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- Written by: Editor
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Konocti Christian Academy’s third and fourth graders enjoyed a field trip to Calpine to cap off a series of science lessons about electricity.
Accompanied by their teacher, Becky Madison, and eight parents, 16 students participated.
When the children arrived, they explored Calpine’s visitor center and geothermal power.
They learned that deep below the earth’s surface, temperatures are extremely high. The heat radiates to other layers of rock, heating water that is trapped in pores and fractures. That water turns into steam, and Calpine can turn that steam into electricity using turbine engines.
The Calpine plant in Middletown generates more geothermal energy than any other place in the world,
and its impact on the environment is minimal.
To ensure that the water Calpine uses is replenished, wastewater from Santa Rosa and Lake County is injected into the Geysers Reservoir.
“If you are in Lake County and live north of 11th Street in Lakeport,” explained Calpine personnel, “every time you flush your toilet, the water comes here.”
Naturally, that explanation prompted a few giggles among the students.
The children climbed aboard Calpine’s tour bus and began the steep winding climb over rugged terrain to the first stop of the day.
Donning hardhats, eye protection and earplugs, students got to see and smell the hydrogen sulfide abatement system.
“It smells like rotten eggs,” commented fourth grader Allison Stangland, staring at the massive powdery substance emanating from the system. Several of her classmates concurred.
From there, students toured the control room, where they peppered Calpine staff with questions.
Walls full of switches and levers prompted fourth grader Michael Wiser to ask, “How many buttons do you have in here?”
Third grader Megan Call asked, “What do all those buttons do?"
And fourth grader Lauren Trippeer asked, “Why is there a basketball hoop in the plant?”
After exploring the control room, the children got back on the tour bus and saw where huge drills had bored holes deep into the earth.
They also saw Calpine’s massive pipes where steam was being trapped to make electricity. One of the pipes had a small leak, so students could see what the steam looked like and how it travels.
As the bus made its way to the summit, the bus driver stopped to point out a spot where Black Bart had hidden among the boulders during his infamous stage coach robberies during the 1870s.
He explained how Black Bart was finally caught when he left a handkerchief behind at the scene of the crime.
A watermark on the handkerchief enabled detectives to determine where he had had his laundry done. They staked out the laundry until he returned and made their arrest, a story which the students found fascinating.
At the tour’s summit, students took in the spectacular view, which included layer after layer of mountainous terrain and a clear expanse of the Pacific Ocean.
During their electricity unit at school, the children drew wiring diagrams, conducted experiments, and made their own circuit boards with batteries and levers. The field trip to Calpine culminated the
unit with a full day off campus.
“Hands on experience,” explained Madison, “makes classroom lessons more fun and relevant. Students really benefit from this type of exposure.”
It was a great day for Konocti Christian Academy’s third and fourth graders, who extended their thanks to Calpine.
“I wish we could have field trips every day,” said fourth grader Alex Hadgis, summing up a great day at school.
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- Written by: Editor
UKIAH, Calif. – On Tuesday, Dec. 3 during its annual organizational meeting, the Mendocino College Foundation Board elected new officers and committee chairs, set the meeting schedules for 2014 and paid tribute to late Director Albert Beltrami.
The Foundation Board of Directors unanimously approved their slate of officers for two-year terms: Richard Cooper, president; Charley Myers, vice president; Arturo Reyes, secretary/treasurer.
Cooper serves as the president/chief executive officer of Mendo Lake Credit Union, Myers is a retired educator, having served as the Ukiah Unified superintendent of schools, and Reyes is the superintendent/president of Mendocino College.
Cooper praised outgoing President Gary D. Smith for his leadership and accomplishments over the past two years.
Smith becomes the immediate past president and will continue in that capacity for the next two years serving on the board’s executive committee.
With Cooper’s ascension to the presidency, Diane Daubeneck will take over the leadership of the Special Events Committee with Katherine Elliott as vice chair. Finance committee co-chairs are Jerilyn Harris and Charley Myers, land committee chair is Tom Herman and Christy Scollin will continue serving as the chair of the scholarship committee.
The foundation’s four affiliate organizations are the athletic boosters with Director Jay Epstein serving as the liaison; Lake County Friends of Mendocino College with Director Chris Taliaferro serving as the liaison; Friends of the Mendocino College Theatre with Director Linda Chapman serving as the liaison; and Friends of the Library with Director John Goldsmith serving as the liaison.
During the board’s mission moment, both Smith and Cooper paid tribute to late Director Albert Beltrami.
Beltrami joined the foundation board in 2011 and was actively involved in the scholarship and finance committees.
“Al was a true advocate for student success as demonstrated in the creation of his perpetual scholarship which includes an internship component in local government. In 2012 he continued his personal legacy of giving by providing all of the funding for 18 nursing graduates to pay for their NCLEX (state board) examination fees at $400 per student,” stated Cooper.
For more information about the Mendocino College Foundation or to donate towards any of their programs, call 707-467-1018 or visit www.foundation.mendocino.edu .
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- Written by: Timothy Mcguire
This will be my last article for the school because I am graduating.
Carlé has meant a lot to me because I have learned more things here than I did at any other school I have ever attended.
I have felt more welcome here than at any other previous school. The staff has helped me to reach my goals.
Carlé has encouraged me to work harder to stay on gold level all throughout last school year and all of this year. I liked staying on gold level because of the rewards I have received for staying on gold level. I have also found learning at Carlé to be exciting and fun.
I would like to give a special thank you to all the staff for helping me. I would also like to give Barbara Dye a special thank you for encouraging me to have a good day every day.
I would like to thank Mr. Maes for letting me take my breaks and use the computer in his classroom during break and lunch.
I would like to thank Angie Siegel for making science so much fun to learn. I would like to thank Alan Siegel for being an excellent advisor, for allowing me to be a part of the media class, for letting me be a part of the mug contest, and for letting me write the Carlé Chronicle every other week.
Caring staff like Barbara, Alan, Maes, Pat, and Angie make Carlé a wonderful place to be.
I would like to thank all the students for all their kindness during the time that I have been at Carlé. They volunteered to help me when I needed it and they are my friends. They have made me feel like part of the Carlé family.
A huge thank you to Guein Bouscal for helping me get the title of prom king. She also helped me to start talking to other students and staff in October 2012. She also helped me to become kind and caring starting on January 1, 2013. Her daughter, Tana, has been a very loving and a very kind girl to everybody, including me. Thank you.
Guein has also helped me to become popular at Carlé High School.
So to happily conclude my last article, I would like to thank all the kind students and staff for making Carlé a great school.
All of Carlé’s students have been very kind during the time that I have been at Carlé. So I would like to say to all of Carlé’s students and staff that I love them and that I will miss them very much.
What Carlé has meant to my family: They are proud of how nice the people are and of how well I have done.
Timothy Mcguire is graduating from Carlé Continuation High School in Lower Lake, Calif.
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- Written by: Editor
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The North Coast Builders Exchange (NCBE) recently awarded $2,500 to Lake County high schools.
All five high schools were awarded grants ranging in amounts from $100 to $600, totaling $2,500.
The NCBE is a member-operated, nonprofit association serving the construction industry primarily in Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake counties.
Grants will be used to purchase supplies and/or tools for construction, woodworking and/or fabrication classes.
The NCBE provides small grants to school programs to support the building trades.
The NCBE also host the Careers in Construction Expo, assists with industry guest speakers and helps graduating seniors find work.
For more information regarding the North Coast Builders Exchange contact Robin Bartholow Workforce Development Director at 707-542-9502 or visit the exchange's Web site at http://www.ncbeonline.com .