The 19th annual event, hosted by the Quota Club of Oroville, Youth for Change and the Oroville YMCA, provides high school students and eighth grade graduates in need with free dresses, suits, jackets, dress shirts, slacks, ties, shoes jewelry and hygiene products donated by businesses and community members.

“We reach out to every high school from here to Sacramento and Redding and as many social workers and foster organizations as we have contacts for to let them know the kids can come and shop for free clothing for prom and graduation,” said Kiki Silva, Quota Club Prom Project chair.

This year’s event will take place from 3 to 6 p.m. April 8 through 12 and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 13 at the Oroville YMCA  and Convention Center at 1200 Myers St. Income verification is not required to shop the pop-up boutique. Students may come alone to shop but parents must bring their students with them to take advantage of the giveaway.

All clothing, including the more than 2,000 dresses, are on clothing racks or arranged on tables by size. Dresses are available in sizes zero to 28 and shoes are available in sizes six to 12. Silva said they are still in need of plus-size dresses as well as men’s dress wear. Donations of gently used and new items are accepted.

“We would also really like to have donations of gift certificates for manicures and tuxedo rentals,” said Silva.

High school seniors are invited to shop for prom, graduation and  job interview outfits while high school juniors may select prom and job interview clothing. Eighth-grade graduates are also welcome to shop for graduation ensembles.

“When students come in, they are assigned a personal shopper who finds out what their needs are and stays with them through the whole experience helping them find what they need and make selections,” said Silva. “When they are finished shopping, the students come to the front where we wrap their items nicely in tissue and put them in a bag, giving them the complete boutique experience.”

About 50 volunteers work to make the Prom Project a success including those who serve as personal shoppers. These volunteers are specially trained to work with students including with young people who may have “image problems” so that all students leave “feeling good about themselves and their choices,” said Silva.

“So many of the kids come in expecting just used clothing or think we won’t have anything in their size,” said Silva. “They are always surprised to see how much of the clothing like the dresses donated by Lulus.com and Macy’s are new and how many sizes we have. We see so many smiles and the kids and parents are so grateful when we tell them we can absolutely find them something they need.”

More than 200 students from as far south as Olivehurst to as far north as Quincy enjoyed shopping at the Prom Project in 2023. This was an increase of 25% over the previous year. Silva said she expects the number will increase again this year as there are more families in “greater need at this point in time.”

“There are so many wonderful moments during Prom Project,” said Silva. “It just makes our hearts happy.”

Donations for the projects are being accepted through April 8 and may be dropped off in Oroville at the YMCA or in Chico at Youth for Change, 260 Cohasset Road. For more information about the Prom Project or to make special arrangements for gift certificate or other donations call Silva at 530-534-3387.

In observation of Easter Sunday and Cesar Chavez Day, school campuses closed for the day including schools with Chico Unified School District, Chico State and other campuses; and the fair weather brought opportunity for a walk in the park, biking, flying kites, soccer, slack lining and fishing.

The games were important for both teams, as Chico State (9-17, 8-12 California Collegiate Athletic Association) sits in eighth place in the CCAA standings and Monterey Bay (13-20, 7-13 CCAA) is in 11th.

After a scoreless first seven innings in game one, Monterey Bay’s Faith Soriano hit a walk-off inside the park solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning off of Chico pitcher Katelyn Oldwin. Amelie Valdez tossed 5 1/3 innings and allowed five hits, three walks and struck out one, before Olden pitched the final two innings and allowed two hits, one earned run and struck out one.

Tayler Berens had two of Chico’s four hits, as the Otters out-hit Chico 7-4.

In game two Olden pitched a complete game to earn her third win of the season, allowing six hits, five walks while striking out five. Ali Lewis led Chico with two hits, both doubles, and Lewis and Hannah Levy had one RBI each. Both of Chico’s runs came in the top of the third inning.

With the two wins Saturday, Chico State took three of four games against Monterey Bay to win the series.

Chico State will return home to begin a four game series against Cal State East Bay at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Friday in Chico. The Wildcats and Pioneers will face off at noon and 2 p.m. Saturday.

The Wildcats have four four-game series left remaining in the regular season, before the CCAA playoffs begin May 1 at Cal State San Marcos.

A while back, I did a column that compiled a list of scam terms and today I’m going to feature one in particular: Smishing.

As I previously wrote, I hate this word. It sounds gross and feels gross to write and say. According to the Federal Communications Commission, the FCC, the term is a combination of SMS (Short Message Service, or texting) and phishing, a scam in which the perpetrator pretends to be a legitimate organization or company. In shorthand, smishing is just phishing but through text instead of email.

Recently, the United States Postal Service had to issue a warning because scammers pretending to be USPS are sending fake package tracking links to people that ultimately put malware on devices.

The target gets a text message from someone claiming to be with the USPS offering to provide free package updates, even though tracking is generally free to begin with through most legitimate carrier websites, and asks you to fill out an online form to see where your package is at.

You go to the website and at that point, the site can begin creeping nasty software to your phone or tablet. The form itself can even ask for personal information directly. The goal of these scams is to get as much information about you as possible to eventually commit some form of financial fraud.

In the case of the postal service, a statement was issued declaring that it would never send text messages or emails without the customer asking for it or agreeing to it beforehand.

Stay safe out there folks and enjoy the spring weather while we have it.

Scam of the Week generally runs every Tuesday. Readers are welcome to contact reporter Jake Hutchison to report scams and potential scams they have come in contact with by calling 828-1329 or via email at jhutchison@chicoer.com.

After lead scientist Horatio Glen Knightsen and his accomplice are apprehended, but later apparently disappear, senior engineer “Big Joe” Carson suspects something more is afoot, which is revealed in the third book of the Big Joe Carson series, “The Dutch Master” ($10.99 in paperback, independently published; also for Amazon Kindle).

The first two books, “Particle Beam (For Such A Time),” written with Dennis E. Jones, and “Red Skies (Aftermath),” introduce a fellowship of close friends, including David Janzen, a key engineer on a new super-secret device, the Laser Optic Diamond Turning Machine (LODTM) for the Laser Defense Weapon program approved by Congress.

Since the LODTM is not available at Costco, the lab has to build its own, at great cost. And now the Indiana lab is experiencing odd delays and Janzen and Carson wonder if Mildred Cornwall, administrative lead for the new program, and one among others of Dutch ancestry at the lab, might be involved with a rumored “Dutch master” of espionage.

There’s big trouble for Big Joe when Knightsen vanishes. “The FBI announced they were adding the charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder to the … charges against Big Joe Carson, and Sunny and Bunny Valencia, the two Latino twin daughters of the infamous but dead cartel lord, Agusto Guitterez Valencia, and defrocked U.S. Marshals. All three were already locked up on multiple serious charges, any one of which could land them behind bars for life….”

That’s on page 1 of the novel; later, an attorney, known for defending cartel members, springs the twins. His name is, ahem, Daniel Barnett, of the firm of Barnett, Bennett and Barns. I’m honored. I think.

It’s a great romp and a satisfying conclusion and, if it please the Court, you should read it.

Dan Barnett teaches philosophy at Butte College. Send review requests to dbarnett99@me.com. Columns archived at https://barnetto.substack.com

First flight low gross: Kelly MacKinnon, 82. Game: 1, Debi McDermont, 30; 2, Karla Dreiss, 30.5. Second flight low gross: tie, Sandy Fortino and Janet Ford, 96. Game: 1, Cindy Bell, 25.5; 2, Pam Coleman, 29.5. Third flight low gross; Liz Mosher, 105. Game: 1, Barbara Lutz, 29.5; 2, Susan Pease, 30.5; 3, Sue Blizman, 31. Closest to pin on No. 2: 1, Gail Johnson; 2, Dreiss; 3, Mosher.

Butte Creek Country Club

The turnout was light for the Butte Creek Women’s Golf Club’s tournament last week, primarily because of inclement weather and the greens have also been recently plugged and sanded. The game format was “Tee to Green” excluding the putts in the game score. The top three players earning a little golf shop credit were: 1, Karen Fearon, 41; 2, Paula Rich, 42; 3, Sally Hayes, 43.

Looking back 10 years to April 8, 2014

Spectacular shots

Brian Bowen (the Nissan man) recorded his first hole-in-one on the 11th hole at Canyon Oaks. Bowen’s perfect 135-yard, 9-iron tee shot was also observed disappearing into the cup by his playing companions, Randy Cook and Scott McLeod. Perhaps there is some reward after all for donating a new car each year to benefit the Almond Bowl football game.

Canyon Oaks Country Club

In addition to their regular weekly outing, the Canyon Oaks CC Women’s Golf Club held a two-person 6-6-6 format tournament, 6-holes alternate shot, 6-holes scramble and 6-holes best ball. The team of Evie Spring and Linda Harris garnered first place with a team score of 68.3. Nancy Taylor and Shelley Carney finished one stroke back for the second spot. Finishing third was the team of Vickie Spelts and Nancy Vieira at 70.6.

In its weekly tournament, Carney was both low gross and low net in the first flight, as well as taking first in the game portion. Taylor took second via the card-off procedure over Fran Wedow. In the second flight, Jackie Drakulic followed Carney’s lead taking both low gross and low net and first in their game. Joan Wagoner and Carol finished second and third respectively. Closest to the pin winners were: 1, Taylor; 2, Ellie Fairchild; 3, Vieira.

Butte Creek Country Club

Shawn Blofsky and Darren Normoyle tied for first place low net in the Casa Munras Invitational Tournament held at Butte Creek. Bruce Hubbell took the third spot with a net 69. Derrick Shultz, Assistant Golf Professional at Butte Creek, took low gross with a one-under par score of 70. Jim Wilson finished second in the gross division with a score of 76. Dan Normoyle and Rich Attinger (70) tied for fourth place net.

Shultz is now off to Florida for his second session in his quest to become a Class A, PGA Golf Professional. Tom Pyeatt, Assistant Professional at Canyon Oaks CC, recently successfully completed his second session. One more trip to Florida for their third and final session and both will become full-fledged Class A, Pros. Good luck!

Irma Jenkins and Sherian Hornbeak finished first and second in the Butte Creek CC Women’s Golf Club monthly Medallion Day Tournament. Betty Dean and Bonnie Ford followed suit in the second flight. Cilla Hauer and Suzy Mann claimed the honor in the third flight.

Table Mountain Golf Course

The Table Mountain GC Women’s Golf Club held their monthly pro-points tournament last week. Sally Stemen (84) was low gross. Mary Borgo (72) was low net on the day. Others placing in the net category were: 1, Janet Ott; 2, Sue Snow (73); Kris McGee (76); 4, Sandy Goble (79).

The Table Mountain GC Men’s Golf Club played a 4-Man Shamble, 2-Best Ball format for their weekly tournament. First flight winners were Tony Baptista, Vic Goble, Jerry McGee and Arvo Voip. Joe Nehl, Albert Nelson, Stephen McCarthy and Jeff Young won the second flight. First place third flight: Billy Harp, Jerry Pagel, Larry White, and a blind draw. Closest to the pin winners on the four, par-three holes were: Dan Flippin; Brent Bills, Jim Buck and Jamie Scharff.

Quotes

The Magistrate of Brussels, in 1360; “Whoever plays ball with a club shall be fined 20 shillings, or their upper garment.”

Kirk Sessions of Boharm in 1658; “James Waldie to have plaid at the golfe with the herds of Mulben; being found guilty they were rebuked for making so little conscience of the Lord’s day, and ordained to make their publick repentance three Lord’s days.”

Thomas Smollett in 1771; “Of this diversion the Scots are so fond, that, when the weather will permit, you may see a multitude of all ranks, from the senator of justice to the lowest tradesman, mingled together, in their shirts, and following the balls with utmost eagerness.”

Benjamin Rush (American Founding Father), circa 1800; “Golf is an exercise which is much used by the Gentlemen of Scotland. A large common, in which there are several little holes, is chosen for the purpose. It is played with little leather balls stuffed with feathers; and sticks made somewhat in the form of a hand-wicket.”

Lord Northbourne (at the presentation ceremonies after Walter Travis became the first American to win the British Amateur in 1904); “Never since the days of Caesar has the British nation been subjected to such humiliation.”

Chi-Chi Rodriguez; “I think most of the golf rules stink. They were written by guys who can’t even break a hundred.”

Ed Anderson’s local golf column appears Tuesdays. He can be reached at edanderson1936@gmail.com.

This year, something unusual happened. After years of extreme drought and several very wet flood years, the Sierra snowpack, the source of one-third of the state’s water supply, is shockingly average this year: 104% of normal on Friday.

And more is on the way. The National Weather Service on Friday declared a winter storm warning for the Sierra, predicting 1 to 2 feet of new snow through Sunday. Chain controls went into effect on Interstate 80 Friday afternoon.

For a state where 11 of the past 17 years have been in severe drought, where massive, punishing storms last year brought the biggest snowpack since 1983 and waves of destruction along the coast, and storms in 2017 caused $100 million in flood damage to downtown San Jose and nearly collapsed Oroville Dam, an ordinary winter is a godsend, experts said Friday.

“It’s about as normal as you can get,” said Jeffrey Wood, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento. “It’s what we hoped for. In recent years we’ve had extremes. This year is definitely an outlier, but in a good way. Enjoy the normal.”

The last time California had a winter this close to the historical average was more than a decade ago, in 2010, when the Sierra snowpack on April 1 was at 104%. By comparison, last year on April 1 it was 232%. The year before, just 35%.

Two years of ample snow and rain have wiped away drought conditions. Most of California’s big reservoirs are brimming.

They were already full from last year’s bounty and have been topped with storms this year. The largest reservoirs in California on Friday were a combined 116% of their average capacity for the end of March, with the two largest, Shasta, near Redding, and Oroville, in Butte County, at 91% and 87% full.

The conditions mean that cities will not impose water restrictions this summer.

“This is a usefully boring year,” said Jay Lund, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Davis. “It will be useful if people use the lack of urgency to work on long-term preparations for both floods and droughts. That would be time well spent.”

Precipitation will continue to spread across the area today through Saturday, with the heaviest expected this afternoon into early Saturday. Here's a look at the latest forecast rainfall & snowfall totals. Expect mountain travel delays & chain controls. #cawx pic.twitter.com/1h0IVxPxQT

— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) March 29, 2024

The snowy February and March, along with healthy rain levels across the state, mean that California’s fire season this year could end up being another mild one.

“We might expect something similar to last year,” said Craig Clements, director of the San Jose State University Fire Weather Research Lab. “Below normal in terms of acres burned. More snow. More moisture. Higher soil moisture. And higher fuel moisture levels. Things can change if we get a big heat wave in August. But for now all the rain and snow have helped a lot.”

Last year, following the wet winter, 324,917 acres burned statewide, according to Cal Fire, well below the state average for the previous five years of 1.7 million acres and more than 90% less than the horrific fire year of 2020 when 4.2 million acres burned statewide.

The shifting risk levels don’t mean that climate change isn’t happening, experts say. The Earth continues to warm, which makes droughts more severe. And that warming can cause winter storms to carry higher levels of moisture because more water evaporates from the ocean into them during hotter conditions.

But this year and last serve as a reminder that every year isn’t a wildfire Armageddon, Clements said.

“You are going to have some normal seasons,” he said. “You are going to have wet seasons.”

Few barometers of the state’s changing water fortunes are as dramatic as the weekly reports from the U.S. Drought Monitor, put out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

At the end of March 2022, 100% of California was in a drought, according to the monitor. Water shortages were prevalent around the state. A year later, just 28% of California was in a drought — mostly near the Oregon state line and in the southeastern corner of the state. This week? None of the state is in drought.

Early on it wasn’t clear what this winter would bring. On Jan. 1, the statewide Sierra snowpack was just 21% of normal. But steady storms through February, and particularly in the first week of March, brought the turnaround as the Sierra was blasted with 8 to 10 feet of new snow in blizzards that closed ski resorts and blocked I-80 and Highway 50.

Lund, the UC Davis professor, who described this winter as “unusually normal,” said California still has significant water challenges, particularly in agriculture. State officials and farmers need to do a better job capturing water from storms and diverting it to recharge groundwater, he said.

In other areas, such as the Tulare Basin in the San Joaquin Valley, groundwater has been so heavily over pumped for decades that some acres will need to be taken out of production, he said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has pushed hard for construction of the largest new reservoir in California in 50 years, Sites Reservoir, a $4.5 billion off-stream project proposed for Colusa County that would divert water from the Sacramento River in wet years for use in dry years. This month, the project received $205 million from the Biden administration and now has more than 90% of its funding. Whether it can break ground depends largely on if it can secure water rights later this year from the State Water Resources Control Board and overcome lawsuits from several environmental groups that say the water diversions could harm fish species in the Delta.

On Tuesday, state officials are expected to take a manual snow survey near Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort. Friday’s statewide totals are expected to increase from this weekend’s storms.

“Winter is not over,” said Wood, the meteorologist. “It’s not abnormal to have an early spring system like this, and it’s definitely not the end of potential wet weather for the area. We will get some significant snowfall out of this one.”

Weather and water

Last week saw some significant storm systems in terms of wind as well as localized rain showers locally.

Kate Forrest, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Sacramento office said the first system, which occurred between Tuesday and Thursday last week, brought about a half an inch to an inch of rain to valley areas such as Chico and beyond and up to 1.5 inches in Paradise and foothill areas.

A second system that lasted Friday and Saturday brought an additional 0.27 inches of rain to Chico, just short of half an inch in Red Bluff and 1.26 inches in Paradise.

Lake Oroville’s water level continues to increase and was reported to be 878.86 at 7 p.m. Sunday. The lake had a water level of 857.28 on the same day last year and was previously at 750.14 on March 31, 2022. Outflows from the Oroville Dam’s main spillway continued on Monday.

Meanwhile, Shasta Lake’s water level was reported at 1,055.06 feet as of 1 p.m. Monday.

Enterprise-Record reporter Jake Hutchison contributed to this report.

The agenda features two other revisits: fees for retrieving shopping carts removed from retailers and removing the city’s limit on downtown bars. Closed session includes updates for councilors on labor negotiations and Warren v. Chico as well as quarterly performance reviews of the city manager, city clerk and city attorney.

Assembly Bill 481 requires local law enforcement agencies to submit an annual report to the state with an updated inventory of items the bill classifies as military equipment and policies for utilizing this equipment. AB481 also requires a public engagement meeting, which Police Chief Billy Aldridge conducted Thursday evening in City Council Chambers.

The inaugural AB481 report went to councilors for approval before the public engagement meeting. Aldridge flipped the sequence this year and told the two-dozen attendees he’d amend the report should input merit changing it. He told this newspaper Friday that he did not need to do so after reviewing questions and comments.

In December, councilors put the brakes on resetting monetary amounts in an ordinance that would impose a fee on businesses when the city picks up abandoned shopping carts off the retailer’s property. Code Enforcement brings back a proposal that still would charge businesses that don’t respond to a notice within three days. The recommended charge would be $20 — rising to $50 on the third offense within six months.

Also last year, the council discussed removing from the municipal code a limit on bars in the downtown north district. Questions arose; staff will bring back answers for councilors’ consideration.

The Chico City Council meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday at 421 Main St.; closed session starts at 5 p.m. Meetings are free and open to the public.

Councilors also will decide on contracts for grant writing for Table Mountain Boulevard and Washington Avenue; investments into the new city corporation yard, and investments into U.S. treasuries.

Sewer fee rates in Oroville have not been updated since 2013, overdue a typical five-year update cycle. A proposed fee study projects about a $3 increase per year for the next five years for single family residences, according to City Administrator Brian Ring.

The current rate for single family residences is $47.41, and the proposed fees cap at $63.92 by 2029. Proposed fees may also be adjusted for mobile homes and multi-family housing at a ratio of 0.85 and 0.88 respectively.

Oroville is the last of three jurisdictions in the Sewerage Commission Oroville Region to update its fees by July 1, Ring said. If councilors approve the fee study, notices of rate increases will be mailed as required by Proposition 218.

For a planned overhaul of Table Mountain Boulevard and Washington Avenue, councilors will consider contracting with March Thomas and Company to write a grant up to about $17 million for the state Active Transportation Program; the contract for the grant writer firm is to not exceed $85,000.

The city’s corporation yard at 655 Cal Oak Road is being prepared to house the city’s equipment, with improvements in renovations, security and lighting set to be contracted. Trover Construction Management will be considered for an $82,000 contract for pre-construction planning; Accualarm in a $75,000 agreement for security camera and alarms; and William’s Electric Company for a $43,000 job installing electrical and lighting at the corporation yard.

The final item of regular business is a proposal to councilors for the city to invest $10 million into U.S. Treasury bonds with maturities in two to five years.

A second reading of the city’s new accessory dwelling unit ordinance is set in the consent calendar, formalizing city code to meet state laws after councilors approved a rental minimum of 30 days.

The Oroville City Council meets the first and third Tuesday of the month at 4:30 p.m. at the Oroville City Council Chambers at 1735 Montgomery St. Closed session starts at 4. Meetings are free, open to the public and are also streamed on Zoom and YouTube. The council agenda and links to live feeds can be found at cityoforoville.org.

How to submit a snapshot

Snapshots, reader-submitted photos of community events, are published Monday. They may include service projects, guest speakers at club meetings, awards being presented or kids doing school projects. Just make sure there are people in the photo — no more than 12 — and keep it current.

Send a high-resolution JPG with a paragraph explaining the content of the photo: who (in left-to-right order with last names), what, where, when and why to snapshots@chicoer.com. Non-digital submissions will not be accepted at this time.

We can’t accept photos about businesses, private events or those adorable pet photos.