"Round Up The Herd, We're going to the Fair"

This was the theme for the Lassen County Fair held July 18th-22nd.  Nearly 100 uniquely decorated cows kicked off the Main Street Parade.  Although our cow did not win the top prize, we sure had a lot of fun decorating and spreading the word about what we do for our community.  

The theme for our booth was "Puzzled About Your Business or Career, We Can Piece it Together for You". 

Partnerships That Work

• Alliance for Workforce Development, Inc.
• Lassen Works
• Employment Development Department
• Sierra College Small Business Development Center
• California Indian Manpower Consortium
• Lassen College
• Community Housing
• Child and Family Resources
• Green Thumb

Sierra Pacific Industries Mill Tour

On August 6th, Robin Padgett, Candy Radcliff, Melody Brawley and Traci Peterson toured the Sierra Pacific Industries mill in Susanville.  Holly Schirmer and Bob Zelwick were our hosts.  The tour began in the log yard and continued through the steam plant, the saw sharpening shop, the debarker machine, the planer and we finished with the packaging of the product.  

The tour was a great experience for all of us.  

Deputy Director from the Federal Bureau of Prisons Visits Lassen Career Network

On August 22nd Paul Schultz, Sr. Deputy Regional Director-Western Region, presented an overview of the Federal Bureau of Prisons to Lassen Career Network staff.  His presentation included specifics on their hiring practices, what is expected of employees, and how local businesses can benefit from doing business with the Federal Bureau of Prisons. 

Mr. Schultz was very impressed with our facility and the services we have for job seekers.  Interested applicants can visit our facility and inquire about employment opportunities and even fill out the on-line application.

Lassen County Facility Facts

• The facility will house approximately 1,152 inmates.
• Construction began in June of 2001.
• The construction cost is approximately $120 million dollars.
• The facility will employ approximately 350-400 full-time staff members, with 60% of those coming from the local and regional area.
• The facility will contribute approximately $25 million dollars annually to the local and regional economy.

For more information on the Bureau of Prisons, log on to http://www.bop.gov/

All-Staff Meeting September 12-14

The Alliance for Workforce Development, Inc. (AFWD)staff invaded the Greenhorn Guest Ranch located in Plumas County.  The training topics included presentations by Terrianne Brown, AFWD Fiscal staff, Nancy Gregg, Janis Trueblood, and Gary Corderman. 

The evening activities were provided by the staff of Lassen and Modoc Counties.  Lassen County kicked off the first evening with a "White Elephant" game.  We asked a series of questions that tested everyone's knowledge of work and non-work items.   Everyone was a winner!!!

Janis Trueblood is the first one to answer a question correctly.  Here she is enjoying her Bubble Machine.

The hosts for the game were from left to right, Lindsay Haub, Traci Peterson, Candy Radcliff, Tammy Bedillion and Mirsa Gonzales.

For more information on Greenhorn Guest Ranch, please log on to www.greenhornranch.com

Employer and Job Seeker Activities

After a summer break, 1st Friday's returned to Lassen Career Network on September 6th.  1st Friday's are noon-time presentations aimed at providing local businesses with Free information on business related issues. 

This month's topic addressed the important aspects of "Marketing Your Business". 

Gary Liddle, Business Counselor from the Sierra College Small Business Development Center, http://www.sbdcsierra.org/, addressed a full house with the pieces of well-organized marketing plan.

Career Expo Debuts in Lassen County
 

The annual Job Fair was renamed to the "Career Expo" and was expanded to include a day of Free Job Seeker Workshops.  On the first day, September 21st, job seekers attended workshops that included resume and cover letter writing, interview techniques, and career guidance from Lassen Community College.  Each of the workshops were filled with anxious job seekers who were preparing to meet with employers the following day. 

On September 22nd, job seekers came dressed for success and met with 15 local employers.  There were over 100 positions to fill ranging from entry level jobs with no experience required to skilled clerical, management and professional positions. 

Participating Employers Included:

• Federal Bureau of Prisons
• California Correctional Center
• High Desert State Prison
• Lassen Community Hospital
• Lassen County Office of Education
• Lassen County Office of Personnel
• Sierra Pacific Industries
• Sunbridge Care and Rehabilitation
• Swift Trucking
• WalMart
• Susanville Indian Rancheria
• U.S. Army
• U.S. Navy
• California Army National Guard
• AVON

Michael Tabb, Human Resource Representative from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, briefs an interested job seeker on the opportunities with the Bureau of Prisons.

Lassen County Headlines

• Dyer Mountain Project continues at full steam with several ski areas opening by late winter of 2003.

• Natural Gas service to begin November 1st.
• Local Benefit Raises $16,000 for Red Cross

For more information on these stories visit www.lassennews.com

• Susanville Supermarket Expanding to meet needs of the community.
• Construction on the new Regional Hospital underway.

For more information on these stories visit http://www.cityofsusanville.org/Economic/whatsnew.html

Natural Gas Expansion

Regional Hospital

Susanville Supermarket

Upcoming Events

• Doing Business with the Government Seminar, Oct 10th-11th
• 1st Friday's
• Economic Development Update
• Employer Survey Results