LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Nominations for the 2012 Stars of Lake County are now open.

The 2012 nomination form is available at www.lakecochamber.com or by contacting the Lake County Chamber of Commerce at 707-263-5092.

Copies also are available at the chamber office at 875 Lakeport Blvd., Lakeport at Vista Point. The form also is posted below.

This year Stars will be held at the beautiful, spacious campus of PSI Seminars in High Valley above Clearlake Oaks on Sunday, May 6.

It is an event to honor all nominees for their contributions to Lake County.

After a delicious dinner, each recipient will be escorted to the stage after their name is announced, while their nomination is read by the category sponsor.

They are then presented with a Star Award trophy, made by the same company that makes the Academy Awards.

Congressman Mike Thompson presents the recipients with a certificate from his office and they are then escorted back to their seats.

It truly is an exciting evening for all those involved and would not be possible without the support of many businesses throughout the county.  

The selection committee charged with making the decisions is comprised of individuals from every part of the county, who receive copies of each nomination before meeting to choose the recipients in each category. Once they come together, each nominee is reviewed and then a secret ballot is cast.

The Stars of Lake County program was initiated in 1998 by Judi Pollace, past president of the Lakeport Regional Chamber of Commerce (now the Lake County Chamber).

The program was originally co-sponsored by Lake County Publishing and Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa, for the first 12 years.

The Lake County Chamber Board of Directors embraced the idea of providing recognition for the hardworking volunteers, businesses and organizations that do so much for Lake County.

The Stars of Lake County Community Awards are the result and it is the only recognition program of its kind in Lake County.

During the first 14 years, more than 1,500 individuals, businesses and organizations have been acknowledged by community nominations for their efforts to improve the quality of life in the community of Lake County.

The nominations are reviewed by the chamber staff and if it is determined that additional information would be helpful for the final decisions on making the award, the person writing the nomination is contacted for that information.

The program averages more than 100 nominations each year from throughout Lake County.

For more information on the Stars Community Awards program, please contact chamber Chief Executive Officer Melissa Fulton at 707-263-5092.

Stars Awards Nomination Form

LUCERNE, Calif. – The North Lake Garden Club will meet on Tuesday, Feb. 28.

The club meets at Lucerne Community Church on the fourth Tuesday of the month, September through May, as well as June and December when they have potluck dates yet to be announced.

The group will start at 6:30 p.m. with sharing plants and refreshments. The gardening workshop will follow.

If you are interested in joining, please come.

You can check other activities coming up on the club's Facebook page at North Lake Garden Club, www.facebook.com/pages/North-Lake-Garden-Club/191216670901307.

The club is a member of California Garden Clubs Inc., National Garden Clubs Inc. and Mendo-Lake District.

If you have a public place where a tree should be planted or need more information about our garden club, please call President Kimberly Marsh at 707-274-8775.

NICE, Calif. – The Sons of Italy club will hold its next spaghetti feed on Sunday, Feb. 5.

The community is welcome to the dinner, which will take place from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the clubhouse, 2817 Highway 20 in Nice.

Come and enjoy homemade Italian sauce, garlic bread and salad. Sausages and meatballs sandwiches are available, too.

The bar will be open for socializing.

Sons of Italy hosts the spaghetti feeds on the first Sunday of the month.

For more information about the event or renting the hall call 274-9952.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Sacramento will be conducting online Weather Spotter Training on Thursday, Feb. 2, Groundhog Day.

This training will enable interested adults to be become volunteers for Project SKYWARN, which helps keep local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service.

The training is free and will take place between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. by online webinar through www.gotomeeting.com.

Residents of Lake County are encouraged to attend, as the agency is looking for more weather spotters in the area.

If you or know someone you know would like to learn how to be a National Weather Service Weather Spotter, please join them online Thursday.

If you are already a weather spotter and would like some additional training, you are also welcome to attend.

To register, visit https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/405783081.

Storm spotters play a valuable role in the severe weather warning process.

The National Weather Service relies on visual observations from spotters to provide critical information that would otherwise not be available to forecasters.

Spotter reports are combined with data from Doppler radar and satellite pictures to provide a complete understanding of severe storms and their impact on the public. 

The training will begin with a review of severe weather safety tips and severe weather operations at the National Weather Service.

Basic storm spotter training will include visual indicators of strong winds, hail, tornadoes, lightning, fire weather, flooding and thunderstorm formation.

They will discuss how your reports are used in the weather warning process and identify some critical elements we need to know.

The presentation will also discuss the forecast process and how you can help the NWS to issue the best possible warnings to protect the public from severe weather. 

This training will help attendees learn about the severe weather that we experience in the area.  The development of storms will be discussed, along with visual clues which may indicate that the weather is about to turn severe.

They also will go over safety tips to allow citizens to be well-prepared for the occurrence of storms.

Communication of weather reports to the National Weather Service will be explained.  Your spotter reports will help your community be better prepared when severe weather occurs.

Spotter guides, cloud charts and severe weather pamphlets will be provided to potential new weather spotters.

Applications will be made available to become a volunteer weather spotter. Once they receive your application at the National Weather Service, you will be assigned a spotter number and we will send you an information packet.

There will also be an opportunity to discuss and join CoCoRaHS (Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network).

CoCoRaHS is a unique, nonprofit, community-based network of volunteers of all ages and backgrounds working together to measure and map precipitation (rain, hail and snow) across the U.S.

For more information, contact Eric Kurth at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 916-979-3051.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Highland Springs Trails Volunteers are planning a work day on Saturday, Feb. 4.

Group members will meet at 9 a.m. at the Highland Springs Dam parking area.

They may be on foot or horseback, depending on weather.

All volunteers must bring and pack in their own gear.

RSVP to Highland Springs Trails Volunteers by sending a message or leaving a comment on the Highland Springs Trails Volunteers Facebook page or by contacting Karen Sullivan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 707-349-1559; or Kim Riley, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (this is a new email address), 707-245-7468 or 707-279-0343.

LUCERNE, Calif. – The Lake County Democratic Club will meet on Saturday, Feb. 4, in the Rose Room at the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center.

The center is located at 3985 Country Club Drive, at the corner of 10th and Country Club Drive, in Lucerne.

The new officers elected for the 2012 term are: Wanda Harris, Hidden Valley Lake, chair; Louis Rigod, Nice, vice chair; Paula Mune, Lakeport, secretary; James Evans, Clerlake Oaks, treasurer; John Sheehy Nice, assistant treasurer; Adckinjo Esutoki, Kelseyville, parliamentarian; Carlene Leskar, Clearlake Oaks, voter registration; Johnnie and Wil Flato, Lower Lake, membership co-chairs.

The Club Parliamentarian Edckinjo Esutoki will be the featured speaker and will lead the group in several scenarios and role play on the subject of proper protocol for running an effective meeting using Robert’s Rules of Order.

Also on the agenda will be discussion of support for local Democratic Candidates for Judge & Board of Supervisors. Volunteers for fundraising events planned for the year and the voter registration drive.

All meetings are open to the general public and everyone is invited to attend. Membership in the Club is open to all registered Democrats.

Attendees are invited to come early and support the Senior Center by enjoying their $6.00 full breakfast.

Lake County Democratic Club meetings are held on the second Saturday of the month at noon in the Rose Room of the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center.

This month the meeting is taking place the first Saturday due to the California Democratic Convention being held in San Diego Feb. 10-12.

Contact the Democratic Club of Lake County by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Contact the Democratic Party of Lake County at 707-533-4885 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..