Opinion
- Details
- Written by: Dave McQueen
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – How many of us have heard our parents tell stories of their youth? You know, the ones where they had to walk to school uphill in the snow – barefoot.
Well, here’s mine: “When I went to Kelseyville High School, you had to play sports in the gym with NO air conditioning. It was sweltering. It’s amazing we didn’t all die of heat stroke.” (A little drama makes the story sound better, don’t you think?)
In all seriousness, that gym was HOT and now it’s not, thanks to one of the many bond measure projects we’ve completed so far.
In 2016, local voters approved a $24 million bond measure and I’m here to tell you it’s making a really great difference for students and community members throughout our district.
Master plan
The school board started with a master plan, reviewing all the projects we would do if we had money to burn.
Next, those school board members did the hard work of prioritizing the projects, so we could address the most pressing problems and spend our limited funds in a way that would help the most people.
Kelseyville High School
At Kelseyville High School, we installed air conditioning in the gym, replaced portable classrooms that were anywhere from 20 to 30 years old with nice, new modular buildings.
In January, we’ll finish a brand-new shop building where students will be able to gain practical skills in woodworking, ag, metals, and mechanics.
Before we’re through, we also plan to update our track and field facility – sprucing up the football field, adding new sports fields, installing an all-weather track, improving seating and providing better accessibility for the community.
Because we want everyone’s hard-earned tax dollars to go as far as possible, we’ve applied for a Career Technical Education grant that would pay for the shop building. If that happens, the money we spent on the building will go back into the bond reserve and we’ll be able to go back to our master plan and figure out what’s next on the list.
Mountain Vista Middle School
At Mountain Vista Middle School, we added new shade structures over ADA-compliant walkways to keep kids cool in the summer and protect them from rain in the winter. Now, we’re moving on to bathroom renovations and replacing the gym floor.
Once that’s done, we’ll pour concrete foundations and relocate some of our modular classrooms to create a more open and attractive campus layout.
Once the modulars are out of the middle of the campus, we’ll landscape the area, adding a lawn where kids can play under the shade of the mature trees we are so lucky to have.
Kelseyville Elementary School
At Kelseyville Elementary School, we’re building a multi-use room, or MUR, a building that will serve as both a cafeteria and a gymnasium where elementary school students will be able to eat indoors when it rains.
The MUR will include a basketball court with an LED scoreboard, shot clock, bleacher seating and a concession stand. We’ll have water stations and drinking fountains, a nice foyer and access to the building from Oak Hill.
Because the basketball court meets high school standards, Mountain Vista Middle School and Kelseyville High School will also be able to use the gym for practices and games. We could even host tournaments there.
While we’re waiting for the MUR to be built, the students can enjoy the new asphalt in the playground and the renovated bathrooms.
Riviera Elementary School
At Riviera Elementary School, our newest school, we’ve redone our parking lot to improve safety and enhance the flow of traffic. We’ve separated bus traffic from parent drop-off/pick-up, replaced gravel with asphalt, and ensured ADA compliance.
We’re also working on putting in a new septic system – one of those projects you really want to take care of before there’s a problem, like we are.
Big thanks
All these projects have been done on time, and many of them under budget. We’ve spent almost $17 million of the original $24 million, and we continue to watch every penny.
We’re hoping to fund additional projects with Proposition 51 money, but we don’t know when that money will arrive from the state. When it does, we’ll review our master plan and keep going down the list.
To all of you who voted in favor of this bond measure, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Kelseyville is an awesome community where we come together to help each other.
I also want to thank our maintenance staff, the contractors, the architects and our project manager.
It’s kind of amazing we were able to finish the projects we started this summer, given the interruption of the fires. Everyone worked really hard to make it happen.
Another big thanks to our students and staff who have been wonderfully patient while all this construction was under way.
I feel lucky to live and work in such a great community.
Dave McQueen is superintendent of Kelseyville Unified School District.
- Details
- Written by: Chris DelCol
These media give us instant news with live interviews of people experiencing situations in their lives.
Some of this has been a blessing to people in need. Rescuers bringing assistance to people in times of a crisis like the fires we have experienced over the past four years and can receive calls, texts, emails and messages from people who need help.
First responders can pinpoint where these people are and where the nearest rescue team is to bring help and assistance.
But social media have, for many, raised the level of fear and uncertainty about their safety and even future.
Church and school shootings, terrorist acts, and threatening Facebook postings are just a few things that have robbed many of any sense of security or peace.
Instead of the world moving closer and closer to peace and love, the world is moving closer and closer to destruction. Hatred and division are on the rise while love and peace seem to be losing.
Where does a person go for peace and security in an uncertain world like ours? Hiding will not help. We are all brought face to face with the reality of insecurity.
In 2 Samuel 15ff, you might remember that Absalom would rise up early in the morning and stand by the city gate engaging people and telling them how their lives would be better if he were king.
The Bible tells us that Absalom “stole the hearts of the men of Israel.” After doing this for four years he gathered his supporters at Hebron and declared himself king.
When this news came to King David, he had to flee Jerusalem quickly, and if it weren’t for God’s spirit moving Absalom to believe bad advice and thereby not immediately pursuing King David, David might not have survived this attack. Certainly, David was in a very precarious situation.
Whatever situation David was in when he writes Psalm 62, he shares with us his strong response to threat and uncertainty. This Psalm proclaims David’s strong faith, and it proclaims where we find rest and peace when we are confronted with the threats and uncertainties in our world. Rest and peace are found in God alone. He is the rock, fortress and salvation we need.
You may have heard about Melissa Falkowski, a journalism and English teacher at Parkland High School in Florida, who hid 19 students in her classroom closet when she learned there was an active shooter at the school. This heroic woman is a reflection of God who hides us in the shadow of His wings as evil rages (Psalm 57:1).
What other eternal refuge can there be than the God who sent His Only Son to defend us and give His life for us.
What did Jesus do? He was like Assistant coach Aaron Feis at Parkland who stepped in front of students to protect them from the assault. Aaron Feis gave his life for his students. On the cross, Jesus took what would crush us and died in our place.
The only place we can find lasting rest in this turbulent world is in the One who conquered death and gives us all life. Through the living Word, we receive rest.
Through the presence of Jesus in Holy Communion, we are hidden in Jesus’ grace, strength and forgiveness. This world will rage. It may even injure you physically and emotionally. But Jesus, who is Lord over all, is our rock of protection and our salvation.
Please join us this Sunday, Oct. 7, at 11 a.m., to hear more about the “Rest We Share.” Worship is followed by a hot lunch.
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
- Details
- Written by: Pastor Chris DelCol
Say what! This is Old Testament law. Why would Jesus say these things since He came to fulfill the law, not force the law down our throats.
The reason is quite clear. In Verse 50 He confirms the message, “Be at peace with one another.” He wants to make the point about the very grace offered by God through faith in Jesus.
At one time in my life, before following my call to serve the Lord, I was the guy who would stand up in front of major accounts all over the world on behalf of the company I worked for. At the time, it was the largest telecommunication company in the world and I would in fact take the bullet for the company.
That was my job really. Take the responsibility for whatever problems our major customers had. I knew when I travelled to China, Singapore, Japan, Europe, all parts of Asia and Africa, and especially the Middle East, that when I got there, I was in the midst of customers who were angry and wanted their pound of flesh.
And many of those customers hate Americans so much, they would destroy us if they could. That is because a large percentage of the world do not understand what freedom and equality really means. They look at you with a murderous rage, wishing we would just cease to exist … maybe even thinking of how they might carry it out. There is no grace when there is hate! And those who don’t know Jesus cannot understand what grace is.
Jesus says that if you cause a little one to sin, then it is off with the hand, off with the foot, and out with eye. You mess up, and you pay the price big time. Certainly, Jesus never meant this be to be taken literally, but suppose we read it that way and acted accordingly.
What would the prison system in our country look like? Most of the prisoners would not be there because they would have been put to death at the town square every Friday like they do in Saudi Arabia.
Many would walk around with no hands, feet, tongues, whatever, because they would have had justice take place the Friday after they were sentenced. In that country justice is carried out publicly and immediately. No grace there and no appeal process! But in Christ, there is grace, and many cannot comprehend what grace is.
What Jesus really meant here is that the only way to sacrificial peace is through the grace he offered us on the cross. Thank God we have grace.
Over the past few weeks we’ve talked about how the tongue gets us into trouble, how peace can only be achieved through the cross and today we talk about what it is going to take to bring justice to a country that is moving away from the grace offered by a man who experienced the worst that Rome had to dish out and yet offered eternal life through His sacrifice.
Remember that phrase – “Father forgive them”? In the USA and more importantly Lake County as we recover from the summer fires, we can never let hate take over our freedom nor our love for Jesus or for each other.
For now, at least, there is still grace, there is still forgiveness, there is still a sense that justice can be served not by chopping off people's’ limbs, but by offering the peace which surpasses all human understanding. The grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. That simply means reaching out to help people recover from the devastation!
Please join us this Sunday for our quarterly country gospel service. Wear your cowboy hats, boots, western shirts, whatever you’ve got, and join us for a service that is truly a Gospel blessing.
Worship is at 11 a.m. followed by a hot lunch for all immediately afterward.
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
- Details
- Written by: Evan Arnold-Gordon
Many online retailers boast they have the largest selection of “official” merchandise at the lowest prices. However, some websites may be scams and trying to con consumers out of their money.
In 2017, there were more than 1,600 sporting good retail complaints filed on BBB Scam Tracker.
Complaints included consumers refund/exchange issues, customer service issues, and in some cases failing to receive their merchandise at all. It is important to note that some of the proceeds from the sale of authentic merchandise fund scholarships, charities, and youth programs.
Furthermore, the quality of counterfeit merchandise may be a drawback as well. Many of the laws that protect consumers from harmful chemicals and toxic substances in fabrics are ignored by counterfeiters, nor do they offer standard warranties to protect buyers that are harmed or unsatisfied.
Help protect your blind side by following these BBB tips when shopping online:
· Be wary of deals that seem too good to be true. If the price of an item is significantly less than what it is on other well-known retailers’ sites, this is a red flag that indicates a possible scam.
· Research the company before you purchase. If you want to make a purchase from a company you haven’t heard of before. Check www.BBB.org to see if they have a BBB Business Profile, or BBB Scam Tracker to see if anyone else has reported them as a scam. Look for contact information on their website and a robust social media presence to help determine if they are legitimate.
· Never wire money or use a prepaid debit card as payment. Both payment types are often requested by scammers and, once you’ve paid, there is no way to get your money back. Instead, make online purchases with your credit card and only on secure (https) websites.
· Learn to spot a fake site. Make sure that the team names and the URL address don’t have misspellings. Do a search online to see if anyone has reported the site on BBB Scam Tracker or online generally.
· Know how to find the business. Always look for contact information and a physical location on any shopping Web site. If the physical address of the business is not visible on the site, this is a red flag.
· Touch base with the business. Call the customer service number to make sure that someone answers before you pay. Ask them to tell you more about the company. Also, ask the representative about refunds and exchanges.
Evan Arnold-Gordon works for the Better Business Bureau serving the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern Coastal California
How to resolve AdBlock issue?