Donations can be dropped off in the parking lot at Lake One Stop, 55 First St., Lakeport.

They accept small, portable appliances in working order; books; cassette tapes; cell phones; CD and DVD players; CDs, DVDs and videos (commercial); clothing; computer parts; small, desk-size copiers; computers; electronics; fax machines; furniture; housewares; household items; ink cartridges; jewelry/accessories; linens; monitors; printers; purses/bags/luggage; records; area rugs; scanners; televisions; shoes; stereos; unopened toiletries; toys.

Due to legal requirements or other factors they cannot accept the following: air conditioners; alcoholic beverages; ammunition/explosives; animals; baby items – strollers, furniture and toys; bathroom fixtures; blinds (unless in original boxes); exercise equipment; furniture with stains, tears or holes; hazardous materials (paint, chemicals, poison, etc.); large appliances (refrigerators, stoves/ovens, etc.); large office equipment (copiers, fax machines, etc.); mattresses/box springs; newspapers/magazines; swing sets; tires/wheels; wall to wall carpets and padding; water beds; and windows/doors.

All donations help provide job training for people with disabilities or other barriers to employment

For more information call Jeff Lambdin at 707-462-9660.

Market organizers are looking at another fun-filled season of good food, good music and an inspiring display of local arts, crafts and talent.

Join them from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Redbud Park in Clearlake.

This week's featured musicians are the Lower Lake Jazz Band and the music of Melody Leigh.

He will compete in the Premier Food Service Forum June 13-17 in Nashville, Tenn., at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center.

His recipe for orange ginger flan will be prepared and served along with the other contestants' recipes at a dinner on Wednesday, June 15, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

After a vote, the winner will be announced.

Neuharth's qualifying orange ginger flan recipe won out over more than 60 other chefs' recipes.

Another of Neuharth's recipes, rocky road raspberry pie, placed in the top 11.

In 2009 Neuharth won the contest with his savory roasted red pepper lasagna roulade.

“It's an honor to be chosen as one of the finalists,” said Neuharth, whose talents have consistently kept him in the top 10 the last five years and the top five three out of those five years.

The prize? “Bragging rights and a nice trophy,” said Neuharth.

The four-day convention gives participants opportunities to meet vendors, attend meetings, participate in breakout groups, meet other chefs and finally attend the awards dinner.

Other chefs prepare all the finalists' recipes, which are then presented to the crowd over dinner, after which everyone votes for their favorite.

Premier serves more than 2,500 U.S. hospitals and more than 73,000 other healthcare sites. The company's 200 hospitals and health systems create and own the Premier alliance. They work together to achieve Premier's mission "to improve the health of communities.”

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

LAKE COUNTY

Highway 20

– Caltrans will perform routine maintenance from Sayre Avenue to 0.3 mile east of Lakeshore Drive. Work hours are 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.

– Slide repairs west of Gravel Plant Road will continue. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor – Figas Construction of Eureka.

Highway 29

– Metal beam guardrail repair at 0.2 mile north of Bar X Ranch will continue on Monday, June 6. Work hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor – Stewart Dirt and Aggregate of Fairfield.

– Metal beam guardrail repair at various locations from Eleventh Street to the Hill Road Undercrossing will continue. Work hours are 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays. In two-lane sections, one-way traffic control will be in effect and motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. In four-lane sections, traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction of travel and motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns. Contractor – Stewart Dirt and Aggregate of Fairfield.

Highway 53

– Highway widening from 0.5 mile south to 0.5 mile north of Olympic Drive will begin on Monday, June 6. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays. Contractor – Sierra Equipment Rental of Glenn.

MENDOCINO COUNTY

Highway 1

– Storm damage repairs near the Union Landing Viaduct will continue. Work hours are 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor – Valentine Corporation of San Rafael.

– A maintenance project on the South Fork Eel River Bridge will continue. One-way traffic control with a temporary signal will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate 5-minute delays. Contractor – NY Blastco of Gardenia.

Highway 20

– Highway widening from 2.3 to 3.3 miles east of Gravel Pit Road will continue. One-way traffic control with a temporary signal will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Contractor – Team Ghilotti Inc. of Petaluma.

Highway 101

– A pavement repair project from the Robinson Creek Bridge to Uva Drive will continue. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction of travel 24 hours per day from 8 p.m. Sunday through 3 p.m. Friday. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns. Northbound ramps at Calpella (Exit 555A) and Route 20 (Exit 555B) as well as southbound ramps at Route 20 (Exit 555B) will be intermittently closed. Motorists will be advised to use an alternate route and may experience minor delays. Contractor – Granite Construction Inc. of Ukiah.

– Repair of a slipout from Reeves Canyon Road to Ridgewood Ranch Road 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 – Granite Construction Inc. of Ukiah.

– The city of Willits has been granted a Caltrans Encroachment Permit for utility work at Shell Road/Baechtel Road on Tuesday, June 7. Work hours are 9 a.m. to noon. Northbound traffic will be restricted to one lane. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns.

– Painting at the Arnold Bridge Overhead will continue. Work hours are 5 a.m. to 2 p.m., weekdays. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction of travel. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns. Contractor – Certified Coatings Company of Fairfield.

– Culvert repairs 0.7 mile north of Sherwood Road to 0.5 south of Old Sherwood Road will continue. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 5 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.

Highway 128

– Culvert repairs from 1.2 to 1.0 miles west of Big Oaks Drive 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 – Team Ghilotti of Petaluma.

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.

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).

The 23 funded projects will provide benefits to fish and wildlife species, including some endangered species, and increase public access to these lands.

Several projects also demonstrate the importance of protecting working landscapes and integrate economic, social and environmental stewardship practices beneficial to the environment and the landowner.

The funding for all of these projects comes from recent bond initiatives approved by the voters to help preserve and protect California’s natural resources.

Some of the funded projects include:

– Sierra Crest Conservation Easement, Phase III, Sierra County. The WCB approved a $2.4 million grant to the Truckee Donner Land Trust for a cooperative project with the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and the Northern Sierra Partnership to acquire a conservation easement over 2,683 acres of land for the preservation and restoration of productive managed forest lands, wildlife migration corridors and provide access for outdoor recreational opportunities. The site is approximately 16 miles northwest of Truckee, near Webber Lake.

– Eel River Peninsula, Mendocino County. The WCB granted $8.5 million to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation for a cooperative project with the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) to acquire a conservation easement over 8,544 acres of threatened and endangered species habitat, deer range habitat, oak woodlands and old growth forests, wildlife corridors and riparian areas to provide future wildlife-oriented public use opportunities. The site is east of Willits.

– Baxter Ranch, Sonoma County. The WCB approved a $2.3 million grant for a cooperative project with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) to allocate funding and administer federal Forest Legacy Program funds to acquire a conservation easement over 4,046 acres of land. The project will protect of the habitats of protected species and mixed conifer, oak woodland and environmentally important private forest lands located within the Coastal Range, near Lake Sonoma Recreation Area, 10 miles west of Cloverdale.

– Lower Redwood Creek Restoration, Marin County. The WCB granted $1.2 million to the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy for a cooperative project with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area of the National Park Service, DFG, the State Coastal Conservancy, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to restore natural creek alignment and function of Lower Redwood Creek just upstream of Muir Beach.

– Carmel River Riparian Restoration, Monterey County. The WCB approved a $2.5 million grant to the Big Sur Land Trust for a cooperative project with California State Parks, State Coastal Conservancy, Department of Transportation, Monterey County Water Resources Agency, Monterey County Public Works, Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to restore private property that encompasses the lower floodplain of the Carmel River.

– Carmel River, San Clemente Dam Removal, Monterey County. The WCB granted $7 million to the State Coastal Conservancy for a cooperative project with California American Water (CAW), DFG, the California Natural Resources Agency, the Open River Initiative, the Innovative Readiness Training Program, the Coastal Impact Assistance Program and private foundations to remove the San Clemente Dam and reroute a half-mile portion of the Carmel River, located approximately 18 miles from the Pacific Ocean on CAW property.

Details on all of the projects are in the meeting agenda, available on WCB’s Web site at www.wcb.ca.gov.

LAKE COUNTY – Lake County Chapter of California Women for Agriculture (CWA), which launched AgVenture last August, has recently released its 2011 program schedule.

AgVenture is an innovative concept in agricultural education that promotes understanding between the community and production agriculture.

Modeled on successful programs in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, in its first year AgVenture and CWA received the 2011 Lake County Stars award for “Best Idea of the Year.”

The program, open to 12 participants a year, is designed to build a bridge of understanding between those in agriculture and leaders in the community who influence public opinion and policies which directly affect Lake County farmers’ ability to farm.

The 2011 session will consist of once-a-month, day-long seminars held over a period of three months. 

The meeting dates are Aug. 19, Sept. 30 and Oct. 21, all Fridays.

Each day's seminar will focus on a major commercial crop and will include speakers and farm visits.

Class members will gain a broad knowledge of the heritage, culture, and business of local agriculture.

The sessions will cover such topics as economics, labor, history, marketing, water and land use, challenges and opportunities of farming, agritourism and sustainability.

Participants will have the opportunity to meet with and learn from farmers and other local agriculture industry leaders.

Graduates of the first year’s program include elected officials, media, staff and directors of Lake County agencies and departments, farmers and educators.

Applications to participate in this year’s program are due June 24.

The AgVenture program coordinator is Annette Hopkins, a graduate of the Santa Cruz “Focus Agriculture” program.

The members of her steering committee are Toni Scully and Margaret Eutenier, co-presidents of the Lake County Chapter of CWA; Terry Dereniuk, Wilda Shock, Paula Bryant, Diane Henderson, Michelle Scully, and Shannon Gunier.

Applications for the program are available by e-mail, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or by mail to CWA AgVenture, P.O. Box 279, Finley, CA 95435.