FORTUNA – The third annual California Northern Region Training Conference will be held in Fortuna June 25 through 26 at the River Lodge Conference Center.

Presented by the California Northern Region Land Trusts (CNRLT) Steering Committee, this conference will provide land trust professionals, board members and all other interested persons with training opportunities relevant to land trusts and land conservation in today’s economy.

The 2009 conference topics address basic land trust training, climate change, sustainable forest management, conservation finance and development issues.

Conference registration is currently open to all interested persons.

Registration materials, pricing and the conference schedule are available at www.mendocinolandtrust.org .

Contact Jenny Hall at the Mendocino Land Trust at 707-962-0470 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information or to register.

KELSEYVILLE – The Republican Party of Lake County Central Committee will hold its next meeting on Monday, June 22.

The group will meet at Riviera Hills Restaurant at 6 p.m.

Please come and become involved in the important issues facing the county today.

Riviera Hills Restaurant is located at 10200 Fairway Dr., Kelseyville.

LAKEPORT – The Lake County chapter of the National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC) will hold its quarterly meeting this Saturday, June 20.

The meeting will take place at 10 a.m. at the Mendo-Lake Credit Union, located at 963 11th St., Lakeport.

NWPC is the only national grassroots organization dedicated to increasing the number of women officials at all levels of government.

The group was founded in 1971 as the political arm of the women’s movements, working to recruit, and train and support women for elected and appointed office, regardless of party affiliation.

The caucus reaches across party lines to maximize women’s political energy and make the system work for women. It is committed to serving all women who support core issues of reproductive freedom, improved child care/dependent care, and the Equal Rights Amendment.

For more information please call 707-774-5161.

LAKEPORT – The Lake County Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission invite the public to attend a commission meeting on June 18.

The public forum will be held at a regularly scheduled commission meeting beginning at 12:15 p.m. in the third floor conference room C in the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

The Lake County Juvenile Justice Commission was established through the provisions of section No. 225 of the California State Welfare and Institutions Code.

The Lake County Board of Supervisors adopted County Ordinance 1103 in September of 1979, designating the Commission for the County of Lake.

Details of the commission's bylaws describe one of the commission’s roles as to “inquire into the administration of the juvenile court law in Lake County” and to coordinate the work of the community agencies engaged in delinquency prevention programs and to initiate such programs to fill any unmet needs.

Additionally the commission may inspect all publicly administered juvenile facilities, including the juvenile hall as well as any county jail that has been reported to have held a minor for more than 24 hours in the previous year.

The commission is also directed to inspect at their discretion, group homes and other related juvenile facilities.

There are currently six vacancies on the 15-person board that the commission would like to fill.

Youths between the ages of 14 and 21 are encouraged to attend and inquire as to a commission position. The commission is also looking to fill four vacant adult seats.

 

LAKE COUNTY – Looking for local hiking opportunities? Have some special destination spots you wish to share? Interested in some healthy outdoor activity?

The public has the unique opportunity to provide input on the future shape of a county-wide, non-motorized Konocti Regional Trail System. Alta Planning and Design, a Benicia-based trails consulting firm, in conjunction with Lake County’s Community Development Department, will be hosting an upcoming forum on June 18 to gather public input. All ideas will be evaluated for inclusion into a Trails Master Plan.

For the past year, a stakeholder’s group under the direction of Kim Clymire, Director of Lake County’s Department of Public Services, has been developing the concept of the Konocti Regional Trails system in conjunction with a technical assistance grant from the National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance (NPS RTCA) program.

To date, a series of seven Clear Lake water trails have been developed, comprising 50 miles of paddling routes in areas such as Rodman Slough, Anderson Marsh and Cache Creek. Six of the water trails utilize existing public parks as launching spots.

The next step is to develop a Master Trails Plan which will link water and land-based trails, as well as link sections of trails to each other. To do this, the county and consulting firm is asking for public participation.

The first meeting will be held on Thursday, June 18, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the Board of Supervisor’s Chambers in Lakeport.

The two-hour meeting will be an interactive session.

Alta Planning and Design will present an overview of the trails goals, objectives and planning to-date, then the public will be encouraged to discuss their needs and concerns. The results will be used to develop a Konocti Regional Trails Master Plan.

Carrie Wallace, Alta Planning and Design’s Project Coordinator, explained, “The upcoming public session – a first of three meetings – is designed to get people involved as well as provide an opportunity to link up with other local volunteers and groups to create community trail plans.”

“There are many opportunities for the public to get involved, from helping to plan community routes to actual ground-proofing. We want people to eventually don their hiking boots, get out their digital cameras and GPS, and actually walk and assess potential public trail routes for suitability. Trail routes on private property will only be considered with complete and full cooperation from the property owners. Eminent domain is not a consideration of the regional trails plan,” Wallace explained.

Feedback from the public session will help in the development of localized plans – from walkable community pathways to safe-routes-to-school – which can ultimately be linked up to other areas throughout the county in a master plan. Wherever possible, plans are to use low-impact existing trails, utility easements, fire roads or fire breaks located on public lands, or on private lands of voluntary property owners; eminent domain is not a consideration.

Kim Clymire, Lake County’s Director of Public Services, is working closely with the consultants to develop the plan in conjunction with the Community Development department, which will provide staff and mapping services. Clymire feels this is a great opportunity for both the tourist-based economic development of Lake County, and the residents.

“We are very excited to be working with Alta and the community on this project,” Clymire said. “Lake County is so rich in recreational potential – it just needs to be focused. There are so many benefits to a trails system, from eco-tourism to healthy outdoor activity.”

The county – under the direction of Clymire – has already begun a series of public meetings to develop a recreational plan for Mt. Konocti, which is expected to close escrow this fall and be open to the public in early 2010.

This regional plan will become a part of the county-wide trails master plan. There are two more scheduled meetings for public input on the Mt. Konocti Plan, which will take place at the Lower Lake Historical Schoolhouse Museum on June 10 and 24 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

For more information on both the Konocti Regional Trails Master Plan and meetings, or the Mt. Konocti Master Plan meetings, contact county project manager Rebecca Dierssen, Lake County Department of Public Services at 707-262-1618, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

More information and links to all current trails/maps in Lake County are available at www.KonoctiTrails.com and information on the Mt. Konocti acquisition is available at www.PreserveKonocti.org .

MIDDLETOWN – If you were in the vicinity of Chic Le Chef in the Hardester’s Hidden Valley Plaza on a recent Saturday, you would have been treated to the fragrance of vanilla and cinnamon as five local food aficionados worked hard to prepare their original recipes using a unique main ingredient, Oregon Chai Tea.

The dishes were sampled by a panel of judges who rated them based on creativity, taste and presentation.

The top honor went to Yuba College culinary student Stephen Woolridge for his crème brulee.

Woolridge's first place win earns him the honor of his recipe being featured on the drink’s official website, www.oregonchai.com .

Esther Oertel of Hidden Valley Lake won second prize for her Chai-inspired Mexican chicken mole, while Zack Peters, also a culinary student at Yuba College, got third place honors for his chai bread pudding.

Julie Hoskins of Chic Le Chef wishes to thank contest judges Ross Christiansen, author of the Lake County News “Foodie Freak” column, Joyce Balbontin and Hardester’s employee, Debbie Harding.

If you missed this opportunity and would like to hone your cooking skills while having a lot of fun, stop by Chic Le Chef the first Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. for a relaxed and friendly contest using themed ingredients that will be revealed that night. All are welcome to attend these free events.

For more info, contact Chic Le Chef at 707-987-9664 or visit their Web site, www.chiclechef.com .