Red Cross to install free fire alarms in Watsonville
WATSONVILLE — The American Red Cross of the Central Coast will install free smoke alarms as part of the “Sound the Alarm – Save a Life” event in Watsonville on Saturday.
Trained Red Cross volunteers will conduct the home visits between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. During the visits, Red Cross volunteers will be working alongside Watsonville Fire Department, local Boy Scouts of America, Wells Fargo employees and Watsonville Fire Cadets.
They will also be providing in-home fire preparedness education and earthquake preparedness education.
In an earlier “Sound the Alarm” event in Watsonville, volunteers visited homes on June 24, 2017. On that day, more than 55 volunteers visited 150 homes and installed 220 alarms, according to the Red Cross.
For information about the home visits on Saturday — or to sign up to volunteer that day — contact the local chapter’s Disaster Program Specialist Helen Cosentino at
he**************@re******.org
.
The Red Cross is also offering the installation of free smoke alarms and educational visits on an appointment basis throughout Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties. For information or to schedule an appointment, call 600-4914, visit tinyurl.com/ycdh6v6u or email
sm*********************@re******.org
.
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Entries being accepted at county fair
WATSONVILLE — The Santa Cruz County Fair is seeking entries for a variety of categories.
The entry categories range from Collections and Hobbies to Fine Arts, Photography, Legos, Canned Goods, Flowers, Quilts and many others.
Many departments are still accepting entries, some as late as the weekend prior to the fair’s opening on Sept. 12.
For information, visit santacruzcountyfair.com and click on “Entry Guides.”
The 2018 fair will be held Sept. 12-16 at the fairgrounds located on Highway 152 just east of Watsonville.
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Artists sought for public art project
WATSONVILLE — The Santa Cruz County Parks Department is seeking artists to create a public art project on the side of the Behavioral Health Office Building on Freedom Boulevard.
All experienced professional artists, including those who are new to the field of public art, are encouraged to apply. Accepted art forms for this project are murals, mosaics and metal sculpture (low profile, attached to wall).
The deadline for submitting a proposal is Sept. 12.
For information, visit scparks.com.
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Prunedale to host dog agility championship
PRUNEDALE — The United States Dog Agility Association, Inc. (USDAA) continues its 2018 Regional Championship qualifying season with the Western Regional Championship in Prunedale Sept. 1-3.
Hundreds of canine athletes and their handlers will gather at the Manzanita Park Sports Complex, 17100 Castroville Blvd. in Prunedale, to compete for top honors as well as qualification to the Cynosport World Games, the National Dog Agility Championship to be held in Arizona this fall.
Guided only by voice and hand signals from their human partners, the canine athletes race against the clock, flying over hurdles and through hanging tires, weaving around poles, scuttling through tunnels and bounding off the see-saw. Obstacles are set according to the dogs’ height and experience level, allowing dogs of all breeds and sizes to compete.
The Bay Team, a San Francisco area-agility club, has been hosting the USDAA Western Regional Championship for the past 17 years. Club secretary Karey Krauter of Palo Alto said the competition will attract nearly 300 dogs and about 200 humans from Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Canada.
“I love seeing all the best competitors in the west come out for this,” Krauter said. “They are so inspiring. Plus, this year has the added pressure of the USDAA Cynosport nationals championship event being ‘close’ in Arizona, and this regional is everyone’s last chance to get qualified for it if they aren’t already, and to earn byes into the second rounds of the Cynosport tournaments.”
Spectators at the Western Regional Championship are admitted free. Competition begins at 9 a.m. each day and runs through late afternoon.
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Pool party benefits parks department
SANTA CRUZ — The fourth annual Simpkins Family Swim Center Parks & Rex Pool Party will return Saturday.
Families, including their dogs, are invited to join in from noon to 4 p.m. at 979 17th Ave. in Santa Cruz.
The 50-meter pool will host a variety of activities for adults and children, including inner tubes, Wibit (inflatable play apparatus), walk-on-water balls, stand-up paddle boards, water slide, a climbing wall and swimming.
Dogs will be invited for a dip in the warm-water pool and take part in some pampering at the “doggie day-spa.”
Parks & Rex Pool Party offers an afternoon of food, drink and music while raising money for Santa Cruz County Parks Department recreation programs and Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter animal welfare programs.
Advance tickets for the event are $14.50 for adults 21 and older, and $4.50 for youths. Children under 3 and dogs get in free. Day-of tickets are $17 for adults and $7 for youths.
To purchase tickets, visit the Simpkins Family Swim Center or www.scparks.com.
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Calif. secretary of state, county clerk to speak on voting
SANTA CRUZ — Santa Cruz Indivisible will present a conversation with California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and Santa Cruz County Registrar of Voters Gail Pellerin on Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. at the Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave. in Santa Cruz.
This free event is the second in SCI’s California Leadership speaker series.
Padilla sponsored the 2016 Voter’s Choice Act that will reshape how, when and where California voters register and cast their ballots.
“As California’s Chief Elections Officer, I want to ensure that every eligible citizen’s voice is heard,” Padilla said. “…the Golden State is serving as a beacon in the fight to expand access to the ballot. Your voice is critical as we implement new reforms to empower our fellow citizens to participate in our elections.”
As Santa Cruz County Clerk and Registrar of Voters, Pellerin manages all elections conducted in the county, responsible for voter registration procedures, conducting elections and managing candidate and campaign filings.
“Voting is a powerful weapon,” Pellerin said. “We must fight to remove barriers to voting, and we must demand that our elections be secure, accurate and transparent.”
John Laird, Secretary for Natural Resources and former Santa Cruz mayor, will lead an informal discussion with these two guests. Questions will be taken from the audience.
For information and to register for this free event, visit santacruzindivisible.org.
