The group will meet at noon at the Lake Family Resource Center, 896 Lakeport Blvd., Lakeport.

Lunch will be provided and all interested persons concerned with tobacco-related issues are invited to attend.

For more information Michael Rupe or Joy Swetnam at Lake Family Resource Center at 262-1611 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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The group will meet from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 15.

Board member Allen Markowski will share his pruning knowledge and skills at Leonardis Organics, 1010 Argonaut Road in Lakeport.

The public is welcome and participants can take part in pruning on a variety of trees, rosebushes and other shrubs. Please bring pruning tools to use and to share if you have them.

This is a great no-cost opportunity to become more knowledgeable in pruning existing plants and trees in order to provide a more productive local and sustainable harvest.

Carpooling is available by meeting at the regular Co-op location at 14773 Lakeshore Drive at 12:15 p.m.

For more information contact Lori Patotzka at 994-1618.

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The Stars Committee is actively seeking nominations from throughout Lake County, in 21 categories for these prestigious awards.

The program is co-sponsored Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa and more than 30 Lake County businesses. It provides recognition for the hardworking volunteers, businesses and organizations that do so much for Lake County.

It is the only recognition program of its kind in the county, states Jan Parkinson, Lakeport Regional Chamber of Commerce president. Parkinson notes that without those sponsorships the program could not take place.

More than 220 Star Awards have been given in the past 11 years of this program. It is only through the residents of Lake County that the Chamber learns of nominees. Look around at the people, businesses and organizations you deal with daily, for potential nominees. Who will your nominee be?

Please remember that Stars is not a popularity contest, it is not the number of times an entity is nominated, but rather the details for which they are nominated. When the Selection Committee, comprised of people from all around Lake County, receive the book of nominations, they need all the reasons you feel the nominee deserves to be selected as a Star of Lake County.

Please state which category you want the nominee to be placed in as you know them best. The nomination form for Stars of Lake County 2009 is online at www.lakeportchamber.com. The deadline for nominations is Friday, Feb. 27, at 5 p.m. at the chamber office on Lakeport Boulevard or postmarked by that date. Online nominations must also have the same date to be considered for the 2009 Awards Program.

Once again, Sutter Lakeside Hospital is sponsoring a limited number of dinner tickets for our nominees. Nominees only may purchase tickets through March 3. This year, the dinner tickets are $50 per person, with tickets going on sale to the general public on Wednesday, March 4. These tickets sell out quickly each year, so plan to get yours as soon as they are available.

For more information, contact the chamber at 263-5092.

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4-H Council President Val Schweifler presenting Kelseyville 4-H Member Bryce Hayes his All Star Rank. Courtesy photo.

KELSEYVILLE – Lake County 4-H Member Bryce Hayes has been very busy this past year earning his All Star rank.

The All Star rank is the highest attainable honor in the Lake County 4-H Program.

To apply for All Star rank, a 4-H member must be 15 years of age, demonstrate leadership abilities, citizenship and community involvement, and have made a significant contribution to the 4-H Program.

As his All Star project, Bryce chose to create a cavy (Guinea Pig) proficiency for the Lake County 4-H Program.

The Lake County 4-H Proficiency program is designed to assist youth in measuring themselves against “standards of excellence.”

Each proficiency is comprised of five skill levels and should be designed to increase in scope and difficulty. The levels are: Level 1, Explorer; Level 2, Producer; Level 3, Consumer; Level 4, Leader; and Level 5, Researcher.

The proficiencies are three-fold in purpose: To provide youth opportunities to sample a broad array of experiences, measure personal progress, and become self-directed learners; to provide a standard of excellence where members are recognized for knowledge and skills they have mastered; to provide guidelines for adult volunteers to enhance and expand project content and experiences.

This is Bryce’s fifth year as a member of the Kelseyville 4-H Club. He has been active in the leadership and citizenship programs, where he has attended the Cal-Focus Leadership Conference in Sacramento and this year will be attending the Washington Focus Leadership Conference in Washington D.C. and New York City.

Bryce is also very active in the animal science and shooting sports programs within Lake County. He is currently serving as a teen leader in both the cavy project offered through Kelseyville 4-H and also in the countywide shooting sports project.

As an All Star, Bryce will serve in a leadership role at 4-H events and is an ambassador of the Lake County 4-H Program. He will visit 4-H clubs, reach out to the community, attend 4-H County Council meetings, and present the 4-H program to other agencies, and service organizations.

4-H Youth Development is a program of the University of California Cooperative Extension. For more information on the 4-H program contact U.C. Cooperative Extension, 883 Lakeport Blvd., Lakeport, 263-6838.

Nicole Gentry is Lake County's 4-H Youth Development Secretary.

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The group will meet at 7 p.m. at Loconoma High School on Washington Street.

Agenda items include and amendment to the MATH Bylaws that will provide for two at-large alternate board members; discussion and consideration of a MATH mission statement; election of chairman, vice chairman and secretary; discussion and consideration of MATH's 2009 goals and conducting a MATH meeting at Hidden Valley and Cobb.

MATH is a municipal advisory council serving the residents of Anderson Springs, Cobb, Coyote Valley (including Hidden Valley Lake), Long Valley and Middletown. The public is invited to attend.

The Lake County Board of Supervisors established MATH by resolution on Dec. 12, 2006.

MATH's Board of Directors includes Fletcher Thornton, Middletown District; Joe Sullivan, chairman,

Southern District; Karl Reichman, Cobb District; Martha Webster, Middletown District; Mike Tabacchi, secretary, Middletown District; Bill Wright, Eastern District; Scott Fergusson, Coyote Valley.

MATH meetings are subject to videotaping. Meeting proceedings may be available for viewing on public access television and/or the Internet.

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The program will include speaker Linda Gibson, senior vice president of operations for St. Helena Hospital, Clearlake, who will give updates on projects and services and the St. Helena Partnership.

The Middletown Luncheon Club hosts a monthly program the third Wednesday of the month. All programs are open to the public and do not require reservations. Just show up.

The South Lake County Fire Sirens will serve lunch, which costs $5.

The club meets at the Middletown Community Methodist Church Social Hall on Armstrong Street.

For more information call Helen Whitney, 928-9812.

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