UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Earth and Fire Pottery artist Gregg Lindsley will host a free one-hour class on how to make sauerkraut and other fermented foods on Saturday, Sept. 24.
The class will begin at 2 p.m. at the Lake County Wine Studio, 9505 Main St. in Upper Lake.
Lindsley will demonstrate the basics of making your own sauerkraut with a live-culture fermentation crock.
He also will discuss the process to make kimchee as well as other types of ferment and the health benefits of regularly using fermented foods.
For more information call Lake County Wine Studio at 707-275-8030.
The year 2016 marks the 70th anniversary of AAA’s annual School’s Open – Drive Carefully campaign.
Launched nationally in 1946, the mission remains the same, to help reduce the number of school-related pedestrian injuries and fatalities. The campaign kicks off at the beginning of the new school year, reminding motorists to watch out for children as they travel to and from school.
As 50 million children across the country head back to school, AAA urges motorists to slow down and stay alert in neighborhoods and school zones, and to be especially vigilant for pedestrians during before and afterschool hours.
The afternoon hours are particularly dangerous for walking children – over the last decade, nearly one-third of child pedestrian fatalities occurred between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
“More than 309 child pedestrians died in 2014 and 11,000 were injured,” cautioned AAA Northern California spokesperson Cynthia Harris. “The ‘School’s Open – Drive Carefully’ awareness campaign was designed in 1946 to curb a trend of unsafe driving behavior in school zones and neighborhoods that can result in children’s injury and death. Seventy years later, the message remains- we must remind motorists to slow down and stay alert as kids head back to school.”
AAA Safety Tips to keep kids safe this school year:
· Slow down. Speed limits in school zones are reduced for a reason. A pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling 25 mph is nearly two-thirds less likely to be killed compared to a pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling just 10 mph faster. A difference between 25 mph and 35 mph can save a life.
· Eliminate distractions. Children often cross the road unexpectedly and may emerge suddenly between two parked cars. Research shows that taking your eyes off the road for just two seconds doubles your chances of crashing.
· Reverse responsibly. Every vehicle has blind spots. Check for children on the sidewalk, driveway and around your vehicle before slowly backing up. Teach your children to never play in, under or around vehicles—even those that are parked.
· Talk to your teen. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States, and more than one-quarter of fatal crashes involving teen drivers occur during the after-school hours of 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Get evidence-based guidance and tips at TeenDriving.AAA.com.
· Come to a complete stop. Research shows that more than one-third of drivers roll through stop signs in school zones or neighborhoods. Always come to a complete stop, checking carefully for children on sidewalks and in crosswalks before proceeding.
· Watch for bicycles. Children on bikes are often inexperienced, unsteady and unpredictable. Slow down and allow at least three feet of passing distance between your vehicle and the bicycle. If your child rides a bicycle to school, require that they wear a properly fitted bicycle helmet on every ride.
“I love [basket weaving]. You create something that is alive. You put your heart and spirit into it, and it's alive. Whatever's in you, you put into the basket.”– Rochelle Marie O'Rourke, Tolowa/Yurok/Achumawi, from the book edited by Malcolm Margolin, “The Way We Lived”
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The jobs that American Indians held for hundreds and thousands of years varied.
There were specialists in each group who were hunters, arrowhead makers, gatherers, fishermen, shamans and more.
Another vital job was that of basket weaver. As the renowned Pomo basketmaker, Elsie Allen (Sept. 22, 1899 – Dec. 31, 1990) said, it was “the supreme art.”
California and Lake County Indian basket weavers constructed containers for innumerable uses for hundreds and thousands of years.
There were ceremonial baskets, fish traps, food storage baskets, baskets for cooking acorn meal, winnowing baskets, burden baskets and many more.
One basket was unique among all others – the cradle basket for carrying babies.
The California Indian Museum and Cultural Center in Santa Rosa recently held an exhibit of cradle baskets and childbirth traditions called “Precious Cargo.” There was a variety of shapes, decorations and materials used in cradle construction.
Like a car baby seat of today, the Indian cradle basket was vital in the hunter-gatherer times, for keeping babies safe.
Through the use of the cradle, the Indian women had their hands available for working at gathering food and a variety of other jobs.
Each region of our county and state, as we now know them, used a different type, however, the babies were always fastened into a cradle which had them lying on their back or seated straight up.
To build a basket, first the Indian women needed to spend time gathering the proper materials. This involved traversing down a creek or hillside to find willow.
The willow, white to gray tone was selected most often in the spring season, or sometimes during fall. Then, twigs were cut in accordance to the size of basket being made.
Now came the difficult job of preparing each switch for use, by cleaning, stripping and drying.
After the bark was removed the size or thickness was made uniform with a knife, since the willow is wider at the end.
Another necessary tool for basketry was the awl. In the early days it was a sharp tool made of bone, and later, a steel tip. The awl was used to ensure spaces between basketry pieces for ease of weaving.
Then, as now, having a baby was a big event in a family's life. Mortality rates were high then, so many cultural customs were followed.
Many times conceiving was difficult, so a “baby rock” was incorporated into a ritual using the special rock's dust.
The rock dust was taken from incising marks or grooves into the stone and sometimes layered onto the skin of the mother-to-be.
It was necessary for a mother of a newborn to keep from consuming salt or meat. The father of a newborn needed to refrain from hunting. Instead, he was encouraged to perform character-building feats like games or races.
When a Pomo Indian baby was born gifts were traded between the group's families. The Indian girls of various tribes learned vital mothering skills through the use of their own, “toy”-sized baby baskets.
Today, many vital components of native culture – including baby basket weaving skills – are passed on from the older generation to the younger members.
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – On Monday afternoon, the Lake County Public Works Department closed portions of Fairway Drive and Tenino Way in Kelseyville due to a water main breach.
Fairway Drive is closed to all but local traffic from Chippewa Trail to Tenino Way, Public Works reported.
In addition, Public Works said Tenino Way is closed from Highway 281 to Fairway Drive to all but residents living on that section of roadway.
The intersection of Fairway Drive at Tenino Way is closed to all traffic. Officials said that portion of the roadway is impassable.
One-way traffic control will be in place for local residents to get to and from their residences beyond Tenino Way and Fairway Drive, the agency said.
As of Monday afternoon, no estimate was available as to when the roadways would reopen.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Soroptimist International of Clear Lake will hold a luncheon meeting on Thursday, Sept. 22.
The meeting will begin at 11:45 a.m. at Howard's Grotto, 14732 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake. The cost of lunch is $13 per person.
Following the lunch Samantha Strowbridge will give a presentation titled “Lake County Says … NO MORE.”
Samantha, 15, is very active in the community and also a candidate for Miss Lake County. She is the daughter of Ami Landrum, Soroptimist International of Clear Lake's recording secretary.
“No More” is a signature program of Soroptimist that aims to raise public awareness and engagement around ending domestic violence and sexual assault.
Launched in March 2013 by a coalition of leading advocacy groups, service providers, the U.S. Department of Justice, and major corporations, “No More” is supported by hundreds of national and local groups and by thousands of individuals, organizations, universities and communities that are using its signature blue symbol to increase visibility for domestic violence and sexual assault.
Membership in Soroptimist International of Clear Lake is open to anyone with the desire to help women and girls locally, nationally and internationally.
For more information about the luncheon or joining the group, contact Membership Chair Wanda Harris at 707-225-5800 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or President Olga Martin Steele at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Police Department arrested three people on Wednesday as part of a probation sweep at a city residence.
Sgt. Tim Hobbs said police officers responded to a residence in the 3500 block of Maple Street at 3:15 p.m. Wednesday to conduct a probation search and arrest warrant service on numerous occupants who live at the residence.
Hobbs said this was part of an ongoing community oriented policing project to address numerous issues brought forward from the public concerning the residence.
As a result of this probation search, Hobbs said the following people were arrested:
• Jayson Scott Tate, 47, was arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail for resisting arrest.
• William Lynn Rankin, 40, was arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail for possession of a controlled substance.
• Jennifer Marie Morse, 32, was arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail for being under the influence of a controlled substance.
Six vehicles that were unlawfully parked on Maple Street blocking the roadway and or had expired registration were towed.
Additionally, the residence was found to have numerous building code violations and determined to be unsafe to inhabit. Clearlake Code Enforcement officers responded to the location and red tagged the residence, Hobbs said.
Hobbs said anyone with ongoing problems in their neighborhood can contact the officers assigned to the community oriented policy beat in which they live. The Clearlake Police Department can be reached at 707-994-8251.
Nick Norwood's most recent book is Gravel and Hawk, published by Ohio University Press.
This poem has sorrow at the top and happiness at the bottom, which means there's a lot of living in between. It's from the quarterly journal Five Points. Norwood lives and teaches in Georgia.
Ronnie's
Dad dead, Mom—back in the bank, tellering— started dressing in cute skirts and pants suits she sewed herself from onionskin patterns and bright-colored knits picked up at Cloth World. Got her dark brunette hair cut in a shag. And she and her single girlfriends from work on a weekday night would leave me to "Love American Style" or Mary Tyler Moore and step out to hear the country house band or now-and-then headliners like Ray Price and Merle Haggard. Mom's blue Buick Wildcat shoulder to shoulder with the other Detroit behemoths in the dim lot around back. Wind skittering trash along the street. Bass notes thumping through the sheet-metal walls and the full swinging sound suddenly blaring when a couple came in or out the door. I know because I'm there, now, in the lot, crouched behind the fender of a Skylark or Riviera, in the weird green glow of the rooftop Ronnie's sign, not keeping tabs on Mom, not watching out, just keeping time with the band and sipping a Slurpee while she dances through this two-year window before getting re-hitched, settling back down. Just twenty-seven, twenty-eight years old, looking pretty, having the time of her life.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Luncheon Club's meeting this week will include a forum for the four candidates in this fall's Middletown Unified School District Board of Trustees race.
Lunch will be served at noon on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at the Middletown Senior Center, 21256 Washington St. The program will end promptly at 1 p.m.
For only $5 per person, enjoy chicken Parmesan, spinach salad and an orange wedge.
Nov. 8 is the general election. Not only will community members have the opportunity to vote for the next president of the United States, they also will be voting to fill two openings on the Middletown Unified School District's school board.
There are four candidates running for those positions and meeting attendees will get a chance to meet them and ask questions of them at the Wednesday meeting.
The candidates are Misha Grothe, Sean Millerick, Helena Welsh and incumbent Sandy Tucker, who has been on the board for more than 10 years.
Reservations are required as space is limited, especially at candidate forums. Don't count on showing up that day and being able to have lunch (though you can stay and listen).
If you make a reservation and then find you cannot attend, please call the senior center to cancel so someone else may attend in your place.
To make a reservation, call 707-987-3113 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before 6 p.m. Tuesday.
For reservations or cancellations after Tuesday evening, please call the senior center directly at 707-987-3113.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control once again has a wide variety of dogs needing new homes.
The available dogs this week include mixes of border collie, Chihuahua, Great Dane, hound, husky, Labrador Retriever, Rottweiler and pit bull.
There also are several strays picked up from the Clayton fire area that are being held for 30 days in order to reunite them with their families.
Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.
The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).
Chihuahua mix
This female Chihuahua mix has a short white coat with tan ears.
She's in kennel No. 4, ID No. 6095.
Senior Labrador Retriever
This senior male Labrador Retriever mix is looking for a home where he can spend the rest of his days with love and comfort.
He's a very friendly fellow with a a short chocolate coat and some white markings.
He's in kennel No. 11, ID No. 6051.
Border collie mix
This female border collie mix puppy has a short black and white coat.
She's in kennel No. 14b, ID No. 6105.
Rottweiler mix
This female Rottweiler mix has a black coat with some brindle markings.
Shelter staff said she need some training and is manageable on a leash. They said she is a very nice dog and knows not to jump when excited. After proper introductions, she has gotten along with other dogs she has met, including off-leash play. She would do best in a home with no cats.
She's in kennel No. 25, ID No. 5947.
'Dakota'
“Dakota” is a female pit bull terrier mix with a short blue and white coat.
She's in kennel No. 27, ID No. 6142.
'Lucky'
“Lucky” is a male hound and Great Dane mix with a short black and white coat.
He's in kennel No. 30, ID No. 6026.
'Flor'
“Flor” is a female Labrador Retriever mix with a short black and white coat.
She already has been spayed, which should lower her adoption cost.
She is in kennel No. 30b, ID No. 6041.
Husky mix
This female husky mix has a medium-length all-white coat and brown eyes.
She already has been spayed, which should lower her adoption cost.
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control is offering several cats and kittens to new homes this week.
There are calicoes, a tuxedo and more to choose from.
There also are several strays picked up from the Clayton fire area that are being held for 30 days in order to reunite them with their families.
In addition to spaying or neutering, cats that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are microchipped before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets there, hoping you'll choose them.
The following cats at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (other cats pictured on the animal control Web site that are not listed here are still “on hold”).
'Sarah'
“Sarah” is a kitten with a short dilute calico coat and green eyes.
She's in cat room kennel No. 1a, ID No. 6097.
'Shilo'
“Shilo” is a male kitten with a short buff-colored coat and green eyes.
He's in cat room kennel No. 1b, ID No. 6098.
Female domestic short hair mix
This female domestic short hair mix has a black and white coat and green eyes.
Shelter staff said she already is altered, which will lower her adoption costs.
She's in cat room kennel No. 78, ID No. 6068.
'Mom'
“Mom” is a domestic short hair mix with a dilute tortie coat and gold eyes.
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The famous “Miracle on the Hudson” landing of disabled US Airways Flight 1549 on a cold day in January 2009 in the frigid waters of New York’s Hudson River dominated the news cycle for many days and to this day remains etched in the public memory.
An instant hero was created in Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the veteran airline captain who piloted the Airbus A320 after its engines had been taken out at the low altitude of 2,800 feet by a flock of geese.
Capt. Sullenberger, a self-effacing Everyman, thought of himself as a man just trying to do his job while keeping his wits about him to save the lives of the 155 passengers and crew members onboard the crippled aircraft.
The ordeal unfolded during a period of 208 seconds and the challenge for the movie “Sully” was to turn the events of a short, yet terrifying white-knuckle ride into a full length feature film with plenty of drama.
It’s difficult to imagine any current actor better suited to playing the role of the titular character than Tom Hanks, a modern-day Jimmy Stewart who can pull off the essential Everyman character that “Sully” demands.
For his part, Clint Eastwood as the director of “Sully” knows his way around searing real-life drama, something he proved most recently with “American Sniper,” a film that received six Oscar nominations, including for Best Picture.
The combination of Tom Hanks and Clint Eastwood is the winning ticket for a high-flying adventure that soon comes down to Earth and requires plenty of personal, troubling reflections and great moments of tension to sustain the approximate 90-minute running time.
The fateful day begins uneventfully at New York’s LaGuardia airport, when the flight bound for Charlotte, North Carolina looks routine, even with three ecstatic late-arriving passengers excited to just barely get on the plane.
Speaking of the passengers, mostly ordinary folks traveling on business or to meet family, only a few are given just the slightest glimpse of any character, whether it’s a mother with an infant or some elderly ladies.
Nothing much is asked of the passengers except for the constant command to “brace for impact” and to keep heads down during the landing. That all passengers were saved meant, of course, that nobody was left behind or froze to death during the water rescue.
Capt. Sully was fortunate to have with him in the cockpit his co-pilot Jeff Skies (Aaron Eckhart), a looser, funnier guy who contrasted with Sully’s more reserved, quieter demeanor but was fully in agreement with the split-second decisions that had to be made.
In fact, later on during the hearings before the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), it was First Officer Skiles who corrected the inquiry about how a plane ended up “in” the Hudson River when he replied “On the Hudson.”
Both Sullenberger and Skiles were in sync with the belief that the daring and unprecedented landing on the water was a “controlled landing” that offered only the best outcome given the limited options.
The fact that Capt. Sully and his co-pilot remained cool and collected during crisis was a testament to their professionalism, though Sully later tells his wife Lorrie (Laura Linney) in a phone call that “I want you to know that I did the best I could.”
Because the forced landing consumes only a matter of minutes, the tension has to be developed in other arenas, and a film like this could use a few “villains,” so to speak, to drive the narrative that the harrowing experience had repercussions.
This tension is explored by the adversarial NTSB hearings in which lead investigator Charles Porter (Mike O’Malley) and panel members Ben Edwards (Jamey Sheridan) and Elizabeth Davis (Anna Gunn) insist that Sully had other options for an emergency landing.
The bureaucrats, naturally, question Sully’s judgment during intense grilling and forcefully contend that flight simulators and computer analysis demonstrate that a landing could have been made at LaGuardia or even in New Jersey.
Holding their ground, Sullenberger and Skiles manage to poke large holes in the line of questioning. On a side note, the airline itself could not have been thrilled to lose an expensive aircraft to a watery grave.
Outside the hearing room, Sully has to cope with a number of predicaments, from self-doubt worries about whether he did the right thing to having nightmares about crash landing into Manhattan buildings in a vision reminiscent of the 9/11 horrors.
What we already know, that is now reaffirmed by Eastwood’s skillful direction, is that Sullenberger and Skiles executed a successful water landing that created a national hero in the airline’s captain and “Sully” celebrates the valor and courage.
Sure, we know the story, but “Sully” is a finely-tuned, nail-biting drama that shows that a good result can come from a bad situation, while also portraying the heroic efforts of first responders who accomplished the rescue of everyone within 24 minutes.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
After more than 12 years studying Saturn, its rings and moons, NASA's Cassini spacecraft has entered the final year of its epic voyage.
The conclusion of the historic scientific odyssey is planned for September 2017, but not before the spacecraft completes a daring two-part endgame.
Beginning on Nov. 30, Cassini's orbit will send the spacecraft just past the outer edge of the main rings. These orbits, a series of 20, are called the F-ring orbits. During these weekly orbits, Cassini will approach to within 4,850 miles of the center of the narrow F ring, with its peculiar kinked and braided structure.
“During the F-ring orbits we expect to see the rings, along with the small moons and other structures embedded in them, as never before,” said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. “The last time we got this close to the rings was during arrival at Saturn in 2004, and we saw only their backlit side. Now we have dozens of opportunities to examine their structure at extremely high resolution on both sides.”
The last act: A grand finale
Cassini's final phase – called the Grand Finale – begins in earnest in April 2017.
A close flyby of Saturn's giant moon Titan will reshape the spacecraft's orbit so that it passes through the gap between Saturn and the rings – an unexplored space only about 1,500 miles wide.
The spacecraft is expected to make 22 plunges through this gap, beginning with its first dive on April 27.
NASA's Cassini spacecraft stared at Saturn for nearly 44 hours in April 2016 to obtain this movie showing four Saturn days.
Cassini will begin a series of dives between the planet and its rings in April 2017, building toward a dramatic end of mission – a final plunge into the planet, six months later.
During the Grand Finale, Cassini will make the closest-ever observations of Saturn, mapping the planet's magnetic and gravity fields with exquisite precision and returning ultra-close views of the atmosphere.
Scientists also hope to gain new insights into Saturn's interior structure, the precise length of a Saturn day, and the total mass of the rings – which may finally help settle the question of their age.
The spacecraft will also directly analyze dust-sized particles in the main rings and sample the outer reaches of Saturn's atmosphere – both first-time measurements for the mission.
“It's like getting a whole new mission,” said Spilker. “The scientific value of the F ring and Grand Finale orbits is so compelling that you could imagine a whole mission to Saturn designed around what we're about to do.”
Getting into Saturn, literally
Since the beginning of 2016, mission engineers have been tweaking Cassini's orbital path around Saturn to position the spacecraft for the mission's final phase.
They have sent the spacecraft on a series of flybys past Titan that are progressively raising the tilt of Cassini's orbit with respect to Saturn's equator and rings. This particular orientation enables the spacecraft to leap over the rings with a single (and final) Titan flyby in April, to begin the Grand Finale.
“We've used Titan's gravity throughout the mission to sling Cassini around the Saturn system,” said Earl Maize, Cassini project manager at JPL. “Now Titan is coming through for us once again, providing a way for Cassini to get into these completely unexplored regions so close to the planet.”
The grand finale will come to a dramatic end on Sept. 15, 2017, as Cassini dives into Saturn's atmosphere, returning data about the planet's chemical composition until its signal is lost.
Friction with the atmosphere will cause the spacecraft to burn up like a meteor soon afterward.
To celebrate the beginning of the final year and the adventure ahead, the Cassini team is releasing a new movie of the rotating planet, along with a color mosaic, both taken from high above Saturn's northern hemisphere. The movie covers 44 hours, or just over four Saturn rotations.
‘A truly thrilling ride’
“This is the sort of view Cassini will have as the spacecraft repeatedly climbs high above Saturn's northern latitudes before plunging past the outer – and later the inner – edges of the rings,” said Spilker.
And so, although the mission's end is approaching – with a “Cassini Final Plunge” clock already counting down in JPL mission control – an extremely important phase of the mission is still to come.
“We may be counting down, but no one should count Cassini out yet,” said Curt Niebur, Cassini program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The journey ahead is going to be a truly thrilling ride.”
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Italian Space Agency.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed, developed and assembled the Cassini orbiter.