Opinion
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- Written by: Dave McQueen
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – I’m excited to introduce everyone to our newest board member, Allison Panella.
Allison is going to be a great addition to our board. She is a lifelong Lake County resident who has positive attitude, a strong foundation in community service and plenty of familiarity with education.
In addition to having a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and having been a preschool teacher, she said, “Everyone in my family either works in the education field or is married to someone who does.”
With three kids under 5 years old, she’s a stay-at-home mom who’s about to spend a lot of time at Kelseyville Unified schools in the years to come, which is one of the reasons I’m so pleased she chose to become a board member – her perspective is really valuable.
She said her goals are to support staff, including exploring resources to help prevent burnout; and to support parents, as she knows firsthand the barriers that full-time working parents face while striving to meet the needs of young children.
She’s pleased that Kelseyville Unified can provide free school lunches and strong after school programs, and she wants to help the district continue to be responsive to the needs of parents as social and economic situations shift.
She told me she is excited to be a board member in a district where things are going well, as she put it, “where the district has its act together with a healthy budget and a great team that’s focused on what’s best for kids.” Her role on the school board will be one of many community activities she participates in.
She’s a member of the Kelseyville Sunrise Rotary, which provides scholarships to Kelseyville High School seniors, encourages student volunteerism through the Rotary Interact Club, funds school initiatives like the new baseball scoreboard, and sponsors students through the Adopt a Fifth Grader Program and Student of the Month Program. She is also a First 5 Lake commissioner.
Through her and her husband’s business, Stokes Ladders Inc., and their pear and walnut farm, Allison and husband Greg have sponsored Kelseyville Unified FFA students, is an active supporter of the Stokes Basketball Tournament, as well as supporting and coaching local youth sports teams.
She said, “My heart has always been with our youth. I believe in public education and want to support it to the best of my ability… Kelseyville is a close-knit community. We know our neighbors and a lot of us really care about our schools and our kids. I want to help local kids pursue a higher education and then return to our community.”
So there you have it. Welcome, Allison. Thanks for volunteering your time and energy. I’m confident you’ll help us make Kelseyville Unified the best it can be.
Allison will work with the following board members to help set the direction for Kelseyville Unified: John DeChaine, Gary Olson, Rick Winer and Taja Odom. She replaces Dr. Joseph Richardson who graciously stepped in to serve during a midterm vacancy and opted not to run for office.
In addition to our dedicated staff members, Kelseyville Unified thrives because of people who give their time and talent to help kids – our board members, our student families, and our community members.
Thanks to all of you who support the district through your financial support of school-sponsored programs and activities, your volunteer time, and your willingness to come when called upon to help our students reach their potential.
During this holiday season, I wish you all a joyous time filled with the company of loved ones.
Dave McQueen is superintendent of Kelseyville Unified School District.
- Details
- Written by: Pastor Chris DelCol
The holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's, it's the busiest travel season of the year.
In the next couple of days, if you haven't already heard it, "I'll Be Home for Christmas" is going to be played on the radio, over and over and over.
Ironically, the Gospel accounts of the birth and early childhood of Jesus are busy with travel too.
There's Mary's trip to visit her cousin Elizabeth, then the journey of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem. The Wise Men travel hundreds of miles from Persia to find the Christ Child and worship him.
Then, in today's lesson, the Holy Family are once again on the road, this time traveling to Egypt to escape the murderous plan of Herod to kill Jesus.
In a few months, they'll be traveling back to Bethlehem, and from Bethlehem on to Nazareth, where Jesus will grow up. That's a lot of frequent donkey miles, or camel miles, depending on the mode of transportation.
Interestingly, each of those journeys begins with a dream.
Herod had his spies and informers, but Joseph had only dreams, and Scripture to confirm them. But his dreams weren't necessarily the happy kind. The one we consider today was a nightmare.
There had been happy moments, to be sure. Holding baby Jesus on the day of his birth was one. The welcome given the child by the shepherds was another. And, of course, there was the visit of the Magi who bowed in worship and presented their gifts.
Herod's threat against the life of Jesus was revealed to Joseph in a dream. Though settled into their home in Bethlehem, probably intending to spend their lives there, the Holy Family was forced to flee in the middle of the night to Egypt to escape the sword of Herod.
Meanwhile, King Herod is slaughtering the male babies in Bethlehem, 2 years of age and under, and maybe his troops are after Jesus.
I would guess that Mary personally knew the mothers and the names of the babies that died. They probably chatted together as they drew water, washed clothes or bought food from the merchants. I wonder if she felt guilty that her child was being spared while others weren't.
As he got older, the population yearned for the day Herod would die. On his deathbed he ordered thousands of the most prominent citizens of his realm taken to the Hippodrome and executed them. That way there'd be weeping on the day he died. Fortunately, the order was not carried out.
Joseph's visions in the night were not visions of "sugarplums" dancing in his head. Thank God they weren't. They were dreams of warning that he heeded, so that you and I would have a Savior in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Please join us at First Lutheran Church to hear the full story of Joseph’s dream and the hasty trip to Egypt this Sunday. Worship is at 11 a.m. with lunch immediately following.
This Sunday is Food Cupboard Sunday so if you are in need of perishable and/or nonperishable foods, please join us at 1 p.m.
All people are welcome so come as you are.
Chris DelCol is pastor of First Lutheran Church in Lucerne, Calif. The church is located at 3863 Country Club Drive, telephone 707-274-5572. Email Pastor Chris at
- Details
- Written by: Pastor Chris DelCol
Have you ever had a vacation ruined by bad news?
It can happen at any point in the process. Maybe you've planned a trip to the Holy Land. You've bought your tickets, booked your rooms, gotten your itinerary. Maybe you've even packed your bags. Then you learn of a recent terrorist attack. The State Department warns against travel to that area. Disappointed, you cancel.
But at the last minute the travel agency comes up with an alternative. It's safer in Turkey; you can go there. You can see all the places St. Paul visited. It's not Jerusalem, but it's safe. So you go.
The Wise Men had their trip to Jerusalem ruined, not before they started out, but as they were going home.
In a dream, the second of five dreams in Matthew's nativity, the Wise Men learn that Herod is a danger to the Christ Child; they are not to return to him with news of where the child lives. They are to go home a different way. What a disturbing conclusion to such a joyous journey.
But let's go back to the beginning of their story. Who are the Wise Men and where do they come from?
There's much debate over almost every detail in the account. The word Matthew uses to identify the Wise Men is a strong clue as to their homeland. They're called magoi. Magoi is a Persian word for astrologer or magician. And they tell us themselves that their journey began in the "east" where they saw the star. Persia is in the east. Magoi is a Persian word. Where else can they be from but Persia?
Some draw a contrast here between the first visitors to see baby Jesus, the shepherds, and these visitors, the Wise Men.
Shepherds were poor, humble and despised members of society. They were the outcasts. The Jews of the time would classify them with the sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes.
But now these Magi from the east come to see the new king. They're rich, learned and skilled in the sciences of the ancient world. So, in shepherds and Wise Men we have the whole spectrum of mankind, from least to greatest represented.
Not so fast. These men would be no more acceptable to a religious Jew than the shepherds. Astrology and the magic arts are condemned in the Bible, and that's what they practiced. And they're not Jews but Gentiles.
"Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?" they ask. "We recognize him as king, as the promised Messiah, but we're not Jews," they are in effect saying.
So they've got two strikes against them, an ungodly occupation, and the wrong religion. And strike three comes when Herod asks about the child’s whereabouts. Three strikes, and yet they came, believing they would be welcomed, if not by the people, at least by the King of the Jews.
No one likes a bad dream. But thank God the Wise Men had one. They not only followed a star that led them to the Savior, they heeded the dream, not returning to Herod.
And because of that, you and I have a Savior, one who would grow up to take our place on Calvary's cross, dying for our sins, and rising again that all who believe in him might have forgiveness and eternal life.
Join us at First Lutheran Church this Sunday to hear the whole story of this “Dream of Christmas.”
Worship is at 11 a.m., with lunch immediately following the service. All are welcome so come as you are.
Chris DelCol is pastor of First Lutheran Church in Lucerne, Calif. The church is located at 3863 Country Club Drive, telephone 707-274-5572. Email Pastor Chris at
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- Written by: Evan Arnold-Gordon
With orders to fill and presents to buy, it can be extremely stressful to try and checkoff everything on your list.
When shopping for the holidays, follow this BBB advice:
Stick to your budget. Avoid overspending by creating a gift budget for each person on your list to buy for. Making a list and checking it twice can help you to avoid purchasing impulse gifts, overbuying and exceeding your budget.
Seek out sales. Check your newspapers for coupons and look for ads on legitimate retailer websites. Comparison shop and check prices on the same items at different stores. If an offer sounds too good to be true, think twice before buying.
Pay by credit card and keep documentation. Credit cards offer consumer protections you can’t get when paying with cash or even debit card. Under federal law, you can dispute the charges if you don't receive an item or unauthorized charges appear on your account. However, it’s important to be mindful of only charging what you can pay off in full and on-time. After placing an order, print out the confirmation or save it electronically until it arrives.
Shop smart online and be aware of shipping deadlines. Always use secure, encrypted, "https," Web sites when buying online and pay with a credit card. Don't use the same password for shopping or for creation of "user accounts" that is used for your bank account. Be sure to place online orders early if you want them to arrive by Dec. 24; the US Postal Service offers specific deadlines to keep in mind.
Know your rights. Federal law requires that orders made by phone, mail or online be shipped by the date promised or within 30 days if no delivery time was stated. If goods aren't shipped on time, shoppers can cancel and demand a refund.
Research Web sites and companies. Some unfamiliar shopping sites offer electronics or luxury goods at unrealistically low prices. Check out Web sites at www.bbb.org to find out a company's BBB rating, complaint history and much more. Remember that BBB Accredited Businesses have been found to meet BBB Standards and promise to respond to and resolve issues, so search for the seal.
Whether you head out to the stores or purchase with the click of a mouse, always take the time to shop smart. The holidays can be expensive and chaotic, so shop with trust with your BBB.
Evan Arnold-Gordon is public relations specialist for the BBB serving the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern Coastal California.
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