LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Habitat for Humanity Lake County has received a $100,000 grant from the US Department of Agriculture Rural Development to repair and rehabilitate more homes.

USDA Rural Development State Director Glenda Humiston announced that Habitat for Humanity Lake County and four other organizations across California had received funds through the USDA Rural Development's Housing Preservation Grant program.

The five organizations will use the money to repair and improve homes for low income rural residents, the agency said.

“Helping improve housing conditions is an important part of our mission at USDA Rural Development,” said Humiston. “Working together with these five groups, some of the neediest in our rural communities will have the opportunity to make critical repairs to their homes, and safe, reliable housing is key component to healthy rural communities.”

Grants may be used to make general repairs, such as installing or improving plumbing, or providing or to make homes more energy efficient, according to the USDA.

Funds also may be used to enhance access to people with disabilities, officials said.

For example, Habitat for Humanity Lake County used a previous Housing Preservation Grant to help James, a wheelchair-bound Vietnam veteran in Lucerne, widen his doorway and install a wheelchair lift at his home.

With these accessibility repairs, James was able to leave his home without assistance for the first time in many years.

Habitat for Humanity Lake County will use the $100,000 grant to help rehabilitate and repair another 21 homes in Lake County, according to Humiston's office.

Self-Help Enterprises in Visalia will use the $100,000 it received to help 75 homeowners throughout Fresno, Kings, Madera, Merced and Tulare counties with a variety of weatherization repairs, officials said.

The county of Fresno will use its $50,000 award to help three homeowners with roof repairs and handicap accessibility, the USDA reported.

Humiston's office reported that Great Northern Corp. in Weed will use its $70,602 grant to assist nine homeowners in Siskiyou County correct health and safety hazards as well as make weatherization upgrades.

Self-Help Home Improvement Project in Redding will help rehabilitate 25 homeowners in Shasta and Tehama counties with support from two other weatherization and home repair programs, officials said.

In total, 133 low-income homeowners in California will be able to make important repairs to their homes. USDA Rural Development said its investments are being leveraged with $455,721 from other sources.

Housing Preservation Grants are provided to intermediaries such as local governments, public agencies, federally-recognized Indian tribes, and nonprofit, faith-based and community organizations.

These organizations then distribute the grants to homeowners and owners of multifamily rental properties or cooperative dwellings who rent to low- and very-low-income residents. Funds are not directly provided to eligible homeowners by USDA.

Nationally, 45 organizations received funding from the program. The largest grants totaled $100,000.

Astronomers have long been puzzled by a certain meteor shower.

Every year in mid-December the sky fills with flashes of light shooting out of the constellation Gemini. The Geminids are fast, bright, and reliable. They never fail to show up and many observers count them as the finest meteors of the year.

But where do they come from? That is the puzzle.

Meteor showers are supposed to come from comets, yet there is no comet that matches the orbit of the Geminid debris stream. Instead, the orbit of the Geminids is occupied by a thing called “3200 Phaethon.”

Discovered in 1983 by NASA's IRAS satellite, Phaethon looks remarkably like a rocky asteroid. It swoops by the sun every 1.4 years, much like a comet would, but it never sprouts a dusty tail to replenish the Geminids.

That is, until now.

A group of astronomers led by Dave Jewitt of UCLA have been using NASA’s STEREO probes to take a closer look at 3200 Phaethon when it passes by the sun.

The twin spacecraft were designed to monitor solar activity, so they get a good view of sungrazing comets and asteroids.

In 2010 one of the STEREO probes recorded a doubling of Phaethon's brightness as it approached the sun, as if sunlight were shining through a cloud of dust around the asteroid. The observers began to suspect 3200 Phaethon was something new.

“A rock comet,” said Jewitt.

A rock comet is, essentially, an asteroid that comes very close to the sun--so close that solar heating scorches dusty debris right off its rocky surface. This could form a sort of gravelly tail.

Indeed, in further STEREO observations from 2009 and 2012, Jewitt along with colleagues Jing Li of UCLA and Jessica Agarwal of the Max Planck Institute have spotted a small tail sticking out behind the “rock.”

“The tail gives incontrovertible evidence that Phaethon ejects dust,” said Jewitt.

Jewitt's team believes that the dust is launched by thermal fracturing of the asteroid’s crust. A related process called “desiccation fracturing” – like mud cracks in a dry lake bed – may play a role too.

Seeing 3200 Phaethon sprout a tail, even a small one, gives researchers confidence that Phaethon is indeed the source of the Geminids – but a mystery remains: How can such a stubby protuberance produce such a grand meteor shower?

Adding up all of the light STEREO saw in Phaethon’s tail, Jewitt and colleagues estimate a combined mass of some 30 thousand kilograms.

That might sound like a lot of meteoroids but, in fact, it is orders of magnitude too small to sustain the massive Geminid debris stream.

Perhaps Phaethon experienced a “big event” in the recent past. “The analogy I think of is a log in a campfire,” said Jewitt. “The log burns, makes a few embers, but occasionally will spit out a shower of sparks.”

Continued monitoring by NASA's STEREO probes might one day catch the rock comet spitting out a shower of dust and debris, solving the mystery once and for all.

Until then, it's a puzzle to savor under the stars. This year's Geminid meteor shower peaks on the nights of Dec. 13-14 with dozens of “rock comet meteors” every hour. Bundle up and enjoy the show.

Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – Blood Centers of the Pacific and fire departments in Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties are partnering for the 8th annual Bucket Brigade Challenge, running from Dec. 9 to Jan. 21.

Fire departments taking part in the challenge enlist community members, neighbors, co-workers, friends and family to give lifesaving blood in an effort to boost the local blood supply, earn the coveted title for their department and carry the Bucket Trophy for the year.

In the previous season’s challenge, fire departments recruited almost 1,000 people who gave 700 units of blood – a tremendous boost to the local blood supply.

Windsor Fire Protection District won the trophy for the fourth time, with Lakeport Fire Department close behind.

The idea of the Bucket Brigade comes from the Great London Fire of 1666 that found community members in “brigades” as they passed buckets of water from the city’s water supply to the blaze that endangered their town.

This modern day Bucket Brigade gathers our community together – not to fight flame, but to save lives through blood donations.

“The Bucket Brigade was created to increase local blood supply during a time when donations are traditionally low as a result of challenging weather, the busy holiday season and impact of flu season,” said Andrea Casson, senior account representative at Blood Centers of the Pacific.

“Fire Departments support us throughout the year and the support during the winter months is critical,” said Casson. “More than 8,000 people have participated in the annual Bucket Brigade. We are thankful for the unwavering community spirit of our local firefighters and residents. The Bucket Brigade has grown into a lifesaving community event.”

Four-time title holder Windsor Fire Protection District challenges all participating departments to increase community involvement in an effort to secure the Bucket Brigade Trophy this season.

“Windsor Fire Protection District’s main goal in participating is to support the always pressing need for blood donations. With the overwhelming support the community of Windsor gives us, we’ve been very fortunate to have high numbers of donors over the past few years. I am always hopeful this will encourage other fire departments to drive hard and try to beat us,” said Windsor Fire Captain Dean Crothers.

Crothers added, “Let’s make this year the best Bucket Brigade yet. The more donations we get throughout the local counties, the more available for those in need. And unfortunately, there’s always a need.”

This season’s challenge is not without heat from strong competitors with a plan on how to earn the trophy – San Antonio Volunteer Fire Department hopes to unseat Windsor Fire Protection District from the throne this year.

“San Antonio Volunteer Fire Department (SAVFD) is participating in the challenge to show their continued support to the community,” said SAVFD fire fighter Jason Zajonc. “SAVFD's goal in this season’s challenge is to have 100 participants through gathering our community supporters, local firefighters and business partners. For all those participating, remember: it helps to save lives.”

Donors receive an event t-shirt, a “mini physical” and “hero reward points,” which can be redeemed for items like movie tickets and ice cream.

In Lake County, blood drive events will take place in December and January.

On Friday, Dec. 20, the South Lake County Fire Protection District will host a blood drive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the fire station meeting room, 21095 Highway 175.

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, the Lakeport Fire Department will host a blood drive at its main station, 445 N Main St.

To find a drive near you and to make an appointment, visit www.bloodheroes.com or call 888-393-GIVE (4483).

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Veterans Affairs Clinic recently was honored with the Stars of Lake County's “Organization of the Year – Nonprofit” award.

The award was presented during the 16th annual awards celebration in Lakeport on Nov. 16.

Clearlake VA Clinic, nominated by one of its veteran patients, was recognized for the tireless work it performs on behalf of others and for their involvement in the community, according to Lake County Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Officer Melissa Fulton.

The clinic, which opened in November 2010, serves more than 1,800 veterans in Lake County annually.

Staff members are involved in community outreach events such as Veterans Day celebrations, open houses and VetConnect, and they also participate in Lake County emergency response.

The Clearlake VA Clinic recently received a $5,000 transportation grant from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. through Red Cross’ Service to Armed Forces initiative to assist qualifying veterans in traveling to the clinic for their medical appointments.

“I’m very proud of my staff and their achievement – we have an outstanding crew and it’s a pleasure to work with them,” said Clearlake VA Clinic Medical Director Kirk Andrus, MD, who attended the Nov. 16 ceremony along with Clearlake’s Director of Mental Health Teresa Timmons, MD, and Administrative Officer Wendy Carter.

“I’m astonished and pleased that the community and our veterans recognized us for this award,” said Carter. “This validates us, that we’re on the right track and that we care about our patients. We have an awesome staff.”

“It is a great honor to receive this award,” said Nurse Manager Carol Brown. “We are here to serve the Veterans of Lake County, and this award reflects our dedication and service to our nation’s heroes.”

The Clearlake VA Clinic is located at 15145 Lakeshore Drive and is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., serving enrolled veterans of Lake County.

The clinic offers a wide array of services from primary medical care, outpatient mental health, podiatry, women’s care and basic dermatology, to social work, nutritional counseling, marriage and family therapy, and much more.

Member Services is at the clinic every other Thursday. Member Services can help with billing issues, getting or updating a Veteran ID card, enrolling in VA healthcare, and with annual required financial updates.

For an appointment call 707-995-7200.

To learn more, please visit http://www.sanfrancisco.va.gov/locations/clearlake.asp .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The latest report from the California Employment Development Department reported that unemployment was down across the state, but up slightly nationwide and here in Lake County.

Lake County's unemployment in October was 11.5 percent, the report showed, up from 11.1 percent in September but an improvement compared to the 13.7 percent rate recorded in October 2012.

The U.S. unemployment rate increased to 7.3 percent in October, up from 7.2 percent in September but down from 7.9 percent recorded the previous October, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

California’s unemployment rate was 8.7 percent in September and October, down from 8.9 percent in August and 10.1 percent in October 2012, the report showed.

Nonfarm jobs in California totaled 14,713,600 in October, an increase of 39,800 jobs over the month, according to the report.

The number of people unemployed in California was 1,612,000 – down by 18,000 over the month, and down by 250,000 compared with October of last year, the Employment Development Department reported.

While Lake County's unemployment increased in this latest report, the rate for October remains the second-lowest – with September being the lowest – since October 2008.

During that time, Lake County unemployment peaked at 19 percent in January 2010, state data showed.

Job growth in Lake County between September and October occurred in sectors including information, 6.7 percent; government, 1.5 percent; and educational and health services, 0.4 percent, the report noted. Decreases occurred in industries including goods producing, -26.9 percent; farm, -17 percent; and leisure and hospitality, 5.7 percent.

Once again, Marin maintained its No. 1 ranking for lowest unemployment, with 4.8 percent, while Imperial continued to rank No. 58 for its 25.2-percent rate, according to the state.

Lake County's October unemployment rate earned it a ranking of No. 48 out of the state's 58 counties.

Lake's neighboring counties ranked as follows in October, according to the Employment Development Department: Colusa, No. 56, 12.6 percent, Glenn, No. 39, 10 percent; Mendocino, No. 13, 7.1 percent; Napa, No. 3, 5.3 percent; Sonoma, No. 6, 6.1 percent; and Yolo, No. 24, 8.3 percent.

The Employment Development Department also reported that there were 405,761 people receiving regular Unemployment Insurance benefits during the October survey week, compared with 362,532 in September and 453,448 last year.

At the same time, new claims for unemployment insurance were 72,737 in October, compared with 37,333 in September and 55,543 in October 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.

Comet ISON went around the sun on Thursday, but so far it looks like the comet didn't survive the trip.

Several solar observatories watched the comet throughout this closest approach to the sun, known as perihelion.

While the fate of the comet is not yet established, it is likely that it did not survive.

The comet grew faint while within both the view of NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, and the joint European Space Agency and NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory.

The comet was not visible at all in NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.

A white plus sign shows where the comet should have appeared to SDO.

“We didn't see Comet ISON in SDO,” said Dean Pesnell, project scientist for SDO. “So we think it must have broken up and evaporated before it reached perihelion.”

While this means that Comet ISON will not be visible in the night sky in December, the wealth of observations gathered of the comet over the last year will provide great research opportunities for some time.

One important question will simply be to figure out why it is no longer visible.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Longtime Clearlake resident Maria Almia De Los Santos last month received the Global 100 Award as one of the top 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World.

The Filipina Women's Network, which sponsors these awards, recognizes women who have risen to the most influential and/or highest positions in corporations and nonprofit/government institutions in North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Australia, Antarctica and Europe.

De Los Santos is being recognized in the Founder and Pioneer category for her work in co-founding Hospice Services of Lake County in 1979 with other community visionaries.

De Los Santos spearheaded the fundraising efforts and offered the fledgling organization a rent free space for its first office.

The founder and pioneer award honors Filipina women in their capacities as the chief executive, president, executive director or founder of a company, community organization, nonprofit or business venture that they helped start, build or significantly grow.

This award category is for the trailblazers who have marshaled resources and applied innovative practices, processes and/or technologies in a new and groundbreaking way to address a significant business or organizational opportunity.

Hospice Services of Lake County originated as an all-volunteer nonprofit organization until 1989 when Medicare accreditation was finally achieved through the hard work and persistence of many of the original founders including De Los Santos.

Being accredited for Medicare allows people with Medicare insurance coverage to receive the hospice care benefit free of charge.

De Los Santos has worked continually for Hospice Services of Lake County since its inception and in March of 2003 she joined the organization's staff as a spiritual caregiver who provides spiritual support to hospice patients and their families.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The powerful windstorm that hit Lake County last week was the result of the meeting of two weather systems, according to a weather forecaster.

The storm, which occurred Nov. 21 and 22, left in its wake widespread damage along the Northshore, particularly in the community of Nice, as well as the city of Clearlake.

Northshore Fire Protection District Chief Jay Beristianos called the storm an “unprecedented” event, and nothing like he's seen in the more than 40 years he has lived in Lake County.

He said he also has spoken to older residents who have lived their whole lives here, and they also couldn't recall a windstorm quite like it.

So, what exactly happened?

Johnnie Powell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Sacramento office, told Lake County News that it was the convergence of two pressure systems that led to the storm.

“This was a unique thing that happened here,” he said.

Preceding the windstorm, the county had experienced a few days of rain, which Powell said was the result of a low pressure system moving over the region.

As that low pressure system was moving out, a high pressure system came in at an unusual tilt, Powell said. Then the low pressure system stalled.

He said the lower pressure system was moving in a counter clockwise direction, while the high pressure system was moving clockwise.

Where the two systems met, very strong winds resulted, Powell said.

Lake County, he said, was “right in the bulls eye.”

The Sierras and Lake County both had strong north winds because of the two systems meeting, with the Sacramento Valley mostly protected, Powell said.

Powell said Lake County experienced sustained winds averaging around 40 miles per hour, with the highest gust reported to be 78 miles per hour in the Cow Mountain area near Lakeport.

Those winds on Cow Mountain knocked down numerous trees, with some trees also down at the campground at the Cow Mountain Recreation Area, according to Jeff Tunnell of the Bureau of Land Management. He said they haven't yet begun to survey the damage on the recreation's trails.

Elsewhere around the county, wind speeds were recorded at 40 miles per hour on Mt. Konocti and 61 miles per hour in Hidden Valley Lake, Powell said.

At Wilbur Springs, on the Lake and Colusa County lines, winds were clocked at 62 miles per hour, according to Powell.

Powell said there isn't any serious wind activity forecast to take place again in the county anytime soon.

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.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – A body recovered in the ocean near Gualala last week has been identified as that of a missing Roseville businessman.

Stephen Clark Pease, 57, the owner of several Sacramento-area businesses, was identified following a Tuesday autopsy, according to a report from Capt. Greg Van Patten of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

Pease had been reported missing to the Roseville Police Department on Oct. 31, Van Patten said.

The Roseville Police Department missing person’s investigation determined Pease had checked out of a Fort Bragg area motel on Nov. 3.

Van Patten said Pease's body was found 50 to 60 miles from that hotel on the afternoon of Nov. 23.

At approximately 12:30 p.m. that day recreational divers were swimming in the Pacific Ocean near the shore in the Gualala area when they located Pease's body, Van Patten said.

The divers called the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office. Van Patten said the Sonoma County Sheriff's helicopter Henry-1, members of the South Coast Volunteer Fire Department, a California Highway Patrol Officer and a California Department of Fish and Wildlife Warden also responded to assist with the body recovery.

The warden donned a wetsuit and swam out to Pease and pulled him to the shore, Van Patten said. Due to the height and steepness of the cliff it was not possible to carry the body up to the roadway.

Van Patten said a Sonoma County deputy sheriff and a South Coast firefighter were suspended under the helicopter and lowered to recover the body.

Pease's body appeared to have been in the water for more than a few days and no identification was found with him. Van Patten said Pease would be identified thanks to the ID numbers found on his hip implants during the autopsy.

Van Patten said authorities are still searching for the rental car Pease was driving, a silver 2014 Chevrolet Captiva with Oregon license plate 500GKN.

The coroner's investigation is ongoing into the cause of Pease's death, Van Patten said.

In terms of a decedent’s own creditors, does it matter whether assets are distributed to decedent’s beneficiaries through a probate estate or by non-probate transfers?

Yes, it does, especially regarding persons other than the decedent’s surviving spouse who are not personally liable for the decedent’s debts.

Assets that are part of a decedent's probate estate are subject to creditor claims within the probate, essentially a clearinghouse for creditor claims; distributions to beneficiaries come last.

Non-probate assets – such as trusts, retirement accounts or designated beneficiary accounts or estates with a gross value under $150,000 – escape the probate clearinghouse.

In a court-supervised probate, the decedent's personal representative invites all “reasonably ascertainable creditors” to submit their claims within the first four months of probate prior to beneficiary distributions.

This even includes creditors whose claims are not yet legally established and enforceable.

While revocable living trusts are answerable to creditors for the debts of a settlor, both while the settlor is alive and he or she dies, nevertheless assets held in trust may be less susceptible to the reach of many of the decedent’s creditors.

Unlike probates, Trusts are administered for the sake of the trust beneficiaries, i.e., the deceased settlor's loved ones, according to the terms of the trust.

Unlike probates, a trustee is neither required to publish notice in a newspaper (announcing the trust administration), nor to solicit creditor claims from potential creditors whose claims are not yet legally enforceable.

Like probates, however, a trustee must contact known and reasonably ascertainable creditors of the decedent and solicit claims.

After all actual creditors are either paid, settled, and/or an adequate reserve is kept for the same, the trustee may then distribute trust assets to the trust beneficiaries.

This is true even though potential creditor claims are still being established inside the decedent's probate; which may have even been commenced by the creditors themselves in order to perfect their creditor claim against the estate prior to submission of a perfected claim to the trustee.

Oftentimes, it is only when the creditor claim is perfected inside probate and submitted to the trustee outside probate that the trustee is obliged to recognize such debts of the deceased settlor in the course of settling the trust.

If the claim arrives late after the trust assets have been distributed then the creditors must pursue the beneficiaries, who are liable to the creditors only to the extent of any assets received.

This may place the creditor at a significant disadvantage in the collection process – especially where many beneficiaries have received assets across the nation -- and may favor negotiated settlements with the beneficiaries.

Next, life insurance, retirement accounts, and joint tenancies are non-probate assets with creditor protection advantages.

Life insurance proceeds are exempt from the claims of a deceased insured’s creditors to the extent reasonably needed by the surviving beneficiary for the support of the beneficiary and/or his/her spouse and dependents.

Retirement accounts are usually exempt from the participant’s own creditors while alive and remain so after his or her death.

Lastly, assets held in joint tenancy pass to the surviving joint tenants without creating any new liability for the debts of the deceased joint tenant except those already secured against the joint tenancy property itself.

It may, therefore, seem that the law favors persons who plan to avoid paying their debts after they die through non-probate assets.

Not so. Transfers of non-probate assets – that were acquired by the decedent on the eve death – to surviving beneficiaries can be undone where the creditors prove that such planning was creditor avoidance.

Nevertheless, within limits, non-probate assets provide clear creditor protection advantages over probate.

Dennis A. Fordham, attorney (LL.M. tax studies), is a State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, California. Fordham can be reached by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 707-263-3235. Visit his Web site at www.dennisfordhamlaw.com .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol want to remind motorists to prepare for winter weather.

If you must travel during a winter storm, be prepared and use caution as well as common sense.

Make sure your vehicle is in good working condition. In particular, check the antifreeze, tire pressure and treads, brakes, windshield wipers, heater, defroster and exhaust system.

When traveling through snow country, motorists should carry tire chains that are the proper type and size, and are in good condition.

Chains must be installed on the drive wheels, so make sure you know if your vehicle is front or rear wheel drive.

Other useful items to take with you are a flashlight, chain repair links, ice scraper or spray de-icer, and a shovel.

Taking along water, food, warm blankets, and extra clothing will make you more comfortable if you experience a lengthy delay.

And before you leave, put an extra car door key in your pocket; a number of motorists have locked themselves out of their cars when putting on chains.

“A prepared motorist is a safer motorist to themselves, other travelers, and our highway workers. Focus on the road conditions, use your seat belts, and arrive safely to your destination.” said Charlie Fielder, Caltrans District 1 director.

Don’t be rushed. Get an early start to allow more time to reach your destination. Let someone know your travel plans, your route, and when you expect to arrive. Make sure to let them know if plans change.

Keep your fuel tank full in case it’s necessary to change routes or you get caught in a traffic delay. A highway speed of 55 or 65 miles an hour may be safe in dry weather, but it is an invitation for trouble in winter weather.

“During the winter months, we see a spike in traffic collisions as a result of inclement weather. Reduced visibility compounded by snow and ice-covered roadways require a longer stopping distance, so be sure to leave more distance between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you. Remember to be more observant, attentive and slow down,” said CHP Officer Matt Harvey.

Bridge decks and shady spots can be icy when other areas are not, so remember to avoid sudden stops and quick direction changes.

If you encounter fog, make sure to slow down and drive with your lights on low beam. Don’t stop on a highway, unless it’s an emergency. Keep a close watch on your speed, and don’t forget the law that requires you to have your headlights on anytime your windshield wipers are on continuously.

Officer Harvey said, “Remember to buckle up, designate a nondrinking driver, and eliminate distractions while driving to your destination.”

Before traveling and during your trip, be sure to check current road conditions by calling the California Highway Information Network at 1-800-427-7623, by visiting www.dot.ca.gov or by monitoring the local media.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Be sure to bring your children or grandchildren to visit Santa, enjoy holiday goodies and listen to local musicians at the Saturday, Dec. 14, annual Christmas at the Ranch Open House at the Anderson Marsh State Historic Park near Lower Lake.

The event will take place from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Santa Claus will be there to greet children and Christmas songs will be performed by local entertainers with the public invited to join in.

Music starts at 10 a.m. with Stephen Pollaine on the piano. David Neft will perform at 11 a.m. then Harry Lyons, Tom Nixon, Rick McCann, and others will play at noon.

AMIA board members Don Coffin, Gae Henry and Henry Bornstein will join other performers at various times throughout the event. Joan Moss will arrive at 1 p.m. to close out the fun day of music and Christmas cheer.

This is a great opportunity to visit the historical ranch house at the park. This event has been a favorite holiday tradition for many years and is continuing this year with the help of many local volunteers and members of the Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association, which sponsors the event.

The public is warmly invited to attend this traditional, relaxed and fun holiday event. Join the volunteers of the Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association for an old-fashioned Christmas open house at the ranch.

Parking for the event is free at the county Social Services building where a shuttle operated by Lake Transit will bring people to the ranch house. Handicapped parking for the event, also free, is available at the ranch house parking lot.