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LAKEPORT, Calif. – This month the Lakeport Senior Activity Center is launching a fundraiser to help purchase new, much-needed equipment.
Lakeport Senior Activity Center staff and volunteers have worked hard to keep the doors open amidst the recent economic depression and budget cuts, according to Executive Director Jonathan Crooks.
Crooks said the success of the center through the hard times is a testament to the community that supports it.
While the doors are open, they need help, as Crooks said most of the equipment and the center’s building at 527 Konocti Ave. are 30 years old and in need of repair, upgrades and replacement.
This endeavor will require more than $60,000, according to Crooks.
Recently, through generous donations, the center has acquired a top-of-the-line commercial steam cooker and an ice machine, he said.
Crooks said the center's upcoming crab feed on March 21, hosted by the Lakeport Lions Club with the Elks Lodge, will raise funds needed to purchase a new commercial stove range.
Tickets are $45 per person and going fast. They can be purchased at the senior center, Meals on Wheels Thrift Store, Lakeport Upholstery or at the Lakeport Elks Lodge.
This fundraising effort’s progress can be followed on the center's Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/lakeportseniors , and at www.gofundme.com/lakeportseniors .
As enough money is raised, the purchases and upgrades will take place and be announced, Crooks said.
Some of the items that are on the list of needs, Crooks said, include HVAC for the thrift store and half of the senior center, convection oven, ware washer, building paint as well as many other repairs and upgrades.
The current project estimates include the following.
Center/kitchen
Range/oven: $7,000
Convection oven: $8,000
Ware washer: $6,000
Wash station: $1,000
Steam table: $1,000
Freezer door: $1,500
HVAC upgrade: $14,000
Floors: $10,000
Paint in/out: $5,000
Subtotal: $53,500
Thrift store
HVAC: $8,000
Paint: $1,500
Sign: $2,000
Rollup door: $1,500
Subtotal: $13,000
The center currently is accepting bids for the many repair and equipment projects and is committed to keeping it local as much as possible, Crooks said.
To get involved with the senior center and their efforts call 707-263-4218 or stop by 527 Konocti Ave. in Lakeport.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement for parts of Northern California – including Lake County – ahead of a rainstorm expected to arrive late Tuesday night and continue through Wednesday.
Forecasters said the weather system – which was responsible for the cooler temperatures and overcast skies the county experienced on Tuesday – is a weak one, and isn't expected to bring a lot of rain.
The specific forecast for Lake County shows that chances of rain are 30 percent after 11 p.m. Tuesday, with chances of rain increasing to 70 percent on Wednesday during the day and tapering to 20 percent on Wednesday night.
Expectations are for “light” precipitation, according to forecasters. That equates to less than a tenth of an inch throughout the county.
Light winds also are forecast for Tuesday night, with Wednesday's conditions expected to include wind gusts of up to 21 miles per hour.
Daytime highs on Wednesday will be in the high 50s, with nighttime temperatures ranging into the high 30s in the Lakeport area, but warmer nighttime temperatures elsewhere in the county.
The drier, warmer late-winter weather is expected to return on Thursday and Friday, with temperatures back into the high 70s during the daytime and the mid-40s at night, according to the forecast.
The extended National Weather Service forecast for Lake County also includes the possibility of light rain on Saturday and Sunday.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Rotary Club of Clearlake held its 12th annual Seafood Boil and Auction on Feb. 28 at Highlands Senior/Community Center in Clearlake.
This year's event was dedicated in memory of Dr. William “Bill” Cornelison, who was a longtime Rotarian and past president of the Middletown Rotary Club.
Cornelison spent a lifetime dedicated to education, serving as superintendent of schools in the Konocti school district as well as of the county district.
“We honor Bill's qualities as a Rotarian, a humanitarian, a good and true friend, and a selfless server to his community,” it stated in the evening's program.
The club intends to create a perpetual scholarship in Cornelison's name.
The event featured a plethora of live and silent auction items, as well as lobster and tri-tip, and mounds of steaming crab legs, shrimp, crawfish, mussels and clams.
Wines poured by Gregory Graham also highlighted the event.
Dessert was prepared by Lower Lake High School culinary class and students from Interact clubs of Carlé and Lower Lake High schools served the 200-plus guests in attendance.
The Rotary Club of Clearlake was founded in 1973 under the motto, “Service Above Self.”
During its 42 years of service, its has donated more than $255,000 in annual scholarships to local, college-bound seniors.
More than 3,100 dictionaries have been provided area third-grade students throughout the years as well.
The Rotary Club also hosts an annual community Christmas dinner, serving more than 900 meals each year while providing more than 600 gifts to children.
It is also a major sponsor of the Safe House for Homeless Teens.
Additional contributions to the community are vast and encompass health care, public transportation, youth athletics and more including the dedication of Highway 53 as Veterans' Memorial Highway.
This year's international project, according to Ginger Kite, event coordinator, will send school books destined to be destroyed by the California school system to students in the Philippines.
The club also will assist with a sustainable small business project there.
The Seafood Boil and Auction is the club's largest fundraising endeavor. In addition to the thousands of dollars made in sold-out ticket sales and proceeds from the silent auction, live auction action saw the club raise more than $10,000, including the sales of extra lobster tails.
In a repeat of last year's highest-selling auction items was a jungle adventure in Costa Rica with host and tour guide Bill MacDougall, retired superintendent of Konocti Unified schools.
Bidding reached $2,300, with Supervisor Jeff Smith and business owner Karen Slooten – who held the winning bid last year – pitted in competition.
Ultimately, MacDougall donated a second trip and both Smith and Slooten took the item each with $2,300 bids.
The second-highest bid was awarded to Bruce McCracken, owner of Clearlake Waste Solutions, who snagged four premium Giants baseball tickets for $900. The item was donated by QKA and Dana Moore of Konocti Unified School District.
Email Denise Rockenstein at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Habitat for Humanity Lake County has received two state grants totaling $840,000 to continue to expand its services – both for first-time homebuyers and for those who need critical home repairs.
The grants are through the California Department of Housing and Community Development's CalHome program.
Habitat for Humanity Lake County President Richard Birk said he believes it's the largest grant award that the local Habitat chapter has received at one time.
The first grant, for $540,000, will allow Habitat for Humanity to continue to provide mortgage assistance for first-time homebuyers within the city of Clearlake. The funds are to be used in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity’s Homeownership Program, according to Birk.
Birk said the second grant of $300,000 offers mortgage and rehabilitation assistance to owners of manufactured homes throughout Lake County.
That goes along with a larger effort that began about five years ago, when Habitat for Humanity decided to start a home repair program for seniors who can't afford to make the home upgrades, said Birk.
So far, they've repaired 150 homes, spending more than $1 million on that effort – which has included everything from roofs, to wheelchair ramps and lifts, Birk said.
“That's a huge need. The housing stock up here is so bad,” he said.
“We focus on health and safety issues in the house,” Birk added.
Birk said Habitat for Humanity also received another housing preservation grant for $125,000 from the US Department of Agriculture. Those funds can be used for home repairs anywhere in the county.
Applicants for Habitat's rehabilitation and homeowner programs must meet income and program qualifications and are subject to loan repayments, Birk said.
Since it was founded a decade and a half ago, Habitat for Humanity Lake County has raised several million dollars in its effort to improve local housing stock, Birk said.
The group finished its first house in 2002, Birk said, and has provided 18 homes to new homeowners so far.
That includes purchasing two bank-owned homes and rehabilitating them. “If the opportunity is there, if we see them, we'll go after them,” said Birk.
He said Habitat is getting ready to build a new home in a few weeks, and hopes to build at least two more this year, plans which will be helped by the latest round of grant funding.
While Habitat for Humanity has qualified applicants for the three homes it aims to build this year, it's always looking for families who qualify for the program in order to plan for future projects.
If you would like more information about Habitat for Humanity programs, contact the Lower Lake office at 707-994-1100, visit the organization online at www.lakehabitat.org or https://www.facebook.com/habitatforhumanity.lakecoca , or follow them on Twitter at https://twitter.com/hfh_lake_co .
Email Elizabeth Larson at [email protected] . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Library invites the public to get to know about Lake County’s geology at Lakeport Library, 1425 N. High St. at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 21, when Dr. Harry Lyons asks and answers the question “How Did Here Get Here?”
Lyons' presentation is part of the library’s free lecture series, “Know Lake County.”
Lyons says, “We live in a clutter of marine rocks, delivered from the Pacific by forces beautifully described by a theory called Plate Tectonics. The position and composition of the rocks, for millions of years, have formed and subsidized the ecosystem of the Clear Lake Basin. Our dynamic landscape, powered by the San Andreas Fault System, has led to the development of our famous eutrophic lake, a favorite of biologists worldwide.”
What better way to enjoy the broad explanatory power of this theory than by listening to an oceanographer who gathered magnetic data to support it, decades ago?
Lyons emphasizes three local rocks in recounting the history of the North Coast: sandstone of the Franciscan Complex; serpentine of the Coast Range Ophiolite; and basalt of the Clear Lake Volcanic Field. He relates where they can be viewed and what stories they can tell.
Lyons is professor of biology at the Clear Lake Campus of Yuba College, where he teaches biology, ecology, physiology, microbiology and, on occasion, statistics. He served as the scientific advisor and secretary to the Upper Putah Creek Stewardship.
He holds earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture and environmental science from Rutgers College and a PhD in oceanography from the Scripps Institution.
Dr. Lyons’ enthusiasm for Clear Lake is expressed in original lyrics for spirited songs that add zest to a presentation designed for those weary of PowerPoint.
The Know Lake County programs will take place on the third Saturday of each month from February through December at 2 p.m. at Lakeport Library.
Know Lake County delves into many facets of Lake County with family-friendly programs designed to inform and entertain local residents about Lake County.
For more information about Know Lake County and other library programs call 707-263-8817.
Lectures scheduled in coming months will feature the Berryessa Snow Mountain Region; Lake County insects and other critters; the Lake County Master Gardeners; the Taylor Observatory; and Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association. The year will conclude with programs on Lake County’s prehistory; Konocti Regional Trails, the Soper Reese Theatre and the Children’s Museum of Art and Science.
Know Lake County’s full schedule is posted on the Know Lake County Web site www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Lake_County_CA__Library/KLC.htm . The schedule is subject to change without notice.
The Lake County Library is on the Internet at http://library.co.lake.ca.us and Facebook at www.Facebook.com/LakeCountyLibrary .
Library events are also posted at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Lake_County_CA__Library/Calendar.htm .
Jan Cook works for the Lake County Library.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee plans this week to discuss a number of upcoming projects and a retreat.
LEDAC will meet from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 11, at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
City Manager Margaret Silveira will present information on a strategic planning retreat and next steps.
The committee also will get an update on the vacant commercial properties inventory by Lakeport Community Development Director Kevin Ingram, and discuss public art murals in the city, changing art displays in Lakeport City Hall and will identify other priorities.
There also will be committee member reports and updates on business outreach efforts – including events and projects.
Chair Wilda Shock will give an update on the Carnegie Library – which was the topic of a special feasibility study – and there also will be the opportunity for public input.
LEDAC advocates for a strong and positive Lakeport business community and acts as a conduit between the city and the community for communicating the goals, activities and progress of Lakeport’s economic and business programs.
Members do not have to be Lakeport residents.
Wilda Shock chairs LEDAC, the membership of which also includes Vice Chair Christine Hutt, Secretary Rebecca Southwick, and members Bill Eaton, Melissa Fulton, Rick Hamilton, Pam Harpster, Chris King, George Linn, Paula Pepper-Duggan and Taira St. John.
City Community Development Director Kevin Ingram and City Manager Margaret Silveira serve as ex-officio committee members.
LEDAC's next regularly scheduled meeting is Wednesday, April 8, at Lakeport City Hall.
Email Elizabeth Larson at