LAKEPORT, Calif. – Home winemakers and brewers have only until this Friday, June 17, to sign up to show off their talents at this year’s Lake County Home Wine and Beer Makers’ Festival.

The festival takes place Saturday, June 18, at Lakeport’s Library Park.

The Winefest – its abbreviated name – is now in its 15th year. It is sponsored as a major fundraiser by the Lake County Symphony Association, with all proceeds going to support the Lake County Symphony and Youth Orchestra.

Amateur winemakers wishing to pour tastes of their beverages to attendees may call 707-569-6880 for a space reservation.

There is no fee, but if they want any of their wines judged by a panel of professionals, there is a fee of $7 per bottle.

Samples must be submitted to the judge’s station at the Lakeport Yacht Club, adjacent to the park, by 8:30 a.m. the day of the event.

Home brewers should call 707-279-1280 for both space reservations and also to learn how their beers and ales can be entered in the popular “Peoples’ Choice’ awards.

This year for the first time the Winefest will share the park with the Lakeport Camp n’ Shine Chapter of the Norcal Aircooled Group Car Club, with some three dozen vintage collectible cars on display from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

As always, many of Lake County’s premium commercial wineries will be pouring tastes, and there also will be a major silent auction and the traditional “Barrel of Wine” raffle, as well as a host of vendors of arts, crafts and foods.

There is no charge for entry to the event and children and leashed pets are welcome, but a fee is charged for those 21 and older wishing to taste the adult beverages.

Tasting tickets are $20 in advance or $25 per person at the gate and include a commemorative wine glass.

Almost all local winery tasting rooms offer tickets for sale, as well as the Lake County Chamber of Commerce.

Connel Murray is a member of the Lake County Symphony Association.

SACRAMENTO – Director Tanya N. Garfield of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Disaster Field Operations Center – West reminded California private nonprofit (PNP) organizations of the July 8 deadline to apply for an SBA federal disaster loan for economic injury caused by the Valley fire and Butte fire that occurred between Sept. 9 and Oct. 30, 2015.

PNPs that provide essential services of a governmental nature are eligible for assistance.

According to Garfield, eligible PNPs of any size may apply for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) of up to $2 million to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster.

“EIDLs may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that cannot be paid because of the disaster’s impact. EIDL assistance is available regardless of whether the PNP suffered any property damage,” Garfield said.

These low-interest federal disaster loans are available in Calaveras and Lake counties.

The interest rate is 2.625 percent with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela .

Disaster loan information and application forms are also available from SBA’s Customer Service Center by calling 800-659-2955 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Individuals who are deaf or hard‑of‑hearing may call 800-877-8339. For more disaster assistance information or to download applications, visit https://www.sba.gov/disaster .

Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX  76155.

California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith announced on Tuesday the addition of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles to the network of hospitals in California capable of providing inpatient care for individuals with a confirmed case of Ebola virus disease or another highly infectious disease.

Cedars-Sinai also will serve as a regional treatment center, accepting Ebola patients from the western United States and U.S. territories in the Pacific that do not have these specialized treatment centers.

“We are excited to welcome Cedars-Sinai Medical Center into the network of hospitals in California that are capable of treating patients with Ebola,” said Dr. Smith. “With this announcement, California and the western regions will be better prepared to immediately and effectively treat people with Ebola and other highly infectious diseases.”

As a California-based Ebola regional treatment center, Cedars-Sinai has agreed to receive patients with severe infectious diseases within eight hours of notification.

The medical center will maintain infectious disease isolation capacity to prevent the spread of microorganisms and have the capacity to treat up to two Ebola patients concurrently.

In addition to treating California patients, Cedars-Sinai will serve as a regional treatment center for Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada and the U.S. territories in the Pacific.

“We are honored to take on this important leadership role in the nation’s healthcare system,” said Thomas M. Priselac, Cedars-Sinai president and CEO. “Doing so is consistent with our mission and commitment to the community and beyond in light of our role as a national leader providing the most advanced treatments to acutely ill patients with complex medical conditions from California and across America.”

California now has a total of nine medical centers that are prepared to care for patients with highly infectious diseases such as Ebola.

Those centers include UC Davis Medical Center (Sacramento), Kaiser Permanente Medical Center (Oakland, Sacramento and Los Angeles), UCSF Medical Center (San Francisco), Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (Los Angeles), UC Irvine Medical Center (Orange), UC San Diego Medical Center and Cedars-Sinai (Los Angeles).

Cedars-Sinai’s designation as a regional treatment center for patients with severe infectious diseases is made possible with a $3.25 million federal grant administered by CDPH to strengthen the delivery of specialized emergency care.

Cedars-Sinai will use the grant to fund ongoing training of its Ebola Response Team and purchase medical equipment, including personal protective equipment.

For more information about how California is preparing for potential cases of Ebola, please visit the CDPH Ebola Virus Information Page at http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/cder/Pages/Ebola.aspx .

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Lake County Horse Council will host its Stay Safe 2016 event on Saturday, June 18.

The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Kelseyville Senior Center, 5245 Third St.

The format this year will include one main speaker at the event.

Dana Shackelton, DVM of the Middletown Animal Hospital will give a talk and presentation on “Lessons learned from the Valley fire.”

The Middletown Animal Hospital was activated by the California Office of Emergency Services State Operations Center and provided relief for animals from the burned areas, organizing and coordinating care for a large number of animals.

During the Valley fire almost every domestic species was treated including cats, dogs, horses, sheep, goats, chicken, cows, pigs and even some rescued koi.

Many surgeries and procedures were performed during that time addressing a huge range of needs and problems.

Dr. Smith and his associate veterinarians, Dr. Holtz and Dr. Shackelton and staff were assisted by many other animal hospitals and vet clinics from surrounding counties including UC Davis.

During the fire they were contacted and responded to hundreds of request to visit people's properties and check on their animals. They also responded to reports and requests from Cal Fire, Pacific Gas and Electric and other public entities within the burn area.

Dr. Shacklton's presentation will give information on how to prepare and pre-defend your space. She also will give helpful information on how to prepare for evacuation, prepare for the worst case scenario and develop means to transporting and confining your animals.

There will be a question and answer period after the presentation.

Water, sodas, and juice will be provided by the Lake County Horse Council.

Visit the council online at www.lakecountyhorsecouncil.com .

I am gratified and overwhelmed by the supporters across District 4 that came out to vote for me for Assembly on June 7.

I want to thank them and the many volunteers and individual donors who helped make our campaign possible.

And I want to congratulate all my opponents on a very hard-fought campaign.

After November, regardless of the outcome, I hope we can all work together to improve the lives of the residents of the sprawling, six-county Assembly District 4.
 
Cecilia Aguiar-Curry is the first woman mayor of Winters, Calif., as well as a farmer and a businesswoman. Based on preliminary election results, she is expected to be in a runoff for the District 4 seat in the California Assembly with Republican Charlie Schaupp. Assembly District 4 includes all or parts of Yolo, Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Colusa and Solano counties.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Law Enforcement Division recently certified five new K-9s and their handlers.

These teams completed the extensive law enforcement K-9 training academy over the past few months in Tehama County.
 
Four of the teams are handlers and dogs that are both new to CDFW's K-9 program, while the fifth team is veteran wildlife officer and handler Brian Boyd and his new K-9 "Champ."

Boyd and his previous and soon to be retired K-9 "Phebe" were both featured extensively on the National Geographic TV show Wild Justice.
 
"The value of K-9s is greatly recognized in their ability to use scent to locate evidence, especially items that have been intentionally concealed," said CDFW Assistant Chief Christy Wurster who leads the K-9 program. "These dogs can locate evidence in a fraction of the time it would take officers. Our dogs have proven to be a significant deterrent to suspect resistance, reducing assaults on our officers. This alone makes them an immeasurable asset."
 
All five teams are certified to track and locate people and detect certain odors and evidence. Depending upon their assigned work locations, individual teams are trained to detect numerous items including bear, deer, abalone, invasive quagga mussels and firearms, at a minimum.

Four of the new K-9 teams are also certified to protect officers and apprehend suspects.
 
The K-9 teams have proven invaluable to CDFW's Law Enforcement Division. Studies show that one well-trained dog can save approximately 800 personnel hours per year, which greatly boosts the wildlife officer's efficiency and effectiveness.

Some estimates place the scenting capabilities of a dog at up to 1 million times greater than a human, which allows them to quickly find concealed evidence and items.
 
The five new teams include:  Warden Aaron Galwey and K-9 "Rango" (Shasta County), Warden Brian Patrick and K-9 "Karma" (Sacramento County), Warden Timothy Bolla and K-9 "Luna" (Yolo County), Warden Nick Buckler and K-9 "Indy" (Lassen County), and Warden Brian Boyd and K-9 "Champ" (Shasta County).
 
CDFW's K-9 program has functioned in its current capacity consistently since 2008 with 10 working teams in the field.

These five new teams will strengthen the value of the program and assure its viability for years to come. 
 
For more information about CDFW K-9 program please visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/Enforcement/K9#30481342-about .