The public is invited to the park, located on Highway 53 between Clearlake and Lower Lake, to celebrate education by supporting local classrooms and schools.

Music is planned for the whole day, and both nature walks and tours of the historical ranch house are being offered.

Teachers and students will sell crafts, products and food to earn money for field trips and special events.

You will experience all levels and grades highlighting their individual talents –from kindergarten to 12th grade.

The Career Technology Pathway Program at Lower Lake High School will feature delicious food from their Culinary Program. The Construction and Welding Programs will offer handmade products for the most selective shoppers. You will see one-of-a-kind items for your home and garden.

The Automotive Pathway will raffle oil changes and sell certificates for other automotive services.

All proceeds from services, crafts and food sales will directly benefit the individual classrooms. AMIA is proud to support outdoor education at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park and we are excited to participate with schools in this wonderful hometown event.

Anderson Marsh is the ideal outdoor educational classroom and it is also a great place for community to come together and spend a beautiful day at the park.

Several local groups and individuals will provide music all day and AMIA will provide tours of the historic ranch house and guided nature walks. The Children’s Museum of Art’s and Science will coordinate old-fashioned games for kids such as sack and wheel barrow races.

Sorry, no pets or alcohol allowed. Bring your own lawn chair or blanket. Seating is not provided.

The Lower Lake Culinary program will have drinks and food available at reasonable prices. Other classrooms will have a variety of snacks, sodas, lemonade and ice tea at minimal cost.

If you are interested in a guided tour by trained docent volunteers, dress in layers and meet at the front parking lot of Anderson Marsh at 8 a.m. Bring water and wear appropriate walking shoes and bring your favorite walking stick.

The cost for adults 18 and over is $2; those under 18 and over 65 may attend for free.

For more information please call 707-995-2658 or email www.andersonmarsh.org.

KELSEYVILLE – The Lake County Land Trust is inviting supporters to attend its annual Spring Dinner on Tuesday, May 11, at the Saw Shop Gallery Bistro in Kelseyville.

This annual dinner is presented by Saw Shop owner Marie Beery.

Music for the social hour will be provided by David Neft and local art will also be for sale. The public is warmly invited to attend.

All proceeds from this event go to support the many Lake County Land Trust projects.

Call 707-278-0129 to make your reservation. Payment of $60 is taken at the door.

LAKEPORT – There will be another Tea Party Patriot "peaceful" rally on Thursday, April 15, starting at 5 p.m. All Lake County citizens and guests are welcome to attend.

Lake County rallies are part of an ongoing series of nationwide demonstrations, which have had expanding attendance since the initial ones staged in late February 2009.

According to Sarah Bond, CEO of SoCal-TRC, there are currently 77 Tax Day Tea Party events slated for California (as compared to 56 last year); an additional dozen are still being scheduled.

The local rally will be held in front of the old courthouse, which is located at 255 N. Main St. in Lakeport.

This event is being sponsored by the Lake County Tea Party Patriots. The Lake County Tea Party Patriots is a grass roots group that believes in:

• Fiscal responsibility;

• Follow the Constitution;

• Free markets;

• Educating the citizens of the community.

Lake County Tea Party Patriots is a nonpartisan group who will NOT endorse any candidate.

For further information, please contact Susie Kaplar (Tea Party Leader) at 661-803-1526.

LAKEPORT – Kids’ Plate of California and the First 5 Lake Commission have joined forces to insure the continuation of the Children’s Safety Car Seat Program.

Kid’s Plate staff has announced that it is allocating 54 car seats to Lake County.

State Farm Insurance Corp., through the efforts of State Farm Agent Nanette Dutcher, is contributing funding to purchase an additional 20 car seats.

First 5 Lake is committed to matching the State Farm grant, thus 94 children’s car seats will be available to low or moderate income families until the inventory runs out.

First 5 Lake has established a safety car seat inspection station network throughout Lake County. Each station has Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians. Families can bring their auto, car seat and child to an inspection station to receive instruction on how to properly fit a child’s safety seat in the car and the child in the seat.

While this may sound easy to do, in fact most seats are installed incorrectly, thus increasing the chance of injury to the child in case of an accident.

Incorrect installations occur because of the multiple types of car seats and models of cars on the market. A “one size fits all’ approach simply does not work.

There is no fee for this inspection and instruction. A new car seat will be provided, if required, with the understanding that the supply is limited.

Inspection stations can be found at:

• Middletown Fire Station on Highway 175, 707-987-3089, Extension 1, by appointment;

• Clearlake Fire Station on Olympic Drive, 707-994-2170, by appointment;

• California Highway Patrol in Kelseyville, 707-279-0103, by appointment

First 5 Lake also is providing funding to train child passenger safety technicians. The four-day training course will begin on Tuesday, April 27, with the certification exam occurring on Friday, April 30.

Any interested member of the public willing to volunteer time to serve at an inspection station can participate in the training.

To register go to www.safekids.org; the course identification number is CA20100324321.

If you have any questions please call Tammy Alakszay at 707-263-6291.

Kids’ Plate of California was established by the California legislature in 1992. It receives its funds from the sale of Kids’ Plates motor vehicle license plates. These funds collected through the Department of Motor Vehicles are in turn made available to local communities to help prevent childhood injuries, and child abuse while at the same time supporting child care licensing.

More than 700 grants have been awarded to local communities to date. Every automobile owner can support this program by purchasing a Kids’ Plate.

For more information visit the Kids’ Plate Web site at www.kidsplates.org.

First 5 Lake Commission is dedicated to Early Healthy Childhood Development. Established in 2001, First 5 Lake funds a series of programs that offer services to improve child development, strengthen families and provide better health care.

UKIAH – The Area Agency on Aging of Lake and Mendocino Counties (AAA) and the Older Adult System of Care of Mendocino County (OASOC) invite you to celebrate Older Americans, Elder Abuse Prevention and Mental Health during the month of May.

AAA and OASOC are co-sponsoring the annual Public Awareness Conference on elder abuse prevention and healthy aging.

This year’s conference is entitled “Healthy Communities: Advocacy, Self-Care, & Longevity.” The event will be held at the Ukiah Valley Conference Center on Wednesday, May 19, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The daylong event will feature Irving Hellman PhD, licensed geropsychologist.

Dr. Hellman will present on advocacy for elders and self-care for caregivers. The day will begin with a panel discussion with representatives from the district attorney’s offices of Lake County and Mendocino County, discussing elder abuse prevention in our communities.

The day will be rounded out with a presentation by centenarian, Lillian Vogel, PhD, author of “What’s My Secret,” talking about resiliency and longevity.

Registration is free and includes a continental breakfast and lunch.

Advanced registration is required. Seating is limited, so please, register early. Continuing education units are available. The registration deadline is April 30; participants must provide their license type and number at registration in order to receive continuing education units.

To register, or for more information, contact the Area Agency on Aging at 707-463-7775 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

One thing though, regardless if you are from the Scandinavian countries or from Canada, we all share one thing in common, a strong desire to learn more about our culture, the history, the food and the way of life of our ancestors.

If you would really like to learn a lot more about it, then the Sons of Norway is your ticket to knowledge, good food and good friends!

The Sons of Norway, Vikings of Lake Lodge, is having a membership drive and Lodge Seminar Luncheon at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 18.

This lovely lunch is free if you are a guest of a lodge member.

Yearly dues are $47.50 for a member and $40.50 for a spouse. You don’t have to be 100 percent Norwegian, Canadian, Swedish, Danish or Finnish. You can be 50 percent or 25 percent, it doesn’t even matter.

The lodge also has heritage members who are children or grandchildren of the member up to 15 years of age. There are Unge Venner members who are children or grandchildren of members, from 16 up to 23 years of age who live with the member; all at no additional cost.

Members meet once a month on the third Wednesday at the Galilee Lutheran Church Community Center, located at 8860 Soda Bay Road in Soda Bay.

Another great feature with the Sons of Norway is their financial planning which is for members only. They have great financial benefits counselors (FBCs) at your disposal to create an outstanding financial package for you along with life insurance policies to specifically fit your needs.

For those who like to RV and camp they have Camp Norge located in Alta, an easy 2 ½ hour drive east of Lake County off I-80. This is a beautiful camp site and recreation area just for just Sons of Norway members.

It offers cabins, dorms, tenting and RV hook ups, all at great rates. There also is a new Heritage Hall with a fully equipped kitchen. They have yearly events at Camp Norge which brings all of us together for good times and down home cooking. Check out the camp at www.campnorge.com .

If this interests you, contact Vale Hanzel at 707-928-1060 (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or Joyce Vaughn at 707-998-3583 (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) for additional information and learn how to sign up.

You can also check out the lodge Web site, www.vikingsoflakelodge.org .