Enjoy a dinner of linguine-filled pasta bowls topped with Alfredo sauce and shrimp served family style with green salad, French bread then topped off with yummy cake for dessert.

The bar is open for socializing at 5 p.m. then dinner will be served at 6 p.m.

Enjoy dancing to music of John Zimmerman right after the meal.

All tickets cost $15 at the door. Everyone is welcome.

For information about this event or renting the hall for your own, call 707-274-9952.

The group asks community members to please bring food donations for its food baskets for seniors and families in need.

LAKE COUNTY – Foreclosure prevention and first time homebuyer assistance are the focus of free workshops on Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Lake and Mendocino Fairgrounds.

Legal, tax, mortgage, and individual support and information will be presented by local experts and certified foreclosure counselors from 8:30 am until noon at the Redwood Empire Fairgrounds in Ukiah and from 1:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. pm at the Lake County Fairgrounds, 401 Martin St. in Lakeport.

The forum opens with a panel discussion on such topics as working with lenders, an overview of home ownership, the role of housing counselors, legal rights and scam avoidance.

Mendocino County District Attorney Meridith Lintott, Lake County District Attorney Jon Hopkins, the Senior Law Project’s Andy Rossoff, bankers Richard Cooper of Mendo-Lake Credit Union and Marty Lombardi of the Savings Bank are among the presenters, as are Realtors Bill Barksdale from Willits and John Bogner from Ukiah.

Albert Anderson, from Consumer Credit Counseling of San Francisco, brings his expertise on the federal Hope for Homeowners program. Roxanne Campanella from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Leah Pears from California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) will talk about state and federal programs.

Local agencies include Northern Circle Indian Housing, Rural Community Housing Development Corporation, the Mendocino County Community Development Commission, and the California Human Development Corporation. They will share information on homebuyer programs and foreclosure prevention.

Lake County attorney, author and radio show host Steve Elias will add perspective regarding the foreclosure process and life after foreclosure. His book “The Foreclosure Survival Guide” will be available. Congressman Mike Thompson and Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro are supporting the day’s events.

Those interested may register through the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco online at www.fhlbsf.com or just show up. If individual foreclosure prevention counseling is desired attendees must bring two current pay stubs, two most current W-2 forms, and four most recent monthly bank statements ( if self-employed), most recent mortgage statement and related correspondence and a listing of all monthly expenses.

The forums are hosted by the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, Mendo Lake Credit Union, Northern Circle Indian Housing Authority, California Human Development Corporation, Redwood Credit Union, Rural Communities Housing Development Corporation, Savings Bank of Mendocino County and The Bogner Group.

The seventh annual Dickens' Christmas Market will take place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 28, running from First to Fourth streets in downtown Lakeport.

There will be more than 60 vendors, entertainment all day on the stage at Second and Main, and a treasure hunt which has become a tradition for many who attend the Market and is being coordinated by the Lakeport Main Street Association.

This year there will be separate hunts for children and adults (children up to age 14 years).

In addition, there will be free carriage rides by Eleven Roses Ranch, Santa’s Workshop sponsored by Sutter Lakeside Hospital, the seventh annual Lighted Holiday Parade sponsored by Savings Bank of Mendocino and the Annual Holiday Tree Lighting, sponsored this year by Hospice Services Lake County and their “Light Up A Life” program.

A costume contest for everyone, including merchants and vendors, will take place, with judging at 2 p.m. at the Dickens Stage at the corner of Second and Main streets.

With the cooperation of downtown merchants, this event has become successful in drawing several hundred holiday shoppers to experience shopping in downtown, kicking off the holiday shopping in Lakeport and Lake County.

Unique and exciting gifts are available at our Lakeport merchants, enhanced by a variety of vendors. Local organizations and nonprofits are encouraged to participate in the market along with school groups.

The seventh annual Lighted Holiday Parade is at 6 p.m., followed by Christmas caroling at Museum Square, followed by the Hospice Tree Lighting Ceremony. There will be caroling prior to the tree lighting, so watch for the Gift Guide & Song Book special section published by the Lake County Record-Bee on Wednesday, Nov. 25.

Please note that applications for vendors for the market and parade participants are available by contacting the Lake County Chamber at 707-263-5092 or visiting the chamber's Web site at www.lakecochamber.com .

They are accepting vendor applications until Nov. 20. Parade applications closed Nov. 18.

In addition, they still have openings for entertainers for the Dickens Stage, and they also are seeking groups who wish to dress in period costumes and carol as they stroll downtown.

Dickens’ costumes and costume ideas are available at C&G Enterprises in Lakeport on Third Street.

SACRAMENTO – North Coast State Senator Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa) is one of 14 state senators to achieve a perfect 100-percent score from the Congress of California Seniors (CCS).

The CCS is a broad-based coalition of senior centers and residential facilities, women’s clubs, tenant and homeowner associations, faith-based organizations, community service groups, trade union retirees, retired federal/state/local and public school employee organizations, and other advocacy groups.

The CCS recently released its California Legislature 2009 Report Card assessing how state senators and assembly members voted on legislation important to California’s 4.5 million seniors.

According to CCS State President Henry Lacayo, 2009 “continued to be a difficult time for California seniors and for lawmakers to deal with those difficulties. The state’s fiscal collapse absorbed much of the time and attention of the legislature with nearly non-stop budget deliberations and special sessions to keep up with declining state revenues.”

Nevertheless, Lacayo added, the CCS “monitored dozens of bills covering health insurance reforms, nursing home care, training of homecare workers, affordable housing, and consumer protection.”

For its report card, the CCS scored legislators through their votes on a dozen key pieces of legislation in 2009. As previously noted, Wiggins was one of 14 (out of a total of 40) state senators to vote correctly on all 12 of the priority bills targeted by the CCS.

Those priority bills included:

– SB 18, increasing the financial penalties on those who abuse seniors and dependent adults, especially repeat offenders;

– SB 303, requiring informed consent of nursing home patients and their families before patients can be given any proposed treatment or procedure, especially psychotherapeutic drugs;

– SB 781, protecting residents of Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly from unreasonable eviction or transfer, including information on alternative housing and care options.

Assembly woman Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), who has announced she'll run for Wiggins' seat when Wiggins retires next year, also achieved a 100-percent score.

This national program, already under way, will run until the last week of November, It coincided with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week observed Nov. 1 through 7.

As part of this annual program, St Helena Pet Sitters and other NAPPS members across the country are reaching out to their clients and encouraging them to collect and donate product for this worthy cause. Items such as toys, treats, blankets, towels, rugs, beds, bleach, leashes, collars, coupons, carriers and newspapers are all being solicited.

Donation drop off boxes are located at Hidden Valley Pet Palace 18893C Hartman Rd. Hidden Valley Lake and Mugshots Espresso at 18990 Coyote Valley Road, Middletown. Donations will be collected until Nov. 30.

“This is a great opportunity for all animal lovers, pet owner or not, to help provide for those animals often forgotten,” said Hammond, owner of St Helena Pet Sitters. “In addition to offering support to our local shelters and shelter animals, we hope to generate awareness of community shelters and the important role they serve.”

St Helena Pet Sitters is a service business locally owned and operated dedicated to providing professional in-home pet care. St Helena Pet Sitters also actively works to promote the value of pet sitting, and to advocate the welfare of animals.

For more information, or immediate donation pickup contact Hammond at 707-344-4380 or

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