LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Lupoyoma Parlor No. 329 of the Native Daughters of the Golden West will meet on Thursday, May 12, for a membership social and organizational meeting.

The group meets at 5 p.m. for social time and 6 p.m. for the business meeting at Round Table Pizza, 821 11th St. in Lakeport.

If you were born in California and are over 16 you are a Native Californian eligible for membership in the Native Daughters of the Golden West organization.

The Native Daughters is a fraternal and patriotic organization founded in 1886 on the principles of:

– Love of home;
– Devotion to the flag;
– Veneration of the pioneers;
– Faith in the existence of God.

All Native Daughters are welcome to attend.

For more information contact Parlor Worthy President Carla Dore, 831-524-5588, or V.P. Dee Cuney, 707-235-2902.

For information about Lake County Konocti No. 159 Chapter of the Native Sons of the Golden West contact Tony Braito at 707-245-7663.

How to find legal target shooting areas?

Question: A friend used to own property just outside the city limits and we were able to legally shoot our rifles on his property.

Times have changed though and we now need a new place where we can we still legally shoot our rifles and shotguns for sport.

We’re not hunters; we just practice target shooting. How do we go about finding places where we can legally shoot? (Gracie R., Carlsbad)

Answer: Your best bet is to contact the closest Sheriff’s Office that patrols the area where you want to target shoot.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) does not regulate target shooting nor keep track of all the potential target shooting areas available to the public.

This issue basically comes down to county shooting ordinances and landowner permission. I think you will find most cities do not allow discharge of firearms within their city limits, so contact the local Sheriff’s Office to see what county areas may be open.

For public areas like U.S. Forest Service (USFS) or Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property, contact the applicable regional station or headquarters that oversees the area. Some USFS or BLM lands may have designated target shooting or plinking areas.

They may also have other areas on their properties where target shooting is allowed, but it’s always a good idea to check ahead of time to be sure it is legal with the applicable county as well.

Otherwise, for public and private gun clubs or shooting ranges in your area, you might try www.wheretoshoot.org from the National Shooting Sports Foundation Web site.

I’ve used this site often and they make it easy to find a safe and licensed range in your local area to target shoot or to introduce someone new to the shooting sports.

How to prove the sex of a turkey?

Question: Since only tom turkeys are legal to take during the spring season, how do I prove the sex to an inquiring game warden? Must a wing be left on? A beard left on? Both left on? One or the other left on? (G.B.G.)

Answer: The regulations are intended to require that only tom turkeys may be taken during the spring season, but the law specifically states that the turkey must be “bearded” (a bearded turkey is one having a beard visible through the breast feathers).

In most cases a beard will distinguish the animal as male, but in some rare incidents hens may also have them.

Keep the beard attached to the carcass until you return to your residence. You may pluck the bird in the field, but remember to keep the beard connected to the body.

Toms and hens can be easily determined by their significant head and wing color differences. If by chance you run across a rare bearded hen, even though the provisions of the law may allow you to take it, we strongly discourage it. Spring is the turkeys’ primary mating and nesting period so hens may not be harvested in order to protect their production

Catching fish with baited fish traps?

Question: Is it legal to use baited fish traps in Southern California? I see in the regulations where it refers to the use of baited traps to catch a variety of fish species in the San Francisco area (California Code of Regulations, section 28.75). Is this the only place where this method of take is allowed? (Corey)

Answer: Baited traps may not be used to take fish in ocean waters off Southern California. This is legal only in San Francisco and San Pablo bays, their tributaries, etc., and in the ocean and bays off of Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino counties for a few specified species of ocean fish.

Only hook-and-line or hand may be used to take finfish (per Section 28.65) unless other, specific permissions are provided in regulations listed in the Gear Restrictions section (which begins on pg. 45 of the current California Ocean Sport Fishing regulations booklet).

Spearfishing without a license?

Question: I know it's legal to fish without a license off public piers, but is there anywhere to go spearfishing without a license? (Keith H., Santa Barbara)

Answer: No, there is usually no place you can spearfish without a license, but there are two free fishing days per year, usually around the Independence Day and Labor Day holidays. On those two days, spearfishing without a license is allowed (bag limits and other regulations still apply).

Carrie Wilson is a marine environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. While she cannot personally answer everyone’s questions, she will select a few to answer each week in this column. Please contact her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – “The Book-to-Action: Oral History” project will hold a wrap party on Saturday, April 30.

The event will begin at 2 p.m. at the Lakeport branch of the Lake County Library, located at 1425 N. High St.

The public is invited to attend as participants discuss their experiences with the project and their plans to continue conducting oral history. Refreshments will be provided.

All during April the Book-to-Action: Oral History project of the Lake County Library and the Lake County Museums has hosted book discussions and training sessions to teach people how to conduct oral history interviews.

Volunteers have begun creating their own independent oral history projects and are recording interviews.

The Book-to-Action program is a variation on the traditional library book group—participants have collectively read and discussed the book The Oral History Workshop and are putting their newfound knowledge into action by interviewing people who have stories to tell.

One goal of Book-to-Action is to give participants the tools they need to record the oral histories of their friends, family, and community, including stories about the 2015 fires.

Some participants are interviewing their relatives, friends and fellow tribal members, some are interviewing clients and others are meeting their subjects for the first time.

For more information call the Lakeport Library at 707-263-8817.

CRIMINAL (Rated R)

Kevin Costner, creeping slowly into senior citizen status, still has the action chops.

Only two years ago in “3 Days to Kill,” he was a dying CIA agent trying to reconnect with his estranged family while on one last dangerous action-fueled mission.

In “Criminal,” Costner’s Jerico Stewart is a death-row inmate estranged from reality. Lacking emotions and empathy, Jerico is a treacherously unhinged sociopath incapable of having any moral concept of right from wrong.

But first, the set-up for Jerico’s role in this action picture is the fate of an American CIA operative stationed in London. Ryan Reynolds’ Bill Pope, a dedicated family man, has a beautiful wife, Jill (Gal Gadot), and a young daughter, Emma (Lara Decaro).

The propulsive story begins when agent Pope is tragically killed in the middle of an urgent, top-secret mission.

He’s been tracking the brilliant hacker known as “The Dutchman” (Michael Pitt), who has uncovered while navigating the lawless Dark Web the means to take charge of the entire weaponry of the U.S. military’s Central Command.

An international terrorist, the anarchic Xavier Heimdahl (Jordi Molla), intent on controlling the U.S. nuclear arsenal to advance his own agenda, is in hot pursuit of The Dutchman with his coldblooded henchmen.

The CIA’s London bureau chief, Quaker Wells (Gary Oldman), embarks on a rather far-fetched scheme that requires a maverick neurosurgeon Dr. Franks (Tommy Lee Jones) to find a recipient for the dead CIA agent’s brain.

The idea is to find the one person who might be able to absorb Pope’s memories. The ideal candidate is located at a maximum security prison in West Virginia. Jerico’s childhood brain damage makes him unpredictable but suitable to the medical experiment.

Like a Frankenstein test, Jerico undergoes brain surgery for the implant of Pope’s DNA directly into the synapses of a brain that just might be the equivalent of a blank slate, given the recipient’s lack of human emotions.

At first, the operation appears to have failed as Chief Wells and his crew get nowhere with Jerico. But Jerico, unsure of what has happened to him and in fear of his life, escapes and finds himself on the run.

Jerico’s anti-social behavior manifests itself in a series of violent encounters with ordinary Londoners, and soon he has swiped food, medicine and even a service van for transportation. Unaccustomed to freedom, Jerico’s impulses are completely out of whack.

In a relative short period of time, Jerico experiences flashes of Bill Pope’s memories, leading him to visit the widow and daughter at home. They are naturally surprised that this odd stranger has apparently connected to Pope’s innermost thoughts.

To say the least, Jerico’s strange appearance and odd behavior make the connection with Pope’s widow and daughter even more awkward than Whoopi Goldberg trying to convince Demi Moore that her dead husband is now a ghost with whom she’s in constant contact.

Still, the edge slowly comes off the normally disturbed Jerico such that he starts to have abnormal feelings of empathy, where his emotions are not rooted in pure rage and anger, but instead sympathy and trepidation are taking root in his heart.

As observed by Aristotle, “Memory is the scribe of the soul.” The good memories of Pope have pushed out, albeit only temporarily, the bad memories of a deranged psychotic killing machine. Jerico may be worthy of redemption, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

“Criminal,” for all of its good intentions, does not sink into a swamp of sentimentality, though Jerico becomes increasingly protective of Pope’s family, to the extent that he might unselfishly become heroic in efforts to save them after they are kidnapped by Heimdahl.

After all, the filmmakers are not going to waste Costner’s newfound image of tough guy who could convincingly beat the living daylights of assorted thugs. To be sure, there are plenty of fights, car crashes and gunplay to deliver the requisite amount of mayhem.

The high concept at work here is to create a hybrid of high-octane action mixed with the psychological intensity of a man conflicted by another person’s memories.

In the end, “Criminal” is much less the sum of provocative ideas than it is just pure mind-twisting thriller. The absurdity of the brain swap is a reach too far, but the intense action may prove sufficient for an audience seeking the thrills offered by a robust Kevin Costner.

TCM CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL UPDATE

The seventh annual TCM Classic Film Festival is just around the corner, beginning on April 28th in the heart of Hollywood.

A few more notable events have been added to an impressive schedule of film screenings and special events:

1. Investigate journalist Carl Bernstein will join the festivities for the opening night’s 40th anniversary screening of the political thriller “All The President’s Men.”

2. Beloved Oscar winner Angela Lansbury joins the festival with a conversation for the screening of “The Manchurian Candidate.”

3. Oscar-winning actress and singer Rita Moreno will introduce a 60th anniversary screening of the cherished musical “The King and I.”

4. Fan favorite Burt Reynolds will not only participate in a sit-down interview about his life and career but will be on hand to introduce a screening of “The Longest Yard.”

The TCM Classic Film Festival, in a few short years, has established itself, with a wide range of films and programs, as the place for film lovers to gather.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

I can't help wishing that dogs lived as long as we do. I have buried a number of them, and it doesn't get any easier. In fact, it gets harder.

Here's Mark Vinz, a Minnesota poet, from his book Permanent Record and Other Poems, from Red Dragonfly Press.

The Way We Said Goodbye

So many years later, the old dog
still circles, head lowered, crippled by
arthritis, nearly blind, incontinent.
We repeat the litany, as if we need
convincing that the end is right.

I'll get her an ice cream cone if you'll
drive her to the vet, my wife says.
So there we sit on the front steps
with our friend, and in the car, as always,
when she senses the doctor's office
drawing near, she moans and tries to
burrow underneath the seats.

What remains, the memory of how
she taught us all the way we need
to learn to live with wasting.
There we sit, together, one last time
as all that sweetness slowly disappears.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. They do not accept unsolicited submissions. Poem copyright ©2015 by Mark Vinz, “The Way We Said Goodbye,” from Permanent Record & Other Poems, (Red Dragonfly Press, 2015). Poem reprinted by permission of Mark Vinz and the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2016 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Clear Lake Trowel and Trellis Garden Club's “Hidden Gardens of Lake County” tour will be held Saturday, May 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

One of the beautiful and intriguing tour venues featured this year is “Jim and Patti's Garden” in Lakeport.

Over the course of more than 20 years, the owners have transformed their sprawling grounds into a lovely and mature landscape. It is difficult to believe that homeowner Jim, who designed and executed the landscape and hardscapes, has had no formal training in either area.

The natural setting is fantastic, directly on the lake with a dock with a breath-taking view of Mt. Konocti, and 100-year-old redwood and Japanese maple trees.

Other features include a fountain so charming the materials company features it in their national catalog. There also is a large swimming pool with a large cabana for entertaining.

For more information about the tour, including the other gardens, go to the club's Web site at www.clttgc.org or call the tour chair, Debra, at 707-367-0815.

Tickets are $25 and are available the day of the tour at The Shoe Box located in the Lakeport Safeway Shopping Center, 1071 11th St., or at Boatique Winery, 8255 Red Hills Road, Kelseyville.

Prior to the tour they are available at Main Street Nursery and Flowers by Jackie in Lakeport, or Bird Brain Designs in Kelseyville. To purchase tickets by mail, contact Nora at 707-263-5803.
 
Clear Lake Trowel and Trellis Garden Club is a member of the Mendo-Lake District of the California Garden Club Inc., Pacific Region and National Garden Clubs Inc.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Senior Activity Center is hosting a fundraiser with dinner and dancing on Friday, May 13.

Enjoy a three-course meal featuring prime rib and dance with live music by the High Notes with a spring fling theme from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the center, 527 Konocti Ave.

The center is proud to offer this fine dining experience prepared by Chef Jacobus Vandebroek for only $20 per person, or $25 at the door. 

This will be the second time the center is offering this dining experience. Those who attended the sweetheart dinner dance in February were so impressed by the food, volunteers and atmosphere that it prompted one attendee to write a letter to the local newspaper.

This time around tickets are going faster than ever. To get a ticket go to the Lakeport Senior Activity Center Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m., or the Meals on Wheels Thrift store between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Purchasing a table of eight for $160 will include a complimentary bottle of local Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Proceeds benefit the Meals on Wheels programs for Lakeport and Kelseyville.

For more information call 707-263-4218.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – It’s that time of year again, when the Lower Lake Historical School Preservation Committee will be hosting its annual yard sale.

The “Treasure and Trash” sale takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 7.

Stop by the Schoolhouse Museum at 16435 Main St. to peruse the selection of books, furniture, old tools and odds and ends. You never know what you’re going to find.

If you have items cluttering your garage you’ve been meaning to get rid of, the committee will be accepting donations for the yard sale from now until May 4.

Bring donations by the museum during operating hours, Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.