CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Rotary Club of Clearlake held its 14th annual seafood boil fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 25.

This year’s event was held at the William Cornelison Center on the Konocti Education Center grounds in Clearlake.

This event has become a must-attend for many. The meal started with lobster, tri-tip, salad and bread followed by “the boil.” A scrumptious lemon tart was served for dessert. Wine tasting this year was provided by Brassfield Vineyards. A no-host bar was also available.

Students from throughout Konocti Unified School District provided support in many different areas of the event. These fine young adults helped this event be among the best the club has ever experienced.

And as always the amazing live and silent auction items appealed to a wide variety of tastes and were the source of much humor and joy.  

Funds raised from this event are used for a variety of projects and programs within our community. Rotary has provided scholarships annually for 46 years.

The club also started a program in 2005 to provide dictionaries to all third graders in the Konocti Unified School District. In all about 3,350 dictionaries have been given to students to keep as their own.

One of the club’s favorite events is an annual community Christmas dinner and celebration. The Clearlake Rotary has been providing the community a delicious, free dinner for 23 years.

At the 2016 event they fed approximately 750 folks and more than 500 children shared their Christmas wishes with Santa and received a photo and a gift. Free health screenings were also provided to all.

The club contributed directly to the Clayton fire relief efforts immediately after the incident in addition to contributions to fire recovery efforts through the Lake Area Rotary Club Association.

Club members also have completed numerous other projects which include sponsorship of the Safe House for Teens; funds have been contributed to help Adventist Health Clear Lake – formerly St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake – set up its new emergency room.

They’ve also installed bus stop shelters, worked for and paid for the dedication of a portion of Highway 53 to be designated as the Veterans Memorial Highway and other projects too numerous to name since the club’s inception in 1973.

Rotarians are a diverse group, different in many ways, yet united in the goal of contributing to the community.

For more about the club, visit www.clearlakerotary.org or its Facebook page, Rotary Club of Clear Lake.

If you are interested in being a project volunteer or being a club member please contact Debi Sally at 707-235-9011 or Keith Ahart at 707-489-1158 for more information.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The county of Lake is reminding property owners of the need to get permits for repair work on damaged docks and piers.

Any repair, replacement of improvements of existing piers or dock facilities on Clear Lake damaged as a consequence of the high water and winds will require a permit from the Lake County Water Resources Department.

New construction will likewise require a permit as well.

For more information contact the Water Resources Department at 707-263-2344.

 

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Local mindfulness teacher, consultant and author JoAnn Saccato will present “Mindfulness for Stress Reduction,” a free 90-minute workshop, on March 29.

The workshop will begin at 6 p.m. at A Positive Light Meditation Center, located at 6470 Kelsey Creek Drive, Kelseyville.

The event is free and open to the public.

The experientially-based workshop will include the history of mindfulness, scientific findings, with emphasis on stress reduction, and guided mindfulness exercises including breath awareness, gentle movement and loving kindness.

The workshop is based on Ms. Saccato's courses and forthcoming book, “Mindful and Intentional Living: A Path to Peace, Clarity and Freedom.”

Mindfulness is a body-based practice that invites one to pay kind, non-judgmental attention to direct experience.

Studies indicate that mindfulness can help reduce stress and stress-related illnesses, increase focus and attention, decrease incidences of and relapses with depression, help reduce anxiety, and aid in sleep and digestive disorders.

Joanie Lane, guiding spiritual teacher of A Positive Light Meditation Center, a nonprofit whose vision is to spread compassion and loving kindness throughout the world, was excited to host Ms. Saccato as part of her recent efforts to offer more events through the Center.

"We continue to look for opportunities to bring health and wellness to Lake County residents," Lane said. "Mindfulness and loving kindness practices are proven ways to bring health and wellness to those who practice."

For more information on A Positive Light, visit http://www.apositivelight.com or call Lane at 707-279-6031.

For more information on Saccato's Compassion-based Mindfulness for Stress Reduction, visit www.Compassion-basedMindfulness.com or call 707-350-1719.

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Clearlake Oaks Moose Lodge 2284 has wimpy burgers and music every Wednesday.

Join them for the best burgers in Lake County from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

From 5 to 8 p.m. there will be music. Featured bans are the High Notes on March 15, Root Rot on March 22 and Ear Relevant on March 29.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Lake County Vet Connect will holds its first outreach event of the year on Wednesday, March 15.

It will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the American Legion Hall in Clearlake, 14770 Austin Ave.

This event is free and open to all veterans regardless of when and where they served. Family members also are encouraged to attend.

Veterans have an opportunity to meet with representatives from various county and federal programs, learn about community organizations that may be able to benefit the veterans household and socialize with other veterans.

Lunch will be provided.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Public Works Department plans to do road repair work along a portion of Lakeshore Boulevard this week.

Lakeshore Boulevard between Giselman and Lange streets will be closed to all traffic next Monday, March 13, through Friday, March 17, from 8:30 a.m. to as late as 4:30 p.m. due to roadway repair activities.

The repair work is in response to the roadway damage caused by the recent flooding.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Seventh-day Adventist church will be presenting a four-week free vegetarian cooking school.

Due to the church being used as an evacuation center the school will be presented at the Westlake SDA School, 6585 Westlake Road in Lakeport (the Rocket school off the Nice-Lucerne cutoff).

The class will teach you healthy vegetarian lifestyle habits and recipes on a budget in just four weeks.

The class will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. beginning on Sunday, March 19, through April 9, and will be taught by three dietitian interns.

For further information please contact Danyelle at 360-442-3426.

It’s tax season, and you’ve probably been subjected to a barrage of tax-related messaging. Some of it may be from the IRS and legitimate tax preparers, but some of it certainly isn’t. It can be hard to sort out what to believe and who to trust.

Maybe you’ve been called by the IRS, and they claim you owe money and need to pay promptly to avoid arrest. Or perhaps you’ve been promised a huge tax refund or considerable tax relief by a tax preparer.

If it sounds too good to be true or deceiving, it probably is. Tax scams were the Better Business Bureau’s No. 1 scam of both 2015 and 2016, and they typically peak during tax season.

During tax season, fraudsters are out to get your personal and financial information. Follow these tips from your BBB to avoid tax scams

The IRS won’t call you demanding immediate payment

· In 2016, consumers nationwide reported nearly 8,000 tax scams to BBB Scam Tracker.

· Sophisticated scammers call taxpayers claiming to be from the IRS. Often, they’ll spoof the caller ID to seem more convincing. They’ll demand payment, usually through a prepaid debit card or wire transfer, or claim you have a refund waiting and need your personal information.

· The IRS won’t ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone, and there’s no such thing as a “Federal Student Tax”. If you receive one of these calls, just hang up!

The IRS also won’t initiate taxpayer communications through email

· Another popular tax scam involves email phishing – the IRS saw a 400-percent increase in these incidents in the 2016 season. Additionally, consumers reported more than 1,200 phishing scams to BBB Scam Tracker in 2016.

· Scammers may try to access your personal and financial information by sending you emails from the “IRS.” The emails may contain attachments that carry malware or spyware, so be careful. They may also encourage you to click on links taking you to bogus Web sites imitating www.IRS.gov that ask for personal information, Social Security Numbers, and financial information.

· If you receive one of these emails, just delete it! Don’t open any attachments or click on any links, and report it to the IRS by forwarding it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Be wary of tax ID theft

· Tax ID theft usually occurs when your identity has already been compromised and is used to file false tax returns. This could happen if your workplace’s payroll or Human Resources department falls victim to a W-2 email phishing scam.

· You could find out when trying to file tax returns – the IRS rejects your return because another return using your SSN has been filed. You may also receive an IRS notice stating that you’ve received wages from somewhere you never worked, or receive other notices that don’t actually apply to you.

· If you’re a victim of tax ID theft, continue to pay your taxes and file your return, even if you must do so by paper. Visit www.identitytheft.gov to file a complaint and learn what to do next.

Don’t believe ‘too-good-to-be-true’ propositions

· Watch out for official-looking communications claiming to be able to greatly reduce your tax liability or get you a larger-than-life refund. Not all "tax preparers” are created equal, and some are outright fraudsters.

· Be wary of any tax preparer who claims they can get you a larger return than other preparers, who bases their fees on a percentage of your refund, who asks you to sign a blank tax form or who refuses to provide you a copy of your completed return. Always do your research when finding a tax preparer and be cautious of who you deal with, who’s receiving your personal or financial information and what’s being done on your behalf.

· Your tax preparer should be a certified public accountant, a tax attorney, an enrolled agent or a certified E-file provider, and they should have a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN). You can find a list of trustworthy Accredited Businesses that can prepare your taxes on bbb.org.

Practice smart cybersecurity

· Ensure that any Web site you’re using is legitimate and secure. Look for the “https:”, other trust marks and a privacy policy. Make sure your computer’s anti-virus, anti-spyware and anti-malware software is up-to-date and running. If you’re filing online, only file from secure computers. Never use public Wi-Fi to file your return.

· Additionally, look up every tax Web site you use at www.bbb.org to see its BBB Business Profile, which includes a rating, complaint history and reviews from past customers.

If you’ve been affected by a tax scam, make sure to report it to BBB Scam Tracker at www.bbb.org/scamtracker to help warn others. For more tax resources, check out www.IRS.gov .

Rebecca Harpster is public relations specialist for the Better Business Bureau serving the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern Coastal California

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Imagination is powerful, and reading is its fuel.

That’s why every baby born at Sutter Lakeside Hospital is signed up to receive one free book a month for five years from the Imagination Library.

So far, more than 24,308 books have been distributed to families throughout Lake County.

The Family Birth Center, which averages more than 300 births a year, gives every family a chance to sign up for the Imagination Library, a nonprofit organization that encourages literacy at home by sending age-appropriate books to the child once a month.

The program is funded by the Sutter Lakeside Hospital Auxiliary and the Lake County Office of Education, at no cost to the families who receive the books.

Childhood literacy develops within the first five years of life, according to research on early childhood development.

Access to age-appropriate books is essential to literacy, yet low-income areas have access to only one book per 300 children, according to literacy research.

Reading at home not only improves academic performance later on, it also strengthens family bonds.

“Healthy living is about more than just medicine,” said Dan Peterson, chief administrative officer, Sutter Lakeside Hospital. “Families spending time together, encouraging literacy, supports emotional health. We’re proud to partner with the Auxiliary and the Lake County Office of Education to bring this service to Lake County.”

The Imagination Library, founded by Dolly Parton in 1995, has provided more than 80 million books to children internationally.

Lake County is one of 1,600 communities to participate in the Imagination Library, which reaches more than one million children in a month.

Other benefits of the Family Birth Center include four private suites for labor and delivery, in-room sleeping accommodations for family members, private bathrooms with showers or shower-tubs, and in-room dining service.

For more information or to schedule a tour of the Family Birth Center, please call 707-262-5087. To schedule a prenatal appointment with a care provider, please call 707-263-6885.

Morgen Wells is community relations and fund development coordinator for Sutter Lakeside Hospital.