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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
KELSEYVILLE – It's a green light for the Kit's Corner stoplight, with Caltrans officials opening bids for the project this week.
In recent years, community concerns have mounted about Kit's Corner, which is located at the intersection of Highways 281 and 29, and the number of traffic accidents in the area.
That led Kelseyville-area residents, including Supervisor Rob Brown, to lobby Caltrans for a stoplight at the intersection.
Brown said he recently attended the District External Advisory Liaison – or DEAL – meeting in Laytonville, where he met with officials from Caltrans' District 1, which includes Lake County.
At that meeting, Brown reported that Caltrans District 1 Director Charles Fielder said they could break ground on the project by the end of June.
Brown said Fielder has been very helpful in seeing the request through.
Fielder had just joined Caltrans in the fall of 2004, said Brown, when the agency held a meeting at Konocti Harbor with area residents. The meeting, at times heated, revealed a widespread community desire to see a stoplight at the intersection.
At first, Caltrans said the intersection didn't meet the requirements for a stoplight. They did, however, express concerns about road safety near the intersection, and explained that they already had a project in mind to address it.
That $2.3 million sight distance improvement project at Kit's Corner, was completed in December 2005. The project included a 700-yard vertical road realignment, which essentially meant shaving down a hill so drivers could see farther. Caltrans said the project was meant to increase safety and visibility.
By the time that project was under way in the spring of 2005, Brown said he had met with Caltrans officials, who reconsidered the stoplight and decided to pursue it.
As Lake County News previously reported, Caltrans recently estimated the signal project would cost about $500,000, with the county paying only $33,000.
“We got a bargain on that deal,” said Brown.
However, it's possible that the project could cost less.
Caltrans spokesman Phil Frisbie said the project was advertised in April, and the Caltrans Office Engineer opened bids on Wednesday.
Electrical contracting and engineering firm Steiny and Co. of Vallejo was the tentative low bidder, Frisbie said, with a bid of $398,356, about $30,000 lower than the next bid. Frisbie said it will take a few weeks to certify Steiny and Co.'s bid as final.
Once that bid is final, work will likely get started soon, said Frisbie.
“We are expecting construction to start late this summer, and then complete before the onset of winter,” said Frisbie, who said that schedule is “weather permitting.”
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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KELSEYVILLE – Many talented home winemakers from all over Lake County will be participating in the fifth-annul Home Winemakers Festival, an event for tasting the winemaking efforts of dozens of Northern California amateurs, on Saturday, June 23, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Leo and Lorine D'Agostino, Hidden Valley Lake residents, will be returning for the third year to the festival. They'll bring a 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2005 Sauvignon Blanc this year. During past events, they've won a first-place award for their Sauvignon Blanc and a second-place award on their Cabernet Sauvignon.
The D'Agostinos have made home winemaking a hobby for six years now. This is partially influenced by their Italian descent, according to Lorine. Though they haven't attended other amateur wine festivals, they're open to such endeavors in the future.
Ron and Cheryn Chip of Kelseyville had a first love before homemade wines: home-brewed beer. The Chips have been home brewers since 1991. After moving to Lake County and noticing the abundance of grapes, they decided to try home winemaking. The first year they made their own wine was 2002.
According to Ron, Wildhurst winemaker Mark Burch coached him along on a few things. The Chips have been given winegrapes from a variety of local vineyards over the years, including those of the Pete and Cathy Windrem, David Windrem, and the McDermaids.
In their first year, the Chips worked with all they had. Cheryn actually crushed the grapes with her bare feet. This will be their third year entering the Lake County Home Winemakers Festival. Last year, the Chips took home a second-place ribbon and the People's Choice award for their 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon. This time, they're bringing a 2004 Syrah – their first of this varietal. They're also currently working on a 2006 Zinfandel, which is expected to be bottled in August.
Under the label Alegria, Thomasine Griesgraber, also of Kelseyville, will bring her wine again this year. Griesgraber was always interested in how wine was made and at some point, she and her husband John considered making their own. After a friend referred her to Conn Murray of the Clear Lake Performing Arts (CLPA), this consideration became a favorite pastime.
Since she began making wine at home in 2002 after learning with CLPA, Griesgraber has made a Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, an Italian blend, Gamay, Petite Syrah, and a Zinfandel. Her wine is one that CLPA serves at their benefit events. She has collected winegrapes from Frank Maxwell, Snows Lake, Devoto, Dorn, Stewart, Honeycutt, and Beringer vineyards, among others.
Griesgraber loves the process of watching her wine develop into something drinkable – even when it doesn't – and her favorite part is going out and picking the grapes. In the past she and her husband used others' equipment, but now have their own crusher/destemmer. Though she has only entered her wine into the Lake County Home Winemakers Festival, Griesgraber is open to attending other areas' festivals in the future.
Mario Richner of Hidden Valley Lake has been a home winemaker since 1995, when Lou Galetti from Calistoga introduced him to the process. In the beginning, Richner was using a lot of Napa wineries' second crops to make his wine. Today, he purchases mostly Lake County winegrapes * namely from SS Ranch and Horn Ranch in Middletown * to make his home wines.
Richner has participated in the Lake County Home Winemakers Festival for three years so far and has taken home a fourth-place ribbon for a 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon as well as a second-place ribbon under the category "best label" for the design of his label, DiMario.
Richner also has won a second-place ribbon for the Merlot he entered into the Home Winemakers Classic at St. Supery Winery in Rutherford, California. The event benefits the Dry Creek-Lokoya Fire Department. Richner will bring another 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon to the Lake County Home Winemakers Festival this year.
Kelseyville's Mireya Turner might be the very newest home winemaker entering wines into this year's festival. Turner's Wild Horse Ranch 2005 Syrah is her first wine, made in 2006, and has already won her a Bronze from the 2007 WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition. Supervisor Ed Robey will be pouring her wine at the Lake County Home Winemakers Festival.
Using her father-in-law Miles Turner's winegrapes, she began making wines after reading From Wines to Vines by Jeff Cox. James Kirk helped her through the whole process, through picking, pressing – even with their bare hands – racking, blending, and bottle washing. Janice Sanders and Joy Merilees of Steele gave Turner great advice on chemistry, Quincy Steele helped her with blending, and many others helped along the way.
Upon purchasing a CLPA commemorative wine glass for $15, eventgoers may taste at any or all of the many amateur booths set up along the downtown area. During the festival, guests vote on their favorite wines and other categories, and People's Choice awards will be presented at the end of the day to winners.
In the morning before the festival begins, a professional judging panel will choose winners in several categories.
Local commercial wineries, including EdenCrest Vineyards, Dusinberre Cellars, Rosa d'Oro, Shannon Ridge Winery, Sol Rouge, Steele Wines, and Wildhurst will be present to support CLPA's event, and some will even pour their wines for tasting.
Wine isn't all that's on the menu, however. Local purveyors will be selling food during the festival, including John's Market, the Saw Shop Gallery Bistro, Riviera Hills Restaurant & Lounge, Studebakers, and St. Peter's Catholic Church serving Mexican food * all from Kelseyville.
A silent auction will take place during the festival with many donated items * some including overnight stays, wines from commercial wineries in attendance, and wine-related items. A number of artists and artist groups also will set up booths to demonstrate their artistic processes, as well as exhibit and sell their art.
Local pianist David Neft will perform during the festival as well as a headliner to be announced. The music of the day will be light jazz, bluegrass, folk, and similar genres.
A benefit for CLPA, the Home Winemakers Festival is sponsored by the Kelseyville Business Association and CLPA, as well as the Lake County Winegrape Commission.
The Lake County Home Winemakers Festival will be held in the central downtown area, on Main Street in Kelseyville. For more information on the Lake County Home Winemakers Festival or to register as an amateur winemaker, contact Ed Bublitz, (707) 277-8172.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, Congressman Mike Thompson, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, Human Intelligence, Analysis and Counterintelligence, embarked on a five-day intelligence oversight trip to the United Kingdom and Sweden.
The purpose of his trip is to examine the growth of religious extremism in Europe and the threat that this trend poses to the U.S. and our allies.
In addition, Thompson will meet with local officials to discuss how the U.S. and European countries can better coordinate counterterrorism measures and the sharing of intelligence.
"Strong intelligence is our best weapon for fighting terrorism," said Thompson. "And close collaboration with our allies and partners is critical given that many of these extremist groups operate in multiple countries. We need to share information with our allies and learn from each others' experiences if we are to counter the threats posed by these dangerous groups."
Thompson, a Vietnam combat veteran, will also spend a day with wounded soldiers at the Army's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
This is his second visit to the hospital since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY – With last week's passage of an emergency supplemental bill through Congress, there's good news for rural schools.
The bill, HR 2206, included $120 billion for the war in Iraq, but also included a one-year extension of the county payments law, known officially as the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act.
The county payments law distributes funds to rural counties based on historic timber receipts for those areas. Supporters of the program say that it has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to rural areas, with most of the money going to schools and county road programs.
HR 2206 included $425 million for county payments law funding through the end of this year. The bill
was passed by both the House and Senate May 24. President George W. Bush signed the bill into law the following day, according to the White House press office.
As Lake County News previously reported, Lake County's most recent payment payment from the law was roughly $1 million, which was split between the county's road department and local schools.
Half of the schools funding – nearly $250,000 – went to Upper Lake schools, based on the amount of Forest Service land in the district's boundaries and the number of students in the district who are the children of Forest Service employees, as Lake County News has reported.
The funding had been included in a previous war supplemental, which the president vetoed.
Congressman Mike Thompson said he voted to add the funding to HR 2206, but ultimately voted against the bill as a whole, because he said it lacked a timeline for bringing US troops homes from Iraq.
The original Secure Rural Schools bill became law in 2000 and expired late last year. Efforts are under way to get the funding renewed on a multi-year basis.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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