LAKEPORT, Calif. – Mother-Wise will host a pregnancy and early infant loss remembrance event on Saturday, Oct. 15.

The event will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at 180 N. Main St. in Lakeport.

The evening is set aside to remember those who have been lost to our community through miscarriage, stillbirth and infant death.

Pregnancy and childbirth are usually joyous, happy and busy times. But when things don’t go as hoped and planned, when the unthinkable happens, the bottom drops out for the family and friends who were looking forward to welcoming new life and celebrating together.

In 1988, when President Ronald Reagan designated October as national Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness month, he noted that, “When a child loses his parent, they are called an orphan. When a spouse loses her or his partner, they are called a widow or widower. When parents lose their child, there isn’t a word to describe them.”

This is still true, despite the fact that October was set aside to “recognize the loss so many parents experience across the US and around the world.”

Oct. 15 was chosen as a day of remembrance throughout the world. Since 2006, this has been a day for parents, family and friends who have endured this heartbreaking loss to join with others to share their experience and express their love, loss and hope for the future.

Mother-Wise supports Lake County’s expecting and new moms through all transitions that accompany motherhood, including loss, with weekly topic-oriented groups, monthly get-togethers and home visits.

The group is hosting the Saturday event to coincide with similar events worldwide.

Whether you have suffered a loss yourself or love someone who has, whether this loss was recent or in the past, you are welcomed to the event. They will join others around the world who gather at this time to share and light a candle of remembrance.

Light refreshments will be served before they walk to Library Park for a candle-lighting remembrance. Memories, art, poetry and more are welcome.

RSVP by calling 415-516-6354.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Sutter Lakeside Hospital staff are hitting the streets to bring preventative education to Lake County.

Beginning Thursday, Oct. 13, hospital staff members will pledge to educate five friends or family members about the signs and symptoms of stroke using key ring tabs printed with the “BE FAST” acronym. More than 300 staff members are participating.

“We use the acronym ‘BE FAST’ to make it easy for people to remember the symptoms of a stroke. It stands for ‘balance, eyes, face, arms, speech, and time’,” said Nicole Lamm, RN, Emergency Department nurse manager. “While many people know the signs of a heart attack, fewer people know what a stroke looks like.”

A stroke is caused by the interruption of blood flow to the brain caused by either a blocked artery or the leaking of a blood vessel, according to the Mayo Clinic.

The signs of a stroke include loss of balance, change in vision, one-sided facial drooping, inability to raise both arms and slurred speech.

During a stroke, a victim loses 32,000 brain cells per second.

“Time is brain,” said Lamm. “That’s why recognizing a stroke and calling 911 right away gives the patient the best odds of a successful recovery. Often a victim doesn’t know he or she is having a stroke, so it’s up to the people around him or her to recognize what’s happening and get help.”

Staff are participating in the grass roots education initiative as part of Sutter Lakeside’s yearly education fair, a time when staff refresh clinical skills through presentations and hands-on practice.

“Community stroke education give the residents of Lake County the tools they need to BE FAST when they see the signs of a stroke,” said Lamm.

Sutter Lakeside Hospital serves as the only Certified Stroke Center in Lake County, and uses telemedicine technology to connect patients with top neurointerventionalists at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco.

“We strive to bring the best medical care to Lake County,” said Lamm. “The first step is education.”

Morgen Wells is Community Relations and Fund Development coordinator.

MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. – The Grindstone Ranger District will change operating hours at the work center in Stonyford on Monday, Oct. 31.

Starting Oct. 31, the office will be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., with a half-hour closure from noon to 12:30 p.m.

These changes are being made due to the limited level of services needed and the reduced staffing that is available to provide customer service at this location on Saturdays according to Grindstone District Ranger Eduardo Olmedo.

Previously, the office was open Tuesday through Saturday.

Also, the Stonyford office will be closed to the public on Thursday, Oct. 13, for an all-employee meeting.

Olmedo advises that forest visitors check for information about conditions and maps on the forest Web site – www.fs.usda.gov/mendocino/ – before traveling to the area.

Information also is available outside the office in Stonyford.

If you have questions, please contact Lisa Marie Lefever, administrative support assistant, at 530-934-1147.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is conducting an art contest to select the design for the state’s 2016-17 upland game bird stamp.

The California Upland Game Bird Stamp Art Contest is open to all U.S. residents ages 18 and over. Entries will be accepted from Nov. 14 through Dec. 5.

This year’s stamp will feature the California quail, the state bird. Entries must include at least one California quail, preferably in a habitat or setting representative of California.

Entries will be judged on originality, artistic composition, anatomical accuracy and suitability for reproduction as a stamp and a print.

The contest will be judged by a panel of experts in the fields of ornithology, conservation, art and printing. The winning artist will be selected during a public judging event, with the date and location to be announced later.

An upland game bird validation is required for hunting migratory and resident upland game birds in California.

The money generated from stamp sales must be spent on upland game bird-related conservation projects, education, hunting opportunities and outreach.

CDFW sells about 175,000 upland game bird validations annually. Any individual who purchases an upland game bird validation may request their free collectable stamp by visiting www.wildlife.ca.gov/licensing/collector-stamps .

For collectors who do not purchase a hunting license or upland game bird validation or for hunters who wish to purchase additional collectible stamps, an order form is also available on the Web site.

For contest information and entry forms, please visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/upland-game-bird-stamp .

SACRAMENTO – California revenues of more than $10.57 billion for September beat projections in the 2016-17 Budget Act Gov. Jerry Brown signed in June by $151.6 million, or 1.5 percent, State Controller Betty T. Yee reported this week.

Total revenues have outpaced expectations for two straight months after four months of shortfalls.

The fiscal year-to-date total of $24.55 billion in revenues is now just 0.1 percent below estimates.

Personal income tax (PIT) continues to represent the largest portion of General Fund receipts.

September PIT receipts of almost $7.14 billion exceeded budget projections by $127.7 million, or 1.8 percent.

Three months into the new fiscal year, California has collected total PIT receipts of almost $16.32 billion, topping estimates by $177.8 million – a difference of 1.1 percent.

Corporation taxes – which surge when quarterly payments arrive in March, June, September, and December – came in at just over $1.02 billion for September, which was 14 percent ($166.3 million) lower than anticipated.

By contrast, corporation tax receipts for August were only $72.8 million. For the first three months of the fiscal year, total corporation tax receipts of $1.32 billion are $265.5 million less than predicted in the 2016-17 Budget Act – a shortfall of 16.7 percent.

Retail sales and use tax receipts of just over $2.00 billion beat expectations by $208.4 million, the largest margin of the “big three” revenue sources at 11.6 percent.

For the fiscal year-to-date, sales tax receipts of nearly $5.94 billion are just $25.8 million under estimates, or 0.4 percent.

The state ended the month of September with unused borrowable resources of more than $28.51 billion, which was $2.02 billion more than predicted in the 2016-17 Budget Act.

Outstanding loans of just under $10.53 billion were $50.4 million less than projected. This loan balance consists of borrowing from the state’s internal special funds.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Women’s Civic Club is finalizing preparations for its annual Holiday Craft Fair and Bake Sale to be held at the Kelseyville Presbyterian Church on Saturday, Nov. 4, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Twenty five artists will present their handcrafted items for your shopping pleasure while Cheryl Robbins rocks the snack bar.

She’s baking blueberry and morning glory muffins to enjoy with your coffee in the morning and she’ll serve her homemade soup and chili as well as grilled hot dogs later in the day. 

The bake sale will feature items that are freshly made just for the sale so if you want to take something home and freeze it, it will be as delicious as ever when you are ready to serve it.

The Kelseyville Presbyterian Church is located at 5340 Third St.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The city of Clearlake announced that it has completed its second installation of a cutting-edge wastewater treatment system to eliminate built-up organic sludge at its Southeast Regional Wastewater Plant.
 
This follows dramatic results achieved by the Blue Frog System by Absolute Aeration, LLC, during a pilot study in the plant’s North Lagoon, which became virtually sludge-free roughly 10 months after installation.

The second system, which was installed the week of Aug. 22 in the South Lagoon, is expected to achieve similar results.

Both ponds treat roughly 0.5 MGD and had previously used high-horsepower aerators that consumed significant energy and were not effective in eliminating accumulated organic sludge.

Prior to the pilot study, the plant was incurring an annual dredging fee of $1,000 per dry ton, which translated to an annual cost of roughly $150,000, not including the cost of inspecting and cleaning the chlorine contact ditch, estimated at $15,000 to $20,000 per year.

During the spring of 2014, the county began extensive research and analysis of available alternatives to eliminate dredging. The goal was to identify affordable treatment and disposal methods that would reduce the plant’s annual dredging expense and have a positive impact on the receiving environment.
 
The Blue Frog Patented Technology had proven its effectiveness in dozens of municipal wastewater applications nationwide by digesting built-up sludge in situ, eliminating the need to mechanically dredge the waste.
 
The pilot project went online in the North Lagoon on Oct. 30, 2014, and began delivering results almost immediately, according to John Sparkes, site superintendent for the plant.

Just 86 days after installation, the Blue Frogs had eliminated 49 percent of the stored sludge in the pond, reducing the sludge depth from 5 feet to 2.55 feet. By the second quarter, it had dropped by almost 62 percent.
 
“Our North Lagoon is now essentially sludge-free,” said Sparkes, in June 2016. “We have a system that can eat through virtually anything very quickly, and we are fine-tuning the process to support our system’s on-going compliance needs. The pond sludge has reached equilibrium, and we are preparing to install the Blue Frog System in the South Lagoon later this year.”

Sparkes also noted that the plant’s power bill had been reduced by 16 to 18 percent for the year, yielding an estimated savings of $34,000 to $36,000 annually. Since the initial installation, the Blue Frog System has also been installed in Lake County’s Kelseyville and Northwest facilities.

Rick Roberts, Co-Inventor of The Blue Frog System, said that selecting for the indigenous facultative organisms that are already present in the pond is a natural way to optimize in situ sludge digestion and eliminate mechanical dredging.
 
“The Blue Frog patented process gently mixes the available nutrients and microbes, facilitating the new growth of a vast number of newly produced bacteria,” said Roberts. “These microbes are then distributed at the sludge water interface on the bottom of the lagoon to begin the process of organic sludge digestion.”
 
For more details about Blue Frog Technology visit www.BlueFrogSystem.com .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Steven Pulido made his journey home to be at peace on Oct. 6, 2016.

Steven was a very loving man who enjoyed spending time in the mountains, going on hikes with his nephews and fishing.

As anyone could tell you, when going through Lucerne, you could always count on seeing Steven with a welcoming smile and wave as you passed.

Steven is survived by his siblings, Richard, Sophia, Rosa and Silvia Pulido; numerous nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins. He is preceded in death by his parents, Carlos and Coleen Pulido.

Final viewing will be 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, at Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary in Lakeport.

A memorial gathering/dinner will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, at Alpine Park in Lucerne.

Everyone is welcome to come to the memorial where there will be a potluck dinner.

For further information please contact Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary at 707-263-0357 or 707-994-5611, or visit www.chapelofthelakes.com .

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The Centennial Celebration for Upper Lake’s Hammond Library will take place, rain or shine, on Sunday, Oct. 16, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the library, located at Second and Main streets in Upper Lake.

The Centennial Celebration will feature entertainment, refreshments, speakers, Model A cars and special exhibits to recognize the historic library’s 100 years of service to the community.

The public is invited to wear fancy hats in the spirit of 1916.

For more information call the Hammond Library at 707-275-2049.

The Lake County Library is on the Internet at http://library.lakecountyca.gov and Facebook at www.Facebook.com/LakeCountyLibrary .