Education

Details: Written by: Editor; Published: 05 March 2012

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Kelseyville Elementary and Riviera Elementary School fifth grade classes are hosting a fundraiser on Friday, March 9, to help the fifth graders go to science camp.

Dinner will be served from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. with the dessert auction scheduled for 6:45 p.m.

A taco bar and and quesadilla station will be offered for just $7 per adult and $4 for kids 12 and under.

There will be a live dessert auction and a huge silent auction with items kids and adults will enjoy.

Join them at the Kelseyville High School Student Center, located at 5480 Main St.

Details: Written by: Editor; Published: 04 March 2012

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Lower Lake Elementary School will host its annual Family Science Night on Thursday, March 8, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The event will take place in the Lower Lake Elementary cafeteria, 9240 Lake St.

Taylor Observatory will be there for the action with telescopes and a presentation in the library. The presentation will be at 6:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.

Lake County Vector Control will have organisms from the lake along with microscopes.

The Robotics Club will hold demonstrations and Mrs. Rogers' seventh and eighth grade students will have hands-on activities including a giant squid dissection.

Delicious treats will be sold at the bake sale to raise funds for the seventh grade field trip to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

You also can purchase a reusable grocery bag, ChicoBag, to support the Lower Lake Elementary School seventh and eighth grade science program. And don’t leave without a free science bookmark.

For more information contact Lisa Rogers at 707-994-5787, Extension 2638, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Details: Written by: Jade Fox; Published: 03 March 2012

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In each of the past four years, Dr. Barry Munitz, a former chancellor of the California State University system, has personally donated $850 for senior graduation plaques.

This year, he has chosen to donate $1,000 for our senior student plaques.

Every year teacher Alan Siegel's media class has made him a plaque as thanks for his generosity.

This year Siegel asked Munitz if he had any special requests. Munitz said that he wanted to commission two special plaques in memory of a good friend of his that passed away recently. He wanted one for himself and one to give to the family of his friend.

Student Desiree Bauer designed and delivered these plaques to Carlé's benefactor.

Carlé's fourth grading period is halfway through, and that means that progress reports were given. In the coming days advisory teachers will be conducting “test chats” where they make sure students are on task and working toward their goals. The teachers also had a staff meeting on the 21st to discuss students and grades.

On Feb. 24 and 25, Carlé students volunteered at a community service seafood broil. The seafood broil was hosted by the Rotary Club, and Carlé sent 12 students to help set up and serve.

This large event was one of the last large community service events of this school year. The students that attended this event were Tonya Smith, Saffron Blue, Jesse Green, Mayra Pantoja, Corissa Schonderwoerd, Nathan Galindo, Shania Jones, Nura Brown, Colton Robone, Paul LaRue, Leticia Bowman, Tucker Barnett and Daniel Hernandez.

After all their hard work every student was treated to a meal as thanks for doing such a great job.

The Rebekahs Lodge community service is held on the second Tuesday of every month and they are always looking for more members.

On Feb. 23 the Carlé students who earned gold level got treated to a trip to Scandia Family Fun Center.

The trip was chaperoned by teacher Dan Maes, and all the students had a wonderful time. They got to play arcade games, ride bumper boats and race go-carts. In the end they all got treated to a meal.

The students who earned gold level and got to attend were Corrisa Schonderwoerd, Jade Fox, Leticia Bowman, Kyle Scott, Monique Throop, Jonathan Warren and Mayra Pantoja.

This week, due to all of the new students, Principal Dennis To reintroduced all of the students to the staff and the school rules. He calls this process norming and does it so the students can feel more comfortable in their new surroundings.

On Feb. 23 Zack Grey showed his portfolio to his friends and staff.

The students of the week for the last 3 weeks were Nathan Galindo, Grey and Martinique Throop. These students have all worked very hard and have made Carlé the school it is today.

That is all for now, have a wonderful week!

Jade Fox is a student at Carlé Continuation High School in Lower Lake, Calif.

Invasive ravenna grass is the target of a partnership project that aims to eradicate it. Photo by Greg Dills.

Partners on the project came across these tracks while working in the Cache Creek area. Photo by Greg Dills.

Tuleyome Tales: Partnership forms in Ravenna grass eradication

VICTORIA BRANDON

A remarkable partnership project recently made great strides in eradicating a potentially devastating infestation of Ravenna grass (Saccharum ravennae) from some 70 miles of Cache Creek in Lake and Yolo counties.

This invasive weed, which was deliberately introduced to California as an ornamental and has been described as “pampas grass on steroids,” could profoundly degrade riparian areas throughout the region if not controlled, and control is particularly difficult because so many of the plants are found in steep, inaccessible terrain deep in the Cache Creek Wilderness.

The control project was sponsored by the tri-county Cache Creek Watershed Forum stakeholder group, with primary management responsibility shared by the East Lake and Yolo County Resource Conservation Districts and Bureau of Land Management.

One of the first things the group did was ask Tuleyome President Andrew Fulks for help, since he had conducted a very successful tamarisk eradication project in this remote area several years before.

Using kayaks, Tuleyome volunteers pinpointed hundreds of clumps of Ravenna grass with GPS equipment, many perched too high on the canyon walls to be reached from the creek level.

The scope of the infestation was far worse than anyone had imagined, and plainly too extensive to tackle with volunteers alone.

Working together, the Yolo and Lake County RCDs then obtained funding through an American Recovery and Reinvestment grant, with supplementary money from the Rose Foundation to cover the segments on BLM land.

Under the supervision of Yolo RCD Vegetation Management Specialist Gillies Robertson, work on the section downstream from Cache Canyon proceeded uneventfully, but the upstream portion remained daunting: not only was the terrain remote and rugged, its designation as federal Wilderness precluded the use of any form of motorized transportation.

This meant that work crews faced the prospect of long off-trail hikes in bear country, carrying massive quantities of gear, merely to reach the work site.

In the words of East Lake RCD Watershed Coordinator Greg Dills, “This was one of the most tactically difficult projects we have been involved with to date. There were multiple project partners, some of the most rugged terrain in Northern California, restrictions due to Wilderness designation, multiple landowners (both private and public), and bears.”

The conundrum was solved by Cache Canyon River Trips from Yolo County, which provided two large rubber rafts – rafts that usually carry white water recreationists – to transport equipment, supplies and work crews down the creek from the Clear Lake dam and through 25 miles of project area.

Lake County’s Back Country Horsemen also offered to pack in gear, though it turned out that their assistance wasn’t needed.

Although the job remained difficult, it was no longer impossible; starting in mid-August 2011 an estimated 90 percent of the Ravenna grass on Cache Creek was eradicated, providing a model for protecting the biodiversity of a precious wilderness area while simultaneously guarding the special values that make wilderness unique.

The problem now is to mop up the scattered plants left behind and to exterminate seedlings before another widespread stand can become established.

A little grant money remains for an early treatment in the spring, and both RCDs are looking for additional funding sources to continue the project in the future.

Monitoring will be necessary for several years to insure control, and rafters, kayakers, equestrians and hikers are invited help this effort by surveying for regrowth as they recreate in the area.

Victoria Brandon is a Tuleyome board member. She represents the Sierra Club on the California Invasive Species Advisory Committee. Brandon lives in Lower Lake, Calif.

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Details: Written by: Editor; Published: 01 March 2012

022812lionessdonation

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Konocti Lioness Club recent donated $250 to Riviera Elementary School.

The club's donation will help provide transportation for the students of Riviera Elementary School to see Dr. Seuss' “The Lorax” at Lakeport Cinema on March 2.

Education

March 9 fundraiser supports science camp trip

Enjoy an exciting night of science March 8

Carlé Chronicle: A generous gift

Lioness Club presents donation to Riviera Elementary