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Vendors and visitors at the First Lake County USDA Housing Fair on Friday, May 25, 2018, in Kelseyville, Calif. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News.


KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The first of several planned housing fairs in Lake County took place on May 25 at the Beckstoffer Vineyard offices in Kelseyville.

The housing fair targeted the agricultural workforce of Lake County and was organized by the Lake County Economic Development Corp. in collaboration with United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development.

The housing fair was sponsored in part by Beckstoffer Vineyards and Bella Vista Farms. Participating service providers included the Lake County Association of Realtors, Sterling Mortgage, Savings Bank of Mendocino County, Umpqua Bank, Skiles and Associates General Construction and Development and Dunshee Builders.

The purpose of the fair was to increase awareness of available USDA Rural Development home loan programs with the goal of expediting homeownership for the Lake County workforce.

Several targeted housing fairs will take place around Lake County with the next fair scheduled in July to address the ongoing rebuilding efforts in the Cobb and Middletown areas. Details of the Cobb area housing fair will be announced when finalized.

Future fairs are anticipated in the Clearlake and Upper Lake areas, with another agricultural workforce housing fair to be scheduled.

“Affordable housing is a vital component in our mission at USDA to improve rural prosperity, but we can’t do it alone,” said USDA Rural Development California State Director Kim Dolbow Vann. “Working together with our local partners and stakeholders in Lake County we are able to offer these comprehensive housing fairs, and make sure everyone is aware of the resources available to them.”

USDA Rural Development’s Single Family Housing loan programs help moderate to low-income individuals and households purchase homes, build equity, and increase their investment in the community.

Highlights of the programs include no down payment, no mortgage insurance, and interest rates as low as one percent for eligible buyers.

Loans are available to all individuals and households that meet criteria such as income levels, credit scores, and stable income. Residents may be assisted in purchasing an existing home or building a new one.

For more information on USDA Rural Development’s programs visit www.rd.usda.gov/ca.

Contact the Lake County Economic Development Corp. at 3895 Main Street, Kelseyville, 707-279-1540, Extension 101.
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Betsy Ross sewing. Public domain image.


June 14 is Flag Day, the day we celebrate the birthday of the Stars and Stripes. But do you know the story behind the flag?

Of all the designs the new country could have chosen, why the stars and stripes?

Tradition tells us the quaint story of Betsy Ross, which goes like this:

George Washington and Robert Morris (a main financier of the war) went with a man named George Ross to the upholstery shop run by one of his relatives, a Mrs. Betsy Ross.

The American general – apparently taking time off from the desperate conflict raging about him to get some interior design tips from a random woman – had in hand a rough sketch of a flag he wanted for his new army. He wanted to know what Mrs. Ross thought.

With a critical eye, the veteran upholsterer made a few suggested alterations, changing the number of points on the stars from five to six (can you imagine a flag full of pentagrams?) and otherwise fine-tuning the sketch. With the men’s approval, Betsy Ross proceeded to sew the first official American flag.

This is the story passed down over the years in nursery rhymes and folk songs and absolutely no documentary evidence exists to substantiate it. So what do we know?

Well for one, we know that on June 14, 1777, in the early years of the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the official national flag. The resolution read:

“Resolved, that the Flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

Not very descriptive when you think about it? A half-decent lawyer could find enough loopholes in that short resolution to create pretty much any flag he wished.

Museum of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts. Public domain image.


To start, no mention is given on how the stars and stripes are to be represented together. It would technically be true for the American flag to display the constellation of stars in the main field with the stripes in the upper left corner. For that matter, the stripes could appear in any corner or no corner at all. Who’s to say?

Although the exact details escape us, we can at least trace the origins of the flag with some certainty. A brief look at them might give us some insight into how Congress came up with the design they did.

Since the United States was the rebellious child of Great Britain, it’s no surprise that the story of its flag is tied to the tradition of our own.

From 1707 until the Revolution, a British naval flag called the Meteor Flag or Red Ensign was a common sight up and down the Atlantic seaboard in colonial harbors. Flown by ships of the Royal Navy, it was red with Union Jack in the upper left corner. The location of the Union Jack would be the exact location of our Stars against a blue field.

Okay, so we’re getting somewhere. But what about the stripes?

As the Revolutionary War got under way, farmers-turned-soldiers from every colony showed up to fight, each group carrying their own kind of flag. Such diversity wouldn’t do, so the patriots decided they needed a single flag to represent all American forces.

The Grand Union Flag, also known as the Congress Colors, First Ensign and Cambridge Flag emerged as the unofficial national flag during the early years of the war. However, this new flag, meant to be the one to represent all American forces, was rarely flown over anything other than ships.

This wouldn’t be the flag to confront England’s forces on the battlefield. It was, however, the flag to fly over America’s first Continental fleet (and is considered by many to be the first “true” American flag).

The Grand Union took the design of the Meteor Flag and added red and white stripes to the main field. So when Congress passed the resolution on June 14, 1777, dictating that the flag display stripes and stars, everyone at least had an idea of what they were talking about.

But, other than Betsy Ross, who could have been the first person to set pen to paper and given life to the design congress had in mind?

Francis Hopkinson. Public domain image.


The answer is less romantic than an old lady upholsterer.

The only evidence we have for who designed the flag comes from a series of angry letters written by a disgruntled politician and a series of government reports his letter sparked. His name was Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration and Congressman and chair of the Navy board during the war.

In 1780, Hopkinson sent a letter to the Admiralty demanding payment for work he had done during his time on the Navy board. At the bottom of a long list of things he had designed, including things like ornaments for letterheads, Hopkinson claimed he had designed “the flag of the United States of America” (way to bury the lead, right?).

In typical government fashion, the letter made the rounds among politicians and bureaucrats before someone had the bright idea to waste Congressional time by appointing a committee to investigate Hopkinson’s claims (after all, the only other thing on their agenda was fighting the British, so there was plenty of time!).

In the end, the committee found that Hopkinson had indeed had a part in designing the flag, but had not been the only man consulted, and therefore did not deserve full credit – or payment – for his contribution.

What had he asked for in exchange for designing the most powerful symbol of this country?

A quarter of a cask of wine.

I think we had better stick to the Betsy story for our nursery rhymes.

Happy Flag Day.

Antone Pierucci is curator of history at the Riverside County Park and Open Space District and a freelance writer whose work has been featured in such magazines as Archaeology and Wild West as well as regional California newspapers.
The flag of the United States from 1776 to 1776. Public domain image.
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This low-angle self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows the vehicle at the site from which it reached down to drill into a rock target called "Buckskin" on lower Mount Sharp. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.

NASA’s Curiosity rover has found new evidence preserved in rocks on Mars that suggests the planet could have supported ancient life, as well as new evidence in the Martian atmosphere that relates to the search for current life on the Red Planet.

While not necessarily evidence of life itself, these findings are a good sign for future missions exploring the planet’s surface and subsurface.

The new findings – “tough” organic molecules in three-billion-year-old sedimentary rocks near the surface, as well as seasonal variations in the levels of methane in the atmosphere – appear in the June 8 edition of the journal Science.

Organic molecules contain carbon and hydrogen, and also may include oxygen, nitrogen and other elements. While commonly associated with life, organic molecules also can be created by non-biological processes and are not necessarily indicators of life.

“With these new findings, Mars is telling us to stay the course and keep searching for evidence of life,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, in Washington. “I’m confident that our ongoing and planned missions will unlock even more breathtaking discoveries on the Red Planet.”

“Curiosity has not determined the source of the organic molecules,” said Jen Eigenbrode of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, who is lead author of one of the two new Science papers. “Whether it holds a record of ancient life, was food for life, or has existed in the absence of life, organic matter in Martian materials holds chemical clues to planetary conditions and processes.”

Although the surface of Mars is inhospitable today, there is clear evidence that in the distant past, the Martian climate allowed liquid water – an essential ingredient for life as we know it – to pool at the surface.

Data from Curiosity reveal that billions of years ago, a water lake inside Gale Crater held all the ingredients necessary for life, including chemical building blocks and energy sources.

“The Martian surface is exposed to radiation from space. Both radiation and harsh chemicals break down organic matter,” said Eigenbrode. “Finding ancient organic molecules in the top five centimeters of rock that was deposited when Mars may have been habitable, bodes well for us to learn the story of organic molecules on Mars with future missions that will drill deeper.”

Seasonal methane releases

In the second paper, scientists describe the discovery of seasonal variations in methane in the Martian atmosphere over the course of nearly three Mars years, which is almost six Earth years. This variation was detected by Curiosity’s Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite.

Water-rock chemistry might have generated the methane, but scientists cannot rule out the possibility of biological origins. Methane previously had been detected in Mars' atmosphere in large, unpredictable plumes. This new result shows that low levels of methane within Gale Crater repeatedly peak in warm, summer months and drop in the winter every year.

"This is the first time we've seen something repeatable in the methane story, so it offers us a handle in understanding it," said Chris Webster of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, or JPL, in Pasadena, California, lead author of the second paper. "This is all possible because of Curiosity's longevity. The long duration has allowed us to see the patterns in this seasonal 'breathing.'"

Finding organic molecules

To identify organic material in the Martian soil, Curiosity drilled into sedimentary rocks known as mudstone from four areas in Gale Crater.

This mudstone gradually formed billions of years ago from silt that accumulated at the bottom of the ancient lake.

The rock samples were analyzed by SAM, which uses an oven to heat the samples (in excess of 900 degrees Fahrenheit, or 500 degrees Celsius) to release organic molecules from the powdered rock.

SAM measured small organic molecules that came off the mudstone sample – fragments of larger organic molecules that don’t vaporize easily.

Some of these fragments contain sulfur, which could have helped preserve them in the same way sulfur is used to make car tires more durable, according to Eigenbrode.

The results also indicate organic carbon concentrations on the order of 10 parts per million or more. This is close to the amount observed in Martian meteorites and about 100 times greater than prior detections of organic carbon on Mars’ surface.

Some of the molecules identified include thiophenes, benzene, toluene, and small carbon chains, such as propane or butene.

In 2013, SAM detected some organic molecules containing chlorine in rocks at the deepest point in the crater. This new discovery builds on the inventory of molecules detected in the ancient lake sediments on Mars and helps explains why they were preserved.

Finding methane in the atmosphere and ancient carbon preserved on the surface gives scientists confidence that NASA's Mars 2020 rover and ESA’s (European Space Agency's) ExoMars rover will find even more organics, both on the surface and in the shallow subsurface.

These results also inform scientists’ decisions as they work to find answers to questions concerning the possibility of life on Mars.

“Are there signs of life on Mars?” said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program, at NASA Headquarters. “We don’t know, but these results tell us we are on the right track.”

This work was funded by NASA's Mars Exploration Program for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) in Washington. Goddard provided the SAM instrument. JPL built the rover and manages the project for SMD.

For video and images of the findings, visit https://www.nasa.gov/mediaresources .

Information on NASA’s Mars activities is available online at https://www.nasa.gov/mars.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In January, the County of Lake began a process of community visioning, by getting out into the community, listening to people’s needs and priorities, and taking strategic steps to create a brighter future.

The community made it clear that economic development is a high priority, and the Lake County Board of Supervisors responded by making it one of the 10 pillars of its 10-year plan, Vision 2028.

Additionally, the board supported that commitment by contributing to development of a series of community visioning forums on the topic.

The Lake County Economic Development Corporation, or LCEDC, will host these forums.

LCEDC is a coalition that includes the county of Lake and cities of Clearlake and Lakeport, community business leaders, and experts in the areas of workforce development, real estate, health care, education and more.

Renowned North Bay Economist and Sonoma State University Professor Robert Eyler will lead the conversation with the purpose of creating a plan that offers an honest look at the realities, possibilities and opportunities for Lake County’s economic health and well-being, by focusing on economic sector opportunities.

“There are many cogs in the wheel of local economic development, and each of them needs to be strengthened for Lake County’s diverse communities to flourish,” said County Administrative Officer Carol J. Huchingson. “Dr. Robert Eyler understands Lake County’s challenges and opportunities. These Community Visioning Forums can trigger targeted action.”

“For Lake County businesses to succeed, they need to be strategically positioned in the marketplace, but even a great business model will only be sustainable with the right people,” added Bruce Wilson of Workforce Alliance North Bay. “Workforce development empowers and enables a thriving economy, and we look forward to contributing to these Forums.”

The community visioning forums on economic development are scheduled as follows.

Thursday, June 21, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Twin Pine Event Center
22223 Highway 29, Middletown

Tuesday, June 26, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Lakeport City Council chambers at City Hall
225 Park St.

Wednesday, June 27, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Clearlake City Council chambers at Clearlake City Hall
14050 Olympic Drive

For more information, call the County Administrative Office at 707-263-2580.
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GLENN COUNTY, Calif. – High winds blowing through the northern Sacramento Valley on Saturday helped fuel fires burning in nearby Glenn and Tehama counties, where thousands of of acres were burned and several structures destroyed.

The fires that began on Saturday included the Apple fire in Tehama County and the Chrome fire in Glenn County, both of which occurred in Cal Fire’s Tehama-Glenn Unit.

The Apple fire, located off of Apple and Paskenta roads west of Corning, started at 2:10 p.m. Saturday, according to Cal Fire.

The fire, whipped by erratic winds, led to closure of Corning and Butte Mountain roads, Cal Fire reported.

By 7 p.m., Cal Fire said the fire had grown to 2,500 acres and was 60-percent contained, with five residences and three outbuildings destroyed.

Cal Fire said the Chrome fire began just after 3:30 p.m. on Highway 162 and Forest Highway 7. It’s located north of the community of Elk Creek and just east of the boundaries of the Mendocino National Forest.

The fire was dispatched minutes later, and reported to be a rekindle of an earlier Chrome fire, which had begun on May 28 and was contained June 4 at 75 acres, according to Cal Fire.

Mendocino National Forest and Cal Fire personnel were on scene within minutes, according to radio reports.

Just after 5:30 p.m. the Glenn County Sheriff’s Office’s Office of Emergency Services reported that mandatory evacuations were in effect for Road 309 N from Stony Gorge east to the community of Elk Creek, with an evacuations shelter opened at Willows Memorial Hall.

At that point, the fire was about 500 acres with no containment, a figure that rose to 700 acres and 10-percent containment about two hours later.

Throughout the afternoon, Cal Fire air tankers criss-crossed the valley as they joined the effort to control the fire.

At about 8 p.m. the Glenn County Sheriff’s Office reported that 911 emergency lines in the area of Elk Creek to Stony Gorge were not working.

By 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Cal Fire gave an updated size estimate of 2,200 acres with 30 percent containment, with one residential structure destroyed and evacuation warnings in effect.

Additional information will be posted on the fires as it becomes available.

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.
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MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – A Middletown woman died and two Lakeport men were seriously injured in a Thursday evening head-on crash near Middletown.

Lottie Marie Cline, 63, died in the Thursday night wreck, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office.

Two Lakeport men, Roberto C. V. Gonzalez, 39, and Victor M. Villaneuva, 32, were in the other vehicle involved in the crash and suffered moderate injuries, the CHP said.

The agency said that just before 6:30 p.m. Thursday Cline was driving a 2006 Honda Odyssey minivan southbound on Highway 29 north of Butts Canyon Road while Gonzalez was driving a 2005 Ford F-350 pickup northbound in the same location.

The CHP said Cline’s Honda crossed over the highway’s solid double-yellow lines and collided head-on with the pickup Gonzalez was driving.

Cline died at the scene of the injuries she sustained in the wreck, authorities reported.

Gonzalez and Villaneuva were flown by REACH air ambulances to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment of their injuries, according to the CHP and reports from the scene.

The CHP said Cline, Gonzalez and Villaneuva were all wearing their seat belts.

Neither drugs nor alcohol are suspected to be factors in the wreck, which the CHP said remains under investigation.

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.
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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Firefighters on Sunday raised containment on two fires burning in the Northern Sacramento Valley.

The Apple and Chrome fires began on Saturday afternoon, as Lake County News has reported.

The Apple fire, located west of Corning in Tehama County, was 2,956 acres and 90-percent contained as of Sunday night.

The fire has destroyed three homes and six outbuildings. Officials said all evacuations have been lifted.

Cal Fire said crews are making good progress on the fire. Thirty personnel, seven engines and two water tenders remain assigned to the incident.

In neighboring Glenn County, the Chrome fire, burning north of Elk Creek, was reported to be 2,252 acres and 50-percent contained on Sunday night, according to the Cal Fire update.

Firefighters who arrived at the scene on Saturday said it was a rekindle of a fire that was contained last week.

The Chrome fire destroyed one outbuilding and prompted evacuations, which the Glenn County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday morning had been lifted.

Cal Fire said 246 fire personnel, 20 engines, 10 fire crews, six water tenders, two dozers and one helicopter are assigned to the fire.

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.
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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – State Sen. Mike McGuire’s landmark legislation setting statewide emergency alert protocols and regulation has been approved with an overwhelming bipartisan vote of the State Senate.

“California is facing a new normal, the size and scope of wildland fires are getting worse. Lives depend on the Legislature and Governor taking swift action to ensure statewide emergency alert standards are adopted, training for local emergency managers is implemented and we invest in a more proactive and effective mutual aid response system. The safety of our communities depends on it,” Sen. McGuire said.

The legislation, B 833, was introduced by Sen. McGuire, along with joint authors, Senators Bill Dodd and Jerry Hill, and principal co-authors Assemblymembers Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, Marc Levine and Jim Wood.

It will create statewide emergency alert standards for the first time in history for all of California’s 58 counties.

SB 833 will establish and mandate statewide emergency evacuation alert protocols for the first time in California history using the federal integrated public alert and warning system, or IPAWS, as the backbone.

The legislation will also mandate annual training for local emergency managers on how to best utilize the software and how to deploy alerts, require that alerts be sent out via landline telephones and mobile phones along with other communication mediums including radio, television and electronic highway billboards.

The North Bay Firestorm destroyed more than 6,000 homes, scorched more than 170,000 acres, caused billions in damage, and resulted in the death of more than 40 residents.

“The night of October 8 changed the lives of North Bay residents forever, when tens of thousands of residents were caught unaware that a massive wildland fire was about to engulf their home or business, because they did not receive an emergency alert,” Sen. McGuire said. “While there are hundreds of harrowing stories of bravery that night, regrettably, thousands of residents never received a warning.”

SB 833 was approved by the State Senate with a 39 to 0 vote. The bill now heads to the State Assembly for approval. The bill is supported by California Professional Firefighters, California Fire Chiefs, RCRC, the League of Cities and many others.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Friends of the Lake County Library this week presented the fruits of a recent major fundraising effort to the county of Lake.

At the Tuesday Board of Supervisors meeting, the group’s president, Debbie Zacharisen, presented a check for $8,590 to Lake County Librarian Christopher Veach and Supervisor Tina Scott.

The funds are thanks to the generosity of community members, including many county businesses, who responded to the group’s letter writing fundraising effort this past fall and winter.

The Friends matched the donations received and presented a check for $8,590 to be used for the purchase of books and other library materials for all of the library branches.

The Friends of the Lake County Library is a 501c3 volunteer organization dedicated to raising money for our county library system.

State funding for libraries is very low and the library budget is dependent on the county general fund which is severely stretched.

You can help by purchasing a membership in the Friends of the Library; purchasing books from the ongoing book sale that the Friends operate in the lobby of the library; by your donation of used books in excellent condition for re-sale; and by cash donations.

The library uses the funds raised to purchase library materials; supplies for the wonderful children’s and teen programs they provide; engaging programming for adults and more.

The Friends welcome new active members who would like to participate in fundraising efforts.

Monthly meetings are held the fourth Wednesday of each month at 10 a.m. at the library and all are welcome.

You can pick up a membership application the next time you are in the library or find one at http://www.friendsofthelakecountylibrary.org. You can also follow the group on Facebook at Friends of the Lake County Library.

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CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Nearly two dozen locals served as extras on a movie shoot in Clearlake Oaks last weekend.

The project is a trailer for “ZTV: the PreZerve” which is a zombie tale.

Among the locals on the crew, local Realtor David Hughes served as site coordinator for the shoot.

Producer Marisa Garay and Director Jason Ragosta described a positive experience shooting the trailer in Lake County.

If the trailer is successful, a feature length film will be shot in Lake County in the fall.

Email John Jensen at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has four dogs waiting for homes this week.

Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of Chihuahua, hound and pit bull.

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.

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”).

This young female hound is in kennel No. 10, ID No. 10132. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Hound pup

This young female hound has a short tricolor coat.

She’s in kennel No. 10, ID No. 10132.

“Buddy” is a male Chihuahua in kennel No. 15a, ID No. 10141. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

‘Buddy’

“Buddy” is a male Chihuahua with a short brown coat.

He’s in kennel No. 15a, ID No. 10141.

“Misty” is a female Chihuahua in kennel No. 15c, ID No. 10143. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

‘Misty’

“Misty” is a female Chihuahua with a long red coat.

She already is spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 15c, ID No. 10143.

“Leah” is a female pit bull terrier in kennel No. 24, ID No. 10124. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

‘Leah’

“Leah” is a female pit bull terrier with a short black and white coat.

She already has been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 24, ID No. 10124.

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.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm.

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.
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The Amaral-Galli family at their new home in Clearlake, Calif., on Saturday, June 4, 2018, along with Habitat for Humanity Lake County staff and volunteers. Courtesy photo.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Habitat for Humanity has celebrated the dedication of another home.

On Saturday, June 4, the Amaral-Galli family was welcomed into their new Clearlake home by family, friends, and Habitat volunteers and staff.

“It’s hard to believe this is real,” said Cynthia Amaral-Galli. “We are so grateful for an opportunity we never thought we’d have. The first few nights sleeping in our own place, where we’re not crowded, have been so wonderful. Our daughter finally has her own room. We can’t thank everyone enough.”

If you are a low-income household and would like to explore the qualifications for Habitat’s first-time homebuyer program and would like an application, please call 707-994-1100, Extension 106, or come by the office at 15312 Lakeshore Drive for a pre-application.

Also, if you were displaced by any of Lake County’s wildfires of the last three years, Habitat for Humanity may be able to help. Habitat is always taking applications and the staff would be happy to answer your questions and offer assistance.



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