LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The Meadowbrook Head Start parent group will hold a pizza feed fundraiser to help the Critser family on Wednesday, Feb. 1.

The event will take place at DJ's Pizza in Lower Lake.

The cost for all-you-can-eat pizza is $8 per person.

Michelle Critser, her 4-year-old son David and 14-year-old son Daniel, and her boyfriend James Gerace Jr. were camping in Humboldt County last November when their motorhome caught fire.

Gerace and Daniel Critser died in the fire, and young David Critser was badly burned, as Lake County News has reported.

Presale tickets for the pizza feed are available. For more information call Jisela, 707-350-7139.

In addition, donations can be made to the Critser-Gerace Memorial Fund, which was set up to help defray medical care and other expenses.

The fund was set up at WestAmerica Bank, 150 S. Main St. in Lakeport, however, any WestAmerica branch in Clearlake, Kelseyville, Middletown or Upper Lake also can accept contributions.

The account number for the donations account is 121140218-2352175851.

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano on Wednesday joined Attorney General Eric Holder and Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan at the White House to meet with senior state, local and tribal law enforcement officials to discuss the Obama administration’s Strategic Implementation Plan for Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States – released in December – and engage them on the critical task of preventing violent extremism in their communities.

Attendees included sheriffs and chiefs of police from across the country, including representatives from the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Major Cities Chiefs Association, National Sheriffs’ Association, National Native American Law Enforcement Association, Governors Homeland Security Advisors Council, and Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council.

“Engaging local communities is critical to our nation’s effort to counter violent extremism and violent crime, and this meeting brings together many of our partners,” said Secretary Napolitano. “The Department of Homeland Security will continue to collaborate with our state and local law enforcement partners and engage the public in our efforts to combat violent extremism, while protecting civil rights and civil liberties.”

During the meeting, Secretary Napolitano underscored DHS’ efforts to support local communities by enhancing existing partnerships to focus on information-driven community-based solutions, building government and law enforcement expertise, supporting community oriented policing practices and expanding grant prioritization to counter violent extremism and violent crime regardless of ideology.

In addition, DHS is continuing to implement recommendations from the DHS Homeland Security Advisory Council Countering Violent Extremism Working Group, such as developing a curriculum for state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement focused on a community-oriented policing approach to countering violent extremism and violent crime.

DHS’ Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties also works to educate communities and state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement on cultural awareness across the nation.

Secretary Napolitano also reiterated President Obama’s call for Congress to take action to prevent layoffs of law enforcement and first responders, and keep our communities safe by passing legislation such as the American Jobs Act.

The legislation would provide $5 billion in assistance to states and local communities to create or save thousands of law enforcement and first responder jobs across the country.

Over the past year, DHS has worked with the Department of Justice on the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (NSI) – an administration effort to train state and local law enforcement to recognize behaviors and indicators related to terrorism, crime and other threats; standardize how those observations are documented and analyzed; and ensure the sharing of those reports with the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Forces for further investigation.

DHS has also collaborated with federal, state, local and private sector partners, and the general public, to expand the “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign. Originally implemented by New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and now licensed to DHS for a nationwide campaign, the “If You See Something, Say Something™” campaign is a simple and effective program to engage the public to identify and report indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats to the proper transportation and law enforcement authorities.

DHS will continue to expand the “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign nationally to ensure America’s businesses, communities, and citizens remain vigilant and play an active role in keeping the country safe.

For more information, visit www.dhs.gov/cve.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – California’s wild animals and plants need your help, and there’s an easy way to do it.

Just make a voluntary contribution on line 403 and/or line 410 of your state income tax return (Form 540).

By contributing any amount over one dollar you can support the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Rare and Endangered Species Preservation Fund and/or the California Sea Otter Fund.

What you donate this year is tax deductible on next year’s return. Californians can receive state income tax credit from the Franchise Tax Board for helping wildlife.

“The voluntary donations made by Californians at tax time are incredibly important in our efforts to save threatened and endangered species,” said DFG Director Charlton H. Bonham. “These funds have provided critical support for many state-listed species such as the Bakersfield cactus, Owens pupfish, San Francisco garter snake, California tiger salamander, marbled murrelet, Mohave ground squirrel and many more. These donations will help ensure that California’s extraordinary biodiversity is maintained for future generations.”

There are 387 listed plant and animal species, from little “bugs” that most of us have never heard of, to the iconic California sea otter. Hundreds more are at risk.

Money raised through the tax check-off program helps pay for essential DFG research and recovery efforts. Such work allowed the California brown pelican and American peregrine falcon to be delisted in 2009.

California is one of 41 states that allow taxpayers to make a voluntary, tax-deductible contribution to one or more worthwhile causes on their state returns.

Since 1983, the tax check-off fund for Rare and Endangered Species has raised more than $18 million and supported numerous projects, including the establishment of a controlled breeding program for endangered riparian brush rabbits using a newly discovered population of wild rabbits. This collaborative effort has resulted in a significant expansion of riparian brush rabbit populations on public lands.

The critical support of California taxpayers has enabled wildlife biologists to achieve important recovery milestones to conserve our vulnerable species.

More information on the Rare and Endangered Species Preservation tax check-off program is available at www.dfg.ca.gov/taxcheck.

A second tax check-off fund was created specifically to facilitate recovery of the California sea otter, which is listed as a State Fully Protected Species and a Threatened Species under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Based on the most recently completed survey, there are fewer than 2,800 sea otters remaining in California. This small population is extremely vulnerable to oil spills, environmental pollution, predation by white sharks and other threats.

Many sea otter deaths have been linked to pollution flowing from land to the sea, including fecal parasites, bacterial toxins and chemicals that have been linked to coastal land use.

According to DFG Wildlife Veterinarian and lead sea otter researcher Melissa Miller, the California Sea Otter Fund provides crucial funding to help scientists better understand and trace causes of sea otter mortality, identify factors limiting population growth and work collaboratively with stakeholders to prevent pollution of California's nearshore marine ecosystem.

This fund is made possible entirely through voluntary contributions by citizens of the state of California.

The California Sea Otter Fund has become especially vital during the current economic downturn, because other sources of support for sea otter conservation and research have decreased or are no longer available. There are no other dedicated state funding sources available to continue this important work.

You can support this research by making a contribution on line 410 of your state tax form 540, the California Sea Otter Fund. DFG works with Defenders of Wildlife to help promote the Sea Otter Fund. An excellent video about the sea otters’ current plight is on their Web site, www.defenders.org (keywords “tax check-off”).

LUCERNE, Calif. – The Caregiver Support Group for families dealing with memory loss or other cognitive impairments will meet Thursday, March 1.

The group will meet from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the First Lutheran Church in Lucerne, 3863 Country Club Lane, across from the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center.

Social worker Jenny Johnson facilitates the group.

The support group is sponsored by Redwood Caregiver Resource Center, 800-834-1636, and the Social Day Programs in Lake County.

Respite is provided by the centers at no charge.

For more information call Jenny Johnson at 707-350-3030 or Caroline Denny at 707-263-9481.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A teen driving clinic will take place on Saturday, Jan. 21.

The clinic will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Redbud Park, 14655 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake.

Teenagers will learn car control from behind the wheel of their own car.

The tuition is $99 per student. Scholarships are available.

The National Auto Sport Association, California Highway Patrol Clear Lake Area office and the Clearlake Youth Center are partnering to host the event.

Registration and details are available at www.nasaCarControl.org.

For more information call driving instructor Eric Wheaton, 707-279-4840, or CHP Officer Kory Reynolds, 707-279-0103.