MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Calpine Geothermal Visitors Center will be closed Thursday, Nov. 24, and Friday, Nov. 25, for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Normal operating hours at the Visitor Center are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday.

For more information or to make a reservation to tour The Geysers please visit www.Geysers.com or call 707-987-4270.

The group will serve slow baked ham, veggies, salad, mashed potatoes and dessert.

The bar is open for socializing at 5 p.m. then dinner will be served at 6 p.m.

Enjoy dancing to music of Jim Williams, right after the meal.

All tickets cost $17 at the door. Everyone is welcome.

The club is located at 2817 E. Highway 20 in Nice.

For information about this event or renting the hall for your own, call 707-263-1606.

Permits are available for purchase from area vendors, as well as in person or by mail from Mendocino National Forest offices. Vendors are listed below with contact information for the Forest Service.

Permits are $10 per tree at Forest Service offices and up to $11 each at vendors. Customers are advised to call vendors to verify permit price and availability.

The permits will be sold through Friday, Dec. 16, and are good through Dec. 24.

Trees may be cut and removed any day of the week in any authorized area of the Mendocino National Forest.

There is a limit of one permit per household with each permit using a valid name and address. Up to four additional permits may be purchased for additional households using separate names and addresses. Individuals must be 18 or older to purchase a permit.

The Mendocino National Forest only accepts cash or check as payment for Christmas tree permits and sales are final, with no refunds. Permittees will receive a tree tag and map of the Forest.

To purchase a permit by mail, send a printed name and mailing address, a printed name and address for each permit purchased, a daytime telephone number, and a check or money order made out to “USDA Forest Service” for $10 for each permit to either the Willows, Upper Lake or Covelo offices with “Christmas Tree Permit” written on the outside of the envelope. Mail-in requests received after Dec. 13 will not be filled.

A form can be found online at www.fs.usda.gov/mendocino, under “Passes & Permits” and the subcategory “Forest Products Permits.”

If you are planning on cutting a Christmas tree for someone else who isn’t present, a Third Party Authorization must be in possession of the cutter. This form is also available on the Forest Web site.

Permit holders should be aware that federal and state quarantines to prevent the spread of sudden oak death are in effect for Lake and Mendocino Counties. Any Douglas fir Christmas tree cut in these counties can only be transported into other sudden oak death quarantine counties, including Alameda, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Marin, San Francisco, Monterey, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano and Sonoma.

All Mendocino National Forest offices will be closed Thursday, Nov. 24, in observance of Thanksgiving.

Christmas tree permits can be purchased from the following Forest offices for $10:

Mendocino National Forest Supervisor’s Office/Grindstone Ranger District Office

825 N. Humboldt Ave., Willows, CA 95988

530-934-3316

Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Stonyford Work Center

5171 Stonyford-Elk Creek Road, Stonyford, CA, 95979

530-963-3128

Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., 1 p.m.- 4:30 p.m.

Covelo Ranger Station

78150 Covelo Road, Covelo, CA 95428

707-983-6118

Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., 12:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 26; weekends, Dec. 3, 4, 10 and 11, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.

Upper Lake Ranger Station

10025 Elk Mountain Road, Upper Lake, CA 95485

707-275-2361

Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., 12:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 26; weekends Dec. 3, 4, 10 and 11, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.

Christmas tree permits are available from the following vendors for up to $11:

Black Butte Store

34985 Etsel Ridge Road, Covelo, CA 95428

707-983-9438

Hours: Seven days a week, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

M&M Feed and Supply

74540 Hill Road, Covelo, CA 95428

707-983-6273

Hours: Monday-Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

Keiths Family Foods

76201 Covelo Road, Covelo, CA 95428

707-983-6633

Hours: Sunday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m.; Monday-Saturday, 7 a.m.-10 p.m.

Nancy’s Elkhorn Family Lodge

2745 County Road 306, Elk Creek, CA 95939

530-968-5312

Hours: Seven days a week, 7 a.m.-9 p.m.

Sacramento River Discovery Center

1000 Sale Lane, Red Bluff, CA 96080

530-527-1196

Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Stonyford General Store

292 Market St., Stonyford, CA 95979

530-963-3235

Hours: Seven days a week, 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

Squaw Creek Inn & Resort

4425 Sites Ladoga Road, Stonyford, CA 95979

530-963-3483

Hours: Wednesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sunday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Hi-way Grocery

160 E. Hwy 20, Upper Lake, CA 95485

707-275-2380

Hours: Seven days a week, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Woody’s Gas and Mini Mart

220 E. Hwy 20, Upper Lake, CA 95485

707-275-2045

Hours: Monday-Friday, 5:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday, 6 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday, 7 a.m.-9 p.m.

Cutting a Christmas tree on the National Forest is a great holiday tradition for many families and also helps with hazardous fuels reduction by removing smaller trees from the Forest.

Following are some tips to make your experience more enjoyable.

– Plan your trip. Check the weather, bring plenty of warm clothes, water, emergency food, tire chains, shovel, a saw or axe to cut your tree, and a tarp and rope to bring it home. Make sure you have a full tank of gas when you leave and are prepared for changing conditions in the mountains! Also, let someone know where you are going and when you plan to be back.

– Keep vehicles on designated roads and be aware of changing weather and road conditions. Wet dirt roads can quickly turn to mud, making it possible to get stuck and causing damage to road, soil and water resources. If there are puddles in the road, mud flipping off the tires or you can see your ruts in the rearview mirror, consider pulling over and taking a hike to look for a tree, or turning around and finding a different area to cut your tree.

– Cut your tree early in the season before favorite cutting areas can’t be reached because of snow.

– Make sure you are cutting a tree on the Mendocino National Forest and not from other federal, state or private lands.

– Cut the tree as close as possible to the ground and leave as little of a stump as possible.

– Attach the permit on the tree where it will be easily visible with the tree packed or tied on your vehicle for transport home.

– To help keep your tree fresh, cut at least one inch off the base when you get home and stand the tree in a container of water in a cool, shaded area, checking the water level daily.

For more information, please contact the Mendocino National Forest or visit www.fs.usda.gov/mendocino.

The event will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Galilee Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall, 8860 Soda Bay Road, Kelseyville.

There will be Scandinavian Christmas decor with assorted delicacies to enjoy including lefse, Swedish pancakes, Danish aebleskiver, krumcake, open-faced sandwiches and much more.

Guest vendors will be Vikki Bjerk Mullenbach with her wonderful Norwegian favorites and other Nordic gifts. Also Larson's Industries with Scandinavian baking equipment, instruction and demonstration of lefse baking by Lorraine Larson (come taste her wonderful samples).

The Swedish Santa Lucia Pageant will begin at 12:30 p.m., with singing carols around the Christmas tree at 1 p.m.

Norwegian and Swedish calendars will be on sale for $12.

There will be a viking raffle to benefit the group's adopt-a-school program in Lake County.

Ellen Aasen is designing and making a queen size quilt to be raffled. This is another scholarship benefit for our heritage members to attend Camp Troll Fjell Language and Heritage Camp at Camp Norge. Tickets can be purchased at this meeting.

For more information call Mary Beth at 707-987-2404 or visit www.vikingsoflakelodge.org.

The meeting will start at 6 p.m.

The club meets at the Community Room of the United Methodist Church in Clearlake Oaks, 12487 The Plaza in Clearlake Oaks.

For more information contact Chair Mark Wickhamshire at 707-993-4128 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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

Caltrans will suspend work on Northern California highways from Wednesday, Nov. 23, through Sunday, Nov. 27, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, it may be necessary for Caltrans Maintenance forces to respond to emergency situations.

LAKE COUNTY

Highway 20

– A pavement repair project from the junction of Routes 20/53 to the North Fork Cache Creek Bridge will continue. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 15-minute delays. Contractor – Argonaut Constructors of Santa Rosa.

Highway 29

– A pavement repair project from the Lake/Napa County line to Spruce Grove Road 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.

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

– Installation of cable median barrier from the El Roble Overcrossing to the junction of Routes 20/101 will continue. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction of travel. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns. Contractor – Ghilotti Brothers of San Rafael.

– 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 Inc. 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. 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.

Highway 271

– Caltrans will perform routine maintenance from Bear Pen Road 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 wishes to advise 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.

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).