Are you caring for an older adult? Are you interested in becoming an in-home care provider? Now you can learn the essential skills of caregiving.

The Area 1 Agency on Aging is offering the Personal Care Attendant Training in Crescent City beginning April 6. The training consists of video, discussion, and hands-on skills training and is taught by Maren Rose and Victoria Onstine.

Some of the topics covered include Caring for People with Specific Diseases and Conditions, Communicating Effectively, Infection Control, Skin and Wound Care, Fall Prevention, Nutrition, Assisting with Medications, and Caring for Someone on Bedrest, Reducing Caregiver Stress and Community Resources.

Army Pfc. Ty C. Barry has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.

He is the son of Rick Barry of Crescent City.

Army Pvt. Zacery K. Kramer has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.

He is the son of Penny Kramer and a 2012 graduate of Del Norte High School.

These French macaron cookies are not that difficult to make and can provide a tasty, decorative treat for special occasions. Photo courtesy of Anne Boulley

The French macaron cookie is so sweet and pretty, but is well known for being finicky and difficult to make.

Pronounced like “macaroni” without the i, these are the petite, colorful and delicate sandwiched French cookies, not the macaroons (two o’s) that are made with coconut.

With the proper tools and technique it is much easier than I was led to believe. They are naturally gluten-free and are elegant and delicious.

What has helped for me is using the Italian meringue method. It involves cooking the meringue beforehand and lessens the chances of the cookies not cooking properly.

It’s also helpful to have a pastry bag (or disposable piping bags) and round tip that is a half-inch in diameter. A digital scale is needed, as is a food processor and a Kitchenaid.

If you don’t have these wonderful kitchen tools, find a friend who does and make macarons together. They are most typically shaped in round circles, but you could get creative and pipe them into Easter eggs or even bunnies if the mood strikes.

When adding color to the macarons you want to add powdered coloring or just a tiny bit of gel coloring. Regular food coloring will upset the balance between liquid and dry ingredients and can cause issues with your cookies.

Fillings can be anything you like, with the most common being chocolate ganaches or flavored butter creams. Some chefs have even tried making savory macarons, but the consensus has not been good.

Here are recently captured signs of spring, which officially began Wednesday.  

Wildflowers bloom along Howland Hill Road. Del Norte Triplicate / Bryant Anderson

A flower unfurls in my yard. Del Norte Triplicate / Bryant Anderson

Rain-drenched ice plant along the beach. Del Norte Triplicate / Bryant Anderson

Cilantro sprouts in my window garden. Del Norte Triplicate / Bryant Anderson

A week-old calf looks up from lunch on the McNamara farm off Pebble Beach Drive. Del Norte Triplicate / Bryant Anderson

Vendors to donate proceeds to group

The Compassionate Friends (TCF) Northwest Coast Chapter would like to thank the following vendors for their participation in our Ladies Day Out fundraiser to be held March 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Brookings Inn Resort next to the Flying Gull Restaurant. The public is invited and there is no charge to attend. 

All vendors will be donating a portion of their sales to our TCF chapter. 

The vendors include Yvonne Galbraith with Miche Bags, who is back again this year by popular demand. 

First-time participants in our annual fundraiser include Jane Jacobsen with Jane Jacobson Jewelry, Kendra Hoven with M Baby Beanies, April Bertolini with April’s Muumuu’s, Merry Lawless with Tupperware, Celebrating Home, Thirty-One Gifts and Mary Kay.  

TCF is a national non-profit self-help bereavement group for those whose child, grandchild, brother or sister has died. For information about the event or The Compassionate Friends, call (541) 469-5814 or (707) 373-0497.

Georgia Cockerham

House fire help is appreciated

Thank you to the four fire departments who tried to save our house on Sixth Street last month. 

We wish to acknowledge those who raised the alarm and the neighbor who tried to keep the fire under control until the response personnel arrived, and the Crescent City Police. 

Tiffany Brown shows off the sign she painted for the Sunset Harbor RV Park. Del Norte Triplicate / Bryant Anderson

Hundreds enjoy Irish show; RV park’s big picture; and a new kitchen on wheels

Father Adam Kotas of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church clearly did not miss his calling in life. Still, he’s no slouch in the comedy department either.

During his introduction to the Irish Variety Show last Tuesday at the church, he did a bit of a stand-up routine.

Addressing the 300 or so people who packed the gym for a night of genuine Irish entertainment, he had the audience in stitches.

Noting that drinks were available in the back at the fundraising event, he told those who may have given up alcohol for Lent that he’d “secured a special dispensation from the pope.” When someone in the audience noted that at that moment, there was no pope, Kotas deadpanned that he was “waiting for a phone call.”

It was obvious the crowd was having a great time. People clapped and sang along with Michael Funge on guitar, marveled at the fancy footwork of Irish dancer Mychelle Carre, were enraptured by Rachel Hair’s harp playing and roiled with laughter at the hilarious Irish jokes told by Barry Collins.

A fifth troupe member, Bernard McHugh, considered to be one of the best harmonicists in the United Kingdom, according to the troupe’s website, unfortunately was wrestling with a bout of vertigo, but was able to lend a sweet refrain to Michael’s guitar music from the sidelines.

Before concluding their Golden State tour, they were planning a visit to Yosemite.

Maria Alvarenga, 13, dressed in Irish style for the show. Del Norte Triplicate / Laura Wiens

Colorful sign’s parting shot

Anyone exiting the Sunset Harbor RV Park off Highway 101 south of town will receive a pleasant send-off, thanks to a mural-size sign installed recently.

Veteran Ray Colby and Vietnam veterans Harlan Ziegler, Sparky Countess and Jerry Johnson stand at the planned location of the Point of Honor Veterans Monument. Photo courtesy of Susan Taylor

Del Norters provide assistance to veterans in multitude of ways

The stars were twinkling overhead, the moon was illuminating the sky, and most of Crescent City was still slumbering.

It was 4 a.m., and Ray Colby was ensuring the van was ready for the drive. He would soon be making his weekly trip north transporting veterans to their doctors’ appointments in Roseburg, Ore.

He makes this trek north to Bandon, picking up veterans along the way in the towns dotting the Oregon Coast. Once the van arrives in Bandon, Ray either transfers the veterans to another van or makes the drive himself, shuttling the veterans to the Roseburg VA Medical Center.

When all appointments have been completed, Ray reverses his route and safely delivers the veterans back to their homes. This round-trip journey makes for a 12-hour day. Ray has been navigating this route for 15 years and has logged over 10,000 hours of driving time.

Ray is part of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program!

Two other RSVP volunteers also transport veterans to their medical appointments.  Don Johnson follows the same path as Ray, delivering veterans to the Roseburg medical facility. Linndell Scarbrough, retired Del Norte veterans’ services officer, drives a southern route to the Eureka VA Center.

Both volunteers make weekly trips to the medical centers. Ray, Don, and Linndell are military veterans.