MIDDLETOWN – The Middletown Area Town Hall (MATH) Board of Directors will hold a special meeting on Thursday, Sept. 25.

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at Loconoma Valley High School on Washington Street.

The public is encouraged to attend.

On the agenda is planning and preparing for MATH Board elections.

MATH meetings are subject to videotaping. Meeting proceedings may be available for viewing on public access television and/or the Internet.

The group is a municipal advisory council serving the residents of Anderson Springs, Cobb, Coyote Valley – including Hidden Valley Lake – Long Valley and Middletown.

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Come to Habitat for Humanity's Sept. 27 yard sale for good deals and a chance to learn how to volunteer. Courtesy photo.

CLEARLAKE PARK – Habitat for Humanity of Lake County will host a yard sale and volunteer open house on Saturday, Sept. 27.

The event takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 3418 14th St. in Clearlake Park (on the corner of Country Club and 14th Street).

Need building or home supplies? Come get them at deeply discounted rates with all proceeds going to build homes for Lake County families.

Also, come learn of how to apply for a home or how to volunteer in our office or at the job site. Call 994-1100 with any questions.

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“Street Skills” representatives held an event at Eureka High School this week, during which laptops were available for teens to go to www.slowfortheconezone.com to watch safety videos, take a quiz and enter a sweepstakes. On-campus activities will take place at more than 40 high schools through Nov. 8 to alert teens about safe driving.

New drivers will have a chance to win their own 2009 Toyota Scion XB (donated by Clear Channel and upgraded with tires, wheels and a high-end sound system) and $1,000, which may be used toward auto insurance (donated by campaign partner AAA). No state dollars are being used for the sweepstakes. The grand prize winner will be awarded these prizes at a press conference in December. AAA will also award roadside assistance memberships to 20 lucky runners-up.

Caltrans has taken increasingly innovative approaches this year to reach teens and young adult drivers. Earlier this summer, it launched Slow Mo Films, an online entertainment community. Ultimately, Caltrans wants to remind teen drivers to drive safely in cone zones: slow down, watch for sudden stops or other drivers merging at the last minute and avoid distractions such as text messaging, eating or changing the radio station.

Caltrans has sent educational materials to approximately 320 public high school drivers’ education teachers in California and 600 private driving schools. Kits include safety materials from other partners as well, including CHP, Office of Traffic Safety, MADD, DMV and AAA.

Funding for the “Slow for the Cone Zone” public education program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

For more information or to enter the New Driver Sweepstakes, please visit www.slowfortheconezone.com.

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Dr. Harry Lyons, professor of biology and ecology at the Clear Lake Campus of Yuba College, will give a presentation titled “The Language of Oaks,” centered on the natural history of four oak species found in Lake County with short descriptions of six other species also found here, and cursory mention of 10 more species found elsewhere in California.

Dr. Lyons also promises “short asides on names people call oaks and why they call them anything at all. A description of the roles humans expect oaks to play in making the new, hot, crowded century more livable. Expect, at the beginning, an explanation on why other trees are not oaks and, at the end, a burst of appropriate music.”

His unique presentations are always notable for both sound science and a high level of entertainment value; those who have not yet had this experience have an unexpected pleasure before them.

The meeting is free and open to the public; for more information contact Victoria Brandon at 994-1931 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Clearlake Oaks Community United Methodist Church will host a ballot measure workshop from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5.

Once again Californians will face a number of ballot measures in November. For the past several years Jericho (www.jerichoforjustice.org) has been facilitating workshops to go beyond the 30-second sound bite ads and brief descriptions in the sample ballots.

Sister Marti McCarthy, Jericho director and lobbyist in Sacramento, will give background on the various issues and surface major contributors on each side.

Workshop participants will have time to discuss the ballot measures so that the pros and cons are apparent.

Clearlake Oaks Community United Methodist Church is located at 12487 The Plaza, behind the Red and White Market.

For more information call 998-9435.

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The car seat safety check will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Kathy Fowler Chevrolet-Pontiac, 1175 Parallel Drive, Lakeport.

Event sponsors include the California Highway Patrol, Lake County Office of Education, Cal Fire, South Lake County Fire Protection District and Sutter Lakeside Hospital.

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