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Opinion
- Details
- Written by: Anthony Farrington
After much careful thought and deliberation, I have decided to withdraw my candidacy for the Fourth Assembly District race.
Even though my family, friends, and supporters, in particular my wife, have been supportive of my candidacy, I have decided that the time is not right for me to seek higher office.
I owe this great community a huge debt of gratitude, for the honor and privilege to be able to represent my constituents and the residents of Lake County. I love Lake County, and it is here where I plan to grow old and raise my family.
There are currently many pressing issues confronting our community.
For example, the need to find ongoing revenue to better manage Clear Lake and our watershed; the need to move forward with our Board's current application to secure surface water rights to Clear Lake; my desire to continue to serve on the Marymount University Advisory Committee, and continue to grow this new treasure within our community; the urgency to see that Konocti Resort is reopened; moving forward to upgrade our antiquated infrastructure, in particular the North Lakeport, and Soda Bay water systems; and to complete the $15 million road project in the South Main/Soda Bay corridor which includes the under grounding of utilities, and providing water service, to name a few.
In addition, it is with a great sense of obligation that I finish my current term so that I am able to continue to represent my constituents who have been devastated by the landslide that took place at the Lakeside Heights subdivision in North Lakeport.
While my campaign never began fundraising, we did receive generous donations from individuals and businesses eager to support my candidacy. I thank those individuals, and I will be returning their donations.
I truly hope that in the near future Lake County will have a representative of its own. History has shown that we only see state candidates during an election.
Lake County deserves better – we deserve a candidate who is committed to Lake County at all times, and not just when they are running for office.
Lastly, I want to thank everyone that believed in me, and supported my candidacy. I will forever be grateful for your faith in me.
Anthony Farrington represents District 4 on the Lake County Board of Supervisors. He lives in Lakeport, Calif.
- Details
- Written by: Dave Gebhard
Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and now the Affordable Care Act constitute our social safety net.
Prior to their enactment, the disabled and elderly, sick and poor, were on their own. They were left to their own devices. Leave them to the churches, say the Tea Party people. Government is not responsible.
Regretfully, neither states, counties nor cities are equal in their application of compassionate programs. There are hard-hearted politicians who think like the Tea Party, that tax money is misused for these programs.
The Republican-dominated House of Representatives has voted more than 40 times attempting to repeal the Affordable Care Act. They have no qualms keeping the status quo, millions of Americans without health care.
They have convinced themselves and many Americans that it is a bad investment, but giving health care to people can only reduce serious illness, thus reduce the taxpayer responsibility in the long run. Taxpayers pay for uninsured patients anyway, we might as well catch illness in the bud.
Investment in health care and education, as well as nutrition, is necessary to a healthy future for the whole country.
Think how the present recipients would live without the safety net, and how would it affect our environment and the spirit of our country.
Dave Gebhard lives in Lakeport, Calif.
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- Written by: Melissa Hendrick
Wednesday morning, I was getting coffee at a Lucerne gas station when I accidentally left my ATM card on the counter.
A stranger tracked me down in the store and returned my card, stating that his had been stolen before in the past and he “wouldn’t wish that on anybody.”
Later that day, my husband took our 1-year-old son to Safeway to do some grocery shopping.
As he was loading our son back into the car, he must have gone on “auto pilot” and just gotten into the car himself, driving away leaving our groceries in the cart in the parking lot.
He didn’t realize it until he got home, and rushed back to Safeway. Again, an angel had found our cart and turned it in to the service desk, without a single item missing from it.
That night, my husband noticed his cell phone was missing. Figuring he left it in the car or some other safe place, we went to bed.
The next morning I received a call on my cell phone from the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, who stated that a gentleman just dropped off a cell phone he found in the street. They went through the contacts and found my number to let someone know they had it.
It isn’t often that we have days this disorganized, but it’s sure nice to know that there are still people in this county who will do the honest thing because they genuinely care about others. I’d like to thank those three people for a wonderful end to a day that could have been disastrous without their kindness.
Melissa Hendrick lives in Kelseyville, Calif.
- Details
- Written by: Lee Loban and Melissa Kinsel
Grateful. That's the word that sums up how we feel about the success experienced at Cirque du SoLake on Thursday, Aug. 22.
From feeling appreciative to all those giving souls who took the time and spent the effort to be there and help in so many meaningful ways, to feeling almost overwhelmed with thanks at the show of generosity from our sponsors and our bidders, to a general sense of wonder at all those who turned out, turned it on, and came with open hearts, minds, and yes, wallets.
Over 150 people came out to support the hospital and enjoy some circus-themed entertainment while bidding in a live and silent auction and helping themselves to assorted refreshments.
It appears that our community is responding enthusiastically to improvements taking place at St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake (SHCL), as over $54,000 was raised to top off our Building for the Future: Emergency Department Expansion Campaign.
Beth Havrilla, owner of Lake Event Design, did an absolutely extraordinary job getting our colorful “big top” look just right. Twin Pine Casino & Hotel’s Event Center staff was extremely accommodating through the entire process, and Tina Chiotti lent a spectacular a spectacular flower arrangement from Middletown Florist & Gifts that went perfectly with our “cirque” theme.
Our emcee, Tony Barthel, and auctioneer, Donnie Schwartz, rivaled the entertainers from Picklewater Circus for amusement points.
Special guest of the evening, Jim Robello, was honored for his instrumental role in the SHCL Campaign Cabinet. Overall, we couldn’t be more pleased.
Our sponsors included the following: Brassfield Estate Winery, Mendo Lake Credit Union, Lionakis, REACH Air Medical Services, Coyote Valley Pharmacy, Verihealth, California Medical Group, Burns Valley Mall, Lake Event Design, CALSTAR, Dr. Bruce Anderson, Helmer & Sons, Josette Brault, Mendo Mill & Lumber Company, Nurses and Professional Healthcare, Pound Management, WestAmerica Bank, Jim Gamble, Advanced Communication Systems, Advanced Electronic Security Systems, CMRE, Credit Bureau Ukiah, Raymond Choy, Redbud Health Care District, Trinchero Family Estates, Pauline Usher, Dr. I. Kim, Xerox, Trane, Lake County Courier, Triage Consulting Group, Action Sanitary and Aggie Berry.
Wine was generously donated by Laujor Estate Winery, Moore Family Winery, Mt. Konocti Winery, Six Sigma Ranch & Vineyard and Vigilance Winery.
Our donors included Angel’s Rockhouse, Bass Fishin’ with Richard, Kim Beller, Lorena Bowers, Brassfield Estate Winery, Laura Buckner, Calistoga Balloons, Ceago Winegarden, Claremont Resort & Spa, Chacewater Wine & Olive Mill, Cobb Mountain Golf Club, Angie and Jeff Conley, Crazy Creek Air Adventures, Cuvaison Winery, Dawson Studios, Dr. Paula Dhanda and John Clarke, Darling Desserts, Disneyland Resort, Edgelight Productions, Gary’s Fabulous Finds, Tammy and Troy Harbison, Hidden Valley Lake Golf Club, Hidden Valley Laser & Skincare, JT Couture, KNBR, Langtry Estate Winery, Laujor Estate Winery, Tom Lincoln, Lee Loban, Steve Lundin, Bill Macdougall, Manzanita Restaurant, Merci Hoskins Yoga, Middletown Florist & Gifts, Middletown Jazzercise, Valerie and Dan Moberg, Napa Valley Balloons, Napa Valley Country Club, Owen Ranch, Joan and Fred Poucher, Park Place Restaurant, Prager Port Works, REACH Air Medical Services, Jim Robello, Smith’s Trout Farm, David and Denise Santos, Saw Shop Restaurant, Sherwin Family Vineyard, Six Sigma Ranch & Vineyards, Ken Stanton, Tallman Hotel, Mike and Jan Thompson, Tea Rose Landscaping, The Bunk House, Thorn Hill Winery, Jen and Jim Totten, Twin Pine Casino & Hotel, US Food Service, Amber Warner, Wildhurst Winery, Steve Williams, Without a Net, Woody’s Café Grill & Pub, Vincent Arroyo Winery, Vista del Lago and 2 Women Traders.
Volunteers Bridget Sholin, Debbie Mulcahy, Heather Mackenzie, Jon Minadeo, Kathy Graydon, Melanie Walker, Michelle Van Hoff, Pat Bright, Peggy Foster, Pete Landini, Sinda Knight and Tammy Harbison were incredible. They were all so professional, anticipating and responding to needs before any issues developed.
From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU to all who helped make Cirque du SoLake a success!
Lee Loban and Melissa Kinsel work in the Development Department of St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake in Clearlake, Calif.