Letters
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- Written by: Melissa Fulton
His program request was extremely heartwarming and simple, I thought! Gather the names of two of the lowest-paid employees of each restaurant and each lodging facility, provide their names, direct mailing addresses, job description, length of time with the business, weekly average pay, were they laid off or had reduced hours. Andy was in hopes that other companies would make similar offers.
My first thought was, “What a wonderful gesture!” My second thought was, “It will be a breeze to give away $33,000 in Lake County,” and how quickly would we fill up those 110 slots?
Much to my surprise, it’s been a struggle to get employers to respond. We immediately published it to every community business association requesting they distribute to their memberships, it also went to the Clear Lake Chamber and to our membership plus many emails of businesses that are not Lake County Chamber members. We placed the notice more than once on our Facebook page asking people to share.
We have published this information a multitude of times since March 24, sending it to local newspapers and I contacted Bicoastal Media about two weeks ago. They made a public service announcement that has been aired multiple times. To my utter amazement, there are still 41 open slots on my spreadsheet!
To clarify the role of the Lake County Chamber in this process, I offer the following: The chamber is only a conduit of information from the employers to Andy Beckstoffer and his firm. Beckstoffer Vineyards is in charge of issuing the checks directly to the employees whose names/info we supply. The chamber does not pick or choose which employees and to my understanding every name we submit is being sent a check.
I truly hope that this letter to the editor will encourage businesses who have not responded yet, to contact me directly at 707-263-5092 with their employee submissions, providing the information I outlined above. Your employees who have been out of work can certainly use a $300 check.
Beckstoffer Vineyards began issuing checks the week of April 20 and will continue until the limit of 110 people is reached per county. You can also send your names to
Melissa Fulton is chief executive officer of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, based in Lakeport, California.
- Details
- Written by: Bill Kearney
Now it is down to two candidates for the November election. I am honored to be one of those two candidates.
We appreciate all the efforts all candidates put into this election, and feel fortunate to be the other candidate running for the Board of Supervisors in District 5 of Lake County.
For me, the choice is clear. I have been a resident of Lake County continuously for the past 40 years. As well as being a successful business person, and health care advocate in Lake County, I have received The Search of Excellence Award, and recently the Lifetime Achievement Award from Congressman Mike Thompson and the 20th Annual of Stars of Lake County Community Awards.
I have been president of the Early Lake Lions twice, and president of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce twice. I was on the Sutter Lakeside board of directors nine years and the board chair the last three years. I participated in the Lake County Special Olympics Polar Plunge the past few years.
I have been appointed to the Napa State Hospital Advisory Board, and helped with a team to enforce regulations in two county jail pharmacies – one at the San Joaquin County jail, and one at the San Francisco County jail. Our pharmacies provided medication for the inmates in the Lake County jail system for many years.
I understand if all of this seems unnecessary for a thank you vote. I also want you to feel confident in your voting for me because I entered this contest much later than my opponent. I was still managing two pharmacies until last August. As you can see, I have been very community involved during my forty years.
We are going through some very serious times with the COVID-19 virus. Being in the health care field for all my adult life I feel very confident to help guide us through this crisis, along with guidance from Dr. Gary Pace and our experts from Sutter Health and Adventist Health, with the help of Sheriff Brian Martin, Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen and Chief Andrew White of the Clearlake Police Department assisting in the enforcement of the shelter in place ordinance.
I am who I appear to be – a man filled with community spirit and love for Lake County. Nothing would make me prouder than being the supervisor for District 5 for the next four years.
Thank you for your votes getting me to the elections in November.
Bill Kearney lives in Kelseyville, California.
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- Written by: Ben Lovato
We would like to share the following information:
USPS wants to help keep you – and our employees – safe. We ask for you to maintain a safe distance at all times. The Centers for Disease Control recommends keeping a distance of 6 feet or more between other individuals. Please allow a safe distance between you and your letter carrier or post office clerk while they are performing their duties.
We know it is a challenge to find ways to connect with family and friends at this time. The Post Office is one of the ways to remain in contact, and you don’t have to come to the Post Office to buy stamps or drop off your card or letter. Just go on usps.com and order your stamps and leave your stamped envelope for your letter carrier to pick up when he or she delivers your mail.
It is important to note the CDC, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Surgeon General have all said there is very low risk that this virus is being spread through mail.
Our mission to bind the nation together is achieved through the tireless efforts and sacrifices of our dedicated employees. The outpouring of support you have shown has had a great impact on everyone at the Postal Service. Knowing how much you care means everything to us. On behalf of all employees at the Lakeport Post Office – thank you.
Benjamin Lovato is postmaster for the Lakeport Post Office in Lakeport, California.
- Details
- Written by: Sue Williams
Teachers are still teaching. My wife gets up every weekday morning and goes online to reach her students. She spends many hours preparing lessons.
No, the teachers are not directly exposed to the virus but they are refusing to let their students down.
It will be important when the students return for there to be health checks every day of both students and staff.
The school buildings need to get the cleaning attention they have never received. For years public school buildings have been neglected. Now it is time for the California legislators to make sure there is funding to keep the school buildings in safe, healthy condition. Our teachers and students deserve the best.
The new normal for schools is that taxpayers support the public schools as a neglected school is a neglected student and educators.
Sue Williams lives in Kelseyville, California.
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