CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – As computers have become smaller – netbooks, tablets, etc. – so have the people who can operate them.

The same holds true here in Lake County.

Residents hereabouts may be surprised – as this reporter was – to learn that computers have become teaching tools in the kindergarten classes of no less than four of the county's 11 elementary schools.

An impromptu survey turned up other county schools that may be on the verge of adopting the use of computers for kindergartners.

“It's under consideration for when we have the funds,” said Shelley Tan, principal at Cobb Mountain Elementary, one of the region's more progressive schools.

Part of the driver for advancing technology to younger students is to prepare them for the Common Core State Standards.

Beginning this spring, third through eighth grade students will be required to take the testing for the new standards online.

In a Lakeport Unified School District Board meeting last month, Superintendent Erin Hagberg urged her board to spend available funds on technology, for which the district has a tremendous need due to the new standards. She reported that the district doesn't yet have enough computers to allow for all of the students to test online.

If there is a pace setter for converting kids barely out of the high chair to high tech it may well be Carly Swatosh, kindergarten teacher at East Lake School – where she also was a student – in the Konocti Unified School District.

Swatosh has two iPads for her class – one paid for by Web site donors, the other – purchased on a trial basis – paid for by school district. The price of the iPads she uses is $500 each.

“My goal is to get two more,” she said.

“I think most kindergartens in the Konocti School District are using iPads in the classroom,” Swatosh added. “At Pomo (School) my friend has two and it's starting to get popular; that's for sure.”

What's accomplished with the use of an iPad as a learning tool, she said, is “the kids get excited for learning and they get letter and number recognition. They practice tracing letters and numbers on them.”

She added, “It's meant as a sort of worksheet. There are a lot of graphics, which makes students excited for learning.”

Konocti Unified School District seems to be out front of other county districts in adapting technology to lower grades.

Some of the students in Swatosh's class know how to operate a computer before they start school.

“We see an iPad as an additional learning tool,” said Konocti Unified Superintendent Donna Becnel. “We are very aggressive in getting technology into all of our classrooms.”

Expressed on a larger scale, computers do not take the place of vital, developmental play and hands-on learning, but adds to them, says Demand Media, a Web-based company.

Email John Lindblom at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Blue-eyed puppies and soulful labs are among the dogs available for adoption at Lake County Animal Care and Control this week.

The dogs range in age from 11 weeks to 4 years, and are mixes of Chihuahua, boxer, mastiff, American Bulldog, American Staffordshire Terrier 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.

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”).

American Staffordshire Terrier mix pup

This female American Staffordshire Terrier mix puppy is 11 weeks old.

She weighs 10 pounds, has blue eyes and a short blue brindle coat with white markings, and she's been spayed.

Find her in kennel No. 2a, ID No. 38725.

American Staffordshire Terrier mix pup

This female American Staffordshire Terrier mix puppy is 11 weeks old.

She weighs 12 pounds, has blue eyes and a short red and white spotted coat, and she's been spayed.

She's in kennel No. 2b, ID No. 38720.

Pit bull terrier mix pup

This female pit bull terrier mix puppy is 15 weeks old.

She weighs 26 pounds, has a short brown coat and gold eyes, and has been spayed.

She can be found in kennel No. 3, ID No. 38768.

'Bella'

“Bella” is a 4-year-old female Chihuahua mix.

She has a short buff-colored coat and has been spayed.

She's in kennel No. 6b, ID No. 38877.

'Frost'

“Frost” is a 2-year-old Labrador Retriever mix.

He's got a short black coat with white markings, weighs 64 pounds and has not been neutered.

Find him in kennel No. 10, ID No. 38690.

'Happy Feet'

“Happy Feet” is a 1-year-old female pit bull terrier mix.

She has a short black and white coat, weighs 42 pounds and has not yet been spayed.

Shelter staff said she is a very sweet girl and is good with other dogs.

Find her in kennel No. 14, ID No. 38693.

Male brown brindle

This male dog of undetermined breed is 1 year old.

He has a short brown brindle and white coat, and has not yet been neutered.

He's in kennel No. 27, ID No. 38863.

'Joey'

“Joey” is a 3-year-old male mastiff-American Bulldog mix.

He has a short brown brindle and white coat, weighs almost 70 pounds and has been neutered.

Shelter staff said Joey is available for a low adoption fee.

He's very friendly and housebroken, gets along with female dogs but would need to be tested with other males.

Find Joey in kennel No. 29, ID No. 38803.

Pit bull terrier-boxer mix

This male pit bull terrier-boxer mix is 1 year old.

He has a short brown and white coat, weighs 52 pounds and has not yet been neutered.

He's in kennel No. 31a, ID No. ID: 38686.

To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .

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, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.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.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The Upper Lake High School Booster’s Club is continuing its efforts to raise money to be able to purchase and install stadium lights on the high school athletic field.

The group is hosting the sixth annual Lights of Love Valentine dinner/dance on Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Sons of Italy hall, 2817 Highway 20 in Nice.

Upper Lake is the only high school in Lake County without stadium lights. Acquisition of these lights will allow the school to host evening games, and to increase school spirit and pride.

The Feb. 15 event will feature a buffet-style dinner menu consisting of tri tip or chicken, served from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

A silent auction will take place from 5 to 8 p.m., and an indoor poker run will be played from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The Beatz Workin Band will provide dance music from 8 to 11 p.m. Beer or wine will be available for purchase.

Tickets are $25 each or $250 for a reserved table for eight.

Organizers also are seeking prizes for the silent auction. Monetary donations to the stadium lighting effort are welcome.

For more information contact Ron Raetz at 707-275-2824 or Ana Santana at 707-342-9696.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has six more cats needing new homes this week.

The cats range in age from 6 months to 2 years, with black, calico and orange tabby markings.

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.

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 female domestic short hair mix is 6 months old.

She has a short coat with tortie point markings, a kinked tail and weighs 2.8 pounds. Shelter staff did not report if she has been spayed.

Find her in cat room kennel No. 6a, ID No. 38899.

Domestic short hair mix

This female domestic short hair mix is 2 years old.

She has a short coat with tortie point markings and a kinked tail. Shelter staff did not report if she has been spayed.

She's in cat room kennel No. 6b, ID No. 38900.

Domestic short hair mix

This female domestic short hair mix is 2 years old.

She has a short calico coat and weighs 6.6 pounds. Shelter staff did not report if she has been spayed.

Find her in cat room kennel No. 18, ID No. 38898.

Orange tabby

This orange tabby is 9 months old.

The cat, of undetermined gender, has a short coat and is large in size.

The tabby is in cat room kennel No. 26a, ID No. 38917.

Tuxedo cat

This tuxedo cat of undetermined gender is 9 months old.

It has a curly coat and unique black and white markings.

You can find the cat in cat room kennel No. 26b, ID No. 38918.

Domestic short hair mix

This male domestic short hair mix is 6 months old.

He has an all-black coat and a docked tail. Shelter staff did not report if he has been altered.

He's in cat room kennel No. 49, ID No. 38909.

Adoptable cats also can be seen at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Cats_and_Kittens.htm or at www.petfinder.com .

Please note: Cats listed at the shelter's Web page that are said to be “on hold” are not yet cleared for adoption.

To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .

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, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.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.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On Monday, Jan. 20, the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, will suspend all open burning within the state responsibility area in Sonoma, Lake, Napa and portions of Colusa, Solano and Yolo counties.

The suspension also includes the unincorporated areas of Napa County protected by Cal Fire.

The agency said that experience has shown that open burning suspensions effectively aid in preventing fire escapes and significantly reduces the risk and occurrence of large fires.

This is especially important as these counties are experiencing record breaking low cumulative rainfall, low humidity, dry fuel moisture levels and increased fire activity.

Agriculture, land management, fire training and other industrial type burning may proceed if a Cal Fire officials inspects the burn site and issues a Cal Fire LE-5 Permit to specifically exempt an open burn from this suspension.

Campfires are allowed in designated campgrounds or in established facilities on private property with landowner permission and jurisdictional authority.

Persons burning under a Cal Fire LE-5 Permit must also check with their regional air quality management district for additional regulations and requirements.

Lake County Air Quality Management can be reached at http://www.lcaqmd.net/ or 707-263-7000.

Cal Fire encourages the public to assist with the mission of preventing unwanted destructive fires in communities and throughout the state.

For more information about fire safety or prescribed fire and its benefits visit the Cal Fire Web site, www.fire.ca.gov , or call your local Cal Fire facility.

LOCH LOMOND, Calif. – The service of a search warrant which involved two separate residences has resulted in one arrest and the seizure of marijuana, firearms and cash.

Robert Harold Goldsmith, 75, of Loch Lomond, was arrested following the search warrant services, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Brooks said narcotics officers secured a search warrant for a residence located in the 12000 block of Black Oak Drive in Loch Lomond and a residence located in the 10000 block of Rosa Trail in Kelseyville on Wednesday.

At 8:30 a.m. Thursday, the Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force served the warrant at the first residence in Loch Lomond, Brooks said. Detectives entered the residence and detained Goldsmith.

During the search detectives noticed one of the bedrooms was set up for drying and processing marijuana. Brooks said the garage was sectioned off with three separate rooms to accommodate the different stages of growth. There was a vegetation room containing non flowering plants, a flowering room which contained mature plants and a clone room.

He said detectives located and eradicated 746 marijuana plants and seized four firearms from the Black Oak Drive address. They also located and seized $3,693, which is pending asset forfeiture proceedings.

Detectives served the warrant on the Rosa Trail address, which was also under the control of Goldsmith, Brooks said.

During a search of the residence detectives noticed the garage was sectioned off with a sophisticated vegetation room, flowering room and a cloning room, he said.

Brooks said the detectives located and eradicated 491 marijuana plants from the three rooms and seized 25 pounds of processed marijuana. Detectives also located and seized two firearms from the residence.

Lake County Code Enforcement assisted the detectives by red-tagging both residences for unsafe and unpermitted electrical wiring.

Goldsmith was arrested for cultivating marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale and for being armed while in the commission of a felony, Brooks said.

Goldsmith was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked, with bail set at $25,000. Jail records indicated he later posted the required percentage of bail and was released.

The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be reached through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – University of California, Berkeley, scientists will receive $4.9 million over the next five years to study the nearly 10,000 square kilometer Eel River watershed in Northern California and how its vegetation, geology and topography affect water flow all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

The river's watershed extends into several counties – Lake, Glenn, Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity. In Lake, the Upper Eel River flows into Lake Pillsbury.

What the researchers uncover will help improve global climate models and modeling tools that can be used by state or regional decision makers to guide planning.

Their discoveries may eventually allow scientists to predict the impact of changing climate and land use on future droughts, floods and supplies of water for drinking and agriculture.

Funded by the National Science Foundation, the Eel River Observatory is one of four new Critical Zone Observatories that received grants late last year, bringing the total number of such observatories to 10.

All focus on the so-called “critical zone”: the thin veneer of Earth, from the bottom of the groundwater to the tree tops, that is critical to aquatic and terrestrial life as the source of fresh water and site of soil formation from rock.

The Eel River is increasingly under pressure because of illegal marijuana cultivation, winegrape growing and other uses that extract water from the river and threaten one of the state's largest Coho salmon runs.

In addition, warming waters in recent years have led to outbreaks of blue-green algae that produce enough toxins to kill dogs that drink the water. The river is currently stressed by the driest winter in decades.

“Whatever the agricultural use in the future, we will see increasing demands on a decreasing water resource,” said observatory director William Dietrich, UC Berkeley professor of earth and planetary science and an expert on the processes that shape landscapes.

Other UC Berkeley faculty members involved in the new project include professors Jill Banfield and Inez Fung of earth and planetary science and of environmental science, policy and management; professor Jim Bishop of earth and planetary science; assistant professor Stephanie Carlson and professor Mary Firestone of environmental science, policy and management; professor Mary Power of integrative biology; and assistant professor Sally Thompson of civil and environmental engineering.

“The critical zone provides most of the ecosystem services on which society depends, such as clean water, food, nutrients, soil and carbon storage,” said Roger Wakimoto, NSF assistant director for geosciences.

“Researchers at the new CZO sites will investigate the past evolution and present state of the critical zone to predict how Earth's surface will evolve in response to future human activity and to climate change,” said Wakimoto. “The results will provide the scientific basis for decision-making on how humans can best mitigate, adapt and respond to both slow and abrupt environmental changes.”

From Hydrowatch to Critical Zone Observatory

For more than 20 years, Dietrich and other UC Berkeley scientists, including river ecologist Mary Power and atmospheric scientist Inez Fung, have studied the Eel River watershed within the Angelo Coast Range Reserve, part of the University of California's Natural Reserve System.

A 2006-2010 project called Hydrowatch, funded by the W. M. Keck Foundation, allowed geologists, biologists, climate scientists, and chemists to place sensors over a small portion of the watershed to measure soil and rock moisture, water transport in trees and transpiration from leaves, in essence tracing the water and dissolved minerals and gases as they moved through the mixed hardwood-conifer ecosystem.

“The Keck Hydrowatch grant got us following the water, thinking about how topography affects the return of moisture to the atmosphere, and about the need to look inside hillslopes to understand atmospheric moisture, river flow and chemistry, ecosystems dynamics, and coastal ocean productivity,” Dietrich said. “This NSF funding will allow us to expand our research to the entire Eel River watershed, totaling nearly 10,000 square kilometers, and begin to look at the neighboring Russian River watershed.”

Dietrich refers to the water, energy, dissolved minerals and gases, sediments and organisms that move through landscapes as “currencies,” analogous to the money that flows through a country's economy.

The Eel River Observatory will focus on how the soil, forest and river “economy” interact with these currencies, including determining the flow maintained in rivers through drought, and the delivery of nutrients to the sea.

Of particular interest is the so-far unexplored landscape beneath the hillside surface and below the soil mantle.

“Until now, we have been focused on this hillside in the Angelo Reserve, finding out how hills determine the return of gases to the atmosphere through plants, the amount of water available to plants and how much water is released to the stream,” he said. “Now we will begin to look at how hillside dynamics influence what is delivered to the ocean, and how coastal productivity may be influenced by stream dynamics.”

Key questions include:

• How does the underlying rock affect how much water is stored underground for plant use, and how might that affect plants' susceptibility to seasonal drought and long-term climate change?
• How do underground microbes influence gases – oxygen, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide – and dissolved minerals available to plants through their roots?
• How does hillside storage of water affect the amount of water in the streams during California's dry summers?
• Is there a tipping point beyond which climate change and land use change will irreversibly alter the river and coastal ecosystem?

“With anticipated increases in climate extremes, especially extended drought, and accelerating societal demand for water, we will focus on filling the gaps in our knowledge that not only inhibit our ability to forecast the direction of future change in the watershed and its currencies, but even the magnitude of that change,” Dietrich said.

Robert Sanders writes for the UC Berkeley News Center.

A team of scientists led by astronomers at the University of California, Riverside has used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to uncover the long-suspected underlying population of galaxies that produced the bulk of new stars during the universe's early years.

The galaxies are the smallest, faintest, and most numerous galaxies ever seen in the remote universe, and were captured by Hubble deep exposures taken in ultraviolet light.

Study results appeared in the Jan. 10 issue of The Astrophysical Journal and were presented Jan. 7 at the 223rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Washington DC.

The 58 young, diminutive galaxies spied by Hubble were photographed as they appeared more than 10 billion years ago, during the heyday of star birth.

The newly discovered galaxies are 100 times more numerous than their more massive cousins. But they are 100 times fainter than galaxies detected in previous deep-field surveys of the early universe.

These galaxies would normally be too faint for Hubble to see. But the astronomers were able to detect them by teaming Hubble with a natural zoom lens in space, produced by the gravity of Abell 1689, a giant foreground galaxy cluster.

The cluster is so massive that it magnifies the light from faraway galaxies behind it due to a phenomenon called gravitational lensing, where the curvature of space acts like a giant funhouse mirror to stretch and brighten distant objects.

“There's always been a concern that we've only found the brightest of the distant galaxies,” said study leader Brian Siana, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy. “The bright galaxies, however, represent the tip of the iceberg. We believe most of the stars forming in the early universe are occurring in galaxies we normally can't see at all. Now we have found those 'unseen' galaxies, and we're really confident that we're seeing the rest of the iceberg.”

Siana's team believes it has completed the census of galaxies at an epoch when the universe was roughly 3.4 billion years old. If this sample of galaxies is representative of the entire population at this early time, then the majority of new stars formed in these small galaxies.

“Though these galaxies are very faint, their increased numbers means that they account for the majority of star formation during this epoch,” said team member Anahita Alavi, a Ph.D. graduate student in Siana's lab, and the first author of the research paper.

Siana explained that uncovering these galaxies also helps bolster claims that hot stars in small galaxies pumped out enough radiation to ionize hydrogen by stripping off electrons.

This process, called “reionization,” occurred about 13 billion years ago, within the first billion years after the Big Bang. Reionization made the universe transparent to light, allowing astronomers to look far back into time.

“Although the galaxies in our sample existed a few billion years after reionization, it's presumed that galaxies like these, or possibly some of these galaxies, did play a big role in reionization,” Siana said.

The early galaxies do not look like the majestic spiral and elliptical galaxies seen in our galactic neighborhood.

“The gravitational lensing stretches out the apparent shape of the distant galaxies, resolving them,” Alavi said. “Without the lensing, some of the galaxies would be just point sources to Hubble. We now have an idea about their sizes that previously were impossible to measure because the galaxies were unresolved.”

The Hubble analysis shows the galaxies are small, irregularly shaped objects measuring just a few thousand light-years across.

“Even when fully mature, these galaxies will be about one-tenth to one-hundredth the mass of our Milky Way,” Siana said. “Because they are undergoing a firestorm of star birth, their light is dominated by the ultraviolet glow of fledgling stars.”

The research team used Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 to search for faint, star-forming galaxies in ultraviolet light, a reliable tracer of star birth. The galaxies existed when the universe was undergoing a “baby boom” of star formation, estimated to have peaked between 9 billion and 12 billion years ago.

This strategy of surveying large numbers of background galaxies with deep observations of lensing clusters is being used in a new three-year Hubble survey, called the Frontier Fields. Hubble astronomers are using Hubble to exploit the magnification powers of six massive galaxy clusters in a hunt for small galaxies that existed more than 12 billion to 13 billion years ago.

The galaxies discovered in these lensing surveys will be prime targets for the James Webb Space Telescope, an infrared observatory scheduled to launch in 2018. Through spectroscopy, Webb will divide the light from each galaxy into its constituent colors, yielding information on the star birth and chemical content of each galaxy.

U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and Jay Rockefeller (D-WVa) on Friday reached agreement on legislative language that will help protect Americans from chemical spills that threaten drinking water.

This bill, the Chemical Safety and Drinking Water Protection Act, brings together in one place the tools to provide oversight of chemical facilities.

It strengthens states’ ability to prevent chemical spills like the Jan. 9 spill that contaminated the water supply in nine West Virginia counties and impacted more than 300,000 West Virginians.

Senators Manchin and Boxer plan to introduce the legislation when Congress returns later this month.

The legislation includes common sense measures designed to ensure industrial facilities are properly inspected by state officials and both the chemical industry and emergency response agencies are prepared for future chemical incidents or emergencies.

Key principles in the Chemical Safety and Drinking Water Protection Act include:

• Requiring regular state inspections of above-ground chemical storage facilities;
• Requiring industry to develop state-approved emergency response plans that meet at least minimum guidelines established in this bill;
• Allowing states to recoup costs incurred from responding to emergencies; and
• Ensuring drinking water systems have the tools and information to respond to emergencies.

“Today, nearly 150,000 West Virginians still cannot use their tap water and many more are concerned about the long-term effects of this chemical spill,” Sen. Manchin said. “No West Virginian or American should have to go through something like this again, and that is why I plan to introduce common sense legislation to make sure all chemicals are appropriately monitored. We can work to improve the safety of Americans by ensuring that chemicals are properly managed, while also balancing the positive impact the chemical industry has made to our country.”

Sen. Boxer said, “This legislation protects children and families across the nation by providing the tools necessary to help prevent dangerous chemical spills that threaten their drinking water.”

“The fact that there was a lack of regulations which allowed this particular storage facility to go uninspected for so many years is absurd,” Sen. Rockefeller said. “I’m encouraged we are taking these steps to bring some accountability to industry that will help protect West Virginia families and our state’s economy.”

NORTH COAST, Calif. – Eleven local nonprofit organizations in Mendocino and Lake counties received a portion of the $16,132 donated in the past year by Savings Bank of Mendocino County and its employees during their “Casual For A Cause – Denim Days” fundraising effort.

Of this amount, $1,351 was received by the Lake Family Resource Center.

The idea of “Casual For A Cause – Denim Days” began in January 2012 with a group of Savings Bank employees who wanted an additional way to make a difference in our communities during these difficult economic times.

Every Friday, employees have the opportunity to dress casual by wearing denim jeans to work while supporting a variety of local nonprofit organizations through voluntary donations.

Employees select a different local nonprofit organization as beneficiary of the proceeds on a monthly basis.

The 2013 beneficiaries were: Hospice of Ukiah, Redwood Children’s Services, Hopland American Legion Auxiliary Post 529, Project Sanctuary, Plowshares, Calpella Elementary School Hydration Station and Library, Lake Family Resource Center, Mendocino K-8 School Library, Ukiah Community Food Bank, Willits Educational Foundation and Laytonville Volunteer Fire Department.

“I’m pleased to announce that this program will continue in 2014 with the Boys and Girls Club of Ukiah as the January beneficiary,” said Katie Kight, AVP / marketing officer. “As the local community bank, Savings Bank is proud of our tradition of giving back to our communities and the community support and volunteer time that our employees provide.”

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A event set for Saturday, Jan. 25, will raise money to help a city employee injured in a fall this past October.

Lake County Youth Services is sponsoring the dinner and dance fundraiser to benefit Miguel Mosqueda at the Clearlake Senior Community Center at 3245 Bowers Ave.

Proceeds will assist Mosqueda and his family with costs associated with injuries he suffered while on the job with Clearlake Public Works.

Mosqueda has been a part of the Public Works crew since 1995. He spent a lot of his time caring for the city's parks, where he became familiar with many members of the community.

In October 2013, he suffered a paralyzing fall from the roof of the youth center building.

Clay VanHousen said Mosqueda is always reliable, pleasant to work with and well-liked by his coworkers.

He said collaboration by Mosqueda's coworkers and friends to host the fundraiser is widespread.

“Everyone is pitching in,” VanHousen said. “We hate to see this happen to anyone, especially Miguel. He was getting close to thinking about retirement.”

He added, “It's just a sad deal for us all – and it makes us realize anything can happen to anyone of us, anytime.”

The event will include a silent auction plus a bonus $1 auction.

Doors open with drinks at 5 p.m.

A chicken and ribs dinner will be served at 6 p.m. and dancing to the music of “Without a Net” starts at 7 p.m.

Tickets cost $25 each and are available by calling Clearlake City Hall at 707-994-8201.

Email Denise Rockenstein at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Are we there yet?

One of the fastest spacecraft ever built – NASA's New Horizons – is hurtling through the void at nearly one million miles per day.

Launched in 2006, it has been in flight longer than some missions last, and it is nearing its destination: Pluto.

“The encounter begins next January,” said Alan Stern, of the Southwest Research Institute and the mission’s principal investigator. “We’re less than a year away.”

Closest approach is scheduled for July 2015 when New Horizons flies only 10,000 kilometers from Pluto, but the spacecraft will be busy long before that date.

The first step, in January 2015, is an intensive campaign of photography by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager or “LORRI.” This will help mission controllers pinpoint Pluto's location, which is uncertain by a few thousand kilometers.

“LORRI will photograph the planet against known background star fields,” explained Stern. “We’ll use the images to refine Pluto’s distance from the spacecraft, and then fire the engines to make any necessary corrections.”

At first, Pluto and its large moon Charon will be little more than distant pinpricks – “a couple of fat pixels,” said Stern – but soon they will swell into full-fledged worlds.

By late April 2015, the approaching spacecraft will be taking pictures of Pluto that surpass the best images from Hubble.

By closest approach in July 2015, a whole new world will open up to the spacecraft’s cameras. If New Horizons flew over Earth at the same altitude, it could see individual buildings and their shapes.

Stern is looking forward to one of the most exciting moments of the Space Age.

“Humankind hasn't had an experience like this – an encounter with a new planet – in a long time,” he said. “Everything we see on Pluto will be a revelation.”

He likens New Horizons to Mariner 4, which flew past Mars in July 1965.

At the time, many people on Earth, even some scientists, thought the Red Planet was a relatively gentle world, with water and vegetation friendly to life. Instead, Mariner 4 revealed a desiccated wasteland of haunting beauty.

New Horizons’ flyby of Pluto will occur almost exactly 50 years after Mariner 4’s flyby of Mars – and it could shock observers just as much.

Other than a few indistinct markings seen from afar by Hubble, Pluto’s landscape is totally unexplored.

Although some astronomers call Pluto a “dwarf” planet, Stern said there’s nothing small about it.

“If you drove a car around the equator of Pluto, the odometer would rack up almost 5,000 miles – as far as from Manhattan to Moscow,” Stern said.

Such a traveler might encounter icy geysers, craters, clouds, mountain ranges, rilles and valleys, alongside alien landforms no one has ever imagined.

“There is a real possibility that New Horizons will discover new moons and rings as well,” said Stern.

Yes, Pluto could have rings. Already, Pluto has five known moons: Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos and Hydra.

Numerical simulations show that meteoroids striking those satellites could send debris into orbit, forming a ring system that waxes and wanes over time in response to changes in bombardment.

“We’re flying into the unknown,” said Stern, “and there is no telling what we might find.”

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