LAKEPORT, Calif. – After 17 years with Rev. Shannon Kimbell-Auth as their pastor, on this Sunday, June 26, members of United Christian Parish will say goodbye to the longest serving pastor in the history of the church.

Kimbell-Auth led her first Sunday worship service at United Christian Parish in July 1999, although she had already led two funerals for the Lakeport church before then. She has officiated at hundreds since and is particularly well known for her uplifting memorial services.

On June 26 she will share highlights of her ministry here using the theme “Stones of Remembrance.”

From the “stone that was rolled away” in Luke’s Easter account, to the stones of Iona, Scotland, to the stone thrown through her car window after a particularly contentious church meeting, stones have been a significant image for Kimbell-Auth.

She will tell of headstones and wedding stones, cornerstones and youth … on a rock. She has also led trips to explore church history, mission trips to help Louisiana rebuild after hurricanes Katrina and Rita and is now part of the fire recovery work of Team Lake County.

The public is invited to join the church for her final Lakeport celebration, Sunday at 10 a.m. at the church, located at 745 N. Brush St. in Lakeport.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – Mendo Lake Credit Union (MLCU) is honoring top high school students in Lake and Mendocino counties with scholarships and achievement awards for the 2015-16 school year.

Richard Cooper, president and chief executive officer for the credit union, announced this year’s award winners and MLCU representatives visited the high schools to make the award presentations.

Receiving the credit union’s $1,000 Arlene Colombini Scholarships in Lake County were Christopher Griffith of Clear Lake High School and Hannah Flynn of Middletown High School.

In Mendocino County, the Colombini Scholarships were awarded to Leslie Leal of Fort Bragg High School and Frank Ortiz of Ukiah High School.

Named for Arlene Colombini in recognition of her 50 years of service to Mendo Lake Credit Union, the $1,000 scholarships are awarded to four Lake and Mendocino County high school or community college students each year.

Each recipient of the scholarship must have a minimum 3.0 grade point average, be enrolled for 12 units or more in a college or university, and submit a personal statement that describes his or her need for the award and the goals in his or her life.

In announcing the Mendo Lake Credit Union Achievement Awards for this year, Cooper said, “Our Achievement Awards program honors outstanding high school seniors whose scholastic attainment, sense of responsibility, community service, and evidence of leadership give the most promise of success and service to society.”

All comprehensive high schools in Lake and Mendocino counties are invited to participate in the program.

Honorarium awards in the amount of $50 each are awarded to two students who represent “the highest level of attainment overall” at each high school.

Additionally, the credit union presents certificates to students who have demonstrated excellence in specific study areas.

Schools choose to participate in the program and how many certificates they award students. Honorees are selected by school staff.

“On behalf of the Mendo Lake Credit Union staff at all four of our branches, I congratulate all of the Achievement Award winners and Arlene Colombini scholars,” said Cooper.
 
The winners at each of the high schools are:

– Clear Lake High School (Lakeport): $50 honorariums to Ethan Jones and Mina Werner. Certificates to Emily Omiotek (English), Jessica Beall (foreign language), Andrew Avila (foreign language), Nate Falkenberg (history/social science), Cord Falkenberg (science), Reginald Selotte (mathematics), Eloisa Morfin (computer studies), John Vertrees (trades and industrial), Kayvee Pepper (art), Rachel Wingler (music) and Ciera Moreno (health).

– Kelseyville High School (Kelseyville): $50 honorariums to Mariah Rudnick and Ricardo Covarrubias. Certificates to Roberto Lozano (English), Maria Guzman (English as a second language), Alex Sanchez (foreign language), Juliann Totorica (history/social science), Noah Lyndall (science), Madison Boyd (mathematics), Nolan Hildebrand (computer studies), Jose Cacho (trades and industrial), Kelly Duty (art) and Sara Humphry (music).

– Konocti Education Center School (Clearlake): $50 honorariums to Nicolas Jaime and Harleen Kaur. Certificates to MariCarmen Macias Perez (English), Weeden Wetmore (history/social science), Patricia Beltran (science) and Luis Orozco-Sanchez (mathematics).

– Lower Lake High School (Lower Lake): $50 honorariums to Cynthia Griego and Mira Porsley. Certificates to Gabriela Jauregui (English and mathematics), Johnny Rivera Borja (English as a second language), Diana Perez (foreign language), Antonio Pimentel (history/social science), Victor Gallegos (science), Joseph Asbury (computer studies), Madison Serpa (trades and industrial), Morgan Adkins (art), Markesha Annand (music) and Megan Smith (drama).

– Middletown High School (Middletown): $50 honorariums to Jacob Holton and Alejandra Madrigal. Certificates to Kailei Foltmer (English), Daniel Lopez (English as a second language), Jorge Morales (foreign language), Jonathan Nance (history/social science), Meghan Carlisle (science), Trevor Smith (mathematics), Kayla Forest (computer studies), Wyatt Jones (trades and industrial), Vanessa Castrellon (art), Jaeden Stump (music) and Christian Nikolav (drama).

– Upper Lake High School (Upper Lake): $50 honorariums to Mercedes De Los Santos and David Becerra-Lopez. Certificates to Katie Foster (English), Alejandro DeJesus Merino (English as a second language), Wroehnyn Milks (foreign language), Collin McVey (history/social science), Kaylee O’Bryant (science), Melissa Li (mathematics), Patrick Denver (computer studies), Zachary Sneathen (trades and industrial), Jessica Arroyo (art), Justin Lewis (music) and Shably Navarro (drama).

– Fort Bragg High School (Fort Bragg): $50 honorariums to Victoria Yanez and Mathew Mateson.

– Willits High School (Willits): $50 honorariums to Sylvia Friend and Shivam Patel.

Mendo Lake Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative and has been serving members’ financial needs since 1959. MLCU branches are located in Lakeport, Clearlake, Fort Bragg and Ukiah.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Pool will be open for the 2016 swim season on Saturday, June 25.

The pool will be open Wednesdays through Sundays, from noon to 5 p.m.
 
Daily gate fee rates for children 12 years and under are $1.25, adult fees (13 years and older) are $2.

Children 12 years and under must be accompanied by a 13 year old or older.

Season gate passes are available at the Middletown Pool during its business hours. Family passes are $80 and individual passes are $40 per season.
 
If you have any questions, please contact the Public Services office at 707-262-1618 .
 
The Public Services staff wishes all residents and visitors of Lake County a safe and enjoyable summer.

Diane Kay Curran, beloved wife of Stan Curran and mother of four children, passed away on June 21, 2016, in Sandpoint, Idaho. She will be inurned in Kelseyville, Calif., at a later date.

Diane was born in Inglewood, Calif., on Jan. 17, 1933, to Roy and Lohene Boyd.

Diane leaves behind her husband of 62 years, Stan; her children, Michael (Denise) Kelseyville, Susie (Roy) of Benicia, Calif., Steve (Debbie) of Puyallup, Wash., Barbara (Bruno) of Merrimack, NH; eight grandchildren; and many great-grandchildren. She also leaves behind her former daughter-in-law, Linda Curran, of Houston, Texas.

Diane graduated high school in Chico, Calif., in 1950. She attended Kaiser Permanente School of Nursing in Oakland, Calif., graduating in 1954. Diane and her family relocated to Lake County in 1959.

She later graduated from Chico State University in 1985 with a BSN, PHN, and school nurse credential. She worked as a school nurse for 15 years.

She and Stan retired in 1991 and in 1996 they left Lake County to begin 11 years of full time RV travel over the U.S. and Canada.

Diane enjoyed making afghans for her children and grandchildren. She collected coats for Coats for Kids, clothing for LOV Inc. and Kinderhaven until age slowed her down.

She considered her greatest and most rewarding achievement to be her four children, each of whom have achieved higher education and excelled in their chosen careers.

Eight years ago, Diane joined her First Lutheran Church family. She thoroughly enjoyed her family at First Lutheran.

There will be a service at First Lutheran Church at 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 25, officiated by Pastor Lori Morton and Pastor Steve Neuder.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Kinderhaven, 900 Spruce St., Sandpoint, ID 83864. Kinderhaven is a community organization dedicated to supporting children in crisis.

Family and friends are invited to sign Diane’s online guest book at www.coffeltfuneral.com .

Arrangements are entrusted to the care of Coffelt Funeral Service.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Mediacom Family TV subscribers using digital set-top boxes have free access to the entire Disney Channel Original Movies collection all summer-long, through Labor Day.

The popular cable channel premiered its 100th original movie, Adventures in Babysitting, on June 24; and to celebrate this rare television milestone, all 100 Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOMs) are now available to watch at no cost in a special feature category of Mediacom On Demand (channel 1).

This is first time for the complete movie collection to be available at once, giving viewers unlimited viewing any time they choose through Labor Day.

Fans will find the DCOM collection at Mediacom On Demand Channel 1 by first choosing the “Kids” category, then selecting “Disney Channel” and “100 DCOMs.”

For 14 consecutive years, Disney Channel Original Movies have delivered the No. 1-rated cable TV movies for the tween audience, ages 9-14.

Overall, Disney Channel Original Movies hold a record six spots in the ranking of Top 7 highest-rated original cable TV movies.

These title in the Top 7 ranking are six of the 100 movies available to watch in the special On Demand collection:  High School Musical 2; Teen Beach Movie; Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie; Descendants; Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension; and Camp Rock.

HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – The Hidden Valley Lake Ladies 40-9ers Golf Club held a nine-hole scramble on Thursday, June 16.

The results are as follows:

– First place team, score 22.5: Nancy Erickson, Julia Yamashita, Floydean Greenlow and Darcy Miller.

– Second place team, score 23.8: Mariana Bendinelli, Michelle Harbeson, Gwen DeRosa and Pat Bright.

– Third place team, score 25: Joy Ryan, Liz Cummesky and Linda Millard.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Lake County Department of Child Support Services is moving to a new location in July.

Starting on July 5, the agency will be headquartered at 3980 Gard St., Kelseyville.

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information call the department at 866-901-3212 or stop by and see the new office after July 5.

New research from North Carolina State University shows that implementation of Medicare Part D has increased the number of people taking their prescribed medications as directed – so-called “medication adherence” – and reduced the likelihood that newly covered beneficiaries develop high blood pressure.

“These findings highlight how important health care access is to health outcomes,” said Jeffrey Diebold, an assistant professor of public administration at NC State and author of a paper describing the work. “Given the amount of money we’re paying for Part D, it’s good to know there are tangible benefits.

“This is especially relevant in light of recent reforms and proposals put forth by presidential candidates, such as allowing the federal government to negotiate with drug companies on pharmaceutical prices, which would increase access to prescription coverage,” Diebold said.

Medicare is designed to provide health care coverage for all U.S. citizens over the age of 65. Medicare Part D, which was implemented in 2006, expanded prescription drug coverage for Medicare beneficiaries. Prior to Part D, approximately 30 percent of Medicare beneficiaries lacked prescription coverage and had to pay for prescription drugs out of pocket.

Most of these individuals are now covered under Part D, meaning that they pay less for their prescription drugs.

“The implementation of Part D should have improved medication adherence, since the drugs became more affordable,” Diebold said. “I wanted to know if this happened, and whether Part D actually reduced health risks for seniors. Prior work had shown a decrease in hospitalization rates, but no one has looked at markers related to specific health outcomes.”

For the study, Diebold examined data from 2000 to 2010 on 1,700 Medicare beneficiaries. Specifically, Diebold looked at self-reported health status and incidence of new high blood pressure diagnoses. High blood pressure is not a disease in itself, but significantly increases a person’s risk for heart disease or stroke.

“I found a significant and sustained improvement in self-reported health outcomes after the implementation of Part D,” Diebold said. “I also found a 50 percent reduction in cost-related nonadherence to drug regimens. Before implementation, 14 percent of people reported disruptions to medication adherence due to the cost of prescription drugs, and that dropped to 7 percent after implementation.”

In addition, according to Diebold’s estimates, Part D is responsible for a 5.6 percent reduction in the prevalence of high blood pressure. The reduction in new diagnoses is responsible for this improvement.

The improvements were concentrated among those newly covered beneficiaries who were continuously enrolled in a Part D plan after the establishment of the program in 2006.

Many of the conditions treated with medication require continuous use of the medication in order to be effective. By remaining covered, these individuals were more likely to take their medications as directed over time, which maximized their health benefits.

“These findings highlight the need to make coverage more affordable and more comprehensive,” Diebold said. “Recent provisions included in the Affordable Care Act should improve the program along each of these dimensions and build on the improvements evident in this analysis.”

The paper, “The Effects of Medicare Part D on Health Outcomes of Newly Covered Medicare Beneficiaries,” is published in Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences.

“It takes a village to raise a child.” Our local community truly exemplifies this proverb.

The Clear Lake High School 2016 Sober Graduation Committee is grateful to all who contributed to a safe and fun event for our town’s graduates.

The list of helpers and supporters is impressive! From the many family members who played a role to the many businesses and organizations who contributed goods or monies, all helped to execute a successful celebration.

Try as we might to recognize thank each and every supporter, we may inadvertently omit a name; please know you are appreciated:

Lakeport Volunteer Fire Department, Country Air Properties, Lakeport Christian Center, Dr. Keith Long, Lake Parts and Napa Auto, Dr. Vartabedian, Calpine Corp., Renee’s Café, Lola Helms, In and Out Burger of Irvine, Disney Boating, Cinema 5 Movie Theater, Every 15 Minutes, the Scott family, Dr. Brian Gray, Flowers by Jackie, Deschamps Automotive, Village Detail, Konocti Vista Casino, Sonoma Raceway, Clearlake Grocery Outlet, Quail Run, Round Table Pizza, Chalerm Thai Bistro, Jimmy’s Deli, Clear Lake Rodeo Association, Nanette Dutcher, the Falkenberg family, the Stahl family, Chapel of the Lakes, Dr. David Browning, Interior/Exterior Wood Products – Tony and Geri Velasquez, Clearlake Redi-Mix, Scandia, Cobb Mountain Texaco, Redwood Empire Ice Operation, Lakeport Lions, Northlake Pharmacy, Tutti Frutti Lakeport, Richardson family, Guy Strohmeier's Auto Center, and all the amazing parents on the sober grad committee.

Thank you for being our “village.”

Peggy Alexander is a member of the Sober Grad Committee for Clear Lake High School's Class of 2016 in Lakeport, Calif.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Visitors from Way to Wellville communities across the country said they see leadership, collaboration and a sense of boldness during an annual conference in Spartanburg, SC.

Way to Wellville, a project designed to measure and improve an area's health, selected Lake County in August 2014 as one of five communities for the five-year challenge.

Lake County representatives attended an annual gathering of the communities – Clatsop County, Ore.; Greater Muskegon, Mich.; Lake County, Calif.; Spartanburg, S.C.; and Niagara Falls, N.Y. – in Spartanburg in early June.

“It’s eye opening to see what other populations under a hundred thousand people are doing, and hear about best practices from other communities,” said Allison Panella of Sutter Lakeside Hospital. “The conference sparked a lot of excitement about what’s possible in Lake County.”

“The word I think of is ‘inspired’,” said Kim Tangermann, Mendocino Community Health Clinic. “Coming together as a group made me realize that other counties struggle with a lot of the same things we do, but everyone is pushing for change. What can we do that’s outside the box? Who else can we get involved?

“We’re all committed to giving every individual the opportunity to have a great life here. Making changes is difficult work, but there’s an undeniable opportunity happening right now and that, to me, is encouraging

“We work in a community impacted by poverty, which is partly a function of childhood experiences,” said Jen Dalton, North Coast Opportunities. “A big part of North Coast Opportunities’ mission is to create environments for people to have access to similar experiences. A lot of our work is about community engagement, and that’s something we really heard a lot of from the other communities. The community’s voice is the most important voice.”

Lake County recently completed its triennial Community Health Needs Assessment, which identifies top health priorities with the goal of developing strategies to address such needs. Way to Wellville participants plan to use the data from the CHNA as a springboard to take on areas of most critical need, according to Dalton.

“The conference was a productive mix of practical ideas and bigger picture inspiration,” said Shelly Mascari, Adventist Health. “The work in Lake County is far bigger than any one agency, person, or initiative. It really will take every single one of us functioning at the highest capacity to accomplish change. Every person who attended has an action plan that supports shifting our health ranking; I left re-inspired by the amazing people we have working in Lake County.”

Kimberley Sims, mayor of the city of Muskegon Heights, Mich., said she has learned a lot during her first visit to Spartanburg.

“Health care is something that honestly I never found a whole lot of interest in, but being a part of Wellville has really enabled me to see what my role in health needs to be from the leadership and the local government perspective,” she said.

Sims said she will be taking several ideas back with her to Michigan.

Marcus Robinson, with the Chicago-based Social Innovation Group, was invited to the conference as an expert on community building and development. He said his greatest take away from the conference is realizing that major change is a long process, not a quick fix.

“It takes vision and courage and people who have gravity and a stake in the community to pull everybody along,” he said.

“We have to focus on what’s possible instead of what’s holding us back,” said Dalton. “We have to keep moving forward.”