The Bakersfield Californian

Young people welcomed on return home for holiday

Private Xander Skaggs, USMC, and Midshipman Candidate Layla Lujan, a student at the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, R.I., were welcomed back to their hometown with an impromptu parade on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Skaggs — son of Brian and LoRee Skaggs — and Lujan — daughter of Mano and Mei Mei Lujan — have known each other since kindergarten, her father said. Mano Lujan and his wife own Red House BBQ in Tehachapi and Xander Skaggs — who has just completed boot camp — worked there for a couple of years while he was in high school.

Skaggs graduated from Tehachapi High School and Lujan graduated from Garces Memorial High School earlier this year.

Mano Lujan said that when he realized that both young people would be returning to visit their families for the holiday, he mentioned it to a few people and soon a fullfledged surprise welcome home parade had been arranged.

Among those participating in the surprise were members of 5150 Dieselz and the Patriot Guard Riders.

CITY RECOGNIZED FOR FINANCIAL REPORTING

Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada has awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to the city of Tehachapi for its annual comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021.

According to a news release from the organization, the city’s report was judged by an impartial panel and found to meet the high standards of the program, which includes demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the report.

The city produces a fiveyear budget report each year. The current report may be viewed online at bit. ly/3Vj4zGi.

The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management, the organization noted.

COVID LEVELS LOW IN KERN, RISING IN KINGS, OTHERS

The COVID-19 transmission rate in Kern County remained low last week according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, in Kings County the transmission rate jumped to high and it increased to medium in Del Norte, Fresno, Imperial and Madera counties.

The CDC uses three rankings to measure COVID-19 community levels by county throughout the United States. On a map, counties colored green are identified as having low transmission rates; yellow indicates medium transmission rates and counties colored orange have high transmission rates.

Indicators for community levels are related to new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population and the percentage of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, both on a seven-day average. If it’s less than 10 percent, the transmission rate is considered low. But as metrics rise,

the level is adjusted, first to medium and then to high.

Across the country, the CDC reported that more than 78.5 percent of counties had a low transmission rate with about 19 percent at medium and less than 3 percent at high.

Kern County Public Health Services Department did not release any new data for Tehachapi (93561) or deaths countywide last week, during the Thanksgiving holiday.

The health department reminds residents they can find testing locations by going to kernpublichealth.com, clicking on the COVID-19 button and looking for “find a testing site near you.”

Current vaccination information is available online at kernpublichealth.com/coronavirus-vaccine. According to the California Department of Public health, COVID-19 vaccinations are now available for children under 5. Children can now get vaccinated with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine if they are 6 months or older.

CONNECTION

en-us

2022-11-30T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-11-30T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://bakersfield.pressreader.com/article/281827172785108

Alberta Newspaper Group