Michelle Scully (left) and Lorrie Gray stayed warm with help from the folks at Umpqua Bank in Lakeport, Calif., as they distributed boxes for the Bountiful Gift Box Fundraiser in December 2010. The effort raised nearly $5,000 to help fight hunger in Lake County. Courtesy photo.

The goal was to sell 100 boxes at $40 each and it was achieved.

“From the outset, the response was incredible,” said organizer Michelle Scully. “We received emails for orders the very first day.”

The gift boxes contained two layers of Comice pears and apples, a bottle of Lake County wine and walnuts.

“We were blown away by the immediate response of Six Sigma Ranch and Winery,” said Scully. “The very first day Christian Ahlmann offered us all the white wine we would need.”

Wonderful red wines were donated by Brassfield and Wildhurst Wineries as well as local growers Randy Krag and Erica Lundquist who made a personal donation of Steele Wine produced from their Round River Farm.

“People stated whether they wanted their gift box to contain red or white wine, so the surprise was in which winery the wine would be from. It was awesome to know that people would be receiving product of such high quality,” said Scully.

Paula Bryant, community relations director of Umpqua Bank in Lakeport, expressed enthusiasm for the project early on and offered the bank's use as the delivery site.

“Umpqua Bank always strives to support our local communities,” Bryant said. “By purchasing the 'Bountiful boxes' it gave us the opportunity to give wonderful Lake County grown products to our customers as well as being able to support a very worthwhile cause. We certainly hope this program will be continued every holiday season.”

Scully said of the bank, “Umpqua's enthusiasm helped us realize early on that this idea could be successful.”

The staff at Umpqua continued their community support in small ways as well. “It was so cold the day of the deliveries we were freezing in the parking lot where we'd set up the deliveries so they'd be easier for people to pick up,” Scully said. “Everyone in the bank was super kind and they brought us hot coffee to take the chill off.”

Little did they know how successful the Bountiful boxes would be – the total amount raised for the HTF was $4,766. Donations were made in addition to box sales.

Lorrie Gray of the HTF was amazed at the support. “Michelle Scully and Scully Packing, the Lake County Winegrape Commission and its members, Lake County Walnuts and Seely Farm Stand established a limit of 100 'Bountiful boxes,' and all were sold within a brief two-week span. The revenues gained from this wonderful collaboration will help our community garden program, as well as our canning program for many years to come.”

Amazingly, demand exceeded supply, Scully said. “We could have sold more boxes if we had continued on past the Dec. 17 delivery date but we’d pretty much wrapped it all up by then.”

The boxes included locally produced pears, wine and walnuts and got a warm reception from recipients. Courtesy photo.

Gray added, “It is gratifying to live in a place where such generosity exists. The public response to this effort was overwhelming. Lake County produce of all kinds makes 'eating local' a no-brainer. We have some of the best fresh food in the world at our doorstep, and folks responded to that.”

Scully seconded Gray's observations. “Lorrie and I met a couple of years ago when we were serving together on a committee. Over time we realized that although our life experiences and direction of approach might be different, we shared a common passion – the issue of hunger.”

She said the HTF approaches that issue by helping people grow and preserve their own food.

“We're on the farming side in our family business and to me, those of us in farming are in it to feed people,” Scully said. “It's a natural relationship, just approached from different angles. I'd much rather work with someone towards a common goal than sit around talking about how we're different.

Scully called Gray “a wonderful person and she knows how to get things done,” adding, “I appreciate that in a person. There's so much need and anguish in the world, it's easy to become overwhelmed by that pain and not know where to begin.”

She added, “Although this project is just a drop in the bucket as far as that goes, I keep a quote from Mother Theresa in my head which says 'If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one.' In my mind I sort of thought of each box as one person.”

So the question is: Is this a one-time effort or will it be back again next Christmas season?

“People's heartfelt response to the project just touched me deeply,” Scully said. “The best part, beyond almost $5,000 being raised, was that it was just a win-win for everyone. Everyone we had contact with was happy about the boxes – happy to purchase them, happy to know what a good cause the funds were going towards, and happy to give them. People who received them were thrilled to receive them.”

She said the feedback they received was that people were dismayed at how commercial Christmas gifting had become. “They were thrilled to give a gift that did something positive for their community.”

Scully said most people do want to help, to reach out, and they are just looking for an avenue to do so that speaks to them personally. “It was a wonderful experience and it created a network of people who want to remain connected for future efforts,” she said.

So to answer the question, Scully said they're definitely considering bringing the boxes back for Christmas 2011.

“But first I want to ensure that all the producers who donated their products are in a position to continue on with that,” she said. “I do think it’s an idea that can sustain itself and accomplish two very worthwhile goals – supporting a beneficial hunger outreach in our community and showing off our awesome Lake County products too.”

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The effort had a powerful message:

The carcass of a red-winged blackbird from Beebe, AR is being examined by USGS National Wildlife Health Center wildlife pathologist Dr. David E. Green. Courtesy of USGS.

Large wildlife die-off events are fairly common, though they should never be ignored, according to the U.S. Geological Survey scientists whose preliminary tests showed that the bird deaths in Arkansas on New Year’s Eve and those in Louisiana were caused by impact trauma.

Preliminary findings from the USGS National Wildlife Health Center's Arkansas bird analyses suggest that the birds died from impact trauma, and these findings are consistent with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's statement.

The state concluded that such trauma was probably a result of the birds being startled by loud noises on the night of Dec. 31, arousing them and causing them to fly into objects such as houses or trees.

Scientists at the USGS NWHC performed necropsies – the animal version of an autopsy – on the birds and found internal hemorrhaging, while the pesticide tests they conducted were negative. Results from further laboratory tests are expected to be completed in two to three weeks.

“Although wildlife die-offs always pose a concern, they are not all that unusual,” said Jonathan Sleeman, director of the USGS NWHC in Madison, Wis., which is completing its analyses of the Arkansas and Louisiana birds. “It's important to study and understand what happened in order to determine if we can prevent mortality events from happening again.”

In 2010, the USGS NWHC documented eight die-off events of 1,000 or more birds. The causes: starvation, avian cholera, Newcastle disease and parasites, according to Sleeman.

Such records show that, while the causes of death may vary, events like the red-winged blackbird die-off in Beebe, Ark., and the smaller one near Baton Rouge, La., are more common than people may realize.

And Sleeman should know – he directs a staff of scientists whose primary purpose is to investigate the nation's wildlife diseases from avian influenza to plague and white-nose syndrome in bats.

“The USGS NWHC provides information, technical assistance, research, education, and leadership on national and international wildlife health issues,” Sleeman added.

According to USGS NWHC records, there have been 188 mortality events across the country involving 1,000 birds or more during the past 10 years (2000-2010).

In 2009, individual events included one in which 50,000 birds died from avian botulism in Utah; 20,000 from the same disease in Idaho; and 10,000 bird deaths in Washington from a harmful algal bloom.

Mass mortality events occur in other animal populations as well, according to the USGS NWHC. For example, prairie dog colonies in the West can be destroyed by sylvatic plague, which can then kill off the highly endangered black-footed ferret that preys on prairie dogs exclusively.

The USGS NWHC is involved with developing vaccines, delivered through bait, which can immunize prairie dogs against plague.

In the 1970s and 1980s, most USGS NWHC die-off investigations involved large numbers of waterfowl deaths from avian cholera, avian botulism, and lead poisoning; in the 1990s, the USGS NWHC was highly involved in investigating the emergence of West Nile virus in North America.

In 2008, the USGS NWHC discovered the cause of white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that has devastated cave hibernating bat species in the Northeastern U.S.

Public reporting of wildlife mortality events is important, and in 2010, the USGS Wildlife Disease Information Node initiated an experimental reporting system to facilitate this. Visit http://www.whmn.org/wher/ for more information.

More information on the USGS NWHC and its involvement in the recent bird die-off events can be found on the NWHC Web site, www.nwhc.usgs.gov/ .

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The Jan. 8 shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson – allegedly by a mentally disturbed 22-year-old, Jared Loughner – has given rise to numerous debates about the shooter's possible motivations, and also has raised questions about the safety of the other 434 House members and 100 senators.

North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) said security is normally a topic of consideration for Congress, but he told Lake County News in an interview this week that he, personally, doesn't plan on changing how he approaches his district.

“I think that the same security issues are in place now that have been,” said Thompson, who is in the district this week and set to return to Washington next Tuesday.

The United States Capitol Police, which is taking part in the investigation into the Giffords shooting, said in a Jan. 8 statement that while it doesn't discuss specifically discuss the security of members of Congress, it communicated with lawmakers, “advising them to take reasonable and prudent precautions regarding their personal safety and security.”

The basic common practice, said Thompson, is to alert law enforcement to any possible threats or other safety concerns, noting that the district contains “outstanding” law enforcement agencies, both police and sheriff's departments.

Otherwise, he said, “I'm not doing anything different that when I always do.”

Thompson normally travels through the district, including Lake County, on his own, with wife, Jan, or with a small group of staffers, including his well-known district representative, Brad Onorato, who is based in Thompson's Napa office.

The small entourage travels at a fast pace, with daylong itineraries that would exhaust most people.

This reporter spent a day traveling around Lake County with Thompson, Onorato and a staffer last spring, on a day when he visited the Bottle Rock Power Plant on Cobb, the groundbreaking of the new Veterans Affairs clinic in Clearlake, took part in a Habitat for Humanity groundbreaking in Clearlake and headed up a meeting in Kelseyville for business and community leaders regarding the new health care bill.

He said this week that he's never felt unsafe or threatened in his district, even during these times of heightened passion and political rhetoric. Thompson added that it's impossible to completely prevent any tragedy from happening in an open society like that of the United States.

He said he wants his district staff to stay aware of potentially threatening situations. “Sometimes we take things for granted.”

For example, following the Arizona shooting, what Thompson called “an alarming e-mail” was sent to his office that, at first, his district staff discounted before he directed they turn it over to the authorities just to be cautious.

Thompson also has a special perspective on the shooting: He said he knows Giffords well and considers her a friend.

“She's a great person. She's a great member of Congress. She's a great leader. She's a great American,” he said.

Both Thompson and Giffords are members of the Democratic Blue Dog Coalition, made up of members of Congress who consider themselves moderates, and who also champion a fiscally conservative approach to governing.

“I helped her in all of her campaigns,” he said, explaining that she's visited his North Coast district and he and his wife visited Giffords' district in Arizona last year. At that time, he did a parachute jump along with astronaut Scott Kelly, the twin brother of Giffords' husband, Mark Kelly, also an astronaut.

Speculation as to the root causes of Loughner's attack have centered on political rhetoric, the man's reported mental illness and anti-government sentiment, and even his ability to purchase the Glock pistol he used, which he is reported to have done legally.

Thompson said there may be a little truth in “all of the above,” noting, “We still haven't found out everything” about Loughner's reasoning, which appears to have included clear plans for Giffords' assassination.

He said laws to help the mentally ill need to be improved, and if there are additional gun laws that make sense and would keep Americans safe, they should be considered, noting he wants to balance that with support for the Second Amendment.

As to political rhetoric, Thompson suggested a person would have had to have lived under a rock for the last few years to think that the tone of how the country's political sides are talking to each other hasn't contributed somehow.

“We've got some huge challenges and we've got to come together to figure out how we're going to address those,” he said.

If the political volume is so high and facts are thrown to the wind, with lies replacing honest debate, “we'll never even get to the table let alone sit down at the table” and discuss problems, he said.

He pointed to particularly heated comments in a regional publication that named one of his colleagues in Congress in an article published before the shooting. Blog commenters said the woman should have a bulletproof vest and a car because of an action she had taken.

Thompson said if you “scare the hell” out of people over legislation – he used the example of the health care legislation and the “death panels” rhetoric – a frightening response can be expected.

The country also just emerged from what Thompson estimated was the worst, dirtiest and most unproductive campaign cycle that the nation has seen in a long time. As such, he said people need to take responsibility for being honest and trying to work together on solving the issues that are so important not only to the North Coast district but to the country.

Thompson said of the Tuscon incident, “This is an attack on our country, this is an attack on our democracy,” as well as the people of the United States. “We can't allow that to happen.”

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

An aerial view depicting the Lake County Land Trust's Big Valley Wetlands project. The project area is outlined in red, with tributary streams and wetlands identified in blue. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Land Trust.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Two of Lake County’s most active and visible conservation groups – the Lake County Land Trust and the Chi Council for the Clear Lake Hitch – are working toward complementary goals in an effort to protect the natural beauty and wildlife of Clear Lake.

Longtime Lake County conservationist Peter Windrem – instrumental in the 2004 passing of the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act, the 1984 creation of the Snow Mountain Wilderness Area in the Mendocino National Forest, and president of the Chi Council for the Clear Lake Hitch – spoke last week about the historical and environmental importance of the hitch, also known as the chi, a large minnow endemic to Clear Lake.

“It’s as spectacular as any salmon run,” Windrem said to the Hidden Valley Lake Rotary Club about the yearly upstream migration of the hitch to spawn, which typically occurs in March.

“I’ve been giving talks about the hitch for several years,” Windrem continued, noting its precipitous decline in Clear Lake in the last 20 years, in an attempt to raise awareness of its plight and save the species from extinction.

That goal dovetails conspicuously with the land trust's recently-identified No. 1 priority, the Big Valley Wetlands project, an effort to protect a nearly five-mile stretch of largely undeveloped shoreline extending south of Lakeport to just west of Clear Lake State Park.

According to Lake County Land Trust President Peter McGee, part of the goal of the Big Valley Wetland project is the protection of Adobe Creek and Kelsey Creek, two tributaries that feed into Clear Lake and still experience significant yearly chi migration.

“The acquisition of these lands is like a pipe dream,” McGee said, adding, “It’s going to be a piece-by-piece deal that’s going to take 150 years.”

The land trust, which manages the 123-acre Rodman Slough Preserve at the north end of Clear Lake, identified the Big Valley Wetlands project as their No. 1 priority after facilitating the Bureau of Land Management’s purchase of the Black Forest on the northeast side of Mt. Konocti.

The group also owns and operates Rabbit Hill, a seven-acre preserve located in Middletown and acquired in 1999.

McGee, who said the land trust has some 400 members, noted his organization has just finished a biological assessment survey of the Big Valley Wetlands project area, and recently finalized a priority list for the property involved in the conservation site.

“We’re still at step one,” McGee said, “but we’re making progress.”

Noting the cooperative nature of the land trust in working with landowners and stakeholders to achieve common goals, “You don’t want people to be frightened; you want people to buy into the goals,” McGee said.

“It’s not a conservative/liberal thing,” McGee said about county conservation efforts, adding, “It cuts across the political spectrum.”

Both McGee and Windrem cite the extinction of the splittail – another fish endemic to Clear Lake – in the 1970s as cause for concern about the plight of the chi, with Windrem adding, “the hitch is on an extinction trajectory.”

In his talk, Windrem mentioned six potential causes for the steep decline in the hitch population: creek levees built in the 1950s which caused gravel backup in the streams; gravel mining in the 1950s and 1960s; weirs built in Clear Lake tributaries to protect bridge footings and inhibit chi from swimming upstream to spawning grounds; the introduction in the 1960s of the non-native silversides, which eat

zooplankton, a primary chi food source; the introduction, also in the 1960s, of Florida largemouth bass, which eat chi during their spring migration; and the introduction in the 1980s of threadfin shad, which also eat zooplankton.

Windrem noted that, unlike salmon, chi cannot jump over barriers to travel upstream, and need clean, plentiful gravel beds to lay their eggs.

“Everything that harmed the hitch was introduced because of economic gain,” Windrem said, calling it “a death sentence.”

In addition to removing or modifying barriers in creeks that would allow the hitch to reach historic spawning grounds, Windrem cited completion of the Middle Creek Restoration Project as a goal beneficial to the chi, saying it “could be extremely helpful because it would give more area for protection of the young hitch and protect them better against those predators.”

He also noted local American Indian tribal involvement in protecting this natural resource. “The tribes have been aggressively seeking some grant funding through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” he said, adding “that has happened just recently, within the last three or four years, so that’s encouraging.”

Windrem called the plight of the hitch urgent. “We will lose something terribly important about Clear Lake and our history if we lose the hitch.”

“The hitch are, in many respects, like lots of other species that are under assault,” Windrem said, “and how we try to deal with that and save them is what we as humans are having to do around the globe, and this is ours. This is ours.”

For more information about the hitch and the Chi Council for the Clear Lake Hitch, visit http://lakelive.info/chicouncil/index.html, where you can sign up to receive email updates about the spring chi migration.

For more information about the Lake County Land Trust, go to www.lakecountylandtrust.org/index.htm, where you can obtain volunteer information or donate online.

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Richard Persons, chief executive officer of the Lake County Fair since 1996, said the fair is potentially facing “draconian” funding cuts that could both hurt operations and improvement projects at the fairgrounds.

The 78 fairs that have been supported by the state since 1933 are targeted to lose 100 percent of the $32 million budgeted for operational support and capital improvements on fairgrounds in Brown's proposed budget, said Persons, who explained that the $32 million is used at seed money.

He cited a state economic impact study completed last year that found fairs generate more than $2.55 billion in economic impact to California's economy each year, creating 28,000 jobs, and generating more than $135 million in state and local government tax revenues.

The Lake County Fair has an annual budget of $650,000, and operates with four full-time employees – including Persons – and two half-time employees on a year-round basis, he said.

During the annual Lake County Fair – visited by more than 38,000 people annually – more than 750 people are employed on the fairgrounds, about 100 of them by the fair itself. Persons said hundreds more can be found volunteering in a variety of jobs.

The fair also has an eight-member board of directors, appointed by the governor.

In a nod to Brown's executive order this week to have state employees turn in 48,000 cell phones – at an anticipated savings of $20 million – Persons said that no fair staffers have ever been provided cell phones.

The Lake County Fair is a state agency that operates state-owned property, in this case the 34-acre fairgrounds property, located at 401 Martin St. in Lakeport, which has 30 buildings, most of which are available for public use, he said.

The fairgrounds' activities directly or indirectly created the equivalent of 75 full-time jobs and more than $10.9 million in local economic impact, including approximately $2.4 million in salaries and wages, Persons said.

In addition, he explained that the fairgrounds generates more than $102,000 in tax revenues like sales tax, local possessory interest tax for use of government property, and a variety of other licenses, fees and permits.

Persons said the fair's mission is to be Lake County’s local event center.

He said the fairgrounds hosts local activities nearly every day of the year – sometimes with several events in a single day.

Of those activities, 96 percent are produced by Lake County individuals or organizations, and 64 percent are produced by nonprofit organizations, mostly for fundraising, he said.

During the county fair event at the end of summer, more than 85 percent of the commercial spaces are filled by organizations from Lake and Mendocino counties, Persons said. More than 90 percent of the thousands of competitive exhibits that fill the buildings and barns during the Lake County Fair come from Lake County residents.

The state's fairs run on a calendar year budget, rather than the July through June fiscal year budget observed by the state, Persons said.

The fair has received three-quarters of its 2011 funding, and Persons said he expects to receive the entire budgeted amount by year's end. “The Department of Food and Agriculture says they have it,” he said.

However, the outlook ahead is far more uncertain for 2012 and beyond.

In the 2011-12 state budget cycle, which would cut into the second half of the fair's 2011 budget, Persons said the Lake County Fair was set to receive $172,000 in operational funding, or approximately 25 percent of the annual operating costs, with the rest being derived locally from the annual county fair event and rentals of the fairgrounds during the year.

The fair also would lose 85 percent of its capital expense funds, which Persons said range between $30,000 and $150,000 annually, depending on projects.

He said the fairs compete with one another for state capital improvement infrastructure grants, with fairs getting additional points if they put up some of their own money.

Such money has helped improve the Lakeport fairgrounds, said Persons. “We had a series of projects that we started this year.”

In the first of three proposed phases, he said they tore out 60-year-old horse barns, installed new water lines to feed the Baldwin Pavilion area at the back of the property, then put in a street so there is a circle around the racetrack, at a total cost of $122,000, he said. The second, $75,000 phase included a new horse barn.

The third phase, estimated to cost $125,000, would include asphalt repairs and seal coasting that would help the fairground's asphalt surfaces to last another decade. But Persons said that project is now in limbo due to the proposed budget.

“In some way's we're fortunate, because decades ago the state provided more than 80 percent of operating funds, so the slow shift away from state funding over the years may allow us to keep the doors open,” he said.

“But if the governor's proposal passes the legislature, it's going to be painful for the local community. And of course, the loss of capital funding means no construction work, no asphalt, no new roofs, no paint. Virtually all of those jobs are done by local companies,” he added.

Persons said he and the fair's board of directors will watch the state budget process closely over the coming months, and examine the entire fair operation for both expenditure cuts and increases to revenue.

He said possible changes could include reductions in staffing, reduced operating hours and increases in rental rates.

“We have to start planning now,” he said.

This year's Lake County Fair, scheduled for Sept. 1-4, has “Make Some Magic!” as its theme.

Visit the fair online at www.lakecountyfair.com .

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

The meeting will start at 3 p.m. in the board room at the Lakeport Unified School District office, 2508 Howard Ave.

The main focus will be on the work of the group’s subcommittees.

The meeting is in a different location and at a different time than prior meetings, organizers say, to attempt to boost attendance and participation. Task force members have discussed holding meetings in various locations of the county and at different times of the day to accommodate interested individuals’ locale and schedules.

The meeting is open to the public, and the task force welcomes participation by new members.

The Lake County Respect For All Task Force, a group of local individuals, is striving to increase awareness about safe and inclusive learning environments.

The group is working to identify possible actions to help the Lake County community. Task force members are focusing on reducing bullying in schools and providing students with information on resources.

Subcommittees are working on outreach projects, gathering information for a list of community resources, providing training and awareness for school personnel and administrators, strengthening policies and procedures for use in the schools, and helping campuses with their efforts for student activities.

The Respect For All Project is a program of GroundSpark. More information about the project is available on the GroundSpark website, www.groundspark.org.

GroundSpark, The Respect for All Project “is a non-profit organization that seeks to create safe, hate-free schools and communities by providing youth and the adults who guide their development the tools they need to talk openly about diversity in all of its forms.”

As part of its work toward safe and inclusive learning environments, task force members identified a list of goals and split up responsibilities. The goals include identifying community resources, networking and expanding the task force, pursuing support for gay/straight alliances, developing and fundraising for Challenge Day events at schools, and reviewing policies and implementation strategies.

The Lake County Respect For All Task Force is a diverse group of volunteers including educators, school counselors, students, media representatives, and organization and business people.

Individuals interested in helping the task force in its efforts to assist youth and their families in assuring safe and inclusive learning environments are invited to attend the meetings. The group has been meeting every other month.

In Lake County, the Respect For All Project was started approximately two years ago as a pilot project through GroundSpark and in cooperation with Lake County Healthy Start and Lake County Family Resource Center.

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Fresh fennel sometimes gets confused for other vegetables. Photo by Esther Oertel.

I’ve been a bit obsessed with fennel lately.

A few weeks back I noticed a white bulbous vegetable with feathery green fronds in a local supermarket and thought, “Ah, they have fennel!” Much to my surprise, it was labeled anise.

Doubting my own produce identification skills, I promptly went home and did a bit of research. According to the Internet and my reference books, what I saw was, in fact, fennel. The mislabeling of this somewhat unusual flora set off a flurry of investigation on my part to see what other markets called it.

Of the five or more markets I visited (both here and in Napa and Sonoma counties), only one correctly identified fennel as fennel. The other markets called it either anise or, in one case, sweet anise.

Fennel and anise do have some similarities, perhaps spawning the misnomer.

While they’re members of a different genus, they’re both from the same plant family, apiaceae. Along with licorice, they share the aromatic compound anethole, so have similar, licorice-like tones in their flavor profiles.

As well, both have lacey flower heads made up of many smaller blossoms, and both have edible seeds.

The difference is that with anise, only the seeds are used in cuisine, while all parts of the fennel plant are eaten: root, stalk, leaves and seeds.

Anise seeds are used to flavor many traditional European cookies, such as Italian pizzelle or British aniseed balls, and a variety of liquors throughout the world, including Greek ouzo and French absinthe.

To further complicate matters, anise can sometimes be confused with a Chinese spice, star anise, which, though unrelated, contains the same aromatic compound and strongly resembles it in flavor. Star anise is the beautiful star-shaped seed pod of an evergreen tree.

And don’t confuse Chinese star anise with Japanese star anise, which looks similar, but is poisonous.

In short, since anise roots are not sold as food, feel confident that any bulbous roots so labeled in your local market are fennel in disguise.

Dried fennel seeds. Photo by Esther Oertel.

Fennel grows wild in most parts of temperate Europe, but is generally considered indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean region, where it spreads eastward to India. A hardy perennial, it’s closely related to parsley, carrots, dill and coriander.

The dried seeds of the fennel plant (or, more correctly, its fruits) are used in Italian cuisine (it’s a favorite for flavoring sausages), and function as a key ingredient in a variety of spice blends, such as Indian curry, Herbs de Provence and Chinese five spice.

They’re used to flavor savory breads such as rye, as well as sweet baked treats, in much the same way anise seeds are.

The Puritans dubbed fennel the “meeting seed” and chewed it during their long church services to ensure fresh breath. It’s often chewed after a meal in India and Pakistan to ward off indigestion.

Fennel pollen has become popular in recent years as a sweeter, intensified alternative to infusing fennel flavor into dishes. Since it takes many blossoms to make a small amount of pollen, this spice is almost as costly as saffron. Thankfully, only a minuscule amount is needed because its flavor is strong.

Fennel leaves strongly resemble those of dill weed; however, unlike dill, their flavor is quite mild, with the barest hint of anise-like flavor. They can be sniped into a salad or used as a garnish to add bright color to soup.

The Greeks and Romans enjoyed chewing on the fennel stalks, considering them a sweet treat. Along with the foliage, the stalks make a wonderful bed for baking fish, which is one of fennel’s favorite flavor pairings.

Fennel bulbs quartered and ready for roasting. Photo by Esther Oertel.

Fennel bulbs are mild and crunchy, with an almost sweet flavor and celery-like texture. Adding them raw to salads is my favorite way of using the bulb, and with the abundance of fennel in my home in recent weeks, I’ve enjoyed many a salad topped with thinly sliced pieces of this mild root. I’ve discovered that my favorite combination is mixed organic greens, red onion and fennel topped with sprouts and a simple balsamic vinegar-olive oil dressing.

Roasting or grilling the bulb is another way to use it, and is a particularly popular accompaniment to pork dishes. Pork loin is often prepared by roasting it atop a bed of fennel bulbs. The texture of roasted fennel reminds me of roasted onions, though with a milder flavor.

To roast fennel, trim the bulb and cut it into quarters or slices. Coat it lightly with olive oil (and balsamic vinegar, if you wish), add a sprinkle of salt and freshly ground pepper, and place in a roasting pan or on a baking sheet. (I like to line mine with parchment paper to aid in the cleanup.)

Roast in a 400 degree oven until tender and beginning to caramelize, usually between 20 and 30 minutes, depending on your oven and the size of the fennel. In my slow oven it takes a bit longer.

Fennel is considered an effective carminative, that is, an herb or preparation that aids in the prevention (or, otherwise, expulsion) of gas in the digestive system. Fennel tea may be made for this purpose by pouring a cup of boiling water over a teaspoon of bruised fennel seeds.

The Roman naturalist Pliny ascribed 22 remedies to fennel, including strengthening of eyesight. Through the years herbalists continued this belief; even Longfellow alludes to this virtue in one of his poems:

“Above the lower plants it towers,

The Fennel with its yellow flowers;

And in an earlier age than ours

Was gifted with the wondrous powers

Lost vision to restore.”

Anethole, the primary component of fennel’s volatile oil that gives it its distinctive flavor, is a phytonutrient that has repeatedly shown to reduce inflammation and prevent the occurrence of cancer.

The fennel bulb is a good source of vitamin C, which is important for immune support and antioxidant protection. It also contains healthy stores of fiber, folate, and potassium, which aid in cardiovascular and colon health.

Below is a recipe for a roasted fennel and cauliflower soup I created last night for dinner. Though the process is amazingly simple, I found the soup to be rich and satisfying. I hope you enjoy it!

Roasted fennel and cauliflower soup

1 head cauliflower, cut into small pieces

2 large fennel bulbs, trimmed and quartered or sliced

4 medium shallots, peeled and roughly chopped

Olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 quart vegetable or chicken stock

½ cup milk of your choosing

First roast the vegetables. Toss them with olive oil, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Place in a roasting pan or on a baking sheet and roast in a 400 degree oven until tender and caramelized, about 20 to 40 minutes, depending on your oven and the size of the vegetables. (Allow them to thoroughly roast to ensure good flavor.)

Simmer the roasted vegetables with a quart of stock until extremely tender and falling apart. Once they reach this stage, puree the soup using an immersion blender. (A food processor or blender may also be used. If using a blender, be sure to hold the lid tightly closed with a towel or the vacuum created by the heat may cause the lid to explode off!)

Off heat, stir in the milk. I used a product I just discovered: a coconut milk beverage made by “So Delicious” and stored in a carton in the refrigerated section of the store. This product is very different than canned coconut milk and doesn’t have a coconut taste. Any milk or milk substitute may be used.

Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. (I added a bit more salt, but used enough pepper when roasting the vegetables that adding more was unnecessary.

Thin with a bit more milk if soup is too thick.

The vegetables may be roasted ahead of time and stored in the fridge until soup is made.

Recipe by Esther Oertel. Makes six – eight servings.

Esther Oertel, the “Veggie Girl,” is a culinary coach and educator and is passionate about local produce. Oertel teaches culinary classes at Chic Le Chef in Hidden Valley Lake, Calif., and The Kitchen Gallery in Lakeport, Calif., and gives private cooking lessons. She welcomes your questions and comments; e-mail her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Joshua Isaac Wandrey Sr., 36, of Rohnert Park is expected to be released next week after the motion to dismiss the charges is heard Jan. 21.

Deputy District Attorney Art Grothe filed a motion Friday which stated, in part, “it is my professional opinion that there is currently insufficient evidence to proceed with this matter” against Wandrey.

He announced his intention to dismiss the case at Wandrey's trial readiness conference Friday in Lakeport.

After court Grothe said he had no further comment on the case in advance of next week's hearing.

Grothe's decision was “the correct thing to do,” said Wandrey's attorney, Stephen Carter.

Carter credited District Attorney Don Anderson and Grothe for recognizing and realizing that the dismissal should take place.

Wandrey was arrested in November 2009 following the attack the previous month on 49-year-old Ronald Greiner of Lakeport, who was shot, beaten, hogtied with barbed wire and robbed of 10 pounds of marijuana at his home, as Lake County News has reported.

Wandrey and co-defendant Thomas Loyd Dudney, 60, of Fulton, were charged with attempted murder, mayhem, torture, home invasion robbery, burglary, assault with a firearm, assault likely to cause great bodily injury, a special allegation for alleged gang activity and another special allegation for use of a firearm.

The case had been handled since its inception by former District Attorney Jon Hopkins, who left office last month after losing his reelection bid last year.

Grothe's motion explained that on or around Dec. 7 he received Wandrey's case file “as part of a reassignment of cases” that resulted from Hopkins' departure.

“Following that reassignment I reviewed all reports, evidence, and prior hearings conducted in this case,” Grothe stated.

Based on that review, as well as discussions with witnesses, investigators and other District Attorney's Office personnel, Grothe said he concluded that he didn't have the evidence needed to move forward.

Carter said Wandrey will have no further risk of any prison time associated with this case after the dismissal takes place.

“Of course he is pleased with that outcome and glad to put it behind him and move on,” Carter said.

However, Grothe's motion indicated the case could be taken up again in the future, as the investigation regarding Wandrey is continuing.

Grothe's motion goes on to note, “if further evidence is secured, then the case will be reevaluated upon its merits at that time.”

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the abduction of Amber Hagerman and the program that was named in her memory.

In 1996, 9-year-old Hagerman of Arlington, Texas was abducted and later found murdered. At the time, there was no system in place to inform and alert the public of the abduction.

Residents contacted area radio stations in the wake of this tragedy and suggested that a special alert

be in place for child abductions.

Working with local law enforcement agencies, radio and television stations in Texas developed a plan using emergency broadcast systems across media outlets to alert the public of child abductions; these alerts became known as AMBER Alerts.

Today, there are AMBER Alert programs in all 50 states.

California’s AMBER Alert program, the California Child Safety AMBER Network, which is coordinated by the California Highway Patrol (CHP), was implemented in August 2002.

To date, there have been 213 children safely recovered following 174 AMBER Alert activations in California.

“The overwhelming success of this program is the direct result of a partnership between government, law enforcement, broadcast media and the public,” said California Highway Patrol Commissioner Joe Farrow.

The goal of an AMBER Alert is to provide immediate information to the public about the most serious child abduction cases via widespread media broadcasts and other means to solicit help in the safe and swift return of an abducted child.

The program continues to grow, taking advantage of new technology and other means to expand the way the public is alerted to a child abduction.

For example, this year, the CHP and the California State Lottery Commission have teamed up to display AMBER Alerts anywhere lottery tickets are sold.

Additionally, AMBER Alerts will be available on Facebook. According to the National Center for

Missing and Exploited Children, users of the social media platform will be able to sign up for AMBER Alerts in their state/region.

“It is important that we use every communications tool at our disposal to get the word out in a timely manner in a child abduction case,” added Commissioner Farrow. “Every second counts.”

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