LAKEPORT, Calif. — Veterans of Lake County Dave Waldschmitt and Ken Scott recently delivered 1,650 pounds of nonperishable food to the Lakeport Senior Center.

The food was donated from the Vietnam Veterans of America, Santa Rosa chapter, in partnership with Lakeport Elks Lodge 2704.

So far this year, with Lakeport Elks sponsorship, the Lake County veterans team has provided monthly food donations to several Lake County organizations including Upper Lake Senior Center, Lucerne’s First Lutheran Church and this month to the Lakeport Senior Center.

The Vet Connect Stand Down group of Lake County is an all-volunteer veteran support organization with its primary focus on veterans in crisis and or veterans who might be or become homeless.

Providing food to organizations that feed many financially challenged individuals, including many vets, is one of its support mechanisms.

It operates strictly on donations which assists in finding emergency housing, counseling and a host of services. For more information call 707-262-3111 or 707-245-4736.

The Elks have a long history of supporting both active military forces and retired veterans.

Elks furnish food, comfort care items, therapeutic items, provide gifts, host holiday celebrations, and recreational activities at bases and hospitals and stand ready to fulfill any need when called upon.

Contact Lakeport Lodge 2704 at 707-263-0254 to participate in its Veterans Services or to benefit from them, or visit www.elks.org/vets/.

Elks pledge, “So long as there are veterans, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks will never forget them.”

LAKEPORT, Calif. — The Clear Lake Trowel and Trellis Garden Club will meet at noon, Tuesday, April 18.

The group will meet at the Lakeport Scotts Valley Women’s Club House at 2298 Hendricks Road.

Cookies, finger food, veggies, coffee and tea will be provided.

The featured speaker will be John Nowell, retired battalion chief from the Los Angeles City Fire Department and current board member of the Konocti Fire Safe Council.

He will present a program on fire safety, “Defensible Space Around Your Home.”

The club welcomes new members and information can be found by visiting www.clttgc.org.

For more information please call Carol at 707 279-1169.

The Clear Lake Trowel & Trellis Garden Club is a member of the Mendo-Lake District of the California Garden Club Inc.-Pacific Region and National Garden Clubs Inc.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The deadline to apply for grants through the Lake County Wine Alliance is fast-approaching, and event organizers are encouraging interested organizations to apply.

The application process to be chosen for funds from the 2023 22nd Annual Lake County Wine Auction is now open. Go to winealliance.org to submit an application.

The deadline for submission of applications is May 1, 2023.

For more information or questions please contact Marie Beery at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The 2023 Lake County Wine Auction will be held on Sept. 16 at the Mercantile by Shannon Family of Wines.

There will be wine tasting, samples of many of Lake County food purveyors, a three-course dinner prepared by Lower Lake High School Culinary class, Saw Shop Public House and Woodland College Lake County.

For more information go to www.winealliance.org.

LAKEPORT, Calif. — On Saturday April 15, Matt Mazzei Chevrolet is partnering with Westshore Little League in Lakeport.

Matt Mazzei Chevrolet has joined forces with the national Chevrolet Youth Baseball & Softball program to provide new equipment, invitations to free instructional clinics and an opportunity for community members to earn donations for their league via a test drive fundraiser.

“Playing baseball and softball helps kids develop skills like leadership, cooperation, and sportsmanship while bringing families and communities together to show their support. Matt Mazzei Chevrolet and Chevrolet Youth Baseball & Softball are proud to participate in a sport that brings so many smiles to kids and families in Lakeport,” said Jean Pierre Zombil, GM coordinator for Matt Mazzei Chevrolet. “Chevrolet believes in the power of play as a way for young people to build the skills needed to be successful in the future and supports the spirit of teamwork that baseball and softball instills in its players.”

The year 2023 marks the eighteenth year of Chevrolet’s Youth Baseball & Softball program and has benefitted over 9 million players since it launched in 2006.

Last year, more than 1,200 Chevrolet dealers participated across the country.

Matt Mazzei Chevrolet will present Westshore Little League an equipment kit that includes useful items such as equipment bags, first aid kits, batting tees, and ball buckets.

The sponsorship also includes youth clinics featuring current and former MLB/MiLB players and coaches, or instruction from Ripken Baseball.

In addition, Matt Mazzei Chevrolet will present a check representing a one-time donation to Westshore Little League.

Sponsored leagues across the country will have the chance to earn additional funds to support the league as community members take test drives at their partnering dealership.

For more information about Chevrolet Youth Baseball & Softball, please visit www.chevrolet.com/youthsports.com.

MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. — Personal-use firewood permits are now on sale for wood collection from the Mendocino National Forest.

The permit and tags cost $2 per cord with a minimum purchase required of $20 for 10 cords.

The maximum number of cords that can be purchased is 12 cords per household. Permits are valid through Dec. 31, 2023.

Visitors can purchase a permit in person at the Supervisor's Office in Willows or from the Upper Lake District Office. It is suggested to bring a completed permit request form to ease the purchase.

Supervisor’s Office
825 N. Humboldt Ave., Willows
Telephone: 530-934-3316
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m.

Upper Lake District Office
10025 Elk Mountain Road, Upper Lake
Telephone: 707-275-2361
Call for days and hours

Permits may also be obtained via mail by downloading a firewood permit request form at https://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/mendocino/firewood and following the mail-in instructions. Please allow three weeks to receive the permit, tags and the map of cutting areas on the forest. A third-party authorization form to allow another person to cut wood for the permit-holder is also available upon request.

It is illegal to remove firewood from the forest without a valid permit. Any wood removed from the forest must be dead and on the ground.

The maximum length for a piece of wood to be removed is 6 feet.

A cord of wood is a well-stacked pile measuring 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet. A chart with truck bed sizes and approximate cord capacity is available online at https://bit.ly/3kxoocW.

Firewood collected within Lake and Mendocino counties is subject to state and federal quarantines to limit the spread of the Sudden Oak Death, or SOD, pathogen.

Firewood taken from these counties can only be transported into other SOD quarantined counties, including Alameda, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Marin, Monterrey, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma and Trinity counties.

After several rounds of winter storms, access into the forest on both county roads and forest roads has been significantly impacted. Visitors should call or check for latest conditions and closure alerts at https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/mendocino/alerts-notices.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — North Coast Opportunities, or NCO, has announced the launch of “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” in partnership with California Volunteers, Office of the Governer.

This grant funded project will support hyper local communities around the lake by hosting various events to increase social cohesion within neighborhoods, empowering their capacity for resiliency in times of disaster.

Examples of upcoming events are Neighborfest, Firewise Councils, Climate Safe Lake Focus Groups and Neighborhood Actions Days.

Disaster can strike quickly and without warning, sometimes isolating entire neighborhoods. NHN events will build stronger, more resilient neighborhoods by creating opportunities for neighbors to connect, have fun, create trust, and become better prepared to overcome life’s storms.

Ten neighborhoods have been prioritized for the NHN project. Tammy Alakszay, NCO’s Neighbors Helping Neighbors Project manager explained that “neighborhoods were chosen based on multiple factors, such as, access to services, current resources from partner agencies, the potential for isolation in time of disaster, and the existence of community members willing to serve as local leaders for their neighborhoods.”

Alakszay hopes that one of the sustained effects of the project will be the development of more Firewise and Firesafe communities in Lake County.

NHN’s official kick off is Saturday, April 15, with the Konocti Bay Neighborfest at Galilee Lutheran Church.

The pilot event will introduce Galilee’s Resiliency Hub as a resource for times of non-evacuation disaster for this neighborhood, where no other Community Based Organizations are located.

Neighborfest is part of the Resilient Neighborhoods Network, a community powered framework for resilience and engagement modeled after San Francisco's Neighborhood Empowerment Network and the Neighbor-to-Neighbor concept of preparedness as a shared responsibility.

In a disaster you and your neighbors may be the only resource until help arrives. Research has shown that the more connected neighbors are to each other, the stronger their resilience is before, during, and after an emergency.

Partners for the project include but are not limited to NCO, the American Red Cross, Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians, LCOE, North Shore Fire Fund and hyper local partners such as Galilee Lutheran Church, Scott’s Valley Neighbors, Wolf Creek Firewise Community, among others.

Shannon Kimbell-Auth with the American Red Cross Community Adaptation Program observed, “It’s exciting to be part of this project because responding to disaster is a team effort. In Lake County we have a pretty amazing team.”

To learn more about Neighbors Helping Neighbors contact Tammy Alakszay at 707.998.8643 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..