. If they can do well here, the next step is for them to find a job out in the community."

Assistant plant manager Jerry Blackburn says the ABLE team was quickly assimilated into the work environment.

"We hold them to the same standards as any other employee. We haven't cut them any slack. And they take their work very seriously," he said.

"I haven't heard any negative feedback. The employees quickly helped them on the production line and during breaks, showing them how to load the machines. It's been very positive."

If Blackburn has one disappointment, it's that ABLE couldn't find enough workers to staff all three shifts.

Keller is still hoping ABLE will be able to find more clients to work the other shifts. Those currently at IP are delighted with the job. It's consistent work, and thus it pays better than ABLE's Work Center jobs which are often intermittent.

"I like it when my job keeps me busy!" said Michael Esquibel.

Co-worker Michael Vasquez seconded the opinion. "I enjoy my work! It helps keep me in shape and I make more money than at the Work Center."

ABLE has done other short term jobs for International Paper, repackaging and relabeling products in the Work Center, and Bretz says there may be other opportunities for ABLE clients.

"This collaboration is good for us and good for the community. We have another plant in the Midwest that is doing a similar project with the handicapped, and sometimes it is as cost effective for ABLE to do a job as it is for us to do it ourselves," Bretz said.

"We hope to expand our relationship with ABLE. They're helping us fill a void and improve our productivity. You don't know what you can do if you don't try."

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Plastic Water Bottles Filling Landfills

by Liz Laird

Visalia - As a broke college student, I am always looking for ways to quickly and easily make money. As summer approached, I realized I could write for a newspaper (yeah, right) or try to make some cash in a market that has only ever been dominated by the homeless and nonprofit organizations: water bottle recycling.

My quest to find a load of redeemable treasures took me to Downtown Visalia, where I quickly discovered that the area does not provide easily accessible, if any, bins for recyclables.

In a time in our history when so many people are drinking bottled water, where do the bottles go? Unfortunately, it has recently come to the attention of Californians that the bottles are going into, and dominating, landfills.

Only 16 percent of purchased water bottles are being recycled and one billion are being thrown in the trash every year.

Senate Bill 23, currently in debate, proposes changing some of the current laws to make recycling water bottles easier and more appealing.

Basically, the bill plans to do away with recycling fees that are usually applied to cans, glass, and various types of plastic in order to increase the amount of money a consumer would receive by recycling the bottles. Several amendments have been made so far, but the purpose of the bill has remained.

There are others who are trying to make landfill status and numbers change by different means, and they are not the homeless or the broke college students, but the recycling division of the California Department of Conservation.

“Many people don’t realize they can get their money back by recycling (water bottles),” said Scott Dosick, deputy chief of the recycling division, “we are working with grocery stores and water bottling companies to indicate this to people.

Every year the recycling division puts 15 million dollars toward curbside recycling programs and 10.5 million to cities and counties in order for them to improve the availability of recycling bins, said Dosick.

“If there isn’t a recycling bin where you spend a lot of time - the mall, the gas station, the movies, anywhere- why not ask them to set up a recycling program,” said Dosick, “or you could call 1-800-RECYCLING and do it yourself."

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Farmersville Seeks New City Manager

by Jessica Parks

Farmersville - While the Farmersville City Council is in the process of electing an interim city manager, scheduled to assume the post sometime next week, the current City Manager is packing his things and preparing to fly south.

Farmersville’s City Manager Graham Mitchell recently accepted an offer from the city of Lemon Grove, a part of San Diego County, and will begin his tenure there as City Manager this July.

Though the move is a large step upward for Mitchell, the City Council and the people of Farmersville will greatly mourn his departure.

“We knew it would happen sooner or later. We’re just sorry it’s sooner instead of later,” said Farmersville Mayor Paul Boyer. “He accomplished things no one thought possible.”

Mitchell helped improve the city of Farmersville by leaps and bounds, making it a more attractive home for residents and a more appealing site for business-owners.

Most of the city council’s recent projects have focused on Farmersville’s residential areas.

“[We have been] expanding housing stock. Over 100 homes have been built,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell and the council also built a park, acquired 23 acres on which to build a sports complex, expanded the sewer system to accommodate the town’s quickly increasing population, improved code enforcement, and distributed vouchers to residents to facilitate yard clean-up.

The new “roving dumpster program” allows residents to dump large amounts of refuse into a few large dumpsters that travel around the city regularly.

Mitchell’s most impressive feat came in the acquisition of numerous large grants to fund such ambitious projects: $400,000 for downtown beautification, $500,000 for the new park, $800,000 for the expansion of the sewer system, and $1,000,000 for house rehabilitation and aid for first time homeowners.

Now, as Farmersville loses its ambitious and energetic city manager, the city council will begin work on a new industrial park and commercial center near Highway 198.

Boyer says that increasing business and industry will bring more revenue to the city, allowing the council to increase funds for parks and recreation, among other things. It will also provide more jobs for the growing community.

The City Council will be accepting applications to fill the City manager position until July 18th and hope to elect a permanent Manager within the next few months.

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The following is an article by Ken Oplinger, President/CEO of the Visalia Chamber of Commerce, that appeared in the Visalia Business, July 2003 Edition.

What does scenic mean to you? When I think of scenic, I picture a place like the Red Rock Cliffs of Lake Powell in Utah, a misty morning on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, or the view of the great San Joaquin Valley from atop any of the peaks in the Sierras.

What I don't picture is the stretch of Highway 198 just west of the urban area of Visalia.

The entrance to Visalia has long been a marketplace amenity to the community, and a sizeable flashpoint in local politics. The oak-lined avenue from Highway 99 has been photographed and written about by many residents and visitors over the years, and is one of the many reasons Visalia is different from the other large cities in the Valley.

But it has also caused political difficulties. As Visalia grew and the road from Highway 99 expanded to accommodate, many of the oak trees were removed and several of the agricultural properties are no longer utilized. These factors have created problems between those who want a "scenic corridor" where one no longer exists, those who see the entrance as it currently sits as an eyesore in need of improvement, and property owners who want control of their futures.

I want to set this all aside, however, and ask a far more important question. How will the business community be affected by the future of the corridor? What can we as business people expect out of this on-going debate? Here are three thoughts on how the corridor affects us, and how we can make it better.

1. Business profits from quality growth. One need look no further than communities where communities have insisted on quality (Chico, Davis and Visalia) versus communities where there have been few if any guidelines for development (a certain City to the north is certainly on that list). Our downtown area prospers, and national retailers love their stores in Visalia because of their profitability. We have planned for success, and we have achieved it.

Part of quality growth, however, is providing for amenities. I believe the West 198 Corridor can be an amenity, but as a whole it certainly is not today. A natural linear park, lining both sides of the freeway, with oak and other deciduous trees and plants, would be a beautiful welcome to the community. It was that type of amenity that a large, representative group of community members presented to the Council last November, and I see no reason to change that plan.

2. Landowners must retain their rights. Unless the City of Visalia has a printing press in a back room that I am unaware of, we do not have a lot of money to acquire land along the corridor. That doesn't mean we shouldn't plan for the best possible entrance to Visalia, but it does mean that we cannot purchase all the land from the freeway ½ mile back.

And frankly, I think that's the only fair thing to do if we are going to severely limit what property owners can do on their land. Many well-planned communities have created corridors with narrow open space areas on each side of a major road, and typical zoning behind the "screen." In this manner, property owners can receive income or profit from their land, and the community can receive the benefit of the corridor. Furthermore, property owners can be required to give most of the land needed for the corridor as a setback, thereby limiting the money needed to acquire the land in the first place.

In the end, business profits because the land can be zoned in a manner that allows us to continue our quality growth, while still providing an amenity which many Visalians enjoy.

3. Maintain options for future planning. While I am all for good planning, I also like to leave my options open for change. The current 2020 plan does not call for land use designations on much of the area surrounding the scenic corridor, and I think that's good.

By pushing for any major planning change to a large portion of Visalia, outside of the normal planning process, will lock Visalia into land use plans which may not be in our best interest. Land use planning must by done on a macro level, not with tunnel vision on one piece of land.

By building a scenic corridor, we can leave future land use decisions on the area behind the corridor for another day. Once the City is ready, we can go through the multi-year long-range planning process that will determine what will be built behind the corridor. This will allow business to fully participate in the discussion, ensuring our input is not only heard, but followed.

In the end, we will continue our 150 year history of good planning, of this I have no doubt. A scenic corridor, under the right circumstances, can be part of our future, ensuring a more profitable business climate, and a better community.

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By Elizabeth F. van Mantgem

Come and celebrate World Breastfeeding Week (August 1-7) in Hanford with La Leche League. La Leche League volunteers will host a silent auction, as well as a 1-mile walk fundraiser during the Hanford farmers' market on Thursday evening, August 7th. The silent auction will happen between 5:00 and 9:00 pm, and the walk will start about 7:30 pm. Prizes include tickets to Disneyland, autographed copies of La Leche League's books, t-shirts, passes to the Lemoore golf course, a 4-hour bounce house rental from Castaways for Kids, Discovery toys, and many other gift certificates and locally donated items. All profits will go to local and international LLLI groups. For more information and walk fundraiser forms contact Hanford's accredited La Leche League Leader, Cathy, at 583-0703 or check the LLLI web site at www.lalecheleague.org/.

An Introduction to LLLI

La Leche League International, Inc. (LLLI) is a worldwide, nonprofit organization including 13 chapters in the San Joaquin Valley, all run by an amazingly dedicated set of volunteers. One volunteer, Cheryl of Visalia, says, "I do it because I love breastfeeding and I love helping other moms with breastfeeding. It's all made up of moms who care and want to help." When asked who benefits from La Leche League the most, she said, "I'd especially recommend it to pregnant moms so they can avoid difficulties before they crop up."

The central purpose of LLLI is to help women with personal questions, like how to position the baby, how to continue breastfeeding while working, or how to care for a baby in general. Other problems that might arise are: baby fussiness, weaning a baby, and father participation in baby care. Cheryl says that, "The majority of the questions I answer are about milk supply, compatible medications, or complaints like, ‘my baby just wont nurse'."

"La Leche League is a leading authority on breastfeeding. It's a good place to go when you're confronted with a lot of misleading or confusing information." Cheryl says that at meetings, accredited leaders are there to get discussions going and ensure that the information exchanged is accurate and cutting edge, backed by good research. "The leaders aren't usually the first to answer questions. Usually three or four women will describe their experiences and you can pick and choose what information works for you. It's important to remember that every family is different, so there is never just one solution for everybody."

Leaders like Cheryl are rigorously trained and interviewed before they become certified. Once they're certified, they're required to keep their breastfeeding knowledge current by reading journals, reading and owning revised book publications, and attending international conferences. Cathy of Hanford's LLLI says, "It's really exciting to get a call from a physician, for example, who isn't sure if a woman with mastitis can take a certain medication safely." She says that certified LLLI leaders get significantly more specialized training in breastfeeding and mothering styles than do most medical students and other healthcare personnel, so they're prepared to answer most all of your questions. But she also says, "Of course, if we get questions that we don't know, we refer people to more knowledgeable La Leche League leaders."

Most people assume that since breastfeeding is normal and natural, it is the obvious food choice by families for their new babies. Unfortunately, this assumption is wrong, both historically and currently. La Leche League originally formed in defiance of 1950's American culture, which overwhelmingly condemned the practice of breastfeeding as uncivilized and uncouth. Like other childcare practices, breastfeeding goes in and out of style, and in the ‘50's, less than 20% of women chose to breastfeed their children due to peer pressure. Other barriers in the ‘50's that still exist today include misinformation and misunderstanding, infant behavior, and discomfort for the mother. La Leche League was formed to help women overcome these barriers, help individuals, and improve international health.

Statistics & Research

Facilitated by La Leche League money and connections, researchers are finding that breastfeeding benefits to children are significantly better than the benefits of formula feeding. For instance babies who are breastfed for 12 months or more are 72% less likely to become obese than their bottle-fed peers. An additional bonus is that their breastfeeding moms lose significantly more weight, particularly off the waist and hips, than do formula-feeding women. There is also evidence that overall childhood and adult intelligence is statistically higher in people who were breastfed as infants. Other studies show that breastfed infants have a decreased incidence of SIDs (sudden infant death syndrome), as well as preventable deaths like diarrhea and respiratory infection. For mothers who breastfeed their babies, they not only lose weight quicker, in the most problematic body parts, but they also enjoy better overall mood, less stress, and a significantly reduced risk of breast cancer. Breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast cancer by as much as 4.3% for every 12 months of breastfeeding and 7% for each additional child.

While formula feeding may be the only option for working mothers, or for mothers who just don't enjoy breast feeding, the overall convenience of breastfeeding (no bottles to sterilize daily and always available in seconds) and health benefits to both the child and mother are worth considering, at least for the first few months of a baby's life.

History of La Leche League

The origins of the League are in Franklin Park, Illinois, 1956, where seven women opposed the mainstream of American culture by breastfeeding their infants. Even without scientific research supporting the decision to breastfeed, the women talked together and encouraged each other, solidifying the group's purpose and formalizing the group's name. The name, La Leche League, was creatively inspired in a time when "breastfeeding" and "pregnancy" were two words abolished from polite company. By using the Spanish name for the catholic saint of motherhood and bountiful milk, the League's name was relevant without being crass.

Through tenacity and the publication of the first edition of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, as well as a bimonthly newsletter called LLL News, the League expanded, both nationally and internationally, causing them to change the name to La Leche League International, Inc. (LLLI 1964), and start holding annual, international conferences, with chapters in the USA, Canada, Mexico, and New Zealand.

Finally, in 1972, all this good press and promotional activity increased the rate of breastfeeding in the USA, from just under 20% to 24%. The average continued to climb 3% per year until the 1980's when it reached a high of 62%. Since then, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding has been updated and expanded six times in eight languages and in Braille. The League has also been publishing compiled, breastfeeding research abstracts, and developed a rigorous program for certifying lactation consultants. Now the LLL News newsletter title has changed to New Beginnings and another one, LEAVEN, is required reading for all accredited La Leche League leaders. There's also an official LLLI web site (www.lalecheleague.org/), with information available in 32 languages and contacts in approximately 63 countries.

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The Downtown Alliance-PBID II (Property and Business Improvement District) just purchased 4 cigarette disposal units called "Butt Out" as a pilot project for use in the central business district.

These stainless steel boxes are being mounted to poles in front of Café 225, Visalia Brewing Company, and Starbucks on July 3rd. One is already in place in front of Visalia Coffee Company (pictured). The red, white and black stickers on the front indicate the box is for cigarette disposal.

Each unit has a lid with holes underneath where the cigarette is placed. The user simply places the butt in and drops the top. It will extinguish on its own due to a lack of oxygen. The boxes will then be cleaned on a weekly basis by downtown maintenance workers by opening the bottom of the unit with a key, swinging it open and disposing the contents into a trash bag.

"People we have talked to said they would use the unit. They don't like throwing cigarettes on the ground and are reluctant to put a hot butt in the trash," said Kelly Hauert, Executive Director of Downtown Visalians & Alliance.

All 4 "Butt Stop" disposals cost a total of $700. If the program is successful after a 6-month trial period the Downtown Alliance-PBID II will consider installing more boxes.

The PBID district is an alliance of Property owners who tax themselves to make improvements in the downtown including graffiti removal, parking, installation of trees in cooperation with the Urban Tree Foundation and constant maintenance. The district is 70 square blocks and runs from Santa Fe to Conyer and Mineral King to School. It was formed in 2000.

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by Miles Shuper

Habitat for Humanity now has a home for its new ReStore, a thrift store for used building materials.

The new store is at 715 S. Bridge St., the former Dean's Appliance store most recently a fireplace, spa and patio furnishing business. Chuck Lovenberg, whose family owns the 5,000 sq. ft. building, said a three-year lease has been finalized.

Proceeds from the ReStore will be used to support the mission of Habitat for Humanity of Visalia, a non-profit housing organization which works in partnership with people in need of decent, affordable housing. Houses are sold to those in need at no profit and with no interest. Habitat homes are built using volunteer labor donated materials and land.

There are more than 50 Habitat affiliates across the U.S. and Canada which have established ReStores. The organization's most successful stores, according to agency officials, raise enough funds to build 10 or home houses per year.

All materials sold in the ReStores are donated for that purpose, often from contractors with excess supplies, from demolition crews salvaging reusable materials or from the general public.

Diane Vessel, coordinator for the new Visalia store, said that in addition to raising funds, ReStores help the environment by diverting thousands of tons of usable materials away from landfills. She said donated materials are weighed and records kept to determine just how many tons are diverted to area dumps and landfills.

She said response since the local Habitat organization began accepting donations in April has been outstanding. Among the donations are 367 dual pane windows from Windows Plus and Centex Homes, 75 interior doors from Wood Industries, office furniture from Total Office Supply and various materials from Service Master.

Vessels said the ReStore currently is seeking sponsors to donate a truck with a lift and a trailer to pick up donations, a forklift, a point of sale program and signs for the new store. Staff and volunteers currently are working daily to pick up donations, build storage units and prepare the new building for business. She expects opening the store to the general public in late summer. Vessels said materials are prices at approximately 50 to 90 per cent below retail.

For more information, contact Habitat at 734-4040.

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