LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Under the leadership of President Marva Brandt and her officers the Clear Lake Trowel & Trellis Garden Club continues to meet club objectives.

Those objectives include:

– To study and enjoy amateur gardening in its various aspects and applications.

– To encourage civic beautification and roadside development.

– To assist in projects for the conservation of our natural resources.

– To encourage members to participate in various local, district and state projects.

During 2014's monthly club meetings members shared information regarding flowering plants they have under cultivation and enjoyed educational programs presented by the club. Members grow and pool their plants for an annual fundraiser. 

Civic beautification projects include maintenance and planting at the Veterans Blue Star Memorial, Library Park, Lakeport Library, Hartley Cemetery Chapel and the Ely Stage Stop.

The club donated to the National Forest Reforestation Program, which has planted 27 million trees on 88,000 acres of burned over land. 

As a member of the Mendo-Lake District, which includes five clubs, three meetings are attended where an exchange of ideas is  encouraged. 

Educational programs are presented and information from California Garden Clubs Inc. is discussed and passed on each of the five garden clubs. 

Other scheduled activities include garden therapy, flower arranging classes, a mum show, the daffodil tea, wreath making, scholarships, field trips and tours and Christmas luncheon.  

They have the privilege of "kicking off" 2015 with a program presented by JoAnn Saccato, MA, teacher, inspirational speaker and published author with a thought-provoking title of "How to increase your gardening pleasure through mindfulness.”

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 20, at 2298 Hendricks Road, Lakeport. 

You're invited to visit a garden club meeting which meets at noon on the third Tuesday of each month (except July and August) in the Scott's Valley Women's Clubhouse.

As a member you can share your knowledge and learn more about all aspects of gardening.  

For more information please call Marva Brandt at 707-279-1625 or visit www.clttgc.org .

CLTTGC is a member of Mendo-Lake District, California Garden Clubs Inc. Pacific Region and National Garden Clubs Inc.

Jerry Shaul is publicity chairman for Clear Lake Trowel & Trellis Garden Club.

COBB, Calif. – The deadline for the Kindness and Generosity Scholarship Fund applications for the January Compassion-based Mindfulness for Stress Reduction, Personal Clarity and Emotional Freedom courses is Jan. 8.

"Some full and partial scholarships are still available," noted JoAnn Saccato, the mindfulness teacher who developed and presents the courses.

The course runs eight weeks with one series beginning Tuesday, Jan. 13, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Unity Clearlake Center in Lower Lake.

A concurrent course begins Thursday, Jan. 15, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Main Street Gallery in Lakeport. 

For more information on the course contents and links to the scholarship application, visit  http://www.companioningthesacredjourney.com/courses.html or call JoAnn Saccato at 707-350-1719.  

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On Friday, Jan. 2, and Saturday, Jan. 3, the Clear Lake Cardinal wrestlers started the new year off at the two-day Dennis Jensen Invitational Tournament in Middletown.

Mariela Soto (6-0) was the girls 100-pound champion, while Emily Psalmonds (2-1) took home the silver medal at 111 pounds.

Julian Lewis (2-0) was the gold medalist at 220 pounds.

Tyler Buchholz (2-2) placed fifth in the 160-pound class.

Jacob Pyorre went 3-0 the first day, but was injured and was not able to continue wrestling; one of his wins was against the eventual 113-pound champion.

Next up the Cardinals will host their third annual Michael Kroppmann Invitational Tournament on Saturday, Jan. 10, at Clear Lake High School in Lakeport.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – An online fundraiser has begun to help the family of a Lakeport girl diagnosed with leukemia.

The fundraiser for little Scarlett Michelle Reordan can be found at www.gofundme.com/scarlettmichelle1 .

Scarlett, who turns 2 years old on March 22, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia on Dec. 29.

She is undergoing treatment at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland.

The costs associated with providing Scarlett with the appropriate care that she needs will be great, according to her family.

The fundraiser, which was set up on Sunday, has a $10,000 goal. As of Monday night, about $1,200 had been donated.

In addition to the online fundraiser, a trust account for Scarlett has been set up at West America bank, account No. 2352178897.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Feb. 2 is World Wetlands Day – better mark your calendars.

But wait, you don’t have to – the State Water Resources Control Board’s Clean Water Team has done it for you.

The Clean Water Team’s free, online calendar will also let you know when Creek Week happens, when California’s free fishing days come around, and even the date of National Squirrel Appreciation Day.

If all this sounds a little wonky, well, Embrace Your Geekness Day is July 13, according to the calendar.

The calendar is an eclectic mix of fun and useful information, with active links to many of the events and commemorations listed. So you not only know when World Wetlands Day is scheduled, but why wetlands are important, and what you can do to help preserve them.

Photographs of Clean Water Team members are featured on each calendar month, doing what they do: volunteering to help monitor the health of the streams and rivers of California.

The calendar can be accessed at www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/swamp/docs/cwt/volunteer/cal_2015.pdf .

The Clean Water Team is the citizen monitoring program of the State Water Board.

The team’s citizen monitoring coordinators work statewide to provide technical assistance and guidance, training, and loans of equipment to volunteers in citizen monitoring programs and watershed stewardship organizations.

Citizen volunteers work through a variety of organizations to monitor water quality in streams and rivers throughout the state.

Activities include collecting water quality data, evaluating fish habitat, counting birds, or making visual observations of stream health.

Community and resource managers use monitoring information to better protect California's waters.

For more information or to volunteer for a community-based monitoring program, visit the Clean Water Team’s Web page at http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/swamp/cwt_volunteer.shtml .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Association of Realtors (LCAOR) Scholarship Committee is excited to announce the start of a series of three “Stress and Worry-Free Dinners For Four,” a delicious way to support Lake County seniors.

There will be one dinner per month for three months, beginning in January.

The first dinner will be available for pick up on Friday, Jan. 16, and will feature delicious pork posole, taco salad, red rice, refried beans, and chips and salsa and is priced at just $30 for a meal to feed a family of four.

According to Scholarship Committee member Heidi Johnson, “These dinners are delicious and the quantities are large!”

Simply order by Friday, Jan. 9, prepay with checks made payable to LCAOR and then swing by Kelseyville High School Student Center on Friday, Jan. 16, between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. to pick up your meal.

Tickets can be purchased at the LCAOR Office in Lakeport, Noble Realty, Sterling Mortgage or ReMax Lake County.

Proceeds go to the LCAOR Scholarship Fund for Lake County high school seniors.

“In the past two years, we have been able to double our scholarship fund, presenting a total of nearly $10,000 annually in multiple scholarships to seniors at all of the five Lake County high schools,” said Johnson. “So something as simple as buying your family dinner can make a big impact for the youth of our community.”

For more information on this fundraiser, please call Heidi Johnson at 707-349-2258.