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Letters
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- Written by: Judy Thein
My absence is due to medical issues at this time. I anticipate being back to attending council meetings soon.
Regretfully, I am unable to actively participate with the issues at hand during this time; however, I am doing what I can to keep myself informed of the important issues facing our city in order that I will be prepared and able to continue to represent the best interests of my constituents and the city of Clearlake upon my return.
I extend my continual support to my city council colleagues as we all work together for the betterment of our community.
My sincere thank you to those that have sent get well cards, e-mails and the many telephone calls I have received.
Judy Thein is a member of the city council in Clearlake, Calif.
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- Written by: Linda Juntunen
The Lake County Fire Safe Council would like to express our sincere thanks to everyone who made Lake County’s second annual Wildfire Safety Expo a success. The expo was held on Saturday, April 30.
The support from our local fire protection districts was outstanding, and we’re deeply grateful for their participation and assistance. Having all the districts participate in the event is truly amazing.
Our thanks to Cal Fire, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management for their strong support and help in making this event a true reflection of the way our fire protection agencies work together in Lake County.
The more I talk with other Fire Safe Councils throughout the state, the more I learn how fortunate we are in Lake County to see this kind of cooperation. The expo is a great example of the partnership between local, state, and federal fire protection agencies coming together to serve local citizens. It’s a wonderful demonstration of how all of us should work together.
We appreciate the time and effort all our fire agency partners gave in helping to organize this event, and for displaying fire fighting equipment from antiques to the present day. The demonstrations for both structure and wild land fire fighting techniques were very educational, and gave all of us a better prospective and more respect for the work they do.
When it comes to partnerships, we can’t say enough about working with Kelseyville Lumber. We’re grateful for the use of their facility, and value the assistance they gave from the planning phase, throughout the day of the event. The public appreciated the blue spruce seedlings donated by Kelseyville Lumber in recognition of our event. We look forward to working with them again, and are thankful for their generosity and belief in the Wildfire Safety Expo. Thanks also to Woody’s Café for offering specials and providing such wonderful service. As always, the food was great!
To the county of Lake, and the businesses and organizations that participated; thank you so much for helping our community be better prepared for this year’s fire season. We’ve already received many positive comments about the information, products, and services that were displayed at the Expo. We’re also grateful to the wonderful students from Lower Lake High School who assisted with the Kids Fire Safety House. You were great! The day wouldn’t have been complete without appearances by Sparky the Fire Dog and Smokey Bear. Thanks for being there.
Special thanks to all who donated prizes for the free drawings. When we asked for donations, we didn’t expect the kind of response you gave us. East Lake Resource Conservation District, Kelseyville Lumber Company, Ken Wells, Lake County Fire Safe Council, Lloyd and Marcia Wells, Mike Stone, Safer Building Solutions, Timberline Land Management, Ukiah Oxygen, U.S. Forest Service and West Lake Resource Conservation District – thanks so much to all of you. Prizes ranged from clothing and firefighter memorabilia to free chipping, weed mowing services, and landscaping tools. Your contributions and support is very much appreciated, and I know everyone enjoyed their prizes.
Congratulations to Maureen Calegari of Kelseyville Lumber for being the lucky winner of our Grand Prize, the talking Smokey Bear. Maureen immediately gave it to Paul Borghesani of Kelseyville Lumber for his 3-year-old daughter, Madeline. There were a lot of highlights to the day, and that was definitely one of them.
We’re especially grateful to the residents who took the time to visit the Wildfire Safety Expo. It was a very busy weekend, and we’re pleased you stopped by to learn what you could do to protect your homes and help our firefighters. As residents of Lake County, we know that fire season is not to be taken lightly.
To our firefighters; to the men and women from our local, state and federal fire protection agencies. Thanks to all of you for the job you do, and for your dedication and commitment to protecting communities not only during wildfire season, but all year long.
We sincerely hope that the Wildfire Safety Expo helped Lake County’s citizens learn more about what they need to do to help you do your jobs. Most important, we hope they learned what they can do to help keep you safe.
Linda Juntunen is coordinator for the Lake County Fire Safe Council.
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- Written by: Tina Chiotti-Stewart
The newest edition of the Lake and Mendocino Counties Valley Yellow Pages, The BUY LOCAL phone book, is putting the local florist at risk.
According to them you have 10 choices of florists in Middletown, 1 in Hidden Valley Lake, 10 in Upper Lake, nine in Nice, four in Lower Lake and 13 in Kelseyville. This is outrageous!
I called every number. They are all answered by a recording saying, “It's a great day to send flowers.” You end up at a florist concierge out of Florida!
Just like 1-800, Just Flowers and all other gathering companies, they just take your order and your local dollars and then they call the “real” local florist and offer a small portion of your hard-earned money. They keep the rest.
Please educate the ones you love who send flowers. It's getting really hard to shop local with scams like this one!
I wrote the following story about three months ago and posted it to my Facebook page to help educate the consumer.
This is a true story; I can't make this stuff up.
A man sits at his desk on a Thursday and thinks: “My wedding anniversary is next Monday. I should get my wonderful wife flowers.”
What happens next? He goes online, thinking he'll save time and money.
He picked a Just Flowers, 1-800-Flowers, FTD, etc. ... He paid $95 for flowers and delivery, received confirmation and forgot about it. What happens next may surprise you.
On Monday at 4:45 p.m. I received a call from the online company. They placed an order with me for $45 including delivery. Yes, you read right, ONLY $45! They kept the other $50.
Online companies are not florists; they are just a gathering place. They don't care about the consumer but I do!
When I delivered the flowers that evening I could see the disappointment on the man's face. So I quietly asked him if this was what he ordered.
“Yes,” he said, “but I thought it would have been larger, given I paid almost $100 for it.”
I was as shocked as he was. I knew the online companies took a portion but more than half?
So it is my goal this year to help educate the consumers on just how important it is to support the local floral businesses. You will save time and money.
Tina Chiotti-Stewart owns Middletown Florist & Gifts in Middletown, Calif.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
The dinner was a big success with over 90 Land Trust supporters attending.
Land Trust President Pete McGee wishes to express his appreciation to everyone involved with the event, as well as to those who attended to support the land trust’s projects in Lake County.
Thanks go to Marie Beery and her able staff for hosting and presenting the dinner. Marie has been hosting this fundraising dinner for the Land Trust for many years and it is greatly appreciated.
Sponsors of the event were Foods Etc. of Clearlake and Big Valley Properties, Kelseyville.
Delicious Lake County wines for the evening were donated by Six Sigma, Wildhurst Vineyards, Tulip Hill Winery, Steele Wines, Moore Family Winery, Brassfield Estate and Langtry Estate. Dessert was donated by Bruno's Shop Smart Store.
Many thanks also to Tom Nixon and Doug Kauffman who entertained during the social hour with excellent guitar playing and singing.
The Lake County Land Trust is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of important natural habitats in Lake County.
The trust owns and operates the Rodman Slough Preserve near Upper Lake, Rabbit Hill Park in Middletown, and is currently working on other projects throughout the County.
For more information, go to www.lakecountylandtrust.org.
Roberta Lyons is a member of the Lake County Land Trust Board of Directors. She lives in Lower Lake, Calif.