EMERYVILLE, Calif. – This year’s Memorial Day weekend is expected to bring out the second-highest travel volume for this holiday ever, and the most travelers since 2005.

Californians are expected to make a mad dash to enjoy a long awaited holiday getaway, according to AAA’s latest holiday travel forecast.

AAA’s travel survey projects more than 4.6 million Californians plan on traveling 50 miles or more this Memorial Day holiday weekend. This represents an increase of 2.5 percent from last year’s record highs.

“The beginning of summer has officially begun with millions of Californians ready to hit the roads, spurred by lower gas prices and growing optimism in the country’s economy,” said Cynthia Harris, AAA Northern California spokesperson. “This season’s record high travel volume is a good barometer as to what we can expect for the rest of the year.”

AAA projects that more than 3.9 million Californians will drive this upcoming holiday weekend, a 2.7 percent increase from last year.

Air travel will increase by 2.4 percent compared to 2015 figures, with just over 426,000 Californians intending to fly to their holiday getaways.

Approximately 284,000 state residents are expected to travel by other modes of transportation, such as rail, bus and watercraft. This represents a 0.2 percent decrease compared with 2015.

Nationally, AAA estimates that more than 38 million people will journey 50 miles or more during the Memorial Day weekend, representing a 1.9 percent increase compared to last year.

The AAA Leisure Travel Index shows that hotel rates at AAA Three Diamond lodgings are expected to increase by seven percent from a year ago, averaging $183 per night. Weekend car rentals rates will average $62 per day, the same as last year. Airfares are falling 26 percent for the top 40 domestic flight routes, averaging $165.

AAA’s projections are based on research conducted by IHS Global Insight. The Boston-based economic research and consulting firm teamed with AAA as part of an agreement to jointly analyze travel trends during major holidays. AAA has been reporting on holiday travel trends for more than two decades.

AAA tips to avoid air travel delays

Avoid unnecessary frustration while flying by following these defensive measures:

· Avoid delay-prone flights. Before you book, make sure you’re on a flight that has a decent arrival history.

· Know your airline. Avoid airlines that are known for labor disruptions or major instances where flights have been canceled.

· Book a nonstop flight. If you fly direct, you won’t get stuck in a connecting city.

· Fly mornings. Whenever possible, book the first flight of the day. Delays tend to worsen later in the day.

· Leave enough time for connections. Schedule at least one hour for a connection. Give yourself more time if you have to change planes and go through security again.

· Use small airports. Avoid airline hubs whenever possible. Secondary airports are usually less congested and less prone to delays.

LAKEPORT, Calif.  – The Westside Community Park Committee will hold a two-mile “Fun Walk” to support future development at the Park on Sunday, May 29.

The walk will start and finish at the Kiwanis Club of Lakeport’s Craft Fair located on the grounds of Natural High at 810 N. Main St. in Lakeport.

Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. with the walk commencing at 8 a.m. The registration fee is $20.

Each participant will receive a Westside Community Park T-shirt and an entrant’s bid. Pets are welcome on a leash.

Advanced registration can be completed at the committee’s booth at the Kiwanis Craft Fair on Saturday, May 28, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. or on the morning of the walk beginning at 7:30 a.m.

Registration also is available on the committee’s Web site, www.westsidecommunitypark.org .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Rose Family Preschool Program in Lakeport presented its annual “Circus of Stars” on April 29 before a large crowd of family and friends.

The 16n students from the “Butterfly,” “Jr. Butterfly” and “Caterpillar” classes wore hand-painted costumes as they presented a 40-minute program of animal acts and songs which included dancing bears, juggling monkeys, galloping ponies, tight-rope walking elephants, and fire-jumping lions and tigers.

After a quick costume change, the children completed their program with a variety of animal and circus
songs, and a finale parade of animals, all to the joy and delight of the audience. 

“The circus has been a wonderful annual tradition, teaching the students to be part of a live singing performance at a very early age. I’m always so proud and excited to see them gain confidence while having such a great time; memories I hope they will always remember,” said instructor Martha Rose.

Rose began her career 29 years ago as a licensed daycare provider with a preschool program.

She offers both a beginning program for 3 year olds and a pre-kindergarten program for 4 years olds.  Classes run from September through May.

To schedule an interview call 707-263-3283 as spaces are limited.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Parades have been a part of summer in Middletown since the town was born in 1870.

But the fun and festivities – and the parade – enjoyed by so many every Father’s Day weekend when Middletown Days comes around started in 1961.

The birthing of that event will be the subject of Gibson Museum’s Fireside Chat on Sunday, May 29.

Bob Donley will be guest speaker at the chat, which begins at 3 p.m. at the museum, 21267 Calistoga Road in Middletown.

Admission is free, refreshments will be offered before the question period.

Donley was among the movers and shakers of the time who helped found Central Park, the Middletown Central Park Association and all the Middletown Days festivities.

It began with setting up gymkhanas and rodeo events for young people who wanted to prove their horsemanship.

The Pope Valley Riders, many of whom lived in south Lake County, were promoters of that, and Donley was one of them. It evolved to add a barbecue, a dance, a breakfast, a parade and other fun.

As an octogenarian, Donley finds few of the event’s founding folk still around.

Donley himself still frequently participates in rodeos throughout Northern California. He has some fascinating tales to tell.

For further information, write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call Nina at 707-987-2349.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Sutter Lakeside Hospital partnered with local and statewide agencies to participate in a county-wide disaster preparedness drill earlier this month.

The drill simulated a mass contamination incident and involved the National Guard, FBI, Homeland Security, Department of Energy Radiological Assistance, Lake County Fire Department, Lake County Sheriff Department, St. Helena Clearlake Hospital, Kelseyville Community Organization for Rescue and Public Service ( K-CORPS), Lake County Ambulance service and the Medical Reserve Corps.

K-CORPS student volunteers acted as patients, complete with moulage makeup simulating trauma injuries.

The students arrived via ambulance to Sutter Lakeside Hospital, where members of the National Guard and the Department of Energy Radiological Services simulated screening them for hazardous chemical contamination.

“Each mock victim receives a triage tag,” said Cyndy Forbes, RN, Pre-hospital Care Nurse Coordinator, Sutter Lakeside Hospital. “The patient is rated according to acuity, or severity of injuries, and given a unique number that corresponds to them and their belongings. Hurricane Katrina brought to light the fact that during a disaster, it’s very hard to keep track of patients and reunite them with their families. One of our goals in practicing this exercise is to refine our ability to know where an individual is being treated despite a large volume of patients, and improve reunification of patients with their families.”

The students received hospital gowns as well as plastic bags in which to place personal items. Nurses then tagged the students’ bags with a corresponding number.

“This exercise tests our health care facilities’ capabilities, resources and overall preparedness for response to radiological threats or contamination, patient tracking and mass influx of patients,” said Kim Baldwin, Emergency Preparedness Health Program coordinator, Lake County Public Health. “Such an exercise ensures the hospitals are prepared to track and manage patients as well as gauges decontamination response capabilities and appropriate use of resource requests.”

After initial triage, nurses, first responders, and National Guard sergeants ushered students into coordinating treatment areas, where more care providers practiced treating each student according to his or her simulated injury.

Afterwards, all participants of the exercise met to debrief and discuss opportunities for future improvements.

“We learned that we have more resources available to us than we were aware,” said Forbes. “We plan to continue mass casualty triage training because the process is so different than what we’re used to in the emergency department. Mass casualty triage is about judiciously allocating limited resources for more patients.”

“We hope to never need the extensive resources available to us in case of a disaster,” said Siri Nelson, chief administrative officer, Sutter Lakeside Hospital. “However, it’s imperative that our staff feels prepared, educated, and empowered in an event such as a chemical contamination. By practicing in partnership with other agencies that a disaster would affect, we ensure organization and efficient care when it’s the most time sensitive.”

Nearly all hospitals have response plans for chemical emergencies, natural disasters, epidemics and biological incidents, according to a 2011 National Health Statistics report.

Hospitals and other disaster-responders expanded preparedness for emergency incidents following the 2001 World Trade Center attacks.

National awareness about disaster planning has increased in response to Hurricane Katrina, and outbreaks of illnesses such as swine flu and Ebola, according to the report.

“Hospitals are a critical element within the disaster medical response system and work collaboratively with local government, other health care providers and other agencies to plan, prepare for and respond to the needs of victims of natural or manmade disasters, bioterrorism and other public health emergencies,” said Baldwin. “Hospital emergency preparedness is a priority for government at all levels, as well as a key focus of regulatory and accrediting agencies. Better prepared health care facilities ensure a better prepared community.”

Morgen Wells is the Community Relations and Fund Development specialist for Sutter Lakeside Hospital.

At some moment every day I call up a memory of one or another of my family members who have passed on, so I was especially taken with this poem by Tim Nolan, who lives in Minnesota. His forthcoming book is The Field, (New Rivers Press, October, 2016).

My Dead

They grow in number all the time
The cat, the Mother, the Father
The grandparents, aunts, and uncles

Those I knew well and hardly at all
My best friend from when I was ten
The guy who sat with me in the back

Of the class where the tall kids lived
Bill the Shoemaker from Lyndale Avenue
The Irish poet with rounded handwriting

They live in The Land of Echo, The Land
Of Reverb, and I hear them between
The notes of the birds, the plash of the wave

On the smooth rocks. They show up
When I think of them, as if they always
Are waiting for me to remember

I drive by their empty houses
I put on their old sweaters and caps
I wear their wristwatches and spend

Their money. So now I'm in six places
At once—if not eighteen or twenty
So many places to be thinking of them

Strange how quiet they are with their presence
So humble in the low song they sing
Not expecting that anyone will listen

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 Tim Nolan, "My Dead," (The New Republic, August 14, 2014). Poem reprinted by permission of Tim Nolan 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.