KELSEYVILLE – A brunch for Wally Holbrook, candidate for Lake County superintendent of schools, will be held on Saturday, March 20.

From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. people are invited to stop in to enjoy brunch at the Kelseyville Senior Center, on Third Street in Kelseyville.

The menu will be prepared by local caterer Madelene Lyon, and will include frittata, fruit and breads. Coffee, tea and juice are included. The cost is $10 per person. A raffle will be held during the brunch.

At the brunch, Holbrook will share his goals and vision for maximizing the educational opportunities for Lake County’s children.

He also will answer questions people may have about his proposals for the Lake County Office of Education.

For more information, please call 707-279-4387.

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

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

LAKE COUNTY

There is no major roadwork scheduled for Lake County from through Thursday, March 18.

MENDOCINO COUNTY

Highway 1

– Construction of a retaining wall about three miles north of Elk 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 10-minute delays. Contractor – Granite Construction of Ukiah.

Highway 20

– A culvert replacement project from 2.6 miles west of Little Lake Road to the James Creek Bridge will continue. Work hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor – Kapel Construction of Willow Creek.

– Construction of a retaining wall 0.4 mile east of Three Chop Road 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. Contractor – Granite Construction of Ukiah.

Highway 128

– PG&E of Ukiah has been granted a Caltrans Encroachment Permit for utility maintenance 0.4 mile west of Philo Greenwood Road on Wednesday, March 17. Work hours are 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 15-minute delays.

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).

Artist Pat Courtney won the adult division of the Kelseyville Olive Festival Post Contest and also was named grand prize winner. Courtesy photo.

KELSEYVILLE – The winners for the Kelseyville Olive Festival Poster Contest have been chosen.

A private judging by local professional artists was held at the Main Street Gallery in Lakeport on Tuesday to determine the winners of the Kelseyville Olive Festival Poster Contest.

The all-ages contest brought in 33 entries which were judged for their originality, creativity, depiction of the theme and execution of art.

Steven Sprague's entry from Mr. Mac's Third Grade Class at Kelseyville Elementary School was chosen as the winner for the child age group, and Pat Courtney's entry was chosen as the winning adult entry and as the grand prize winner, which will be used as next year's olive festival poster.

Both winners will receive a cash prize along with art supplies donated by Mendo-Lake Office Products and a gift certificate to LuLu's Ice Cream and Desserts in Kelseyville.

Selected entries and the winning posters will be on display at the Kelseyville Olive Festival, Sunday March 21, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Kelseyville Olive Mill, 5625 Gaddy Lane in Kelseyville, across from the Post Office.

Kelseyville Elementary third grader Steven Sprague was chosen as the winner of the Kelseyville Olive Festival Post Contest's child age group. Courtesy photo.

Second through third graders at Konocti Christian Academy show off their Pi Day awards. Courtesy photo.

“What is Pi Day?” you ask. Pi Day is a celebration of the number Pi. For those who don’t remember back to their Geometry classes long ago – p is the representation of the irrational, transcendental number that is the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle. Super computers have figured the number of pi into the trillions, but most folks simply remember 3.14.

The first known celebration of Pi Day was held at the San Francisco Exploratorium on March 14, 1988. This year was their 22nd consecutive celebration and now Pi Day is celebrated all around (Get it? ‘ROUND) the world. Here in Lake County, Konocti Christian Academy (KCA) has just celebrated its 3rd Annual Pi Day.

Students up through seventh and eighth grade took part. Courtesy photo.

How does one celebrate Pi Day? As you might guess, there are frequently pies involved. In the case of KCA the students vote all week on the teacher they would most like to see “pied.” The student who recited the most digits of pi had the honor of throwing a pie in the teacher’s face.

This year’s winner, with a total recitation of 126 digits of pi, was Nick Rein. Who was the lucky teacher? The students chose the after school enrichment teacher Mrs. Gomes.

Other aspects of the celebration included singing songs of Pi, and one enterprising student, Andy Scott, even wrote an original song “Thinking About Pi.” There was a competition for those who dressed the nerdiest and a competition for those who could make the best presentation of Pi (this ranged from Bible verses including the number Pi to historical trivia about pi and even some free verse).

Without further ado, we are now pleased to announce the 2010 Pi Day Winners:

For Accurately Reciting the Most Digits of Pi

Kindergarten through first grade:

First place, Bella Schlange (8 digits)

Grades second through third:

First place, Anna DelBosco (62 digits)

Second place, Tyler Vanderwall (24 digits)

Third place, Zachary Kimbell-Auth and Autumn Hampton (tie, 15 digits)

Grades fourth through sixth:

First place, Nick Rein (126 digits)

Second place, Cameron Borg (49 digits)

Third place, Jon Vanderwall (36 digits)

Grades seventh through eighth:

First place, Christopher Vincent (59 digits)

Second place, Kimber Bridges (24 digits)

Third place, John Meek (11 digits)

For dressing the math-nerdiest

Kindergarten through first grade:

First place, Bella Schlange

Grades second through third:

First place, Parker Noonster

Grades fourth through sixth:

First place, Nick Rein

Grades seventh through eighth:

First place, Christopher Vincent

For the Most creative presentation of Pi (In song, verse, lesson, use etc …)

Kindergarten through first grade:

First place: Five students received first place together – Allison, Bella, Benjamin, Lilla & Luke

Grades second through third:

First place, Jason Beorgerson

Grades fourth through sixth:

First place, Andy Scott

Grades seventh through eighth:

First place, Claire Plante

In honor of this year’s overall winner, Nick Rein, who successfully recited 126 digits of pi, we close with this thought:

3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592307816406286208998628034825342117067982148086513282306647093844.

Student Bella Schlange shows off her nerdy best for the Pi Day celebration. Courtesy photo.

KELSEYVILLE – A fundraiser breakfast will be held to benefit the family of Sgt. 1st Class David Hartman on Sunday, March 21.

The breakfast, sponsored by Operation Tango Mike and the Military Funeral Honors Team, will be held at the Kelseyville Lions Club, at 4335 Sylar Lane in Kelseyville, 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Hartman was killed in action in Pakistan in February.

The fundraiser will help cover his family's travel expenses to Arlington National Cemetery, where he will be buried April 7.

The suggested donation is $6.

Pictured are Cheri Cunningham, far left, and Kelly Thorn in the foreground at the Blood Bank of the Redwoods' blood drive at Umpqua Bank in Lakeport, Calif., on Tuesday, March 9, 2010. Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT – On March 9, Umpqua Bank in Lakeport hosted a blood drive in honor of Karen Nelson’s battle against cancer.

Blood Bank of the Redwoods utilized rooms made available to them by the bank to facilitate the drive.

The Blood Bank needed 25 donors to make their trip cost efficient, but the community overwhelmed them with 55 donors in all.

A special thanks to Lynn Brookes for coordinating the drive, John Norcio at McDonald's in Lakeport for supplying the cookies for the donors, Elva Hohn for acting as hostess during the event, and of course all of the donors.

Once again, the giving spirit is very evident in Lake County!