CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Sunday, Feb. 17, enjoy the “best breakfast in Lake County,” served up by the Clear Lake/Callayomi Masonic Lodge No. 183, Free and Accepted Masons.

The lodge serves a full, sit-down breakfast at the Masonic Center, located at 7100 S. Center Drive in Clearlake.

Breakfast is served from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Choose your breakfast from a large menu including, eggs (any style), omelets, hash browns, biscuits and gravy, hot cakes, breakfast meat, toast, juice and coffee.

Cost is $8 for adults, $4 for children ages 6-12. Children under 6 may eat for free and are served a special “kids” breakfast.

If you, or someone you know, would like to join the Masonic Lodge or learn more about Freemasonry, please call Lodge Ambassador Don Auradou at 707-998-4720 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – An AARP Driver Safety refresher class is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, Feb. 19.

The course will be held from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Lakeport Senior Activity Center, 527 Konocti Ave.

This four-hour refresher course is for those people who have previously taken the eight hour course, within the last three years, to get the automobile insurance discount.

Check with your insurance company – some companies start offering this discount at 50 years of age.

This course must be repeated every three years to continue your insurance discount.

The cost is $12 for AARP members and $14 for non-members. Please be sure to have your AARP member number with you.

Instructors are trained volunteers. Class size is limited to 20 individuals on a first come, first served basis.

To reserve a place in the class call the Lakeport Senior Center at 707-263-4218.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Konocti Phoenix Sea Scout Ship 711 will hold a Bridge of Honor Landship Ceremony at the Kelseyville American Legion Hall on Saturday, Feb. 23.

The event will take place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the hall, located at 5005 Second St.

A landship ceremony is a nautical tradition in which Sea Scouts are formally awarded their rank advancements.

Ship 711 conducts a ceremony once a year to recognize Sea Scouts who have worked hard to learn, improve, as well as instruct fellow crew members on seamanship skills such as navigation, marine communications, vessel safety, knots and splices, boat operations and handling.

Ship 711’s fleet currently includes a retired 40-foot U.S. Navy Liberty Launch boat built in 1964 which was used to transport up to 70 crew members from ship to shore.

In addition, Sea Scouts learn to operate and maintain a 26-foot MacGregor, a 23-foot Ranger and four 14-foot Lido training sailboats. These vessels were donated to the Konocti Phoenix since its formation in 1995 (at the time, known as the “Polaris”).

Sea Scouting was founded in 1912, and is a Boy Scouts of America Venturing  program for young men and women between the ages of 13-21.

The program teaches young adults to develop competence and confidence on any body of water, teamwork, discipline, and leadership.

The crew of the Konocti Phoenix fund their program by repairing for resale or salvaging donated boats, through fundraisers and the financial support of sponsors.

For more information on sponsorship, activities or programs, please contact Skipper Bob Penny at 707-263-5235 or visit http://ship711.wordpress.com .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With Valentine’s Day festivities taking place this week, many customers will celebrate with helium-filled metallic balloons.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) urges customers to think safety first and securely tie a weight to all metallic balloons containing helium to prevent them from floating away.

Metallic balloons that contact overhead power lines can disrupt electric service to an entire neighborhood, cause significant property damage and potentially result in serious personal injuries.

Last year, metallic balloons that drifted into PG&E power lines caused nearly 290 outages, affecting electric service to more than 134,000 homes and businesses throughout Northern and Central California.

Sometimes these outages interrupt electric service to important facilities such as hospitals, schools and traffic lights.

A video and photos detailing the damage that can result from metallic balloons coming into contact with power lines can be found on PG&E’s Currents Web site.

The number of power outages caused by metallic balloons in PG&E’s service area has more than doubled over the past decade.

In order to significantly reduce this number and to help ensure that everyone can safely enjoy their Valentine’s Day, PG&E reminds customers to follow these important safety tips for metallic balloons:

• “Look Up and Live!” Use caution and avoid celebrating with metallic balloons near overhead electric lines.
• Make sure helium-filled metallic balloons are securely tied to a weight that is heavy enough to prevent them from floating away. Never remove the weight.
• When possible, keep metallic balloons indoors, especially if accessible to small children. Never permit metallic balloons to be released outside, for everyone’s safety.
• Do not bundle metallic balloons together.
• Never attempt to retrieve any type of balloon, kite or toy that becomes caught in a power line. Leave it alone, and immediately call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000 to report the problem.
• Never go near a power line that has fallen to the ground or is dangling in the air. Always assume downed electric lines are energized and extremely dangerous. Stay far away, keep others away and immediately call 911 to alert the police and fire departments.

HOPLAND, Calif. – Cal Fire's Mendocino Unit will conduct a vegetation management control burn on Thursday, Feb. 14, and Friday, Feb. 15.

The burn, on privately owned land, will begin at 10 a.m. in the Pieta Creek watershed in the southeastern portion of Mendocino County.

The prescribed burning conducted under this vegetation management program project will be done to meet a specific objective and conducted under specific climatic conditions to ensure control and minimize air quality and biological impacts.

These conditions will mimic conditions under which natural wildfires occur to maximize the positive effects of fire on vegetation.

The primary goal of this prescribed burn is to reintroduce fire as a natural element of the ecosystem.  A second goal is to improve wildlife habitat by inducing new shoots from sprouting species to increase forage production, with islands of unburned fuel left within burn units to provide shelter for small mammals.

A third goal is to reduce overall fuel loading to decrease the chance of catastrophic wildfires in the future.

Historically, chaparral fuel beds experience fire every 15 to 20 years. Portions of the project site have not seen fire for over 25 years, allowing fuels to reach maximum volume. This has greatly reduced the ability of wildlife to move through the area and has reduced the flow of waters from creeks and springs.

This project burn will be conducted under strictly controlled weather and fuel conditions.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – In December and January, IGA Foods Etc. ran a “round up your change” cash register fundraiser to help St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake raise money for its new emergency department.

On Monday, store manager Lamont Kucer presented Lee Loban of St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake with a check for $1,192.82.

For raising the most money in cash register donations, Ally Streckfuss received a paid day off from Foods Etc., and from St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake's development office, she will get a commemorative brick – to be given an inscription of her choosing – installed near the new emergency department.

In second and third place for amount of donations raised were Charlotte Lee and Jane Cook, respectively.

For information on how to donate to the new emergency department or purchase a legacy brick, please call the St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake Development office at 707-995-5678.