LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake Country Grand Jury is extending to next month the deadline for its art challenge for Lake County youth.

The grand jury is inviting young people ages 6 to 18 to submit their original artwork for inclusion in the 2015-16 grand jury report.

The grand jury publishes a written report every summer which is distributed to all departments in the county government and to the state archivist.

The artwork should express one or more of the following themes:

– The natural beauty of Lake County;
– Unique Lake County culture;
– Rebirth and renewal.

Winners will receive cash prizes: $200 for first place, $100 for second and $50 for places up to eighth.

To participate, submit a photo or a good copy of the original art that is packaged safely so it does not bend. Please do not submit original art work as they will not be able to return it.

Label the package “Grand jury artwork” and send it via the US Postal Service to Lake County Grand Jury, P.O. Box 1078, Kelseyville, 95451.

Digital files of the artwork – in JPG or PDF formats – also may be submitted to the grand jury at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Please indicate “Grand jury artwork” in the email header.

All entries – whether hard copy or digital – must include the artist’s name, age, address, email address and phone number.

The deadline for entering is April 30.

If your artwork is chosen, the grand jury will contact you for further information.

LONDON HAS FALLEN (Rated R)

Only three years ago, “Olympus Has Fallen” set forth the preposterous plot of a North Korean terrorist attack on the White House during the course of which President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) was saved by then-demoted Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler).

The action heroics of Butler’s Agent Banning invited comparisons to Bruce Willis’ John McClane from the “Die Hard” franchise, considering that he operated pretty much like a one-man wrecking crew hell-bent on killing as many of the bad guys as possible.

In the present day, at the start of the nominal sequel “London Has Fallen,” Mike Banning, the trusted protector President Asher, now serving his second term, contemplates retirement from the service as his wife (Radha Mitchell) is expecting their first child.

The resignation letter sits in draft form on Banning’s computer and there it will remain because the sudden death of the British prime minister occasions the need for the president to attend a state funeral in London where the heads of state of many nations will congregate.

Working with Secret Service Director Lynne Jacobs (Angela Bassett), Banning realizes the high-stakes for the quick planning that must occur for the President and his protective detail to safely make the trip to St. Paul’s Cathedral in Britain’s capital city.

The backdrop to the story is the knowledge of a drone strike on a lavish wedding party in Lahore, Pakistan, where the target is the father of the bride, Aamir Barkawi (Alon Moni Aboutboul), a lethal arms dealer and one of the most wanted men in the world.

With every powerful world leader expected to attend, the funeral should be the most protected event on Earth. But the sadistic terrorist Barkawi and his equally villainous son Kamran (Waleed F. Zuaiter) have carefully plotted an infiltration of Britain’s security forces.

Within moments of arriving, heads of government are assassinated and virtually every recognizable London landmark, from Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament to iconic bridges, is destroyed by explosions. Even Buckingham Palace is under siege.

Back in Washington, D.C., Vice President Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) takes command of the Situation Room, with the help of top advisors (Melissa Leo and Robert Forster, returning once again as the secretary of defense and the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, respectively).

One of the president’s key advisors observes that Barkawi is number six of the top 10 most wanted. Barkawi appears most anxious to rise in the rankings when he tells the American government that his ambition is to capture President Asher for a televised execution.

Just as German terrorist Hans Gruber failed to account for the resolve of John McClane in “Die Hard,” the same could be said for Barkawi and his minions not figuring on the resiliency of Mike Banning to foil the most dastardly plot to assassinate the American commander in chief.

Coming under heavy fire from terrorists impersonating British police and intelligence officers, Banning and Asher have to make a thrilling escape on the nearly deserted streets in a high-speed car chase to reach the Marine One helicopter.

Meanwhile, Vice President Trumbull and the top advisors race against time brainstorming to get those trapped in London a lifeline of support and a way out, a process that appears increasingly complicated and compromised by an apparent mole in British intelligence.

Outnumbered and outgunned, Banning reaches out for help from trusted British MI6 agent Jacquelin Marshall (Charlotte Riley), who rightly trusts no one as she helps the Americans to get to a safe house.

Safety, however, is not the operative word in a city terrorized by legions of armed thugs machine-gunning everything in sight. Before long, Asher and Banning are on the run once again until the President is unfortunately captured by the terrorists.

The carnage that takes place with wide-scale destruction of people and places is certain to induce groans of disapproval in certain quarters. But “London Has Fallen” offers plenty of rousing action that serves well enough for mindless entertainment.

Though over-the-top and outlandish in its action sequences, “London Has Fallen” is a guilty pleasure film that can be enjoyed because it’s so outrageously staged. An added benefit is that the running time of 90 minutes keeps everything moving at a fast clip.

Gerard Butler has found his ticket to a franchise with his gritty portrayal of the wise-cracking Secret Service agent Mike Banning.

More action could be in store for him even when President Asher is termed out of office, and there’s a new occupant in the White House.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

Timed perfectly to coincide with Spring Training, the Smithsonian Channel has teamed up with Major League Baseball to tell the stories of four legendary players who transcended the National Pastime and left legacies as true American icons.

The series, which began Feb. 19, continues each Monday night thereafter at 8 p.m. until March 21, when the Smithsonian Channel devotes the evening hour for an insightful look at the very best baseball heroes, with narration provided by Martin Sheen.

The opening episode can be seen for a limited time at http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/shows/major-league-legends/hank-aaron/1004228/3430533 .

The stories take an in-depth look at the history, psychology and mythology of each of the Baseball Hall of Famers, a very select group that includes Home Run King Hank Aaron, Yankee legends Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, and arguably the greatest hitter ever, Ted Williams.

The programs are interesting in that context is provided to the achievements of each player with old newsreels and interviews with a host of journalists, academic, sports figures and even a mythologist.

First up to bat, so to speak, is Hank Aaron, and fortunately the program involves extensive interviews with the subject himself.

Coming from Mobile, Alabama, Aaron had to face the challenges of growing up in the heart of Jim Crow, and the slugger recalls the presence of the KKK staking a burning cross in front of his childhood home.

Known as “The Hammer,” Aaron endured a long battle of bigotry and racism during his baseball career, even more so after his major league team, the Milwaukee Braves, was relocated to the Deep South in Atlanta, Georgia in 1966.

Aaron recalled meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., after moving to Atlanta, and lamented that he did not do more for the Civil Rights movement, since he was only hitting a ball with a stick. King told him to just keep hitting.

A significant portion of the Hank Aaron installment is devoted to his run to surpass Babe Ruth’s home run record.

Ugliness reared its head with the numerous death threats and hate mail that came his way. The high note is when Aaron hits the record-breaking number 715 on April 8, 1974.

Before Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth was the home run king, and the interesting fact that surprised me was the all-time home run record stood at 138 until Ruth retired with 714.

The Babe Ruth hour is devoted much to his troubled upbringing in a reformatory and his zest for life as a man about town.

Ruth was also the first athlete to have an agent, and his moniker as the Sultan of Swat made him a popular celebrity endorsement for products like cereal.

The program includes an interview with psychologist Harold Koplewicz who talks of the Babe’s impulsive nature and his troubled home life, even after he marries.

Best-selling author Jane Leavy recalls that as the decadence of the roaring Twenties fades away during his single season home run record year in 1927, Ruth’s most famous response to a question about making more money than President Hoover was when he said: “I had a better year.”

Nicknamed the Iron Horse, New York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig could have easily been called the Immortal, given that his greatest achievement was for bravery in facing the terminal disease of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis that now bears his name.

The Gehrig program devotes a lot of attention to his closeness to his mother given that his siblings died in childhood and his father was absent.

He’s described as being uncomfortable in his own skin and not fitting in with other kids, especially as a working class kid attending Columbia University.

Integrity, honesty and dedication to family guided his every move. Lou Gehrig’s record of playing in 2,130 consecutive games would stand for more than 60 years, but it was the revelation of his humanity and grace in the face of impending death that would be best remembered.

The highlight of the Gehrig program may well be the Fourth of July ceremony in 1939 at Yankee Stadium where Gehrig, in recognition of his privilege wearing pinstripes, delivered his moving speech in which he said: “I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.”

The final chapter of the Smithsonian series is dedicated to Boston Red Sox sensation Ted Williams, who appears in an archival interview conducted in 1999. In his narration, Martin Sheen notes that Williams had an unshakable quest for perfection.

That pursuit of excellence put Williams on the track of obsessive determination that would have him wishing to be the greatest hitter who ever lived. Author Ben Bradlee Jr. observes that it was this desire that proved to be the legend of Ted Williams.

When first called up to the Red Sox in 1939, Williams proved his devotion to the craft of hitting by scoring a record number of 145 RBIs for a rookie. His stellar first year was followed by a rockier second one, which saw the press turning on him when he couldn’t take criticism.

And yet, Williams bounced back into full form in his third year, becoming the last major leaguer to hit over .400 for a season.

Then, after the 1942 season, World War II interrupted his prime years when he enlisted in the Navy and also served in the Marine Corps.

The Korean War also interrupted his baseball career when he served as a fighter pilot in 39 combat missions, and then he returned for another six years in Boston. At the advanced age of 39, he achieved a .388 batting average.

Fittingly, Ted Williams hits a home run in his final at-bat on September 28, 1960, and the program captures the feat of greatness with archival footage. Mythologist Phil Cousineau describes the scene as a Roy Hobbs moment from “The Natural.”

Baseball fans should treasure and enjoy the special treatment of the baseball legends that the Smithsonian Channel has so lovingly put together in cooperation with Major League Baseball.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

In my limited experience, mothering and worrying go hand in hand. Here's a mother's worry poem by Richard Jarrette, from his fine book, A Hundred Million Years of Nectar Dances. He lives in California.

My Mother Worries About My Hat

Every spring my mother says I should buy a straw
hat so I won't overheat in summer.

I always agree but the valley's soon cold, and besides
my old Borsalino is nearly rain-proof.

She's at it again, it's August, the grapes are sugaring.
I say, Okay, and pluck a little spider from her hair—

hair so fine it can't hold even one of her grandmother's
tortoise shell combs.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. They do not accept unsolicited submissions. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2015 by Richard Jarrette, “My Mother Worries About My Hat,” from A Hundred Million Years of Nectar Dances, (Green Writers Press, 2015). Introduction copyright © 2016 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.

I suppose some of the newspapers which carry this column still employ young people to deliver the news, but carriers are now mostly adults.

I had two paper routes when I was a boy and was pleased to find this reminiscence by Thomas R. Smith, a Wisconsin poet. His most recent book is The Glory, published by Red Dragonfly Press.

The Paper Boy

My route lassos the outskirts,
the reclusive, the elderly, the rural—
the poor who clan in their tarpaper
islands, the old ginseng hunter

Albert Harm, who strings the "crow's
foot" to dry over his wood stove.
Shy eyes of fenced-in horses
follow me down the rutted dirt road.

At dusk, I pedal past white birches,
breathe the smoke of spring chimneys,
my heart working uphill toward someone
hungry for word from the world.

I am Mercury, bearing news, my wings
a single-speed maroon Schwinn bike.
I sear my bright path through the twilight
to the sick, the housebound, the lonely.

Messages delivered, wire basket empty,
I part the blue darkness toward supper,
confident I've earned this day's appetite,
stronger knowing I'll be needed tomorrow.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. It does not accept unsolicited submissions. Poem copyright ©2015 by Thomas R. Smith, “The Paper Boy,” from The Glory, (Red Dragonfly Press, 2015). Poem reprinted by permission of Thomas R. Smith and the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2016 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Don Coffin, member of District 10 of the California State Old Time Fiddlers Association, presented a donated fiddle in February to member Cindy Leonard of Cobb, who lost her fiddle along with her family’s home in the Valley fire in Lake County.

The presentation was made at the monthly fiddlers jam at the Ely Stage Stop Museum in Kelseyville.

The donation was made possible by many District 10 members, and also with the help of donations to the organization from those visiting the monthly events.

The “First Sunday Fiddlers Jam” is presented by the Lake County Historical Society at Ely Stage Stop and Museum from noon to 2 p.m.

Recently, District 10 also donated $500 to the Ely Stage Stop Fire Fund which went directly to fire victims.

District 10 of the statewide organization serves three counties: Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake.

The goals of the California State Old Time Fiddlers Association are “To promote an interest in the old time American fiddle styles and to create more opportunities for interested parties to learn about the lineage of fiddle music in America, to promote activities related to old time fiddling (jams, concerts, and contests), to foster a sense of community in this shared musical treasure, and to preserve a truly American art form.”

Check out the organization's Web site at www.csotfa10.com .