MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Art Center is among the recipients of the California Arts Council’s 2017 Local Impact grant recipients for an upcoming, year-long project called “Resilience.”

“We are thrilled to receive support from the California Arts Council to launch ‘Resilience,’” said Lisa Kaplan, executive director of MAC.

“This grant allows us to provide broad access to the arts for all residents of Lake County,” said Kaplan. “It’s a multi-disciplinary project focused on the regeneration of nature after the Jerusalem, Rocky, Valley and Clayton fires. ‘Resilience’ will act as a mirror reflecting the revitalization of individuals and the community at large through image and word.”

The wildfires provide a unique opportunity to observe nature’s regeneration through a cycle of seasons.  

The Resilience project will address regeneration and/or resilience with monthly five-hour workshops in each of four disciplines: Painting, photography, printmaking and poetry/spoken word.

Participants ages 12 through older seniors are encouraged to take a monthly classes in one or all four disciplines for $5 per class or $60 for a complete series in one discipline.

The project will culminate in a countywide art exhibit and a chapbook entitled “Resilience” to showcase images and words from the overall project. 

Each workshop is designed to be an engaging and constructive experience where participants will learn and create through the guidance of professional artists, educators, poets, writers and naturalists.

Guests artists will provide master classes, public lectures and poetry readings. 

“From beginner to professional, all are welcome to participate in the Resilience project,” said Kaplan.  “Whether you come to one class or all classes in all four disciplines, attend poetry readings, nature walks or exhibitions, we want folks to take advantage of this wonderful county wide opportunity.”

Classes begin in early June and participants should register as soon as possible.

Visit www.middletownartcenter.org and click on the “Resilience” page for full details, or come by the center, located at the junction of highways 175 and 29 between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., Thursday through Sunday, or call 707-809-8118.

“While arts programming cannot directly impact health conditions, stem the tide of unemployment, or restore housing, it can reduce lingering post-traumatic stress by creating a sense of order amidst chaos, and fostering positive attitudes and wellness through expressions of loss, grief and hope,” said Kaplan. 

Kaplan said the grant required a combination of monetary and in-kind matches, and she expressed gratitude to St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake, the Lake County Arts Council, the Lake Area Rotary Club Association, Lake County Rising, the Lake County Land Trust, the cities of Lakeport and Clearlake, Woodland Community College’s Lake County Campus, The Hub Lower Lake, the Middletown Luncheon Club, Middletown Merchant’s Association and many others.

She credited those contributing organizations with understanding “the power of art to elevate, enrich, strengthen and sustain a community.”

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is paying property taxes and franchise fees of more than $337 million this spring to the 50 California counties and 243 cities where the energy company owns and operates gas and electric infrastructure that serves 16 million Californians.

“Property tax and franchise fee payments are one of the important ways PG&E helps drive local economies and supports essential public services like education and public safety. This year’s higher payments reflect the substantial local investments we are making in our gas and electric infrastructure to create one of the safest and most reliable energy companies in the nation,” said Jason Wells, senior vice president and chief financial officer for PG&E.

PG&E pays franchise fees to cities and counties for the use of public streets for its gas and electric facilities. The energy company submitted the fees to counties by March 31 and to cities by April 15.

Lake County received approximately $799,463.25 from PG&E.

Amounts paid to neighboring counties are as follows: included Colusa, $4,228,853.05; Glenn, $709,000.54; Mendocino, $1,444,810.50; Napa, $2,131,724.98; Sonoma, $6,053,761.93; Tehama, $1,066,552.10; and Yolo, $2,174,857.59.

Santa Clara received the highest amount of all of the counties, $23,934,947.57, while San Diego received the lowest amount, $7,386.97.

PG&E’s franchise fee payments totaled nearly $132 million – almost $31 million for natural gas and $101 million for electric service. This sum is more than $6 million more than the previous year’s total.

In addition, PG&E also collected and remitted to cities and counties over $25 million in statutory franchise fee surcharges.

PG&E also increased its payment of property taxes sharply this year as the energy company continued to make significant investments in its gas and electric system to improve safety and reliability.

Last month, PG&E paid property taxes of over $205 million to the 50 counties in which it owns property. The payment covers the period from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2017.

Total payments for the tax year of July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017 are more than $411 million – an increase of $25 million over, or 7 percent more than, the prior fiscal year.

PG&E invested about $5.7 billion last year and expects to invest about $6 billion this year to enhance and upgrade its gas and electrical infrastructure across Northern and Central California. One example is PG&E constructing a $75 million-gas operations technical training center in Winters.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The California Department of Water Resources on Wednesday offered an update on operations at the Lake Oroville spillways.

On Sunday DWR completed the transition from incident emergency response to incident emergency recovery at the damaged spillways.
 
Officials said emergency recovery includes construction of the main spillway and the emergency spillway throughout the summer and fall.

DWR reported that the main spillway will be operational by Nov. 1 to accommodate flows from winter storms.

Additional work will begin again in 2018 to complete reconstruction of both spillways, the agency said.

DWR said it will begin ramping down outflows from the main spillway on Friday, May 19, at 9 a.m., with outflows expected to stop by Friday afternoon. The gates at the main spillway are closing to accommodate the construction work on the main spillway.
 
“We are making gradual changes to outflows and river levels and will continue to adjust as we balance community concerns, regulatory requirements and Mother Nature,” said acting DWR Director Bill Croyle.
 
DWR said it intends to keep the gates at the main spillway closed for the remainder of the season.
 
Agency officials that, as part of the ongoing site preparation work that is under way – in addition to the upcoming use of the main spillway – some soil and concrete may be dislodged from the spillway structure. This is expected and will not delay construction.

To balance flows in the Feather River, the Hyatt Powerplant flows are expected to ramp up from 5,000 cubic feet per second to 8,100 cubic feet per second at 1 p.m. Friday.
 
Penstock 1 at Hyatt Powerplant is expected to come online after routine and scheduled maintenance early next week. Once Penstock 1 is back in use, Hyatt Powerplant will have the ability to release 13,000 cubic feet per second.

The River Valves Outlet System has the capacity to release an additional 4,000 cubic feet per second should DWR deem it necessary. A contingency plan is in place should reservoir levels require that the main spillway be used once more this spring or summer.
 
The forecast flows downstream in the Feather River will be a gradual transition over four days, beginning at 20,550 cubic feet per second on Friday morning and ramping down to 5,300 cubic feet per second to Sunday, before the outflow is allowed to rise to 9,800 cubic feet per second beginning on Sunday night.

Meantime, Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. – shown in the video above at work at the site on Tuesday – is expected to ramp up construction work on Monday, May 22. DWR said the complete recovery or replacement of the spillways will be done in multiple phases due to the enormity of the project and the time limitations of the construction season.
 
Work has already started on portions of work like road construction and slope stabilization in and around future work areas which needs to be completed regardless of spillway recovery design decisions.
 
The public can watch construction activities through a live feed from two cameras at the site.

Hosted by the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the Lake Oroville State Recreation Area Spillway Live Stream is at www.parks.ca.gov/live/lakeorovillesra_spillway .

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Ami Barker, an eighth grade math teacher in the Middletown Unified School District, has been selected as the 2017-18 Lake County Teacher of the Year.

Barker will represent Lake County in the upcoming California Teacher of the Year competition, according to April Leiferman, assistant superintendent of schools of the Lake County Office of Education, who announced Barker’s selection.

Each year the school districts in the county select one exemplary teacher as their district teacher of the year. A committee of community leaders then interviews these candidates.

The criteria for selection of the county teacher of the year is based upon the state and national requirements, which include professional development activities, commitment to the improvement of the educational system, personal attributes, creativity and ability to communicate ideas effectively, and professional skills in delivering curriculum and instruction to students.

This year’s selection committee members were Annette Lee, April Leiferman, Nyla Norris and 2016-17 Lake County Teacher of the Year Kim Harris.

The outstanding District Teachers of the Year for 2017-18 are Tammi Mendonca, Kelseyville Unified School District; Joel Sombs, Upper Lake Unified School District; Curtis Reichert, Lakeport Unified School District; and Rick Easter, Konocti Unified School District.

Barker holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies and graduated from California State University, Chico in 1992.

She is furthering her career in educational administration and will be graduating with her master’s degree in June from Concordia University of Irvine.

Barker has been teaching for 19 years, and has been at Middletown Middle School the past nine years.

She is the teacher in charge, site council chair, safe schools ambassador, yearbook advisor, after school tutor, current Middletown Teachers Association treasurer and Middletown 4-H leader, and runs the lunchtime detention program.

Both students and staff at Middletown Middle School find Barker indispensable to their campus. She is dedicated to her work, to her students and the community.

Her students feel connected and able to talk to her. “She could teach a rock math and they would enjoy it,” one student said.

Her goal is to one day move into school administration, but for now she wants to continue teaching the students of Lake County.

Barker has two children age 21 and 17. She is an avid reader and reads the complete Harry Potter series every summer.

She has a brown belt in Kajukenbo Karate, and enjoys spending time with her family.

Barker and the district teachers of the year will be honored for their exceptional achievements at an event this fall.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County’s fallen safety officers will be honored in a memorial ceremony this Friday.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office chaplains will host the event, which will begin at 6 p.m. at the Lake County Memorial Park in front of the Historic Courthouse Museum, 255 N. Main St. in Lakeport.

The public is invited to attend and honor the individuals who put their lives on the line every day in Lake County.

The ceremony will remember five individuals who gave their lives in the performance of their duties.

They are Sheriff George Kemp, Deputy William Hoyt and Sgt. Richard Helbush, and firemen Michael Mattioda and Matthew Black.

The names of California law enforcement officers and firemen that died in 2016 also will be read.

Retired Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells, Deputy Jake Steely and California High Patrol Sgt. Matt Norton also will be remembered during the event. While their death was not a result of a line of duty incident, the chaplains said they deserve to be remembered for their contribution to making Lake County safe for its residents and guests.

The U.S. Fire Administration reports that 89 firemen died in the line of duty in 2016. Four were from California. The California firefighters’ deaths were the result of a dozier accident, traffic accident, health and a falling rock.

According to the Officer Down Web site, 145 law enforcement officers were killed in 2016, along with 63 police dogs (K9s) that died in public service. Eleven officers and five K9s were from California.

Nationwide, 64 police officers died as a result of deadly assault. This represents a 53-percent increase in gunfire deaths, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Web site. Twenty-one of those officers were ambushed.