Show Your RED!

The American Heart Association has declared February 1 'Go Red for Women Day' as a reminder that Heart Attack can happen to ANYONE. Take Lassen County's own SuPeR athletic Camille Buehler, here's her story in her own words:


April 21 2017~


"So this has been an interesting week. I'm 42 years old, a lifelong athlete. I work out four mornings a week and more when I can fit it in. On Wednesday I went for a walk with a friend and had a heart attack. A walk. On a flat grade. And had a HEART ATTACK.


I was incredibly fortunate in that I recognized the signs and for once in my life did what I was supposed to do. Ladies listen up - KNOW THE SYMPTOMS. For me, I had chest pain that wasn't too severe, nausea, shortness of breath, and the big clincher of jaw pain. Not just some weird pain. Serious band of pain that stretched ear to ear and wouldn't stop. My poor friend didn't know how bad it was - I didn't want to freak her out. (I really do hope she will go on a walk with me again someday) After it happened we stopped because I needed to catch my breath - I said we should go another half mile and then turn around so we could get four miles in. I should have said to just turn around. I got home, looked up the symptoms and had every single one. It said take aspirin so I did. It also said if you feel you need to take aspirin you should also call 911. I, of course, decided to drive up to the ER. Shouldn't drive yourself either. Long story short, I was flown to Reno once it was confirmed that I had a heart attack. Good news is there is no damage, no plaque, and only a narrowing of an artery on the left side that seems to have always been that way. All the other arteries were larger than normal and clear. Basically, we don't know why it happened. I have a new life of some meds, and have now seen my children and husband's faces as they look at me wondering if it will be for the last time. I was lucky. I am writing this because I have always felt we learn so much from hearing other people's experiences. I have a friend who just had a heart attack and I asked him what made a difference for him. He said aspirin - it's what convinced me I needed help. Thank you Caleb. The new tip I also learned was you should chew it so it gets in your system faster. I knew I had no risk factors, but I also really didn't want to die just because I thought it would be inconvenient for me to go to the hospital."




If we all share the symptoms, the best action to take and stories like Camille's, who knows how many lives might be saved. Won't you join the AHA on the 1st by wearing red to raise awareness?





HUGE Hometown thanks to Camille for sharing your story!

Hometown Om.

One of the very first articles I wrote for our ad was showcasing the health benefits of Yoga with Prairie Burt of Lotus Path Yoga. That ran in the ad on January 21 2015, here we are almost exactly 4 years later. Seems like a great time to catch up with Prairie. Today she is Managing Partner of our newest LoCaL studio, Mountain Yoga! This place is seriously cool. When I first entered there was a room full of people hanging from the ceiling in pods, soft music and Prairie's guiding words added to the overall feeling of calm. This aerial yoga class is the latest addition to their schedule. BUT WAIT. There is so much more going on here. How about Cycle/Om? 1/2 hour of spinning followed by a 1/2 hour of yoga! Or just spinning. Or just Yoga, gentle, aerial, or restorative. Or high intensity interval training. Or PiYo. She's even adding a kids yoga class. 
                               


                                   


In that original article the instructors each gave their personal benefits; flexibility, well-being, balance, decreased stress, but with all the classes at Mountain we gotta add endurance and heart health to that list! 
                                   

Plus they have an adorable little boutique so you can show everyone your 'spiritual gangster' side!
                Thank you Prairie for all these years of keeping us Hometown Healthy!

Hot Lunch isn't what it used to be...

Elementary School 'hot lunch' program conjures images of fish sticks, sloppy joes and pigs in a blanket for me. So just imagine my surprise when Susanville School District Nutritional Service Coordinator Angie McCabe was in buying all the best and brightest produce. Angie told me they set up a salad bar every day at the schools she serves (McKinley, Meadow View and Diamond View)! Fresh fruits and veggies are practically part of the curriculum at the elementary level.  

                    

SSD has also partnered with Public Health for a Harvest of the Month where students are presented with a seasonal item they may have never tried before. For instance, blood oranges. Some of the younger kids wanted to know if it was real blood in there making them red :). They were amazed to learn Pumpkin was for more than just carving! When Angie brought in Persimmons some of the adults admitted they'd never tried them. Confession- until recently I'd only had Hachiya Persimmons in cookies then I tried the Fuyus which are so delish to just eat. Or put in salad. Or in overnight oats. Or whatever! All of the produce for the Harvest program is purchased right here at Susanville Super. Thanks SSD, Angie and Public Health!

                                  

For "Lots 2 Love" National School Lunch Week Angie was tasked with finding a different theme every day. I think she hit it out of the park:

Monday~ Around the World. Asian, Mediterranean and South of the Border salads were served.

Tuesday~ Local Heroes. Students got to have lunch with LoCaL Police, Sheriff, Fire and even the LCC Baseball team!

Wednesday~Teachers and Administrators joined in.

Thursday~ LoCaL Sports with LCC Basketball Team.

Friday~ SSD bought every student in their 3 schools lunch!

                           

Angie McCabe dream is to put a student garden on the grounds of Diamond View! All the plans are drawn up, everyone is on board but resources are needed. That's where we all come in and no community is better at this. Hmmm. I wonder if Mr Somerville's Ag Welding would like to take on a project...

If you can help with donations, supplies, time, contact Angie McCabe at 252-6001

Thanks Angie for helping us raise Hometown Healthy Kids!

Joanne's Uncle Dan

On December 7 1941 the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. We all know that. But one day scrolling through my Facebook ’news’ feed, I came across something that WAS real news to me. Some of the Japanese planes split off to take out the Navy’s Patrol Wing One in Kaneohe Bay. The first man to die on that legendary day was Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel T Griffin. Griffin enlisted in 1930 and served on a few battleships before entering flight school where he was trained to pilot the Catalina Flying Boat, one of the Navy’s most advanced planes. At this time both Officers and Enlisted men flew. There are conflicting reports of exactly what happened but according to family members he was flying when his plane was shot, Griffin bailed out and then was shot in the water.
                     
That last piece of information came from a woman that was my neighbor for years, Joanne Sturgeon. To her he was known as Uncle Daniel. Griffen was her maternal grandmother’s brother. Joanne had shared an article about her uncle on Facebook that I found so intriguing. The point the author stressed is, these stories get lost and graves of heroes aren’t recognized for the individual sacrifice each made. On February 25 1943 the Navy named a 306 foot destroyer escort The Griffin. The ship ran many missions before it was decommissioned in 1946. Now it’s up to us to pass his story along.
                                                                                  
                            
                   

Please share the story of this hero who was the first to make the ultimate sacrifice at Pearl. Thank you to Joanne for this history lesson and the connection that makes Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel T Griffin one of my Hometown Heroes.
                            

Joanne’s Granny and Grandpop are also in the funeral photo. Here's a link to the original story~

https://gazette.com/military/navy-s-first-casualty-on-dec-was-colorado-springs-man/article_83752f56-74b1-5bd3-87c0-dd6602a0631d.html?fbclid=IwAR0xyOBypH13gTVHEwerXxkRuCDLsVFy8qi3ghpB3bWKPcjqBJxxFIE3NlQ

Social GOODness

Rick and I used to bike. Like a lot. But staying in cycling shape here in the winter can be a challenge, it required spending most weekends driving to Chico so we could get outdoor miles on our bike. We’d ride from Chico to Paradise to Durham then back to Chico. It was awesome. There was a church on the corner of Pearson and Pentz with one of those changeable letter boards out front, one particular time it read “A burden shared is halved, a joy shared is doubled”. Since I still had about 50 miles left to pedal there was plenty of time to contemplate this. Wouldn’t it be great if we used our public voices to double joy? Over and over, like a snowball rolling downhill. Gaining speed, growing larger. When I look around I see some fine examples of this, why not give them a shout out?

Jennifer Petersen~ Owner Lassen Social Media, Author and involved in enough other endeavors to make my head spin. We can’t even measure most of her positive juju because it’s done behind the scenes helping manage pages on Facebook and such. I can tell you on more than one occasion I’ve seen her defend some person or business and once received a p.m. from her when there was a post about the market I should see. It’s always nice to know somebody’s watching out for you.



Terra Avilla~ Susanville PD, Manages Lassen Crime Stoppers and Susanville Police Explorer pages AND writes a weekly article for SusanvilleStuff called Why We Love This Place Wednesdays. Terra spreads enough joy to really get that snowball moving. She seems to absolutely attack every event, whether for charity or community, with an infectious enthusiasm. Family, helping Camp Fire victims, raising money with Toys for Tots or Holiday with a Hero, plus work. Her love for our community is shown through rolled up sleeves and hard work and always a smile.


I could go on and on. There are many sharing GOODness in and around the Ville, so if you see it why not share it. Let’s see how many times we can double down on that joy :)