LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Chapter of California Women for Agriculture (LCCWA) is offering Lake County classrooms the opportunity to apply for $100 mini-grants to fund agriculture-related educational projects.

All Lake County classrooms from kindergarten through eighth grade are eligible to apply; the projects must have an agriculture-focus. 

LCCWA actively educates its members and the public about matters concerning agriculture at both the county and state levels.

The mini-grant program is designed to assist programs that give students a hands-on experience to learning what goes into producing food and the important role agriculture plays in everyone’s daily life. 

The mini-grant application can be found on the organization's Web site, www.lakecountycwa.org , on the home page under the “Recent News” tab.

The one-page application is due Sept. 15.

Some of the school programs awarded mini-grants are the Kelseyville Kids Garden Club, the Mt. Vista Middle School Garden Project and the Cobb Mountain Elementary School Garden Club.

“We want to get the word out about this opportunity for the 2015-16 school year,” said LCCWA President Sharron Zoller.

LCCWA actively educates their members and the public about matters concerning agriculture at both the county and state levels.

To learn more about the Lake County Chapter of California Women for Agriculture, visit their website at www.lakecountycwa.org .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The first session of AgVenture 2015 launched on Friday, Aug. 7, at the Lake County Winegrape Commission office in Kelseyville, kicking off the program’s sixth year.

AgVenture is designed to teach non-farming community leaders about the crucial role that local agriculture plays in Lake County’s economy.

Participation in the class is based upon an application, and program acceptance is competitive.

Three more AgVenture sessions are scheduled as a part of the 2015 series.

The first AgVenture 2015 session focused on the Lake County pear industry.

Presenters included Myron Holdenried, owner of Holdenried Ranches; Rebecca Southwick, AgVenture 2015 coordinator; Diane Henderson, owner of Henderson Orchards; Dr. Broc Zoller, “The Pear Doctor, Inc.”; Toni Scully, owner of Scully Packing Co.; Pat Scully, general manager with Scully Packing Co.; and Paula Bryant, vice president/commercial relationship manager at Umpqua Bank.

Class topics included crop marketing and financing, integrated pest management, regulatory compliance, and the history and evolution of Lake County agriculture.

The class visited Henderson Orchards to witness pear harvest, and the day also included a visit to the Scully Packing Co.’s shed in Finley.

“We encourage our students to evaluate each session every year,” said LCCWA President Sharron Zoller. “We’re heartened to see that the program continues to meet our goal of giving our local leaders a taste of what makes Lake County agriculture so vital to our community.”

Members of the 2015 class include: Barbara Ehr, clinical supervisor with the Lake County Office of Education; Brenna Sullivan, executive director, Lake County Farm Bureau; Danielle Matthews Seperas, manager, government and community affairs, Calpine; Jim Steele, District 3 supervisor, county of Lake; Jan Coppinger, Lake County Special Districts Utility Systems compliance manager; Dr. Karen Tait, health officer, county of Lake, Health Services Department; Rick Hamilton, commercial Realtor and owner of RAH; Kerrie Lindecker, District representative, Lake and Mendocino counties, Sen. Mike McGuire; Tiffany Ortega, assistant administrator, Sutter Lakeside Hospital; Andrew March, constituent service representative, office of Congressman John Garamendi; Terre Logsdon, Farm-to-School coordinator, North Coast Opportunities; and Lisa Wilson, general manager, Shady Acres Campground and Mobile Home Park.

The next session, scheduled for Sept. 11, will focus on winegrapes and the class will visit Laujor Estates Winery, Gregory Graham Winery, and Beckstoffer Vineyards.

The day will include a bus tour of the Big Valley District, the Red Hills, and the Kelsey Bench viticultural areas.

The series would not exist without the generosity of the following businesses and individual donors: Calpine; Sutter Lakeside Hospital; The Pear Doctor Inc.; Umpqua Bank; Adobe Creek Packing; Harbin Hot Springs; Quackenbush Mountain Resource Recovery; American AgCredit; Bob Bartley Pump, Inc.; Beckstoffer Vineyards; Lianne Campodonico; Judy Cortesi; Scully Packing Company; Tibor and Petra Major; Sharron Zoller; Bengard Marketing; Janet King; Wilda Shock; North Lake Medical Pharmacy; Savings Bank of Mendocino County; Polestar Computers; Lake County Farm Bureau; Mendo-Lake Credit Union; Janice Stokes; and Peggy Campbell, CPA.

Additional support has been provided by Tallman Hotel; Gregory Graham Winery; Chacewater Wine and Olive Mill; the Lake County Winegrape Commission; the Lake County Winery Association; Laujor Estate Winery; Suchan Farm and Nursery; Scully Packing Co.; Beckstoffer Vineyards; and Henderson Orchards.

Transportation for the field trips and site visits is being provided by the Military Funeral Honors Team van.  

The AgVenture program Steering Committee, all CWA members, are Annette Hopkins, Paula Bryant, Toni Scully, Diane Henderson, Terry Dereniuk, Debra Sommerfield, Sharron Zoller and Rebecca Southwick.

California Women for Agriculture (CWA) is a nonprofit organization with 2,000 plus members across the state.

CWA is the most active, all volunteer agricultural organization in the state with members actively engaged in public promotion, education and legislative advocacy on behalf of California agriculture.

The Lake County Chapter of CWA (LCCWA) actively educates their members and the local public about matters impacting agriculture at the county, state and federal levels.

LCCWA also awards scholarships to students pursuing agricultural-related education and provides mini-grants to teachers in local schools who are educating their students about agriculture and food.

In addition, LCCWA sponsors AgVenture, an educational program for community leaders who wish to learn more about agriculture in Lake County.

To learn more about the Lake County Chapter of California Women for Agriculture, visit www.lakecountycwa.org .

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Lake County Republican Women Federated will have a representative from the Lake County Fire Department who will discuss this year's fire season, its costs, causes and implications for this winter.

The meeting will take place beginnings at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9, at Howard's Grotto, 14732 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake.

Lunch will start at noon, with the speaker to begin at 12:30 p.m.

The fire representative will share information on how to protect property and what community members need to know if they have to evacuate their homes.

The rollback cost of lunch is $20, which includes a main course, coffee or iced/hot tea. All other beverages are no host.             
   
Lunch menu choices this month are chicken Parmesan, chef salad or tuna salad.

Reservations are required. The deadline is the Monday before the meeting.

For lunch reservations and menu choice, or for club information call 707-994-3543 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Yuba College culinary students, under the direction of Chef Robert Cabreros, will prepare a delectable buffet dinner for the Children's Museum of Art and Science fundraiser dinner from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, at Aromas on the college campus.

Dishes will be tapas, or small plate, style with a summer harvest theme featuring local ingredients.

Cabreros says that his goal is to come up with creative dishes using as many local foods as possible.

Dinner, which is an all-you-can-eat-buffet, will include some new, surprise creations as well as favorites such as their signature fried rice and of course mouth-watering desserts. Specialty coffee drinks, tea, and soft drinks also will be included.

The CMAS dinner kicks off the fall semester for Aromas, the culinary class café where students will serve lunches on Wednesdays and Thursdays starting Sept. 16.

Be sure to come by for lunch one day between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to try their lunch menu that includes favorites such as pizza and Mary's free range chicken sandwich or visit the express window, open Monday through Thursday from 9:15 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Fall semester will end with a luau fundraiser in November.

Tickets for the CMAS dinner on Sept. 12 are $25 and can be bought in advance at Yuba College, Marie's Feed in Clearlake, the Travel Center in Lakeport, or at the door.

You also can email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for tickets or more information.

The evening includes raffle baskets and music by the Rotarianz, a local band made up of Rotary Club members.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – Caltrans reports that the following road projects will be taking place around the North Coast during the coming week.

Included are Mendocino County projects that may impact Lake County commuters.

Caltrans will suspend work on Northern California highways from Friday, Sept. 4, through Monday, Sept. 7, in observance of the Labor Day holiday weekend. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, it may be necessary for Caltrans Maintenance forces to respond to emergency situations.

LAKE COUNTY

Highway 20
 
– Pavement repairs from Rosemont Drive to the junction of Routes 20/53 will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 15-minute delays.
 
– Lake County Special Districts has been granted a Caltrans encroachment permit to perform utility work from Paradise Cove to Mitchell Road. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

Highway 29

– Pavement repairs from Main Street in Kelseyville to the junction of Routes 29/175 near Lakeport will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Motorists should anticipate 15-minute delays.
 
– PG&E has been granted a Caltrans encroachment permit to perform utility work near the Adobe Creek Bridge on Wednesday, Sept. 9. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
Highway 281

– Old Muddy LLC has been granted a Caltrans encroachment permit to install a commercial driveway just east of Inca Way beginning Tuesday, Sept. 8. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

MENDOCINO COUNTY

Highway 1

– Caltrans will perform maintenance near Simpson Road beginning Wednesday, September 9. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.
 
– Highway repairs just north of Ocean Meadows Circle will continue. One-way traffic control with a temporary signal will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

– Drainage repairs at various locations from Hardy Creek to the South Fork Eel River Bridge will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.
 
Highway 101

– Caltrans will perform slide repairs near the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge (near Frog Woman Rock). Northbound traffic will be restricted to one lane 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns.

– Pavement repairs from 0.3 miles north of Nelson Road to the Robinson Creek Bridge will continue. In two-lane sections, one-way traffic control will be in effect from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., weekdays, and motorists should anticipate 15-minute delays. In four-lane sections, traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays, and motorists should anticipate minor traffic slowdowns. At the Robinson Overcrossing and El Roble Overcrossing interchanges, ramps will be intermittently closed from 4 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekdays, and motorists should seek an alternate route. No consecutive offramps or onramps will be closed at the same time.

– Mitigation work from the North Willits Railroad Crossing to the entrance of Georgia Pacific will continue. Intermittent full highway closures will be in effect from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.
 
Highway 128

– Culvert rehabilitation at various locations from Paul M. Dimmick Park to the Mendocino/Sonoma County line will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays. 

A retaining wall project on Route 128 in Sonoma County will impact Mendocino County traffic. Full nighttime road closures from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. will be in effect Monday evening through Friday morning. Motorists will need to seek an alternate route such as Route 253 to U.S. Highway 101.

The Caltrans Traffic Operations Office has reviewed each project and determined that individual project delays are expected to be less than the statewide policy maximum of 30 minutes, unless noted otherwise above.

For information pertaining to emergency roadwork or for updates to scheduled roadwork, please contact the California Highway Information Network (CHIN) at 1-800-GAS-ROAD (1-800-427-7623).

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Supported by funding from the Home Depot Foundation, Habitat for Humanity Lake County is still accepting applications for its veterans' home repair program.

Previous program efforts have provided eligible clients with roof repair, electrical and plumbing repair, wheelchair ramps and wheelchair lifts, repairs to decking and windows, as well as accessibility adjustments made throughout the home such as widened doorways, grab bars, and handicap accessible showers, tubs, and toilets.

To qualify, applicants must be honorably discharged, low-income military veterans who either own their home or permanently reside with another family member who owns their home.

Time is limited for this program, so all eligible applicants are urged to apply as soon as possible.

For more information about this program, for questions regarding qualification, or to get an application, please contact the Habitat for Humanity office at 16285 A Main St, in Lower Lake; visit the group's Web site at www.lakehabitat.org ; or call at 707-994-1100.