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- Written by: Clifford and Paula Strother, John and Connie Halpenny
This past weekend spent at Clearlake, Calif., with some special friends turned out to be a real rescue of two baby deer fawns.
It was about 10 p.m. on a Friday night. The four of us all went to bed. After about an hour had passed, there was this commotion outside our window.
We kind of laughed it off at first as being a couple of possums, or skunks rattling through the bushes. This commotion continued to the point where we all had to investigate as to what was going on in the front yard.
The yard is raised up from the street by a retaining wall. The wall is approximately 5 feet from the ground and is guarded by a 4 foot wrought iron fence with vertical bars set every 6 inches.
Upon reaching the front yard with flashlights in hand, there was two baby fawns stuck in between the vertical bars. They were both hanging through the fence from their rear hips. Because of the height of the wall, there was nothing for the fawns to stand up.
Thoroughly helpless, with Mother Deer standing in street watching, the four of us were trying to free the fawns.
We supported their heads and front part of their bodies and tried to squeeze them through the bars. We tried to bend the bars and shovels and wooden planks to no avail.
Finally after about 15 minutes of trying everything, one of us decided to pull the one fawn back through with support from the person holding the fawn, we were successful and then we pulled the other fawn back and they both bounded out of sight.
All this time, Mother Deer was standing there watching and did not move until the fawns were released to freedom.
We were all so relieved that the two fawns will live another day. The next morning, there, in the back yard was Mother Deer and the two fawns just staring up at us on the raised deck. They just stood there for about 5 minutes and then just walked on to their home in Clearlake.
This real life experience was very special to us and we wanted to share this successful rescue with the Clearlake community.
Clifford and Paula Strother are owners of a home in Clearlake, Calif. Their permanent home is in Santa Rosa, Calif. John and Connie Halpenny reside in Elk Grove, Calif. The Halpennys were visiting the Strother vacation home at the time of the fawn rescue.
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- Written by: Betsy Cawn
The Lake County Board of Supervisors is proposing to ask for a new sales tax to fund lakebed management services like weed and algae abatement and quagga mussel prevention. There will be a separate Board of Supervisors hearing on the sales tax proposal on Wednesday, July 18, at 8 a.m.
There is no question that these services – like fire and police protection – are needed. And, because our tourism revenues have been hard hit in recent years, there is no question that new funding sources must be found.
Simultaneously, however, the Board of Supervisors will be considering a request to exempt from public oversight the organization that provides lakebed management – the Lake County Watershed Protection District.
Public oversight of special service districts (other than schools) is the job of a little known but very powerful body called the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO).
Comprised of elected officials from the county, the cities, and independent special districts, it is LAFCO’s responsibility to provide guidance for efficient delivery of special district services.
LAFCO uses a process called a “municipal service review” to periodically assess the needs of special districts (and cities) to make sure they have the ability to provide services. A LAFCO review of the Watershed Protection District would, most likely, clarify the need for new funding to take care of our lakes.
However, the Watershed Protection District – run by the Board of Supervisors as District Board of Directors – apparently views the public oversight process as unnecessarily burdensome, and LAFCO has offered to let the district off the hook.
Rather than relinquish responsibility for public review of Watershed Protection District practices, LAFCO members should redouble their efforts – in these tough economic times – to ensure that district services are effective and manageable.
Ask your county supervisor to protect our public funding investments by voting no on exempting the Watershed Protection District from LAFCO oversight, on Tuesday, July 17.
Betsy Cawn lives in Upper Lake, Calif.
071712 Board of Supervisiors - Watershed Protection District-LAFCO- Details
- Written by: Lake County Winery Association
The Lake County Winery Association (LCWA) would like to express its sincere thanks to the following businesses and individuals who are supporting this year’s Wine Adventure weekend.
For sponsorships, our thanks is sent out to First American Title Company / David Lucido, The Geysers Calpine, The Ice Water Co., Business Design Services / Robert Boccabella and Twin Pine Casino & Hotel.
For donations to the raffle packages and prizes, our gratitude is expressed to Angelina’s Bakery, Bell Hill Vineyards, Bigg’s 155 Diner, Blue Wing Saloon / Tallman Hotel, Brassfield Estate, Cache Creek Catering, Chalerm Thai Bistro, Chic Le Chef, Clearlake B&B, Clear Lake Cottages & Marina, County of Lake / Tom Nixon, Diego’s Gallery, Disney Water Sports, Doni’s Occasion Station, Euphoria Salon, Featherbed Railroad B&B, Finch Gardens B&B, Glamazon-Robinson Lake Vineyard, Gregory Graham Vineyards, Herb Gura, Hawk and Horse Vineyards, Highland Springs Trails Volunteers / Karen Sullivan and Kim Riley, Judy’s Junction Restaurant, Langtry Estate, Lake County Land Trust / Brad Barnwell, Lake County Taxi-Scarborough Fare Tours, Lake County Wine Studio, Lakeport Drive-In Theatre, Lakeport English Inn, Lakeside Art & Gifts [Linda Kelly, Susan Laymon, Michelle Price, Gytha March and Toni Stewart], Lakeview Market, Laujor Estate Winery, Lightning Rod Gallery, Linda’s Hallmark, Lyndall’s Sports Stop Grill, The Lodge at Blue Lakes, Main St. Pizza, Moore Family Winery, Noggle Gardens a division of Noggle Vineyards & Winery, People Pleasin’ Products / Carli Tippett, Pine Cone Cabin/ Lake County Vacation Rentals [Bill and Kim McCulloch], Roy’s Backyard BBQ, Saw Shop Gallery Bistro, Shannon Ridge, Shed Horn Cellars, Six Sigma Ranch and Vineyard, Sol Rouge Vineyard, Soper Reese Community Theatre, Steele Wines, Studebaker’s Coffee House/Deli, Suite on Main Loft / Brian Fisher, Team Effort Fishing / Charlie Bye, Tony Oliveira’s First and Main Museum, Twin Pine Off The Vine, Vigilance Winery & Vineyards, Wildhurst Vineyards, Woody’s Gas.
We also want to thank all of the 2012 participating Lake County Wineries. Without their commitment to LCWA and to the Lake County Wine Adventure, this event would not exist. Special thanks to the following wineries for contributing to the 2012 Cellar Collection Wine package: Beaver Creek Vineyards & Winery, Bell Hill Vineyards, Brassfield Estate, Bullion Creek, Cache Creek Vineyards, Ce?go Vinegarden, Chacewater Winery, Cougar’s Leap Winery, Glamazon/Robinson Lake Vineyard, Gregory Graham Vineyards, Hawk and Horse Vineyards, Langtry Estate & Vineyards, Laujor Estate Winery, Moore Family Winery, Mt. Konocti Winery, Noggle Vineyards & Winery, Robledo Family Winery, Rosa d’Oro, Shannon Ridge, Shed Horn Cellars, Six Sigma Ranch and Vineyards, Snows Lake Vineyard, Sol Rouge Vineyard, Steele Wines, Thorn Hill, Twin Pine Off The Vine, Vigilance Winery & Vineyards and Wildhurst Vineyards.
In closing, we would like to give a standing ovation to the 2012 Wine Adventure Chair, Cheryl Lucido and Co-Chair, Pam Prisco and to the numerous volunteers who organize and orchestrate the Lake County Wine Adventure.
Final applause and encore goes to the wine adventure seekers--thank you for supporting this annual event with your attendance and the attendance of your family and friends from near and far.
Please join us on July 28 and 29 for the eighth annual Lake County Wine Adventure, www.lakecountywineries.org .
LCWA is an all-volunteer organization promoting agritourism and awareness of Lake County as a premier and award-winning wine and winegrape producing region. For more information please visit us at www.lakecountywineries.org .
The executive director, officers and board members of the Lake County Winery Association
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- Written by: Nelson Strasser
Cognitive dissonance is defined as having two contradictory ideas, the resultant discomfort, and how we attempt to resolve the problem.
Take the following example: I was walking in Lakeport and I passed two houses. In front of the two houses were four SUVs. Later, on that same walk, as I approached home, I could hear the sounds of auto racing from the speedway.
And the next day, as I was riding my bicycle, I saw scores of motorcycles on club rides. I saw a lone woman in a huge diesel pickup truck that was shined and polished and was obviously a showpiece (the truck, not the woman) rather than a work horse.
And then I heard on the news that the United States had increased its C02 output by 4 percent last year. We know that we love motors and machines.
But, we also know that we will run out of oil. As the supply has shrunk, we have had to kill for oil on many occasions, as we are doing now in Iraq. It is not an accident that we have had more suicides in the armed forces this year than have been killed by enemy combatants. Our soldiers experience the inanity and immorality of these wars first hand.
We know that that we love our families, and that global warming is real, and that it has accelerated because of human activity. And yet, at the same time we sincerely profess our love for our families we are acting as if we want to insure their doom. It is a form of insanity to hug your kid and then drive to work in a gas guzzler.
But, as philosopher Slavoj Zizek has pointed out, we look in the sky and we cannot see the hole in the ozone layer. We look again and still don’t see it, and we can believe that everything is okay. And yet, we know that it is not okay. The consequences of accepting reality will mean change, and when we begin change, we never know how things will end up. But, if we don’t change, we know things will end badly.
It seems we can’t resolve this problem without the help and planning of government. And, the Obama Administration has announced that there will be dramatic increases in mileage requirements. However, this is exactly what Carter recommended in the late 70s.
The president following Carter, Ronald Reagan, decided government was not the solution, but rather the problem. Reagan exempted light pickup trucks and SUVs from CAFÉ standards, and generally halted increased mileage requirements.
The point is that we can’t rely on government to save us (although its help would be appreciated). Government is under tremendous pressure from lobbyists yielding vast sums of money. Men in positions of power, as a rule, spend their energy perpetuating their power rather than securing a habitable world.
So, don’t buy cars that get less than 40 miles per gallon. You don’t buy them, they won’t make them. Plan to phase out cars completely. Use bicycles for outings instead of motorcycles. Go on the lake with kayaks instead of motor boats. Support sustainable energy and wean yourself away from fossil fuel. Plant a victory garden. Without a planet, no other issue is relevant.
Nelson Strasser lives in Lakeport, Calif.