The new clock in Upper Lake, Calif., which was installed on Tuesday, June 29, 2010. A clock similar to this one is expected to be installed soon in Clearlake Oaks, Calif., which like Upper Lake is located along Highway 20. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

NORTHSHORE – The towns of Upper Lake and Clearlake Oaks now have special timepieces to call their own.

On Tuesday, the new Upper Lake town clock was installed at the corner of First and Main streets, according to county Deputy Redevelopment Director Eric Seely.

Lake County Parks Department staff are preparing to construct a base and run electricity to the western side of Nylander Park on Highway 20, where the Clearlake Oaks clock will be installed, Seely said.

In that location it's expected to be visible to people traveling along Highway 20, county officials reported.

The double-sided clocks, which stand more than 15 feet high, each cost $17,973 – including tax, Seely noted – and were both manufactured by Electric Time Co. of Medfield, Mass.

Seely said the company won the competitive bid for the clocks thanks to giving the county a discount for ordering two clocks at the same time.

The Upper Lake Womens Protection League raised and contributed $5,393 for its clock, and the Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven Business Association gave the county $14,350, Seely reported.

On June 24, Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven Business Association President Margaret Medeiros presented the check for the group's contribution to County Administrative Officer and Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Kelly Cox, the county reported. The presentation took place during the association's monthly dinner meeting at the Live Oak Senior Center in Clearlake Oaks.

Medeiros, now in her fifth term as the group's president, said it took them about six months to raise the funds, amidst the many other projects the club has a hand in doing.

She said there was a great deal of enthusiasm around the clock project, with numerous community members and business owners offering donations.

The business association voted last year to take on the clock fundraising project in partnership with the Lake County Redevelopment Agency and Public Services Department, the county reported.

Medeiros said Gary Nylander, who owns the Red & White Market along with wife Geri, helped get the ball rolling at a meeting during which the clock project was discussed, pledging $1,000, which Shore Line Realty owns Al and Janice Maschek then matched, as did Cox himself.

The association put up $5,000, she said.

Also donating to the effort were Medeiros and her husband Phil, Dennis and Helen Locke, Jim Jonas, Roger and Camille Gouldberg, Kazmer Ujvarosy, Debi Malley, Harry and Janis Schlickenmayer, Lorraine Brisco, Sarah Merlin, Don Anderson, Alvaro Valencia, Chris Skarada, Jim Atkinson, Mary Amodio, Ron and Evelyn Dothag, Dan and Patty Smith, and Howard Wentworth, the county reported. Eastlake Elementary School Students also donated to the project, along with the Lake County Redevelopment Agency.

Medeiros said the clock will give “more class to the area.”

She said the community is trying to create an actual downtown for Clearlake Oaks.

“We're so sprawled out being on Highway 20, we don't have an actual center,” she said.

Businesses like Shannon Ridge are stepping up and creating attractive facilities around the park, and a visitor center will soon open next to Nylander Park and be run by the Lake County Chamber, Medeiros said.

Medeiros said every town on the lake has tried to have a theme. “Ours has kind of been bouncing between a Tuscan village and a fishing village,” she said.

She added, “Nothing has really been decided.”

The Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven Business Association has worked with the county and redevelopment agency on a number of other projects, including The Plaza and Nylander Park projects.

The group also is responsible for raising about $10,000 annually, through its Catfish Derby in May, for the Maxine Sherman Memorial Fireworks display on July 4. Medeiros said they took over that effort in 1998.

This year for the first time the group gave out scholarships – $1,000 to one young woman and $500 each to two young men. Medeiros said they also support Sober Grad and the Live Oak Senior Center, which recently received a $2,500 donation.

On top of that, Medeiros said they're supporting the AIDSWalk this year and they donated $500 to the floating islands project at Clark's Island, the goal of which is to mitigate algae.

For more information about the Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven Business Association contact Medeiros at 707-998-9563.

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