LUCERNE, Calif. – On Friday, Oct. 23, at 5 p.m., Marymount California Lakeside Campus at “The Castle” in Lucerne will host a panel discussion related to the current Lake County Big Read focus on the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.
The event is open to the public and free of charge.
Big Read coordinator Robin Fogel-Shrive commented on “how fortunate we are to have such a panel of dignitaries to make the connections between race relations as depicted in Mockingbird and the recently released Go Set a Watchman with the subsequent Civil Rights Movement as well as current issues.”
Prior to the panel, at 4 p.m., Marymount Executive Director Michelle Scully will lead a tour of the facility and answer questions about admissions and curriculum for all High School students and parents in attendance.
Moderator of the panel will be Tallman Hotel owner and Big Read committee member Bernie Butcher.
“I know the panel members well,” said Butcher, “and they’re all lively speakers with unique perspectives on the subject.”
Speakers include:
– Stanford University Professor of History Emeritus David M. Kennedy. Kennedy has focused on 20th Century U. S. History and won the Pulitzer Prize in 2000 for his major work “Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War.” He is also co-author of the most widely used AP U. S. History textbook “American Pageant.”
– U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup. Alsup grew up in Mississippi in the 1950s and 1960s, graduating from Mississippi State University in 1967. After Harvard Law School, Alsup clerked for liberal Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas. He practiced law in San Francisco before being confirmed by the Senate as a District Court Judge in 1999.
– Well-known Kelseyville Attorney Peter Windrem. Windrem grew up in Lake County and was attending the University of the Pacific in Stockton when he became involved in the southern civil rights movement in the 1960s. He subsequently earned his J. D. Degree at the University of Virginia before returning to practice in Lake County.
– Christopher Veach, director of the Lake County Libraries, is a sponsor of the October Big Read Program. “Especially with the controversy surrounding the recently released manuscript by Harper Lee, 'Go Set a Watchman,' this is a perfect time to explore both the literary and historical significance of 'Mockingbird,'” he said. “This panel should be both interesting and informative.”
The next evening, on Saturday, Oct. 24, the Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake will host a “Mockingbird”-themed mystery dinner based on an original script by Bert and Christine Hutt of MurderUs Productions in Lakeport.
Participants, who are encouraged to wear 1930s costume, will meet for cocktails in the Blue Wing Restaurant before proceeding to solve the mystery over a three-course dinner in the Tallman Dining Room.
Details about the panel may be obtained by contacting Bernie Butcher at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 707-245-0041.
For the mystery dinner please contact the Tallman Hotel at 707-275-2244, Extension 0.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The work of getting the vast number of donations into the hands of thousands of Valley fire survivors is expanding this week, with many dedicated individuals laboring behind the scenes to make sure that those whose lives were hit hardest by the fire get the help they need.
This week, a partnership that includes Adventist Community Services, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the county of Lake will open two distribution points – both in Lakeport – with plans for another as-yet unannounced location in Hidden Valley Lake and another location currently being offered in Cobb.
On Monday, a storefront will open at 857 11th St., in the former Sears retail space in the Willow Tree Plaza behind Round Table Pizza in Lakeport, which will be overseen by Adventist Community Services.
Offered will be clothing for all ages, bedding and towels, food, hygiene products, cleaning supplies, housewares, water and more.
The 7,000-square-foot space is set up like a store, and fire survivors will be able to pick up what they need – for free – after presenting identification and proof of address, according to Seth Cantu, a member of the pastoral team at Upper Lake Seventh-day Adventist Church, who is one of the tireless individuals involved in getting distribution points open.
Hours will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, Cantu said.
Next to Lampson Airport in Lakeport is the 66,000-square-foot Work Right building, located at 4615 Work Right Circle, which has served as the hub for receiving donations collected by organizations in Lake and neighboring counties.
The Work Right building also will officially open as a distribution point on Wednesday, according to Lori Thornton, a local member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints whose efforts secured the space.
Thornton said the hours at the Work Right building will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily or by appointment.
Thornton said Sunday that the Little Red Schoolhouse, located at 15780 Bottle Rock Road in Cobb, also is acting as a distribution point for donations, with work under way to confirm a Hidden Valley Lake location.
Since the fire broke out on Sept. 12, donations have poured in – not just from other county residents, but from other parts of California and from across the United States.
This past week, the county of Lake announced that it would no longer take donations of clothing or personal items, but instead was asking people to consider donating money to a number of local funds that have been set up for that purpose.
Deputy County Administrative Officer Jeff Rein said donations have come in from the lower 48 states, and while that generosity has been heartwarming, the sheer quantity of items has created a logistical challenge as officials have looked for sufficient space to warehouse, organize and sort the items.
The Work Right building's vast warehouse space is almost entirely filled by just a portion of the donations. “I have enough stuff waiting in semi trucks and conex boxes to fill another one of those,” Rein said.
Thornton said the Mormon Church didn't start its own effort after the fire began, but instead joined the Adventists and the Kelseyville Lions Club.
When it became clear that more warehouse space was needed, she reached out to the Work Right building's owner, Ed Olsen, who drove up from the Bay Area on Sept. 27, the day after she contacted him, and gave her the keys to the building for an initial six-month commitment. Free of charge.
“When we took over that warehouse, that became the hub,” said Cantu.
Rein said the building subsequently became the receiving point for donations collected by organizations including the Middletown and Cobb Lions clubs, Middletown Bible Church, United Christian Parish and Clearlake Methodist Church.
Cantu said donations came in from other places, too, including the Clearlake Oaks Moose Lodge, which sent 626 pear bins filled with items; the Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga, which had been an evacuation shelter; and Bushay Campground at Lake Mendocino, which also had given space to evacuees.
Rein credited both Adventist Community Services and the Mormon Church for their work to put order to the near chaos created by the avalanche of donations, which are now being sorted and rolled out to the distribution points. “We didn't know what we had,” Rein said.
Rein said the Federal Emergency Managing Agency, or FEMA, which is involved in the fire response due to President Barack Obama's Sept. 22 presidential major disaster declaration, looks to the Adventist Community Services for donations management. “That is their area of expertise.”
Charlene Sargent of Adventist Community Services, who oversaw donations for Hurricane Katrina, came to Lake County to help get the situation sorted out, with organization improving vastly within 24 hours, Rein said.
He said the Mormon Church members and four crews of California Conservation Corps members – about 72 young people – began the sorting process.
Cantu said that in two 12-hours shifts, with 50 people working on each shift, they managed to get things in order. He said new processes for accepting and sorting items were put in place to help get ahead of the disorganization that was in place at the warehouse at first.
“It was indescribable,” he said.
Cantu explained that in the 1970s a number of major mass care groups got together and chose specialty niches when responding to disasters.
Red Cross chose sheltering, the Baptist and Methodists churches became providers of top notch food pantries, and the Adventists chose donation allocation, including distribution and warehousing, he said. “That's what we train on.”
Since then, the organization has worked on major disasters, like hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, he said.
Preparing to open the doors
Cantu stepped up into his current role when the Lakeport Seventh-day Adventist Church became an evacuation shelter, donation and distribution point after the fire started.
He said they housed about 50 people but had room for many more, and he found himself in a leadership role when he went to Randy Brehms, pastor at the Seventh-day Adventist churches in Lakeport and Upper Lake, and suggested that the church's evacuation, distribution and warehousing operations could be run differently.
The result: Cantu said he was “voluntold” – a new word he's created – to take charge. He's since worked up to 20 hours a day for a month, getting little rest and seeing his wife and young children very little of the time.
“I miss my pillow,” Cantu said.
He said he's gotten training on the job, and that the experience, though tiring, has been wonderful. “I've truly appreciated the opportunity to serve the people.”
Said Brehms, “He is amazing.”
On Sunday afternoon, at the Lakeport storefront, Cantu, along with Brehms and a host of volunteers were busily moving racks of clothing, setting up displays for other goods and arranging the 5,000-square-foot showroom floor.
“We have a lot to do in a short amount of time,” said Cantu as he directed the volunteers on where to set up items and showed off the stocked space in the back part of the building.
The building space has been donated, Pacific Gas and Electric is providing electricity without charge and other organizations – like UPS – have offered services at no charge, Cantu said.
Brehms, who has been in the ministry for more than three decades, said he's personally never been involved in such a disaster response project.
“This really is what the church is supposed to be doing,” said Brehms.
He said the Adventists, United Christian Parish, Mormon Church and other faith groups have worked well together, noting he's been impressed with the level of cooperation.
Brehms pointed out that there is more to do than any one church organization can take on, comparing the situation to trying to take a drink out of a firehose.
With the forecast calling for a wet winter, Brehms is concerned about the potential for other emergencies ahead. “This is just a prelude of what's coming next.”
A family effort
At the Work Right building on Sunday afternoon, Thornton and her family – husband, Gene, son Patrick and his wife, Sharon – were working alongside a team of California Conservation Corps members on the ongoing organizational project.
Still to be sorted is what everyone involved with the warehouse calls “Mount St. Moose” – the stacks of hundreds of pear bins containing the Moose Lodge donations.
The Thorntons also were getting everything in order so that they can be open on Wednesday for distribution.
Part of their ongoing efforts also include moving goods out to the other distribution points in Lakeport and Cobb.
“We've got to get this stuff out of here now,” Lori Thornton said. “It's a big push.”
One of the needs is for household goods like furniture. She said they've already been working to try to get furniture to the survivors who need it.
Thornton estimates she walks five miles a day back and forth through the vast warehouse, which looks smaller now thanks to all that it contains.
Taking another turn through the warehouse Sunday afternoon, Thornton – pointing to the hundreds of shrink-wrapped pallets of sorted goods, as well as the boxes and bins that still need to be sorted – said, “All of this stuff here belongs to fire survivors.”
She said they are working to be good stewards of all of the donations.
Both she and Cantu noted the incredible generosity they've seen. Thornton said one man drove all the way from Los Angeles with a load of donations.
How you can help
The donation distribution facilities need volunteers in order to keep doors open and goods moving out to those who need it.
To volunteer at the Lakeport storefront, visit the location at 857 11th St. and fill out a volunteer application.
To help at the Work Right distribution center, contact Lori Thornton at 707-349-0849. Those needing to arrange to pick up goods at the center also can contact Thornton.
The Thorntons said there are specific items needed at the Work Right distribution center, including five-gallon buckets, hand tools, shovels and rakes, and tarps.
They also are seeking donations of RVs, as they reported some people on Cobb are still living in tents.
For people who still have goods like clothes that they want to donate, Cantu urges them to hold yard sales and donate the money, as the centers are no longer taking donations of any clothing items.
Officials continue to encourage people who want to help to make monetary donations through local organizations, including following:
– Mendo Lake Credit Union and North Coast Opportunities: Payments may be made online at www.LakeCountyLAC.com or checks may be made out to Mendo Lake Credit Union or North Coast Opportunities with a memo for Valley fire and mailed to the following branch locations: 14866 Olympic Drive, Clearlake, CA 95422; 953 11th Street, Lakeport, CA 95453; 526 S State Street, Ukiah, CA 94582.
– Redwood Credit Union: Donate online at www.redwoodcu.org/lakecountyfirevictims or mail a check payable to Redwood Credit Union to RCU Lake County Fire Relief, c/o Redwood Credit Union, P.O. Box 6104,Santa Rosa, CA 95406.
– Lake Area Rotary Club Association: Donate online at www.larca5130.org or mail your donation to LARCA, c/o Lakeport Rotary Valley Fire Relief Fund, P.O. Box 937, Lakeport, CA 95453, nonprofit tax ID # 46-1149482.
– Middletown Area Merchants Association: Donations can be sent directly to Tri Counties Bank, 707-987-3196, Routing No. 121135045, Account No. 238008098; or send checks made out to the MAMA Valley Fire Recovery Fund and mailed to the association, P.O. Box 872, Middletown, CA 95461.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In the first installment, I began telling the story of Kentucky-to-California pioneer, Nancy Kelsey, who was interviewed by her daughter in 1896.
The story was compiled by Roy M. Sylar.
Mrs. Kelsey and the Bidwell-Bartleson Party departed from Missouri in 1841. While in Nebraska the pioneer party dined on buffalo. The men in the group found it necessary to post night watchmen “who kept up a steady fire with their guns so the herds would split around the camp.” They lost a good number of their oxen team as they took off with the herds.
When the trail-weary travelers reached Soda Springs, the Bartleson Party and a missionary group split off to head to Oregon. Now, Nancy Kelsey had the distinction of being the only woman with the group of 32 men.
These became difficult times as the party traveled over the salt flat desert of the Great Salt Lake in search of “Mary’s River, “ which was depicted on Dr. John Marsh’s map. The story then states that they followed the Humboldt River believing it to be “Mary’s River.”
The Kelsey party eventually found their way to the Sierra Nevada Mountains, but not before abandoning their wagons and relying only on horseback as a means for their travels.
Mrs. Kelsey explained, “Of course we did not know where we were. The party scattered here to find the best way to descend the mountains. I was left with my babe alone, and as I sat there on my horse and I listened to the sighing and moaning of the winds through the pines, it seemed the loneliest spot in the world. The descent was so abrupt that an Indian, who had come to us on the mountain, was allowed to lead my horse for part of the way. At one place an old man of the party (George Hanshaw) became so exhausted, or nearly so, that they had to threaten to shoot him before he would proceed.
“At another place four pack animals fell over a bluff and we never tried to recover them,” she said. “They had gone so far that it was no use to think of it. We were then out of provisions as we had eaten all of our cattle. I walked barefoot until my feet were blistered. For two days I had nothing to eat but acorns. My husband came near dying of cramps and it was suggested we leave him out, but I protested and declared I would never leave him as long as there was life. We killed a horse and stayed over until the next day when he was able to go on.”
After this harrowing experience, and many more, the party found their way to the San Joaquin Valley. By November, with the aid of some Indian scouts they made it to Dr. John Marsh’s ranch in what is now Martinez.
When you think about the mountain roads we travel now, with today’s fine highways, then compare this to the pioneer travel of yesteryear, it’s amazing indeed to comprehend just what those hardy pioneers lived through to get west.
Mrs. Kelsey’s story gets a bit confusing to follow, at times, and understandably so. When you consider all of the events that took place, along with the consideration of her age and health at the time she recounted them, she does a remarkable job. Events have been compared with other journals written at the time to corroborate her stories.
It was December when the Kelseys found themselves at John Sutter’s Fort near the Sacramento River.
They were aided, once again by unnamed Indians, who spent 15 days rowing the weary travelers up the river.
Mrs. Kelsey stated, “This winter was a very wet one and in the spring of ’42, in April, we left the kitchen door of Sutter’s Fort and landed near Cache Creek where we camped all summer, killed deer and elk, and made Spanish boots out of their hides and saved the tallow.”
Then, like a scene from a Western movie, Mrs. Kelsey recounted a run-in with Salvador Vallejo, who ran cattle in Lake County and was the brother of General Mariano Vallejo of Sonoma.
She explained, “Salvador unarmed us and ordered us to be taken to the mission (in Sonoma), but our men stole into their camp that night and quietly recaptured their weapons and we returned to Sutter’s Fort. With the profits we made on this hunt, we bought one hundred cattle and took them to Oregon in the spring and summer of 1843.”
By 1845 the Kelseys had a home in Napa Valley. Mrs. Kelsey recalled, “We were in Napa Valley when the Mexican War, or the Revolution as we called it then, broke out (in 1846). My husband offered his service to Fremont (John Fremont).
“I was sent to Fort Sonoma and rode the distance horseback and carried a one month old babe in my arms. (The Kelsey’s fourth child.) I was so weak when I arrived at my destination that I could hardly stand up.
“I found Mrs. Vallejo at Sonoma. Her husband had been captured and sent to Sutter’s Fort.”
Nancy Kelsey went on to explain that she and another woman sewed shirts and baked bread for Fremont’s men at that time. According to the records, it wasn’t only shirts that she sewed. Nancy Kelsey, Mrs. Benjamin Dewell, and Mrs. Mathews helped make the famous Bear Flag for the Bear Flag Revolt in Sonoma.
The rest of Nancy Kelsey’s story continues to read like a “Who’s Who” of the American West, with anecdotes about Kit Carson’s half-brothers, Lindsay and Moses Carson. Lindsay and some of the other Carsons had a ranch in Lake County.
A true tale of the American West wouldn’t be complete without stories of the Gold Rush, which are also woven into the colorful tapestry of Nancy Kelsey’s true history.
When we consider the settlement of our state, we never want to overlook the grim inhumanities that occurred to the Native population along the way, which assault our senses today.
Ken Burns, PBS movie maker and historian, said, “America without the West is unthinkable now. Yet there was nothing inevitable about our taking it. Others had prior claim to its vastness, after all, and we could have quite easily have remained forever huddled east of the Mississippi. In resolving to move west and become a continental nation we would exact a fearful price from those already living on the land. But we also became a different people, and it is no accident that the turbulent history – and the myths that have grown up around it – have made the West the most potent symbol of the nation as a whole, overseas as well as in our own hearts."
Burns continued, “The story of the West was once told as an unbroken series of triumphs- the victory of “civilization” over “barbarism,” a relentlessly inspirational epic in which greed and cruelty were often glossed over as enterprise and courage. Later, that epic would be turned upside down by some, so that the story of the West became another –equally misleading- morality tale, one in which the crimes of conquest and dispossession were allowed to overshadow everything else that ever happened beyond the Mississippi. The truth about the West is far more complicated and much more compelling.”
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is an educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – There is still time to nominate a special individual, business or organization for the Stars of Lake County Community Awards.
Organizers said the deadline for Stars nominations has been extended to this Friday, Oct. 23, at 5 p.m.
Nominations postmarked by that date also will be accepted.
There are several categories for which there have been no nominations. Organizers ask community members to review the list of nominees below and consider nominating a person, organization or business that deserves recognition for their efforts on behalf of their communities.
To date, Stars of Lake County has acknowledged more than 1,750 entities throughout Lake County.
The 18th annual Stars of Lake County will be held on Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Soper Reese Theatre.
Tickets are on sale now. All seats are reserved and cost $25 per person.
Contact the Lake County Chamber at 707-263-5092 for tickets or stop by the office at 875 Lakeport Blvd. at Vista Point. Every nominee will receive two free tickets.
The reception will be catered by The Lodge at Blue Lakes beginning at 5 p.m. and the awards ceremony begins at 6:15 p.m. There will be a no host bar.
Current nominees are listed below.
1. Marla Ruzicka Humanitarian of the Year (Sponsored by Cliff and Nancy Ruzicka):
– No nominations.
2. Senior of the Year (Sponsored by Westamerica Bank):
– Gene Paleno, Lakeport.
3. Volunteer of the Year (Sponsored by Sutter Lakeside Hospital):
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Calico and tabby cats are waiting for adoption at Lake County Animal Care and Control this week.
The cats are a mix of short and longhair mixes, with four adults and two kittens.
For those looking for lost pets as a result of the Valley fire, visit the Lake County Animal Care and Control Web site, which features additional dogs and cats that officials are looking to reunite with their families.
In addition to spaying or neutering, cats that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are microchipped before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets there, hoping you'll choose them.
In addition to the animals featured here, all adoptable animals in Lake County can be seen here: http://bit.ly/Z6xHMb .
The following cats at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (other cats pictured on the animal control Web site that are not listed here are still “on hold”).
Domestic short hair mix
This domestic short hair mix has calico markings.
The cat is in cat room kennel No. 4, ID No. 3755.
Male domestic short hair mix
This male domestic short hair mix has a gray tabby coat.
Shelter staff said he is an older gentleman who has been neutered and is missing some teeth.
He's in cat room kennel No. 34, ID No. 3842.
Domestic short hair mix
This female domestic short hair mix has a coat with calico markings.
She is in cat room kennel No. 35, ID No. 3263.
Domestic longhair mix
This domestic longhair mix cat has a light orange coat.
The cat is in cat room kennel No. 86, ID No. 3843.
Male tabby kitten
This male kitten has a short gray tabby coat.
Shelter staff said he was found on Foothill Drive in Lucerne.
He's in cat room kennel No. 120a, ID No. 3765.
Male tabby kitten
This male kitten has a short gray tabby coat.
Shelter staff said he was found on Foothill Drive in Lucerne.
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Seven hopeful dogs are waiting for adoption at Lake County Animal Care and Control.
Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of cocker spaniel, pit bull terrier and terrier.
For those looking for lost pets as a result of the Valley fire, visit the Lake County Animal Care and Control Web site, which features additional dogs and cats that officials are looking to reunite with their families.
Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.
In addition to the animals featured here, all adoptable animals in Lake County can be seen here: http://bit.ly/Z6xHMb .
The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).
Male pit bull mix
This male pit bull terrier mix has a short gray and white coat.
He's in kennel No. 7, ID No. 3458.
'Digger'
“Digger” is a male terrier mix with a short tan coat.
He was found on Lakeview Drive in Nice.
He's in kennel No. 8, ID No. 3693.
'Tortia'
“Tortia” is a female pit bull terrier mix.
She has a short brown coat.
Tortia is in kennel No. 9, ID No. 3760.
Male pit bull terrier
This male pit bull terrier mix has a short brown and white coat.
He was found in Clearlake Oaks.
He's in kennel No. 17, ID No. 3719.
'Sebastian'
“Sebastian” is a buff-colored male cocker spaniel.
His owner died and now he is looking for a new home.
He's in kennel No. 18, ID No. 3270.
'Buddy'
“Buddy” is a male pit bull terrier mix with a short gray coat.
He was found on Lakeview Drive in Nice.
He's in kennel No. 25, ID No. 3694.
Female pit bull terrier mix
This female pit bull terrier mix has a short gray and white coat.
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Ely Stage Stop & Country Museum will present its next “Living History” event on Saturday, Oct. 24.
This will be the final Living History Day for this year. November and December events have been suspended due to the approaching holiday season.
The October event will welcome Phil Smoley, Lake County Historical Society Board member and Civil War aficionado.
Smoley will be available to the public in the Ely main house starting at noon to talk about how the Civil War helped to save Clear Lake.
He will be available until 2 p.m. to visit with guests and answer questions.
The Lake County Historical Society’s Ely Stage Stop & Country Museum is located at 9921 State Highway 281 (Soda Bay Road) in Kelseyville, near Clear Lake Riviera, just north of Highway 29-Kit's Corner.
Current hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.
Living History events are held on the fourth Saturday of each month from noon until 2 p.m.
Fiddlers’ Jams occur the first Sunday of every month, again, from noon until 2 p.m.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – For those community members with horses and other large animals needing help in the wake of the Valley fire, a North Coast nonprofit is continuing its efforts to make sure that animals are fed and their people have the supplies and tack needed in the days ahead.
Sonoma Action for Equine Rescue, or SAFER, is offering assistance in the form of feed for all types of large animals and livestock – horses, cows, goats, sheep, llamas – to Lake County residents affected by the Valley fire, and also have expanded that assistance to those impacted by the Rocky and Jerusalem fires before it.
“We just have an enormous amount of hay and feed coming in,” said Kate Sullivan, who founded SAFER in 2007.
There also are bags of food like Equine Senior, and a wide array of donated tack, tools, tarps, some fencing and other supplies, Sullivan said.
Sullivan said they are increasing their local outreach – which has included social media, fliers at locations such as animal hospitals and outreach to groups around the state – to make sure that they have reached everyone who needs their help.
SAFER – also known in Mendocino and Lake counties as North Counties Horse Rescue – had an active presence in Lake County well before the fire, both on the side of animal rescue and assistance for owners trying to afford their horses through economically trying times.
Several years ago, SAFER instituted its “Donate A Bale” program through Rainbow Ag, which offered assistance for horse owners trying to hold onto their animals during the depths of the recession.
The organization joined many other groups from across the region, California and even the nation in offering assistance to impacted animals after the Valley fire began its devastating sweep through southern Lake County on Sept. 12.
Sullivan said SAFER also has assisted victims of the Butte fire, which burned in Amador and Calaveras counties at the same time as the Valley fire.
SAFER has a number of public programs, one being the rescuing of horses directly from auctions, Sullivan said.
On the day the fire started Sullivan was heading home to Sebastopol from the Escalon Auction outside of Modesto with six horses she had purchased after outbidding a notorious meat buyer, and thinking she might take a break for a few days. Then she heard about the fire.
She soon was swinging into action to offer help, calling Jim Mayfield of Rainbow Ag the next day to make adjustments to the Donate A Bale program so that it could also serve evacuees, their horses and livestock.
That night, she followed up by sending out an online request to her extensive network of connections, seeking help for fire victims.
While she couldn't have guessed how enormous the need would be, neither could she nor her group have known how big the response would be.
Working closely with Sullivan is Carleene Cady of Lakeport, an equestrian and a retired nurse practitioner who was employed in a Sonoma County hospital emergency room, and whose multitasking abilities make her just the person for the job, according to Sullivan.
Cady calls the entire experience of working both with fire victims and those who want to help them “truly amazing.”
Help from far and wide
On Sept. 14, Scott Bell at Bell Ranching called Sullivan, wanting to donate a semi load of hay for the fire victims. However, Bell had a short window in which to deliver it, and Sullivan needed a place to store the hay.
She began making phone calls and was pointed toward Lake County Farm Bureau Executive Director Brenna Sullivan, herself an accomplished horsewoman.
By the next day, Brenna Sullivan secured a large shed at Adobe Creek Packing for feed storage. Adobe Creek Controller Shirley Campbell contributed the facility for long-term feed storage.
Other help also started coming in, such as a donation from Rainbow Ag and Purina of 24 pallets of Equine Senior, plus smaller loads from other donors, Kate Sullivan said.
From there, Sullivan said supplies started rolling out to those who needed them.
SAFER now has supply depots in both Kelseyville and Middletown, with fire survivors also able to access help through the Rainbow Ag stores in Lakeport and Ukiah, Sullivan said.
She recognized the ASPCA's equine division for its help, noting the organized quickly granted SAFER $5,500 for horse hay purchases.
Sullivan said North Coast Barns and 7-M Ranch came forward in the Middletown area to participate with SAFER's fire assistance program. She also recognized Kevin Tighe for all his work receiving and dispensing feed as well as his counsel on how best to serve the agriculture community at this time.
“Together we watched and listened anxiously as reports came in of sad losses and miraculous survivals amongst the families impacted by the fires. We are both humbled and delighted to be working with so many folks from all over Northern California who have come forward to help out fellow animal owners. It's a great community,” Sullivan said.
There has been so many offers of help that SAFER had to turn some donations down, Sullivan said.
Sullivan said Cady came on four days into the effort, working seven days a week coordinating the comings and going of more than $150,000 worth of hay, feed and other donations, while also arranging meetings with people at the depots to either take applications for assistance or to receive donations and give tax receipts to donors.
“She's just tireless,” Sullivan said of Cady.
Cady said a lot of hay has been trucked in from the Sacramento Valley. Equine groups like the Shoreline Riders of Fort Bragg have stepped up to offer tack, putting out the call for donations and then driving over from the coast to deliver five Western saddles, three English saddles, saddles pads and bridles.
Only one of the saddles is left, Cady said.
She recalled one woman coming in seeking tack, and when asked what kind of saddle she wanted, she said she was happy with any kind – she just wanted to ride her horse.
For those who have lost everything save their animals, it's the little things that have had great meaning, said Cady.
She said one person came in and picked up a hoof pick to clean their horse's hooves. “You would have thought it was worth $100,” she said of the usually inexpensive item.
Another fire survivor became emotionally overwhelmed when she picked up a set of donated screwdrivers, noting she didn't even have that most basic tool, Cady said.
Cady said other donations have included shovels, tape measures, levels, pliers and duct tape. One person who came in gave an exclamation of delight at finding the duct tape, she said.
“These people have been so wonderful,” she said. “They don't want to take too much.”
The survivors also are optimistic, Cady said, and “are starting to get their feet under them a little bit,” and beginning the process of planning for the future.
“They're phenomenal,” she said.
She's been glad to help, calling it a rewarding but exhausting experience. Returning home after a busy day, she reminds herself that she is in her own house – something that isn't a fact for many of the people she is assisting.
She said those who come in seeking assistance are sharing their stories with her. “When bad things happen, sometimes you need to tell your story over and over,” she said.
Most of the people who have come to SAFER for assistance saved their animals, but then there are heartbreaking cases, like the woman who showed Cady pictures of the horses she lost.
“The people that lost animals, they've all said that was the worst,” beyond loss of houses, Cady said.
It's still not clear just how many large animals and livestock died during the fire or afterward as a result of their injuries. The California Office of Emergency Services reported that in the weeks after the fire, animal carcasses – including more than 100 cattle and five horses – were taken to a rendering plant.
Separately, Sullivan said they've heard of other animals that have died whose owners buried them at home.
Sullivan said that, as of this week, SAFER has fed more than 800 head of surviving cattle, at least 70 of the evacuee foster horses as well as contributing feed to Middletown Animal Hospital and Lake County Animal Care and Control.
“We are still sending horse hay to major evacuation fosters as well as livestock ranches and will continue to do so as necessary,” she said. “We are also aware, however, that the local businesses that supply these folks also need to be supported and we plan to phase out support of those animals whose situations are resolved.”
Sullivan added that, for families who have lost everything, SAFER will be here as long as they are needed to help care for dependent animals while rebuilding takes place.
Cady said they continue to store hay, tack, some fencing and other supplies, with everything kept secure and protected from the weather so it can be available in the months ahead.
In the midst of its Valley fire efforts, SAFER is keeping busy with one of its core tasks – finding homes for horses in need.
Case in point: Remember those six horses that Sullivan rescued the day before the fire? She said they were vetted, trimmed and evaluated by a trainer, and four already have been adopted in the month since they were rescued from the meat buyer at the Escalon Auction.
For those who would like to assist SAFER, money can be donated by calling the Rainbow Ag store in Lakeport at 707-279-0550 and asking for the SAFER Fire Relief Account; a tax receipt will be sent.
To donate goods like hay and horse supplies or to request assistance, call Cady at 707-349-1993. Kate Sullivan can be reached at 707-824-9543.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Scientists using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have produced new maps of Jupiter – the first in a series of annual portraits of the solar system's outer planets.
Collecting these yearly images – essentially the planetary version of annual school picture days for children – will help current and future scientists see how these giant worlds change over time.
The observations are designed to capture a broad range of features, including winds, clouds, storms and atmospheric chemistry.
Already, the Jupiter images have revealed a rare wave just north of the planet's equator and a unique filamentary feature in the core of the Great Red Spot not seen previously.
“Every time we look at Jupiter, we get tantalizing hints that something really exciting is going on,” said Amy Simon, a planetary scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “This time is no exception.”
Simon and her colleagues produced two global maps of Jupiter from observations made using Hubble's high-performance Wide Field Camera 3.
The two maps represent nearly back-to-back rotations of the planet, making it possible to determine the speeds of Jupiter's winds. The findings are described in an Astrophysical Journal paper, available online.
The new images confirm that the Great Red Spot continues to shrink and become more circular, as it has been doing for years. The long axis of this characteristic storm is about 150 miles shorter now than it was in 2014.
Recently, the storm had been shrinking at a faster-than-usual rate, but the latest change is consistent with the long-term trend.
The Great Red Spot remains more orange than red these days, and its core, which typically has more intense color, is less distinct than it used to be.
An unusual wispy filament is seen, spanning almost the entire width of the vortex. This filamentary streamer rotates and twists throughout the 10-hour span of the Great Red Spot image sequence, getting distorted by winds blowing at 330 miles per hour or even greater speeds.
In Jupiter's North Equatorial Belt, the researchers found an elusive wave that had been spotted on the planet only once before, decades earlier, by Voyager 2. In those images, the wave is barely visible, and nothing like it was seen again, until the current wave was found traveling at about 16 degrees north latitude, in a region dotted with cyclones and anticyclones. Similar waves – called baroclinic waves – sometimes appear in Earth's atmosphere where cyclones are forming.
“Until now, we thought the wave seen by Voyager 2 might have been a fluke,” said co-author Glenn Orton of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. “As it turns out, it's just rare!”
The wave may originate in a clear layer beneath the clouds, only becoming visible when it propagates up into the cloud deck, according to the researchers. That idea is supported by the spacing between the wave crests.
In addition to Jupiter, the researchers have observed Neptune and Uranus, and maps of those planets also will be placed in the public archive. Saturn will be added to the series later. Hubble will dedicate time each year to this special set of observations, called the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program.
“The long-term value of the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program is really exciting,” said co-author Michael H. Wong of the University of California, Berkeley. “The collection of maps that we will build up over time will not only help scientists understand the atmospheres of our giant planets, but also the atmospheres of planets being discovered around other stars, and Earth's atmosphere and oceans, too.”
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A Monday morning solo-vehicle crash in Kelseyville resulted in a power outage and an extended road closure, with minor injuries for the driver.
The crash occurred at 7:50 a.m. on Konocti Road, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Kory Reynolds.
Reynolds said Angela Kania, 30, of Kelseyville, was driving her 2002 Ford Explorer westbound on Konocti Road at an unknown speed with her 10-month-old son in the vehicle.
Kania reported she fell asleep as she was driving, which allowed her vehicle to drift off the north roadway edge and strike a utility pole, Reynolds said.
The force of the crash snapped the pole at its base, causing the pole to fall across both lanes of traffic and causing a power outage in Kelseyville and damage to at least one other utility pole, according to Reynolds.
Reynolds said Kania suffered minor injuries and her son was uninjured in the collision. Kania was wearing a seatbelt and her son was in a child safety seat.
Drugs and alcohol are not suspected in the collision which is still under investigation by Officer Greg Buchholz, Reynolds said.
Konocti Road was closed for several hours but had reopened by mid-afternoon, the CHP reported.
Pacific Gas and Electric's online outage center showed no related outages still in effect by Monday afternoon.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A central storefront for distributing the Valley fire donations that have poured in from around the country is set to open this week in Lakeport.
The “store” – which actually will offer donated goods at no cost to Valley fire victims – will open on Monday, Oct. 19, in the former Sears retail store at 857 11th St., next to the laundromat behind Round Table Pizza.
The store is being run by Adventist Community Services, according to Seth Cantu, who is a part of the pastoral team at the Upper Lake Seventh-day Adventist Church.
“We'll be open Monday for our first day,” said Cantu.
This week, the store will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday as they work to finalize the schedule and make sure they have volunteers to cover all the hours, Cantu said.
Then, next weekend, regular hours will get fully under way, with the store to be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, Cantu said.
He said Sunday is being added to the schedule so that people who work have a chance to stop in over the weekend.
“In the beginning we really want to be there as often as we can for the people,” he said.
As time goes on, Cantu said survivors' needs will determine opening hours and days.
The 7,000-square-foot building has 5,000 square feet of display space and 2,000 square feet for stocking and sorting, Cantu said.
Cantu said the hub for handling donations – including sorting and storage – is at the Work Right building next to Lampson Airport.
County Deputy Administrative Officer Jeff Rein said the 66,000-square-foot Work Right building is filled with donations that are being sorted and that then will be transferred to the Lakeport storefront for free distribution.
Rein said the county has received donations from all 48 continental states. “As a result, the county has been inundated with donated clothing, personal items, household goods and the like and for the most part, material donations are more than sufficient to meet the need.”
He credited both Adventist Community Services and members of the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for lending their time and expertise to achieving “significant progress” in organizing the consolidated approach to handling the donations.
Donations that had been collected by other organizations, such as the Clearlake Oaks Moose Lodge, the Middletown and Cobb Lions clubs, Middletown Bible Church, United Christian Parish, Clearlake Methodist Church and many others, are now being directed to the distribution center, according to Rein and Cantu.
When community members impacted by the fire visit the store, they will be asked to present a form of identification, as well as their pre-disaster address, their current address and information about their family, Cantu said.
That information, he said, will be used to help keep track of needs and assist with outreach, as well as ensure that people who need the items get them.
In addition to the Lakeport site, Rein said the county is attempting to find space in Cobb or Middletown – or both – to set up similar distribution points in the south county.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The unemployment rate in Lake County dropped to the lowest level in more than a decade in September, with California's jobless rate also down while the national jobless rate remained flat.
Lake County's September unemployment rate in the Lake County was 6 percent, down from 6.5 percent in August, and below the year-ago estimate of 7.8 percent, according to data from two separate surveys released Friday by the California Employment Development Department.
California’s unemployment rate – derived from a federal survey of California households – decreased to 5.9 percent in September, dropping below 6 percent for the first time since November 2007, the Employment Development Department reported.
For comparison, the state’s August unemployment rate was 6.1 percent, and in September 2014, the unemployment rate was 7.3 percent, based on the report.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. unemployment rate was 5.1 percent in September, unchanged from August.
Lake County's 6-percent September unemployment is the lowest rate reported for the county since August 2001, when unemployment was 5.8 percent, according to a review of Employment Development Department data.
At the same time, Lake County's civilian labor force dropped from 30,980 people in August to 30,140 people to September, but still topped the 30,000 workforce members recorded in September 2014.
While thousands of people were impacted by the Valley fire in September, it's not yet clear how many jobs or workers were lost as a result, and at least preliminarily that drop in members of the workforce appears to be linked to industry patterns, particularly farming.
Between July and August the workforce grew from 30,040 to 30,980 people, while farming jobs grew from 1,310 to 1,840. Farming jobs subsequently dropped to 1,240 in September.
Jobs across all industries totaled 16,720 in September, down from 17,350 in August, the height of the county's pear season.
Total farm jobs declined by 32.6 percent, while all industries were down 3.6 percent.
In September, Lake County's 6-percent unemployment rate ranked it No. 34 statewide.
San Mateo County had the lowest unemployment rate, 3 percent, while Imperial's 21.6 percent rate earned it the No. 58 ranking.
Details on state employment picture
California's nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 8,200 during September to total 16,199,000, for a total gain of 2,077,700 jobs since the recovery began in February 2010, according to a survey of 58,000 California businesses that measures jobs in the economy.
The year-over-year change – September 2014 to September 2015 – showed an increase of 444,300 jobs, up 2.8 percent, the report said.
The federal survey of 5,500 state households showed an increase in the number of employed people, estimating the number of Californians holding jobs in September was 17,884,000, an increase of 12,000 from August, and up 400,000 from the employment total in September of last year.
The number of people unemployed in California was 1,121,000 – down by 43,000 over the month, and down by 255,000 compared with September of last year, the Employment Development Department reported.
On Friday the Employment Development Department also reported that there were 343,419 people receiving regular Unemployment Insurance benefits during the September survey week, compared with 367,255 in August and 392,823 in September of 2014.
New claims for Unemployment Insurance were 40,821 in September, compared with 43,332 in August and 52,279 in September of last year, the state reported.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
