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4 | LIFE IN SOLERA | FEBRUARY 2024 | NEW YEAR SOLERA LIBRARY PROJECT: Our library volunteers are busy weeding and organizing our library for 2024. We will be moving books around, so we apologize for the temporary confusion. When we finish, we will post a map of changes on the wall above the return baskets in the library which I will post in the March Life in Solera. Our library is a reading library for our Solera residents. It is staffed by volunteers who reshelve books and help with special projects like donations. PLEASE DO NOT RESHELVE THE BOOKS. Residents can browse, take out books to read without any checkout process and return them to the baskets when they are done. The library books come from donations only. We have no budget to purchase books and we have very limited space. Donations that fit our needs and space available are: FICTION BOOKS A TO Z (we keep the last five years which now would be books with 2019 to 2024 copyright) FICTION BOOKS OF POPULAR RECOGNIZED AUTHORS (we keep as many as we can within an allotted space then weed out older and worn books or duplicates to make space for new books) NEW NON-FICTION BOOKS. New publications are welcome, but we may have to remove older books to make room for them. NON- Fiction books are limited to subjects in demand by our readers like Cooking, Travel, History, Biography, etc. WE DO NOT COLLECT REFERENCE BOOKS, ENCYCLOPEDIAS, MOVIES FOR TV. PUT DONATIONS IN BAGS OUTSIDE THE BASKETS. PLEASE BE SELECTIVE AND ONLY BRING A FEW BAGS OF YOUR MOST CURRENT BOOKS. We take books that need to be recycled to the Beaumont Library. The Beaumont Public Library has a large collection bin outside labeled Donations. Their team of volunteers go through the books and re-distribute them if possible. We also collect donations of paperback books (year not limited but in good condition) for Jesse to send to our troops. Label those bags "For Jesse" – he picks up several times a week. If you have a lot of books to donate or any other questions or suggestions send me an email or give me a call at (909) 633-3694. ~ Denise Westcott, MLS, denisewestcott6@gmail.com; our other volunteers are Hildegard Davis, Sarah Tsai, Karina De Leon, Melinda Peterson, and Glenda Clark who takes our recycle books to the Beaumont Library Library Committee Solera CERT Cadre You're traveling a desolate country road, and your vehicle experiences a mechanical failure. No problem, you get on your cell phone and call Triple-A or towing service for assistance. One of the important questions you will be asked is "where are you?" Most of us will try to explain their location by describing the name of the road you're traveling on and maybe a nearby landmark. The person on the other end of the call will most likely say, "where's that?!" Clearly, they have no clue how to locate you. (Scary thought, right?!) Now picture this, you're driving through our "Golf Club Drive" gate and a neighbor is in their car on the side of the road experiencing a medical episode. You stop your car and render aid. One of the first things you accomplish is dialing "9-1-1." Again, the vital question asked is, "where are you?" You tell the operator "I am on Golf Club Drive," to which the follow-up question is "what is the cross-street." Most will not know the cross street or become lost in the fog of the strenuous ordeal. As a result, your neighbor may not receive the necessary assistance to survive. Both examples are true stories that happened to residents in Solera. On one occasion, it took someone two hours before receiving some assistance. On the latter incident, responders arrived within minutes. Why? The reduction in response time was through the use of a telephone application that everyone should have on their phones. A Solera CERT member attended a training session at the clubhouse and learned "What3Words." This phone app was developed by hikers in the UK for locating lost persons. This same application has been integrated into all California emergency response dispatch centers. Some of you will say "I have Google Maps and do not need another darn app on my phone." The quick response to that statement is What3Words will direct those people (family, friends, or rescuers) looking for you, to a 10-square-foot grid. Whereas Google Maps or a similar navigation app will bring that person to a 500-square-foot location. Do the math folks. To learn more about What3Words and how to use the simple application, contact the Solera CERT Cadre at https://www.solera-cert.info. ~ Written by Ray C. Gayton-Jacob, coordinator for the City of Beaumont/County of Riverside CERT program at Solera. https://www.solera-cert.info WHERE ARE YOU? For Seniors By Seniors: Take responsibility to protect your life! Prepare NOW for a sudden emergency