Kelseyville Fire's antique fire truck is being restored, with hopes it will be ready for this month's Pear Festival Parade. Courtesy photo.

KELSEYVILLE – Around 1926, the Kelseyville School District purchased a small GMC school bus. Most of the buses, in those days, were built to hold 12 to 18 students. The school district used that bus until the late 1930’s

In the same time frame the Kelseyville Fire Department needed a fire engine. The department didn’t have a lot of money. The school district heard about the problem and wanted to help. In 1940 the two districts met and decided that the school district would donate the 1926 GMC to the fire department. The school bus could be cut down and made into a fire engine.

Kelseyville had a handy mechanic by the name of Seth Waite. Waite was a descendant of the Rickabaugh family. He worked at Norton Motors at the time and took on the job of converting the 1926 school bus into a fire engine. Being a craftsman, Waite was able to cut the frame and reweld it back together. To this day you can see the flawless seams that were welded by Seth Waite.

Fabrication complete, Kelseyville Fire Department had their new fire engine. The specifications were 1926 GMC chassis, Buick six-cylinder engine and 200 gallon water tank with a PTO water pump.

The engine was used for many years by the fire department. It was eventually either sold, given away or just parked. Those details are unclear.

In 1978 a group of Kelseyville Volunteer Firemen heard about the old fire engine and where it might be. After some investigation it was located at the Kelseyville Dry yard. How it got there is a mystery. Contact with Paul Mariani Corp. was made and an offer to purchase the old truck was made. Mariani didn’t want to sell the engine but offered to donate it to the volunteers. A stipulation was that some type of plaque be placed on the engine once restored. With that, Alvin Rentsch, Henry Eutenier, Gil Wells, Jim Marschall, Bill Merriman, Ken Wells and Jeff Row went to bring the engine home again.

Fore many years the interest in the engine kept up. A big problem was a place to store and work on the engine. Some work had been done but it had never come to full restoration. The engine is now housed in the bay of the old Kelseyville Fire Department building, adjacent to the new station. This location has made it convenient for restoration work to be done.

As with any project of this nature, funding is always a problem. On Nov. 27, 2007, Gilbert Leon “Gil” Wells passed away. Gil, a longtime Kelseyville resident, and one of the fire engine rescuers, was also a volunteer fireman for 17 years. In his memory, his family requested that donations be made to the “Kelseyville Fire Volunteer Fire Department Antique Fire Truck Restoration Project.” Numerous individuals have since made contributions to the Antique Fire Truck Restoration Project.

Early in 2008, former Kelseyville resident, Robert Seth “John” Waite passed away. He was raised in Kelseyville and was a graduate of Kelseyville High School. Seth Waite, the builder of the fire engine, was John’s father. When John Waite passed away, contributions were again made to the “Kelseyville Volunteer Fire Department antique Truck Restoration Project.”

These contributions have rekindled interest in the restoration of the fire engine. Kelseyville Fire Department employee Bill Merriman, as well as Myron Ferry and Milt Hodgkinson, have worked daily on the restoration. Schnabl’s Inc. has donated time and materials as well. Progress can be seen every day.

The target completion date is this month for the Pear Festival Parade.

Additional contributions are still needed to finish the restoration. Interested or curious? You are welcome to stop by the Kelseyville Fire Department to see the nearly completed antique fire engine restoration.

Contributions are welcome at the following address:

Kelseyville Volunteer Fire Department

Antique Fire Truck Restoration Project

P.O. Box 306

Kelseyville, Ca. 95451

Or

Kelseyville Fire Department

4020 Main Street

Kelseyville, Ca. 95451

You may also contact Bill Merriman at 279-4268 for more information.

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The fundraiser takes place at the Lakeport Senior Center, 527 Konocti Ave, Lakeport.

Doors open at noon.

Packs are $5 each, specials are $1 or 3 for $2.50. Snacks are available.

For more information call Pam Plank, 272-3665.

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Volunteers and farmers unite for the Lake County Community Co-op's first locally sourced Community Supported Agriculture box. Pictured left to right: Kenneth Breen, Lars Crail, Yukiko Sato, Dante DeAmicis, Adele Elwood and Chance Crail. Photo by JoAnn Saccato.

LAKE COUNTY – A milestone was reached last week when Lake County Community Co-op created their farm fresh Purist Community Supported Agriculture box from produce grown exclusively in Lake County.

The Co-op’s Community Supported Agriculture boxes are intended to support small local farmers. The Buying Club has been offering regionally supplied boxes for a few months with the goal of becoming more local as soon as possible.

“Localization of our food supply is vital to our overall vision of food security. By providing locally grown food to the community we are strengthening the local economy, protecting the small farmer, and helping to build a sustainable community,” said JoAnn Saccato, co-op chair.

Organic produce is provided by local farms and suppliers including Yoxagoi, Elderbroc, Barber's Country Farm, Leonardis Organics and Lake County Walnuts, all from Kelseyville, and Irene Farms in Lower Lake.

This week's Purist Community Supported Agriculture box included cantaloupes, pears, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, squash and "edible bouquets" of herbs and flowers.

"This is such a critical time for our future, and anytime we can meet our food needs locally, we save not only money (this week's box was the best value we've had so far for our members), but we save valuable resources by not having our food trucked in,” said Saccato. “Foods purchased in local grocery stores travels, on average, 1,200 miles to reach the shelves. By keeping our food supply local, we reduce pollution and provide more local jobs. Also, we get more nutrition and flavor in our food, because it is picked at its absolute peak.”

For those interested in participating in the buying club, and particularly in the Community Supported Agriculture boxes, contact Ann Breen at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For more information about Lake County Community Co-op and its visions, go to www.lakeco-op.org.

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The plan sets forth goals and objectives to address needs of seniors and people with disabilities in Lake and Mendocino counties.

The AAA is interested in receiving input from older adults, persons with disabilities, family and volunteer caregivers, agencies and advocacy groups serving these individuals, and other interested community members. AAA also will share information about the services available to seniors throughout Lake and Mendocino Counties.

The following is a schedule of the forums.

• Wednesday, Sept. 10, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; Middletown Senior Center, 15299 Central Park Road.

• Wednesday, Sept. 10, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Highlands Senior Center, 3245 Bowers Road, Clearlake.

• Wednesday, Sept. 17, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; Willits Seniors Inc., 1501 Baechtel Road, Willits.

• Wednesday, Sept. 17, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Ukiah Senior Center, 499 Leslie St., Ukiah.

• Thursday, Sept. 25, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; Lucerne Alpine Seniors, 3985 Country Club Drive.

• Thursday, Sept. 25, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Lakeport Senior Center, 527 Konocti Ave.

• Wednesday, Oct. 1, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., South Coast Seniors, 140 Main St., Point Arena.

• Wednesday, Oct. 1, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Redwood Coast Seniors, 490 North Harold St., Fort Bragg.

For more information, please contact the AAA at 463-7775.

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Kathy Fowler gets in the dunk tank to raise money for a new domestic violence shelter. Courtesy photo.

The event, which ran from 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., featured several wineries from Lake County which poured their wines, along with food vendors, local artisans and music.

There also were games and a dunk tank. The resort's owners, John and Colleen McDonald, tried to convince businesswoman Kathy Fowler to go into the tank, an idea Fowler didn't take to at first.

But after the McDonalds went in, Fowler offered to follow if she could raise $500 for the Lake County Resource Center's Freedom House domestic violence shelter project.

The challenge proved irresistible to those attending the event, who pitched in to raise the $500, and Fowler went in.

It was the resort's chef who finally hit the paddle and sent Fowler into the water.

Kathy Fowler and Jeff Smith, winemaker at Napa Valley's Dusinberre Cellars, which was on hand to pour wine at the event. Courtesy photo.

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As a result, the bill next heads to the desk of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for his consideration.

Existing law (the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989) required cities and counties to divert 25 percent of their solid waste from landfill disposal or transformation (through source reduction, recycling and composting activities) by Jan. 1, 1995 – and to divert 50 percent of their solid waste after Jan. 1, 2000.

The law also requires each city, county, or regional agency to submit annual reports to the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) summarizing their progress in reducing solid waste, and requires those reports to include calculations of annual disposal reduction, information on changes in waste generated or disposed, progress in diverting construction and demolition waste material.

Wiggins, who was a member of the CIWMB prior to her election to the Senate in 2006, said SB 1016 shifts the focus, from 50 percent diversion to 50 percent disposal reduction, of the current requirement that a local jurisdiction reduce its solid waste disposal over what it would have been given local growth factors.

“The benefits of moving to a disposal-based system include increased timeliness and accuracy, and a streamlining of the review process by allowing jurisdictions that are in compliance to be reviewed every four years instead of every two,” Wiggins said.

According to the CIWMB, California diverted more than 46 million tons of solid waste away from landfills into recycling, composting and transformation programs in 2005, for an estimated statewide diversion rate of 52 percent.

Diversion has increased nine-fold since the Integrated Waste Management Act was passed in 1989. The CIWMB notes that almost 70 percent of jurisdictions have received approval for their diversion rates while 30 percent have either been granted a time extension or are on compliance orders.

Among other things, the Wiggins bill:

• Requires that beginning Jan. 1, 2009, CIWMB will determine compliance with the diversion goals established by the 1989 act by comparing each jurisdiction's "per capita disposal rate" with the jurisdiction's "50 percent percent equivalent" per capital disposal rate on Jan. 1, 2007;

• Specifies that CIWMB consider the per capita disposal rate when determining compliance with the act (but also that the rate is not the only factor). Also requires the waste management board to evaluate the need for a review of a jurisdiction's program implementation should the rate exceed the 50 percent equivalent;

• Authorizes CIWMB to use an alternative per capita factor for developing the per capita disposal rate if a representative rate cannot be determined using the specified factors;

• Specifies how CIWMB determines the 50 percent equivalent disposal rate using years 2003-2007 waste generation information;

• Retains the waste management board's authority to establish an alternative per capita disposal rate for rural jurisdictions;

• Revises the 10 percent diversion "credit" for transformation to reflect the per capita disposal rate.

“SB 1016 creates a paradigm shift in the way California will identify its waste stream in the future by measuring disposal, because it is a real number that can be decreased with greater implementation of diversion programs,” Wiggins said. My goal is to ensure that recycling, reuse and reduction are the guiding principles of California’s future integrated waste management plan.”

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