SOUTH LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Valley Fire Recovery Chipping Program needs your application.

The Lake County Resource Conservation District has partnered with the Lake County Air Quality Management District to offer chipping of brush, branches and tree trunks up to 10 inches in diameter to owners of small parcels in the Valley Fire Recovery Area.

Unfortunately, because sufficient applications have not been received, the program is in danger of being discontinued.

Please submit your application by Oct. 4 to help keep this program going for your community.

The service is available at no cost to the landowner, who must first cut down the trees, limb them out, and haul woody materials (please no blackberries or poison oak) to the edge of the road.

All owners of small residential parcels (one acre or less) in the Valley Fire Recovery Area are eligible for this free service, with scheduling priority given to those who intend to rebuild.

Properties of up to two acres will be considered as capacity is available, and owners of larger properties may also be able to participate on a cost-sharing basis.

Chipping services outside the recovery area can be provided for a fee.

For more details and to apply, download the application form from www.lakercd.org/lc-rcd-chipper-program.html or contact Lake County Resource Conservation District at 707 262-7089 and leave a message.

For general program information you can also call the Lake County Air Quality Management District at 707-263-7000.

This project is made possible by a generous donation from #LakeCountyRising, a collaborative fundraising effort of the Lake County Winegrape Commission, Winery Association and Wine Alliance.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Have you seen Bella?

She went missing on Thursday sometime between 8 a.m. and noon when landscapers accidentally let her out of her yard in the gated community where she lives.

Since then, her owner has been unable to find her.

She is believed to be somewhere on Lakeshore Boulevard in Lakeport.

If you've seen her, please call Geneva at 707-349-8053.

SACRAMENTO – California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith called on the people of California to help reduce the number of mosquitoes by eliminating standing water, especially in areas that have recently had rain and continue to experience warm temperatures.

“Rainy weather can create new breeding grounds for mosquitoes if water is allowed to pool and remain stagnant,” said CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith. “Mosquito season in California peaks in October, making it critically important that Californians take action to empty even small amounts of water from our gardens and yards.”

To help control mosquitoes, check your yard weekly for water-filled containers. Clean and scrub bird baths and pet watering dishes weekly, and dump the water from dishes under potted plants.

Contact your local vector control agency if you detect unusual numbers of mosquitoes or you are being bitten during the day.

Information about the Lake County Vector Control District can be found at http://www.lcvcd.org/ .

The Aedes aegypti mosquito, an aggressive mosquito that bites during the day, has been detected in 12 California counties. This black-and-white striped mosquito has the potential to transmit Zika and other diseases, such as dengue fever, chikungunya and yellow fever.

While the mosquito is especially active two hours after sunrise and several hours before sunset, it can also bite during the day. These mosquitoes often enter buildings through unscreened windows and doors and bite people indoors.

While there has been no local transmission of Zika in California, as of Sept. 23, 302 travel-associated cases have been reported in the state.

Zika symptoms typically include a fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes. Most people infected with the Zika virus will not have symptoms, but Zika is a major concern in pregnant women because it can cause severe birth defects.

In addition to Zika, West Nile virus, another mosquito-borne illness, continues to concern public health officials.

To prevent mosquito bites, apply repellents containing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-registered ingredients such as DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, or IR3535 to exposed skin and/or clothing (as directed on the product label).

During the times mosquitoes are most active you should wear long- sleeve shirts, long pants, socks and shoes. Be sure window and door screens are in good condition to prevent mosquitoes from entering your home.

More information about Aedes aegypti mosquitoes can be found on the CDPH Web site, www.cdph.ca.gov , and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site, www.cdc.gov .

SACRAMENTO – Over the past two years, state Sen. Mike McGuire has chaired four oversight hearings, requested and received a scathing state audit, held countless meetings with foster youth, advocates and families, and today has passed legislation that will become the strongest law in America focused on protecting foster youth from medical professionals who are overprescribing psychotropic medication.

California’s foster care system has become addicted to psych meds – prescribing rates have increased 1400% over the past 15 years – and the problem has impacted thousands of California’s foster youth for more than a decade.

On Thursday, Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senator McGuire’s legislation to ensure the state has the ability to monitor the administration of these mind numbing drugs among our state’s foster youth.

SB 1174 establishes a formal, ongoing process for the California Medical Board to responsively review and confidentially investigate psychotropic medication prescription patterns outside the standard of care. And in the worst cases, revoke the medical license of a proven serial over-prescriber.

“This legislation stems from a culture that has developed in our State’s foster care system where excessive prescriptions of psychotropic medication have become the norm and have impacted the lives of thousands of California’s most vulnerable youth, foster kids,” Sen. McGuire said.

“California is now the only state in the nation where a medical professional can lose their license to practice medicine if they are proven to be a serial over-prescriber of these powerful drugs. This bill ensures the state takes a no tolerance approach to over-prescribing and that the Medical Board and Attorney General get the data they need to protect California’s 66,000 foster youth,” McGuire said.

In 2014-15, more than 8,000 complaints were advanced to California’s Medical Board about over-prescribing of medications, but not one complaint came from the California foster care system.

While the Federal Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act of 2011 requires each state to oversee and monitor the use of psychotropic medications, California currently has no requirements to identify those who are over-prescribing medication to foster youth.

The state has no system for evaluating the medical soundness of high rates of prescribing and no way to measure the efficacy of these practices. In fact, the California Medical Board, doesn’t even have the authority to review psych med prescribing patters for foster youth.

McGuire’s bill will change this by establishing a formal, on-going process for the California Medical Board to responsively review and confidentially investigate psychotropic medication prescription patterns among California’s foster youth.

If an over-prescription pattern is discovered, the Medical Board can advance that case to the California Attorney General and pending their confidential investigation, the medical professional’s license can be revoked.

It is simple, without data, the medical board cannot perform their mandated oversight duty. SB 1174 will enable California to implement what is already standard oversight practice in Washington, Illinois and Ohio. These state initiatives have shown a 25 percent decrease in dangerous prescribing practices and have improved the overall prescription frequency for medically acceptable reasons.

Nearly 1 in 4 California foster teens are prescribed psychotropic drugs; of those, nearly 60 percent were prescribed an anti-psychotic – this is the most powerful drug class that is susceptible to damaging side effects.

Thirty-six percent are prescribed multiple medications. Teens in foster care are three and a half times more likely to be prescribed psych medication than their peers who are not in foster care.

“This is unacceptable given that it is the state’s responsibility, as the guardian of these children, to monitor the administration of these drugs and to ensure the health and well-being of foster children. Our state’s foster youth deserve better, including access to proactive and sustained mental health services. When medication does become necessary, we need to create a better system that includes assessment and accountability measures,” McGuire said.

Another accountability measure that McGuire and the Senate Human Services Committee advanced last year was an audit of prescribing patterns of psychotropic prescriptions among foster youth.

The scathing audit, “California’s Foster Care System: The State and Counties Have Failed to Adequately Oversee the Prescription of Psychotropic Mediations to Children in Foster Care,” was released several weeks ago and a formal hearing to present the audit was held Monday.

The audit and hearing were initially scheduled to be released and held in June, however at the last moment the Department of Health Care Services notified the Auditor that it had failed to provide 617 million medical service records that were relevant to the Auditor’s review.

After a two month delay, the audit was finalized and recommended better state oversight of county prescribing patterns to foster youth. One key finding is the need to improve the current system of tracking prescription use which, in many cases, involves a foster parent taking a doctor’s note to the social worker for input into the statewide database.

The auditor found that in many cases, counties weren’t receiving the mandated permissions prior to prescribing these mind-numbing drugs, counties and the state have not been uploading and tracking prescription data and that children were prescribed multiple psychotropic medications, medications in higher dosages and medications without recommended follow up doctor’s visits at significant rates.

The report also identifies a lack of concurrent psychosocial services provided to children who are taking psychotropic medication.

Data in the auditor’s report also shows that more than one-third of all paid psychotropic medications were for anti-psychotic drugs, which pose significant risks for side effects for children. State Auditor Elaine Howle detailed her findings during a hearing at the State Capitol Monday.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – Caltrans reports that the following road projects will be taking place around Lake County and the North Coast during the coming week.

Included are Mendocino County projects that may impact Lake County commuters.

LAKE COUNTY

Highway 20

– Culvert rehabilitation from Le Trianon Resort to Scott Valley Road will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
– Pavement marker replacement from 0.1 miles east of Clover Creek to Hudson Avenue will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect overnight from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
– Pavement repairs at various locations from Sayre Avenue to the junction of Routes 20/53 will continue. One-way traffic control will also be in effect from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.
 
– Rocky fire cleanup between the north fork of Cache Creek and the Colusa County line will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

Highway 29
 
– Bridge repairs at the Saint Helena Creek Bridge will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
– Pavement marker replacement from 0.3 miles north of the Siegler Canyon Bridge to just north of Cruikshank Road will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect overnight from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
– Caltrans will perform routine maintenance just south of Kelseyville beginning Monday, Oct. 3. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.

Highway 175
 
– Culvert rehabilitation from 1.0 mile east of Wild Cat Road to Salmina Drive will continue through Friday, Sept. 30. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
MENDOCINO COUNTY
 
Highway 1

– Bridge deck repairs at the Brush Creek will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
– Geotech work at Russian Gulch will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
– Caltrans will perform routine maintenance near Boice Lane beginning Monday, Oct. 3. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.
 
– Highway repairs a quarter-mile north of Ocean Meadows Circle will continue. One-way traffic control with a temporary signal will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
– Mendocino Land Trust has been granted a Caltrans Encroachment Permit to construct pubic parking near Abalobadia Creek. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
– Roadway reconstruction about one mile north of Blue Slide Gulch will continue. One-way traffic control with a temporary signal will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
Highway 20

– Pavement marker replacement from 0.5 mile west of Potter Valley Road to the Lake/Mendocino County line will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
Highway 101

– Pavement marker replacement between Geysers Road and the Russian River began Monday, Sept. 26. A northbound lane closure will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays. Motorists may encounter minor traffic slowdowns.
 
– Bridge deck repairs at the Comminsky Station Viaduct and the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge will continue. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in both directions from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate minor traffic slowdowns.
 
– Routine maintenance near Frog Woman Rock will continue. A northbound lane restriction will be in place. Motorists should anticipate minor traffic slowdowns.
 
– Caltrans will perform routine maintenance from the Pieta Creek Bridge to the Hopland Overhead Bridge beginning Monday, Oct. 3. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
– Bridge deck repairs at the Robinson Overcrossing, Doolan Creek Bridge, Gobbi Street Overcrossing, and the North State Street Overcrossing will continue. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in both directions overnight from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate minor traffic slowdowns.
 
– Emergency bridge repairs at the Perkins Street Overcrossing will continue. Southbound traffic will be restricted to one lane 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate minor traffic slowdowns. The Perkins Street onramp to southbound Route 101 will be closed 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists will directed to use the southbound Gobbi Street onramp.
 
– Pavement marker replacement from just south of Uva Drive to just north of Grider Road will continue. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in both directions from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate minor traffic slowdowns.
 
– Rumble strip installation between Uva Drive and one half-mile south of the Haehl Overhead Bridge will continue. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in both directions from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate minor traffic slowdowns.
 
– Bridge rail upgrades at the South Willits Overhead will continue. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in both directions from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate minor traffic slowdowns.
 
– Highway construction near the Haehl Overhead Bridge will continue. Intermittent one-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
– Highway construction near the north Willits railroad crossing will continue. Intermittent one-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
– Rumble strip installation at various locations from Willits to Confusion Hill will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 15-minute delays.
 
– Pavement repairs from County Road 307 to Rattlesnake Creek will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 15-minute delays.
 
– PG&E has been granted a Caltrans Encroachment Permit for utility repairs near Steele Lane on Friday, Sept. 30. One-way traffic will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

– Emergency slide repairs just south of Standish-Hickey State Park will continue. One-way traffic control with a temporary signal will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days a week. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
 
Highway 128

– AT&T has been granted a Caltrans Encroachment Permit for utility repairs near Big Oak Drive beginning Monday, Oct. 3. One-way traffic will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

Highway 253
 
– Highway repairs east of Cattle Pass will continue. One-way traffic control with a temporary signal will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.
 
The Caltrans Traffic Operations Office has reviewed each project and determined that individual project delays are expected to be less than the statewide policy maximum of 30 minutes, unless noted otherwise above.

For information pertaining to emergency roadwork or for updates to scheduled roadwork, please contact the California Highway Information Network (CHIN) at 1-800-GAS-ROAD (1-800-427-7623).

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Treasurer and Tax Collector Barbara C. Ringen is pleased to announce that the State Controller’s Property Tax Postponement Program has returned after being suspended by the State Legislature in 2009.

The program allows homeowners who are 62 or older, blind, or have a disability, to defer current-year property taxes on their principal residence if they meet certain criteria including 40 percent equity in the home and an annual household income of $35,500 or less.
 
Applications became available Sept. 1, 2016, and can be found at the Lake County Treasurer & Tax Collector’s Office or online at http://www.sco.ca.gov/ardtax_prop_tax_postponement.html .
 
The State Controller’s Office will begin accepting applications on Oct. 1, 2016, through Feb. 10, 2017.

Funds are limited and applications will be approved on a first-come, first-served basis.
 
The interest rate for taxes postponed is 7 percent per year as compared to 18 percent per year for delinquent taxes.

Repayment under this program becomes due when the homeowner:

· Moves or sells the property;
· Transfers title;
· Defaults on a Senior lien;
· Refinances; Dies; or
· Chooses to obtain a reverse mortgage.
 
For more detailed program information, contact the tax collector’s office at 707-263-2234 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or the State Controller’s Office toll-free at 800-952-5661, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Lake County International Charter School, or LCICS, is holding its eighth annual Live & Give Celebration and Auction on Saturday, Oct. 22.

The event will take place from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at the Middletown Art Center at 21456 State Highway 175 in Middletown.

The old-fashioned, variety show-inspired theme for this year’s event, “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves,” will feature the sassy, gritty and swingin' live music of popular Sonoma County band Buck-Thrifty, live performances, gypsy fortune tellers, delicious thematic appetizers created by Chic Le Chef Catering, complimentary first glass of beer or wine, and both silent and live auctions.

“We’ve had some incredibly fun events in past years, and this year’s theme may top them all,” said LCICS Director Gwendolyn Maupin-Ahern.

She added, “As a small, public school we rely on the amazing community support to bridge the gap between state funding and the true cost of educating and supporting our children, especially in this year of recovery since the Valley fire. The Live & Give is our biggest annual fundraiser, and we are always amazed and appreciative of the generosity of local businesses and individuals.”

Attendees must be at least 21 years old, and tickets can be pre-purchased for $20 per person at the LCICS office (15850 Armstrong St.), at Chic Le Chef (18983 Hartmann Road, Hidden Valley Lake), online at www.lcics.org , or by calling LCICS at 707-987-3063.

Tickets purchased at the door on the evening of the event will be $25 per person. Additional glasses of wine and beer will be available for purchase.

For more information, or to donate items or gift certificates to the live or silent auctions, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , call 707-987-3063, or go online to www.lcics.org .