From left, Family Consultant Alexis Glidewell and Community Resources Specialist Kathy Johnson. Courtesy photo.

LAKE AND MENDOCINO COUNTIES – Lake and Mendocino County family members who provide direct care to elders, or who are elders caring for adults, don’t have to feel alone in the valuable service they provide.

Redwood Caregiver Resource Center, a program of North Coast Opportunities funded in part by the Area Agency on Aging, helps family members be better care providers while taking care of themselves.

Twice a month, busy men and women caregivers come together in support groups in Clearlake, Lucerne, Upper Lake and Ukiah and discuss their challenges and successes. Tips of the trade, laughter and KIeenex abound.

The agency also offers training workshops, respite,and one-on-one counseling sessions for caregivers who seek guidance outside of a support group setting.

Many individuals first learn about these supports when they call Community Care’s Senior Information & Assistance hotline at 1-800-510-2020.

“A caregiver who is going it alone may call us in times of stress or change to see what supports are out there to help,” said Community Resources Specialist Kathy Johnson.

“We make a point of telling the caller that when a family works with Redwood Caregiver Resource Center, it’s the caregiver who is the ‘client’ – not the care recipient – which can be a surprise to someone whose energies are so devoted to the care needs of another,” she said. “Community Care feels this work is so important that our office is the host site for the Ukiah support group.”

To learn more about available caregiver services, workshops coming in the fall, or to speak to a family consultant contact Redwood Caregiver Resource Center at 1-800-834-1636.

For general information on resources for seniors contact Senior Information & Assistance at 1-800-510-2020 or 707-468-5132.

CLEARLAKE – The Clearlake Planning Commission meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 3, has been canceled, city officials reported.

The next meeting is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, Aug. 17, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

For more information contact Clearlake City Clerk Melissa Swanson at 707-994-8201, Extension 106.

CLEARLAKE – Local businesswoman Jeri Spittler will officially kick off her fall run for Clearlake City Council with a fundraiser on Wednesday, Aug. 11.

The event will begin at 6 p.m. at Cabo's, 14868 Olympic Drive in Clearlake.

The menu will include chips and salsa, chili verde, rice, beans, green salad, and soda or tea, prepared by Cabo's owner and chef Teresa Hernandez.

The minimum suggested donation is $20.

Advance reservations are required.

Please reserve no later than Aug. 9 by sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or calling 707-994-8634 (evenings only).

For more information visit www.spittler4citycouncil.org.

LAKEPORT – The Lake County Flying Saucer Club will meet at 1 p.m. this Saturday, July 31, at the McDonald's meeting room on Todd Road in Lakeport.

Come and talk about UFOs, extraterrestrials, abductions or strange sightings.

The meeting will provide a friendly environment to discuss your experiences or learn about this subject.

All meetings are free and open to the public.

For more information visit http://meetup.com/lcflyingsaucerclub to register for meeting notices, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call Chip at 707-263-3391.

LUCERNE – The Lake County Democratic Club will meet at noon on Saturday, Aug. 14, in the Rose Room at the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center in Lucerne.

The senior center is located at 3985 Country Club Drive (corner of 10^th and Country Club) in Lucerne.

The special guest speakers for the August meeting will be Joey Luiz and Jeri Spittler, both of whom are candidates running for seats on the Clearlake City Council this fall.

The public is always invited to the regular Democratic Club meetings, which are held on the second Saturday of each month at noon in the Rose Room at Lucerne Alpine Senior Center.

Membership in the Lake County Democratic Club is open to registered members of the Democratic Party.

Contact the Democratic Party of Lake County at 707-277-0713 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Democratic Party of Lake County's Web site is www.lakecountydemocrats.org.

LOWER LAKE – Cathy Koehler, co-director of the UC Davis McLaughlin Reserve, will present a lecture titled, “Why is our region a hot spot of botanical diversity?” from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 31.

The lecture will take place at the reserve, 26775 Morgan Valley, Lower Lake.

If you asked the average person on the street where the nearest global biodiversity hot spot is, what answers would you expect? Maybe the Brazilian rainforests? Indonesia?

Well, how about California and – even more specifically – right where we are living, in Lake County?

In our region, a unique climate and a complex geologic history have produced tremendous variation in how moisture, temperature, soil types and soil nutrients come together.

These factors govern how plants distribute themselves across the landscape, and provide opportunities for the evolution of species that associate with unique conditions.

The end result is that we are living in one of the 25 locations across the globe that together comprise only 1.4 percent of the earth's land surface but contain 44 percent of vascular plants and 35 percent of vertebrate species on the planet.

Koehler will give an overview of the processes that have lead to California, and our small corner of it in particular, being one of these amazing hots pots of biodiversity.

For more information call 707-995-9005.