The Landfill and the Public Services office will reopen on Friday, Nov. 12.

Normal operating hours at the landfill are 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

The Public Services office is normally open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information regarding this subject or any of the solid waste issues in Lake County, please call 707-262-1760.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Calpine Cartwright Geothermal Visitors Center, 15500 Central Park Road.

Agenda items will include MATH goals for 2010, a followup to the Caltrans meeting on the Highway 29/175 resurfacing project; establishment of a MATH Redevelopment Committee; youth activities; instituting board member performance reviews; and mural and facade projects.

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

A municipal advisory council, MATH serves the residents of Anderson Springs, Cobb, Coyote Valley (includes HVL), Long Valley and Middletown.

Spirit of the Season services those who live in the Middletown, Hidden Valley Lake, Cobb, Anderson Springs or Jerusalem Grade areas.

Anyone who finds they are in need of a Christmas dinner and a gift for their child if needed is asked to come to the offices of Catholic Charities at 21257 Calistoga St., Middletown, between the library and the car wash on Highway 29.

Clients must present proof of residence – a utility bill or current ID will suffice – as well as proof of income at the time of registration.

Those who are coming for the first time and have children under 18 are asked to bring birth certificates or school records.

Already food drives are under way and wish trees will soon be going up around town soon. Catholic Charities appreciates that the community always comes together to provide for those in need in the Middletown, Cobb and Hidden Valley Lake areas.

Last year they served some 550 people and they expect their numbers to be slightly higher this year.

Should you wish to make a donation to Spirit of the Season, which is tax-deductible, make your check payable to SOS, P. O. Box 1468, Middletown, CA 95461.

Please direct any questions to Hedy Montoya at 707-987-8139.

The dinner will take place at the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, 3985 Country Club Drive.

The doors will open at 12:30 p.m. and the food will be served at 1:30 p.m.

A full course turkey dinner will cost for members $12, guests $14 and children 12 years and younger $5.

Guests who join the society at the door become instant members and will pay the lower price for dinner. It’s a good deal; $15 a year and they get three Pomo Bulletins and all other privileges.

The program will cover the “History of the Lucerne Castle.”

They will also have nominations of officers for the 2011-12 term.

Come and enjoy a great dinner, meet and greet other historical society members. Bring your neighbors and friends.

Seating is limited and reservations will be needed to make sure the center has enough food.

For reservations or questions please call Phil Smoley, president, at 707-264-4905.

The Lake County Historical Society is extraordinary among county historical societies; it has grown to be the largest such group in the county.

The society collects, restores and preserves the artifacts and historic documents of Lake County.

The mission is to encourage research and foster education regarding the county's cultural history. For that reason, they keep their fees and costs as low as possible.

The Thanksgiving dinner is always extremely popular and, especially since the county has recently purchased and is renovating the Lucerne Castle, this topic is also likely to be very popular.

They never want to turn anyone away. Accordingly, please get your reservations in as early as possible so they can properly prepare.

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

LAKE COUNTY

Highway 20

– AT&T of Ukiah has been granted a Caltrans Encroachment Permit for an aerial crossing 0.2 mile east of Reclamation Cutoff beginning Wednesday, Nov. 10. Work hours are 9 a.m. to noon, weekdays. Intermittent full road closures will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

MENDOCINO COUNTY

Highway 1

– Replacement of signal heads from the junction of Routes 1/20 to Manzanita Street will continue. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 5-minute delays. Contractor – Republic ITS of Novato.

Highway 20

– Culvert repairs from Two Rock Lookout to the Broaddus Creek Bridge 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 – Bud Garman Construction of Willits.

Highway 101

– A metal beam guardrail repair project at various locations from 0.1 mile north of the Mendocino/ Sonoma County to the Forsyth Creek Bridge will continue. Work hours are 5 p.m. Sunday evening through 7 a.m. Friday, 24 hours per day. The southbound offramp to Route 222 (Talmage Road Exit 548A) will be intermittently closed from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., Sunday evening through Friday morning. Motorists will be advised to use an alternate route and may experience minor delays. Contractor – Wahlund Construction of Eureka.

– A pavement repair project from the junction of Route 20/101 to Uva Drive will continue. Work hours are 8 p.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday evening through Friday afternoon. Northbound traffic will be restricted to one lane. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns. Northbound ramps at West Road (Exit 557) will be intermittently closed. Motorists will be advised to use an alternate route and may experience minor delays. Contractor – Granite Construction Inc. of Ukiah.

– A metal beam guardrail repair project at various locations from the Forsyth Creek Bridge. In four-lane sections work hours are 24 hours per day from 5 p.m. Sunday evening through 7 a.m. Friday. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction of travel, and motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns. In two-lane sections nighttime work hours are 5 p.m. to 7 a.m., Sunday evening through Friday morning. One-way traffic control will be in effect, and motorists should anticipate

10-minute delays. Contractor – Wahlund Construction of Eureka.

– Caltrans will perform pavement repairs from Commercial Street to Wood Street on Saturday, Nov. 6. Work hours are 7 a.m. to noon. Southbound traffic will be diverted to the center left turn lane. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns.

– AT&T of Sacramento has been granted a Caltrans Encroachment Permit for utility repairs 0.5 mile north of the southern Long Valley Creek Bridge on Thursday, Nov. 11. Work hours are 9 a.m. to noon. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction of travel. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns.

– Installation of rumble strips from 0.5 mile south of Bell Springs Road to 0.6 miles south of Hermitage Vista Point will continue. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., weekdays. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction of travel. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns. Contractor – Apply-A-Line, Incorporated, of Anderson.

– A metal beam guardrail repair project at various locations from the Rock reek Bridge to the Bridges Creek Bridge will continue. In four-lane sections work hours are 24 hours per day from 5 p.m. Sunday through 7 a.m. Friday. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction of travel, and motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns. In two-lane sections nighttime work hours are 5 p.m. to 7 a.m., Sunday evening through Friday morning. One-way traffic control will be in effect, and motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays. Contractor – Wahlund Construction of Eureka.

Highway 222

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

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).

In one of my previous articles I mentioned “if you like Lefse you must be Norwegian.” We all like fish but do you like Lutefisk? Better yet, do you even know what it is or how it tastes? If you know then you must be of Scandinavian heritage.

Lutefisk is caught off the shores of Norway, dried into hard slabs and then soaked later in water and lye.

Its pungent odor wafts from church basements and lodges at annual dinners during the winter months. Scandinavian Americans can hardly wait to take a bite of this time-honored tradition. We all want to hold onto a bit of our Scandinavian heritage and Lutefisk is a big part of that.

At our dinner, and in true Norwegian style, lefse, a thin potato flat bread, will be served along with parsleyed red potatoes, cucumber salad, riskrem (rice pudding) and krumkaker.

For those who do not want to try a nibble of the Lutefisk there will be delicious meatballs rolled especially for this event. Wine will also be available for purchase.

Lutefisk translates to “lye-fish.” For many years it has been a source of amusement and laughter, mainly for those who grew up holding their nose while they took a bite because of the disdainful aroma and occasionally overcooked fish.

As time went on and better cooking methods developed a newer process for making this fish was born. Basically it diminished the odor and along with a careful preparation it removed the clear Jell-O like quality for which the fish is known.

Vikings of Lake Lodge is over 100 members strong and growing. The organization uses “Heritage & Culture” nights to keep the group strong and educated to their heritage. We have guest speakers, videos, crafts, Norwegian language lessons and down home traditional meals.

Many of our events are fundraisers geared toward education. Every year we supply underprivileged Lake County students with book bags. We also send members children and grandchildren to a language and heritage camp for two weeks in July where they are taught about their heritage. Cooking, arts and crafts, and dancing are among just a few topics they learn.

Our members also travel to local schools where they present their “America Chest” program which tells about the immigrants from Scandinavia in the 1800s.

Vikings of Lake would like to thank Six Sigma Winery of Lower Lake and Langtry Estates & Vineyards of Middletown for their generous donation of the wine for the dinner.

Reservations are required to attend this dinner. The cost is $15 per adult and $6 for children under 12 years of age.

The dinner will take place at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 14310 Memory Park Lane (cross street is Olympic Drive) in Clearlake.

Please call Carl Ingvoldstad at 707-987-2404 for reservations by Nov. 8.

For additional information or if you are interested in joining the Sons of Norway please call Vale at 707-928-1060 or Joyce at 707-998-3583.

Vale Hanzel is vice president of the Sons of Norway Vikings of Lake Lodge.