CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – This Saturday, Feb. 26, Transition Lake County and the East Lake Grange will co-host a potluck, dance, and free community gathering at the East Lake Grange in Clearlake Oaks, at 12982 Highway 20.

Transition Lake County, the East Lake Grange, and citizen-leaders like you will be gathering to celebrate fresh beginnings and kick off a new season of building resilient community.

Enjoy live music and an open space for networking and co-creating a healthier and happier Lake County!

The TLC general meeting begins at 3 p.m. with the party at 4 p.m.

Please bring your dancing shoes, musical instruments to join the jam, some healthy food to share, and your own re-usable utensils – well as your passion for serving our community and having a good time.

This will be a great chance to learn about TLC, the Grange, the Time Bank of Lake County, community mapping, re-skilling and all the other awesome projects going on around this beautiful lake.

Questions? Call Lonnie at 707-267-6767 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

NORTH COAST – Caltrans reports that the following road projects will be taking place around Lake County during the coming week.

Included are Mendocino County projects that may impact Lake County commuters.

LAKE COUNTY

Highway 20

– PG&E of Ukiah has been granted a Caltrans Encroachment Permit for an aerial crossing at Third Street on Thursday, March 3. Work hours are 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Intermittent full road closures will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

Highway 29

– Metal beam guardrail repair at the Saint Helena Creek Bridge will continue through Tuesday, March 1. Work hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor – Stewart Dirt and Aggregate of Fairfield.

– Metal beam guardrail repair at the Coyote Creek Bridge will begin Wednesday, March 2. Work hours are 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor – Stewart Dirt and Aggregate of Fairfield.

MENDOCINO COUNTY

Highway 101

– A pavement repair project from the Robinson Creek Bridge to Uva Drive will continue. Northbound traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction of travel 4 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekdays. Southbound traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction of travel 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns. Northbound ramps at Lake Mendocino Drive (Exit 552), Calpella (Exit 555A), and Route 20 (Exit 555B) as well as southbound ramps at West Road (Exit 557), Route 20 (Exit 555B), and Calpella (Exit 555A) will be intermittently closed. Motorists will be advised to use an alternate route and may experience minor delays. Contractor – Granite Construction Inc. of Ukiah.

Highway 222

– Replacement of the Russian River Bridge will continue. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control with a temporary signal will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate 15-minute delays during work hours and five-minute delays at other times. Contractor – CC Myers of Rancho Cordova.

Work on all these projects is weather permitting and subject to change. Delays are expected to be less than the statewide policy maximum of 30 minutes, unless noted otherwise above.

For information pertaining to emergency roadwork or for updates to scheduled roadwork, please contact the California Highway Information Network (CHIN) at 1-800-GAS-ROAD (1-800-427-7623).

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The second installment of the Redwood Empire Civil War Roundtable met Feb. 1 at the Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake.

Twenty people attended the event to hear Zane Jensen’s presentation of “The Secession Commissioners” and Phil Smoley’s presentation of “Attempts at Compromise.”

Jensen explained the situation that South Carolina faced when it was the first state to secede.

“They were desperate to get the other southern states to join them, so they sent out commissioners to spread fear of a slave rebellion if they stayed in the Union,” Jensen said.

Did the commissioners' tactics work? Jensen believes so.

“In many cases, within a day of the commissioners speaking to a state assembly, that state voted for secession,” Jensen said.

Smoley spoke of Sen. John Crittenden of Kentucky who proposed a series of Constitutional Amendments that promised to protect slavery where it was, to allow for popular sovereignty in the southern territories and strengthen the Fugitive Slave Law.

When Crittenden’s proposal got shot down, a peace conference was formed. It was made up by several former congressmen, governors, cabinet members, federal judges and even a former president. Ultimately, the peace conference also was a failure.

In the end, no compromise could be found. Level heads on both sides knew what that would mean. Crittenden’s own family was divided on the issue, one child fought for the north, and one for the south.

“Crittenden ruined his health trying to find a way to avoid the coming conflict,” Smoley said. “What it did to his family was devastating.”

So what caused the war: States rights or slavery?

“Folks have been debating this for over 150 years, and it can still create heated, passionate discussions,” Smoley stated. “It’s definitely a lot more complicated than is often commonly assumed.”

The next roundtable is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. Monday, March 7, at the Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A comedy night to raise funds for the Kelseyville High School Sober Grad trip will be held on Saturday, March 12, at the Lake County Fairgrounds, 401 Martin St., Lakeport.

Doors will open at 7 p.m. with the show to start at 8 p.m.

There will be four comedians for your enjoyment: Kenny Bob Davis, Tim Halderman, Pat McCoy and our local comic, Marc Yaffee.

A live and silent auction will be held throughout the evening event. Beer and wine will be sold. No one under 21 is allowed.

Presale tickets can be purchased for $20, or $25 at the door.

Tickets are available at the Kelseyville Fire Department business office, 4020 Main St., Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; at Catfish Books, located in the Willow Tree Plaza on 11^th Street in Lakeport; or call Teri, 707-349-3695.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Kelseyville Lions Club is hosting a breakfast on Sunday, Feb. 27, from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

The breakfast will be a fundraiser for Kelseyville Cub Scout Pack 145.

Breakfast includes biscuits and gravy, sausage, pancakes, eggs, coffee and orange juice.

The cost is $6 per person.

The Kelseyville Lions Club is located at 4335 Sylar Lane in Kelseyville.

The public is invited and encouraged to attend.

Terry Nieves, Mendocino County proprietor of Ocean Harvest Sea Vegetable Co., will speak at the Lake County Community Co-op meeting in Clearlake, Calif., on Saturday, March 5, 2011. Courtesy photo.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The public and Lake County Community Co-op members alike are invited to meet Terry Nieves, Mendocino County proprietor of Ocean Harvest Sea Vegetable Co., and learn everything there is to know about seaweeds and their nutritional value.

Nieves will show samples of the different varieties of sea plants she harvests on the Mendocino Coast and provide taste samples of her products.

The presentation is on Saturday, March 5, from 10:30 a.m. until noon at the Clearlake Library, 14785 Burns Valley Road.

This educational and fun, show-and-tell event is free.

Ms. Nieves also works as an educator, directing a countywide nutrition education and gardening program for students in Mendocino County schools.

“My life revolves around food,” she said. “I have to set good examples everywhere I go. My business and professional life let me do that with delicious ease!”

As part of her presentation, she will show how to use seaweeds in many ways, from eating them – to bathing with them.

Seaweeds are by far the most concentrated natural food source of minerals, electrolytes and trace elements around.

One of the LCCC’s goals is to educate Lake County residents on how to live more healthfully and sustainably by keeping it local and is proud to include these sea vegetable products as part of its Buying Club offerings.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to learn from an expert on the high nutritional value of vegetables from the sea, meet others of like interests, and even have an opportunity to purchase products direct from the source!

For more information, contact Lori Patotzka at 707-994-1618.

Celebrating over three years in community, the Lake County Community Co-op (LCCC) envisions cultivating an evolving community by nurturing values of social, economic and environmental responsibility. Member input and participation is encouraged for the continued success of its co-creation.

The LCCC supports and enhances the local food system while providing a forum for community activities.

For more information or to become a member of the LCCC, follow the links at http://lakeco-op.org or call 707-993-4270.