LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – This Saturday, community members and officials will be on hand to celebrate a significant milestone in Lake County’s recovery from the devastating Valley and Clayton fires.

During a ceremony scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Anderson Springs Recreation Center, ground will officially be broken on the $10.5 million Anderson Springs wastewater collection system.

The community also will celebrate homes that will be rebuilt in the area and remember the two-year anniversary of the Valley fire.

Refreshments will be provided and the community is invited to attend.

Congressman Mike Thompson, Sen. Mike McGuire, Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, Lake County officials and state agency representatives will all be on hand to participate in the event.

“I cannot say thank you enough for the amazing work by so many at the local, state and federal levels of government who have made these projects a reality,” Sen. McGuire said. “Sept. 30 will be a true milestone in the recovery process from these devastating fires. We all know there is a lot more work in front of us, but we wanted to take a moment to celebrate these important investments that will help make South Lake County stronger in the years to come.”

The event on the morning of Saturday, Sept. 30, will be emceed by Sen. McGuire and will kick off with Congressman Thompson, acting as emcee.

Aguiar-Curry, Lake County Supervisors Rob Brown and Moke Simon, as well as representatives from Cal Fire, the State Water Board and the California Department of Emergency Services also will be on hand to speak at the event.

The officials will then ceremonially “break ground” on the Anderson Springs Wastewater Collection System.

“Two years ago, the Valley fire tore through our community, taking homes, livelihoods and equity from thousands in our community,” said Thompson. “Today, while we still have a long way to go, I’m so proud of how we’ve been able to rally together and make significant progress in rebuilding. The Anderson Springs wastewater project is another big step towards getting our county back on its feet. Between this and the rest of the ongoing recovery efforts under way in south Lake County, I have no doubt that we will rebuild our community stronger and better than ever.”

“The residents of Lake County are some of the most resilient people I’ve met throughout Assembly District 4,” Aguiar-Curry said. “I am honored to work alongside Congressman Thompson, Sen. McGuire and the local community to help rebuild, revitalize and support economic development in Lake County.”

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – To keep his constituents informed about the latest on the Cassidy-Graham health bill, Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, Davis, Yuba City) is hosting two tele-town halls on Tuesday, Sept. 26.

The town halls will take place at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, with a telephone callout to be made to thousands of District Three residents.

In addition, all residents can listen live on the Facebook stream at http://www.facebook.com/repgaramendi. It will be the topmost link all day tomorrow and questions can be asked through the online platform.

Garamendi’s office said the Cassidy-Graham health bill is more harmful to Third Congressional District residents than any health bill considered this year

Health care experts will be on both calls to answer questions from constituents and address specific impacts on the Third District.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A Sacramento man died on Saturday after his dirt bike collided with an off-road vehicle in a remote area on the Northshore.

The California Highway Patrol on Monday did not release the name of the 24-year-old crash victim pending notification of next of kin.

The CHP’s Clear Lake Area office said the crash occurred at 2:55 p.m. Saturday on Bartlett Springs Road west of Walker Ridge Road.

The Sacramento man was riding a 2002 Yamaha dirt bike eastbound on Bartlett Springs Road while Adam Anderson, 44, of Martinez was traveling westbound in a 2017 Can-Am Maverick, the CHP said.

The CHP said the drivers were approaching each other and negotiating a curve in the road when, for reasons still under investigation, they collided head-on.

Following the wreck, the dirt bike’s rider succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, the CHP said.

The CHP said Anderson was determined to not be under the influence. Due to the Yamaha driver’s injuries, officials don’t yet know his sobriety status.

Neither Anderson nor his passenger, 38-year-old Artem Martinov of Lafayette, were injured, the CHP said.

All three individuals were using their safety equipment at the time of the crash, according to the CHP report.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Rotary International has been instrumental in collective efforts around the world to put an end to the dreaded disease that once crippled 35,000 children a year, in the US alone. The Rotary Club of Middletown has long been active in raising funds toward that end.

That goal is in sight: The United State has experienced no active polio cases since 1979 and there have been none in the western hemisphere in 1991.

Although a minimal 75 cases were recorded the spread of polio continues in Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan.

The live virus has been reintroduced in Chad and Republic of the Congo, proving that the disease could gain a foothold again if not totally eradicated.

Next Sunday, Oct. 1, proceeds of a pasta feed at Middletown Mansion, offered by local Rotarians, will go toward fighting polio.

The feed begins at 4 p.m. at 20650 Highway 29 less than a mile north of Middletown.

The fight against polio is but one of the commendable efforts of local Rotarians. Among others, Middletown members have for many years traveled to small towns in Jalisco, Mexico, where their personal labor results in considerable improvement to essential infrastructure in those communities.

Efforts by individual Rotarians also are noteworthy.

In August, Rotarian Monica Rosenthal participated in a six-day Pedal 4 Polio bike ride and garnered an appreciable amount of donations from south Lake County residents for the local chapter to send to the anti-polio effort.

In November, local runner Brien Crothers will join the fight against polio with his entry in the famed six-day Marathon des Sables, which this year will stretch for 155 miles across the scorching sands of the Ica Desert, Peru.

When the goal is so close, at a time when we all live among people and products transported from every corner of the world, putting an end to polio is unquestionably a worthy cause.

You can help, without making all that much of a commitment. Simply enjoy a fun evening with good food, good music and good companionship.

Tickets to the pasta feed can be purchased, for $20 each, at www.middletowncarotary.org, by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by calling Kathey at 707-355-0393.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors this week will present awards to employees for service to the county and will consider the second reading of an ordinance regarding outdoor marijuana cultivation.

The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8 and online at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx. Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.

At 9:30 a.m., the board will present the annual employee service awards.

In an untimed item, the board will hold a second reading of an ordinance amending Article 72 of the Lake County Code to allow the outdoor cultivation of medical marijuana, or cannabis, in "RL" Rural Lands and to create a certification of compliance process for cannabis cultivation. The first reading was approved at last week’s meeting.

The full agenda is below.

CONSENT AGENDA

7.1: Approve advisory board appointment of Margaret Sanders for the Western Regional Town Hall or WRTH.

7.2: Approve minutes of the Board of Supervisors meetings held June 27, 2017, and July 11, 2017.

7.3: (a) Waive the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of goods or services; and (b) approve the agreement between the county of Lake and St. Helena Hospital for the fiscal year 2017-18 for a contract maximum of $100,000 and authorize the board chair to sign the agreement.

7.4: Adopt a resolution to approve Lake County's application for No Place Like Home Technical Assistance Funds, authorize the Lake County Behavioral Health Administrator to sign and submit the funding application and authorize the Lake County Behavioral Health administrator to sign the resulting funding agreement with the state of California.

7.5: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and Softfile Business Services for records management services in an amount not to exceed $50,000 and authorize the chair to sign.

7.6: Approve waiver of Anti-Nepotism Policy Section 2203.1 for Celia Hoberg.

7.7: Approve amendment two to agreement between the county of Lake and Quincy Engineering Inc. for final design and right-of-way services for the South Main Street and Soda Bay Road Corridor Improvement Project in Lake County for an increase of $162,843.73; and authorize the chair to sign.

7.8: Authorize blanket approval for long-distance travel by Child Welfare Services social workers to conduct case related activities on behalf of juvenile and non-minor dependents in court-ordered placement through juvenile court within and/or outside the state of California.

TIMED ITEMS

8.2, 9:15 a.m.: Hearing, consideration of appeal of nuisance abatement; located at 2765 Larches Way, Clearlake Oaks (APN 062-511-15 - John Laughridge and Brenda Allen Nance).

8.3, 9:30 a.m.: Presentation of Employee Service Awards.

8.4, 9:44 a.m.: Consideration of projects for community development block grant applications under the 2016 Butte and Valley Wildfire Recovery Disaster Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) and direction to staff.

8.5, 9:45 a.m.: Public hearing, consideration and discussion of community development block grant notice of funding availability.

8.6, 10 a.m.: Hearing, consideration of appeal of nuisance abatement, located at 6825 Virginia, Lucerne (APN 006-342-16 - Dennis Cowels, property owner; Ernest Jones, tenant).

UNTIMED ITEMS

9.2: Consideration of subordination agreement with the city of Clearlake Redevelopment Agency.

9.3: Second reading, consideration of ordinance amending Article 72 of the Lake County Code to allow the outdoor cultivation of medical cannabis in "RL" Rural Lands and to create a certification of compliance process for cannabis cultivation.

CLOSED SESSION

10.2: Public employee evaluations: Child Support Services director.

10.3: Conference with legal counsel: Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9 (d)(2), (e)(3) – Claim of PG&E.

10.4: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9 (d)(1) – Loberg v. County of Lake, et al.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Lake Family Resource Center will once again present events and activities in October as part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Organizers say it takes a coordinated effort from all corners of the community – individuals, advocates, community groups, law enforcement, faith-based organizations and schools – to combat the scourge of domestic violence with intervention and prevention, and to declare that it will no longer be tolerated in the community.

The center encourages the community to help break the silence by participating in the following events.

Three domestic violence proclamations will be presented in October.

The Lakeport City Council will present its proclamation at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3, at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.; the Clearlake City Council’s proclamation is planned for Thursday, Oct. 12, at 6 p.m. at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive; and the Board of Supervisors will offer its proclamation at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

The community is urged to attend and support the efforts of the agencies assisting victims of domestic violence and to increase their involvement in efforts to prevent further violence.

On Wednesday, Oct. 11, “Health Cares about Domestic Violence Day” takes place.

Health care providers and community members are encouraged to wear the color purple, the symbolic hue for domestic violence awareness.

Purple represents the courage, survival, honor and dedication needed to end domestic violence, and also serves to remember victims and honor survivors. It also has a long history of being used as a symbol by those seeking justice.

This day aims to reach members of the health care community with education about the critical importance of screening for domestic violence.

Then join them for the fourth annual “Power of the Purple Walk” at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, rain or shine, at Lake Family Resource Center, located at 5350 Main St., Kelseyville.

Participants are encouraged to raise awareness of the issue by embracing the color purple, with the town of Kelseyville to be decorated with the color.

The walk is an untimed and free event, however, donations are gratefully accepted. Once the walk is completed, cake and souvenirs will be offered.

The "Dyeing to End Domestic Violence" fundraiser also will take place in October.

This will be an eye-catching, month-long awareness event where individuals are encouraged to color their hair purple for domestic violence awareness. Challenge someone to dye their hair purple and make a pledge at a dollar a day for each day their hair goes purple.

Collect as many sponsors as possible. Sponsorship forms are available www.facebook.com/DyeingToEndDV or at 5350 Main St. Kelseyville.

All pledges/donations will benefit Lake Family Resource Center’s domestic violence prevention program.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With the return of cooler weather and reduced wildfire dangers, the Bureau of Land Management has rescinded fire restrictions on public lands managed by the Ukiah and Arcata field offices in Del Norte, Humboldt, Trinity, Mendocino, Lake, Sonoma, Napa, Yolo, Colusa, Glenn and Solano counties.

The BLM is also lifting restrictions on target shooting that have been in effect since midsummer on public lands managed by the Ukiah Field Office.

Easing of restrictions means that public land visitors can again use campfires outside of developed campgrounds and posted recreation sites.

Campfire permits are required. Permits are available at the BLM Ukiah Field Office, 2550 N. State St.in Ukiah or the Arcata Field Office, 1695 Heindon Road, Arcata.

“Even though we’ve had rain, people still need to be careful with fire,” said Tim Jones, fire management officer for the BLM. “Fires should never be used on windy days, and it is imperative that campers fully extinguish campfires before leaving a campsite.”

The BLM is committed to keeping public landscapes healthy and productive.

More information is available by telephoning the Ukiah Field Office, 707-468-4000, or the Arcata Field Office, 707-825-2300.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Police Department has a new piece of equipment to use during investigations and critical incidents thanks to the generosity of the Lake County Fire Protection District.

Acting Clearlake Police Department Chief Tim Celli said the agency recently received a surplus ambulance from Lake County Fire, with the ambulance to serve as a police incident command vehicle.

Celli said it will be useful to police officers and staff in a variety of functions, including crime scene investigation as well as at other scenes or incidents where it might be necessary to form a unified command or have bulk equipment on hand.

He said investigations staff had expressed the need for a crime scene or evidence vehicle for some time.

Staff could also have used such a vehicle on several occasions, including large-scale search operations during missing persons cases for planning and information gathering, various crime scenes where it was necessary to have specialized equipment for evidence gathering and as an incident command during the evacuations for the Clayton fire last year, Celli said.

Celli said staff realized that having certain equipment readily available and on hand would make responses more efficient and save time for employees who would otherwise have to shuttle equipment back and forth to on-scene personnel as needed.

Command staff recognized the usefulness and efficiency that a vehicle like this could bring to emergency efforts and reached out to the Lake County Fire Chief Willie Sapeta to find out if he or his staff could help them find such a vehicle on a limited budget, Celli said.

It was at that time that Chief Sapeta told the police department that his district would soon be able to surplus one of the ambulances from its emergency fleet. Celli said police staff thought this vehicle would be the right fit to suit the needs of the department.

When the Lake County Fire Protection Board heard of the police department’s need, intended use and the efficiency it would bring for various operations, it voted unanimously to surplus the vehicle to the police department, Celli said.

Celli said the vehicle has received a fresh coat of paint and was marked with the police department logos. The vehicle also will be outfitted with equipment funded through leftover funds from AB 109 grant and asset forfeiture.

“I believe this vehicle will help staff operate at a more efficient level when timing is critical,” Celli said.

“The Clearlake Police Department and Lake County Fire Protection District have built a good working relationship together, especially on emergency operations,” he added. “I want to thank the Lake County Fire Protection District for their generosity and all the help they have given us throughout the years. I look forward to the continued partnership.”

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – All during October the NEA Big Read in Lake County will feature “Station Eleven” by Emily St. John Mandel.

The NEA Big Read is a communitywide reading program where community members are all encouraged to read and discuss the same book.

The public is invited to join the Lake County Library’s Big Read to discuss Mandel’s post-apocalyptic novel that examines life and death, faith and fate, music and drama, arts and technology, and power and control.

Recurring images from the book include graphic novels, Shakespeare, classical music, tattoos and museums.

Free copies of the book will be available at all four Lake County Library branches beginning Sept. 26 and at Big Read events in October while supplies last.

Free versions of “Station Eleven” are available for download on the library’s online catalog as well as print and audio copies.

Learn more about the book selection and planned events, and sign up for the Big Read email updates on the Web site, www.lakecountybigread.com.

A century ago the Spanish Flu killed 3 to 5 percent of the world’s population. Seven centuries ago the Black Death killed 30 to 60 percent of Europe’s population, disturbing society’s balance for generations.

Now imagine what might happen if a plague were to kill 99 percent of humanity, if only 650 people remained in Lake County or only 40,000 in California.

What of our culture and knowledge would survive in such a time? What skills would people have to re-learn if modern commerce and production cease to exist? What would it mean to be human in a world with so few people?

Author Emily St. John Mandel imagined such a world in “Station Eleven,” her post-apocalyptic novel which is centered on the theme “survival is insufficient.”

“Station Eleven” is a haunting, elegiac novel about the events preceding and after a pandemic destroys civilization as we know it.

Shifting back and forth in time and viewing events from multiple perspectives, it primarily follows a Shakespeare troupe that travels by horse and buggy.

The performers survive by performing for the small towns and outposts that have formed in the 20 years that have passed since the pandemic devastated society.

With beautiful, insightful prose “Station Eleven” examines the purpose of art, the meaning of survival, and what it means to remember and be remembered.

“Station Eleven” has won many awards including the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the Toronto Book Award. The novel was also a finalist for the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award.

Mandel found her theme in a bit of dialogue from an episode of the television program “Star Trek: Voyager.” The line, uttered first by Seven of Nine and later by The Doctor, says that it is better to live fully for a short time than to endure an existence devoid of hope and vitality.

NEA Big Read events around Lake County will explore various aspects of “Station Eleven” through visual and written works, musical and stage performances, food, demonstrations of forgotten skills, and more.

All of the Big Read events are free and open to the general public.

On Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 5:30 p.m. Lakeport Library’s Evening Book Club, which is open to the public, will discuss “Station Eleven.” The address is 1425 N. High St. in Lakeport.

Lakeport Library’s Little Read Storytime on Friday, Oct. 6, at 10:15 a.m. will explore themes of art, music and theatre for toddlers and elementary school children as part of the Big Read.

On Oct. 6 from 6 to 8 p.m., the Lake County Arts Council’s First Friday Fling will feature artworks related to Station Eleven and a discussion of the importance of art even in dire times. The Arts Council Gallery is located at 325 N. Main St. in Lakeport. The phone number is 707-263-6658.

Saturday, Oct. 7, will be the Forgotten Skills Fair at the Courthouse Museum, 255 N. Main St. in Lakeport, from 1 to 5 p.m. Local artisans will demonstrate old skills such as spinning yarn, washing clothes on a washboard, butter churning, pottery making, and flint knapping, just like the survivors in “Station Eleven.” This event is free.

A graphic novel is one of the recurring themes of “Station Eleven.” The Middletown Arts Center at 21456 Highway 175 in Middletown will host a free graphic novel and storyboarding workshop for ages 12 and up on Sunday, Oct. 8, noon to 5 p.m.

“Station Eleven” will be the jumping-off point for the workshop projects. Register for the workshop at middletownartcenter.org/resilience.html. Call 707-809-8118 for more details.

“Station Eleven” described the devastating consequences of a worldwide epidemic, a pandemic.

On Wednesday, Oct. 11, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Lakeport Library learn how your local Public Health department detects and takes action to prevent the spread of disease and what everyone can do to help. Dr. Karen Tait will present this free program.

The culinary program at the Lake County Campus of Woodland College will prepare and sell “survival-camp food”, a delicious venison stew at noon on Tuesday, Oct. 17. Come for lunch and a presentation featuring “Station Eleven.” A Shakespeare skit and an activity that focuses on “more than survival” will follow lunch.

The campus is located at 15880 Dam Rd. Extension in Clearlake. For information call Pamela Bordisso at 707-995-7914.

Middletown Library’s book club will discuss “Station Eleven” on Wednesday, Oct. 18, at 2:30 p.m. The meeting is open to the public at the library, 21256 Washington St.

The Lake County Arts Council’s Poets & Writers group will explore the book’s beautiful poetic prose on Oct. 18 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Lake County Arts Council, 325 N. Main St. in Lakeport. The public is invited to this free event. O’Meara Brothers Brewery has created a special beer called “Station Eleven” that will be served at this event.

Two local breweries, O’Meara Brothers Brewing Co. at 901 Bevins St. in Lakeport and Kelsey Creek Brewing Co. at 3945 Main St. in Kelseyville have created “Station Eleven” brews in honor of the Lake County Big Read.

The Soper Reese Theatre at 275 S. Main St. in Lakeport will host “Traveling Symphony: Shakespeare from ‘Station Eleven’,” a free afternoon of music and Shakespeare on Saturday, Oct. 21, from 2 to 4 p.m. Members of the Lake County Symphony will perform a variety of musical selections and the Shakespeare in the Park troupe will perform a Shakespeare piece.

On Sunday, Oct. 22, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the Lake Center of Mendocino College, 2565 Parallel Drive in Lakeport, join the Big Read’s keynote speaker, novelist, playwright and Mendocino College professor Jody Gehrman in a free facilitated discussion, “Because Survival is Insufficient: A Community Discussion of ‘Station Eleven’ and Why we Persist with this Crazy Thing called Art.” Add your thoughts as they explore this beautifully constructed love letter to art, theatre and our persistent need to create.

On Wednesday, Oct. 25, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Lakeport Library will screen “Survival Instinct”, the episode of “Star Trek: Voyager” that inspired Emily St. John Mandel to create “Station Eleven.”

In “Station Eleven” the motto of the traveling Shakespeare troupe is “Survival is Insufficient” which is a quote from an episode of “Star Trek: Voyager.” Come watch “Star Trek: Voyager” for free at the library and explore what it means for survival to be “insufficient.”

The Redbud Library Book Discussion of “Station Eleven” will happen on Oct. 25 at 5 p.m. at the library, 14785 Burns Valley Road in Clearlake. The free discussion is open to all.

“Surviving the Apocalypse: Fact and Fiction” will be the topic on Saturday, Oct. 28, at 2 p.m. at Lakeport Library when Tammy Carter of Sutter Lakeside Hospital’s Infectious Disease Division helps sort out fact from fiction while discussing the pandemic that forever alters civilization in “Station Eleven.”

Join Susan Krones and county librarian Christopher Veach Oct. 28 at 4 p.m. for an on-air discussion of “Station Eleven” in a special Big Read edition of “Book Ends” on KPFZ Community Radio 88.1 FM.

A program of the National Endowment for the Arts, the NEA Big Read broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book.

Lake County Library is one of 77 nonprofit organizations across the country to receive a grant to host an NEA Big Read project between Sept. 1, 2017, and June 30, 2018.

Lake County Library is hosting the NEA Big Read with the help of the following partners: Lake County Friends of Mendocino College, Friends of the Mendocino College Library, Lake County Office of Education, Lake County Campus Woodland Community College, KPFZ 88.1FM Lake County Local Radio, the Lake County Museums, Lake County Arts Council, Middletown Art Center, Sutter Lakeside Hospital, O’Meara Brothers Brewing Company and Kelsey Creek Brewing Co.

Jan Cook is a technician with the Lake County Library.

"Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water." – Traditional English nursery rhyme

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County is renowned for its wild landscape with an abundance of flora and fauna.

Our lands are home to a wide variety of fauna, including bear, deer, elk, mountain lion, bobcat and smaller creatures like grey squirrel, ground squirrel and the ever-present jackrabbit.

The jackrabbit that makes its home here is the black-tailed jackrabbit.

That being said, a jackrabbit is actually a hare, which is not a rabbit, but a relative within the order Lagomorpha.

An outstanding difference between a hare and a rabbit is that a hare will freeze in place when threatened, while a rabbit will make a bee-line to its burrow to escape a predator.

The still-life pose that the hare assumes lasts until its attacker gets too close for comfort. Then, the hare will make use of its gangly-looking long legs which are truly lithe and nimble, and it will swerve and outmaneuver – if it's lucky – its attacker.

These remarkable animals often hop for 5 to 10 feet, rather than walk. During its fourth or fifth jump, it often hops higher to observe its surroundings.

If a predator, such as a fox, coyote, raptor or bobcat is on the prowl the jackrabbit can reach a speed of up to 35 miles per hour!

When threatened, it shows off its white, furry underside and sometimes thumps its hind feet, possibly as a warning to other jackrabbits that danger is nearby.

Both the jackrabbit female, known as a jill, along with the male, known as a jack, have long, satellite antennae-like ears – the better to hear you with!

Jackrabbits have burnished beige fur, speckled with black, and black-edged ears. Jackrabbits grow to reach a length of approximately 2 feet, and weigh in at 3 to 6 pounds.

These wily critters are not the largest of the North American hares, since the antelope jackrabbit, along with the white-tailed jackrabbit hold the distinction of being larger animals.

Breeding season, when they give chase and participate in frenzied skirmishes, is January to August.

It is common for the mammals to give birth to a litter of four young, which are born complete with fur and eyes wide open.

Becoming more active in late afternoon, the black-tailed jackrabbit usually rests, hidden in vegetation during the daylight hours.

Their diet consists mainly of grasses and shrubs. It is in the consumption of all of this plant matter that it obtains enough water to survive, requiring an equivalent water-to-body weight ratio to thrive.

Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also formerly wrote for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has a group of mostly herding and working dogs available for adoption this week.

This week’s available dogs include mixes of cattle dog, Doberman Pinscher, German Shepherd, heeler, hound, Labrador Retriever, pit bull and terrier.

Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.

If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.

The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).

Female heeler puppy

This female heeler puppy has a short red and white coat.

She is in kennel No. 2, ID No. 8553.

Terrier mix

This female terrier mix has a short white coat.

She already has been altered.

Shelter staff said she is deaf.

She is being offered for a low adoption fee.

Find her in kennel No. 3, ID No. 8515.

Female hound

This female hound has a short tan and white coat.

She is in kennel No. 18, ID No. 8537.

German Shepherd

This male German Shepherd has a long black and tan coat.

He’s in kennel No. 19, ID No. 8551.

Male pit bull terrier

This male pit bull terrier has a short white coat with black spots and floppy ears.

Shelter staff said he is offered free for adoption to the first approved applicant.

He’s very people-friendly, and good with medium-sized and large dogs; potential adopters will need to bring in their dogs for a meet and greet. He is not recommended for homes with small dogs or cats.

He’s in kennel No. 24, ID No. 8516.

Doberman Pinscher-cattle dog

This male Doberman Pinscher-cattle dog mix has a short blue, black, tan and white coat.

He’s in kennel No. 26, ID No. 8478.

Female cattle dog

This female adult cattle dog has a short red coat.

She’s in kennel No. 27, ID No. 8480.

Female cattle dog

This female cattle dog has a short black and white coat.

She’s in kennel No. 28, ID No. 8479.

Female cattle dog

This female cattle dog has a short brown coat.

She’s in kennel No. 29, ID No. 8464.

Cattle dog-hound mix

This male cattle dog-hound mix has a short gray coat.

He’s in kennel No. 31, ID No. 8462.

Female cattle dog

This female cattle dog has a short red coat.

She’s in kennel No. 32, ID No. 8476.

Female Labrador Retriever

This female Labrador Retriever has a short black coat.

She’s in kennel No. 33, ID No. 8477.

Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm.

For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

At more than 10 billion miles away from Earth, there is no day and night.

Time and space are fathomless and our Sun is a distant point of starlight – a faint reminder of the home NASA’s twin Voyagers, humanity’s farthest and longest-lived spacecraft, left behind 40 years ago.

Voyager 1, which launched on Sept. 5, 1977, and Voyager 2, launched on Aug. 20, 1977, continue to return data that shape our view and understanding of our place in the universe.

We often think of space as empty, but even the vacuum of space is filled with the remnants of stellar explosions from millions of years ago and dominated by invisible magnetic forces.

Such magnetic forces carve out unique space environments throughout the galaxy, each one like a neighborhood with its own distinct feel.

Voyager has helped scientists define the boundaries of our own stellar neighborhood – which scientists call the heliosphere – by returning observations about the conditions where the Sun’s influence wanes and interstellar space begins.

“Voyager is seeking out our place in the galaxy: How does the solar system interact with the rest of the galaxy and how does that affect us?” said Eric Christian, a space scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “If anything embodies the spirit of discovery, it’s Voyager.”

Christian served as Voyager program scientist for NASA Headquarters between 2002 and 2008, and continues to do scientific work with the mission.

These questions are key to understanding our own star and enabling human space exploration, but they could also shed light on the workings and potential habitability of other star systems.

The heliosphere is generated by the Sun’s constant outward flow of magnetic solar material, called the solar wind.

This high-speed wind fills the solar system and forms a vast bubble, more than 20 billion miles across, where the space inside is different from space outside.

Within the heliosphere, space is influenced by the dynamic properties of the Sun carried in the solar wind – including magnetic fields, energetic particles and ionized gases called plasma. The Sun and entire heliosphere move through interstellar space, and this relative motion shapes the heliosphere.

Exploring our interstellar backyard

Traveling at speeds of more than 35,000 mph, the Voyagers travel about 900,000 miles farther from Earth each day, a distance equal to roughly 36 times Earth’s circumference.

Five years ago, in August 2012, Voyager 1 crossed the edge of the heliosphere, called the heliopause, venturing for the first time into the space between stars, where no spacecraft had gone before.

The mission has informed researchers that inside the heliosphere, Earth and the rest of the solar system are shielded from cosmic radiation and wisps of hot hydrogen and helium gases composing what’s known as the Local Fluff – a series of massive clouds, each one several light-years wide, of interstellar medium through which the heliosphere is currently traveling.

No longer cocooned by the heliosphere, Voyager 1 is currently exploring our interstellar backyard, measuring one of these clouds and searching the Fluff for clues to our origins, and those of nascent solar systems.

“We’re not in a typical part of the galaxy, if there is a typical part of the galaxy,” Christian said. “We’re in a bubble where multiple supernovas blew up, and it’s amazing to be traveling through that. It would almost make you feel insignificant, if there wasn’t also plenty of things to learn here.”


Studying the nature of space itself

The probes’ planetary instruments were turned off after they passed the outer planets, but a suite of instruments carries out their interstellar mission.

Voyager 1 currently has four working instruments that measure the magnetic fields, charged energetic particles (two instruments are responsible for this) and low-frequency radio waves of its surroundings.

Voyager 2 also has these four, and additionally a working plasma sensor, which directly measures the solar wind.

Day in and day out, both Voyagers constantly beam data back to Earth. This feed of data is only received, however, when NASA’s Deep Space Network locks onto the spacecraft.

The project goal is to acquire at least 16 hours of real-time data per spacecraft each day, but the actual amount of time varies depending on the network’s resources.

Voyager 1, now almost 13 billion miles from Earth, travels through interstellar space north out of the plane of the planets, while Voyager 2, almost 11 billion miles away, travels south and is expected to enter interstellar space in the next few years.

The different locations of the two Voyagers allow scientists to compare two regions of space where the heliosphere interacts with the surrounding interstellar medium.

Once Voyager 2 crosses into the interstellar medium, they will also be able to sample this space from two different locations simultaneously.

The final frontier

Throughout their 40 years in space, the pioneering Voyagers have redefined what scientists consider the final frontier.

“Decades ago, the joke among scientists was that the estimation of the edge of the heliosphere was moving out at the same rate that Voyager was,” Christian said.

Their scientific legacy is unparalleled, and the mission still enables fascinating discoveries. More recently, Voyager 1 hinted that the magnetic field of the local interstellar medium is wrapped around the heliosphere.

Data from the probes also suggested an entirely new picture of the heliosphere – one that is much more compact and rounded than previously thought.

Communications with the spacecraft will be maintained until the Voyagers' nuclear power sources can no longer supply enough electricity to operate the satellites. Engineers expect each spacecraft to continue operating at least one science instrument until around 2025.

However, even after the spacecraft go silent, thanks to remarkable engineering, they’ll otherwise be in good condition.

Barring catastrophic collisions, the Voyagers are expected to continue to prosper on their lonely, boundless journeys, cruising at their present speed and completing an orbit around the center of the Milky Way every 225 million years.

The Voyager spacecraft were built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, which continues to operate both. The Voyager Interstellar Mission is currently part of the NASA Heliophysics System Observatory, sponsored by the Heliophysics Division of the Science Mission Directorate.

Lina Tran works for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.