KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Cole Creek Equestrian Center in Kelseyville is the location of Jec Ballou's "Dressage Principles for Every Equine Athlete" clinic Saturday, Sept. 18, and Sunday, Sept. 19.

Ballou welcomes students from every horse discipline, all levels of riders and breeds of horses.

To quote from her Web site (jecballou.com): "She has worked with over 20 breeds of horses and continues to enjoy the day to day journey of training – and learning from – horses, working tirelessly as an advocate for the understanding that proper biomechanical movement and athleticism can never happen as a result of short cuts, force, or hurried training methods."

Ballou identifies five fundamentals of training horses and riders: healthy movement, simplicity in the training approach, consistency, mind-body connection for both horse and rider, and cross-disciplinary.

She is widely published with numerous articles in a variety of magazines including “Dressage Today,”

“Horse and Rider” and “Eclectic Horseman.” She has authored three books, the first two educational, well-researched books offering "simple, clear and practical information for riders to improve their equine athletes"

Please join Jec Ballou and local horsewoman and Rainbow Agricultural newsletter editor Doris Eraldi at a meet and greet book signing event at Rainbow-Lakeport from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday, sept. 17.

Purchase a book and have it autographed by the author. Those purchasing a book will qualify for a special discount during the weekend clinic.

Contact Kate at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information about participating in the riding clinic, and to become part of our Lake County contact list.

NORTH COAST – Caltrans reports that the following road projects will be taking place around Lake County during the coming week.

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

LAKE COUNTY

Highway 20

– Caltrans will perform routine maintenance from Burpee Drive to Country Club Drive on Monday, Sept. 13, and Tuesday, Sept. 14. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.

Highway 175

– PG&E of Ukiah has been granted a Caltrans Encroachment Permit for utility maintenance from the Dry Creek Bridge to Stewart Street beginning Thursday, Sept. 16. Work hours are 10 p.m. Thursday through 9 a.m. Friday. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.

MENDOCINO COUNTY

Highway 1

– PG&E of Eureka has been granted a Caltrans Encroachment Permit for tree trimming from 1.0 mile north of Stoneboard Road to Elk beginning Tuesday, Sept. 14. 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.

– California Department of Parks and Recreation has been granted a Caltrans Encroachment Permit for sewer line repairs 0.3 mile south of Larkin Road. Work hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekdays. Intermittent one-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.

– Replacement of signal heads from the junction of Routes 1/20 to Manzanita Street will begin Monday, Sept. 13. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect.

Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor – Republic ITS of Novato.

– Culvert repairs 0.8 mile south of Little Valley Road will begin Wednesday, Sept. 15. 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 – Kapel Construction of Willow Creek.

– Bridge deck repairs at the Union Landing Viaduct will begin Monday, Sept. 13. 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 – Peterson-Chase General Engineering Construction Inc. of Irvine.

Highway 20

– Pavement repairs 0.5 mile west of Forestry Station Road will occur on Monday, Sept. 13. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate

five-minute delays. Contractor – Kapel Construction of Willow Creek.

Highway 101

– A metal beam guardrail repair project at various locations from 0.1 mile north of the Mendocino/Sonoma County line to 0.6 mile south of the Pieta Creek Bridge will continue. Nighttime work hours are 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., Sunday evening through Friday morning. In four-lane sections traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction of travel, and motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns. In two-lane sections one-way traffic control will be in effect, and motorists should

anticipate 10-minute delays. Contractor – Wahlund Construction of Eureka.

– Storm damage repair from 1.5 mile north of the Mendocino/Sonoma County line to 0.5 mile north of the Pieta Creek Bridge will begin Wednesday, Sept. 15. Work hours are 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., weekdays.

Traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction of travel. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns. Contractor – North Bay Construction of Petaluma.

– A pavement repair project from the Robinson Creek Overcrossing to Gobbi Street 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. Ramps will be intermittently closed at the Route 101/253 Interchange (Exit 546). A detour will be provided. Contractor – Granite Construction Inc. of Ukiah.

– Pavement repairs from Steel Lane to 0.6 mile south of Rattlesnake Summit will continue. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays. In four-lane sections traffic will be restricted to one lane in each

direction of travel, and motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns. In two-lane sections one-way traffic control will be in effect, and motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor – Mercer-Fraser Company of Eureka.

Highway 162

– Storm damage repair east of Sand Bank Creek will continue. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

Contractor – Granite Construction of Ukiah.

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 253

– A bridge widening project at Anderson Creek Bridge will continue. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor – Viking Construction Co. Inc. of Rancho Cordova.

– A bridge widening project at Soda Creek Bridge will continue. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor – Viking Construction Co. Inc. of Rancho Cordova.

Highway 271

– Culvert repair near Piercy 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 – Van Meter

Logging Inc. of Garberville.

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 good news is that these events have spurred discussion about the lake’s complex ecology, and the most effective ways to improve water quality and promote the overall health of the ecosystem, which has been burdened by an overabundance of nutrients from many diverse sources, over the very long term.

At the same time, the lake’s resilience has been significantly impaired by the loss of nearly 80 percent of its historic wetlands. Maintaining and restoring healthy populations of native vegetation is essential to the health of the entire watershed, and tules (Scirpus spp) are the most important wetland plants of all.

The Sierra Club Lake Group is eager to promote dialog on these subjects, and at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 22, is hosting a public meeting “All About Tules” at the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, at the corner of 10th and Country Club in Lucerne. Please note that this is not the group's usual Kelseyville meeting location.

The evening will feature short films that were shown at last winter’s “I Love Tules” film festival, speakers including Supervisor Denise Rushing and Department of Water Resources invasive species expert Carolyn Ruttan, and samples of the live plants and some of the products made from them.

The meeting is free and open to the public as always.

For more information contact Juliana Vidich at 707-279-1903 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

LUCERNE, Calif. – The Lucerne Friends of Locally Owned Water (Lucerne FLOW) will host its monthly meeting on Saturday, Sept. 18.

The meeting will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, 10^th and Country Club.

FLOW's meetings are held every third Saturday of the month. Breakfast is available. The public is welcome.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Sons of Norway, Vikings of Lake Lodge 6-166 will hold September Heritage and Culture Night on Wednesday, Sept. 15.

This evening will be a Finnish Night, with Finnish sandwiches and salads at 6 p.m.

After dinner they will have a musical tour of Helsinki and the Finnish landscape. There will be a surprise along with door prizes.

The event will take place in the Galilee Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall, located at 8860 Soda Bay Road in Soda Bay.

Please call group Vice President Vale Hanzel at 707-928-1060 for more information or if you would like to become a member of the Sons of Norway.

You don’t have to be full-blooded Norwegian; the group also recognizes Canada and all countries of Scandinavia.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake Family Resource Center (Lake FRC) has announced sexual assault responder training to be held on Saturdays from Sept. 25 through Oct. 30.

Are you a compassionate person who wants to make a difference in the community?

If you are willing to make a commitment as a volunteer counselor, Lake FRC sexual assault responder training is free.

Learn the psychological counseling aspects of sexual assault/abuse, effective counseling techniques, and how to use crisis intervention skills to assist survivors of sexual assault and their families.

Get a behind-the-scenes look at hospital emergency room medical procedures for sexual assault evidence collection. Gain an insider's view of the criminal justice system (court), which prosecutes sexual assault perpetrators.

As a volunteer you will provide crisis counseling to survivors of sexual assault, give information to the public and make referrals, meet sexual assault victims at the emergency room and accompany them to court when advocacy as requested.

Sexual assault responders are required by the state of California to complete 40-hours of training, which is provided free of charge.

Upon graduation, volunteer responders receive a certificate of completion and are eligible to volunteer to help adult and child victims.

Lake FRC is currently taking class reservations.

If you are interested in sexual assault responder training, please contact Janice Hodges at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 707-279-0563, Extension 183.

Lake FRC provides a multitude of services to build family stability and strength. The agency supports Lake County residents in achieving stable, self-sufficient, and healthy families and communities.

Call Lake FRC at 707-279-0563 to find out more about their program offerings.