LUCERNE, Calif. – North Lake Garden Club will present a workshop by Mary Lou Goodwin, past president of California Garden Clubs Inc. on Tuesday, March 27.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. with sharing plants and refreshments at Lucerne Community Church, 5870 E. Highway 20.

“Spring treasures featuring nine daffodils of yellow flowers” will be a hands-on flower arranging class.

Everyone needs to bring their own container, oasis, greens, filler and flowers. Learn to be creative with late winter early spring blossoms.

The club's last workshop, “Do the Rot Thing and Support Global Worming,” an informative hands-on presentation by Gabriele O'Neill, UCCE Lake County Master Gardener, had a great turnout. Attendees learned about the transformation of garbage into gardeners' gold, also called composting.

If you are interested in joining the group please come to the meeting.

You can check other activities coming up on the group's Facebook page at North Lake Garden Club.

The club is a member of California Garden Clubs Inc., National Garden Clubs Inc. and Mendo-Lake District, with meetings held on the fourth Tuesday September through May.

If you have a public place where a tree should be planted or need more information about the garden club please call club President Kimberly Marsh, 707-274-8775.

SACRAMENTO – At its board meeting in Sacramento on Wednesday, March 14, the Regional Council of Rural Counties (RCRC) board of directors approved supporting Proposition 28 – the legislative term limits reform measure, which will be on the June 2012 ballot.

“As an organization, we should support things that help rural counties achieve their policy goals,” said Sierra County Supervisor Lee Adams. “By having prospective legislators potentially serve 12 years in office allows more stability and provides members time to develop expertise in governing. In turn, this helps RCRC members since we rely on the legislature to fund many of our programs and various mandates.”

Additionally, the RCRC board voted to support moving forward with the memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.

The MOA – crafted between RCRC, the California State Association of Counties, the USFS and BLM – prescribes communication protocols between counties and the U.S. Forest Service to minimize misunderstanding pertaining to forest and public lands.

“Crafting this agreement has been a long and arduous process,” said RCRC board chair and Colusa County Supervisor Kim Dolbow Vann.

“While rural counties and the U.S Forest Service have shared a partnership in managing federal lands, we have had some difficulties,” Vann said. “This MOA will help improve relationships by facilitating on-going communication; assuring a consistent process and outcomes; and recognizing that RCRC and its member counties are government partners, not just public stakeholders.”

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Kelseyville area churches are working together to offer the hungry in the Kelseyville/Finley area an opportunity to receive food for themselves and their families.  

The food giveaway will be held the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Kelseyville Methodist Church, located on Main Street in Kelseyville.

At this time, they are looking for donations of nonperishable items such as soups, stews, canned fruit and vegetables, rice, beans, powdered milk, chili, hot or cold cereal, as well as donations of paper bags and people to help pack the bags the day before and staffing the day of the giveaway.

If you can help, please call Julie at Kelseyville Presbyterian Church at 707-279-1104.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Community members are invited to join local time bankers and learn about a cash and tax free system for sharing services, skills, and labor that hearkens back to days of yore.

The meeting will be held on Saturday, March 31, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Lakeport Senior Activity Center, 527 Konocti Ave.  

Once upon a time neighbors helped neighbors with everything from hot casseroles to barn raising.  

While time banking philosophically draws on those old time traditions, it comes to us in a very modern manifestation – using computer software and the Internet to help like-minded community members connect.

Participants will learn more about how time banking works, meet current time bank members, have an opportunity to ask questions, and get an introduction to the time bank software.

If you are unable to attend, or want more information, please visit the Time Bank of Lake County Web site at http://timebanklakeco.com/ or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

NICE, Calif. – The Sons of Italy in Nice will have a very special visitor at an upcoming event.

The club is pleased to have Maria Fassio Pignati, president of the Order of Sons of Italy in America Grand Lodge of California, at its next dinner dance.  

The event will be held in the hall, on Saturday, March 24, at 2817 E. Highway 20 in Nice.

It is so important that longtime club and community member Sue Lewis, who once owned the Aurora Club, will share an old recipe from her restaurant.  

Many know the place as a campground but it was once a panoramic bar and resort on the shores of Nice, a hot spot of Lake County.  

Lewis, who is a past president of the lodge, will share the secret of making a scrumptious meal with guest chefs Deb and Duane Clarke during the preparation.

It should be a lively affair as there are several birthdays that night, including past president Rosalie Sonnenburg.  

The club hopes to have a good turn out, as profits will be going to items needed for a May 19 “Night on the Titanic” mystery dinner fundraiser for the Miss Lake County Scholarship fund.  

The dinner will include Italian pot roast, mashed potatoes, red sauce pasta, salad, sautéed green beans, French bread, dessert, coffee or tea.  

The bar is open for socializing at 5 p.m., dinner starts at 6 p.m., then dancing to the band The High Notes starts after the meal.

The cost will be $15 for everything.

Everyone is welcome; there is no need to be a member.

Please call to reserve a table so you can sit with your friends or if you plan on bringing a lot of people.

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

SACRAMENTO – Sen. Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) has been appointed to the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care by the Judicial Council of California.

Her term will run from March 1 2012 through June 30, 2014.

The commission is charged with making recommendations to the Judicial Council on strategies to improve the state’s foster care system and juvenile courts.  

“I am honored to serve on a commission that provides access to justice children who need a voice in the system,” said Evans. “The foster care and the judicial systems must work together diligently to protect the children in our care.”

Evans represents the Second Senatorial District, including all or portions of the Counties of Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, and Sonoma. Senator Evans Chairs the Legislative Women’s Caucus and the Committee on Judiciary.