News

The broadcast will begin at 5:30 p.m. on KPFZ 88.1 FM.

Just about everyone is very familiar with one version or another of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” but have you ever had the story read to you? This “ghost story of Christmas” is particularly well suited to the medium of radio – where your imagination provides unlimited special effects.

By the way, did you know it was an English custom in the 1800s to tell ghost stories on Christmas Eve? This came from the old pagan Yule celebrations of Saturnalia and the Winter Solstice.

This year’s radio adaptation of “A Christmas Carol,” based on the production done by Orson Wells in 1939 starring Lionel Barrymore, seeks to play up the ghostly aspects of the story – but in the context of the 19^th century Christian beliefs.

Ebenezer Scrooge holds terrible, anti-social attitudes. His character is based upon Charles Dickens’ regrets for his own personal behavior – in not being kind enough to his fellow man, in not being charitable enough to unfortunates; in fact, Scrooge’s history is a reflection upon Dickens’ early life.

Dickens’ major literary themes were memory and forgiveness. He believed that through experiencing the joy and sorrow of memory, you could learn to live properly in this world; hence Ebenezer Scrooge’s redemption is carried out by memory, example, and fear.

On the stage, before the actual reading, demonstrations will be given showing how the sound effects are made and there will be a little background about how radio dramas are produced. The artists will read the script and technicians will produce onstage sound effects.

A cast of 14, directed by the Soper-Reese Artistic Director Bert Hutt, will present the live radio broadcast of this classic tale of redemption performed live on stage of the Soper-Reese Community Theatre and broadcast on KPFZ 88.1 FM, Community Supported Radio for Lake County.

This program is underwritten by the generous donations of Kelsey Creek Coffee Co., Disney’s Trophies & Awards and the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, and is free for everyone who comes to the theater or has a radio.

The Lake County Arts Council and KPFZ radio thanks you, the community, for your support.

Please join us for this free presentation.

Bert Hutt is artistic director of the Soper-Reese Community Theatre.

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On Dec. 19, officers with the Lakeport Police and Clearlake Police Departments will team up with members of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office to conduct a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) checkpoint in the city of Lakeport, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) Director Christopher J. Murphy reported that California has worked very hard over the past five years to reverse the trend of increasing alcohol-related traffic fatalities.

Murphy said the state is getting these dangerous drivers off the road through an aggressive combination of sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols and greater vigilance on the part of the public by calling 911 when they see a drunk driver.

As an important part of the campaign, Lake County public safety agencies and the OTS are calling for public assistance by calling 911 to report suspected drunk drivers.

The public is asked to consider how many times they have seen someone driving erratically or in an unsafe manner and wished there was a “cop” around. Law enforcement can’t be everywhere at once and they need help from the public to find impaired drivers and get them off the roads promptly.

The following clues can help motorists detect a drunk driver:

• Weaving/swerving in and out of the lane;

• Weaving within the lane quite noticeably;

• Traveling at speeds much slower than the flow of traffic;

• Braking erratically or stopping in the lane;

• Sudden stops for signal lights and slow start once they change;

• Remaining at the signal lights once they turn green – asleep at the wheel;

• Making wide turns and/or cutting the corner, striking the curb;

• Headlights off at night or on high beams;

• Driving with the turn signals on;

• Straddling the center line of the road or lane lines;

• The driver looks intoxicated – starring straight ahead, face close to the windshield, and appears to by quite sleepy;

• Aggressive driving – speed, tailgating and multiple lane changes or unsafe passing may also be the tell-tale signs of intoxication.

California’s effort coincides with the national “Drunk Driving – Over the Limit, Under Arrest” campaign taking part across the country.

Grant funding for the regional AVOID Program includes officer overtime for sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols and is provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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