Start Smart

The Napa area California Highway Patrol will hold its monthly Start Smart class from 7 to 9 p.m., on Sept. 21.

Start Smart classes address traffic safety issues directly affecting new teen drivers. Parents are encouraged to attend the classes with their teenagers so they also can learn what their responsibilities are when their teen drivers take to the roadways.

The class will be held at the CHP office at 975 Golden Gate Drive, Napa.

Call 253-4906 for reservations./Register

Disaster training offered

Know what to do in the case of a disaster?

If you answered just call the fire department, you are only partly right.

In the event of a major disaster, firefighters and law enforcement are spread very thin, causing some victims to fend for themselves for several days.

But don't panic.

The Community Emergency Response Team is offering free classes to the public on how to deal with emergency situations such as extinguishing fires, removing a person trapped under debris, how and what utilities to shut off and basic first aid.

The 20-hour course is offered as a non-credit class through Napa Valley College. Mandatory attendance at all classes is required for graduation and continuation in the CERT graduate program.

Days and class times are:

* Disaster operations -- Oct. 10, Tuesday, 7-9 p.m.

* Disaster Medical I -- Oct. 12, Thursday, 7-9 p.m.

* Firefighting/Search and Rescue -- Oct. 14, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

* Disaster Medical II -- Oct. 17, 7-9 p.m.

* Disaster Psychology -- Oct. 19, 7-9 p.m.

* Disaster Exercise -- Oct. 21, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Due to the necessity of the team concept for safety, it is preferred, but not required, that applicants enroll with a partner. Minimum age is 16. Those under 18 must enroll with a parent or guardian.

The classes will be held in Yountville.

To register contact program registrar Sherry Vattuone at the Napa County Executive Office at 253-4580, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday or online at sher@pacbell.net. Applicants who register will receive a confirmation letter in the mail with attendance details./Register

Food distribution for low-income residents

Federal surplus foods, including cereal, canned chicken, mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas, rice, tomato sauce and pudding will be distributed to low-income Napa County residents this month.

The distribution schedule is:

* Napa: Thursday, September 21, 4-6 p.m., Seventh-day Adventist Community Services, 2110 Seminary St.

Also, Napa Senior Center, Monday, September 18, 10:30-11:30 a.m., 1500 Jefferson Street.

* Yountville: (Note new hours) Thursday, September 21, 4-5 p.m., Yountville Community Hall parking lot, 6550 Yount Street.

* St. Helena: Thursday, September 21, 2:30-4 p.m., St. Helena Food Pantry, 1777 Main Street (behind Seventh-day Adventist Church).

* Calistoga: Tuesday, September 19, 10:30 a.m.-noon, Community Presbyterian Church, Third & Washington streets.

* American Canyon: Thursday, September 21, 4-5 p.m., Community Hall, 2185 Elliott Drive.

* Angwin: Tuesday, September 19, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Angwin Community Services, 275 Clark Way.

* Lake Berryessa: Thursday, September 21, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; Community Church of Lake Berryessa, 6008 Steele Canyon Road.

Recipients may receive food once a month and must sign a form certifying that they are low income. Monthly income limits are: one person, $1,044; two people, $1,407; three people, $1,769; and four people, $2,132.

American Canyon Emergency Food Pantry, for American Canyon residents only, is open Tuesdays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at 2185 Elliott Drive.

Napa Emergency Pantry hours are: Wednesdays, 1 to 4 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays, 9 am to 12 noon; and the last Saturday of each month, 10 am to 12 noon. Friday Free Market is 1-2:30 p.m. every Friday. For more information, call 253-6128./Register