LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — On Saturday, April 23, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Lake County Women’s Civic Club will be hosting its 27th annual Mad Hatters Luncheon fundraiser at Boutique Winery.

The event will include a lovely catered meal offering various cuisines from around the globe and attendees are encouraged to “dress the part” embracing the traditional ethnic attire of their choosing.

You can’t call yourself a fundraiser without a silent and live auction and that is where LCWCC is hoping that local businesses will walk tall this year. This is an opportunity to put their name on this community-driven fundraising effort that helps to meet needs around the entire county all year long.

If you are interested in purchasing tickets or a table please contact Kerry Moore at 707-364-6165.

If you are interested in donating a silent or live auction item to the fundraiser please contact Kim Baldwin at 707-349-7913.

The Lake County Women’s Civic Club is a nonprofit, tax exempt (#23-7101464) organization supported by a dedicated group of volunteers whose purpose is to raise funds for community projects.

Since 1921 the club has worked diligently to raise funds that are donated to community projects. These donations include senior projects, scholarships, city beautification, children’s health and welfare, and historical education.

This year they have budgeted for these items:

• Veterans Honor Guard;
• Hospice Services of Lake County;
• Hope Harbor/Elijah House;
• Family Resource Food Basket;
• Toys 4 Tots Toy Drive;
• Community relief at the boards discretion;
• Two $1,000 scholarships for graduating high school seniors;
• Members bring canned food items and donate money each meeting to be distributed to food cupboards around the lake;
• $10,000 donation to a worthy community project.

In recent years they have been able to contribute $10,000 each to these worthy causes (many more are not listed):
• Rocky/Jerusalem/Valley Fire Relief Fund.
• The Friends of the Library AND the Veterans Honor Guard.
• Victim Witness Program of Lake County for a heating and cooling system.
• Westside Community Park.

The group is hoping that this year, its 101st year of service, that its efforts will exceed prior years as there are so many needs across the county.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Although Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit remains in winter preparedness effective in Sonoma, Lake, Napa, Colusa, Yolo and Solano counties, and the requirement on Cal Fire permits needed for residential burning is lifted, lack of significant rain in 2022 has made much of the land ready for wildfire.

Cal Fire encourages and supports safe residential pile burning of forest residue by landowners; it is a crucial tool in reducing fire hazards but must be exercised with caution and preparedness.

State, federal, and local land management and fire agencies will also be utilizing this same window of opportunity to conduct prescribed burns aimed at improving forest health on private and public lands.

Residents wishing to burn must verify it is a permissive burn day prior to burning. Agriculture burns within the State Responsibility Area must be inspected by Cal Fire prior to burning until the end of fire season. Inspections may be required for burns other than agriculture burns. This can be verified by contacting your local air quality management district.

Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit would like to remind the public of the requirements for debris burning in State Responsibility Area.

The following are burning permit requirements, and must be adhered to when the requirement for permits is lifted:

For burning debris in small 4-feet x 4-feet piles:

• Maximum pile size 4 foot in diameter.
• Clear all flammable material and vegetation within 10-feet of the outer edge of pile.
• Keep a water supply close to the burning site.
• An adult should be in attendance with a shovel until the fire is out.
• No burning shall be undertaken unless weather conditions (particularly wind) are such that burning can be considered safe.

No household trash or garbage can be burned outdoors at residences. Dry, natural vegetation, grown on the property can still be burned outdoors in open piles, unless prohibited by local ordinances. Burning can only be done on permissive burn days.

Burn permits are only valid on “Permissive Burn Days” as determined by the State Air Resources Board or the local Air Pollution Control District.

Violations of any burning permit terms are a violation of state law (Public Resources Code 4421, 4422, 4423 And 4425).

To verify it is a permissive burn day prior to burning, contact the Lake County Air Quality Management District at 707-263-7000.

For more on residential burning and ways to burn safely visit https://burnpermit.fire.ca.gov/.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. — The Western Region Town Hall will meet on Wednesday, March 16.

The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Habematolel community center, 9460 Main St. in Upper Lake.

Everyone is welcome to attend.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Redbud Audubon Society is pleased to announce that Ashton Kluttz, executive director of The Bird Rescue Center in Santa Rosa will be guest presenter on Thursday evening, March 17, starting at 7 p.m. on Zoom.

To register for the program, go to www.redbudaudubon.org and click on the registration link on the home page. The link will be sent to you the day of the meeting.

The Bird Rescue Center, located in Sonoma County, treats an average of 80 Lake County patients annually.

Kluttz reports that most of their osprey and bald eagle patients have come from Lake County in recent years.

The hospital cares for close to 3,000 native birds annually. Patients are a combination of songbirds, raptors and water birds.

Eighty percent of the birds that come to the center have injuries that are a result of human-related interactions such as flying into windows, being electrocuted by utility wires, being hit by cars, being attacked by pet cats and more.

The center also receives hundreds of herons and egrets each year from the Ninth Street rookery located in downtown Santa Rosa.

The Bird Rescue Center was founded in 1976 and during the first few years, was an association of volunteers working from their homes.

In 1980, the center was granted permission to occupy a vacant Quonset hut on Sonoma County’s Chanate Road campus.

Kluttz completed her bachelor’s degree in environmental studies at Washington College in Maryland. She began her career as a wildlife rehabilitator in 2009 with the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County.

Her tenure with The Bird Rescue Center in Sonoma County began in 2010. Striving to provide the best care for local wildlife, she obtained her Registered Veterinary Technician certification in 2018, has co-authored a chapter on towhee care currently included in a wildlife care book for facilities around the world, and has served on the board for the California Council for Wildlife Rehabilitators that provides community, protocols, and information to all California wildlife facilities.

Everyone is urged to join this fascinating Zoom program to learn about The Bird Rescue Center and hear behind-the-scenes stories of bird rescue (particularly of Lake County patients), and unique avian observations from the last few years.

Caltrans Adopt-A-Highway volunteers can earn up to $250 a month to clear litter from California’s highways as part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s $1.1 billion Clean California program.

To learn more, visit the Clean California website at cleanca.com.

This News Flash is the 237th in a series of videos highlighting Caltrans’ activities that present the wide-ranging and critical work that Caltrans does to enhance California’s economy and livability.

To see more of these and other videos, search for #CaltransNewsFlash on Twitter or visit the Caltrans News Flash page.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County small businesses and startups are encouraged to apply online for the third annual “Hands Up Lake County, 2022” competition.

The business competition involves several steps.

From the pool of applications submitted, 12 applicants and two alternates will be selected to advance to a one-day workshop and mini-competition where judges will select six applicants to take part in a final competition on Nov. 5, 2022. Cash prizes totaling $85,000 will be awarded.

In 2020 and 2021 combined, $75,000 in cash prizes were awarded to 11 small businesses.

In 2022, the cash prizes are being increased and a new category has been added to recognize the entrepreneurial spirit in the county.

Past winners have all been existing small businesses advancing their operations; the new category is designed to encourage those who have a promising business concept in mind and need a cash boost to successfully launch.

The cash prizes in the 2022 competition are $25,000, first prize; $20,000, second prize; $15,000, third prize; $10,000, fourth prize; $5,000, fifth prize; $10,000 for the best start up business.

Applications must be submitted online at www.1team1dream.net by June 30, 2022.

All the information needed to compete in Hands Up Lake County 2022 is on the website including, eligibility requirements, criteria, FAQs and the application form.

Hands Up Lake County is the signature project of 1Team 1Dream, a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit formed to improve the Lake County economy, one small business at a time.

The business competition is supported by a coalition of private businesses, city leaders and others who support the purpose and goals of the organization.

For more information about the small business competition or to sponsor the event, contact Olga Martin Steele at 916-849-8170.