MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The annual Earth Day Celebration at Calpine Saturday, April 27, was again educational and fun.  

The Lake County Rockhounds’ gold panning booth for children taught them how to pan for gold and pretty rocks. No gold was detected but it was lots of fun.

Children were introduced to something most of them wouldn’t ever be exposed to otherwise. It gave them something to think about and maybe even dream about.  

Members had a lot of enjoyment watching the children find beautiful Lake County diamonds, rocks and gems. The parents were especially appreciative.

The Rockhounds reported that the Calpine staff was very helpful in getting a kiddie pool filled with buckets of water for the panning. The Rockhound Silent Auction went well too.

The group reported that it was a fun day for its members, who had a great time meeting old friends, making new ones, and getting children and adults excited about the diversity of rocks in Lake County and areas beyond.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The next HazMobile event will be held Friday, May 17, and Saturday, May 18, at South Lake County Fire Station, 21095 Highway 175, Middletown.

Hours will be from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Households can bring up to 15 gallons of toxic items free of charge. Fees will be charged for amounts over 15 gallons.

Items that are accepted include paint, solvents, fuels, five-gallon propane tanks, pool chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, batteries, fluorescent light tubes (up to 60 linear foot) and other toxic materials that cannot be put in the trash.

Items that cannot be accepted include televisions, computer monitors, ammunition, explosives, radioactive materials or infectious wastes.

To learn how and where to properly dispose these items, please visit www.recycling.co.lake.ca.us or contact the recycling hotline at 707-263-1980.

HazMobile services are provided to residential households by the Integrated Waste Management Division of the Lake County Public Services Department and the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle).

Businesses also are welcome to use this convenient service to properly dispose of hazardous waste and protect our environment, however, businesses must pay for this taxpayer-funded service and first make an appointment.

Business appointments can be made by calling the Mendocino County Solid Waste Authority, the contracted agency that provides this service in Lake County at 707-468-9786.

Free recycling options for residents and businesses:

• Recycled paint is available to both residents and businesses at Lake County Waste Solutions on first-come, first-served basis in five gallon containers. Colors include tan, brown, gray and pink.

• Used cooking oil can be dropped off by businesses and residents, which will be recycled into biodiesel by Yokayo BioFuels. Drop off at Lake County Waste Solutions, South Lake Refuse & Recycling Center, and the North Shore Fire Protection District station at 6257 Seventh Ave. in Lucerne.

• Used motor oil can be dropped off by residents for recycling year round at a number of sites in the county. Visit www.recycling.co.lake.ca.us for locations.

• Electronics (E-Waste) can be dropped-off at Lake County Waste Solutions, South Lake Refuse & Recycling Center, and monthly at the Goodwill E-Waste collection held in Lakeport.

Lake County Waste Solutions
230 Soda Bay Road, Lakeport
888-718-4888 or 234-6400
Monday-Saturday, 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
www.candswaste.com

South Lake Refuse & Recycling Center
16015 Davis St., Clearlake
Open daily 7:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
707-994-8614
www.southlakerefuse.com

The HazMobile program is subsidized by the Lake County Public Services Department, Integrated Waste Management Division and CalRecycle as a public service to Lake County residents.

For more information about recycling, reusing, and reducing, visit www.recycling.co.lake.ca.us or call the recycling hotline at 707-263-1980.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – This month 150 years ago, the outcome of the Civil War hung in the balance.

Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s army was outnumbered more than two to one, and was about to be squashed in a giant pincer movement by General Hooker’s overpowering Union army.

When the dust settled, more than 30,000 men were casualties, and the Union army was in retreat.

The amazing story of what happened in the titanic Battle of Chancellorsville will be the topic of this month’s Civil War Roundtable at the Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake this coming Monday, May 6, at 6:15 p.m.

Zane Jensen will be leading the discussion on the battle and its impact on the war and on our history. Jensen is a local history teacher and has been to the site of the battlefield, giving him a unique perspective into the events of the first week of May 1863.

Dr. Bill Cornelison, professor of history at Yuba College, will open the roundtable with a short slide presentation of some battle related sites he has recently visited, that will segue into Jensen’s presentation.

The Redwood Empire Civil War Roundtable meets the first Monday of the month, and typically reviews events that occurred that month 150 years ago, in recognition of the Civil War’s Sesquicentennial.

Admission is free, and everyone is welcome.

For more information, contact Phil Smoley at 707-264-4905 or Zane Jensen at 707-349-6390.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On March 23, while on patrol on Clear Lake near the entrance to the State Park, Wayne and Anita Farnholtz,  members of Flotilla 88 of Lake County, heard a call on Channel 16 to the Sheriff’s Lake Patrol from the Sea Scout vessel.

Farnholtz approached the vessel to inquire if they needed help. The Sea Scouts pointed out a large “deadhead” – a partially submerged tree stump or log – with about 12 inches showing above the surface about 30 yards before the entrance to the park and were waiting for a response from the sheriff’s patrol.  

With the Sea Scouts’ assistance, the Farnholtzs were able to mark the hazard with an orange flag to warn other boaters of the danger.

They then called their radio guard, Flotilla member John Fox, who notified the appropriate personnel.  

The sheriff’s patrol came to the hazard and towed the dead head to the county park. Good team work with the Sea Scouts, Flotilla 88 members and the sheriff’s patrol.

On April 6, Flotilla 88 member Corey Jones, while in his boat fishing on Clear Lake, spied a large dead head in the water. Jones being a trained crew member but not on official duty, recognized this as a definite boating hazard.

So as a private citizen, Jones secured the dead head with a line and towed it into Redbud Harbor.  Another good deed which may have saved an unsuspecting boater from a dangerous situation causing serious damage or injury.

Dorothy De Lope is public affairs officer for Flotilla 88 of Lake County, Calif.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Lake County International Charter School will host its annual yard and heirloom plant sale Saturday, May 11.

It will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at 15850 Armstrong St., Middletown.

Come find some treasures and all the plants you need for your summer garden. All the plants are started from organic, heirloom seeds from the Petaluma Seed Bank.

All proceeds benefit educational programs at LCICS, which is a free, public charter school open to all K-7 students in Lake County.

It provides students with an inquiry/project-based enriched education in a nurturing environment, and is the only site-based public charter school in Lake County.

For more information or to arrange donation of items, please call the LCICS office at 707-987-3063, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , go to www.lcics.org or “Like” the Lake County International Charter School on Facebook.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Public Services Director Caroline Chavez announced that the Eastlake Landfill and the Lakeport Public Services office will be closed Monday, May 27, for the Memorial Day holiday.  

Residential and commercial collection will occur one day after your normal pickup day.

Normal collection schedules will resume the week following the holiday. Both facilities will reopen on Tuesday, May 28.       

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.

If you have any questions regarding this subject or any of the solid waste issues in Lake County, please call 707-262-1760.