400 Kern Street

Taft, CA, 93268

Phone: (661) 765-2165

Fax: (661) 765-6639

www.taftchamber.com

TaftChamber@gmail.com

Our Gold Sponsors

Our Platinum Sponsors

Annual State of the City Luncheon Coming up April 23, 2015

The Rev. Rodney Wikoff, President of the Kiwanis Club of Taft, and Kathy Orrin, Chamber Executive Director, have announced the annual State of the City Luncheon traditionally held during an April meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Taft. The luncheon is scheduled from noon to 1:30p.m., on Thursday, April 23, at the OT Cookhouse banquet room. Tickets ae $15, and reservations are appreciated.

“The Kiwanis Club is proud to sponsor this luncheon because it is important for our citi-zens to have access to the community leaders who are making decisions for our future,” stated Kiwanis President Wikoff. Wikoff also reminded us that this is the fifth such luncheon in many years.

The line-up of speakers this year is especially important, according to Kathy Orrin of the Taft Chamber. “We have invited Taft City Manager Craig Jones, former Mayor and current President of the 2015 Taft Oildorado Paul Linder, and Vice President of the Independent Oil Producer Association Les Clark, Jr., to speak about the issues facing our community from their perspectives. “

It is traditional to hear from City leadership, but the Chamber reserves the right to invite representatives from other organizations they deem also timely and newsworthy. The City Manager is a traditional speaker at this event , and it makes sense that the upcoming Oildorado celebration is worthy of a place in the line-up. But one has only to listen to the news— both on the television and in the barbershop— to know that the state of the “oil patch”, the life-blood of Taft’s economy, is a concern to all.

“This annual luncheon is great chance to hear from those we entrust with the every day operation of importance segments of our community. It is a privilege to have leaders who are interested in and willing to communicate with those they serve. I hope folks take advantage of this opportunity,” stated Executive Director Orrin.

Reservations may be made by calling the Chamber at 765-2165 by Tuesday 21. The cost is $15 per person.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015—Transit Meeting at Paik’s Ranch House Restaurant

Taft citizens were invited to a breakfast meeting with Jose Perez of Moore and

Associates, the firm charged with assessing the effectiveness of Taft’s transit

operations. Those in attendance were given the opportunity to ask questions

and report both the advantages and the shortcomings of the transportations

situation in our community. They also were informed about the costs associated with providing public trans-

portation in Taft. The report that will be submitted by the firm will include a demand assessment, a service

evaluation, program recommendations, financial and capital plans, and an implementation strategy. What is

clear from general observation of the morning’s discussion is that 1) we need to use the system both the

fixed routes and the “on demand” system, or we will lose it, 2) better marketing is essential because many

folks do not know about the convenience of the system, and 3) information about routes and times needs to

be more “user-friendly”.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015—Westside Regional Occupational Program (ROP)

Mr. Dale Countryman, Director, and Mrs. Debbie Cloud, instructor, of the West Side Regional Occupational

Program (ROP) brought several students to share their projects and the substance of what they are learning

in ROP. The informative visit served as a backdrop for the celebration of the one-year anniversary of Juan

Ramirez’s association with the Chamber as a Workforce innovation Act (WIA) student. WIA is similar to ROP

but operates at the college level. Juan is a student at Taft College, and we have seen him grow in skill, poise,

and confidence. Congratulations, Juan!

Wednesday, March 18, 2015—Kelly Damian of Kern Green

Kelly Damian, of Kern Green, visited Sit n Sip with information about Energy Upgrade California®, a statewide

marketing education and outreach program which focuses on energy management for Californians. Kern

Green is a local non-profit committed to protecting the environment through education and awareness.

They have partnered with organizations such as Keep Bakersfield Beautiful, Greater Bakersfield Chamber of

Commerce, Kern Economic Development Corporation, Southern California Gas Company, Blue Sky Partners,

San Joaquin Valley Air District and Pacific Gas & Electric to promote a more sustainable future in Kern Coun-

ty. Kern Green works with residents, schools, businesses, other local non-profits and the community to

demonstrate the social, economic and environmental benefits of integrating green practices in daily work

and professional life. Kern Green intends to focus on the positive sustainability efforts in Kern County and

celebrate them with the public.

Discussions concerning hot water heater options, solar energy, the cost of a garage refrigerator, light bulbs

(LED vs. CFL) were spirited and enlightening. Kelly encouraged us to visit EnergyUpgradeCA.org to see what

rebates and incentives are available for new appliances.

Wednesday mornings @ 9AM

Taft Chamber, 400 Kern Street

By Dr. Kathy Orrin, Executive Director

“Brown is the new green.” ----Craig Jones, Taft City Manager

Recently I attended a press conference of sorts presented at our local West Kern Water District offices on Kern Street. General Manager Harry Starkey had called folks together to inform us of the new regulations concerning water usage that will likely go into effect toward the end of April and to give us a chance to ask questions. These new regulations are State-driven. The State Water Resources Control Board on March 17, adopted an expanded emergency regulation “to safeguard the state’s remaining water supplies”. Now, if you have been paying attention to the water issues that affect our community, you will recall that we have sig-nificantly decreased our water usage to the sought-after 20 percent requested by the State last year. You will also re-call that the biggest water users in our area are the oil companies who consume between 85-90 percent of the water available. You also will recall that our West Kern Water District has been an excellent steward of our water since its inception and that we currently have about ten years-worth of water stored for our community. However, State-wide mandates apply State-wide. Whether you have met the goal or not, whether you need to con-serve in your area or not, these mandates (prohibitions) apply to you! So, to recap . . . The prohibitions on potable water use which began in 2014 (and will continue under these new regulations) included:

Washing down sidewalks and driveways Watering outdoor landscapes in a manner that causes excessive run-off Washing a motor vehicle without a hose with a shut-off nozzle Operating a fountain or decorative water feature unless it has a recirculating system Irrigating turf or ornamental landscapes during and 48 hours after measurable precipitation (rain)—this is a new “in

-place” prohibition (?) The new prohibitions under this latest announcement affecting commercial businesses include:

Restaurants and other food service establishments can only serve water to customers on request Operators of hotels and motels must provide guests with the option of choosing not to have towels and linens

laundered daily and prominently display notice of this option. Our Water District has put into place the Response Levels I and II outlined in their plan for our area. Basically, they called for educating the public, asking for voluntary conservation to achieve 20-30 percent reduction in use, reduction of 25 percent in large landscaping water usage, and a reduction of 35 percent for non-contracted industrial customers. It also included the prohibition on irrigation between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. With this new State announcement, our District will be going to Response Level III: effective in (probably) early May, we will need to limit watering and landscape irrigation to not more than a total of ten (10) minutes per watering sta-tion per assigned day. This will be organized according to the address that appears on your water bill: even numbered street addresses will water on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday; odd-numbered on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday; NO One waters on Monday. This includes both manual and automatic watering. OK . . . I can adjust to that. I’ll just ask my son to change the timers around the house. No big deal, right? Unless you are the City of Taft. Opps! In the same meeting with me was our City Manager/Public Works Director, Craig Jones. Can you imagine how many addresses, timers, acres of lawn and landscape he was considering as I sat thinking about my tiny patch of grass? Ten minutes three times a week on public lawns, landscapes, and parkways . . . are you kidding? Throw in the fact that much of those areas have been bought through grants which require their upkeep to a standard that will not be achieved through thirty minutes of irrigation per week! What a headache! Now, think about the Rec and all its parks, the new Little League fields, the high school and the college, the cemetery . . . this is a big deal, and we have done everything right in terms of keeping ourselves secure in our water situation! So . . . brown will be the new green. Mr. Jones is right. We will suffer along with the rest of the State—much of which has not done close to as well as our Water District in terms of planning for the future. This is not the first example of State regulations being painted with a broad brush. Remember this when green things turn a dry, dusty tan: this is a STATE issue. The Water District and the City have done their jobs. Encourage them, count to ten (minutes) when wa-tering, become familiar with colors that are compatible with brown, and complain to the STATE—not our local entities.

April 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

CHAMBER CLOSED

6pm Industry Night @ Petrole-um Club

2

CHAMBER CLOSED

3

CHAMBER CLOSED

6-10pm Cruise Night

7pm Good Friday Community Ser-vice, St. Andrews

4

Drive Thru Res-urrection at West Hills Church of the Nazarene

5 6

5:30pm, Paulette’s People Fundraiser, OT Cookhouse

7

6pm City Council Meeting

8

9am Sit N Sip

6pm Planning Commission Meeting

9

6pm West Side Health Care @ OT’s

10

8am-12pm Fund the Fireworks Donation Day, 4th Street and Kern Street

11

Westside Wreck Hers Roller Derby Match

12 13 14

11am WCMA Meeting

6pm Oildorado Meeting

15

9am Sit N Sip

9am-Noon Taft Job Fest @ The Fort

6pm Wine Down Wednesday at The Bank

16

9:30am TCF Board Meeting

11am TCFPP Luncheon

1pm Welding Dedication

17

18

Rotary Health Fair

Soroptimist Garden Tour

6pm TUHS Hall of Fame @ TUHS Gym

19

20

21

6pm City Council Meeting

22

9am Sit N Sip, Carrizo Plains National Monu-ment Tour

23

10am Arbor Day @ Community Garden

12pm, State of the City Lunch-eon @ OT’s

24

Al Baldock Golf Tournament at Buena Vista Golf Course

25

11-2pm Arc BBQ @ Moose Lounge

5pm Alpha House BBQ

TUHS Prom

‘65 Reunion

26 27

TUHS Honors Night

28

12-6pm Houchin Blood Mobile @ Taft Chamber

29

9am Sit N Sip

4pm Chamber Board

30

5-8pm Fort/Taft Wine Tasting

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1

8am-12pm, Fund the Fireworks, 4th Street and Kern Street

6pm, Cruise Night

2

West Kern Oil Museum Pioneer Days

7pm, Skydive Taft Full Moon Jumps

3 4 5

6pm, City Council Meeting, City Hall

6

9am, Sit N Sip

6pm, Industry Night, Taft Petro-leum Club

7

8 9

10

MOTHER’S DAY

11 12 13

9am, Sit N Sip

4pm, Together We Can Meeting

6pm, Wine Down Wednesday

14

15 16

Taft Rely for Life, TUHS Track

May 2015

May 2015 Continued 19, City Council Meeting

20, Planning Commission Meeting 23, The Fort’s 75th Anniversary Celebration

27, Chamber Board Meeting 30, Chamber Car Show

June 2015 2, City Council Meeting

3, Industry Night, Taft Petroleum Club 5, Fund the Fireworks Donation Day, First Friday Cruise Night

16, City Council Meeting 17, Planning Commission Meeting

23, Houchin Blood Mobile @ Chamber 24, Chamber Board Meeting

7th Annual Rails to Trails

Car, Truck, and Bike Show

SATURDAY MAY 30, 2015

7am-3pm

Pre-register $25

Includes goodie bag and t-shirt

Day of Event $30

SAVE THE DATE!

Register your car today!

The newly established Taft College Hall of Fame is seeking nominations for the inaugu-ral class. Committee members met to dis-cuss nomination processes, categories of recognition, and other details related to cre-ating a Hall of Fame.

More information is available on the Hall of Fame categories of recognition and nomina-tion process at www.taftcollege.edu.

Several members of our community attended the Scully Field Dedication at West Side Recre-ation and Park District Center Campus. The grand opening of Scully Field, dedicated for the LA Dodgers Announcer Vin Scully, took place on March 17, 2015.

Mark Salvaggio, representative for Supervisor David Couch said “Les Clark III, did a wonderful job as the master of ceremonies. He was well spoken, through in his remarks and moved the program along well.”

Scully Field is a masterpiece of beauty and his-tory and the wall of the outfield was artfully de-signed to include a pictorial representation of Dodger history.

The new field sits next to Oil Field and will host whiffle ball and t-ball games throughout the seasons. Our community is lucky to have such a wonderful recreation center. Salvaggio also stated “the wonderful people who have the priv-ilege to live on the West Side are blessed with a first rate recreation and park district. Don Koenig, Les Clark, and their staff do a wonder-ful job of serving you. We are very impressed with the job the WSRPD is doing for you.” Stop by the new field today!

M

Two years in the making, the West Kern Petrole-um Summit presented by Chevron is finally here! We are planning an incredible program, featuring world-class energy experts, policy makers, academic, regional, and national lead-ers including keynote speaker, T. Boone Pick-ens, U.S. Congressman and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and innovative author of The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels, Alex Epstein.

In addition, the West Kern Petroleum Summit will discuss relevant and newly developed petro-leum and natural gas technologies and their im-pact on both local and regional economic devel-opment.

Special thanks to our early sponsors Chevron, WSPA, Freeport McMoRan, Holmes Western, Huddleston Crane, Midway Labs, Westside Waste Management, Workforce Staffing, PG&E, Synagro, Aera Energy LLC and West Kern Wa-ter District for supporting our efforts to bring you this amazing event.

The Summit is scheduled for Friday, October 16th from 7:45am to 3pm inside a tent located across from the Oil Worker Monument in Taft. For more information, including sponsorship and speaker announcement video, please visit us on Facebook or at wkpsummit.com or call 661-763-7936.

2015 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President: Emmanuel Campos Monarch Fleet Services

1st Vice President: Ron Sousa

Albertsons

2nd Vice President: Jordan Miller Roger Miller Insurance Agency

Treasurer: Bart Hill United Security Bank

Devinder Bains

Taft Chevrolet—Buick

Glenn Black Black/Hall Construction

Eric Burkhart

Total Western Inc.

Les Clark West Side Recreation and Park District

Tony Cordova

Synagro

Bob Hampton Westside Waste Management

Ed Herrera

Edward J Herrera Insurance Agency

Greg Hill Old’s Cool Antiques and More

Sharon Hill

Taft Union High School

Shawn Johnson David Janes Company

Sandy Koenig

Westside Community Resource Center

Orchel Krier Tumbleweed Café

Dr. Dena Maloney

Taft College

Yvette Mayfield City of Taft

John Neumann

Accelerated Environmental

Dennis Schertz Asian Experience

Harry Starkey

West Kern Water District

John Swearengin Kern County Sheriff’s Office

Dan Tosti

Aera Energy LLC

Adele Ward Taft City School District

Rodney Wikoff

West Hills Church of the Nazarene

400 Kern Street Taft, CA 93268

661-765-2165

www.taftchamber.com

OUR STAFF

Executive Director: Dr. Kathy Orrin kathy.taftchamber@gmail.com

Event Coordinator: Shannon Jones

shannon.taftchamber@gmail.com