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LUCERNE, Calif. – The Lucerne Alpine Senior Center has a new name.
The name of the center, located at 3985 Country Club Drive, has been changed to the Northshore Community Center, according to Executive Director Rae Eby-Carl.
Eby-Carl said the center is continuing to expand services and wanted to reflect its multi-age activities in a new name.
“The center will continue with all of the same activities and nutrition programs for seniors while adding new services for all ages in Northshore communities,” said Northshore Community Center Board Chairman John Brosnan.
The center will continue to provide senior services from Glenhaven to Blue Lakes. The thrift store is open from Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“We are the heart of the north shore and have an excellent location to involve everyone needing a space for activities and meetings,” Eby-Carl said.
Northshore Community Center will continue to hold its own events, rent out space, and offer a location for community benefit activities, she said.
Upcoming center-sponsored activities this month include the Poet and Songwriter’s Workshop on Oct. 14 and Open Mic Lucerne on Oct. 17. Both are free events. Bring the whole family to this historic site for activities and plan to have a great time.
For those who would like to get involved, the center is always recruiting volunteers for the thrift store, Friday food pantry, pickups and deliveries, office and kitchen help.
For more information or to reserve rooms, call the Northshore Community Center at 707-274-8779.
Year in and year out, thousands of people have been killed by distracted drivers and even more have been injured.
By simply changing your driving habits, you can help stop distracted driving.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is launching the statewide Adult Distracted Drivers traffic safety grant in partnership with the California Office of Traffic Safety.
The grant is a yearlong campaign that combines education and enforcement in order to combat distracted driving.
The CHP will complete a minimum of 50 distracted driving enforcement operations and at least 300 traffic safety presentations statewide by the end of September 2016.
Many distractions exist while driving, but cell phones remain the top distraction because so many drivers use them for long periods of time each day.
Driving and talking on a cell phone are both tasks that require a lot of thought. When doing both, your brain cannot do either very well.
“For your safety and the well-being of those around you, keep your eyes on the road and not your phone,” CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow said. “Nothing on that phone is worth endangering a life.”
It is important that drivers understand that the likelihood of being involved in an automobile accident increases dramatically if you drive distracted.
Distracted driving puts everyone on the road in danger. Some of the most common types of distracted driving include: texting and driving, talking on a cell phone, eating while driving, grooming while driving, talking to passengers, operating a navigation system, and adjusting the radio.
“Our goal with this grant is to further educate the public about the hazards associated with distracted driving and ultimately encourage drivers to discontinue the potentially deadly habit,” Commissioner Farrow added.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – An open house concerning the expansion of the Clearlake Walmart will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, at Clearlake City Hall, 10450 Olympic Drive.
The purpose of the open house is to solicit comments from public agencies and the community in regard to the scope of the project's environmental impact report, which is currently being prepared.
Exhibits concerning the proposed project will be on hand for review and comment.
Walmart is planning an approximately 40,000-square-foot expansion of its Clearlake store, which is currently about 105,000 square feet.
According to contracted city planner Gary Price, the project will increase store size by about 40 percent.
Walmart proposes its expansion on the north side of its existing building, which is adjacent to the Yuba College Clear Lake campus.
The project includes removal of an existing loading dock and demolition of the tire and lube center. The garden center will be enlarged by about 2,900 square feet.
Numerous changes to the inside of the building are planned as are parking lot improvements including additional lighting.
Truck lanes are to be added the east side of the building and additional entry ways are planned.
Facade and signage changes also are included in the project.
As the applicant, Walmart will pay for all costs associated with preparing the environmental impact report.
Email reporter Denise Rockenstein at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – CalRecycle, the California Office of Emergency Services and Lake County Environmental Health have announced the opening of two debris removal operations centers for residents affected by the Valley, Rocky and Jerusalem fires.
A debris removal operations center for the Rocky and Jerusalem fires is located at 16195 Main St. in Lower Lake.
Referred to as the “old bank building,” the lower lake center now serves as the information center for residents who have had their residences or outbuildings burned by the fires and have signed the right of entry form with the county of lake for the provision of the fire-related debris on their property.
Debris removal on the Rocky and Jerusalem properties was initiated on Sept. 30, and will continue until it is completed.
An additional debris removal operations center for the Valley fire will be opened this Friday, Oct. 2, at 21297 Calistoga Road in Middletown, one block south of the Middletown Senior Center.
This center will serve as the contact point for residents who lost their homes in the Valley fire.
Visitors to the center will be able to receive information on the anticipated dates that their property will be cleaned, amend the original right of entry form left with county staff, or submit new right of entry forms.
Debris removal work on the Valley fire will be initiated on Oct. 2 and will continue until the job is completed.
Telephone numbers for both centers are currently being arranged, and will be published as soon as they are available. Hours of operation for both centers will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
The opening of the debris removal operation centers means that the right of entry forms will no longer be available at or accepted at the local assistance centers, and should only be submitted at the debris removal operation centers.
In addition, staff of the US Environmental Protection Agency, Emergency Response Office, have initiated removal of visible hazardous wastes from the burned residential and commercial properties in the Valley fire area.
This project is expected to take two to three weeks. The debris removal portion of the project will be initiated once the hazardous materials have been removed, and the priority for both aspects of the project will be clearing the burned dwellings nearest schools.
For the latest news and information on the Valley Fire recovery, please visit www.lakecountylac.com or Lake County OES’ social media sites.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg was recognized this week for his role in a nationwide “Call to Action” that emphasizes the importance of school attendance.
Education Week listed more than 200 superintendents who are launching the academic year with a commitment to making reducing chronic absence a top priority, digging deeper into attendance data and working with community partners to improve school attendance starting as soon as children enter school.
The Call to Action drew leaders from some of the nation’s largest districts – New York City, Los Angeles and Miami-Dade County – as well as superintendents from smaller places, such as Glasgow, Montana with 850 students or Alpine County, Calif., with 80.
“We will continue to keep the future of Lake County's children as our top priority,” Falkenberg said. “I encourage you to work with friends and family, carpool, and help one another to make sure that all our children have access to quality education each and every day.”
Poor attendance is a surprisingly prevalent but often overlooked factor in why students and schools are struggling academically, officials said.
Although absenteeism is often considered a high school problem, national research shows that one in 10 kindergarten and first-grade students miss nearly a month of school every year in excused and unexcused absences.
Regardless of the reason for the absence, these missed days can leave children falling behind in reading and math. By sixth grade, chronic absence becomes a warning sign that a student might drop out of high school.
The Call to Action for superintendents is sponsored by seven national organizations that lead the Attendance Awareness Month campaign: America’s Promise Alliance, Attendance Works, The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, Get Schooled, Healthy Schools Campaign, Points of Light and United Way Worldwide.
By joining the Call to Action, Brock Falkenberg will have access to tools, expert advice and peer learning opportunities.
Although many residents are still displaced, schools have reopened and education officials are working with each other across districts as well as the community to ensure that children attend school.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake Transit Authority said it will continue offering free rides through October thanks to a federal grant.
Mark Wall, general manager for Lake Transit, said the free rides began on Sept. 15 to help Lake County residents with transportation needs during the Valley fire emergency.
He said the extended free rides program is made possible through the help of a federal grant designed to assist with Valley fire recovery efforts.
Lake Transit officials met with Caltrans and Federal Transit Administration last week to discuss ways to boost service to help those who have been displaced from their homes, Wall said.
Along with the free rides in October, additional services are being planned and will be announced soon, according to Wall.
Since some customers have already purchased October monthly passes, Wall said Lake Transit will honor the October passes through November.
For more information, including schedules and routes, visit Lake Transit online at http://laketransit.org/ .