Virginia Reeter

Driving around town these days, I’ve noticed a lot more bicycles and foot traffic along the roadways. Hmmm … Maybe high gas prices are catching up or maybe the homeless rate is increasing? I see different people holding “PLEASE HELP” ...

On Nov. 28, I lost a good friend. She was 12 years old and the sweetest but best watchdog around. Bessie could read people — the good the bad and the ugly — giving out a friendly welcoming bark or ...

My old Chevy truck still gets around like a lot of old work trucks do. No need to replace it if it’s running good, passes smog tests and is safe. But, Heaven forbid anything fails because we are at the ...

January 2012 brings more history in the making for Haven Humane Society and today’s celebration at the shelter on Eastside Road takes a look back at it all, including the people who were instrumental in this heartwarming, success story that ...

I used to nag at my grandsons to get up off the sofa and get some kind of action going. There isn’t much activity happening by sitting on the sofa. Of course there is reading, watching TV, playing on the ...

Oh, my aches and pains. I need a break. If you are like me and work behind a desk a good part of your work day, you might be experiencing some pain somewhere in your body, mainly legs, hips and ...

Pets can create havoc during the holiday season

Every year we have the opportunity to turn a leaf, make a change, and do something positive that can enhance our lives. We call these opportunities resolutions. Various products and devices offer assistance in creating a new you for and ...

I guess I’ve never done a total Christmas from the heart kind of holiday. But, this year it seems appropriate with so many people suffering, struggling and feeling even experiencing hopelessness. Life isn’t easy these days for a lot of ...

As it gets closer to Christmas, I recently discovered a wonderful way to experience the holiday season by enjoying a limo ride through the night filled with lighted wonders that stretch on and on. My grandson and I had the ...

I guess I’ve always been a coffee drinker, at least since high school. A lot of people think coffee is coffee. I think not. I’m a connoisseur of a good morning brew. To me coffee is the essence of getting ...

Walking into the department stores recently, I’ve been greeted by Christmas trees — fake trees like nothing you see in the woods or on tree lots during the weeks before the grand holiday. But there are more and more of ...

Holidays have changed over the years

With winter approaching, so is the cold and flu season. Now, we aren’t going to focus on sickness. But when it does happen, then we need some comfort. We all get sick now and then. Well, at least most of ...

Today we engage in high tech everything. There is little left to do by hand anymore, especially in education. Computers dominate about every aspect of our lives.

My too sense

It sometimes appears that Made in America is just an old-fashioned slogan with little impact these days. Goods bearing the label of Made in China dominate store shelves right here in the good ol’ United States of America.

I’ve just about picked all the vegetables my garden was destined to produce, except for a few lemon cucumbers that just keep on a-comin’.

I love to go fishing — any time of year. I have fished in the spring, summer, fall and winter. Yes, I have gone ice fishing on a lake in Oregon during the winter months. That’s what you do on ...

Living in today’s fast-pace society can get a bit tedious from time to time. Sometimes we need to escape some of the turmoil that comes with it.

I guess the uproar in Churn Creek Bottom is alive and well again after a car dealership approach went south earlier in a bid for the land near the I-5 truck stop. I guess I’m confused as to why build ...

I guess I’ve addressed some electronic mishaps and frustrations in the past, but when several hit at the same time it’s more a nightmare that should never be forgotten. It all happened in a two to three day span, one ...

You know fall isn’t far away when the days shorten, leaves begin to fall on the lawn and the styles in department stores change drastically. My Sycamore trees are already beginning the process a lot of us dread. The horses ...

I’ve worked part-time since I was in high school and full-time all my life after a couple semesters of junior college. Back when I was in high school, most kids didn’t work after school at night, mostly on weekends and ...

If you are an outdoors-type who doesn’t mind roughing it, you haven’t lived until you have packed by mule or horse into the backcountry wilderness so beautiful that even the photos taken won’t describe it. You really have to be ...

I was cleaning out a box of stuff collected through the years by my parents and ran across some interesting gems — food for thought and meaningful treasures from the past. One box contained books, mainly old Bibles with worn ...

There were more smiles, more meows, more cats and more kittens going out the door at one time than anytime in the history of the Haven Humane Society. A grand total of 158 felines of various ages found caring homes ...

With a declining economy looming over hour heads, just about everyone, whether at home or in business, is forced to think outside the box in order to survive. There are probably some advantages with technology at our hands at home ...

While many of us become pack rats, there comes a time to say good-bye to that which we never use and obviously don’t need. However, getting rid of the unwanted collection takes serious consideration. Does it go to the dump? ...

Living in Shasta County nearly all my life, I have watched this area grow from old dirt and pot-holed roads. Lately, I’ve noticed that not much remains like it was in the old days. I guess I miss a lot ...

As often as I get the chance to go fishing, my tackle box doesn’t see a lot of action. It’s a well stocked box, with everything a fisherman needs in the boat or on the shore line of a lake, ...

Sometimes you just can’t fight the weeds. It’s often such a battle you just want to say, “Ah, the heck with it.” But, weeds are such an ugly sight, especially when they dry out and create a fire hazard. Keeping ...

Every now and then a miracle happens in Haven Humane Society’s shelter kennels. Among those little miracles are shelter pets that come to the rescue of other pets in need thanks to strong mothering instincts. Princess is a terrier mix ...

I’ve watched many celebrities come and go in the North State and met some of them. One recent encounter with the country western music legend Charlie Daniels, the headliner for the 2011 Shasta District Fair, was enlightening to say the ...

Well, there were several balmy days at the fair this year, but as it turned out, summer was on the near horizon and we all know what that can mean. Far northern California is known for its series of heat ...

It’s about vacation time for families – a time to venture out of home towns and into the mountains for camp sites and resorts many of which are in the high country and wilderness areas, where wildlife flourish. But even ...

We have a lifetime of memories stored in our brains, but some of it becomes clouded through the years. While a lot of people have photographic memories of events, occurrences, vacations and special moments from as far back as early ...

Well, it’s officially June, but last week it was more like the beginning of winter again. Actually, it seems winter never really ended. My garden loves it. The fields are green and the fire danger is low for awhile. But ...

Tying those shoestrings — Prairie Elementary School Secretary Tammie Battles helps Hannah Bamford learn how to tie shoelaces during one of several ongoing sessions at the school. Other students in the photo with Hannah are also practicing tying their shoestrings. ...

I’ve read articles on the subject in magazines while sitting in the doctor’s office waiting area. I’ve also watched documentaries on television, and I’ve had first-hand experience with it in the workplace, at school, and in organizations many, many times ...

Imagine a ranch with the historical status similar to the town of Chico’s famous Bidwell Mansion and Park, but in Happy Valley. Well, that’s what a local committee of about seven concerned citizens, some who have resided in Happy Valley ...

Many of us have a family dog. I have two, not originally, but I thought the first one needed company and besides I just couldn’t resist the second pup at the local animal shelter that seemed so overlooked. Taking on ...

It’s not a philosophy, it’s a pure and simple deduction called manual labor. The day I decided to set 12 by 12 inch stepping stones down on sand for a patio around my willow tree was supposed to be a ...

With spring busting out all over, it’s hard to sit still and not get out moving around with the great weather that’s finally blessed us. Just sitting on my deck watching the flowers blossom wasn’t enough, as I knew perfectly ...

As I sat recently listening to so many close friends of a guy I thought was one whale of a cowboy, I wished I had known him better. The times I did spend with Don Jones rounding up cattle reminded ...

They are so cute, cuddly and furry, those baby rabbits and ducklings that appear about this time of year. But for Heaven’s sake, they really aren’t your average pets. Some folks let the kids talk them into bunnies and baby ...

The dog’s on the loose again. This time it escaped under the fence. People and their pets can keep a “dogcatcher” busy day and night. So your dog got out of the yard — how many times you say? Once ...

Driving around the countryside, it is evident we’ve had our share of rain. There are green fields everywhere. It’s also evident everything about spring is about to burst into full bloom. It’s that time of year when gardeners are tilling ...

I haven’t been back to school in eons, but I recently had an opportunity to return for a day — this time as principal, if only for a day It’s done every year at local schools, I understand, and I’ve ...

Well, it’s finally getting some big time attention; at least on a national television talk show. We Americans have a choice, to support America or China at the grocery store and other retail businesses. The Chinese seem to have us ...