MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. – Starting Monday, April 2, personal use firewood permits will be available for purchase from the Mendocino National Forest.

Permits are $5 per cord of wood, with a minimum purchase of four cords for $20.

The permits are good through Dec. 31, 2012.

Use of firewood permits on the Covelo Ranger District is permitted through Nov. 30, 2012. The wood does not have to be cut at the same time.

All firewood removed must be dead and down. It is illegal to remove firewood from the National Forest without a valid permit.

Permits must be purchased in person from one of the Forest offices. If a person is unable to cut the wood themselves, they can obtain a third party authorization that will allow someone else to cut or gather the wood. However, the permittee must still purchase the permit in person.

The Mendocino National Forest only accepts cash or check as payment for firewood permits and sales are final, with no refunds. Permittees will receive tags and a map of the Forest.

Permit holders should be aware that federal and state quarantines to prevent the spread of sudden oak death (SOD) are in effect for Lake and Mendocino counties.

Any firewood cut in these counties can only be transported into other SOD quarantine counties, including Alameda, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Marin, San Francisco, Monterey, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano and Sonoma.

Firewood permits can be purchased from the following offices:

Mendocino National Forest Supervisor's Office/Grindstone Ranger District Office
825 N. Humboldt Ave., Willows, CA 95988
530-934-3316
Hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Stonyford Work Center
5171 Stonyford-Elk Creek Road, Stonyford, CA, 95979
530-963-3128
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., 1- 4:30 p.m.

Covelo Ranger Station
78150 Covelo Road, Covelo, CA 95428
707-983-6118
Hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Upper Lake Ranger Station
10025 Elk Mountain Road, Upper Lake, CA95485
707-275-2361
Hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Gathering firewood is important to many individuals and families surrounding the Mendocino National Forest. Following are some tips for a safer experience.

– Plan your trip – check the weather, bring plenty of warm clothes for spring and fall through winter cutting, water, emergency food, and the appropriate gear for the season when you are gathering firewood. Make sure you have a full tank of gas when you leave and are prepared for changing conditions in the mountains! Also, let someone know where you are going and when you plan to be back.

– Keep vehicles on designated roads and be aware of changing weather and road conditions. Wet dirt roads can quickly turn to mud, making it possible to get stuck and causing damage to road, soil and water resources. If there are puddles in the road, mud flipping off the tires or you can see your ruts in the rearview mirror, consider pulling over and taking a hike to look for wood, or turning around and finding a different area to cut your firewood.

– As the fire season begins, be aware of fire restrictions or closure order than may be in place restricting where you can go. Make sure you have a spark arrester on chainsaws and any other mechanical equipment being used.

– Make sure you are cutting firewood on the Mendocino National Forest and not from other federal, state or private lands.

For more information, please contact the Mendocino National Forest.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – One hundred and 50 years ago, a Confederate army launched a surprise attack on an invading Federal army under General Ulysses S. Grant.  

The ensuing battle, the Battle of Shiloh, which occurred April 6-7, 1862, in Hardin County, Tennessee, was the largest ever seen in the Western Hemisphere up to that point, with more than 23,000 casualties during the two-day conflict.

The events leading up the battle, the battle itself, and the impact the battle had on the war will be discussed at the next Redwood Empire Civil War Round Table at the historic Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake on Monday, April 2, at 6:15 p.m.

Local historian and Civil War enthusiast Zane Jensen will lead the discussion and will include several slides from his personal tour of the battle field.

The main presentation will be followed up with a brief review of the Confederate invasion of New Mexico.

Phil Smoley will review the major events of this little known drama that occurred far from the more well known action in the East.

To honor the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, the Civil War Roundtable attempts to follow the events of the Civil War as they occurred chronologically, month by month, thus the upcoming meeting covers the events around April 1862.

Everyone is welcome, admission is free, and there is no formal membership.

Everyone from novice to history geek has attended, and there is plenty of opportunity for discussion and questions.

For more information, contact Phil Smoley at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or Zane Jensen, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Democratic Central Committee will hold its monthly meeting on Thursday, April 5.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at 1210 S. Main St., Lakeport.

The group will hear from two judicial candidates, Judy Conard and Michael Lunas.

The agenda will also include an update from Congressman Mike Thompson, state Sen. Noreen Evans' representative Sunol Grayhorse and Assemblyman Wes Chesbro's representative, Joey Luiz.

In addition there will updates and discussion on the May 5 candidate event to be held at the Sons of Italy Hall in Nice, and the annual legislators barbecue scheduled for Sept. 22 in Clearlake.

Meetings are open to the public and Democrats are invited to join.

Contact Wanda Harris at 707-987-9027 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

NORTH COAST – Caltrans reports that the following road projects will be taking place around Lake County during the coming week.

Included are Mendocino County projects that may impact Lake County commuters.

LAKE COUNTY

Highway 20

– Construction of a roundabout at the Route 20/Nice Lucerne Cutoff Road intersection will continue. Work hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should
anticipate five-minute delays. Contractor – Granite Construction Inc. of Ukiah.

– PG&E of Eureka has been issued a Caltrans encroachment permit for utility repairs near Paradise Cove beginning Tuesday, April 3. Work hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic
control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

– Clearlake Oaks Water District has been issued a Caltrans Encroachment permit for utility repairs near Spring Road. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect.
Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

MENDOCINO COUNTY

Highway 1

– Replacement of the Greenwood Creek Bridge will continue. Work hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. One-way traffic control will be in effect. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.
Contractor – Golden Gate Bridge Inc. of Martinez.

Highway 101

– PG&E of Ukiah has been issued a Caltrans Encroachment permit for utility repairs just north of Laytonville on Friday, March 30. Work hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. One-way traffic control will
be in effect. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.

Work on all these projects is weather permitting and subject to change. Caltrans advises motorists to drive with caution when approaching work areas and to be prepared to stop at traffic control stations.

The Caltrans Traffic Operations Office has reviewed each project and determined that individual project delays are expected to be less than the statewide policy maximum of 30 minutes, unless noted otherwise above.

For information pertaining to emergency roadwork or for updates to scheduled roadwork, please contact the California Highway Information Network (CHIN) at 1-800-GAS-ROAD (1-800-427-7623).

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Spring Horse Camp will take place April 2-6 and April 9-13.

The camps will take place from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at 18585 Guenoc Lane, Hidden Valley Lake.

Owen Ranch Spring Horse Day Camps will focus on horsemanship, horseback riding, rodeo/barrel racing, trail rides and equine safety.

Students bring a sack lunch. Classes will be held rain or shine (covered arena available).

Prices by the day are $70 per day or save $50 with the weekly discount. When you sign up for a week, the discounted price is $300, or $60 per day.

Call 707-355-0121 for reservation and information.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Lake County Wine Studio is hosting a wine tasting event featuring wines from Aliénor Cellars with vineyard manager David Weiss, and artist reception with a collection of recent paintings by Peggy McCamant Alexander on Friday, April 6, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday, April 7, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Musical guests during both evening receptions will be acoustic guitarists Stephen Holland and Travis Rinker.

Born in Texas and raised in Seattle, Margaret (Peggy) McCamant Alexander and her husband, Scott, moved to the Napa Valley from Hawaii in 1983 and then to Hidden Valley Lake in 1998.  

She was a reporter, section editor and contributing columnist for the Napa Valley Register and later worked in hospitality and e-commerce management for Napa Valley wineries.

Alexander has been interested in art all her life, since taking children's painting classes at the Frye Museum in Seattle. She received her BFA degree in painting from the University of Washington, where she studied with John Thomas, Richard Kehl, Jacob Lawrence, Dale Chihuly and John Anderson.

This show represents a major departure for Alexander, who has shown her work nationally and internationally.

Unlike the works for which she is known – finely detailed and meticulously mapped pencil and silverpoint drawings featuring multiple images and fine diagonal lines that one reviewer called "rain strokes" – these pieces are acrylic on canvas, loosely painted, semi-impressionistic, boldly colored and highly emotional.

A more important difference is found in the subject matter: the paintings, a series of stylized self-portraits, represent the artist's personal reaction to ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

Alexander was diagnosed in October 2010 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a neurological disorder that affects motor nerves and muscles, eventually resulting in complete loss of function. It is progressive. It is degenerative. It is fatal. There is no cure.

"When my diagnosis was confirmed," said Alexander," and after I did some serious freaking out, I began to paint, working on a series of self-portraits about my relationship with ALS. As my strength and coordination failed I continued to paint, adapting my technique to the disease's progression. Now, even though my right arm is immobile, my left barely works and I am confined to a wheelchair, I still paint, constantly searching for new approaches and new methodology. It is a way of proving to myself that while I may have ALS, it does not have me."

Because her range of arm motion is limited, said Alexander, the paintings are rather small. "When my dominant right hand weakened, I began painting with my left; when my left hand weakened, I tucked brushes into my arm brace; when both arms became too weak to lift to the easel, I put my canvas flat on the table and began to rely more on surface mixing of color.  When I can no longer do that… I'll find something else."

The paintings on view in this exhibit represent two related series. One shows the artist's reactions to ALS in a collection of self-portraits, which serves as a documentation of the disease and its progression plus as a personal catharsis. The second, depictions of things Alexander would like to do and places she would like to go, she calls her "bucket list" series.

Alexander thinks of this exhibit as both a showcase for her visual expression and as an education vehicle for ALS, a disease that affects nearly 6000 Americans per year. "Additionally," she says, "I hope to recognize those who have helped me and other ALS patients so much and that continue the search for a cure; I will donate half of my revenue from art sales to local ALS Association chapter."

Aliénor Wines are crafted from Lake County winegrape fruit by May-Britt and Denis Malbec (Malbec & Malbec).  

Denis Malbec was born into his lifelong career in the winemaking business at Latour, France, to a family that had been at Château Latour of Pauillac beginning in 1920 with his grandfather working in the vineyard, and then his own father, who was also born at Latour and worked there beginning in 1947 and served as cellar master from 1969 to 1994.  

Malbec studied viticulture and enology in Bordeaux and in Reims, Champagne, and following a number of internships in the wine regions of France, he returned to Château Latour in 1993, and then held the position as Enologist and Cellar Master there from 1994-2000.   

May-Britt Malbec is a European Master Sommelier who began her career in wine as a sommelier in her homeland Sweden. In 1992 she won the Prince Henri-Melchior de Polignac award, for best sommelier in the Nordic countries.

David Weiss manages vineyards where the grapes are sourced and is the Lake County representative for Aliénor Wines.

The name Aliénor originates as a tribute to Aliénor of Aquitaine and to the substantive contribution she made to the fine wines of Bordeaux when, eight weeks after the annulment of her first marriage with Louis VII King of France, she married her second husband Henry Plantagenét in 1152, soon crowned Henry II King of England in 1154, and ascended the throne of the Kingdom of England after once being Queen of France.  

As Queen of England, Aliénor shared the sustaining traditions of her native Aquitaine by turning vast areas of France, among them the region of Bordeaux, into English territory.  

During her reign, grape production and wine export, already an important part of everyday life in Bordeaux, grew to levels unequalled before or since.  

The Malbecs believe that Queen Aliénor's remarkable contributions to Bordeaux in the 12th century deserve ongoing and contemporary recognition, which Aliénor Cellars now offer in their wines.

The $12.50 ($10/per person for studio club members) wine sampler with paired appetizers will feature Aliénor 2010 Sauvignon Blanc, 2009 Roseraie, 2009 Syrah and 2008 Grand Vin.   

There is no charge to those who wish to view the artwork and meet the artist without partaking of the food and wine. Reservations are not required.

Lake County Wine Studio is both a gallery for display of arts and a tasting room, wine bar and retail shop for the fine wines of Lake County.  

Artist’s shows are held on a monthly basis with art and wine receptions held the first Friday and subsequent Saturday of each month.

The gallery is located at 9505 Main Street in Upper Lake. It is open Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., and Friday from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Alexander’s show will run through the month of April.  

For more information call Lake County Wine Studio at 707-275-8030.