That person is Will Freedman, or as I know him, “Coach Will.” For those of you who don’t know, Coach Will is the Lassen Community College Men’s Basketball Coach and has been for some while.

Despite not being born and raised here, he has truly made Lassen County and Susanville his home. (Even marrying one of my all-time favorite local girls McKenzie.)

And let me tell you something I have been preaching for a long time – when the college athletic program is strong, it does nothing but help our community, and Coach Will takes his job very seriously.

Coach Will started his career at Lassen College in 2014 as a volunteer assistant coach, before being named the head coach. Yep. Volunteer. However, by observing Coach Will’s work ethic you would have believed he was making bank, just by how seriously he treated his role.

He brings a very diverse group of athletes to our town and, just like my husband, makes sure that he takes care of them as people and human beings, not just as athletes.

Coach Will is well spoken and very funny. Every time I see him, I tell him to keep Frankie in line, and he knows I’m mostly joking as he smirks and says, “I’ll try.”

If you have never watched an LCC basketball game, I promise you – you are missing out.

The games are inside (so no matter the weather it’s also the perfect temperature to watch) and yep, they sell snacks.

I know absolutely nothing about basketball but honestly you don’t really need to know a lot to enjoy watching Coach Will and his boys.

I play this game where I try to figure out what he is saying, which is comical because I have zero understanding about the game, but Coach Will is always so poised and passionate it intrigues me as to what he could be telling his players.

Oh, and did I mention his players love him too? Actually, from what I can ascertain all of the athletes love him, and it’s not really hard to see why.

Coach Will is just a cool guy, who is very easy to like. He brings a lot of experience to the college and has become a mentor to the other coaches. I cannot count the number of times that my advice to Frankie has been to “ask Coach Will what he thinks.”

I am incredibly happy, not only that Lassen College has him, but that our community does as well, as he is one of the reasons I love where we live.

“The Susanville Click & Fix not only allows citizens to report concerns, but also to view, comment on, and vote to fix problems submitted by their neighbors,” explains Newton.

The app is a community-driven communication tool and request management system that bridges the gap between constituents and city staff to increase citizen engagement and improve citizen services.

Citizens can create their own “watch areas” to receive notifications about all the issues reported in their community, enabling them to follow the progress of all service requests – not just the ones they report.

You can download the App from Google Play Store or the Apple App Store to stay connected by receiving information on city events, road closures, utility service disruptions, press releases and direct access from your mobile device to services such as online bill pay, city council agendas, job opportunities and much more.

You can also submit your requests and concerns by visiting the City of Susanville’s website.

They can also use toiletries like shampoo, conditioner, soaps and razors, along with books, card games and magazines for entertainment.

They love getting cards and letters and things to remind them of home and Susanville.

If you have a loved one you would like the Blue Star Moms to send a package to please send the address to president.ca22@bluestarmothers.us.

Auditions are open to everyone age 6 and up and will take about an hour and a half.

For a complete list of songs being performed in this year’s Broadway production visit susanvillebestofbroadway.org.

All potential cast members who wish to try out for a solo are asked to come prepared to sing a verse and a chorus of one of the songs on the list.

If you don’t want a solo you will be asked to sing a verse and chorus of a song of your choice.

There is a dance portion of the audition and everyone should dress comfortably and wear appropriate footwear.

Everyone will learn a short dance routine at auditions and you must do the dance audition and the vocal audition as everyone in the show sings and does choreographed movement. You don’t have to be a trained dancer but the shows production team need to gauge your ability and know you’re willing to try.

Auditions will be held in the Veteran’s Memorial Hall on Main Street and attending at least one audition date is mandatory. For more information visit www.susanvillebestofbroadway.org.

A forest fire burns near the Willow Creek Valley and Eagle Lake in 1939.

From the Eastman Archive at UC Davis

Forest Fire in Susanville Area Brought Under Control After Burning 19,000 Acres

September 28, 1955

The Merrill Flat fire that started Labor Day afternoon, presumably from lightning, was brought under control Thursday morning about 10 o’clock after burning more than 19,000 acres of cut-over and some good timberland.

More than 800 men fought the fire under adverse weather conditions. Winds of more than 20 miles an hour carried sparks more than a mile ahead of the main fire.

While the fire is now believed to be under control, the same number of men will stand by in case of new outbreaks. The wind has calmed down, which greatly assisted the firefighters.

Two fire camps are operating camps and fire line control points are connected by two radio nets.

Lumber companies of the Susanville area have practically all their men engaged on the fire – night and day shifts are being operated. Heavy equipment in use includes 26 bulldozers and 15 line tankers, in addition to huge ‘mother’ tankers that keep the small units supplied with water. A big snag pusher is being used to push standing dead trees down.

More than 25 sets of power saw operators felled dead trees on either side of the control line as rapidly as the lines were built, and linemen removed thickets of green trees and constructed hand control areas in terrain where bulldozers could not operate.