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Vietnam Veterans of America-Chapter 951, with the help of local volunteers, will install the flag poles and mount the large flags along the avenues of Hartley Cemetery in Lakeport.
These flags once draped the casket of a fallen veteran. Once the veteran is laid to rest, the family has the option of donating the veterans’ burial flag to the Lake County Veterans Memorial Avenue of Flags Association.
On Memorial Day and Veterans Day the flags are flown to commemorate the memory of veterans who defended our country.
Hartley Cemetery is located north of Lakeport, off the Hill Road exit from Highway 29. At the intersection of Hill Road East and Park Way, turn right. Follow Hill Road East as it parallels Highway 29. Just before Hill Road East crosses over Highway 29 turn left on Shady Lane. Hartley Cemetery is located at the end of Shady Lane.
Hartley Cemetery can be accessed from Scott’s Valley Road by turning onto Hill Road and crossing over Highway 29 and turning right onto Shady Lane at the end of the overpass.
Installation of flagpoles and flags will begin at 7 a.m., weather permitting. Takedown of flagpoles and flags will occur at 4 p.m. Refreshments will be available.
Avenue of Flags will, also, be presented at the following cemeteries in Lake County: Upper Lake, Lower Lake and Kelseyville.
Volunteers would be appreciated at all locations. Further information is available from the following representatives: Upper Lake, Joel Moore, 707-272-1136; Lower Lake, Dave Shober, 707-671-3509; Kelseyville, Paul Harris, 707-279-1115 or Mike Powers, 707-279-2709; and Hartley Cemetery-Lakeport (Dean Gotham, 707-350-1159.
Express your respect for our fallen veterans and experience the pride of the magnificence display of our veterans flags.
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In anticipation of the increased outdoor activities, Cal Fire officials are urging everyone to exercise caution and emphasize safety this holiday weekend.
“The heavy rainfall this past winter and spring has led to abundant growth of grass and brush,” said Chief Del Walters, director of Cal Fire. “Despite the recent wet weather, this weekend’s warmer temperatures will dry out the vegetation, contributing to California's elevated risk of wildfires."
Thousands of acres of wildland have already burned this year in California, and the potential for even large, more destructive fires will increase as the state enters the summer and fall months.
Wildfires are not the only danger posed by the outdoors; drownings also dramatically increase during the Memorial Day weekend.
In California, drowning is the leading cause of deaths among children under 14, and every year Cal Fire responds to water rescues all across the state, many of which tragically claim the lives of both adults and children.
“Memorial Day is a great time to get together with friends and family to enjoy the outdoors,” said Chief Walters. “But it is important that everyone understands the dangers that the outdoors pose, and take steps to stay safe and prevent tragedy.”
CAL FIRE would like everyone to remember these important steps this holiday:
Camping:
Obtain necessary permits needed for campfires.
Clear away grass, leaves and other debris within a 10-foot perimeter of any campfire.
Have a responsible person in attendance at all times.
Ensure all campfires are completely extinguished before leaving.
When barbecuing, never leave the grill unattended.
In the water:
Always wear a life jacket!
Children should always be supervised by a responsible adult.
Never swim alone.
Swimming and alcohol don't mix. Alcohol can impair your ability to under estimate the water and overestimate your abilities.
For more ways to be safe during the Memorial Day Weekend visit the Cal Fire Web site at www.fire.ca.gov.
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Now residents are wondering when spring will arrive for longer than a few days as the “summer season” – Memorial Day weekend – arrives Saturday.
Clear Lake was officially full on April 12 as reported by Lake County News. As of Thursday evening, Clear Lake was hovering around 7.13 Rumsey.
A full lake is 7.56 feet Rumsey, according to Lake County's Water Resources Division.
Lake County, and all of Northern California, has been experiencing the coldest spring on record according to several news reports, with daytime highs and overnight lows 10 to 20 degrees or more cooler than the normal average of 80-degree highs and lows in the mid-40s, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.
The pattern of unsettled weather continued Thursday, with heavy rains locally and episodes of hail reported around the county and much of Northern California.
Winter weather advisories were issued for the Sierra Nevada mountain range on Thursday, where enough snow fell with lower-than-average temperatures that several resorts, including Squaw Valley and Sierra-At-Tahoe, will reopen for skiing this Memorial Day weekend.
Here in Lake County, the National Weather Service in Sacramento predicted that the weather Friday will remain slightly unsettled with a 30-percent chance of rain before 11 a.m., with clearing throughout the day and daytime highs in the 60s.
On Saturday, the warming trend ramps up, with highs reaching in to the 70s – still 10 degrees below average – but a welcome change from the damp, gray days earlier in the week, with mostly clear skies forecast, according to the National Weather Service.
Sunday will approach average temperatures near 80 with sunny skies, forecasters predicted, with overnight lows near 50.
A cooling trend returns on Memorial Day when high temperatures are forecast to be in the low 70s, which the National Weather Services said will continue through early next week.
For up-to-the-minute weather information, please visit the home page.
E-mail Terre Logsdon at
“We will offer 30 mustangs ranging in age from yearlings to 5-year-olds, and 10 burros of all ages,” said Pardee Bardwell of the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program. “They have been dewormed and vaccinated against diseases including West Nile virus. They are ready to train.”
The adoption gates open at 9 a.m., for an hour of silent bidding. Animals not taken during bidding will be available for a $125 adoption fee through the rest of the day.
Interested adopters can preview the animals when they arrive at the fairgrounds at about 2 p.m. Friday, June 4.
To qualify, adopters must be at least 18 years old and residents of the United States. Adopted animals must be kept in corrals that offer at least 400 square feet per animal and are surrounded by 6-foot pipe or board fences (5 and a half-foot fences are allowed for horses under 2 years old; 4-foot fences are allowed for burros). Two-sided roofed shelters are required.
Title to adopted animals initially remains with the U. S. government, but after providing a year of good care, adopters can receive title.
Horses and burros coming to Lakeport were captured from wild herds whose populations exceeded the carrying capacity of their ranges.
Wild horses and burros are protected by a federal law, the Wild and Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act.
The law requires the BLM to maintain wild populations in balance with other range users, including wildlife and domestic livestock, so that food and water sources are sustained.
More information on wild horse management can be found online at www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov.
Adoption information is available by calling 866-4MUSTANGS.
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The meeting will focus on work of the group’s subcommittees.
The Lake County Respect For All Task Force, a group of local individuals, is striving to increase awareness about safe and inclusive learning environments.
The group is working to identify possible actions to help the Lake County community.
Subcommittees are working on outreach projects, gathering information for a list of community resources, providing training and awareness for school personnel and administrators, strengthening policies and procedures for use in the schools, and helping campuses with their efforts for student activities.
The task force welcomes participation by new members. Individuals interested in helping the task force in its efforts to assist youth and their families in assuring safe and inclusive learning environments are invited to attend the meetings.
More information about the Respect For All Task Force is available on the GroundSpark Web site, www.groundspark.org.
The Respect For All Project, a program of GroundSpark (www.groundspark.org), in cooperation with Lake County Healthy Start and Lake County Family Resource Center, is collaborating with local educators, high school students, community leaders, and representatives from a variety of organizations.
Lake County was chosen as one of three California counties for the pilot project. The task force has been meeting periodically over the last 15 months.
Respect For All Project coordinators Chung and Barry Chersky have traveled from the Bay Area on several occasions to facilitate meetings of the group. However, cuts in funding have now prohibited the two from continuing their visits to Lake County. The group of local volunteers has pledged to continue the work started by the committee.
A proposal for the Lake County project explains that GroundSpark, The Respect for All Project (RFAP) “is a nonprofit organization that seeks to create safe, hate-free schools and communities by providing youth and the adults who guide their development the tools they need to talk openly about diversity in all of its forms.”
As part of its work toward safe and inclusive learning environments, task force members identified a list of goals and split up responsibilities.
The goals include identifying community resources, networking and expanding the task force, pursuing support for gay/straight alliances, developing and fundraising for Challenge Day events at schools, and reviewing policies and implementation strategies.
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MIDDLETOWN – At the site of its newest solar array, the Northern California Power Agency celebrated its renewable energy efforts as well as The Geysers' 50 years of producing clean energy for California.
About 50 people – including NCPA representatives, and local and state officials – gathered at the site of a new 1-megawatt solar array at the Lake County Sanitation District's Middletown Treatment Plant on Highway 175.
The array's dedication – delayed from last fall due to weather – coincided with the 50th anniversary of geothermal production at The Geysers steamfield.
NCPA is a nonprofit joint powers agency, established in 1968 to generate, transmit and distribute electric power.
Its members agencies include the cities of Alameda, Biggs, Gridley, Healdsburg, Lodi, Lompoc, Palo Alto, Redding, Roseville, Santa Clara and Ukiah; the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), the Port of Oakland, the Truckee Donner Public Utility District, and TID; and two associate members, Placer County Water Agency, and the Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative serving more than 700,000 electric consumers in Central and Northern California.
In 1983, NCPA got into the geothermal business, and since then have been operating two geothermal power plants at The Geysers, each with a rated capacity of 110 megawatts.
Participants in NCPA's geothermal project include Alameda Municipal Power, the cities of Biggs, Gridley, Healdsburg, Lodi, Lompoc and Ukiah, Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative, Roseville Electric, Silicon Valley Power and TID.
Larry Hansen, NCPA's chair and a Lodi City Council member, said that 10 percent of Lodi's energy portfolio comes from The Geysers, which is one of the reasons that Lodi currently exceeds the state's Renewables Portfolio Standards requirements.
Statewide, 600,000 residents receive “green energy they can depend on” from The Geysers.
The Geysers is the largest geothermal field in the world, covering 30 square miles in the northern mountains of Sonoma and Lake counties, NCPA reported.
The agency said that the steamfield currently supplies more than 5 percent of the state’s electricity needs, and generates an amount of electricity equivalent to more than 60 percent of the electrical needs of the entire northern coastal region, stretching from San Francisco to Oregon.
Hansen said NCPA has at its disposal something that is unique not just to California but the nation, a “trifecta” of green energy, including reused wastewater – pumped to The Geysers for injection in the geothermal steamfields, which is a way of extending the life of the resources – along with the solar array and The Geysers itself.
Jim Pope, NCPA's general manager, said NCPA partnered with the Lake County Sanitation District in 1997 to begin the world's first wastewater geothermal injection project.
He said 6,000 gallons a minute is pumped 26 miles to The Geysers, where it's used to create renewable energy.
“Pumping all that water up the hill takes a lot of energy,” he said, and that's where the solar array comes in.
Pope said that NCPA has pioneered a novel down-hole turbine technology in partnership with the State of California and the California Energy Commission. The turbine is essentially a small hydroelectric generator. As the wastewater is injected back into the steam field, it generates additional electricity to power the plant’s operations.
Pope noted, “We were green before it was cool.”
District 1 Supervisor Jim Comstock said the public-private marriage between Lake County and NCPA is “a wonderful marriage.”
He said the geothermal industry provides tremendous jobs and economic support for Lake County.
“I can't thank you enough for your commitment to the renewable energy sources,” he said.
Comstock recognized Lake County Sanitation District Administrator Mark Dellinger for his work on the renewables projects.
“I want us to be an energy independent nation, and this is a big part of that,” Comstock said.
Dan Pellissier, deputy cabinet secretary for resources in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office, also spoke, noting that, “The Geysers is one of California's energy crown jewels.”
He said he spoke to Schwarzenegger about NCPA and its recent projects, and said the governor was “amazed and impressed” by what has been accomplished.
Pellissier said the push for renewable energy has been very effective, and many small solar installations are going in around the state.
He said that photovoltaics are dropping to the point that they will be cost effective on their own within five to 10 years.
“Eventually our push for renewable energy has to pencil out on its own, without subsidies,” he said.
Brian Bottari of Congressman Mike Thompson's office noted that renewable energy is particularly important now, as the world wrestles with climate change.
He said the need to break the nation's dependency on fossil fuels is not only a national security issue but an environmental concern, citing the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Representatives of state Sen. Patricia Wiggins and Assembly member Noreen Evans' offices also presented a resolution congratulating NCPA on its efforts.
Hansen told the group in closing, “What we do matters.”
For more information, visit www.ncpa.com.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
