SAN FRANCISCO – As temperatures begin to drop, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) urges customers to be mindful of the dangers associated with carbon monoxide. Several tragic cases of carbon monoxide poisoning take place each year during the winter months as people try to stay warm.

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, tasteless and odorless gas that is created by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and wood. If unsafe concentrations of carbon monoxide are not detected, the result can be fatal.

Customers should never use generators, charcoal or barbecue grills inside the home. When using the fireplace to stay warm, make sure the flue is open, so the byproducts of combustion can vent safely through the chimney.

Many customers in PG&E’s service area use natural gas furnaces to stay warm. PG&E reminds customers to make sure all natural gas furnaces and appliances inside the home are in proper working order.

Natural gas appliances that do not burn properly can produce carbon monoxide. Customers should inspect the flame on all gas appliances. A blue flame indicates complete combustion and the appliance is working properly. A lazy, yellow or white flame is a warning sign that the appliance is not burning properly and could be producing carbon monoxide.

If customers suspect there is a problem with a natural gas appliance inside their home, they should call PG&E immediately at 1-800-PGE-5000. A gas service representative will be dispatched to do a thorough inspection.

Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include headaches, drowsiness, dizziness, nausea and convulsions. Because carbon monoxide is hard to detect, someone with mild poisoning can go to sleep and continue to breathe the carbon monoxide until severe illness or death occurs. People may also mistake their symptoms for a viral infection like the flu.

To help prevent cases of carbon monoxide poisoning, PG&E offers the following tips to keep customers healthy and safe:

• Install a carbon monoxide detector to warn you if concentrations become dangerously high. As of July 2011, all California single-family homes are required by law to have one. Place it near sleeping areas, where they can wake you.

• When using the fireplace, make sure the flue is open, and the chimney is venting properly.

• Do not idle cars inside the garage and do not allow snow to block tailpipe emissions when operating a vehicle outdoors.

• Make sure water heaters and other natural gas appliances have proper ventilation. Older appliances and room heaters that are not vented externally should be inspected annually.

• Have a trained professional inspect furnaces and other gas appliances. To schedule an inspection with PG&E, customers can call 1-800-PGE-5000 or visit our Web site at www.pge.com.

• Never use generators, propane heaters, barbecues or charcoal indoors.

• Ensure that generators are properly installed and operated outdoors. For more generator safety tips, please visit www.pge.com/generator/.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Redwood Children’s Services TAY Drop-in Center will have a holiday party from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 16.

The party is open to all teens and young adults, ages 15-24.

There will be food, music, holiday activities and gifts.

The center is located at 14130 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake in the Old Firehouse building.

For more information, contact Rachel at 707-994-5486.

Breakfast will be served from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 11.

Pictures with Santa are available for just $10.

Breakfast includes sausage, eggs, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, juice and coffee for $6.

Tickets are available at the door or can be purchased at the Kelseyville Elementary School office from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

Please call 707-279-4232 for more information.

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

LAKE COUNTY

Highway 20

– Metal be a.m. guardrail repair from 1.2 to 0.9 miles west of Gravel Plant Road will resume Monday, Dec. 12. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays. Contractor – Stewart Dirt and Aggregate of Fairfield.

Highway 29

– AT&T of Ukiah has been issued a Caltrans Encroachment permit for utility repairs near Diener Drive beginning Monday, Dec. 12. Work hours are 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

– Fence repair from Bottle Rock Road to Thomas Drive will continue through Friday, Dec. 9. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor – V A P Construction Inc. of La Miranda.

– Caltrans will perform routine maintenance from 0.4 mile north of the Hill Creek Bridge to 0.4 mile north of Argonaut Road on Friday, Dec. 9. Work hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.

Highway 53

– Highway widening from 40th Avenue to the junction of Routes 20/53 will continue. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays. Contractor – Sierra Equipment Rental of Glenn.

Highway 175

– A pavement repair project from the Lake/Mendocino County line to the junction of Routes 29/175 in Middletown will continue. Work hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 15-minute delays. Contractor – Granite Construction of Ukiah.

MENDOCINO COUNTY

Highway 101

– A pavement repair project from the Robinson Overcrossing to West Road will continue. Work hours are 5 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekdays. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction of travel. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns. Contractor – Granite Construction Inc. of Ukiah.

– Frank R Howard Memorial Hospital of Willits has been issued a Caltrans Encroachment permit for utility work near Walnut Street through Friday, Dec. 9. Work hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekdays. Southbound traffic will be restricted to one lane. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns.

– Construction of retaining walls from Bell Springs Road to 0.7 mile south of the Cummins Road Undercrossing will continue. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction of travel 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns. Contractor – J F Shea Construction, Incorporated, of Redding.

– Caltrans will perform routine maintenance from Confusion Hill to the Humboldt/Mendocino County line. Work hours are 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., weekdays. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction of travel. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns.

Highway 222

– Replacement of the Russian River Bridge will continue. One-way traffic control with a temporary signal will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week through Monday, Dec. 12. Beginning Tuesday, Dec. 13, intermittent one-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Motorists should anticipate 15-minute delays during work hours and five-minute delays at other times. Contractor – CC Myers of Rancho Cordova.

Highway 271

– Caltrans will perform routine maintenance from Confusion Hill to the Humboldt/Mendocino County line. Work hours are 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

Work on all these projects is weather permitting and subject to change. Caltrans advises motorists to drive with caution when approaching work areas and to be prepared to stop at traffic control stations.

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).

Each week for the past two months, Occupy Lake County has held an “occupy” event on Saturdays, moving between three locations: Lakeport, Clearlake and Upper Lake.

Though no single event has had more than 50 to 60 people present at any one time, new people turn up at each gathering.

Shirley Howland of Clearlake, who organized the first Occupy Lake County in October, estimates that approximately 100 to 150 different Lake County residents have participated so far. The mailing list for Occupy Lake County is already several hundred strong.

Now that “permanent” OWS camps are being closed from coast to coast, OWS supporters across the nation are progressing to next steps.

Occupy Lake County held its first General Assembly on Saturday, Dec. 3, in Clearlake.

Earlier that day, approximately one dozen OWS supporters spent two hours holding up signs and exchanging smiles, waves and “thumbs up” with Clearlake residents outside the Walmart and Ray's parking lots on Dam Road. Then the group moved to Austin Park for its first general assembly meeting.

In attendance were residents of Clearlake, Lower Lake, Upper Lake, Lakeport, Nice and Kelseyville.

The group shared ideas, discussed the issues behind OWS, and debated proposed solutions which are emerging across the country via other OWS-inspired general assemblies.

A quote from the movement was shared: “WE are the people we've been waiting for.” All present agreed this captured the spirit that motivates them to be involved.

The group also agreed that education and raising public awareness should be a top priority, as well as finding ways to serve the community.

Many Occupy Lake County participants are already busy volunteering in a variety of local work groups, service clubs, churches or volunteer efforts. But as Shirley Howland observed, “If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it!”

Tim Williams of Clearlake is leading local efforts to raise awareness and support for a constitutional amendment to end corporate personhood. The history behind the need for such an amendment can be found at www.occupylakecounty.org. Williams can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

“OWS has already had dramatic impact on the political dialogue in the USA,” said Howland. “Thanks to OWS, people are now discussing income inequality, the plunging economics of the middle and working class, the sky-rocketing profits enjoyed by corporations, the low or non-existent taxes paid by those same corporations, and the rigged financial game. Just by changing the dialogue, OWS has made a difference.”

Inspired by the famous “Bat Signal” slideshow that was projected onto a tall building while 15,000 OWS supporters marched beneath it last month, the Lake County group unanimously adopted a slogan for Occupy Lake County: “A Better World Is Possible.”

The next Lake County occupy event will be on Saturday, Dec. 10, from noon to 2 p.m. in Upper Lake, where Main Street and Highway 20 meet. A general assembly will be held immediately afterward.

To learn more, visit www.occupylakecounty.org .

From left, Ben Oude Kamphuis, director of Project Insight, and Wil Guillermo Gonzalez Jr., president of the Ukiah Garden Club, during a field trip to San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, November 3, 2011. Photo by Debbie Clarke.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – The Ukiah and North Lake (Nice) garden clubs went on a field trip to San Francisco on Thursday, Nov. 3.

The trip was taken on a scenic tour bus and enjoyed by lifelong learners young and old, including home school students.

The Mendo-Lake Garden District has programs for youth as well as members, wanting to learn the art of gardening.

The tour included three botanical locations in the city. The adults walked the grounds during the trip, learning about plants. while the young students enjoyed activities provided by the tour guides.

The first stop was Project Insight, a green house art studio program for hearing and visually impaired clients. The tour guide was Ben Oude Kamphuis, a native of Holland who started the program.

He shared the wonderful site that is nestled in the San Francisco Parks and Recreation Nursery. The building was used before to house plants during reconstruction projects.

Oude talked the city into letting him use it to house his program, which provides a place for special needs clients to spend the day doing art, gardening and cooking. He provided a snack of freshly made greens and potatoes from the garden.

The next stop was at the recently remodeled Conservatory of Flowers then on to the Botanical Gardens.

Although it rained most of the day, the beautiful flowers and exotic plants were worth the trip. Both garden clubs are known for planting trees in their communities.

If you have an area that needs a tree or want to join the club, call Kim Marsh at 707-274-8775.

The club's next meeting will be a holiday potluck buffet, on Saturday, Dec. 17, at 5:30 p.m., hosted by Mary and David Broaddus at Lorraine Village Club House, 5890 East Highway 20, Lucerne. Turkey or mam will be provided but bring a dish to share and gift for an exchange.

You can check other activities coming up, on the Facebook page at North Lake Garden Club.

The club is a member of California Garden Clubs,Inc, National Garden Clubs Inc. and Mendo-Lake District, with meetings usually held on the fourth Tuesday September through May.