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February 8 - 14, 2013

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February 8 - 14, 2013 • Volume 7 Issue 30

“Serving the West Kern County Communities of Taft, South Taft, Ford City, Maricopa, Fellows, McKittrick, Derby Acres, Dustin Acres, and the Cuyama Valley”

Happy Valentine’s Day From Jack’s Flower Shop Teleflora Special Floral Arrangements

Rosey Posy $39.95 and Up

Heart Strings $59.95 and Up Jack’s Flower Shop (661) 765-2442 430 Center Street

Taft Chamber of Commerce Celebrates 103rd Year at Annual Installation Dinner Taft Chamber Director Kathy Orrin, Bob Hampton, Owner of Westside Waste Managewment, and 4th District Supervisor David Couch QIK SMOG & TUNE Your Hometown Auto Care Center (661) 763-4445

Gene’s Tax Service Opens on Center Street

2 TAFT INDEPENDENT

February 8 - 14, 2013

Shop Taft

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February 8 - 14, 2013

Inside Community Events.........3 News Briefs......................3 Recreation Report..........4 Westside News.................5 Westside News.................6 Westside News.................7 Movie Review...................8 Classified Ads.................10 Opinion and Feature....11 Shop Taft........................12

The Taft Independent 508 Center Street P.O. Box 268 Taft, California 93268 (661) 765-6550 Fax (661) 765-6556

Email: Publisher@taftindependent.com Website: www.TaftIndependent.com Locally and Independently owned since 2006 The Taft Independent is a locally owned community newspaper published weekly on Fridays for your enjoyment and reading pleasure. We publish 3,500 issues and distribute to over 225 locations in the city of Taft and the neighboring communities of Cuyama Valley, McKittrick, Maricopa, Fellows and Western Kern County, California.

The Independent is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. Additional copies are $1 each. The contents of the Taft Independent are copyrighted by the Taft Independent, and may not reproduced without specific written permission from the publisher.

We welcome contributions and suggestions.

Our purpose is to present news and issues of importance to our readers.

SUBSCRIPTIONS. Subscription home or businessdelivery of the Taft Independent is available for $6.50 per month or $78.00 per year. To subscribe to please call 765-6550.

LETTERS-TO-THE-EDITOR. Send us your letter to Taft Independent at the above address. Limit it to 300 words and include your name, address, and phone number. Fax: (661) 765-6556. Email your letter to: Publisher@taftindependent.com.

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TAFT INDEPENDENT

Taft California “Home of the Taft Oilworkers Monument” “Gateway to the Carrizo Plain National Monument” Have a community event that you would like to include?

Email us at Publisher@Taftindependent.com

St. Andrew’s Pancake Supper Tuesday, February 12 St. Andrew’s Pancake Supper Tuesday, February 12, 5:00 - 7:00 pm The community is invited to join the people of St. Andrews Episcopal Church for a traditional pancake supper in observance of Shrove Tuesday. Come for fellowship, pancakes, bacon, juice and coffee! Donation $4.00.

St. Andrews is located at the corner of 5th and Woodrow.

For further information call 765-4994

Grandma’s Attic Resumes at Taft Libraray Grandma’s Attic Storytime resumes at the Taft Branch Library on Saturday, January 19, 2013 and will continue every Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. through April 20.

Aimed at 5 to 8 year-olds, Grandma’s Attic offers an old trunk full of surprises and stories presented by a different volunteer reader each week.

Children who participate will receive a form to return to their teacher for credit in their school reading program. Parents are always welcome to attend, or may enjoy some library or computer time while their child is occupied.

Also starting on Thursday, January 17 at 11:45 a.m. is Preschool Storytime, for 3 to 5 year-olds. Join us for stories and fun for the younger set.

For more information, call 763-3294 or visit the library at 27 Emmons Park Drive.

Ethics Training Class March 14th The City of Taft will be hosting an Ethics Training Class on Thursday, March 14, 2013, 6:00 p.m., in the Taft City Hall Council Chamber. Ethics Training is required for elected and appointed officials every 2 years. Mr. David Prentice of Cota Cole Law Firm will be the presenter. Any city or district wishing to join us for the training are welcome.

Please RSVP prior to Wednesday, March 6, 2013, so that Mr. Prentice will have sufficient training materials and Certificates of Completion for everyone attending the class.

Visit Us Online taftindependent.com or find us on facebook or

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Michael J. Long taftindypublisher@bak.rr.com

News Briefs West Kern Water District Customers Warned About Credit Card Payment Scam The West Kern Water District is advising its customers that unknown persons are calling WKWD customers and asking for credit card payment to pay delinquent water bills.

The District was notified by a customer that they had been contacted by telephone from someone stating they were a representative of West Kern Water District and requesting credit card information to satisfy a delinquent water bill.

District General Manager, Harry Starkey, stated “The District does not accept credit card payments over the phone and only issues notifications of delinquency to its customers in writing, not via telephone.”

The District is requesting any customer who is contacted by telephone in this manner, to please notify the District office at 763-3151.

February is Safely Surrendered Baby Awareness Month For most people, the birth of a child is a happy occasion celebrated with family and friends. But for some women, childbirth becomes a crisis - and the decisions made following an infant’s birth can be a matter of life or death for the child.

The Safely Surrendered Baby Law responds to the increasing number of newborn infant deaths due to abandonment in unsafe locations. First signed into law in January 2001, the Safely Surrendered Baby Law became permanent in January 2006.

The law’s intent is to save the lives of newborn infants at risk of abandonment by encouraging parents or persons with lawful custody to safely surrender the infant within 72 hours of birth, with no questions asked. The law exists so that these infants will not be harmed because the mother abandons them, or fails to provide them with care, sometimes leaving them to die.

To date, 31 babies have been safely surrendered in Kern County since we began tracking those babies in 2006. Seven babies were safely surrendered in 2012.

There have not been any safely surrendered babies yet for 2013.

Since the law was put into place, the task of educating our Kern County residents about this law has fallen to a coalition of dedicated individuals representing a long list of departments, non-profits, hospitals, and stakeholders.

We hope that you can assist us with delivering this important message to the people of Kern County, all with the hope that no baby will be abandoned in our Community.

This year, the Safely Surrender Baby Coalition is planning a series of events throughout Kern County to bring attention to this important law.

On Tuesday, February 5th, the Kern County Board of Supervisors will proclaim February as Safely Surrendered Baby Awareness Month at 9:00 am at their meeting held at 1115 Truxtun Avenue. On Wednesday, February 13th, the City of Bakersfield will make a similar proclamation at their City Council meeting at 5:15 P.M. The community is invited to join us in celebrating the men and women who make this law possible as we hold a press conference at Kern Medical Center, where we will also honor those families blessed with the adoption of a child through the Safe Surrender law.

The Press Conference takes place at the main KMC entrance, 1700 Mt. Vernon Avenue, on Friday, February 15th at 11:00 A.M. Additional Events are listed on the attached calendar.

We hope that you can assist us again this year in our efforts to educate our community about this important option for a woman and her baby in a crisis situation.

Don’t abandon your baby. Safely surrender your baby into the hands of any Kern County Fire or Emergency room personnel. It’s safe, legal, and no one has to know.

For special arrangements, please contact Heidi Carter-Escudero at (661)6337104.

Advertising Contributing Writers Kent Miller, Wesley Morris, Nicole Frost Columnists Randy Miller Jane McCabe, Dr. Harold Pease Subscriptions\Delivery Tim Webb, Patrick Harget

Member California Newspaper Publishers Association Printed in California

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4 TAFT INDEPENDENT Editorial

Westside Watcher

The Taft

Independent

Restaurant and Entertainment Guide

Your Guide To The Best Restaurants and Entertainment on the Westside Tumbleweed Café Asian Experience and Steakhouse Asian Food and Pizza

Steak, Seafood, Wild Game, Full Bar Monday – Friday 6 am to 2 pm Saturday – Sunday 7 am – 2 pm Dinner Hours Friday and Saturday 6 pm to 9 pm 24870 Highway 33, Derby Acres 768-4655

Paik’s Ranch House Where Everybody Meets Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Open 7 Days Mon. Tues. Wed., Thur. 6 am-8:30 pm Sun. Fri. & Sat. 6 am - 9 pm 765-6915 200 Kern St. Taft Sagebrush Annie’s Restaurant and Wine Tasting Wine Tasting and Lunch Sat. & Sun. 11:30-5 pm 4211 Highway 33, Ventucopa (661) 766-2319

Lunch and Dinner Tuesday - Friday 11 am - 2 pm 4 pm - 9 pm Saturday 4 pm - 9 pm 215 Center Street, Taft 763- 1815

Black Gold Cafe & Deli Pastas - Sandwiches Espresso - Beer - Wine Craft Beers Open Monday to Friday 6:30am to 8pm Saturday 7:30am to 8pm Sunday 10am to 2pm 508 Center Street 765-6556

514 Center Street • (661)765-7469 LIKE us on Facebook: Fox Theatre Taft TAFTFOX.COM Week of Friday, February 08, 2013 through Thursday, February 14, 2013

Identity Thief (R) No Passes Allowed Fri & Sat: (5:00), 7:30 Sun: (4:00), 6:45 Mon - Thu: 7:15 PM Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (R) No Passes Allowed Fri & Sat: (5:15), 7:15 Sun: (3:45), 7:00 Mon - Thu: 7:15 PM Zero Dark Thirty (R) Fri & Sat: 7:00 PM Sun: (3:45), 7:00 Mon - Thu: 7:00 PM

red at the Westside Recreation a

Can America Really be the Planet’s Top Energy Producer?

By Chris Faulkner For decades, Americans have lamented their dependence on foreign energy, especially Middle East oil. Now, however, the tables are turning. Growing numbers of analysts are concluding that within a decade, America could become the world’s top energy producer.

That would certainly be desirable. Substantial expansion of domestic energy would generate tens of thousands of jobs, lower everyday energy expenses, and eliminate our dependence on unstable Middle East governments.

But that future is far from guaranteed. We have the entrepreneurship and technological innovation we need. The question is whether we’ll have the smart public policies that allow them to flourish. While America’s energy prospects have never been brighter, regulators have never been more vehement in their push for restrictive controls on development of new projects.

Of course, we must protect the environment and ensure worker safety. But lawmakers have gone well beyond that, and they need to scale back the needless and costly rules if we are to have any hope of reaching our full potential.

There are three obvious places to start with reform.

First, regulators need to ease restrictions on hydraulic fracturing.

“Fracking” uses water pressure to extract oil and natural gas from shale formations buried deep under the earth’s crust. This technique is already in widespread use in the Bakken Shale in North Dakota. The energy boom in that state has led to astonishing economic growth and three percent unemployment.

The massive shale deposits in America could, if fully developed, profoundly change our energy landscape. But so far, oppressive state and federal rules have prevented firms realizing this potential.

Most of the environmental concerns over fracking, which turn on possible groundwater contamination, are based on misinformation or a misunderstanding of the process. This technique has been around since the 1940s. Over 1.2 million wells have been successfully fracked. The shale formations disrupted by the process are separated from water aquifers by up to two miles of rock, limestone, sand and earth. And over 99 percent of the standard fracking liquid mixture is simply water.

In other words, fracking presents very little environmental risk -- and massive potential for economic gains. By some estimates, natural gas development in the Marcellus alone would create over 100,000 new jobs.

The second major way federal regulators can promote American energy is to open up off-shore energy reserves for drilling. After the tragic Deepwater Horizon spill, the Interior Department instituted a rigid drilling moratorium that effectively halted offshore development. Eventually, the courts forced regulators to ease the ban, but there is still a great deal of uncertainty and delay surrounding the offshore permit process.

Since the moratorium was announced, eleven major ocean drilling operations have closed shop, destroying an estimated 91,000 jobs.

The Deepwater disaster certainly justifies targeted safety standards for offshore drilling. But the status quo is overkill -- imagine if federal aviation officials grounded all flights forever after a single crash.

Finally, the Obama administration needs to grant full approval for the construction of Keystone XL -- a planned $7 billion, 2,000-mile pipeline that would carry oil from Canadian shales to refineries in Texas. Extensive environmental analysis by the State

February 8 - 14, 2013

SoCal Gas Warns Customers About Utility Payment Scam

Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) is warning customers to be aware of a payment scam involving utility imposters demanding customers pay their energy bills with pre-paid cash cards or face immediate termination of utility service. The fraudulent activity has been reported in Los Angeles and at this time there are no indications that SoCalGas customers have been targeted.

Customers of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) have reported that individuals misrepresenting themselves as utility employees are calling and threatening to turn off electric and water service if payment is not made to them that day. Utility customers have been told that the payment must be made by purchasing a pre-pay cash card, and are directed to another phone number where information is then obtained from the card and the cash value is removed from the card.

“Although there are no reports of SoCalGas customers being a victim of this fraudulent activity, we want to alert our customers in an effort to prevent them from becoming potential victims,” said Michael Schneider, vice president of customer operations at SoCalGas. “We advise customers to be alert and not to provide any type of financial information if they receive a call from a suspicious company.”

SoCalGas customers have multiple payment options: online, pre-enrolled direct debit, by mail, or in person at an authorized payment location.

For customers behind in their payment, the utility provides past due notification in writing before service is shut-off for non-payment. When customers call SoCalGas for billing inquiries, employees will always be able to provide account information and the exact past due balance. Additionally, all SoCalGas employees on company business are required to carry a photo ID badge.

If customers receive a phone call that makes them feel uncomfortable, they should hang up and call SoCalGas at 1-800-4272200 or 1-800-342-4545 in Spanish, or the local authorities to file a report.

Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) has been delivering clean, safe and reliable natural gas to its customers for more than 140 years. It is the nation’s largest natural gas distribution utility, providing service to 20.9 million consumers connected through nearly 5.8 million meters in more than 500 communities. The company’s service territory encompasses approximately 20,000 square miles throughout central and Southern California, from Visalia to the Mexican border. SoCalGas is a regulated subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE).

Department and others shows Keystone will have minimal adverse effects on surrounding areas.

The Constructing and maintaining the pipeline will create 130,000 new jobs.

It is indeed possible for the United States to become the world’s premier energy producer by 2020. But reaching that goal requires policymakers to identify and eliminate regulatory barriers that are now keeping America from achieving its astounding energy potential.

Chris Faulkner is the CEO of Breitling Oil & Gas.

Paik’s

Ranch House Restaurant “Where Everybody Meets” Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Open 7 Days

Visit Us Online taftindependent.com

Mon, Tues, Wed., Thurs - 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Fri. Sat. and Sun. 6 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

765-6915

200 Kern Street, Taft, Ca.

February 8 - 14, 2013

TAFT INDEPENDENT

The 5 Steps to Wowing Your Lady The Legend of St. Valentine St. Valentine, The Real Story on Valentine’s Day The history of Valentine’s Day--and the story of its patron saintBy David Kithcart

By Ernest Quansah How will your 2013 Valentine’s Day be remembered? Good, bad, or, worse yet – indifferent!?

Fear not – there is a way of attaining the best outcome this Feb. 14, which is just around the corner.

Sadly, there are too many women – both single and attached – that feel especially lonely during this time of year. If you’re responsible for the romance in a woman’s life, you want to treat her right.

Roses, a candle-lit dinner with atmospheric music and perhaps a post-dinner drive along Beach Avenue are sufficient details to cover the norm. These basics show your special lady that you are at least trying … But how does one go about WOWing her?

No matter what she might say, dressing down the holiday, like staying home and ordering your sweet heart’s favorite topping for takeout pizza, simply will not do.

While many men will not grasp the seemingly arbitrary importance of a typically frigid mid-February evening, the important thing to remember is you don’t have to. It’s not about you; it’s about her, and this is the only idea you need to keep in mind.

As a relationship expert and chef with two published books on relationships and one on recipes, I recommend creating a lasting memory with new and novel ideas. The brain’s feel-good “love” chemical – oxytocine – usually increases when women are presented with novel activities, beyond those established and preferred routines, according to recent studies.

Abandon old traditions and do something to sweep her off her feet with these five steps: 1. Before the big day, drive her wild with anticipation by telling her that you have the most amazing surprise for her. This promise will keep her guessing and make her think about your evening.

2. Know her favorite flowers. If you don’t, don’t panic. You can find out by making a comment, like “I’ve noticed plants blooming early this year …” and steer the conversation from there. In a beautiful vase, arrange an exotic bouquet and hide it somewhere in your home on the special day. She’ll like that you created the presentation.

3. Go to your local chocolate shop and select her favorite kinds of chocolate. Have it boxed and nicely wrapped to prevent her from knowing what it is when you present the chocolates to her.

4. Create a dish and name it after her. For example, if her name is Anne, you might call the dish “Tournedos Princess Anne.”

This step is the most important. I can assure you that after having spent time in some top-notch restaurants, food that is named after a person is a special honor. We all know how women love it when their men do the cooking. What I do is cut and precook the vegetables, and I even make the sauce beforehand to make sure I get it as perfect as I can. Leave everything in the fridge. Then, on Valentine’s Day, I set the table before I start the cooking part. On both plates, place a fresh RED ROSE. The single rose is just part of making her think that that is all the flowers she will be getting (but we know differently). When she gets home, make sure to get her to promise you that she’ll stay out of the kitchen. Tell her not to spoil the surprise!

5. When everything is ready, plate the food, cover it and take it to the dining table, and then ask her to come and sit. Before you uncover the lid, have her close her eyes. Retrieve the hidden bouquet, place the flowers on the table, and ask her to open her eyes.

Pay attention to how she responds. Tell her what you’ve named the dish.

But that’s not all – after the meal, take her by the hand, walk her to the living room and sit her down. Bring out the boxed chocolate, go on one knee and tell her, “This is for you,” or, “You make me feel whole,” or, “You are the most beautiful woman in the world and I love you.”

Overkill? – Not at all. Remember, you don’t have to know why this works, but only that it does work.

Black Gold Cafe and Deli

Join Us For Valentine’s Day

508 Center Street 765-6556

-is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. But who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?

The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first “valentine” greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl--possibly his jailor’s daughter--who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed “From your Valentine,” an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories all emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and--most importantly--romantic figure. By the Middle Ages, perhaps thanks to this reputation, Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in England and France.

Origins of Valentine’s Day: A Pagan Festival in February While some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial--which probably occurred around A.D. 270--others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in an effort to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat’s hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn.

The city’s bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage.

Valentine’s Day: A Day of Romance Lupercalia survived the initial rise of Christianity and but was outlawed—as it was deemed “un-Christian”--at the end of the 5th century, when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day. It was not until much later, however, that the day became definitively associated with love. During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds’ mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of Valentine’s Day should be a day for romance.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages, though written Valentine’s didn’t begin to appear until after 1400. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. (The greeting is now part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England.)

Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

Typical Valentine’s Day Greetings. In addition to the United States, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. In Great Britain, Valentine’s Day began to be popularly celebrated around the 17th century. By the middle of the 18th, it was common for friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes, and by 1900 printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one’s feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine’s Day greetings.

Flowers, candy, red hearts and romance. That’s what Valentine’s day is all about, right? Well, maybe not.

The origin of this holiday for the expression of love really isn’t romantic at all -- at least not in the traditional sense. Father Frank O’Gara of Whitefriars Street Church in Dublin, Ireland, tells the real story of the man behind the holiday -- St. Valentine.

“He was a Roman Priest at a time when there was an emperor called Claudias who persecuted the church at that particular time,” Father O’Gara explains. “ He also had an edict that prohibited the marriage of young people. This was based on the hypothesis that unmarried soldiers fought better than married soldiers because married soldiers might be afraid of what might happen to them or their wives or families if they died.”

“I think we must bear in mind that it was a very permissive society in which Valentine lived,” says Father O’Gara. “Polygamy would have been much more popular than just one woman and one man living together. And yet some of them seemed to be attracted to Christian faith. But obviously the church thought that marriage was very sacred between one man and one woman for their life and that it was to be encouraged. And so it immediately presented the problem to the Christian church of what to do about this.”

“The idea of encouraging them to marry within the Christian church was what Valentine was about. And he secretly married them because of the edict.”

Valentine was eventually caught, imprisoned and tortured for performing marriage ceremonies against command of Emperor Claudius the second. There are legends surrounding Valentine’s actions while in prison.

“One of the men who was to judge him in line with the Roman law at the time was a man called Asterius, who’s daughter was blind. He was supposed to have prayed with and healed the young girl with such astonishing effect that Asterius himself became Christian as a result.”

In the year 269 AD, Valentine was sentenced to a three part execution of a beating, stoning, and finally decapitation all because of his stand for Christian marriage. The story goes that the last words he wrote were in a note to Asterius’ daughter. He inspired today’s romantic missives by signing it, “from your Valentine.”

“What Valentine means to me as a priest,” explains Father O’Gara, “is that there comes a time where you have to lay your life upon the line for what you believe. And with the power of the Holy Spirit we can do that -- even to the point of death.”

Valentine’s martyrdom has not gone unnoticed by the general public. In fact, Whitefriars Street Church is one of three churches that claim to house the remains of Valentine. Today, many people make the pilgrimage to the church to honor the courage and memory of this Christian saint.

“Valentine has come to be known as the patron saint of lovers.

Before you enter into a Christian marriage you want some sense of God in your life -- some great need of God in your life. And we know, particularly in the modern world, many people are meeting God through his Son, Jesus Christ.”

“If Valentine were here today, he would say to married couples that there comes a time where you’re going to have to suffer. It’s not going to be easy to maintain your commitment and your vows in marriage. Don’t be surprised if the ‘gushing’ love that you have for someone changes to something less “gushing” but maybe much more mature. And the question is, is that young person ready for that?”

“So on the day of the marriage they have to take that into context,” Father O’Gara says. “Love -- human love and sexuality is wonderful, and blessed by God -- but also the shadow of the cross.

That’s what Valentine means to me.”

Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began selling the first mass-produced valentines in America. Howland, known as the “Mother of the Valentine,” made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as “scrap.” Today, according to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.) Women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

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TAFT INDEPENDENT

February 8 - 14, 2013

Westside News & Business Briefs Taft Chamber Celebrates 103rd Year at Installation Dinner

Bob Hampton (photo right) is presented a special award for his generous support of the Taft Chamber of Commerce by Chamber Director Kathy Orrin. Above are Chamber award recipients: (left to right) Director Kathy Orrin, Tina Leikam (Domino’s Pizza), Business Woman of the Year, Bob Hampton’s Westside Waste Management (Business of the Year), Ray Smith (Acme Jewelers), Business Man of the Year, Mike Long (Laborers of the Harvest) and Don Maxwell (West Kern Oil Museum) Volunteers of the Year, and Bill Black, Community Service Award of the Year, and keynote speaker 4th District Supervisor David Couch.

Chamber Evening Termed a Success, 23 Board Members Installed at Annual Dinner,

By Dr. Kathy Orrin By all accounts Rooftops, Retail, Renewal—Taft’s Formula for the Future, the Taft Chamber’s theme for their annual general meeting, installation, and awards presentation last night reflected the focus of the Taft District Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau.

The guests, numbering over one hundred sixty, began the evening enjoying the table centerpieces created by local businesses to reflect their contributions to the community. From a table on top of a table surrounded by clever and quirky collectables (Old’s

OT

Cookhouse & Saloon Valentine’s Day is just around the corner...

Make your reservations today!!!

661.763.1819

Full Menu & Bar Available Check out a few of our Sweetheart Deals: Petite Filet & Charbroiled Shrimp Heart-Shaped Pasta (Seafood or Chicken)

NEW Lunch Menu NEW Dinner Menu Come in and check out our new items!!!

We are also proud to offer our “Chef ’s Personal Creations & Selections” Five Specials Available Daily Lunch Hours: Tues-Fri 11am-2pm Dinner Hours: Tues-Sat 4-9pm Closed: Sunday and Monday www.otcookhouse.com find us on facebook 205 N. 10th Street 661.763.1819

Cool) and solar collectors and water faucets inside a planter (West Kern Water District) fresh flower arrangements inside insulated drink glasses (Oxy), a Monopoly Game aptly extoling the virtues of a real estate company (Sunset Rails, LLC), and beautifullyframed original art (Maggie Blackwell). With liquid refreshments offered by the Tumbleweed Café, guests were able to relax and prepare for a fast-paced evening.

Following a delicious meal prepared by Taft Chamber member Hodel’s, newly-elected County Supervisor David Couch, the featured speaker of the evening delivered a list of positive attributes of the community of Taft, e.g., a strong, united City Council, a skilled, hard-working City Staff, dedicated and professional business community leadership, and a “jewel” of a community college.

Couch introduced his staff who already (Couch has been in office only one month) has been at work in Taft. He spoke to the issue of housing for Taft, but his greatest example of understanding came with his pledge to assist the citizens of Taft as they grapple with the issue of healthcare in their community.

Michael Long, outgoing President of the Chamber Board of Directors, called the business meeting to order ushering in reports from Treasurer Adele Ward, Event Coordinator Shannon Jones, and Executive Director Kathy Orrin. All gave favorable information showing the growth of income and activity for the Chamber during the 2012 year.

The business meeting included the retirement of Clint Deckert after six years of service on the Chamber Board, and the installation of seven new Directors: Emmanuel Campos (Owner, Monarch Fleet Services), Greg Hill (Owner, Old’s Cool Antiques), Sandy Koenig (Director, Community Resource Center), Verlen Love (Realtor, Coldwell Banker), Jordan Miller (Agent, Roger Miller Insurance), Ron Sousa (Manager, Albertson’s), and Rev. Rodney Wikoff (Pastor, West Hills Church of the Nazarene).

These new Directors will join the continuing Board, including incoming President Dennis Schertz (Owner, Asian Experience),

Ben’s Books The Largest, Cheapest and Only Used Book Store in Taft

Fiction • Non Fiction • Paperback Hard Covers • SciFi • Biography • Religion Childrens • Cookbooks and More!

Stop By For Some Great Company and Good Books!

810 Center Street • (661)805-9813

incoming First Vice President, Bob Leikam (Owner, Domino’s Guinness World Record-holding Pizza), incoming Second Vice President, Ed Herrera (Owner, Edward J. Herrera Insurance), Treasurer Adele Ward (CBO of Taft City School District), Past President, Michael Long (Owner, Black Gold Café and Deli, Taft Independent Newspaper), Devinder Bains (Owner, Taft Chevrolet-Buick), Tracy Chitwood (Owner, Southern Sierra General Engineering, Inc.), Les Clark III (Supervisor, West Side Recreation and Parks District), Bob Hampton (Owner, Westside Waste Management), Orchel Krier (Owner, Tumbleweed Café, Farmer, City Councilman), Lorrie Loder (Synagro), Dr. Dena Maloney (Superintendent/President, West Kern Community College District / Taft College), John Neumann (Owner, Accelerated Environmental Services), Harry Starkey (General Manager, West Kern Water District), Dan Tosti (Reliability Advisor, AERA Energy LLC), and Mike Waiczis (Planner, City of Taft).

Guests were treated to little-known facts about their fellow citizens as the Chamber staff introduced the recipients of the Annual Community Awards: Ray Smith (Acme Jewelers), Business Man of the Year, Tina Leikam (Domino’s Pizza), Business Woman of the Year, Bob Hampton’s Westside Waste Management (Business of the Year), Mike Long (Laborers of the Harvest) and Don Maxwell (West Kern Oil Museum) Volunteers of the Year, and Bill Black, Community Service Award of the Year. Field Representatives from Congressman Kevin McCarthy, Senator Jean Fuller, and Assembly Member Shannon Grove’s offices also bestowed citations.

Executive Director Kathy Orrin surprised Bob Hampton with another recognition stating, “I don’t know how many of you realize that the Chamber resides in its current building rent free, property tax-free, cleaning and landscaping costs free, and building insurance cost free. If that were not enough, we were the happy recipients of a beautiful, bigger, lighted sign last year.”

The evening concluded with outgoing President Michael Long recapping the year’s gains. Long told the audience that he was pleased that the Chamber was able to revive the City and County created Great Taft Economic Development Authority, and enlarge the board of driectros to better represent the various business interests on the Westside.

HAYDENS HOPE THRIFT STORE

“We can keep our Teens off the streets!”

New School Hours Mon. & Tues.

9am - 2pm Closed Wednesday Thur. & Fri. 9am - 5pm Saturday 10am - 2pm Closed Every 2nd Sat. of the Month

Happy Valentine’s Day! All Valentine’s Day Stuff 1/2 Off

God Bless!

428 Center Street • TAFT

745-4963

Closed Feb. 9th thru the 11th.

February 8 - 14, 2013

TAFT INDEPENDENT

Houchin Community Blood Drive Honoring Bowe Cleveland

Supervisors Appoint Konrad Moore as Public Defender

Houchin Blood Bank will hold a community blood drive next Thursday, February 15th from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Taft Union High School.

The event is in honor of Bowe Cleveland of Taft Union High School.

Residents are asked to donate blood in honor of the TUHS shooting incident.

Kern County Supervisors today appointed Konrad Moore as Public Defender. Moore had served as Interim Public Defender since October 2012 following the death of Public Defender Art Titus.

The Office of Public Defender provides legal representation to indigent criminal defendants in Kern County Superior Court cases. As Public Defender, Moore supervises a staff of 62 attorneys who handled more than 35,000 cases last year.

“The Board of Supervisors has been impressed by the quality of Konrad Moore’s leadership during a difficult time for everyone in the Public Defender’s Office,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Mike Maggard said. “Mr. Moore is dedicated to continuing the legacy of service built by those who preceded him in this important position, and we are pleased to appoint him as Public Defender.”

Moore joined the Public Defender’s Office in 2000 and became Chief Deputy Public Defender in 2008 before assuming the Chief Assistant position in 2011. As Chief Assistant, Moore assigned and tracked felony cases, supervised outlying Public Defender offices, and defended a number of homicide cases in court. Before coming to Kern County, Moore spent a year in private practice and served six years as a Deputy District Attorney, first in Stanislaus County, where he prosecuted felony and misdemeanor jury trials, and in Monterey County, where he prosecuted juvenile gang offenses. Prior to that, Moore practiced civil law at Kirkland & Ellis, LLP. Prior to attending law school, Moore earned his license as a Certified Public Accountant.

Moore earned a Juris Doctor degree at the University of California, Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law, and he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley. He is on the board of directors of the California Public Defenders Association, for which he has presented seminars in trial skills. He has also published articles on criminal justice issues in the Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee, San Francisco Chronicle, and Orange County Register.

Where: Taft Union High School When: Friday, February 15th Time: 8 AM- 3 PM Please call 661-616-2505 for more information.

Ben’s Books The Largest, Cheapest and Only Used Book Store in Taft

Fiction • Non Fiction • Paperback Hard Covers • SciFi • Biography • Religion Childrens • Cookbooks and More!

Stop By For Some Great Company and Good Books!

810 Center Street • (661)805-9813

HOOKER’S AUTOMOTIVE Complete Automotive Service

Johnny Simpson with his wife at their new tax service office at 522 Center Street.

Gene’s Tax Service Reopens Office on Center Street

There’s a new Tax Services in town, or better put, an old one that has been in busines in Taft since 1952 has reopened on Center Street.

Johnny Simpon has reopened his family owned Gene’s Tax Service at 522 Center Street, and just in time for IRS tax filing season.

Simpson’s garndfather, Gene Billings had operated the family tax service in Taft since 1953, and handed the business over the Johnny in 2004.

“I opened the store front at 522 Center Street to bring more options for people’s tax service needs, and to help revitalize Center Street by occupying what would otherwise be an empty building,” Simposn said.

The office is open evening hours and the weekends.

Simpson, who has a full time job in the oilfields says his experience in the oil industry gives an advantage to tax payers who may not be aware of what expenses are tax deductable.

Gene says that he offers low cost tax solutions to clients tax questions. He can also answer tax questions about buying a home, 401k withdrawals and transfers, and any other tax needs that may arise.

218 HARRISON STREET (661) 765-2437

Jackson’s Automotive Now Doing Smog Tests!

Front End Repairs Transmission Service Brake Service Tune Ups and Fuel Injection Service and Repairs Call Today for an Appointment 763-1055 Corner of 3rd and Center Street 110 3rd Street - Taft, CA. (661) 763-1055

Skin Care by Cortney Courtney Madsen Esthetician Facials - Waxing - Spray Tanning www.facebook.com/SkinCareByCortney Call or text for an appointment Bangs & Tangles 404 Center Street (661)623-4855

Classified Ad Deadline.

Wednesday 2 p.m.

765-6550.

8 TAFT INDEPENDENT

Liberty Under Fire So, “We Are All Socialists Now,” But What Does that Mean?

By Dr. Harold Pease

“We Are All Socialists Now” said the front cover of Newsweek, Feb. 16, 2009, exactly four years ago. Editors Jon Meacham and Evan Thomas wrote, “Whether we want to admit it or not, the America of 2009 is moving toward a modern European state,” toward socialism, they observed, “even before Barack Obama’s largest fiscal bill in our history.” The magazine had a red hand (republican) shaking a blue hand (democrat) in favor of socialism. Both parties accepted the “growing role of government in the economy,” they observed. “The U.S. government has already—under a conservative Republican administration—effectively nationalized the banking and mortgage industries.” Moreover, “it was, again, under a conservative GOP administration that we enacted the largest expansion of the welfare state in 30 years: prescription drugs for the elderly.”

The “sooner we understand where we truly stand, the sooner we can think more clearly about how to use government in today’s world,” they noted.

If the “growing role in government” is how Newsweek measures socialism, four years later we are even more socialist than they supposed. In this time period the federal government obtained a controlling interest in General Motors, absorbed 1/7th of the economy under Obamacare, and expanded the power of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to oversee most homes in America. This land expansion was in addition to their ownership of a third of all the landmass in the United States known as federal land. This does not count the controlling influence over all businesses by the eighty thousand new pages of bureaucratic rules and regulations descending upon businesses annually that effectively manage most everything else.

Clearly we are replacing our Constitutional Republic, which emphasizes limited government and individual freedom, and Newsweek tells us that we are just beginning. In light of their honesty it might behoove us to understand where socialist might be taking us by noting where socialism has gone before.

In 1975 the book, From Under The Rubble, authored by a variety of Soviet dissidents, all but one of whom were still living in the USSR, was published in the West. The participants were fully aware that their commentary on the socialist system smuggled to the “Free World” would undoubtedly unleash the wrath of the Soviet Bear and result in imprisonment, torture,

and possibly death for them. Nonetheless, they felt that the West could avoid the loss of freedom they experienced if only it were warned.

Igor Shafarevich, a corresponding member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences and former Laureate of the Lenin Prize, attempted, in his chapter “Socialism in Our Past and Future,” to tell the West what socialism eventually worked out to be in practice. This is, of course, after any significant means of resistance had been moved by gun control. That is the first thing that goes in any tyrannical government. He found the economic definition of socialism incomplete.

In practice socialism results in the meaningful governmental control of the means of production and distribution. In the U.S. this is done through thousands of rules and regulations on virtually every activity.

Socialism resulted in complete control of private property.

Property was defined as anything that existed including one’s own family and person. This included subordination of the individual to the power of the bureaucracy and state control of everyday life. Try doing anything in our society today without first asking permission of the government. Sexual promiscuity is first tolerated, even encourage, but ultimately procreation on a selective and supervised basis follows. So far we have not lost the right of partner choice, nor did they in China, another socialist paradise, but their birth number is regulated to but one child.

For the USSR socialism meant the destruction of the family as the basic institution of society and the rearing of children away from their parents in state schools or daycare centers.

Marriage as an acceptable practice was also minimized.

One of the most defining characteristics of all profoundly socialist countries is the government’s extreme hatred of religion and their commitment to its ultimate destruction. Today’s Progressives in the U.S. have a distance to go to accomplish this, but the value or necessity of organized religion is undermined.

The destruction of the hierarchy into which society has arranged itself is yet another characteristic under which Shafarevich lived. The idea of equality to a socialist has a special character. It means the negation of the existence of any genuine differences between individuals: “equality” is turned into “equivalence.” Socialism aims to establish equality by the opposite means of destroying all the higher aspects of the personality. Turning “equality” into “equivalence” is progressing nicely in this country as well.

Newsweek’s invitation to “think more clearly about how to use government in today’s world” should dissuade us from going there at all. Why would anyone want to embrace a system that ended all semblances of freedom and which, for them, self destructed in 1989? At least in the USSR they would have been happy to trade their socialism for our freedom. Are we smart enough to listen to them?

February 8 - 14, 2013

Health Care Foundation, District to Hold Community Meeting Feb. 28th The West Side Health Care Foundation, a 501c-3 non-profit foundation, was formed inNovember of 2011. Our goal is to work with the West Side Health Care District to improve our health care services here in Taft and the surrounding communities.

To kick things off, we have scheduled a Community Meeting for Thursday, February 28, 2013, at 6:00 p.rn., at the Historic Fort on io” Street. Hor d’oeuvers will be served beginning at 5:30 p.rn., no reservation is needed.

We will hear from the West Side Health Care District on their plans to improve our health care services on the Westside and how we can all help. We know from past projects that when the West Side community gets together on important projects, good things happen!

We would like to extend an invitation to you to come and hear what exciting things are underway and explore how we can all help the District improve health care on the Westside.

Feel free to call any of the Officers with questions or ideas.

Bob J. Hampton President

National Gas Prices Up .22 Cents Average retail gasoline prices in California have risen 22.3 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.90/g yesterday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 10,526 gas outlets in California. This compares with the national average that has increased 14.4 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.48/g, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.

Including the change in gas prices in California during the past week, prices yesterday were 14.8 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago and are 31.4 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 21.1 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 4.4 cents per gallon higher than this day one year ago.

“The national average has ticked higher in the last week, as rising oil prices have put upward pressure on gasoline prices,” said GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan.

“Unfortunately for angry motorists, there doesn’t seem to be much relief in sight, at least for the time being, as retail prices continue to climb in virtually all areas of the country,” DeHaan said.

February 8 - 14, 2013

TAFT INDEPENDENT

Black Gold

Cafe & Deli The Only Mortuary On The West Side Where All Arrangements And Funerals Are Personally Directed By

Double Gold Medal Winner and Best Cabernet Sauvignon of Show at the San Francisco International Wine Competition

Wine Tasting and Lunch Sat. & Sun. 11:30 to 5:00 pm. www.sagebrushannies.com

Now Celebrating Our 23rd Year

8 miles south of HWY 166 on HWY 33 in Ventucopa, Cuyama Valley, 4211 HWY 33. (661) 766-2319

MARICOPA QUILT COMPANY FABRIC • NOTIONS • GIFTS WED.-FRI. 10:00-5:30 SAT. 10:00-2:00

Check Out Our Website Maricopaquiltcompany.com And Facebook Page 370 CALIFORNIA • 769-8580

ROGER MILLER INSURANCE a division of DiBuduo & DeFendis Insurance Group

Rich Miller • Jordan Miller Kathy Devine • Shelly Hamilton

License # 0707137 • (661) 765-7131 531 Kern Street - P.O. Box 985 (661) 765-4798 FAX Taft, CA 93268 • (661) 203-6694 Cell E-Mail: Richrmia@bak.rr.com Your Hometown Insurance Store

Yates’ Detailing 600 Center Street Taft, California

(661) 623-0827 (661) 765-1171

All your detailing needs!

Wash, Wax, Shampoo, Buffing and Window Tinting.

Call for Appointment Today!

Monday - Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Ice Blended Mocha Fat Free and Sugar Free Available in Most Flavors

Open 7 Days - 765-6556 508 Center Street • Taft TAFT UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 630 North St. 765-5557

“Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors” Pastor Cindy Brettschneider Sunday Morning Worship 10:00 AM Adult Bible Study and Sunday School 11 AM Adult Bible Study Monday 6:00 PM Wednesday Night Service 6:00 PM Praise Team meets on Thursday at 6:00 PM

St. Mary’s Church 110 E Woodrow Street • Taft 661 765-4292 Mass Schedule Tuesday-Friday 8:00 A.M. Sunday 8:30A.M. English 11:00A.M. Spanish

First Baptist Church

501 Lucard St., Taft • 765-4111 FD756 FDR50 FDR595 FDR618

Gateway Temple

Community Christian Fellowship

604 Main Street • P.O. Box 578 Maricopa, CA 93252 • (661)769-9599

Sunday Morning Worship 9:45 Sunday Evening Worship 5:00 Monday Evening Mens Prayer 7:00 Wednesday Evening Worship 6:30 For a ride: Call Dorine Horn 427-9722 Pastors Charle (Tommy) and Mary A. McWhorter

New Hope Temple “Connecting Lives” 308 Harrison Street 765-4572 Sunday Morning Worship Service 10 a.m.

Sunday Evening Worship Service 6 p.m Bible Classes All Ages Wednesday 7 p.m.

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church

Sunday Service - 10 a.m.

Rev. Linda Huggard

703 5th Street - Taft (661) 765-2378

Your Church Ad Here!

765-6550

631 North Street Sunday School 9:30 a.m.

Morning Worship 10:30 a.m.

Trinity Southern Baptist Church 400 Finley Drive We invite you to join us each week as we worship

Sunday Bible Study 9:45 am Sunday Morning Worship 11:00 am Sunday Evening Worship 6:00 pm Wednesday Prayer & Bible Study 6:00 pm

Pastor Scott Pearson

Sunday School 9 a.m.

Worship Celebration 10:30 a.m.

Evening Service 6 p.m.

Awana Childrens Program Wednesday 6 p.m.

220 North Street - Taft 661 763-3138

Advertise In The Taft Independent

Visit Us Online taftindependent.com

Licensed Funeral Directors

Call Today!

765-6550

Peace Lutheran Church- LCMS Taft- A caring community under Christ We welcome you to worship with us at peace lutheran church, 26 Emmons Park Drive (across from the College). Worship service begins at 10:00 a.m.

Communion will be offered 1st and 3rd Sundays Sunday School for all ages at 9:00 a.m.

The Pregnancy crisis center is now open and available for support and assistance.

For information, call 763-4791 If you have a prayer request please call (661)765-2488.

Leave a message if the pastor or secretary is not available

WANTED: BULKY WASTE PICKUP

Ford City Tuesday

South Taft & Taft Heights Friday

City of Taft Wednesday

• REFRIGERATORS • MATTRESSES • WATER HEATERS • STOVES • WASHERS & DRYERS • SOFAS If Missed… Call Office at 7635135

All green waste must be bagged.

Tree Limbs cut in 6’ length, and bundled.

ITEMS NOT ACCEPTED Construction/Demolition Waste/Used Oil/ Hazardous Waste/Tires Westside Waste Management Co., Inc.

10 TAFT INDEPENDENT

Classifieds

Classified Adsare are$3.00 $2.00per perissue line. for Phone, fax, maillines, or drop off Classified Ads up to three $5 per issue ad for to upthe to Taft 5 lines, and $7 per issue for up to 10 lines. Yard your Independent.

Sale ads are free. Phone, fax, mail or drop off your ad to the Taft your Independent.

Ad photograph for $5. Ad your company logo for $5.

Boxed ads are $5 additional. E-mail us (or bring to our Boxed\outlined\bolded classified ads start at $12.00 for 8 office) a for photo of your home, car, truck motorcycle and lines, $16 12 lines, $20 for 15 lines, $25 for 20orlines. we’ll do the rest.

Photo Ads. Car, truck or house for sale ads are $5 per week, Yard Sale ads are $2 for 3 lines, lines $2 each. or $10 with a photo.

Email us (oradditional bring to our office) a photo of your home, car, truck or motorcycle and we’ll do the rest.

Classified ad deadline is Wednesday at 12 p.m. (noon) Classified ads deadline is now Wednesdays at 2 p.m.

Phone: 765-6550 Phone: 765-6550

For Rent

520 Shattuck

$750 month Paul Joyce 805-218-1686 Joyce Properties 661-765-6300

For Rent

220 Montview

$795 month Paul Joyce 805-218-1686 Joyce Properties 661-765-6300

Payment can made by cash, check, or card. credit card.

Payment can bebe made by cash, check, or credit Taft Independent 6thCenter St., Taft,St., CA Taft, 93268.

Taft Independent210 508 CA 93268

707 Buchannan St. Sat. 7am to ? Clothing, furniture.

Moving Sale. Sat. only 8am to 2pm. Free coffee. Washer w\free dryer, rototiller radial saw, upholster fabric, too much to list. lots of freebees. 27524 Mapl,e St. Valley Acres.

Sat. & Sun. Feb. 9th & 10th, 7am-? 119 Jefferson st. Tons of Kids Toys & Games, Household items, Books, Clothes, Tools, Fishing stuff, & much, much more.

Moving out of state Sale. Sat. Feb 9th 7am to noon. 28114 Dustin Acres Rd. No early birds.

ANNOUNCEMENTS New AA meeting just started in Taft at the Chevron Valley Credit Union Community Room. 7:30 am every Saturday morning. We read a topic from As Bill Sees It. 9-19.

Grief Support Group, offered as a community service by Optimal Hospice Care. Meetings held Thursdays 10:00

B License 442018

Be Seen!

a.m. to 11:30 a.m. At Chevron Valley Credit Union, Community Room, 1092 W. Kern St., Taft. Enter by outside entrance – Albertson’s Shopping Center. Free and open to the public. Info call 716-4000. 3-27.

Alzheimer’s Disease Association Of Kern County is offering Respite Care here in Taft. Call-Cathy Perkins at 760-3790848 for RESPITE CARE info. Respite Care is available every Thursday At the First Baptist Church located at 220 North St. from 9:00am—3:00pm.

YARD SERVICES HELP WANTED Now accepting applications for mechanics and mechanics helpers.

Apply at 27908 Tank Farm Rd.

CHILD CARE SERVICES WANTED Junk Cars Wanted.

Cash Paid. 805-0552.

FOR SALE Queen bed. $75.7652713. 313 Kern Str. Firewood. $1 to $2 each. 313 Kern St.

AUTOMOBILES PETS

Call 661-332-6597 for a current list.

LOST PETS MOBILE HOMES HOMES FOR RENT

$500 Reward. Lost Mini Aussie. Black\grey\white w/tan spot on face. Blue eyes, female. Rexxie.

REWARD. 661-7655862 or 623-0758.

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Taft Property Management 1,2,3 and 4 Bedrooms now available in good areas.

CRIME FREE HOUSING Brokers Licence 01417057 661-577-7136

ROOMS FOR RENT Rooms for rent.

Maricopa. Private home, furn. or unfurn. Call for info. 745-4211. 2-26

HOMES FOR SALE

Real Estate eBroker Inc.

By Appointment Karri Christensen LIC# 01522411 & #01333971 661-332-6597 www.BuyTaft.com Real Estate Sales & Purchase Can’t make payments call me!! I can help direct you to a loan modification or assist you in your short sale!

Wondering how buying a house works? Set an appointment with Karri to watch a FREE video on the process.

West Valley Real Estate (661) 763-1500.

Lic # 01525550 FOR RENT West Valley Real Estate (661) 763-1500 Lic # 01525550 For Rent 400 Woodrow St 1 & 2 Bed units available $625/$725 435 B St 2/1 $700 205 W Ash #B 2/1.5 $700 203 W Ash #A 2/1.5 $700 605 4th St 2/1.75 $750 122 Franklin 3/1 $825 514 Grant Terrace 2/1 $900 709 Kern St 3/1 $900 306 Taylor 4/1.75 $900 426 D St 3/1 $1,000 114 Franklin 3/1 $1,000 103 Pierce 3/1.75 $1,000 211 E. Lucard 3/2.75 $1,200 2bd. w/garage $700. mo 429 Rose.

2 Units 319 1/2 San Emido w/utilities. 1 bd $650. abnd 1 bd. plus office $750. plus dep.

765-5000.

License 01914953

Ken Shugarts

Air Conditioning & Heating

Plumbing • Septic • Rooter Framing • Electrical • Concrete We Do All Phases of Construction Kitchen and Bathroom Specialists Ken Shugarts (661) 343-0507

Classified Ads

E-mail: Taftindypublisher@bak.rr.com Email: Taftindypublisher@bak.rr.com

YARD SALES

Rite Away Carpet Cleaning Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning\General Cleaning Owner Operated Visa\Master Card 765-4191

Preserving for the Future

Fax:765-6556 765-6556 Fax:

Advertise your yard sale ad. 3 lines for $2, additional lines after that $2 each. Fax your ad to 765-6556 or call and leave message at 765-6550 by 12 p.m.

Wednesday.

Business Services

February 8 - 14, 2013

30 Plus Years in Construction License No. 927634

661-428-3252. 3.8.

WANTED TO RENT

in the

Wanted to Rent. We are a couple in our 50’s. Long term renters looking for a house with an in ground pool and garage. 2 or 3 bedroom 1ba. Will pay 3 months in advance plus sec. dep. 661-293-0116 or 293-0413. 2-16.

Taft

Independent

$2 per line

Real Estate Services and Property Management Listings – Sales - Property Management Local Service You Can Depend On

322 Kern Street Taft, CA 93268 (661) 765-5000

Real Estate eBroker Inc.

By Appointment

Karri Christensen

LIC# 01522411 & #01333971

Box your ad

661-332-6597

www.BuyTaft.com Real Estate Sales & Purchase

for $5 more

call

765-4191 or 549-1068

765-6550

402 Pierce St. 3bd 1 ba. w/ gargae. $880. mo. plus dep. 765-5000.

House for rent. 2bd. 1 ba. 661-747-6968.

Writers Wanted

APART. FOR RENT 1bd. 1ba. Upstairs. $450 Mo. plus $450 dep. 155 1/2 North Street. (661) 477-9636. 2-8.

Creekside Apartments.

1 BD and 2 BD. Pool, AC & Appl. 661.7657674. 420 Finley Dr. Center Street Apartments. 1 bed room 1 bath. $99 move in special based on approved credit. No Pets Allowed. Call (805) 375-1458 or (661) 7657678.

Large 1 bd. 1 ba.

Upstairs Apt. Stove, Refir. no pets. $495. mo. plus $500 sec. dep.

At the Taft Independent

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Experience Required.

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Visit Us Online at www.taftindependent.com

Boy Scouts Must Stand Firm for Their Values Saving funding not worth moral compromise For the last century, becoming an Eagle Scout was an achievement that signified something noble. It presented a visible message that its bearer was a person of true character and high moral standards.

After five years of hard work, I finally became an Eagle Scout. Such an award is only esteemed because of the meaning behind it. Eagle Scout is the highest award that the Boy Scouts of America has to offer. There are many awards that are given out for participation, but this is not one of them. A boy who achieves this award must fulfill a list of requirements that will forge him into a young man.

The Boy Scouts have been in the business of building character longer than most of us have been alive. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to overestimate the impact scouting has had on my life and the lives of countless other men. When most of us joined the Boy Scouts, we were young boys just trying to learn right from wrong. In this world, those terms have become more relative than ever before in a culture that increasingly insists, “You do what you want to do, and I will do what I want to do, as long as you don’t bother me.”

This makes the Boy Scouts all the more important: Their purpose is to give boys an anchor to transcendent morality and motivation to be men of character. After achieving my Eagle and finishing college, I came back home and volunteered with my local council to help encourage young boys to pursue these valuable standards.

I trust we can all agree that the Boy Scouts of America have been a bastion for character in our culture. Throughout its history, the organization has weathered many challenges and forged its reputation in those fires. In life, the most difficult challenges are often not the big, one-time trials, but the ones that we must face every day.

These are the ordinary determinations we face when we wake up and look in the mirror and decide for ourselves how we are going to live. They are the challenges that either slowly wear us down and erode our consciences, or that build us up and strengthen our resolve to live honorable lives.

In recent days, the Boy Scouts have begun to show evidence that such a challenge has been wearing on their consciences. The BSA’s national leaders have proposed a new policy dealing with sexual orientation. If they go forward with this proposed new policy, they will ultimately be saying to the youth of America: “If the culture shifts, so should your character.” In doing so, they will have effectively turned a blind eye to God’s standard of morality enshrined

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Caring for Your National Forests Kernville, CA - Your National Forests are working forests, providing goods and services on a sustainable basis to the American people. The US Forest Service (FS) motto is, “Caring for the Land, and Serving the People.” To accomplish this motto, the FS has been given authority to regulate the flow of goods and services from National Forests. To remove anything of value from the National Forests will require some kind of permit or authorization.

This is the only way the Forest Service can manage your National Forests for healthy, sustainable ecosystems and provide the natural beauty for which they are known.

The Forest Service needs your help in caring for the land. It is important for each of us to understand how to be good stewards of the National Forests.

Two issues have been brought to our attention in the Kern River Valley. First, despite extraordinary efforts of Kern Valley residents to participate in organized trash cleanups, the trash on National Forests is a growing problem. Some purposely dump trash on the forest. Please be mindful to “pack it in, and pack it out,” and let us know instances when this does not occur. Second, some natural resources must be protected from any removal: endangered species and historic artifacts fall into this category.

Removing natural or archaeological resources from the National Forests without authorization violates federal law and is punishable by both fine and imprisonment. The FS prefers to educate people, but at times the fines and imprisonment are necessary. Before engaging in any activity that will disturb archaeological resources or remove natural resources from public land, please ask if an authorization is needed or available. Please check with a local FS office if you have questions.

District Ranger Jeff Ulrich asks the public to please contact the FS whenever they see anyone dumping trash, spray-painting rocks, taking artifacts, or any other illegal activity on the National Forest; but please do not confront them yourselves.

By leaving history where it lies and taking trash with us when we leave public lands, we can substantially contribute to maintaining our National Forests for all to enjoy. Tips of abuse or misuse of FS land in the Kern River Ranger District can be phoned into one of the local offices at 760-376-3781 or 760-379-5646 (8AM to 4:30PM, M-F). The “Contact Us” link on the Forest webpage http://www.fs.usda.gov/sequoia/ can also be used to leave any tips. in the Scout Oath and taken a lukewarm position that repudiates character and bravery, both tenets of the Scout Law. The national leaders must realize they exemplify what it means to follow the Scout Oath. I understand that homosexual activists and several corporations are threatening some of the organization’s funding. However, I would rather see the organization that I know and love fail financially, standing strong in character and teaching the boys of this nation one final lesson in what it means to really keep the Scout Oath and Law, than be drawn to the lure of money.

They should stand on the character about which they so boldly teach. The Boy Scouts would lose great credibility in their stand for character by giving in to what amounts to blackmail.

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If the homosexual community wishes to participate in similar activities, they are more than free to begin their own organization, rather than tearing down this one.

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A final decision has yet to be made, so the question still remains: Will the Boy Scouts maintain the fortitude of their character, or will they finally be worn down by the changing tides of cultural pressure? This Scout is still hopeful and would like to encourage the national leadership to stand strong. I would encourage anyone who is against this proposed new policy to stand on character and bravely speak out. Let us do all we can to ensure that the Boy Scouts remain true to the timeless values that have shaped the character of generations of American boys.

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Lance Clevinger, 24, is an Eagle Scout and an intern at the Family Research Council.

Obama Needs To Focus Energy Policy On Change, Not Hope

By Robert L. Bradley Jr. Just prior to the election, battery-maker A123 Systems filed for bankruptcy. As the recipient of $249 million in federal money, the Massachusetts-based company represents just the latest in a long line of troubled taxpayer-enabled green ventures - some 34 companies and $7.5 billion to date. How little different this is from Houston-based Enron’s forays into wind and solar in the 1990s, which even with federal subsidies were never profitable.

Failed bets on politically correct, market-incorrect energies are part of the trillion-dollar federal deficits that shake America’s living rooms. Yet President Obama seems determined to continue throwing good money after bad, setting up companies and their workers for failure. Meanwhile, resources are taken from the private sector where consumer-supported jobs originate.

Such is just part of the president’s grander, misdirected energy policy, one that is at odds with the Big Three Energies of oil, gas and coal.

Consider, for example, the president’s take on the cause and cure for high gasoline prices. A CNN poll earlier this year found a three-fold increase in the number of Americans viewing high motor fuel prices as the nation’s most significant economic issue. The national average has abated to $3.42 per gallon, and gasoline prices in California have recently dropped below $4 per gallon. Still, stagnant oil production on federal lands compared to state and private lands is a missed opportunity for producers and consumers alike.

So what does the president say? That renewable energy is “the only way we’ll break this cycle of high gas prices.”

The truth is that the big forces pushing up gas prices can’t be solved with wind, solar and ethanol. Global demand for crude oil is high, and the supply is hampered by political instability in oil-rich places such as the Middle East and North Africa. And U.S. policymakers have weakened the dollar.

Then there’s the president’s take on taxes. Obama constantly hammers “big oil” for supposedly not paying its fair share. And he claims these companies are benefiting from billions of dollars in taxpayer giveaways. But the fact is that the three biggest oil companies - Chevron, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips - all pay tax rates above 40 percent. Compare that to other major American corporations. Apple only pays 9 percent. GE, thanks in part to its windpower unit, pays just 7 percent.

Then there’s the claim from the White House that oil companies are leasing thousands of acres of land but leaving them idle.

To make its case against expanded drilling, the administration misleadingly defines “idle” to include such things as seismic testing on the land and preparing rigs to drill.

True, at this stage companies aren’t physically pulling resources from the ground. But the land certainly isn’t idle. Oil and natural gas developers are just taking necessary first steps before actual drilling and, hopefully, production occurs.

Compare this to genuine idleness when federal policies have unnecessarily delayed drilling permits. And don’t forget the Keystone XL pipeline, which remains one White House decision away from overcoming idleness.

Obama’s effort to paint green-tech as the future of American energy is predictably backfiring. While heavily subsidized wind and solar companies continue to flail, the traditional energy sector is flourishing, while developing more environmentally friendly ways of doing business.

Indeed, the U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that by 2035, oil and natural gas alone will supply about 55 percent of America’s energy needs, compared to less than 11 percent from government-dependent wind, solar and ethanol.

And if federal budget reforms eliminate energy subsidies, expect this market-share differential to become much more pronounced.

With his second term just around the corner, President Obama should rethink his failing energy policy for one premised on free markets, consumer sovereignty and deficit-reduction. One can hope for change, right?

Robert L. Bradley is CEO and founder of the Institute for Energy Research and author of seven books on energy. He blogs at www.masterresource.org.

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