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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Habitat for Humanity Lake County has received another substantial donation to assist in its effort to improve the county’s housing.
State Farm Agent Nanette Dutcher recently presented the nonprofit with a $5,000 check from State Farm's Good Neighbor Program.
Tammy Brigham, administrator for Habitat for Humanity Lake County, said the grant will be used for the home repair program, enabling them to offer services to more homes than expected.
“We have, to date, repaired more than 50 homes in the county and have funds to do many more,” Brigham said.
Brigham said low income homeowners in need of health and safety related repairs may apply at the Habitat for Humanity office in Lower Lake, 16285 Main St. No. A, or call the office at 707-994-1100 for more information or an application.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The last in a series of community meetings on the drafting of a new Clearlake General Plan is scheduled for this weekend, at which time residents will have the chance to give input on the proposals.
The meeting will take place from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 9, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
This will be the fourth community meeting held in the plan drafting process, which began last fall, as Lake County News has reported.
The city of Clearlake, thanks to a grant from the Lake County/City Area Planning Council, was able to hire a team of graduate students with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s City and Regional Planning Department to work on updating the city’s general plan, which City Manager Joan Phillipe said was well out of date.
Phillipe told Lake County News that she’s been delighted with the process so far.
The first meeting last fall had a low turnout – due, in part, Phillipe believes, to other events that day.
She credited the students with taking the initiative and going into the community to get comments using the same questions as were used in the workshop. The next two workshops were well attended, she said.
“Attendees have come to participate, are engaged and are providing good, sound comments,” Phillipe said. “Each workshop brings new people and new faces which I think is indicative of the enthusiasm we are seeing from many about the work the city is doing to bring its planning documents up to date, to create forward and positive movement in boosting the city’s ability to be proactive in creating a more fiscally healthy community and generally to know where we are going.”
Dr. Cornelius Nuworsoo of Cal Poly, the project’s director, said the team has had a positive experience in Clearlake.
“This has been a wonderful process for us, the cooperation and enthusiasm of Clearlake’s residents and the leadership has been great. Their dedication to envisioning a bright future for their city inspires our team to do their very best,” Nuworsoo said.
At the Saturday meeting the Cal Poly team will present its final preferred growth alternative with growth impacts,
Members of the community are invited to attend and give their feedback. The team said all comments will be integrated into a final draft that will be submitted to the city.
“We have seen growing attendance at each of our meetings, over 40 people came to our last community meeting. We see this as strong community investment in the importance of this process,” said team member Nikki Streegan.
Streegan added that the team hopes to deliver a final product that is a great guide for future development in the city.
Phillipe said she’s very impressed with the students’ ability to listen and actually hear what the community says.
“They come back to each successive workshop with scenarios that clearly are based on community interest and input, not their view of what the city should necessarily be,” she said. “The students are producing professional planning quality work. I have been very pleased with what has been produced to date.”
For more information about the plan and the process, visit www.planclearlake.weebly.com .
Email Elizabeth Larson at
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Residents, employees, businesses and others with an interest in potential improvements on and near Highway 29 in Lake County are encouraged to provide comments and suggestions on the State Route 29 Transportation Project.
Comments can be submitted through Friday, March 22, through the planning project’s Web site at http://www.lakecountysr29.com/public-comment/ .
The overall planning project includes a SR 29 South Corridor Engineered Feasibility Study (EFS) and Middletown Community Action Plan (CAP), which will identify transportation improvements to make intraregional and interregional travel safer and more convenient, reduce congestion and address local community needs.
The SR 29 South Corridor EFS will identify and analyze potential short-term and long-term transportation improvements from the Napa County line to Highway 53 in Lower Lake.
The CAP will focus on potential roadway improvements in Middletown, including bike, pedestrian, transit and equestrian alternatives.
The project is managed by Caltrans and the Lake County/City Area Planning Council, and is scheduled for completion in the fall 2013.
“The outcomes of this project will be shaped directly by public input, and we’re hoping to gather a significant amount of additional information and ideas through the use of the online tool,” said Rex Jackman, chief of System, Regional and Community Planning for Caltrans.
In addition to providing online comments, interested community members also can provide feedback at three community meetings planned for later in the year.
A Jan. 22 community meeting in Middletown attracted 70 area stakeholders.
LUCERNE, Calif. – Following a local agency board’s decision last week to terminate a food provider contract with the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, the center’s executive director said they are regrouping and planning to continue offering other services to the community.
Robert Clifton, the center’s director, said the center will remain open and carry on with current services, including food and classes, with the center board due to meet, regroup and discuss its plans for moving forward.
The board for the Area Agency on Aging for Lake and Mendocino Counties voted unanimously last Thursday to terminate its provider contract with the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center after it was listed as a “high risk” provider based on a state monitoring report, as Lake County News has reported.
The Area Agency on Aging Board said its other contracts were at risk if it didn’t act, and so voted for the contract termination, which goes into effect in 30 days from the Feb. 28 vote.
While there is an appeal process, Clifton said the center won’t appeal the Feb. 28 termination vote.
“What would be the point?” Clifton asked. “The people in that room had made up their minds based on bogus information.”
The “bogus” information Clifton alleged was used for the decision came from the state’s monitoring report, which said the center food program didn’t follow the proper guidelines.
Last week, Jonathan Crooks of the Lakeport Senior Center and Pat Grabham of the Live Oak Senior Center in Clearlake Oaks indicated that they would work to deliver meals to seniors who were served under Lucerne’s contract.
Area Agency on Aging Program Coordinator Mike Parkinson said the 2012-13 fiscal year contract with the senior center totaled $66,084, of which nearly $61,000 went to nutrition programs.
That totals a little over half of what it takes to currently run the center; Clifton said the center’s budget currently is running at about $10,000 to $11,000 a month. The center also is supported through donations and facility rentals.
While the contract loss is significant, Clifton said the center can run less expensively – at about $5,000 per month – if it’s not required to carry out the food programs under the Area Agency on Aging contract, including the Meals on Wheels program.
“Under this contract we had to charge people that were under 60 a certain price and then we had to give the food away if they were over 60 and didn't have the money,” said Clifton. “Now, instead of giving the food away, we'll charge.”
He said the center hasn’t lost its ability to do business, and that while they’re sad about no longer offering Meals on Wheels, they will still be providing high quality meals to community members.
Clifton said the center makes everything from scratch, and offers a variety of full course meals for about $4 or $5 per person. He said people who eat at the center – many of whom are not seniors – give great feedback on the food.
The day after the vote to terminate the center’s contract, Clifton said 14 people walked into the center at different times, asking how they could help and offering to volunteer.
“I’m feeling just bolstered by the community involvement that I’m getting here,” he said.
He said the center has worked hard over the past two years to pay off $30,000 in debt and renovate about 60 percent of the 1930s-era building, all of which was done with the community’s help.
Clifton said the center wants to continue to serve meals, hold fundraisers, host theatrical events, offer facilities for rent and educational classes, and provide other services for seniors and the community at large.
“We're optimistic,” he said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has several new cats available for adoption this week.
The cats range in age from 7 months to 3 years, with a variety of coat lengths and colors.
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”).
‘Monkey’
“Monkey” is a 2 year old female domestic short hair mix.
She has a black and white coat, weighs 7 pounds and has been spayed.
She’s in cat room kennel No. 7, ID No. 35538.
Female torbie
This female torbie mix is 7 months old.
She has a short coat, weighs nearly 7 pounds and has not yet been spayed.
She’s in cat room kennel No. 20, ID No. 35667.
Domestic long hair mix
This male domestic long hair mix is 3 years old.
He has a white and gray coat, green eyes and weighs 7 pounds. He has not yet been neutered.
Find him in cat room kennel No. 21, ID No. 35630.
Gray and white tabby
This male gray and white tabby is 3 years old.
He has a short coat, weighs 10 pounds and has been altered.
He’s in cat room kennel No. 22, ID No. 35512.
Gray tabby
This gray tabby is of undetermined gender and age.
The cat has green eyes and a curly coat, and it was not reported if it had yet been altered.
Find this tabby in cat room kennel No. 67, ID No. 35597.
Orange and white tabby
This orange and white tabby is 7 months old.
The cat, whose gender was not reported, weighs 10 pounds and has a short coat.
Find the cat in cat room kennel No. 91, ID No. 35668.
Female brown tabby
This female brown tabby is 3 years old.
She weighs 8 pounds, has a long brown striped coat and green eyes, and has been spayed.
She's in cat room kennel No. 106, ID No. 35417.
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. – The weak weather system that moved over Lake County Sunday brought light showers in the afternoon over localized areas, but sunny skies should return today before more rain is on tap beginning on Tuesday.
The weather is predicted to be sunny and warm Monday according to forecasters with the National Weather Service in Sacramento.
However, forecasters said a weather system from the Gulf of Alaska will drop into Lake County and Northern California on Tuesday, bringing much cooler weather and rains with the potential for small hail, gusty winds and possible thunderstorms into Wednesday.
Western Weather Group Lake County predicted up to a half-inch of much-needed rain overnight Tuesday into Wednesday with isolated thunderstorms, as unsettled weather continues over Lake County.
Daytime highs Monday should reach into the low- to mid- 60s, with chances for rain and clouds returning overnight and temperatures dipping once again into the mid-30s.
With an 80 percent chance of rain on Tuesday according to forecasters, high temperatures early this week will only reach into the 50s as rains are expected to continue through Wednesday.
Skies are forecast to clear by Thursday, although temperatures will remain cool with the possibility for overnight frost on both Thursday and Friday nights in some areas, according to the forecast.
Warm and sunny weather is expected to return by the weekend, according to forecasters, with possible rains returning early next week.
Email Terre Logsdon at