Outreach

An outreach mechanism is being sought to assure the Imperial Irrigation District board hears the viewpoints of customers, owners, the community and other stakeholders in its service area. To find out what else is on tonight's meeting agenda read the Imperial Valley Press print edition or E-Edition for Jan. 18, 2011. To find the closest newspaper rack near you, click here .

The Girl Scouts, San Diego-Imperial Council will host a five-week outreach program for girls in Calexico and Imperial. Girls attending TL Waggoner Elementary School in Imperial are invited to attend the outreach program from 2:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. today at the school cafeteria. A five-week outreach program for girls attending Main Elementary School in Calexico will also take place today during lunch at the school Ramada area. Cost is $12 per girl. For more information call Cindy Johnston 760-353-2840 ext. 5 in El Centro.

The second in a series of subcontractor outreach meetings presesented by the Imperial Valley College will take place today at Pioneers Museum from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The meetings seek to increase the participation of local subcontractors in bidding for IVC Measure J-funded construction projects, a press release stated. Measure J is a 2010 voter-approved $80 million dollar bond authorization. Today's meeting will focus on LEED buliding and building information modeling software and will be hosted by Nielsen Construction Ca. For further information please contact IVC Director of Media & Community Relations Bill Gay at 760-355-6124.

IMPERIAL - The Joint Strike Fighter Coalition is ramping up outreach efforts to get the community involved in basing the Navy's F35C Joint Strike Fighter squadron at Naval Air Facility El Centro. Community outreach was but one of the various themes the coalition discussed during a meeting in Imperial on Monday. The coalition also discussed infrastructure features the squadron needs and the NAF El Centro lacks in terms of buildings and hangars, certain security aspects and its landing runway.

Let’s play ball! In a recent announcement came the news that the Ad Ease Agency in San Diego has partnered with Spectrum Advertising in El Centro to work with the San Diego Padres for their Hispanic media outreach into Baja California, Mexico. The official award was made Dec. 18 and the agencies will begin work in early 2010. Katherine Timm, account manager for Ad Ease, said, “This is a exciting opportunity to combine the specialties of both our agencies and really make an impact on the marketing outreach on both sides of the border.

BRAWLEY — City Council members here are considering a public outreach sometime during March to discuss placing a ballot measure to extend a utility user tax for another five years. The issue was discussed during the regular business segment of Tuesday’s meeting as the tax, which was first imposed in 1992, is set to expire June 1, 2013, said Brawley City Manager Gary Burroughs on Wednesday. No action was taken on the issue during Tuesday’s session. The tax is assessed on the consumption of such utility services like gas, water and sanitation at a rate of 4 percent.

When it comes to diabetes, not knowing you have it can kill you. That is why we are so enthusiastic about agencies and companies with operations in the Imperial Valley doing free diabetes screenings this week. November is Diabetes Awareness Month, so the companies and agencies involved couldn't have chosen a better time for their program. Imperial County has the highest diabetes rate in California, and if the disease goes undiagnosed or not treated properly it can lead to issues including blindness, kidney failure, vascular issues, heart disease, dementia and, eventually if not sooner, death.

Advanced technology in HIV testing seems to be revealing what some local public health officials have suspected all along - that there are likely more men and women living with the disease in the Imperial and Mexicali valleys then what the official numbers show. Since March, mouth swab HIV/AIDS tests have been given discreetly and freely at the Walgreens in Calexico and El Centro, and in that time, of 49 people tested, 19 have tested positive in the preliminary results. Those numbers are not among the official estimates locally, because, one, in order for the disease to be reported to the county a second blood test has to be done and, two, the Walgreens tests will be reflected in San Diego County.

Clincas de Salud del Pueblo Inc. will have an HIV program and community health outreach from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 17 at different clinics: - Brawley ? 900 Main St. - El Centro ? 651 Wake Ave. - Calexico ? 223 W. Cole Road. - Winterhaven ? 2133 Winterhaven Drive. There will be free HIV education materials and other information. For more information call Lalita, Juan or Greg at 344-6471. ? VICKY MAGANA vmagana@ivpressonline.com

Central Baptist Church will have its annual Easter outreach and egg hunt from 10 a.m. to noon today at the church, 1290 S. Imperial Ave. (Ross and Imperial avenues). The event is for children through grade 6. All the children in the community are invited. There will be crafts, games, a jumper, egg hunt and more. For more information call 352-3662. ? VICKY MAGANA vmagana@ivpressonline.com

Imperial Valley Food Bank Is seeking a: CalFresh Outreach Specialist This is a one year, grant-funded position. Must have excellent customer service abilities, be fluent in English and Spanish, have 2 years of college education in Human Services or a related field.   Send resumes and Cover letter to: info@ivfoodbank.org Deadline is May 31st

Girls Scouts -Imperial Valley Region has immediate opening for the following positions: Membership & Volunteer Coordinator Full-Time Reporting to the Regional Manager provides on-going volunteer management, support and resources, to include recruitment, selection, supervision, direction, recognition and training of volunteers and troop leaders.  Participates in strategic planning activities to...

With more than 30 years as a community outreach worker for Clinicas de Salud del Pueblo, Francisca Izaguirre said she has seen a lot of need in the community. More specifically, when it comes to the lower-income Hispanic community, she has seen a need for information about health-related issues. “A lot of people don't know about resources and where to go for help,” Izaguirre said in Spanish. “There are not enough people to inform the community.” The resources that such outreach workers provide are all the more critical now that many public health agencies have had to operate with reduced budgets, she said.

IMPERIAL - The Joint Strike Fighter Coalition is ramping up outreach efforts to get the community involved in basing the Navy's F35C Joint Strike Fighter squadron at Naval Air Facility El Centro. Community outreach was but one of the various themes the coalition discussed during a meeting in Imperial on Monday. The coalition also discussed infrastructure features the squadron needs and the NAF El Centro lacks in terms of buildings and hangars, certain security aspects and its landing runway.

Growing up as a foster kid, Sylvia Valenzuela said she found herself struggling with depression. With no one to turn to she eventually sought professional help while still in her teens. “I was feeling sad about everything,” the 21-year-old said. “I wanted someone to talk with to relieve the stress.” Fortunately, when she sought help her case manager was someone whose life experiences somewhat reflected her own, Valenzuela said. Today, Valenzuela finds herself steering troubled teens toward treatment from the county's Behavioral Health Services department.

I attended Victory Outreach in Brawley for 17 years until recently. In January or February of 2010 a collection of money was made to purchase the Texaco building next to the church. We were asked to give as much as $5,000 to purchase the building to convert it into a Christian community center for youths. I gave them $3,000 because I believed in the plan and agreed with the purpose. It has now been more than two and a half years and the Texaco was never purchased nor was any other building.

San Pasqual Valley Unified School District in Winterhaven, CA  is seeking applicants for the following position: Outreach Consultant $37,437/yr/ 8 hr/ 210 days Come Join a School District on the Move! Applications available online at:  www.edjoin.org or at San Pasqual Valley Unified School District Office Rt. 1, 676 Baseline Road, Winterhaven CA 92283.

Ernie Almodovar got a taste of what a Border Patrol agent might encounter as they man checkpoints. As part of a simulation aimed at introducing local residents to the duties and responsibilities of the agency, Almodovar said the Border Patrol's Citizens Academy gave him the “inside scoop” about an agent's environment and authority, that dispelled some of the notions he previously encountered. Coming from a family that immigrated from Mexico, the Calexico resident said he constantly heard stories about “la migra's” questionable enforcement tactics.

IMPERIAL - Dozens of local subcontractors attended the second Local Subcontractor Outreach Meeting here at Pioneers Museum in a workshop Wednesday to learn more about a couple of new processes which are rapidly becoming industry standards. The workshop - with presentations given by consultants Carolyn Keith and Ray Miller - focused on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design style of building and building information modeling in order to “educate and support local subcontractors with an objective of increasing their participation in upcoming Imperial Valley College construction projects funded by Measure J,” according to IVC. “The meeting here is a result of the college's effort to outreach to local contractors and do everything within their power to have local contractors participate in the building of the new career technical education facility,” said project engineer Jimmy Sanders of Sanders Inc. Architecture in Engineering.

The second in a series of subcontractor outreach meetings presesented by the Imperial Valley College will take place today at Pioneers Museum from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The meetings seek to increase the participation of local subcontractors in bidding for IVC Measure J-funded construction projects, a press release stated. Measure J is a 2010 voter-approved $80 million dollar bond authorization. Today's meeting will focus on LEED buliding and building information modeling software and will be hosted by Nielsen Construction Ca. For further information please contact IVC Director of Media & Community Relations Bill Gay at 760-355-6124.