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LAKEPORT, Calif. – Veterans Day will be celebrated at Konocti Vista Casino on Wednesday, Nov. 11.

The annual county commemoration will take place beginning at 11 a.m. at the casino, 2755 Mission Rancheria Road in Lakeport. Doors open at 10 a.m.

Veterans, their families and supporters in the community are invited to celebrate those who have served our country.  

Participants will include the Clear Lake High School band, 4-H members, the United Veterans Council, Lake County veteran organizations, Patriot Guard Riders and the Military Funeral Honors Team of Lake County.

The Veterans Day ceremony will include presentations of the annual “Friend of the Veteran” and “Veteran of the Year” awards.

The guest speaker will be United States Army Veteran Congressman Mike Thompson.

Through the generosity of Konocti Vista Casino, a complimentary lunch and beverages will be provided to those in attendance, while supplies last.

Everyone is welcome to the celebration honoring America’s veterans. 

For further information call 707-349-2838.

LUCERNE, Calif. – A sold-out group of more than 100 participants from across a wide spectrum of interests and affiliations – business, education, nonprofits, artists, local government, advocates and lovers of Lake County came together at Marymount California University’s (MCU) Lakeside campus on Oct. 9 for Lake Leadership Summit ’15. 

The summit was designed for Lake County’s small businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators and invested citizens to inspire, collaborate, and envision a stronger and sustainable economic climate.

The annual summit is organized by the Lake County Regional Economic Development Committee, a group of volunteers from business, city and county government, education, nonprofits and citizens working for a thriving community – economically, culturally, and environmentally. 

The inaugural summit was held at the Lakeside campus last October, also to a sold-out audience. Summit ’14 was kicked off by the surprise unveiling of the chalkboard wall “What I Love About Lake County” in downtown Lakeport. 

This year the city of Lakeport hosted a new wall at City Hall, offering residents and visitors alike the opportunity to write on the wall and share what they love. 

“We are proud to have City Hall be the site of the 'What I Love About Lake County' chalkboard wall this year,” said Lakeport City Manager and summit co-creator Margaret Silveira. “Several of our council members attended Summit ’14 and, like so many people in Lake County, the city is a big proponent of economic development. Particularly in the aftermath of the Valley fire, we urged Lake County’s residents to add what they love most about where we live to the wall. We’re convinced that our positive energy is what will make us a magnet for outside investors and new businesses.”

Michelle Scully, executive director of Marymount California University's Lucerne campus, welcomed the group on behalf of the Regional Economic Development Committee. 

Scully is part of the summit coordinating committee of Wilda Shock, Rebecca Southwick and Silveira that designed and implemented the program and presented in cooperation with MPIC Inc., The Working Connection.

She shared a descriptive vision of the summit. “The Summit is … a mixture of practical, impractical, and passion. It is not a passive exercise, and your ideas, your love of this place, your desire to stand in the gap for those who are hurting during a time like this – these are the raw materials we will work with today.” She asked the group for a moment of reflection to honor the summer of fires, the losses sustained by our community, and the rebuilding to be done.

Summit ’15 followed the same passion that inspired Summit ’14. It was a mash-up of speakers and breakout sessions designed to encourage, enthuse, and create momentum for community initiatives and collaboration to offer opportunities for the community to come together to share, collaborate, and envision our recovery. 

The speaker list was broad as well as deep. Amy Kaherl, executive director of Detroit SOUP, delivered the keynote address. Kaherl’s crowd-funding micro-grant program, Detroit SOUP, has received international acclaim, appearing on NBC News, ABC News, the BBC, Good Morning, America, and the Huffington Post, among others. Kaherl is a recent recipient of the White House’s “Champion of Change” award. 

Local lenders presented “Business Jeopardy: Show Me the Money!” featuring Paula Bryant of Umpqua Bank, Stephanie Ashworth of Wells Fargo Bank, Pete Dodson of Savings Bank of Mendocino County, and Jeff Lucas of Community Development Services. 

The group designed a lookalike of a game show panel and Ashworth introduced it as, “And you thought bankers were always boring!” 

The group kicked off an interactive question and answer with the audience including a real “payout” of dollar bills to attendees who answered correctly. MCU Lakeside students assisted in the interplay between panel and audience by delivering money to the winners.

Rob Freedman, also a presenter at summit ’14, led a session called “Your (Website) Storefront Looks Like Hell: Websites 099.” 

Freedman is director of marketing and communications at Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco. He walked the audience through his own work with revamping a current Web site as an illustration of how customers experience a Web site and the importance of their experience while there.

Gloria Flaherty, executive director of the Lake Family Resource Center, shared with the group her vision of philanthropy and the need to support local charities and nonprofit organizations. 

Susheel Kumar, public information officer for the U. S. Small Business Administration Office of Disaster Assistance, gave the audience a briefing on losses sustained, the availability of disaster relief services, and relief to those who suffered business and/or personal losses in the Valley fire.

The presentation by Kelley Rajala and Pam Dale focused on creating local economy centers, the local maker movement, its burgeoning popularity and how North Bay Made is marketing Lake County products to Northern California and beyond. 

Rajala inspired the crowd with her practical and encouraging vision and received frequent bursts of applause for her entrepreneurship.

Breakout sessions included “Speed Date Your Business” and “Our Town: Owning Our (Respective) Destinies.” 

A first for the Summit was the Red Carpet Awards. Sponsored by Lake County News, the awards were presented to local businesses in three categories: Start up Sensation (a business open two years or less) was awarded to The Village Pub and owner Barbara Flynn. Flynn received her award to much applause in support of the Cobb mountain business. 

Customer Service to Rival Nordstrom’s was awarded to Middletown Florist and Gifts and owner Tina Stewart who lost her business in the Valley fire. 

Enticing Storefront/Façade commended Marymount California University Lakeside campus for its beauty as an incredible “castle.” 

Winners walked the red carpet to receive golden statuettes bearing an uncanny likeness to the real deal Oscars. 

Scully concluded her opening remarks with, “Seeing you all here today, we know that we are bringing our best gifts – hope, vision, determination, and love to rebuild and re-envision our broken community. Let’s fill this day with hope and dreams and hands to get those dreams done.” 

The attendees did all that and more, and generated plans and the desire to meet again for an extended Speed Dating/networking event. Several community projects were born through the Our Town: Our Destinies session. 

Two follow-up workshops were scheduled for October at the Marymount campus in Lucerne, expanding on the short “teaser” presentations from the summit.

Greg Lindsley, Lake County artist and teacher, will provide some practical tips about how to get your art from studio to marketplace during “The Art of Marketing Art” workshop Wednesday, Jan. 13, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Marymount California University’s Lakeside campus. 

Registration for this workshop is available through the www.EmbracetheLake.com Web site.

AccuWeather reports another large storm is poised to roll into the West with rain, snow and travel disruptions during the second week of November.

According to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Ken Clark, “There is more good news on the way for part of the drought-stricken West starting this weekend and into next week.”

“A new storm from the Pacific Ocean will spread rain and snow as far south as California and as far east as Colorado, Wyoming and Montana,” Clark said.

The storm will continue to build the snowpack in the high country and soak the soil at lower elevations of the West.

It will follow the first widespread mountain snow of the season in the West, with totals of 1 to 2 feet of snow on part of the Sierra Nevada, Colorado Rockies and portions of northern Nevada, this week.

The Pacific storm, which will arrive this weekend, will first send a moderate amount of rain southward along the coasts of Washington, Oregon and Northern California during Friday night and Saturday. A soaking is in store for Seattle, Portland, Ore., and Crescent City, Calif.

During Saturday into Monday, the storm will strengthen and move southward along the coast, rounds of rain will ramp up and expand inland, while snow levels will lower from north to south over the Cascades.

The high country in the Cascades could pick up 6-12 inches of snow from the storm. Snow is likely to reach down to the passes in Washington and Oregon. Slushy areas may develop along Interstate 90 through Snoqualmie Pass.

The most likely time for drenching rain and travel delays in San Francisco and Sacramento, California, is on Monday. Gusty winds may also affect the coast of northern California at this time.

The heaviest snow will focus on central and northern Sierra Nevada on Monday into Tuesday. Snowfall in the high country in this area could exceed a foot. Accumulating snow is likely to extend to Donner Pass.

The storm will turn inland over the West Monday into Wednesday.

“How far south, how much snow falls and how low snow levels get over the Sierra Nevada, upper part of the Great Basin and northern and central Rockies will depend on the track of the storm and how much moisture is available,” Clark said.

“There is the potential for some locations to be hit with similar or perhaps greater snowfall, when compared to the storm this week, especially north of Southern California, Arizona and New Mexico,” Clark said.

For cities such as Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix, it is a bit too early to say for sure whether the storm will bring significant rain or not next week.

More snow will fall farther north across the interior West next week, when compared to this week's storm. In addition to parts of I-80 in Nevada and Wyoming and I-70 in Colorado, the storm next week is likely to bring significant wintry impacts and potential travel disruptions along I-90 from the Bitterroot Range to the Black Hills.

Salt Lake City will get a another chance at snow on Tuesday.

There is a chance that enough snow falls to cover roads in the Denver metro area Tuesday night into Wednesday. More significant cold air is likely to sweep southward along the Front Range during the middle of next week, which will support more snow. While snow fell in Denver on Thursday, it generally melted on roads.

The same storm could evolve into a blizzard over part of the northern Plains as it pushes east of the Rockies on Wednesday. People traveling along I-80 in Nebraska and I-90 in South Dakota will want to monitor the progress of the storm.

Alex Sosnowski is a senior meteorologist for www.AccuWeather.com .

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The service of a search warrant by the Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force on Tuesday has resulted in two arrests, and the seizure of 32.2 pounds of processed marijuana and four firearms.

Arrested as a result of the warrant service were 57-year-old Philip Dennis Murphy and 60-year-old Cheryl Denise Carr, according to Lt. Steve Brooks.

Brooks said that on Tuesday detectives obtained a search warrant for a residence located in the 3000 block of Finley East Road in Kelseyville and served the warrant at noon that day.

When they arrived they located Murphy and Carr at the residence. Brooks said Murphy asked the detectives if they were there because of the marijuana. Both Murphy and Carr were detained without incident.  

Murphy admitted to growing marijuana on the property, but refused to answer any additional questions, Brooks said.

Brooks said Murphy and Carr both told detectives that they thought they were following the county codes.

During a search of the property, detectives located 21.1 pounds of processed marijuana, which Brooks said was packaged in 27 individual bags. There was an additional 11.1 pounds of bulk shake marijuana which was stored in plastic tubs. 

Brooks said the detectives estimated the street value of the processed marijuana to be $21,000. 

Detectives also located four firearms, which were seized, Brooks said.

Both Murphy and Carr were arrested on felony charges of marijuana cultivation and the possession of marijuana for sale, and transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility, where they were booked, Brooks said.

Murphy later posted the required portion of his $15,000 bail and was released. Carr remained in custody early Thursday on a no-bail hold, according to jail records.

The booking sheets for both show they are tentatively scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

Brooks said detectives are requesting that the additional charge of being in possession of a firearm while committing a felony is added to both Murphy and Carr’s booking.         

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

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Valley Fire Relief Fund received almost 1,500 applications, a clear indicator of the enormous need left in the wake of California’s third most destructive fire in modern history.

To date, the fund has sent about 900 checks in $1,000 or $1,500 increments to fire survivors, totaling more than $1.2 million in direct aid.

The fund is run by North Coast Opportunities (NCO) and Mendo Lake Credit Union (MLCU) in partnership with Savings Bank of Mendocino County, Tri Counties Bank and United Way of Wine Country, with additional funding from Redwood Credit Union. Applications are reviewed by a managing committee, which classifies them based on levels of need.

“The committee has spent many hours reviewing applications, and tries to spread the available funds as fairly and evenly as possible,” said NCO Executive Assistant Elizabeth Archer, who has been the fund’s primary organizer and contact person.

The Valley Fire Relief Fund can only give out as much as it raises. Nearly all available funds have been disbursed, and as of November 2 applications were no longer being accepted – a date that was widely advertised through social media, radio, and other outreach efforts.

With 600 unfunded applications left, the committee had to make difficult decisions. Anyone with good insurance coverage, a high income level, and/or a relatively minor level of loss was deemed ineligible; 400 applicants were sent letters saying they will not receive funding.

“We did not take any decision lightly,” said Archer. “Quite the opposite; we agonized over every one, because we know the impact each decision can have on someone affected by the fire.”

The committee has classified the remaining 200 applications as “will fund when possible” – in other words, those applicants will only get financial assistance if more money is raised. If enough comes in to cover them all, the fund will be able to send checks to 75 percent of those who applied.

Fortunately, large donations have continued to arrive from fundraisers, organizations, businesses and individuals.

For example, on Oct. 25 the “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” event in Ukiah raised $95,000. And, just last week the Women of the Moose gave $5,000.

“We learned that this fund had been set up for those impacted by the Valley fire, and that it would distribute directly to evacuees who lost their homes,” said Senior Regent Alice Veiga about why the group chose to donate to this fund.

She added that the money was donated by many individuals specifically to help fire survivors, saying, “We’ve been so amazed by the generosity of people within and outside our community.”

That sentiment is echoed by nearly everyone who has been involved with fire relief. “It’s so moving to see how many donations we continue to receive,” said NCO CFO Carolyn Welch. “As soon as money comes in, we send it back out.”

Added Archer, “It’s nice to see the pile shrink, but there are still a lot of unfunded applications. We’re crossing our fingers that we raise enough to cover all of them.”

In order to ensure the highest possible impact, NCO has paid for 100 percent of the administrative cost of running the fund, including more than 1,000 staff hours and thousands of dollars in postage, printing costs, and issued checks.

Archer said that in future disaster relief situations, NCO’s Board of Directors would have to re-examine whether or not the organization could cover the cost of such a high volume of work.

However, it was clear to everyone involved that this was the right decision for this summer’s devastating wildfires.

Said NCO Board Vice Chair Ross Walker, “We were responding to a tremendous need in the community, and we wouldn’t have wanted to do it any other way.”

To donate to the Valley Fire Relief Fund, visit www.ncoinc.org .

AccuWeather reports cosmic fireballs will occasionally light up the night sky as the Taurid meteor shower approaches its peak into next week.

“Every year, the Earth passes through a stream left by Comet Encke, producing the Taurid Meteor Shower,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Dave Samuhel said.

“This shower is notorious for producing fireballs, and there are signs that this could be a year of enhanced activity,” Samuhel added.

Fireballs are extremely bright meteors that last for several seconds and can light up an entire countryside when they are at their brightest.

Unlike other meteor showers thought the year, the peak of the Taurid shower is drawn out, lasting nearly a week.

This year, the peak is expected to occur from Nov. 5 through Nov. 12, but some meteors from the Taurids will continue through the end of the month.

The long peak of the shower means that stargazers will have several opportunities to see the Taurids, and one cloudy night should not prevent people from catching the display.

“Usually the shower only produces 5-10 meteors per hour,” Samuhel said.

The best time for viewing the Taurids may prove to be near the end of the shower's peak during the new moon.

The new moon will mean that the sky will be darker, making the Taurids appear even brighter as they glide across the night sky.

As for when to look for the Taurids, there is no specific time of the night that will bring more shooting stars than another time of the night.

Whenever it is dark, you'll have the chance to see some fireballs flash as they streak through the night sky.
 
Brian Lada is a meteorologist for www.AccuWeather.com .