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LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County CAN is partnering with Stop Hunger Now to package 10,000 meals to send to those in need overseas.
The packing party will take place this Friday, Nov. 22, at United Christian Parish, 745 N. Brush St. in Lakeport.
It's anticipated that the food packaged on Friday will be sent to the Philippines.
“Stop Hunger Now is acting quickly to provide life-saving food and aid to the families affected by Typhoon Haiyan,” said Rod Brooks, Stop Hunger Now president and chief executive officer. “We have committed an initial response of one million meals, and as the extent of the need becomes more clear, we intend to help as long as necessary.”
In August Lake County CAN partnered with the Lake County Fair to collect more than 300 cases of food to stock one food pantry in each community around Clear Lake – Lakeport, Kelseyville, Lower Lake, Middletown, Clearlake, Clearlake Oaks, Lucerne and Upper Lake.
In October Lake County CAN partnered with Lake County Office of Education on Make A Difference Day to collect almost another 2,000 items of food, again for communities around the lake.
The group has been acting locally to alleviate hunger in the community but now are planning to act globally as well, leading to the partnership with Stop Hunger Now.
There are three ways to help.
Donate money
Each meal costs 25 cents and they are short by a few hundred dollars. Donations will allow them to send the full 10,000 meal goal – or maybe even more.
Checks can be make payable to United Christian Parish; please put “Stop Hunger Now” on the memo line.
Donate time
There are four work shifts to choose from if you would like to help package the food.
From 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday they will be stacking chairs, setting up tables and unloading supplies to get ready for the packing event at United Christian Parish. The volunteers for this shift will be lifting heavy boxes and chairs.
There are two shifts that will be packaging food: the first from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. and the second from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. These workers simply need to be able to stand for their one hour shift. Children are welcome to help if they are accompanied by an adult.
From 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. they will have a clean up shift. These folks will be vacuuming, moving tables and chairs.
Donate food
For those who would like to donate food, the following items are needed in the Lakeport Food Pantry located at United Christian Parish: Bisquick (or other pancake mix), syrup, mayonnaise and cereal.
They do not need canned fruits or vegetables at the present time.
Because the holidays are fast approaching, canned hams would also be greatly appreciated by those we serve.
For more information or to sign up for a shift call the United Christian Parish office at 707-263-4788 or email
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – There are several new kittens and an adult cat waiting for new homes this week at Lake County Animal Care and Control.
The kittens are 9 weeks old while the adult cat is 11 months old.
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 long hair mix kittens
These domestic long hair mix kittens are 9 weeks old.
Shelter staff did not report their genders.
There is a mix of colors, including black and Siamese markings, and green, blue and yellow eyes.
Find them kitten in cat room kennel No. 27a, ID No. 38440, and 27c, ID No. 38442.
Domestic medium hair mix
This domestic medium hair mix cat is 11 months old.
She has has a black and white coat, weighs 7 pounds and has gold eyes. She has been spayed.
Find her in cat room kennel No. 67, ID No. 38040.
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
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Snagged fishing lines, a temporary inconvenience for Clear Lake anglers, can be a monstrous problem for the 8,000 or so Western and Clark's grebes that annually migrate to the lake.
That's why the Redbud Chapter of the Audubon Society in Lake County has initiated a program of placing fishing line recycle stations at various spots around the lake.
The stations are receptacles that serve the singular and critical purpose of keeping discarded fishing line out of the lake.
So far, Robert Patton, who operates the program – including making the box-like receptacles for Redbud Audubon – has placed 17 of them.
“I can build anything, although I don't do it anymore because I'm retired,” said Patton, a former mechanical design engineer and lifelong conservationist.
“I'll do anything that I feel will serve the world as a whole,” he said. “I don't think politics is the way to do it; I think action is the way. When I see something that needs to be done in my opinion I'm going to do it.”
Patton maintains the stations on the eastern side of the lake. The Lake County Sea Scouts maintain the western side.
Patton and the Sea Scouts follow a regular routine of removing the fishing line discarded in them.
The empty bottles and other disposables occasionally found in the boxes Patton regards as a minor nuisance. Obviously some visitors to the lake don't take heed of the “No trash please” signs posted at each receptacle.
“We have a lot of people who are enthusiastic about maintaining habitat for wildlife and we want to train all the kids and people who fish and throw their (snagged) lines into the lake not to do that,” said Patton.
To date Redbud Audubon has invested about $2,000 in the program and Patton does not give the county high marks in adhering to it.
“We're way behind much of the state,” he asserted.
At first blush it would seem that discarding a piece of line into a lake is no big deal. But seeing a waterfowl with a wad of line intractably attached to its back will disabuse anyone of that notion.
Fortunately, a nationwide public information recycling campaign launched by the Berkley Conservation Institute in Spirit Lake, Iowa with the help of anglers everywhere, has reduced the threat to waterfowl.
In California, the Coastal Commission administers the program and has been putting the fishing line recycle boxes up and down the coast for nearly a decade.
Since 1990, the Berkley Conservation Institute has recycled more than nine million miles worth of fishing line. Without such a program, consider what might have happened with all that line.
Patton has seen the consequence of cast-off fishing line firsthand. His business card has a photo he shot of a grebe with a tangled mass of line on its back.
“We have no way of knowing what happens to these birds,” he said. “But it happens regularly that birds get caught up in fishing line. In the last two years I've heard at least five different stories about finding grebes exhausted on the shore. Why should we be killing off our wildlife? We don't have enough wildlife as it is.”
Even with the positive effects of Berkley's nationwide program, Patton said the threat of waterfowl getting snarled in fishing line remains at a high level.
“We need to get the word out fast to people,” he said. “I would like to mount a national campaign to get people to be more conscientious about this thing because it's (still) happening all over the United States. It's happening in Maine, in Florida and in Great Lakes region.
“It's not all people, just some. There are people who are mean and crazy or just stupid. It all ends up being the same thing. Some people just don't care.
“But,” he added, “a lot of people do care.”
He said the group that supports Clarks Island in Clearlake Oaks called him and asked that he install a line recycling station there.
Patton hopes to get government approval to put the stations in public domain.
“But we're not going to put one in everybody's backyard,” he said. “Audubon pays more than $100 for each of these boxes.”
Redbud Audubon conducts other programs to protect the grebes, says chapter President Marilyn Waits.
“We're arranging to have interpretive panels stationed in private parks around the lake – educational signs that show the behavior of the grebes and explain why it's important for boats and water skiers and jet skiers to stay away from the colonies during the time the grebes are nesting and having babies,” she said.
The signs will be permanently installed near boat ramps at Clear Lake State Park, Lakeside County Park, Lucerne Harbor Park, Library Park in Lakeport and Redbud Park in Clearlake in the next few months, Waits said.
“What we're trying to do is minimize any kind of human disturbance,” said Waits. “A lot of people don't realize it's a danger to birds in terms of being able to produce young if there are large boat wakes or some sort of close disturbance.”
Grebes are not on the list of endangered species, she said. The designation for them in California is “species of special concern.”
“The reason we have been doing these special projects to help the grebes in breeding time is that many years ago there were two oil spills on the coast,” Waits explained. “These are birds that spend the winter on the coast and then come inland to winter on the lakes for breeding during the summer.”
Scientists monitor the grebes with respect to how many adults come to breed at Clear Lake during winter, the number of nests and how many young are produced. Monitoring also is conducted at Lake Amador in the Sierra foothills and Thermalito Afterbay near Oroville.
Redbud Audubon holds regular monthly meetings in which guest speakers address various topics of nature education and it conducts field trips each month from September through May.
Its major annual event is the Heron Days festival during which there are boat tours to view tree top nests of herons and egrets. The 2014 festival is scheduled for Saturday, May 3, and Sunday, May 4.
Anyone interested in becoming a member of the Redbud Audubon Society or learning more about it can attend its monthly meetings or log into its Web site at www.redbudaudubon.org .
Email John Lindblom at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The local supporters of the holiday Wreaths Across America effort are now seeking sponsorships for this year's commemoration.
The annual event includes laying wreaths on the graves of local veterans during the Christmas season.
This year there are four local youth groups that have joined with Wreaths Across America to help get sponsorships for holiday wreaths for veterans who have been laid to rest in Lake County.
Boy Scout Troop 42 hopes to place a wreath on 679 gravesites at Hartley Cemetery, Boy Scout Troop 45 has set a goal of 450 wreaths at Kelseyville Cemetery, 4-H has set a goal of 400 wreaths at Lower Lake and the Future Farmers of America have set a goal off 250 wreaths at Upper Lake.
There will be ceremonies at Hartley, Kelseyville, Lower Lake, and Upper Lake cemeteries at 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 14. Youth groups and veterans from around the county will be participating in laying the wreaths and the ceremonies.
Toni Funderburg, coordinator of WAA in Lake County, said that anyone can sponsor a wreath.
Sponsorship forms can be picked up at Lakeport Tire & Auto Service, 1901 S. Main St. in Lakeport, or you can call 707-263-5422 and they will fax or email you a sponsorship form.
If you use Facebook, go to Wreaths Across America – Lake County. You can download a sponsorship form after liking the Wreaths Across America page. You will be able to choose a cemetery and a sponsoring group. Checks must be made to Wreaths Across America.
Or go to www.wreathsacrossamerica.org and sponsor a wreath and payment can be made with a credit card. A sponsorship of a wreath is $15.
There also are family sponsorships for four wreaths, small business sponsorships of 10 wreaths and corporate sponsorships of 100 wreaths or any amount in between.
Any sponsorship is appreciated and will help the sponsoring groups to honor the Lake County veterans.
Wreaths Across America is a national nonprofit organization best known for its annual wreath-laying tradition at Arlington National Cemetery and over 800 other locations nationwide, with a mission to Remember, Honor and Teach about the service and sacrifices of our veterans.
The organization was honored earlier this year with the prestigious 2013 Top-Rated Nonprofit Award by GreatNonprofits, the leading provider of information and user reviews about nonprofit organizations across the United States.
“People with direct experience with Wreaths Across America have voted that the organization is making a real difference,” said Perla Ni, chief executive officer of GreatNonprofits.
“We are honored to be named a Top-Rated 2013 Nonprofit and truly thank those who took the time to share their experiences,” said Karen Worcester, executive director, Wreaths Across America. “We often hear that those who have been impacted by WAA come with a mission and leave with a memory. This is a testament to the organization’s mission to remember our fallen heroes, honor those who serve, and teach our children about the sacrifices made by veterans and their families to preserve our freedoms.”
The California Highway Patrol learned Saturday that its academy in West Sacramento is the first state police training academy in the nation to be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc., or CALEA.
In addition, the CHP as a department was reaccredited for another three years.
“This accreditation demonstrates the CHP’s leadership and professionalism – qualities that are instilled in every officer beginning at the academy and reinforced throughout their career,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “I thank the members of CALEA for reaffirming the department’s ongoing efforts to provide the people of California the best in safety, service and security.”
CALEA announced the accreditations Saturday during its conference in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The announcement of the academy’s accreditation culminates a two-year pursuit for the highly prized recognition of superior public safety training services and recognized professional excellence.
The department has been accredited since 2010. With overall agency reaccreditation, the CHP remains the largest accredited law enforcement agency in the nation.
“Accreditation is truly a great honor, and a designation for which all CHP employees can take great pride in,” said Commissioner Farrow. “For the public, it means that our standards for excellence and service to the public are built on solid policies and procedures that have been reviewed and certified by outside law enforcement professionals from across the nation.”
The CALEA Accreditation Program provides law enforcement agencies with an opportunity to voluntarily demonstrate their adherence to an established set of professional standards and includes an external, objective evaluation of departmental operations.
Ultimately, the CALEA Accreditation Program promotes the efficient use of resources and seeks to improve the delivery of service to the public.
In addition to overall agency accreditation, CALEA offers accreditation programs specific to training academies and communication centers.
Accreditation is for three years, during which time the CHP must submit annual reports showing continued compliance with those standards under which it was initially accredited.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has four dogs ready for adoption as the week begins.
Breed mixes featured this week include Labrador Retriever, Chihuahua and Pomeranian, ranging in age from 1 to 8 years.
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”).
Male Chihuahua mix
This male Chihuahua mix is 8 years old.
He has a short white coat, weighs 9 pounds and has been neutered.
He's in kennel No. 4, ID No. 38357.
Labrador Retriever mix
This female Labrador Retriever mix is 1 year old.
She has a short black coat and weighs nearly 56 pounds. Shelter staff did not report if she had been altered.
Find her in kennel No. 12, ID No. 38257.
Male Pomeranian mix
This male Pomeranian mix is 3 years old.
He has a short tan coat, weighs 12 pounds and has been neutered.
He's in kennel No. 15a, ID No. 38280.
Female Chihuahua mix
This female Chihuahua mix is 2 years old.
She has a short white and brown coat, weighs 11 pounds and has been spayed.
She's in kennel No. 15b, ID No. 38258.
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