To log in to Taft College\'s wireless network, enter your A Number for the User ID and your Password is your first initial capitalized followed by your last name initial and the last 6 numbers of your A Number.
Example: Student Tom Jones with an A Number of A0002005 would use A0002005 for the User ID and Tj002005 for Password.
The city of Taft hosts its long awaited Oildorado, and this year’s every five year celebration is shaping up to be a good one.
Oilstock (a part of Oildorado) will feature such acts as Foghat, Taylor Hicks, Junior Brown, Truxton Mile, Monroy, Bridge and Skynnyn Lynnyrd. People will have a variety of musical styles to enjoy.
Not only will there be incredible musical performances but many activities to keep people busy throughout the days. Events like the Whiskerino Contest which is a contest that determines who has the best facial hair in Taft, or the Kiwanis Kolor Run which is a 5k color run taking place at 8 am on October 10th, and of course the annual costume contest.
Another event that always seems to turn everyone’s head is the Grand Parade. The parade route will begin near 6th and Ash Streets and continue south on 6th Street, covering plenty of ground for the crowd to witness the epic parade.
Taft’s Oildorado bash is indeed looking to celebrate as the community pays its dues to the hardy men and women who migrated to this dusty southwestern corner of the San Joaquin Valley.
With plenty of food, entertainment, and festivities to go around, it is surely guaranteed to live up to the long awaited five-year hype amongst the citizens of Taft. So be sure to clear your schedule on October 8th through the 18th in order to be a part of this unique gathering.
Breast Cancer Awareness Week is being held this year October 19-23 by the ASB.
On Wednesday, October 21 the volleyball team will have their annual breast cancer awareness game. They would like everyone to wear a breast cancer awareness t-shirt, which they began selling today. Pre-orders are due by noon on October 9. We will have a few for sale at the game if you miss your chance.
All proceeds will go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and our own Soroptimist Club’s Critical Care Program.
Please see the attached flyer for more information on the t-shirts.
Below and attached are information about the Chevron Donors Choose program.
This is an amazing program that provides k-12 Teachers opportunity to apply for grants for classroom education innovation. As we get our gas, think about Chevron and filling up to help support this amazing program! Send this email to your educational friends in the k-12 world that Chevron has up to $300,000 to help support a classroom project!!!
Thanks so much,
Sheri Horn-Bunk
Taft College Foundation
Community Partners,
Throughout October, we have a unique opportunity to help secure up to $300,000, to support public education in schools in Kern County. Fuel Your School is an innovative collaboration between Chevron and DonorsChoose.org to help fund eligible classroom projects, submitted by teachers who don’t have the necessary resources for their students.
DonorsChoose.org: Support a classroom. Build a future.
DonorsChoose.org connects teachers in high-need communities with donors who want to help.
Fill your tank. From Oct. 1 through Oct. 31, 2015, simply fuel up with 8 or more gallons at a participating Chevron or Texaco station and Chevron will donate $1, up to $300,000, to help support eligible public education projects in Kern County.
Spread the word about the Fuel Your School program. Tell everyone you know – friends, relatives, even the cashier at the grocery store – about fueling up in October, and be sure to visit www.FuelYourSchool.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.Effective education, including science, technology, engineering and math, can help foster bright young talent for the future workforce and healthy economic growth of our local communities, and our country. Through this program, we can help teachers and students in Kern County get the supplies they need for their classrooms. Please take advantage of this great opportunity and help us spread the word about the Fuel Your School program. Visit www.FuelYourSchool.com to learn more.
On September 21st 2015, The Los Angeles Kings made their 5th visit to Bakersfield, and for their pre-season game opener, they played against The Arizona Coyotes. The Kings Head Coach Daryl Sutter last visited Bakersfield in 2003 when he was still coaching the San Jose Sharks, and due to complications with melting ice officials had to reduce the game down to two periods.
Prior to the pre-season game, the L.A. Kings represented the away team and wore their away jerseys while the Arizona Coyotes wore their home jerseys at The Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield. Those attending the game at Rabobank were given the opportunity to read up on the Bakersfield Condors and their new affiliation with the American Hockey League (AHL). The Bakersfield Condors signed a deal in January 2015 when their owners the Edmonton Oilers and 6 other NHL teams announced that their AHL affiliates would move to the West Coast.
During the match the Kings and Coyotes displayed resilience as both teams battled for puck possession in which cleaning crews had to clear the ice of obstructions caused by the players’ skates. Penalties did occur throughout the game whether it was another players stick going above their opponents head or unnecessary tripping as tempers began to flare.
Each period lasted about 20 minutes, and there was a fifteen minute intermission which allowed the patrons of the game to make their way to the concession stands or use the facilities.
There were also activities during intermission, similar to the activities during the Bakersfield Condors games, such as the chuck-a-puck in which fans pay one dollar for a foam puck with numbers written on them, and during intermission, the fans threw the pucks onto ice. As the chuck-a-puck contest concluded, the ice crews collect the pucks with a snow shovel and place them into a can; once the winning number is called out, they receive a gift that ranges from game tickets to a signed jersey to money gift cards. Overall, the proceeds of the chuck-a-puck contest go to local charities in Bakersfield, and it was great to see people that are fans of both NHL teams participate in a local event.
During intermission, one can usually expect for tempers to have settled down, but that’s not always the case when at the 10:43 remaining in the 2nd period when Coyotes defenseman Dakota Mermis and Kings right wing Justin Auger engaged in a quarrel at the Arizona defense line which resulted in a 2 minute penalty for both players. As the crowd roared with excitement, everyone calmed down, but soon there was an eruption of joy as the Kings scored two more goals prior to the end of the 2nd period. Los Angeles now had a 4-0 lead over Arizona, and Kings fans in the audience couldn’t be more delighted knowing that their team has shown improvement since missing the play-offs last season.
Once the 3rd period started, the Kings were short one player, due to a penalty that carried on over from the 2nd period, but seconds into the period, the Kings offense did not hesitate to rush into the Arizona net and take a 5-0 lead over the Coyotes. Despite their efforts to destabilize the Kings defense, Arizona finally got their moment by the luck of deflection off a Kings skate now making the game 5-1. At 12:04 in the 3rd period, a penalty against Arizona was called, making it 4 Coyotes’ players against 5 Kings, but the Kings power play offense sought little action in the matter and allowed Arizona to kill the power play making it 5 on 5 again.
Overall, the game ended with the Los Angeles Kings beginning their pre-season with a 5-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes, and it was also announced that the NHL would demonstrate the new overtime regulation where if games ended in ties they would start a 5 minute period where it would be 3 on 3. As overtime started, the Los Angeles Kings were able to conduct puck passes that lead to another score against the Arizona Coyotes at the 4:21 mark, thus concluding an evening of hockey in Bakersfield. In the end, hockey fans came out for a night of fun and did not leave disappointed as fans were thankful to the NHL’s decision to host a pre-season game in Bakersfield.
For now, the people of Bakersfield are waiting for the 9th and 10th of October for the Condors season opener when they make their debut into the AHL.
The first ever Latino Farmer Conference in California will be hosted at the Radisson Conference Center on November 3 in cooperation between the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The conference will bring together Spanish speaking farmers from around California to share their experiences, network with other farmers, and attend workshops about marketing, production practices, farm finances and programs, and other topics relevant to Spanish speaking farmers.
On Tuesday September 22, the Taft College botany class had taken a field trip to the Paramount Farms’ pistachio and almond farm. Over the hour that the class was there, the field regulator member Paul had discussed issues on the California drought and how it affects their harvest, as well as ways to slow down the damage if not stopping it.
Paramount’s pistachio crop has been growing since 1972 and there are sixty-three thousand acres of them. But these crops need one essential thing to live and that is water. Unfortunately, the state of California is in a crisis in which it lacks water. The California drought of 2015 is by far the worst drought to hit the state in all its time and the farmers are getting hit by it the hardest.
While taking a tour of the crop, Paul explained that the lack of water was slowing production and quality of their harvest. With the rate of the pistachio production decreasing, Paramount Farms is forced to find ways to get around the harsh times. One way is the new technique of getting water to the crop. Instead of using your average sprinkler head to water the pistachio crop, they installed rubber water lining along the whole crop that produce less water at a time in order to decrease precipitation in the crop that negatively effects the growth and development of the crop. As opposed to the sprinkler system that was generating too much water and precipitation to the crop.
Although California is in a terrible drought. Paramount Farms and farms across the state are finding new ways every day to get around these harsh times and produce enough product to keep consumers happy.
TC botany students watch and learn about the harvest process.
Saturday September 27th was a great night for stand up comedy in Bakersfield. Over 100 people packed into the Rocket Shop Cafe for The 2nd Annual Oil City Comedy Jam, a comedy contest to crown the Bakersfield’s top comedian of 2015.
The show was Oil City Comedy’s 6th straight sold out monthly show. The field of 16 comedians did their best 4 minute set, and those sets were judged 1-10 on categories such as material, crowd reaction, and professionalism. The 8 judges included locals such as Joe Schaffran, organizer of the Local Bakersfield’s Rock and Rod’s Festival, Cesareo Garasa, writer for The Bakersfield Californian and drummer for legendary local band Mento Buru, hypnotist Brian Parks,and even Fat Paul, head of security at Sandrinis Bar.
The champion was Margaret Haggard who edged out the 2nd place finisher Chris Flail by just one point. The show gained attention from local news channels KGET-17 and ABC-23, and stories featuring the Royal Rumble we’re aired on both channels.
Oil City Comedy hosts an open mic every Thursday at Rocket Shop Café and a Showcase show the last Saturday of each month. Like their page on Facebook for more info.
Everyone knows that there is a shortage of water in California, but the majority may not be aware of the lack of court reporters currently in the state. According to Kimberly Shaw, a local court reporter working in Bakersfield, “A reporter working in the court is actually in the courtroom and takes down testimony of everything that is said the entire time the Judge has you on the record. You are writing down what everybody says and then can, later on produce a transcript of it.” Mrs. Shaw certainly knows what she’s talking about when it comes to court reporting. Not only has she been working as a reporter for almost 27 years, she is also married to Gary Shaw, a Program Manager at WESTEC, a partner of Taft and Bakersfield College. WESTEC specializes in vocational training and offers degrees for court reporters.
The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) projected around 5,500 new jobs for court reporters as of September 8, 2014. That is around 5,000 jobs that need certified court reporters that are going unfilled, and the numbers have only grown since then. The NCRA has even gone on to state that “court reporter jobs available in the U.S. with the greatest demand occurring in California, Texas, Illinois, and New York.” That means that this state stands at the top of the list with a large amount of its job positions unfilled throughout the whole of the state. When asked about why this shortage has occurred, Mrs. Shaw says that “The average age of a court reporter is approaching 50, and most of them are nearing their retirement.” This means that what little reporters we have right now, they are nearing retirement. This means that soon they will be gone, leaving the courts filled with recording devices.
Recordings have been used in courtrooms for several years now as a way to bypass the use of a court reporter. This allows everything that is said in the courtroom to be recorded and stored electronically for later listening. Although some might think that this is just the “evolution” of our society (after all, one of society’s biggest fears is not being able to work because a robot can do what we can, better than we can), but in reality, it’s a detriment to our current judicial system. When asked about the recording system in courtrooms today, Mr. Shaw was vehemently against them, saying that reporters are “more accurate” when it comes to what they write while electronic recordings are “unreliable” due to technical difficulties that can cause “inaccurate transcripts.” With the decrease of new reporters in the state, the use of recordings has become a common practice and one that is not exactly fool proof. So, what can we do to help the justice system that we rely on so heavily?
There is a school right here in Bakersfield, California. The school that Mr. Shaw is an instructor at is WESTEC. The school helps to train and teach new court reporters to meet the qualifications and prepare them for certification to be a professional in the world of court reporting. He boasts that his school has a 100% job rate for students who graduate as well as most of his students being hired within the first week after graduating. At the same time, the school networks with other businesses that need court reporters to alert them of upcoming graduates so that they can hire them as soon as they are out of school. If you are thinking of becoming a court reporter or possibly unsure about your career path, consider this as your profession. Consider yourself someone who is desperately needed by the justice system to help ensure that it runs smoothly.
