COBB, Calif. – Community members are invited to a get-together in Cobb on Halloween.

The free event will take place from 2 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, at Black Rock Golf Course, 16451 Golf Road.

There will be food sponsored by Sysco and live music by Johnny Tsunami and the Hurricanes, a trunk-or-treating car show, pumpkin carving, spooky movie on the green, a chance to meet an alpaca courtesy of Rare Gem Ranch Alpacas, and more.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Fair Board will hold a planning workshop on Saturday, Nov. 7.

The workshop will be held beginning at 9 a.m. at the fair's administration office, 401 Martin St., Lakeport.

The board's topic for the workshop is long-term planning for the fair.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The recent fires in Lake County have resulted in an unprecedented need to address forest resource recovery and protection.

There are a number of important topics currently being discussed among a wide array of resource professionals addressing hazard tree removal, water quality, reseeding and reforestation, salvage logging, and soil protection.

Many of these topics will take months, if not years, to address as the scale and scope of the burned acreage is taxing local, state and Federal resources.

According to the University of California Cooperative Extension, the immediate need for land and home owners to consider is soil protection as the loosened soil and ash can move quickly under proper storm conditions.

Though seeding has often been used in the past it is generally consider ineffective as the seed simply moves and erodes with the soil and ash following an initial rain event.

An effective soil erosion prevention method is to leave any tree limbs, logs, trunks, rocks or other solid structures on the soil surface to trap any moving soil.

Though many people may want to “clean” their property allowing woody debris to sit through the winter will serve as an effective way to arrest soil movement.

If people are having to harvest hazard trees, positioning them strategically on slopes or near streams and gullies, for the first winter, will provide similar soil protection.

Lastly, there are commercially available materials designed specifically to minimize soil erosion and may need to be considered.

However, people addressing soil erosion potential on their properties should take a few minutes to assess what resources they have on hand to protect soils and keep costs low, officials said.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Kiwanis Club is holding its annual Halloween fair on Saturday, Oct. 31.

The free event will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Clear Lake High School gym, 350 Lange St., Lakeport.

All families and children are welcome.

There will be games, treats, a pumpkin weight guessing and costume contests with prizes.

This is a safe way for families to enjoy Halloween together.

Visit the Kiwanis Club's Web site at http://kiwanislakeport.org/ or like the group on Facebook.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – With Halloween only one day away, AAA reminds parents to be extra vigilant of the potential dangers that children face while trick or treating.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), children are four times more likely to be struck by a motor vehicle on Halloween than on any other day of the year.

Children are always at greater risk as pedestrians because of their shorter stature and unreliable judgment about when and where to cross streets.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of deaths among young pedestrians from 5 to 14 years of age is four times higher on Halloween, between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m.

“Combine children walking after dark, candy, vision-compromising costumes, and adult partygoers on the road and you have a recipe for disaster,” said AAA Northern California spokesperson Cynthia Harris. “Children are safer the more visible they are. There are many easy and inexpensive ways for parents to make sure that Halloween costumes are easy for drivers to see at a distance and easy for children to see out of.”

During 2012, 19,183 child pedestrians were injured in vehicle related incidents.  The number of fatalities in vehicle related crashes on Halloween in 2010 increased 16 percent, with 110 fatalities, when compared to the rest of the year, which averaged 92 fatalities per day nationwide. 

According to data from NHTSA, vehicle fatalities increase when Halloween falls on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Halloween safety tips for motorists

· Slow down in residential neighborhoods and obey all traffic signs and signals. Drive at least 5 miles per hour below the posted speed limit to give yourself extra time to react to children who may dart into the street.
· Watch for children walking on roadways, medians and curbs. In dark costumes, they’ll be harder to see at night.
· Look for children crossing the street. They may not be paying attention to traffic and cross the street mid-block or between parked cars.
· Carefully enter and exit driveways and alleys.
· Turn on your headlights to make yourself more visible – even in the daylight.
· Broaden your scanning by looking for children left and right into yards and front porches.

Halloween safety tips for parents

· Ensure an adult or older, responsible youth is available to supervise children under age 12.
· Plan and discuss the route your trick-or-treaters will follow.
· Instruct children to travel only in familiar areas and along established routes.
· Teach children to stop only at well-lit houses and to never to enter a stranger’s home or garage.
· Establish a time for children to return home.
· Tell children not to eat any treats until they get home.
· Review pedestrian and traffic safety rules.

Halloween safety tips for trick-or-treaters

· Be bright at night – wear retro-reflective tape on costumes and treat buckets to improve visibility to motorists and others.
· Wear disguises that don’t obstruct vision and avoid facemasks. Instead, use nontoxic face paint. Also, watch the length of billowy costumes to help avoid tripping.
· Ensure any props are flexible and blunt-tipped to avoid injury from tripping.
· Carry a flashlight containing fresh batteries, and place it face down in the treat bucket to free up one hand. Never shine it into the eyes of oncoming drivers.
· Stay on sidewalks and avoid walking in streets if possible.
· If there are no sidewalks, walk on the left side of the road, facing traffic.
· Look both ways and listen for traffic before crossing the street.
· Cross streets only at the corner, and never cross between parked vehicles or mid-block. Trick-or-treat in a group if someone older cannot go with you.

As part of AAA's on-going commitment to keeping the roads safe on holidays, AAA's Tipsy Tow Program will offer a free tow for drinking drivers from 6 p.m. Oct. 31 to 6 a.m. Nov. 1 in Northern California, Nevada and Utah.

Members and non-members alike can call 800-222-4357 (AAA-HELP) for a free tow of up to ten miles.

“Just tell the AAA operator, ‘I need a Tipsy Tow,’ and a truck will be on its way,” said Harris. “Service is restricted to a one-way ride for the driver and his or her vehicle to the driver’s home.”

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Property tax owners will be receiving their property tax bill within the next few weeks. 

This bill will be sent out by the Lake County Treasurer-Tax Collector's Office and will reflect the property tax owed for all property on record as of Jan. 1, 2015.

Property owners who have had property damage related to the recent fires will be receiving a corrected property tax bill with a new due date. 

The corrected property tax bill will reflect the reduction in property value related to the fire damage.

If you have any further questions, please call the Lake County Assessor’s Office at 707-263-2302.